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The holiday season is upon us once again, and along with it, the task of figuring out what to get our loved ones. Looking for tech gifts? Below is a list of gadgets that are trending for the holidays this year.
Google Chromecast
Chromecast is a nifty little device that allows a user to play content on their TV from various Web streaming services over their home Wi-fi. This means it's no longer necessary to connect an HDMI cable from a laptop to the TV. Once it's set up, a smartphone, tablet, or computer can be used to control it. At the time of this article, the supported services are HBO GO, Pandora, Hulu Plus, Netflix, Youtube, Google Play TV & Movies, and Google Play Music. For anything else, you can stream the Chrome browser to Chromecast.
Nest Smoke Detector
Nest originally made a smart thermostat. Now they've improved on the traditional smoke detector. It's called Nest Protect. It has various, non-jarring ways of telling you when its battery is low (on your smart phone or by a yellow ring of light). Before going off, it speaks the problem, such as that there's smoke in the bedroom. It can be turned off or queried with hand gestures. It also detects CO2. If you happen to also have the Nest Thermostat and it detects CO2, it will automatically turn off the furnace. It comes in wired and wireless versions. It can also function as a nightlight when you pass under it.
iHealth Activity Monitor and Sleep Tracker
The latest trend in healthy living has been self-monitoring, so what holiday would be complete without a wearable monitor to help your loved ones with their New Year's resolutions? The iHealth monitor is worn like a watch and tracks your daily activity and sleep. It tracks the steps you take, the distance you travel, the calories you burn, and your sleep efficiency. This device has a related iPhone app it syncs with to give you your stats.
HTC One
The HTC One is an affordable alternative to some of today's more expensive smartphones. It has one of the best cameras currently on smartphones on the market, weighs just 143 grams, and has a 4.7 inch, full HD 1080p display. It also has dual front stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers that cause bigger sound with less distortion than other phones. It also detects ambient noise to adjust in-call voice to compensate.
iPad Air
The iPad Air is Apple's latest tablet. It's thinner and lighter than its predecessors and includes Apple's Retina display, which makes the screen so sharp you can't even see the pixels. It's also twice as fast, but has the same 10 hour battery life as its predecessor. It comes with multiple storage capacity options. 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, or 128 GB.
Nexus 7
For Android lovers there is the Nexus 7, which is 7" and .64 lbs. It also sports a 9 to 10 hour battery life (depending on how you use it) and has wireless charging. The screen is HD and you can use either Wi-Fi or 4G LTE if you're not at home to connect to the internet. Hard drive sizes are either 16 GB or 32 GB.
Pebble Smartwatch
Wearable computers are trending. Pebble is a smartwatch that syncs with your smartphone to do more than just track your fitness. It can also show you who is calling or texting without you having to get out your phone, get notifications, display the weather, and more. You can even choose a custom watch face. It can go 5 – 7 days before needing to recharge.
Bose QuietComfort 20i Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones
These are in-ear noise canceling headphones, so there are no bulky ear-pieces to wear for long periods of time. These head phones can block the whole outside world or you can turn on "aware mode", which lets some sound through. They come with a rechargeable battery that can charge in just 2 hours and lasts up to 16 hours playing time per charge.
Skylanders Swap Force
A new adventure in the Skylanders games, collect figures that can interface with the major game systems on the market (Wii, PS3/4, etc). Each figure has its own abilities and with this new iteration tops and bottoms of the figures can be mixed and matched to create characters with varying abilities as opposed to just ones in an individual figure.
PS4 and Xbox One
Sony and Microsoft's next-gen systems are on the market in time for the holidays. The PS4 comes with a 500 GB hard drive, a headset, and the new DualShock 4 controller with a touchpad at its center. The controller also has a new Share button that allows the last few minutes of play to be uploaded as a video, or you can broadcast your gameplay in real-time. The PS4 can also stream from a number of services for movies and music.
The X-box One comes with a Kinect, a 500 GB hard dive, a Blu-ray drive, built in Wi-fi, a headset, and a 14-day subscription to Xbox Live. It connects to your cable box and can switch between games and TV, and it uses voice commands.
There are a lot of great gadgets out this season for gift giving no matter what interests your loved ones have. What do you think of these? Do you have any other cool gadgets to share? Leave a comment and tell us about the gadgets that made your 2013 gift list.


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Effectiveness and efficiency of targeted intra-operative single dose radiotherapy for breast cancer patients confirmed
New long-term results from the international TARGIT-A breast cancer study, based on ZEISS technology, have been published1
Jena, Germany | 26 August 2020 | Carl Zeiss Meditec AG
Use of targeted intra-operative radiotherapy (TARGIT), as a single dose - with ZEISS INTRABEAM - directly after removal of a tumor, confirmed as non-inferior, when compared with external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). Within the accuracy of the study, the risk of a local tumor recurrence in the breast is similar and non-breast cancer death is reduced. The TARGIT-A randomized, multi-center phase 3 study involving 2298 patients with a median patient follow-up time of 8.6 years meets the highest scientific standards.
Globally more than 40,000 patients have already been treated, in over 350 breast cancer centers, with the TARGIT method. "Single dose intra-operative radiotherapy for early stage breast cancer can be a better alternative to conventional whole breast radiotherapy for most patients during primary tumor management " stated the principal investigator Professor Jayant Vaidya, Professor of Surgery and Oncology and Scientific Director at University College London when presenting the results of the study. "These excellent results provide real clinical justification for single intraoperative radiation in suitable patients with early breast cancer. It is now essential to develop the corresponding treatment guidelines as soon as possible", added Professor Jeffrey Tobias, Professor of Oncology at University College London and joint initiator of the TARGIT-A study.
Positive clinical study results validate TARGIT as an option in breast cancer treatment
The local, recurrence-free survival rate of women treated with single dose TARGIT is non-inferior when compared with EBRT. The mortality in the TARGIT arm was even lower because of fewer cardio-vascular deaths.
"We are delighted with the positive results, as the ZEISS INTRABEAM 600 now represents an outstanding treatment alternative for many patients. We are confident that the procedure can now find its way into everyday clinical practice" said Ludwin Monz, CEO of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG.
TARGIT method underscored as an efficiency-oriented treatment
"This study reflects two decades of interdisciplinary clinical research by leading radiation oncologists, surgeons, physicists and health economists. The TARGIT-A trial has offered many breast cancer patients a treatment that is well tolerated, effective, convenient and highly cost efficient", summarized Professor William Small, Professor of Radio-oncology at Loyola University, Chicago and one of the world's leading radiation oncologists.
Brief Profile
Carl Zeiss Meditec AG (ISIN: DE 0005313704), which is listed on the MDAX and TecDAX of the German stock exchange, is one of the world's leading medical technology companies. The Company supplies innovative technologies and application-oriented solutions designed to help doctors improve the quality of life of their patients. The Company offers complete solutions, including implants and consumables, to diagnose and treat eye diseases. The Company creates innovative visualization solutions in the field of microsurgery. With 3,232 employees (as of 30 September 2019) worldwide, the Group generated revenue of €1,459.3m in fiscal year 2018/19 (as of 30 September).
The Group's head office is located in Jena, Germany, and it has subsidiaries in Germany and abroad; more than 50 percent of its employees are based in the USA, Japan, Spain and France. The Center for Application and Research (CARIn) in Bangalore, India and the Carl Zeiss Innovations Center for Research and Development in Shanghai, China, strengthen the Company's presence in these rapidly developing economies. Around 41 percent of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG's shares are in free float. The remaining approx. 59 percent are held by Carl Zeiss AG, one of the world's leading groups in the optical and optoelectronic industries.
For further information visit: www.zeiss.com/med

subset: commoncrawl


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In last week's post on this blog, I argued (as have a number of others before me) that the "e-word" should be expanded beyond biological evolution to include no less than the "history of the universe." In this more comprehensive sense, evolution is able to capture in a single word the unified story of the cosmos, life, and culture. In response to this post, one of the comments I received came from Kenneth (last name not included), who argued that evolution should be restricted to biological evolution. In his words,
"So much of the refusal to accept evolution (in this country at least, the US) comes from those who think evolution explains the origin of life. It, of course, does not and has nothing to do with abiogenesis. But presenting the origin of the cosmos as "the epic of evolution" is just going to further that divide. We need to teach about the Big Bang, stellar birth and refinement, how planets form, the Miller-Urey experiment's results, and evolution and natural selection. But we can't put them all in the same basket since they're not actually related (and saying that non-reproducing things "evolve" is adding gasoline to the fire, too).
Kenneth raises a critical issue, and I thank him sincerely for taking the time to articulate it. Because "evolution" has become such a loaded word in the United States (and a number of other countries), I have thought long and hard about whether or not to expand the word to refer to the history of the universe. After all, I reasoned, people might reject the Great Story out of hand, effectively tossing out the baby with the bathwater because of a bias against anything evolutionary. Eventually, however, I came to think that the two truly deserve--even need--to be linked. Not only is the teaching of biological evolution a critical endeavor worthy of our energies—so too is the teaching of the Great Story. And I'm convinced that this pair of ideas can be mutually reinforcing. I devote today's post to a brief outline of my position.
Ultimately, of course, how we decide to define the word "evolution" is a matter of semantics, and words can have multiple meanings. For example, at Dictionary.com, the biological definition of evolution is, "change in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift." However, nine other definitions are also listed, including one that applies to the history of the universe: "any process of formation or growth; development." So the question is this: Do we elucidate or muddy our understanding of nature if we refer to the Great Story of everything as the "epic of evolution"?
Kenneth contends that the expanded version of the word gives ammunition to those who conflate the process of (biological) evolution with the origin of life, suggesting that evolution has nothing to do with life's beginnings. I would disagree with at least the latter half of this claim. Recent work by origin of life researchers have revealed remarkable continuities between geochemistry and biochemistry, between the living and nonliving worlds (1). My strong hunch—likely bolstered by the announcement this week of the first synthetic life (2)— is that resolution of the origin of life problem, one of the greatest mysteries in science, will reveal blurry boundaries between the animate and inanimate, akin to what we see between major groups of biological ancestors and descendents (e.g., theropod dinosaurs and birds).
On a larger scale, I think that using evolution to describe the Great Story serves at least two important purposes. First, it underlines the fact that the evolution of life (and humans in particular) is not separate from the rest of nature. Rather, life's origin and expansion is merely one of the latest examples of increasing complexity within a single, unified, and stunningly creative whole. By treating biological evolution as an entirely distinct process, we tend to construct a false dichotomy and ignore the many similarities between organic and inorganic transformations.
For example, although increasing diversification has been a major trend in both cosmic and biological evolution, another frequently overlooked propensity is toward unification. As I described in a previous post, "The numerous and dramatic increases in complexity, it turns out, have been achieved largely through a process of integration, with smaller wholes becoming parts of larger wholes. Again and again we see the progressive development of multi-part individuals from simpler forms. Thus, for example, atoms become integrated into molecules, molecules into cells, and cells into organisms. At each higher, emergent stage, older forms are enveloped and incorporated into newer forms, with the end result being a nested, multilevel hierarchy." Indeed a strong argument can be made that the major steps in complexification over the past 14 billion years have been achieved large through unifying rather than diversifying (3).
A Darwinian sense of evolution has also helped to inform ideas about evolution in the nonliving realm. Perhaps the most surprising case in point is Lee Smolin's cosmological natural selection theory (4,5). Smolin, a theoretical physicist, has suggested that the rules of biology apply on the scale of the cosmos. Specifically, the eventual collapse of a black hole may result in the creation of another universe on "the other side." If so, each universe generates as many universes as it does black holes, the equivalent of reproduction. Due to a number of physical constraints, the majority of these universes may undergo "heat death" before they can generate stars and black holes; that is, they die off before reproducing. If so, there would be a kind of natural selection favoring the formation of universes of that could successfully spawn new universes!
The second important reason I advocate use of the e-word to describe the Great Story is that it increases the scope of the challenge facing those who oppose the notion of organic evolution. That is, opponents of evolution, especially young Earth creationists who argue that the universe is a mere 6,000 years old, must contend not only with the Everest of evidence supporting biological evolution, but also with the equally abundant evidence in favor of cosmological evolution (the origins of the universe, galaxy, solar system, etc.) and cultural evolution (e.g., evidence of tool use within the hominid lineage). Anti-evolutionists typically search for supposedly "fatal flaws" (e.g., structures showing "irreducible complexity") that might indicate the work of a "Designer." But there will always be things in science that cannot be fully explained (at least not yet), and overthrowing the notion of evolution requires that one upturn the entire mountain rather than a few grains of sand. Explicitly linking the evolution of life with the evolution of the non-living universe greatly increases the size of that mountain.
Finally, much of my confidence in promoting an expanded definition of evolution comes from such luminaries as biologist E. O. Wilson (6), who made this argument long before I did. I recently received additional assurance when I ran into my friend Eugenie Scott, Executive Director for the National Center for Science Education (NCSE; the leading organization promoting). Arguably more than anyone else in the country, Genie and the NCSE are on the frontlines fighting to keep the teaching of biological evolution in the science classroom (and creationism out). When I asked for her view on the matter, Genie responded in wholehearted agreement with me, adding that she too defines evolution as "the history of the universe."
So let's feel free to refer to our cosmic story as "the epic of evolution," and then recognize biological evolution as a subset of this grand narrative (7). At present, the general public is effectively illiterate with regard to both, a dire situation that, as argued last week, deserves immediate and widespread attention.
References and Suggested Sources
1) To give just one example, check out a terrific talk by one of these workers, Eric Smith (http://fora.tv/2007/04/18/Inevitable_Life).
2) Wade, N. Researchers say the created a "Synthetic Cell." New York Times, May 20, 2010. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/science/21cell.html).
3) Margulis, L. 1998. Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at Evolution. Sciencewriters, Amherst.
4) Smolin, L. 1997. Life of the Cosmos. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
5) Lee Smolin Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Smolin
6) Wilson, Edward O. 1978. On Human Nature. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press. Pp. 206-207.
7) For additional reading on this topic, I recommend:
- Cosmic Evolution Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_evolution
- Epic of Evolution website: http://epicofevolution.com/celebrate.html
- Chaisson, E. 2006. Epic of Evolution: Seven Ages of the Cosmos
All images courtesy of National Geographic: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/
- Cosmic Evolution Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_evolution
- Epic of Evolution website: http://epicofevolution.com/celebrate.html
- Chaisson, E. 2006. Epic of Evolution: Seven Ages of the Cosmos
All images courtesy of National Geographic: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/


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This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Ruston, La. • It seemed like it couldn't get worse for Utah State.
A lead that had grown to as much as 31 stayed well above 25 points. The Aggies were about to leave Louisiana Tech's home court with their worst drubbing of the season to show for it. Just five minutes more, a loss would've been all the trip cost them.
Then Spencer Butterfield went down, and he didn't get back up.
Butterfield was carried off the floor by his teammates and athletic trainer Mike Williams. He then was whisked to the locker room, and the rest of the healthy Utah State roster joined him after an 84-61 loss in Ruston to the WAC leaders on Thursday night.
But instead of just a loss, Butterfield's injury could be a crushing blow to anything the Aggies hope to accomplish for the rest of the season. He was taken to a local hospital after the game for evaluation. The extent of his injury wasn't immediately known following the game, but the agony in his face spoke of another devastating roster hit on the horizon.
"Sometimes you run out of gas, and we might," coach Stew Morrill said. "If you don't have enough bullets, it's tough. And we keep losing bullets."
If Utah State loses Butterfield, they'll be down to seven scholarship players after season-ending injuries to Kyisean Reed, Sean Harris, Danny Berger and possibly Preston Medlin. The team also burned walk-on Connor Garner's redshirt in the waning minutes after Marcel Davis fouled out.
The Aggies never stood much of a chance after the first 10 minutes. Louisiana Tech blitzed them from the start.
Utah State was overwhelmed on all levels: balls being knocked out of the Aggies' hands, shots swishing past them into nets, blocks being swatted back in their faces. The lead swelled to 29 in the first half alone, and the Louisiana Tech bench outscored the Aggies as the Bulldogs took a 49-23 lead into intermission.
The full-court press was as tough as advertised. Louisiana Tech forced 15 turnovers, 12 of them in the first half. The Bulldogs were also sensational offensively, shooting 50 percent from the floor and leaving the Aggies' defense looking disorganized.
"They were on it from the start," Morrill said. "The game was over early. … They looked like a top-25 team tonight."
Jarred Shaw and Ben Clifford led the team back from total oblivion, scoring 14 apiece after being flustered early. TeNale Roland came off the bench for 12 points and seven rebounds.
Brandon Gibson, a reserve who scorched the Aggies last time in Logan, again dropped 20 points. Raheem Appleby also gave Utah State plenty of trouble, scoring his 15 from long range and up close.
Butterfield had been frustrated by defensive attention most of the night, and only managed seven points. He was driving to the hoop late in the second half when he landed awkwardly on his right side, where he's already been diagnosed with a cyst on his sciatic nerve.
"Hopefully he feels better," junior guard TeNale Roland said. "We really need him."
O Jarred Shaw and Ben Clifford each score 14 apiece for the Aggies.
• The Bulldogs force 15 turnovers and get 20 points from backup Brandon Gibson.


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How to get a Title Loan in Watertown, SD?
A title loan is a type of financing where you must provide your vehicle title as collateral for the loan. Thus, you must be the sole owner of the title. At the time of signing the contract, you will temporarily transfer the car title to the lender and you can get it back after the full repayment of the debt with interest.
Typically, people take out a title loan in order to cope with emergency needs and unforeseen expenses, such as home renovations, medical treatment, or necessary purchases. Thus, having received approval, you can spend money on whatever you need. However, remember that in order to be approved for a Title loan in Watertown, SD you must be the sole owner of the title.
How do I apply for a Title loan in Watertown, SD?
In order to apply, you need to visit the site of the selected lender. Explore the different options for title loans in Watertown, SD in order to choose the most suitable one for you. On the lender's website, you can submit an online application. There is no need to worry, as filling out the application does not take you more than 5-10 minutes. There you will need to provide some information such as your name, contact details, address, and more.
After your application is approved, you will need to come to the lender's store for experts to evaluate your car. It often takes no more than half an hour, so you can quickly sign a contract and get the funding you need.
What are Watertown Title loan requirements?
Of course, the requirements you need to meet may vary depending on the lender and Watertown, South Dakota where you live. Also, before applying, we recommend you look through the laws of your state. Fortunately, many of the eligibility criteria are relevant to most lenders. Explore the main ones:
- At least 18+ years old
- A regular monthly source of income
- Proof of income
- An active bank account
- A government-issued ID
- A social security number
- US citizen or official resident and have a South Dakota residency
Remember that you also need to provide some vehicle documents, which include:
- Original vehicle title
- Current car registration
- Vehicle insurance proof
- Proof of residency (matching the name of the title)
- Government issued identification (matching the name on the title)
Important! The car must be in your name and you must be the sole owner of the vehicle.
It is also worth making sure that the title lender you choose protects your personal information such as your social security number and checking account number before applying and receiving funding.
Can I get a Watertown, SD title loan with bad credit?
Most borrowers ask the question "will I be approved with a bad credit history?" and worry that if they had problems in the past, now they will not be able to get a loan. However, you are eligible for a title loan in Watertown, SD even with bad credit!
First, many lenders understand that people face financial difficulties and may need funding. Thus, they are ready to provide you with a loan. Moreover, the title loan is secured, so lenders get additional guarantees that the debt will be paid on time.
Moreover, with a secured loan you can get lower interest rates than with an unsecured one. Thus, even if you had problems repaying loans before, now you can still apply for a Title loan in Watertown, SD and be approved.
Title loan in Watertown, SD FAQ
Can you get a guaranteed Title loan in Watertown, SD?
No lender provides guaranteed loans. In order for your title loan application (or any other loan) to be approved, you must meet certain criteria, which may vary depending on the state and the lender you choose.
Also, you must have a regular monthly source of income in order to receive a Title loan in Watertown, SD. However, if you meet the requirements, the chances that your application will be approved and you will receive a payment are very high.
Can Watertown, SD Title loan affect my credit score?
A title loan can have both positive and negative impact your loan. If you make timely monthly payments, then you can improve your credit history. However, if you cannot pay off the debt on time, it can negatively affect your credit. So, before you apply for a Title loan in Watertown, SD, make sure you can pay off the debt.
What if I cannot pay off my Title loan in Watertown, SD on time?
Failure to pay off your title loan on time can negatively impact your credit history. That is why it is important to make timely payments or set up auto payments.
However, if you are not able to pay off your debt over a long period of time, the lender will be able to sell your vehicle in order to consolidate the debt with interest.
Can I drive my car while paying Title loan in Watertown, SD?
Yes! You will be glad to know that while paying off the debt, you can continue to use your vehicle. The lender understands that you need a car to get to work or take your kids to school. However, the lender will hold the title until you have fully repaid the loan. When the debt is paid off, the title will be returned to you in accordance with the terms of the contract.


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Zen Beach Stone Sea Glass Outdoor Wind Chime
Zen Beach Stone Sea Glass Outdoor Wind Chime
This is a Pacific beach stone wind chime with artist-made sea glass and 3 handmade antiqued brass chimes— naturally beautiful!
This chime measures about 30 inches long from the top of the copper hook to the bottom of the chimes.
The artist-made beach glass is smooth with a mat finish. The beach stone is naturally rounded and smooth.
The 3 sweet sounding chimes are cut from raw brass and treated with a reactive-- the finish is not paint: it will not flake or peel. The chimes measure 7, 6, and 5 inches long. They are suspended from a handmade copper hanger with coated 21 strand stainless steel wire and sterling silver crimps.
This wind chime is suitable for year round outdoor use, or use it inside by a sunny window.
The pictures are of the actual wind chime you will receive.
● completely handcrafted
● exceptional materials and design
● handmade brass chimes treated with a reactive (not paint or polish): this finish will not wear off or peel
● the chimes are suspended with 21 strand nylon coated stainless steel, sterling silver crimps
● the artist-made beach glass is smooth with a matt finish
● natural Pacific beach stone
● handmade copper hook
● very well suited for year round outdoor use in all climates
● made in North America by an artist with over 25 years of wind chime design experience
● signed by the artist
● satisfaction is guaranteed
● free fast expert shipping to the USA and Canada
© Coast Chimes


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Source: Rechtsanwälte Streifler & Kollegen; twiggs translations
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Hude, März 2012
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This building is located on St Anne's Court, just off Wardour Street, right in the heart of London's vibrant and diverse Soho. It contains nine brand new luxurious apartments, ranging from 1x Studio, 5 x one-bed apartments and 3 x two-bed apartments on first, second, third and fourth floors.
The Studio, on the first floor, sleeps up to 2 people on a comfortable sofabed. This area also contains a table with 3 chairs, fully fitted kitchen and private bathroom.
The large luxurious one-bed apartments, on first, second, third and fourth floors sleep up to 4 guests on a king size bed and comfortable sofabed.
The large stunning two-bed apartments on second, third and fourth floors sleep up to 6 guests on 2 x king size beds and a comfortable sofabed.
All apartments have a private modern shower room with basin and WC and fully fitted and equipped kitchen facilities. We provide bed linen, towels and Wifi in all our apartments.
Soho is situated in the heart of London's West End whose primary focus is London's theatre scene. Diverse, fun-loving and never quiet, Soho attracts a wide mix of people. The area covers 1 square mile so it is easy to explore on foot.
Soho is the perfect location for bars, nightclubs, restaurants, shopping and theatres.
Our apartments lie within a few minutes' walk of either Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Circus Stations as well as many public bus routes. It's history, venues and atmosphere make it a must-see for tourists and Londoners alike.
This brand new luxurious two-bed apartment is on the fourth floor. Newly created and decorated in modern neutral colours. This apartment has two king size bedrooms and one bright and spacious kitchen/lounge. This area contains a flat screen TV and a 2-seater sofabed.
Sleeps: Up to 6, 2 King size beds and 1 sofa bed. Access to the apartment is by walk up stair only (no lift / elevator). It may not therefore be suitable for dis-ambulant or elderly guests.
- 2 bedrooms,
- 1 private shower with WC
Central heating, TV Kettle, Toaster, Iron, Hair dryer Clothes dryer, Cooker, Microwave, Fridge/Freezer, Washing/Dryer Sofabed, King size bed, 1 Cot (on request, £40 each) Dining seating for 4, Lounge seating for 4, Linen Towels, 1 High Chair (on request)
Nearest Underground (TheTube)
Leicester Square
Piccadilly Circus
Tottenham Court Road
Oxford Circus
Numerous bus routes are a short walk from the apartment
Travelling from the following Airports into London (Journey times are approximate):-
Heathrow 17 miles 40 minutes
Gatwick 29 miles 60 minutes
City of London 10 miles 30 minutes
Luton 33 miles 48 minutes
Stansted 36 miles 53 minutes
Click here to open a London Journey Planner.


text:
Scrapyard: Publicly Funded Elections
This session, the state Legislature created a pilot program in Hawaii County that allows County Council candidates to pay for all of their campaign costs with public money rather than private fundraising. (The state currently offers partial funding to candidates who agree to limit their total campaign spending.) Gov. Linda Lingle had threatened to veto the bill, but as of press time had not pulled the trigger. Does Hawaii need publicly funded elections?
Kory Payne
Community Organizer, Voter-owned Hawaii
The benefits of a comprehensive, public funding option are clear. Right now, because campaigns have become so expensive, candidates and legislators end up spending 50 percent to 80 percent of their time fundraising from private interests who are usually looking to profit from the law-making process. In the "pay-to-play" scenario of today's elections, special interests often end up deciding what laws get passed and what laws get killed.
This Hawaii County pilot project is a step toward reforming that system, by giving candidates the option of running their campaign using public funds instead. There is already a partial public funding program in place throughout the state, but it has been underfunded and is increasingly unused. And because candidates are still required to raise supplemental private money from special interests, it doesn't really solve the problem of influence. In order to really change the system, a full public funding program is necessary.
In 2005, AARP did a professional survey showing that 74 percent of Hawaii residents of voting age support a comprehensive full public funding option for candidates.
Arguments about the cost of such a program are moot at this point, because the Hawaii County pilot project is capped at $300,000, and is not permanent. There's no automatic provision for statewide expansion—it's going to play out over the next three election cycles, and we'll then be able to evaluate the results.
The bottom line is that, when citizens have more access and accountability to the elections process, they are able to pass laws that are better for the economy, better for the environment, and better for taxpayers and consumers. Without a public funding option for elections, they're paying for it by not paying for it.
Barbara Wong
Executive Director
State Campaign Spending Commission
The commission supports partial public financing, but questions whether the public is aware of and supportive of the cost of a comprehensive public funding program. We have to be financially responsible, and offering full public funding for all 109 of Hawaii's electoral races is costly. The budget for the pilot program in Hawaii County would be capped at $300,000 per election for 3 elections, but it's intended as a test run for full public funding of all elective seats. You don't test drive a car that you can't afford to buy.
Voters may say they want public funding to keep candidates out of the hands of special interests. But voters may well reconsider when they're told how much it's going to cost. Similar programs in other states are costing millions of dollars. Arizona's clean election budget, for example, is $40 million, and Connecticut's clean election budget grew from $15 million in 2006 to a projected $45 million in 2008.
Hawaii's larger contests will prove to be much more expensive than the County Council seats on the Big Island. Using the formula in this bill, two candidates running for governor, lieutenant governor and for each mayoral race would be eligible for $33 million in total funding for their primary and general campaigns, if you include equalizing funds. There is $5.4 million in the Hawaii election campaign fund. Who will pay the difference?
The measures of success for this program are going to be hard to track. How do you measure whether elected officials are in the hands of special interests or not?
Rather than jumping into deep water, a better solution would be to incrementally increase the existing partial funding program, which offers candidates partial public funding in exchange for limiting their expenditures. The public would be in the driver's seat and could increase the number of $2 state income tax check-offs to the Hawaii election campaign fund to provide more funding.
After HONOLULU Magazine went to press, HB 661 passed without a signature from Gov. Linda Lingle, giving Hawai'i County the go-ahead to create a comprehensive public funding pilot project.


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The 2018 Super Bowl was full of memorable moments. The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New England Patriots giving the team its first Super Bowl title.
There was plenty of excitement both off and on the field. There was Pink's national anthem performance, Justin Timberlake's halftime show and, of course, plenty of commercials.
Missed any part of the big game? Don't worry! We have you covered. Check out our list of the most-talked about moments from the 2018 Super Bowl.
Before the Eagles and the Patriots faced off, Pink took the field at U.S. Bank Stadium to sing the national anthem. The "Beautiful Trauma" singer didn't let the cold in Minneapolis stop her from belting out the lyrics. However, the artist received bit of backlash after viewers thought she spit out gum during the patriotic performance. Pink clapped back at her haters and tweeted that she spit out a throat lozenge—the singer had been battling the flu before the big game. Still, Pink didn't let any trolls bring her down. She tweeted a sweet photo of her and her daughter Willow and thanked her loyal fans for their support.
From a super-hero-packed sneak peek of "Avengers: Infinity War" to a thrilling teaser for "Solo: A Star Wars Story," there were tons of trailers to get movie buffs excited about upcoming films. Perhaps one of the most surprising trailers, however, was Netflix's teaser for "The Cloverfield Paradox," which the streaming company released directly after the game. Ava DuVernay teased a big surprise was on the way; however, fans couldn't predict this shocker.
U.S. & World
There were plenty of funny commercials throughout the big game, too. For instance, Eli Manning and Odell Beckham, Jr. choreographed a whole "Dirty Dancing" routine (complete with a Patrick Swayze lift), and Morgan Freeman and "Game of Thrones" star Peter Dinklage promoted Doritos and Mountain Dew by lip-syncing to Missy Elliot.
There were a ton of celebrity cameos in other ads, too. Chris Pratt bared his abs in an ad for Michelob Ultra and Tiffany Haddish showed the pains of not shopping local in a spot for Groupon.
During the halftime show, Timberlake sang a number of fan favorites, including "Sexy Back," "Rock Your Body" and "Can't Stop This Feeling." At one point, he also projected a video of Prince on a giant banner for his performance of "I Would Die for You." The move generated mixed reviews, mainly because Prince spoke out against technological performances back in a 1998 during an interview with Guitar World. In fact, he called virtual reality "demonic." Still, others appreciated the tribute to Prince in his home state.
Timberlake defended the decision in a follow-up interview with Jimmy Fallon.
"It's a moment for me, if I'm being quite honest, because he's always been the pinnacle of musicianship for me. And when we decided that, like, the serendipity and synergy that we would be in Minneapolis, and that, you know, he's such a special thing here, aside from what he is all over the world, um, I just felt I wanted to do something for this city and something for him that, uh, would just be the ultimate homage to what I consider the GOAT of musicians," Timberlake told the host.
Timberlake wasn't the only one to garner attention during the halftime show. Ryan McKenna went viral after he snapped a selfie with the singer. An image of him looking distracted on this phone also turned into an Internet meme that trended throughout the night.
[NATL] Justin Timberlake Performs at the Super Bowl LII Halftime Show
Kevin Hart was truly excited the Eagles won the Super Bowl. In fact, he was so excited that he tried to join the team on stage to accept the big trophy. However, the comedian was quickly denied, and he started arguing with an official. The entire incident was captured on camera and went viral. Hart got into more Super Bowl shenanigans when he dropped an F-bomb during a live post-game interview with defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.


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Definition of thinko
- derivative of typo, and means "an error of logic".
Last edited on Nov 22 2010. Submitted by Dan M. from Alexandria, VA, USA on May 26 2005.
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|Definitions include: the ability to think outside the box.
|Definitions include: backronym expansion of "cunt".
|Definitions include: acronym for "I don't think so".
|Definitions include: acronym for "I think I'm going [to] be sick" or "I think I'm gonna be sick".
|Definitions include: acronym for "I think you mean."
|Definitions include: acronym for "if you know what I mean and I think you do".
|Definitions include: a session of thought.
|Definitions include: brain.
|Definitions include: thinking with one's penis.
|Definitions include: to be arrogant; "full of (one's self)".
|Definitions include: to think of an unconventional solution or idea.
|Definitions include: to think exceedingly highly of a person.
|Definitions include: to invent.
|Definitions include: "what do you think".
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NEW YORK (REUTERS) - A United States (US) judge has found that two news organisations improperly used images that a photojournalist had posted to Twitter in one of the first big tests of intellectual property law involving social media.
Agence France-Presse and The Washington Post infringed on the copyrights of photographer Daniel Morel in using pictures he took in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake in January 2010, US District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan ruled.
While AFP had argued that once the pictures appeared on Twitter they were freely available, the judge said that Twitter's terms of service did not give the news agency a licence to publish the images without Mr Morel's permission.
The judge, in a decision released late on Monday, partially granted Mr Morel's summary judgment motion but also limited damages he could potentially recover. Several other issues in the case were left to be decided at trial. A trial date has not been set.
The case has garnered wide interest because it is one of the first to address how images that users make available to the public through social media can be used by third parties for commercial purposes.
Though this case began in 2010, ownership of content on social media continues to be a hot-button issue.
Last month, Facebook Inc's photo sharing site, Instagram, became the subject of public outcry after users interpreted changes in its terms of service to mean Instagram could sell their pictures without permission.
Within days, Instagram backed away from some of the planned changes.
In the Mr Morel case, the photographer put the Haiti images on Twitter, and they were then disseminated widely after an AFP editor discovered them through another Twitter user's account, according to the ruling.
AFP distributed several of the pictures to Getty Images, the ruling said. The Washington Post, a Getty client, published four of the images on its website, according to the ruling.
Getty is part of the litigation but the judge did not make any determination on the photographer's allegations of copyright infringement against it, noting that there were other issues yet to be resolved.
AFP had argued that Twitter's terms of service granted it the right to use Morel's images.
The judge, though, said that while the service terms do allow the reposting and rebroadcasting of users' images in certain circumstances, such as "retweeting" them, it does not grant a license for commercial use.
Attorneys for AFP were not immediately available for comment. The Washington Post, a unit of The Washington Post Co , and Getty also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mr Joseph Baio, a partner at Willkie, Farr & Gallagher who represents Mr Morel, said the ruling proves that images taken from Twitter without permission cannot be used for commercial purposes and that the trial will determine the consequences for doing so.
Twitter was not a party in the case. "As has always been our policy, Twitter users own their photos," a Twitter spokesman said.
In the ruling, Mr Nathan narrowed what Morel can recover from AFP and Getty for distributing the images.
While Mr Morel had requested what the court said would amount to "tens or hundreds of millions of dollars" in statutory damages based on awards for each subscriber that used the images, the judge said AFP and Getty would only be liable, at most, for a single statutory damage award per image infringed.
AFP initiated the lawsuit in March 2010 to get a ruling that it wasn't infringing on copyrights after Morel had accused AFP of improper use of his pictures. Mr Morel countersued AFP, Getty and The Washington Post.
The judge refused to grant Morel's motion for summary judgment on whether AFP, Getty and The Washington Post acted willfully, as well as whether the media companies violated Morel's rights under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
The act prohibits providing or distributing false copyright information in order to conceal copyright infringement.


text:
- Reckless Kelly
August 18, 2019
7:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Venue: Old Saloon (Emigrant)
Sunday August 18, 2019 at the Old Saloon (Emigrant MT)
$23.00 In-Store $25.00 at the door
Online: https://selloutapp.com/event/music/reckless-kelly-203
Doors 7/ Music 8
Understanding the virtuosity of Reckless Kelly requires the perspective of where the band has been. Cody and Willy Braun grew up in the White Cloud Mountains of Idaho. They moved to Bend, Oregon, and then migrated to that great musical fountainhead, Austin, Texas.
The band's co-founders and frontmen toured the country as part of their father's band, Muzzie Braun and the Boys, as children. They performed on The Tonight Show twice. Their father taught his four sons a professional ethic – integrity, persistence, hard work and professionalism – honed over three generations. They overcame hardships, struggled for recognition, and learned the lessons of the trial and error that defined them.
In one sense, it's remarkable in the way of any musician, athlete, or businessperson who bucks the odds.
In another, though, it's utterly natural that Reckless Kelly, born in the dreams of the two Braun brothers and their heritage but nurtured in the bumpy road of maturity, became the very essence of Americana music in all its far-flung glory.
"We came along in that second wave of the movement," Cody Braun says. "Son Volt's album Trace had a major effect on us. People like Joe Ely, Ray Kennedy and Robert Earl Keen were always big supporters. Our goal was to make music that had a country vibe but a solid rock edge."
In the end, all the recipe required was to just add water. Water facilitates life. It enriches the soul.
As Music Row magazine proclaimed, "In my perfect world, this is what country radio would sound like."
"This" is Reckless Kelly.


text:
Creating Rich Interactive Web Apps With KnockOut.js – Part 4
In part 3 we built a complete working version of the Savings Goal Simulator where each view model and view mediator is nicely separated in its own module and corresponding source file. But what about the view? Well the goal of part 4 is to modularize and extract each view component.
Synopsis Of The Approach
The approach will need to meet the following requirements:
- The view markup needs to have its own url and be cacheable
- The view markup needs an ID
- The view should have an HTML element
- The view HTML element should be renderable
View Markup With A URL
Just like script blocks and images can be "sourced" externally from any url, we need a similar mechanism for our views.
<view src="http://my.view.html"> </view>
So since the script tag allow us to do that already, let's use it, assign an id, but let's use a more appropriate type like text/html.

View Markup With An ID
To make it possible to reference the "script-view-markup" later on in our page or Javascript code, we'll just assign the script an ID like so:

View HTML Element
Now that we have a way to define how a view markup can be "included" in our page, we'll just define our view "container" as a normal HTML element. We can use a "div" or any of the more semantically significant HTML5 elements like "section":

What we're missing is a mechanism to:
- associate the view element and the view markup together
- render the actual view
- optionally: data-bind any view model to the view
Renderable View
To render the markup for a given view we need a view rendering engine. As of this writing, the most prevalent option is jQuery Template.
Note: The jQuery Template implementation is rock solid and in use in many production web sites and internal applications. However the jQuery UI core team is in the process of deprecating its use and eventually replace it with another implementation. A serious contender for this is the jsRender + jsViews library. Other options also include Mustache and Handlebars. Although this tutorial is leveraging jQuery Template as its platform, I recommend you perform some additional due diligence once you're ready to settle on library.
KnockoutJS goes one step further by integrating the view rendering engine with data-binding capabilities.
Note: KnockoutJS will allow pluggable view rendering engines over time, making it possible to use the one you choose (as long a as a plugin exists).
So KnockoutJS can take a view element with a corresponding "view template" and a view model, and render the resulting view.
Since we introduced the notion of "view template", let's spend some time getting familiar with the concept before proceeding with externalized views.
Introduction To Templating
Simple String-Based Templates
An string-based template is just a string containing text plus placeholders for variables. A placeholder is the name of the variable surrounded by curly braces and a prefixed by a dollar sign. So for example a template to display a time variable would look like:
var viewTemplate = "${firstName}, the time is now ${time}"
We can group our "variables" in a Javascript object literal like so:
var viewData = { firstName: 'Chris', time: (new Date()).toLocaleTimeString() }
We can get the engine to bind the template and the data like so:
var viewContent = $.tmpl(viewTemplate, viewData);
Finally assuming a div with the id 'my-view', jQuery can render the view content like so:
In summary here is a diagram showing the relationships between the various components used in templating:
To try this out yourself:
- Create a web page named index.html
- Add script references to both jQuery and jQuery Template using their content distribution network urls:
- http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.7.0/jquery.min.js
- http://ajax.aspnetcdn.com/ajax/jquery.templates/beta1/jquery.tmpl.min.js
Add a div with the id 'my-view' in the body of the page

Add a Javascript script block with a jQuery ready function with our template rendering code:

You should be able to open the index.html web page in a browser and the div should now contain the rendered text with the first name and the current time.
Now we have an idea of how templating using jQuery Template is working. But in this example we are just using a string to hold our template. The library actually has a feature where you can store the template in a script tag on the same page.
Simple Inline Templates
The jQuery Template library also allow us to store the template in a script tag with a text/html type like so:

The template can then be rendered with a slightly different form of the tmpl API:
var viewContent = $('#my-view-template').tmpl(viewData);
Having the template moved out of the code is a step in the right direction, but what we need is the ability to externalize the template to an external url. We'll tackle that subject soon I promise, but in the meantime let's look at what KnockoutJS brings us in terms of additional templating power.
KnockoutJS Databinding Support For Inline Templates
Up to now, we have had to write the actual code to: a) render the template, and then b) insert the resulting text in an HTML element. Well, let's see what KnockoutJS can do to simplify our task. (This will be very handy especially when your main page has many views.)
As you know, KnockoutJS provides a "data-bind" attribute where you can specify the visual or behavioral aspects (e.g. value, text, visible, enable, …) to link to a value model or dependent observable function. When we want to data-bind an HTML element to both a template and a view model, we'll use the following syntax:

It is even possible to specify a Javascript function in an afterRender template parameter. That function will the be invoked once the HTML element has been rendered. This can be useful if you need to dynamically attach new behaviors or event handlers to the produced content. For example, you could invoke jQuery UI component configuration APIs such as applying icons for a jQuery UI button.

Our view model would then be re-written as follows:
var myViewModel = { firstName: ko.observable('Chris'), time: ko.observable((new Date()).toLocaleTimeString()) }
And our "myViewHookup" after-render function would have the following form:
function myViewHookup(renderedElements, viewModel) { // E.g. highlight the new content for 3 seconds renderedElements.effect('highlight', { color: 'LightGreen' }, 3000); }
And finally our page initialization code would ask KnockoutJS to apply the data bindings using the ko.applyBindings API:
$(document).ready(function () { var myViewModel = { firstName: ko.observable('Chris'), time: ko.observable((new Date()).toLocaleTimeString()) } ko.applyBindings(viewModel); });
So when using jQuery, jQuery Template, and KnockoutJS, we can define a template-based view and data-bind it to a view model so it can be rendered dynamically.
Now we have covered all but one requirement: the ability to externalize the view template to a specific url.
Externalized View Templates
Basic Mechanism Needed To Externalize A Template
Let's review our simple "template script markup":

What we really need at this point is a way to externalize this template into its own file (maybe in a sub-folder named after the parent page, itself organized under a "view" folder):
|${firstName}, the time is now ${time}
We would then just add a src tag to our script block:

If you try this out you will notice that the browser will indeed [wget] "fetch" the content of _my.view.html, and using the web developer tool of your browser you will actually see the template markup.
But if you try to access the content of the script element using jQuery using:
… you will notice that the content is empty! The browser engine has retrieved the content but did not store it in the actual DOM element for the script. This is due to the fact that a script of type text/html is not recognized as being a script to interpret.
So we need a mechanism to fetch and store the source. The approach consists of re-fetching the source using jQuery's $.get API. Since it was fetched once, the content is stored in the browser's cache so retrieval wil be very fast. We then store it in the DOM's element.
Here is a simplistic example of what the code would look like:
$(document).ready(function () { $.get("/view/mypage/_my.view.html", function(data, textStatus, jqXHR) { $("#my-view-template") .text(jqXHR.responseText); } ); });
So finally we can integrate our KnockoutJS view model code in the ready function:
$(document).ready(function () { $.get("/view/mypage/_my.view.html", function(data, textStatus, jqXHR) { $("#my-view-template") .text(jqXHR.responseText); var myViewModel = { firstName: ko.observable('Chris'), time: ko.observable((new Date()).toLocaleTimeString()) } ko.applyBindings(viewModel); } ); });
You now have externalized the view template, dynamically loaded it, data-bound it to a view model using KnockoutJS, and rendered using the jQuery Template engine!
Our example was fairly basic but it illustrates the overall concept and approach.
Generic ViewLoader Plugin
The jQuery ViewLoader plugin will take us even further by providing the ability to:
- Handle nested externalized templates
- Parallelize the processing of each template
- Provide a simple way to handle all templates on a page and synchronize their post-processing so that the page initialization logic can proceed.
Here is what the minimum syntax looks like:
$(document).viewloader({ logLevel: "debug", success: function () { ko.applyBindings(viewModel); } });
The plugin will identify all scripts of type text/html and a source url ending in ".view.html", including nested template scripts and request their parallel loading. Once all template scripts have been succesfully processed the success function is invoked.
Behind the scenes, jQuery ViewLoader relies on the jQuery concept of "Deferred", an action which can be launched for "deferred" (i.e. later) execution, but can trigger a callback when completed. Actions can be grouped together so that a specific callback can be triggered once all of them have completed.
Here is a diagram of the approach:
Externalizing The Views Of Our Savings Goal Simulator
We can now apply the new approach to our Savings Goal Simulator web app since it currently contains 3 views:
- savings-goal-view
- consumption-scenarios-view
- savings-forecast-view
For each view, we will:
- Create an externalized template in the /view/index folder based on the view markup
- Replace the view in index.html by a template script reference and a container DIV data-bound to the template.
Finally, we'll update the main application.js to plugin the jQuery ViewLoader.
Here is an outline of the step-by-step approach:
|To Do
|Create An External Template For The savings-goal-view
|Refactor the savings-goal-view In Our Web Page
|Hookup jQuery ViewLoader In Our Main application.js
|Refactor The Savings Goal Mediator
|View Mediator
1. Create An External Template For The savings-goal-view
Our first step will be to create a new folder named view under scripts to organize our external views. Similarly to frameworks like Ruby On Rails, or ASP.NET MVC, we'll create a subfolder named shared, for all views reusable across pages, then we'll create a subfolder named index for views appearing on our index.html web page.
In the scripts/view/index folder, let's create a file named _savings-goal.view.html. I used an underscore prefix to reflect the Rails convention of "partial views" being prefixed that way.
Then we can copy the savings-goal-view markup from index.html page and paste it in our new _savings-goal.view.html file.

 Savings Goal Amount: <input id="savings-goal-amount" />
 Savings Max Duration (In Months): <input id="savings-max-duration" maxlength="3" />
 Savings Target Per Month:

Now we can refactor index.html.
2. Refactor the savings-goal-view In Our Web Page
In place of our savings-goal-view markup, let's first add a script reference to the view we just created, and give it an id of savings-goal-view-template:

Second, let's add a div acting as a container for our external view. We'll give it an id of savings-goal-view-container, and declare our KnockoutJS data-binding with the savings-goal-view-template:

Let's download:
- the latest version of jQuery Templates from https://github.com/jquery/jquery-tmpl
- the latest version of KnockoutJS from https://github.com/SteveSanderson/knockout
- the jQuery ViewLoader plugin and place it in the /scripts/vendor folder.
In the index.html page, in the LAB loader section, let's:
- Replace the call to load jQuery Template from our downloaded version (instead of the version from the CDN which is older)
- Replace the call to load KnockoutJS from our downloaded version
Add a call to load the jQuery ViewLoader plugin:

Here is how all the piece parts will fit together:
Ok, now it's time to plug in code to get the ViewLoader to load our view.
3. Hookup jQuery ViewLoader In Our Main application.js
First let's create 2 new utility functions in application.js:
- GetPageSettings – to retrieve our page settings from the DOM
SetPageSettings – to store our page settings in the DOM
function GetPageSettings() { return $(document).data("sgs.pagesettings"); } function SetPageSettings(pageSettings) { $(document).data("sgs.pagesettings", pageSettings); }
Let's review the InitializeApplication function of our main application.js module. The core code consists of initializing a pageSettings dictionary and invoking our view mediators.
Let's extract that part of the code into a new function named InitializeViewMediators:
function InitializeViewMediators() { if (typeof(console) != 'undefined' && console) console.info("InitializeViewMediators starting ..."); // Initialize our page-wide settings var pageSettings = { defaultSavingsGoal: 500, defaultSavingsMaxDuration: 6 } // Save the page-wide settings SetPageSettings(pageSettings); // Create / launch our view mediator(s) sgs.mediator.savingsgoal.createViewMediator(pageSettings); sgs.mediator.coffeepricing.createViewMediator(pageSettings); sgs.mediator.consumptionscenarios.createViewMediator(pageSettings); sgs.mediator.savingsforecast.createViewMediator(pageSettings); if (typeof(console) != 'undefined' && console) console.info("InitializeViewMediators done ..."); }
Let's add the code to InitializeApplication to attach our ViewLoader plugin to the document object and invoke InitializeViewMediators upon success (i.e. once all views have been loaded):
function InitializeApplication() { if (typeof(console) != 'undefined' && console) console.info("InitializeApplication starting ..."); $(document).viewloader({ logLevel: "debug", success: function (successfulResolution) { InitializeViewMediators(); } ); if (typeof(console) != 'undefined' && console) console.info("InitializeApplication done ..."); }
And let's add some logging code in the error function to know when the ViewLoader is failing to load a given view.
function InitializeApplication() { // ... $(document).viewloader({ // ... success: function (successfulResolution) { InitializeViewMediators(); }, error: function (failedResolution) { if (typeof(console) != 'undefined' && console) { console.error("index.html page failed to load"); } } }); // ... }
Here is the visual depiction of how application.js coordinates with the ViewLoader:
Not so fast … if we run the app, we'll get an error. This is due to the fact that the code from the createViewMediator function of our sgs.mediator.savingsgoal module is expecting the view to be available. But at this point in the execution the view as not yet been rendered. This leads us to one more refactoring.
4. Refactor The Savings Goal Mediator
The current implementation of the createViewMediator function of our sgs.mediator.savingsgoal module assumes that our view is in the DOM, but at the moment the ViewLoader plugin kicked off the InitializeViewMediators function, KnockoutJS has not been requested to apply bindings yet nor render any view templates.
So let's refactor the code related to setting up the various data-bindings and invoking KnockoutJS into a new function named setupViewDataBindings:
sgs.mediator.savingsgoal.setupViewDataBindings = function() { // Declare the HTML element-level data bindings $("#savings-goal-amount").attr("data-bind","value: savingsGoalAmount"); $("#savings-max-duration").attr("data-bind","value: savingsMaxDuration"); $("#savings-target-per-month").attr("data-bind","text: savingsTargetPerMonthFormatted()"); // Ask KnockoutJS to data-bind the view model to the view var viewNode = $('#savings-goal-view')[0]; var viewModel = sgs.mediator.savingsgoal.getViewModel(); ko.applyBindings(viewModel, viewNode); // Apply masking to the savings goal amount and max duration input fields viewModel.savingsGoalAmountMask.attach($("#savings-goal-amount")[0]); viewModel.savingsMaxDurationMask.attach($("#savings-max-duration")[0]); // Initialize default for value models linked to masked fields var pageSettings = GetPageSettings(); viewModel.savingsGoalAmount(pageSettings.defaultSavingsGoal || 0); viewModel.savingsMaxDuration(pageSettings.defaultSavingsMaxDuration || 0); // Subscribe to interesting value model changes viewModel.savingsTargetPerMonthFormatted.subscribe(function() { $("#savings-target-per-month") .effect('highlight', { color: 'LightGreen' }, 3000); // for 3 seconds }); if (typeof(console) != 'undefined' && console) console.info("sgs.mediator.setupViewDataBindings done!"); }
Note: We had to add a new line to access the viewModel since it is now available in the DOM and accessible using the sgs.mediator.savingsgoal.getViewModel function. We also add to add a line to get the pageSettings using our new GetPageSettings function.
After having extracted some of the code the createViewMediator function consist of the following:
sgs.mediator.savingsgoal.createViewMediator = function (pageSettings, pageViewModel) { // Create the view Savings Goal view-specific view model var viewModel = sgs.model.savingsgoal.initializeViewModel(pageSettings); // Save the view model sgs.mediator.savingsgoal.setViewModel(viewModel); if (typeof(console) != 'undefined' && console) console.info("sgs.mediator.savingsgoal ready!"); }
But since we added the savings-goal-view-container div to the page, we need to handle its data binding here. So let's do that:
sgs.mediator.savingsgoal.createViewMediator = function (pageSettings, pageViewModel) { // Create the view Savings Goal view-specific view model var viewModel = sgs.model.savingsgoal.initializeViewModel(pageSettings); // Save the view model sgs.mediator.savingsgoal.setViewModel(viewModel); // Ask KnockoutJS to data-bind the view model to the view var viewNode = $('#savings-goal-view-container')[0]; ko.applyBindings(viewModel, viewNode); if (typeof(console) != 'undefined' && console) console.info ("sgs.mediator.savingsgoal ready!"); }
You probably noticed that there is no call yet to invoke our new setupViewDataBindings function! So where will it be invoked then? Well do you remember the comment about KnockoutJS exposing an afterRender callback function? (See back in KnockoutJS Databinding Support For Inline Templates.)
We'll update the data-binding of savings-goal-view-container in our index.html, by assigning our new sgs.mediator.savingsgoal.setupViewDataBindings function to the afterRender attribute:

And now if we re-run our application, we'll see in the console that setupViewDataBindings is being called while the savings-goal-view is being rendered, after the loading is successfully completed.
Here is an excerpt of the console:
InitializeApplication starting ... viewloader.loadSourceForPartialView loading source for view: id=savings-goal-view-template src=scripts/view/index/_savings-goal.view.html InitializeApplication done ... viewloader.loadSourceForPartialView saving source in savings-goal-view-template viewloader.loadAllPartialViews executing 'success' function InitializeViewMediators starting ... sgs.mediator.setupViewDataBindings done! sgs.mediator.savingsgoal ready! ... InitializeViewMediators done ...
We have successfully externalized the markup for the savings-goal-view!!!
In summary here is a diagram illustrating the page load processing flow:
5. Recap
Here is a quick recap of the steps we followed:
|To Do
|Create An External Template For The savings-goal-view
|Refactor the savings-goal-view In Our Web Page
|Hookup jQuery ViewLoader In Our Main application.js
|Refactor The Savings Goal Mediator
|View Mediator
6. Externalizing The Remaining Views
Now we just need to repeat the process on our remaining two views:
- consumption-scenarios-view
- savings-forecast-view
If you want to follow along with the source code changes, just get code for the tag corresponding to any particular step on the GitHub repository for the Savings Goal Simulator.
So What?
jQuery Template and jQuery ViewLoader allow you to structure and load views within a web page.
Externalizing your views makes your web pages more modular and easier to maintain, especially if you are working within a team as this allows you to assign different views (markup + code) to different individuals.
In the context of a "single page application" where you may have many views, these benefits are crucial to help you manage the complexity and allow you to grow the application organically / incrementally.
Another benefit of modularizing your views and view mediators will be that it will be easier to adapt and create different versions of the application for other channels, like a mobile web site or a mobile version of the application (using for example jQuery Mobile and PhoneGap).
References And Resources
jQuery Plugins
- jQuery Template : http://api.jquery.com/category/plugins/templates/
- jQuery ViewLoader : http://github.com/techarch/jquery-viewloader
- jsRender + jsViews rendering engine : https://github.com/BorisMoore/jsviews
- Mustache rendering engine : http://mustache.github.com/
- Handlebars rendering engine : http://www.handlebarsjs.com/
- jQuery ViewLoader rendering engine : https://github.com/techarch/jquery-viewloader
- jQuery $.get : http://api.jquery.com/jQuery.get/
- jQuery Deferred : http://api.jquery.com/category/deferred-object/
- KnockoutJS afterRender : http://knockoutjs.com/documentation/template-binding.html#note4usingthe_option
- Savings Goal Simulator : http://savings-goal-simulator.heroku.com/
My Other Related Posts:
- Creating Rich Interactive Web Apps With KnockOut.js – Part 1
- Creating Rich Interactive Web Apps With KnockOut.js – Part 2
- Creating Rich Interactive Web Apps With KnockOut.js – Part 3
Full Source Of The Savings Goal Simulator (KnockoutJS Demo)
The whole application is available on Github under techarch / savings-goal-simulator.


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Has Justin Bieber's Voice Dropped? Teen Idol Sounds Older on Drake's 'Trust Issues' [AUDIO]
Against the wishes of tween girls everywhere, Justin Bieber is growing up and his famously high-pitched voice has begun to drop a few registers. On Sunday, the singer surprised fans when he posted his remix/take on Drake's 'Trust Issues' on his Facebook page. Is that guy singing in a deep voice really their beloved Biebs? Yes, yes it is.
So will this change in tone force Justin Bieber to abandon his usual puppy love themes for something more mature? Check out the Bieber/Drake remix of 'Trust Issues' and judge for yourself.
[via PopCrush]


text: It's Alive! Shelley-Godwin Archive Launched Submitted by rc-admin on Fri, 11/01/2013 - 09:30 The Shelley-Godwin Archive, launched on October 31, is now live. The new digital resource comprises the manuscripts of Mary Wollstonecraft, William Godwin, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. For the first time ever, the widely scattered manuscripts of England's "first family of writers" are being brought together in digital form online for worldwide use.Main Blog Categories: NewsMain Blog Tags: Shelley-Godwin ArchivemanuscriptsarchiveFrankenstein Read more about It's Alive! Shelley-Godwin Archive Launchedrc-admin's blogLog in to post comments


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Leather clutch with flap opening and a striped print. The gold chain makes it the ideal accessory for both day and night.
Technical specifications
Shipping and returns
Martinelli provides the same level of service for purchasing as it does for returning or exchanging items. All of our products can be returned within 30 calendar days of receiving your order, without incurring any penalties or costs, including the cost of returning the item.
Do you need more information? Please click on Returs and Exchanges or contact with our Customer Service department.


text:
U.S. is the Worst Police State in the World—By the Numbers
When U.S. corporate media operatives use the term "police state," they invariably mean some other country. Even the so-called "liberal" media, from Democracy Now! to the MSNBC menagerie, cannot bring themselves to say "police state" and the "United States" without putting the qualifying words "like" or "becoming" in the middle. The U.S. is behaving "like" a police state, they say, or the U.S. is in danger of "becoming" a police state. But it is never a police state. Since these privileged speakers and writers are not themselves in prison—because what they write and say represents no actual danger to the state—they conclude that a U.S. police state does not, at this time, exist.
Considering the sheer size and social penetration of its police and imprisonment apparatus, the United States is not only a police state, but the biggest police state in the world, by far: the police state against whose dimensions all other police systems on Earth must be measured.
By now, even the most insulated, xenophobic resident of the Nebraska farm belt knows that the U.S. incarcerates more people than any country in the world. He might not know that 25 percent of prison inmates in the world are locked up in the U.S., or that African Americans comprise one out of every eight of the planet's prisoners. But, that Nebraska farmer is probably aware that America is number one in the prisons business. He probably approves. God bless the police state.
For the American media, including lots of media that claim to be of the Left, it is axiomatic that China is a police state. And maybe, by some standards, it is. But, according to United Nations figures, China is 87th in the world in the proportion of its people who are imprisoned. China is a billion people bigger than the United States—more than four times the population—yet U.S. prisons house in excess of 600,000 more people than China does. The Chinese prison population is just 70 percent of the American Gulag. That's quite interesting because, non-whites make up about 70 percent of U.S. prisons. That means, the Black, brown, yellow and red populations of U.S. prisons number roughly the same as all of China's incarcerated persons. Let me emphasize that: The American People of Color Gulag is as large as the entire prison population of China, a country of nearly 1.4 billion people.
However, police states must be measured by conditions behind the bars, as well as raw numbers of inmates. And, by that standard, the American Gulag is even more monstrous.
Civilized people now recognize that solitary confinement is a form of torture. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Mendez, reports that solitary confinement beyond 15 days at a stretch crosses the line of torture, yet, as Al Jazeera recently reported, it is typical for hundreds-of-thousands of U.S. prisoners to spend 30 or 60 days in solitary at a stretch. Twenty thousand are held in perpetual isolation in so-called supermax prisons—that is, they exist in a perpetual state of torture. Studies now show that, all told, 80,000 U.S. prisoners are locked up in solitary on any given day. That's as many tortured people as the entire prison system of Germany, or of England, Scotland and Wales, combined.
If that is not a police state, then no such thing exists on planet Earth.
—Black Agenda Report, August 30, 2012


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Lexmark announces agreement to acquire Saperion
- Saperion AG is a European-based leader in enterprise content management solutions, focused on providing document archive and workflow solutions
- Saperion expands Perceptive Software's European-based footprint in the enterprise content management market
- Saperion will further strengthen Lexmark's strategy of providing the platform, products and solutions that help companies manage their unstructured information challenges
- The Saperion acquisition announcement is a continuation of Lexmark's stated capital allocation framework
20 Aug, 2013, 07:00 ET
LEXINGTON, Ky., Aug. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Lexmark International, Inc. (NYSE: LXK) today announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Germany-based Saperion AG, a leading developer and provider of enterprise content management (ECM) and business process management (BPM) software in Europe, for a cash purchase price of approximately $72 million. Upon the closing of the transaction, Saperion will report into Perceptive Software.
Saperion's ECM/BPM products feature a platform-independent, multilingual architecture, making the products highly scalable and easy to integrate with all major ERP, email and document management systems. Saperion has also developed leading cloud-based and mobile ECM solutions to provide workers easy and intuitive access to important content, even when they are away from the office. The offering empowers businesses to efficiently manage an increasing volume of information, to automate and streamline business processes, and to realize productivity gains.
Saperion has a large installed base of customers consisting of medium-sized companies as well as global accounts such as Schindler, E.ON, Fleurop, Henkel, Lufthansa, Vodafone, Daimler and Siemens with corporate-wide rollouts.
This acquisition illustrates Lexmark's consistent execution of the company's stated capital allocation framework. Lexmark's capital allocation framework is to pursue acquisitions that support growth and increase software and solutions capabilities, while returning more than 50 percent of free cash flow to shareholders, on average, through quarterly dividends and share repurchases. Since mid-2011, Lexmark has returned to shareholders more than $600 million in the form of dividends and share repurchases.
Lexmark retains a strong liquidity position with a long history of cash generation.
On the seller's side, the transaction was led and advised by ViewPoint Capital Partners, Saperion's largest shareholder and lead investor.
The completion of the proposed acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in Germany and other customary conditions and is expected to close within the third quarter of 2013.
Supporting Quotes:
"Lexmark continues to deepen and expand its content and process capabilities and solutions, which in turn improves our ability to help our customers manage their unstructured information challenges," said Paul Rooke, Lexmark's chairman and chief executive officer. "Upon closing, Saperion will be the latest software acquisition that strengthens Lexmark's transition from being a global leader in imaging and output technology to one that offers enterprises end-to-end solutions."
"The Saperion team has built strong process and content management technologies, including mobile and cloud ECM solutions, that are used by mid-size and enterprise organizations throughout Europe," said Scott Coons, Perceptive Software president and chief executive officer and Lexmark vice president. "Saperion will join Perceptive's global team of process and content management experts, while its leadership in the European market will further strengthen Perceptive's global footprint."
"We are excited to see the strong strategic rationale for both parties behind the transaction," said Hans-Christian Perle, partner at ViewPoint Capital Partners. "We are convinced that together with Lexmark, the Saperion team will be able to manifest its leadership position in the European ECM space and to further expand into global markets."
According to Herbert Lorch, chief executive officer of Saperion, "Collaboration with Perceptive will open new markets for Saperion. We will be able to offer and support our solutions in regions where we were previously not represented. Our customers will benefit from our expanded international presence and globally active companies will receive even greater support around the world."
About Lexmark
Lexmark is uniquely focused on connecting unstructured printed and digital information across enterprises with the processes, applications and people that need it most. For more information, please visit www.lexmark.com.
About Saperion AG
Saperion is a European manufacturer of high-performance Enterprise Content Management software for medium-sized firms and multinational corporations. As a long-term partner of major global players, Saperion AG exhibits a straightforward approach to business, tremendous flexibility, and impressive reaction speed. Saperion's mission is to bring organizations, people, and processes together so they can react faster and reach better decisions in the dynamic markets of today. Approximately 2000 companies around the world and in virtually every industry use Saperion to improve the quality of their products, increase customer satisfaction, reduce costs, and gain critical competitive advantages. Saperion products target three core issues present at many corporations: process optimization, legal compliance and security, and integration of information. More information available at www.saperion.com
Lexmark and Lexmark with diamond design are trademarks of Lexmark International, Inc., registered in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE Lexmark International, Inc.