text:
Trying to understand the ins and outs of a specific problem on the field is like being a forensic scientist. And so, we will go deeper, trying to tune out the circumstantial evidence and get to the cold, hard root of it all.
When you are the New England Patriots and you are 3-3, everything goes under the microscope.
But this week, the magnification power trained on the struggling secondary has been beyond intense — every beat reporter, blogger, radio host and fan has been talking about it relentlessly since the final whistle of the Seattle loss.
Still, for all the quantity of analysis, there doesn't seem to be much quality. There's a lot of "they should do this," "they can't do this" and "this guy stinks," but what does it all add up to? Frustration and hot air, and for understandable reasons: None of it seems to make a lot of sense.
Facts: Bill Belichick is a great coach. The Patriots are a great organization. The players have all shown flashes of being good.
And yet, it remains a problem that seems capable of undermining the ultimate — and maddeningly achievable — goal of a Super Bowl title.
Trying to understand the ins and outs of a specific problem on the football field is like being a forensic scientist. You will never be able to know everything, but you can collect as much information as possible and come to the best conclusion using all the methods of the modern world to do so.
And so, we will go deeper, CSI: Foxboro style, trying to tune out the circumstantial evidence and get to the cold, hard root of it all.
Stats are a good place to start, and they are a pretty clear indicator that yes, the Patriots' pass defense has been as bad as it seems to be.
The most significant single stat you can use to rate pass D is defensive passer rating — basically, how well opposing QBs have fared by the NFL's official formula. And New England is allowing opposing QBs to amass a rating of 100.9 — that's 27th in the league, and actually better than Tom Brady's number (97.2)
This despite having faced a generally average group of quarterbacks: Jake Locker, Kevin Kolb, Joe Flacco, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson. Only Manning and Flaco rank in the top 10 in passer rating.
Another proven formula, used by the well-established lads at Football Outsiders, has the Patriots ranked 28th in pass defense efficiency.
So yes, by any measure, the pass defense is not performing well on paper.
For an expert witness, we call in the folks at Pro Football Focus, a set of analysts who break down each game in detail and grade individual players on a play-by-play basis. No one outside of coaching staffs in the NFL present such a clear picture of how the individuals are affecting the team.
Here's what Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus said about McCourty:
"McCourty is playing much better than those around New England will give him credit for. He deserved the criticism last year, but he's playing much better to this point in 2012."
Palazzolo notes that McCourty is third in the league with six passes defensed and has given up only 44 percent of the throws his way — huge improvements over last year, and Pro Bowl-type numbers.
But it's the big mistakes that are killing him (and the fans).
"The thing going against McCourty is the timing of the big plays. His pass interference against the Ravens was blatant, and it set up their game-winning field goal. He gave up a 51-yard pass last week, but that was the only pass he allowed in the game. It's very easy to remember the big plays, but overall, McCourty has played well this year."
Pass rush is still an issue, especially up the middle where Vince Wilfork and Kyle Love are run-stuffers, not pocket collapsers. Last year's team had 40 sacks, this one is on pace for just 30. The defensive line has been so strong against the run that it's tough to place any blame here, but it puts more pressure on the back seven.
There's little doubt that the defensive backfield is deeper than it was last year, when Julian Edelman and James Ihedigbo were playing major roles.
There is reason to believe that the group is just going through a bad patch, and it goes back to the statistics. Last year's pass defense allowed an acceptable passer rating of 86.1, and since this year's unit is deeper and healthy, it follows that this that unit is capable of getting much better.
McCourty isn't the problem (see Exhibit B), but Kyle Arrington, Ras-I Dowling, Sterling Moore and Alfonzo Dennard have all had games where they've been benched for one reason or another. Finding the No. 2 and 3 cornerbacks sometimes takes time in a Belichick defense, and this is an extreme example.
One part of the equation that seems to escape notice, however, is the fact that New England's linebackers are also partially responsible. Jerod Mayo is considered the best of the linebackers in space, and makes a lot of tackles, but Brandon Spikes is a run specialist and Dont'a Hightower is both hurt and learning.
"I think a really good coverage linebacker would do wonders for the middle of the defense," Palazzollo said. "They always wanted to believe that Gary Guyton was the guy, but they need someone to pair with Mayo in their nickel package. They've experimented with Tavon Wilson in that role, but we'll see how he develops."
Perhaps the coverage issues with the LBs multiply when the safeties are banged up; it's notable that the Seahawks' big comeback came with Patrick Chung and Steve Gregory out. Dealing with injuries is very difficult in game, but manageable week to week, and Belichick has proven to be one of the best at that.
If the formula is just Bad Execution = Bad Coaching, then no, it's not good enough.
"I think the Patriots have a lot of talent in the secondary, but it's not all being used properly," Palazzollo said. "It's also a difficult scheme to master, since it's a slightly different defense on a week-to-week basis. Sure, it's worked for Belichick in the past, but this team is different and perhaps it's time to play to the players' strengths."
Since no one but the most inside of insiders is actually familiar with the work of coaches Josh Boyer (cornerback) and Brian Flores (safeties), any judgment on their ability is inadmissible.
As to Belichick, it is safe to assume that just because he is one of the most successful coaches of all time, he is not without flaw. He is also the No. 1 expert on his football team, and makes his decisions with information the rest of us don't have.
So, we are left to suppose, and speculate. Is he too stubborn to change the way his defense approaches things? Is he working out the kinks on the fly, playing the odds, knowing that a football season isn't a short story but an epic novel?
And, will he find the words to exorcize whatever fourth-quarter demons this team appears to be haunted by? Late in games, the Patriots are playing like they're suffering from a football version of post-traumatic stress disorder — and it's Belichick's job to erase those disturbing images from eight months ago.
Time will be the only proof there.
It's worth noting that New England was a perfect 16-0 in the combined second halves of the 2010 and 2011 season, a pretty fair tribute to Belichick's ability to fix what needs fixing.
Will it get better? Almost certainly. The quarterbacks the Patriots play will continue to be pretty weak, and history and common sense suggest that the curve will regress to the mean.
How much? For this team to win, it doesn't have to be much better — just better than terrible, which it is bordering on right now.
Tom Brady and the offense are producing the second highest per-game yardage output in NFL history right now, and averaging a league-best 31.3 points a game. So there's not much to worry about there.
But one flaw can sink a team, especially in an NFL where a complete team is a rarity — the last truly balanced team to win a Super Bowl was the 2005 Steelers.
And even if things get better, it's highly unlikely that we'll see anything beyond the "decent" level. When you are just decent against the pass, you are always vulnerable against a good football team — which is all there are when it comes playoff time.
Whether it will be manageable or not, that's not for us to know in October. We'll have to gather more evidence, study the files, and see whether, in the end, an autopsy will be required instead of a parade.
Final verdict: Case not closed.


text:
Should we be skeptical or optimistic about the 2013 Philadelphia Eagles?
Both feelings seem appropriate. Not buying into the Eagles? We can't blame you. No team has disappointed more in the last two seasons. The much-hyped 2011 squad finished .500, while last year's club managed a mere four wins in a playoffs-or-bust year for coach Andy Reid.
With Reid gone, Chip Kelly inherits a roster that's lately looked better on paper than on the field. But let's look on the bright side. Can you imagine Kelly's fast-paced offense with the Eagles' skill-position players?
And let's consider the Eagles' division. The NFC East doesn't have one team that stands above the rest. Every one of the clubs seems capable of playing that role in a given week, but in recent years, this division has been contested all the way until the end.
Of course, if the Eagles are to be competitive down the stretch, they must improve on their surprisingly poor recent form.
The Eagles' depth chart has some top-end skill players at running back (LeSean McCoy) and wide receiver (DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin). Their offensive line could be very good if left tackle Jason Peters stays healthy and rookie right tackle Lane Johnson proves a quick study. The Eagles will be strong inside, with guards Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans an above-average tandem. This could be a dynamite running team; McCoy and Bryce Brown are a nice 1-2 punch, and Kelly oversaw impressive rushing attacks at Oregon.
Even in areas where the Eagles don't have clarity, they at least have some viable options. Case-in-point: Michael Vick or Nick Foles each have the potential to be serviceable at quarterback — and perhaps more than that. Also, the Eagles should be able to get a solid pass rush from outside linebackers Connor Barwin, Trent Cole and Brandon Graham, even with Cole and Graham transitioning from defensive end.
The Eagles have committed a combined 75 turnovers in the last two seasons. One positive: Eagles quarterbacks threw 10 fewer interceptions in 2012. Prudent passing and better ball security could give the Eagles — who outgained opponents last season despite finishing 4-12 — a bit of a lift.
The Eagles also need to get better in the red zone; they scored touchdowns on just 44 percent of their trips inside the opposition 20 a season ago, fifth-worst in the NFL.
From a personnel standpoint, quarterback is the greatest concern for Philadelphia, which enters training camp without a clear-cut starter. That's never a particularly comforting feeling. Also, the Eagles' pass defense could be vulnerable even after investing in the secondary in free agency.
The Eagles' changes aren't just confined to offense. Their defense is different, too, with a new coordinator (Bill Davis) and a new base scheme (the 3-4). The scheme change necessitated a couple front seven additions in free agency, as the Eagles signed the ex-Texan Barwin and former 49ers nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga. However, the Eagles are trying to run the 3-4 primarily with the personnel brought in for various versions of the 4-3 the club employed under Reid and his defensive coordinators.
The Eagles are starting over in the secondary. Cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are gone after disappointing two-season stints, replaced by Cary Williams (ex-Baltimore) and Bradley Fletcher (ex-St. Louis). At safety, the Eagles signed Patrick Chung from the Patriots and Kenny Phillips from the Giants to push incumbents Nate Allen and Colt Anderson. Considering how lackluster the Eagles were against the pass in 2012, wiping the slate clean would be perfectly understandable, but with so many new faces comes the prospect of everyone needing time to get on the same page on the back end of the defense.
On offense, there's great anticipation about what Kelly has planned. At the very least, the Eagles are likely to play at a quicker-than-average pace. They would also figure to employ some read-option concepts, too. That said, the Eagles' new offensive coordinator, Pat Shurmur, is grounded in the West Coast scheme. Philadelphia would seem to have the schematic and personnel flexibility needed to show numerous looks on offense.
Camp battles.
Vick and Foles are the primary contenders for the starting quarterback job, with rookie Matt Barkley seeming likely to hold down one of the reserve roles. Vick, 33, has just one year left on his contract, and he took a big paycut earlier in the offseason. Miscues (15 turnovers in 10 starts in 2012) are the major concern with Vick.
Foles, who's nine years younger than Vick, got some valuable experience late last season. While Foles did show some potential in a six-game starting stint, he too had some issues with turnovers, and he faltered against a very good Cincinnati defense late in the campaign.
Other positions where there could be competition are safety, cornerback, outside linebacker and defensive end. The Eagles need stability to develop at the secondary positions.
Every team could use 1) a good start to the season and 2) some injury luck. Well, the Eagles really could use these things. Half of the Eagles' road games are in the first six weeks of the season, including three straight games away from Philadelphia, with trips to the Broncos (Sept. 29), Giants (Oct. 6) and Buccaneers (Oct. 13) in Weeks Four through Six.
The Eagles open the season at defending NFC East champion Washington on Sept.9 — the first of three games in 11 days for Philadelphia. Home tilts vs. San Diego (Sept. 15) and Reid-led Kansas City (Sept. 19) are games the Eagles have to believe they can win — and they may very well need to win them with that challenging road stretch thereafter.
The Eagles do not get their bye until Week 12 — hence the need for that run of good collective health — but they do have the benefit of having their week of rest sandwiched between three home games: Washington (Nov. 7), Detroit (Dec. 1), Arizona (Dec. 8).
By then, we'll have a good idea of how Kelly's offense looks. If Kelly's personnel takes to his scheme and opposing defenses are caught a little off-guard, the Eagles could be a sleeper in the NFC East. However, if the Eagles sputter early, they could be left with too much work to do down the stretch.
The other major storyline to watch, of course, is whether a quarterback emerges as a solid starter. If not, the focus turns to how the Eagles address the position in 2014.
For now, though, there's the matter of whether Kelly can get more out of a team that's left us wanting more the last two seasons.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Kill sharks before they attack humans? Australian state will do just that
Posted 28 September 2012 - 07:27 AM
Posted 28 September 2012 - 07:49 AM
- KirkD likes this
Posted 28 September 2012 - 08:28 AM
Posted 28 September 2012 - 08:48 AM
Nobody is surprised when people get mauled while mucking around in lion country. Why is this any different? The answer is to respect the wild animals whose habitat you're invading, not to kill off all the wild animals.
I'm not saying that the people who were attacked were acting irresponsibly. However, I think it would certainly help if there were better guidelines in place and more education available as to when and where surfers and swimmers should exercise more discretion.
Posted 28 September 2012 - 05:04 PM
Edited by gee13, 28 September 2012 - 05:11 PM.
Posted 29 September 2012 - 03:33 PM
They write of using baited drumlines to "control" beach going sharks- they already do that now!
Seems to me you could argue a case that putting set baits in the water near or adjacent to swimmers/surfers, would only attract sharks to beach areas.
Me- I would run an education regime during the whale season(articles on the ABC TV and radio in Western Australia) informing people about not surfing the dawn and dusk, not entering the water whilst fish schools are present on that beach or when whales are calfing, also get rid of the "burley lines". Banning divers shark feeding could also be thoughful. More aerial Shark monitering(small inexpensive, UAV with cameras http://www.aeronauti...r_mini_uav_muas) assign to any beaches SLSC would do more then anything else to quewl fear in the beach going public.
Heres the rest of the cherry picked article- from the australian newspaper,
"The Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) said the "guilty until proven innocent" approach was a knee jerk reaction to public concern that would harm the environment and would not protect swimmers.
"We urge the government not to use the new kill powers for sharks," CCWA marine co-ordinator Tim Nicol said.
"We are ... concerned that this policy perpetuates the fear that all large sharks are potential killers, when in fact we do not know this."
The Wilderness Society was also critical of "pre-emptive cullings", while ABC radio talkback callers flooded the phone lines, with many saying the best way to stay safe was to stay out of the shark's habitat.
Some said the strategies were vote-grabbing stunts.
Mr Barnett also on Thursday reiterated his opposition to shark nets because they posed a threat to marine life.
Instead, $2 million will go towards continuing shark tagging programs, including the use of GPS tracking systems, while $2 million will go into a research fund over four years.
Mr Nichol welcomed the research funding.
"If we want to reduce fear of swimming at our beaches, then we need to engage in research and education, not in killing with no purpose," he said.
"For example, we need to explain the times of year that are most dangerous because of oceanic events that attract large sharks to feed near shore, for example when snapper are spawning in Cockburn Sound."
University of WA, where researchers are developing shark attack deterrent wetsuits, also welcomed the research funding.
The government also pledged $200,000 for a feasibility study and trial of a beach enclosure to protect swimmers, $500,000 for extra jet skis for Surf Lifesaving WA, and $150,000 for community awareness programs, including a smartphone application."
Miguel Llanos, NBC News, should next time try to give a balanced article, not painting up Colin Barnett and Aussies as Phillistines!
Seems $hristians are more dangerous to the sharks then Colin is!
"Talkback caller Gary feels that humans have a moral authority granted by the Bible to kill sharks.
The government is prepared to take a pragmatic view, says Mr Barnett. Sharks which are menacing or threatening should be destroyed, he believes. The government is prepared to look at shark nets and more aerial patrols.
Listen to the interview to hear the complete answers from Mr Barnett."
Edited by DamonA, 29 September 2012 - 03:46 PM.
- tdpriest likes this
Posted 01 October 2012 - 02:56 AM
Posted 01 October 2012 - 09:14 AM
Posted 13 October 2012 - 02:05 PM
http://www.ipas.com....tform Brief.pdf
I like to see somebody make an electromagnetic net that doesn't hurt whales, but gives sharks the shits. Could be deployed around the flags area on a beach and connected to a generator on a 4X4.
Edited by DamonA, 13 October 2012 - 02:09 PM.
Posted 14 October 2012 - 05:31 AM
As for education, the fisheries department does have this page, and it is quite often quoted when shark attacks/encounters are reported:
Posted 14 October 2012 - 04:48 PM
Posted 14 October 2012 - 05:25 PM
Posted 15 October 2012 - 01:38 PM
If it is any consolation, a number of white sharks have been spotted by helicopter or picked up by acoustic tags near to Perth swimming beaches since the announcement of funding for killing troublesome sharks, and none have been harmed. A dead whale even washed up on a popular swimming beach last week without any major panic.
As for education, the fisheries department does have this page, and it is quite often quoted when shark attacks/encounters are reported:
The drones are much more cost effective($130,000 all up) can be deployed easily at the location, fly lower then helicopters without alarming people, can drop a buoy on a location and even give an audio warning to people in the area.
Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: sharks, kill, australia
Planet Earth →
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Sharks and Lights
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The Galley →
Photo / Video Showcase →
Short film "Cageless" advocating for shark conservation
Started by juliabahlsen, 21 Nov 2018 photography, sharks and 4 more...
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Started by seansrs968, 22 Apr 2018 sharks, Florida, Ikelite
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text:
drkilstein needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 42 designs submitted by 20 freelance designers.
OTC Publishing
OTC stands for Other Than Conscious. We are a leading publisher in the self help market. Typically our programs access the Other Than Conscious (subconscious mind).
We are probably looking for a person's head thinking/dreaming with the name of the company in there. The idea of attracting money is always a plus.
Not looking for a cartoon.
Our audience is men and women who want to improve themselves.
This logo will be used in written and online communications.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
I'm here to teach you something about Perlin Noise. You know, that magical thing that gives infinite possibilties and is usefull in every single game.
To be honest with you, it's not that very difficult, but it can be if it's not explained right.
First, the theoratical side:
Now, what exactly is perlin noise? Well, it is some pseudo random coherent noise. Let me explain that bit by bit:
*Pseudo random: This means that it appears random, but you get the same result twice every time you call it. Think of the rand() function. You might have
noticed that if you not seed it it always will give number 13 as first. If it was to be fully random you would get a different number everytime.
*Coherent: This means that it is very smooth. Here's a picture of some non-coherent noise.
This is coherent noise
Imagine that you zoom in on that non-coherent noise, and as you zoom in, you see that there are transitions between those pixels, and there you go,
coherent noise!
But that contrast is a bit high, don't you, let's smooth it out a bit:
There we go, looks much better, doesn't it?
But if you want to use it as a heightmap, it will be a bit too smooth, don't you think? Well, let me show you how to improve that by using octaves.
Maybe this image will help explain:
So, the smoothed noise is image a. If We zoom out on that noise, we get image b, and if we zoom out on b, u get image c. If u add a,b,c,... U get this:
And this is what we are going for.
Now, lets take that what we have learned and bring it in the practical side.
First of all, we'll need a pseudo-random number generator:
I searched a bit on the web and I came across this one:
inline double findnoise(double x) { int x = (x<<13) ^ x; return (double)( 1.0 - ( (x * (x * x * 15731 + 789221) + 1376312589) & Ox7fffffff) / 1073741824.0); }
Here's the 2D version
inline double findnoise2(double x,double y) { int n=(int)x+(int)y*57; n=(n<<13)^n; int nn=(n*(n*n*60493+19990303)+1376312589)&0x7fffffff; return 1.0-((double)nn/1073741824.0); }
Don't ask me how it works because I dont know how it works myself, something with prime numbers... But what I do know is that it returns a value between
-1 and 1, just like our perlin noise function.
Now, as I've explained before, we get coherent noise because we look between the pixels, so our perlin noise function must be able to accept
double numbers. So we have to interpolate between the pixels. Interpolate is like taking the average, but a little bit more complicated. We'll be using
cosine interpoliation. It gives a very nice effect because it looks like a curve. But I wont explain too much, that's maybe for another tutorial.
Here is it.
inline double interpolate(double a,double b,double x) { double ft=x * 3.1415927; double f=(1.0-cos(ft))* 0.5; return a*(1.0-f)+b*f; }
Now you might ask: "Hey, what about the 2D version?". Well, let me explain this. Let's take the average of a and b and call it d.
Let's also take c and d and call it e. And if we take the average of d and e it would equal to the average of a b c and d.
This enables us to stick to 1 dimension, making the code alot easier. Now, I'll combine these into one function. It uses SDL for image handling.
double noise(double x,double y) { double floorx=(double)((int)x);//This is kinda a cheap way to floor a double integer. double floory=(double)((int)y); double s,t,u,v;//Integer declaration s=findnoise2(floorx,floory); t=findnoise2(floorx+1,floory); u=findnoise2(floorx,floory+1);//Get the surrounding pixels to calculate the transition. v=findnoise2(floorx+1,floory+1); double int1=interpolate1(s,t,x-floorx);//Interpolate between the values. double int2=interpolate1(u,v,x-floorx);//Here we use x-floorx, to get 1st dimension. Don't mind the x-floorx thingie, it's part of the cosine formula. return interpolate1(int1,int2,y-floory);//Here we use y-floory, to get the 2nd dimension. }
And there we are, a perlin noise function. It returns a value between -1 and 1. To convert this to a 0-256 RGB value, we simple multiply it by 128,
then add 128 to it. But in the theory section I mentioned something about octaves, well I'll show it now. I call this result clouds.
SDL_Surface *Render_Clouds(int w,int h,double zoom,double p, int r, int g, int b)//w and h speak for themselves, zoom wel zoom in and out on it, I usually {// use 75. P stands for persistence, this controls the roughness of the picture, i use 1/2 int octaves=2; SDL_Surface *ret=SDL_CreateRGBSurface(SDL_SWSURFACE,w,h,24,0,0,0,0);//Create an empty image. for(int y=0;y<h;y++) {//Loops to loop trough all the pixels for(int x=0;x<w;x++) { double getnoise =0; for(int a=0;a<octaves-1;a++)//This loops trough the octaves. { double frequency = pow(2,a);//This increases the frequency with every loop of the octave. double amplitude = pow(p,a);//This decreases the amplitude with every loop of the octave. getnoise += noise2(((double)x)*frequency/zoom,((double)y)/zoom*frequency)*amplitude;//This uses our perlin noise functions. It calculates all our zoom and frequency and amplitude }// It gives a decimal value, you know, between the pixels. Like 4.2 or 5.1 int color= (int)((getnoise*128.0)+128.0);//Convert to 0-256 values. if(color>255) color=255; if(color<0) color=0; SetPixel(ret,x,y,(int)((r/255.0)*(double)color),(int)((g/255.0)*(double)color),(int)((b/255.0)*(double)color));//This colours the image with the RGB values }// given at the beginning in the function. } return ret; }
And this gives some nice clouds. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and I there's enough request, I'll make a more in-depth sequel.


text:
If you have any suggestions for tools that you would like to see added to the list, please let me know by email, Twitter or Facebook.
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Probably the most widely used mobile analytics service. Using their mobile SDKs you can log all sorts of data about sessions and users including custom timed events and crashes. They also offer services to help you monetise your app with ads and find a bigger audience.
A drop-in SDK and online app analytics service that aims to better visualise what your users are doing in your app. Inapptics lets you see the actions users perform on each screen, where they tap and how they navigate within your app, as well as all the typical analytics metrics such as new and active users, sessions, OS versions and more. It can also automatically detect crashes and replay the exact steps that led to the crash. Coming soon is the addition of automatic human language suggestions based on AI-powered pattern analysis.
A complete logging aggregation and insight service for all your platforms. Logmatic.io acts as a central hub to which you can funnel all logs, metrics and machine events. They provide a drop-in SDK for iOS along with integrations for many other platforms, so you can analyse your logs from both your mobile app and backend in one place. The dynamic dashboard lets you follow your app's performance and processes with customisable charts, and you can set up instant notifications when events arise helping you to prevent issues from becoming critical.
A new app for iOS and Android that lets you monitor your app on the go and will give you real-time alerts when something is critically affecting your app. The Fabric app gives you access to all the information you need to triage issues including full stack traces, number of affected users and a breakdown of devices and platforms. As well as helping you identify issues with your app, the Fabric app also gives you realtime analytics including active users right now, crash free users and daily active users.
A platform for capturing and visualising user behaviour data from your iOS apps. UXCam provides a drop-in framework that gives you insight into user behaviour by capturing screen and camera recordings, physical interactions such as touch points and gestures and traditional engagement data such as views, sessions, retention and crash reports. All the data can be viewed in the UXCam web app with various visualisation tools such as navigation flows and heat maps. There are various price plans available including a free tier for developers.
An analytics service designed specifically for mobile that centres around actions rather than page views. Mixpanel provides a drop-in library that makes in easy to integrate into your iOS app and start logging user actions. Actions can be anonymous but you can also log actions for specific users to help you understand you audience better. The Mixpanel website provides lots of options that are designed to help you get insight from your analytics including: funnels that describe routes through your app; segmentation to group your actions by metadata; and retention tracking to see where users leave your app. You can also use Mixpanel to send push notifications and rich in-app notifications.
An online service for creating beautiful charts of any custom stat. StatHat is a great option if you don't want all the features of a complete analytics service but just want visibility of what is happening with you app. StatHat provide drop-in libraries in 16 languages (including Objective-C) that lets you send stats with one line of code. The service has built-in 30 day forecasts and anomaly detection with alerts and email reports. It can also be integrated with Status Board and Campfire and they provide an iPhone app that lets you view all your stats and get push alerts sent to your iPhone.
An app performance monitoring framework that aims to help you find the biggest performance issues your users are having. Pulse.io provides a drop-in SDK that will auto-instrument your app and send the data back to their servers for you to analyse. You get code-level diagnostics that you can filter by app version, handset type, iOS version, carrier, and location. The SDK can also monitor for slow spinners, low framerate, network lag and memory terminations.
An analytics tool that lets you send data to over 80 different third-party services with one drop-in SDK. Instead of adding separate libraries for Flurry, Google Analytics, etc., Segment.io provides a single library to collect your app data, and an online dashboard where you can enable the third-party services you want. You can add new services instantly, even ones without their own mobile SDK, without having to update your app, and you can export your data at any time in a clean, non-schematized format.
An analytics and marketing platform for mobile and web apps. Localytics provides all the real-time analytics features you'd expect including screenflow, sessions, events, user segmentation and engagement analytics, but the selling point is that this data can be used to inform your app marketing. Marketing features include push notifications, A/B testing, personalised in-app messaging and acquisition management to discover how people are finding your app. The monthly price is quite high for independent developers but the free tier includes up to 10,000 active users and 1 million monthly data points.
A visual app analytics platform. Appsee provides all the typical analytics features and crash reporting but adds some really clever visual features such as user recordings and touch heatmaps. It might be a little pricy for independent developers but it definitely is very clever.


text:
Can we all send a card to Cincy saying "Season's Beatings"!!!!
JD from Utah
Can we all send a card to Cincy saying "Season's Beatings"!!!!
JD from Utah
Where's that dumbass Ravens fan who was talkin all that **** before the game? Whoops.
I'm shocked at not one pass play to Hines. Especially up by 28 this late in the game. Get him the ball so he can met his goal at home.
DJ Crimefighter @ Insaneradio.us
This is the best game the Steelers have played all year.....Really a complete game....Offense scored in the red zone, the defense was stellar, special teams scored a TD and made plays all day.....Perfect performance........I'm so happy right now....
JD from Utah
ah, my favorite play in the book...VICTORY FORMATION!
"Today, I'm officially retiring a Pittsburgh Steeler. And as much as I will miss football, my teammates, coaches and everything about the game, I don't want to play it in any other uniform. The black and gold runs deep in me, and I will remain a Steeler for life."--Hines Ward
WHat a great and needed victory. Well done men!
Coming to you live from the Fortress of Steelertude!
"Give me a 6 pack, half hour of rest and lets go play them again....We can beat them."
--Jack Lambert
"They say that when you're the champs, everybody will try to beat you. Well, I'm glad we're the champs, so bring 'em on, bring 'em all on. If we die, we ain't gonna die running. It's gonna be a fight."
--Joe Greene
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Oct. 8, 2007
The Lipscomb men's and women's cross country teams competed in the Memphis Twilight meet Saturday night. While most cross country races are contested in daylight hours, more than 40 college teams toed the line at the Mike Rose Complex in Memphis to compete at night under the lights.
"I had never heard of a collegiate cross country race at night, so when I found this meet I felt we had to get that experience." said Lipscomb head coach Bill Taylor. "As a track athlete, I always loved racing under the lights at night."
The Lady Bison's ran very well under the lights, finishing 7th out of 41 full college teams. The women were led again by Carolyn Latham who finished the 5-K course in 18:55, finishing 24th out of 329 competitors. Shannon Shoemake (19:31), Jenny Randolph (19:34), Caitlin Anderson (19:37) and Erin Pyles (19:55) rounded out the top five. Valerie Winkler (20:55) and Paloma Floden (21:15) also ran well, while Paige Griffin (21:35) did well her first race of the season after two months of injury rehab.
"The conditions were very tough," said Taylor. "We expected a nice cool night race, but the temperatures were still in the 80s during the night races and the humidity was very thick. The conditions took a toll on us, but the women really competed hard. It was their best effort and the best team race of the year."
One Lady Bisons runner was affected by the heat.
" I feel bad for Julie Alley. She had the race of her life going before passing out with only 400 meters to go. She was right there with our top girls, but the heat got to her. Still, she is an inspiration for our team and now knows she can run up there. Carolyn also took a major step forward. She really put it all on the line. Everyone really stepped it up for us."
The course was crowded as well with 47 teams entered. Instead of providing open lanes the size of the field made the race resemble bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic.
"The size of the race was also difficult," Taylor said. "Usually a big race like this helps you run faster. There are always people around you, so there is always someone to pull you forward or to pass. But this course is not conducive for a huge race. Last year they had 24 teams. This year 47 college teams entered.
" There are too many sharp corners and the lanes are too narrow for that many teams. Most of the girls got crunched up on the corners and found themselves totally stopped during the first loop or so. But, it's good to experience tough conditions and fight through them. I am extremely proud of the women's team. They matured dramatically this weekend. It was the biggest step forward of the season for us."
The Lady Bison's compete again next weekend in the Evansville Invite in Evansville, Ind. The men's 8-K starts at 11 a.m. at the Evansville XC Course. The women's race follows.
Two weeks later Lipscomb will host the A-Sun Cross Country Championships at Vaughn's Gap in Percy Warner Park.


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Friday, 17 January 2014
Nautical Flags Quilt
35 comments:
Lovely - boy , oh boy, but you are a speed demon in turning this around so quicklyReplyDelete
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
This is fab, a great idea!ReplyDelete
love this quilt and can't believe how quickly you whipped it up!ReplyDelete
Buy that beach house now girlReplyDelete
I really love this quilt Lynne! It's so lovely and fresh!ReplyDelete
lovely seasidy feel :-)ReplyDelete
That was fast! I love this!ReplyDelete
Fun! How nice for a lake or beach house! Maybe if I make one, it will feel like I'm at one.ReplyDelete
Ooh, maybe we're neighbors- I have an imaginary NE beach house as well, which I've decorated and redecorated a hundred times over thanks to Pinterest. LOVE this quilt! It really would be the perfect fit for a NE beach house!ReplyDelete
Gorgeous - I love the colours and design. I lived in New England for 6 months and still have my imaginary cabin in the mountains for winter and my beach house for summer. Both need quilts! xReplyDelete
Oh, reminds me of dressing the ship (US Navy days)ReplyDelete
Ooh - I love the color combo on this one!ReplyDelete
You know Lynne....I am in New England and near the beach...if the quilt ever feels too out of place in England, you know where to send it ;) It's great. My sailboat loving husband would love it. Perhaps I will have to make a nautical flag quilt someday. It was a good design choice for this line.ReplyDelete
Beautiful - and I love that beach hut fabric!ReplyDelete
Oh wow that's gorgeous. I love the designs and the fabric.ReplyDelete
Love Love Love it!!ReplyDelete
Ooooh flagtastic! (Had to be said) xReplyDelete
love this one. great design and coloursReplyDelete
Very nice! Now when are you moving to said imaginary location? You know, so we can plan to come and visit and go to the beach... ;o)ReplyDelete
Beautiful! That quilt definitely belongs by the beach.ReplyDelete
As a Navy Chaplain I really like this quilt. I decorate my office with quilts and they work well to add color. I did something similar in making flag block last spring to celebrate a naval holiday.ReplyDelete
- Anonymous18 January 2014 at 07:52
I enjoyed seeing some of the design steps! Lovely quilt. :-)ReplyDelete
Oh Lynne, this just a perfect fit . Ticks all the boxes for me. So clever, as everReplyDelete
I'm excited to see this one!ReplyDelete
I made a nautical flags quilt a year or so ago & found it to be fun and cute! i used only 2 colors (yellow and gray) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/danetteriddle/8103708005/in/set-72157628793910315ReplyDelete
Where did you get those beachy/nautical fabrics??? I love them!ReplyDelete
Thanks for the ideas your share hereReplyDelete
So far, I am looking for a source of reference on various websites
Now I have found what I was looking for all this time
I keep the spirit to strive to be the best, one of which is a reference from your idea that really helped me.
Once again I want to say thank you
hadroh jepara marawis jepara rebana jepara
Great quilt Lynne. If you ever tire of it in your imaginery beach house, maybe you can pass it on to me for my imaginery beach house?!ReplyDelete
What a fantastic quilt, the design is just brilliant!!ReplyDelete
So fantastic!ReplyDelete


text:
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text:
speakonitgod wrote:banned for having an unpopular opinion..... well it was fun while it lasted *hats off*
No, I banned you for celebrating the cold blooded murder of 4 police officers of our local community that you know nothing about. The post that I deleted was pictures of champagne bottles being opened in celebration.
We had many PM's asking for a member to be banned for seemingly promoting hitting a woman. Even despite the member trying to explain that is not exactly what he meant.
You are promoting and celebrating murder and making no excuses for doing so. Maybe my colleagues here wont stand by this decision but I could not in good concience let it continue and will gladly step down and away from the board if people think this was unfair.


text:
Control your fleet utilization and seamlessly connect them to your company's information flow. Our mobile order management software for waste and recycling fleets can help you enable real-time communication and data acquisition from your vehicles to your back-office waste and recycling system.
- Optimize the utilization of your fleet and route operations
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text:
Take a new approach. Rather than wait for a large block of time to magically free up, get your fitness in five-minute spurts. It's not a cop-out; recent studies prove that every little bit of movement counts. "We've found that short bouts of exercise can add up to the same benefit as if you had done it continuously," says Maureen MacDonald, Ph.D., who conducted numerous studies on the effectiveness of bite-size bursts of exercise at McMaster University in Canada. To make the most of your limited time, MacDonald suggests engaging multiple muscle groups, working with intensity, and varying activities, which will help keep you motivated.
To that end, we asked two fitness experts to help us develop a range of exercises that provide a big impact in a limited amount of time: Mary Tedesco, owner of Mary Tedesco Fitness in Cross River, New York, and Martha Stewart's personal trainer, and Jennifer Kries, a New York City Pilates instructor and creator of the Hot Body Cool Mind fitness DVDs. The plan covers six time frames: Choose one activity for each time of day, and give it your all for five minutes. By the end of the day, you'll have 30 minutes under your belt -- and be well on your way to a healthier holiday season.
Start Your Day
Goddess Rolls
Get out of bed, roll out your mat, and use this move to release accumulated back tension and work your abs. Sit with knees bent and soles of feet touching. Holding ankles, roll onto your back, then roll back up to sitting. Keep chin tucked into chest. Repeat.
Jog in Place
Before you get in the shower, work up a quick sweat by jogging in place. You'll rev your heart rate and increase circulation. A simple jog will do the trick, but to boost intensity, try bending your elbows and pumping your arms, or bring your heels to your buttocks.
Walking Bicep Curls
Waiting for your coffee to brew? Grab some cans or light dumbbells and take a few laps around the inside of your house, doing bicep curls as you walk. You'll work several major muscle groups as you get your circulation pumping.
Shake the Tree
To build and circulate energy, stand in place with knees soft and bounce for a minute. As you build momentum, gently shake your wrists, arms, and head, keeping knees and elbows soft. After a few minutes, slowly come back to a bounce and, eventually, a full stop.
Park and Walk
You've heard this before, but now's the time to do it: Park several blocks away from where you work and speed walk there. Or run an errand on foot. Either way, bend your elbows and swing your arms straight back and forth to boost the cardio benefits.
Horse Press
Tone legs and buttocks while you are on the phone. Stand with feet wide, toes turned out, hands on hips. Inhale and bend knees, lowering as far as possible; exhale and squeeze inner thighs and glutes as you come back to standing.
Jump Rope
Get energized before a meeting with a jump-rope simulation. Stand with your weight on the balls of your feet, heels slightly lifted, knees softly bent. Take small hops, rotating your clenched hands by your hips as if jumping rope.
Wall Squats
Stand against a wall. Keeping your back on the wall, bend knees to a 90-degree angle (walk out a few steps). Raise arms against the wall until elbows are shoulder height; arms form a 90-degree angle, fingertips pointing up. Hold 1 minute, rest 30 seconds, and repeat.
Stair Climbing
On your way to pick up lunch, hit the nearest staircase and climb two flights, taking the stairs two at a time to maximize the cardio workout while also building leg strength. Head back down the stairs with quick, light steps, then repeat until five minutes are up.
Standing Crunch
Boost energy while working your legs, obliques, and back with side crunches. Stand with arms straight above your head. Lift your right knee out to your right side as you bring the right elbow to meet it. Return to starting position, then repeat on the left. Keep alternating.
Side-to-Side Squats
Before you dig in to lunch, take some time to tone the lower body and raise your heart rate. With hands on hips, step your right foot out 2 feet and bend both knees into a squat. Return to start, then step and squat to the left. Repeat.
Wall Push-Ups
Don't settle in for the afternoon just yet. Stand a foot away from a wall, arms outstretched and palms on the wall a bit wider than your shoulders. Inhale and bend your elbows, lowering yourself to the wall; exhale, draw your navel in, and push the wall away. Repeat.
Jumping Jacks
Focus and energize before a big meeting: Hop feet out and raise arms to shoulder height; pause. Jump feet together and lift arms above your head; pause. Hop feet out and lower arms to shoulder height; pause. Bring feet together and arms down to sides. Repeat.
Arm Circles
When the afternoon slump hits, boost your circulation and release shoulder stress. Standing or sitting tall, extend arms out to your sides and start making large circles, working down to small circles. Reverse direction. Repeat with arms to the front and above the head.
Office Laps
Refresh your mind and body with a fast walk around the office, outside the building if weather permits, or up and down the hallways. Walk quickly, pump your arms, and resist the temptation to stop and chat until your five minutes are up.
Seaweed Rolls
In lieu of a coffee break, banish back tension. Stand with feet just wider than hip-width apart; fold over so you're hanging toward the floor. Bend right knee and sway torso to right; return to center, then repeat on left. Continue, and slowly roll up to standing. Repeat.
Jump/Squat Combo
While waiting for the pasta water to boil, work your major muscle groups. Stand with feet hip-width apart. Lift arms forward to shoulder height and lower into a squat. Reach up with arms as you jump straight up, landing in a standing position with knees soft. Repeat.
Everyday activities count as exercise, too: You can burn more than 200 calories an hour -- and scratch a to-do off your list -- by vacuuming. Tackle one or two rooms, bending to pick up stray socks and moving quickly as you clean.
Glute Squeezes
Make good use of the time you spend waiting in long holiday shopping lines by working your butt. Squeeze your glutes for a count of five, then release. Keep repeating. This action tightens and strengthens your backside.
Mall Walk
Turn your holiday gift buying into an exercise stint by taking a full lap around the mall before starting to shop. You will not only add another five-minute interval to your day, but also get a preview of all the stores -- so you'll know where to go and shop more efficiently.
Imaginary Hike
To help digest your evening meal and leave the day's stresses behind, close your eyes and imagine yourself in a beautiful, snowy landscape. Keeping your stomach drawn in, bring your knees up one at a time and swing your arms as if walking through deep snow.
Shake It Off
Release tension as you bump up your heart rate by putting on a favorite five-minute song and dancing however the mood strikes. Stevie Wonder's "Boogie On Reggae Woman," Justin Timberlake's "Senorita," and Madonna's "Vogue" all fit the bill.
Spine Stretch Forward
Sit with legs slightly bent and feet just wider than hip-width apart. Inhale, sitting tall. Exhale and draw your navel in to the spine, making a C shape with your back as you fold forward, reaching for the toes. Inhale and roll back up. Repeat.
Single Leg Pulls
Lie on your back, head and shoulders curled off the floor. Hold bent right knee with both hands; keeping left leg straight and 6 inches off floor, breathe in and pull knee into chest. Switch to left leg and exhale as you pull it in. Repeat. This strengthens legs and abs.
Text by Kate Hanley


text: Mark Hahn <hahn at mcmaster.ca> writes: >> Actually Mark..I just did an HP DL320 (the system I believe you were >> talking about) with 9TB (12x750 SATA) for a client for under $8K. >> This include $400 or so for three years of on site services, before >> requesting any additional (special) discount. So your $11K estimate >> is more than a bit high. > > well, it was 14 disks (it's a model that mounts two more disks in the back), > and the price came straight off HP's website... (I may have included an IB > card, too.) > > if anyone from HP is listening, a model with two quad-core-capable > sockets would be a good move. think of it as the perfect map-reduce > brick ;) I'd prefer they put their effort into supplying a raid controller that can actually detect corrupt raid sets. (cf. the recent thread "Big storage") -- Leif Nixon - Systems expert ------------------------------------------------------------ National Supercomputer Centre - Linkoping University ------------------------------------------------------------


text:
Slab of compressed tea, China, before 1930
Slabs of compressed tea were often important trade items. This was particularly the case between China and Russia. This tea brick is made of compressed tea fragments. These can be broken down and prepared as a drink when required. Tea in China treated ailments by cleansing the body. It was also drunk to improve wellbeing. For many centuries, tea was a safer alternative to drinking water. Water could taste unpleasant and was often contaminated. It carried diseases such as cholera. This block shows the process of making tea bricks. It is highly detailed. It even shows a man holding his foot because he has dropped a box on it. The fragrant tea brick was included in the Chinese Medicine exhibition at the Wellcome Institute in 1966.
Object number:
Related Themes and Topics
Related Objects
There are 548 related objects. View all related objects
Glossary: trade
Refers to the willing exchange of goods. Also defined as the activity of buying, selling, or bartering commodities.
Glossary: relief
Use for images, especially pictorial compositions, executed in relief - a surface that has been carved, molded, or stamped so that an image or design projects from or is sunk into a continuous surface.
Glossary: pharmacy
The preparation and medicinal dispensing of drugs.
Glossary: tea
slab of compressed tea often with images moulded in relief.


text:
How to Lay Off Employees
This story appears in the October 2001 issue of . Subscribe »
For many entrepreneurs, the thought of having to lay off employees can be nerve-wracking. And if you're young, the act of firing an employee-especially one who may remind you of your old Uncle Stanley-can be especially daunting. You may have vivid nightmares of the scene of the termination: What if Bob goes crazy and shoots up the joint? What if Brenda cries hysterically? What if Pete sabotages the computer network?
While these may be valid concerns, the fact is that termination of employees, while almost always painful, is a vital, rejuvenating part of business life. Just read the business press, and you'll quickly realize that if you need to lay off some employees, you're not alone. So if you've already tried to fix matters using the strategies we suggested in "Restructuring a Problem Company,", you have no HR department and you don't have a security guard hanging around the office, it helps to follow in the footsteps of those who have been through it.
Step 1: Have a Strategy
The absolute worst way you can fire someone is haphazardly. It's harder on both you and the employee, and you have a greater risk of something going wrong-not to mention the risk of future litigation. So whether you are canning one lousy performer or shutting down a whole business, you need to strategize ahead of time.
A few months ago, Rafi Musher, founder and CEO of Cambridge, Massachusetts, strategic research firm Stax Research, scaled back his firm about 30 percent-and he actually wishes he would have acted sooner. "All top firms do regular, healthy pruning," says Musher, 33. "No one has a 100 percent hit rate on their hires." So he established a process of regular reviews to measure performance on a number of levels: Can the employee grow with the business and the changes in his role? How does the employee's productivity and salary level compare to that of co-workers?
According to Musher, you ideally want to continually exit the bottom 10 percent of performers on your staff, and make that policy. "If you don't think about it consciously," he says, "you won't act on it in a timely way." Worse, poor performers impact the morale of the top performers, not to mention the bottom line and the paychecks, bonuses, and stock options of everyone in the company. And there are hidden costs, too-people who aren't doing well suck up a lot of management time, so the actual cost to the company is far greater than just salary.
Step 2: Do Your Homework
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to not prepare adequately. The last thing you want is your employees bombarding you with a bunch of questions to which you can only reply, "Um, I'll have to get back to you on that one." Here are some of the issues to consider:
- The reason for the termination. In almost all of the 50 United States, as long as a separate employment contract doesn't exist, your staff are "employees at will." This means you can fire them at any time, for any reason, provided the termination is not based on race, religion or age. However, don't be so naïve that you think you don't need to offer an explanation. Says James J. Rooney, chair of the employment law division at Boston law firm Lucash, Gesmer & Updegrove LLP, "One of the best ways to avoid litigation is to handle [the termination] in a decent way." This means providing some sort of general but accurate reason for the firing.
- Last paychecks. Your only legal obligation to your terminated employee is to pay all salary earned up to and including the termination date, plus any accrued vacation time. According to Rooney, not having that last paycheck prepared for the employee on his or her termination date is one of the biggest legal blunders a manager can make.
- Severance. There is no legal requirement to give any severance to employees, but most professionals see it as the right thing to do. Of course, due to financial constraints, small businesses are very rarely able to be overly generous. Two weeks' pay is the norm for a small company, says Rooney, and it's rare to see more than three or four. Another common practice is to offer one week's pay for every year of service, with a two-week minimum. Generally severance packages do not include health care and other benefits.
- Other compensation. Be clear about your intentions regarding any other compensation that may be due. Are there outstanding expenses to be reimbursed? Sales commissions to be paid? Stock options or 401(k) benefits just about to vest? You need to have all this figured out before the meeting.
- Health insurance. In most states, you are required to offer your employees some form of COBRA, which allows them to continue (at their own expense and for a finite period of time) the same health insurance policy they had while employed by your firm. Get the required documentation from your insurance provider.
- Complete release. Because you are not required to give your employees severance pay, says Rooney, "if you're nice enough to give [the terminated employee] some money, get something in return." That quid pro quo is a "complete release," a legal document the employee signs stating that in return for the severance package, he or she won't sue you. You can download templates of these releases from the Internet, but be sure you get one that's relatively short and readable (avoid unruly legalese), and be aware of the following clauses required by federal law:
- If the employee being fired is over 40 years old and is not fired as part of a general layoff, you must allow him or her 21 days to sign the waiver and return it to you. In addition, the employee may change his or her mind up to seven days after the return of the waiver and revoke the agreement. Of course, you do not pay any severance until both the 21-day and seven-day waiting periods have expired.
- If the employee being fired is over 40 years old and is fired as part of a layoff, you must allow him or her 45 days to sign the waiver and return it to you, in addition to the seven-day "cooling off" period.
- If the employee is under 40, you do not have to offer any notice period at all, but it is still appropriate to allow the employee about a week to decide, according to Rooney. You don't need to allow time for the employee to change his or her mind after signing.
- Individual issues. Don't think you can fire a whole group of employees without pouring over each individual personnel folder. Everyone has his or her own issues. Possibly an employee has an H1B visa and will therefore be deported if fired. Or perhaps you agreed to reimburse an employee for tuition-will you still pay the outstanding amounts?
- Return of property. Make a list of all the company's property that may be in the hands of your employees. They are legally obligated to return it to you upon termination. Laptops, mobile phones, keys, parking passes, hardware, software, books, etc. are all to be returned as soon as possible after the separation date. If you are paying severance, hold out until you get your stuff back.
Step 3: Plan the Logistics and Execute
There is no great time for a layoff, but most experts recommend you do it in the middle of the week. Also, first thing in the morning is preferable, mainly so you don't have to sit around all day waiting to act.
If you are just firing one employee in a small, open office, to limit the gawking of others and the affected employee's embarrassment, consider firing him or her off-site, say, at the corner deli. But no matter where you hold the meeting, ask an HR representative (if you have one) or other senior manager to join you. "Often there is a credibility dispute and a question of what was said," says Rooney, and having an extra person in the room helps to mitigate that.
If you have several employees to fire at the same time, you'll need to carefully work through the logistics. You can't be in 10 meetings at once, and you want to avoid having employees all sit at their desks with sweat pouring down their faces, waiting to see if they will be called in front of the firing squad next.
Eric Spitz, CEO of Medford, Massachusetts, digital sports technology firm Trakus Inc., recently had to lay off 40 percent of his staff, or about 18 people. On the morning of the layoff, Spitz held a meeting for all employees and told everyone there would be a large number of layoffs, explaining the rationale behind the decisions. Then he told staff to return to their desks. "If they had an e-mail waiting for them," explains Spitz, 31, "they'd been affected and had to return to the conference room for their paperwork." The terminated staff then had until 1:30 p.m. to collect their belongings and leave.
As for the actual termination meeting, don't give long speeches, argue or allow a debate to ensue. You've made your decision, and you cannot allow yourself to be talked out of it. A meeting to fire someone need not last longer than 10 or 15 minutes. Explain your reasons, review the paperwork, and move on.
Step 4: Deal With the Aftermath
Even if you're firing one person, in a small company there could be a large impact on remaining staff. Be prepared to address them immediately, and assuage their fears that their necks may be next on the chopping block. Also, don't reveal details about the terminations-remember, many of your employees may be good friends with those ex-employees and may be emotional about the termination. After all, while you've been planning this event for weeks or even months, everyone else will feel like they were suddenly hit over the head with a sledgehammer.
Lastly, know that no matter how much careful planning you do, something will go wrong. So be flexible. Your employees may come in late or call in sick. Three people may be on vacation. Or, as has happened to this author, you may forget that it's "Bring Your Kids to Work Day" for the whole office.
Do your best, be decent, and if it helps you sleep at night, just remember this: By making your company more efficient, you're doing everyone a favor.
As a CFO, CEO and consultant, Dale M. Galvin has noticed an inverse relationship between the quantity of hair on his head and the number of employees he's terminated. He holds an economics degree from Cornell and an MBA from MIT, neither of which was able to save his last two companies from the guillotine. He is now traveling the world seeking new methods of making employees' lives miserable.


text:
Pastor Syvertsen: Don't keep Christ in Christmas
Although it's been almost a month since Christmas Day, I've noticed there are still a few remnants of Christmas in some yards and on some homes in our community.
But most of the characters, displays and lights have been taken down and put away until next season.
Each year, among the assorted displays, I usually see a sign, often in front of a church, which reads, "Keep Christ in Christmas." I assume these signs are generally displayed to counter the increasingly common "Merry Xmas" signs that are assumed to be an attempt to take Christ out of Christmas. What many people don't realize is that the X in these signs originally was not intended as the English letter X, but the Greek letter chi (X), which is the first letter of Christ in Greek. So these early signs were intended to be an abbreviated form, not a removal of Christ from the greeting.
Even knowing this, I must admit that I too would prefer to see Christ's name kept in the Christmas greeting. But there is another sense in which I would like to say, "Don't keep Christ in Christmas."
Unfortunately, for many people Christmastime is the only season of the year in which Christ gets acknowledged.
It may take the form of a nativity scene in or outside of their home, which includes the baby Jesus; or it may take the form of attending a church service or two where the Biblical account of the birth of Jesus is read or re-enacted; or it may take the form of some Christmas carols that are sung declaring the birth of the newborn King.
But too often this is the only time of the year Jesus gets any recognition.
People "keep" Christ in Christmas in that they confine or limit him to this one season or day of the year. When the Christmas decorations come down, Jesus gets put away until next year in more than just the nativity scene.
I believe Jesus not only wants to be a part of our Christmas season but he wants to be a part of every season, every day and every moment of our lives. He wants to be included in everything we do. One of the names that Jesus was given at his birth was Immanuel -- which means "God with us." And His desire is to be with us at all times and places.
The apostle Paul understood this when he wrote these words:
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31)
And in another of His epistles he writes:
--¦whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:17)
The Bible is clear that God wants us to acknowledge Him in all our ways and in all our days. So let me encourage you this year to not put Jesus away with your Christmas decorations, but to keep him out all year long.
Don't keep Christ in Christmas, but give Him access to every day of your year in 2013. You'll be glad you did -- and so will He.
Lloyd Syvertsen is the senior pastor of Greenwich Baptist Church, 10 Indian Rock Lane.


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Or should I say, Team America-style, Matt Daayyymonnnn. Yes, I think we should. So his Damonness is coming out in December with a feature film entitled Promised Land that is intended to do to hydraulic fracturing for natural gas what The China Syndrome did for nuclear power way back when. You can watch the trailer here if you want, and grasp the full propaganda intent of the film. Even though Matt Damon is better looking than Jane Fonda, I doubt it will work. In fact I predict the film will bomb at the box office.
But what earns Damon the coveted Power Line Green Weenie Award is the fact, reported by Lachlan Markay at the Heritage Foundation, that the film was partly financed by Middle Eastern oil interests. Hmmm, can't imagine why they'd want to hobble new American energy production. Markay takes it from here:
While left-leaning Hollywood often targets supposed environmental evildoers, Promised Land was also produced "in association with" Image Media Abu Dhabi, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Media, according to the preview's list of credits. A spokesperson with DDA Public Relations, which runs PR for Participant Media, the company that developed the film fund backing Promised Land, confirmed that AD Media is a financier. The company is wholly owned by the government of the UAE.
I still say the 12-second clip here captures Matt Daaayyymon's best work. Has there ever been a more deserving Green Weenie winner?


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Arizona voters face an IQ test on public lands
Written byLUTHER PROPST, High Country News
Arizona voters face two land-related ballot measures this November, and together, they reveal not just the state's split personality but that of the West as well.
You can think of Proposition 119 as a respectable Dr. Jekyll, a 19th century gentleman who wants the state and federal government to exchange land to improve management and to protect the "mission readiness" of the state's military bases. By carefully consolidating state and federal land, Prop. 119 would also promote solar energy while protecting public lands for conservation and public use. The measure requires an extraordinary degree of openness, including a requirement that the voters must specifically approve future land exchanges.
Prop. 119 is the result of intensive stakeholder involvement combined with old-fashioned collaboration. It was the kind where participants with diverse perspectives met and worked to balance competing interests. The Sierra Club's Sandy Bahr, dean of Arizona¹s environmental advocates and nemesis of the Legislature¹s often bad ideas, along with John Nelson, retiring state senator and a thoughtful adult in the Legislature, hammered out the final compromise that brought everyone together.
Environmental groups, military support groups, economic development organizations and educators all support the measure. Many Democrats and Republicans also came on board, so the obvious question arises: Who's against it? The answer is that a cadre of Tea Party legislators opposes Prop. 119 out of the misplaced conviction that some odd bedfellows -- military and environmental groups -- had formed a conspiracy to deprive Arizonans of their land. Opponents also talk about foreign paratroopers massing on the border; the details are a bit murky.
In any event, here's a cheer for the Legislature for putting Prop. 119 on the ballot, and here's hoping that a majority of voters study the measure, because if they do, they will almost certainly vote "yes" as it is in the state's best interest.
Proposition 120, however, can be thought of as Robert Louis Stevenson's sinister character, Mr. Hyde. This measure authorizes Arizona to seize federal lands in the state, excluding Indian reservations and "land for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards and other needful buildings," quoting the U.S. Constitution. And where are these dockyards in Arizona? Maybe they were thinking about the dockyards at Fort Sumter.
But how in the world will Arizona manage an additional 27 million acres of public lands that include the Grand Canyon, Saguaro National Park, the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, and many other crown jewels of the public domain with no new money? Prop. 120 provides no funds for management.
Arizona already struggles to manage 9.3 million acres of state trust land –– 12.7 percent of the state. That land's management is a tribute to the Herculean efforts of Land Commissioner Maria Baier and her recently slashed staff. The Arizona Legislature cut the Land Department's annual general fund appropriation from $29 million in 2006, to $1.2 million in 2012. That's not a typo. Appropriations dropped from $3.13 per acre in 2006, to 13 cents per acre today. Compare that to the Bureau of Land Management, which spends somewhere around $3.79 per acre, and the National Park Service, which spends more than $20 per acre. And Prop. 120 would put the Legislature in charge of the Grand Canyon!
If this is a joke, it's not funny. What's also not funny is that the federal government gave the state of Arizona some 100,000 acres of public land to fund buildings for its Legislature, executive department and courts. The state Legislature expressed its thanks in 2009, by taking out a "pay-day loan" (also called a sale-leaseback deal with a private investor) against the building to cover its budget shortfall.
Prop. 120 seems to have come from outside Arizona because almost identical versions appeared in Utah and Colorado at the same time. Some say that the American Legislative Exchange Council, better known by the acronym ALEC, spoon-fed these measures to Western states. All speak of "returning" public lands managed by the federal government to the states. If return is the right verb here, I wonder whether ALEC thought about Arizona's Native American tribes, who would be in line well ahead of the state Legislature if any returns are offered.
After the November election, it might be a good idea to examine the political, social and economic dynamics that led the Arizona Legislature to bring back both Dr. Jekyll and the fiendish Mr. Hyde through two ballot propositions. What factors prompted both a thoughtful measure that improves management of our public lands, and a childish act of insurrection that tells the federal government and everyone who loves our public lands to get lost?VIEW ORIGINAL ARTICLE


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One of President-elect Donald Trump's main positions that snagged him the election was the fact he was not a politician. His promise to "drain the swamp" was one of the many moves our nation had never seen before from a presidential candidate.
Trump's campaign was like no other from the start, and his uniqueness will certainly not stop at the White House.
Or wherever he will live.
Reports of Trump's theme of breaking with tradition have circled concerning his residency.
The business mogul is reportedly a homebody and The New York Times previously reported that Trump was talking to his advisers about living part time throughout his presidency in his New York City residence in the Trump Tower.
"He has told them he would like to do what he is used to, which is spending time in New York when he can," and that his advisers say Trump might spend most of the week in Washington and "return to Trump Tower or his golf course in Bedminster, N.J., or his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach on weekends," the New York Times reports.
However, CNN said Monday that Trump told reporters he plans on living in the White House after he takes the oath of office, but wife Melanie and 10-year-old son Barron will remain in New York to "allow their son to finish out the year at the same school."
When asked by reporters at his golf club in Bedminister, New Jersey, if he would follow tradition and live in the house that presidents before him have, he said, "Yes, White House."
But Trump will not be accompanied by wife Melanie and 10-year-old son, Barron.
CNN reported that transition spokesman Jason Miller said, "No official statement has been released by the Trump family regarding transition timing, but like any parents they are concerned about pulling their 10-year-old son out of school in the middle of the year."
Striving for normalcy isn't anything new for an incoming President.
Shortly after being elected, President Obama told USA Today he was initially concerned that the commander-in-chief position would mean less family time. However, he was pleasantly surprised saying that living in the White House "was really the first time since the girls were born that we've been able to gather as a family almost every night."
Both President Obama and President-elect Trump faced the same situation of moving their children to D.C. while transitioning into the presidency.
The New York Times says the Obama's had initial concern about disrupting their daughters' school years in 2009, "but the whole family moved in the day of the inaugural."
Whether or not Trump plans on spending the weekends at one of his properties, as the New York Times reported, was not addressed.
There is no law requiring the U.S. President to live in the White House, more so, the decision to do so is for tradition, ease and safety. Living elsewhere may be a big headache for the Secret Service who, according to ABC News, regard the White House as a "fortress" with multiple lines of defense.
According to the White House's website, George Washington was the only U.S. president to not live in the White House as it was being built during part of his presidency.


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Editorials such as this one from the "Gazette and Courier" are western-Massachusetts reflections of broad national anti-immigration sentiments. Popular opinion in the United States turned decisively against immigration in the last decades of the nineteenth century. A number of factors contributed to anti-immigration sentiments. Many workers observed that their own wages went down as migrants willing to work for lower and lower pay flooded the United States labor market. Immigrants were also feared as carriers of political ideologies such as anarchism and communism. The author of this editorial asserts that, "the bulk of the immigrants huddle in the larger centers and form little foreign colonies which do not absorb Americanism but do furnish fertile soil for the growth of the propaganda of Bolshevism and other isms which threaten even the very foundations of government such as Americans believe to be ideal." The Immigration Act of 1917 passed despite President Wilson's veto. It required a literacy test for certain immigrants and barred certain others from immigrating to the United States. Legislation further limiting immigration and placing stricter standards on those admitted to the United States would pass in the early 1920s.
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Tide of Immigration article in The Gazette and Courier newspaper
"Communist Impudence" article in The Gazette and Courier newspaper
"Immigration Restrictions Tightened to Alleviate Unemployment Situation" article from the Greenfield Daily Recorder newspaper
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Nov. 24, 2006
IRVINE, Calif. - The fifth-seeded UC Santa Barbara men's water polo team was unable to pull off an upset against fourth-seed Stanford Friday afternoon in the opening round of the 2006 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament being held through Sunday at UC Irvine's Anteater Aquatics Complex.
With the loss, the Gauchos fall to 19-14 on the season while the Stanford record is lifted to 17-7.
Stanford outscored UCSB in the first quarter to catch a narrow 3-2 lead to open the game. The Gauchos were able to match the Cardinal goal-for-goal in the second frame to continue to only trail by one at halftime, 6-5.
In the third quarter the two teams continued to play tight each posting a pair of goals, but Stanford was able to seal the game up in the final period with four goals scored to the Gauchos' two to take the game, 12-9.
Eight Gauchos scored in the loss with Coulson Lantz posting a team-leading two goals. Stanford was led by Tyler Drake who had a hat trick in the game. Goalie Rick Wright had 10 saves in the loss.
This was UCSB's second loss of the season to the Cardinal, the Gauchos dropped a home pairing in sudden-victory overtime 11-10 on October 22.
With the loss, UCSB falls into the consolation bracket of the tournament and will face No. 8 seed UC Irvine, a familiar foe this season, at 10 a.m. Saturday morning. The Gauchos have posted a 3-1 record against the Anteaters this season.
1 2 3 4 Final Stanford 3 3 2 4 12 UCSB 2 3 2 2 9
Stanford Goals: Drake 3, D. Wigo 2, Garton 2, J. Wigo 1,
Schwartz 1, McCarthy 1, Fortune 1.
UCSB Goals: Coulson Lantz 2, Kendell Olds 1, Stefan Partelow 1, Travis Watts 1, Sean Castillo 1, Zsombor Vincze 1, Ross Sinclair 1, Miles Price 1.
Stanford Goalie Saves: Hohener 14.
UCSB Goalie Saves: Rick Wright 10.


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League will be rotating monthly, not weekly.League will be as follows:Lakeside Hills in April, June and AugustPrairie Center in May, July and finishing the season in September.
For Spring, is this going to be the schedule?
The first KCFDC league of the season in Olathe will be Monday, April 7th at Prairie Center. Please be signed up by 5:20 for a 5:30 tee time during the month of April.We get to play on the 18 brand spanking new Innova Pro 28's that he City was kind enough to purchase, but too impatient to wait on us to install. Just as they aren't the best at keeping trees as part of a holes difficulty, they also aren't to good at installing baskets at the proper height. We will get them fixed eventually though.


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Not so fast, said the General Services Administration in regard to reports of a recent letter from the District of Columbia's Planning and Economic Development office effectively withdrawing from the competition to land the new FBI headquarters site.
The same week in which lawmakers and local officials from Maryland and Virginia offered dueling proposals to attract the FBI to the suburbs, GSA spokesman Dan Cruz told Government Executive, "We welcome the District of Columbia's submission to this competitive process."
District Deputy Mayor Victor Hoskins in his Nov. 26 letter to GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini had interpreted the criteria in GSA's Request for Expressions of Interest to mean the federal government's landlord agency was favoring sites larger than the 40 acres at Poplar Point in Anacostia that D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray had offered last March. "The District has long served as the home of the FBI headquarters and would like the opportunity to continue to do so," Hoskins wrote. "While the noted criteria do not explicitly prevent a submission, the District would have appreciated competing in a process that didn't have the appearance of eliminating Poplar Point as a possible relocation site."
To clear up the confusion, Cruz said, "The language regarding the acreage is not a minimum nor a maximum requirement. Smaller or larger sites that satisfy all minimum requirements of square footage, security, access to public transit and access to the Capital Beltway will be considered. Any jurisdiction or property owner within the delineated area that believes they have a site that would satisfy the needs of this project is strongly encouraged to propose that property for consideration."
Specifically, GSA's requirements call for land "approximately 50 acres" situated "within two miles of a Metrorail station, and either inside the Capital Beltway or within 2.5 miles of a Capital Beltway interchange."
A D.C. Council resolution introduced earlier this year by councilmembers Jack Evans and Vincent B. Orange Sr. contained language backing an effort by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., to keep the FBI within the capital city's borders. It mentioned possibilities of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center site in Ward 4, the former Coast Guard headquarters at Buzzards Point in Ward 6, or the St. Elizabeth's campus in Ward 8.
The draft resolution criticized the Maryland and Virginia options by saying the roads in those states are inadequate, that state budgets too tight and FBI employees would suffer from longer commutes. It added, "The potential redevelopment of the current FBI headquarters would have a tremendous positive effect on the District economy if it is done in the right way."
GSA hopes to pick the list of submitted sites available for use as part of the developer solicitation by this spring during study of impact under the National Environmental Policy Act. The agency would then issue a formal request for proposals by spring or summer.