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Is your automation strategy intelligent enough?
Intelligent automation has rocketed up the executive agenda in the last 18 months, but is it driving the right conversations? Find out in our latest article.
Is your automation strategy intelligent enough?
Telecom sector continues to focus on M&A
Welcome to the 19th edition of Inside Telecommunications
Telecom companies forge ahead with dealmaking
BEPS impact on the telecommunications sector
Global digital telecom playbook
Inside Telecommunications - Issue 18
Enterprise asset management
Decoding mobile financial services
Telecommunications: transforming our society
Telecommunications operators are mastering the demands of technological and regulatory changes while illustrating transparency, customer innovation and bringing new services to the market. Are you keeping up? Whether your goals consist of adjusting your business model or boosting your market share, we deliver on our promises so you can be at the forefront of change.
Tap into our industry-focused knowledge on emerging and expanding telecom issues:
- The growth in mobile money
As the telecommunications sector turns to a new growth agenda, mobile money services are becoming more important than ever.
The acceleration of mobile remittance services alongside new mobile payments highlights the opportunities for the mobile phone to redefine the movement of money by:
- Lowering costs
- Increasing convenience
- Reducing fraud
Interestingly, many of the most successful services worldwide have originated in developed Asia — where mobile contactless services are well established — alongside money transfer services in emerging markets such as the Philippines and Kenya.
However, opportunities have yet to be uncovered in many developed markets, where financial inclusion is higher and where there is a greater diversity of existing payments channels.
Ultimately, flexibility — in terms of policy approach, customer proposition and stakeholder management — should be top of mind for all players as the handset catalyses a more efficient customer payments experience, and one that brings with it greater advantages in terms of information richness and location sensitivity.
Discover how we can help you lay the groundwork for tomorrow's mobile money solutions.
Related content:
- The need for data privacy and security is growing
Privacy remains a significant issue for many telecommunications operators and poses ever-increasing challenges. This should come as no surprise; operators capture and hold enormous amounts of data on their customers.
Factors such as new services, the continued digitization of information, as well as more accessible and ever cheaper digital storage, have only increased (and will continue to increase) the amount — and level of sensitivity — of the personal data operators accumulate.
More generally, as operators invest in building deeper two-way customer relationships, their growing dependency on customer data will increase the associated risks. Efforts to limit illegal file sharing are under way in many countries, yet the range of stakeholders involved means that debate often continues at the expense of policy consensus.
Operators should work closely with governments to clarify their responsibilities in areas such as anti-terrorism and content for children, and collaborate with suppliers and partners to tackle privacy and security issues in new service areas such as cloud security and mobile apps.
Our approach — grounded in industry-specific experience and committed to delivering measurable, sustainable results — can help you adapt and succeed.
Related content:
- Managing risks and seizing the opportunities
Despite — or, in some cases, because of — the continuing uncertainty and volatility in the global economy, there are major opportunities for telecom operators. Each company's ability to identify and seize these opportunities depends critically on its ability to understand and manage risk. Unless your growth strategy has a solid underpinning of risk management, it will never be truly sustainable.
There are new opportunities emerging, provided companies are willing to take those risks and make the bold strategic choices that are required.
Related content:
Contact us
Hee Hwan Lee
Assurance Leader, Partner
Tel: +82 2 3787 9182
Connect with us
Stay connected with us through social media, email alerts or webcasts. Or download our EY Insights app for mobile devices.
Jonathan Dharmapalan discusses what's in store for smartphones, tablets and other new technologies with the BBC at CommunicAsia2011.
New revenue recognition standard for telecom
EY's Holger Forst discusses the impact of the new revenue recognition standard and why this is a C-suite level imperative.
If you'd like to learn more about revenue recognition, you can watch the on-demand webcast.


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What's My Home Worth
Establishing the right asking price is critical to the home selling process.
Thinking about selling your home but don't know what it's worth? We can help. The Lyon Real Estate Home Valuation Tool uses public sales data and market trends to give you an estimate of what your home may be worth in today's market. From there, your experienced and knowledgeable Lyon Real Estate agent will provide you with accurate and timely research, recent sales information and insight to help you make an informed decision about how to price your home.

subset: commoncrawl


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May 2017 performance results
Friday 9 June 2017
Metro has delivered 98.9 per cent of all train services for the month of May, 90.4 per cent of which ran on time.
Our performance thresholds are to run at least 98 per cent of trains each month and for 88 per cent or more of these services to be punctual. If our service delivery or punctuality falls below threshold, we will provide compensation to eligible customers. Our performance for May 2017 exceeds the targets, so no compensation can be claimed.
For more information on Metro's performance click here.


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So we already knew IUDs were stealthily awesome and may protect us against cervical cancer, but a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine claims that the risk of accidental pregnancy in women who use pills, patches or rings are actually a whopping 20% greater than women who use IUDs, which is kind of a crazy statistic considering only 1 out of 20 women stateside use them.
However, they're catching on internationally; as of 2011, one third of Chinese women, 20% of Scandanavian women and Vietnamese and Egyptian women (both 35%) use "long acting" contraceptive device. The only areas in which IUDs are less popular than the Americas is sub-Saharan Africa.
'The Most Reliable Birth Control We're Not Using' [The Daily Beast]
Image via Africa Studio/Shutterstock.


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We are the second most populous country at a 1.21 billion out of which an estimated 1.81 million people are affected by HIV AIDS. On the bright side, I read that there has been a fifty per cent decline in the number of new HIV cases over the last ten years. I believe that these figures can reduce further if people are given the right education.
HIV is prevalent among the youth. Despite of increasing focus on sex education recently, sex still remains a taboo topic for some. It is necessary to guide this segment by using the right tools. Awareness can begin at an early age. Often young people are denied life-saving AIDS education because adults consider the information to be 'too adult' for young people. Adolescents will be able to shed their inhibitions with adequate support from parents and mentors. Information can be adapted so that awareness of AIDS can begin from an early age whilst still ensuring that topics are age-appropriate. Education will increase abstinence and encourage risk-free behaviour.
While on the topic of HIV, women's health is something that cannot be ignored, since they are at a greater risk of infection. Increasing awareness among women will ensure that the future generation is also safe.
Social networking is as important as breathing in today's age. Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter can increase awareness without redundancy. Greater public understanding may lead to changes in public policies and give youth more protection from prejudice.
However, there is still a long way to go before the progress is universal or equal. Let us do our bit. Every year on my birthday, I gift myself by getting screened for AIDS. I urge the youth to do the same. Be responsible. Stay safe! Let's bring the statistics down to a ZERO!


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Regions of Interest
Regions of interest (ROI) are intervals that are defined and bookmarked by the user. Once the region is defined, it can be given a short description, can be used for sorting, and the sequence contained in that interval can be copied to the system clipboard for use in another application.
This page outlines three ways to define a region of interest--by mouse, by keyboard shortcut, and by using the Region Navigator. The forth section details functions applied to regions of interest from the ROI menu.
Defining a Region of Interest by mouse
Defining a Region of Interest by keyboard shortcut
Starting from IGV 2.1.11 (released May 2012), define a region of interest either by a single base at the center of the view or with the entire displayed view.
Using the Region Navigator
The Region Navigator provides an editable table view of defined regions of interest. The table can be used to edit, add, and remove regions of interest as well as navigate. To open the Region Navigator select Regions>Region Navigator from the menu bar.
Adding Regions with the Region Navigator
You can add regions of interest by defining them as above. You can also leave the Region Navigator open while you browse your data and genome, and when you are zoomed into a region that interests you, click Add. This will add the entire interval currently visible in IGV as a region of interest in the Region Navigator. In the screenshot, the same region was added twice.
Editing Regions
The duplicated region in the screenshot was edited to a wider region and given a descriptor.
Using Regions of Interest
Options Available From the Region of Interest Bar menu
Options Available from the Menu Bar


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SIX30 Mens Thermal Compression Tights
Compression pants boost circulation and reduce muscle vibration, allowing you to perform at your peak and reduce the risk of injury.
Made with Italian thermal compression Super Roubaix to keep you warm, for a good fit and to have a direct compressive effect on the body.
Super Roubaix is a fleece lined material that is both surprisingly warm and thin that is also strong, soft, comfortable, resistant and easy to care for. Ideal for cold weather, Super Roubaix is a lightweight, thermal fabric that stays comfortable even when wet and is quick drying, yet also breathable.
Super Roubaix also has a higher compressive and performance effect compared to other fleece lined fabrics.
Perfect for use during all sports, recovery and travel.
- Made with fleece lined Super Roubaix
- Breathable and moisture wicking material
- Flatlock seam construction
- Antibacterial
- Suitable for all sports
Size Guide:
Please refer carefully to our sizing chart below to ensure the best fit possible.
We strive to ensure an accurate fit. If on arrival you find your compression tights do not fit you may return them for an exchange, store credit or refund.
Upon receipt of payment your order will be packed and posted either the same day, or at latest the next working day.
Paypal and credit cards are processed almost immediately, while bank transfers can take 24-48 hours.
In general we find that deliveries to Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane metro and VIC regional are made within 1-3 working days. NSW, SA, TAS, ACT and NT take 2-5 working days. Regional QLD, WA and other remote areas will take 5-7 working days.
Please note these are only expected deliveries times and occasionally delays may occur.
We use Australia Post for all of our deliveries except for Bulky Items. For bulky items we use Direct Freight Couriers.
Our internal shipping charge calculator will tell you the cost of your postage prior to your checkout. In most cases buying more than 1 item will result in cost savings to you.
- Small items up to 500g cost around $7 postage. Depending on the weight and size you will get 2 sometimes 3 small items posted for this amount.
- Most larger items post for about $12 and you will generally be able to add 1-3 small items at no extra charge
- Once you purchase products over 3 kg in weight there is generally, only a small amount of extra postage charged
You can add smaller items together with bulky items and there will generally be no or a small added postage cost. Ordering items such as 2 bike cases may not result in any savings due to their volume. Ordering mid-size items like two fluid trainers together will result in very good savings though. You will get your quote for shipping costs before you checkout.
If you have any queries please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com!
We now ship to New Zealand. For further details please visit our International page here.
What is compression clothing?
Scientifically designed body compression garments, when applied to specific body parts in a balanced and accurate way, accelerates blood flow.
This allows more oxygen to flow through your working muscles, boosting your performance and helping you work at a higher rate for longer.
The benefits of this are next explained.
Why is compression beneficial?
Strenuous physical activity can induce muscle damage, which may lead to decreased range of motion, swelling and impaired muscle function, all increasing the likelihood of injury.
- Compression garments can help reduce physical impact and damage associated with strenuous physical activity
- Compression promotes blood lactate removal which enhances recovery and helps injury management
- Compression improves the efficiency of the muscle and joint pumps
- Compression gear assists blood flow back to the heart and make you more aware of your body's movements. Compression increases proprioception, which heightens senses and awareness for enhanced sustainability, agility and improved technique
In short your energy is harnessed to help you perform better, for longer, so that you enjoy the activity more and recover quicker.
A side benefit of well designed compression sportswear is that it wicks sweat away from the body, preventing chafing and rashes.
Why choose SIX30 compression clothes?
There is no need to pay the earth for technically designed yet still fashionable sports compression.
- SIX30 is a 100% Australian family owned business, as such we have very low management costs
- SIX30 is only sold direct from us the manufacturer, to you, the customer… no agents, no middlemen... just low costs
- SIX30 is only sold online. No expensive shop fittings, no high rents and low overheads. We pass the savings on to you!
- SIX30 do not sponsor Michael Jordan for $60M a year! We do not waste money on expensive advertising… therefore you save.
So read the reviews, give us a try and join 1000's of other satisfied customers.


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The United States of America (U.S.A.), or simply the United States (U.S.), was a federal republic in North America. It was one of the last surviving economies in the wake of the mid-21st century's global energy crisis, and one of the primary nuclear participants in the Great War.
The Enclave was founded by and is descended from remnants of the nation's original government and claim to be the true continuation/successor to the United States. But they are not representative of the national identity as a whole, being an immoral organization created by and exclusively serving the interests of a specific, shadowy element of the original government.[1]
Of all the attempts by more down-to-Earth wastelanders to reestablish the original ideals and values of the United States, the most successful has been the New California Republic.
The American Commonwealths编辑
Beginning sometime in 1969,[2] the United States of the Fallout universe had an intermediate level of government between the 50 states and the federal government. The nation was divided into 13 commonwealths, the same year the Virgo II mission landed Americans on the Moon in July. The United States flag was changed as well to reflect the new political reality. Accordingly, the new flag depicted thirteen stars to represent the commonwealths.
The commonwealths reserved certain powers that used to belong to states; issuing license plates and establishing preservation areas being among those seen. The states, however, still possessed a certain level of sovereignty within their commonwealth. Each state still had its own flag (although modified to show its status within its commonwealth), and state lines were still quite relevant. Additionally, a state was listed as the place of production on the package pre-War MREs rather than a commonwealth.
It was hoped that the new administrative division of the country would help create legislation broad enough to benefit those states with common regional concerns, but narrow enough not to affect those states with dissimilar interests or political cultures, which would help the nation better meet the challenges posed by the Communist threat to U.S. democracy. In reality, it created even more political strife in the U.S. government, as commonwealths typically did everything they could to promote their own interests at the expense of other commonwealths. The thirteen American commonwealths were:
|華盛頓特區, Maryland, Virginia
|Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee
|西維吉尼亞, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York
|Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico
|Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida
|Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan
|Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut
|Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota
|Northern California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska
|Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma
|Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina
|Southern California, 內華達, Hawaii
|Texas, Arkansas
It is unknown whether there were any changes to this system of commonwealths after the annexation of Canada in 2076. It is possible that Canada was under military rule until annexation was finalized (2076). Because of the relatively small size of its population (about one-tenth the size of the U.S.), Canada would have been equal in size to a single, large American commonwealth. Border changes were also possible, e.g. concerning Alaska and the pipelines.
The U.S. Army invaded Mexico in 2051 to annex it, wanting their business interests and oil supply, but a consensus on the goals of the war was never reached.
Other territories编辑
The United States held other territories in the world, mostly throughout the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, however, the status of these holdings is unknown.
Government and Military Information编辑
Federal Government编辑
Other federal agencies mentioned in the games are the Department of Energy (or Water and Power), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Unamerican Activities Force, Secret Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Drugs, Tobacco, Firearms and Lasers, the United States Space Administration, Federal Fitness Registry, the National Catastrophe Relief Auxiliary, United States Geological Survey and the Defense Intelligence Agency. The legislative branch of the federal government was still composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, though whether they represented the individual states or now represented the different American commonwealths in some form is unknown.
Armed Forces编辑
Before the Great War, the United States Armed Forces were the overall unified military forces of the United States, composed of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force. The President of the United States served as the commander-in-chief of the U.S. military, with the Department of War (sometimes called the Department of Defense) acting as the principal organ by which military policy was carried out.
After the Great War, the Enclave Armed Forces are the direct descendant of the U.S. military. The Brotherhood of Steel, on the other hand, was started by former U.S. Army soldiers who rebelled against their unethical orders to protect scientists carrying out involuntary mutational experiments on military prisoners.
The Enclave编辑
Members of the Enclave both embraced the idea of a nuclear war and knew that the common man could not survive it. They believed that as long as the "important people" of the United States survived, they could regroup quickly and wipe out Communism once and for all. Though not technically part of the Enclave, many powerful corporations benefited from the Enclave's actions, and their research facilities were protected during the nuclear firestorm of 2077.
In 2073, as the global race to exploit the handful of remaining fossil-fuel resources reached its fevered peak, the United States managed to stake a claim on the world's last known supply of crude oil, buried thousands of feet beneath the Pacific Ocean. Poseidon Energy, a major U.S. energy company, was contracted to build an oil rig and extract the oil. Before long, the oil ran dry and the oil rig was abandoned by Poseidon.
In 2077, with total nuclear war imminent, the President of the United States and a number of other U.S. government officials left their posts in Washington, D.C. to take refuge in a number of secret and isolated locations around the United States. Among them was the Poseidon Oil Rig off the coast of California. Here, the President himself set up a secret base from which the United States could continue to exist and wage war on China, with the eventual goal of retaking the continental United States from its post-atomic state. From 2077 on, the remnant of the U.S. government surviving on this oil rig started to openly call itself the Enclave. In dialogue with Arcade Gannon, in Fallout: New Vegas, it is revealed that after the Fall of the Oil Rig, the NCR eventually overran Navarro. This caused all Enclave forces in the West to scatter or head to the east. There, the Enclave set up bases in Raven Rock and Adams Air Force Base, and according to ED-E, outposts in Chicago. The base in Raven Rock was later destroyed in 2277.
The Enclave mostly continued the pre-War U.S. government, making alterations to fit their smaller size and increase the fluidity of operations. Some new departments that were established after the Great War included the Atomic Energy Commission and the Chemical Corps.
The End of America编辑
Ever since the end of World War II in 1945, the United States in the Fallout universe had sought to become the sole remaining superpower in the world, aiming to control the globe's major energy resources and influence the direction of life in other nations. In the 21st century, this became more apparent as the Resource Wars raged between the European Commonwealth and the oil-rich states of the Middle East, the United Nations disbanded in acrimony, and the Soviet Union slowly declined. The United States found itself with no real rival on the global scene except the People's Republic of China, though it was economically and militarily behind the U.S. at first. However, the energy crisis of the mid-twenty-first century hit the United States harder than expected, compounded by the outbreak of the New Plague in 2052. In 2054, a nuclear exchange in the Middle East prompted the U.S. government to establish Project Safehouse, which was intended to create 122 underground fallout shelters that would save a portion of U.S. society from the ravages of nuclear war or an unstoppable global pandemic. But Vault-Tec, the leaders of this operation, used most of the vaults as social experiments to see the effects of these experiments on the civilians inside. Five years later, in 2059, in order to protect its Alaskan oil interests, the United States established the Anchorage Front Line, to defend its stockpiles of oil from potential invaders.
In 2060, stockpiles of oil ran dry and the pursuit of the last underground reservoirs of petroleum emptied the U.S. economy. People pushed their cars around and the political pressure to research alternative sources of energy increased enormously. To maintain its status as a superpower in spite of the crisis the United States expanded the size of its military and commissioned a government defense contractor, West Tek, to create powered infantry armor, intended to replace tanks on the battlefield. This project eventually proved to be the salvation of U.S. industry, and, in the summer of 2066, the first crude nuclear fusion cell was developed as part of this research effort and was then adapted to civilian needs. Thus was the start of the "Atomic Age."
This fact, coupled with U.S. unwillingness to share the world's last untapped oil field in the Pacific Ocean with other energy-starved nations, prompted China to declare open war against the United States and invade Alaska in 2066, initiating the Sino-American War. The initial Chinese campaign was successful, but soon Chinese and U.S. soldiers found themselves bogged down in a war of attrition, with both sides unable to gain any sort of meaningful advantage over the other. Even the mighty American T-45d power armor units did not tip the scales, as China's Crimson Dragoon units rampaged behind U.S. lines, disrupting the U.S. Army's logistics and transport. About a year later on October 23, 2077, at about 2:00pm, the first ultra-nuclear bombs from China reached the U.S., landing in Massachusetts, Virginia, Alaska and California, erupting into the Great War.
The United States' northern neighbor, Canada, proved unwilling to accept the increasingly aggressive behavior of the United States as it fought to repel the Chinese invasion. Faced with almost open hostility and the threat of military action, Ottawa relented, allowing U.S. troops and aircraft to pass freely through its territory. This led directly to the annexation of Canada by the United States in 2076.
War and the energy crisis took a toll on U.S. citizens. Together with the development of the Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV) being leaked to the mainstream news, the citizens became increasingly restless as the global and national situation deteriorated, throwing the country into turmoil. The U.S. Army was deployed into major American urban centers to contain riots in the year just before the Great War, leading to the U.S. Army firing on its own commanders in certain circumstances.
Post-War America编辑
Despite it all, humanity survived the atomic catastrophe. The U.S. federal government managed to survive as the Enclave, the only known remnant of any official pre-War government in the Fallout universe.
Following the Great War, the American Commonwealths disintegrated into what became known as the wasteland. When land across the country eventually became less radiated and more habitable, survivors reestablished settlements and began new post-war lives.
- Fallout and Fallout 2 take place in New California, the current State of California (Fallout 2 being just north of Fallout).
- Fallout 3 (as well as some of its add-ons (most notably Broken Steel)) is set in the Capital Wasteland, which is comprised of Washington, D.C. and its surrounding areas. The add-on Operation: Anchorage takes place in a simulation of Anchorage, Alaska. The add-on The Pitt takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The add-on Point Lookout takes place in Point Lookout, Maryland. The add-on Mothership Zeta takes place in space.
- Fallout: New Vegas is set in the Mojave Desert of Nevada, just to the east of where Fallout and Fallout 2 took place. The add-on Dead Money takes place in the Sierra Madre. The add-on Honest Hearts takes place in Zion National Park, Utah. The add-on Old World Blues takes place in Big MT. The add-on Lonesome Road takes place in the Divide.
- Fallout 4 (and most of its add-ons (most notably Automatron and the Workshop add-ons)) is set in the Commonwealth, so called in reference to Massachusetts' official title of "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts." The map of Fallout 4 is, however, only a small part of Massachusetts, centered around Boston. The add-on Far Harbor takes place in Mount Desert Island, Maine. The add-on Nuka-World (add-on) takes place in Nuka-World, an amusement park elsewhere in the New England Commonwealth.
- Fallout 76 takes place in West Virginia.
- Fallout: Tactics takes place around Chicago.
- Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel takes place in Texas.
The flag编辑
The United States of the Fallout timeline, at least since the formation of the thirteen American commonwealths in the mid-twentieth century, uses a flag with either 12 or 13 stars in a circle, with one large central star.
Although Fallout 3's final version of 12 stars surrounding a 13th most closely resembles an obscure flag known as the Cowpens Flag, the flag with a circle of stars referenced by Fallout's opening cinematic is the considerably better known 'Betsy Ross' Flag. A flag with 13 stars and stripes, one for each of the original U.S. states, was mandated by the Second Continental Congress' Flag Resolution of 1777. As states were added to the Union, more stars were successively added to the flag until the flag of 50 stars was created in 1960.
The Cowpens was an American Revolutionary War-era flag used in the Battle of Cowpens, South Carolina in 1781 that resulted in one of the major victories of the young nation over its British mother country. The only difference between the Cowpens and Fallout flags is a much-enlarged middle star used on the U.S. flag in the Fallout universe, probably to represent the nation as a whole.
All Fallout games to date have been set exclusively within United States territory, but following the collapse of civilization, in most cases, this territory is now either claimed by other groups, or not governed at all. Ruins/relics of now long-defunct government institutions are seen all throughout the series.
The prologue sequence of Fallout 4 takes place in the United States' final moments as a properly functioning nation.
The Enclave appear as a major enemy faction in Fallout 2 and Fallout 3 and are mentioned, with a handful of retired members appearing, in Fallout: New Vegas.
Newsreel footage of the US Army in action is present in Fallout.
Operation: Anchorage is set in a recreation of Alaska and features simulated, fictionalized representations of the U.S. Army.
Behind the scenes编辑
The initial idea of dividing the country into thirteen zones came from Leonard Boyarsky during the development of Fallout. In Fallout Bible 8, Tim Cain reported that Leon said he used that flag because it "looked cool" and he didn't want to use a standard U.S. flag with 50 stars. Eventually, he planned to make up something about 13 super-states, but he never did. It was further elaborated upon by J.E. Sawyer, who broke up the U.S. into Commonwealths.
There is much misunderstanding about the number of stars on the flag and the corresponding zones because not all of them are actually visible in the only available picture depicting it. Chris Avellone stated that there are 13 of them in Fallout Bible 8. He was "corrected" by Red, who sent him the picture with the location of 11 stars marked. In 2005, J. E. Sawyer tried to clarify the issue by saying that according to Tramell Ray Isaac, who rendered the intro cinematic for Fallout said that they just took the old colonial flag with 13 stars in a circle and added a new star in the middle.
Sawyer's explanation was widely accepted until 2008, when Bethesda Softworks released Fallout 3, which featured a flag with 12 stars in a circle and one in the middle, effectively establishing (or, alternatively, retconning) this version of the flag as the "true" version. This version of the flag also appears in Fallout: New Vegas and sometimes in Fallout 4.
As of the 2015 release Fallout 4, Bethesda Softworks seem to have noticed the discrepancies regarding the flag and have adjusted it to have thirteen stars surrounding a large, central star once more. Neither the original mistake nor the subsequent fix has been officially explained by Bethesda.
- ↑ A. Ron Meyers, Fallout 2, Fcronmey.msg, {118}{}{I used to serve with the Enclave. Then I realized it wasn't the USA I was fighting for; it was for the rich old bastards who didn't want to give up their power. I deserted and now I live here with more honest people.}
- ↑ Plaque on the Massachusetts State House in Fallout 4 gives 1969 as the formation date of the "Thirteen commonwealths"


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Maryland Police Confiscate Biker's Computers After He Catches Questionable Activity On Helmet Cam
from the that's-not-how-this-is-supposed-to-work deptsceptic writes:
"A motorcyclist was showboating and recording himself doing it using a helmet cam. While stopped at a stop light, an off duty police officer stepped out of his (unmarked) car with his gun drawn. The rider received a citation and posted the whole episode on YouTube. 4 days later MD state police seized his computers and helmet cam and threatened to arrest him because it is illegal to record someone without their consent."You can see a long version of the events (without any sound) which shows the 3 minutes leading up to the incident here:
Or if you want to just see the part where the off duty cop pulls the gun (with sound), it's here:
The laws against audibly recording someone without their permission are not designed for situations like this one. They're designed for eavesdropping or things like recording phone calls. Using such a law to crack down on a guy showing an off-duty police officer totally overreacting to a traffic stop by drawing his weapon seems like a clear abuse of this sort of law.
However, now that we're reaching an age when everything anyone sees will soon be able to be recorded -- and for years, various research groups have been working on tools to make that easier -- these kinds of laws may need to be revisited. If many people are wearing devices that record everything they see and hear, suddenly such laws become a bit ridiculous -- even outside of the clear abuse above when such laws are being used to punish a whistleblower.


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Pop star Kevin Jonas is giving fans the chance to experience the Super Bowl in style by offering up four tickets to the big game and the keys to his New Jersey mansion.
The former Jonas Brothers singer and his pregnant wife Danielle recently moved out of their marital home in Denville, New Jersey and placed the pad on the market.
However, the house has yet to be sold, so the dad-to-be has listed the property on vacation rental site AirBnB.com in the hopes of cashing in on the interest in the nearby Super Bowl on Sunday.
The six bedroom, five bathroom spread, which is "just a short drive" to the Super Bowl's MetLife Stadium, is available to rent until 9 February, but it doesn't come cheap – Jonas is charging $20,000 per night for the accommodation, with four tickets to the game thrown in for good measure.
In the listing description, he writes, "I'm Kevin Jonas, you may know me from my recent TV show with my wife Danielle. We are currently expecting our first baby girl and have moved out of our home to make room for our new family of three. But before we sold the house, we wanted to offer up the opportunity for both music and football fans to have the chance to stay there for the Super Bowl. And I'm even throwing in 4 tickets to the big game!"
Jonas has also promised to give a portion of any proceeds to a children's charity.
The home is the same mansion featured on the couple's reality show, Married to Jonas. The pair decided to sell up in October, two years after purchasing the pad. It is on sale for $2.2 million .
Pop star Kevin Jonas is giving fans the chance to experience the Super Bowl in style by offering up four tickets to the big game and the keys to his New Jersey mansion.


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5 Ways to Boost Your Social Security Payments
One of the most important retirement decisions you will make is when to sign up for Social Security. The age you first claim benefits can have a dramatic impact on the size of your monthly payments in retirement. Here are five great ways to make the most of your Social Security benefit:
Work for at least 35 years. Social Security payments are calculated using the 35 years of your career when you earned the most. Those who haven't worked for 35 years have zeros averaged into the calculation, which could significantly lower the monthly benefit. "If you are still working, the way to increase your benefit is to continue working and earning more," says Jim Blankenship, a certified financial planner for Blankenship Financial Planning in New Berlin, Ill., and author of "A Social Security Owner's Manual." "Any time you can eliminate low-earning years or zero years and replace those earlier years with something that is an improvement over them, then you can improve your situation."
Aim to work until your full retirement age. While you can begin receiving benefits as early as age 62, benefit payouts are significantly reduced if you sign up then. Most baby boomers are first eligible for unreduced Social Security benefits beginning at age 66. And for everyone born in 1960 or later, the full retirement age is 67. "Be patient, because there is a big payoff for waiting for your benefits," says Laurence Kotlikoff, a professor of economics at Boston University and a co-developer of the retirement planning software ESPlanner. Age 66 is also the first year you can work and collect benefits at the same time without having your Social Security benefit temporarily withheld if you earn too much.
Consider delaying claiming until age 70. You can further boost your monthly Social Security payments by continuing to delay claiming. After your full retirement age, payments increase by about 8 percent for each additional year of delay up until age 70. %VIRTUAL-article-sponsoredlinks%"The rule of thumb is if you are single, and you believe you are going to live past the age of 80, typically it is best for people to delay as late as possible to the age of 70," says William Meyer, founder and managing principal of Social Security Solutions, a company that analyzes Social Security claiming strategies. "If you live past 80, by delaying you are going to get more. The best investment deal out there right now is to get 8 percent guaranteed." After age 70, there is no additional benefit to delaying signing up for benefits.
Coordinate Social Security decisions with your spouse. Married individuals can claim Social Security payments worth as much as 50 percent of the higher earner's benefit if that amount is higher than what they can get based on their own work record. Divorced individuals can also claim spousal payments if the marriage lasted at least 10 years. If you wait until age 66 to sign up, you can even claim spousal benefits and then later switch to benefits based on your own work history, which will then be larger due to delayed claiming.
Married individuals are also eligible for survivor payments when their spouse passes away. Husbands and wives can increase the amount their surviving spouse will receive by delaying claiming their Social Security benefit. Conversely, spouses who receive reduced Social Security benefits because they claimed benefits before their full retirement age will also reduce the amount the surviving member of the couple gets as a survivor's payment. "Get the survivor benefits as high as possible so that the surviving spouse will get even more out of the system," Meyer says. "If the husband has a higher earnings history and can get his benefit as high as possible, if his wife lives past him, she will inherit his higher benefit amount."
Watch out for the earnings limit. If you sign up for Social Security before age 66 and also earn more than $15,480 in 2014, $1 will be withheld from your Social Security payments for every $2 you earn above the limit. The year you turn 66, the earning limit increases to $41,400, and $1 is withheld for every $3 in pay you receive above the limit. However, at age 66, your monthly payments will be adjusted to reflect the withheld earnings and your new work record. And after age 66, there is no penalty for working and receiving benefits at the same time. "On the upside, for each month's worth of benefit that you are losing during that period, you are gaining back a month's worth of delayed filing," Blankenship says. "If you started at age 62 and you earned enough each year over four years to have to give back two months' worth of benefits, then when you hit age 66, your benefit is recalculated as if you started later, so it's a slightly higher benefit."
Emily Brandon is the senior editor for Retirement at U.S. News. You can contact her on Twitter @aiming2retire, circle her on Google Plus or email her at email@example.com.
More from U.S. News
- 10 Numbers Everyone Should Know About Social Security
- 9 Important Ages for Retirement Planning
- 10 Ways to Make the Most of Medicare
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Help with LPE-200
Forum dedicated to the Harris PSPC Product group items such as Orion, M7100/M7200/M7300, P7100/P7200/P7300, Harris Unity XG-100, GE Orion, GE Master Repeaters, EDACS Trunking, Pro Voice, PC Configure, RPM, and other topics relating to Harris, MA-Comm, Ericsson, GE products.
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Help with LPE-200
Hello. I am a volunteer firefighter in Troy, Tx. I need to see if there is anyone out there who would be willing to program my LPE-200 as receive only on our trunk system. The system administrator will only program it to transmit on the system. I only need it to receive only. Any help would greatly be appreciated.
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FREEZE FRAME: Meet the Company of MCC's REALLY REALLY
MCC Theater (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, William Cantler, Artistic Directors; Blake West, Executive Director) presents Matt Lauria (NBC's "Friday Night Lights" & "Parenthood"), ZOSIA MAMET (HBO's "Girls", AMC's "Mad Men"), Lauren Culpepper (Signature's Really Really), David Hull (Broadway's Wicked & How to Succeed...), Evan Jonigkeit (Broadway's High with Kathleen Turner), Kobi Libii (Off-Broadway's CQ/CX), and Aleque Reid (Hair 1st National Tour) in the New York premiere production of Really Really by Paul Downs Colaizzo. The production, which marks Colaizzo's New York playwriting debut, is directed by David Cromer, the Obie Award and Lucille Lortel Award-winning director of hits Our Town, Adding Machine and Tribes.
Really Really begins in the hazy aftermath of a wild party when 'the morning after' appears to be just another day in the undergrad carnival that revolves around a close circle of friends. But when morning-after gossip about privileged Davis (Lauria) and ambitious Leigh (Mamet) turns ugly, the veneer of loyalty and friendship is peeled back to reveal a vicious jungle of sexual politics, raw ambition, and class warfare where only the strong could possibly survive.
Paul Downs Colaizzo's startlingly funny, booze-soaked cornucopia, Really Really, took Washington D.C. by storm last season with its acclaimed, record-breaking run at the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre. In addition to direction by David Cromer (whose visionary take on Our Town floored New York audiences in 2009, and whose Tribes is currently one of Off-Broadway's biggest hits), this production features scenic design by David Korins (Annie), costume design by Sarah Laux (associate designer, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), lighting design by David Wiener (reasons to be pretty), and sound design by Daniel Kluger (Tribes).
Tickets for Really Really are $59 and are available by visiting www.mcctheater.org or calling 212-352-3101. Also available are $25 Under 30 tickets, for anyone 29 years of age or younger with valid ID. 2-play subscriptions for the 2012-2013 mainstage productions are priced at $79-89 and are now available by visiting www.mcctheater.org.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride
Lauren Culpepper, Evan Jonigkeit, Aleque Reid, Matt Lauria, Kobi Libii, Zosia Mamet & David Hull attending the Meet & Greet for the MCC Theater's Production of 'Really Really' at Telsey & Co., Studios in New York City on 1/10/2013
Evan Jonigkeit, Aleque Reid, Director David Cromer, Matt Lauria, Playwright Paul Downs Colaizzo, Zosia Mamet, Lauren Culpepper, David Hull & Kobi Libii attending the Meet & Greet for the MCC Theater's Production of 'Really Really' at Telsey & Co., Studios in New York City on 1/10/2013


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Arnhem1618Paper PadsbySpeedball
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These oil colors are versatile, offering an unsurpassed price-to-quality ratio. They contain no waxes or thickeners, and no manufacturing shortcuts. The color palette includes the best original natural Earth and true Cadmium pigments.
Color Swatches created using heavy application/medium application/50% tint and were applied on acrylic primed canvas (7 oz) material.
hydrated iron, magnesium, aluminum and potassium silicates
Green earth is a natural pigment that varies from yellow and olive to blue-green in its composition and hues. It is semi-transparent, has low hiding power and tinting strength, muddies and darkens in oil, and is particularly good for tempera and fresco painting.
Green Earth has excellent permanence and lightfastness, although some varieties can be developed by light calcining. It is one of the most permanent pigments because Earths are not affected by sunlight or atmospheric conditions.
Green Earth has no significant hazards.
Terre verte is French for green earth. It was discovered in antiquity, and its use has been traced to the Ajanta caves in India and a variety of Roman sites, including Pompeii. Green Earth was very popular for underpainting flesh tones in medieval paintings because this green was the compliment to pink on the medieval color wheel. Its use declined after the Renaissance. The natural supplies of the pigment are mostly depleted, and manufacturers currently duplicate the hue using mineral bases like Viridian, iron oxide, or chromium oxide, or artificial ceramic colorants. Pigments sold under this name can also be the result of mixing Sienna and Phthalo Green.
Celadon Green, Celadonite. Green Bice, Holly Green, Stone Green, Terra Verte, Verdeterra, Verdetta, Veronese Green. Bohemian Earth is a high quality, clear, middle-green variety. Cyprus Green Earth, or Cyprian, is a high quality yellowish variety. Tyrolean and Verona Earth are high quality bluish varieties. Verona Brown is a calcinated variation of Green Earth. Burnt Green Earth is similar to Transparent Brown
polychlorinated copper(II) phthalocyanine
C32H3Cl13CuN8 to C32HCl15CuN8 or C32H16CuN8Cl15 (PG7) or C32Br6Cl10CuN8 (PG36)
Phthalo Green is a transparent, cool, bright, high intensity color used in oil and acrylics. It comes from a Phthalocyanine Blue pigment where most of the hydrogen atoms have been replaced with chlorine, forming highly stable molecules. It has similar pigment properties and permanence to Phthalo Blue. It is slow drying and an excellent base color for mixing a range of bright greens. Phthalo Green is considered a very good alternative to Viridian because it is intense and mixes well and can be used to emphasize mineral colors in various tints. However, its tinting strength is very high, so it can overpower other colors. This pigment most closely resembles the discontinued and toxic Verdigris.
Phthalo Greens are completely lightfast and resistant to alkali, acids, solvents, heat, and ultraviolet radiation. They are currently used in inks, coatings, and many plastics due to their stability and are considered a standard pigment in printing ink and the packaging industry.
Phthalo Green has no significant hazards, but it contained PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) until 1982.
This bright blue-green was developed in 1935 and has been in use since 1938.
Bocour Green, Cyan Green, Intense Green, Monastral Green, Phthalocyanine Green, Rembrandt Green, Thalo Green, Winsor Green.
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Hiphop stars have also greatly influenced the comeback ,would not forget to acknowledge fashion identifiers like Rihanna, Gigi hadid for the constant iconic styling they achieve with this regular piece They are endlessly seen on street stylers
Traditionally , they are reserved for couch days , gym sessions but you don't even realize how much style they can exude when you put in a little effort into the styling .
I received this stunning pink knitting solid O neck set from Lovely wholesale and honestly i want it in as much colours as i can have it . They are fabulous for $9.49 you can show up anywhere in this athleisure trend looking like you just left a late recording session.
The fabric is so convenient and stretchy i assure you, you can get yours HERE
I Infused white fishnets for a more vibrant look , replaced the laces of my sneakers with regular ribbon in likeness to the fenty puma bow sneakers . You can also play with your kicks all required is purchasing ribbon that matches your shoes , create a taper end by sealing the ends with a tiny roll of adhesive tape to get it through the opening and BAM! You got it .


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Artist description:
this is neil armstrong of NASA apollo 11 the eagle has landed
Flash Draw Created Mar 30, 2008 470 x 338px Unless noted Copyright 2008 Magiclink.
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It looks like your browser is out of date.
To use all features of KLM.com safely, we recommend that you update your browser, or that you choose a different one. Continuing with this version may result in parts of the website not being displayed properly, if at all. Also, the security of your personal information is better safeguarded with an updated browser.
Living the good life in southern Europe? Book flights to Spain and visit the museums in Madrid, explore the impressive mountains in Extremadura or admire the Moorish architecture in southern Andalucia. Experience the laidback Mediterranean lifestyle and enjoy the many sun-kissed beaches. Viva la vida!
Spain is known for great artists such as Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso and Antoni Gaudí. In Barcelona visit the Sagrada Familia, Gaudí's Gothic masterpiece. Construction of the cathedral has been ongoing for more than a century, but fortunately there is plenty to admire. You will find more masterpieces on display in the many museums in the capital Madrid. Do you prefer a refreshing swim? Barcelona has some great spots. The entire Spanish coast is a long string of beautiful beaches. Visit the Costa del Sol or fly to one of the sunny Canary Islands. Expect to be surprised: book a flight to Spain now!
Tapas, gazpacho or a Spanish tortilla. The delicious Spanish kitchen offers a gourmet feast from early morning to late at night. Visit Valencia for the best paella, whereas the northern Basque country is famous for its delectable pintxos. Dinner in Spain is a late night affair. Feel free to take your time because Spaniards love to linger at the dinner table. Would you like to order a typical Spanish drink? Try a jug of sangria, made with wine, sugar and fruit. Finish the night in style at an authentic flamenco bar where passionate dancers click their castanets. Olé!
Looking for a cheap flight to Spain? With KLM, your holiday begins the moment you step onboard. Your journey will fly by with your own entertainment set on intercontinental flights: free films, games and music. Enjoy our selection of snacks or a tasty dinner and drinks. Add in our many handy extra services (some available for a supplement) and you'll be in Spain before you know it.
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DRM is certainly unpopular, but does it also break the law? A new report from the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (PDF) finds that many DRM technologies appear to violate Canadian privacy laws by gathering inappropriate personal information, including IP addresses.
CIPPIC is part of the University of Ottawa, and the study's authors set up a lab at the University to monitor DRM transmissions sent by programs like iTunes, Zudeo, Half-Life 2, and even Intuit's QuickTax. All applications were installed on a Windows XP machine, and all network traffic was routed through a Kubuntu box running the Ethereal sniffing software and the Squid proxy. Researchers did their best to figure out what information was being gathered by each DRM scheme and where it was sent.
Every DRM scheme that was "net-dependent" (i.e., relies on the presence of an Internet connection to keep the license current) turned out to send data to third parties like Akamai, Omniture, and DoubleClick. Although the researchers note that "it is possible that some of these communications amount to outsourced functionality, others appeared to involve third-party services." Privacy policies for the products in question generally failed to disclose these third-party transmissions, and no vendors except Microsoft and the Ottawa Public Library would even identify third parties to whom they had disclosed personal information.
Attempts to have vendors answer questions about the software were generally met with total silence; half of the organizations surveyed didn't even bother to respond to questions.
Under Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), consumers have broad rights over the collection and storage of personal information, including the right to see what information a company has compiled on them. Not one company offered up this information when it was requested with an Access to Information request.
Many of the DRM schemes that CIPPIC examined also appeared to violate PIPEDA by failing to treat IP addresses as personal information and and engaging in "open-ended and indiscriminate collection, use and disclosure of personal information."
This sort of behavior showed up in applications that one might not expect; downloading and playing an audio book offered by the Ottawa Public Library turned out to send information to DoubleClick, for instance.
The report's conclusion is that "fundamental privacy-based criticisms of DRM are well-founded: we observed tracking of usage habits, surfing habits, and technical data." So if loathing DRM for its restrictions wasn't enough, you can now add "loathing DRM for its privacy problems" to your list of reasons to go DRM-free.


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armitron watches for him & her
- jewelry & watches
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- Brand:armitron
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Armitron Watches for Men and Women: Tell Time in Style
Armitron watches are so lovely that it would be a shame not to own a few. With one of the largest shares of watch users in the United States, Armitron knows exactly how to create watches that capture the attention of men and women. The company works hard to bring unique designs to their watches. Serious athletes need serious watches that can keep up with their athletic demands. Armitron's sport watches are up to the task. Several of these watches have a lap timer, date and day displays, and stopwatch, among many other outstanding features. The company has other sport watches that are light on high-tech features, but they still have some interesting functionality, such as compass capabilities. These simpler watches are great for people who participate in casual fitness and don't need all the extra bells and whistles. Ladies, light up the night with one of Armitron's women's watches. Accented with crystals on the face and band, Armitron diamond watches twinkle like stars in the sky. Choose from traditional chain link or leather bands. The bands come in standard and bracelet width. The men's watches are very sharp as well. They come in gold, two tone, and silver. Just like the women's watches, men can select from various band widths. Guys will look handsome in a chic suit with an Armitron watch on their wrist. The great thing about Armitron watches is they go well with everything. Dress these watches up or down. It's this versatility what makes Armitron such an outstanding brand. Shop our amazing selection of Armitron watches in the jewelry and watches department, and tell time in style!


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If you forget your password, you should know your register email, we will send you one link to your register email address.
First step, to click login link. On the login page, you should find a link of "Forget Password".
Second step, it will ask you to type your register email. Then submit it, we will send you one email.
Third step, click the link in that email, it will permit you to type new password.


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Ant Man coloring pages is free printable coloring pages for kids in all ages, toddler, preschool and kindergarten kids are welcome to use this coloring pages for they coloring activity because this Ant Man coloring pages printable is a great coloring pages images to color and they will love to color this free coloring sheet.
Ant Man coloring pages is available on realisticcoloringpages.com free for personal and educational use only, you're not allowed to use Ant Man coloring pages for business or any other commercial activities.
To download Ant Man coloring pages and save to your device you just need to right click your mouse and choose "Save Image As..." then choose the place where you want to save it after that you can print out this free coloring pages and color this.


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On Wednesday, March 21, 2012, an operation by security experts from Dell SecureWorks, CrowdStrike, Kaspersky, and the Honeynet Project was initiated to sinkhole infected computers in the Kelihos.B/Hlux.B botnet. The objective of this action was to remove from the attacker's control all computers currently infected with the Kelihos.B/Hlux.B malware by poisoning the peer lists and routing tables in the lower layers of command and control. This will prevent the botnet operator from doing any more harm with this set of infected computers.
Control of the botnet with over 129,000 infected hosts was successfully obtained. These bots are no longer in control of the botherder, and, as a result, are no longer involved in sending spam, the primary malicious activity of this botnet. The hosts resided primarily in Poland (24%) and were primarily running the old operating system Windows XP (84%). The command-and-control infrastructure has been abandoned by the gang that was operating the botnet two days after the operation. We can say that the Kelihos.B/Hlux.B botnet was successfully disabled.
For more information, we refer to:


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Certificate Frame
Great for displaying diplomas, certificates, professional documents, and honorary citations. Anodized black aluminum finish frame with glass. No mat. Black backing with four metal claps to hold certificates or diploma in place. Hang vertically or horizontally. Frame holds 8 1/2 in. x 11 in. document. Frame molding measures 3/4 in. wide x 3/8 in. wide face x 1/8 in. deep.
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Who's Who in the Courtroom?
- Judge
- Court Attorney Referee / JHO
- Support Magistrate
- Court Attorney
- Court Clerk/Court Assistant
- Assistant District Attorney
- Attorney for Child
- Assistant Corporation Counsel
- Special Assistant Corporation Counsel
- Guardian Ad Litem
- Assigned Counsel
- Petitioner
- Respondent
- Court Officer
- Interpreter
- Reporter
- Probation Officer
- Caseworker
• The judge is in charge of the hearing (trial). He or she listens to witnesses, examines evidence, and then decides if the case has been proven.
Court Attorney Referee / JHO:
• Some cases such as custody, visitation and orders of protection are conducted by a referee who may hear and decide the case, and issue temporary and final orders.
Support Magistrate:
• Support cases (petitions filed seeking support for a child or spouse) and paternity cases (petitions filed requesting the court to enter an order declaring someone to be the father of a child) are heard by support magistrates.
Court Attorney:
• A court attorney is a lawyer who works with and assists the judge by researching legal questions and helping to write decisions. The court attorney may also meet with the attorneys or parties to a case to try to reach an agreement without the need for a trial.
CourtClerk/Court Assistant:
• The court clerk or court assistant sits near the judge, referee or support magistrate and assists in the preparation of orders.
AssistantDistrict Attorney:
• In some counties in New York City, in juvenile delinquency cases involving children between the ages of 13 and 15 who are accused of committing certain serious or violent acts, an Assistant District Attorney prosecutes the case in the Family Court.
Attorneyfor Child:
• An Attorney for Child is a lawyer assigned by the judge to represent a child in a Family Court case.
AssistantCorporation Counsel:
• An attorney from the New York City Law Department, who prosecutes juvenile delinquency cases, and may also represent the petitioner in some support and paternity cases and in family offense cases if assigned by the judge.
SpecialAssistant Corporation Counsel:
• An attorney from the Department of Social Services who prosecutes child abuse and neglect cases and termination of parental rights cases, and presents support cases involving children who are receiving public assistance.
GuardianAd Litem:
• A guardian ad litem is a person assigned by the judge to act in place of a parent for a child whose parents are required to appear in court but are not available to appear, or assigned for an adult who is mentally or physically unable to speak for himself or herself in court.
• In some Family Court cases, the judge or support magistrate may assign a lawyer to represent an adult party who cannot afford to hire a lawyer, at no cost.
• The person or agency filing the petition is the petitioner.
• The person or agency against whom the petition is filed is the respondent.
Court Officer:
• Uniformed Court Officers are assigned to every courtroom and hearing room. They are responsible for security throughout the building, and also call the parties into the hearing rooms when the judges or support magistrates are ready to hear each case.
• The court provides interpreters for people who come for court cases and have difficulty with English. Spanish interpreters are usually available daily in the courthouse, and interpreters of many other languages, including sign language for the hearing-impaired, may be ordered by the court.
Court Reporter:
• Records are kept of all testimony and statements made during court hearings. In some courtrooms, court reporters take notes during the hearing, using a machine similar to a typewriter, and may then be asked to type a "transcript" - a word-for-word report of what is said during a proceeding. (Hearings before support magistrates and some hearings before judges are recorded on tape-recorders.)
Probation Officer:
• Probation Officers work for the Department of Probation, and prepare reports for the judges about the people involved in the cases. The Probation Officer assigned to the courtroom is called a Court Liaison Officer ("CLO").
• Social service agency caseworkers assigned to work with families bring case records to court and testify during hearings.


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The Brother MFC-6890CDW inkjet multifunction printer improves on the Brother MFC-6490CW multifunction, adding duplex capabilities and a touch screen. Though it could do with faster print speeds, this A3-capable printer is still a valuable addition to the cost-conscious office.
The Brother MFC-6890CDW inkjet multifunction includes USB, Ethernet and Wi-Fi connections, with the two wired connections concealed beneath the scanner cover. PictBridge-capable USB devices can connect directly to the MFC-6890CDW and the multimedia card reader supports CompactFlash, SD, MemoryStick and xD media. The multifunction has a 50-sheet automatic document feeder.
There are two front-facing input trays to separate A3 and A4 media and they fit a total of 350 sheets. The A3 input and output trays must both be extended to accommodate the larger media, but overall this printer isn't a behemoth.
The multifunction uses a 4.2in widescreen LCD touch panel. The quality of the display is unimpressive but it does help with menu navigation, notifications and altering settings. It becomes unresponsive during a task but you can still access other features when this happens by pressing one of the function buttons.
A function lock available directly from the MFC-6890CDW multifunction allows you to restrict access to certain features. Up to 21 users can be configured with password protection and differing levels of access to copy, fax, scan and print functions. You can also restrict users' printing to colour or mono.
The MFC-6890CDW multifunction doesn't provide a Web-based interface, but remote administration can be performed using an accompanying application (which is compatible with both Mac OS and Windows).
Print speeds are slightly slow for an inkjet multifunction in this price range. The Brother MFC-6890CDW will print the first page of a draft monochrome A4 document in 13.5sec and subsequent pages at a rate of 16.4 pages per minute. At normal quality, this speed drops to 4.8ppm. Colour documents print at roughly the same speed: 16.4ppm using draft quality and 3.4ppm using normal. The MFC-6890CDW multifunction will print A3 mono documents at a rate of 5.7ppm using draft quality and 3.2ppm using normal quality, while colour A3 documents print at 6ppm and 2ppm, respectively.
Photo printing is surprisingly quick, however. Using the "fine" setting, 4x6in photos printed in 22sec, and it took 1min 38sec to print an A4 photo. A3 photos printed in 4min 40sec.
Print quality is quite good overall. A4 documents have crisp characters that manage to escape looking "inky" and colour documents are vibrant without being oversaturated. Photos printed at 4x6in lack the banding we found when using the Brother MFC-6490CW. They have a rather neutral colour palette overall; this doesn't lend itself to producing bright or particularly colourful photos, but there are no major quality issues. Scans are quite fast and produce good results. Colours match the original source and fine detail is reproduced adequately.
Scaling documents to print at A3 works acceptably; our test mono documents survived the transition to A3 without issue. Unfortunately, our colour test document suffered from severe horizontal coloured streaks when it was scaled up to A3 and despite trying a variety of print settings we were unable to eradicate these marks. Thankfully, this issue wasn't found in A3 photos, which had the same neutral colour palette as their A4 counterparts. The MFC-6890CDW inkjet multifunction won't match the quality of dedicated A3 photo printers like the Epson Stylus Photo R2880, but it will work well for in-house production of marketing materials. At 18.8c per A4 page, this multifunction's inexpensive consumables will help keep costs down.
The cost increase over the Brother MFC-6490CW is certainly justified, but the MFC-6890CDW multifunction still has room for improvement.
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Here are some photographs of the entries and a few of the participants. This year's event was both beautiful and successful; vendors and attending public were numerous, much to our delight.
The images and plant names were provided by Emy de la Fuente, our president. I cannot tell you much about the plants, but I could provide some information on the people on a few of the photographs.
Emy de la Fuente has served as president of the South Florida Cactus & Succulent Society on several occasions over the last twenty five years. Emy also has been editor for our quarterly, CereusChatter, for a number of years and does a great job at it.
Alfredo Bergolla is also a long-time member of SFCSS and an important South Florida collector of cacti and succulents. Alfredo's experience as a wholesale grower for several decades is a valuable resource to our society's events.
Barbara and Jim Daley are members and also vendors at our Annual Show & Sale. They specialize in raising Pachypodium lamerei and Jathropa podagrica from seed, always bringing in a good selection of plants. I am in a photograph with Barbara Daley, who is always an enthusiastic member of the SFCSS' Annual Show & Sale.
Impressive as some of the specimens may seem, it is not an easy proposition to try and grow most cacti and many succulents in South Florida to specimen, show-worthy size. Our rainy season is months long and plentiful; even without the rain, humidity is almost always high. Having a greenhouse or a covered area is essential, while maintaining a high level of sunlight on the plants for optimal growth. Some of us put a stretch of plastic cover over a growing area, or otherwise try to keep the plants dry enough, as they like it. Still, its a blessing to count with warm weather and plenty of sunlight from year to year, so we all glady work with our beloved 'C&S babies' to keep them happy.
Of course, that's what keeps us happy, too !
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If you have any questions please send us a message. Sam's Antiques offers 2 large showrooms of fine European antique furniture located in Spring at:
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SACRAMENTO– A court ruling has made Stockton the most populous city in the nation to enter bankruptcy.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein said in a Sacramento courtroom on Monday that he had accepted the city's bankruptcy application.
Bankruptcy will likely allow the city to avoid repaying its debts in full. Lawyers for the creditors argued that the city had not cut enough spending or sought a tax increase to avoid bankruptcy.
Attorneys for the city countered that the city's budget and services had been cut to the bone.
Klein heard closing arguments in the case last week.


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Hi evrey body, how are you ???hope all are fine thanks god we did the exams and with not bad marks . may be you ask your self where I were and i will answer you that i were in SYRIA ....(i am so sorry to not tell you about the travelling) after we finished the exams and in the first day of the Eid we reached Baghdad after six hard hourses in the way and in the next day our trip began at 8 oclock in the morning in our trip from Baghdad to Aleppo in syrai we saw Abu ghreeb's prison camp i saw it so large and after that we saw ALFALLUJA ,when i saw i felt a strange feeling and liking to cry all the houses destroyed and and burning just see long line of cars out side the city wanted to enter the city and the airplanes flying above them ...
We reached the line between iraq and syria it was verey crowded and we still waiting for 5 hourse before we reached Aleppo at ten oclock there was very strong reek and the driver drove very slowly because the street was one side and the place was in mountains and we saw six cars (GMC) were stroken because of the reek and then we reached aleppo safely ,after 15hard houres .... in the scond day there was rain and we could n't go out of the home and in the the third day inspite of the rain ,my brothers an cousins went to the swimming pool and we went to the market and we the sky be clear we decided to go to the sea (in Allathiqiya) and we did ...we went and it was very nice and we spent all the days in the markets and we bought many nice things and after the election we went back to mosul in my uncle's car ..thats what i remmember about the trip..
About the school :
Thats week there was many rain and our school fulloff with the water and our school has 11 classes and all these classes ,they put it in 5 classes ..can you imagin that ???
and the school which they promose us to finish it in the first mounth of 2005 the didn't but I think it will be very nice because i see it every day from our new school and now i can see the workers and the vans and all things about the new school. And in this new class I and hnk sit on the same deck ... thats good to talk about the blogger and about the net .
any way we will go back to our bad chool in the next week ..and our bad school appeared in the TV of Mosul in the program(with out comment) it good program for our excellant school..
About my friends :
on of my friend's aunt deid last week so she seemed very sad ,when every girl askaed her what happen to you she began to cry ...i felt sorry about her ..
and other friend felt that her eyes ached her when she read ,then she decided to go to the doctor and check her eyes and she did and the doctor told her that she need to a glasses and now she waers a glass .
In one of lesson of Biology we had THE FISH and one of the girl brought a fish ,and the teacher began to explain the lesson on the fish and asked the girls ,who could take the fish and explain for the girl ??one girl stood up and took the fish from the teacher and begin to see every girl the fish she bought it for me and hnk it was small and it smels bad and some girls hate to look at the fish
I forget to tell you my marks ,it is 93,94,95,96,97,98 .....I think it is good ..right?
this post became long this is my first long post ..
now see you later good bye .....


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On behalf on FiY team, MiC would like to wish all our Muslim fashionista...
Selamat Hari Raya~
Also to others, Happy Merdeka Day!!!
*Drawing in the pic credited to Emilia
Here is a challenge for you, be a healthy fashionista by waking up early and watch the live telecast!!
*Psst...Honestly, MiC has not done so for quite some years
Have rest and Have FUN!
Celebrate with you:


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Seasons on Chincoteague Island
January 29, 2014 by Corey A. Edwards
Chincoteague Island Winters
There's no denying it gets cold here but not so cold that you can't still bundle up and enjoy our town, beaches, and wildlife. Now can be a great time to experience a less-touristy version of island life. Also, the world class bird watching continues on both Chincoteague and Assateague islands with the snow geese and other, seasonal, migratory visitors avian wildlife an on-going attraction to our shores.
Read the rest of this page »


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Easter Island - Extension
|Overview • Detailed Itinerary • FAQ's • Testimonials
Download Easter Island Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Hanga Roa
You are met upon your arrival at Mataveri airport, Easter Island and transferred to your accommodations in Hanga Roa.
Day 2: Hanga Roa, Moai Sites, Rano Kau Volcano
Today, start the day with a tour of the town of Hanga Roa, the principal community on the island. Heading out of town, visit the ancient highlights of Ahu Akivi and the red scoria quarry of Puna Pau, where the top knots for the Moai were quarried and sculpted.
Day 3: Ahu Ruins, Rano Raraku Volcano
Today, journey to the other end of the island visiting the Ahu ruins of Akahanga, Tongariki and Te Pito Kura. You have the opportunity to hike up the other major volcano of Rano Raraku (extinct) for fantastic views of the island, the coast and the Moai quarry. This is a magical place, where the wonders and mysteries of Easter Island's ancient culture spread out before you. To complete the day, spend some time in the surf at the sandy beach of Anakena. (B, L)
Day 4: Sebastian Englert Museum, Handicraft Market
Travel to the sculptures at Ahus Tahai and then visit the Sebastian Englert Museum and the handicraft market nearby. The afternoon is free at leisure. (B)
Day 5: Return flight to Santiago
Transfer to Mataveri airport for your return flight to Santiago. At Santiago airport, depending on flight schedules, you may connect with international flights homeward. (B)
1-800-741-7956 North America • 0808-234-1714 United Kingdom • 416-588-5000 Worldwide


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The last time the Navy faced big funding cuts, dozens of highly trained fighter pilots at Oceana Naval Air Station were relegated to desk jobs.
It was the summer of 1994, and the post-Cold War budget ax was falling.
To help pay for a peacekeeping mission in Haiti and other unexpected operations abroad, the Navy grounded entire squadrons of F-14 Tomcats.
Commanders reduced flying hours to a minimum and eliminated aircraft carrier practice operations. Mechanics maintained the few planes that were flying by harvesting parts from the jets that weren't. Crews wrapped the empty airframes in airtight bags and parked them in storage, a procedure that came to be known as "bagging the jets."
The result once funding was restored: Pilot skills were degraded, jet lifespans were shortened, and talented aircraft mechanics left the service in droves.
Navy brass learned that systematically shutting down air wings is a terribly inefficient way to save money.
And now they're preparing to do it again.
"Unfortunately, right now we're going to have to do it the hard way," said Adm. Bill Gortney, the four-star head of U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk. "We're going to have to shut them down."
Bagging jets is just one of numerous short-term cost-cutting measures likely to affect sailors and their equipment under sweeping defense cuts set to begin next month if Congress doesn't pass a new budget or act to avert across-the-board reductions demanded by sequestration.
In an interview with The Virginian-Pilot last week, Gortney warned that steep cuts in maintenance and training would mean fewer warships at sea and fewer fighter jets in the sky -- and more uncertainty for the men and women who operate them.
Already this month, defense officials took the unprecedented step of canceling the imminent deployment of an aircraft carrier and halting plans to overhaul another.
The changes forced thousands of Hampton Roads sailors to rethink living arrangements and left many wondering what the next few months might hold.
And that's just the beginning.
If Congress fails to act, the Navy says it will shut down four of its nine carrier air wings, end most naval operations in South America and Europe, cancel routine maintenance for more than 20 ships and keep several submarines in port.
Gortney said some ships won't be able to deploy as scheduled, while those that do make it to sea could remain there indefinitely, adding stress to the families of thousands of sailors.
Further, he said, forgoing ship and aircraft maintenance will reduce the service lives of multimillion-dollar pieces of equipment, increase the likelihood of malfunctions and cost the service significantly more in the long run.
He also warned of declines in safety and morale.
"It's corrosive to the force," Gortney said. "And the longer and deeper we're in it, the more corrosive it is."
The dire scenario isn't what Gortney envisioned when he took control of the region's top naval command five months ago. As the head of Fleet Forces, he is responsible for providing well-trained and properly equipped resources -- ships, planes and the sailors who make them go -- to meet the Navy's operational requirements abroad.
When the budget ax falls from on high, it's his job to make the math work -- to figure out a new game plan in real time and determine how he can best support requirements with the forces he has available.
The budget impasse has made that difficult, Gortney said. Plans are changing daily. And that uncertainty is trickling down through the ranks.
"I need a number," Gortney said. "Sailors want predictability. We want predictability."
Instead, defense officials have instructed the Navy to plan for the worst -- slashing operations and maintenance spending by more than 40 percent during the second half of this fiscal year.
To illustrate the impacts, Gortney stepped up to a whiteboard in his office. He drew a crude graph representing the ebb and flow of a ship's readiness and maintenance cycle, and how much it costs to pay for it.
Coming off a deployment, Gortney said while drawing a dip in the line representing readiness, a ship and its crew typically go into depot-level maintenance before beginning the process of preparing for the next deployment. He compared it to an athlete soaking in a tub after an exhausting competition.
"The problem that we are confronted with now ... is that bathtub is gonna get very deep, and it's gonna get very long," Gortney said. "It's gonna get drawn out a very long time. And the deeper and longer we are in that bathtub, the longer and more expensive it costs to get out."
If ship and airplane maintenance cycles are interrupted to cut costs, Gortney estimates it would cost the Navy three times the short-term savings to restore proficiency.
Retired Vice Adm. Peter Daly, chief executive officer of the U.S. Naval Institute, likened the scenario to a frugal car owner forgoing regular tuneups.
"You might think you're saving money by not maintaining your car," said Daly, the former deputy commander and chief of staff at Fleet Forces. "But in the end, if you skip that 60,000-mile tuneup and end up losing a timing belt, you'll be sitting with a $2,400 bill to replace your engine. That's not very smart."
That's basically what happened when the Navy grounded fighter jets in the mid-1990s, he said. Bringing pilots and airplanes back up to speed took the better part of a year and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
"It would be cheaper to just maintain the proficiency of the air wing," Daly said. "But when you're being squeezed, you are sometimes forced into making an uneconomic decision."
So what's the long-term cumulative effect of building a strategy around a flawed economic model?
Adm. Jon Greenert, the chief of naval operations, laid it out in concise terms last week in testimony before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee:
Equipment will be degraded, and sailors will lose confidence.
"Our folks are stressed by the uncertainty about their jobs, their operational schedules and, more importantly, their futures," Greenert said.
Those warnings are reality for some 5,000 sailors aboard the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman and its strike group. Faced with an uncertain funding stream, defense officials canceled the carrier's deployment this month, less than 48 hours before the ship was set to leave on an eight-month cruise from Norfolk Naval Station.
The Truman eventually got under way last week -- but just long enough to allow its air wing to fly back to bases in Virginia Beach, Washington and Florida.
Jenelle Hatzung, whose husband is an aircraft maintenance officer aboard the Truman, said the last-minute change has made it difficult for her family to make long-term plans.
She expected some uncertainty, she said, but the recent changes "make me feel like I don't really have any control of anything in my life."
Her concerns were echoed by sailors aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, who learned this month that the Navy doesn't have enough money to begin the ship's midlife overhaul in Newport News.
Like the Lincoln, the guided missile destroyer Porter and the submarine Montpelier would be moored indefinitely in Norfolk under the proposed spending cuts. Both ships are awaiting significant repairs following collisions last year.
After a Japanese oil tanker slammed into the Porter in the Strait of Hormuz last August, the ship needed a $2.2 million patch-job in the United Arab Emirates so that it could steam home under its own power.
There might not be money for similar emergency repairs should the full weight of budget cuts crash down next month, a defense official said.
The prospect of a U.S. ship and its crew indefinitely drydocked overseas seems farfetched, but it could become a reality.
"The funding is coming down, and we're going to have to prioritize," Gortney said.
During a question-and-answer session with sailors in Norfolk last month, Greenert promised to do everything in his power to protect their pay and benefits from cuts.
Regardless of what happens in Washington, he told some 3,000 sailors, "It won't affect your pay; it won't affect your retirement; it won't affect your medical coverage."
But in comments before the Senate Armed Services Committee last week, Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter warned that by the end of the year, the Pentagon might not have enough money to pay for Tricare, the health care system for service members, retirees and their families.
The result, according to Carter: The government would be forced to choose between kicking bills into next year or cutting back on care for service members' families and retirees.
James Holmes, an associate professor of strategy at the Naval War College, said the Navy runs the risk of losing its most skilled sailors.
The former surface warfare officer said he left the Navy in the 1990s, in part because of big cuts in defense spending.
"Part of the reason I got out was, it didn't look like there was a whole lot of a future for me," Holmes said.
Two things might keep service members from leaving in the short term, he said. Sailors are better paid compared with a decade ago, and there aren't many opportunities in the private sector.
"There is a tipping point, though, when sailors will begin to leave," Holmes said.
Morale is among Gortney's top concerns.
"Sailors join the Navy to steam on ships, steam on submarines, work on airplanes, fly airplanes," said Gortney, a career aviator. "Surface warriors want to drive ships. Submariners want to drive submarines. We want to fly airplanes. It affects morale. ... That's not what they were trained to do."
Top brass have warned of a more dire consequence if the Navy isn't allowed to shrink its global mission to match economic realities: more accidents.
Over time, the Navy has learned that six-month deployments are ideal. Seven-month deployments are manageable. And eight months -- the standard deployment length for carriers lately -- can be done in a pinch.
Deploying ships longer than that while reducing the number of port visits -- another looming budget consequence -- could lead to fatigued sailors and hazardous results, Daly said.
"They're out there doing dangerous things, launching airplanes, recovering airplanes, handling ordnance," Daly said. "You want them to be alert and focused."
Gortney, too, is keenly aware of the risks.
Should one $55 million F/A-18 Super Hornet drop from the sky because it was rushed back into service or because it was pushed too hard between maintenance cycles, the Navy would instantly lose much of the savings from grounding squadrons.
The admiral pledged not to go down that route.
"We're not going to do this any faster than safe," Gortney said. "We won't push out anybody who isn't ready for the mission."


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President Cocktail.
2 Dashes Grenadine. (1/2 tsp. homemade grenadine)
The Juice of 1/4 Orange.
1 glass Bacardi Rum. (2 oz Mathusalem Platino)
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. (Squeeze Orange peel over glass.)
This should be better than it is. But I think the main problem is the lack of character in the Mathusalem Platino. If ever there was a rum that is nearly vodka, this is it. I can barely detect rum in any cocktail I make with it.
I dunno, maybe if you had really good oranges and the best homemade grenadine evar (or small hand foods grenadine) this might be worth experimenting with.
As it is, it's basically a screwdriver.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the cocktails in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, Zed.


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Please provide comments to the issue below as part of the 2012 WCB cost model virtual workshop for inclusion in the record. Comments are moderated for conformity to the workshop's guidelines.
Hybrid Cost Proxy Model: The Commission determined that nationwide default values were generally more appropriate than company-specific values. Accordingly, the HCPM uses nationwide average values for estimating plant-specific operations expenses. The Commission found that averages, rather than company-specific data, are better predictors of the forward-looking costs that should be supported by the federal high-cost mechanism. The Commission also determined that the use of nationwide averages would reward efficient companies and provide the proper incentives to inefficient companies to become more efficient over time, and that this reward system would drive the national average toward the cost that the competitive firm could achieve.
CQBAT: While the CQBAT model also does not use company-specific values to predict forward-looking costs, it does use regional cost adjustment factors to capture variation in labor and materials costs by three-digit ZIP codes.
Questions for Comment
- The CQBAT approach of using nationwide average values with regional adjustments to capture labor and materials cost variation appears to be reasonable and appropriate. Is there any reason to deviate from CQBAT's approach? Are there any modifications that should be made to this approach?
- Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service, Forward-Looking Mechanism for High Cost Support for Non-Rural LECs, CC Docket Nos. 96-45, 97-160, Tenth Report and Order, 14 FCC Rcd 20172, 20305 paras. 31, 34B, (1999) (Inputs Order).
- Connect America Fund et al., WC Docket No. 10-90 et al., Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 26 FCC Rcd 17737, para. 193 (2011) (USF/ICC Transformation Order or Order), pets. for review pending sub nom. In re: FCC, No. 11-9900 (10th Cir. filed Dec. 18, 2011) (USF/ICC Transformation Order).


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About Me
I'm a computer graphics programmer, age about 40, based in the UK. I have been using Ogg Vorbis files for ages as my ripped-audio-format-of-choice. I'm not really a fan of closed formats, software patents, and non-free software.
Desktop Software
At home, I use Amarok under Linux. I had tried a number of different media players up until then, but Amarok just works and does what I want it to do, unobtrusively and efficiently.
At work, I am forced to use Microsoft Media Player, since no other players are approved for use under Windows (I would prefer to use Winamp). The OGG codecs for Media Player seem rather buggy, although to be fair many of my old OGG files do not pass when run through ogginfo, as they have missing end-of-stream tags.
Portable Player
I have a Samsung YP-U1 and it's pretty good. So much so that it's difficult to get it back from my wife at the moment. Update: I bought another one.
Car Players
In October 2005 I bought a Yakumo Hypersound Car, which, to put it mildly, was terrible. To put it less mildly, this is the single most annoyingly bad product I have ever bought. Here is a link to a thread on the Yakumo forum which explains why. While not being outright dead-on-arrival, there seems to be no basic function on this device which does not have an annoying glitch, fault or flaw. Each of these individually are just not enough to warrant a return, but gradually they all just add up to a truly miserable user experience.
I have been searching around for a replacement for a while and, thanks to my wife and a trip to LIDL, I now have a Silvercrest KH2380 installed. I have tested it with some Q3-encoded music files and it seems fine at that rate. Most importantly, compared to the Yakumo, it's marvellous - no glitches so far. It even has excellent radio reception. Not bad for £50.


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