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Picture of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2
Herpes simplex type 2: A herpes virus that causes genital herpes, which is characterized by sores in the genital area. Genital herpes is a sexually transmitted disease (STD).
This virus, like herpes simplex type 1, can also cause infection of the brain (encephalitis) if the immune system is severely defective or compromised. The treatment of infection with herpes simplex type 2 is usually by topical or oral anti-viral medication, although intravenous therapy is required to treat infections of the brain (encephalitis).
Herpes simplex type 2 is also known as human herpesvirus 2 (HHV-2).
Image Source: Interactive Medical Media LLC, Fitzpatrick's Color Atlas & Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology, Dr. Harold Fisher/Visuals Unlimited
Text: MedTerms™ Medical Dictionary by MedicineNet, Inc.
Text: MedTerms™ Medical Dictionary by MedicineNet, Inc.


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Alex Inman is a school technology director who works at Whitfield School in St. Louis, Missouri, and as other places he's worked, Alex loves it. "The kids keep me laughing and give my work purpose," he says. Previously, Alex launched one of the earlier laptop programs in the country at a small school in Wisconsin (University Lake School) back in 1999. He's since shared that experience with other schools and joined consulting teams to help others on various tech projects. Alex had been consulting with a large firm for a new 21st-century school; he saw more than subject matter experts, but real educators connecting with educators. "Schools are more than an industry," says Alex, "They are a way of life." He remained struck by the full-time educator to educator connection (vs. mere consultants to educators). He enjoyed the consulting work but couldn't imagine giving up his job at Whitfield. "I enjoy it too much," Alex says. He also enjoyed consulting and felt he could better help schools to a greater degree through consulting. In Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat, he read about Jet Blue retirees working as reservation agents, booking flights from home in their spare time, and he came up with the idea of Educational Collaborators (EC).
Victor: How can you run a consultant group of over 70 people while working full-time for a school?
Alex: The answer is, I don't. We have a full-time office manager, a VP of Business Development, who is also a partner in the company and some sales folks. I do a little consulting and spend most of my time reading the dashboard of our project management tool making sure that projects are getting done and learning about how things get adjusted to meet the needs of schools. Once the kids are in bed, I do a lot of reading but find it all inspiring for when I wake up the next morning and go to work at Whitfield to be with my teachers and my students at my school.
Victor: Alright, so backing it up to seeing the Jet Blue people and getting the idea for EC—how did Educational Collaborators unfold from there? How did your thinking go?
Alex: What if I found five or six other educators who also enjoyed helping other schools and we worked together in our spare time via an asynchronous web tool? Five or six of us would make one "uber-consultant" and allow us to keep the jobs we love. I found six colleagues from around the country and we got ourselves a gig designing a technology plan and designing a one-to-one tablet program. We were all amazed not only at how well it worked but at how much we all learned from one another. The client paid the same as they would have for one expert but ended up getting the best available from six people! The work we did was so grounded, so relevant, so nuanced with recent experience. It was wonderful and so fulfilling, not only for the client school but for the schools at which we were working! Thus, Educational Collaborators was born!
Victor: What is the mission of Educational Collaborators?
Alex: Educational Collaborators mission is to change the global education landscape to create generations of creative problem solvers. We will do this by meeting the needs of our clients' teachers, students and parents to create sustainable environments of innovation and appropriate change while retaining their unique culture and timeless values.
Victor: What exactly do you do?
Alex: We seek to connect real educators with other real educators to solve real school issues. We knew that things were changing too quickly in the field of educational technology and meaningful change demands an understanding of the schools culture. The only way we could meet the demands of expertise and school culture was to work in collaborative groups. Thus, the time-slicing we were doing in order to leverage the content skills of current educators also gave us the flexibility to mix and match people to also ensure that consulting teams working with a small rural Catholic school had Collaborators currently working in a small rural Catholic school, consulting teams working with large suburban public schools had Collaborators currently working in large suburban public schools, etc.
We wanted to create a group that had that same level of client connection I experienced when working with the large consulting firm while still providing a higher level of relevant experience and perspective.
Victor: Has it grown much?
Alex: Educational Collaborators now has over 70 consultants. We call them Collaborators because we really seek to work with the client schools and make them part of the consulting team while we are working with them. We believe it is the only way to make sure things continue to thrive when we leave. A few of our Collaborators are actually retired educators, just like those at the big firm I mentioned. However, our model always heavily leverages our current educators. We have maintained a balance of no less than 85 percent of our Collaborators being full-time educators.
Victor: What does the name mean?
Alex: Kind of what is says, we are collaborators with schools and districts on educational issues. Most people would use the term consultant. We call our consultants Collaborators. To us, it is more than semantics, it is our approach. When we work with schools, we work together with them. The school is part of the team. We don't "deliver" solutions, we "develop" them, collaboratively, with our client schools. They own the culture and we believe school culture is critical to developing sustainable solutions. Thus, we need them to work with us in order for meaningful progress to be made. Thus we are educational collaborators.
Victor: What is it? Who created it?
Alex: More on this can be found above but I will try to be far more concise here. We are a global consulting organization comprised of many of the best practitioners in the field of education with highly sought after collaborators with expertise, experience and some of the strongest technology programs in the country. Unlike most consultants who rarely see their ideas beyond the planning stages, our collaborators work in schools today and see their ideas through to their fullest extent. As a result, they see the unanticipated and have daily experience working through the associated challenges. They are uniquely qualified to collaborate with school leaders to help them develop plans and programs that prepare students for the 21st Century.
Engaging current educators allows us to deliver the most relevant skills available. In addition, our portal based approach to consulting means multiple perspectives are considered to provide input into your project. Our innovative model enables us to cost effectively deliver true "Best Practice" recommendations to our clients.
It was created by Alex Inman, Director of Technology at Whitfield School in St. Louis, Missouri. However, it is now run by Alex Inman and Mike Manning. Mike is a former executive in the Education division at IBM. Alex and Mike met at an IBM (now Lenovo) event offered to K-12 and Higher Ed schools that have one-to-one programs that utilize the ThinkPad brand. Mike realized that the best answers to questions regarding one-to-one programs came from other educators and he always pulled us together to learn from one another. He knew the network was where the power was and thus, he was a natural fit for Educational Collaborators and joined shortly after the group was established.
Victor: What does it do and what are the benefits?
Alex: EC assists in strategic planning for schools doing large scale technology and 21st Century curriculum projects. We also help with operational procedures such as assessment, budget planning, helpdesk work flow, database consolidation planning and more. Last (but certainly not least), we design and provide professional development for administrators, staff and teachers.
The benefit is that we will bring multiple minds to the table for what other groups will charge for one. Also, the Collaborators selected to work with a client school, district, or government entity are chosen for their skills and cultural experience. We are looking for fit as well as skill. Seldom does that perfect fit exist in one person. Thus, we build that "uber-consultant" by building a team of experts who collaborate together and with the school to get the job done. I don't know of another educational consulting group that has over 70 consultants (and growing) available and eager to help other schools.
Victor: How is it unique from other similar products/services? What companies do you see as in the same market?
Alex: Other groups out there have comparable size or expertise. However, I don't know of any that have both. Also, it is rare to find groups our size care so deeply about cultural fit and customization. We don't have consulting "products" we have "approaches." The ultimate product looks very different from school to school because we take the time to learn about where a school is first and build the solution around it.
Groups we occasionally run into include Knowledge Network Solutions and November Learning. They are both good groups and have wonderful people. Both of those groups also leverage some current educators in their work. However, most of their work is done by folks that may not have worked full-time in a school for more than ten years. The vast majority of our work is logged by full-time educators who are experiencing the nuanced challenges of this rapidly changing world. You see, there is a big difference between talking about the promise of a Web 2.0 technology in the classroom with 2 or 3 examples and knowing the challenges that come with integrating those tools into existing accounts, Internet filters and bandwidth requirements. Our folks can also present the promise of these new technologies but do so within the context of a reality they deal with daily. Educators pick up on that difference very, very quickly.
Victor: When was it developed? What is something interesting or relevant about its development history?
Alex: Most of that is covered in my massive digression in question number one! I guess one interesting thing is how we stumbled upon our logo:
When I was in Junior High school, I read a book called "Spaceship Earth." It was a biography of Richard Buckminster (Bucky) Fuller. Bucky Fuller was a scientist, architect, philosopher who reached the peak of his popularity in the 1950s. He is known for several major contributions to science and architecture, most notably "bucky balls" in physics and biology and the "golf ball" at Epcot Center, a geodesic dome. The geodesic dome is a spectacular shape covering the greatest amount of space with the greatest strength and requiring the least amount of material. However, more amazing is the logic that helped him reach the conclusion. He realized, while looking at shapes that various combinations created strength that exceeded the sum of its parts. It was my first introduction to the concept of synergy. What a fascinating concept! The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. To display this, he took a section of two different bridges and used a section similar to our logo to represent the combination of triangles yielding a support greater than the combination of each individually. To me, our collaborative power is just that, synergy!
Victor: Where did it originate and where can you get it now?
Alex: EC has always been a virtual company. We initially only worked in the U.S. But have now done work for clients in the U.S., Canada, Switzerland, India and Colombia. Currently, you can purchase our services directly or through partners like CDWG, Lenovo or DyKnow. We hope to expand our base of partners in the future.
Victor: How much does it cost? What are the options?
Alex: Because every engagement is customized to meet the needs of client schools, it is tough to say. We are competitive with other groups in the field.
Victor: What are some examples of it in action?
Alex: We have worked with schools as small as 30 students and with districts as large as 400,000 students. One of the more interesting projects we did involved 7 school districts in a county in Iowa. Each was looking into launching a 1:1 program where every student has a laptop. The districts worked together as a consortium and we helped all of them work together to create a common set of goals and a common assessment tool to measure desired student outcomes. We also assessed each district to determine what changes were required in their infrastructure, staffing and professional development to make their program a success. Now, we do work like this for schools and districts all the time. What made this interesting is that working with 7 nearby districts at the same time, we are working with them to build an ecosystem of support. Putting them all on the same page allows them to better leverage their buying power, streamline professional development and build a common language so they can help each other more.
Victor: Who is it particularly tailored for? Who is it not for?
Alex: This is a good question! I like to think we have a little something for everyone. I even hired Educational Collaborators to work with the school where I serve as Director of Technology. EC had talent and experience in Social Media that I didn't have and we needed. They did an assessment of our online presence and gave our Admission and Communication offices step by step directions to build our social media strategy. It was very powerful! They also got a pretty good deal! 🙂
Different schools have different needs for us though. Schools that are more risk averse seem to have a bigger need. They want the comfort of working with people who have "done it before" at a similar school. Schools that like to cut new trails aren't looking for help on their journey. In those kinds of projects, we would play a supporting role, if any part at all. That's ok though! We like learning from folks cutting new ground as well. Often the leaders of those projects eventually become members of Educational Collaborators!
Victor: What are your thoughts on education these days and what sort of formative experiences in your own education helped to inform your approach to creating Educational Collaborators?
Alex: I think education is a beautiful science and art. Though it is one of human's oldest fields I believe we are really just beginning to learn the nature of our craft. Brain-based learning research is still only finding a place in nooks and crannies and we are still early in our understanding of the power of empathy in human connection and learning. I believe that education research has been limited because we struggle to broaden case study research and dismiss quantitative data as being unrepeatable because environments vary so much from place to place and person to person.
I know this is not a unique thought but I believe the magic is somewhere in between the science and the art. An understanding of differentiated learning starts to get us there. Different people have different physiology and thus, different learning styles. When we begin to address these physiological differences, not only are we approaching learning from a better science, we are connecting better with people; and that is the art. When we feel understood and cared about, we listen better, work harder and care more. When it really works, it goes both ways. Addressing the science of learning addresses the individual and enhances learning. Addressing the art of connecting with individuals addresses the role of listening and the students need to be heard. An artful teacher hears what the student needs and is now armed with the scientific prerequisites to achieve good learning.
This is why Educational Collaborators places such a heavy emphasis on culture. We have an engagement called Creating a Culture for Change. Effectively, we work with school leaders to establish initial goals for a major project. We then facilitate focus groups and listen to people. We want to know what they think success looks like so we get a common and clear criteria. We also want to know people's aspirations and concerns about the project. We then build an assessment that measures the goals as well as the concerns and aspirations so we can deal with people's attitudes surrounding the project. A lot of times, people do this engagement so they can get the assessment and have data to make decisions. Sure, that is valuable, but once they go through the process, they realize the real benefit was the listening. The data gives them what they need to succeed but the process gave them the connections to get good data and the trust to move their project forward.
Victor: How does Educational Collaborators address some of your concerns about education?
Alex: I think some of the best ideas in education come from successful educators. We help schools not only learn from those educators but take the the time to adapt those lessons to work within the context of their unique school.
Victor: What is your outlook on the future of education?
Alex: You know, for all the negative talk about our schools and the need for reform, I'm pretty positive. Though I think schools struggle with the demanding challenges placed on them by their students, parents, governments (and sometimes themselves), I think our schools have an enormous amount of untapped talent right in their own buildings! It amazes me how isolated we are, as an industry. Historically, we haven't listened to one another. However, this is beginning to change. I wasn't able to attend EduCon at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia but I followed the Tweets again. Amazing sharing is taking place there! Some schools are able to take that and run with it. Some need a little help translating that into their own organizations but the sharing and the listening is really opening up new doors and moving us forward. I wasn't always so positive but that was before I spent as much time listening to other schools. I'm not saying we don't need reform. To the reformers out there with the national spotlight, I encourage you to keep the energy and keep on fighting, however, please take more time to listen. I promise you will be more productive.
Victor: What else can you tell educators and other leaders in and around education about the value of Educational Collaborators?
Alex: Just today I was talking to a school in Colorado about their professional development plan. I suggested they cut out a day of workshops with their trainers and replace it with time spent in online collaboration sessions with our folks to help them design their sessions for when they train their teachers. I also suggested that instead of paying us to do another workshop for their teachers, they should have us observe their folks doing the training and give them feedback when they were done. Don't spend your money so we can give you a fish, let us teach you how to fish. Isn't this why we went into education in the first place?
Victor Rivero tells the story of 21st-century education transformation. He is the editor-in-chief of Edtech Digest, a magazine about education transformed through technology. He has written white papers, articles and features for schools, nonprofits and companies in the education marketplace. Write to: email@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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It's the time of year when we express our gratitude. Just check any social media platform and you will see various countdowns of thankfulness or 40 days of gratitude. People share all types of things, from being thankful for family and friends, to how their dog makes them happy, to how they love a certain food. Let's face it – we have a lot to be thankful for! And one of those is the way our lives can be positively impacted by innovation and technology.
OK, so it might not make the top 10 list at your Thanksgiving dinner, but for IT professionals, technology is not only their means of making a living, it's the one thing that can make their lives easier, provide them an opportunity to make a positive impact, and support their organizations in reaching goals.
We asked some IT professionals what they had to be thankful for regarding certain NEC technology solutions, and here's what they said:
- Unified Communications + Software-defined Networking UC is great because I now have a single platform to handle all communications, making it easier to administrate. This improves efficiency while also being more reliable, especially when you add SDN. I never worry about losing connectivity or being out of touch because SDN reconfigures on the fly. There is no concern about missing an alert or important voice mail with this solution.
- Retail Solutions for Improved Customer Experience Before being able to combine powerful solutions such as biometrics, analytics and unified communications, I had to work with disparate systems to provide good customer information. Now, I am able to improve both security and our customer service programs using biometrics. Plus, the information we receive is actionable. We can empower sales associates to provide a much better customer experience in the store. And our loss prevention has never been stronger. These are both goals we have strived to reach for a while, and I am happy to see us making big strides in both areas.
- Biometrics Support Law Enforcement While I may be in the background, I take my position very seriously. It is important that our men and women serving our communities on the front lines have the best tools available to safely and effectively do their jobs. That is why having biometric solutions such as NeoFace® and NeoScan 45® are so important. They give us accurate information quickly so we can take proper action. Getting the bad guys off the street is important, and making sure we make the proper identification is crucial. These tools empower us to do so, and having the opportunity to support law enforcement teams is powerful.
- Network Solutions: SDN, Servers & Storage Empower IT By enabling my organization to use virtual machines much more efficiently, I don't have to physically reconfigure the network. Plus, I don't have to hard code as I used to. It minimizes finger pointing between vendors and lets us troubleshoot more effectively. In case of mergers or acquisitions, I can easily integrate two networks while still maintaining administrative capability in an OpenFlow network.
- Business Analytics tell the Story Before business analytics were so readily available, we were unable to provide empowering data to our customers. Using business analytics gives me information to more efficiently do my job. For example, with the ability to see historical data, we can now ascertain that the sales spike we are seeing is temporary, so I can use my existing infrastructure more effectively. I can analyze the data usage by every department, and because business owners can see information on their trends, together we can ensure we are deploying resources to accommodate their critical business goals and initiatives. It's seamless to our internal customers, and ensures that everyone has what they need from a computing power standpoint.
- Uniquely NEC – #SolutionsforSociety We have a tendency to take technology for granted now, having it so readily at our fingertips. However, NEC's major initiative to use technology to innovate Solutions for Society is a prime example of how we can use technology to create a better world. With solutions focused on transportation, water conservation, improved communication and quality of life, we are orchestrating a brighter world through technology. That is something to be thankful for!
Thanks for stopping by and we would like to wish our IT professionals, friends, and families a warm and Happy Thanksgiving.


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Red Pierrot
Red Pierrot
The subject of the butterfly is an obvious spectacular beauty containing obscure delightful shapes, interweaving lines, plus a combination of saturated or subdued colours. In this series of paintings I've captured a few recognizable butterfly species, while also incorporating the visual elements of light rings and sonic circles I often paint in other series.
The patterns, shapes and colours inherent to the many butterfly species are of constant fascination for me as a painter. I paint them with expressive colour and broad marks, applying wild buttery brush strokes to convey the seductive qualities of these aesthetic creatures floating on the wind. I also like to play with the patterns ghosted on a landscape horizon, blending with the clouds.
Title: 'Red Pierrot'
Size: 30 x 30cm
Oil on Canvas
All paintings are delivered ready to hang on the wall.


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Polish prosecutors denied a newspaper report that investigators found traces of explosives on the wreckage of the government jet that crashed in Russia two years ago, killing Poland's President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others.
Rzeczpospolita daily said on Tuesday that Polish investigators who examined the remains of the plane in Russia found signs of TNT and nitro-glycerine on the wings and in the cabin, including on 30 seats.
The report strengthened accusations by rightist groups that investigators ignored evidence of outside involvement and prompted opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the twin brother of Lech, to call for the government to resign.
But Polish military prosecutors said they were sticking to their finding that the crash was not an assassination and no explosives were found on the remains of the government Tu-154 that crashed during its approach to a small airport near the Russian city of Smolensk on April 10, 2010.
"It is not true that investigators found traces of TNT or nitro-glycerine," said Colonel Ireneusz Szelag from the military prosecutors' office.
"Evidence and opinions collected so far have in no way provided support to the belief that the crash was a result of actions by third parties, that is to say an assassination," he told a news conference.
Russian investigators had blamed the Polish crew for trying to land in heavy fog, while their Polish counterparts also said the airport controllers should not have allowed the plane to attempt an approach.
Moscow and Warsaw have faced renewed criticism over their handling of the Smolensk investigation after Polish prosecutors admitted last month that families of two of the victims received and buried the wrong remains.
On Tuesday, Szelag said two more bodies were misidentified, and lawyers for families of other victims feared more remains may need to be exhumed.
Before the denial by prosecutors, Jaroslaw Kaczynski said the newspaper report was proof that his twin brother and the other passengers of the presidential plane were murdered.
"We demand the resignation of the government of [Prime Minister] Donald Tusk," Kaczynski told reporters. "It cannot be that Poland is governed by people who have obfuscated for 30 months in the matter of what we can now say is a heinous crime."
Related articles:


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'Heroic effort at great personal cost': Edward Snowden nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
A Swedish sociology professor has nominated Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize. He says the NSA whistleblower could help "save the prize from the disrepute incurred by the hasty and ill-conceived decision" to give the 2009 award to Barack Obama.
In his letter addressed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Stefan Svallfors praised Snowden for his "heroic effort at great personal cost." He stated that by revealing the existence and the scale of the US surveillance programs, Snowden showed "individuals can stand up for fundamental rights and freedoms."
Mejlar till Norska Nobelkommittén. pic.twitter.com/RCYqxHvOyO— Stefan Svallfors (@StefanSvallfors) July 13, 2013
"This example is important because since the Nuremberg trials in 1945 has been clear that the slogan 'I was just following orders' is never claimed as an excuse for acts contrary to human rights and freedoms," Professor Svallfors wrote.
He emphasized that the decision to award the 2013 prize to Edward Snowden would also "help to save the Nobel Peace Prize from the disrepute incurred by the hasty and ill-conceived decision to award US President Barack Obama 2009 award."
But Kristian Berg Harpviken, senior researcher and deputy
director at the International Peace Research Institute Oslo
(PRIO), told Interfax news agency that it is very unlikely that
Snowden will become a Nobel Prize laureate.
Harpviken said that all major deadlines have passed, meaning that Snowden will have very little chance of making the shortlist.
When asked whether Snowden deserves the award, Harpviken replied with a "careful yes."
The head of the International Committee of the Russian State Duma
Aleksey Pushkov has also argued that the US won't let Nobel Peace
Prize go to Snowden.
"Not in a million years will the United States allow Snowden to get the Peace Prize. But his nomination is significant. Many in the West see him as a champion of democracy," he tweeted on Monday.
As a sociology professor at Umeå University, which has recently
top-ranked among the world's best young universities, Svallfors
is included in the limited circuit of people who can deliver
nominations to the Nobel committee. These include members of
international courts and national assemblies; university rectors;
professors of social sciences, history, philosophy, law and
theology; directors of peace research institutes and foreign
policy institutes.
Nominations for laureates should be postmarked for consideration in the following December's prizes no later than February 1 for the advisers to review the short list of the suggested candidates.
Since 1901, when the Nobel Peace Prize was launched, it has been awarded to a hundred individuals who "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
The Nobel Peace prize however, is corrupt. Overseen by Norwegian and Swedish establishments, it has become an instrument of foreign policy.— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 15, 2013
Last year Bradley Manning, the US soldier accused of passing
secret materials to WikiLeaks, was nominated for the Nobel Peace
Prize. The nomination was proposed by the Movement of Icelandic
Parliament, which asserted that revelations produced by the
documents Manning allegedly exposed "have helped to fuel a
worldwide discussion about America's overseas engagements,
civilian war casualties, imperialistic manipulations, and rules
of engagement."
In 2011 founder of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks Julian Assange was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by Norwegian MP Snorre Valen.
Snowden's nomination is expected to be reviewed by the committee for next year's prize. Should Snowden get the coveted award, he would be the youngest Nobel Peace Laureate in the history of the prize.
The 30-year-old nominee is wanted in the US on charges of espionage after revealing secret NSA surveillance programs and could face the death penalty in his home country. He fled American soil for Hong Kong in May and then flew to Moscow, where he has been stuck in an airport transit zone for three weeks.
On Friday Snowden said he is seeking political asylum in Russia because he cannot fly to Latin America.
During his meeting with rights activists and lawyers at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, Snowden explained what was behind his decision to leak the secret NSA spying programs. He said he did what he believed to be right and "began a campaign to correct this wrongdoing." Snowden underlined that he did not seek to enrich himself, or to sell American secrets.
"I took what I knew to the public, so what affects all of us can be discussed by all of us in the light of day, and I asked the world for justice," Snowden said, adding that he does not regret his decision.
Russian migration officials said that they have not yet received an asylum plea from the NSA leaker.
America has launched a persecution campaign in response, "threatening with sanctions" countries who stand up for Snowden's rights.
So far, three countries in Latin America – Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua – said they could offer Asylum to the American whistleblower.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier stated that Moscow would grant him asylum if Snowden stopped activities aimed at harming "our American partners."


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Also, please leave a link to the blog *post* featuring your challenge card:). This challenge is open until Wednesday, October 10th @ 12:00pm EST. The randomly chosen winner will be posted Thursday with the new challenge:)!
The theme for Challenge 27 is
Office Supplies!
(Anything from your office/desk!)
Now for the details....
You must use either a:
Saturated Canary Digi,
Saturated Canary rubber stamp,
or Simply Sassy rubber stamp
The winner will be chosen at random. Because it will be too hard to choose just one:). But-- the Dt girls and I will be choosing a *Top Three* also.
**Top SIX Girls, please pull a badge from the 'Rules' page and also send me your choice of *ONE digi from my Etsy shop.
**Winner, please send me your choice of *THREE digis from my shop:).
Now for this week's winners!!
The Winner of our latest challenge (Challenge#26) is #67, Karal!!
Okay, lovleies! Get in ya office, LOL!!
Can't wait to see what you do with this challenge!!!:)Happy coloring!


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When Couples Should Have the 'Money' Talk
Dear Dave,
I'm in a very fortunate position when it comes to my finances. I'm 25, and I make $50,000 a year. I'm also completely debt-free. In your opinion, when is it appropriate to let someone you're dating know about your financial situation?
Dear Anonymous,
Wow, you are in a great position for someone so young. I'm not sure how you got there, but it certainly wasn't by being dumb or immature.
I think it's only natural in a dating situation to reveal more about oneself as time passes and the relationship gets deeper and more serious. In my mind, people who start throwing around financial information on a first date are either extremely superficial or just plain weird.
But after you've been dating a while, and definitely before you're engaged, you should know everything about the other person. There should be complete disclosure in every area of your lives. That's called intimacy. There's no room for skeletons in the closet when it comes to a healthy relationship.
Just take your time and make sure you're both committed to being open and honest about things. Then, as the relationship progresses, the depth of intimacy and the depth of information will progress in all areas of your lives.
Dear Dave,
My wife and I want to do a live-in/flip real estate purchase. The idea is to buy a fixer-upper and rent out the basement to help with the mortgage payments. What do you think about the idea?
Dear Brian,
I love real estate. I've flipped a few houses in my day too. But the particulars of the deal make me a little nervous.
In a situation like this you need to do a basic business analysis. You've got to have a plan and figure out the worst case scenario. Part of this is determining whether or not you can survive if things fall apart. In this case, the worst case is that you can't get a renter and the house doesn't sell. It puts your family in jeopardy if this happens, so to me it's not an option.
Honestly, I think you've got house fever right now. The possibility I just mentioned isn't a rare occurrence. Lots of people have had the same idea, with the best of intentions, and still end up in a big mess. But if you and your wife are willing to accept the possibility of things not working out like you planned—and the fact that you might have to take additional jobs for an unknown period of time just to make ends meet—then it might be a play. Me? I don't like putting myself into skin-of-my-teeth positions intentionally. When I wore a younger man's clothes, I was willing to do stuff and ignore the risk involved. Going broke years ago knocked that out of me in a hurry. Any deal that runs the risk of leaving you bankrupt, or the victim of a foreclosure, just isn't worth it!
* Dave Ramsey is America's trusted voice on money and business. He's authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 5 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.


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OSI Systems Announces Multi-Year Agreement to Provide Automotive Electronic Assemblies
OSI Systems Announces Multi-Year Agreement to Provide Automotive Electronic Assemblies
HAWTHORNE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- OSI Systems, Inc. (NAS: OSIS) , a vertically-integrated provider of specialized electronic products for critical applications in the Security and Healthcare industries, today announced that OSI Electronics, a business within its Optoelectronic and Manufacturing division, has entered into an agreement to provide electronic sub-assemblies to a major tier-one provider of automotive electronics. This multi-year agreement is expected to generate annual sales of approximately $10 million at full production run rate.
OSI Systems Chief Executive Officer, Deepak Chopra commented, "Our global footprint and our continued investment in our manufacturing capabilities has been the basis for many new avenues of growth. This opportunity springs from this commitment and enhances our position in the automotive market with a new customer."
About OSI Systems, Inc.
OSI Systems, Inc. is a vertically integrated designer and manufacturer of specialized electronic systems and components for critical applications. The Company sells its products in diversified markets, including homeland security, healthcare, defense and aerospace. The Company has more than 30 years of experience in electronics engineering and manufacturing and maintains offices and production facilities located in more than a dozen countries. It implements a strategy of expansion by leveraging its electronics and contract manufacturing capabilities into selective end product markets through organic growth and acquisitions. For more information on OSI Systems Inc. or any of its subsidiary companies, visit www.osi-systems.com. News Filter: OSIS-G
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements relate to the Company's current expectations, beliefs, projections and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts and are not guarantees of future performance.Forward-looking statements involve uncertainties, risks, assumptions and contingencies, many of which are outside the Company's control, that may cause actual results may differ materially from those described in or implied by any forward-looking statement.All forward-looking statements are based on currently available information and speak only as of the date on which they are made.The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement made in this press release that becomes untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise, except to the extent it is required to do so in connection with its ongoing requirements under Federal securities laws.For a further discussion of these and other factors that could cause the Company's future results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements, see the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2012 and other risks described in documents subsequently filed by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
OSI Systems Inc
Ajay Vashishat
Vice President, Business Development
KEYWORDS: United States North America California
The article OSI Systems Announces Multi-Year Agreement to Provide Automotive Electronic Assemblies originally appeared on Fool.com.
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Space X rocket explodes during test flight
Aug. 25, 2014, McGregor, Tx. - An unmanned SpaceX rocket self-destructed shortly after launching on a test flight at a Central Texas development site, the company said Friday.
August 25, 2014 By The Associated Press
Nobody was injured in the afternoon explosion at the test site in McGregor, Texas, 23 miles southeast of Waco.
The test flight involved a three-engine version of the
company's reusable Falcon 9 rocket, spokesman John Taylor said in a
statement. "During the flight, an anomaly was detected in the vehicle
and the flight termination system automatically terminated the mission,"
he said.
"Throughout the test and subsequent flight
termination, the vehicle remained in the designated flight area. There
were no injuries or near injuries," he said.
A representative of the Federal Aviation Administration was present for the flight.
The company offered no further details on the nature of the "anomaly."
"With research and development
projects, detecting vehicle anomalies during the testing is the purpose
of the program. Today's test was particularly complex, pushing the
limits of the vehicle further than any previous test," Taylor said.
SpaceX will review the flight record to learn more about the rocket's performance before its next test flight, he said.
SpaceX has been using the Falcon 9 to
launch satellites and the Dragon spacecraft, which delivers cargo to
the International Space Station.
Print this page
- Iceland lowers threat; no signs of imminent eruption
- U.S. lawsuit challenges model aircraft, UAV rules


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Stevie Ray Vaughan's 1951 Fender fetches $250,000 at auction
DALLAS (AP) — The electric guitar that blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughan used in his first studio recording and early performances has fetched $250,000 at auction in his hometown of Dallas.
Heritage Auction spokesman Eric Bradley says the winning bidder for the 1951 Fender at Sunday's auction doesn't wish to be identified immediately.
Vaughan biographer Craig Hopkins said last week that Vaughan's first professional-grade guitar has "considerable historical significance," noting the bluesman "pretty much learned his craft on" it.
It was a gift from his brother Jimmie Vaughan in the late 1960s. "Jimbo" is carved on the back.
Hopkins says Stevie Ray Vaughan, who traded the guitar away in 1971, mentioned in a 1989 interview how much he'd like to have it back.
Vaughan died in a 1990 helicopter crash. He was 35.
See Also:


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(Archived) Praxair China Signs Contract with Jinlong Copper
SHANGHAI, China, January 16, 2013 – Praxair China has signed a new contract to expand supply with its existing customer, Jinlong Copper Co, Ltd., the largest copper smelting joint venture in China, located in Tongling, Anhui in Eastern China.
Praxair China will invest to double the oxygen production capacity of its air separation unit in Tongling, to approximately 700 tons per day. Praxair will also acquire Jinlong's existing, captive plants and integrate them with its plants that have been supplying industrial gas for Jinlong Copper's flash furnace-smelting process.
Jinlong has also been utilizing Praxair's patented oxy-fuel burner applications technology, Dilute Oxygen Combustion, in its anode furnace for its high flame luminosity, wide flame coverage and highly effective heat transfer characteristics to further improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions.
"Praxair has been supporting Jinlong's business since 2006 and we are proud to continue to expand our relationship," said Dr. Minda Ho, president of Praxair China. "Our extensive experience and knowledge in the supply of industrial gases to the non-ferrous metal industry enables us to play an important role supporting Jinlong's ongoing growth."
About Jinlong Copper
Jinlong Copper Co., Ltd is a Sino-Japanese joint venture located in the Chinese Ancient Famous Copper Capital -Tongling, in the Anhui province in Eastern China. It is a leading enterprise in the non-ferrous metal industry and advanced copper smelting technology. More information about Jinlong Copper is available at www.jinlongcopper.com
About Praxair China
Praxair (China) Investment Co., Ltd is a leading industrial gas provider in China headquartered in Shanghai. It has 22 wholly owned companies, 10 joint ventures and over 1,400 employees in the country. More information on Praxair China is available on the Internet at www.praxair.cn
About Praxair
Praxair, Inc., (NYSE: PX), is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2011 sales of $11 billion. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process and specialty gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies are making our planet more productive by bringing efficiency and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and others. More information on Praxair, Inc., is available on the Internet at www.praxair.com.
Jason Stewart
Kelcey Hoyt


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With all the hype on being and staying thin, thousands of weight loss pills and products have invaded the market, often confusing consumers with claims of effectiveness and fast results. According to reports, Americans spend as much as $56 billion every year on weight loss products. Sadly, of this amount, about $6 billion is being spent on fraudulent and ineffective weight loss products.
Low standards
Scientists have expressed concern over the proliferation of weight loss pills and products in the market. According to them, most of these over-the-counter products have not undergone rigorous testing procedures like other medication pills. As a result, their actual risks and benefits remain unknown. However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already tested and approved a few weight loss pills, including Xenical and the Phentermine weight loss drug.
weight loss products, best weight loss program, natural weight loss supplements,
About Phentermine
The Phentermine weight loss drug is a prescription drug that works as an appetite suppressant. Compared to other weight loss pills, the Phentermine weight loss drug is significantly cheaper, hence its popularity. It was approved by the FDA in 1959 as a weight loss pill, although Phentermine weight loss drug works only as a short-term treatment for obesity and should not be taken as a daily supplement. Also, there are still no significant studies to confirm the long-term effectiveness of the Phentermine weight loss drug.
How it works
Phentermine works by altering the neurotransmitters in the brain. It stimulates the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls the autonomic nervous system, regulating sleep cycles, body temperature, and in this case, appetite. The chemical found in the drug triggers the release if certain neurotransmitters known as catecholamines. These include chemicals such as dopamine, adrenalin, and norepinephrine. These chemicals trigger a "fight-or-flight" response in the body, which blocks hunger messages.
Recommended dosage
The FDA recommends that Phentermine be used only for up to 12 weeks. They also advise users to combine phentermine intake with exercise, proper diet, and other proven weight loss measures. Phentermine is best taken before or after breakfast, as the drug has been known to induce insomnia.
People who fall under these categories should refrain from taking Phentermine:
o Those with allergies to any ingredient found in Phentermine
o Those who have taken dexfenfluramine, fenfluramine, furazolidone, guanadrel, guanethidine in the last 14 days
o Those suffering from moderate or severe high blood pressure, an overactive thyroid, glaucoma, heart or blood vessel disease, or severe narrowing of the blood vessels
o Those with a history of substance abuse
o Women who are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding
o Those who are are taking other dietary supplements or weight loss pills
o Those who have allergies to medicines, foods, or other substances
o Patients with a brain or spinal cord disorder, hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol or lipid levels
Side effects
Some of the side effects related to the Phentermine weight loss drug include:
o Insomnia
o Increased blood pressure
o Irritability
o Nervousness
Less common side effects include:
o Blurred vision
o Change in sexual desire
o Clumsiness
o Confusion
o Diarrhea
o Dizziness
o Dry mouth
o Headache
o Irregular heartbeat
o Nausea or vomiting
o Psychosis
o Skin rash or itching
o Stomach pain
o Tiredness
o Unpleasant taste
These side effects are only those that are known; further studies have yet to be conducted to discover other adverse effects.
Safety measures
Before taking a Phentermine weight loss drug, it is always best to consult a medical expert or professional. Your doctor can perform some tests to determine whether the product will work for you. If you do need to take a Phentermine weight loss drug, you have to work closely with your doctor so he can monitor your intake. Remember, Phentermine is meant for short-term use only, and taking too much can be harmful to your health.
Also, taking the drug should be accompanied by a healthy lifestyle. Phentermine alone cannot make you lose weight, at least not in a healthy way. Proper diet and exercise are still the best ways to do it. Do not rely solely on the drug to help you lose weight, because there is a danger of substance abuse.


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About Us:
We are a group of organic fruit and vegetable gardeners from Altadena, CA who primarily give away our excess produce to other local neighbors that are Ripe Altadena members. We also sometimes ask for a trade of produce, and do sell some products such as eggs.
It started as a few neighbors (3 miles above Pasadena, in the foothills) who had too much fruit all at one time. We set up a Fruit Stand and sold Blackberries to passers by. We were amazed at the generosity of our neighbors, who liked to stay and chat, and even return with their own backyard fruit to give us. We later traded Plums, Apricots, Lemons, Guavas, Figs, Tomatoes, and other Garden Produce and organic free range chicken eggs with each other. We started talking to other neighbors and more joined with us deciding that it would be a good idea to share when our crops were ripe. Mine being ripe at a different time than yours were. We were then able to extend our season of fresh produce from our own back yards.
We got together and decided to promote the growing and sharing of local, seasonal, organic food not only by trading, selling, or giving away our crops, but by having classes and workshops on things like making jam, making cheese, and hands on how to graft stone fruit trees. We continue these classes with varying topics.
What started primarily as produce sharing has changed our community as our ties with our neighbors have strengthened. Where we first knew few families in our town, we now know tens of families. We can walk through neighborhoods pointing out homes of people we not only know, but have eaten from their garden.
As an aside, we have a database of recommended community workers which we have personally used and can recommend to our neighbors.
By sharing our abundance and resources, we strengthen community ties to create a sustainable, cooperative future.
Do you have fruit or vegetables that grow in your yard and you hate to see it all go to waste every year? Join our group and post what you have, and see what we have to offer you! It will be more than you thought.
Please note: It is a requirement that you have something to share with others in order to join this group. You can be as active or less active as you wish.


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Priya DasSarma's childhood memories of celebrating Diwali in India are bright and happy, filled with firecrackers, lanterns and many, many sweets.
The Ellicott City resident's family moved around when she was a child, bouncing between India, Europe and the United States, but she's held on to those memories of light and sugar.
"From a child's perspective, it's all about the sweets," she says with a laugh, recalling her family's fondness for a milky, nutty treat called halva.
Like many Hindus in the United States, DasSarma celebrates with her family, filling their home with light and delicious treats.
Diwali, also known as Deepavali, is the five-day Hindu festival of lights that this year begins Nov. 3. The holiday is often associated with India but it is also observed in countries across South Asia. It covers a lot of bases, including the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the new financial year for Indian businesses.
From a religious standpoint, Diwali honors the goddess Lakshmi, who symbolizes wealth and prosperity. And it celebrates several events, including the return of Rama (the seventh avatar of the god Vishnu) from exile and the death of the demon Narakasura.
If that sounds complicated, it is — even to people who grew up with the holiday.
"When I was trying to explain this to my kids when they were little, they would ask, 'Can't we just have a simple story?' " DasSarma says. "But it's a big country, and there are a lot of different ideas."
To celebrate Diwali, people place small oil lamps called diyas (or, less traditionally, candles) on their roofs, windowsills and even along roads.
"You want to have the brightest, most beautiful, brightly lit house," says DasSarma, explaining that the bright lights are designed to attract Lakshmi — and her prosperity.
In addition to the lights, the celebration includes an element of "rejuvenation" that includes new clothes and cleaning house. And it involves lots of cooking.
"With my mom and grandma, I make all sorts of sweets," says Khushbu Shah, a Burtonsville resident and waitress at Mughal Garden in Mount Vernon. "Everything is bright and everyone cooks a lot of food. It's like Thanksgiving — everyone gets together and cooks a lot."
DasSarma takes her description a step further.
"It's almost like New Year's, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Thanksgiving and Christmas in one," she says, referring to the elements of renewal, light, family dining and gift-giving that wind through all of those holidays.
Traditionally, Diwali is a family and neighborhood holiday in which people stay close to home. However, Hindus in the United States, who might live far from family or from other people celebrating, often improvise.
Several schools and organizations around Baltimore host large gatherings to celebrate Diwali.
"It's a family-oriented holiday. It is more common to have dinner with your close family and visit relatives," says Varun Chokshi, a graduate student in biology and president of the Indian Graduate Students' Association at the Johns Hopkins University. "But since we are students, we organize an event with an Indian dinner to instill the same sense."
The student association's event is more than a simple dinner; it's a party that includes cultural performances, an Indian buffet and post-dinner dancing. This year, 300 people are expected to attend.
At the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where DasSarma works with her husband, Shiladitya DasSarma, the Indian Association is hosting an event with the lighting of the diya, dinner, dance performances, games and music.
Both parties are open to the public — and the members of both organizations welcome those who haven't celebrated Diwali before.
This year, the DasSarmas will celebrate both with their community at the University of Maryland and also at home — and in the kitchen, where the emphasis will, of course, be on sweets.
"It just boils down to what feels good," says DasSarma. "People like sweets. They bring out niceness, goodness. In any culture, sweet is good."
Priya DasSarma's halva
Halva (or halwa) is a broad term for a dense and sweet pudding-like dessert with many variations across Asia and Africa. Priya DasSarma associates the version her family makes with religious festivities and also with her birthday, because her parents made it to celebrate every year. "There's a whole range of types," she says. "I probably don't know a quarter of them." But she loves her family's interpretation of the confection.
Makes 10 servings
6 cups boiling water
1/4 cup warm milk
1 pinch saffron
1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter) or olive oil
1/4 cup unsalted raw cashews or almond slivers
1/4 cup kishmish (golden raisins)
1 cup suji (semolina/cream of wheat)
3 whole green dried cardamom pods
2 cups sugar
Put 6 cups water in a pan over high heat and bring to a boil.
In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the milk until lukewarm (this can also be done in a microwave).
Take the milk off the heat and add saffron. Set aside.
Heat the ghee or oil over medium heat in a karahi (an Indian wok-shaped vessel) or a frying pan. (DasSarma prefers the karahi because its rounded shape makes stirring easy.) Fry the cashews or almonds until they are golden.
Remove the nuts from the pan and set aside.
Add the raisins to the pan and fry briefly until they are plump. Remove from the pan as soon as they plump up; if you cook them too long, they will burst.
Add the suji to the karahi and cook until it turns golden in color, being careful not to burn it.
Add the cardamom to the suji and mix.
Add the boiling water, one cup at a time, and stir until the water is fully absorbed before adding the next cup. The suji will swell and become pliable.
Add the sugar, saffron, milk, nuts and raisins and stir for about five minutes, until the halva starts separating from the sides of the pot. At this point, the dish gets really liquid; depending on your stove and pot, it may require more than five minutes of stirring.
Remove the pot from the heat and let cool for ten minutes before serving.
Khushbu Shah's ghughra
Khushbu Shah, along with her mother and grandmother, make these sweet pastries every year for their Diwali celebration. The sweets are traditional in Gujarat, the northwestern Indian state where Shah's family has roots.
Makes about 20 pastries
2-3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) or oil for frying
1/2 cup rawa (cream of wheat)
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cardamom powder
1/2 tablespoon nutmeg powder
1/2 cup chopped almonds
2 cups maida (all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
Pinch of salt
Over medium heat, heat a pan with one tablespoon of ghee. Add rawa and saute until it turns golden brown in color. Once the rawa is cooked, remove it from the heat and transfer it to a bowl.
Add the grated coconut to the heated pan. Fry until the coconut turns light brown. Transfer to the same bowl as the rawa.
Add the sugar, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and almonds to the rawa and coconut mixture. Mix to combine, then let cool for a few minutes.
In a separate bowl, combine two tablespoons of ghee, maida, cold milk and pinch of salt. Mix ingredients until they form a dough.
Divide the dough into about 20 small balls of equal size. Using a rolling pin, roll them into small, flat rounds.
Place a small amount of rawa stuffing on one round. Fold the round over, making a half moon shape. Seal the edges by twisting the dough with your fingers. Repeat for the rest the rounds.
Fry the ghughra in ghee or oil over low heat for about five minutes on each side, until the pastries are light brown.
Though mainstream supermarkets carry a handful of Indian ingredients (check the "international" aisles), some traditional ingredients may require a trip to a specialty grocery. In the Baltimore area, try one of these shops:
•Asia Food: 410-323-8738; 5224 York Road, Baltimore
•Desi Bazaar: 410-997-8400; 9179-H Red Branch Road, Columbia
•Dipal Food Market: 410-685-2298; 1001 W. Cross St., Baltimore
•Patel Brothers Grocers; 410-719-2822; 6400 Baltimore National Pike, Catonsville
•Pavan Foods: 410-663-3201; 8904 Harford Road, Baltimore
•Punjab Groceries & Halal Meat; 410-662-7844; 345 E. 33rd St., Baltimore
For more information about the Johns Hopkins IGSA celebration, visit jhu.edu/igsa; for the University of Maryland, Baltimore party, visit umaryland.edu/indianassociation.


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I'm a stair-taker because elevators and escalators give me nightmares, but for all those lazy folks who don't have fear motivating them to take the steps, there are these piano stairs. How could you not want musical accompaniment like that?
Vizio's Latest TVs Go All Quantum
OK, so maybe you don't want to hear a playful tune as you skip up and down steps. It's still a fun idea and apparently showed a huge increase in individuals taking the stairs. [YouTube via Marco G.]


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Round Crystal Fire Plus Burner System & Plate Kit - 20"
Item # M27000281
Round Crystal Fire Plus Burner System & Plate Kit - 20"
Item # M27000281
Product Details
Round Crystal Fire Plus Burner System & Plate Kit - 20" includes a Crystal Fire® Plus burner insert paired with a fitted burner plate. Kits can be used for custom-built fire pits or your own outdoor fire feature to complement your landscaping or hardscaping project.
All Crystal Fire® Plus burners have a higher BTU capacity and upgraded burner construction for a brighter, taller, fuller, more yellow flame. Adjust the flame height to your desired setting and enjoy. With just the push of a button, a beautiful clean-burning fire appears atop a bed of tempered fire glass gems.
A no-flange edge and undermount installation are concealed by fire media to highlight the gorgeous dancing flames. Made from commercial-grade #304 stainless steel for lasting outdoor strength and reliability. UL Listed for safety and quality. Patent pending.
- Overall Dimensions: 20" W x 14" H
- Commercial-grade #304 stainless steel
- No flange edge around outside of burner
- Fully adjustable flame height
- Fuel Type: Propane | Natural Gas
- Burner Shape: Round
- Type: Fire Pit Burner System
- Ignition: Match Lit | Direct Spark Ignition
- Burner Width/Diameter: 15 15/16"
- Overall Width/Diameter: 21.06"
- Heat Output: 77,500 BTUs | 70,000 BTUs
- Material: 304 Stainless Steel
- Finish: Stainless Steel
- Suggested Fire Glass: 15 lbs.


text:
Monday, June 21, 2010
A popular question on our Webmaster Help Forum is in regard to best practices for organic link building. There seems to be some confusion, especially among less experienced webmasters, on how to approach the topic. Different perspectives have been shared, and we would also like to explain our viewpoint on earning quality links.
If your site is rather new and still unknown, a good way marketing technique is to get involved in the community around your topic. Interact and contribute on forums and blogs. Just keep in mind to contribute in a positive way, rather than spamming or soliciting for your site. Just building a reputation can drive people to your site. And they will keep on visiting it and linking to it. If you offer long-lasting, unique and compelling content—something that lets your expertise shine—people will want to recommend it to others. Great content can serve this purpose as much as providing useful tools.
A promising way to create value for your target group and earn great links is to think of issues or problems your users might encounter. Visitors are likely to appreciate your site and link to it if you publish a short tutorial or a video providing a solution, or a practical tool. Survey or original research results can serve the same purpose, if they turn out to be useful for the target audience. Both methods grow your credibility in the community and increase visibility. This can help you gain lasting, merit-based links and loyal followers who generate direct traffic and "spread the word." Offering a number of solutions for different problems could evolve into a blog which can continuously affect the site's reputation in a positive way.
Humor can be another way to gain both great links and get people to talk about your site. With Google Buzz and other social media services constantly growing, entertaining content is being shared now more than ever. We've seen all kinds of amusing content, from ASCII art embedded in a site's source code to funny downtime messages used as a viral marketing technique to increase the visibility of a site. However, we do not recommend counting only on short-lived link-bait tactics. Their appeal wears off quickly and as powerful as marketing stunts can be, you shouldn't rely on them as a long-term strategy or as your only marketing effort.
It's important to clarify that any legitimate link building strategy is a long-term effort. There are those who advocate for short-lived, often spammy methods, but these are not advisable if you care for your site's reputation. Buying PageRank-passing links or randomly exchanging links are the worst ways of attempting to gather links and they're likely to have no positive impact on your site's performance over time. If your site's visibility in the Google index is important to you it's best to avoid them.
Directory entries are often mentioned as another way to promote young sites in the Google index. There are great, topical directories that add value to the Internet. But there are not many of them in proportion to those of lower quality. If you decide to submit your site to a directory, make sure it's on topic, moderated, and well structured. Mass submissions, which are sometimes offered as a quick work-around SEO method, are mostly useless and not likely to serve your purposes.
It can be a good idea to take a look at similar sites in other markets and identify the elements of those sites that might work well for yours, too. However, it's important not to just copy success stories but to adapt them, so that they provide unique value for your visitors.
Finally, consider making linking to your site easier for less tech savvy users. Similar to the way we do it on YouTube, offering bookmarking services for social sites like Twitter or Facebook can help spread the word about the great content on your site and draw users' attention.
As usual, we'd like to hear your opinion. You're welcome to join our Webmaster Help Forum community.


text:
In Andrew Bujalski's admirable, vaunted 2002 debut, Funny Ha Ha, the microbudget auteur and occasional actor's nervous temp, Mitchell, ineffectually attempts to seduce an aloof young lady over a bedroom chess match. As if pawns themselves, dependably obeying the established rules of conduct, the characters in Bujalski's films are consistently — um, yeah, like — passive, awkward, and inarticulate. Yet that chessboard is a coincidence, not foreshadowing, because neither that first film nor Bujalski's equally subdued, shaggily droll 16mm quasi-vérité ambles through post-collegiate ennui (2005's Mutual Appreciation and 2009's Beeswax, both slack in ambition but still baby steps forward) could have anticipated the profound leap of Computer Chess.
So far the funniest, headiest, most playfully eccentric American indie of the year, Bujalski's perceptive avant-garde comedy — set circa 1980 with an Anytown, America's worth of terrible mustaches and embarrassing pants — teases out unanswered existential and behavioral questions about mankind's curious obsession with artificial intelligence and automation. (Shouldn't some interactions remain analog, including games of chess?)
Fitting to the period, Bujalski's regular cinematographer, Matthias Grunsky, offers the cruddiest, security-grade monochrome image conceivable from a vintage video tube-camera that predates the PortaPak. A fascinating but hardly beautiful look, this low-contrast gray smeariness is prone to artifacting, light leaks, and tracking glitches (though sometimes cheated in post-production as amusing, almost sentient "special defects"). That's less an arthouse stunt than a legitimately evocative, nostalgic patina. Remember when the future seemed a casual climb to utopian invention, not the doomsday vortex we now race toward?
"This is a very odd, weird, strange, idiosyncratic game. I don't know how many ways I can say it," stammers arrogant chess wizard Pat Henderson (the onscreen egghead that film critic Gerald Peary was born to play), hosting a weekend tournament at a nondescript hotel convention. Among the influx of tucked-in, white-collared conquista-dorks ready to affably battle each other — or rather, each other's not-yet-portable mainframes — one winner's software will face off against Henderson the final day.
Ostensibly through the lens of a roving cameraman seen documenting the event, we meet psychologist and programmer Martin Beuscher (Dazed and Confused's Wiley Wiggins) who can't fathom why his state-of-the-art upgrade plays counterintuitively against nonhuman opponents; his skittish junior partner, Peter Bishton (Austin-based editor Patrick Riester), who never quite finds his romantic footing with the competition's much-ballyhooed "first-ever woman," Shelly Flintic (Robin Schwartz, another Austin-based editor); and a portly British techie named Les Carbray (real-life software developer James Curry) who prepares at the bar: "A man on three scotches could program his way out of any problem in the world." Even the nerds who are essentially featured extras add distinctive nuttiness to the ensemble, such as the programmer named Luke whose computer is also called Luke, as is his software.
The scene-stealing wild card, however, is freeloading freelancer Michael Papageorge (Funny Ha Ha's Myles Paige), a blowhard entrant who will disrupt just about everyone else throughout the weekend while looking for a place to lay his head each night. Wandering, sometimes dancing through the drab halls — along with a multiplying population of stray cats that improbably suggests the rise of the internet itself — Papageorge's interpersonal skirmishes with his rivals have higher dramatic stakes than the tournament itself. He deals with game organizers, some philosophical pot-smokers, and a cryptically appearing prostitute who must have escaped from David Lynch's oeuvre.
There is no third-act "who will win?" underdog tension because this isn't a sports movie. If anything, the bigger fight is "who will get the conference room?" between the gamers and a couples-therapy seminar led by an African guru whose new-age registrants reenact births and molest loaves of bread as if Theatre of the Absurd performers. The film's keystone, in turn, is a disconcertingly waggish scene in which two of the therapy-seekers (veteran Austin actors Chris Doubek and Cyndi Williams) bring back to their room young Peter, who's shyly unaware he's about to be uncomfortably propositioned; the logical and the spiritual have locked horns.
Such minor-key moments are when Computer Chess reveals its markings as a Bujalski film, when the friction between characters is delicately charged by miscommunication and graceless responses, often well-intentioned. The improvisational feel might read as haphazard to some, but Bujalski's script and seemingly paradoxical stylizations are actually quite formal (the deliriously clipped editing and intermittently out-of-sync dialogue are calculated decisions, not human errors — get it?), including a deceptively not-so-random blip of color that subverts the sudden-vibrancy effect of a Wings of Desire or Schindler's List by showing an even simpler past than the one we've already been watching with contemporary eyes. In past interviews, Bujalski has labeled himself a contrarian, which seems valid to say of a dramatist who finds catharsis in what's not being said, plainness in obtuse tech jargon, and tender optimism in the historical runup to technophobic fears. This is a very odd, weird, strange, idiosyncratic film. I don't know how many ways I can say it.


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May 9, 2008
An article published online in advance of the August, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology reported that giving an oral form of activated vitamin D known as calcitriol to chronic kidney disease patients was associated with a 25 percent reduction in mortality over a 1.9 year period. Calcitriol has been previously associated with improved survival when given intravenously to kidney dialysis patients to treat hyperparathyroidism; however, its effect in nondialysis kidney disease patients was unknown.
In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Bryan Kestenbaum of the University of Washington's Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and his colleagues at the Puget Sound Veterans Affairs Medical Center evaluated 1,418 nonhypercalcemic patients with stage 3 to 4 (moderate to severe) chronic kidney disease. Some of the patients were being treated with oral calcitriol to help reduce elevated parathyroid hormone levels, a condition that was present in all participants. Over the 1.9 year follow-up period, 408 deaths occurred.
When mortality rates for the two groups were compared, deaths were 26 percent lower among those who received vitamin D, following adjustment for differences in age, parathyroid hormone levels, and other factors. Subjects who received calcitriol also had a lower risk of developing end stage kidney disease or requiring dialysis. The combined risk of death or dialysis was 20 percent lower among patients treated with calcitriol, a finding that was not related to calcitriol's effect on parathyroid hormone.
"Although activated vitamin D is known to influence many biological processes, previous clinical knowledge is limited to its effect on parathyroid hormone levels," Dr. Kestenbaum explained. "Recently, there has been an increased focus on the effects of vitamin D beyond those on bone health. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and inflammation."
"Randomized clinical trials are needed to test the hypothesis that vitamin D therapy can improve cardiovascular health and survival in CKD," he added. "Future studies should also examine the role of nonactivated vitamin D, which is less expensive and less toxic."
For many years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has listed kidney disease as one of the top 10 causes of death by disease in the United States. Kidney disease also plays a significant role in hypertension and diabetes, two other diseases that are also included on the CDC's list of top ten causes of death each year. End-stage renal (kidney) disease (ESRD) is growing at a rate of 4-8% each year in the United States. Someone with advanced ESRD may require either therapeutic or regular dialysis, or both, and may eventually require a kidney transplant to save his or her life. When kidney function is reduced to 10-15% or less, dialysis is started in ESRD patients.
Dietary supplements are often recommended by physicians and renal dietitians (National Kidney Foundation 2001e). Their recommendations are guided by the results of blood tests that you will be required to take regularly as part of monitoring your condition and treatment results. Always speak with your physician or renal dietitian before using or adding any supplements or herbal products.
Multivitamins. In addition to eating a diet that contains appropriate nutrients and levels of protein, a comprehensive multivitamin is often required to replace vitamins that are lost during dialysis treatments (National Kidney Foundation 2001e).
Vitamin D. Additional vitamin D, which promotes the absorption of calcium, along with calcium supplements, may also be recommended. Some physicians prescribe vitamin D in a pill form called vitamin D3 (National Kidney Foundation 2001e).
Tune in to Super Human Radio
Super Human Radio is the world's first broadcast radio show dedicated to fitness, health and anti-aging. Host Carl Lanore is passionate about the subject as he explores the new medical specialty of anti-aging, regenerative and preventative medicine and the importance of proper nutrition, exercise and supplementation, and their effects on staving off age-related disease.
Whether your goals are to be stronger, look better or feel younger, you'll find the answers on Super Human Radio. Current and past episodes can be streamed from www.superhumanradio.com
Access the Bio-Identical Hormone Seminar on the Internet: The experts speak
Bio-identical hormone therapy (BHRT) is finally getting its day in the sun. Top experts in the field will be revealing their approaches and the treatments they use in their busy practices. You'll understand why their patients love them. These are the same experts who write the books, appear on TV and report to Congress.
An opportunity to learn from these physicians is usually open to just doctors at medical conventions. Now you can hear the BHRT World Summit in the comfort of your home! This audio seminar will be presented the evenings of May 14 to 29. We invite you to take advantage of this unique opportunity to hear more then 10 practitioner/experts speak about everything from menopause to prostates, migraines to depression, cancer prevention to thyroid health and many more hormone related conditions.
The public wants to learn and the experts are ready to speak. BHRT is improving lives. Click here to see the doctors, their topics and to register. http://www.BHRT1.com
In recent years there has been an increase in the number of basic science, clinical, and nutritional studies investigating the potential health effects of phytoestrogens. Genistein is the most abundant phytoestrogen, derived almost entirely from soybeans, and is proposed to be the most biologically active. In postmenopausal women in the U.S., the daily intake of genistein is only about one mg per day. The Japanese however, who consume about 50 mg per day, are the longest-lived people in the world.
In recent years, the beneficial effects of genistein and other soy isoflavones have been shown in numerous published studies. These studies reveal that those who consume the most soy maintain healthier cell biological function and proliferation.
Previously known as the Dark Circle & Puffiness Remover Serum, this improved product has been reformulated as an intensive treatment product. It has been proven to help with the appearance of both puffiness and darkness under the eyes. The Serum contains an active complex of soy and rice peptides, yeast protein, hyaluronic acid, and seaweed extract: a powerful combination to target bags and circles around the eye area. Under Eye Refining Serum smoothes and softens skin.
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4C/22 AWG SOLID BC, FPLR, UL Fire Alarm Cable - RED JKT- 1000 FT BOX
4C/22 AWG SOLID FPLR Fire Alarm Cable PVC- 1000 FT BOX
Power limited fire alarm and communications cable for Riser and Non-Riser applications. Fire Alarm, Fire Protective Circuits, Smoke Detectors, Monitor/Detection, Signal, Control Circuits, Initiating Circuits, and Notification Circuits.
Multi-Conductor Unshielded FPLR- Insulated solid bare copper conductors, twisted with a sunlight resistant PVC jacket. Ripcord and sequential foot markings printed on jacket.
ETL FPLR or CL2R, NEC Article 760, California State Fire Marshall.
|22/4FPLR is comparable to:
The cross reference numbers above represent competitor products that are functionally equivalent to the SCP product. Color codes, packaging, and some constructional differences may exist. While we have done our best with the cross references, we are not responsible for any errors. If you find an error, please bring it to our attention so that we make the correction. Please refer to the SCP data sheet for specific details or contact your SCP distributor for more information. Thank you.


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- From: Kenneth Christiansen <firstname.lastname@example.com>
- Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:49:44 -0300
- To: firstname.lastname@example.com
- Cc: Simon Fraser <email@example.com>, Daniel Glazman <firstname.lastname@example.com>, firstname.lastname@example.com, email@example.com, Robin Berjon <firstname.lastname@example.com>, Anne van Kesteren <firstname.lastname@example.com>, Arthur Barstow <email@example.com>
Hi there, The most important right now for Nokia at least would be to define the view modes. The DOM events for changes to those can be handled later. If you are doing a meeting about those, I would like to participate. If we are not handling these soon, I'm afraid that we will probably release products based on what is currently in the spec; and judging to the comments so far, that is probably not the best thing :-) Cheers, Kenneth On Fri, Mar 26, 2010 at 9:25 AM, Marcos Caceres <firstname.lastname@example.com> wrote: > On Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 4:02 PM, Simon Fraser <firstname.lastname@example.com> wrote: >> On Mar 18, 2010, at 6:44 AM, Marcos Caceres wrote: >> >>>> 4. all these queries could/should have an event-based counterpart so the >>>> changes are detectable by code. We understand this is outside of the >>>> scope of this spec but that's still an important comment. >>> >>> We have a proposal already for the CSS WG to review: >>> http://dev.w3.org/2006/waf/widgets-vm/vm-interfaces.src.html >> >> It seems like this needs to align to the current CSS OM View spec: >> <http://dev.w3.org/csswg/cssom-view/> >> >> which has a StyleMedia interface available on the window object as 'styleMedia', rather than 'media'. >> >> I would expect to see events related to media type changes in the CSS OM View spec too, rather than in a widgets-related spec. > > I totally agree, there is much overlap. We should start looking at how > to merge the two specs (or our requirements) into the CSS OM View > spec. I would be happy for the widgets one to vanish if the CSS OM > View spec would handled our use cases. > > Perhaps we should have a joint teleconf or something to arrange how to > proceed... I'll leave that up to the chairs, however. > > Kind regards, > Marcos > > > -- > Marcos Caceres > http://datadriven.com.au > > -- Kenneth Rohde Christiansen Technical Lead / Senior Software Engineer Qt Labs Americas, Nokia Technology Institute, INdT Phone +55 81 8895 6002 / E-mail kenneth.christiansen at openbossa.org
Received on Monday, 29 March 2010 14:42:12 UTC


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This naturally gluten free traditional Mexican meal is one of my favorite go to meals that is quick, easy and inexpensive. The best part of this meal however is it's one of those great tasting great mouth feel meals. I keep mine dairy free too but you can always add in cheese. It's great for breakfast, lunch or dinner and works well with leftovers.
The key to this dish is having the ingredients on hand so you can make it at the drop of a hat. I'll make big batches of enchilada sauce and freeze it in portions needed for this recipe. If I run out I always have Rick Bayless' sauce on hand too.
Have fun with this recipe. If you're thinking you've seen this before, well you must be a newsletter subscriber. I shared this recipe some time back through the newsletter. Make sure you're signed up so you can get these recipes and lots of great tips first hand.
Red Chili or Enchilada Sauce – I use Rick Bayless' recipe or his store sauce
Pinto Beans or Refried Beans
Tortillas or Tortilla Chips
Organic Eggs- farm fresh from roaming chickens are my favorite
Organic Coconut Oil
Fresh Cilantro
Cheese- raw milk, non-dairy or pasteurized
Sour Cream
Heat your enchilada sauce in a pan that has a lid. If you are using pinto beans toss them into that same pan to warm up with the sauce on medium heat.
If you are using tortillas cut them into triangles and crisp them in some oil. After you get them nice a crisp you want to add them into the sauce to absorb it and become soft. This is why I just use tortilla chips so I can make this step fast and easy.
In a separate non-stick pan cook your eggs "over easy" in a little coconut oil. Over easy means the whites are cooked and the yellow yolk is runny. Some folks like sunny side up too with this recipe but not me.
Spoon the soaked tortilla chips with beans and sauce onto your plate. If you are using refried beans put the beans along side of the soaked chips.
Place your fried egg on top.
Now you can add some sour cream, cheddar cheese and fresh chopped cilantro on top. If you are not eating dairy you can use Daiya for the shredded cheese and you can also use the soy based sour cream.
Other options include adding cooked shredded chicken to the dish.
That's it. A really easy, lots of options and a tasty filling meal.
Remember to always read labels from any product that has one.
Print This Recipe


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Monday, February 25, 2013
Challenge: the stamp you love (but don't use)...
11 comments:
great challenge guys, and the samples are all inspiring , debi xReplyDelete
We should probably all feel slightly ashamed at what we have in our stash that has never seen the light of day! Love all the DT makes this week.ReplyDelete
Beautiful DT projects! I'm totally guilty of buy and hoarding stamps, lol :DReplyDelete
Thanks for the fun challenge and the inspiration!ReplyDelete
Thank you for another fabulous challenge, i have tons of stamps that i love but either don't use or have not got around to using!!ReplyDelete
Hazel xx
Another great challenge! You just keep them coming:)ReplyDelete
Fab challenge with amazing designs by the DT. I am delighted that I am not running late with my entry this weekReplyDelete
Annie x
I have to say this is a genius idea for a challenge!ReplyDelete
Amazing creations, girls!ReplyDelete
Completely fab challenge - and such glorious inspiration from the team, thank you!ReplyDelete
Alison x
- AnonymousMarch 3, 2013 at 7:43 PM
You all come up with the best ideas for your challenges.ReplyDelete
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.


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|30 Simmons Way
|(East Davis, east of the 8th Street & L street intersection)
|Central heat/air
|Coin Washer & Dryer for every four units
|On-site management
|No Pets Policy
|Assigned parking
Crescent Villa(Same complex as Regency Arms Townhouses Apartments) offers 2 bedrooms-1.5 bathrooms, two-story townhouses for $1060/month [Feb. 2016]. This complex is on Unitrans L bus line.
To learn more about rental housing in Davis, check out our Housing Guide as well as our Apartments pages.
You must be logged in to comment on this page. Please log in.
2011-05-23 13:55:37 I will be moving in here in the Fall 2011 and I am so excited! The manager Claire has been completely amazing. She was fantastic about working around my schedule and even gave us a tour of the model at 8pm! She has been really candid and upfront when answering questions which I have really appreciated. —DanielleC
2012-07-29 03:26:04 Is there some way I can contact the concerned,to check availability as this page has no such info. —RohitGupta
You mean aside from the phone number up at the top under "Contact"? —TomGarberson


text: Save My Spot Walk-In Clinic Republic To hold your spot in line, please complete the Save My Spot form. View additional times by clicking on the blue drop down bar. Please remember to only select one time slot per patient. If more than one person needs to be seen, please repeat the process to reserve additional time slots.If you or someone you know experiences a life-threatening illness or injury, such as severe bleeding, difficulty breathing, chest pain or pressure, symptoms of a stroke or trauma, call 911 or proceed to the nearest emergency room to get professional help immediately. Questions About COVID-19? If you have questions about COVID-19, visit our coronavirus page for more information. Please be sure to review our updated visitor restrictions on this page before visiting any CoxHealth facility.


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16 Ways to Help Less
Help done poorly creates dependency. But, help withheld seems disconnected or cold.
Leaders who say, "How can I help," connect, change attitudes, and move agendas forward. But, help that weakens teams hurts organizations.
Over-helpful leaders frustrate teams.
Help done well strengthens.
Help done poorly weakens.
How to help less:
- Help team mates find mentors.
- Get them started and step away. "Give me a call if you need something else."
- Everything doesn't have to be a teaching moment. Click the dang mouse and be done with it. Move on.
- Hold your hands behind your back and ask questions.
- Take half a step back and listen.
- Will you have to keep helping? Don't.
- When deadlines are looming, help. Otherwise, offer a suggestion or two.
- Don't be the go to guy. Needy leaders need to be needed. "Who on our team has done this before?"
- Say, "What have we learned when mistakes are made."
James daSilva, senior editor at SmartBrief, on how to help less:
- Train thoroughly and energetically.
- Find out what team members have already done and give them a crack at related problems.
- Pause. Resist the urge to offer your solution, even if only for a minute.
- … if it's a problem that requires a personal touch, critical thinking? I may need to be a guide but I can't take over."
- Buy time. Ask, "What are you thinking?" or "Where are we?" This gives you needed information and buys time to think about what advice you really want to offer.
- When you see something they don't, get some feedback. Getting in the habit of asking the room (when applicable) will make it easier to do so when the problems come to you.
Stay available for backup or counsel, but not before they make an attempt at solving the problem.
(#3 on my list was inspired by James but he said it too nice for my liking.)
When should leaders help less?
How can leaders help less without seeming disconnected or cold?


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I've been seeing a trend lately on social media with Photoshopped pictures of celebrities side-hugging their younger versions of themselves, so naturally I had to make one with Leonard!
I'll be doing the whole cast within the next few weeks; stay tuned!
As I write this, I just realized that it was 41 years ago on this day when I first met Leonard in Elmira! Today is also my sister's birthday; Happy Birthday, Sis! <3
(And thanks for your patience, I've been busy with my subbing job at the local Elementary School!)


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(visited by Luc English)
15-Aug-2006 -- These photographs of the 22°S 134°E confluence were taken on the 15th August 2006. The conference is located on the Mt Skinner Pastoral Lease where they run Hereford cattle.
I reached the confluence by foot after parking at Nifty Bore, which is only 25km by graded track from Mt Skinner Station. I managed to get a puncture on that short stretch, emphasizing the point that the tyres on the hire car that I was driving were a little too thin to contemplate bush bashing all the way to the confluence.
Nifty bore is approximately 3km south-east of the confluence, leaving a relatively easy walk through lightly wooded flat country to the site. The confluence itself is in an area of soft reworked aeolian sand with a low Spinifex groundcover,and sparse trees and bushes, mostly acacia, the remainder being beyond the scope of my botanical knowledge. Photographs taken I was back at the car a little over an hour and a half after leaving it.
Luc English, Exploration Geologist


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Yesterday, when we all met Call of Duty Dog for the first time, the first thing I said was, "Aww, a dog!" The second thing I said was, "Good thing they are going to kill him."
Every comment, every video, every Call of Duty Dog joke made has been accompanied by the logical conclusion that, yes, this dog is totally going to get shot. Why else have a dog in a Call of Duty game? They get us to care about this dog. He becomes part of the team. We'll become attatched.
Then BANG! He's clipped by a stray bullet. Or maybe a supply truck runs him over. Some assume he'll die in a slow motion cutscene, but I think it'll have more impact if the death of Call of Duty Dog came not as punctuation to the game's dramatic climax, but rather in the middle of a random mission.
When I was growing up, our painful animal deaths were limited to non-interactive forms of entertainment. We couldn't stop Bambi's mother from dying. We couldn't magically cure Old Yeller. Where the Red Fern Grows was not a choose your own adventure book — Old Dan's intestines were destined to become out-testines.
There is a unique opportunity in gaming, especially as the graphics and situations become more and more realistic, to really drive the trauma home. I cried for days after Old Yeller was put down for the first of several dozen times throughout my childhood. Imagine how long I'd cry if I had to pick up a virtual rifle and do it in first person, or if it were a cuddly kitten and not some big, slobbering hound?
I can see the gameplay segment so clearly. You're trapped behind cover, Call of Duty Dog at your side. Gunfire pours in from all sides. Desperate, you reach to your belt pulling the pin on a grenade and lobbing it in a slow, graceful arc towards the enemy. It rolls to a stop inches from their feet, and here comes Call of Duty Dog, tail a-waggin', scooping up the metal ball in his fluffy jaws. "Bad dog!" you shout, but he's already bounding back. You raise your pistol...
I swear to God, they had better kill Call of Duty Dog.
Most of us have had a pet die in real life. I lost the best cat ever last year, and the year before that we buried our family dog. It hurts, a lot. So much so that we barely have time to ponder important messages about mortality and responsibility. That's what books and movies are for, and what games can be. Just look at Fable II, or Fallout 3, or Duck Tales.
So, time to shake things up, Infinity Ward. Forge a connection with us by giving us human characters we can believe in. Make them love the dog as well, so when the end comes they can share the experience and support each other. If you need to move us emotionally, take out the dog. Let us watch our team grow closer, then tear us apart and test that friendship by having one of us have to put a puppy down. Don't just give us a fucking awesome dog, let us hang out with him, then kill him to make us sad. Give us a fucking awesome dog, let us hang out with him, then kill him to teach us an important lesson about being sad.
I mean, it'll work. I'll be super sad if you kill Call of Duty Dog, but not as much as I would if you killed Call of Duty Cat.
I guess we'll just have to wait until the game comes out to see if we're going to grow as people in exchange for the life of an animal. In the meantime, what do you think of Call of Duty Dog's survival chances?


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The South Korean government has released its report on the sinking of the Cheonan, the ship that went down in March in the Yellow Sea near the maritime border with North Korea. Not surprisingly, Seoul has fingered Pyongyang as the culprit. The evidence is rather strong.
First, the South Koreans have produced a fragment from a torpedo propeller. Second, there's Korean lettering that matches the font used in another North Korean torpedo the South Koreans have. Third, the South Koreans have matched traces of propellant to an earlier North Korean torpedo.
There are some reports of other possible culprits, including friendly fire from either South Korea or the United States. While such speculation is interesting, it seems rather far-fetched. In this age of wiklleaks, it's hard to imagine a cover-up of such friendly fire succeeding. And the evidence implicating other actors is circumstantial to say the least.
More germane is the backstory that Mike Chinoy provides over at Forbes. When South Korean president Lee Myung Bak took office, he backtracked on his predecessor's pledge to work with North Korea to build confidence around the disputed maritime boundary.
The North was infuriated by what it saw as a deliberate belittling of accords signed by its all-powerful leader–what one western analyst described as "sticking a finger in Kim Jong Il's eye." So Pyongyang responded in a predictably belligerent fashion–by ratcheting up tensions in the disputed waters.
Fortunately, no one is calling for military retaliation against North Korea. Even the Heritage Foundation is going only so far as to recommend an economic cut-off, further isolation of North Korea, and a clear condemnation in the Security Council.
Other than express legitimate outrage, what would these stepped-up containment efforts achieve? About as much as Lee Myung Bak's initial hard-line posture. The North Korean government doesn't apologize when pushed up against the wall. And the North Korean people have not risen up against their rulers when pushed into starvation.
Joel Wit points out that diplomacy remains our most viable strategy: "In the aftermath of the Cheonan sinking, the United States and South Korea must recognize that a return to dialogue would serve our interests. It is the only realistic way to rein in North Korea's objectionable activities."
This is not a particularly palatable message right now in Seoul. And it probably won't go down very well here in Washington. But after a couple months of denunciations and attempted arm-twisting, it would be best if the countries involved in the Six Party talks take this advice to heart. If we want to prevent any future Cheonans, we need to sit down with North Korea. The last thing we want is a country with nothing to lose and plenty of weapons to go out in a blaze of juche.*
*Juche: North Korea's state ideology of self-reliance.