text:
First Marblehead Customer Story
First Marblehead reduces costly software licenses and improves student loan processing with the Alfresco Platform and Micro Strategies
- Replaced Documentum with Alfresco
- Eliminated costly software license and maintenance costs
- Lowered document management costs by over 50 percent
- Streamlined student loan document processing
- Easier tracking of documents through the student loan process
- Migrated documents to Alfresco repository
First Marblehead works with lenders and schools to help meet the growing demand for private student loans. They offer services for designing and implementing private education loan programs to national and regional financial institutions, and educational institutions in the United States. First Marblehead has helped clients process over six million applications and has funded over $16.5 billion in private student loan volume.
First Marblehead's student loan department used Documentum to manage and store all loan documentation. However, the document intake process was extremely manual and time consuming. For example, a student loan case, which includes multiple documents, would arrive as a single PDF and loan officers would have to manually validate and separate the PDF pages and associated metadata before it could be stored in the Documentum repository.
The company's IT team decided to evaluate new systems that could streamline their student loan workflow process while also offering a lower total cost of ownership. Like many business affected by the credit crunch, First Marblehead needed to lower costs and wanted to reduce or eliminate costly software license and maintenance subscriptions.
After consulting with Micro Strategies, First Marblehead replaced Documentum with Alfresco. Micro Strategies worked with First Marblehead to implement, customize and integrate Alfresco and Kofax (Document Capture) into their existing loan management system.
Alfresco's open source approach and modern, flexible architecture allowed for easy integration and customization into First Marblehead's business processes. It also allowed First Marblehead to incorporate workflows to simplify the intake and management of loan documents.
Equally important, the total solution and software costs with Alfresco were over 50% less than the total cost of Documentum.
Micro Strategies' MSI Profiler software is used in conjunction with Alfresco to facilitate the processing of loan documentation. Through the MSI Profiler capabilities, First Marblehead gained additional features such as document bursting (electronically separating documents or pages that have been combined into one PDF into individual documents), and the ability to integrate documents or pages into existing systems.
Imaging software from Snowbound embedded into the MSI Profiler makes it easy to see and electronically separate each page within the PDF including the metadata. For example, loan offers can electronically burst a 20-page PDF into smaller 2-3 page individual documents for routing, approval and storage in the Alfresco repository.
During the document intake process, loan information is validated against First Marblehead's Loan Management System and then applied to the document through the MSI Profiler. If the document or data cannot be verified, an Alfresco workflow will route it to the research department for review and proper identification so that the loan can be processed.
Micro Strategies created a dashboard to enable First Marblehead to track loans and easily see where they are in the review process. Dashboard users can see a list of activities, team members, project calendars, modified content and project links related to various documents and can export report data directly to excel. Company executives can also use the dashboards to track business data such as the numbers of loans in process and the number of documents per loan package.
The new system has improved overall staff efficiency. First Marblehead is now able to absorb increased document management volume with fewer additional resources needed for peak processing periods.
- Streamlined the intake of student loan documentation, minimizing the interaction with paper documents during processing.
- Improved tracking of loan documents for auditing and compliance.
- Users can look up and search using only one search criteria and retrieve many results and view all related documents to assist in document processing.
- First Marblehead can easily add users to the system during their busy season so that student loan documents are processed quickly.
- Users can easily group and export documents or reports into one file or an Excel document.
- Current Alfresco repository holds 500,000 documents and a terabyte of data.
What's Next
Initially, First Marblehead only implemented Documentum in its Student Loan department. With Alfresco's low cost of ownership and scalability and with the additional capabilities
enabled by the MSI Profiler, the company now wants to extend its new document management model to other departments across the organization. As a next step, First Marblehead plans to begin leveraging Alfresco for its collections and payment processing departments.


text:
West Point, —— 1831.
* * * * * * *
Believing only a portion of my former volume to be worthy a second edition — that small portion I thought it as well to include in the present book as to republish by itself. I have, therefore, herein combined Al Aaraaf and Tamerlane with other Poems hitherto unprinted. Nor have I hesitated to insert from the "Minor Poems," now omitted, whole lines, and even passages, to the end that being placed in a fairer light, and the trash shaken from [page 14:] them in which they were imbedded, they may have some chance of being seen by posterity.
* * * * *
It has been said, that a good critique on a poem may be written by one who is no poet himself. This, according to your idea and mine of poetry, I feel to be false — the less poetical the critic, the less just the critique, and the converse. On this account, and because there are but few B——s in the world, I would be as much ashamed of the world's good opinion as proud of your own. Another than yourself might here observe "Shakspeare is in possession of the world's good opinion, and yet Shakspeare is the greatest of poets. It appears then that the world judge correctly, why should you be ashamed of their favorable judgment?" The difficulty lies in the interpretation of the word "judgment" or "opinion." The opinion is the world's, truly, but it may be called theirs as a man would call a book his, having bought it; [page 15:] he did not write the book, but it is his; they did not originate the opinion, but it is theirs. A fool, for example, thinks Shakspeare a great poet — yet the fool has never read Shakspeare. But the fool's neighbor, who is a step higher on the Andes of the mind, whose head (that is to say his more exalted thought) is too far above the fool to be seen or understood, but whose feet (by which I mean his every day actions) are sufficiently near to be discerned, and by means of which that superiority is ascertained, which but for them would never have been discovered — this neighbor asserts that Shakspeare is a great poet — the fool believes him, and it is henceforward his opinion. This neighbor's own opinion has, in like manner, been adopted from one above him, and so, ascendingly, to a few gifted individuals, who kneel around the summit, beholding, face to face, the master spirit who stands upon the pinnacle. **** [page 16:]
You are aware of the great barrier in the path of an American writer. He is read, if at all, in preference to the combined and established wit of the world. I say established; for it is with literature as with law or empire — an established name is an estate in tenure, or a throne in possession. Besides, one might suppose that books, like their authors, improve by travel — their having crossed the sea is, with us, so great a distinction. Our antiquaries abandon time for distance; our very fops glance from the binding to the bottom of the title-page, where the mystic characters which spell London, Paris, or Genoa, are precisely so many letters of recommendation.
* * * * *
I mentioned just now a vulgar error as regards criticism. I think the notion that no poet can form a correct estimate of his own writings is another. I remarked before, that in proportion to the poetical talent, would be the justice of a [page 17:] critique upon poetry. Therefore, a bad poet would, I grant, make a false critique, and his self-love would infallibly bias his little judgment in his favor; but a poet, who is indeed a poet, could not, I think, fail of making a just critique. Whatever should be deducted on the score of self-love, might be replaced on account of his intimate acquaintance with the subject; in short, we have more instances of false criticism than of just, where one's own writings are the test, simply because we have more bad poets than good. There are of course many objections to what I say: Milton is a great example of the contrary; but his opinion with respect to the Paradise Regained, is by no means fairly ascertained. By what trivial circumstances men are often led to assert what they do not really believe! Perhaps an inadvertent word has descended to posterity. But, in fact, the Paradise Regained is little, if at all, inferior to the Paradise Lost, and is only supposed so to be, because [page 18:] men do not like epics, whatever they may say to the contrary, and reading those of Milton in their natural order, are too much wearied with the first to derive any pleasure from the second.
I dare say Milton preferred Comus to either — if so — justly. *****
As I am speaking of poetry, it will not be amiss to touch slightly upon the most singular heresy in its modern history — the heresy of what is called very foolishly, the Lake School. Some years ago I might have been induced, by an occasion like the present, to attempt a formal refutation of their doctrine; at present it would be a work of supererogation. The wise must bow to the wisdom of such men as Coleridge and Southey, but being wise, have laughed at poetical theories so prosaically exemplified.
Aristotle, with singular assurance, has declared poetry the most philosophical of all writing* — [page 19:] but it required a Wordsworth to pronounce it the most metaphysical. He seems to think that the end of poetry is, or should be, instruction — yet it is a truism that the end of our existence is happiness; if so, the end of every separate part of our existence — every thing connected with our existence should be still happiness. Therefore the end of instruction should be happiness; and happiness is another name for pleasure; — therefore the end of instruction should be pleasure: yet we see the above mentioned opinion implies precisely the reverse.
To proceed: ceteris paribus, he who pleases, is of more importance to his fellow men than he who instructs, since utility is happiness, and pleasure is the end already obtained which instruction is merely the means of obtaining.
I see no reason, then, why our metaphysical poets should plume themselves so much on the utility of their works, unless indeed they refer to instruction with eternity in view; in which case, [page 20:] sincere respect for their piety would not allow me to express my contempt for their judgment; contempt which it would be difficult to conceal, since their writings are professedly to be understood by the few, and it is the many who stand in need of salvation. In such case I should no doubt be tempted to think of the devil in Melmoth, who labors indefatigably through three octavo volumes, to accomplish the destruction of one or two souls, while any common devil would have demolished one or two thousand.
* * * * *
Against the subtleties which would make poetry a study — not a passion — it becomes the metaphysician to reason — but the poet to protest. Yet Wordsworth and Coleridge are men in years; the one imbued in contemplation from his childhood, the other a giant in intellect and learning. The diffidence, then, with which I venture to dispute their authority, would be overwhelming, did I not feel, from the bottom of my [page 21:] heart, that learning has little to do with the imagination — intellect with the passions — or age with poetry. *****
"Trifles, like straws, upon the surface flow,
He who would search for pearls must dive below,"
are lines which have done much mischief. As regards the greater truths, men oftener err by seeking them at the bottom than at the top; the depth lies in the huge abysses where wisdom is sought — not in the palpable palaces where she is found. The ancients were not always right in hiding the goddess in a well: witness the light which Bacon has thrown upon philosophy; witness the principles of our divine faith — that moral mechanism by which the simplicity of a child may overbalance the wisdom of a man.
Poetry, above all things, is a beautiful painting whose tints, to minute inspection, are confusion worse confounded, but start boldly out to the cursory glance of the connoisseur. [page 22:]
We see an instance of Coleridge's liability to err, in his Biographia Literaria — professedly his literary life and opinions, but, in fact, a treatise de omni scibili et quibusdam aliis. He goes wrong by reason of his very profundity, and of his error we have a natural type in the contemplation of a star. He who regards it directly and intensely sees, it is true, the star, but it is the star without a ray — while he who surveys it less inquisitively is conscious of all for which the star is useful to us below — its brilliancy and its beauty.
* * * * *
As to Wordsworth, I have no faith in him. That he had, in youth, the feelings of a poet I believe — for there are glimpses of extreme delicacy in his writings — (and delicacy is the poet's own kingdom — his El Dorado) — but they have the appearance of a better day recollected; and glimpses, at best, are little evidence of present poetic fire — we know that a [page 23:] few straggling flowers spring up daily in the crevices of the Avalanche.
He was to blame in wearing away his youth in contemplation with the end of poetizing in his manhood. With the increase of his judgment the light which should make it apparent has faded away. His judgment consequently is too correct. This may not be understood, but the old Goths of Germany would have understood it, who used to debate matters of importance to their State twice, once when drunk, and once when sober — sober that they might not be deficient in formality — drunk lest they should be destitute of vigor.
The long wordy discussions by which he tries to reason us into admiration of his poetry, speak very little in his favor: they are full of such assertions as this — (I have opened one of his volumes at random) "Of genius the only proof is the act of doing well what is worthy to be done, and what was never done before" — indeed! [page 24:] then it follows that in doing what is unworthy to be done, or what has been done before, no genius can be evinced: yet the picking of pockets is an unworthy act, pockets have been picked time immemorial, and Barrington, the pick-pocket, in point of genius, would have thought hard of a comparison with William Wordsworth, the poet.
Again — in estimating the merit of certain poems, whether they be Ossian's or M'Pherson's, can surely be of little consequence, yet, in order to prove their worthlessness, Mr. W. has expended many pages in the controversy. Tantæne animis? Can great minds descend to such absurdity? But worse still: that he may bear down every argument in favor of these poems, he triumphantly drags forward a passage, in his abomination of which he expects the reader to sympathize. It is the beginning of the epic poem "Temora." "The blue waves of Ullin roll in light; the green hills are covered with [page 25:] day; trees shake their dusky heads in the breeze." And this — this gorgeous, yet simple imagery — where all is alive and panting with immortality — than which earth has nothing more grand, nor paradise more beautiful — this — William Wordsworth, the author of Peter Bell, has selected to dignify with his imperial contempt. We shall see what better he, in his own person, has to offer. Imprimis:
"And now she's at the poney's head,
And now she's at the poney's tail,
On that side now, and now on this,
And almost stifled her with bliss —
A few sad tears does Betty shed,
She pats the poney where or when
She knows not: happy Betty Foy!
O Johnny! never mind the Doctor!"
"The dew was falling fast, the — stars began to blink,
I heard a voice, it said —— drink, pretty creature, drink;
And looking o'er the hedge, be — fore me I espied
A snow-white mountain lamb with a — maiden at its side,
No other sheep were near, the lamb was all alone,
And by a slender cord was — tether'd to a stone." [page 26:]
Now we have no doubt this is all true; we will believe it, indeed we will, Mr. W. Is it sympathy for the sheep you wish to excite? I love a sheep from the bottom of my heart.
* * * * *
But there are occasions, dear B——, there are occasions when even Wordsworth is reasonable. Even Stamboul, it is said, shall have an end, and the most unlucky blunders must come to a conclusion. Here is an extract from his preface.
"Those who have been accustomed to the phraseology of modern writers, if they persist in reading this book to a conclusion (impossible!) will, no doubt, have to struggle with feelings of awkwardness; (ha! ha! ha!) they will look round for poetry (ha! ha! ha! ha!) and will be induced to inquire by what species of courtesy these attempts have been permitted to assume that title." Ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!
Yet let not Mr. W. despair; he has given [page 27:] immortality to a wagon, and the bee Sophocles has eternalized a sore toe, and dignified a tragedy with a chorus of turkeys.
* * * * *
Of Coleridge I cannot speak but with reverence. His towering intellect! his gigantic power! To use an author quoted by himself, "Jai trouve souvent que la plupart des sectes ont raison dans une bonne partie de ce quelles avancent, mais non pas en ce quelles nient," and, to employ his own language, he has imprisioned his own conceptions by the barrier he has erected against those of others. It is lamentable to think that such a mind should be buried in metaphysics, and, like the Nyctanthes, waste its perfume upon the night alone. In reading that man's poetry I tremble, like one who stands upon a volcano, conscious, from the very darkness bursting from the crater, of the fire and the light that are weltering below.
* * * * *
What is Poetry? — Poetry! that Proteus-like idea, with as many appellations as the nine-titled Corcyra! Give me, I demanded of a scholar some time ago, give me a definition of poetry? "Tres volontiers," — and he proceeded to his library, brought me a Dr. Johnson, and overwhelmed me with a definition. Shade of the immortal Shakspeare! I imagined to myself the scowl of your spiritual eye upon the profanity of that scurrilous Ursa Major. Think of poetry, dear B——, think of poetry, and then think of — Dr. Samuel Johnson! Think of all that is airy and fairy-like, and then of all that is hideous and unwieldy; think of his huge bulk, the Elephant! and then — and then think of the Tempest — the Midsummer Night's Dream — Prospero — Oberon — and Titania!
* * * * *
A poem, in my opinion, is opposed to a work of science by having, for its immediate object, pleasure, not truth; to romance, by having for [page 29:] its object an indefinite instead of a definite pleasure, being a poem only so far as this object is attained; romance presenting perceptible images with definite, poetry with indefinite sensations, to which end music is an essential, since the comprehension of sweet sound is our most indefinite conception. Music, when combined with a pleasurable idea, is poetry; music without the idea is simply music; the idea without the music is prose from its very definitiveness.
What was meant by the invective against him who had no music in his soul?" [[sic ]]
* * * * *
To sum up this long rigmarole, I have, dear B——, what you no doubt perceive, for the metaphysical poets, as poets, the most sovereign contempt. That they have followers proves nothing —
No Indian prince has to his palace
More followers than a thief to the gallows.
[The following footnotes appear at the bottom of page 18:]
*Spoudiotaton kai philosophikotaton genos.
B—— is presumed to be Elam Bliss, the publisher of the Poems (1831). Some have aruged, not very convincingly, that B—— is actually Lord Bulwer or even William Cullen Bryant.
Near the end of the essay, the trailing quotation marks at the end of the sentence "What was meant by the invective against him who had no music in his soul?" appear to be a typsetters error. No quotation marks appear at this point when the essay was reprinted in the Southern Literary Messenger.
[S:1 - Poems, 1831 (fac 1936)] - Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore - Works - Essays - Letter to Mr. ——— (Text-02)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
HSU: Ha, Ha, Very Funny, Kimmel… Come Here And Say That
Humboldt State University Press Release
HSU – Jimmy Kimmel, whose show recently featured a funny but misinformed segment about Humboldt State University, is tentatively scheduled to visit HSU and give a public presentation.
Kimmel, the host of JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!, was invited to campus just before the holidays in a letter (PDF) from HSU President Rollin Richmond and Associated Students President Ellyn Henderson. They requested he speak at HSU's upcoming Commencement Ceremonies on May 18. As an alternative, they offered him the opportunity to choose a convenient time during the Fall 2013 semester.
"You may not remember this," they wrote, "but you recently got a few laughs on your show by talking about the new Humboldt Institute for Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research."
They continued, "We thought some of your lines were actually pretty funny, as did many on campus. However, like many students and alumni, we also felt you shortchanged Humboldt State University, portraying all of our students as pot-obsessed slackers. That was not fair."
Although Kimmel has not yet accepted–or, for that matter, even responded–the University is hopeful he will make the trip. Logistical planning has already begun.
HSU does not expect to incur expenses for Kimmel's visit, beyond the HSU baseball cap that was sent with the invitation.
Henderson urges students and others to do what they can to politely encourage Kimmel to accept the invitation. He may be reluctant, or ABC may be too cheap to send him on a junket, so some polite nudges through Kimmel-branded social media might be in order.
Kimmel is on Facebook at facebook.com/JimmyKimmelLive and Twitter at twitter.com/jimmykimmel.


text:
5 Powerful Reasons Why the Rich Should Pay Their Taxes and Not Game the System
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, "It's really American to avoid paying taxes, legally...It's a game we play...I see nothing wrong with playing the game because we set it up to be a game."
It's not a game for Americans who need jobs and education and public transportation and infrastructure repair. But public services continue to be cut, while the wealthiest Americans benefit the most from a government they say they don't want. They need government, but they don't want to pay for it.
Here are some reasons why the super-rich should be paying a lot more in taxes.
1. $2 of Every $5 Owned Today was Created in the Last Five Years, and Went Mostly to the Richest 10%, Mostly Untaxed
And most of it was accumulated passively, and unproductively, by just waiting out the stock market. As America's wealth increased from $47 trillion to an incredible $80.66 trillion in just five years, the richest 1% are estimated to have added an average of $5 million each to their fortunes. They pay no wealth tax, they can defer their income taxes, and they pay a reduced capital gains tax when they decide to cash in.
2. A Beggar Saving for a Hamburger will Pay More Sales Tax than the Entire Financial Trading Industry
There is no sales tax on financial transactions, no matter how speculative, and despite the fact that total trading value is many times more than the world economy. Derivatives trading was a major factor in the economic crash that depleted middle-class homeowner wealth in 2008. The trading volume on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange reached $1 quadrillion in notional value in 2012 (that's a thousand trillion). Yet no sales tax is paid.
3. It's Not Possible for a Financial Person to be Worth 100,000 Teachers or Firefighters
Defenders of excessive incomes use the "meritocracy" argument. But based on merit, some of the biggest moneymakers may be among the least worthy of us. Consider hedge fund managers who profit from shortages of homes and food, pay a smaller percentage in taxes than people making thousands of times less, and have the opportunity to defer all of their taxes. Or super-wealthy stock owners, like Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates or the Koch brothers, who take more from society than they give, yet can make up to $10 billion in one year, enough to pay the salaries of a quarter of a million medical technicians, and all of which can be tax-deferred indefinitely.
4. Corporations Make Billions by Appropriating Public Research and Federal Assets
Google's business is based on the Internet, which started as the Defense Department's ARPANET; the National Science Foundation funded the Digital Library Initiative research at Stanford University that was adopted as the Google model; and Google Maps came from the massivegeographical database of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Pfizer has thrived on government largesse, relying on basic research performed at the National Institute of Health. The company is also starting to profit from the Human Genome Project, which by one estimate will generate economic activity of about $140 for every dollar spent.
Just as our public research has been misappropriated, so has our land. The recent episode with freeloading Cliven Bundy highlighted the takeaway from the public, the sense of entitlement among the rich, and the disdain for a government that is supposed to protect the common good. Yet instead of defending the commons, our government leaders see it as a means of profit. Paul Ryan's Path to Prosperity proposed to sell millions of acres of "unneeded federal land." Representative Cliff Stearns even recommended that we "sell off some of our national parks."
5. The Great Majority of Tax Breaks go to the Rich
Most of the annual $1.3 trillion in "tax expenditures" (tax subsidies from special deductions, exemptions, exclusions, credits, and loopholes)goes to the top quintile of taxpayers. One estimate of total tax expenditures is a nearly incomprehensible $900 billion a year.
For those who believe that the wealthiest Americans already pay most of the taxes, they couldn't be more wrong. Lower-income earners pay a much higher percentage in combined state and local income, property, sales and excise taxes. When all taxes are considered, middle-income and upper-middle-income earners pay about as much as the richest 1%.
A Conservative-Inspired Summary:
Paul Ryan's great-grandfather started a construction firm, still in operation today, which in the 1950s received government contracts to help build the Interstate Highway System. Ryan attended a public high school and a public university. Part of his tuition was paid with Social Security survivor benefits. His mother, whom he refers to as his "role model," rode public transportation every day to earn a degree at the University of Wisconsin, a public university.
We're all dependent on the government services that we too easily take for granted. The wealthiest Americans receive the greatest benefits, but they insult the rest of us by treating their tax responsibility like a game.


text:
U.S.-Africa Business Success Stories: How a Supplier of Powerboats to the U.S. Military Started Doing Business in NigeriaJuly 31, 2014
This post originally appeared on the Department of Commerce blog.
Hann Powerboats' customers include the United States Air Force, United States Navy, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers – and now, because of assistance that the company received from the Department of Commerce, they can add another name to their impressive list: the Nigerian oil and gas company, MOP Marine.
U.S. businesses like Hann Powerboats are increasingly seeing tremendous economic opportunity in Africa, and the reason why is simple: Africa is thriving. From 1995 to 2013, Africa experienced an average annual GDP growth rate of 4.5 percent. In 2012, eight of the twenty fastest growing economies in the world were in sub-Saharan Africa, and, according to the IMF, in 2013, total U.S. two-way goods with the region were $63 billion. Africa's potential to be the world's next major economic story is why businesses in the United States, like Hann Powerboats, want to offer their products, services, and expertise to help unlock even more of Africa's potential – that is why the Obama Administration and the Department of Commerce remain committed to assisting American businesses in finding opportunity in this economically expanding region.
Hann Powerboats became interested in expanding its business to Africa when it was approached by a potential client in Nigeria to secure MOP Marine's need for patrol boats. Hann Powerboats asked for assistance from the Tampa Bay U.S. Export Assistance Center (USEAC) and the U.S. Commercial Service (CS) team in Lagos to help with vetting this potential partner, and CS Lagos was able to facilitate meetings between Hann Powerboats and MOP Marine. The Tampa Bay USEAC then helped put Hann Powerboats in touch with the Nigerian Embassy in Washington D.C. to help with them acquire proper documentation. The result of this assistance allowed Hann Powerboats to make sales to MOP Marine for over $4 million.
The U.S. Commercial Service is the face of the Department of Commerce around the world, and each day they help U.S. businesses like Hann Powerboats start exporting or increase sales to new global markets. That is why the Department of Commerce is dedicating more human resources to Africa by expanding its commercial service teams in Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, and Libya. For the first time ever, the Commerce Department is also opening offices in Angola, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Mozambique. With a greater footprint in Africa, the Obama Administration and the Department of Commerce aim to make Hann Powerboats's and MOP Marine's story just another common example of the United States and Africa doing business.
Businesses interested in learning more about the benefits of exporting should contact their local U.S. Export Assistance Center
Please check back regularly for more success stories about companies doing business in Africa.


text: ClubVPS provide reliable, professional, High Availability Cloud Infrastructure with SSD boosted centralized storage Since 1999.ClubVPS Cloud Services Offers our customer with all the aspects of secured, high performance, and reliable data storage services, at the top of the industry.All Plans Include a Network Traffic of 1000GB /Month Or 20Mbps Unmetered.50% off first month using coupon: FIRSTMONTH50-COUPON ClubVPS Exclusive Cloud Combination: - SSD Boosted Storage w/ SAS Drives - Custom Engineered Advanced Control Panel for monitoring, upgrades, reboots and more... - Hong Kong, Amsterdam, New York and Middle East Facilities- Fully owned, self-engineered Cloud Platform - Real 24x7 Round The Clock Support - Tier-4 Data Centers, 99.999% Infrastructure availability- N+1 infrastrcture for every component from ground up.- Each Cloud Server is clear wide open to a 1Gbps uplink burstable up to 10Gbps.- Hardware Firewall Layer, Load Balancers, Managed Services and much more options … CDN Friendly Cloud! Design your own configuration using our Online Configurator Calculator. Want to test the speed? You can ping or trace the above addresses:Hong Kong: as.clubvps.comNew York: clubvps.comIsrael: il.clubvps.comAmsterdam: eu.clubvps.com Unsure? Need more information?Reach us out online via LiveChat 24/7Sign up Now - 14 days Money back Guarantee! – 50% off First Monthor email me directly: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
One of my favorite television shows returned to the air this week, just in time to offer a respite from one of the soggiest Junes I can remember.
The History Detectives began its 2008 public television season by reuniting a family with a long-lost journal compiled in the year before the writer's death in a World War II bombing raid, taking a stab at identifying the author of a once-popular book about the Mormon religion and trying to substantiate a family legend regarding fabled sharpshooter Annie Oakley.
Anyone with an interest in family history will find something of interest in this show, just one of many informative offerings that make PBS the channel of choice in our household. On Sunday, our local PBS station aired another fascinating program, "Traces of the Trade," a documentary examining the slave trade from the perspective of a Rhode Island family that bought and sold more than 10,000 Africans.
Researching family history, which trails only gardening as America's No. 1 pastime, has been much in the news lately, especially in the flood-soaked Midwest where sad tales of lost family artifacts have dominated headlines for weeks. The CBS newsmagazine, "60 Minutes," reran a piece on Sunday about the growing popularity of using DNA in genealogical research and the limitations of that science.
The common thread running through all this media exposure is that no amount of science and wishful thinking can replace the deliberate thought and effort that is necessary to preserve our connections to our family's legacies. The sooner the better
Author Larry Lehmer's book about Dick Clark and American Bandstand -- Bandstandland: How Dancing Teenagers Took Over America and Dick Clark Took Over Rock & Roll --is available from Sunbury Press. His book about the last tour of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens -- The Day the Music Died -- is available at Amazon.
Photo of two early television performers with a 1933 Bush/Baird mirror drum Televisor courtesy of TVteam.


text:
WASHINGTON — An attack on the power grid by terrorists — even ones armed with relatively simple weapons — is among the greatest threats to the reliability of the nation's power system, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Tuesday.
"There are ways that a very few number of actors with very rudimentary equipment could take down large portions of our grid," FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff said at a Bloomberg Government breakfast in Washington. "I don't think we have the level of physical security we need."
The security of the power-network components such transformers "is an equal if not greater issue" than cybersecurity, Wellinghoff said.
The agency two months ago created an office to help reduce risks to the electric grid and natural-gas and oil facilities. A terrorist attack on the system could cost hundreds of billions of dollars and result in thousands of deaths, according to a 2007 report that was declassified and released by the National Academy of Sciences on Nov. 14.
The FERC, which regulates the interstate transport of electricity, natural gas and oil, this year also has ramped up its enforcement against energy-market manipulation. Wellinghoff predicted that a recent surge in filings against energy traders would plateau, and said he had not decided whether to consider another term as chairman when his current one expires next year.
"A coordinated physical attack is a very, very unsettling thing to me," Wellinghoff said. The FERC chairman said that about six weeks ago he visited a Pennsylvania plant where high-voltage transformers are made. "It was a very interesting and very eye-opening experience," he said.
Transformers, which alter the voltage of electricity, are often custom built for utilities and can take 18 to 36 months to make, according to Wellinghoff. They are also inadequately protected, often surrounded only by chain-link fences, he said.
An attacker "could get 200 yards away with a .22 rifle and take the whole thing out," Wellinghoff said. For a "couple hundred bucks" a utility could install metal sheeting to block the view of transformers, he said. "If you can't see through the fence, you can't figure out where to shoot anymore."
The report released last week by the National Academy of Sciences called for the government to work with utilities to create a stockpile of transformers and other equipment that would be used in the event of an emergency. The Edison Electric Institute, a Washington-based industry group for publicly traded utilities, is leading a pilot program to install additional devices.
Wellinghoff said utilities aren't doing enough to protect the physical components of the grid. FERC can work with power companies to make them aware of the security issues, develop strategies to lessen the risks and help them recover their costs, according to the agency's chairman.
"If you do all those things then you might be able to get them to move," Wellinghoff said. FERC doesn't currently have the authority to order utilities to take immediate grid-protection safety measures, he said.
The agency on Sept. 20 announced the creation of its Office of Energy Infrastructure Security, led by Joseph McClelland, FERC's former director of reliability, to identify ways to lessen the risk of physical and cyber security threats. The unit will also work with other government agencies and the private sector, according to a statement.
Wellinghoff has served on the commission since 2006 and has been chairman since 2009. His term as chairman expires at the end of June, and he said he hasn't decided whether he will consider an additional one.
He has overseen the growth of the FERC's enforcement office after Congress in 2005 granted the agency the authority to fine those who jeopardize the grid's reliability up to $1 million per day per violation.
The FERC is currently investigating separate instances of alleged market manipulation by JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and Deutsche Bank, among other probes.
"We're in full enforcement mode," Wellinghoff said. "We're not at war with anybody. We're simply trying to ensure that these markets are operating in a full and fair manner."
The FERC in March reached a record $245 million settlement with Constellation Energy Group Inc. over alleged energy trading violations in New York. The company didn't admit any wrongdoing.
Barclays has vowed to challenge the FERC's proposal for a record $469.9 million in penalties related to alleged market manipulation in the western U.S. from late 2006 to 2008, and Deutsche Bank has disputed the agency's proposed penalties of $1.6 million, saying the bank has done nothing wrong. The FERC on Nov. 14 suspended a JPMorgan unit's energy-trading authority for providing inaccurate information to regulators, a penalty the bank says is unwarranted for what it called an inadvertent error.
Wellinghoff said he believes the fines proposed so far are adequate to deter traders from trying to game the markets. He also said the agency's enforcement actions have probably "reached a plateau and will sort of stabilize out" now that the FERC's enforcement office is well-staffed with about 200 people.
Talk to us
- You can tell us about news and ask us about our journalism by emailing firstname.lastname@example.com or by calling 425-339-3428.
- If you have an opinion you wish to share for publication, send a letter to the editor to email@example.com or by regular mail to The Daily Herald, Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.
- More contact information is here.


text:
Ruffled wrap dress with short sleeves in floral print
Goods will not be delivered on weekends or bank holidays, unless otherwise stated. Orders placed after 12pm on Friday will be dispatched on the next working day, Monday.
The Myla dress is super lightweight and easy to wear. Cut from a soft viscose fabric, this piece has a feminine and ultra comfortable wrap silhouette with a ruffle hem and chic cinched sleeves. Wear on its own or throw it over a t-shirt and a pair of jeans for a cool trendy look. Light and compact, this dress is perfect for packing so pop it in your suitcase for your next sunny escape.
- 100% Viscose
- Wrap style with ties
- Short sleeves
- Dress length: 98cm (38.5in)
- Model height: 179cm (5ft 11.5in)
- Also available in Navy polka dots


text:
International students choose to study in the U.S. for many different reasons, and many choose to stay and work after they graduate from U.S. colleges and universities. The Pew Research Center analyzed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data and found that more and more high-skilled foreign graudates find jobs in the United States under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. The OPT program provides an important opportunity for foreign graduates to work in the U.S. for up to 12 months or 36 months, depending on their field. Many students choose to take advantage of the OPT programs to utilize the skills they learned.
The Pew Research Center found that the federal government approved nearly 700,000 OPT applications between 2008 and 2014. Below are the interesting findings:
- The annual number of OPT approvals rose from 28,497 in 2008 to 136,617 in 2014.
- Many of those working in the U.S. under the OPT program go on to apply for H-1B visas to stay longer in the U.S.
- Those with STEM majors had a higher employment rate (73%) than non-STEM majors (57%).
- Foreign students from India and China accounted for more than half (57%) of all those who were approved for OPT.


text:
This kriya develops your ability to open to the Unknown through intuition and sensitivity. It is an excellent kriya to prepare for powerful prayer and to develop intuition.
This exercise, done with the One Minute Breath, links the Heart Center, the Arcline and your projection. Feel your magnetic field and Aura as you meditate. Establish an open, sensitive and unlimited field.
Posture: Sit in Easy Pose with the spine straight. The left elbow is bent, palm flat facing the floor, in front of the Heart Center. The right arm is extended out to the front at a 60 degree angle.
Breath: Breathe slowly and honestly. Work up to breathing only one breath per minute (20 seconds inhale, 20 seconds hold, 20 seconds exhale). Feel the Divine Presence around you.
Eyes: Close the eyes.
Continue for 11 minutes. To end, stay in the position, inhale deep, hold the breath 10 seconds as you tighten all the muscles of the body. Exhale. Repeat 2 more times. Relax, roll your shoulders, stretch your arms and rib cage.
In this exercise the Sixth Chakra is stimulated into action with the sound of the high pitched whistle. The sound relaxes and opens. The hand lock enhances neutrality. This posture affects the parathyroid and you may feel a pressure in your neck.
Posture: In Easy Pose, extend the arms straight out in front of the chest with the palms touching and the thumbs locked over each other.
Eyes and Whistle: Close the eyes and whistle a song of your choice.
Continue for 7 minutes
This exercise is the fulcrum. You create a polarity between the fixed hand position, like antennae, and the relaxed cells of the rest of the body. You welcome and receive the information and intuition from the known and Unknown. This is an intertwined action when one part of the body in a confined posture, becomes the antenna and the rest of the body is relaxed to receive.
Posture: Easy Pose.
Eyes: Eyes are closed.
Mudra: Put the hands in Lotus Mudra at eye level. Relax the entire body but hold the hand position firmly.
Continue for 3 minutes. Then inhale and clasp the hands in front of the Heart Center and press as hard as you can. Exhale and repeat 2 more times. Then relax, talk, and ground yourself for a few moments.
© 3HO. This kriya is courtesy of YB Teachings, LLC.
This kriya can be found in Transformation, vol. 2.


text:
Welcome to SeaMonkey Add-ons.
Add extra features and styles to make SeaMonkey your own.Close
Right Links 0.4.1 Requires Restart
by Infocatcher
This extension allows to open links in new tabs with right-click directly and using "long" left-click.
This is very useful for touchpads on notebooks and for mice without middle button.
About this Add-on
In progress, but with limitations due to lack of new APIs from Firefox side.
Beta versions with Firefox 57+ support: https://github.com/Infocatcher/Right_Links_WE/releases
This extension allows to open links in new tabs with right-click directly and using "long" left-click.
This is very useful for touchpads on notebooks and for mice without middle button.
It works with links, bookmarks, history items and images.
Hold any modifier (Ctrl, Alt or Shift) during right-click to show context menu.
Or just wait (without releasing the button) for 0.5 seconds (configurable).
F2 or Tools – Right Links (or simply click on icon in status bar) to switch on/off.
Also you can add toolbar button (View – Toolbar – Customize).
Note: JavaScript-links loads in current tab.
There are some hidden hidden options in about:config page:
extensions.rightlinks.showContextMenuTimeout – timeout before context menu will be shown (in milliseconds), use -1 to disable this feature.
extensions.rightlinks.longLeftClickTimeout – delay for "long" left-click.
extensions.rightlinks.notifyOpenTime – hide pop-up message after this time is over, use -1 to disable.
extensions.rightlinks.loadInWindow, extensions.rightlinks.loadInWindow.left – open links in new windows instead of new tabs (some features don't work!).
extensions.rightlinks.filesLinksMask – mask of links to files (use regular expressions).
0 – don't check links
1 – open links to files in current tab
2 – disable Right Links on these links (will be shown context menu)
3 – copy link location (since version 0.3.8.1)
Hotkeys customization:
Value: modifiers + key
You can use following modifiers: control, alt, shift, meta, accel or os, see documentation for more info.
Key: any character or special code.
Example for Ctrl+Alt+R:
extensions.rightlinks.key.toggleStatus = "control alt R"
Or leave these preferences empty to disable hotkeys.
Warning! Open new window (or restart Firefox) to apply the changes.
Note: some combinations of key and modifiers don't work.
See also
In English: http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=645809
In Russian: http://forum.mozilla-russia.org/viewtopic.php?id=19960
Source code and issues tracker: https://github.com/Infocatcher/Right_Links
Version Information
Version 0.4.1
[x] Corrected long left-click in multi-process mode: increased waiting time to stop click event (extensions.rightlinks.e10sWaitDelay preference).
[+] Added ability to open original browser's context menu using right click with any modifier on Right Links button and menu item.
[x] Fixed detection of links from CSS Inspector in Firefox 52+.
[x] Fixed re-enable in multi-process mode: reuse already loaded frame scripts (see bug 1051238).
- Source code released under Mozilla Public License Version 1.1


text:
Philips 20W dimmable halogen landscape and accent capsule provides bright, sparkling light. An efficient alternative to a 20W incandescent, it has no mercury, can last up to 1.8 years* and has an estimated yearly energy cost of $2.41**. See all benefits
Just by turning the switch, the light is at full brightness. No slow starting or waiting.
This halogen light bulb provides a bright, sparkling light, ideal for adding brilliance and drama to your home.
This bulb can be used with most dimmers to create your desired ambience.


text:
Faced with a glut of cars and parking that's spilling into downtown neighborhoods, four Palo Alto City Council members have issued a sizable challenge to the city's planning staff: Come up with a program that would get almost a third of solo car commuters to switch to other means of transportation.
In a memo released Wednesday, Mayor Greg Scharff, Vice Mayor Nancy Shepherd, and Councilwomen Liz Kniss and Gail Price call on city staff to develop a "comprehensive" transportation-demand management (TDM) plan, a system that will give drivers incentives to switch to mass transit, biking, car-sharing services and other means of getting to work. This plan would apply to three sections of the city: downtown, the California Avenue business district and Stanford Research Park.
If the full City Council votes to support the memo Monday night, it will task city staff with yet another program aimed at solving the city's complex and frustrating parking problems.
The city is already evaluating the prospect of building new garages; eliminating some of the parking exemptions that local law grants to developers; creating a framework for a "residential parking permit program" that neighborhoods would be able to adopt; and increasing the capacity of garages through a valet program.
The staff is currently tasked with returning, in the next 45 days, with proposed changes to the city's parking regulations, including elimination of a provision known as "transferable development rights," which grants parking exemptions to developers who perform seismic retrofits and historical rehabilitation.
The new memo proposes another strategy: reduce the number of cars. It calls parking and traffic "one of the toughest challenges facing the City at this time and a major concern for our residents" and argues that new garages, parking programs and elimination of parking exemptions "will not alone solve the issues of parking and traffic."
"The City needs a comprehensive TDM program that will reduce trips by at least 30 percent," the memo states.
The goal may seem ambitious, but the city doesn't have to look too far for success stories. Stanford University, viewed as a leader in the field of transportation demand management, used a comprehensive program to reduce its employees' rate of solo driving from 70 percent to 40 percent. Sparked by a mandate from Santa Clara County that Stanford keep commute-hour cars to the same number as in 2000, the program includes a fleet of about 60 shuttle buses, free Caltrain passes, and cash incentives through the Commute Club, whose 8,000 members shun solo driving.
Brodie Hamilton, who manages Stanford's plan, said at a community forum last month that as a result of its program, the number of parking permits the university has been selling dropped by about 2,000 despite considerable growth in campus population. The success of the program also obviated the need for Stanford to build 3,000 parking spaces, Hamilton said at the Aug. 17 forum organized by the group Green Planning Action.
The memo from the four council members also cites the Contra Costa Transit Center as a success story. Last month, Shepherd, Price, Kniss and Interim Planning Director Aaron Aknin traveled to Contra Costa to learn about the center's program, which according to the memo reduced solo car trips by more than 30 percent. The Contra Costa program is managed by a specially formed Transportation Management Agency funded by contributions from new commercial developments in the district area. Its strategies include BART fare subsidies, gas cars, special parking for carpools and car-share services for mid-day errands or emergency trips home. The memo suggests that Palo Alto consider the creation of such an agency.
The memo argues that while alternative transportation models are not a new idea in Palo Alto, the city's existing initiatives "are not comprehensive in nature, and have not been effective from a districtwide standpoint."
"The idea of considering downtown districts as a unit, with an experienced TDM contractor, working directly with employers and commuters is a smart and proven strategy to address the city's traffic and parking issues," the memo states.
The council members propose that staff should create a defined TDM boundary area for each of the three districts; come up with a funding mechanism for the districts (examples include assessments on existing businesses and impact fees on new developments); develop a request for proposals to contract out TDM services; reach out to Stanford for collaboration and integration of services; and develop tools to monitor and evaluate progress.
The memo acknowledges that the program's implementation will take a "considerable amount of staff time," at least in the short term but argues that these efforts will pay off in the long run.
"As the more comprehensive strategy takes effect, staff will not have to tackle individual issues to the same degree," the memo states.


text:
08 Oct 2019
Meet the powers behind Europe's cleantech revolution
Subscribe to our newsletter. Enter your details below.
Can cleantech in Europe get the investment it needs? And whose new technologies will win out?
We spoke to several industry executives who revealed that cleantech businesses need significant investment in the form of both government subsidies and the private sector. But the question is, will it be forthcoming? And which technologies currently being developed are most likely to benefit most from these much-needed cash injections to push their innovations forward?
Carbon capture grabs attention
Of the technologies in the market today, carbon capture has gained some real interest from the media and, in turn, the investor community.
Econic Technologies is a unique catalyst technology business that recycles waste carbon dioxide into a feedstock in the plastics manufacturing industry. It has raised $25 million to date from investors such as IP Group (a UK-based intellectual property business investing in technology companies).
Econic's CEO, Dr Rowena Sellens, emphasised that in the process of gaining investment, "early-stage cleantech firms need to show that they are economically viable and are not reliant on carbon taxes or subsidies to succeed".
Taking a longer-term view
Nicky Chambers is the former CEO of Origen Power another carbon capture company whose technology efficiently breaks down limestone into lime and high purity CO₂ that can then be used or stored safely underground at low cost. He spoke to us about the current challenges facing cleantech companies.
Because of investor appetite for this sector, says Chambers, "investors are used to the current markets, so they cannot see the disruption. They definitely need to start looking longer term if we are going to make the transition and also realise that the economics of now will not be the economics of 2050."
For the investor community, the increase in pressure from governments and large industrial parent companies to grow their sustainability footprint is yet to register.
Returns still triumph over the potential impact of these cleantech businesses on climate change and the environment.
Former CEO of the Green Investment Bank (now the Green Investment Group under Macquarie ownership), Shaun Kingsbury, spoke to us about how, unsurprisingly, "investors, as always, are looking for good risk-adjusted returns".
Despite a growing body of evidence showing that major shareholders are challenging investors to look for strong, sustainable businesses. Kingsbury emphasised that from his experience of the investor community, "only a very, very small minority of investors are willing to trade returns for green impact".
French dimension
Through Odgers Berndtson's Head of Cleantech in Canada, Elaine Grotefeld, we also spoke to French investor Demeter, where Investment Director Maureen Le Baud has led several investments for the company into the cleantech space since joining in 2016.
On the breakdown of investor appetite, Le Baud mentioned that at Demeter they have seen "very few insurance companies or banks investing in so-called 'Venture Cleantech' funds", and that whilst there are a few European VCs dedicated to the cleantech sector, "most invest quite early stage" with cleantech start-ups needing to look for strategic investors for later-stage funding rounds.
Innovation across Europe
Across Europe, there are numerous exciting innovations,
As Dr Rowena Sellens comments "improvements in sustainability…is moving up the agenda as the industry comes under increased pressure from customers, consumers and shareholders to recognise that society can't just wait for climate change to just go away."
Aside from the benefits of carbon capture technologies, the global transportation market promises a greater reduction in emissions. Better electric vehicle charging infrastructure is growing. For example, Chargemaster (created by BP in collaboration with leading electric vehicle manufacturers) and Pod Point, which claims to be "building the charging infrastructure needed to enable mass adoption of electric vehicles", with investment from Legal & General.
Lilium, a Munich start-up that has attracted more than $100 million in funding, is developing flying electric taxis.
"Nothing like the Lilium Jet has ever existed before," say Lilium's founders. "Its iconic design and pioneering technology bring the vision of fully-electric transition flight to reality. It's the new mobility service for the modern, urbanised age."
The Netherlands to Sweden
In the Netherlands, another exciting cleantech business that promises a major impact on fossil fuel usage is Black Bear. The business has developed a technology that results in the upcycling of all used tyres into their finalised Carbon Black product. These are "sustainable, one-to-one replacements of many ASTM furnace Carbon Blacks in tyres, inks, coatings and technical rubber goods". The company's long-term goal is "to upcycle all waste tyres and thus reduce oil use, with CO2 emission reductions equivalent to planting more than one billion trees".
Meanwhile, in Sweden, Ferroamp has created 'EnergyHub', a product that allows the average consumer to store, use and manage their own solar energy in the home. "EnergyHub-based solar production gives you solar when the sun is shining, but also the unique phase balancing that gives you the lowest possible main fuse so you can charge an electric car as efficiently as possible. All data is stored in our cloud service, so you can monitor the system's function and reduce your electricity costs."
Even in the field of renewable energy, cleantech start-ups are providing advances that promise both efficiencies and more critically, reductions in costs that will drive an increase in certain technologies. One good example is Oxford [UK] PV™, whose perovskite solar technology will "accelerate the growth of solar energy generation globally."
Clearly, the cleantech sector across Europe is delivering and will continue to deliver solutions for the world's climate change challenges, providing the funding keeps flowing. The question is: can they do it fast enough?


text:
Chocolate is enjoyed. Grand Chocolat is experienced.
Tasting Grand Chocolat is an art, perfected by the leading chocolate craftsmen for creating, evaluating and sampling exceptional chocolates.
Tasting Grand Chocolat is a rare, intense, and intimate experience. You have to take your time and concentrate to discover the complexity of the chocolate and appreciate the enjoyment as it reaches a crescendo. You can see its shine, feel its texture, hear its crunch but only when it is in the mouth does the experience truly begin.
The Art of Tasting can be broken down into four stages, all of which are necessary to experience the richness and complexity of a Grand Cru Chocolat, and to reveal its aromatic potential.
Sight: First of all, look at the chocolate. Concentrate carefully on the polish, the shine, and especially the color. Colors can range from milky beiges, to pure mahoganies, to deep dark browns. It is an essential detail that reveals the varieties of cocoa beans used.
Smell: Next, smell the chocolate, breathe deeply and fill your mind and body with its aromas.
Hearing: Listen by breaking a square into fragments between your fingers, and listen to the snap it makes.
Taste: Start by biting into a quarter of a chocolate square, let it melt on the tongue to taste the initial flavors, aromas and consistency. Gently rub the tongue against the palate. This causes the temperature of the chocolate to slowly increase, resulting in the final release of its flavors and aromas. Close your eyes and focus only on the development of the aromatic notes of the chocolate in the mouth.
At the precise moment when the chocolate melts in the mouth and the aromas are released, breathe gently through the nose, then inhale to fully experience the diversity and the complexity of the flowery, fruity or spicy, etc., notes.
Breath out to create suction in the mouth, like a whistling effect, causing all the aromas from the chocolate that has been worked by the tongue and the palate to come together and move up towards the nose. Take a moment to concentrate on your tongue, to feel, to savor the different flavors: acid, then if you wait a little longer you may experience the Taste again, but this time concentrate on your nose, and discover the aromas that unleash themselves one after the other.
Similar to wine, you will first smell the most volatile aromas (primary or head aromas): These are instantaneous, fleeting flower or fruit aromas, which volatilize quickly and fade away in the middle of the tasting process.
Next, we move on to the aromas that are unveiled in the middle of the tasting experience, known as body aromas.These are essentially hot aromas, such as roasted almonds, hot bread crust, spice mix, etc. Allow yourself to linger over the taste experience, for you will then be able to savor the less volatile aromas of certain chocolates, known as final aromas: These are often woody, roasted nibs (cocoa nibs), malty, etc.
We hope you enjoy your sensorial trip!


text:
Cheddar Explodes, Bing Bings, Wired Connects, Pirelli Prances
- In an effort to bring life to their "Cheddar Explosion" campaign, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is sponsoring the demolition of Texas Stadium.
- Microsoft visited with 100 year old Dr. Richard J. Bing, made a story of the man's life and sent the result off to Sundance.
- Wired magazine is having a Super Bowl party. They'll have beer, food...and biometric devices attached to you to determine which ads you like.
- And here's the Pirelli calender again. NSFW.
- Not as bad as Agency.com fist bumping itself but this video highlighting Colle + McVoy's office signage approaches.
by Steve Hall Jan-29-10 Click to Comment
Topic: Events
Topic: Events


text:
RIM's BlackBerry Torch 9850 is the company's third smartphone to launch with a full touchscreen form factor, following the original Storm and the Storm 2, and it's the first to launch on Sprint. The 9850 packs brand new hardware and the new BlackBerry 7 operating system into a thin industrial design, but is it enough of an improvement over the earlier Storm devices to warrant your upgrade? Can it compete with other touchscreen smartphones? I've been using the Torch 9850 for the past week and my full review of the smartphone follows below.
When I went to Toronto in early August to see RIM's brand new family of BlackBerry smartphones, I walked away most impressed with the Torch 9850. It was thin, I loved the hardware buttons, the onscreen keyboard seemed to work well and I appreciated the rounded edges. After spending a week with the Torch 9850 and the Bold 9930 side by side, I've found myself gravitating to the Bold 9930. The Torch 9850 clearly has a high-end design, but it's not as polished and luxurious feeling as the Bold 9930.
The top of the phone can be pressed to activate the phone's lock mechanism. The right side is home to rubber volume up/down toggle keys, a camera quick-launch button and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Torch 9850 has a 3.7-inch 800 x 480-pixel resolution touchscreen display that was more than bright enough for viewing under direct sunlight. It also has four hardware buttons for placing and ending calls, accessing the menu and stepping backwards through menus. There's an optical trackpad in the middle of all four buttons which worked well but, given the phone's touchscreen, it wasn't necessary most of the time.
There's a 5-megapixel camera and single LED flash on the back of the Torch 9850, and the soft touch finish gives it a nice premium touch. The top, bottom and sides of the phone also have a faux chrome finish, although that has been known to chip off of BlackBerry phones over time. I like the new Torch hardware, but there's too much plastic in comparison to the brushed metal RIM used on the Bold 9930.
The Torch 9850 is great until you turn it on. The absolute weakest part of the package is RIM's BlackBerry 7 operating system. It's painfully stale and even though the Torch packs a 1.2GHz processor, the phone often displayed the infamous spinning pinwheel that lets you know it's stalling on a task.
BlackBerry OS 7 is not a large improvement over OS 6. In fact, it looks exactly the same when you turn the phone on. There are still eight visible app icons on a menu bar that can be raised or lowered with a single tap. Swiping the menu left or right reveals four other app drawers: Frequent, Downloads, Media and Favorites. BlackBerry OS 7 allows you to deactivate any of those drawers by hitting "Menu" and then "Manage panels." The operating system offers several other features, but it is still slow and far behind competing operating systems from Apple, Google and Microsoft. Wallpaper lovers be damned, I'm still shocked at the waste of space on the home screen. I'm kicking a dead horse, but RIM needs to move to QNX, stat.
The phone's software keyboard was adequate although keys were a bit small for my tastes. I found myself frequently making errors with the Torch 9850, despite its auto-correct feature, and I was often annoyed while typing anything at all. Sprint had sent along the Bold 9930 with my Torch 9850, so I used that phone's stellar hardware keyboard for nearly every task that involved a significant amount of typing.
The Torch 9850's WebKit web browser is much better than the one found in BlackBerry OS 6. Most websites loaded just fine and I was able to pan around them with minimal lag most of the time. The browser still doesn't support Adobe Flash content, but that's certainly not a deal breaker.
I need to address BlackBerry App World because it's the second biggest letdown about the Torch 9850 aside from the software itself. There are simply not enough good applications available for download. The App World is chock full of mediocre apps, few of which interest me in any way. RIM's BlackBerry App World is lagging far behind iOS and Android, and I hope RIM has bigger plans for QNX.
Data and Call Quality
Calls placed on the Torch 9850 were solid. Voices sounded clear and I didn't have many complaints other than the volume buttons were a bit harder to press compared to other phones. I loaded a number of websites rather quickly over Sprint's EV-DO 3G network and was generally pleased with the data performance. I do wish the carrier worked with RIM to release a 4G WiMAX version of the phone since it has a number of 4G Android devices that will offer faster speeds out of the box for a lower price. While it supports 802.11b/g/n networks I'm shocked that it doesn't offer a mobile hotspot option for sharing the 3G connection with other Wi-Fi devices.
I took the Torch 9850 to the beach with me for the weekend and used it to snap a number of photos. I liked how fast the camera was able to capture shots. I did not find the photos particularly impressive however, and the flash often blew out my subject in darker scenes. The Torch 9850 can be used to record 720p video, although I found the quality was not as good as the videos recorded with a number of Android phones I have on my desk. The video was noticeably grainy but I did appreciate the continuous auto-focus.
I still miss the times when I could go more than two days with my BlackBerry Bold 9700. The Torch 9850 was easily able to make it through a full 24 hours of moderate usage before I needed to charge it again. It also idled very well, so I'd expect it to last longer with light use. If you stick with BlackBerry over Android or iOS for its battery life, you should be generally pleased with the Torch 9850's performance.
During my review I was approached by a BGR fan asking to see my BlackBerry Bold 9930. "I also have the Torch 9850," I told him as I took it out of my pocket. He looked at both of them and said, "Yeah, this isn't for me, I'm definitely more excited for the Bold." That's exactly how I feel about the Torch.
The 9850 is decent enough if you require a full touchscreen display, but if you need a BlackBerry and are on Sprint, I'd recommend the Bold 9930 any day, hands-down. It has the best keyboard I've ever used and the design is much more beautiful.
RIM created the Torch 9850 to go toe-to-toe with the dozens of full touchscreen smartphones on the market that run iOS, Windows Phone and Android. Unfortunately, because BlackBerry OS 7 is so far behind the pack, the Torch 9850 simply can't compete.


text:
Auto Technician Hiring Event
Company: Valvoline Instant Oil Change
Location: Chattanooga
Posted on: September 16, 2023
Job Description:
Geared for the Driven
VIOC, a division of Valvoline , is hiring driven individuals to join our team and provide customers with the very best preventive maintenance service available and help us build the world's leading retail services business.
We're passionate about cars, but we're really in the business of taking care of people. Whether you're looking for flexible hours or a full-time career with excellent advancement potential, you'll find it all at VIOC.
VIOC is hosting a virtual job fair for our Chattanooga Area locations.
We have Full-Time positions available at our Hamilton Place, Highway 153, Hixson Pike, East Ridge, Ooltewah and Athens locations.
We have Part-Time positions available at our Hixson Pike and East Ridge locations.
We're looking for women and men with great customer service skills who are interested in becoming Entry-Level Lube Technicians. We provide paid, on-the-job training to teach you everything you need to know to be successful.
Starting Pay: $14.25/hour
How our virtual job fair works:
Please email our recruiter, Melissa, at
Terms and conditions apply, and benefits may differ depending on location
Valvoline is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcomes everyone to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.
The Company endeavors to make its recruitment process accessible to any and all users. Reasonable accommodations will be provided, upon request, to applicants with disabilities in order to facilitate equal opportunity throughout the recruitment and selection process. Please contact Human Resources at 1.833.VVV.Report or email make a request for reasonable accommodation during any aspect of the recruitment and selection process. The contact information is for accommodation requests only; do not use this contact information to inquire about the status of applications.
Geared for the Driven
Keywords: Valvoline Instant Oil Change, Chattanooga , Auto Technician Hiring Event, Professions , Chattanooga, Tennessee
here to apply!


text:
Are the Dow's Biggest Stocks Also the Best?
For more than a century, investors have looked to the blue-chip stocks of the Dow Jones Industrials (INDEX: ^DJI) for safety and security. Even in turbulent economic times, the leaders that make up the 30 stocks in the Dow have largely stood the test of time and still offer promising prospects for the future.
But even among the Dow 30, some stocks show more leadership than others. For investors trying to decide which Dow stocks are truly the best, is it smart to stick with the most massive companies you can find, or can up-and-coming players give you better returns? Let's take a closer look at the Dow to identify the gargantuans in the average with a critical eye toward deciding whether they're the ones that deserve a spot in your portfolio.
The biggest of the big
When you look at the five stocks with the largest market capitalizations in the Dow, you find five captains of the global economy:
Oil giant ExxonMobil (NYS: XOM) weighs in with the biggest market cap by far, at a whopping $401 billion.
Wal-Mart (NYS: WMT) comes in a distant second, with the discount retail leader fetching $232 billion.
Software bellwether Microsoft (NAS: MSFT) has a $227 billion market cap, placing it at No. 3 on the list.
Conglomerate General Electric (NYS: GE) takes the fourth position at $217 billion.
Computer pioneer and diversified information technology company IBM (NYS: IBM) rounds out the top five with a $215 billion market cap.
ExxonMobil has put up impressive stock performance over the past year, rising more than 20%. But more recently, the company's results have raised questions about the sustainability of its growth, as both revenue and income fell during the third quarter. In light of falling production levels, Exxon may have to go on another acquisition binge, similar to its move two years ago to buy XTO Energy. When you step back and look at Exxon's returns over the past five years, you'll find just 2% average gains, which clearly reflects the relative weakness in energy prices over that span. If the global economy doesn't cooperate with renewed growth, oil and natural gas prices could fall further, adding to Exxon's long-term troubles.
Wal-Mart, on the other hand, has seen consistent stock performance, up 25% in the past year and averaging 11% gains since 2007. After a long streak of falling same-store sales, Wal-Mart is back on the growth path. Moreover, with the economy on rocky ground once more, the retailer's discount model is perfectly positioned to recapture higher-end customers and boost sales, just as it did during the 2008 recession.
For Microsoft, hope for its Windows 8 operating system and Surface tablet has helped push its stock price higher by 13% over the past year. But longer-term, it hasn't shown an ability to compete effectively with more adept players in the mobile market, which could potentially leave it behind as PC sales continue to decline. That's why its stock has fallen at a 2% annual clip in the past five years, and why even value investors are dubious about its future potential.
GE is one of the biggest turnaround stories in the Dow. After plunging during the financial crisis because of its GE Capital division, GE has come roaring back, using its energy infrastructure division as the focal point of its growth story. Its stock is up 45% over the past year, but it's still well off its 2007 levels. Moreover, a downbeat forecast during its most recent quarter shows how dependent GE is on the overall health of the global economy, and until the picture grows clearer, it's hard to have complete confidence in the conglomerate.
Finally, IBM has provided consistent returns for shareholders for years, as it has reinvented itself from its original emphasis on hardware to provide higher-margin services as well. With its competitors having difficulties, IBM is in prime position to capitalize on their woes.
Simply the best?
Looking at the Dow's top five, you can't really conclude that the biggest stocks in the Dow are truly the best. With all the challenges that they face, all five will have to work hard to sustain their leadership positions, and if they fail, rivals are waiting in the wings to capitalize on potential missteps.
Perhaps the most frustrating of these five stocks has been Microsoft, as shareholders have had to watch the company fail to capitalize on the incredible growth in mobile over the past decade. Get more in-depth insight into whether Microsoft is a buy in our new premium report, in which our analyst explains the opportunity and the challenges for the company. He's also providing regular updates as key events occur, so make sure to claim a copy of this report now by clicking here.
The article Are the Dow's Biggest Stocks Also the Best? originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Dan Caplinger has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. The Motley Fool owns shares of General Electric, IBM, Microsoft, and ExxonMobil. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend IBM and Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2012 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


text:
SoundCloud Unmutes Pinterest
At SoundCloud we love to help you share your sounds, and be heard everywhere. The ability for your sounds to be integrated into other platforms and services plays a large part of this, which is why we're excited to announce that your sounds can now be 'pinned' on Pinterest!
Pinterest enables users to create virtual pinboards of their favourite things; photos, sketches, websites, and now sounds! Other users' pinboards can then be explored, and followed, great for discovering new content online.
When you pin a sound on Pinterest, it's artwork will be displayed alongside your other pins, and the SoundCloud HTML5 widget will launch when the pin is clicked, perfect for listening whilst you browse. Shared sounds are fully attributed, and link back to their page on SoundCloud, so creators will always be credited.
To pin a sound you can either use Pinterest's 'Pin It' bookmarklet, or copy the URL of the sound you want to share onto the site.
(As a bonus, if you're using our Next SoundCloud private beta, you can even pin a sound directly from its share button on SoundCloud!)
We hope you have fun with SoundCloud and Pinterest. Happy pinning!


text:
Hoover picks Panasonic Toughpad Tablets to support its service and repair engineers
When Hoover invested in technology to help its repair and service engineers provide industry-leading customer service fit for the future it chose Panasonic Toughpad tablets. The rugged touchscreen device helps the engineers deliver the high standard of service that Hoover customers expect
To deliver on its vision of world class customer service with industry leading service and repairs, Hoover chose to upgrade its field service application and the mobile devices its engineers were using.
The company had implemented its FieldAssist service management system in 2002 alongside Panasonic Toughbook CF-M34 and later Panasonic Toughbook CF-19 rugged notebooks for the engineers. "In 14 years we only had to replace the Panasonic Toughbook devices once, so they had more than exceeded our expectations," said David Hunt, Business Support Manager, at Hoover Ltd. "But our field service management system needed updating to provide the engineers with the tools they would need in the future to continue to deliver industry-leading customer service."
After reviewing their options, Hoover decided to upgrade its existing FieldAssist service management application to the latest Windows 10 version and develop its own bespoke modifications to meet its needs. The upgrade also provided Hoover with the opportunity to re-examine its choice of mobile device for the engineers.
A rugged tablet solution
"The new functionality of the FieldAssist application allowed us to look at a smaller, and lighter touchscreen tablet device for the engineers, rather than a notebook. The point, click and menu-based options of the application meant a tablet solution would be ideal," said David.
The Hoover team reviewed a wide range of devices and spoke to business customers that had deployed a wide variety of tablet solutions. "At first we thought we would choose a cheaper device but when we looked at the evidence, many of these devices, even with protective casings, were lasting just two years in the field," said David.
"We knew from our experience with Panasonic that its rugged devices would last at least 5 years, if not six or seven, even with the knocks they receive in the field. When we did the total cost of ownership calculation, it was clear that the Panasonic Toughpad tablet was the right choice."
Deploying to 180 engineers
Hoover is deploying the Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1 Value tablet with bar code reader and Near Field Communication (NFC) capability to its 180 field engineers. The engineers use the device to schedule their appointments for the day. The FieldAssist application with the Panasonic device can use the customer's address with the satellite navigation system to schedule the quickest route to the appointment. The engineer completes their job sheet using the device, can use the camera to photograph and digitally attach images to the report and order parts as required.
In addition, the device is used by the engineers for email and internet access, including access to Hoover's online engineering knowledge and diagnostic database.
The information and reports are shared in real-time with the office-based systems using 3G/4G or Wi-Fi connections.
To ensure the Panasonic devices are future-proof, the NFC functionality will allow engineers to read chips in future Hoover products for faster diagnostics and repairs.
Initial fears overcome
Fitting into a cushioned central pocket in the engineers' tool bag, the Panasonic devices have been generally well received by the team. "The devices are lighter and easier to use once the engineers become used to them," said David. "Initially there was concern that the screens would be too small to see diagrams, for example, but this fear was quickly over come when the engineers saw the clarity of the screen and the ability to zoom in using the touchscreen. The always on tablet is also an advantage over the old notebooks. It is faster for the engineers to use and more efficient and professional when using with customers, asking for a signature on the device, for example."
The ideal field tablet
The Panasonic Toughpad FZ-M1 Value tablet is ideal for industry sectors using field applications and looking to replace their ageing business PDA's or notebooks. The device, with its energy efficient and mobility-designed Intel Atom processor, is an affordable and flexible mobile solution. With its capacitive, 10-finger multi-touch display flexible configurable ports and business expansion capability this Windows 10 Pro device can be used in the field whilst benefitting from connectivity options to ensure data is always available when needed.
Read more insights…
Case Study
On the road with Greenland's Survey: The conditions are so harsh that the gear has to be able to withstand pretty much everything
ASIAQ Greenland Survey performs many of the measurements behind the world's climate surveys. But working in one of the harshest areas of the world is not for the faint-hearted.
Panasonic and Roda Computer develop TOUGHBOOK 40 Military In-Vehicle Solution
The TOUGHBOOK 40 Military is the latest defence sector solution from the long-standing relationship between Panasonic and roda computer.
Demystifying the hype from the hope in 5G
It may feel like the world has been talking about the potential benefits of 5G for years, however, for many organisations thinking about tapping into the benefits of 5G across Europe, it's still relatively early days.
EXPLORING WHY 5G Private Networks are set to REVOLUTIONIZE CONNECTIVITY in Europe
In this whitepaper, we will delve into the benefits of 5G private networks, and contest some of the misconceptions around private 5G.
Sorry there was an error...
The files you selected could not be downloaded as they do not exist.
You selected items.
Continue to select additional items or download selected items together as a zip file.
You selected 1 item.
Continue to select additional items or download the selected item directly.


text:
We're Not Gonna Take It!
Protest Karaoke-Style
We're Not Gonna Take It is an interactive public art project that allows you to record your own protest songs using the telephone.
You can create a song about issues you wish to protest (such as corporate globalism, your landlord's poor repair record, or bad produce at the supermarket). You record your song by using the telephone like a karaoke machine, singing along to rock music. Your personal protest song will then be delivered to the politicians of your choosing.
Recordings 1 - 1 of 1
City: All Philadelphia San Francisco Toronto
Page: 1
How To Participate
1. Call the local phone
number for your location. (Currently: Toronto, San Francisco, Philadelphia)
Created by Amos Latteier. Produced with the support of the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council. Music by Ralf Youtz.


text:
Early bird catches the worm...for dinner
(Phys.org) —Birds, such as great and blue tits, scout for food in the morning but only return to eat it in late afternoon to maximise their chances of evading predators in the day without starving to death overnight, Oxford University research has found.
This 'early bird' strategy was revealed by a team studying the winter foraging behaviour of birds in Wytham Woods, near Oxford. The researchers fitted over 2,000 birds with tiny PIT radio tags. They then used 101 feeders which detected these tags and captured the exact time individual birds found each feeder. By moving 36 of these feeders around the forest throughout the day, and recording the results, the team showed that birds gathered information about new food sources during the morning so that they could then eat it later in the day.
The birds studied were a mixture of great tits (Parus major), blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), marsh tits (Poecile palustris), coal tits (Periparus ater), and nuthatches (Sitta europaea). A report of the research is published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters this week.
'Birds have to store body fat to avoid starving during the cold winter nights, but this can make them slower and less manoeuvrable so that they are more likely to be caught by predators,' said Damien Farine of Oxford University's Department of Zoology, who led the research. 'So there is a trade-off, where birds need to remain lean enough in order to "outrun" their predators, or at least the next slowest bird, during the day but also store enough fat to survive each night.'
The team knew from previous studies at Wytham Woods that, when the predation risk appears high, birds delay putting on fat until late in the day. The researchers wanted to test the idea that, instead of simply 'idly waiting' until the afternoon, birds were actively seeking out new sources of food to work out where their next meal was coming from.
'We used new tracking technologies to investigate how great tits, blue tits, and other common garden birds balance the competing risks of predation and starvation,' said Damien Farine. 'Our results show that these birds display very different patterns of food discovery in the morning and afternoon – very few new food sources were found during the afternoon, whereas nearly every new food source that we put out during the morning was quickly discovered. It supports the idea of an "early bird" strategy of scouting for food early on so that they can return to feast a couple of hours before dusk in preparation for a long winter's night.'
Winter is a tough time for small garden birds as not only is there less natural food available but their predators, such as the sparrowhawk, are keen to stock up their own fat reserves and so are hunting every day. The short days and long cold nights mean that small birds can lose around 10% of their body weight over a single night so that individuals failing to pile on the grams on even one day can starve and won't be around to pass on their genes the next summer.
'Because small birds can't reproduce without surviving the winter, they have evolved a complex set of behaviours that enables them to maximise their chance of both surviving predators and avoiding starvation,' said Damien Farine 'It's a good example of how animals alter their behaviour to respond to constantly changing environmental conditions. It also shows how new technologies, like tiny PIT tags, are enabling us to explore questions about animal survival strategies at an unprecedented scale.'
More information: rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.or … content/9/6/20130578
Journal information: Biology Letters
Provided by Oxford University


text:
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — John Hubert ran for 101 yards and four touchdowns on just 10 carries, Collin Klein had two touchdowns running and throwing and No. 7 Kansas State routed Kansas 56-16 on Saturday.
Klein finished with 129 yards passing and 116 yards rushing to help the Wildcats (5-0, 2-0 Big 12) pile up more than 50 points for the third straight year against their biggest rival. They've won four straight against the Jayhawks (1-4, 0-2) since Bill Snyder returned to the sideline.
The longtime Kansas State coach probably had some choice words for his team at halftime, when a slew of mistakes resulted in a modest 21-14 lead. But the Wildcats scored four touchdowns in the third quarter, three in a span of about 5 minutes, to put the game away.
Kansas' Dayne Crist threw for 189 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw three interceptions and lost a fumble. The Notre Dame transfer was replaced by Michael Cummings in the fourth quarter.
James Sims had 115 yards rushing and a touchdown for the Jayhawks.
Just about everything that could go right for Kansas in the first half did.
It started with a time-gobbling, 86-yard drive that kept Klein and Co. on the sideline for a good chunk of the first quarter, and ended in a 19-yard touchdown pass to Tony Pierson.
Crist was 7-of-8 passing for 77 yards on the series.
Kansas State answered with a 74-yard drive of its own. Hubert did almost all the work, and his 20-yard touchdown run over a gaping right side knotted the game late in the quarter.
That's when Kansas got sneaky – or downright audacious.
Held to three-and-presumably-out, Kansas coach Charlie Weis told Ron Doherty to execute what amounted to a punter draw that went for a first down. The Jayhawks marched to the Kansas State 23 before they were held again, but this time they faked a field goal, and holder Blake Jablonski threw a pass to defensive end Toben Opurum – a former running back – to set up Sims' short TD run.
Kansas State needed only four plays and just over a minute to answer again. Klein scooted for 27 yards and two plays later hit Tyler Lockett in stride for a 34-yard touchdown reception.
After holding Kansas to three-and-out – this time the Jayhawks did punt – the Wildcats needed only three plays to score. Angelo Pease ran for 28 yards, Klein went for 31 and then the fullback-like quarterback barreled in from a yard out to make it 21-14 with 9:35 left in the half.
It looked like Kansas State might score again just before the half when Crist was intercepted by Nigel Malone, who returned it to the Kansas 5. Crist made the touchdown-saving tackle.
There were only 16 seconds left on the clock, and Klein burned Kansas State's last timeout for no apparent reason. He then ran a designed draw play and was stacked up in bounds and short of the goal line, allowing the final seconds to tick away without getting another play off.
Not that it mattered a whole lot.
The game quickly got out of hand in the third quarter.
Klein's 2-yard touchdown pass to Travis Tannahill made it 28-14, and after Kansas managed a safety, Tre Parmelee fumbled the ensuing kickoff to give the Wildcats the ball back. Hubert made one cut and ran untouched 32 yards for another touchdown and a 35-16 lead.
Crist was picked off again on the Jayhawks' next possession and, three plays later, Hubert scored from a yard out. Klein added another touchdown run minutes later to make it 49-16.
That was it for Klein, who has his nation-leading 13th game with at least one touchdown rushing and throwing since the start of last season. Daniel Sams took over at quarterback and led the Wildcats to the brink of another score before the game clock finally expired.


text:
Lazy-eye disorder -- a promising therapeutic approach
This medical breakthrough provides direct evidence that alleviating suppression of the weaker eye, by forcing both eyes to cooperate, increases the level of plasticity in the brain and allows the amblyopic brain to relearn. The research is published in the prestigious journal Current Biology.
Amblyopia is the most common cause of visual impairment in childhood, affecting up to 3 per cent of the population. It is caused by poor processing in the brain, which results in suppression of the weaker eye by the stronger eye. Previous treatments for the disorder, which have focused largely on covering the stronger eye in order to force the weaker eye to work, have proven only partially successful in children and have been ineffective in adults.
"The key to improving vision for adults, who currently have no other treatment options, was to set up conditions that would enable the two eyes to cooperate for the first time in a given task," says Dr. Robert Hess, senior author of the paper and Director of Research Department of Ophthalmology at the RI-MUHC and at McGill University.
According to Dr. Hess and his colleagues, the adult human brain has a significant degree of plasticity and this provides the basis for treating a range of conditions where vision has been lost as a result of a disrupted period of early visual development in childhood. The researchers examined the potential of treating amblyopic adults using the video game Tetris, which involves connecting different shaped blocks as they fall to the ground.
"Using head-mounted video goggles we were able to display the game dichoptically, where one eye was allowed to see only the falling objects, and the other eye was allowed to see only the ground plane objects," explains Dr. Hess, who also serves as director of McGill Vision Research. "Forcing the eyes to work together, we believed, would improve vision in the lazy eye."
The researchers tested a sample of 18 adults with amblyopia. Nine participants played the game monocularly with the weaker eye, while the stronger eye was patched; the other nine played the same game dichoptically, where each eye was allowed to view a separate part of the game. After two weeks, the group playing the dichoptic game showed a dramatic improvement in the vision of the weaker eye as well as in 3-D depth perception. When the monocular patching group, who had showed only a moderate improvement, was switched to the new dichoptic training, the vision of this group also improved dramatically.
The suitability of this treatment in children will be assessed later this year in a clinical trial across North America.
About this study:
This work was supported by a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
This Correspondence was co-authored by Jinrong Li, Daming Deng and Minbin Yu (State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Centre, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China); Benjamin Thompson (Department of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Auckland, New Zealand); Lily Y.L. Chan (School of Optometry, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China); and Robert F. Hess (Department of Ophthalmology, McGill University and RI-MUHC, Montreal, Canada).
For patients :
If you would like to participate in a clinical trial, you may register on the page linked below. Unfortunately, there are selection criteria and not all patients can be chosen for these.


text:
Internet Access in 95003 (Aptos, CA)
Internet Connectivity in 95003
^ An estimated 0 of residents in 95003 are connected to the Internet either at home, work, elsewhere or at multiple locations [1].
Internet Availability in 95003
^ Collectively (all cities), 76.6% of all California residents live in a household where Internet is available, which ranks 28th in the nation [2].
Connected in 95003
^ There are an estimated 0 residents in 95003 who are not connected to the Internet at all - whether at home, work, or elsewhere [1].


text:
In its 114th year, Billboard remains the world's premier weekly music publication and a diverse digital, events, brand, content and data licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video, gaming, media, digital and mobile entertainment issues and trends.
Common terms and phrases
AGVA Amusement April Art Mooney Artists Ball Bally Bell Bill Billboard Billboard March Blue Broadcasting Bros Calif Candy Capitol cent Chicago Chicago Coin chines Cincinnati Circus Clete Roberts Club coin machine Columbia Columbia Broadcasting System Company CONCESSIONS County dance Decca disk diskery distributor ditty equipment Fair firm FOUR LEAF CLOVER Hollywood Hotel Jack juke boxes KMPC label last week legit Lewis license Louis manager manufacturers March 13 March 6.—The Mills Model novelty operators Park Philadelphia Phone PHONOGRAPHS pin games plans play POLKA radio RCA Victor recently record reported retail Ride Rink Rock-Ola Sabre Dance season Seeburg Shelvey skate song station string band Super television Tex Beneke Texas Theater thru thruout tion tune VAUGHN MONROE vender vending vocal WALL BOXES WANT WIRE Write York


text:
It was an huge win for Memphis at the Staples Center tonight, particularly with the ejection of Eddie Jones and Mike Miller and Shane Battier having fouled out. And while I'd prefer to focus on the clutch play down the stretch by Damon Stoudamire (having a bit of a revival this week), the real question is how did Kobe Bryant stay in this game? Bryant was bloodied in a collision with Mike Miller (above) during the 3rd quarter, but the foul was correctly called on the former. After being bandaged, Bryant returned to hit 3 successive 3 pointers….and delivered a blatant forearm to Miller's throat when the Memphis guard tried to drive the lane.
Retaliation is one thing, but Bryant was settling a score over contact he initiated. ESPN's Dee Brown observed that had a similar foul been committed by Ron Artest or Danny Fortson, either would've been ejected (and presumably, fined or suspended afterwards).
Had such an incident occured in a city other than L.A., the failure to run Kobe would've resulted in a riot. This was about as premeditated a mugging as it gets, and nonsensical to boot.