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Cy2 is the acronym for a popular cyanine dye that is a key member of a fluorophore series developed by Dr. Alan Waggoner and associates at Carnegie-Mellon University. Similar to the other cyanine reagents in the series (Cy3 and Cy5), Cy2 is intensely fluorescent and highly water-soluble. The Cy2 dye produces green emission when excited with blue light, exhibiting an absorption maximum at approximately 489 nanometers and an emission peak at approximately 506 nanometers. The signal generated by Cy2 can be readily detected using fluorescein filter combinations in fluorescence microscopy. When conjugated to primary or secondary antibodies, Cy2 and other cyanine dyes can be utilized to target specific cellular antigens, such as peroxisomal membrane protein 70 (PMP 70), which is found in high concentrations in the membranes of peroxisomes.
The Muntjac deer skin cells presented in the digital image above were members of an adherent culture stained for F-actin with Alexa Fluor 568 conjugated to phalloidin, and for DNA with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI). In addition, the culture was immunofluorescently labeled with the cyanine fluorophore, Cy2, conjugated to goat secondary antibodies that target mouse anti-peroxisomal membrane protein 70 (PMP 70), a key membrane component of peroxisomes. Images were recorded in grayscale with a QImaging Retiga Fast-EXi camera system coupled to an Olympus BX-51 microscope equipped with bandpass emission fluorescence filter optical blocks provided by Omega Optical. During the processing stage, individual image channels were pseudocolored with RGB values corresponding to each of the fluorophore emission spectral profiles.
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Midostaurin and Azacitidine in Treating Elderly Patients With Acute Myelogenous Leukemia
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01093573
Recruitment Status : Unknown
Verified June 2016 by Brenda Cooper, MD, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Recruitment status was: Active, not recruiting
First Posted : March 26, 2010
Last Update Posted : June 10, 2016
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Untreated Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia
|Drug: midostaurin Drug: azacitidine Other: laboratory biomarker analysis Other: bone marrow aspiration Other: liquid chromatography Other: flow cytometry Other: mutation analysis Other: pharmacological study Other: mass spectrometry Other: protein expression analysis
|Phase 1 Phase 2
I. To determine the safe and tolerable dose of midostaurin in combination with azacitidine in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia. (Phase I) II. To describe the toxicity profile of the combination of midostaurin and azacitidine in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia. (Phase I/II) III. To determine the complete and partial response rate and rate of hematologic improvement of midostaurin and 5-azacitidine in untreated acute myelogenous leukemia. (Phase I/II)
I. To describe pharmacokinetics of oral midostaurin given in combination with azacitidine on a day 8-21 schedule. (Phase I/II) II. To correlate treatment response with FLT3 mutational status in a descriptive fashion. (Phase I/II) III. To assess overall survival of patients from initiation of midostaurin-azacitidine toxicities. (Phase I/II) IV. To determine median disease-free survival of the regimen in untreated patients. (Phase II)
I. To describe signaling in CD117+ committed myeloid precursors in whole blood and bone marrow samples before and during treatment. (Phase I/II) II. To measure in vivo FLT3 inhibition using plasma inhibition assay (PIA) and Flt ligand (FL) levels in patients enrolled on this trial before and during treatment. (Phase I/II)
OUTLINE: This is a phase I, dose escalation study of midostaurin followed by a phase II study.
Patients receive azacitidine intravenously (IV) over 10-20 minutes on days 1-7 and midostaurin orally (PO) twice daily (BID) on days 8-21. Courses repeat every 28 days for up to 8 courses in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 3 months for 1 year, every 6 months for 2 years, and then annually thereafter.
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|34 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Single Group Assignment
|None (Open Label)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|A Phase I/II Study of Midostaurin (PKC412) and 5-Azacitidine for Elderly Patients With Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
|Study Start Date :
|July 2009
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|June 2016
Experimental: Arm I
Patients receive azacitidine IV over 10-20 minutes on days 1-7 and oral midostaurin twice daily on days 8-21.
Drug: midostaurin
Given orally
Other Names:
Drug: azacitidine
Given IV
Other Names:
Other: laboratory biomarker analysis
Correlative study
Other: bone marrow aspiration
Correlative study
Other: liquid chromatography
Correlative study
Other Name: LC
Other: flow cytometry
Correlative study
Other: mutation analysis
Correlative study
Other: pharmacological study
Correlative study
Other Name: pharmacological studies
Other: mass spectrometry
Correlative study
Other: protein expression analysis
Correlative study
- Maximum tolerated dose of midostaurin in combination with azacitidine in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (Phase I) [ Time Frame: Day 28 ]Defined as the dose level below 1 of 3 then 2 of 3 patients experience dose-limiting toxicity (DLT).
- Rate of hematologic improvement [ Time Frame: 2 months ]Hematologic toxicity: For patients with ANC > 500/ μl at baseline, dose modifications will be made accordingly. Recovery is defined as neutrophil count > 500/ul if neutrophils nadir is below 500/ul: Hematologic response will be assessed on day 1 of each cycle of azacitidine.
- Complete and partial response rate of midostaurin and azacitidine in untreated acute myelogenous leukemia (Phase I/II) [ Time Frame: after 4 months of treatment ]Response will be assessed using the standard morphologic criteria for acute leukemia as follows: Complete remission (CR): ANC ≥ 1000/ uL and platelets of > 100,000/ uL without circulating blasts and bone marrow with < 5% blasts and no Auer rods; Partial remission (PR): This designation requires at least a 50% decrease in the bone marrow blasts to 5-25%.
- Pharmacokinetic profile of midostaurin given with azacitidine (Phase I) [ Time Frame: Before dosing of midostaurin on days 8, 15, and 21 of courses 1 and 2 ]
- Time to disease progression [ Time Frame: Up to 3 years ]The Kaplan-Meier method will be used to estimate survivor function.
- Changes of phosphorylation status of FLT3 in blood and bone marrow samples (Phase I/II) [ Time Frame: Baseline to 4 cycles (16 weeks) ]
- Overall survival (Phase I/II) [ Time Frame: Up to 3 years ]The Kaplan-Meier method will be used to estimate survivor function.
- To correlate treatment response with FLT3 mutational status in a descriptive fashion.(Phase I) [ Time Frame: Baseline to 4 cycles (16 weeks) ]
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|Child, Adult, Older Adult
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria
- Patients must have histologic proof of active AML at time of enrollment
- Phase I and II portion: Subjects of any age with untreated AML, if not candidates for standard induction chemotherapy or with poor risk AML (i.e. preceding MDS, myeloproliferative syndromes, leukemia due to cytotoxic chemotherapy for another condition, adverse cytogenetics or complex karyotype), or any subjects > 70 years of age with untreated AML. Acute promyelocytic leukemia (FAB M3) is excluded
Please note: prior intensive induction therapy for acute leukemia is allowed only in the phase I portion of this study
• PHASE I PORTION ONLY: Patients of any age who have received no more than one prior attempt at induction chemotherapy (and may have received treatment consolidation), must have recovered from acute toxicities of therapy and be >= 4 weeks from last dose of cytotoxic treatment; patients who have received prior autologous or allogeneic stem cell transplantation are not eligible; patients may have received 1 or 2 cycles of cytarabine-based therapy as attempted induction.
Phase II portion: Patients must have not received any prior intensive induction therapy for AML.
- Intensive induction includes standard induction chemotherapy such as 7 & 3, high dose cytarabine, mitoxantrone-etoposide, low-dose subcutaneous cytarabine.
Allowed "non-intensive" prior treatments for pre-existing hematologic conditions (i.e., MDS, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia [CMML]) will include: hydroxyurea, thalidomide, hematopoietic growth factors, Zarnestra, Lenalidomide, arsenic, Imatinib, and corticosteroids, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid [SAHA] inhibitors; hydroxyurea is allowed up to 24 hours before initiating treatment and to control blood counts during the first cycle of chemotherapy after azacitidine has completed; a minimum of 4 weeks must have elapsed since the administration of thalidomide, Zarnestra, Revlimid, arsenic, SAHA inhibitors, or any investigational medication; a minimum of five days must have elapsed since the administration of growth factors
- Prior cytotoxic chemotherapy for another condition treated with curative intent is allowed provided at least 18 months has elapsed between last treatment and enrollment on protocol
- Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0-2
- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) =< 1.5 times the upper limits of normal
- Serum bilirubin =< 1.5x upper limit of normal
- Creatinine =< 1.5x upper limit of normal
- No exclusion for blood counts; however, at the time of treatment initiation, white blood cell (WBC) should be < 30,000/uL (can be controlled with hydroxyurea)
- Life expectancy without treatment of at least 12 weeks
- Patients with and without FLT3 mutations will be eligible to participate
- Patients must have the ability and willingness to sign a written informed consent document
Exclusion Criteria
- Acute promyelocytic leukemia (FAB M3)
- Prior autologous or allogeneic stem cell transplant
- Prior azacitidine, decitabine, or midostaurin
- Patients with known impairment of gastrointestinal (GI) function or GI disease that may significantly alter the absorption of midostaurin; patients with gastric bypass surgery are excluded
- Patients with any other known active cancer (except carcinoma in-situ), concurrent severe and/or uncontrolled medical condition (e.g. uncontrolled diabetes, pulmonary, chronic renal disease, active uncontrolled infection)
Cardiovascular Criteria will exclude a patient from participation in the study will include:
- Screening electrocardiogram (ECG) with a QTc > 450 msec;
- Patients with congenital long QT syndrome;
- History or presence of sustained ventricular tachycardia;
- Any history of ventricular fibrillation or torsades de pointes;
- Bradycardia defined as heart rate (HR) < 50 bpm;
- Right bundle branch block + left anterior hemiblock (bifascicular block);
- Patients with myocardial infarction or unstable angina < 6 months prior to starting study drug;
- Congestive heart failure (CHF) New York (NY) Heart Association class III or IV;
- Patients with an ejection fraction =< 45% assessed by multi gated acquisition scan (MUGA) or echocardiogram (ECHO) scan within 14 days of day 1
- Poorly controlled hypertension
- Known allergy or hypersensitivity to azacitidine, mannitol, or midostaurin
- Active or suspicion of central nervous system (CNS) leukemia
- Patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease or active viral hepatitis
- Patients with hepatitis B
- Patients with an abnormal chest X-ray and/or any pulmonary infiltrate including those suspected to be of infectious origin; in particular, patients with resolution of clinical symptoms of pulmonary infection but with residual pulmonary infiltrates on chest x-ray are not eligible until pulmonary infiltrates have completely resolved
- Pregnant or lactating women
- Prohibited medications: PKC412 and its two major metabolites may have a potential of drug-drug interactions with P-gp substrates and CYP3A4 inhibitors, and inducers. An increased anticoagulant effect has been noted in patients treated with warfarin and midostaurin.
- Patients who have received any investigational agent within 30 days prior to day 1
Women of child-bearing potential, defined as all women physiologically capable of becoming pregnant, unless they are using highly effective methods of contraception during dosing and for 3 months of midostaurin medication. Highly effective contraception methods include:
- Total abstinence (when this is in line with the preferred and usual lifestyle of the subject. Periodic abstinence (e.g., calendar, ovulation, symptothermal, post-ovulation methods) and withdrawal are not acceptable methods of contraception
- Female sterilization (have had surgical bilateral oophorectomy with or without hysterectomy) or tubal ligation at least six weeks before taking study treatment. In case of oophorectomy alone, only when the reproductive status of the woman has been confirmed by follow up hormone level assessment
- Male sterilization (at least 6 months prior to screening). For female subjects on the study the vasectomized male partner should be the sole partner for that subject.
Combination of any two of the following (a+b or a+c, or b+c):
- Use of oral, injected or implanted hormonal methods of contraception or other forms of hormonal contraception that have comparable efficacy (failure rate <1%), for example hormone vaginal ring or transdermal hormone contraception.
- Placement of an intrauterine device (IUD) or intrauterine system (IUS)
- Barrier methods of contraception: Condom or Occlusive cap (diaphragm or cervical/vault caps) with spermicidal foam/gel/film/cream/vaginal suppository
In case of use of oral contraception women should have been stable on the same pill for a minimum of 3 months before taking study treatment Sexually active males unless they use a condom during intercourse while taking drug and for 5 months after stopping midostaurin medication. They should not father a child in this period. A condom is required to be used also by vasectomized men in order to prevent delivery of the drug via seminal fluid.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01093573
|United States, Ohio
|Case Medical Center, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center
|Cleveland, Ohio, United States, 44106
|United States, West Virginia
|West Virginia University
|Morgantown, West Virginia, United States, 26506
|Principal Investigator:
|Brenda Cooper, MD
|Case Medical Center, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center
|Responsible Party:
|Brenda Cooper, MD, Principal Investigator, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01093573 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
NCI-2009-01285 ( Other Identifier: NCI/CTRP )
|First Posted:
|March 26, 2010 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|June 10, 2016
|Last Verified:
|June 2016
Keywords provided by Brenda Cooper, MD, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center:
Untreated myelodysplastic syndromes
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute
Leukemia, Myeloid
Neoplasms by Histologic Type
Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Antineoplastic Agents
Enzyme Inhibitors
Protein Kinase Inhibitors

subset: commoncrawl


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I get that this perspective is from a fantasy football owners point of view but still, you need to do your homework before you start assuming things about a player.
This writer clearly has no clue about what happened last year with Timmons playing outside so much when Harrison and Woodley were down. He's obviously not done his homework on Worilds either who was hurt last year as well and under performed until later in the year.
I just find it comical at times that writers will talk about a player or team, even from a fantasy standpoint, and not have all the facts. Maybe I'm just have a cynical type of day too..LOL
Nothing is worse in Dynasty leagues than having a player who was a bona fide stud one year fall on his face the next. You get your hopes up and consider him a core player, a sure fire every week starter, then without warning or explanation he hits a slump so nasty that you want to drive to their city and beat them with a dead car battery. Having said that…
In 2010, Timmons finished the year ranked as the LB7 in IDP leagues. He was machine of destruction. Through the first seven games he had racked up 56 solo tackles, 18 assists and three sacks. Nobody started off hotter! Then, something happened. Through the next six games he totaled just 20 solos, 17 assists, and zero sacks. He wasn't hurt, there was no position change, and it wasn't bad match-ups. It was like there was an imposter in his uniform. Timmons finished the year strong with 20 solos, seven assists, and a sack the final three weeks so everything was forgiven.
Fast forward to 2011 where all the "experts" had Timmons locked in as an elite tier, can't miss, top five linebacker. There was very little reason to believe Timmons wasn't going to build on his 2010 numbers. He was "The Man" in Pittsburgh – the next great Steelers linebacker following in the footsteps of all-time greats. Week one rolls around and he blows the stat sheet up against the Ravens with ten solos and two assists. Everything seemed on track as the LB1 we drafted was panning out. The next week, five solos and three assists – an average game, nothing to worry about. Week three versus the Colts was a snooze fest. It was three and out after three and out, so the stat sheet was not kind to the IDP players. One solo, two assists was all Timmons could tally. Just a bad match up, nothing to worry about, right?
From weeks five through eight, things got real interesting for Timmons' owners. James Harrison, Pro Bowl outside linebacker, went down with an injury and Timmons was shifted into his spot. During those four games he TOTALED seven solos and five assists, including a week six goose egg. Everyone held their heads up though, Harrison was coming back in week nine and the Steelers were gonna get their uber-stud back on track. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Timmons slid back to his inside linebacker spot and continued his disappearing act. Only one more time in the 2011 season did he break double digit total tackles, which was in week 16.
Full article available here, writer goes into how the stats for Timmons were so different from 2010 - 2011...


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"The ballot is stronger than the bullet."
--Abraham Lincoln
Number 43-- George Walker Bush, that is-- was right about at least one thing during his time in the Oval Office. When you're President of these United States, you're the decider.
But there is a day that comes but once every four years when you, my fellow American citizens out there-- at least them that's bothered to register to vote!--get to be the decider and pull the lever or hang the chad or fill in the oval or tap the screen or do what-have-you to cast your votes for President and Vice President of this country, which we all agree is the last great hope for mankind.
If you can't be bothered and so don't bother to vote, then get at least this: In my book, if you don't vote, you don't get to complain when whoever wins does something you don't like. That goes for your opinions on the folks who voters will land in the White House but also your thoughts on those who will get sent to Congress and into state offices as well tomorrow.
Political parties aren't doing their job if they do not fight to win and all of us can join in!
As for me, I have the greatest respect for anyone who is politically active--be they officeholders or party hacks or, like me, fit in both those categories, or they are simply well-informed voters of whatever political persuasion. I have in fact learned I often have much more in common with members of the major political party I don't belong to as I do with citizens who don't belong to any party.
Be that as it may, the U.S. is a free country and those who make it so include of course everyone who has served in our Armed Forces, past and present, but also every single one of us who has not only exercised our right but carried out our responsibility to vote if for no other reason than to honor the sacrifices of all who fought or died to establish our nation and to preserve, protect and defend its Consitution over these past 221 years.
As for any and all of you who are still "undecided" about who to vote for, all I can say is I simply can't see how you can stand to be in such a lonely place!
Pinup artist Gil Elvgren's classic effort to get at least male voters thinking about election day still speaks louder than a thousand words...


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10 Stayman Winesap apples, sliced
1 cup apple cider
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 stick cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Place all ingredients in a 4 quart slow cooker. Cook on low for 10-12 hours. Vent by placing the lid on askew and cook on low for an additional 10-12 hours or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove the cinnamon stick then pour the mixture into the food processor and puree. Cool completely and refrigerate up to 3 weeks or ladle when warm into prepared jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace and process in a hot water canner for 10 minutes.
Yield: about 5 8-oz jars.
Note: A great source for canning information is the Blue Book guide to preserving. I highly recommend it for learning how to can. Here is a bunch of other canning books and equipment I find useful.


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|Attention: DocWiki has reached EOL and will be decommissioned January 25, 2019.
Call Server: ECC Variable Contents Truncated after Passing through Call Server
From DocWiki
Revision as of 18:51, 18 December 2009 by Docwikibot (Talk | contribs)
ECC Variable Contents Truncated after Passing through Call Server
|Problem Summary
|The contents of an ECC Variable configured in Script Editor are truncated after passing through the Call Server. For example, the Text-To-Speech (TTS) text that is spoken to the caller is not the complete text that was configured. Another example of this behavior is where there are media fetch failures and the URL to the media file is only a subset of the expected URL.
|Error Message
|Possible Cause
|The cause of this problem may be that the length of the ECC Variable value that was set in Script Editor is longer than the maximum length of the ECC Variable configured at setup time.
|Recommended Action
|The solution is to make the maximum length of the ECC Variables longer. This is done using the Unified ICME Configuration Manager. If you do alter the maximum length of ECC Variables, you need to restart the Call Server after making the change.
Note: In a NAM/ICM environment, the length needs to be identical on all NAM and Unified ICME environments or the variable will not pass.
|Release 7.0(2)
|Associated CDETS #


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Updated from 9:52 a.m. EST to provide analyst comments regarding manufacturing in the sixth paragraph.NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Apple ( AAPL) is certainly known for its innovation, and CEO Tim Cook is taking that innovation one step further -- he's bringing manufacturing back to the United States. In an interview with NBC's Brian Williams, Cook announced that one of Apple's Mac computers will be manufactured exclusively in the U.S. In another interview with Businessweek, Cook talked about Apple's manufacturing prowess in the United States, noting that parts of the iPhone and iPad are made in the U.S., and the glass is made in Kentucky, via Corning ( GLW). Cook noted, however, that he wants to do more and it will happen next year. "And next year we are going to bring some production to the U.S. on the Mac," Cook was quoted as saying. "We've been working on this for a long time, and we were getting closer to it. It will happen in 2013. We're really proud of it. We could have quickly maybe done just assembly, but it's broader because we wanted to do something more substantial. So we'll literally invest over $100 million. This doesn't mean that Apple will do it ourselves, but we'll be working with people, and we'll be investing our money." Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt noted this could be a financial-related move for Apple, given increased costs in emerging markets. Cook noted Apple will be working with a third-party manufacturer and McCourt suspected it may help cut down on shipping costs. "Shipping costs on Macs are likely much higher than on iPhone, iPad, iPod, or MacBooks due to their higher weight and volume," McCourt wrote in a research report. The news comes just a few days after some of the new iMacs, which Apple unveiled in October, were found to be assembled in the U.S. For Cook to bring some manufacturing back to the United States is a sign of good public relations, and perhaps a turn in the global economy. Most electronics are manufactured abroad, with most being manufactured in the Far East. Public perception is that consumers react better to products made locally than they do if they are made abroad, ceteris paribus. Perhaps the goodwill Apple builds by producing the computers domestically will be a boost to sales. Availability dates have been pushed back since Apple announced the new iMacs would be available for purchase by the end of November. The full interview with NBC's Williams airs tonight at 10 p.m. EST. -- Written by Chris Ciaccia in New York >Contact by Email. Follow @Commodity_Bull
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Nintendo doesn't have it easy these days. Mobile phones and tablets continue to peck away at its handheld consoles while the Wii, now nearly six years old, struggles to find new buyers among fierce competition from Microsoft and Sony.
As if that weren't enough, Nintendo is now paying for its negligence towards the gaming industry. The new controller has been met with skepticism, and the claims of better third-party support this time out have been met with shrugs. We've heard this song and dance before.
It's all seems very doom and gloom. Yet, in spite of this, I'm going to line up to buy a Wii U at launch – and if "gamer" is a label you're happy to claim, you should too. Here's why.
Enough Power To Please
The Internet's popular opinion about the Wii U's hardware is woefully miss-informed. I've read countless forum posts and website comments that firmly state the Wii U is just a minor upgrade to the Wii and no better than the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. That's nonsense.
We don't know exactly what is in the Wii U yet, but we do know it's a relatively new PowerPC processor paired with 2GB of RAM and a custom AMD Radeon GPU, most likely derived from the company's Evergreen architecture. For comparison, the Xbox 360 uses a graphics chip similar to AMD's Fudo architecture – which is five years older. Given the separation in architectures it would not be surprising if the raw power of the Wii U is three or four times that of an Xbox 360.
We don't need to rely on speculation, however. Nintendo has constantly demonstrated games running at 1080p, something current consoles aren't capable of (they render games at a lower resolution and up-scale to 1080p).
It's likely that the new consoles from Microsoft and Sony will be quicker, but that's okay. What's important is that Nintendo will finally have hardware that can do justice to the beautiful art found in its first-party titles.
An Excellent Launch Lineup
The Wii U hits store shelves on November 18th with an impressive selection of games — 23 will be available on launch day, and 51 titles in total are planned for the "launch window" that runs through March. Several of these are brand-new games that are launching exclusively for the Wii U. I'm personally looking forward to New Super Mario Bros. U, ZombiU and even Epic Mickey 2 (which will be released on all systems, but offer Wii U-specific features on the GamePad). These titles alone put the launch line-ups of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 to shame. I'm also looking forward to Rayman Legends, though it now looks like it may not make the November 18 release.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Nintendo is also launching with a generous selection of third-party titles including Assassin's Creed III, Darksiders II, Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Mass Effect 3. Most of these have been released, or will be released for other platforms, but their inclusion on the Wii U helps to beef up the console's appeal. And that goes double for me.
I haven't played several new console games because my Xbox 360 went kaput (for the third time) and was no longer covered under warranty. I couldn't find any reason why I should waste money replacing it when the Wii U was already announced and capable of playing the same games. My excitement might be less if Microsoft made reliable hardware.
Nintendo Can Take Over My Living Room
Nintendo TVii came out of nowhere. There was little to hint at its existence and then – boom! Nintendo drops the bomb just a few months before release.
TVii put the Wii U over the top for me. Since my Xbox 360 died, I've been using a Roku for my streaming needs. It works fine and I'd recommend it to anyone, but it's terribly simple. Scrolling through Netflix titles can take some time, and there's not much customization available. It works. And that's all it does.
The new controller must have given the guys at Logitech a heart-attack. It's taken them years to squeeze small touchscreens into their line of Harmony remotes. Then here comes Nintendo, tromping in with 6.2 touchscreen display that connects directly with streaming services (via the Wii U, of course), and can even be used to purchase new content.
Television via console is now Nintendo's game to lose. As long as the processor isn't too slow, as long as the touchscreen isn't unresponsive, as long as the software works right – it'll be great. And inexpensive, too, because there's no need for an additional subscription to access content you've already paid for. That's a lesson Microsoft should learn.
Backwards Compatibility
Buying a new console is often bitter-sweet. Yay, it's a new console… but now I have to buy all new peripherals and games. Ah, hell.
The Wii U doesn't ask so much from buyers. Most Wii accessories are compatible with it, as are most Wii games. Even software and save data downloaded to the Wii will be transferable to the Wii U. In a sense, the new console is more of an upgrade than an entirely new product. It adds new capabilities but also retains the functionality found in the old system.
Nintendo is not abandoning its family-friendly position. And that position is partially based on price. Asking a family to replace an old console with a new one – and three new controllers, plus any peripherals – is always a tall order. I'm happy I'm not going to have to re-purchase controllers when the next Mario Kart game comes out.
Yes, The Price Is Right
Nintendo's premium Wii U, which is the one you want, retails for $349. There have been the usual complaints, but they're only valid if you think coin is traded as freely in real life as it was in the last Mario game.
This entirely new console, which is more powerful than any other on the market today and comes with a 6.2" touchscreen controller, costs less at launch than either the Xbox 360 or PS3 did (by a huge margin in the case of the PS3). Even now it's only $100 more (in premium guise) than the current mid-range Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 bundle. This seems like a damn good deal. I seriously doubt that Nintendo is making any per-unit profit at this price.
And let's not forget that the Wii U is compatible with old controllers, which means current Wii owners don't have to pay anything extra for additional peripherals. The new Pro controller, which is tailored towards third-party games, is the only exception — but hopefully it will be sold at a price similar to the current Classic controller, which is $20.
Will the new console reverse Nintendo's fortunes? That's impossible to know. Its competitors have yet to reveal themselves, and long-term success depends on far more than a console's capabilities at launch.
Then again, speculation about profit margins won't make the Wii U more or less enjoyable. It is a game console. It should play games well, and it should have good games to play. The Wii U promises better gaming than any other console, and Nintendo has thrown in a tasty bonus with TVii. That's more than enough to get me in line. What about U?
Updated to fix a typo.
The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not reflect the beliefs of Digital Trends.


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Military pay and pension reform panel hears concerns in San Diego
By JENNIFER HLAD | STARS AND STRIPES Published: March 29, 2014
SAN DIEGO — The last time the military pay and retirement system saw a significant reform, Truman was president and gas cost a quarter a gallon. Since then, the demographics and culture of the military have changed dramatically, and many have proposed changes to the compensation and benefits system, but none have taken hold. Yet.
Now, an independent commission appointed by Congress is examining everything from recruitment to retirement, paychecks and housing allowance to health care, and will make recommendations early next year on how best to bring those systems into the 21st century.
First, though, the nine-member Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission is traveling the country, and talking to troops, veterans and spouses about what they want and what they don't.
The commission was not responsible for rolling back the cost of living adjustment cap for retirees under 62, or any of the other pay-and-benefits-related proposals in the fiscal 2015 budget, said commission chairman Alphonso Maldon Jr., a former assistant secretary of defense for force management and policy. But that didn't stop several veterans from taking the commission to task about some of Congress' recent actions.
As a moderator passed a microphone around to some of the three dozen people in a Carlsbad hotel conference center Tuesday evening, a retired Army veteran stood to say he takes exception to statements by Rep. Paul Ryan that younger military retirees don't live off of their military pensions.
The man said he had a very difficult time finding a job after he retired, and he bused tables while he went to night school to support himself.
Infantrymen, he said, "live a hard life, a dirty life." But they look forward to the fact that they will have a retirement plan and health care guaranteed for life, he said, and if Congress "messes with retirement," troops will leave.
The wife of a man who has served 39 years in the military said she also believes Congress must keep its promises to troops and their families. Young military spouses should not have to stand in line at the food bank to keep their families fed, she said, and families should be better compensated for the high costs of moving every few years.
Other active-duty and retired troops also offered suggestions for the commission to consider, including a 401(k) plan or guaranteed retirement account with matching funds, which could be used by troops who leave the military before the 20-year mark.
Still, the commission stressed, any changes in the retirement system will not affect current troops; active duty and already retired veterans are grandfathered into the current system.
On Wednesday, the commission hosted three Congressional hearing-style panel discussions at a hotel in San Diego.
One spirited discussion started with questions from commissioner and retired general Peter Chiarelli, the former vice chief of the Army.
Chiarelli said he went through a very extensive retirement physical at Walter Reed as he was leaving the Army, but when he arrived at his first VA appointment — in a city 50 miles from the city he lives in — he was told that the doctors there could not access the records of the physical and would need him to reschedule his appointment and bring in the paper copy.
"The medical records don't talk to each other," he said. "If you're going to have a seamless transition, it needs to be truly seamless."
Local VA and Navy medical representatives said the VA and military medical systems work together well in San Diego, but commissioner Christopher Carney, a former congressman, said that is not the case in other areas.
The system should just work without requiring ad hoc fixes like those here, he said.
The VA system "seems to be where we're not keeping faith with the troops," Carney said. "But the problem is so insidious that troops don't even know it's a problem."
In another panel, military leaders agreed that retirement plans are not high on the list of concerns for recruits and young servicemembers, though they appreciate it later in their careers.
"I don't think most people start thinking about retirement until they're past the halfway point," said Vice Adm. Thomas Copeman III, commander of the Navy's surface forces. What keeps sailors in the service, he said, is job satisfaction, engaged leadership, opportunities for advancement and being able to get the training and equipment they need to do their jobs well.
However, he said, the commission should consider a retirement system that rewards troops extra pay for the time they served deployed. Right now, troops who have deployed six and seven times get the same retirement pay as those who never left the United States. An increase for time served away would reward what the military values, Copeman said.
The commission also should consider fixes to smoothe the transition from the military world to the civilian sector — for retirees and for those who leave before retirement, retirees and active-duty career counselors said.
Patricia Reily, director of the Troops to Engineers program at San Diego State University and a retired Navy officer, said she has been able to place every one of her students in paid internships and jobs after they graduate. But, she said, most are not able to get any college credit for military training in their fields because of the way the military courses are designed.
Veterans and servicemembers in other fields echoed that sentiment, saying that certifications earned in the military rarely transfer for civilian jobs.
Additionally, Reily said, the way the promotion and education system is set up now actually discourages some troops from following their passions. Servicemembers know they have a better chance at promotion if they earn a degree, so they are apt to seek out the fastest and easiest programs, rather than those that might be more useful in the long-term, she said.
And many servicemembers don't want to stay in the same field when they leave the military, but aren't sure what path to take, said Maurice Wilson, president of National Veterans Transition Services, which offers three-week workshops for troops transitioning out of the military.
Senior Chief Petty Officer Michael Hill, the region career counselor for Navy Region Southwest, said the military system should take a life-cycle approach, perhaps making changes at the recruiting and retaining stages so that troops are better prepared when they leave the military, whether it's after four years or 40. Additionally, he said, troops need more transition support, even after they leave the service.
Throughout the hearings, commission members said that they are driven by a desire to improve the compensation and retirement programs, not simply to pinch pennies.
"The purpose of this commission is not driven by cost-cutting," Maldon said. "We know how important this is to our military members and their families … we're looking at this in the long term."
The commission was appointed by Congress last year and held its first town hall meeting in November. Commissioners also have met with active-duty troops, spouses and servicemembers getting ready to transition out of the military, and are conducting a worldwide survey of troops and their families. The commission will submit an interim report next month and a final report by Feb. 1, 2015.
Dov Zakheim, a commissioner who served as DOD comptroller during the George W. Bush administration, said he hopes the group can find ways to update outdated programs and improve what needs improving.
"The parts that aren't broken, we won't mess with," he said.
And once the report is complete, he said, "we're going to make sure that this thing gets seen and heard" and actually considered, he said.
The commission will hold its next public hearings at Fort Benning, Ga., in April. The public can leave comments for the commission at mcrmc.gov.
Twitter: @jhlad
Military leaders from the San Diego area speak to the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission on Wednesday in San Diego. From left are Command Master Chief Petty Officer Jody Lee McIntyre, Rear Adm. Mark Leavitt, Vice Adm. Thomas Copeman III, Col. Wayne Sinclair, Master Chief John Leavitt.


text:
Mustard yellow stud earrings - yellow post earrings - fabric button studs - yellow jewelry - bright white stripes - hypoallergenic studs
🍒 GET 15% OFF your first order - join KooKooCraft VIP club here: http://bit.ly/VIPlistKooKooCraft
🍒 get FREE SHIPPING for orders (only earrings, rings & hair ties) worth €30 or more (before shipping) - use coupon code FREESHIPPING30
Why wear mass produced jewelry, when you can wear jewelry that is one of a kind - just like you!
These handmade striped stud earrings in bright yellow and white are available in 3 sizes and really lightweight. They are sensitive ears friendly - earrings posts are made of quality hypoallergenic material - surgical stainless steel and are:
- nickel free,
- lead free and
- cadmium free.
- small: 5/8 inch (16mm) - pictured above on the card and on the white background
- medium: 7/8 inch (22mm) - pictured on the model
- large: 1 1/8 inch (29mm) - the same size as the ring
Yellow, black, red, green, light blue and dark blue.
These button earrings are the perfect gift for your mother, sister, daughter or girlfriend.
Choose you packaging - save with recycled one or make an impression with hand cut earrings card. Pick one of 6 options:
- thank you
- stay awesome
- stay fabulous
- bff
- i'm lucky to have you
- you're one of a kind (just like these)
or let me know if you would like a custom one.
MATCHING RING AVAILABLE. It will be made to order from the SAME FABRIC AS THE EARRINGS. This is an adjustable ring that fits everyone and the fabric part is the same size as large earrings - 1 1/8 inch (29 mm) - see the photo for the size reference.
See more handmade post earrings here: https://kookoocraft.patternbyetsy.com/
Photos by Kaptured studios, Alyssa Ryan Photography and KooKooCraft
★★★★★ Just received my 5th(!) pair of KooKooCraft's earrings. Even more beautiful than on a photo! :) Thank you!
★★★★★ These are so beautiful. I love them! Vlasta is an amazing seller to work with... Recommend her and her beautiful earrings.
★★★★★ Absolutely adorable. The pictures do not do them justice, they are even cuter in person!
★★★★★ I wear these earrings all the time! They are lightweight and you don't really feel them!
★★★★★ Easy to order, fast to ship. Will make a great Christmas present.
★★★★★ Beautiful earrings! I have received many compliments already! Arrived very quickly, great price, will buy again and recommend to friends. Wonderful to receive such a lovely product from far away!
★★★★★ Exactly as described. Love these and will look to buy more in the future.
★★★★★ Absolutely gorgeous quality product! Thank you! Easy transaction, Reliable seller; If you buy from her you're in good hands! :)
★★★★★ As always, these earrings are great. They're so easy to put on and comfortable to wear.
★★★★★ Beautiful earrings, great quality, prompt postage and cute packaging. Very happy!
★★★★★ Thank you for my gorgeous earrings! Vlasta was a pleasure to deal with, very good communication & bent over backwards with her customer service! Will be purchasing more from you in the future.
★★★★★ Very elegant and distinguished:) I always get compliments on them:)
★★★★★ I've ordered from the seller before, and as before everything was super cute/pretty & well made!
★★★★★ Just a perfect gift for my friend, who lives in abroad. Seller was very kind and flexible and sent the earrings directly to my friend. I love the colorful and cute pieces from KooKooCraft.
Please make your payment in 24 hours after placing your order. You can do it by bank transfer (in EUR), credit cards or Paypal.
All major credit cards will be processed through Etsy or PayPal, a secure way of processing transactions online. Don't worry if you don't have a PayPal account - you don't need it. When you are about to pay in the PayPal secure page just pick the option to pay with your credit or bank card.
All items are shipped with priority airmail in the next two days after Etsy processes your order (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays).
COMBINED SHIPPING: When buying multiple items, shipping is discounted and combined - you pay only the shipping costs for one product (the heavier one), any additional items you purchase are of no additional shipping fee.
- to Slovenia: 0,60 €
- worldwide: 3 €
If you have any other wishes regarding the shipping, please contact me before purchase.
Shippings to Europe normally arrive in less then a week, while shippings to USA and Australia mostly take about 14 days to arrive (but can take longer in case of custom inspection, holiday season etc).
I will send your package to Etsy address, so please make sure that it is correct. in case of mistake please send me a convo immediately after placing your order.
Please note that I am not responsable for any customs charges and/or local taxes, if and when applicable.
I try to package all orders in the spirit of upcycling whenever possible.
If you are BUYING MULTIPLE ITEMS and would like to have them packaged separately (for example if you are buying presents for more people), please let me know.
Just contact me within: 14 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 21 days of delivery
Request a cancellation within: 1 hours of purchase
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can't accept returns for:
Please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
If you are not happy with your purchase, please let me know. I'm sure we can figure something out.
Buyer has the right to return unused products (unless they are custom-made) within 14 days after receipt of the goods. He/she also bears the shipping cost related to returning goods.
Larger quantities can be bought at wholesale price. For more information please send me a message.
To fulfil your order, you provide me with certain information (which you authorized Etsy to provide to me), such as your name, email address, postal address, payment information, and the details of the product that you're ordering. You may also choose to provide me with additional personal information (for a custom order of jewelry, for example), if you contact me directly.
I rely on a number of legal bases to collect, use, and share your information, including:
- as needed to provide my services, such as when I use your information to fulfil your order, or to provide customer support;
- when you have provided your affirmative consent, which you may revoke at any time, such as by signing up for my mailing list;
- if necessary to comply with a legal obligation or court order or in connection with a legal claim, such as retaining information about your purchases if required by tax law; and
as necessary for the purpose of my legitimate interests, if those legitimate interests are not overridden by your rights or interests, such as 1) providing and improving my services. I use your information to provide the services you requested and in my legitimate interest to improve my services; and 2) Compliance with the Etsy Seller Policy and Terms of Use. I use your information as necessary to comply with my obligations under the Etsy Seller Policy and Terms of Use.
Information about my customers is important to my business. I share your personal information for very limited reasons and in limited circumstances, as follows:
- Etsy. I share information with Etsy as necessary to provide you my services and comply with my obligations under both the Etsy Seller Policy and Etsy Terms of Use.
- Service providers. I engage certain trusted third parties to perform functions and provide services to my shop, such as delivery companies. I will share your personal information with these third parties, but only to the extent necessary to perform these services.
- Compliance with laws. I may collect, use, retain, and share your information if I have a good faith belief that it is reasonably necessary to: (a) respond to legal process or to government requests; (b) enforce my agreements, terms and policies; (c) prevent, investigate, and address fraud and other illegal activity, security, or technical issues; or (d) protect the rights, property, and safety of my customers, or others.
I retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to provide you with my services and as described in my Privacy Policy. However, I may also be required to retain this information to comply with my legal and regulatory obligations, to resolve disputes, and to enforce my agreements. I generally keep your data for the following time period: 10 years.
I may store and process your information through third-party hosting services in the US and other jurisdictions. As a result, I may transfer your personal information to a jurisdiction with different data protection and government surveillance laws than your jurisdiction. If I am deemed to transfer information about you outside of the EU, I rely on Privacy Shield as the legal basis for the transfer, as Google Cloud is Privacy Shield certified.
If you reside in certain territories, including the EU, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal information. While some of these rights apply generally, certain rights apply only in certain limited cases. I describe these rights below:
- Access. You may have the right to access and receive a copy of the personal information I hold about you by contacting me using the contact information below.
- Change, restrict, delete. You may also have rights to change, restrict my use of, or delete your personal information. Absent exceptional circumstances (like where I am required to store data for legal reasons) I will generally delete your personal information upon request.
- Object. You can object to (i) my processing of some of your information based on my legitimate interests and (ii) receiving marketing messages from me after providing your express consent to receive them. In such cases, I will delete your personal information unless I have compelling and legitimate grounds to continue using that information or if it is needed for legal reasons.
- Complain. If you reside in the EU and wish to raise a concern about my use of your information (and without prejudice to any other rights you may have), you have the right to do so with your local data protection authority.
If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact me at kookoocraft at gmail.com.
V. Merc
Povodnova 10, Ptuj, Slovenia


text:
In the town I'm in they have an evening Christmas Parade
Hard thing is,
to get photos or videos you have to have the right light.
I finally had to start going more up the street where the
street lights were.
When Santa came I kept getting him turned waving the other
way finally, I decided just to follow the procession and see
if I could get a better picture of Santa.
Not sure if I was able to get a good pic or not, I'll have to
review my SD card and see later.
Have you seen any good floats,
they did have a Grinchy Float though.


text:
LightSwitch Community Links and Resources
I've been trying to stay on top of the forming LightSwitch community and have been collecting a list of bloggers and community resources that talk about LightSwitch. It's exciting to see people so enthusiastic about the product. I'm sure I haven't spotted them all but here are some notable bloggers & emerging communities about LightSwitch…. Read more
- Tags: Community, DevCenter, LightSwitch


text:
As high school freshmen, Brittany Dorsett and Brendon Richards were bright and articulate.
But because of family issues, the likelihood that either would make it to college wasn�t the best.
Dorsett�s parents were divorced. She and her three siblings were raised by their mother, who worked as a teacher�s assistant. Money was tight.
�We were really stretched,� Dorsett said.
Meanwhile, Richards went through a bout with cancer as a child, his experience leaving the family with significant medical bills.
�Supporting me through college was going to be an issue,� he said.
But with their high school careers drawing to a close, both Dorsett and Richards are both looking forward to college. Dorsett � a rising senior at River Mill Academy � plans to apply to Yale and is confident she�ll be accepted. Richards � a soon-to-be senior at Eastern Alamance � plans to study nursing at UNC Greensboro.
Both are enrolled in the Elon Academy and praise the program for their confidence that a successful college venture awaits them.
�My dream of going to college has really bloomed,� Dorsett said.
�It sounds weird, but we all bond like a family,� Richards said of Elon Academy scholars. �We push one another to do our best.�
ELON ACADEMY is an intensive, four-phase college access and success program based on academic enrichment, leadership development, service learning and family involvement. It�s located on the campus of Elon University.
The program is not funded by Elon University, money to operate it instead coming from gifts and donations.
Recruited are academically promising high school students with limited income and/or no family history of college. The Academy is a multi-year, year-round program beginning in the summer after the ninth grade and continuing to and through college.
Scholars attend classes one month each summer and meet once a month the rest of the year as part of a Saturday Academy to discuss their possible college homes and more. Family involvement is crucial.
Summer classes � now taking place � are taught by college professors and select high school teachers. There are no grades, no worries about GPAs.
As Richards put it: �It�s learning for the sake of learning.�
Classwork goes beyond reading, writing and arithmetic. One course offering is titled �Life of a Pizza� where students harvest some of their pizza ingredients and eventually bake their own pies.
Other classes are titled �The Brain� and �Critical Thinking,� while a few are of the more traditional bent � trigonometry and criminal justice, included.
Scholars are housed on the Elon University campus for the summer coursework.
DEBORAH LONG is director of the Academy. She said it was the brainchild of Elon University President Leo Lambert, the concept conceived following reports in 2006 of the state threatening to close nearby Cummings High School because of the low performance of its students.
Lambert wanted to help.
�He wanted us to develop a college access program,� she said.
The Academy was modeled in part on programs at Furman and Princeton universities where administrators had initiated efforts to help at-risk high school students find a way to college. Partnerships with the Alamance-Burlington School System and Elon University�s School of Education have been vital to the Academy�s success.
Its first class began in 2007 and the program has succeeded tremendously. The Academy is a seven-year program, with a new class of about 25 coming aboard each year. Scholars are phased from high school to college life. They bond with one another.
Their work is challenging, but fun.
�I wouldn�t be where I�m at today if it weren�t for the Academy,� said Brittney Burnette, a graduate of Williams High and rising senior at East Carolina where she�s majoring in criminal justice.
�The Academy exposed me to so many colleges, to a new way of life.�
Burnette was a member of the Academy�s first class. She�s working there this month as a mentor � helping guide high school scholars the way she was guided.
Desmond Harrell is a graduate of Cummings, now a rising junior at Elon University where he�s majoring in art. He said when a high school guidance counselor first mentioned the Academy to him, he thought it was a program aimed only at helping him improve his academics.
�It�s so much more,� Harrell said. �I grew a lot. I used to be a troubled student at times. I�ve completely turned that around.�
Like Burnette, he�s working this month as a tutor at the Academy, making efforts to give back a little to a program that offered him so much.
�I knew I wanted to go to college,� Harrell said. �I didn�t know how I was going to get in.�
ONE OF the requirements of those accepted to the Academy (there are usually four applicants for every opening) is that they remain with the program through both high school and college. Burnette said that promise is a snap. She plans to give far more to the Academy.
�I look at it as a lifetime commitment,� she said. �I�ve made a lifetime bond with the others in my class.�
�It�s like a fraternity or sorority, but with a different outcome,� Harrell said. �They challenge you.�
�They challenge you to expand,� Burnette continued. �Don�t settle for less than your best.�
The program continues to grow. In 2012, the Elon Academy Ambassadors Program was launched, its goal to partner with elementary and middle school students in Alamance County to promote college access awareness.
Darris Means is associate director of Elon Academy. He graduated from Elon University in 2005, then earned a masters degree at Clemson. He�s been with Elon Academy almost from the get-go.
�We�re really prepping them to go to college and be successful in life,� Means said of the Academy�s scholars.
The residential component of the program mirrors college life, providing exposure to academic classes, co-curricular and cultural experiences as well as college planning and college visits. This past week, one group of scholars spent a day visiting the campuses of UNC-Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University. Another group was bused to Boone for a look at Appalachian State.
Academy graduates have been accepted to 62 colleges and universities. For assorted reasons, a handful of Academy scholars haven�t worked out � a very few dropping out or asked to leave.
As Means put it, some Academy requirements are non-negotiable. Abide by those rules or leave.
But for the vast majority who have remained with the Academy and graduated high school, all have been accepted to college. On that level, the Academy has a 100 percent rate.
In college, Academy scholars have a 96 percent persistence rate � meaning that percentage have either graduated or are still in school.
�We�re really excited to see how well our students have done,� Means said.


text:
IT Crisis Management
Information systems have become vital arteries for the modern state, society and the economy. System failures can be threatening and might have existential consequences. Under the auspices of BSI are four main entities responsible for the German IT crisis management :
- CERT-Bund (national Computer Emergency Response Team),
- IT Situation Centre (monitoring and early warning),
- IT Crisis Reaction Centre (national crisis management) and
- Cyber Response Centre (cooperation with other federal agencies).


text:
- Home
- About BSME
- Calendar
- Accreditation
- School Search
- Associate Search
- Become a Member
- People
- Events
- Annual Conference
- Sponsors & Links
- Contact Us
New Cairo British International School
PO Box 9057
Nasr City
w: www.ncbis.co.uk
e: email@example.com
t: +20 (0)2 2617 1115
The contact for this post is Miss Sue Holt
Our school could not be more aptly named. We are 'New Cairo' to reflect our location in a wonderful part of Cairo but we are also new in attitude as we constantly strive to be at the vanguard of educational provision.
At NCBIS your child will receive an education based on the best of British values and traditions but one that is also designed to foster an international mindset. This is manifested in our formal curriculum which fuses the best of British and international programmes to allow our students to acquire the appropriate balance of knowledge, understanding and enquiry based skills to succeed at university and beyond.
Our Primary school students follow the Primary Years Programme (PYP), a course of study that 'prepares students to be active participants in a lifelong journey of learning'. The Dutch stream, an integral part of our school history and culture, also bases their curriculum on the PYP but modify it where necessary. In Key Stage 3, the first three years of secondary school, we offer the English National Curriculum leading to the IGCSE / GCSE examinations in Key Stage 4. Our senior students have the opportunity to take the prestigious IB Diploma, an internationally renowned programme of study that opens the doors to the best universities in the UK and around the world.
None of this would be possible without teachers of the highest calibre, recruited from the best UK and international schools worldwide. In all our endeavours we are fortunate to receive tremendous parental support. We foster a sense of community and understand that positive home-school links are key to our success. We proudly celebrate our successes but at the same time we are proactive and forward-looking and realize that change and improvement must be constant.
There is no substitute for seeing a school at first hand so I extend to you the warmest of welcomes to come and visit us at the school. Our doors are always open to you.
Teacher of Germanfor August 2017
For more details, please see our recruitment page at :
New Cairo British International School Road 17, 1st District, 3rd Zone
5th Settlement
New Cairo
Phase(s) of Education
Secondary / Senior (i.e. England: years 7-13; ages 11-19)
Level of Position
Class Teacher
Subject Area(s) of Interest


text:
This feature was first born in 2008 and I have been neglecting asking TCers about their fave monthly tea for a while. So way back then I asked ...
Welcome one and all to TeaDay, so pour a pot of brew and come share what is in your cup through out the day. Of course, be certain to check out what everyone else is sipping as well.
Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic is the start of a new tradition. At the start of each month, I will ask what your fave tea was the previous month. How I ask it, may vary however. Today, I ask first of all, what type is it, then share something more about it, hopefully including why this topped your list for the month.
So, reflect about last month's teas, and share with us.
I am anxious to hear about your fave tea for November and the first half of December (and start thinking about what starred for 2012) ... and to hear what is in your cup today!
Bottoms up!


text:
Major macro economic indicatorS
|2018 (f)
|GDP growth (%)
|Inflation (yearly average) (%)
|Budget balance* (% GDP)
|Current account balance (% GDP)
|Public debt (% GDP)
*(f): Forecast
- Diversified economy
- High quality infrastructures thanks to European funds
- Integrated within the European production chain
- Trained workforce
- Low corporate taxation
- Generally positive payment behaviour
- Ageing population, low birth rate, high emigration
- Regional disparities; lack of mobility Deficiencies in vocational education
- Poor levels of innovation and R&D
- Limited room for manoeuvre in terms of budget
- High debt level of companies (although falling)
- Fragility of the banking sector (public and private)
- Energy dependence: 50% of needs imported; 40% from Russia alone
Investment and consumption take a lead on growth
After switching to the new European Structural and Investment Fund's plan in 2016, along with other CEE countries, Hungary obtained less funding from the EU, which led to a net deficit in investment. The situation began to improve in 2017, with a surge of fixed asset investments. Most of these were fuelled by a boost in EU co-financed projects, but other investments increased as well, including in manufacturing (e.g. automotive, IT equipment). Further capacity upgrades are expected.
On the consumer side, household spending continues to benefit from rising employment and higher wages. The unemployment rate dropped below 4% in 2017, and wages as a whole have benefitted from both increases of both minimum wage and guaranteed minimum wages for skilled workers. Wages are driven by a tight labour market: labour shortages have become a significant constraint for many companies, particularly regarding skilled employees, with skill mismatches on the labour market. An expected further tightening of the labour market will likely feed the ongoing rise of wages, at a rate that is likely to exceed both productivity and GDP growth. Despite this, the country continues to benefit from lower labour costs than Western Europe, helping it attract foreign investments. Rising wages have increased inflationary pressures and the central bank will likely become less accommodating.
The increased wage bill is partly offset by the reduction of corporate tax to 9%: the lowest rate in Europe. This measure mainly benefits mid-sized Hungarian and foreign-owned companies with more than EUR 2 million in revenue. Effective tax rates for large foreign multinationals in Hungary, especially German carmakers, had already been heavily reduced by subsidies and tax concessions. Small firms benefit from a lower tax rate of 10%. Exports are supported by favourable perspectives of the country's main trade partners, and the high share of the automotive industry in terms of total exports is expected to strengthen, thanks to further improvements in manufacturing capacity.
Budget deficit widens on further spending
Despite being consolidated in the year to 2015, the general government deficit has increased, reaching 1.7% in 2016 and 2.0% in 2017. Although investment expenditures decreased and revenues benefited from increased wage-related tax receipts, government spending increased due to capital transfers and the public wage bill. Tax cuts and a further increase of expenditure, ahead of the April 2018 parliamentary elections, have increased the public deficit, which is expected to reach 2.4% of GDP in 2018. In the run-up to the elections, the government increased public spending, with rising public sector wages, increased infrastructure spending, and tighter border security to curb unauthorised immigration. The deficit level is subject to the inflow of funds from the EU, which are predominantly used to co-finance infrastructure building projects. Spending on investments could be reduced as a result of delays in implementation, therefore making the deficit lower than expected.
Viktor Orban & Fidesz: four more years
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his conservative Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Union (Fidesz) party were re-elected for a third four-year term in the April 2018 elections. After a strong nationalist anti-immigrant campaign in opposition to the EU on the dispersal of migrants, Fidesz obtained a landslide victory, with two thirds of the seats in Parliament. The election was marked by an exceptionally high turnout: 68%, the highest since 1994.This absolute majority in Parliament will allow the government to push through key legislation without needing cross-party agreement, and increase its control over state institutions. Some of the new legislations are likely to target NGOs supporting refugees, on which Viktor Orbán centred his criticisms during the campaign. A number of sectoral taxes, which were criticised by the European Commission for mainly targeting foreign-owned operators, are also expected to remain in place. These include an advertising tax on media, a retail tax, and a tax on energy sector entities if they do not invest in Hungary. In this context, relations with the European Commission will likely remain tense.
Last update : June 2018
Bills of exchange and cheques are not commonly used since their validity depends on compliance with several formal issuing requirements. Nevertheless, both forms of payment, when dishonoured or duly protested, allow creditors recourse to a summary procedure to obtain an injunction to pay.
The promissory note "in blanco" (üres átruházás,a blank promissory note) – which constitute an incomplete payment deed when issued – is not widely used in Hungary. This is because it qualifies as a negotiable document (securities), which may be transferred by endorsement plus transfer of possession of the document (subsequent to a blank endorsement, only delivery is needed).
Bank transfers are by far the most common payment method. After successive phases of privatisation and concentration, the main Hungarian banks are now connected to the SWIFT network, which provides low cost, flexible, and speedy processing of domestic and international payments. Furthermore, SEPA transfers are also a popular mean of payment because of the developing banking network.
Debt collection
Amicable phase
Where possible, it is advisable to avoid taking legal action locally due to the formalism of legal procedures and rather lengthy court proceedings: it takes one to two years to obtain a writ of execution.
Since 2014, interest is due from the day after the payment date stipulated in the commercial contract and, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the applicable rate will be the base rate of the issuer in force on the first day of the reference half-year period, plus 8%.
It is advisable to seek an amicable settlement based on a payment schedule drawn up by a public notary, who includes an enforcement clause that allows creditors, in case of default by the debtor, to proceed directly to the enforcement stage; subject to acknowledgement by the court of the payment agreement's binding nature.
From 2009, considering trade companies, a mediation to solve an out-of-court settlement must be held by the parties prior to commencing legal proceedings.
Injunction of payment and European Injunction of Payment
When in possession of a due and payable debt instrument (acknowledgement of debt, unpaid bill of exchange, dishonoured cheque, etc.), creditors may obtain an injunction to pay (fizetési meghagyás), using a pre-printed form. This more efficient and less expensive summary procedure now allows the notary – if he considers the petition justified – to grant an injunction, without hearing the defendant. The defendant is then instructed to pay both the principal and legal costs within fifteen days of the serving of the ruling (or within three days for an unpaid bill of exchange).
When the debtor has assets in other European Union (EU) member states, a European Payment Order procedure facilitating the recovery of undisputed debts may be triggered.
This type of legal action has become mandatory for all claims up to one million Hungarian forints (HUF) – about EUR 3,400– and is conducted digitally from beginning to end as of 2010. As a result, ordinary proceedings cannot be started if the claim is purely monetary and inferior to this EUR 3,400 limit.
Since 2010, the injunction to pay is carried out by public notaries in order to reduce the workload of the courts. Although not mandatory, the presence of a lawyer is advisable for this type of procedure.
Legal proceedings
Ordinary proceedings
In case of objection by the debtor, the case is treated as a dispute and transferred to ordinary court proceedings. The parties will then be summoned to one or more hearings to plead their respective cases.
Ordinary proceedings are partly in writing – with the parties or their attorneys filing submissions accompanied by all supporting case documents (original or certified copies) – and partly oral, with the litigants and their witnesses presenting their cases during the main hearing.
As of 2011, cases exceeding a value of HUF 400 million (approximately EUR 1.6 million) must be swiftly handled by the courts via shortened legal processes. At any stage of such proceedings and where possible, the judge may attempt to achieve conciliation between the opponents.
It is relatively common practice to immediately issue a winding up petition against the debtor so as to prompt a speedier reaction or payment. This practice was sanctioned by the 2007 amendment to the Hungarian bankruptcy law, which authorised creditors to issue a winding up petition against a debtor only in they received no response nor payment from the debtor within 20 days of sending a formal notice.. In practice, however, it is simple to request the liquidation of a debtor, and creditors regularly use this as a tool in the negotiation process
Commercial disputes are heard either by the district courts (járásbíróság), set up in commercial chambers, or by legal tribunals (törvényszék), depending on the size of the claim. Payment claims up to HUF 30 million belong to district courts on first instance; above this rate, regional courts are the first instance for these cases. Insolvency procedures and enforcement belong to regional courts at first instance by default.
Enforcement of a court decision
When all appeal venues have been exhausted, a domestic judgment becomes enforceable. It the debtor fails to satisfy the judgment, the creditor can either request an enforcement order from the court, or for a specific performance (payment) through a bailiff, who will implement the different measures necessary to enforce compliance (from seizure of bank accounts to foreclosing real estate).
Regarding foreign decisions, those rendered in an EU country will benefit from special enforcement conditions such as the European Enforcement Order when the claim is undisputed. Nevertheless, for decisions rendered in a non-EU country, Hungarian law provides for a reciprocity principle: the issuing country must be part of a bilateral or multilateral agreement with Hungary.
Insolvency proceedings
Out-of-court proceedings
Even though Hungarian law does not provide formal out-of-court proceedings, private and informal negotiations are held between creditors and debtors in order to avoid judicial insolvency proceedings. This constitutes a practical approach in order to avoid liquidation. If an agreement is reached, they can request the suspension of a judicial proceeding until the agreement is respected.
Restructuring the debt
Under Hungarian law, restructuring is not formally regulated, even though the Hungarian Bankruptcy Act regulates all insolvency processes, including specific deadlines, legal requirements, and rights and obligations for participants. Instead, both bankruptcy and liquidation proceedings offer a debtor company a chance of survival by restructuring its debt in a composition agreement in a ninety-day stay. It is extremely rare to conclude a liquidation process with a surviving company, as the aim of the proceedings is by nature not one of restructuring.
From this point onwards, the acts of the debtor are overseen by an administrator. The reorganization agreement must be validated by a majority of creditors and the court must also approve the plan. If a compromise is not reached, the court will terminate the proceedings and declare the debtor insolvent.
Proceedings may be initiated upon demand of either the debtor or the creditor, and a liquidator is subsequently appointed. Creditors must lodge their claim within 40 days of the commencement of the proceedings in order to be listed in the table of creditors and consequently receive a part of the proceeds. The liquidator will then assess the debtor's economic situation together with the claims, and then provide the court with recommendations on how the assets should be distributed.
All insolvency procedures are validated by court, but there are very few checks in place that prevent creditors from liquidating their companies, which makes it a very easy and common practice for failed businesses, hence the relatively high number of insolvencies in Hungary.


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Talk:Cantonese phrasebook
The phrase list here is terrible! Cantonese has 6 or 7 tones to go with the sounds. If you don't get the tones, you will not be understood. Why is this section so poor compared to the Chinese phrasebook? There they use standard pinyin and explanations of the tones.
There are standard systems for Cantonese as well. It's harder than Putonghua for sure, but worth doing right.
I belive the tones from 1-6 would be very simple and effective, the Yale ones are screwed and ineficent Enlil Ninlil 23:44, 21 Feb 2006 (EST)
nobody really says 你好to say hello. they usually say 吃了反没. if u say 你好, u will sound like a foreigner.
CantonesePod 23:44, 21 Feb 2008 (EST)
This is not true. We Cantonese say 你好 nei5 hou2 a lot. It is quite useful when you do not know or are not sure how to address the other person. We used to use 吃了反没 to greet each other when many people did not have enough to eat. Now all has changed and Cantonese eat way too much and may need to be on diet now.
I think you should use Jyutping to write this article. Also, much of the romanization is incorrect. Several of the phrases have incorrect characters, also.
Romanization discussion moved[edit]
Yes, Jyutping is more popular and better to use CantonesePod 12:16, 18 June 2008 (EDT) Google Yale and Jyutping and you'll know Jyuting is more popular. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Yale+Cantonese+Pronunciation http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Jyutping+Cantonese+Pronunciation shows big difference.
So we need to change the pronunciation for the phrases here to Jyutping.
The initial j represents /j/ in Jyutping while y is used instead in Yale. The initial z represents /ts/ in Jyutping while j is used instead in Yale. The initial c represents /tsʰ/ in Jyutping while ch is used instead in Yale.
I know that Yale is old and has long history, but the popularity of the New Jyutping is overpassing the Yale system and we believe that Jyutping is good for us promote Cantonese.
"It is multifunctional, systematic, user-friendly, compatible with all possible modern Cantonese sounds, and solely based on alphanumeric characters without any diacritics and strange symbols. Jyutping can also be used as a Chinese computer input method. Its basic principles are simple, easy to learn, and professional. " ( http://lshk.ctl.cityu.edu.hk/cantonese.php ). Let's support the hard work of The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) and be united under Jyutping.
I moved this from the article page here — Ravikiran 08:05, 30 September 2007 (EDT)
Choose the best Romanisation system for Cantonese!! Yale Cantonese is current and used in the vast majority of existing texts. (Try finding LSHK material outside of Hong Kong.) The best phonetic system is Yale Cantonese, developed by experts in linguistics, and intended for native English speakers trying to learn Cantonese, not by some scholars in the East who are away from the majority of English speaking people. Just watch out for LSHK supporters such as the one above who probably is a native Cantonese speaker (just like the creators of LSHK) and therefore wouldn't have a clue what it's like trying to learn Cantonese without a native speaking background.
Yale Cantonese.
Just as the most predominant form of Mandarin romanisation is called Pinyin, the most modern, most accepted, and more importantly the most correct form of Cantonese romanisation is Yale Cantonese.
Special note to the person who previously edited this document. You must familiarise yourself with Yale Cantonese! Some of your notions such as the use of "J" for a "y" sound, the use of "c" to indicate "ch" sound, and in particular the use of "Z" (something from pinyin) are just horrifically unintuitive and least indicative of the closest english sounds for speaking Cantonese. To make matters worse, you were also incredibly inconsistent with your romanisation, and a number of your tones were just plain wrong. You are going to cause nothing but total confusion to the beginner. Please learn how to speak cantonese properly, and then learn how to romanise properly. Remember: Yale Cantonese.
Apologies if this is not the appropriate place for this notice, but I could see no other way of making this important point.
For the beginner interested in learning Cantonese, I'd strongly advise finding a text that utilises Yale Cantonese. Fortunately the majority do anyway, but there are a number of other systems out there. Some simply use English to approximate sounds, and then rely on audio to teach the exact sounds. One example is http://www.learnchineseez.com/lessons/cantonese/ which might be a good choice for complete newbies, or those wishing to only learn enough Cantonese for traveling.
I'm a new learner of Cantonese and I find that Yale romanisation to be easier to pick-up to learn to pronunciation of words. I still rely on a native speaker to correct me, but during self-learning it's definitely easier and more intuitive than Jyutping. I thought as user, it would be helpful to have my vote. Thanks for putting your time into this. It's much appreciated.
Use of numbers in jyutping tones:[edit]
To my way of thinking, the use of numbered tones is the greatest weakness of the jyutping system.
Cantonese has too many tones ; if you want people to learn it you have to simplify the learning not emphasize its difficulty . Numbers are keynoard-friendly, not speach-friendly. I have no idea how anyone would develop a speaking fluency trying to read around the flood of numbers in
"Cheng2 man6 jau5 mou5 jan4 sik1 gong2 jing1 man2 aa3?" .
In self-study times, the numbers defeat the purpose of romanisation, which is to enable one to
READ aloud the written word. They also encourage the common mistake of reading individual words rather
than combining them into terms and phrases . Example : in the Yale version " gwong2 jau1 wa2 " doesn't read like the spoken " gwóngjàuwá " .
The accents (diacritics) show the direction of the tone-pitch intuitively and can be read without thinking 'back into English" when trying to remember whether jau-"one" is the high-falling jau or the high-level-tone jau . Even with 4-tone Mandarin pinyyin I find the / and \ and ^ symbols far better for speach, and use the numbers only for keyboarding. Incidentally, the yale "h" marker for a low-tone was an invention of genius. It allows the reader to deal with 3 diacritics ( - , / and \) and clearly signals a low starting-pitch.
The learner quickly tires of hearing "how difficult Cantonese is because it has 6 or 9 tones". Stop making Chinese learners out to be geniuses , and help them to speak . I learned to speak a few understandable sentences in 3-6 months using {Yale} romanisation and a few cassette tapes. The computer age should make things easier, not harder !
126.96.36.199 03:23, 28 November 2008 (EST)John
A job well done[edit]
I have looked at the Cantonese phrase book and I think it is very good.
My opinion is that the Yale system is the best Romanization system, if only because it is the most widely used. I have copies of almost every Cantonese language course and the Yale system is the most popular system, by far. It is the preferred system used by Routledge in their very popular course, "Colloquial Cantonese: a complete language course - by Keith ST Tong, Gregory James". It is also used by the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Given that many (most?) travellers will encounter the Yale system, I would argue that we stick with Yale and also edit the Hong Kong pages of Wikitravel to use the Yale system.
If there are no objections, I will re-edit the Hong Kong pages, using the Yale system sometime in August. Herngong 11:09, 17 April 2009 (EDT)


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3 1/3 cup flour
1 1/3 cup milk
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
3 tablespoons vanilla paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
chocolate cream cheese frosting
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour or spray with baking spray two 8 inch round pans. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and egg yolks, mix until well combined. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. Add the vanilla paste to the milk. Mixing continuously, add the flour and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Divide evenly into the prepared pans and bake about 40 minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Cool on wire rack, removing from the pans after about 5 minutes. Cool completely then ice.


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DOS Architects is a young practice with a growing reputation for delivering creative, innovative and seamless work both in the UK and abroad. DOS Architects' directors, Lorenzo Grifantini and Tavis Wright, both worked at some of the world's most prestigious Architectural firms before starting their own practice in 2004. Their intention was to create a new work environment in which their personal creative visions could thrive. Since then DOS architects has grown exponentially, and has completed private and commercial projects in a variety of countries, ranging from Europe to Africa and the Middle East.
They aim to always produce above-expectation results with their professional approach, cutting-edge technology and the imaginative flair they dedicate to each and every one of their projects. Be it a private residence in London or a large mixed use Master-plan in Riyadh (see images), their success to date rests on a strong understanding of the country they are working in fused with a close and intuitive appreciation of their client's needs.
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Constanţa (prounounced Constantza) is a coastal Black Sea town in southern Dobruja, Romania, the second most important city in the country and, during summer, a beautiful touristic city. It is the capital of the Constanta county and Romania's largest seaport, a great city to begin to explore the wonders of the sea.
Constanta, being founded as a city almost 2600 years ago, is the oldest attested city in Romania, is the biggest port at the Black Sea (third largest in Europe) and and is also the third largest city in Romania with its 400,000 inhabitants. Constanta was founded by the Greeks as a port on the Black Sea Coast for trading with inland people and called Tomis (VIth c. BC). The city was renamed later after Constantina, niece of Constantine the Great (274-337). It was still a flourishing port city in the Xth and XIth centuries trading with the Byzantine Empire and the city of Genoa.
Get in
You can get to Constanta by land, air, and water.
By car
The most popular route is the Bucharest-Constanta A2 highway. The highway currently ends at the city of Cernavoda but it should be completed by 2013. There is a tax of 5 lei (1.1 EUR) to cross the bridge system over the Danube. In the summer of 2011 the Constanta Bypass was partially opened as a highway and also half of the Medgidia-Constanta highway. The Bypass and the Medgidia-Constanta highway are expected to be fully finished by November 2011.
The roads are good in Constanta compared to the rest of the country. But beware of speed bumps and speed traps in the center which are meant for reducing the speed of cars.
By bus
There are daily buses that connect Constanta with the rest of the country. There is a bus to Bucharest leaving every 45 minutes from the Railway Station (also called Autogara) [3] that takes up to 3,5 hours and is less expensive than the train, but slower than the trains (see section below). There are also several daily buses leaving from Constanta to Istanbul from the Railway Station. The duration is less than 12 hours and the prices for 2011 are 200 RON (48 Euros) a return ticket, including 1 night accommodation in Istanbul. [4] There are as well buses to Thessaloniki in Greece, Chisinau in Moldova and some buses to Varna in Bulgaria. One can also take a bus to Ostrov-Vama (5 Euros), which is a village near the border with Bulgaria, cross the border and you are in Silistra, a town in Bulgaria. From there there are several connections to other Bulgarian cities such as Rousse, Dobrich, Sofia etc.
By train
Constanţa's train station has connections with the rest of the country. There are five daily trains to/from Bucharest during off-season and more trains in summer and the trip takes between 2.5-3 hours depending on the type of train. A second class ticket costs RON 61.60 as of September 2011. Most of the train connections from Constanţa are to Bucharest, which acts as the main railway hub for the region.
Starting from Constanţa train station seven daily trains serve destinations south of Constanţa, going as far as Mangalia. The earliest train heading to Mangalia departs at 06:30 and the last one at 19:03. The trip takes about 1hr20min.
For more information on trains and schedules check the website of Romanian Railways under http://www.infofer.ro/ Tel: 0040241666952
By plane
Constanta has an international airport called Mihail Kogalniceanu Intl. Airport [5] which is about 20 km north-west of the city. Ryanair flies to Constanta from Pisa 3 times a week.Starting with April 2011, there are also flights to Milano 2 times a week. Romanian low cost carrier Blue Air began it's first flight to Brussels in July 2008 with a frequency of 1 flight per week. Romanian carrier Carpatair offers flights to many European destinations from Constanta through Timisoara.
By ship
Constanta is one of the largest commercial port in the Black Sea and the third largest in Europe. There are ships connecting Constanta with Varna and Odessa managed by Navlomar: http://www.navlomar.com/Constanta-Odessa/ (€45 one-way, €60 return, summer only). There are said to be also routes to Istanbul, Turkey and Greece, but don't count on them.
Get around
You can use the public transport system (buses, trams, trolleybuses and maxi-taxis) or cabs. To get to Mamaia you can take the 310 mini van called maxi-taxi for 2 RON (0,5euros) one way but it is very crowded. You can also take the special bus which takes you to Mamaia and has regular stops around the city and resort, it is a double decker buss and you can find it as you exit the train station in the bus station. The best option is a taxi; a legal taxi must be painted yellow and must have the fee written with green characters on the driver's door . Always insist on starting the meter and try to avoid the cabs with red tariffs right next to the train station who ,as in every major city, try to take advantage of tourists. Walk 100 meters from the station and only then wave to a cab. The typical fee from the train station to Mamaia is between 5-10 euros. You can also get to Mamaia by taking the 40 or 100 bus (3,5RON 2 trips ~ 0,8euros), but those two buses will leave you at the beginning of Mamaia.
Constanta has been continuously inhabited for 2500 years so there is a lot to see:
The history museum is an interesting place with foreign language guides available. It houses a great deal of unique Greek and Roman statues and glassware which is very rare; also outside the museum there are some marble tombs and artifacts.
You can do your shopping at one of the following shopping centers:
A typical meal at a restaurant is around 8-10 euro per person including drinks. Waiters usually know some English and menus are usually written in English. International cuisine is present, you should try the wines which are very good and not that expensive.
You will find a lot of fast food places selling kebab and shawarma (a nice mixture of grilled chicken, salads, french fries and sauces wrapped in a lipia (a sort of thin pancake used as a substitute for bread by Turks), very good and not that expensive (around 7 lei <1.8 euro> for a small one and 10 lei for a big one).
There are many bars in the city especially during summer-time.
Some hotels in Mamaia are open in the winter and you can get very good deals on accommodation in the off season.
Private Accommodation and Services
Stay safe
Constanţa is a pretty safe city even by European standards, but as a precaution avoid taking taxis near the train station and insist that they turn the meter on. If you visit the historical peninsular area at night, try to do this in a group. Unlike some other cities in Romania, people from Constanţa are well used to foreigners and are generally helpful. Walking at night is okay even alone, though you should avoid walking with your camera around your neck and be mindful of pick pockets when using public transportation. Your religion is not of concern since a lot of locals come from very different ethnic and religious backgrounds, but refrain from commenting on religious matters. Unlike Western Europe or the Middle East, the local Muslim population is pretty secular and don't have a problem with western culture or habits.
Stay away from dodgy small casinos and avoid exchange offices especially those located in Mamaia. They have hidden commission (written with small letters) or separate exchange rates for travel checks and cash. Use only trusted exchange offices, like Balkan Exchange. If you are unsure go to a bank, Your best bet is to exchange money at banks, which are located throughout the city. Although banks don't have good exchange rates, they are still better than the rip-offs).
As with Bucharest and other big cities in Romania your biggest safety concern could come from feral dogs. If confronted by a group of barking dogs don't loose your cool and back away since they are usually territorial and won't chase you. If they get too close, pretend you are picking a rock from the ground. Whatever you do, don't run.
Women will not be permitted access in churches or mosques if they wear short skirts.
Get out
to the south there are a string of summer resorts, Eforie Nord/sud, Costinesti, Neptun, Olimp. Neptun is recommended because it has a more relaxed atmosphere and for its lush forests that end near the sea. During the last NATO summit president Bush visited the resort for talks with President Basescu


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Dakota Fanning Crowned Homecoming Princess
Dakota Fanning is crowned Homecoming Princess during her football team's away game at Crespi Carmelite High School on Friday (October 30) in Encino, Calif.
The 15-year-old actress is used to walking the red carpet at film premieres but after being crowned homecoming royalty, she got to walk the red carpet on the football field!
Dakota and her fellow Vikings on the cheerleading squad — from The Campbell Hall Episcopal in North Hollywood — stepped up the school spirit during the football game for their high school football team.
15+ pictures inside of cheerleader Dakota Fanning being crowned Homecoming Princess…