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Ocean Surface Topography
Orbiting spacecrafts make highly accurate measurements of the height of the ocean surface - commonly called 'sea level' - to gather long-term information about the world's ocean and its currents. These measurements provide information about the topography of the ocean's surface, which is used to study weather, climate, and other dynamic ocean phenomena. Ocean surface topography data also have many other applications, such as in fisheries management, navigation and offshore operations.
Ocean and land topography are defined exactly the same way. Both give the height of the ocean or land above the geoid. The geoid is the shape the sea surface would have if all the currents and tides stopped.
Accurate measurements of ocean surface topography are important for studying ocean tides, circulation and the amount of heat the ocean holds. The observations are used to help predict short-term changes in weather and longer-term climate patterns.
Tides and currents are the two major factors that contribute to the dynamic topography of the ocean's surface. If our oceans had no tides or currents, the sea surface would assume the shape of the geoid.
- Tides result from changes in gravity at Earth's surface due to the moon and Sun. Detailed information about tides can be found at NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services web site.
- Ocean currents are streams of water flowing through the ocean, driven by wind or by the mixing of waters of differing densities. Because currents are moving bodies of water, they result in changes in the ocean surface, altering ocean surface topography by a few tens of centimeters to more than a meter. Although on a global scale this seems like a small amount, NASA's ocean altimeter satellites can easily measure these changes, allowing data from the satellites to be used to study global ocean circulation, climate and other important areas of research.
NASA currently has two satellite missions that measure ocean surface topography. Jason-1, launched in 2001 continues the measurements begun by TOPEX/Poseidon, which operated from 1992 through 2006. The follow on mission to Jason-1, the Ocean Surface Topography Mission on Jason-2 (OSTM/Jason-2), was launched in 2008 and will take this important data record into a second decade.
These missions use radar altimeter systems specially designed to make extremely accurate and precise measurements of the height of the ocean surface. The satellites measure the height of the sea surface with an accuracy of about 3 centimeters (just over 1 inch) relative to the center of the Earth, and they collect data over nearly all of Earth's ice-free ocean every 10 days. This illustration of an altimetry satellite shows its orbit and its relationship to the sea surface, geoid and seafloor.
The second component of the ocean height measurement is the range from the satellite to the ocean surface. To take a measurement, an onboard altimeter bounces microwave pulses off the ocean surface and measures the time it takes the pulses to return to the spacecraft. The highly accurate altimeter range measurements are subtracted from the satellite orbital height, resulting in ocean topography measurements that are accurate to 3.3 centimeters (1.3 inches) relative to the center of the Earth. By averaging the few-hundred thousand measurements collected by the satellite in the time it takes to cover the global ocean (10 days), global mean sea level can be determined with a precision of several millimeters.
For as long as both the Jason-1 and OSTM/Jason-2 satellites remain operational, they will orbit Earth in a tandem formation separated by about 330 kilometers, doubling the science data and bringing us closer to solving the global climate puzzle.
NASA and the French space agency, CNES, are joint partners in the Jason-1 mission. OSTM/Jason-2 is a multi-partner collaboration among NASA, CNES, NOAA and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) that will continue the long-term ocean surface topography data record.
NASA altimetry data are often combined with data from other ocean-viewing satellites and from in situ measurements taken from ships, profiling buoys and drifters. These combined data sets are used to:
- Measure global sea-level change and provide a continuous view of changing global ocean surface topography
- Calculate the transport of heat, water mass, nutrients and salt by the oceans
- Increase understanding of ocean circulation and seasonal changes and how the general ocean circulation changes through time
- Provide estimates of significant wave height and wind speeds over the ocean
- Test how we compute ocean circulation caused by winds
- Improve the knowledge of ocean tides and develop global tide models
- Improve forecasting of climatic events like El Niño and La Niña as well as global climate change
- Describe the nature of ocean dynamics and develop a global view of Earth's ocean
- Monitor the variation of global mean sea level and its relation to global climate change
Ocean surface topography data have a wide spectrum of scientific applications. Altimeter data have been instrumental in observing the rise and fall of the El Niño and La Niña and, more recently, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Ocean topography often corresponds to the amount of heat stored in the upper layers of the ocean. This information is useful in predicting hurricane season severity and forecasting individual storm severity. Altimetry data also provide ctitical contributions to our knowledge of even longer-term phenomena such as global sea level rise. Over the next few decades, scientists will continue to study these climate, weather and ocean circulation phenomena to better understand their impact on our environment and our daily lives.
In addition to their value as a research tool, ocean surface topography data also have many practical and operational applications. They are used in ship routing, offshore oil operations, fisheries management, recreational boating, oil spill remediation, as well as search-and-rescue and naval maritime operations. Ocean altimeter data have been used to help understand the behavior of Stellar sea lions and the migratory habits of hawksbill turtles and whales tracked by other satellites. The information ocean topography data provide on the extent and degree of ocean warming is important for coral reef research. There are also land applications of ocean altimetry data. Near real-time data of the height of water in rivers and lakes is used for flood and drought investigations. Altimetry also provides a measurement of river level variations, which is especially useful in areas that are difficult to reach such as the Amazon River basin. Altimetry data also help to monitor Greenland ice sheet growth rates.
Scientists and engineers working on the OSTM/Jason-2 mission have developed technologies and data methodologies that will result in even more accurate measurements of sea-surface height than previous missions could provide. The new altimeter systems can observe changes in ocean surface topography with an accuracy of one to two centimeters.
Ocean surface topography data are also being combined with other measurements to help scientists and forecasters better understand the link between the ocean and short and long-term changes in climate and how Earth's climate may respond to changes in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and to man-made changes on land.


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China Now Investigating Nude Photos Of Outspoken Artist Ai Weiwei
The artist Ai Weiwei can't seem to catch a break with the Chinese government. His open dissension, of course, doesn't help, but the government has kept coming after him time and time again.
First jailing him for nearly three months, then sending him a $2.4 million tax bill. The latest wrinkle in the struggle between Ai and the Chinese government is that they are investigating one of his assistants for spreading pornography online. The photo in question, titled "One Tiger, Eight Breasts," features Ai and four women naked.
"He said police had questioned his cameraman Zhao Zhao on Thursday over pictures Zhao had taken of the artist. 'They clearly told him this is an investigation, now, they are doing on me, on pornography,' Ai told the AFP news agency. ...
"'Netizens came to take photos with me, so we said why don't we take nudity photos, then everybody agreed so we did it and they were put on the internet, and that's it, we forget about it,' Ai said. ...
"His lawyers say the investigations are politically motivated to silence Ai, who has used his high profile to speak out on police brutality, official corruption and human rights violations.
In an interview with AP, Ai said the move meant authorities understood little about art. "If they see nudity as pornography, then China is still in the Qing dynasty," he said.
The AP also spoke to Zhao:
"Zhao said the investigation at this point appeared to be limited to himself, but that he believed it was part of the authorities' ongoing campaign against Ai.
"'To them so far their efforts have had no effect, such as the tax case, so they are trying this from other angles,' he said. 'They are again raising this issue, and will keep repeating this over again. They won't easily let him off.'"
Earlier this week, Ai paid the Chinese government a $1.3 million guarantee, while he contests the $2.4 million tax bill.
Note that on this post, we have cropped the picture to show no nudity, but if you want to see the full image, click over The Guardian, which has published it.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

subset: commoncrawl


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ARIAD and the U.K. National Cancer Research Institute to Collaborate on SPIRIT 3 Clinical Study
ARIAD and the U.K. National Cancer Research Institute to Collaborate on SPIRIT 3 Clinical Study
Evaluation of the Impact of Switching CML Patients Treated with a First-line Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor to Ponatinib
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NAS: ARIA) and Newcastle University, U.K., on behalf of the U.K. National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) CML Working Group, today announced an agreement to collaborate on a multicenter, randomized Phase 3 trial, named SPIRIT 3, to assess the impact of switching patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) being treated with a first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitor, upon suboptimal response or treatment failure, to ponatinib. The NCRI expects to begin enrollment in the trial of 1,000 patients at approximately 172 clinical research sites in the U.K. in the second quarter of 2013.
"The SPIRIT 3 study was designed in partnership with ARIAD to provide the scientific community and patients living with chronic-phase CML a deeper understanding of the most effective ways to use TKIs and whether we can improve treatment outcomes by switching patients to ponatinib, who have failed to achieve optimal response from imatinib or nilotinib," stated Stephen G. O'Brien, Professor of Haematology at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research at Newcastle University, NCRI member and chief investigator of the SPIRIT 3 study. "We look forward to assessing ponatinib as a treatment in this setting and evaluating its potential clinical, economic and quality-of-life benefits."
Trial Design and Statistical Analysis
The SPIRIT 3 trial is a randomized, two-arm, multicenter trial that compares major molecular response (MMR) at three years in newly diagnosed patients treated with imatinib to those treated with nilotinib, when patients are "rescued" with ponatinib upon suboptimal response at three or 12 months or treatment failure. The SPIRIT 3 trial will enroll adult patients with chronic-phase CML diagnosed within three months and previously untreated for CML with any TKI therapy. Approximately 1,000 patients will be randomized 1:1 to standard doses of imatinib (400 mg orally once daily) or nilotinib (300 mg orally twice daily). Patients will be switched to ponatinib (45 mg orally once daily) based on defined criteria of suboptimal response, treatment failure, or intolerance to first-line therapy.
The primary endpoint of the study is the proportion of patients who have achieved MMR at three years on their initially allocated first line of therapy, regardless of switch to ponatinib. MMR is defined as a less than or equal to 0.1% ratio of BCR-ABL to ABL transcripts on the International Scale measured in peripheral blood by PCR testing.
The sample size of 500 patients per arm in the SPIRIT 3 protocol provides over 90 percent power to show noninferiority in three-year MMR rates between patients starting on imatinib, allowing switch to ponatinib, and patients starting on nilotinib, allowing switch to ponatinib. These sample size calculations use a noninferiority margin of a 10 percent absolute difference and assume a 73 percent MMR rate at three years in each arm.
Secondary endpoints include the proportion of patients who have achieved therapy cessation three years from having achieved stable MMR, cost of therapy (measured as incremental cost per quality adjusted life year gained), overall survival, progression-free survival, event-free survival, and treatment failure rates at five years, as well as safety and tolerability of the TKIs. Each patient will be followed for a minimum of five years from the time the last patient in the trial is randomized to either treatment arm.
A key feature of the trial is that patients achieving stable MMR will be offered the opportunity to reduce the dose of their TKI therapy or stop treatment altogether. These patients will be monitored more closely with monthly PCR testing and will be reverted back to full-dose TKI therapy for loss of MMR at any time or rising BCR-ABL transcript ratio on two consecutive tests.
"We are deeply committed to helping physicians and CML patients improve outcomes with TKI therapy," stated Frank G. Haluska, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer at ARIAD. "The SPIRIT 3 trial will evaluate the potential for ponatinib to improve outcomes in patients who have sub-optimal responses early in the course of first-line therapy for CML, by enabling those patients with a poorer prognosis to switch TKI therapy. This should have important implications for the future management of CML."
About Iclusig™ (ponatinib)
Iclusig is a kinase inhibitor. The primary target for Iclusig is BCR-ABL, an abnormal tyrosine kinase that is expressed in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL). Iclusig was designed using ARIAD's computational and structure-based drug design platform specifically to inhibit the activity of BCR-ABL. Iclusig targets not only native BCR-ABL but also its isoforms that carry mutations that confer resistance to treatment, including the T315I mutation, which is the most common mutation among resistant patients. Iclusig is the only TKI that is effective in CML and Ph+ ALL patients with this mutation.
Please see the full prescribing information, including the Boxed Warning, for Iclusig at www.ariad.com or www.iclusig.com.
Indication, Usage and Dosing
Iclusig is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with chronic phase, accelerated phase, or blast phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) that is resistant or intolerant to prior tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy or Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) that is resistant or intolerant to prior TKI therapy.
This indication is based upon response rate. There are no trials verifying an improvement in disease-related symptoms or increased survival with Iclusig.
The recommended dose of Iclusig is a 45 mg tablet taken once-daily with or without food.
Important Safety Information
Cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and peripheral vascular thrombosis, including fatal myocardial infarction and stroke have occurred in Iclusig-treated patients. Serious arterial thrombosis occurred in 8% of Iclusig-treated patients. Interrupt and consider discontinuation of Iclusig in patients who develop arterial thrombotic events.
Hepatotoxicity, liver failure and death have occurred in Iclusig-treated patients. Monitor hepatic function prior to and during treatment. Interrupt and then reduce or discontinue Iclusig for hepatotoxicity.
Warnings and Precautions
Twenty patients treated with Iclusig (4%) experienced serious congestive heart failure (CHF) or left ventricular dysfunction, with 4 fatalities. Monitor patients for signs or symptoms consistent with CHF and treat as clinically indicated, including interruption of Iclusig. Consider discontinuation of Iclusig in patients who develop serious CHF.
Eight patients treated with Iclusig (2%) experienced treatment-emergent symptomatic hypertension as a serious adverse reaction, including hypertensive crisis. Treatment-emergent hypertension occurred in 67% of patients. Monitor and manage blood pressure elevations.
Clinical pancreatitis occurred in 6% of patients (5% Grade 3) treated with Iclusig. The incidence of treatment emergent lipase elevation was 41%. Check serum lipase every 2 weeks for the first 2 months and then monthly thereafter or as clinically indicated. Dose interruption or reduction may be required. In cases where lipase elevations are accompanied by abdominal symptoms, interrupt treatment with Iclusig and evaluate patients for pancreatitis.
Serious bleeding events occurred in 5% of patients treated with Iclusig, including fatalities. The incidence was higher in patients with AP-CML, BP-CML, and Ph+ ALL. Most events occurred in patients with grade 4 thrombocytopenia. Interrupt Iclusig for serious or severe hemorrhage.
Serious fluid retention events occurred in 3% of patients treated with Iclusig. One instance of brain edema was fatal. Monitor patients for fluid retention and manage patients as clinically indicated. Interrupt, reduce, or discontinue Iclusig as clinically indicated.
Symptomatic bradyarrhythmias that led to a requirement for pacemaker implantation occurred in 3 (1%) Iclusig-treated patients. Advise patients to report signs and symptoms suggestive of slow heart rate (fainting, dizziness, or chest pain).
Supraventricular tachyarrhythmias occurred in 5% of Iclusig-treated patients. Atrial fibrillation was the most common supraventricular tachyarrhythmia. Advise patients to report signs and symptoms of rapid heart rate (palpitations, dizziness).
Severe (Grade 3 or 4) myelosuppression occurred in 48% of patients treated with Iclusig.
Obtain complete blood counts every 2 weeks for the first 3 months and then monthly or as clinically indicated, and adjust the dose as recommended.
Two patients (<1%) treated with Iclusig developed serious tumor lysis syndrome. Hyperuricemia occurred in 7% of patients. Ensure adequate hydration and treat high uric acid levels prior to initiating therapy with Iclusig.
Since Iclusig may compromise wound healing, interrupt Iclusig for at least 1 week prior to major surgery. Serious gastrointestinal perforation (fistula) occurred in one patient 38 days post-cholecystectomy.
Iclusig can cause fetal harm. Advise women to avoid pregnancy while taking Iclusig.
Adverse Reactions
The most common non-hematologic adverse reactions (≥20%) were hypertension, rash, abdominal pain, fatigue, headache, dry skin, constipation, arthralgia, nausea, and pyrexia. Hematologic adverse reactions included thrombocytopenia, anemia, neutropenia, lymphopenia, and leukopenia. Please see the full Prescribing Information for Iclusig, including the Boxed Warning.
About CML and Ph+ ALL
CML is characterized by an excessive and unregulated production of white blood cells by the bone marrow due to a genetic abnormality that produces the BCR-ABL protein. After a chronic phase of production of too many white blood cells, CML typically evolves to the more aggressive phases referred to as accelerated phase and blast crisis. Ph+ ALL is a subtype of acute lymphoblastic leukemia that carries the Ph+ chromosome that produces BCR-ABL. It has a more aggressive course than CML and is often treated with a combination of chemotherapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The BCR-ABL protein is expressed in both of these diseases.
About the NCRI
The U.K. National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) was established in April 2001. It is a U.K-wide partnership between the government, charity and industry which promotes co-operation in cancer research among the twenty-two member organisations for the benefit of patients, the public and the scientific community. For more information visit www.ncri.org.uk
NCRI members are: the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI); Association for International Cancer Research; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council; Breakthrough Breast Cancer; Breast Cancer Campaign; Cancer Research UK; CHILDREN with CANCER UK; Department of Health; Economic and Social Research Council; Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research; Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research; Macmillan Cancer Support; Marie Curie Cancer Care; Medical Research Council; Northern Ireland Health and Social Care (Research & Development Office); Prostate Cancer UK; Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation; Scottish Government Health Directorates (Chief Scientist Office); Tenovus; The Wellcome Trust; Welsh Government (National Institute for Social Care and Health Research); and Yorkshire Cancer Research.
About ARIAD
ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a global oncology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines to transform the lives of cancer patients. ARIAD's first medicine, Iclusig™, is approved in the U.S. for the treatment of adult patients with chronic, accelerated or blast phase chronic myeloid leukemia that is resistant or intolerant to prior tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy or Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia that is resistant or intolerant to prior TKI therapy. Additional clinical trials of Iclusig in other cancers are ongoing. ARIAD is also studying AP26113, another molecularly targeted medicine, in certain forms of lung cancer. For additional information, visit http://www.ariad.com or follow ARIAD on Twitter (@ARIADPharm).
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" including, but not limited to, potential regulatory approvals, new indications or labeling for, or potential future sales of Iclusig. Forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations and are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, outcome of events, timing and performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, preclinical data and early-stage clinical data that may not be replicated in later-stage clinical studies, the costs associated with our research, development, manufacturing and other activities, the conduct, timing and results of pre-clinical and clinical studies of our product candidates, the adequacy of our capital resources and the availability of additional funding, and other factors detailed in the Company's public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The information contained in this press release is believed to be current as of the date of original issue. The Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this document to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in the Company's expectations, except as required by law.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130107005605/en/
For Newcastle University
Karen Bidewell
0191 222 6972 / 7850
For ARIAD Investors
Kendra Adams
(617) 503-7028
For ARIAD European Media
Heather Grant
+44 (0) 207 632 1873
For ARIAD U.S. Media
Liza Heapes
(617) 621-2315
KEYWORDS: United Kingdom United States Europe North America Massachusetts
The article ARIAD and the U.K. National Cancer Research Institute to Collaborate on SPIRIT 3 Clinical Study originally appeared on Fool.com.
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Saturday, July 31, 2010
Sucker Punch
Posted by Rot at 9:21 PM
Labels: films, girls beating things up, sucker punch, trailer, youtube.com
2 comments:
- The Captain said...
Saw this the other day and it looks amazing, the premise is pretty crazy too. Should be a fun one to watch.
- July 31, 2010 at 10:29 PM
- screaminscott said...
From what I see, this looke a lot liek a live-action anime movie.
I can't wait to see it.
Cute girls with weapons, wearing short skirts, doesn't hurt either.
- August 12, 2010 at 11:37 AM
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text: ___________________________________________________________ The 1st and ONLY Free PCS Digital Cell Phone with NO Long Distance & No Roaming ANYTIME MIN. Now Available on the Net!! Credit, Bad credit, No problem. You will be notified if you need to make a deposit to activate service. That's right, a FREE PCS Digital Cell Phone. Unprecedented Nationwide, Limited Time Offer!!! Your Free Digital Phone includes the following: * Choice of either Samsung mod # SCH-2000 or Qualcomm Thin Phone [Any of these phones would cost you over $200.00 at any retail Cellular store - we have no store overhead so you Save] * All NEW phones. * No Activation Fee. * No Up-Front Cost, first bill within 30 days from date received [ All you pay is sales tax on the phone.] * FREE long distance and roaming. * FREE Caller ID. * FREE Call Waiting. * FREE Voice mail. * FREE paging.[get rid of your pager bill] * FREE First Incoming Minute. * FREE home charger. * Lightweight 6 oz. * Crystal Clear digital NATIONWIDE* PCS service [USA Only] [Nations BEST Digital Carrier] * Choice of Voice Activation on Samsung model only. * FREE Delivery by UPS within 10-15 working days of approval. * 30 return policy [restrictions may apply]. * There is no better Deal on a cell phone on the planet! Hi Folks: Want or need a free cell phone? Sure everyone does. Nice to have for emergencies. Easy to qualify just fill out the form below & fax it to us. [If you are not approved you will be notified as to your need for the deposit] TO ORDER and receive your FREE CELL PHONE just print this message and fill out the simple application form then fax to the number below. You should have your new cell phone within 10-15 business days of "approval." [Not from the time you fax it.] Sorry no email orders. DO IT NOW! Fax Order Center: (209) 396-8240 ------- CUT HERE ------- PLEASE PRINT or TYPE CLEARLY & FAX O N L Y this application page APPLICATION MUST BE COMPLETED OR IT WILL NOT BE PROCESSED. No blank fields. "VERY CLEARLY" TYPE or WRITE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS HERE:_________________________________ NAME First:__________________ M.I. ____ Last:__________________________ USA ADDRESS:______________________________________APT#.___________ City:_______________________________ST:________ Zip:_________ County:_______________________[NEEDED TO FIND YOUR COVERAGE AREA] (*No coverage in MT, MS, NC, SC, AK) SS#________________________ Date Of Birth:______/_____/___________ DL#:__________________________ Exp. Date:_____/_____/_______ Home Ph#:(___)_______________[NO PAGER NUMBERS] Work Ph#:(____)_____________Ext#:______[NO PAGER NUMBERS] Best Time To Call:_________________________ Time Zone:_____________ YOUR Business or EMPLOYER Information: Check one: ____Self employed ____Employee If Self employed your business license # ______________ or Sales Tax ID #_____________ COMPANY NAME:________________________________________________ ADDRESS:______________________________________ City:_______________________________ST:________ Zip:_________ Phone #:______________________ Check phone model you want: ___Samsung model # SCH-2000 ___ Qualcomm thin phone Calling Plans: Check the one you want. You can upgrade or downgrade at any time. _____$ 29.99/month for 120 ANYTIME MIN.[over plan per min charge $.35 cents] _____$ 49.99/month for 400 ANYTIME MIN.[over plan per min charge $.30 cents] _____$ 69.99/month for 600 ANYTIME MIN.[over plan per min charge $.25 cents] _____$ 99.99/month for 1,000 ANYTIME MIN.[over plan per min charge $.25 cents] _____$ 149.99/month for 1,500 ANYTIME MIN.[over plan per min charge $.25 cents] Signature: (VS) __________________________________ Date:_____/_____/___________ NO UPFRONT MONEY - your first bill within 30 days from receipt of phone. [2 year Air Time contract] VS Authorization for credit check and contract approved by my signature. Check your application status by calling (435) 508-1156 Fax Order Center: (209) 396-8240 ------- CUT HERE ------- If due to the response to this offer the fax lines are busy please try again. Thanks, Vaughn Smith Free Cell Phone Agent =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-REMOVE INSTRUCTIONS-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The listserver will automatically delete your email address by entering it at the website below. Many other direct email marketers update their remove lists with the addresses that are entered at this site. Should you access this remove service link and the site has been shut down, it is because someone complained about this service!!! Believe it, there are actually people who do this and hosting company's that listen to these complainers!!! If this is the case, sorry for the inconvenience. http://sede.aecoc.es%647key=removeremoveindex=ixbtl730iq%403522794361/~joeb/remove/21268.htm ---


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Online Bank Tops Rankings for Safety, Transparency
As far as industry accolades go, Ally Bank has been on a roll lately. In October 2012, Money Magazine made Ally its picks for best savings account, best one-year CD and best online bank. Then in January, Ally appeared atop MoneyRates.com's list of best savings accounts for 2013.
Now the bank can add one more honor to its record. A report released last month by the Pew Charitable Trusts named Ally Bank the leader among the nation's largest banks for employing best practices in its checking account disclosure, overdraft and dispute-resolution policies.
Defining banking's best practices
The Pew report is the third in a series regarding checking account safety and transparency. The group considered the policies associated with checking accounts offered by 36 of the nation's 50 largest banks. Fourteen banks were excluded from the study because they only post their terms and fees in branches and do not provide them online or via the mail.
Within the areas of disclosure, overdrafts and dispute resolution, the report identified what it considered to be "best practices" and "good practices." According to Pew, best practices do the following for consumers:
- Provide clear and concise disclosure regarding checking account costs and terms
- Eliminate polices that maximize overdraft fees
- Offer methods to resolve disputes directly with the bank rather than resorting to binding arbitration
Pew identified seven best practices and 11 good practices for the purposes of its survey and graded each bank on how many of them it follows.
Banks with the best and worst checking account practices
Of the 36 banks considered, 97% had at least one of the best practices in place. However, Pew noted that virtually no bank excelled across all three of the categories studied.
Ally Bank topped the rankings by achieving six of the seven best practices defined by Pew, as well as nine of the 11 good practices. (Full disclosure: Ally Bank is an advertiser on MoneyRates.com.) While the bank has implemented all the best practices in the overdraft and dispute resolution categories, it failed to meet the best practice criteria for disclosures.
Including Ally, the following banks had the most best practices in the survey:
- Ally Bank: 6 best practices, 9 good practices
- Charles Schwab Bank: 5 best practices, 8 good practices
- First Republic Bank: 5 best practices, 8 good practices
- Citibank: 5 best practices, 7 good practices
- Bank of America: 5 best practices, 6 good practices
At the bottom of the overall scores is First Niagara Bank, the only institution to not have a single best practice in any of the three categories. But the bank does have five good practices in place, according to Pew.
For those seeking a new account, the Pew report offers a guide on which major banks' fees and policies are most transparent and easy to navigate. But consumers may find it wise to dig even deeper into their checking account options before settling on their next bank.
The original article can be found at Money-Rates.com:Online bank tops rankings for safety, transparency


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A Leader for the 11th year in a row, B2B Automation Platform, Adobe.
Adobe is once again named a Leader in the 2022 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for B2B Automation Platforms report. Adobe was recognized for its Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute.
Read the full report for a closer look at why we all believe that Adobe is the right choice for everyone from small businesses to the most complex, large enterprises.


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Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O> said on Wednesday that users of its forthcoming Xbox One game console will be able to play games offline without establishing an Internet connection, and will be able to lend or sell used disc-based games.
The announcement reverses the company's position when it unveiled the console in May, causing consternation among hardcore gamers.
The company had reversed its earlier stance on used games and daily online authentication after listening to "candid feedback" from its fans, Don Mattrick, president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft, said in a blog post on Wednesday.
Last week at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, Microsoft announced a $499 price tag for its first new Xbox in eight years and said it would go on sale in the United States in November in 21 countries.
Its rival, Sony Corp <6758.T>, said it would sell the next-generation PlayStation model for $399 late in the year. At an E3 presentation to announce features of thePlayStation 4, Sony drew cheers from the audience when it said the PS4 would run second-hand games and did not require an always-on Internet connection.
Before changing its policy, Microsoft had elicited groans from gamers when it announced that used games could be played on the Xbox One for a fee to be determined by game publishers and said players had to log onto the Internet for authentication.
"You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you," Mattrick said in his blog post. "Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world."
(Reporting by Bill Rigby and Malathi Nayak; Editing by Bernard Orr)


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Actuate Expands Big Data Application Deployment Options Built on Amazon Web Services
Actuate Expands Big Data Application Deployment Options Built on Amazon Web Services
Actuate Leverages AWS to Give Organizations Expanded Options to Explore and Visualize Big Data in the Cloud
SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Actuate Corporation (NAS: BIRT) , The BIRT Company and an Amazon Web Services (AWS) APN Advanced Technology Partner, today announced enhanced options for their customers using Amazon DynamoDB and other AWS services for their high performance, BIRT-based business analytics. The enhancements provide flexibility for on premises and cloud deployments of BIRT-based applications.
Big Data Connectivity Your Way: ActuateOne® with Amazon DynamoDB
Actuate has created a native connector for Amazon DynamoDB, allowing users to directly ingest data from their Amazon DynamoDB instances into Big Data analytics applications. Amazon DynamoDB is a fully managed NoSQL database service that provides fast and predictable performance with seamless scalability. With Amazon DynamoDB, developers can store and retrieve any amount of data to serve any level of request traffic. The ActuateOne native connector optimizes data processing and data management by leveraging Amazon DynamoDB query and filtering capabilities. With ActuateOne's unique elastic clustering capabilities, the connector allows capacity to be dynamically added or removed from a cluster to handle changing application workload requirements. Native support for Amazon DynamoDB's key features, such as binary data types, allows customers to reduce the size of items stored - ultimately lowering the cost of storage and throughput.
As businesses focus on improving corporate performance while striving to meet stringent service level agreements (SLAs), data volumes and the demand to gain insights from that data are growing. In this environment it is important to choose scalable, elastic, IT infrastructure services that are capable of reacting to changing demands for consuming and analyzing information. ActuateOne built on Amazon DynamoDB keeps resources nimble as an organization's Big Data strategy evolves.
"The ActuateOne native connector for DynamoDB provides an additive element to AWS by helping Actuate's customers reduce the complexity and cost of provisioning, configuring, and operating scalable business intelligence and information applications for traditional and Big Data sources," said Terry Wise, Head of Worldwide Partner Ecosystem, AWS. "We're pleased Actuate has chosen to build ActuateOne on Amazon DynamoDB to help reduce the cost of Big Data deployments."
"We're pleased to be providing native support for Amazon DynamoDB. ActuateOne's advanced visualizations and ability to build, manage and deploy high-scale, intuitive applications on distributed and traditional data sources, results in applications with high end-user adoption," said Nobby Akiha, SVP of Marketing at Actuate. "High adoption, in turn, fuels additional user population growth and application relevance."
Big Data Application Deployment: Amazon Web Services and BIRT onDemand
BIRT onDemand , Actuate's PaaS solution for Business Intelligence, analytics and visualization, built on the AWS cloud computing platform, provides the flexibility to build custom BIRT-based information applications regardless of use case or industry, making it simple to deploy end user configurable dashboards and in-memory analytics on top of any traditional or distributed data source. Organizations can save time and money, and let BIRT onDemand manage their information application infrastructure, without compromising scalability, security, or dependability.
BIRT onDemand subscriptions come pre-configured with data storage using Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) and offer the following benefits:
* Publish BIRT-based information applications securely to users outside the firewall;
* Eliminate server management costs and reduce IT involvement by providing an ideal hosted platform for all BIRT applications;
* Enhance existing BIRT applications by adding instant-on interactivity and analysis capabilities;
* Deliver BIRT content to touch devices including iPhone®, iPad™ and Android devices;
* Support for relational, distributed and cloud databases, including DynamoDB.
Actuate founded and co-leads the BIRT open source project, which is used by more than 2 million developers around the globe and serves as the foundation of the ActuateOne® platform. Applications built on ActuateOne deliver more business and consumer insights to more people than all BI companies combined - ensuring organizations are ready for the exponential growth of Big Data and the proliferation of touch devices.
The ActuateOne platform empowers developers to rapidly develop custom, BIRT-based business analyticsand customer communications applications. ActuateOne applications built with one BIRT design can access and integrate any data, including unstructured sources. They provide one user experience regardless of skill level and are supported by one platform for any cloud, hybrid, on-premise, web or touch device deployment.
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Actuate has over 5,000 customers globally in a diverse range of business areas including financial services,technology and the public sector. Actuate is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol BIRT. For more information, visit www.actuate.com or engage with the BIRT community at www.birt-exchange.com.
Copyright © 2013 Actuate Corporation. All rights reserved. Actuate, ActuateOne, and the Actuate logo are registered trademarks of Actuate Corporation and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and certain other countries. The use of the word "partner" or "partnership" does not imply a legal partnership relationship between Actuate and any other company. All other brands, names or trademarks mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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Product photography and illustrations have been reproduced as accurately as print and web technologies permit. To ensure highest satisfaction, we suggest you view an actual sample from your dealer for best color, wood grain and finish representation.
This specialty cabinet door features one horizontal mullion dividing a horizontal pane of glass at the top, and one vertical mullion dividing two vertical panes of glass at the bottom.


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SAN ANTONIO (Jan. 23, 2013) -- The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have signed center Aron Baynes. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not announced.
Born in Gisborne, New Zealand, Baynes most recently played for Union Olimpija of the Slovenian Basketball League in 2012-13. In 10 games he averaged 13.8 points and 9.8 rebounds in 26.2 minutes.
Baynes, 6-10/260, began his professional career in 2009-10 playing for Lietuvos Rytas of the Lithuanian Basketball League, a squad that went on to win the Lithuanian National Championship. In 2010-11 he played in Germany for EWE Baskets Oldenburg before joining Ikaros Kallitheas in Greece the following season.
In the summer of 2010 Baynes was named to the Australian senior national team and competed at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey. Baynes then represented Australia at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where he averaged 7.5 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting .656 (21-32) from the floor.
Baynes played collegiately at Washington State from 2005-09, where in 122 career games he averaged 8.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 22.0 minutes.


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Supermicro MBI-6128R-T2X Blade Barebone - Intel C612 Express Chipset - Socket LGA 2011-v3 - 2 x CPU
The Supermicro MicroBlade microserver represents an entirely new type of computing platform. It is a powerful and flexible extreme-density 6U/3U all-in-one total system that features 28/14 hot-swappable MicroBlade Servers supporting 28/14 Newest Dual-Node Xeon UP systems with Intel E3-1200 v5 family configurations with up to 2 SSDs/1 HDD per Node. The 6U/3U MicroBlade enclosure can incorporate up to 2 Chassis Management Modules, and up to 2 Switch Modules for efficient, high-bandwidth communications. It can incorporate up to 8 redundant (N+1 or N+N) 1600/2000W High-Efficiency (95%/96%) power supplies with cooling fans. This innovative new generation architecture includes microserver, networking, storage, and unified remote management for cloud computing, Video Streaming, Content Delivery, Social Networking, Desktop Virtualization and Remote Workstation applications.


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I got some of the things that were causing me stress over the weekend straightened out yesterday. :) Phew!
To get moving on my iPhone 4S order, I called the credit check company to see what was flagged in my account. In the end, what caused the flag had nothing to do with my credit and everything to do with my middle initial/name missing from my account. I honestly think it had something to do with the fact that my name has changed since the last time I got my credit checked, because the lady did mention my maiden name towards the end of our conversation and that is what the final paper work I got from the credit check company implied. I barely could understand the woman I was talking to and that is frustrating when you're dealing with something as important as your credit report!
Important thing I learned this week
So, this is a warning for all of you ladies getting married soon who are changing their name. Make sure your credit reports somehow note your maiden and married name, if that is even possible and your middle initial or name. Just something to ask right away when you call to get a credit report or when you are buying something important and big like a house or car.
After that was done and I could breathe a sigh of relief, I was able to call AT&T and get my account cleared.
After work, Craig and I headed over to the AT&T store and completed ordering my iPhone 4S! I will have to be very patient and wait for it to arrive in the mail, which means about three or four weeks without a cell phone. I know I'll survive and then I'll be extra connected to everything once my phone arrives, so I should enjoy the little break.
Yes, I had Craig take a picture outside of the store to remember the day by. Total Mac nerd, I know, and I don't care. I did it for the blog, I swear! And for memories. I earned that iPhone with the hassles I endured.
I look about 12 in that picture or just exhausted because it was Monday.
What I've Been Eating
I'm on a real grilled cheese and tomato soup kick. I tried this Garden Tomato Herb Pacific Natural Foods soup for the first time and I love the flavor.
There is still a lot of sodium, as there is in most soups, but it's better than some I have seen on the shelves. I was impressed with the ingredients and will be looking for more soups from this brand.
For breakfast this morning, I thawed out some pumpkin pancakes I had made a month ago and put Artisana pecan butter on top. This meal really filled me up and I liked topping my pancakes with syrup and the yummy pecan butter. I definitely prefer the pecan butter over the walnut butter.
Lunch today was tofu and fresh veggies with wasabi dip. I also dipped my tofu in the wasabi sauce which tasted fantastic.
Dessert was banana quinoa pudding. I added some cinnamon to it today and that was a great idea.
What I've Been Reading
I finished The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Poetzsch, but only was able to really read 70% of it and skim the rest before my loan was up. I did pretty good with the skimming and figured out the ending. I enjoyed the book, but would only give it about 3.5 out of 5 stars because a lot of the story could have been cut out.
The cool thing I read in the postscript was that the author's family were real hangmen in the Bavarian region of Germany. He even used one of his family names as the hangman's name in the story. I wish he would have included this piece of information at the beginning of the book, but sometimes that isn't possible and not everyone would have been interested in that fact like I am.
I also discovered a little trick that my husband can't believe got by Amazon when they designed the particular kindle I use. I borrow books through the library or other owners of the books, like I did in this case. My loan for The Hangman's Daughter was up on Sunday. I was able to keep reading it today because I didn't turn my Wi-Fi or 3G network on. When I officially was done with the book and turned on the Wi-Fi, sure enough, the book was no longer available.
On my lunch break today, I read some of Health Magazine. I feel like I am not learning a lot from some of my magazines, including Health, and am glad that once the subscriptions run out, I won't get them anymore. Thankfully, my friend Kim gifted me Whole Living magazine and I'll have a subscription to that to look forward to soon.
What Made Me Laugh Today
-My husband. I won't embarrass him, but he does funny things and they make me smile and happy. :)
-The woman at the gym tonight who skipped sideways on the treadmill and seemed to receive lots of stares as a result. She was following a Women's Health magazine workout plan and I give her credit for doing something like that which is so unique and attention calling. I don't think I would be coordinated enough to skip sideways on a treadmill! I am just glad I wasn't the lady next to her who was trying so hard to concentrate on her own workout as the skipping woman was facing her treadmill. I was stretching when I saw all of this happen and it made me giggle.
My workout was a little more boring. I've been craving doing cardio lately, so I did the stair-stepper and elliptical and only lifted a few weights. I love going to Bodyflow on Tuesdays, but decided I would do that every other week due to the later class time. If only it was an hour earlier!
Time to go get through some more of my magazine pile and google reader.
What is the funniest thing you have seen someone do at your gym?
Good night!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Labels: Artisana, Artisana Pecan Butter, ATamp;T iPhone, credit check, credit report name change, Fitness, Food, Health magazine Michelle Monaghan, iPhone 4S, Oliver Poetzsch, Pacific Natural Foods Garden Tomato Herb, Pacific Natural Foods soup, Product Reviews, Standard, The Hangman's Daughter
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Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Now Playing: Burying The Monster
Posted by Rot at 7:50 AM
Labels: horror films, music, now playing, youtube.com
2 comments:
- Anonymous said...
Now I feel the need to watch a zombie movie.
I just happened to see a screen shot for your 2006 BLIGHT scarecrow video, so of course I had to watch it.
I miss Blight. He was so cool.
R.I.P Blight
- August 21, 2013 at 8:10 AM
- girl6 said...
such a Cool mix...sorta garagey too..<3333333
awwwww...it's worf's bro!!.. : D
i met tony todd once, at a horror convention, he seemed sorta world weary, a little sad i guess, the kind of feelings that probably come from feeling UnderAppreciated.
such a Shame too, cause he's such a Great screen & stage actor. i heard his turn as Othello was pretty Awesome!.
ahhhhh someday, the world will know.
i miss (Cranky) worf......sometimes.. :)
- August 22, 2013 at 11:18 AM
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Bio::Tools::ESTScan - Results of one ESTScan run
$estscan = Bio::Tools::ESTScan->new(-file => 'result.estscan');
# filehandle:
$estscan = Bio::Tools::ESTScan->new( -fh => \*INPUT );
# parse the results
# note: this class is-a Bio::Tools::AnalysisResult which implements
# Bio::SeqAnalysisParserI, i.e., $genscan->next_feature() is the same
while($gene = $estscan->next_prediction()) {
# $gene is an instance of Bio::Tools::Prediction::Gene
foreach my $orf ($gene->exons()) {
# $orf is an instance of Bio::Tools::Prediction::Exon
$cds_str = $orf->predicted_cds();
# essential if you gave a filename at initialization (otherwise the file
# will stay open)
The ESTScan module provides a parser for ESTScan coding region prediction output.
This module inherits off Bio::Tools::AnalysisResult and therefore implements the Bio::SeqAnalysisParserI interface. See Bio::SeqAnalysisParserI.
User feedback is an integral part of the evolution of this and other Bioperl modules. Send your comments and suggestions preferably to one of the Bioperl mailing lists. Your participation is much appreciated.
firstname.lastname@example.com - General discussion
http://bioperl.org/wiki/Mailing_lists - About the mailing lists
Please direct usage questions or support issues to the mailing list:
rather than to the module maintainer directly. Many experienced and reponsive experts will be able look at the problem and quickly address it. Please include a thorough description of the problem with code and data examples if at all possible.
Report bugs to the Bioperl bug tracking system to help us keep track the bugs and their resolution. Bug reports can be submitted via the web:
Email email@example.com (or email@example.com)
The rest of the documentation details each of the object methods. Internal methods are usually preceded with a _
Usage : $estscan->analysis_method();
Purpose : Inherited method. Overridden to ensure that the name matches
Returns : String
Argument : n/a
Title : next_feature
Usage : while($orf = $estscan->next_feature()) {
# do something
Function: Returns the next gene structure prediction of the ESTScan result
file. Call this method repeatedly until FALSE is returned.
The returned object is actually a SeqFeatureI implementing object.
This method is required for classes implementing the
SeqAnalysisParserI interface, and is merely an alias for
next_prediction() at present.
Example :
Returns : A Bio::Tools::Prediction::Gene object.
Args :
Title : next_prediction
Usage : while($gene = $estscan->next_prediction()) {
# do something
Function: Returns the next gene structure prediction of the ESTScan result
file. Call this method repeatedly until FALSE is returned.
So far, this method DOES NOT work for reverse strand predictions,
even though the code looks like.
Example :
Returns : A Bio::Tools::Prediction::Gene object.
Args :
Title : close
Usage : $result->close()
Function: Closes the file handle associated with this result file.
Inherited method, overridden.
Example :
Returns :
Args :
Title : _fasta_stream
Usage : $result->_fasta_stream()
Function: Gets/Sets the FASTA sequence IO stream for reading the contents of
the file associated with this MZEF result object.
If called for the first time, creates the stream from the filehandle
if necessary.
Example :
Returns :
Args :
To install BioPerl, copy and paste the appropriate command in to your terminal.
cpanm BioPerl
CPAN shell
perl -MCPAN -e shell
install BioPerl
For more information on module installation, please visit the detailed CPAN module installation guide.


text: Osprey 0 Posted February 21, 2012 Be interested if any Photoshop guru could adivse on my workflow .. Currently for a typical Blue colour cast image (jpeg, no strobe ) In CS5 I usually follow this sequence ... Open > copy > crop > new adj layer - remove backscatter (Dust & scratches filter) > new adj layer - channel mixer - recover Reds > new adj layer - Levels r, g, b > new adj layer -Hue & Saturation - then change mode to multiply > new adj layer -Brightness & Contrast > new adj layer -Sharpen (either High Pass or Smar Sharpen filter) finish with Auto level/colour/tone ... if they make any improvement Have read a few articles where Sharpen action is carried out at start rather than at the end .... which is the better approach ? ..... I assume at the beginning you are sharpening based on actual pixel information ,whereas at end you are sharpening based on what you think the pixels should be ... not sure which is best. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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An Unhealthy Mandate
Does ObamaCare violate the Constitution?
During her confirmation hearings last summer, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan was asked if the Constitution empowers the federal government to pass a law requiring Americans to eat fruits and vegetables.
What did she say in response? She said, "It sounds like a dumb law." She said the commerce clause of the Constitution "has been interpreted broadly." She said the courts have a duty to ensure that "Congress doesn't go further than the Constitution says it can go, doesn't violate individual rights, and also doesn't act outside its enumerated authorities."
This is what she did not say: "No."
This week, however, a federal judge said it. The case wasn't about fruits and vegetables; it was about the federal health insurance law passed this year. But his conclusion was exactly the one Kagan evaded: There are some things the federal government may not make us do. It may not make us purchase medical insurance—as the new law does—and by implication, it may not make us eat broccoli.
When the individual mandate to buy coverage was challenged in court, the Obama administration argued, essentially, three things: 1) The Constitution gives the government the authority to regulate interstate commerce, 2) everything people do and don't do affects interstate commerce, and therefore 3) the government may regulate everything and everyone.
This interpretation of the Constitution is at odds with the view of James Madison, who said the powers of the federal government are "few and defined." But even by the elastic standards that apply today, the administration's view is a reach.
As Georgetown University law professor Randy Barnett said last month at the national convention of the conservative Federalist Society, the individual mandate "is an unprecedented act of federal power over individual freedom. And by 'unprecedented,' I mean simply: It's never been done before."
In the past, Washington has been permitted to regulate commerce that crosses state lines. It's been permitted to forbid a man to take a young woman from one state to another for the purpose of sexual intercourse. It's been permitted to bar a farmer from growing more wheat than the federal government allowed, even if he wasn't going to sell it.
But, noted U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson, "Neither the Supreme Court nor any federal circuit court of appeals has extended Commerce Clause power to compel an individual to involuntarily enter the stream of commerce by purchasing a commodity in the private market."
The courts have approved extensive, incessant, burdensome regulation of economic activity. But inactivity? That's a different story.
If you don't want to pay the minimum wage, you can refuse to start a business. If you don't want to buy car insurance, you can take the bus. But if you don't want to buy health insurance, your only options are to leave the country or depart this vale of tears.
The question in this case is not just whether this part of the health care reform will stand. It's whether there are any limits on the powers of the federal government in matters economic.
If it can force people to buy insurance, it can presumably force them to buy cars (to help General Motors) or homes (to alleviate the housing bust) or fruits and vegetables (to improve health and reduce medical outlays) or pet rocks (just because).
The mandate had a simple purpose. Under the new law, insurance companies were required to take all comers, without denying coverage or charging high rates for pre-existing conditions. Those rules, however, would encourage customers to avoid buying policies until they were sick. So Congress and the president agreed to make everyone get insurance.
This makes some sense, and if the mandate were eliminated, the whole scheme would be in jeopardy. Still, there are other ways to address the problem.
One is to grant more generous subsidies to consumers to induce participation. Another is to pay insurance companies to compensate them for their new and unprofitable policyholders.
Princeton sociologist Paul Starr has proposed that anyone who declines to get coverage be barred for five years from guaranteed access. That would be a strong incentive for even young, healthy people to opt in right away, rather than risk a financially catastrophic illness.
A government with unlimited power, of course, would not have to trouble itself with accommodating citizens who prefer to make their own choices. But that is not the kind of government we have. Not yet, anyway.


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16 Jun 2020
Lessons from a top tech PLC facing the biggest leadership challenge ever
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What has Graeme Watt, Chief Executive of FTSE-listed Softcat PLC, learned as a CEO leading a global tech company during the COVID-19 shutdown.
Mike Drew, Partner and Global Head of Odgers Berndtson Executive Search's Global Technology Practice continues his questions in a series of interviews with top tech CEOs.
Mike: Let's talk about leadership, Graeme. Odgers Berndtson recently published a Leadership Conference Index, in partnership with Harvard Business Analytics Services to look at the importance of agile leadership, especially when managing through disruption. Where have you seen agile leadership in your organisation, both personally and from those around you?
Listen, I don't think I'm in a position to give advice, but I can share some of the things we have been doing and seeing.
It's definitely time for cool heads. Plus, nobody really has a clear idea of how long the challenges are going to be with us for, and how deep they are, so I think it's really time for cool heads.
It's a time to try to provide clear leadership, very transparent, regular communication so that the teams feel connected.
You need to remain calm and pragmatic, so your teams and people can feed off that calmness and that pragmatism.
We've been trying to plan for the worst, through multiple scenario plans, but also, we are trying to manage and execute for the best. We've been trying not to overreact, but I think it's important also not to underreact.
Watch a ten-minute video of this 'CEO leading through the lockdown' interview with Graeme Watt, Chief Executive of global software reseller Softcat PLC.
From a practical point of view, we have tried to prioritise our people and our cash facilities in the first instance. Like most other companies, ensuring everyone's safety, giving our team a clear direction, plus the technology and support to work from home was also super important.
At the same time, whilst we're a cash-rich and debt-free company, our finance team worked very quickly and effectively to build facilities to protect us case cash-flows from customers get a little bit ugly. I'm pleased to say that hasn't been the case to date.
We have a communication plan with regular updates, and have open and active lines of communication, first for all of our employees, and then for our customers, suppliers, and partners.
We established a "working from home" group to take charge of making sure people felt connected and had access to our feel-good online team events.
We've been very quick to support our customers. In particular, to help them to spin out their own remote working capabilities. Our internal bi-weekly customer credit support council reviews risk and cash flows and how we can help our customers. Our weekly recruitment council reviews recruitment. We don't know if we can take on extra cost at the moment, and aren't sure if we can onboard new employees with the same quality and depth as pre-COVID-19.
How about areas where you have the spare capacity with existing talent?
We have thought hard about furloughing staff that are in roles that are most impacted by COVID-19, but we have decided not to. Where we do have some spare capacity in the business, we've been putting that into training, personal development, acquiring vendor accreditation that perhaps we didn't have.
If we still have spare capacity after that, the teams have been working on supporting others inside (and outside) the company and volunteering with various charitable initiates as well.
We've been trying to stay connected to the industry, as well, Mike, via the Odgers Berndtson industry online forums. We can hear what others are experiencing and understand what kind of options and decisions they've been taking.
That cross-industry connection is very positive. I've always really enjoyed the IT industry, because of the strong connections we have, not just with our suppliers and our customers, but with our competitors and our peers as well.
We've seen that there's an enormous amount of empathy to help each other this time, even though they may be competitors.
I'd like to talk about Softcat as a publicly-listed technology company. Has the nature of the ownership structure impacted your approach to crisis management?
I wouldn't say impacted. 'Influenced' perhaps. I wouldn't say being a plc has shaped what we've done or decide, but I think it has added an extra dimension.
Investors have created expectations that surround certain decisions. So, questions from Investors, for example, relate to things like whether companies are declaring, postponing or cancelling dividends. And, if they are, is that because they have to, or are they just being cautious and perhaps conserving cash, for example?
Where companies are cutting dividends, what other actions are they taking? Investors really are linking, well ok, if you're cutting dividends, what other actions are you taking to maximise returns?
Where companies are asking staff to take cuts or making redundancies, furloughing staff or drawing down from government loans, I think there is an expectation that directors should take a cut in pay and/or bonus.
We are fortunate that we haven't taken advantage of any government schemes to date, we haven't furloughed staff, we haven't tapped into government funding, we haven't made redundancies.
But we did cancel our interim dividend back in March, very much as a precautionary measure, just when things were escalating and everyone was battening down the hatches.
In a few months' time, we'll take a further look at what to do on the dividend front, at the end of our fiscal year. So, in conclusion, I don't think being publicly listed has impacted our approach, but it has provided some food for thought.
Mike: Softcat is right at the heart of the technology industry, and digital transformation has certainly been proved by this crisis. As we look to the future and the big reset, what areas of technology will grow and why?
Digital transformation has been a growth driver for us for a while now, and in these last few months, we've seen that accelerate and continue to do so.
Something interesting is that COVID-19 has made us much more aware and empathic to people. What we will see is companies taking more time to consider what their people want and need.
Companies will look to maintain and increase a people-centric approach to their solutions.
For example, Millennials are digital natives and comprise close to 50% of the workforce. Companies have a responsibility to narrow the gap between the business and the personal IT experience employees are used to. This means providing the flexibility that they need and are demanding when they consider when and where they work.
The way you digitally-enable your future employees can be a competitive advantage in hiring when talent is scarce.
IT is under constant pressure to strike the right balance between risk management, cost control, and innovation. But I think IT also has a real opportunity now to be the heroes – we are seeing an acceleration of mobile-first, cloud-first and remote ready and, as I say, I think IT has a real opportunity to be heroes in support of that environment.
I think the workspace was already a strong focus for us. We have seen and will continue to see remote working as a focus. At very short notice, people had to put a lot of remote working capabilities in play in a stop-gap type fashion, but we will now see companies work further on their workspace and remote working technologies to make that set up more robust.
Interestingly, our customers are starting to ask for 'smart office' solutions using IoT and AI to manage social distancing and isolation in the office.
We have been asked to support the more interactive management of the workforce, so things are coming into play like task management tools and time management applications, employee engagement and wellbeing tools.
Employers are asking, 'how do we manage our employees in a more remote environment?'
There are some really interesting elements coming into play, on top of what is very well-documented demand around devices, accessories, collaboration applications and all of the additional security requirements that come with the surge in remote working
Any advice to other CEOs about accelerating their businesses against the constrained budgets of the future, post-lock-down?
I'm not sure I should be advising, but I'd like to share the approach we've taken at Softcat.
First, we deal with what's actually in front of us rather than speculate too heavily on what may be in front of us.
We've always been and will continue to be very close to our customers and we will react with the right pace and the right weight, based on what our customers are telling us and what their needs are.
I think, of course, we are all going to be in a more constrained budget and probably lower growth ambition environment, but I think that's ok.
Constrained budgets are fine, go out and focus on exceeding expectations and use that as a tool to release more budget is the approach we're taking.
Other things that are particularly important to me are making sure that your team is in the best possible shape. I saw a short clip on LinkedIn which have really resonated with me. It talked about the need to have a strong ability to listen, to care, smile, show warmth, and be empathic and say thank you. And I thought that's perfect, that is exactly the sorts of things we all have close to our hearts at Softcat.
The final thing I'll say, in this environment, we're finding that we may have quite a strong opinion one week, but we may have changed our views quite substantially a week later. Maybe we've thought harder about it, we've picked up on other people's opinions, we've listened to people more, whether that's our employees or our customers. We need to be alert to how things are shifting.
Be ever-present for your customers and take time to understand their revised needs and their revised expectations. Extend to them the same empathy we have been extending to our own teams internally.
It's human relationships that count at the end of the day, and they will never be replaced by technology or other innovation.
In times like these, we need strong and decisive leadership and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my team for theirs.
Thank you, Graeme, on behalf of Odgers Berndtson Executive Search, let's hope the next time we talk, it will be in person.


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A lawyer for Wrigley Field's rooftop owners accused Cubs owner Tom Ricketts today of having "buyer's remorse" and asserted that's no good reason for the team to break a long-term revenue-sharing deal with his clients.
In his first interview since the rooftops retained him in an upcoming legal war over expanded signage at Wrigley, Charles Tompkins made his view clear that the rooftops and not the team are the offended party in the continuing Wrigley rebuild drama. He gave every indication that that argument will become the basis of a court action, perhaps within days.
Mr. Tompkins' statements are part of a wider strategy in which the rooftops hope to regain both the political and media upper hand after a period in which Mr. Ricketts, despite some stumbles, appears to be finally closing in on the last approvals needed for a $575 million plan to rebuild the century-old ballpark and develop a hotel and other facilities nearby.
• Wrigley rumble: Cubs break off rooftop talks
• Cubs unveil new outfield signs, Wrigley plans
• Photos: Cubs painting Wrigley Field marquee green
One line of attack is that the team, with a reported value of $1 billion and an operating income of $32 million, is capable of financing improvements itself without battering around the rooftops.
A related argument is that, having promised to invest "all" of the team's profits in the team and the ballpark when he bought them, Mr. Ricketts is just looking for a scapegoat now.
But the case will be won or lost in court, and Mr. Tompkins said the underlying reality is that the rooftops signed a revenue-sharing agreement in 2004 that still has another nine years to go.
"About halfway through the contract, Ricketts has buyer's remorse and is trying to break it," said Mr. Tompkins, 43, a partner at Williams Montgomery & John.
"They're getting a lot of money from the rooftops" — in the range of $3 million to $4 million a year, representing 17 percent of their gross income, rooftop sources have said on previous occasions. "They paid it for the right not to have their views blocked for 20 years. No one would pay that kind of money if the other party could change their mind."
The rooftops relied on that contract in rebuilding and renovating their property to develop their businesses, Mr. Tompkins said. Collectively, according to rooftops spokesman Ryan McLaughlin, who listened in on the call, they've invested $50 million since the deal was struck, with much of the money borrowed in mortgages.
In the interview, Mr. Tompkins strongly disputed a recent team argument that the language of the 2004 deal allows the views to be blocked if it comes by "expansion of Wrigley Field approved by governmental authorities."
In fact, that language refers to then-pending expansion of the bleachers, not more ad signs, Mr. Tompkins argued.
"Where a contract is ambiguous, you read it in context. . . .All the parties understood that the expansion being referenced was that of the bleachers."
Mr. Tompkins would not say when the long-threatened court action would be filed over the Cubs' plan to install ad signs that would block their views of the field. But it "could be any day now," he said, coming either before or after a Chicago Landmarks Commission meeting that will consider the team's latest request.


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Organizations hit by a cyberattack have reason to call the attack "sophisticated." But calling an attack sophisticated doesn't make it sophisticated. We have put our heads together and come up with some rules for determining whether an attack is sophisticated, and we have put our names together (Ira and Ari) to give these rules a name: the Irari rules. If any of the following conditions occur, the attack is not sophisticated:
- The attack used malware that should have been detected.
- The attack targeted a known vulnerability.
- Multifactor authentication was not in use on the targeted systems.
- The attack exploited static passwords on critical servers.
- A strong, comprehensive awareness program was not in place, if phishing was involved.
- Detection mechanisms were not in place or were ignored.
- Proper network segmentation was not in place.
- User and administrator accounts that were exploited had excessive privileges.
If a bank leaves a bag of money sitting in the lobby, it doesn't matter if it is stolen by a master criminal or a street thug. Anyone with minimal skill and intent could do it. When an organization claims that an attack against it was sophisticated, it wants to imply that it was difficult to stop. But in case after case, although the organization of the attacks might appear sophisticated, the actual attack was fairly basic.
Even the FBI characterized last year's attack against Sony as sophisticated. Don't be fooled. Yes, administrator credentials were apparently hard-coded into the malware. Nonetheless, the malware's presence should have been detected. And the presence of the administrator credentials suggests several possibilities, none of them indicative of a sophisticated attack: 1) The Sony hack relied on a phishing attack, which better awareness might have prevented; 2) passwords were not changed frequently enough, if at all; and 3) there was a lack of multifactor authentication in use on critical systems. So, even if the attacker was the most skilled hacker in the world, the same results could have been accomplished by anyone with time and far-from-sophisticated skills.
Attacks like the one against Sony are the new normal. All organizations should expect to be targeted by people with more than a trivial level of skills and the time and resources to search for blatant vulnerabilities. What, then, does it take for an attack to rise above the new normal and be truly sophisticated?
Well, first, let's consider attacks that clearly are sophisticated. The Equation group, assumed to be tied to the National Security Agency, was able to go undetected for 14 years. It used malicious software to exploit zero-day vulnerabilities, impossible to detect and difficult to remove. It established excellent covert channels for communications back to its controllers. The Equation group was able to launch basically unstoppable attacks even against top-tier security programs. The nature of those attacks is very different from those that hit Sony and Target, for example.
From what we know about attacks by the Equation group, none of the Irari rules trip them into unsophisticated territory. Although we could have come up with additional rules, we believe that our list encapsulates almost all non-sophisticated attacks for the moment.
A closer look
Here's a breakdown of the eight Irari rules.
The malware used should have been detected. If the malware used is known well enough to be detected by anti-malware or antivirus software, then the attack cannot be classified as sophisticated. The attack could have been detected with properly configured and maintained tools available. Even if a sophisticated attacker was involved, an attack that uses detectable malware shows a lack of respect for the victim's security program.
The attack exploited vulnerabilities where a patch was available. If an attack exploited a vulnerability that could have been patched, the attack cannot have been sophisticated. A sophisticated attack would never rely on exploiting a vulnerability that could have been prevented. The fact that the known vulnerability existed on the exploited system demonstrates that anyone could have launched the attack.
Multifactor authentication was not in use on critical servers. Multifactor authentication is a common countermeasure for advanced security programs. It prevents a wide variety of potential attacks, including social engineering and password guessing. No attack against an organization whose critical servers don't use multifactor authentication can be considered sophisticated.
Static passwords were used in attacks on critical servers. Even with multifactor authentication in place, passwords should be changed frequently. Static passwords on critical accounts is just a poor security practice and represents an unsophisticated security program, and their presence eliminates the possibility of a sophisticated attack.
If phishing was involved, there was no awareness program in place that went beyond phishing simulations and computer-based training. While we will acknowledge that there are some spearphishing messages that are very sophisticated, and even the most aware people might fall prey to them, these are rare. Exponentially more frequently, the organization's security awareness program is poor, if it exists at all. Security awareness programs that focus on computer-based training and phishing simulations are examples of poor awareness programs.
Detection mechanisms that could have stopped the attack in progress were not in place or were ignored. In the case of the Target hack, administrators apparently reported that their FireEye system detected unusual activity and were told to ignore it by management. In the case of the Sony hack, detectable malware on the network went undetected. Also, terabytes of Sony's most valuable data were exfiltrated and went completely undetected. When you have data that is so valuable, it is inexcusable not to have mechanisms in place to monitor for potential compromises.
There was poor network segmentation that allowed the attackers to jump from low-value networks to critical systems. Businesses want to save money by having seamless connections to all systems. While the Target hack is infamous for the attackers jumping from a vendor network to the point-of-sale systems, it is not unique. There are plenty of incidents that demonstrate that industrial control systems, even and especially in critical infrastructures, are on poorly protected business networks.
User accounts that were compromised had excessive privileges. It is very common for standard user accounts to have access to data and systems privileges that they don't need. Many organizations give employees administrator privileges on their PCs. This allows what should otherwise be a contained compromise that is easy to investigate to become a major incident. This again is the sign of a poor security program.
As you can see, the measure of an attack's sophistication is based upon the layers of security it had to bypass. And time and again, attacks that have been described as sophisticated should have been stopped at multiple points.
Why is it important that attacks be properly characterized? Claims of sophisticated attacks deflect blame, obscure the need to make improvements and attempt to shirk responsibility for implementing poor security efforts.
Pointing this out is not a case of blaming the victim. An organization that is attacked is not the bad guy. But organizations faced with the new normal do have a responsibility to deflect attacks that can be deflected, just as homeowners are expected to put locks on their doors and windows.
In fact, more sophisticated security programs should become the new new normal.
Ira Winkler is president of Secure Mentem and author of the book Spies Among Us. Ira and Araceli Treu Gomes can be contacted through Ira's Web site, securementem.com. They will be doing a full presentation on these rules at the RSA Conference this Friday, April 24.


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Last week, we talked about four reasons to kill your Ego that aren't very good, and how the Kill-Ego Crusade — that many self-help/New Age sects are obsessed with — is fueled by a misrepresentation of the Oneness and love of God.
And as promised, today we'll talk about the concrete actionable steps of love.
Love is a verb
Love is probably the most talked about and idolized human emotion. But all the buzz around love isn't necessarily true.
It's easy to misunderstand love. Yes, it is a human emotion, a feeling, a state of being. But it's not limited to that. And that feeling itself is only one element of love.
Love must be tested to be true.
You can sit in a room and feel love for the planet all day long. But if you use inaction to avoid the planet, or self-centered activities to avoid going out into the world and putting your love to the test, it's questionable how much you really do love.
Because love is something that you do.
If you don't act in loving ways, but claim that you feel it, you won't fool anyone for too long.
Your actions speak louder than any "I love you."
Because love is something that you do.
Love is a powerful verb
To illustrate how powerful a verb love is, let's look back to an article from Valentine's Day, Why Neither Monogamy Nor Polyamory are More Natural.
This is a controversial article, but the aim of it is very simple: to deconstruct what we commonly refer to as love, in the romantic context.
The takeaway point from the article is this: Loving someone romantically has absolutely nothing to do with relationship style; romantic relationships are co-consented social constructs.
(This takeaway point was also expanded upon in Two Gifts of Unrequited Love.)
What this means is that a man can love a woman romantically, incredibly, deeply, while still consenting to her seeing other men — essentially through an open, or polyamorous relationship.
And this means that a man can love a woman romantically, incredibly, deeply, while only consenting to a closed relationship, which entails exclusivity, or monogamy.
Why love is not bound by romance
Talk to happy monogamous and polyamorous couples, and they will tell you the same thing: they are romantically, incredibly, and deeply in love.
Sounds crazy, right? How could opposite romantic relationship styles be founded upon the same thing?
It's because they aren't really opposite, they're different.
And, they are only romantic relationship styles, personal preferences — where both partners' relationship needs are honored. Monogamy and polyamory only work when both partners consent, when both partners value and want it.
Again, what partners want in the romantic context has absolutely nothing to do with how good, righteous, noble, spiritual, conscious, or loving they are.
Romantic relationships are about the nitty-gritty practicalities in life, like boundaries, and having limited precious resources of time, energy, attention, and emotion. You have only so much of those things to share — who are you going to share them with first, second, third, fourth, and why? When? How? These are tough questions, but they define all of our relationships.
You can't use the romantic context to define love as a verb, because love is so powerful, so universal — it's not bound by romance.
And it's simple. Because it's actionable. And it has three concrete components.
Love is respect
Respect is taking extra care to honor another's personal boundaries, whether they are explicitly stated or implied and intuited.
Disrespect is overstepping another's personal boundaries, by trying to tell them what they need, trying to tell them what to think, or other behaviors that come with arguing, debating, and other monstrosities in destructive behavior.
Respect requires patience, mindfulness, empathy, kindness. Respect is honoring another human being for who they want to be and how they want to be treated — even if you disagree, think they don't really know who they are, or think they're not really sure how they want to be treated. Respect is keeping all this to yourself, unless they ask for your opinion, or unless you really do need to speak up.
Respect is giving them space… to be themself, without your negative judgment.
Love is acceptance
Acceptance is required for respect to blossom.
You need to accept a person, "flaws and all," for exactly who they are, in order to honor them.
You also need to accept that it's not your place to change them or fix them — those are codependent aspirations anyway.
Acceptance is really, really hard. It can be excruciatingly painful.
But it's worth it, and it's beautiful. And it's the only way a relationship can blossom.
Love is surrender
Okay, surrender is like acceptance on steroids, but it does deserve its own category. Because accepting a person is one thing, but accepting all the crazy life events that get in the way of having a healthy relationship through which to express love to that person on a continual basis is another thing — that's hard and the odds are often against you in some way.
Which means it requires some reinforces, heavy artillery, tough-as-nails resilience, or surrender.
When you surrender in love, you let go of the outcome completely. You simply do all that you can that is loving, and let the rest take its place. If that means the person you love hardly notices you as a blip in their world, so cry it. If that means facing to the fact that there is love, but that a relationship just isn't possible right now, so be it. If that means letting go of the person you love because the relationship isn't a priority for them, so grieve it.
When you surrender in love, truly surrender, you let go of the illusion of control, and the allure of the happy ending. In its place, you gain something far more valuable, far more real.
Real, true, deep, love. Not a lusty feeling or the three magic words. But the real thing.
That can be tested and weathered, and that can endure a lifetime of pain and strife and heartache and challenge.
That's the heart of love. That's is strength. It's power.
And that's why it's a verb.
What is love to you?
Do these three components of love make sense to you? Do you have a different perspective on love?
Share in the comments, and let's discuss the probably most talked about and idolized human emotion.


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New status expected to be adopted at animal health assembly in May.
The Scientific Commission for the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) plans to upgrade the United States' risk classification for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to "negligible risk," according to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Negligible risk is the lowest risk level under the OIE code.
After aligning its import guidelines for BSE with international standards last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) submitted an application and supporting information to the OIE in hopes of improving its "controlled" BSE status. According to a USDA release, the OIE determines a country's status based on actions the country has taken to manage the risk of the disease. "These actions include instituting a strong ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban, strictly controlling imports of animals and animal products from countries at risk for the disease, and conducting appropriate surveillance," the agency says.
Since surveillance began, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have identified four cases of BSE in the United States. The first was identified in 2003; the most recent case was identified in April 2012. More than 50 countries temporarily suspended beef imports from the United States after the identification of BSE in 2003. Japan and China still maintain restrictions on U.S. beef.
The USDA is confident the new status will be approved. "The United States has a longstanding system of three interlocking safeguards against BSE that protects public and animal health in the United States, the most important of which is the removal of specified risk materials from all animals presented for slaughter," a release states. "The second safeguard is a strong feed ban that protects cattle from the disease. The third safeguard is our ongoing BSE surveillance program that allows USDA to detect the disease if it exists at very low levels in the U.S. cattle population."


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First Reading Acts 14:21-27
21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Ico'nium and to Antioch,
22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they believed.
24 Then they passed through Pisid'ia, and came to Pamphyl'ia.
25 And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attali'a;
26 and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled.
27 And when they arrived, they gathered the church together and declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
Psalms 145:8-13
8 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
10 All thy works shall give thanks to thee, O LORD, and all thy saints shall bless thee!
11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and tell of thy power,
12 to make known to the sons of men thy mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of thy kingdom.
13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endures throughout all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.
Second Reading Revelation 21:1-5
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband;
3 and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them;
4 he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away."
5 And he who sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true."
Gospel Reading John 13:31-33, 34-35
31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of man glorified, and in him God is glorified;
32 if God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.
33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going you cannot come.'
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."


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