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Most of these documents are available in PDF format and can be read using Adobe Acrobat Reader. (Click here to download a free version of Acrobat Reader.)
Public Policy Reports, Summer 2014:
Pierson, Kawika and Thompson, Fred, Taxation Without Representation? The Political Economy of State Minimum Wage Levels (August 2014)
Pierson, Kawika; Hand, Mike and Thompson, Fred, The Government Finance Database: A Common Resource for Quantitative Research in Public Financial Analysis (July 2014)
Hand, Michael L., Pierson, Kawika and Thompson, Fred, Replication Study: Gore (The Accounting Review, 2009) (August 2014)
Thompson, Fred and Walker, Robert, A Tale of Two Cities: Learning from Oregon's Idiosyncratic System of Property Tax Administration (August 2014)
Acquisition Research Program sponsored project reports:
The defense acquisition process, which is governed by federal statutes, executive orders, administrative rules, and judicial rulings, includes opportunities for bidders to protest decisions, especially the final award, triggering a review and administrative hearing by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). In theory, the benefits of allowing protests include more competitive and accountable procurements. The costs of protests include the resources expended by the Department of Defense (DOD) and GAO in responding to legitimate and frivolous protests and delays in awarding and executing contracts. Delays have consequences for both the costs of the contract, defense policy, and national security. These reports outline findings on the defense acquisitions process, focusing upon source selections and bid protests, to identify potential improvements.
Maser, Steven M. and Thompson, Fred, Understanding and Mitigating Protests of Department of Defense Acquisition Contracts (August 2010) BP NPS Final Report.pdf
Maser, Steven M. and Thompson, Fred, Dispelling Fear and Loathing in Government Contracting: A Proposal for Cultivational Governance in DOD Source Selections (July 7, 2010).
Maser, Steven M., Subbotin, Vladimir and Thompson, Fred, The Bid-Protest Mechanism: Effectiveness and Fairness in Defense Acquisitions? (May 10, 2010).
Maser, Steven M., The Karenina Principle and the Pathology of Administrative Appeals: A Chiropractic Approach to Improving DOD Acquisitions (July 15, 2010).
The Oregon Revenue Restructuring Project Generated the Following Reports:
During recessions, the newspapers are filled with stories of the pain caused by state and local budget cuts: slashed mental health funding, reductions in school meals, further delays in long-overdue infrastructure maintenance and replacement, and new taxes. During booms, they are filled stories of state and local spending initiatives, tax cuts, and rebates. This manic-depressive pattern of binge and purge is usually attributed to revenue volatility. But putting first things first, the problem is spending volatility. Governments ought to be capable of growing spending at a sustainable rate, using savings and/or borrowing to smooth out spending over time. The solution to the real problem lies in defining budgetary balance in terms of sustainable growth.
This report shows how to identify an optimal spending level for a particular jurisdiction, one in which the present value of its exhaustive expenditures is equal to its net-financial assets (or liabilities) plus the present value of future tax revenues minus transfers. At this level of expenditure, the sustainable rate of spending growth is approximately equal to the geometric mean rate of revenue growth (tax revenues minus transfers). At higher levels of current expenditure, the sustainable rate of spending growth is less and, at lower levels, slightly more than the geometric mean rate of revenue growth. If actual revenues in the budget period exceed the forecast, the difference should be saved or used to reduce outstanding debt and vice versa.
These are fairly simple rules (although their calculation is not). They are relevant to any jurisdiction that can neither force central banks to buy their bonds nor expect some other entity to rescue them from fiscal distress. Moreover, their application would reduce the tendency of public officials to let concerns about revenue volatility override equity, efficiency, and adequacy considerations in the design of tax codes and transfer mechanisms.
Dothan, Michael U. and Thompson, Fred, A Better Budget Rule (February 10, 2009). Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 463-478, Summer 2009.
Choate, Marc Marc, Hand, Michael L. and Thompson, Fred, The Influence of Income Tax Rates on the Market for Tax-Exempt Debt
An Economic Analysis of Locating Oregon's Custodial Institutions in Marion County and the City of Salem
The Center for Governance and Public Policy Research was asked to conduct an economic analysis of locating Oregon's custodial institutions within Marion County and the city of Salem.
The hypothesis considered was that these custodial institutions, and the attendant population connected to those institutions, place an undue burden on the budgets, infrastructure and services of local governments and public agencies. Our findings do not support the hypothesis.
[Nathan Isaacs, Than X. Tran, and Fred Thompson, final report October 2008.]
Achieving #1 - Performance Reporting in Oregon
(A Blog by Professor Ken Smith)
In a forthcoming journal article, Willamette University Professor Ken Smith describes the performance of the State of Oregon - leading the nation by a wide margin 25% over 2nd place and almost 40% over 4th place. Both the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) received special distinctions from the Association of Government Accountants (AGA). Oregon is the only state in the nation to have earned the award for more than one department - and only one other state agency (in Oklahoma) earned an award. The city of Portland received special distinctions from the AGA three times since 2004. "There clearly is a difference between good "reporting" and good "performance", and Oregon state agencies are leading the nation on the reporting element.
Based on my numerous experiences working with and teaching managers in our CPM program, I know that the quality of performance management is also increasing rapidly, " Smith notes. "These awards are good news and the citizens of our state deserve to be proud of the well-deserved recognition."
Click Here for more information on the upcoming Oregon Performance Measurement Event - July 17, 2008
Betting on the Future with a Cloudy Crystal Ball?
Revenue Forecasting, Financial Theory, and Budgets
Accurately predicting revenue growth is nearly impossible. Predicting the peaks and valleys of the business cycle is even more hopeless. This matters because tax revenues are largely driven by economic growth. Volatile, unpredictable revenue growth causes all sorts of unpleasant responses on the part of governments, most commonly manic-depressive patterns of spending and taxing. Fortunately, modern financial economics gives us a set of tools that can be used to manage volatility. These tools include tax portfolio analyses, hedging and buffering strategies, and, in the context of present-value balance, consumption smoothing based on sustainable spending rules. These tools are based on mean-variance analysis, analysis of covariance, the use of stochastic processes to model movements in financial variables, and optimal control theory to formulate solutions to those processes. This report shows how these tools can be used to inform fiscal decision making. Our focus is on state governments, but the analysis applies to all jurisdictions that face a hard budget constraint and must therefore balance spending increases against revenue growth.
Economic Opportunity in a Volatile Economy: Understanding the Role of Labor Market Intermediaries in Two Regions
A comparative study of the role and impact of labor market interdiearies in the 'old' and 'new' economies of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the Silicon Valley in California. Funded by the Ford, Rockefeller and Russell Sage Foundations. [Laura Leete, Manuel Pastor, Laura Dresser, Chris Benner, Annette Bernhardt, Bob Brownstein and Sarah Zimmerman, final report May 2003.]
Workforce Investment Act Service Delivery: The Case of Oregon
This report provides a detailed overview of the implementation of the Workforce Investment Act in Oregon. It was prepared under the auspices of an eight-state network research field study conducted by the Rockefeller Institute of Government (State University of New York-Albany) with funding from the U.S. Department of Labor. It will be published in a volume along with the other state case studies by the U.S. Department of Labor. [Laura Leete and Neil Bania, September 2003, Final Version]. Report Appendices. Rockefeller Institute Eight-State Summary Report.
Project on Transportation and Rural Poverty
Project investigating the barriers to access for employment opportunities in rural Oregon. Funded by the Oregon Department of Transportation [Laura Leete, Tom Sanchez, Neil Bania, June 2002.]
Oregon State Case Study of Medicaid Take-Up and Welfare Reform
The Public Policy Research Center recently completed an analysis of factors influencing Medicaid enrollment and outreach at the state level and within Multnomah County as one of 25 states participating in the State Capacity Study being conducted by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government at the State University of New York-Albany. [Carol Freedman, Laura Leete, and Maegan Lindsey, September 2001.]
Forecasting Methodologies for Oregon's Medical Assistance Program Caseloads
This report to the Oregon Department of Human Services provides an overview of new methodologies for forecasting caseloads for Oregon's medical assistance programs, including Medicaid and the Oregon Health Plan. It includes previously unavailable tabulation of program flows. [Laura Leete and Bruce Gates, April 2001.]
The Internet and Oregon's Future: A Day of Discussion
This report summarizes a forum discussion about the potential influence of the Internet and information technology on the future of work, democracy and public infrastructure in Oregon. [Laura Leete and Olivia Clark - Oregon Governor's Office, January 2001.] Video also available.
Ballot Measure 2: Creating Accountability or Wreaking Havoc?
[Susan Smith Willamette University, College of Law. October 2000.]


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ALLENTOWN, Pa. - August 20, 2013 --A coroner says more tests are needed to determine what killed a scuba diver found dead at a former quarry in eastern Pennsylvania.
Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim says an autopsy was performed Monday on the body of 38-year-old Eugene Fleysher of Saddle Brook, N.J.
But Grim said a ruling on the cause of death was deferred pending toxicology test results.
Fleysher was diving at Dutch Springs, a former cement quarry turned diving spot in Northampton County's Lower Nazareth Township, when he was found unresponsive in the water Sunday.
The (Easton) Express-Times says the 50-acre Dutch Springs quarry lake attracts about 30,000 divers a year.

subset: commoncrawl


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February 14. 2014 9:51PM
Almost $2m to correct out-of-position airport solar panels
Staff Report
Seen above in 2012, the solar panels atop the garage at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport are being repositioned. (/UNION LEADER FILE)
— Work is underway at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport to reposition solar panels on the roof of an airport parking garage, a $1.9 million correction that keeps glare from the solar panels out of the eyes of air-traffic controllers.
Shortly after the panels were installed in the summer of 2012, air traffic controllers started complaining about early-morning glare from the panels.
Experts from national laboratories, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Federal Aviation Administration eventually decided the panels would have to be repositioned 90 degrees, from the sun-drenched south to the east.
The bulk of the money to pay for the repositioning is from the insurer for the consultants who designed the solar panels.
Work began in December, when the 2,200 panels were removed, said Brian O'Neill, deputy airport director. Last month, workers started repositioning the hardware that secures the panels, and workers are now rerouting the electrical wiring, O'Neill said.
"We brought in national experts to evaluate the glare and assess the mitigation options," O'Neill stressed. He said a number of solutions were examined, including polarized shades at the control tower, retractable shades on the panels, even sunglasses for the controllers.
Two independent teams of consultants — Sandia National Laboratories, and a team from MIT and Volpe National Transportation Systems Center — arrived at the same conclusion, he said.
O'Neill said the change will result in a 10 percent decrease in energy output.
He said the $1.9 million is split three ways:
• The airport contributed $25,000, which represents the 5-percent local match for the FAA contribution. Total airport contribution for the project now amounts to $201,000.
• The FAA contributed $501,000, which is officially an amendment to the Voluntary Airport Low Emmisions FAA grant that funded the project.
Two years ago, the project cost was $3.5 million, and the FAA grant covered 95 percent of it.
• The remainder is from Chubb, the insurer for the solar panel design consultants, Harris, Miller, Miller & Hanson of Burlington, Mass.
O'Neill said the study of solar panel glare was in its infancy when HMMH designed the arrays, and techniques and analysis have improved since then. A telephone call left with one of the senior vice presidents of the firm was not returned Friday.
"I think there were lessons learned from this project that may prevent solar glare impact at other airports in the future," he said.
O'Neill stressed that the primary purpose of the initial grant is to reduce air pollution by offsetting 500 kilowatts of electricity production. The electricity the panels generated were to also save the airport in its electrical bill, about $100,000 a year.
O'Neill said the savings and air emissions should fall by about 10 percent because of the repositioning. The contractor performing the work is Pennoni Associates of Salem.


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A soft and gentle tune with an oriental feel. Conjuring up images of the Japanese cute and loveable culture, Kawaii. Would be great as a background track for TV, presentation, game, app or any Japanese technology advertisement.
Calling all VideoHive Artists! Feel free to use any of my tracks, just let me know and I'll add a link to the 'Featured Videohive Projects' on my Profile page.


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It may take a week or more for mother, boyfriend wanted for beating of toddler to return to NHBy JASON SCHREIBER
Union Leader Correspondent
November 28. 2012 11:23PM
PLAISTOW - A Plaistow couple remains behind bars in a Florida jail while the little boy they're accused of leaving at a hospital with burns and a traumatic brain injury and later running off to a popular theme park continues on a long road to recovery.
Jessica Linscott, 23, and Roland Dow, 27, will make their first appearance in an Orlando, Fla., courthouse Friday morning on fugitive charges after U.S. Marshals, acting on a tip, nabbed the two while they were enjoying themselves at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., Wednesday night.
Rockingham County Attorney James Reams said he wasn't surprised that the couple fled to Florida, but he was in a state of 'disbelief' when he learned that they were found moments after watching a parade inside the theme park.
The two were captured two weeks after Plaistow police issued warrants for their arrests in a high-profile child abuse case that struck a nerve with law enforcement officers and members of the public, who generated more than 100 tips from as far away as North Dakota during the search for Linscott and Dow, her boyfriend.
'There is nothing worse than a defenseless child being abused,' U.S. Marshal David L. Cargill Jr. said at a joint news conference outside the Plaistow Police Department Thursday afternoon.
Authorities said it may take a week or longer before the pair is returned to New Hampshire to face numerous charges stemming from the alleged abuse suffered by Linscott's 3-year-old son, James Nicholson.
Dow is charged with one count each of first- and second-degree assault for allegedly striking James in the head, causing a traumatic brain injury that nearly blinded him, and burning his wrist and fingers. Dow and Linscott also face several counts of endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly failing to seek medical treatment for James when he suffered seizures and other symptoms related to the head injury on several occasions.
The investigation into the alleged abuse began after the couple brought James to Exeter Hospital on Nov. 14. Workers immediately notified police after they became suspicious of his injuries, which were so severe that he was rushed to Children's Hospital at Dartmouth in Lebanon where he underwent two brain surgeries and remains in serious condition, Reams said Thursday.
Plaistow police have seen an outpouring of community support for the young boy, who is now in the custody of the state's Division of Children, Youth and Families.
Police Chief Stephen Savage said people have been dropping off toys and other items for the child. He said police will make sure any gifts left for the boy at the station will be given to him.
At Thursday's news conference, Savage took a moment to reflect on James and the life-threatening injuries he suffered.
'He's the only hero here,' said Savage, who encouraged parents to give their kids 'hugs and kisses.'
'It's a special time of year for them.'
Previous story follows:
A Plaistow mother and her boyfriend wanted in connection with the beating of her 3-year-old son were arrested Wednesday night after they finished watching a parade at Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla.
After two weeks on the run, federal authorities caught up with Jessica M. Linscott, 23, and Roland H. Dow III, 27, after receiving tips that the two were in the Orlando area.
They were found at the popular theme park around 6 p.m. after members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force began hunting for them. They were arrested without incident.
Dow and Linscott are being held on fugitive-from-justice charges at the Orange County, Fla., jail. Scheduled to be arraigned this morning, they will decide whether to voluntarily return to New Hampshire to face multiple charges related to a severe head injury and burns suffered by Linscott's son, James Nicholson.
"I find it very sad that these two were located in an area designed to bring joy and happiness to children. I want to thank the public for their assistance in providing the tips which led to this arrest," U.S. Marshal David L. Cargill Jr. said in a statement.
The arrests followed numerous sightings of the couple in Massachusetts over the past several days. Investigators said they believe the pair may have been getting help from others in the effort to evade police.
Arrest warrants were issued Nov. 15 after Plaistow police launched an investigation into the boy's injuries, which Linscott had claimed were self-inflicted.
Linscott and Dow brought James to Exeter Hospital on the night of Nov. 14 for treatment. James suffered a traumatic brain injury and was found with bruises - both new and old - over much of his body and burns on his wrist and fingers, police said.
Dow faces first- and second-degree assault charges for allegedly striking James in the head and burning him.
He and Linscott also face multiple counts of endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly failing to seek medical attention for James when he suffered seizures and other symptoms related to the head injury.
James, who is now in the custody of the state's Division of Children Youth and Families, has been hospitalized at Children's Hospital at Dartmouth, but his family says his condition is improving following surgery.
"We really appreciate all the public's help and the law enforcement help. We had law enforcement from all over New England and the Eastern Seaboard involved in the search," Rockingham County Attorney James Reams said.
Cargill said law enforcement from New England and other states spent "countless hours" searching for Dow and Linscott.
"Due to the vast amount of media attention this case has received, public outrage quickly ensued. This was a major force multiplier that resulted in a sometimes overwhelming number of tips," he said.
Crime, law and justice Social issues New Hampshire Top Section Stories


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Mar 16, 2008 at 1:08 pm
^5 "!"
Sep 7, 2007 at 11:46 pm
WICKED cool cars ya got there! I'm glad to see Ford brought back the California Special and they did it RIGHT!
MrRoush has not posted to his car garage blog.
Log in to post comments.
MrRoush doesn't have any videos in his coolbox.


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Playing the Hot Lotto lottery can be very exciting especially if from time to time you are a winner. Winning can be accomplished quit often if the correct system is used. There are many so called experts in the market offering winning number secrets and scratch off ticket recommendations that promise to help you win. Most are not legit. However, there are a few systems on the market that has produced some promising results.
When you consider that that there are many different lottery systems available and lots of past winners you remain anonymous or don't talk about their winning strategies how many more winners might there be who have used such systems?
Think about it: is it possible that a huge percentage of lottery winners are actually using mathematical or statistical formulas to help them win? If that is the case then anyone who is not using a system is merely feeding the prize fund and has an almost zero chance of winning.
Would You Like to Win The Hot Lotto lottery?
Are you constantly thinking and saying, "I want to win the lottery?" Do you ask yourself, "Will I win the lottery?" If you think about winning the lottery all the time, you need to know this secret to winning the secret to winning the lottery.If you think winning the big bucks is just about picking the right lottery numbers, you're wrong. Yes, you do need to pick the right numbers, and it's best to have a system to win the lottery. Doing things like reading a lottery book can be useful too. But none of this will work for you if you don't do this one essential thing:The universe rewards those who are prepared. Did you know that?When you act as if you expect something, it's going to come to you. Did you know that?4. Make a list of people to whom you plan to give money and decide on how much you'll give. Take into account gift taxes when you do this. Be careful about who you tell, "I'll give you money when I win." You don't want to give away all your winnings.Combine this lottery win preparation method with a lottery winning system, and you will be able to answer "Yes," to "Will I win the lottery?" You'll be able to turn "I want to win the lottery," to "I WON the lottery."
How to Win Lottery by Using Analysis Algorithms for Lottery Prediction
People who play Megamillions have one question in common and that would be which the best numbers to play Megamillions are? The thing is, there isn't a standard or a formula that one can follow in order to come to a conclusion regarding the best numbers to play Megamillions. There are, however, things that you can keep in mind when you are in the process of picking numbers. You can consider them strategies or systems or you can think of them, simply, as tips. They may not give you a concrete answer towards the best numbers to play Megamillions, but they can help take you a step closer.1. When choosing numbers, do not try and form patterns. Remember to be as random as you can. Think about it, if you decide to go with a pattern such as choosing all the numbers that go a certain way, whether upwards or downwards the sheets then you are already putting yourself at a disadvantage.8. When you ask people who have won jackpots for themselves, it is likely that they'd tell you that the numbers they chose were chosen mostly because of gut feel. A kind of intuition. You may not think much of it but this intuition could potentially win you millions. So go with what you feel and not what you believe to be the best numbers to play Megamillions. Remember, trust your gut and go with your intuition.
Winning the Hot Lotto lottery is very rewarding. Give this system a spin and watch your winnings grow.


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|Episode Description
|Thursday, Nov 15, 2012 - 1:30 PM
"Let It Snow"
The Christmas Tree Express - Rheneas is very excited when he finds out that there are Christmas trees on Misty Island and wants to bring one back to the Blue Mountain Quarry before the other engines wake up. He asks Toby to take him to Misty Island. On Misty Island, Toby wants to travel slowly, but Rheneas is excited and in a hurry. D
Mountain Time
|More on IDAHO (MT)
|No upcoming shows in database


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Houston tag
1 result(s) displayed for Houston (1 - 1 of 1):
Next Generation Public Safety Communications is a High Priority for Houston
It might be an understatement to say that Harris County in Texas takes its public safety first-responder communications seriously.
The county, which encompasses the fourth largest city in the United States, Houston, also is home to the country's petrochemical industry. The county also is no stranger to natural disasters. Hurricanes are common for the area, and big one named Hurricane Ike ripped through the region in 2008. In fact, Hurricane Ike was the third most costly storm in U.S. history, and $60 million has gone toward the recovery effort with another $100 million committed for the future.
As a result, natural disaster communications for enabling not just fast response during a crisis but also for preparations and dealing with the aftermath has been recognized as a top priority. The county believes that to best protect its citizens and give first-responders the capabilities they need to work in a high-performance manners is to have a communications network that is second to none. A next generation public safety communications network is the one thing they know they cannot do without when a natural disaster strikes.


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The so-called "Cox-Waxman amendment," offered by California's Henry Waxman, D, and Christopher Cox, R, would have given California a waiver from federal reformulated gasoline requirements (RFG).
California interests took the state's long-standing request for waiver directly to Congress after the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this summer denied the state's request for exemption from the provisions of the federal Clean Air Act.
The Cox-Waxman amendment would have been tacked to the pending Renewable Fuels for Energy Security Act. Look-alike renewable fuels bills in both houses of Congress would increase renewable fuels, including ethanol and biodiesel. The energy bill proposes that 'renewables" — or fuel and fuel additives processed from grains and soybeans — account for 3 percent of highway transportation fuels by 2011 and 5 percent by 2016.
The amendment was defeated by vote 300 to 125. Opposition came from both sides of the isle with support coming from the leadership of both parties. Much of the debate focused on concerns that the Cox-Waxman amendment was for California only.
Lawmakers who opposed the amendment spoke strongly about the benefits of the RFG program and referred to a letter from EPA Administrator Christine Whitman calling for the amendment's defeat
"The Federal RFG program has been extremely successful and cost-effective program that has provided substantial air quality benefits to millions of people throughout the country," Whitman said.
National Corn Growers President Lee Klein of Battle Creek, Neb., said the defeat of the amendment was victory for U.S. grain producers. "This was a hard-fought victory for corn growers who have worked to defeat this amendment in subcommittee, in full committee, and finally on the floor of the House," he said.


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This on trend laptop case will make you feel like a CEO. Holds up to a 15" laptop. Feature rich and filled with useful pockets for storage of your valued business accessories. Snowflake polyester fabric. Backpack straps can be hidden when not being used. Shoulder strap also included. Use as a backpack, briefcase or messenger bag. Size: 20" x 13" x 6".
Pricing & Options
Customize your product based on the available color options and decorating methods. If you need more information, simply add this product to the Wish List and we will get back to you with answers.


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Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 10th May 2007 13:33 UTC, submitted by AdamW
"k3b is one of the most important applications for many Linux users. The immensely popular and fully-featured CD/DVD writing application has been a mainstay of the standard Linux desktop since its early releases. Since last year, Sebastian Trüg, the initial author and present lead developer of k3b, has been employed by Mandriva both to work on k3b and to work on the Nepomuk desktop project. We asked Sebastian a few questions about k3b, Mandriva and Nepomuk."


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PIA will apply to replace Sing Lee Alley Bridge
The Petersburg Indian Association Tribal Board received reports from various departments outlining the programs they are involved in and what is happening within the organization during its regular meeting Monday evening.
The PIA Transportation Department will submit an application for the replacement of the Sing Lee Alley Bridge.
"The Petersburg Borough's engineers anticipate the cost of replacement at $1 to $1.2 million," PIA Transportation Director Will Ware reported. "The maximum funding allowed through the Tribal Transportation Bridge Fund is $1 million. The balance will have to be raised through the Borough should we get approved and agree to proceed."
Ware has also submitted a proposal to the Federal Lands for a Federal Lands Access Proposal.
"The proposal is for funding $750,000 of our anticipated total project costs of $907,712," Ware reported. "This proposal will pay for our Forest Service Roads Maintenance program for the current year, as well as blasting and crushing 10,000 cubic yards of rock, which we use for resurfacing roads and for fill material for culvert replacement."
The Transportation Department has also been building picnic tables that are identical to the tables at the Blind Slough picnic site.
"We have already begun placing these tables at Green's Camp and should have them finished being built and placed next week," Ware reported. "There will be a total of 13 tables made from local Spruce milled from a local saw mill."
Ware explained that this project took a little longer than anticipated as they only had access to the high school wood shop for 2.5 hours per day in the afternoons.
"We are appreciative of the high school for donating shop time," Ware wrote. "We used their machines to plane each board smooth to the correct thickness."
Work will begin on the Forest Service logs starting March 11.
"This work will include mobilizing equipment and beginning to remove snow from project areas," Ware reported. "Our first projects will be replacing the running deck of both Ohmer's Creek Bridge on Woodpecker Cove Road and Falls Creek Bridge at 4.5 mile of Three Lakes Loop Road."
Office Manager Ronelle Beardslee has been busy reorganizing since taking the interim position with PIA at the beginning of February.
"We have cleaned, organized, labeled and inventoried all of the office supplies," Beardslee reported. "The accounting room was also cleaned and reorganized and many of the positions are being cross-trained for times of absence. This will allow business to continue during a vacation, or sickness."
PIA Tobacco Prevention Program Director Mark Banda will be teaching a class on the immediate benefits of smoking cessation for Petersburg Parks and Recreation Losing Big event at 7 p.m. March 12.
March 20 will mark "Kick Butts Day", for the PIA TPC program.
"This is an event taking place nationwide," Banda reported. "Its purpose is to spread the word on the ill effects of tobacco use and will utilize the youth in community."


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Barefruit generates highly targeted traffic for ISPs by replacing DNS and HTTP errors with relevant advertising. Operating at network level, Barefruit technology enables ISPs to resolve error traffic across the customer base with no capital outlay.
The patented relevance engine and usability-tested landing page implemented by the Barefruit solution is helpful, relevant and most importantly, provides a 'go-forward' surfing experience.
Strong user confidence in our website suggestions, resulting in high levels of page interaction, is reflected in the market-leading monetisation we achieve.
Barefruit has a wide variety of partner ISPs globally including Tier One providers and national carriers.
Since launch, Barefruit's partner ISPs have benefited from economies of scale derived from volume-based advertising partnerships.


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The Chateau Resort and Conference Center
In the heart of the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania
Experience the Pocono Mountains from the family resort that's in the heart of it all. Come stay with us at the base of Camelback Mountain, where you're just minutes away from the best of the Poconos… all the adventures, activities, and excitement.Enjoy an incomparable setting, and stunning views of Big Pocono State Park.
Enjoy a full range of amenities featuring indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center, whirlpool and sauna, spa services, and free WiFi.We're adjacent to the Camelback Ski Area, Camelbeach Waterpark, and Camelback Adventures.
Stretch out in one of our 152 rooms and suites, including 37 distinctive two level suites with lofts… perfect for family adventures.Bring your family, and create memories that will last a lifetime.Bring your group, and your next meeting will be an outstanding success. We have the best location in the Pocono Mountains, in the heart of it all, at the foot of Camelback Mountain.
It's all here for you at the Chateau Resort and Conference Center in Tannersville, Pennsylvania.


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BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Trophy grizzly bear hunts are under consideration for the Northern Rockies in the surest sign yet that more than 30 years of federal protection for the fearsome animal is nearing an end across much of the region.
An estimated 1,600 bears inhabit the landscape around Yellowstone and Glacier national parks, and for now, they're protected as a threatened species.
But federal officials are working on plans to lift those protections as soon as 2014 for bears in the Yellowstone area. Bears around Glacier would follow.
Authority over the animals — which can top 600 pounds and live for 25 years — would transfer to state agencies. And with human-bear conflicts and livestock attacks on the rise, wildlife officials in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming said hunting would help them deal with problem bears.
Yet officials stressed that any grizzly season would differ significantly from the aggressive wolf hunts now underway in the region.
Idaho and Montana have lifted quotas on wolves with the explicit aim of driving down pack numbers. Hunters killed roughly 200 wolves in just the past few months in the two states, and 57 have been killed in Wyoming.
By contrast, "you could probably count on one hand" the number of bears that could be legally killed if hunting is allowed, said Chris Servheen, grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"The wolf hunt is really targeted at reducing the number of wolves," Servheen said. "We're not trying to reduce the bear population anywhere. ... It would be a very careful, limited hunt."
A federal-state committee that oversees grizzly bears will consider adopting a pro-hunting policy during a meeting next week.
Precise details on bear hunts have not been crafted. Officials said raising the topic now could help defuse future animosity toward hunts.
Four people were killed by grizzlies over the past two years in Yellowstone National Park and nearby areas of Wyoming and Montana — highlighting the problems that have accompanied their rebound in areas frequented by people.
Still, it's taken decades for grizzlies to rebound from widespread extermination, and some wildlife advocates argue that it's too soon to talk about hunting.
The government has spent more than $20 million on restoration efforts since grizzly bears in the lower 48 states were put on the list of federally protected species in 1975.
Chris Colligan with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition said hunting discussions are premature, particularly when the number of bears killed by humans is high even in the absence of hunting.
At least 51 bears have died so far this year in the Yellowstone area, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Most have died at the hands of wildlife agents who kill bears that cause repeated problems or during run-ins with hunters, who sometimes shoot the animals in self-defense.
Hunting is not being considered for smaller grizzly populations in the Cabinet-Yaak, North Cascades and Selkirk areas of Idaho, Montana and Washington.
Hunting for grizzlies currently is allowed in Canada and Alaska, where hundreds are taken annually.
Grizzlies temporarily lost their threatened species status in 2007 in the Yellowstone region. Protections were restored in 2009 by federal court order.


text:
Meet Our Staff
Karen Melusky, Pam Sweetser, and Patty Quinn at our 2010 More Than You and Me Gala
Pam Sweetser, Founder and Executive Director
Pam and her husband Dan are the adoptive parents of two children, a daughter who was born in Korea in 1986 and a son who was born in India in 1989. Her children catapulted Pam into life and career interests she never imagined. Pam's position as Executive Director has evolved over the past 20 years as she was a volunteer Executive Director for the first 7 years, then the only part-time paid staff person, then a full-time paid position, and finally to overseeing with the Board of Directors the addition of two more part-time paid staff. Pam and Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families have been the recipient of the Minoru Yasui Volunteer Service Award, Asian Education Advisory Council Community Service Award, Channel 7 Everyday Hero, Asian Pacific Bar Association Minoru Yasui Community Award, and the Korean American Coalition of the U.S., Bridge Builder Award Pam has been appointed to the Denver Asian Pacific American Commission, and is on the capital campaign committee of the Asian Pacific Development Center. This "labor of love" at Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families has truly become a life's work for Pam, one that never would have happened without her own wonderful children.
Karen Melusky, Administrative Manager
Karen is the adoptive parent of two children, a son born in Vietnam, and a daughter born in Korea. She and her husband Mike, and their children have been attending heritage camps for 11 years. She was the Vietnamese Heritage Camp volunteer director for 4 years. In her position as Administrative Manager for Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families, Karen manages and controls the heritage camp inventory, database system, camp evaluations and surveys, and supports the volunteer coordinators in their camp preparations. Karen is a true believer in the heritage camp experience for her own children, and for so many others. In her spare time, Karen is the treasurer of the PTSA of Dry Creek Elementary where her children attend, has taught Sunday School at First Universalist Church in Denver, and enjoys spending time with her family.
Patty Quinn, Program Manager
Patty is an adoptive parent of two children adopted from China in 1992 & 1994. She and her husband Ed have been attending Chinese Heritage Camp since September 1998. Patty co-directed the first Chinese Heritage Camp & continued as co-director for 5 years. She then acted for 2 years as Chinese Community liaison. Patty heavily supports the local Chinese community and served on the Operating Committee for the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival and was the Finance Committee Chair from 2000 – 2008. Patty's responsibilities for HCAF include director support, and preparing reports which support the camp directors, and their coordinators. In her position as Program Director, Patty manages the registration data base and corresponds with the camp volunteer staff as well as the various community members & the camp families. She supports all that HCAF represents & her children have been heritage camp campers for the past 12 years. In addition to being campers, her daughters have been counselors for the past 3 years & will continue to do so for years to come. Patty and her husband are grateful for all that heritage camps have brought to their children's lives, and to their own.
Marissa Tafura, Development Director
Marissa is the mother of two biracial, Zimbabwean/U.S. children, age 4 and 1. She has worked with many Heritage Camp parents in her workshops on how to talk about race and racial injustice with children. Marissa is excited about the opportunity to combine her knowledge of fundraising and communications with her passion for affirming cultural and racial identity in kids. She was Director of Communications and Associate Director of Marketing and Development at Emergency Family Assistance Association, a Boulder-based nonprofit that helps low-income families meet their basic needs. Her work at HCAF will focus on growing the organization's donor base, increasing monthly giving, developing corporate partnerships, and increasing fundraising at camps and at the annual gala. Aside from her work at HCAF, Marissa teaches classes on dance and cultural studies at CU Boulder, where she works with guests from a variety of cultures who teach students about their cultural dance forms.


text: Happy, fresh and motivational tune. Starts with the catchy theme: then the grand piano plays the background chords. The drum and the bass enrich the tune with their movements and soft choirs fill the atmosphere. Suitable for lots of projects, such as videos, apps, cinematic, comedy scenes, commercials and more. Enjoy and rate it!


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SADI Workshop
SADI stands for Semantic Automated Discovery and Integration (something you won't find on the SADI Framework website no matter how hard you look) and is a relatively lightweight way to serve and access database information for the Semantic Web. This post is a summary of a two-day SADI workshop. Well, actually, it is a summary of the first day and a half, because on the second day we did the 'practical' part of the workshop. The practical part really didn't go very well. For some reason, we started with the SADI server, which is much more complex than the client would have been. There were numerous connectivity and software issues. I left half way through after the presenter looked at the code, shrugged, and said "I can't fix it." But despite the weakness of the workshop, the SADI framework itself is promising and I recommend people look into it.
OK, if you are already familiar with RDF and OWL and the like, you will want to skip down to Bioinformatics Web Services, where the good stuff starts.
Semantic web:
- extension of current www
- machine understandable annotations
- semantic agreement defined by ontologies
- logic-based representation languages
- automated reasoning
- enables answering of sophisticated questions
Languages (Berners-Lee 2000):
- Unicode + uri
- XML + NS + xmlschema
- RDF + rdfschema
- Logic (SWRL)
- Proof
- Trust
- is a specification of a domain
- eg. 'A cat is a type of animal'
- ontologies used to infer implicit knowledge
- provide structured information
- eg. NCBI/Entrez, EBI/EB-eye
- expose the deep web – surface web = 167 terabytes, deep web = 91,000 terabytes
How do we integrate these resources? We can't create a global schema, changing everyone's database. This is where linked data and RDF comes into play.
Eg. – standard table/column representation may have some data, eg. Treatments for depression, with prices. Another table from a different source may list the same treatments, with outcomes and side effects. In the database world, to merge this information, we have to execute a join. But when we do mappings, we see they have the same identifier, so we don't have to do a join.
In addition, we can take the data we've obtained from databases, and add information from ontologies, and information from the web (eg., in the form of published papers). This is especially useful in fields like bioinformatics, where there are numerous well-established standards. http://lod-cloud.net
Resource description framework describes resources and the relations between them. A resource is anything represented by a URI. Eg. http://example.org/dog In graphical representation, a resource is a node in the graph.
Properties link resources. Properties represent binary relations between two resources.
Literals are data values, information that we have about the resources. They are dates, numbers, strings, etc.
Statements are the building blocks of RDF , expressing the relations. Eg.
(NT1, hasOutcome, NT01)
@prefix ss:
(something else)
RDF/XML syntax:
- specifies the namespaces in the header
- a namespace is a document that describes the RDF elements being used
- rdf: the RDF schema provides the basic elements, ie, 'resource', 'class', 'literals, 'subClassOf', 'domain', 'range', etc.
- rdfs: Annotations are meant for humans, eg. 'label', 'comment', 'seeAlso', 'isDefinedBy'
13 Entainment rules:
Eg. transitivity If x rdfs:subClassOf y and y of z, then x of z.
An RDF database is a 'triple-store'. A query on the database is a graph-pattern with variables. The variables will be bound as a result of the query.
SELECT ?treat
? treat rdf:type ss:DrugTreatment.
? treat ss:targets SS:Depression.
? treat ss:hasOutcome ?out.
? out rdf:type example:CognitiveMeasure
This may not be explicitly represented in the database; this is where we use the rules.
In addition to queries returning variables, we can construct graphs. We merge data by specifying more than one URI (source). There are SPARQL endpoints on the web in variable formats (XML,JSON). Eg. Bio2rdf – 30 billion linked triples of biological data. Bio2RDF supports a faceted text search. Instead of retrieving websites, it retrieves sources where it finds that pattern. You can also retrieve raw data.
Describing a service with SPARQL:
bio2rdf.org/ns:id is essentially a shortcut for a SPARQL query executed on the database:
?s ?p ?o .
?s ?p ?o . FILTER(?s = http://bio2rdf/ns:id).
or you can enter the query into the quesry window (OpenLink Virtuoso SPARQL query).
RDF and Ontologies
RDF is already an ontology language. But:
- there is no negations (eg., 'a drug is not a disease'
- there is no way to express complex descriptions, eg. "f is a p and a c"
So we need a language above RDF, which has this expressivity. This will be the 'Web Ontology Language' (OWL).
Why do we write axioms in the context of the semantic web? A key goal of the semantic web is to create data such that the data carries its own meaning. Then, most applications would be able to use the data as-is. Often, light-weight semantics is enough: RDF plus shared controlled vocabularies. The meanings of the terms are fixed and shared by different parties. If everyone agrees with the definition, we can just pass data.
But this is not all we want to do in the semantic web. Take even a simple scenario, where your data describes a specific drug manufactured in Italy, and you want it to answer questions about all kinds of drugs used in the EU. You need extra information, eg., that Italy is a part of the EU.
So, we begin with axioms. The typical kinds of axioms are 'class' and 'subClassOf' axioms. In addition, we often write subproperty axioms, 'ObjectProperty: hasAgent' and 'SubPropertyOf:hasParticipant". These are the main workhorses of knowledge representation on the semantic web. They are used wherever axioms are used at all, and are particularly useful for querying.
Other kinds of axioms often serve as scaffolds. These are auxiallary axioms to support the hierarchy of concepts and properties. They are basically redundant axioms about concepts, and are used to detect inconsistencies. They are used in semantic reasoning the way types are used in programming; you don't specifically need them, but they help identify when something is being used in an unexpected way. Similarly, data validation checks that classes and properties in an RDF dataset are being used correctly, eg., you may be applying a predicate to a resource where it is intended to be applied to other kinds of resources. And specifically in the context of SADI, axioms are used to define the input and output classes of a service.
Knowledge representation as a discipline is the study of how to represent knowledge in such a way as to support reasoning. The description logics is a family of logics tailored for ontology development; they are concept-centric by design.
Description logics contain three main primitives:
- concepts or classes ( = roughly nouns and adjectives)
- properties ( = roughly stative verbs)
- individuals
Description logic has a tradition of distinguishing between general and specific axioms: TBox ("schema") and ABox ("data"). For example:
- ABox axioms – instance and property asserions. "T is an antidepressant. It targets depression."
- Individual: T
- Type: antidepressant
Facts: targets whatever
- TBox axioms apply to many instances "Every TCA drug is an antidepressant"
- Class: TCA
- SubClassOf: Antidepresant
Class herrchies are central for description logics. They are created using subclass axioms. subclass is transitive. DL processors should perform this inference without explicit instructions. So you write A is a subclass of B, B is a subclass of C, and you do not need to write A is a subclass of C.
Property herarchies can be helpful. If you know some specific, eg., T targets P, then you know that T isRelated to P. Propertty hierarchies are created with subProperty axioms. Thus we have, eg.:
- property: has Agent and subPropertyOf:hasParticipant
- property: hasPartifipant and SubPropertyOf: isReatedTo
This is also transitive.
In description logics, we have special notation:
Thing T denotes the class of all things; semantically, any individual is an instance of thing, so any class is a subclass of thing
Nothing ( _|_ ) denotes the empty class. Sematically, nothing contains no instances. Nothing is a subclass of any class, and all subclasses of Nothing are empty.
There are Boolean operations on class expressions: unions, intersections and negations. These allow us to form complex class expressions.
- Class Union: the equivalent to class: Q or class:X
- Class Intersection: the equivalent of class:O and class:X
- Class Complement: the equivalent of not class:Q
The Axioms:
We can define basic property restrictions in description logics, which are inspired by relational database constraints (so urban legend goes): a non-null field requires a proper value a field with a foreign key references exactly one record. The restrctions are:
- existential property restrictions – an instance of a value of some property exists.
- Universal property restrictions
- Cardinality restrictions
Existential property restrictions are used to define IO in SADI. Universality and cardinality restrictions are less evident.
We also have ways of saying things about properties in description logics. Eg. 'x contains y' is the same as saying 'y belongs to x'. We say 'is_contained_by' is an inverse property of 'contains'. In OWL, we just declare that:
ObjectProperty: contained_by
InverseOf: contains
Other special property axioms: transitivity, symmetry, reflexivity.
Class disjointness is defined via intersection, ie., we say that two classes are disjoined if the intersecting class is empty. Disjointness axioms are mainly used for trapping inconsistencies. (Caution: if you think something is disjoint, you'd better be very sure.)
Another type of axiom is one that defines property domains and ranges. These again are mostly traps for inconsistencies. Eg. If you have a property 'domains' you must have a domain 'drug treatment'. Or (for range) if you have a property 'targets', then it must have a range of 'disease'. It's a lot like typechecking in programming languages.
Descriptive Logic Reasoning Basics
Ontological consistency (aka 'satisfiability') checking: given an ontology, check to see if it implies contradiction. It's useful by itself, but also:
- concept (class) satisfiability – classes that cannot have instances are suspicious. This can be reduced to ontology consistency: add one axiom, that 'something belongs to C'. If this results in a contradiction the class cannot be satisfied – no entity can be a member of that class.
- Concept subsumption – is class C1 implicitly a subclass of C? Check to see is (C1 and not C2) is unsatisfiable, ie, no member of C1 can be outside C2.
Classification – discover implicit subclass links between named classes
Instance classification (aka realization) – fi nd all most specific types of an instance described with a ABox. Eg. If Individual:T targets:P then P will be classified as a disease. This can be implemented by repetitive application of the instance check: given a ABox for an instance obj, does obj classify into the class C?
Another reasoning task: conjunctive query answering. Eg. Find all ?D, ?T such that ?D:Drug ?D:isAgent
Tableaux reasoning: tableaux reasoners decide satisfiability. If the ontology is consistent, it has a model, a special structure on which the ontology is true. Given an ontology, a tableaux reasoned tries to find a model for it; if it fails, the on tology is inconsistent.
The main mechanism for this is 'case analysis'. If we have an object that belongs to types A or B, then we replace it with an object that belongs to type B. Try to find the model for that simplified ontology. If this succeeds, you have a model for the original ontology. If it fails, try the other type.
Various tableaux reasoners for OWL:
- Pellet Clark&Parsiam dual-licensed, Java
- Fact++ ManchesterU, open source C__ with Java API
- Racer Pro
- HermiT
There are also rule-based systems that are not tableaux reasoners.
So – how is OWL related to description logics? OWL is essentially a concrete syntactic incarnation of DL. OWL itself has several serializations (ie, ways of expressing it):
- mapped to RDF, so any RDF syntax can be used to represent OWL
- (etc)
OWL goes beyond description logics in a few ways:
- datatypes in addition to regular classes
- data literals in addition to individuals
- separation of properties into object and data properties
- punning: classes and properties can be used as individuals
- annotation properties
Practical possibilities for reasoning with OWL:
- call reasoners from ontology editors, eg., Protégé. Classification, realization, consistency, and cass satisfiability
- stand-alone use of reasoners, eg., SPARQL querying
- programmatic use of reasoners via APIs. Eg, you can request all the subclasses of a given class, including implicit ones.
Demo. Take Protégé, load an ontology with both TBox and ABox sections, run an available reasoner.
Demo with stand-alone Pellet. Open Peller with .jar or .sh, check consistency of one consistent and one inconsistent ontology, classify an ontology, realize an ontology, compute a SPARL query on it.
Practical Aspects of OWL
There has been a huge increase in the diversity of ontology editors, development environments, etc.
Some best practices:
- become acquainted with the capabilities and limits of KR languages and technologies
- be objective – no distinction without a difference – a subclass must differ from a parent in a significant way
- classes should have at least one instance; and disjoint classes on the same level, and leaf classes, should never share instances
- Clearly state the intent of the ontology. "This ontology describes entities and relationships in 'domain'." Vs specific list of knowledge intended t be captured, outcomes expected from use, etc.
- Reuse ontologies. Import, reference, and refine.
Design patterns are needed (inspired by software design patterns). They are cetgroized into three groups:
- lists and n-ary relationships
- modeling, realist mentality
N-ary relationships: create a class of specific individuals that may not exist in the real world. Eg. 'treatment' – we can see diseases, outcomes, drug, outcome, etc., I cannot see 'treatment', but it's something that I want to talk about.
- use an OWL ontology in Protégé
o a simplified pharma ontology
Web Services
We services are programs that can be called over the internet. The service is executed on the server, which is a remote system. Typically, we're talking about services called over HTTP and executed using XML.
One common platform is SOAP+WSDL+UDDI. These are services that are discoverable via a register and which are self-describing.
Reasons to use web services:
- distributed computing – if data resides in one place, other data resides in another, and it all has to be used in combination
- shared use of costly resources – eg., large data, especially live, is difficult to replicate
- platform independence – WS allows you to use your efficient program in Linux from your iPhone app
- software component reuse – a good program already exists, others can use it
Some web service examples include:
- stock quotes
- postal code lookup
- unit conversion
- BLAST genetic sequence search
Main WS Platform: SOAP+WSDL_UDDI
- SOAP – simple object access protocol – standardizes the message format and communications protocol – it's a generic XML based way of passing any XML content; it relieves programmers of having to develop libraries to handle messages. The message consists of the message body containing the payload and a header carrying auxiliary information, such as authentication data, IDs of messages to be acknowledgement, etc.
- WSDL – an extension of XML schema that allows you to define what your service does, specifically: (i) input/output types using XML schema types, (ii) concrete ways (bindings) the service can be called, and (iii) concrete locations (endpoints) the service can be called from. The main part of any WSDL is the definition of input and output classes, in XML schema.
- UDDI – universal description, discovery and integration – XML-based standard for registries that facilitate finding services. Once the service is written and described with WSDL, you want it to be accessible. UDD is a searchable, categorized collection of service descriptions in XML. UDDI is the standard for these registries. White pages: info about the provider, the name and nature of the business, the name, URL, etc. Yellow pages: categorization of the services in terms of standard nomenclature. Green pages: more technical info, eg. WSDL. (*) caution that there is no support for UDDI any more; it's up to version 4 point something, but nobody uses it.
Why would you want to mix services with semantics? There are three major goas the WS community is trying to achieve:
- automated discovery – find the right kind of services that consume the right kind of data and produce the right kind of data
- automatic composition – compose (connect) services – eg. One service produces a list of employees connects to a service that consumes a list of people.
- Automatic invocation – even if a service is semantically and yntactically correct, it may produce the wrong sort of result; this allows specification of services that produce a specific result.
The first two goals can be accomplished by semantic categorization. Eg., assign a class/type/category to a service to enable its discovery. Eg. Categorize a service as a 'LatLongCoordinatesComputation' service, and ensure that this is a subset of 'location service'. Also, via specifying input and output data types.
SAWSDL – is an attempt to standardize this – extends WSDL with semantic categorizations. Sawsdl:modelReference attributes maps of operation, input and output elements to URLs from classes of ontologies. SAWSDL can be used for service matchmaking: if you know how the service you are looking for is categorized, and how the IO is categorized, you can write a 'fake' SAWSDL document, which becomes the input for a query. (aside: comparison of this with OWLS).
Semantic categorization goes a long way, but:
- one can have several services with the same IO but doing different things
- fine categorization of services only alleviates the problem, but doesn't solve it.
- In general, categorizing a service and IO doesn't explicitly define what the service computes, ie., the relation between input and output.
Bioinformatics Web Services
Bioinformatics web services tend to be must simpler than W3C examples. Specifically:
- they tend to be stateless, atomic
- they are data-centric
They tend to ignore existing semantic standards for reasonable reasons. Eg. They ignore SAWSDL because it's so lightweight. But OWL-S is, by contrast, huge and daunting; people have no desire to go into that level of complexity. Lately they've tended even to reject basic standards for web services, eschewing SOAP (in favour of RESTful services) and UDDI (in favour of BioMoby and BioCatalogue).
The existing standards were too complicated; they require too much effort for not enough gain.
SADI – you use simple HTTP operations, no project specific protocol. Services consume and produce RDF data, no message scaffolding. OWL is used to describe the service interface, reusing existing ontologies where possible. No SOAP, no XML schema.
The input is an RDF graph, rooted at a particular node, the output is an RDF graph, rooted at the same node. Hence there is an explicit relationship between input and output. Eg., in a temperature converter, instead of accepting '6 C' input and '38 F' output, you attach new unit-value pairs to the same temperature object. The output has the same node as the input, that is, the node has the same URI.
SADI – is basically a philosophy for expressing web services:
- service is identified by an HTTP URL – used to identify the service, used to invoke the service
- responds to HTTP-GET with an RDF document that describes the service (note that http://www.fred.ca and fred.ca are different URIs).
- The service description indicates the input OWL class and the output OWL class.
- Eg. http://sadiframework.org/examples/hello
- The service responds to HTTP-POST by invoking the service; the input is RDF containing OWL-class instances, the output is RDF
- Indicate error with the appropriate HTTP error code (importantly, don't send an HTTP ok with an error document).
To call a SADI service, send a POST where the POST body is an RDF document:
Cotent-type: HTTP header
Eg. see slide module 3, 3.2.1
For asynchronous services, the server sends a stub in response immediately, and the client polls periodically for further response. The response code is 202 (accepted but incomplete): rdfs:isDefinedBy
For parameterized SADI service, eg., substitution matrix, etc. etc. Solution: create a parameterized OWL class, client sends an instance of that class along with the request.
The SADI registry: clients need to find SADI services; ideally you search for them in the worl, but we can't find them, so we have a registry. Enter a URL in the form to register. There's a SPARQL query endpoint and a Java API
Service Interface Definition
The service description describes services by properties input and output. The property restrictions describe the data consumed by the service. All property restrictions must be satisfied by each input instance. The service description can point to URIs that define input classes accepted by the service.
In these input classes, instances should be dynamically identifiable. Use necessary and sufficient conditions, and avoid universal and exact cardinality specifications. This addresses the 'open world assumption' - the idea that just because you don't know something is true, you can't say it's false. Eg. say 'minimum one name', not 'exactly one name'.
You can also specify input classes by specifying particular classes to an input property. Eg., if I am only interested in compounds, not genes, I can specify in my input that it must be of class 'compound'. Use 'some' or 'someValuesFrom' restriction to define this. By contrast, don't use 'allValuesFrom' - this is a universal condition that can never be satisfied because of the open world assumption.
An input class with multiple classes eg. 'datedValue' must have both a date and a value. Again, the idea is to identify necessary and sufficient conditions.
Output classes use property restrictions to describe data produced by the service. Instances don't have to be dynamically identifiable. The range of attached data should be indicated by the property restriction. Ie., clients should be able to identify services not only by what they output but by the specific values of what they output.
(Notes on having perl modules load locally)
perl5 lib environment variable
cpan instalbasedir
vi /home/stephen/bashrc
#Perl stuff
edit .cpan/CPAN/MyConfig.pm
'makepl_arg' => q[INSTALL_BASE=~/Lbrary/Perl],
'mbuild_install_org' => q[--install_base=~/Library/Perl],
sadi google group
(end notesa)
Seriously, folks, if you're going to do a workshop on new technologies:
- don't do more than a day of theoretical stuff before even trying anything practical and work from more accessible stuff to more complex stuff; do a little demo, some hands on, then explain the theory behind it, rinse, lather, repeat.
- don't assume everybody knows the notation you are using; as you write things out, say what they mean, rather than just saying "this" and pointing
- if you are demonstrating an environment on the screen, make sure it looks the same as your participants' - and not all customized with labels and shortcuts and such
- make sure you know the software - if the instructions on the website say 'download, run make, run the installer' then don't tell participants 'just use CPAN'
- if your demonstration server is a box sitting on your desktop in your office, don't slam it with 30 download requests all at once (and when you do that, don't blame local connectivity, which was perfectly fine)
- make sure the software works. That means, don't commit a new untested version of the software the night before the workshop.
- when you do all of this and your practical session blows up, don't blame the participants. It's not their fault the software doesn't work.
The last is the most important. I've done lots of tech demos. They break; it happens, and everyone understands. You patch things up as best you can. But blaming the participants is a cheap shot. There's nothing they can do to fix your mess, so there's nothing they can do to escape the blame. It just makes everyone feel bad and turns what could have been a worthwhile experience into nastiness and recriminations.
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text:
Poster brings WordPress and 1Password closer together on iOS
The newest seat on the 1Password Express has been taken by none other than Poster, the universal WordPress blogging client from Tom Witkins.
Whether you setup a new WordPress blog hosted at WordPress.com or your own web host, Poster will display a 1Password button on the login screen if you have it installed. Tap it, and you'll quickly switch over to the new 1Password for iOS where you can unlock with your Master Password (if necessary) and search for your site's Login. From there you can copy your password, double-tap the Home button for the app switcher, switch back to Poster, and get down to writing.
Poster really is a great app, I've been using it more often to blog with my iPad. We'd like to thank Tom for making it easier to log in with 1Password!


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PORTSMOUTH — Prepare to be moved as director Todd Hunter brings Diana Son's powerful Stop Kiss back to The Players' Ring stage.
The story of Stop Kiss is deceptively simple: two young women in New York meet, talk about their boyfriends, feel a growing, unspoken attraction for each other, and finally kiss. And that one innocent kiss sets off a savage gay bashing. But even as Stop Kiss confronts the reality of physical violence, Diana Son's imaginative, moving, and surprising comedy brings audiences – and her principal characters – to unexpected places.
Callie is holding down a job as a radio traffic reporter when she meets Sara, a Midwesterner who, against her parents' wishes, has moved to the city to teach third-grade students in the Bronx. As they get to know each other, their shared experiences and sense of humor create a strong bond. The tragic consequences of their kiss – the center of this powerful drama – serve as both an indictment of hatred and a moving study of the perils inherent in living life fully.
With Rebecca Rudolf, Jacquelyn Benson, Matthew Schofield, Jamie Bradley, Jasmin Hunter, Samuel Bennett, and Margaret McAleese. Lighting Design by Quentin Stockwell. Stage Design and management by Gina Bowker. Assistant SM and tech by Grady O'Neil.
November 9 – November 25
Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm.
7pm Sundays November 11 and 18.
2pm Sunday November 25.
Call 603-436-8123 to make reservations or purchase tickets online at www.playersring.org.
This will be the first Rolling Die Productions piece since 2009, although director Todd Hunter has directed shows at the request of other production companies (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and Hedwig And The Angry Inch). "When I directed Stop Kiss in 2004, I felt that the social mores that it portrayed - the gay bashing and the public reaction following it - were becoming a bit outdated. It felt, at the time, that we were moving past the social intolerance, the bigotry, that we were moving towards stronger equality for all, regardless of orientation. I'll be the first to admit that I was terribly naive, because while strides toward equality have made leaps forward since, the backlash has been even stronger and, in many ways, threatens equality even greater," explains Hunter, when asked why he chose Stop Kiss for Rolling Die's return to stage. "Callie and Sara are two human beings. Two women. Two daughters that are senselessly attacked due to bigotry. In the current climate where equality has been so politicized, Stop Kiss is a reminder that there are human beings at the core of this."
The story of Calie and Sarah will be brought to life by two talented Seacoast actresses that hope audiences are as moved by the story as they were. "I believe the message of Stop Kiss is important. I love that this show depicts a love story that anyone - gay or straight - can engage with and relate to, but also makes clear the violence that gay couples are still at risk of in our society. There are scenes in this show that are very hard to watch - and perform in, of course - because of their brutality. But that brutality isn't a fiction - which is why it's important to tell the story," explains Jacquelyn Benson, who will be playing Sarah.
Callie will be brought to life by Rebecca Rudolf. "After reading the script through a couple times, I realized what an important story this is, especially now when homosexuality, incredibly, remains taboo. I think above all, this show portrays humanity. It is my hope that this show will open the eyes and minds of its audience members; to bring violent issues like the one in this play to the forefront of their minds. A lot of the time, we know that things like this happen, but it fades into the background of our lives. We forget the horror of it because we are so removed from it... I hope to generate empathy for the victims of hate crimes", said Rudolf.
Stop Kiss is an Obie Award winner, A GLAAD Best Production winner, and included in Best plays of 1999 for The New York Times, New York Magazine, Newsday, and New York Daily News.
The dedication and passion that the team brings to the script will make for a night of theater that is not to be missed.
A simple story with a powerful message at Players' Ring
PORTSMOUTH — Prepare to be moved as director Todd Hunter brings Diana Son's powerful Stop Kiss back to The Players' Ring stage.


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NEW YORK (AP) — The latest twists in Europe's debt drama weighed down the stock market Tuesday, offsetting more good news on the U.S. housing market.
The Dow Jones industrial average managed a gain of just four points, while other indexes closed slightly lower. Investors were focused on Cyprus, where the Mediterranean country's lawmakers vote against a proposed bailout plan for banks that would have called for raiding the savings accounts of ordinary citizens, setting a precedent in Europe's ongoing debt crisis. The vote happened 90 minutes before U.S. markets closed, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern time.
The plan was rejected — with zero votes in favor — even after being changed to lessen the burden on savers with lower balances. The vote leaves Cyprus's bailout from international lenders in question. Cyprus is seeking $15.8 billion to fund its government and its banks. Without the money, both could collapse, and the country could wind up leaving the union of 17 countries that use the euro.
"The concern in the market is that they could default or they could be forced out of the euro zone and that would create a precedent," said Alec Young, a global equity strategist with S&P Capital IQ. "The selling, though, is fairly contained, and that tells you most people think there will be some kind of compromise reached."
The Dow and other U.S. indexes started higher following a report of a surprisingly large increase in home construction in February. The index gained as much as 62 points in morning trading.
It turned lower at midday as Cyprus' parliament began debating the contentious plan demanded by the country's lenders to seize as much as 10 percent of the funds in savings accounts. The market steadied in the afternoon after the vote occurred.
The eurozone's debt crisis still has the power to captivate stock global markets, but investors worry about it less these days after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged last year to do "whatever it takes" to preserve the euro.
The Dow's biggest fall this year came Feb. 25, when it lost 1.6 percent after the results of Italian elections left the country in political turmoil, endangering crucial economic reforms. Even that was less than sell-offs a year ago when borrowing rates spiked for Spain and Italy as investors lost confidence in the ability of those countries to service their debt.
On Tuesday, the Dow rose 3.76 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 14,455.82.
Other major market indexes fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 3.76 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,548.34. The Nasdaq composite fell 8.50 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,229.10.
On Monday, the Dow fell 62 points after a weekend of drama as Cyprus' leaders acceded to the demands from European lenders to seize depositors' funds, which were met with outrage. While the reaction Tuesday was more muted, investors were still watching closely to see if the situation worsens.
"The situation in Cyprus is keeping everyone glued to their TVs," Joseph Tanious, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds, said before the vote.
Tanious says investors shouldn't overreact to the news coming out of Europe, but instead take a step back and remember Draghi's pledge. "Do not underestimate the power of the ECB," said Tanious.
U.S. markets have been on a roll this year. The Dow is up 10.3 percent and broke through its previous all-time high on March 5, driven by strength in housing and a pickup in hiring. Strong company earnings and continuing stimulus from the Federal Reserve are also helping boost demand for stocks.
The S&P 500 is up 8.6 percent in 2013 and is 1.1 percent from its record close of 1,565.15, which was reached in October 2007.
The Federal Reserve opened its second policy meeting of the year Tuesday. On Wednesday, it will issue a policy statement and update its economic forecasts. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will give a press conference at 2:30 p.m. EDT. Economists and investors don't expect the Fed to let up in its drive to keep stimulating the economy by keeping interest rates at historic lows.
"The Fed has clearly been a big push in this market, no question," said Maury Fertig, chief investment officer at Relative Value Partners. "What the Fed has done has really helped the market recover....they're not going to pull away prematurely."
Investors are increasingly putting more money in stocks, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey, published Tuesday. The survey of fund managers showed that 57 percent of investors favored allocating money to stocks, the highest percentage in more than two years.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.91 percent from 1.96 percent Monday. That shows investors continued to move money into low-risk assets. Two weeks ago the yield was 2.05 percent.
Among stocks making big moves:
— Lululemon fell $1.82, or 2.8 percent, to $64.08 after the company yanked its popular black yoga pants from store shelves after it found that the sheer material used was too revealing.
— Electronic Arts fell $1.56, or 8.3 percent, to $17.15 after the video game maker said its adjusted revenue fell 28 percent to $1.18 billion for the last three months of 2012. The figure was below Wall Street's expectations. The company also said its CEO, John Riccitiello, will step down on March 30.


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Wednesday, January 30: Keeping It Real
Wednesday, January 30: Keeping It Real
It's undeniable: the Hub is about to have a moment. National audiences will see Boston in two reality series debuting this winter: Southie Rules, the story of a three generation family coping with a changing neighborhood, and Boston's Finest, an unscripted series focusing on the professional and personal lives of the men and women of the Boston Police Department. Tonight, we've got sneak peeks of both shows and talk to the people behind the productions. Plus, Boston Globe writer Geoff Edgers tells us why he's willing to risk life and limb in his new Edge of America series.
Show Resources:


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Holiday Home Vir with Sea View 11
23234 Vir, Croatia –
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NOVASOL is one of the largest holiday rental providers and we have a great selection of properties in 28 countries throughout Europe, including in Norway, Denmark, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Croatia. We have over 40 years' experience with the holiday rental market, so you are in safe hands when booking one of our accommodations.
Languages spoken: Swedish, Norwegian, English, German, Danish
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Zadar Airport20.6 miles
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I posted this here since it's more about a benefit of raw than any training I've done. But this past weekend when I was at my mom's house, she just kept commenting over and over about how calm Inara was, and how she could actually pet her without getting licked. I'm willing to bet money it's because she's now getting less than 20% protein as opposed to the 32% her kibble had.
Just makes me happy.


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Special Operations Teams Get Special Training [VIDEO]
The Navy SEAL training is legendary as the most rigorous in the world. Army Rangers train to fight and win. This Video does not do justice to the amount of dedication these great American men and women do to get ready to hunt, track-down and extinguish the enemy.


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GREENSBORO — This summer marked the third time North Carolina quarterback Bryn Renner attended the Manning Passing Academy.
Despite his veteran status among camp attendees, Renner was star struck by one aspect of learning from America's premier quarterback family.
"It's unbelievable every year. … Just being able to talk to Eli and Peyton Manning," Renner said, "you know, you can have a regular conversation with Peyton Manning and sometimes I don't even realize it, that's Peyton Manning."
Based on some observations, it seems Renner could have that effect on other college quarterbacks in the future.
Renner's performance at the camp led to NFL Network's Mike Mayock calling the fifth-year senior the "most polished" of the senior quarterbacks at the camp, a group that included two-time national champion A.J. McCarron of Alabama.
Renner said he was more laidback at this year's camp compared to previous years — although apparently not as laidback as Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M .
"This year was a lot more relaxed because I have been there for three years and you grow up a lot and learn about the game and talk verbiage," Renner said. "You want to be like (Eli and Peyton Manning) one day, so you're going to do everything that they do."
And Renner wasn't the only Triangle quarterback in attendance.
Duke's Anthony Boone soaked in the experience ahead of his first year as a starting quarterback.
"Just guys from different conferences, seeing how they are personality-wise and being around those guys when we have competitions, seeing how those guys throw and how they differ," Boone said about the experience of the camp.
Times-News sports reporter Conor O'Neill can be reached at email@example.com.


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With egg-shaped devices in hand, a group of 11 fourth graders at John M. Marshall Elementary School recently sat through a social studies lesson about New York State history.
But before the formal lesson could begin, Jeff Thompson, one of their two teachers, administered a quick pre-quiz to assess what they knew already.
"Why did the British pass the Navigation Acts?" he read aloud from a digitized whiteboard at the front of the room known as the Promethean board.
He then read through the possible answers:
"A. To make it easier to sail across the Atlantic Ocean."
"B. To allow them to attack Spanish, French, and Dutch ships trying to trade with its colony."
"C. To help ships navigate New York Harbor."
"D. To allow Spanish, French, and Dutch ships to trade with the British colony."
But rather than raising their hands to call out the answer, students instead plugged their responses into the orange-and grey handheld devices. These student response systems, called ActiVote, encourage whole-class participation while helping to administer periodic assessments.
Currently, the devices are being used in two fifth-grade classrooms and three fourth-grade rooms, with a rollout to additional grades coming in September.
Across the East Hampton School District, despite the need for $1 million in cuts, school board members are weighing potential increases to the technology inventory. During a budget workshop last month, the board seemed to lean toward purchasing 180 more Chromebooks, which would allow for 60 devices at each of the district's three schools. Each Chromebook costs $330, for a total investment of nearly $60,000.
An additional concern in future years are online assessments, which the state plans to require of students in grades 3 to 8. These assessments were to have started by the 2015-16 school year, but were recently put on hold following widespread difficulties in implementing the so-called Common Core standards. Online assessments remain an inevitability, however, and districts must invest accordingly.
During the John Marshall quiz, each response flashed on the right of the whiteboard screen, with an anonymous configuration of letters and numbers assigned to each student. Mr. Thompson revealed later in the lesson that about one-third of the class had selected B, the correct answer.
Mr. Thompson, who is in his 10th year at John Marshall, discovered the devices last September in the back of a supply cabinet, where they lay gathering dust. Their utility quickly became evident.
"We get immediate feedback," he said. "Right away, you can see who needs support. And if the whole class is struggling with a concept, you can hit the brakes and re-teach the whole group."
Beth Doyle, John Marshall's principal, is a convert. "They provide this great in-the-moment feedback so they can adjust their lesson right then and there and not move on until their students have mastered it," said Ms. Doyle. "If a couple of kids didn't get it, the teachers can pull them aside and do a quick review."
For Mr. Thompson and his co-teacher, Erin Abran, who co-teaches the "inclusion" class, one of ActiVote's most useful features is its anonymity. A handful of the children are classified as special education.
"The kids don't know who answered what," said Ms. Abran.
The devices are used for other subjects besides social studies, among them math and science. "There's 100-percent participation, and you can't hide. It forces them to take risks," she said.
The students seem equally enamored.
"I don't have to raise my hand," said Stacy Pizarro, 10. "I just press a button."
"It's a lot easier to just press a button and get it over with," said Madeleine Brown, 9. "It's fun and if you got it wrong, you also don't have to erase."
"It's quick and fast and I don't get bored," said Joshua Vazquez, 10.
Amy Falkenhan said she hasn't touched a piece of chalk since she began teaching four years ago.
"I used to have to collect papers, grade them, and get it back to them," said Ms. Falkenhan, who teaches fourth grade. "Now, I can see who's having trouble right away." After conducting an assessment, she pulls aside small groups of students still having problems for a quick review. "They know if they get it wrong they will get support that same day."
Since using ActiVote, said Ms. Falkenhan, she sees students engaged from the minute a lesson starts to when it ends, knowing they can be wrong without being laughed at. She called them digital natives, a generation of young people coming of age during an era when technology is omnipresent.
"Everything kids do these days involves electronics," she said. "When they come into the classroom, you have to be able to teach with what they're using in their everyday lives. If I went up to the front of the room with a piece of chalk, I guarantee you I would lose almost all of them."


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Archbishop Murphy announced that it has hired Jerry Jensen, a former assistant football coach at the school, to be the school's next head football coach, according to the school's athletic director Jerry Zander.
"I'm honored to be back at Archbishop Murphy," Jensen said in a press release. "This school has a great football tradition and I'm excited to build upon that."
Jensen played football at Cascade under Terry Ennis and at the University of Washington. After his playing days were over, Jensen was an assistant coach under Ennis and Dave Ward at Archbishop Murphy. Last season he was an assistant on Jay Silver's staff at Mount Vernon.
"The first thing about Jerry is his football experience," Zander said. "He's played under Terry Ennis, Don James, Jim Lambright, Dom Capers. He has a ton of football experience that we felt was key."
Zander said that Jensen's connection to Archbishop Murphy and to Ennis was nice but not the deciding factor.
"First and foremost the committee felt that Jerry was the best coach throughout the interview process," Zander said. "The fact he's a known quantity was a bonus."
Zander said that the school received 28 applications during the nine-day window the job was open from Dec. 3-12. From there the school narrowed that list down to six finalists who then went through an interview process performed by a committee made up of two school administrators, two Murphy coaches and a parent.
Jensen steps into a job that that has seen some recent turmoil. Archbishop Murphy has had three head coaches in the past year. Dave Ward, who had guided the Wildcats to back-to-back state championship game appearances, was put on administrative leave before being forced out in early February. His replacement Bill Marsh abruptly resigned after the fourth game of the season and Michael Allison, who was interim head coach, was put on paid administrative leave a day after his promotion due to a report that surfaced stating he'd stipulated to having an improper relationship with a former student while he coached in Oregon.
Zander confirmed Tuesday that Allison is no longer part of the Archbishop Murphy football program.
As for Jensen's staff, he's already confirmed the hiring of Roger Brodniak, Terry Hollimon, Joe Ennis, Shane Fortney and David Richie.
Check www.heraldnet.com/highschools for more later in the day or Wednesday's Herald.
Here's the press release the school sent out late Tuesday:
Former UW captain and NFL player Jerry Jensen to lead Archbishop Murphy football program
Archbishop Murphy High School has hired Jerry Jensen as its head football coach.
A former Snohomish County high-school, college and NFL player, Jensen was on late AMHS head football coach Terry Ennis' staff in 2004 and from 2007-2009.
"I'm honored to be back at Archbishop Murphy," Jensen said. "This school has a great football tradition and I'm excited to build upon that."
Jensen has wasted no time assembling his coaching staff. Roger Brodniak, AMHS government teacher and a member of this past season's coaching staff, will join Jensen's team. Terry Hollimon also will join as an assistant coach. Jensen, Brodniak and Hollimon played for Terry Ennis at Cascade High School in the early 1990s. Jensen and Hollimon went on to play at the University of Washington under legendary Husky football coaches Don James and Jim Lambright. Jensen then went on to play professional football for the Carolina Panthers under coach Dom Capers. Most recently, Jensen served as defensive coordinator at Mount Vernon High School.
In addition to Brodniak and Hollimon, Jensen's coaching team so far includes:
-Joe Ennis: Son of Terry Ennis, Cascade High School alum and football player, and former AMHS assistant football coach
-Shane Fortney: Mariner High School alum, and UW football player
-David Richie: Kelso High School alum, UW football player, NFL player and Super Bowl XXXII champion (as a Denver Bronco), and coach at Central Catholic High School in Portland, Ore.
"Jerry is well known and highly regarded in the football community," said AMHS Athletic Director Jerry Zander. "He knows our school and understands our program, and he's putting together a stellar coaching staff. I'm really looking forward to working with him."
Jensen also will join the AMHS community in a part-time support staff capacity in the Athletics Department.


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Sony Ericsson lights up Xperia Arc
Android handset announced - no mention of PlayStation
CES 2011 The PlayStation Phone hasn't (yet) made an appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), so Sony Ericsson fans will have to make do with the Xperia Arc, a very slim Android smartphone that, as its name suggests, is curved.
The metal backed, chrome plastic sided handset is built around a 4.2in, 480 x 854 capacitive multi-touch screen. There's a 1GHz Qualcomm processor on board, Android 2.3 Gingerbread and an 8.1Mp camera. The Arc has no on-board storage, but Sony Ericsson will slip an 8GB Micro SD card in the box.
You're looking at dual-band HSDPA 3G and quad-band GSM/Edge cellular connectivity, plus Wi-Fi, Bluetooth. It has HDMI output and can stream content using DLNA technology. It has GPS too.
OK, PlayStation isn't one of them, but Sony is using some of its other brands to promote the Arc: Bravia for the handset's "reality display" - shades of Apple's "retina display" there - engine and Exmor R for its image sensor.
Says SE: the Arc's display offers "exceptional visual brilliance and a crystal clear image which enhances the overall entertainment experience". Hyperbole, of course, but to what extent was impossible to say under the harsh lighting above Sony's CES booth.
Arc comes in a 125 x 63 x 8.7mm casing. Insides and outsides together weigh 117g. The Arc will go on sale later this quarter. ®


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Apple Coffee Cake Recipe
Apple Coffee Cake Recipe
Use 10 inch round or 9 x13 brownie pan lined with parchment or spray with baking spray.
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
Mix with a spoon or wisk in a medium bowl
Sift 3 cups all purpose flour and 1 tablespoon baking powder stir into above.
Peel and slice 4 granny smith apples, cinnamon sugar mixture for sprinkling.
Layer half the batter in prepared pan sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture. Lay 1/2 the apple slices, add the rest of the batter, then more cinnamon sugar mixture.
Lay the remaining apples in a circular pattern.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until firm to the touch.
May be be made a day ahead.


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Your current filters are…
Over the course of 6 years of Python development at NASA, Revsys, and Eldarion; Daniel Greenfeld has picked up a lot of easy tricks stolen from the best and brightest in the Python community that make him look good in front of his peers and clients. And now, at great risk to his career and reputation, he is going to show you how he does it.
United States United States, Portland
5th–8th September 2011


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JSLint is an excellent tool I always use before packing. Maybe you could add a web based js-lint so that people can check their code before packing.
See jslint page
LSLint JSLing looks like an interesting tool. There is one problem though. LSLint JSLing does not suggest semi-colon after function brackets eg.:
function eatMe(){ do something};
That's interesting - either your J key is broken, or you consistently make typos. LSLint is apparently a syntax checker for Second Life. OK, so let's assume we're both talking about jslint here.
Following the javascript specification http://hepunx.rl.ac.uk/~adye/jsspec11/stmts.htm function definitions don't end in a semicolon. Something like
function a() {/*code*/} function b(/*code*/) {} function c(/*code*/) {}
Should work just fine, all on the same line. Of course, variable declarations do require a semi-colon, so e.g.
var fa=function a() {/*code*/}; var fb = function b(/*code*/) {}; var fc = function c(/*code*/) {};
And jslint suggests you this as well.