text:
Top Items:
Fox News:
Petraeus agrees to testify on Libya before congressional committees — Former CIA Director David Petraeus has agreed to testify about the Libya terror attack before the House and Senate intelligence committees, Fox News has learned. — Petraeus had originally been scheduled to testify …
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air: Breaking: Petraeus to testify on Benghazi attacks; Update: Petraeus offered testimony
Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain: Bad Memories of Bayshore Boulevard
Meenal Vamburkar / Mediaite: David Petraeus Will Testify On Benghazi, Reports Say
Bryan Preston / The PJ Tatler: Petraeus Agrees to Testify
Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit: BREAKING: David Petraeus Agrees to Testify Voluntarily on Benghazi Scandal
Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider: David Petraeus WILL Testify On Benghazi Tomorrow
Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway: David Petraeus To Testify Before Intelligence Committees
Hard questions await Obama at news conference — This is not what the White House wanted for President Barack Obama's first news conference of his second term. — He won't be able to dwell much on his stronger-than-expected victory or even press his agenda for the next four years.
Discussion: msnbc.com, The Wire, Jammie Wearing Fools, TIME, The PJ Tatler, Pirate's Cove, Taylor Marsh, NewsBusters.org, Instapundit, National Review, First Read and Hot Air
Vickey Williams / The Wire: Will Petraeus news, other events overwhelm Obama message at first press conference in 8 months?
Massimo Calabresi / TIME: The Petraeus Case: Why Wasn't Obama Informed?
Bryan Preston / The PJ Tatler: Politico Writes Fake 'Hard Questions' for Obama's First Post-Election Press Conference
William Teach / Pirate's Cove: Obama To Finally Hold Press Conference, Will Face Tough Questions He Won't Answer
Tom Blumer / NewsBusters.org: Politico Pair Goes to Pot in Listing Seven Questions It Believes the Press Will Ask Obama Today
Glenn Reynolds / Instapundit: OH, I RATHER DOUBT THAT: Politico: Hard Questions Await Obama At News Conference.
Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review: Conspiracy?
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air: Open thread: Obama's first press conference in five months
Noel Sheppard / NewsBusters.org:
Krauthammer: White House 'Held Affair Over Petraeus's Head' For Favorable Testimony On Benghazi — Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer on Tuesday said the White House used David Petraeus's affair to get the CIA director to give testimony about the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi …
Betty Cracker / Balloon Juice: What Am I Missing? — Semi-related to Bernard's post …
Doug Brady / Conservatives4Palin: Breaking: Petraeus will testify; Update: Jay Carney deflects questions on scandal 10 times in 10 minutes
Nice Deb: Charles Krauthammer: White House 'Held Affair Over Petraeus's Head' - "The Sword Was Lowered on Election Day"
Scared Monkeys: Charles Krauthammer: Petraeus Thought He Could Keep His Job ... White House 'Held Affair …
Ann Althouse / Althouse: Did Petraeus lie to the House Intelligence Committee in the hope of keeping his job?
Directorblue / Doug Ross: FOOD FOR THOUGHT: The Petraeus-Broadwell-Kelley Timeline
The Lonely Conservative: Did The White House Hold Petraeus Affair Over Him For Favorable Benghazi Testimony?
Pamela Geller / Atlas Shrugs: Krauthammer: White House "Held Affair Over Petraeus's Head" for dishonest testimony On Benghazi...
Allahpundit / Hot Air: Bill Kristol: A source tells me Petraeus wasn't completely honest in his Benghazi briefing to Congress
Doug Powers / Michelle Malkin: Jay Carney: It's a 'simple fact' …
Paul Wolfowitz / AEIdeas:
Forget the gossip: Focus on Benghazi — Members of Congress of both parties are clamoring for former CIA Director David Petraeus to testify about the decisions and events surrounding the murder of the US ambassador to Libya and three other Americans in Benghazi on September 11 of this year.
Discussion: Weekly Standard
Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard: Remain Focused on Benghazi
Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Obama to open 'fiscal cliff' talks with call for $1.6T in new revenues
Obama to open 'fiscal cliff' talks with call for $1.6T in new revenues
Discussion: The Daily Beast and Weasel Zippers
Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast: Obama's Opening Bid
Jeff G. / protein wisdom:
"Petraeus agrees to testify on Libya before congressional committees"
"Petraeus agrees to testify on Libya before congressional committees"
Discussion: alicublog
Bill Gertz / Washington Free Beacon:
Sex, Lies, and Benghazi
Sex, Lies, and Benghazi
Erika Johnsen / Hot Air: Carney: Obama "wasn't pleased" with Petraeus scandal when he found out, just after the election
Ashley Killough / CNN: TRENDING: Feinstein says she'll push for Petraeus to testify
Jay Newton-Small / TIME: Senate Intelligence Committee to Probe Petraeus Affair
Washington Post:
FBI investigating how Petraeus biographer Broadwell obtained classified files
FBI investigating how Petraeus biographer Broadwell obtained classified files
Discussion: Power Line, emptywheel, Washingtonian, Politico, Hot Air, The Week, New York Magazine, Grantland, Wall Street Journal, WorldViews, News Desk and Capital New York, more at Mediagazer »
Paul Mirengoff / Power Line: You can't make this stuff up — The Washington Post reports …
Carol Ross Joynt / Washingtonian: Details of Paula and Scott Broadwell's Romantic Rappahannock County Getaway
Matthew Miller / Politico: FBI handled David Petraeus probe correctly
Margaret Hartmann / New York Magazine: Despite Initial Reports, FBI Is Still Investigating Security Breach in Petraeus Scandal
Chuck Klosterman / Grantland: Did I accidentally force David Petraeus to resign? No. Do people believe I did? Maybe.
John Cassidy / News Desk: The Generals and the Women: A Guide for the Perplexed
Tom McGeveran / Capital New York: How to keep writing about the Petraeus-Broadwell affair without the emails
Wall Street Journal:
Obama Sets Steep Tax Target
Obama Sets Steep Tax Target
Discussion: First Read, ABCNEWS, ABCNEWS, The Lonely Conservative, The Daily Beast and iOwnTheWorld.com
Michael Falcone / ABCNEWS: At White House Grilling, Obama Will Have A Full Plate (The Note)
Mary Bruce / ABCNEWS: First Post-Election News Conference
BigFurHat / iOwnTheWorld.com: We Don't Need No Stinkin' Compromises
Justin Sink / The Hill:
Petraeus to testify on Benghazi
Petraeus to testify on Benghazi
Discussion: New York Magazine
Katie Glueck / Politico:
David Petraeus will testify on Benghazi
David Petraeus will testify on Benghazi
Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …
Alex Mooney / CNN:
Many issues same since Obama's last news conference
Many issues same since Obama's last news conference
Discussion: Althouse
Hamas military chief Ahmed Jabari killed by Israeli strike — LIVE BLOG: Israel strikes more than 20 targets in Gaza, killing Ahmed Jabari, who was behind the 2006 abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit; IDF says ready for ground operation in Gaza if necessary; Hamas …
Discussion: Weekly Standard, WorldViews, The Long War Journal, protein wisdom, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit
Lee Smith / Weekly Standard: Israel Takes Out Top Terrorist
Olga Khazan / WorldViews: Israel army says Jabari had 'blood on his hands'
Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit: Ka-Boom... Israeli Airstrike Kills Leader of Hamas Military Wing (Video)
Hamas military chief killed in Gaza air strike
Hamas military chief killed in Gaza air strike
Discussion: Atlas Shrugs and The PJ Tatler
Nidal al-Mughrabi / Reuters:
Israel launches Gaza offensive, kills Hamas commander
Israel launches Gaza offensive, kills Hamas commander
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Banter
IDF Blog:
IDF Begins Widespread Campaign on Terror Targets in the Gaza Strip
IDF Begins Widespread Campaign on Terror Targets in the Gaza Strip
Discussion: Israel Matzav, Jerusalem Post, Business Insider, The Jawa Report and Washington Free Beacon
Carl / Israel Matzav: Breaking: IDF hitting terror sites in Gaza (UPDATED WITH PICTURE OF CAR SWARM)
Yaakov Lappin / Jerusalem Post: Israeli air strike kills Hamas military chief Jabari
Rusty Shackleford, Ph.D. / The Jawa Report: Israel Kills Head of Hamas Military Wing in Gaza
The Irish Times:
Woman 'denied a termination' dies in hospital — Two investigations are under way into the death of a woman who was 17 weeks pregnant, at University Hospital Galway last month. — Savita Halappanavar (31), a dentist, presented with back pain at the hospital on October 21st …
Neetzan Zimmerman / Gawker: Woman in Ireland Dies After Being Denied Abortion; Was Told 'This Is a Catholic Country'
Henry McDonald / Guardian: Ireland's abortion ban: a history of obstruction and denial
Echidne / ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES: Meanwhile, in Ireland, Savita Halappanavar Dies After Being Denied an Abortion
Jessica Luther / Shakesville: Her Name Was Savita Halappanavar
Alex Massie / Spectator: Ireland and Abortion: Cruelty disguised as piety, cowardice misrepresented as principle.
Kathy Kattenburg / The Agonist: Hindu Woman in Ireland Denied Emergency Abortion, Dies
Kieran Healy / Crooked Timber: Savita Halappanavar and the Long Shadow of the X-Case
Jodi Jacobson / RH Reality Check:
We Are All Savita Halappanavar: Catholic Hospital in Ireland Denies Woman Life-Saving Abortion
We Are All Savita Halappanavar: Catholic Hospital in Ireland Denies Woman Life-Saving Abortion
Discussion: Guardian, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Feministe and Activism and Agitation
Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns & Money: Where the War on Women Leads
Laura Clawson / Daily Kos:
Nancy Pelosi swats down Luke Russert's 'offensive' question with a lesson on earning your job — You have to hand it to Nancy Pelosi. When emblem of establishment media nepotism Luke Russert asked if she shouldn't clear the way for younger leadership, being all old and stuff …
Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money
Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Nancy Pelosi to stay on as House minority leader
Nancy Pelosi to stay on as House minority leader
Discussion: 2chambers, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Fix, BuzzFeed, Hot Air, Business Insider, The Raw Story, Taylor Marsh, Weekly Standard and Election 2012
Chris Cillizza / The Fix: Why Nancy Pelosi stayed
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air: Video: Was question about Pelosi's age out of line?
Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider: Nancy Pelosi's Press Conference Gets Testy As Luke Russert's Question Gets Slammed
Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard: Pelosi Plans to Stay on as Top Dem in the House
John R. Parkinson / ABCNEWS:
Pelosi Will Remain as House Democratic Leader
Pelosi Will Remain as House Democratic Leader
Discussion: Politico
Seung Min Kim / Politico: Russert age question irritates Pelosi
Kevin Robillard / Politico:
Jill Kelley claims 'honorary' diplomatic status — Jill Kelley, the woman at the center of scandals swirling around Gens. David Petraeus and John Allen, tried to invoke what she claimed was honorary diplomatic status in a 911 call complaining about trespassers on her lawn.
Discussion: msnbc.com and New York Post
The Reliable Source / Washington Post:
"Social liaison" Jill Kelley: How did she get that title? And what does it mean?
"Social liaison" Jill Kelley: How did she get that title? And what does it mean?
Discussion: WorldViews, Althouse, Telegraph, milowent, The Huffington Post and Hot Air
Jon Swaine / Telegraph: David Petraeus affair: Florida twins courted generals and racked up millions in debt
Jason Cherkis / The Huffington Post: Jill Kelley, Woman Who Sparked Petraeus Scandal, Ran Questionable Charity
New York Times:
Tampa Social Scene at Center of Petraeus Scandal
Tampa Social Scene at Center of Petraeus Scandal
Discussion: Guardian, American Power, The Daily Beast, Marbury and The Week
Heidi Moore / Guardian: Petraeus scandal: a readers' guide to the clandestine soap opera and its cast
Donald Douglas / American Power: Tampa Social Scene at Center of Petraeus Scandal
Michael Daly / The Daily Beast: Jill Kelley Collected Generals
Ian Leslie / Marbury: petraeus, broadwell and the human stain
Josh Rogin / Associated Press:
Jill Kelley is an 'honorary consul' of South Korea
Jill Kelley is an 'honorary consul' of South Korea
Robert Stacy McCain / American Spectator: 'Extraordinary Incompetence' — Tampa's Bayshore Boulevard …
Henry Blodget / Business Insider: Jill Kelley Is An 'Honorary Consul' Of Korea And Thinks She Has Diplomatic Immunity
Bernard Finel / Balloon Juice: Electronic Privacy
Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain: If You Were Saying to Yourself, 'This Petraeus Scandal Isn't Crazy Enough ...'
New York Times:
Ryan Sees Urban Vote as Reason G.O.P. Lost — WASHINGTON — As Representative Paul D. Ryan casts about to find an explanation for the defeat of the Republican presidential ticket, on which he was Mitt Romney's running mate, he is looking to the nation's big cities for answers.
Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Washington Examiner, Taylor Marsh, msnbc.com and The Caucus
Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic Online: Beyond the 'Urban Vote'
Michael D. Shear / The Caucus: Ryan Surprised by Voters in 'Urban Areas'
Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Ryan: It 'Looked Like We Stood A Pretty Good Chance Of Winning' On Election Day
Ryan: It 'Looked Like We Stood A Pretty Good Chance Of Winning' On Election Day
Discussion: Political Watch and WISN Milwaukees Channel 12
Steve Goldstein / Political Watch: Paul Ryan admits to being shocked by election
Kent Wainscott / WISN Milwaukees Channel 12: Paul Ryan says he has no regrets
Andrew Kohut / Wall Street Journal:
Misreading Election 2012 — The GOP might be out of step with some voters, but Mitt Romney was an unusually unpopular party standard-bearer. — Postelection talk of "lessons learned" is often exaggerated and misleading, and so it is in 2012. — A week after President Obama won re-election, two themes are dominant.
Joe Gandelman / The Moderate Voice: Quote of the Day: "Americans Remain Moderate" Says Pew Research Center's Kohut
Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute: The Mormon Financier Couldn't Connect
William A. Jacobson / Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion: The lessons of 2012 may not be what Operation Demoralize says
Betsy Newmark / Betsy's Page: Cruising the Web — It's quite a shame that we don't have exit polling from Texas.
Donald Douglas / American Power: The Current American Electorate Is Hardly Stacked Against the Republican Party
Almost 1K ballots found in Broward elections warehouse — LAUDERHILL, Fla. (WSVN) — Nearly a thousand ballots that were not included in Florida's final count have been found in a warehouse in Broward County. — Tuesday morning and into the night, there was a buzz of activity …
Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …, Wonkette and The Hinterland Gazette
Tara Culp-Ressler / ThinkProgress:
Wisconsin Lawmakers Seek To Arrest Officials Who Implement Obamacare — Even though House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has acknowledged that Obamacare is the "law of the land," nine state lawmakers in Wisconsin are hoping to ensure that President Obama's health reform law won't ever be implemented in their state.
Discussion: Mock, Paper, Scissors
Patrick Marley / JSOnline:
9 lawmakers want to charge U.S. officials who implement Obamacare
9 lawmakers want to charge U.S. officials who implement Obamacare
Discussion: The Raw Story and Gin and Tacos
Investor's Business Daily:
Look Who's Refusing To Compromise To Avoid The Fiscal Cliff — Budget Talks: If President Obama wants to get a deficit deal done to avoid the fiscal cliff, his biggest challenge won't be Republicans, but his own hard-core left-wing supporters. — Two days after the election …
Discussion: The Week
Washington Post:
Obama to open talks with $1.6 trillion plan to raise taxes on corporations, wealthy
Obama to open talks with $1.6 trillion plan to raise taxes on corporations, wealthy
Discussion: Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, The Fix, The Caucus, Wonkblog, Politico, Business Insider, Wall Street Journal, Conservatives4Palin, Daily Kos and 2chambers
David Dayen / Firedoglake: Obama's Opening Bid: His FY2013 Budget Request
Chris Cillizza / The Fix: 5 things to watch for at President Obama's news conference
Ezra Klein / Wonkblog: White House rejects Boehner's tax deal
Reid J. Epstein / Politico: Obama, left leaders discuss fiscal cliff campaign
Joe Weisenthal / Business Insider: Barack Obama's Opening Offer
Damian Paletta / Wall Street Journal: Geithner Says Higher Tax Rates Key to Deficit Plan
Doug Brady / Conservatives4Palin: More.
Joan McCarter / Daily Kos: Public ready to blame Republicans if fiscal cliff talks fail
Ed O'Keefe / 2chambers: Angus King may pick a party by Wednesday
David Martosko / The Daily Caller:
White House 'secede' petitions reach 675,000 signatures, 50-state participation — Less than a week after a New Orleans suburbanite petitioned the White House to allow Louisiana to secede from the United States, petitions from seven states have collected enough signatures to trigger a promised review from the Obama administration.
Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly: The Secessionist Boom
Jeff G. / protein wisdom: "White House 'secede' petitions reach 675,000 signatures, 50-state participation"
Chris / AMERICAblog: New White House petition: Lose citizenship, face exile if you sign for secession
petitions.whitehouse.gov: Peacefully grant the city of Austin Texas to withdraw from the state of Texas & remain part of the United States.
Cara Maresca / msnbc.com: If Texas secedes, Austin wants out of Lone Star State
William Teach / Pirate's Cove: Secede Petitions Cover All 50 States, Over 660K Signatures
Meenal Vamburkar / Mediaite: Texas Nationalist Movement President Outlines Secession Goals On Hannity
Angus King to caucus with Democrats — (CNN) - Maine's independent senator-elect announced Wednesday he would caucus with Democrats, giving the party a ten-vote advantage over Republicans in the upper chamber. — Angus King made the announcement Wednesday in the U.S. Capitol …
Discussion: American Prospect, Politico, Outside the Beltway and Daily Kos
Jamelle Bouie / American Prospect: Give It Up, John Kerry
Manu Raju / Politico: Angus King joins Democrats
Doug Mataconis / Outside the Beltway: Maine's Angus King To Caucus With Democrats
Joan McCarter / Daily Kos: Angus King to caucus with Senate Democrats
A Mormon Reporter On The Romney Bus — On the night of the South Carolina Republican primary in January, I sat near the front of a dark campaign press bus, and listened to reporters talk about Mitt Romney's underwear. — Earlier in the day, one of them had happened upon the candidate …
Discussion: GOP 12 and Capital New York, more at Mediagazer »
Christian Heinze / GOP 12: What did Romney's run do for Mormonism?
Joe Pompeo / Capital New York: John Huey to leave top spot at Time Inc.; Times union makes a deal with management
Greg Holyk / ABCNEWS:
Majority Supports Path to Citizenship; Greater Division on Other Social Issues — Most Americans support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, an issue that may be high on the agenda of newly re-elected President Obama and the 113th Congress, given the increased importance of nonwhites …
Discussion: The Hill, Business Insider, Arizona Republic and Outside the Beltway
Brett LoGiurato / Business Insider: Support For Legalizing Marijuana Hits A Record Level In A New Poll
Kevin Robillard / Arizona Republic: FONT: — POLITICO.com — Americans overwhelmingly support …


text:
On the evening of July 12, Ireland's Enda Kenny, the Prime Minister or Taioseach, in the proper Gaelic was running late, delayed a few minutes by affairs of state. The 400-strong audience, squeezed onto rows of doll-size chairs in the Examination Hall of Trinity College, Dublin, waited placidly. What, after all, did a few minutes matter, when the scientific world had waited almost 70 years for an event of this magnitude?
In 1943, the Austrian-born physicist Erwin Schrödinger delivered a lecture at Trinity applying the principles of his own field to the foreign territory of biology. His purpose was to tackle the biggest question of all: what is life? He told his audience of 400, among them the then-Taoiseach Eamon de Valera, that the filaments in cells called chromosomes must contain "some kind of code-script" determining "the entire pattern of the individual's future development." This hypothesis would inspire the scientists James D. Watson and Francis Crick to seek that code-script. A mere decade later, they published a revolutionary article describing the double helix structure of what we now familiarly call DNA, explaining how it stores hereditary information. Their discovery underpins all modern genetics.
The idea of restaging Schrödinger's momentous lecture for a 21st century audience arose after Dublin won the right to host the 2012 Euroscience Open Forum, a privilege Ireland's Chief Scientific Advisor Prof. Patrick Cunningham compares to securing the Olympics for the Irish capital. TIME reported on the original lecture in its April 5, 1943 issue. "Only in the precarious peace of Eire could Europe today provide such a spectacle," our un-bylined reporter wrote. "At Dublin's Trinity College last month crowds were turned away from a jampacked scientific lecture. Cabinet ministers, diplomats, scholars and socialites loudly applauded a slight, Vienna-born professor of physics."
The time and the place of Schrödinger's talk not to mention the international coverage it received is important to Dubliners even today. "One of the things that's quite remarkable for us," says Cunningham, "is that in middle of the war, on the fringes of Europe, a magazine operating in the U.S. thought that this was something of sufficient consequence to write about it."
But how to find a modern scientist willing to tackle again a theme of such blinding magnitude? Who'd be prepared to endure comparison with the legendary Schrödinger and not worry about the hubris of doing so? Which egghead possessed the intellectual capacity to give such a lecture and the communication skills to make its content accessible to the public?
Step up to the podium J. Craig Venter, the American geneticist who sparked the race to map the human genome and, despite a White House-brokered deal in 2000 to declare his small, private team and the government-funded Human Genome Project joint winners, is widely acknowledged to have edged out his competition. Ten years later, Venter announced an achievement that by his own estimation makes mapping the human genome "pale by comparison." He created synthetic life in a laboratory, by building the genome of a bacterium and inserting it into an existing host cell that had been stripped of its original DNA.
He told this tale during his own What Is Life? lecture, recounting how he watermarked the genome in order to demonstrate that the colony of bright blue bacteria multiplying in Petri dishes was indeed following the genetic instructions Venter had written. It would be hard to argue otherwise given that each new cell carried identifying codes that included Venter's name and a series of three quotes one from Dublin's famous son, James Joyce: "To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate life out of life." The Joyce estate, learning of this unusual use of the author's work, protested that Venter had not asked permission.
Venter has often elicited hostile responses, not least from within the scientific community. Watson, who shared the 1962 Nobel prize for his groundbreaking work on DNA, attacked Venter's first successes at using an automated process to sequence genomes quickly. The sequencing machines, he sniffed, "could be run by monkeys." The distinguished science journalist John Horgan, writing on Scientific American's Cross-check blog, described Venter as "the Lady Gaga of science. Like her, he is a drama queen, an over-the-top performance artist with a genius for self-promotion," and dismissed Venter's synthetic bacteria as "just another incremental step in the human manipulation of life." A profile in Forbes by Matthew Herper, dubbed Venter "the Bono of genetics," sniping that "he warps the reality field around genetic research through sheer force of ego and showmanship."
And yet Venter endures. Say what you will about his synthetic bacterium, no one else has achieved such a feat. And he is pressing on with other projects, more recently engineering a type of algae that is yellow rather than dark green, enabling light to pass through it so it can grow in greater density providing what he hopes will be an ideal raw material for biofuel.
A few hours before his lecture, the Bono of genetics sat down with TIME in Dublin's Clarence Hotel, which is co-owned by the Bono of U2. Stocky like the Irish musician and with a rock star's predilection for fast motors and private yachts, Venter in some respects lives up to his flamboyant reputation. But just as with the cell structures that are his obsession, the more closely you study him, the more evident his complexities become.
A perennial outsider "a rebellious attitude has probably been the most beneficial, although painful at times, trait in my life," he confesses he never worked comfortably within the scientific establishment. That, however, can sometimes be a good thing. He came away from a stint at the U.S. National Institutes of Health with some hard insights into the failings of taxpayer-funded institutions and projects. "Given the science budget that exists, we should all be upset that far more hasn't been achieved," he remarks. He also takes a swipe at the U.S. education system, which he says focuses too heavily on good grades (he was a C-student) and so "weeds out a lot of the creativity in the human population."
There are occasional swipes at his critics too. ("I'd rather continue what I'm doing and being able to do high-end science, than if I'd gotten a Nobel Prize 50 years ago and basically retired," he says, answering a question about whether he harbors ambitions to win the prize that has eluded him but was awarded to Watson precisely 50 years back.) Nonetheless, the quality that is most striking about Venter is his belief in the power of science to transform the world for the better, not least by solving the resource shortages that science, by allowing greater numbers of humans to live longer, helped to create in the first place.
"Optimists are the ones that get things done," he says. "Because, in science, if you're not optimistic about the outcome then you'll never do the experiment. Pessimists talk themselves out of doing the experiment, and therefore don't make any progress."
Progress is Venter's grail and he's impatient with the people and "prejudices" that slow progress, such as the once-widespread assumption that protein was what carried the code in genetic material. Venter himself is driven by another kind of code-script. Again like Bono, he's a latter-day missionary, with elements of self aggrandizement, yes, but also creative impulses and curiosity and even, say it softly, humanitarianism. He may enjoy his fame-cum-notoriety, but he also sees it as a way to get his message across. And he isn't interested in a closed conversation with other scientists. "The obligation to explain science to the public [is] an absolute, essential part of being a scientist," he says.
And so Venter accepted the challenge to follow in Schrödinger's footsteps, knowing the lecture at Trinity would be live-streamed and blogged and reported more widely than any ordinary academic talk. He shared with this massively expanded audience his overview of the breakthroughs that, since Schrödinger bestrode the same podium, he believes to be transformational. There is the concept of "digitizing biology" for one, uploading the details of genetic codes and sending them via computers, making possible, for example, the rapid manufacture of vaccines at the point of outbreak of an epidemic. There is the effort to synthesize every part of a cell, something that Venter and multiple other scientists are exploring. Venter also ventured to give a scientific answer to the question posed by the title of the lecture: "All living cells that we know of on this planet are DNA software driven biological machines comprised of hundreds of thousands of protein robots, coded for by the DNA, that carry out precise functions."
During the lecture, Venter's old adversary Watson, now 84 and in Dublin for the Euroscience Open Forum, sat in the audience, next to Taoiseach Kenny. After Venter concluded, Watson climbed slowly on to the stage, shook his hand and congratulated him on "a beautiful speech." Did he mean it? Did he not? Only he knows. Venter may be right that scientists will soon be able to create life, but we may be no closer to understanding it especially the human kind.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
As a parent of an 11 year old I have had the fun of building helping to build quite a few Lego sets over the years. Sets ranging from a few dozen pieces for the simplest small projects, to at least one set that consisted of over 2,000 pieces, and that I think took me about a month, working in small batches to complete. A quick Google search masquerading as exhaustive research of the company history indicates the largest Lego set in terms of individual pieces to be the 2008 Taj Mahal set, an amazing likeness of the iconic building checking in at over 5,900 total pieces.
Certainly for anyone that has spent time constructing and playing with Lego building sets over the years would attest to just how more evolved, detailed, and fantastic they have become, (insert the requisite 'Back in my day, we only had plain blocks and could build square houses' lament here). By continuously innovating and expanding the possibilities of what could be re-created and re-imagined with plastic blocks, Lego has carved a unique place in the toy industry, and by some accounts is now the 4th-largest toy manufacturer in the world.
But the really cool thing about Lego I think is not solely or even primarily the amazing sets like the Taj Mahal, the Tower Bridge, or the almost 4,000 piece Star Wars Death Star. It's the way that the company still recognizes and embraces the elegance and importance of the simple, classic, and foundational Lego brick. You know the one I am talking about right? A simple rectangular building brick, a little Lego version of the real world builder's 2x4, the simplest and yet most fundamental brick of them all. The kind of brick that form the basis for walls, towers, and really for anything that can be imagined by the builder.
On the right is the image of the 1958 patent drawing for the Lego brick, (click on the image for a larger size), and while you might be thinking that the humble brick in the drawing has nothing at all to do with wonders like the Taj Mahal set, I think you might be wrong. Rather than me trying to explain why, let's get the Lego company's take on it - the following is directly from the Lego.com 'History' web page:
The LEGO brick is our most important product. This is why we are proud to have been named twice – "Toy of the Century". Our products have undergone extensive development over the years – but the foundation remains the traditional LEGO brick.
The brick in its present form was launched in 1958. The interlocking principle with its tubes makes it unique, and offers unlimited building possibilities. It's just a matter of getting the imagination going – and letting a wealth of creative ideas emerge through play.
The folks at Lego have realized that no matter how far they can push the creativity and design that goes into new building sets, the foundation that is the simple brick from 1958 is the source of it all. It makes Death Stars and Taj Mahals possible, but it also does more that that. The 5,900 piece Taj Mahal set is essentially designed to do one thing - to become a miniaturized, detailed, and accurate version of the actual Taj Mahal.
But a pile of simple bricks, the foundation elements that Lego still sees as the most important part of their portfolio, well these are designed to become anything that the builder can imagine. And that is probably why over 60 years later, the 'system' no matter how much it has advanced, still works on a fundamental level.
When the core of a system is simple, essential, and 'right', well, almost anything is possible from there.


text:
The fascinating anthropology of Midwestern food
The Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance preserves the region's culinary character
Stuffed – Midwestern sausages, that is. Mother-in-law sandwiches. Journeying through Midwestern sweets and dessert traditions.
It's anthropology of hoof, claw, fin, root and leaf: culinary anthropology.
"What in the world is culinary anthropology?" you might well ask.
Food anthropologists focus on peoples' foods and agriculture past and present, how they've evolved and how they've influenced and been influenced by their cultures. As an academic discipline, food/culinary anthropology is relatively new and on the rise, with an increasing number of higher learning institutions offering post-graduate master's or Ph.D. degrees in the subject. But culinary anthropology isn't limited to academics producing esoteric papers and dry research. There are also organizations comprised of enthusiastic amateurs, some of those academics, chefs, and other food folks who've discovered that exploring food traditions and trends is not only intellectually fascinating; it's also fun.
That mother-in-law sandwich? It's a chili-topped tamale on a hot dog bun whose origins and history have been explored and documented by Peter Engler, board member of the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance. His hobby is exploring Chicago's South Side unique culinary traditions.
The GMFA is "dedicated to celebrating, exploring and preserving unique food traditions and their cultural contexts in the American Midwest. The GMFA uncovers the distinctiveness of a region that is as varied in tastes and traditions as it is in its geography, from the Great Lakes to the Great Plains. Whether indigenous foods like Wisconsin cranberries and Minnesota walleye, iconographic flavors like the wheat and corn from across the prairies, immigrant cuisines from early Europeans to 21st century newcomers, or fish boils and fine dining in small towns and big cities, the GMFA promotes and chronicles the diversity of the region's culinary character."
GMFA was initially inspired by the Southern Foodways Alliance, the first such organization. Based in the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, the SFA originated in 1999 and has become highly visible and influential.
"Foodways" defines these organizations: "The study of what people eat and why. Why [and how] we procure, prepare and serve the food we do has cultural, sociological, geographical, financial and political influences." Their mission: "Preserving our past and present for the future by research, documentation and oral histories."
The GMFA may have been inspired by the SFA, but has no intention of merely being a clone/imitation of the older organization. "We want to carve our own path," says Catherine Lambrecht, one of GMFA's founders.
GMFA began in 2007. A couple years earlier, some of the present board members had been contacted by the Oxford University Press to contribute to its Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink. In 2007, they were offered $500 to update a new edition. "Bruce Kraig [GMFA's current president] made a glib comment about using that as seed money to start our own Foodways," says Lambrecht. And the rest is history – or anthropology, if you like.
That same year, GMFA held its first symposium, "Stuffed: Midwestern Sausage Traditions." Next came "Sweets: A Journey Through Midwestern Dessert Traditions." Then "Beef: From Plains to Plate."
Another primary focus is the heirloom recipe contests that GMFA sponsors at state fairs. The inaugural contest was at the Illinois State Fair in 2009. In 2010 the contest expanded to include the Indiana and Ohio state fairs. In 2011 Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota will be added to the list; Wisconsin is slated for 2012. "We'll eventually get to Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota," Lambrecht says. (Michigan no longer has a state fair.) Entries must include not only a written recipe and its preparation, but also a history of the dish. Judging is based on taste (50 percent), history (40 percent) and appearance (10 percent). All entrants' recipes are available on the GMFA website under its Events heading.
The initial GMFA group hails from Chicago and the surrounding area, and that's where the symposia are held. But the group is actively looking for people from other states to become involved.
"We envision GMFA as a locus for regional food and cultural history," the group says of its mission. "Ultimately we invite anyone to the table who has an interest in Midwest food culture or who define themselves as Midwestern regardless of race, creed or arbitrary political borders. We encourage participation from all walks life from academics to food enthusiasts, chefs to grill masters to home cooks, farmers to heirloom gardeners, food scientists, students and industry."
From April 29 – May 1, the GMFA will host its next symposium: "Midwest Eats! Foodways of the Great Depression."
Program topics include:
Down on the Midwestern Farm During the Great Depression: Dust Bowl and Economics. Everyone knows about the great Dust Bowl that destroyed agriculture and drove farmers from their land in wide swaths of the Great Plains. But many do not know that the farm economy collapsed as food prices were deflated and surpluses could not be sold. Rural poverty was just as great as in cities, and in many ways, even worse.
Nightclubs and Bread Lines: Depression Era Foodways On Film. Perhaps no historical event went so quickly and directly onto movie screens as the Great Depression. Food writer and film buff Michael Gebert will talk about how Depression Era foodways were reflected in period films, and show clips depicting food in every context from soup kitchens to glitzy nightspots, from Automats to home kitchens.
Community Canning in the Depression: A case study. Commentary and photographs delineating Ball Corporation's role in food assistance to Muncie residents during the Depression, including public projects that the corporation led. Ball set up community canning operations to can backyard garden produce and also provided company land for community gardens for apartment dwellers.
Co-Eds at the Co-op: Student Depression-Era Foodways at Old Normal. Oral histories and archival documents examine student foodways at Illinois State Normal University during the Great Depression. Enrollments soared at "Old Normal" as teaching again became an attractive profession for both women and men. Most students lived in boarding houses or rented rooms. Some heated meals in their rooms; others worked for their board; many brought food from the family home.
No Longer does the Holiday Table Groan Under the Weight of Food. A look at holiday meals during the Great Depression. What traditions were upheld and which were altered to fit the family budget? Many components of holiday meals were simply produced on a smaller scale, but as processed foods like Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and Spam entered the marketplace they became incorporated into holiday meals. Media outlets focused on putting your best foot forward while entertaining (even if the crown roast was made of frankfurters).
Steaks and Shakes and the Great Depression.%u2028 The early history of Steak 'n Shake, a hamburger chain started in central Illinois during the Great Depression, begins with a description of founder Gus Belt's original restaurant, a place he called "White House." Belt made Steak 'n Shake all about T-bones and porterhouses, marquee lights, heavy china, and bright boys and girls eager to take orders.
Relief dinner served on May 7, 1938, in the Gold Room of the Congress Hotel in Chicago. Replication of a menu made from 8 cents of ingredients.
Beer Production after Prohibition: Setting the Stage for the Rise of the Mega-breweries. The 1930s set the stage for the rise of the Midwestern mega-breweries that ultimately came to dominate the U.S. brewing landscape. Prohibition had dealt the industry a serious blow that many smaller, local breweries didn't survive. Reduced demand put additional pressure on those that did. Only breweries that could afford to adopt new cost-cutting technologies to achieve economies of scale would survive.
To find out more about the Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance, complete information about the upcoming symposium, including registration, and recipes for the state fair Heirloom entrants, visit the GMFA website: www.greatermidwestfoodways.com.
Contact Julianne Glatz at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text: I am a installer of 2GIG system and am having issues with customers not wanting to swap to 2GIG due to not being able to take over their Honeywell 2 wire smoke detectors. I was wondering if there was any device out there that we could use compatible with 2GIG systems that can power up the smokes and also monitor them. We already have a power supply that will power them up, and also a firefighter to take over electrical smokes but niether work together to take over the Honeywell smokes.


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Car-mounted grills, fresh shellfish, and ocean-proof suits - beat the summer heat with a few minutes of man time on the computer browsing the week's best from Uncrate.
This week at Uncrate: We get ready for serious sailing in the Helly Hansen Ocean Racing Suit, jam out to Ill Communication Remastered by Beastie Boys, and play some serious 3-on-3 with the Spalding The Beast Portable Basketball Hoop. We also dress for (mild) success in the Gap Fitted Two-Pocket Shirt, taste the ocean with Island Creek Oysters, and mix things up in the Waring Professional Bar Blender. Finally, we do our best Top Gun impression in Randolph Aviator Sunglasses, get ready for some football with the Margaritaville Portable Tailgate Grill, and tour France aboard one of the Trek Lance Armstrong Bikes of Stages.


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I was playing through the story mode and I reached, and completed the mission in which:
Patrokolos challenges, and kills Pyrrha. Pyrrha was the 'new Nightmare' having defeated him in a previous mission, defending Patrokolos.
However, the storyline then immediately cut to missions in which:
Z.W.E.I. approaches, challenges, and defeats Graf Dumas/Nightmare.
After those missions, the storyline jumps again to:
Patrokolos challenging Pyrrha again?
What the hell is going on here?


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MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The Georgia College softball program and head coach Jamie Grodecki are excited to host two summer youth camp sessions, one in June and one in July.
Both camps are set for future softball stars between eighth grade and 12th grade. The first session comes June 26-27 and the second is July 10-11, with the sessions lasting from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The camp sessions are designed for all levels of play. The programs consist of comprehensive instruction, physical conditioning and games.
For more information or to register, visit www.GCSportsCamps.com or call (478) 445-6341.
The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at www.twitter.com/BobcatSports and www.facebook.com/gcbobcats for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit www.GCBobcats.com for more information.


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Blandle... OF JOY
You might think with all the wrecks I see each day I'd get a little jaded, but the truth is I'm constantly finding new favorites to show the cats. (And then we laugh and laugh and have a little more of this here happy juice. Good times.)
In fact, this is my new favorite baby shower cake:
Why, you ask?
Well, for a start: "Congratoletionsj." C'mon.
Next, it's painfully obvious that the first baker stopped writing after "blandle," forcing someone else to come along later and write "OF JOY!"
Which is kind of like tripping during a tap dance routine, falling off the stage into the orchestra pit - destroying the entire percussion section in the process - and then, while the audience is still waiting in shell-shocked horror to see if you're still alive, popping up and throwing some frantic jazz hands for the big finish.
Can't you see it?
[jazz hands] "OF JOY!!"
Oh, and did I mention the "blandle" bit? 'Cuz while I'm not sure what that actually is, I'm pretty sure this must be one:
A butt? A belly? A headless, armless infant contortionist?
It's a BLANDLE, bee-yotches. Yep, you heard it here first. Tell your friends. (If only to warn them.)
And while you're at it, tell John I needs me some more happy juice. Ring-a-ding-ding, farm boy!
[dropping mic]
PEACE. I'm out.
Thanks to Erin N., Shelley P., Tonks, Lily, Mr. Snugglypants, Mrs. Whiskertickins, Sir Fuzzyknickerbottoms, & Oosawiddlewoveypiekins for being such a great audience.


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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After traveling the world and giving aspiring musicians a chance to jam with their favorite stars, the Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp announced Thursday it was setting up a permanent home in Las Vegas.
Starting in October, aspiring rockers who have dreamed of playing with their musical heroes can sign up for the camp's courses at the MGM Grand hotel and casino. Upcoming camps will feature rock legends as Roger Daltrey, Jack Bruce, Alice Cooper, Dave Navarro, Sammy Hagar, Gene Simmons and Vince Neil.
Camp founder David Fishof, a former manager and tour producer for Ringo Starr and The Monkees, said he had been looking for a permanent location for some time to cope with growing demand.
"It gets bigger every year," said Fishof. He estimated that since its start, over 7,000 rock star wannabes have attended the camps, which have been held six times a year in various locations including New York, Philadelphia and London.
Prices vary but a five-day camp with a star like Simmons is about $9,500 including hotel accommodation and meals, instruments and a performance at the MGM Grand hotel.
Fishof said the camps attract a cross-section of people.
"We get mothers, 15-year-old kids, top executives and music fans from all over the country, and the common denominator is their love for music - and many of them keep coming back, they love the experience so much," he said.
Now, the faithful will have a permanent shrine at which to worship.
The 10,000 square-foot (930 square-meter) facility in Vegas will also offer a "Rock Star for the Day" package for visitors to the city, consisting of a two- to three-hour jam session with famous musicians.
"What I love about Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp is watching these people learn so much in such a short space of time and having fun," Roger Daltrey of The Who, who will be appearing at the new camp in January 2013, said in a statement.
Simmons of KISS fame will inaugurate the new Vegas digs by headlining the October 10-14 camp, along with special guest rock stars including Vince Neil (Motley Crue), Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) and Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne guitarist, Black Label Society).
Additional camps are scheduled throughout the 2012-2013 season; headlining the November 7-11 camp as a "salute to the blues" will be Warren Haynes (The Allman Brothers) and Jack Bruce (Cream), followed by Daltrey who will headline the January 23-27 camp featuring Dave Navarro (Jane's Addiction.) Alice Cooper will headline the February 14-18 camp with Sammy Hagar headlining the March 6-10 camp.
Further details are available at www.rockcamp.com.
Editing by Jill Serjeant and Lisa Shumaker


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BAATT School
Project / Type: Non-Profit School, Academy
Location: Chad, Africa
Size: 3,000 Square Feet ( 278 Square Meters)
Status: Under Development
Project Lead Designer: Artur Nesterenko
Project Adviser: Jeanine Centuori
Winner of ACSA Being Resourceful Competition
Winner of 2012 AIA 2x8 Competition
A+D Museum Los Angeles
School for Darfurian Refugees: Building as a Teaching Tool (BAATT)
This project began with a study of material and human resources. Through an examination of indigenous building practices of Sub-Saharan Africa, a material palette was created. This included a family of earth construction techniques such as compressed mud bricks, rammed earth, thatch roofing, recycled metals, and minimal amounts of concrete, and steel work.
The process of developing a design that would be transmitted to a local population on the ground in Chad involved the alternating process of full scale materials testing with designing through scalar models and drawings. A sequence of brick and rammed earth studies informed the design of the school. A non-verbal pictorial construction manual complemented the drawings as a communication tool.
Building as a Teaching Tool
The Vocational Academy Building Project serves as a classroom space and a learning tool for matriculating students. In addition to housing classrooms for teaching reading and writing subjects, its construction is meant to serve as a practicum in sustainable building practices. Students enrolled in the program will participate on building teams to erect portions of the structure.
It is a building that combines indigenous building practices with state-of-the-art sustainable ethics. A simple rectangular open floor plan accommodates approximately 80 students (40 male and 40 female students). It employs a double roof structure with a thatch pyramidal roof that is covered with a second metal roof. The large metal roof canopy acts as a shade device to protect the interior from the intense heat.
The main structure is made of compressed mud bricks using a compression machine with a hand lever. There is a minimal amount of concrete and steel rebars needed for beam construction. The infill walls between the columns are non-structural rammed earth that is made of soil, and a small amount of cement. These walls are ventilated with fiber cement cylindrical tiles that may be made by the students on the site.
This single volume building is designed as one classroom space, and is intended to accommodate one gender. It is anticipated that two volumes will be built, along with smaller open-air canopies that serve as shade devices, lunch areas, and prayer spaces. Additionally, composting toilet structures will be built on the site.
This building acts as a tool by which students will learn sustainable building practices. This is a prototype structure that may be duplicated and adapted to many other sites in the Darfur region as repatriation takes place. Student/builders of the school will acquire skills such as brick making, rammed earth construction, thatch and metal roofing, installing composting toilets, and water management and conservation. These skills will be the foundation to entrepreneurial ventures as resettlements begin to take place.
I am a designer, artist and a real estate developer working across the fields of architecture and product design. I work with brands and organizations to create emotive, engaging, atmospheric illusion by which to represent their messages.


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Refer A Friend
Microsoft launches new Refer-a-Friend promotion on Xbox Live
Microsoft has launched a Refer-a-Friend on Xbox Live, which allows Gold members to earn tokens towards one of four rewards.
Refer A Friend headlines
Refer-a-Friend to Warhammer Online, get an exclusive mount
Mythic has announced that an exclusive griffon or manticore mount can be yours if you refer six players to Warhammer Online through the recruit-a-friend program. Other referral goodie include non-combat hounds, free game time, and special items that grant additional XP allowing you to temporarily raise a friend's level to within two of your own. […]
Refer friends to LotRO, get Amazon vouchers
Codemasters has launched a "Refer a Friend" programme for Lord of the Rings Online, giving you Amazon vouchers if you press gang people you know into spending what remains of their sorry lives in a virtual Middle Earth. Visit this page and enter your friends' email addresses to send them a personal invitation to a […]


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Don't look now, but baseball's hottest team is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who entered the All-Star break with a 57-37 record, 1 1/2 games behind the first place Oakland Athletics in the American League West.
Can the Angels catch the A's and win the West? Can they go beyond a playoff berth, and make the World Series, their first trip since winning it all in 2002? The 2014 Angels are more than capable.
The Angels Most Valuable Player this season has undoubtedly been center fielder Mike Trout, who is poised to take home his first American League MVP award. Trout has defied all logic again this year, batting .310 with 22 Home Runs and 73 Runs Batted In, along with 65 runs, 10 steals, and a .400 On Base Percentage.
Trout's numbers are supposed to be videogame statistics, not the midseason line of a third year player turning the ripe old age of 23 in August. Trout has captured the hearts of Southern California -- along with the rest of the country -- with his exciting play. Trout's MVP performance in Tuesday's All-Star Game solidifies him as an exciting national star.
Trout leads an Angel offense that is an absolute juggernaut. Through 94 games, the lineup scored 478 runs, leading the majors. Outfielder Kole Calhoun missed time in May, but has been solid batting lead off, with a .295 average and 49 runs in just 59 games. If they are healthy, Calhoun, Trout, first baseman Albert Pujols, right fielder Josh Hamilton, second baseman Howie Kendrick, and shortstop Erick Aybar could form the most dangerous offensive force in all of baseball during the second half. Aybar, who made the All-Star team by batting .283 with 6 HR's and 50 RBI's, is arguably the team's 6th strongest hitter. When your 6th best hitter's an All-Star, watch out.
While Trout and the offense's performance this year was more or less expected, one player whose sheer brilliance was unforeseen has been starting pitcher, Garrett Richards.
Richards stands 6'3 and possesses a devastating 96 MPH fastball that can touch even higher. After a disappointing 2013 in which he had a 7-8 record and a 4.16 ERA, Richards has taken a gigantic step forward. So far, he has posted an 11-2 record with a 2.55 ERA. Richards entered the break riding a 7 game winning streak, proving to be one of the toughest starters in the American League. With a rotation of Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson, Richards, Tyler Skaggs and Hector Santiago, the Angels will compete with any rotation in the American League.
The bullpen, the weak point of the squad, took a step forward in July when reliever Joe Smith stepped into the closer's role. With Smith in the 9th, the Angels can nail down a 1 or 2 run lead.
And yet, the Angels are still in second place. The Oakland A's had a remarkable first half, posting a franchise record 59 wins before the All-Star break. The A's pitching staff will be electric with the addition of Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel from the Chicago Cubs. That trade leaves little doubt the A's are all in on the 2014 season. The A's all-star closer, Sean Doolittle, has been unhittable with a 2.89 ERA and astounding 63 strikeouts to just 2 walks.
The A's lineup is admittedly tough. The Angels may have scored the most runs in the league, but can you guess who's second? Oakland. For all the hype that back-to-back Home Run Derby champion Yoenis Cespedes receives, it is Brandon Moss who has been the A's top batter, with 21 HR's and 66 RBI's at the break. While Moss is unstoppable against right handed pitching, the outfielder loses his power against lefties. Moss has hit only 3 home runs this season against lefties, and 18 against righties. In 2013, Moss hit just .200 versus lefties.
Why does this matter for the Angels? Three of their five starting pitchers -- Wilson, Skaggs, and Santiago -- are left-handed. In upcoming head-to-head battles, the Angels gain an advantage when facing an A's lineup heavily dependent on lefty Moss for power. The A's are beatable.
Trout and the Angels are roaring back in the American League, but they will not be satisfied with the Wild Card. In 2014, the Angels have bigger fish to fry.
Contributions to this article made by Matt Steinberg


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Although a study in 2012 suggested a cancer drug could reverse the thinking and memory problems associated with Alzheimer's disease, three groups of researchers now say they have been unable to duplicate those findings.
The teams said their research could have serious implications for patient safety since the drug involved in the study, bexarotene (Targretin), has serious side effects, such as major blood-lipid abnormalities, pancreatitis, headaches, fatigue, weight gain, depression, nausea, vomiting, constipation and rash.
"Anecdotally, we have all heard that physicians are treating their Alzheimer's patients with bexarotene, a cancer drug with severe side effects," said study co-author Robert Vassar, a professor of cell and molecular biology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago. "This practice should be ended immediately, given the failure of three independent research groups to replicate the plaque-lowering effects of bexarotene."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved bexarotene in 1999 to treat refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Once approved, however, the drug also was available by prescription for "off-label" uses.
The 2012 study suggested that bexarotene was able to rapidly reverse the build-up of beta amyloid plaques in the brains of mice. The authors of the initial study concluded that treatment with the drug might reverse the cognitive and memory problems associated with the development of Alzheimer's.
Sangram Sisodia, a professor of neurosciences at the University of Chicago and a study co-author of the latest research, admitted being skeptical about the initial findings.
"We were surprised and excited -- even stunned -- when we first saw these results presented at a small conference," Sisodia said in a University of Chicago Medical Center news release. "The mechanism of action made some sense, but the assertion that they could reduce the areas of plaque by 50 percent within three days and by 75 percent in two weeks seemed too good to be true."
In attempting to duplicate the findings, the research teams found that they were indeed too good to be true.
"We all went back to our labs and tried to confirm these promising findings," Sisodia said. "We repeated the initial experiments -- a standard process in science. Combined results are really important in this field. None of us found anything like what they described in the 2012 paper."
Researchers at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Washington University in St Louis and the University of Tubingen in Germany reported in the May 24 issue of the journal Science that they did not find any reduction in beta amyloid plaques during or after treatment with bexarotene in three different strains of mice.
Bexarotene has never been tested on people as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Currently, there is no cure or effective treatment for the progressive condition, which affects an estimated 5.3 million Americans.
More information
The U.S. National Institutes of Health provides more information on Alzheimer's disease.Health News Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved.


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Is Your Website Not Converting Visitors into Customers?
How to Create a CRAZY PROFITABLE Website
Fact: You Have 8 Seconds to Capture a Visitors Attention
Grab Your 8 Step Checklist:
Check Your Email For Your
8 Step Checklist.
Eric Tippetts


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Last year, when Manchester City elected to reissue the red-and-black striped design it last wore in 1967, it revealed the new shirts through FIFA 12. Arsenal's new purple-and-black alternate kit likewise debuted today with some assistance from the EA Sports football title.
You may see for yourself in the video above. The upsell to preorder the shirt at the end suggests to me that the club and EA Sports had an arrangement similar to the one with City last year. At E3, Matt Bilbey, the vice president and general manager of football, said he expected to see new collaborations forming because of the success of the City partnership and visibility the club enjoys after winning its first English championship in nearly 45 years.


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Jaguar Land Rover is to announce up to 5,000 job cuts in a business update later today (10 Jan), according to reports.
The luxury car brand will primarily cut jobs in management, marketing and administrative roles, blaming "continuing uncertainty related to Brexit" for the losses.
Further losses
The luxury car maker employs 44,000 workers in the UK at sites in Halewood on Merseyside and Solihull, Castle Bromwich, and Wolverhampton in the West Midlands.
The firm previously cut 1,000 temporary contract workers at its plant in Solihull in 2017.
Their upcoming announcement is expected to include details of sales for 2018, the business outlook for this year, and updates on cost savings and planned investment in UK plants.
Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars chief executive, Torsten Muller-Otvos, has pledged that the car maker will remain in Britain post-Brexit.
The commitment came as the company unveiled record sales figures, up 22 per cent in 2018 on the previous year.
Slowing demand
In October last year, Jaguar unveiled a £2.5 billion turnaround plan which included cost cutting, after uncertainty surrounding Brexit.
Slowing demand in China also caused the brand to suffer a hefty loss towards the end of 2018, following import duty changes and escalating trade tensions with the US.
The firm (owned by Indian conglomerate, Tata) reported a £90 million pre-tax loss in the three months to 30 September, which compared with a £385 million profit in the same period in 2017.
The brand's figures were also affected by the introduction of European emissions standards – known as WLTP – which resulted in a fall in demand for diesel cars.
At the time boss Ralf Speth said, "In the latest quarterly period, we continued to see more challenging market conditions.
"Our results were undermined by slowing demand in China, along with continued uncertainty in Europe over diesel, Brexit and the WLTP changeover."


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Good Negotiators Know it's Never Just About Money
I used to help attorneys, insurance adjusters, physicians and patients resolve medical malpractice cases. Most attorneys and mediators call these cases "pure money" disputes because they don't believe the personal relationship between the doctor and his former patient has anything to do with the resolution of the lawsuit.
It only took a few months mediating all types of litigated disputes – fights over intellectual property rights, unfair competition, collection, personal injury, professional malpractice and breaches of contract – to conclude that no dispute is "only about money."
The negotiator who understands that there is no "pure money" negotiation, has reached the status of "super negotiator" because she has already learned something about what motivates people and has already broken through the mass illusion that money is a singular, objective metric of value to all parties.
Money is a Subjective Measure of Value
As I wrote in an academic article on the many subjective meanings of money
Although contemporary money seems to have shed all of its qualities except its quantity, 'its oneness or fiveness or fiftyness,' we do not in fact use money as if it were fungible. We experience the value of a dollar earned differently from the way we experience one that is stolen or given to us as a gift and we spent it differently as well.
Even money's form exerts some control over the way in which we are willing to deploy it. Credit card companies have recently seen the benefit in selling 'debit' cards as a means of making the gift of money (rather than carefully chosen things) appropriate in settings where cash would seem gauche or even insulting.
Gifts of money are generally meant to be expended on a single item or experience and are typically delivered with injunctions that the recipient buy something 'frivolous' or do something 'luxurious.'The recipients of 'cash' gifts are expected to report back on the special use to which the gift was put.
If the beneficiary of the largesse were to spend the money on rent or groceries, it would surely be taken as an insult to the donor and embarrassment to the donee, or else cause for general alarm at the donee's unacknowledged impoverished state.
When we respond to our friend's needs rather than their desires, we tend not to give monetary gifts but to (often reluctantly) make loans. And where we might happily and without serious thought spend $50 on a gift, we might well wring our hands at the prospect of lending such a sum for necessities.
A dollar is not simply a dollar.
In helping attorneys negotiate the resolution of litigation, mediators aid them in resolving the non-monetary justice issues – issues capable of resolution primarily through a process that begins with accountability and ends with apology.


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At Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp, we empower children and adults with disabilities. For over 84 years, we have partnered with the U.S. Forest Service to provide individuals with disabilities an outstanding overnight recreational opportunity in the Mt. Hood National Forest. We offer eight week-long sessions of residential summer camp, providing our campers with a one-on-one camper/counselor ratio. We also offer programming throughout the year at our fully accessible 22-acre campsite.
Our campers go through many powerful experiences every day. Campers talk about how many fish they caught, friends they danced with, and the fear they overcame by doing the zip line. Even more extraordinary is how experiences at camp positively contribute to the total growth of our campers. They grow as individuals and blossom in ways only summer camp can foster.


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Just yesterday, I did what often happens to me…I picked up a different guitar, and instantly created a new riff and basis for a new song on the spot! It's amazing how often this type of thing occurs with me. It's almost as if my years and years of teaching myself and forcing myself to always have new ideas has also spawned a kind of "instant" creativity that just flows out of me, particularly when inspired by a certain tone. In this instance, I was enthralled with the kind of snarly and edgy distorted tone I was getting. Mix that with the kind of harmonic distortion and overtones I was hearing, and I had a perfect formula for the kinds of sounds I felt like making at the time!
Often, these ideas that "strike" us out of the blue can fizzle away almost just as quickly as they come…almost like when you wake from a seemingly "unforgettable" dream, so we must learn and have certain "devices" in place for remembering what we just spontaneously came up with! In the case of yesterday's creativity, I created a situation where I made it into a song that I couldn't get out of my head! By actually using this approach, one that sometimes can become annoying, I truly emblazoned my new song into my memory in such a way that I could never forget it! To back that up, I wrote it down on some tablature paper, so I'd remember the rhythm and groove of it, as well as the notes and positions.
It's very important to remember these songs when the do hit you, because the moment is fleeting, and your ability to remember these is a different skill than actually coming up with them in the first place. We create them seemingly "out of the blue", yet to remember them takes a whole other set of skills, and most of all, we just don't want to lose these great, creative ideas!
I used to use the funniest ways to remember these ideas, and most of the time they'd work….saying things like "groove similar to Hot fun in the Summertime" and original melody like House of the Rising Sun", etc.. It can actually get real entertaining coming up with these comparisons, but certainly you get the idea, I'm sure!
So whatever it takes, be sure to not forget your incredibly spontaneous ideas; you just never know what they can mean to you in the future, and you also may never know just how certain variations that will naturally occur later on will also take shape! Have fun in your search.


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'Paper Tiger' at the Pentagon
For months, Chuck Hagel has played a secretary on defense. Is this his punch-back moment?
Since he became President Obama's secretary of defense earlier this year, Chuck Hagel, the ruthlessly candid and occasionally contrarian former Republican senator from Nebraska, has mostly kept his inner maverick in check. He's been so much of an enigma in nine muted months at the Pentagon that one frequent critic, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), was heard to ask aloud, "What's with this guy?" as she emerged from a low-energy meeting with the heavy-lidded defense secretary, according to one fellow senator. So White House officials were stunned when Hagel abruptly spit the bit over the summer.
By August, the first round of across-the-board cuts mandated by the congressionally imposed process known as budget sequestration had forced the Pentagon to slash its massive personnel costs. Obama's White House team was controlling the talking points, and these defense cuts were an especially powerful part of their political message: Republicans, they claimed, were willing to endanger national security to appease their anti-government Tea Party wing. So it came as unwelcome news when Hagel declared—without getting West Wing approval—that he was exercising his authority to reinstate five of 11 furlough days for the department's civilian employees, according to several current and former administration officials. White House aides called Hagel's team to complain. The secretary didn't care. He was growing increasingly concerned that the administration was ignoring the Pentagon's budget and readiness crises, and he directed his staff to give a mid-level agency bureaucrat a one-hour head's up before he went public. "Hagel didn't want to slow the process down," a former defense official told me. "So he just decided to do it, and he did it… Message sent."
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It's too early to tell if Hagel's sotto voce declaration of independence was a genuine pivot point. But it's clear the 67-year-old Vietnam War hero is entering the make-or-break phase of his Pentagon stewardship, according to about a dozen current and former West Wing and Pentagon officials I spoke with. Up until recently, they say, Hagel appeared shaky, a career legislator struggling with his first big command—and under constant fire. "How would I describe him right now? He's a paper tiger," says a longtime Obama campaign and White House adviser. "He's a great guy and a war hero. The regular troops love him. … It's not quite buyer's remorse, but he needs to show us more."
Obama's people may yet get their wish, if perhaps in ways they hadn't quite anticipated. In recent days, Secretary of State John Kerry has hogged the spotlight with his headlong-into-the-breach diplomacy with Iran. But it is Hagel who might face the potentially greater career-defining moment: Over the next six weeks, he'll have to battle Congress, and perhaps some on Obama's West Wing team, to forestall unprecedented new defense cuts that, when added to the first round of sequester cuts, could slash as much as $100 billion a year (according to Obama administration estimates) from a Pentagon accustomed to Bush-era annual budgets of $700 billion. It's the sort of bloodletting that could force commanders to choose between modern weapons systems, funding benefits programs or paying to retain enough troops to meet new threats. In effect, what has followed the low-key secretary (self-effacing to a fault—he has described defense as "the fourth" most powerful gig in Obama's Cabinet) to his memento-crammed office on the third floor of the Pentagon is a fight that could now determine the ambition of the military in the post-Afghanistan and Iraq era.
"How would I describe him right now? He's a paper tiger," says a longtime White House advisor. "He's a great guy and a war hero. The regular troops love him … but he needs to show us more."
There's no doubt that Hagel shares Obama's philosophy of a leaner and more efficient military, and he voiced only perfunctory objections to the $50 billion-a-year hit the Pentagon took in the 2012 budget deal—and toes the administration line that all sequester cuts, to military and domestic programs, need to be restores in full. He also embraced a long-term Obama budget proposal that would backload billions of dollars more in cuts over the next decade. But the additional $20 billion to $50 billion in yearly cuts due to take effect next month if congressional negotiators can't avert a second sequester are too much for Hagel. Obama opposes the cuts too, but Hagel is pressing to de-link the Pentagon's budget from the non-defense budget, a stance that puts him in conflict with the White House bargaining position at a crucial moment: If Republicans want to avoid the defense cuts, Obama is trying to make the case that they will also have to spare the ax for an array of social welfare and infrastructure programs. "If you just to start to carve out certain popular items from the sequester you don't solve the problem," a person close to Obama told me when asked about Hagel's position. "Chuck is just doing his job. … He wants to exempt the military from the sequester, and that's understandable. But we're looking to get rid of the sequester across the board."
Hagel has directed most of his public comments at GOP budget-cutters but he's also made it clear he's dissatisfied with some in the administration, especially Obama's Office of Management and Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell who, in the words of one Hagel confidant, "just doesn't get the urgency" of the threat. "This is an irresponsible way to govern, and it forces the department into a very bad set of choices," Hagel said earlier this month of the sequester, speaking to an audience at the Reagan Library.
But here's where the months of lackluster leadership at the Pentagon might pose a key problem for Hagel, a former infantry squad leader in Vietnam now entering a big bureaucratic fight well below full battle strength. His top deputy, the highly regarded Ashton Carter—himself a candidate for defense secretary and a man who has been running the place day to day for two years—is leaving this month. Several top-level former defense officials, including the department's one-time No. 3, Michèle Flournoy, another also-ran for the secretaryship when Hagel got the job, have rebuffed entreaties to join the team, say people close to the situation.
Hagel's grasp of granular budget and manpower issues have improved greatly over the last few months, and people close to him say he has even booted out staffers from briefings if they don't have the information he needs at the ready. But he's still a relative neophyte, and having a first-class deputy remains a necessity. "I sure hope it's a strong pick," says Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). "And I sure hope it's somebody with experience in the Pentagon."


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Tons of stuff going on so let's get it:
Coach Tony Sparano was asked if he envisions getting his No. 4 quarterback into Friday's preseason game against Atlanta. "Do I envision that?" Sparano asked. "No."
Pat White, in case you've not tuned in lately, is Miami's No. 4 quarterback. He didn't play in the preseason opener. He didn't play last week in the second preseason game.
One thing I can tell you for sure: He's not being showcased to be traded.
You may remember that Sparano talked about having to clean up some man-coverage issues after the game at Jacksonville. I asked Sean Smith, who yielded a 22-yard completion to Mike Sims-Walker, what cleaning up thos things meant as far as he's concerned.
"I can only speak for myself, but it's about understanding what you want to take away. What leverage to use. It was a very long game for us so it was kind of easy lose technique on certain plays. It's also about knowing when you're being inside or outside technique."
We know the Dolphins have struggled on special teams the past couple of weeks. They've had two blocked punts and given up returns of 41, 47, 48 yards. So I asked special teams ace Jason Allen what he thinks of the play of his unit.
"If you had a scale of 1 to 10 based on the potential we have, I would say it's about a five or six right now," he said. "I'm just being honest. I feel the potential we have as a group, we haven't reached very far in that potential. We have to spend more time on details. [Special teams coordinator] Coach [John Bonoamego] talks all the time about one guy being who we all are. It only takes one guy to mess up the entire special teams. We all got to be together as a unit and have the mentality we're going to get the job done."
Sparano said last week one reason the special teams might be so problematic right now is the mixing and matching being done. Allen doesn't buy that.
"There's no excuses," he said. "First team, second team, you have to do your job. that's the mentality we have to have. We have to do it a high level. We have a bunch of athletes that are fast, big and strong that are more than capable of getting the job done. We have to go out and do it."
BROADCAST UPDATE: Coach Sparano will be my guest on my radio show, Armando and the Amigo, at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. If you live in South Florida, the show is on 640-AM. If you don't live in South Florida, we stream live online here. My show is on Monday through Friday 6-10 a.m.


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This one's only 1,800 words long. Love some feedback. It's called - Ivy, Two-Twenty-Two, Charley, Three.
Any interest?
This one's only 1,800 words long. Love some feedback. It's called - Ivy, Two-Twenty-Two, Charley, Three.
Any interest?
I've been holding off for awhile MSG. I'm interested but at this time for some reason or another I've been experiencing something I've never experienced before. I just can't figure it out. I get real queasy when the subject of Vietnam comes up. I've been having some really weird dreams. I used to watch many documentaries about the war & never flinched. I haven't for awhile because I just haven't noticed any on cable. Had there been any on I certainly would have watched them. I'm worried that I have late arriving PTSD, & I mean LATE (a half century?, LOL) but I'm totally normal in all other aspects. I have not met an old comrade that I served with or talked to any of them online, the phone or in person. I haven't talked about the subject at all to anybody. It just came suddenly & out of the blue. A couple of weeks ago I had a stress test & a physical & the doc says I'm fine. Slightly elevated blood pressure but I've had that since I was a teenager & it's considered my normal. I've just been a bit edgy lately. I don't want to see a shrink because that may disqualify me from carrying a firearm which I do as a PI & for everyday self-defense. I think I'm tough enough to work through it but I think I'll stay out of the woods for awhile.
Sorry about talking about this. I certainly don't mean to burden you with my problems.
Proud Dad of a US Army Airborne Ranger SFC
Retired US Army 1SG/MSG, Airborne Infantry, G-3, Instructor
Former USN - Submarines, USS Chopper (SS 342) & Navy Diver, UDT 21
I was a Soldier. I am a Soldier. I will always be a Soldier.


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|New Price
|Shell Gas – Domestic Cylinder Wholesale Price
(HK$ per kg)
|Shell Gas – Domestic Piped-in List Price
(HK$ per cubic metre)
"Same as before, we adjusted the domestic LPG price according to the established pricing mechanism to reflect the trend of import costs within the review period," said Ms. Anne Yu, General Manager for Shell Gas (LPG) in Hong Kong and Macau.
The current pricing mechanism has been in place since January 1999. The price is reviewed every quarter. The adjustment reflects mainly the difference between the forecast and actual import prices for the past quarter and the forecast price for the coming quarter. Prudent adjustment is made for every price review based on the latest import price figures. An annual review of operating cost is incorporated and reflected every January.
Shell will continue to closely monitor the import prices, and will certainly reduce LPG prices through the pricing mechanism should import costs decrease.
For more information, please contact:
Maggie Lam
Tel: 2506 7341 Communications Manager
Fax: 2506 1029


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White Paper #163Standardized, pre-assembled and integrated data center facility power and cooling modules are at least 60% faster to deploy, and provide a first cost savings of 13% or more compared to traditional data center power and cooling infrastructure. Facility modules, also referred to in the data center industry as containerized power and cooling plants, allow data center designers to shift their thinking from a customized "construction" mentality to a standardized "site integration" mentality. This white paper compares the cost of both scenarios, presents the advantages and disadvantages of each, and identifies which environments can best leverage the facility module approach. Read White Paper #163
Prefabricated Power and Cooling Modules for Data Centers
White Paper #164Standardized, scalable, pre-assembled, and integrated data center facility power and cooling modules provide a "total cost of ownership" (TCO) savings of 30% compared to traditional, built-out data center power and cooling infrastructure. Avoiding overbuilt capacity and scaling the design over time contributes to a significant percentage of the overall savings. This white paper provides a quantitative TCO analysis of the two architectures, and illustrates the key drivers of both the capex and opex savings of the improved architecture. Read White Paper #164
TCO Analysis of a Traditional Data Center vs. a Scalable, Prefabricated Data Center
White Paper #165Data center systems or subsystems that are pre-assembled in a factory are often described with terms like prefabricated, containerized, modular, skid-based, pod-based, mobile, portable, self-contained, all-in-one, and more. There are, however, important distinctions between the various types of factory-built building blocks on the market. This paper proposes standard terminology for categorizing the types of prefabricated modular data centers, defines and compares their key attributes, and provides a framework for choosing the best approach(es) based on business requirements. Read White Paper #165
Types of Prefabricated Modular Data Centers
White Paper #166Implementing prefabricated modular data centers results in well-understood benefits including speed of deployment, predictability, scalability, and lifecycle cost. The process of deploying them – from designing the data center, to preparing the site, to procuring the equipment, to installation – is quite different than that of a traditional data center. This paper presents practical considerations, guidance, and results that a data center manager should expect from such a deployment. Read White Paper #166
Practical Considerations for Implementing Prefabricated Data Centers
Case StudyFor many organizations, the choice between building a private data center and moving to a large colocation facility is a trade off. Private data centers are expensive to build and require meticulous advanced planning. Colocating to a large data center can be less expensive and provide flexibility for growth, but comes with the sacrifice of complete control. Read Inventing the DartPoints Private Colo™
Inventing the DartPoints Private Colo™
Prefabricated Data Center Enables Oil Company to Tackle Time, Budget Constraints and Regulatory IssuesCustomers use prefabricated data center modules for a number of reasons, including time to market, predicable cost and performance, and to help them meet stringent environmental conditions. And sometimes, customers use prefab modules for all of those reasons. Prefabricated Data Center Enables Oil Company to Tackle Time, Budget Constraints and Regulatory Issues
Prefabricated Data Center Helps Aviation Firm Meet Stringent Time and Efficiency GoalsCustomers use prefabricated data center modules for a number of reasons, including time to market, predicable cost and performance, and to help them meet stringent environmental conditions. And sometimes, customers use prefab modules for all of those reasons. Prefabricated Data Center Helps Aviation Firm Meet Stringent Time and Efficiency Goals
Automotive Firm Gets on the Fast Track with Prefabricated Modular Data CenterIn just about any business today, time to market is of the essence. Companies want to get new products out the door quickly so they can start generating revenue and pay back the investment they made in developing the product – and hopefully lots more in profit. Automotive Firm Gets on the Fast Track with Prefabricated Modular Data Center
Schneider Electric White Paper LibraryGet the industry's trusted research for protecting your data center/IT system uptime, streamlining operations, and maximizing energy efficiency. Schneider Electric White Paper Library
TradeOff Tools
Web-based applications with easy-to-use interfaces designed for use in the early stages of datacenter concept and design development. TradeOff Tools
Prefabricated vs. Traditional Data Center Cost Calculator
Impact of design attributes on cost of prefabricated versus traditional data center. Data Center Cost Calculator
Reference Design Selector
Browse the Schneider Electric library of reference designs to select, compare and choose the optimal design that meets your data center needs. Reference Design Selector
Energy University
A FREE, online, educational resource, offering more than 200 vendor-neutral courses on energy efficiency and data center topics to help you identify, implement, and monitor efficiency improvements within your organization. Energy University
Who Can Benefit from Prefabricated Modular Data Centers
Check out this blog to learn more about how using a prefab approach could benefit your data center build or upgrade. Who Can Benefit from Prefabricated Modular Data Centers
Does Prefabrication Mean Lower Cost Data Centers?
Check out this blog post to read how prefab solutions can help result in lower cost data centers. Does Prefabrication Mean Lower Cost Data Centers?
Customer Showcases
Actual experiences of our customers from residential to data centers. Customer Showcases
Schneider Electric TVCheck out the latest videos including market solutions, product showcases and customer showcases
Prefabricated Data Center Modules Provide Predictable PerformanceA high level of integration together with factory assembly and testing enables Schneider Electric's prefabricated data center modules to take a lot of the guesswork out of designed facility performance.
Does Prefabrication Mean Lower Cost Data Centers?Accounting for the total cost of data center construction is a complex equation which lacks a simple toolset for prefabricated and traditional builds to be compared. However, prefabrication offers the benefit of easier design, faster construction with less on-site services and more predictable performance.
Data Centers at Your Door: Prefabricated Modules from Schneider ElectricTake a look at what's coming your way. Prefabricated IT and hydronics modules from Schneider Electric. While you prep your site, we build your data center and deliver it right to your facility.
Who can Benefit from Prefabricated Data Centers?Although some applications lend themselves better to prefabrication, interest in the architecture comes from a very broad range of data center requirements.


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All Styles
Your Selections:Size 10 X
Feature Prints and Patterns X
About Kids' Flats
Cute, comfy, and oh, so practical — kids' flats make their feet just a little more stylish. Our flats for kids, including Mary Janes, offer glittery confections and fun patterns as well as a variety of solid colors. Our children's flats are the perfect addition to your kids' wardrobe. Available in toddler and youth sizes, these girl's shoes feature breathable uppers and rugged soles to help prevent slips. With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need. One for One®.


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Adding fuel-injection to your classic car just got easier with the Atomic EFI from MSD. The Atomic EFI is the fastest way to quicker starts, smoother idle and immediate throttle response. Available in several configurations as complete kits, each throttle body injection unit is packed with features designed to enhance performance and reliability. An internal fuel rail reduces leaks and provides a sleek appearance. Annular rings improve fuel atomization and ensure the best air/fuel mixture is delivered to each cylinder. The square-bore design features large 1.75" diameter throttle blades that are riding on precision roller bearings for a smooth pedal transition. The self-calibrating throttle position sensor and four 80-lb injectors ensure that fuel is delivered at the correct rate. Wiring is reduced by integrating the ECU and most sensors into the throttle body. The only sensors you'll need to connect are the O2 and coolant temperature. The compact power module is a simple plug-in device that can control the electric fuel pump and two electric fans. A hand-held programmer provides a hassle-free way to custom-tailor the EFI to your engine and monitors all of the vitals during operation.
- Master Kit: Throttle body, power module, wide band O2 sensor, hand-held monitor, fuel pump, filter, brackets, high-pressure hose and clamps. - Standard Kit: Throttle body, power module, wide band O2 sensor, hand-held monitor.


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Houston one of world's most active lightning hot spots
A&M offers live public map of Houston's many lightning strikes
Thanks to its location on the Gulf Coast, Texas is among the world's hot spots for lightning strikes.
And Houston is the lightning center of Texas, recording about 1,700 strikes in June and July each year, according to research at Texas A&M University.
The next time a thunderstorm hits the Houston-Galveston area, you can consult an A&M website to see how close you are to the lightning.
The website depicts the Lightning Mapping Array, the only system of its kind for a large metropolitan area, said Richard Orville, A&M professor of atmospheric sciences.
Installed at a cost of nearly $400,000, the system makes economic sense in a place like Houston because of its large population and its high volume of lightning, Orville said.
"We have thunderstorms 12 months of the year," he said. "You need two things for lightning to occur - heat and moisture, and Houston has plenty of both."
Recently upgraded with new software and new hardware, the system, originally installed in 2004, is now "extremely reliable," Orville said.
The system consists of 10 sensors in or near Harris County, one in Galveston and one in Brazos County, northwest of Houston.
The sensors are operated by solar panels and have two antennas, one that receives radiation from lightning and one that sends the information to a computer at A&M.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, the system is mainly used for research, but Orville said he's glad it's now reliable enough to share with the public.
"We're a public university," he said. "We're supported by tax dollars. I feel it's our obligation to the community to make these data available. People logging on does not interfere with our program."


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The intersection of sweet and savory is a sweet spot for me. I love how the flavors complement each other. And the geek in me loves how they cause different sets of taste buds to fire off at the same time, leaving it to your brain to sort out the sensations colliding in your mouth.
I also love easy, which is among the reasons I tend to shy away from baking. But recently, I saw a recipe for individual tarts using frozen puff pastry. (Yes, I've seen – or more likely, tuned out – tons of recipes involving puff pastry in the past, as I'm sure we all have.) For some reason, though, one particular recipe caught my eye recently, and I thought, "I've got to remember this. I've got to bookmark this." Of course, I did neither.
What I did do was start thinking about doing some kind of tart, preferably sweet and savory, made with puff pastry. It quickly evolved in my head to the one you see here, with goat cheese, leeks and apricot jam. Goat cheese is wonderfully mild, as are leeks. Together, they provide a savoriness that also has a certain lightness to it. I see these tarts as a light first course or, made smaller, as light appetizers. Something more earthy, like sautéed mushrooms, would overpower the delicate airiness of the puff pastry and clash with any attempts to add sweetness.
For that sweetness, apricot preserves were a given. At any time, there are numerous jams and preserves in our fridge. While we enjoy them all (including various impulse purchases made at farmers markets or while traveling), the one we most often grab for toast, PBJ sandwiches and even salad dressings is the apricot. It's got everything going for it – the beautiful golden color, the promise of summer afternoons and just a slight puckery tartness that balances the sweetness.
Goat Cheese Tarts with Leeks and Apricot Preserves
Makes about 10 3-inch tarts
2 cups sliced leeks, white and light green parts only
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
canola oil
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon (or 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon)
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed (but keep it cold—see Kitchen Notes)
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon of water for egg wash
8 ounces goat cheese, chilled
1/4 cup apricot preserves (or more)
flour for dusting working surface
parchment paper
Prepare leeks. Slice off root end and most of the green tops. Slice leeks in half lengthwise. Rinse under running water, fanning layers to wash away any grit. Slice crosswise in 1/3-inch pieces. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium flame and melt the butter; drizzle in a little canola oil (maybe 2 teaspoons) and swirl the pan to combine. Add the leeks and tarragon and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. You want the leeks translucent, but not browned. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
Prepare the puff pastry. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Dust a working surface lightly with flour. Unfold the chilled puff pastry and flatten it with your hands; gently repair any tears, pinching the dough lightly with your fingers. Roll it out slightly with a flour-dusted rolling pin. Using a 3-inch diameter (or so) cookie cutter or biscuit cutter (or as I did, a clean tuna fish can – reduce, reuse, recycle!), cut 10 disks from the dough. If you get fewer disks – or more – no big deal. Discard the rest of the dough (or see Kitchen Notes for another idea).
Arrange the disks on parchment paper-lined baking sheet(s). Using the tip of a paring knife, score a circle about 1/4 to 1/2-inch inside the edges of the disk. The dough is quite pliable, so you are essentially drawing a line with the knife tip. Prick the pastry disks inside the scored lines all over with the tines of a fork. This will keep the center of the disks from puffing up. Brush tops of the disks with egg wash.
Assemble the tarts. Spoon the leeks into the centers of the pastry disks, keeping within the scored lines. Crumble chilled goat cheese over the leeks, about 1/2 tablespoon or so per tart (I totally eyeballed this – you do the same). In a small bowl, Slightly mash the apricot preserves with a fork to break up any large chunks of fruit. Spoon about a teaspoon or so on top of each tart, confining it mostly to the center (it may get a little runny during the baking).
Bake the tarts for 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. If you're using two baking sheets on two racks in your oven, swap them halfway through. Transfer the tarts to a platter. Serve immediately or at room temperature.
Kitchen Notes
Keep things cool. This is the first time I've worked with puff pastry. Listen to everyone who tells you to keep the dough cold. I didn't (following a random bit of bad advice about workability) – it was a bear to unfold. Also, if you keep the goat cheese cold, it will crumble nicely over the tarts instead of sticking to your fingers (this I already knew).
Got extra dough lying around? While the tarts are baking, patch the scraps of dough into little strips or whatever and sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar. When the tarts come out of the oven, pop these babies in for 15 minutes. Easiest fun little dessert ever. I got this tip from one of countless puff pastry recipes I looked at. Whoever wrote it, thank you.
– Terry Boyd blogs at Blue Kitchen.
Related post: Chinese Sesame Asparagus Salad
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