text:
If I come for you in the night/Will you take my hand or will you fight?
In a world as stressful, random, and unjust as ours can seem, the impulse to escape–to cast responsibility to the wind and live some loose dream, whatever it may be–appeals, particularly to generations that, sold one bill of goods throughout adolescence, arrives in young adulthood to find the world different from what they were promised (or, at very least, what they'd imagined). It's an exceedingly romantic notion, but one that understandably inspires art (and, increasingly, the career choices of young men and women who realize a check from Goldman Sachs may not mean happiness or security).
And I like you 'cause/You don't care too much/You say what you want/You go where you want
In light of anthemic new single "Voices Drifting," the tagline on Melbourne band the Holidays' Twitter page seems particularly fitting: "Having an existential crisis in a banana chair." In a nutshell, being worried about this crazy world and your place in it, but having the good sense to deal with meltdown humorously. "Voices Drifting" is arena-sized romanticism, the product of two years off sessions in apartments, studios and hotel rooms in Berlin, London, Melbourne, Paris and Tokyo–a fittingly global set of locales to play backdrop to a song about getting lost with a loved one. The band's writing filters that worry about the world through wonder and absurdism set against hazy guitars and heavy drums. A tried and true formula, but one executed with care and a palpable dedication to getting purposefully lost.
Turn on "Voices Drifting" and buy a one way ticket to somewhere.


text:
Looking in from the outside, the ACS Accreditation process seems like a useful and necessary scheme. Yet, having undergone many audits in my time, the whole audit process to check paperwork, numbers, systems and procedures can seem daunting and the preparation for it be quite time consuming. Currently there isn't much way around the files and files of paper required to be prepared for checking, and let's face it - there's not many of us who diligently prepare all this sort of paperwork 100% as we go along!
Let's blue sky think for a minute, though! What if you could find a cloud based solution (so no I.T costs and in-house support, huge hard drive for data storage, no onerous in-house backup procedure) that kept and managed all of the relevant paperwork, stored it all, backed it up twice a day, kept an audit trail of communication, worksheets, site info, client feedback, incident reports, job specifications, monitored and managed shifts and clock in/out times, allowed your clients to view and interact with the service you provide them with and interfaced with your payroll package...
There is a system like that.
Here are the current ACS Standard Criteria and Indicators according to the official SIA homepage and how PARiM can help you meet all of them:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Joint / Dual research degrees
Joint / dual awards involve a collaboration with another degree awarding institution leading to the award of a single or joint qualification.
A joint / dual PhD programme is a partnership between a lead and a partner institution. Postgraduate Researchers (PGRs) work with supervisors in both institutions, spending time and benefiting from access to learning resources in both locations.
We define these as:
Joint PhD
Both institutions agree on the programme outline and assessment procedures for the PGR. There is one agreed method of assessment (transfer, annual progress monitoring, examination) conducted with members of both institutions. One joint degree is awarded, stating both institutions on the certificate.
Dual PhD
Both institutions agree on the programme outline and assessment procedures for the PGR. There are agreed methods of assessment (transfer, annual progress monitoring, examination) which may be conducted separately by each institution. Two dual degrees are awarded, one by each institution.
Information and Guidance
The development of Joint / Dual PhDs are always led by the institution and are designed to recruit PGR cohorts. Individual requests for study under a cotutelle arrangement are not accepted by the University of Leeds.
Programme development can be a lengthy process, as both institutions must agree on comparable admissions, registration, assessment, progression monitoring and examination processes before an agreement can be formalised. Please contact Dr Christina Robinson, Head of PGR Programmes, for guidance before consulting with another institution.
Guidance for developing a joint PhD degree
Dual/Joint award checklist - regulations
Dual/Joint award checklist - management


text:
Five O'Clock Shadow (FOCS) is a six-man Boston-based vocal band who have been a force to be reckoned with in the a cappella world for more than twenty years. Their latest album, "Six," had a variety of well-known names working on it, including mixing by James Cannon for The Panic Room and Alex Green for Plaid Productions, as well as mixing and mastering by none other than Bill Hare.
The opening song, "Like You Do," sets the tone for the rest of the album with a heavily distorted background that overpowers the soloist. There are a few wonderful moments in the arrangement, including the lock in the chord at the end of the first chorus, but overall it is fairly repetitive. I imagine this song translates better in a live setting, but it falls flat when recorded.
"Not the Rightest" is probably my least favorite song lyrically. The lyrics in the chorus start "that's not the point of this song," and to be honest I don't think I ever really found out what the point of the song WAS. I listened to the album through headphones, via built-in speakers, and even in my car, and every time I struggled to make out what the soloist was saying because he was so far back in the mix. The shining moment in this song for me was the guitar riff in the bridge that was reminiscent of FORK.
My favorite song on the album is "Nobody's Waiting," especially the last minute of it where the background really enhances the tender and almost ethereal feel of the song. The arrangement has great movement in the bass line, which really helps propel the song forward. This song has the most dynamic contrast of the album and really gives you all the feels, hitting hard with the haunting chord at the end. A more subdued, darker syllable throughout the arrangement would have enhanced the emotional pull of the song even further, a problem I had with Street Corner Symphony's "Holding On" as well, but overall this is a really solid track.
I was on board with "Grocery Store," opening with a gentle solo that reminded me of Guster and distortion that turned the background into a church organ, up until the lyrics "it may seem I'm between the frozen foods and a hard place / it's green beans and lost dreams." I honestly cannot tell if this song is capturing a serious coming-to-God moment or just playing on the Christian series Veggie Tales. Regardless, I think this is one of the stronger arrangements on the album; I would happily listen to it without the solo.
For a live show, it is obvious that "Hip to be Square" would be a crowd favorite. The bass line boogies and the background has some fun doo-wop moments. Experimenting with utilizing other syllables could really enhance this arrangement, particularly in the chorus. Again, the song is a bit cheesy, but this is by far the most fun song on the album.
It is my personal belief that a cappella as a genre will never have real commercial success until groups follow in the footsteps of big names like The House Jacks, Pentatonix, and The Boxettes, who have mastered the art of original songwriting for a cappella voices. Five O'Clock Shadow's album, while consisting of all original pieces, just misses the mark. The melodies seem contrived and forced, teetering between entertaining and cheesy but usually falling to the latter.
About the writer:
Nina Beaulieu is a recent graduate of James Madison University where she studied in the School of Media Arts and Design and minored in Music Industry. She was formerly a member of The BluesTones, an award-winning all-female group at JMU. Her spirit animal is a lion, and like Taio Cruz, she's not easy to please.
This review does not necessarily represent the opinion of CASA and/or its staff.


text:
This morning I walked past the Asylum in Portland and saw that the graffiti art was changed recently on the rear wall. This is a great example of graffiti art. It is uniform in its theme, mood and color. Stephen King should be proud of this one. A nice portriat of him, the clown of It, the cat of Pet Cemetary and a bloody Carrie are all represented. I couldn't get Carrie in the shot, no light.
Have a nice day.


text:
And he's not going to take it
Announcer: Are you mad today, Eddie Chiles?
Eddie Chiles: Yes I'm mad. I'm sad for the Americans who are trying to raise a family and trying to buy a home when the liberals in Washington are spending more and more to destroy the American dream. You get mad, too.
Such anti-Big Government commercials are now playing twice daily on 465 radio stations in 14 Western and Midwestern states. In addition, 210,000 I'M MAD TOO, EDDIE stickers have been put on hard hats and bumpers from Denver to Houston. Texas oil company executives even wear pins carrying the...
To continue reading: or Log-In


text:
Hardware & software:
- Livescribe 3 Smartpen Pro Edition for iOS7 iPhone and iPad for $199 (on Amazon) from Alex Lindsay.
- Transmit iOS – Panic, Inc. (iOS) for $9.99 from Andy Ihnatko.
- Screens VNC – Access Your Computer From Anywhere – Edovia Inc. (iOS) for $19.99 from Rene Ritchie.
- Videos from Cingleton at http://vimeo.com/cingleton for free from Rene Ritchie.


text:
Sunday, September 17th from 6:00pm-9:00pm
Monday, September 18th from 7:00pm-10:00pm
Auditions by appointment only
Tacoma Little Theatre is holding auditions for its holiday production of SEUSSICAL, directed by Jen York, and choreographed by Eric Clausell.
Auditions will be held Sunday, September 17th and Monday, September 18th at Tacoma Little Theatre. Audition appointments will be set between the times of 6:00pm-9:00pm on Sunday and 7:00pm-10:00pm on Monday. Callbacks will be held on Saturday, September 23rd.
The Cat in the Hat tells the story of Horton, an elephant who discovers a speck of dust that contains the Whos, including Jojo, a Who child sent off to military school for thinking too many "thinks." Horton faces a double challenge: not only must he protect the Whos from a world of naysayers and dangers, but he must guard an abandoned egg, left in his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird. Although Horton faces ridicule, danger, kidnapping and a trial, the intrepid Gertrude McFuzz never loses faith in him. Ultimately, the powers of friendship, loyalty, family and community are challenged and emerge triumphant.
Please prepare an up-tempo song in the style of the piece. All roles are available and all ethnicities are welcome to audition. Youth roles are available for ages 8 and up.
To reserve an audition time, email email@example.com, or call our Box Office at (253) 272-2281. Please provide: your name, phone number, email address, preferred audition time, and playable age. Bring a headshot and resume to your audition.
Once cast, SEUSSICAL will run from Friday, December 1, 2017 to Sunday, December 24, 2017.
The Cat in the Hat - (Tenor/Soprano, Strong Character Actor/Mover with Excellent Improv Skills, Age Range 18-55)
Horton the Elephant - (Baritone, Gentle, Rotund and Appealing, Age Range 25-55)
JoJo (Alto, Strong Singer/Mover, A "Thinker," a smart boy with a wild imagination, Age Range 6-12)
Gertrude McFuzz (Soprano, Strong Singer, Shy, Neurotic and Self-Conscious Bird, Age Range 20-55)
Mayzie La Bird (Mezzo, Strong Singer, Self-centered, Vain and Manipulative, Age Range 20-55)
Sour Kangaroo (Soprano, Strong Singer, Loud, Brassy and a lot of fun, Age Range 18-55)
General Gengus Khan Schmitz (Baritone, Proud Leader of the Military Academy, Age Range 35-75)
Mr. Mayor (Tenor, The Mayor of Who and JoJo's Father, Age Range 30-60)
Mrs. Mayor (Mezzo, JoJo's Mother, Age Range 25-55)
The Wickersham Brothers (Tenor/Baritone, Pranksters that love a good time, Strong Singer/Dancers, Age Range 16-35)
The Bird Girls (Soprano/Alto, Pretty, Self-Centered "Back-Up" Girls, Strong Singer/Dancers, Age Range 16-35)
Yertle, the Turtle (Bass-Baritone, 18-50
The Grinch (Baritone, Age Range 18-55)
Jungle Creatures (Strong singers and dancers ages 16-75)
The Whos (Strong singers/movers ages 6-75)
Other Roles: Cadets, Hunches, Circus Animals, etc.
Lead Dancers (Strong dancers with advanced level training in ballet, jazz and lyrical)


text:
The Pacific
Looking back at their lives, missionaries Tim Scott and Will Decker of Travel the Road, remember where their journeys began and decide to return to the majestic islands of The Pacific. Venturing from the isolated jungles of the Solomon Islands to the erupting volcano of Vanuatu, the missionaries experience beautiful, unspoiled and mysterious lands as they set out to deliver the Gospel. The Pacific is a stunning, visual tour of paradise on earth that highlights tribal cultures while showing the power of the God's Word in action.
What you'll receive: Digital Downloads (3 Episodes)


text:
- Products
- Solutions
- Support
- Partners
- Community
- Customer Stories
- Events
- How to Buy
- Resources
- Webinars
- contact
Quick Links
The March 2017 release of Avaya Cloud Network Platform (CNP) is now available. This release includes scheduling and emailing reports, enhanced AP-level details to simplify troubleshooting, and an easy 2-step process to enable content filtering on the Wi-Fi network.
You can now automate the generation and delivery of CNP reports to easily gain insights into your Wi-Fi network usage and trends. Reports are customizable to provide information by specified start and end times over the last 12 months, then emailed instantly or scheduled to be sent on a periodic basis.
From the Reports top level menu, create a custom report or choose a standard report. Select Edit View from the top right corner to set the start and end times of the report. Click on the Email Report to set up the recipients to receive reports and the frequency of the emails.
New statistical charts are available showing throughput and number of clients connected to specific APs over time. These charts can be accessed for a specific AP from the Access Points tab or from Floor Maps.
From the Access Points tab within My Network, select any AP and choose the magnifying lens to get the AP details tab. Select the new icon to access the statistical charts. Use the drop-down boxes at the bottom to select the data and time interval.
The same charts can be accessed from the Floor Plans tab within My Network. Click on a specific AP on the floor map and select Details to access the statistical charts.
Content/URL filtering can now be enabled using any DNS based content filtering engines such as WebTitan from TitanHQ, OpenDNS and others. Even if a client device is misconfigured or maliciously configured to bypass content filtering, the AP will intercept such DNS requests and route them to the right DNS servers to enforce content filtering policies.
NOTE: This feature requires the "Technology" firmware version running on the APs. You can select this option under Settings / Firmware Upgrades.
From the user name drop down menu at the top right corner of the dashboard, select Settings. Configure the IP address of the DNS server enforcing content filtering within the Add-on Solutions tab.
Once the content filtering DNS server IP address is configured, the filtering must be enabled on the Wi-Fi network (SSID). Select the Profile hosting the SSID from the top-level menu. Choose the Policies tab and add a new SSID policy for the specific network. From the Show Advanced option under SSID Policy, turn on Content Filtering.
Localized Time Display
Global Selector
Selected Country


text:
Untutored Independent Artists Spaces
Dates throughout the season.
Sculpture Master Classes with Nigel Konstam by arrangement throughout season "Nigel is my maestro! So full of wisdom and experience."
Art History for Artists - Also by arrangement throughout the season. A combination of practical art combined with unlocking the secrets of the old masters. Tuition charged at €45 per day and accommodation depending on length of stay etc.
Friday 10 - Sat 18 May 2019 Julia Adams Life and Landscape (or Sculpture option with Nigel Konstam
Mon 20 - Thurs 30 May (10 nights) St Ives in Tuscany
Tricia Reichert Sat 1 June - Mon 10 June 2019 (9 nights)
Tricia Reichert 2nd course (8 nights) Wed 12 - Thurs 20 June 2019
Sat 22 - Sat 29 June 2019 (7 nights) Art and Yoga - Andrea Borsuk, Paul Gould and Jenni Fox
Tues 2 - Weds 10 July (8 nights)
Locating a Personal Practice in Landscape
12 - 25 July Workshop (Untutored art holiday)
28 July - 7 August 2019 (10 nights) Andy Pankhurst Summer Landscape Painting at Verrocchio. "Andy guides and draws out his students unique vision calmly, deftly, and with understanding. He is an exceptional teacher"
|Fri 9 - Sat 17 Aug 2019 (8 nights) CIRPS X Ghislaine Morgan
"Ghislaine is everything I look for from a good music director, knowledgeable, kind and approachable. I feel I learnt so much in just 8 days. I had a most incredible exhilarating experience in Casole."
Tues 20 - Fri 30 Aug 2019 (10 nights) St Ives in Tuscany - "Spirit of Tuscany"
|3 - 16 Sept 2019 (13 nights) Bella Green "Colour and Composition"
"Bella makes every day refreshing and entertaining. I never realised how much I could learn in the two weeks, even learning the secret of what makes certain paintings stand out from the rest." Prices
|19 Sept - 2 Oct 2019 (13 nights) Bella Green Expressive Painting and Mixed Media
"Bella's skills as a tutor are really exceptional. The group and personal tuition, the lectures, the choice of exercises, were so well thought out" Prices
Mark and Issi Fisher 4 - 11 Oct
|13 - 21 Oct available for a possible late season self catering group
|Arrival is normally 4.30pm at Pisa Airport to meet the transfer and departure is normally 9.30am from Casole, back to Pisa by 11.00am


text:
Founder: Nudie Cohn
Year Founded: 1947
Most Western wear is built for work, but not the Western wear of Nudie Cohn. Cohn was a Ukranian tailor who got his start in the 1940s making clothing for country and western singers out of Hollywood. His first customer was Tex Williams, and his business grew into the 1970s. He was known for almost absurdly ornate designs - rhinestones, insane embroidery and wild colors were his hallmarks. He even customized cars, adding longhorn steer horn hood ornaments, silver dollars and embroidered seats. For sheer hutzpah, no one in menswear has ever topped Nudie.
50. Nudie Cohn
Founder: Nudie Cohn


text:
The desktop 3D printing space has become an interesting one in the last year or so, as manufacturers shift the focus away from users and towards industrial and professional users. The technology has proven that it may not quite be ready to produce consumer goods for every single household or perhaps households aren't quite ready for 3D printing at home. Individuals in the know, nevertheless, that low cost 3D printing continues to be a highly effective tech, if not for fabricating home goods, then being an ancient design tool also, in some cases, even for short run manufacturing.
However, many firmly think that a 3DPrinter on every engineer and designer's desk is what every business requires, and that being so close to a 3DPrinter makes a quantum difference in your power to create and innovate, and to create your greatest work.
Engineers will endeavour riskier material and even more daring concept models, multiple options even whenever they have a 3DPrinter on their own desk, notions they would be too humiliated or embarrassed to send to the interior printing service agency, lest somebody see and judge them before the thoughts are worked through.
Prices can also affect the manner in which you model. Filament for a background 3D printer costs a lot less than materials to get an industrial one — so much less that, for some businesses which have a bigger 3D printer, even the savings on substances alone will cover for a new MakerBot Replicator. Like wise, if you've ever purchased SLAs from the vendor, a desktop 3D printer can cost less than a number of them. The relatively small price of desktop 3D printing stuff leads to cooler and more experimentation.
Afterward there are feedback loops, which can be substantially quicker with a 3D printer onto your desk. One engineer told that a story about how they can glance at a printing that's only half done and already see what needs further work. He hits cancel, re works his 3d-design file, and starts printing on his MakerBot Replicator back again.
Hobbyists and self-proclaimed makers may use relatively cheap 3 d printers to create wonderfully intricate and ingenious shapes from plastics. And some engineers and designers have identified those machines used in popping up possible services and products, but printing plastic components has seen little use on the manufacturing floor in whatever but some technical services and products, such as customized hearing aids and enhancements.
"We're really close on the hardware side with the software teams over on the digital products side, so we have really good feedback between both sides. There are all kinds of unique opportunities for crossover there. We work a little bit on this more advanced model. Everybody has a printer on their desk and everybody is interacting directly"
Desktop Metals startup's ambitious 3-D printers can fabricate metal parts cheaply and quickly enough to make the technology practical for widespread use in product design and manufacturing.
The founders comprise four prominent MIT professors, for example, mind of the institution's department of materials science and Emanuel Sachs, who registered one of their first patents on 3d printing in 1989. Still, despite all the expertise and money, there is no guarantee the company is going to achieve its goal of reinventing how we make metal parts–and so transforming much of manufacturing.
While it is likely to 3-D-print alloys, doing so is hard and pricey. Advanced manufacturing businesses including GE are utilizing very expensive machines with technical highpower lasers to make a few high-value parts. However, printing metals is restricted to businesses with millions to invest in the equipment, facilities to power the lasers, and trained technicians to conduct it all. And there's still no easily available solution for people who desire to print a variety of iterations of a metallic section throughout the practice of product design and development.


text:
What would one do if the long awaited child is born anyway? It indicates some hope and progress in the life circle of the bearer. That was exactly the excitement at Eggpreneur Farm when we saw the first eggs from our pullets. It had been a long wait for the women and every one was becoming more anxious. The common questions had become what could have been wrong with the pullets, if we could be feeding them wrongly, if they needed more time in the laying boxes or if they could be sick. However, we have come to a realization that such questions only lead to unnecessary nerves and frustrations when most pullets need patience and support of the highest degree. As a result, any farmer needs to remain composed, calm, and caring, but not overbearing, anxious, and nervous.
The only challenge that is remaining is that the laying efficiency of the pullets is still low. However, we expect that by the end of this week most of them will be laying, since 80% of the hens have already gained the necessary egg laying weight. With the onset of the laying, we ready to issue the pullets to the trained Eggpreneurs. With such, Eggpreneur Initiative is doing well in its effort to attain set goals in accordance with its vision and mission statements.
With Regards,


text:
Departs Belfast at 09:00. Ferry trip to Strangford. Morning trek at Old Castle Ward (Winterfell) and Audley's Castle (Walder Frey's Twins). Visit Inch Abbey, where Robb Stark became King in the North. Afternoon trek in Tollymore Forest to the wildling pit and the bridge where the Starks found the direwolf pups.
Departs Belfast at 08:00. Visit Cushendun Caves, where Melisandre gave birth to a dark spirit, Renly's camp in the Stormlands, Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, the Iron Islands beach where Theon dedicated his faith to the 'Drowned God', the Giant's Causeway, photo stop at the Dark Hedges.


text:
I've been down with the flu for the past few days.. I got it from my husband. That's the wonderful thing about being married- we're the first in line for each others sicknesses! So the past few days have been spent laying around the house, playing on the computer, or watching tv shows. Well, I feel like blogging about something.. so hmm... what could I post? ...
I thought I'd offer the two prints I made on picnik for my wall collage.
{If you haven't seen my wall collage, check it out here- I love it!}
I'm not too sure of exact sizes, but they're in between 4x6 and 5x7.
When I printed them from our printer at home I just uploaded them into a Word document.
Anyway, if you're interested.. I think you just have to click the pictures and save them to your computer.
Hopefully they work out fine.
Now back to my sniffles and coughs


text:
Xbox 360 sold more than 750,000 consoles in the U.S. alone –exceeding internal forecasts. Xbox LIVE Gold Subscription sales increased more than 50 percent compared to last year's Black Friday week. We saw incredible activity on Xbox over the weekend. For example, on Sunday alone we had more than 14 million people on Xbox LIVE across the world, racking up more than 72 million hours of use in just one day. Compared to 2011, we've seen a 43 percent increase in U.S. entertainment application hours logged on Xbox LIVE during the week of Black Friday.
I visited Microsoft store twice during the holiday weekend (one on Black Friday and one on Saturday) and both times, one thing I saw getting sold in high numbers was XBox. In the time I spent there, 70-80% people in the store bought XBox and there were good number of people in the store. And to Microsoft's credit, nobody tried Xbox or Kinect on this day, all knew what XBox was and all picked up the boxes and went to the nearest Sales guys with tablets. Now that's a telling Microsoft consumer story which gets overlooked in Windows Phone and Surface comparisons with its more established competitors.
To MG Siegler and others - Please see these are all actual sales to consumers, maybe you can blog or tweet about this story as well, this again coming from your dear Microsoft.


text:
Create an Account - Increase your productivity, customize your experience, and engage in information you care about.
The Village of Bradley Police Pension Fund was established for the benefit of its full time police officers and of their surviving spouses, children and certain other dependents, as required by state statute. The Board of Trustees of the Police Pension fund consists of five members: two appointed by the Village President, two elected from the regular police force and one from the beneficiaries of the fund as created by statute. The term of each member shall be two years as is provided by state statute. The Board of Trustees of the Police Pension fund shall have the powers and duties delegated to it by state statute. The members of the Bradley Police Pension Fund Board of Trustees serve without compensation.


text:
Community Involvement
Community involvement is integral to the success of addressing any community-based problem. The YVSP has placed a high value on the community process in order to better understand the system of youth violence and build a viable simulation model that represents this system. Our work has included extensive outreach to individuals and organizations related to or working on youth violence reduction and broad-based community engagement through meetings, focus groups and working groups. In addition to using the relational contacts of the Boston Capacity Tank, the High Risk Youth Network, and other partners, the YSVP hired community consultants with the knowledge and the relationships to engage key community leaders, important neighborhood organizations, youth workers, families, gang members and other youth in the four targeted neighborhoods.
An early goal of the project was to establish credibility and ownership within the community, which was perceived as a critical step in overcoming the resistance to "outside-in" approaches. We concluded that community buy-in was essential to ensuring the long term sustainability of any new initiative since residents repeatedly described incidents where researchers failed to respect the community's perspective due to race, class, gender issues. This more sustainable approach, however, required a community process which took much longer than initially expected to connect and build trusting relationships, and was further complicated by the ongoing changes in community leadership.
As trust has grown over the course of the project, community residents have become more open in sharing their unique, valuable insights into youth violence. In many cases residents had devoted significant thought to the problem; however, drawing out these insights required the use of effective listening methods. Ultimately, it must be understood that respectful treatment of community residents required the acknowledgement of their ability to participate in problem definition, analysis and solution creation. This understanding is rooted in the awareness that communities contain a diversity of perspective, capacity, ability, and motivation. This is especially true of the deep and meaningful insights that can be gained by understanding the opinions of youth.
The Structure of YVSP Community Process
The Model
Design Teams: Grove Hall | Uphams Corner | Bowdoin-Geneva | South End/Lower Roxbury


text:
Recently, Acxiom Corp. announced its plans to drive $30 million into company investments. Most of that will go into research and development, which Acxiom President and CEO Scott Howe said could mean upwards of 300 to 400 jobs. So what are all those new f
Want the Full Article?
Get Unlimited Archive Access for $19.95 per Year
Readers must pay to access articles older than 15 days.
Purchase Now
Articles newer than 15 days are not included in this offer.
Already have archive access? Login to view this article.


text:
We waited for so long. And we were rewarded.
Don't read this if you don't like spoilers.
Much has been said and analyzed about Season 5 of Mad Men, including the dynamic shift which has affected almost all the main characters. Although they might not always speak the language of the time, the characters on Mad Men manage to intrigue us anyway. Peggy is no longer a protegé, Joan moves up to becoming a partner, Megan is not just a secretary, Lane is no longer in debt, Roger is no longer caged, Don's moral character is questionable (oh wait, that's not new), etc.
This season felt bigger and full of the drama needed to sustain the people craving this show, as if it was Twilight. Matthew Weiner, the creator of Mad Men, had many months, as they tried to make a deal with AMC, to come up with the story lines, characters arcs, and all those intricate details.
As was pointed out here, Pete's deplorable greed (which he gets punched for more than once) for everything he can't have (but eventually gets) will push the firm into dangerous waters.
The color red in this season was used to represent power. Slate did a great post about all the red used and the differences between the red suit that Peggy wears and what Joan is seen wearing when the partners are upstairs, admiring their new space. "X" marks the spot, in red, and it looks like these pirates, who cheat and steal, have buried their treasure in an office building – using the money from another man's suicide.
Overall, the big events characterized the season in an interesting way. Lane's death was only foreseeable when Don asked him to resign and when Lane went home and saw the car that his wife bought him, with their money. The car that didn't work, by the way. I know nothing about cars but perhaps it was a sign of what Jaguar is to do in the future? Lane's death means that there is nobody putting down their foot when it comes to stretching the firm's finances. Indeed, the last we saw of him, he was far off the floor (too soon?).
Joan's ascent into power through extramarital means will eventually wear her down. She sold herself for a company that doesn't really respect a woman's right to be treated fairly and equally. Her conscience has been questionable, in the past, but this position she has put herself in is not free of muddiness.
Peggy's power play which resulted in a new job and title has changed the Mad Men world. I read that she's not gone from the show but she isn't in the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce office, that's for certain. Peggy's biggest slap in the face, and the reason that she decided to look elsewhere, was because she came up with an idea on the spot for a somewhat big client and, instead of being truly congratulated, she has money thrown in her face by Don.
He tells her to go to Paris. He is upset about other things and, instead of being an adult, he takes it all out on her in a very disrespectful and immature fashion. You realize very quickly that no matter how far women go up the corporate ladder, there will be inconsistencies in the way women are treated. Some are used for sex, some are used for their brains.
The fact that she is taking her place in the whiskey and cigarette-smoke filled advertising world not as some underling but as 'creative copy chief' means big things for her and the show. Especially because she gets the chance to brand Phillip Morris' cigarette for ladies, which will be known as Virginia Slims.
Megan is the character that was flushed out the most in this season. We knew hardly anything about her in season 4 but now we know she is fully capable of doing things on her own, something that Don has trouble connecting to on a regular basis. She uses his connections, in the last episode, to act in a commercial.
She sees this as a triumph and he, very honestly, says that this is not the proper way to go about this, it won't be based on her merits and therefore she is losing her artistic integrity. He's happy to keep her to himself but, begrudgingly, lets her go. Once that is done, though, he no longer feels the need to be around. Don hasn't got a hold on anything until he walks away from her, dressed in that frumpy red dress. He's put her in her place and now he can go have a drink.
Are you alone?
Check out our past posts on Mad Men.
The Season 5 Premiere of Mad Men
Illustrations of the Women in Mad Men


text:
Sarah Lo is a New York City-based fashion designer, graduated in 2016 with a BFA in Fibers with an Experimental Fashion concentration from Maryland Institute College of Art. In Spring 2015, she studied abroad in Art University Bournemouth. Sarah was one of the featured designers in the Unmarked Benefit Fashion Show 2014 and Donrose Benefit Fashion Show 2016. One of her collections were also showcased in Hoi Polloi: An Experimental Fashion Event 2016.
Her main focus in fashion is expanding the exploration of the dynamic relationship between the human form and the garment. The juxtaposition of given subjects creates movement and rhythm, enveloping the silhouettes.


text:
One of India's most heavily visited sites, http://www.irctc.co.in/ has gone in for a makeover.
The new site seems much more simpler, user friendly, and easier to navigate, though I haven't tried out all options yet. It is presently labeled 'Beta', and keeping in tune with our Independence Day, will go live on 15-Aug-10. 🙂
Here is how it looks:
You can either click 'Beta' on the current site or directly access the new site by visiting https://www.irctc.co.in/cgi-bin/beta.dll/irctc/services/home.do
Will it make tatkal bookings any quicker? Maybe not, but you atleast have a better interface to look at now. Happy Bookings! 😀


text:
Subscribe to CJ Fearnley:
Email Alerts
Get CJ Fearnley via: Homepage
CJ Fearnley was an early leader in the adoption and implementation of Linux and Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in Philadelphia.
In 1993, he recognized the emerging value of the Linux operating system. Through his leadership position in the Philadelphia Area Computer Society (PACS), he began introducing Linux to organizations in the Greater Philadelphia region. At PACS, he organized monthly presentations on Linux and FOSS and wrote 29 columns in the organization's print periodical, The Databus. He then founded and helped build Philadelphia's premiere Linux user group, the Philadelphia area Linux User Group (PLUG), where he continues to facilitate its first Wednesday meetings. After helping to establish a community and culture for Linux and FOSS in Philadelphia, CJ started building his first company, LinuxForce, to be the "go-to" firm for organizations wanting to realize the promise and power of Linux. LinuxForce is a leading technology services provider specializing in the development, implementation, management and support of Linux-based systems, with a particular expertise in Debian GNU/Linux and Ubuntu. LinuxForce provides remote Linux systems management services to clients including The Franklin Institute Science Museum and the Aker Philadelphia Shipyard through its flagship service offering Remote Responder.
In addition, CJ Fearnley has applied his organizational and leadership talent to building Buckminster Fuller's legacy. CJ published an essay Reading Synergetics: Some Tips to help students of Fuller's magnum opus, Synergetics: Explorations in the Geometry of Thinking, wade through that complex, multi-dimensional tome. He started maintaining The R. Buckminster Fuller FAQ on the Internet in 1994. His work on Buckminster Fuller was featured in an extensive interview published by Dome Magazine in 1999. In 2002 CJ started building the Synergetics Collaborative (SNEC) as an organization to bring together people with an interest in Synergetics' methods and principles in workshops, symposia, seminars, and other meetings.
CJ received his BA in Mathematical Sciences and Philosophy from Binghamton University in 1989 where he was a Regents Scholar and has done graduate work at Drexel University. CJ was named to the Philadelphia Business Journal's 2006 "40 Under 40″ List as one of the region's most accomplished young professionals.
ULITZER AUTHOR SINCE:October 17, 2009
FOSS, Debian, Linux, Systems Administration, Buckminster Fuller, Synergetics, Geometry
Open Source Journal on Ulitzer
The November 2009 issue of Communications of the ACM (CACM) has a very
interesting article by Paul Stachour and David Collier-Brown entitled "You
Don't Know Jack About Software Maintenance". The authors argue
energetically for using versioned data structures and "continuous
upgrading" to improve the state of the art of software maintenance.
The piece got me thinking about FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) and
"continuous upgrading". Here are seven observations on FOSS software
maintenance that occurred to me as I reflected on the CACM article:
FOSS projects "continuously" apply bug fixes and feature enhancements at
no additional cost to their users. By applying these improvements
"continuously", the user reaps a steady stream of "interest payments"
providing ever-improving security, performance, and functionality. Since FOSS
incurs ... (more)
Although I haven't seen a thoroughly researched study, I figure there must
be at least 250,000 FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) tools available to
every systems administrator on the planet (230,000 at SourceForge + 15,000 at
Launchpad + 12,000 at CodePlex + 5,000 at Google Code and that doesn't
count the Linux kernel or any of the myriad other self-hosted projects).
These 250,000+ resources comprise the full "toolbox" that admins can use
for building solutions with FOSS; they represent the FOSS equivalent of COTS
(Commercial Off-The-Shelf). Of course, if you add open source b... (more)
Federal Computer Week published a great, succinct quote from Richard
Schaeffer Jr., the NSA's (National Security Agency) information assurance
director, on three approaches that are effective in protecting systems from
security attacks:
We believe that if one institutes best practices, proper configurations
[and] good network monitoring that a system ought to be able to
withstand about 80 percent of the commonly known attack mechanisms
against systems today, Schaeffer said in his testimony. You can
actually harden your network environment to raise the bar such that
the adversary has to ... (more)
I will be attending the 5th Annual Emerging Technologies for the Enterprise
Conference (ETE 2010) this Thursday and Friday, April 8-9, 2010.
The event is billed for "developers, architects, and IT executives" and
attempts to provide a dynamic forum for "emerging technology and Open
I look forward to seeing Robert C. (Uncle Bob) Martin's keynote on "Bad
Code, Craftsmanship, Engineering, and Certification", a panel discussion on
"Open source is a commercial enterprise", another panel on "Social
Media: Why should I care?", a second Bob Martin presentation on "Agility
and ... (more)
Last week I read a good article on cloud computing, Cloud ROI: A Grounded
View. It seems that even with all the hype (or because of it?) most are not
"running blindly" to adopt "the cloud". I must admit the cloud
metaphor has a powerful poetic charm to it.
That is probably why it has grabbed the attention of so many over the past
few years. Everything in our world is ephemeral, so there is an aptness to
the concept of a "cloud". Moreover, I too like and use cloud analogies.
But I am now looking for clearer skies!
Here is a short list of my gripes about "the cloud":
What does "... (more)
out of 13,441
Terms of Use & Our Privacy Statement - About Newsfeeds / Videofeeds. Copyright ©2018 DXWorldEXPO, LLC.All Rights Reserved. All marks are trademarks of DXWorldEXPO LLC.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of DXWorldEXPO is prohibited.


text: Allograph inc. is a company of designers and craftsmen specializing in the design and construction of dimensional signage. Best known for striking designs featuring sandblasted or carved wood, glass, and stone, our projects range from smaller dimensional displays to larger constructed installations in rustic landscaped settings . Whether design, design/build, or build only, we approach every project with the same passion and determination that provides our clientele the unmistakable quality they deserve.


text:
https://www.octulipfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/IMG_1354.jpg 2848 4272 Tulip Festival https://www.octulipfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/tulip-festival-whitescale-2.png Tulip Festival2015-04-28 01:08:532016-02-04 12:42:05Tulip Festival Seeks Volunteers & Float Riders
Tulip Festival Seeks Volunteers & Float Riders
It takes hundreds of volunteers to make our event happen each year, and we need you! We have several areas of volunteer opportunities, and we'd greatly appreciate your assistance in filling them.
Some volunteer opportunities include:
- Float drivers
- Parade Announcers & Street Barkers
- Float Riders
- Straat Winkel Cashiers
- Pedicab Drivers
Please complete the volunteer form if you'd like to give of your time and talents. Thank you for your consideration!


text:
Change to Universal Credit
Changes to Universal Credit regulations from 1st April 2017 for claimants aged 18-21 years making a new claim for housing costs. Certain renters will not be entitled to the housing costs element of Universal Credit click on the following link for an overview of the changes and who this will apply to: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/housing-costs-for-18-to-21-year-olds
Have you matched to a property and are single and under 35 years of age?
If you are an applicant who is single and under the age of 35 years when you are successful in your bid for accommodation, you may be affected (from April 2018 and beyond) by the Shared Accommodation Rate introduced under the Local Housing Allowance. If you need to claim Housing Benefit or for Housing Costs through Universal Credit, the amount of financial assistance you receive may not cover the full cost of your rent. However, there are some circumstances in which you may be exempt from this regulation.
If you are in paid employment when you are considered for a tenancy the Landlord may want to check your employment history, the type of contract you have and whether you have any previous dependency on welfare benefits before making an offer of the tenancy to you.
Many Landlords carry out an affordability assessment as part of their pre-tenancy checks. This may involve asking you to complete a personal budget sheet. You are advised to co-operate promptly with this assessment. If you fail to provide the information requested or you are assessed to have insufficient income to pay the rent the Landlord may decide not to offer you a tenancy.
More information regarding entitlement to housing benefit is available from the Council's website under Help Paying Your Rent – Housing Benefit, click on the link below:
Growing your own vegetables can save you money and gardening is a form of exercise to keep you healthy. If you are already a keen gardener you might want to share your knowledge and become a Volunteer helping others to get started. Click on this link to learn more www.leicestershire.mastergardeners.org.uk
For information on help with housing and heating costs click here: Housing and Heating Costs leaflet
For more information on Housing Benefit click here: www.harborough.gov.uk/housing-benefit
For information on Council Tax Support or to apply click here: www.harborough.gov.uk/council-tax-support
For more information on Council Tax Discounts click here: www.harborough.gov.uk/council-tax-discounts
For help with home repairs and adaptations click here: www.harborough.gov.uk/home-repairs
To get advice on money matters click here www.shelter.org.uk/advice
Citizens Advice Bureau www.citizensadvice.org.uk
National Debt Line www.nationaldebtline.org
Money Advice Service www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk
Clockwise Credit Union www.clockwise-cu.co.uk
Christians against poverty www.capdebthelp.org
Step Change www.stepchange.org
Checkpoint advice www.checkpointadvice.org.uk
www.turntous.org.uk – Helps people in financial need access benefits, charitable grants and other financial help
Some gas and electricity companies have set up independent charitable trusts which give grants to some of their customers to help them pay for gas and electricity arrears:
British Gas Energy – 0116 251 9068
Energy Saving Trust – 0300 123 1234
Severn Trent Trust Fund – 0121 355 7766
www.freecycle.org – Find people in your local area who are giving away unwanted items
www.bhf.org.uk - British Heart Foundation
www.homelessuk.org – Allows you to search for furniture projects in your area
Sortingoutseparation.org.uk – the first place to look for anyone needing help and support after separation, showing you where to find reliable information, easy-to-use tools and specialist services on a range of topics.
Cmoptions.org – Child Maintenance Options, provides free impartial information and support to help all parents make informed choices about child maintenance.


text:
Dynamic vocalist and entertainer Eboni Fondren, brings passion and excitement whenever she takes the stage. Her precise readings of jazz standards which she seasons with a dash of R&B, fill a room with energy and delight. Wish a smooth and sultry finish, audiences will be enchanted by her lyrical interpretation and ability to draw an audience in leaving them wanting more. Fondren is an accomplished singer and actress that has been working in and around the Kansas City area for the past 15 years. She delights audiences with her group Eboni and the Ivories, the Everette DeVan Quartet, pianists Charles Williams, Mark Lowrey and with Joe Cartwright as host of the nationally syndicated radio show 12th street jump. She is also a lead singer in KC's hottest party band Lost Wax. As an actress and voice over artist, she has lit up the stage with feature roles in some of Kansas City's top Theatre Companies in productions like "Little Shop of Horrors", "Hairspray", and "Ain't Misbehavin". She recently became the new voice for the Kansas City Royals "Raised Royal" season campaign.
Back to All Events
Earlier Event: November 29Jackie Myers Duo


text:
fagerhult - SKYWALKER
Making the impossible possible
The 2018 Red Dot Award Winner Skywalker gives a brand new perspective on office space lighting. With a touch of magic, the design team from Above and the skilled engineers at Fagerhult managed to go beyond the possible.
Not only we needed to fulfill the high standards, rules and requirements that comes with office lighting, the goal was clear - develop the next generation office luminaire.
The high level goals put us in a situation where boundaries needed to be pushed without compromising the performance and light comfort with multiple shadows as one problem to solve.
New technoloigies are available but the the architechtural context looks pretty much the same. Rectangular workdesks, interiors and ceilings are still fixed. Even if we could minimise it to barely nothing you should ask yourself for what purpose.
On top of this we have our relationship with Fagerhult stretching over more then a decade, resulted in 3 Red Dot winners in a row. Could we add another winner to the party?
With a no rules, no limitation approach we kicked of by asking architects, interior designers, property owners, light designers what problems they've encountered in their daily work. We needed to get an in depth understanding in their challenges.
The ideas derived from the survey lead us to a luminaire that could allow architects and interior designers to create spatiality, a body that interacts with space instead of disappearing. Instead of going horizontal we tilted the body vertically into a super slim and narrow unit.
By hiding a secondary LED strip in the upper beam, developing a brand new louver and optics - the magic was there. In theory. These ideas came to live by working close together with the talented engineers at Fagerhult in an iterative process.
A combination of user insight, revolutionary technology and an open minded approach to the unknown, resulted in a minimalistic yet graceful and intriguing silhouette with extreme proportions. The original design intent was never compromised without compromising on light performance and comfort.
Skywalker, features a newly developed louvre - Beta Opti Nano, the latest space saving LED technology, fitted into a remarkably narrow casing measuring only 11.5 mm at the top and 36 mm at the widest part.
And finally, earlier this year we could add Skywalker to the Red Dot Award party.
Skywalker takes the minimalistic concept into new levels with its technical optimization packaged in an elegant vertical form. Skywalker is a product of innovation and a desire to realize a vision.
Let there be light
The extreme proportions put us to the test. Even new suspension brackets needed to be developed
Work in progress
Process work includes testing various surfaces and exploring colours.
Early designs where CADed and placed into different environments.
Red Dot Museum in Essen
The design was honored with a Red Dot Design award the summer 2018.
About Fagerhult
Fagerhult develops, produces and markets professional lighting solutions for public environments. Since 1945 they have united a passion for light with functional Scandinavian design. With a long-term focus on energy efficiency, via intelligent lighting controls and advanced LED technology, they aim to contribute to a lasting, light-loving world.
- Industrial Design


text:
Feel free to contact us with your questions & comments using the information below.
Cognition Financial
200 Clarendon St, 3rd Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02116
For more information please call 800-895-4283 or visit us at www.cognitionfinancial.com.
For Counselors and FAOs: If you are interested in linking to SmartBorrowing.org, please submit your request via email to firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Research Associate, UCSD
Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
My research focuses predominately on the studying of the Clan CA cysteine proteinases, cathepsin B and L. These proteolytic enzymes have been reported to possess a broad range of biological function that encompasses an equally broad spectrum of disease states. These diseases include amongst others, parasitic virulence, cancer, arthritis, and alzheimer's disease. The biological importance of cathepsins in disease validates the efforts in understanding the fundamental mechanism of action, biological targets and subsequently the development of therapeutic compounds.
My interest in parasitic research began 26 years ago in the research laboratory of Dr. Sharon Reed (UCSD), where our main focus has been investigating the cathepsins and thioredoxin reductase of Entameoba histolytica, the causative agent in amebiasis which afflicts over 40 million individuals every year. Recently, I also joined CDIPD as a molecular biologist involved in the expression and characterization of cathepsins and phosphodiesterases, as well as the drug discovery which targets these virulence factors in numerous neglected tropical diseases.
Additionally, I am the manager for the Dr. McKerrow and Dr. Podust laboratories responsible for maintaining compliance with Environmental, Health and Safety (E,H &S) standards; including safety training, hazardous waste disposal, and general compliance of a safe work environment. I develop and implement standard operating procedures (SOP) for experimental techniques as well as the use and maintenance of key laboratory equipment; act as the liaison regarding the repair and routine maintenance of all laboratory equipment.
X-ray structures of thioredoxin and thioredoxin reductase from Entamoeba histolytica and prevailing hypothesis of the mechanism of Auranofin action. J Struct Biol. 2016 May;194(2):180-90. doi: 10.1016/j.jsb.2016.02.015. Epub 2016 Feb 12. Parsonage D, Sheng F, Hirata K, Debnath A, McKerrow JH, Reed SL, Abagyan R, Poole LB, Podust LM.
Synthesis and Evaluation of Oxyguanidine Analogues of the Cysteine Protease Inhibitor WRR-483 against Cruzain. ACS Med Chem Lett. 2016 Jan 14;7(1):77-82. doi: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.5b00336. Jones BD, Tochowicz A, Tang Y, Cameron MD, McCall LI, Hirata K, Siqueira-Neto JL, Reed SL, McKerrow JH, Roush WR.
Hsp90 inhibitors as new leads to target parasitic diarrheal diseases. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2014 Jul;58(7):4138-44. doi: 10.1128/AAC.02576-14. Epub 2014 May 12. Debnath A, Shahinas D, Bryant C, Hirata K, Miyamoto Y, Hwang G, Gut J, Renslo AR, Pillai DR, Eckmann L, Reed SL, McKerrow JH.
A high-throughput drug screen for Entamoeba histolytica identifies a new lead and target. Nat Med. 2012 Jun;18(6):956-60. doi: 10.1038/nm.2758. Debnath A, Parsonage D, Andrade RM, He C, Cobo ER, Hirata K, Chen S, García-Rivera G, Orozco E, Martínez MB, Gunatilleke SS, Barrios AM, Arkin MR, Poole LB, McKerrow JH, Reed SL.
Entamoeba histolytica induces intestinal cathelicidins but is resistant to cathelicidin-mediated killing. Infect Immun. 2012 Jan;80(1):143-9. doi: 10.1128/IAI.05029-11. Epub 2011 Nov 14. Cobo ER, He C, Hirata K, Hwang G, Tran U, Eckmann L, Gallo RL, Reed SL.
A novel Entamoeba histolytica cysteine proteinase, EhCP4, is key for invasive amebiasis and a therapeutic target. J Biol Chem. 2010 Jun 11;285(24):18516-27. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M109.086181. Epub 2010 Apr 8. He C, Nora GP, Schneider EL, Kerr ID, Hansell E, Hirata K, Gonzalez D, Sajid M, Boyd SE, Hruz P, Cobo ER, Le C, Liu WT, Eckmann L, Dorrestein PC, Houpt ER, Brinen LS, Craik CS, Roush WR, McKerrow J, Reed SL.
Use of recombinant Entamoeba histolytica cysteine proteinase 1 to identify a potent inhibitor of amebic invasion in a human colonic model. Eukaryot Cell. 2007 Jul;6(7):1130-6. Epub 2007 May 18. Meléndez-López SG, Herdman S, Hirata K, Choi MH, Choe Y, Craik C, Caffrey CR, Hansell E, Chávez-Munguía B, Chen YT, Roush WR, McKerrow J, Eckmann L, Guo J, Stanley SL Jr, Reed SL.
An unusual surface peroxiredoxin protects invasive Entamoeba histolytica from oxidant attack. Mol Biochem Parasitol. 2005 Sep;143(1):80-9. Choi MH, Sajed D, Poole L, Hirata K, Herdman S, Torian BE, Reed SL.
Cysteine proteinases from distinct cellular compartments are recruited to phagocytic vesicles by Entamoeba histolytica. Mol Biochem Parasitol. 2002 Jan;119(1):23-32. Que X, Brinen LS, Perkins P, Herdman S, Hirata K, Torian BE, Rubin H, McKerrow JH, Reed SL.
Degradation of bovine complement C3 by trichomonad extracellular proteinase. Vet Immunol Immunopathol. 2001 Jan 10;78(1):83-96. Kania SA, Reed SL, Thomford JW, BonDurant RH, Hirata K, Corbeil RR, North MJ, Corbeil LB.
L6: a proteinase- and phagocytosis-deficient mutant of Entamoeba histolytica. Arch Med Res. 2000 Jul-Aug;31(4 Suppl):S237-8. No abstract available. Carpeniseanu S, Hirata K, Que X, Orozco E, Reed SL.
Pantropic retroviral vectors mediate gene transfer and expression in Entamoeba histolytica. Mol Biochem Parasitol. 1999 Apr 30;99(2):237-45. Que X, Kim D, Alagon A, Hirata K, Shike H, Shimizu C, Gonzalez A, Burns JC, Reed SL.
A unique cysteine proteinase gene of pathogenic Entamoeba histolytica correlates with virulence. Arch Med Res. 1992;23(2):181-2. Reed S, Bouvier J, Hirata K, Que X, Pollack AS, Engel JC, Gillin F, McKerrow JH.


text:
Amazon announced to create more than 70,000 full-time seasonal jobs to handle the Black Friday and Holiday shopping demand.
Retailers are already busy preparing for the critical Holiday shopping season. Amazon announced today to hire over 70,000 workers for the Holiday season. Amazon will likely have new record breaking order numbers during Black Friday and the Holiday shopping season. To handle the demand the online retail giant is each year hiring tons of temporary workers. Amazon hires this year 40% more workers than last year.
On average, seasonal employees earn 94 percent of Amazon fulfillment center employee starting wages and are eligible for health care benefits. Amazon says that thousands of these workers can expect to be hired full-time.
Since the start of the financial recession in September 2008, Amazon has added more than 40,000 jobs in the U.S. across all parts of the company.
This year Black Friday is rather late falling on November 29th. In 2012, Black Friday was on November 23rd. Retailers will have four full weeks to please you with special Black Friday 2013 sales until the culmination of the actual Black Friday and the encore on Cyber Monday 2013 (December 2nd).
According to Black Friday Countdown there are 58 days until Black Friday 2013. We will again provide full analysis and guidance of Black Friday Ads and Deals in our Black Friday Hub.


text:
I have decided to put all the commercial site links on a separate page, which is this one. Links are added upon request, so long as they are primarily pet-related. Note that in many cases, the text is supplied by the person wanting the link, and is not written by me...
This page last updated .
|Cat Collars
|Cat and kitten collars and other accessories. Based in the UK.
|Can Cat Eat
|Some recommendations on cat food and other related items.
|Cat "Cave" Beds
|Colourful and hand crafted in Nepal. Gives kitty a place to hide and sleep.
|More About Cat Food
|These folks also spent a lot of time looking at cat food to create this informative page.
|Cat Food Ratings
|These folks spent a lot of time looking at cat food to see which brands are best.
|Discount Cat Products
|"Best, unique, designer cat products at discount prices"
|Cat-Related Products
|Various items, including prints.
|Howard Cossman, Cat Artist.
|Amazingly detailed work!
|Cat Cartoons
|Customizable cartoons about cats.
|Cat Articles and Links
|Another interesting site with cat-related information.
|My Three Cats
|Lots of good cat stuff, plus information about cats.
|The Refined Feline
|"Cat furniture with style". Some interesting items here.
|Cool Cat Collars
|Cat collars, based in Staffordshire, UK.
|The Pride Cartoon
|"The award-winning reality cat cartoon starring Crazy Johnny."
|Best Dog Beds
|"Read reviews on the best dog beds on the market today along with 100s of other related dog accessories such as harnesses, flea control, and more."
|Dog-Friendly Getaways
|Information on dog-friendly vacation destinations in the UK.
|Carpet Cleaning Suggestions
|Information on cleaning carpets after "accidents".
|Pet hair removal
|Cleaning your dog's feet
|Clean your dog's feet after a walk.
|Top Dog Hub
|Information on various dog-related products.
|Animal Behavior College
|Learn how to be a dog or cat trainer, dog groomer or vet assistant.
|Bertie's Boutique
|Online pet shop for dog lovers, featuring dog fashion accessories, collars and more.
|Havahart Wireless Pet Fencing
|Wireless dog fencing to keep your pet safe.
|Dog Accessories
|Dog leashes, collars, harnesses and more. Based in London, UK.
|Dog Insurance
|Healthy Paws Pet Insurance provides dog insurance nationwide.
|Dog Harnesses
|High quality dog harnesses, collars and leashes.
|Glucosamine for dogs
|"Marvelous Products offers glucosamine for dogs hip and joint arthritis pain. Glucosamine is a natural ingredient used to help rebuild and repair joint cartilage damaged by natural wear and tear or injury."
|Pets Direct
|Dog and cat toys, beds and other accessories, based in the UK.
|Julie's Pet Portraits
|Commission a beautiful pastel painting from international portrait artist Julie Palmer (B.A. Hons). What I've seen looks very life-like!
|Dog Beds
|Dog beds: types of and information on.
|Mammoth Dog Beds
|High-quality beds for the larger dog.
|Dog beds
|From FetchDog.com: "We are an online community for passionate dog lovers and provide the highest quality dog beds and expert information on dogs."
|Dog Beds
|Many different types of dog beds to choose from for any size dog. Lots of other stuff available on the site too.
|"Treat your Pet Dog to a stylish Dog Bed, Dog Coat or Dog Toy. SlumberDog has a great selection of UK made Dog Beds, Dog Coats and Dog Toys. All their products come in a great range of colors?, designs and sizes so you are bound to find something that both you ad your pet dog will love."
|Costumes for pets
|If you like to annoy your (mainly dog) with costumes, here is a place to get them.
|Dog Costumes
|Dog costumes from Costume Supercenter. A Canadian site is also available.
|Dog Costumes
|Need a costume for your dog, for Halloween or any other time?
|Just Dogs
|British website devoted to the sale of dog-related products.
|Discount brand name pet food and accessories, in Bicester, England
|Onesta Organics
|Organic pet food for your dog or "pocket pet".
|Urban Pup
|Buy Original and Luxury Dog Fashions & Accessories at UrbanPup.com. The latest fashions, Dog Collars, Dog Accessories, Pet Carriers and Designer Clothes. Based in Northern Ireland.
|Hand made dog collars
|High-end, and great-looking, hand made dog collars. Based in the UK.
|Pet Portraits, with a twist
|Have your pet's face added to the image of a fancy human portrait.
|Pet Prints at FreeArt
|FreeArt.com provides an extensive collection of free small art prints in a wide variety of categories, including pets.
|Pet Images at Can Stock Photo
|"Can Stock Photo offers over 5 million professional royalty free stock photos at prices you can afford. ... (Including) over a quarter of a million animal photos and graphics!"
|Pet Photo Fun
|"E-mail Singing DoggieGrams & KittyGrams that star peoples own pets talking and singing to them in greeting card videos."
|Photo Canvas Printing
|Turn your pet photos into works of art by having your photo printed on canvas.
|Francoise Nesse
|A wildlife artist whose work is so detailed you'd swear it is a photograph!
|Liz Armon
|Portraits of your pets.
|Fine art photography
|By Pat McNulty. Really nice pictures, many of which are animal-related.
|Photo Canvas Prints
|Have your photographs printed on canvas, which is then mounted on a stretcher frame to create a work of art. Can be done for any picture, including pets...
|Fotosearch Stock Photography
|A quote: "Foto Search Stock Photography allows users to search from more than 2 million images from 140 quality stock photography publishers at one site. They can also find royalty-free clipart pictures, illustrations, stock video clips, maps, and background clip art imagery. Our database includesover 130,000 animal related images that I think you and your users will find useful." Use the Search feature to find pictures of interest.
|Pet Images at Go Graph
|Lots of pet-related pictures.
|Pet-Related Posters
|Lots of pet-related posters.
|Is Pet Insurance worth the cost?
|There are quite a few factors to consider.
|Pet Insurance Guide
|Pet insurance companies compared.
|More Pet Insurance Comparisons
|Eight pet insurance companies, rated best to worst.
|Pet Insurance Comparisons
|Comparisons of various pet insurance companies.
|365 Pet Insurance
|Advice on how to select pet insurance.
|Vetsure Pet Insurance
|Offering insurance for your pets in the United Kingdom.
|FIGO pet insurance
|Helps to reduce the pain of vet bills.
|Embrace Pet Insurance
|Offers pet health insurance. Because vets are expensive, and you never know when something bad will happen.
|Offers pet health insurance and pet health advice.
|Pet insurance plans for cats and dogs.
|Dog Insurance Quotes
|Get some quotes on insurance for your pet.
|Offers insurance for pets.
|Offers insurance for pets.
|Offers insurance for pets.
|Has offered insurance for pets in Canada and the US for over a decade.
|Another on-line coupon site, including pet-related items.
|Coupon Codes for Pets
|On-line coupons for pet-related products.
|Pets and CBD oil
|If you are considering CBD oil as a treatment for a pet, this article is a place to start.
|My Perky Pets
|Product reviews for small critters: hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas, ferrets, etc.
|Shutterfly Photo Books
|Record your memories (pet-related or otherwise) in a custom book of your photographs.
|Discount Pet Supplies
|Some deals on pet supplies.
|Pet Product Reviews
|Some information on pet products and supplies.
|Pet Shop 2Go
|"Pet products and accessories for dogs, cats, birds, fish and small animals. Secure online ordering, fast UK shipping."
|Small Pet Select
|High fibre nutrition delivered fresh for small pets.
|Pet Food
|All kinds of pet food available on-line from Mr. Chewy.
|Pet Food
|Some info about pet foods, and if you're in the United Kingdom, the opportunity to buy some on-line.
|Create greeting cards
|An easy to use on-line tool for creating greeting cards, including pet themes, of course!
|Some pet-related Internet greeting cards.
|Not like the spam that tries to get you to run a virus. 8-(
|Angel Ashes
|Pet Cremation urns, offering several tasteful and attractive styles of urns for the remains of your pet.
This page last updated .
|Return to...
|Misc Animals Humour Index Page
|Home Page


text:
Volunia, a new type of search engine that has been in the works for several months, promises to offer a "radical new view" of search. Such a lofty claim may be easy to dismiss, were it not coming from one of the world's most respected search engineers, Massimo Marchiori.
Marchiori named his search engine Volunia, which is a combination of the Italian words for flying and moon, as he explained previously, "because I wanted to evoke the quantum leap my social search engine delivers."
Since opening up in beta to "power users" in early February, Volunia has naturally drawn comparisons to Google, as search industry and media folk speculate on how it will measure up against the existing giant. Let's get that misconception out of the way right off the bat. In an interview with Search Engine Watch, Marchiori makes it clear they have no interest in competing with the reigning leader in the search market.
Volunia: Not Another Google
"Our search is growing up, but it's just foolish to say we are able to even approximate the sheer power of what Google is doing right now," Marchiori said. "We play on the meta level, it's about the social meta level. The search engine is just a way to make the whole system work better, but people will be free to use whatever search engine they want."
Volunia has indexed a very small portion of the web, he noted. Through their browser extensions for Chrome, IE and Firefox, Volunia builds on the existing functionalities of search engines like Bing and Google. Users are free to use the search engine they choose, with the added benefits of Volunia.
There are plans to build out their index before going public, however.
"We are evaluating whether to go public with maps for every site, or can there be some sites for whom we don't have maps yet?" Marchiori said. "That's the slower part. Crawling is fast and indexing is relatively fast. The map creation process is slower because it involves evaluating the site and its infrastructure."
Volunia Features
If Volunia doesn't plan to beat out Google in size, what do they offer to entice users to make the switch to this new method of search? While Google focuses on incorporating a social layer into search with their Google+ network and Google Search Plus Your World personalized results, Volunia's entire premise is social.
Every web page is a meeting place, says an introductory video, where you can meet different people who share the same interests. A key differentiator is Volunia's intuitive visual maps (see video at bottom of post), which sort and display content in a type of fly-over view for users, making it simple to navigate the site without following links or menus.
With Volunia, users will be able to see from the SERP if other users connected with the website are online and actually engage in live chat about the page. Rather than seeing personalized results based on which of your social contacts have commented on or posted about a topic, Volunia opens the doors to actually meeting new people associated with a result.
In this way, regardless of the quality of the graphics, it does social search very differently than anyone else right now. At its base level, Google social search seems designed to expose those within your social network who share your interests, even those outside the ones that drew you to them in the first place. So a search on a travel destination may bring back reviews and photos from people you connected with over marketing or music.
Volunia looks for people connected with the topic you're currently searching. Google may do this as well, though you're more likely only to see celebrities or brands suggested within a given topic. In that sense, Volunia is radically different.
The index is quite small; searching "Search Engine Watch" on Volunia brings back 249,000 results to Google's 140 million. However, Volunia displays people outside the existing social network who are online and visiting websites appearing in the results.
Other social features include:
- A visual or grid map of each site listed in the results on the SERP.
- A user bar at the top of the SERPs displaying users who have previously been on this page.
- The ability to view all multimedia results from the site.
- A link to "Join the conversation on this page," where other users may be discussing the site.
Volunia Power User Feedback Driving New UI and Features
Marchiori told us that three weeks ago, Volunia overhauled their user testing and feedback system so people could post new issues, with power users voting to tell developers which features are most important. Somewhere between 45,000 and 50,000 power users are testing the engine. These people signed on between Volunia's teaser announcement in November and the beta launch in February to participate in the testing process.
"We don't need much more testing on the scalability issue. We wanted to test that the system was able to scale up. The whole system is fine, so now we're just getting user feedback because we want to refine the system," Marchiori said.
One of the chief complaints of early users is the UI. Clunky and not aesthetically pleasing, it has drawn a number of criticisms, which Marchori acknowledges. "People felt it was a bit too dense, they wanted something more minimal so we're building that right now, a sharper interface," he said.
Another of the improvements expected before the search engine opens to the general public is a friend invitation system. "We're working hard on the social and other functionalities that people were asking for; our features are much more fun to use when you have your friends there. You can join your friends wherever they are on the web," he explained.
A third revision is coming to the browser extension, as user testing highlighted an issue where many sites were not compatible with Volunia due to the common practice of blocking other services from framing content. "We plan to issue a new revision of the add-on that counters the measure for those sites that essentially kick Volunia off. The user should have control over what their browser is doing. They should be able to choose whether they want to use Volunia on the site, and the browser add-on will do it," said Marchiori.
Volunia's Public Launch: Coming Soon
Though Marchiori would not commit to a firm date, expect to see Volunia open to the public "soon" (my best guess would be in the next 6 to 8 weeks). He is satisfied with their progress to date, but wisely wants to work out a few kinks before going public.
"We don't need much more testing on the scalability issue. We wanted to test that the system was able to scale up," he said. "The whole system is fine, so now we're just getting user feedback because we want to refine the system."
Related reading
How to lead SEO teams and track its performance effectively: Experts' tips
Leading an SEO team is not an easy task. Nine industry experts share how to effectively guide your SEO team and assess their performance.
SEO is a team sport: How brands and agencies organize work
I interviewed 31 people, from Content Specialists to SEO Directors, and CEOs to ask them about how teamwork and workflow affect SEO operations and success.
How to pitch to top online publishers: 10 Exclusive survey insights
We surveyed 500+ online writers and editors from the New York Times, CNN, Cosmopolitan, and Mashable. 10 key insights to pitch to top online publishers.
Five search reports for ecommerce you can pull now to prep for Q4
For ecommerce companies, it's not too early to start preparing for the holiday season. Here are five search reports to pull now as you strategize for EOY.


text:
Comfortable Friendship.
(image from pixabay)
"True friendship comes when the silence between two people is comfortable." - David Tyson
(I admit to not knowing who David Tyson is.... so I wikipedia-ed him, and OMG, he co-wrote Alannah Myles' song "Black Velvet" - I loved that song as a kid!)
And so we move into Friendship this month. The virtue (or character trait) of friendship is that opening up, non-judgementally, to someone who you meet, where there is a click, a connection, an inkling of recognition. In that moment (and the many moments after) of non-judgement, you find that you want to be there for that person, for a day, a week, a year, or a lifetime. Friendship can be momentary or last forever, it can involve having a friendly smile for the stranger on the street, a bunch of flowers for your new neighbour, or a shoulder to cry on for the friend you've known since kindy.
When I think of long-lasting, enduring friendship, I think of the people I can sit with in silence. Where the feelings of non-judgement, of care, and understanding, are so strong, that you intuitively know when you're friend needs a moment (or ten). To understand within yourself that sometimes you're mind needs to wander, settle, or ponder as well, and you just know that your friend get's it.
I have many friends that I feel this way with, not least my housemate, Anj. This friendship is a true test of different temperaments being able to live, non-judgementally, in an understanding and open way. Anj is an extrovert.... I am an introvert. Anj is always bubbling with energy and vibrancy (in a way I wish I could sometimes), I am quieter (though I do have my moments - especially when there is wine involved), and slower, more deliberate per say in my movement and actions. We function at different times of the day, I sleep like a log from 10pm and am itching to get up before 7am, Anj get's by on little sleep, but likes to lie-in whenever she gets the chance. Sometimes one of us needs company and the other is happy to give it, other times, one of us needs space and quietness and the other is happy to give this too.
We are different, and yet she is one of my dearest friends, we can have the big discussions and also talk about poo (cause don't we all talk about poo?), and most importantly, we can also sit in silence. No need to fill the still, quiet space.
Other friends I can do this with know who they are, and I appreciate the silence - wherever that silence happens doesn't matter, how long that silence lasts doesn't matter, when one has something to say it will be said, and when it is time to simply be a pillar of love and strength I (or they) will be this.
Who in your friendships circle can you be silent with? Are there opportunities to be silent more? Let me know.
So friendship for the month of May will look at the benefits of friendship, the experience of friendship, how we can cultivate more friendship in our lives, and also how we can be more of a friend to the people we know. Is there anything else you would like me to explore? Let me know in the comments below.
ps my friend Anj, is the founder of a wonderful movement - Inspiring Women Changemakers. She is currently looking for story nominations around social change for her awards evening being held in November. If you (or someone you know) has an inspiring story about social change please check out the eventbrite link here - Inspiring Women Changemakers Awards.
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply.


text:
Business degrees can be applied to a variety of careers in many different industries. Business concepts are practical to learn because they can be widely applied. Students can gain valuable job skills ranging from working with finances to marketing to developing business plans in business programs.
Additional skills like communication, organization, project management, time management and goal setting are all a part of business course work. Since the language of business is spoken all over the world, a business degree can open up many more opportunities for travel than other career tracks.
But what type of business degree is right for you? That depends on the kind of career you're looking to pursue. Here are more details on what you can learn as part of a business degree program.
Accounting and Finance
Accounting is an essential component of a business. Financial accounting and managerial accounting can be used to keep business records, collect data and use information and data to create more strategies and plans for success. Because financial stability is also key to success for organizations or businesses, courses in finance are important as well.
Business Administration
Business administration generally covers a wide range of subjects including analytics, communication, global business, marketing, management and law. This degree opens up possible futures in leadership roles at companies or working for a nonprofit or government agency.
Management Information Systems
Management information systems combines business acumen with technological tools and practices. This subject is somewhat new. Information systems involves managing an organization's IT system, teaching others how to use it and managing data and information in order to help a business succeed. Information systems management has more directly practical aspects than some other business subjects.
Organizational Leadership
Organizational leadership teaches students how to become thoughtful and success-driven leaders. Business programs in organizational leadership cover organizational change and organizational behavior, both of which discuss maintaining and fostering a positive and productivity-driven business. Students learn from historical examples of great leaders. Other course work explores human diversity, public policy and more.


text:
March 3, 2005
AutoLink on WaPo and Kottke.
Also, please note, those for and against AutoLink, Google is listening to you and we will act at some point. Don't be so quick to judge us evil or not. I personally know that regardless, there will always be those who detest us for whatever reason, but I have confidence in Google to do the right thing by Users and Publishers, so if I sounded harsh in earlier posts, please excuse that as a view into my passion for Google and user rights, two things that are very important to me and close to my heart.
12 comments:
- PhilC said...
You siad, "You're wrong. The user has rights. Other wise, you don't get to have any users."
Of course users have rights - nobody suggested that they don't. What I said was that users dont have any rights to change the content of a web page unless the webmaster gives it to them. Users don't have that right, and Google doesn't have that right. So it's you who is wrong, Chris, not me. Not only that, but users don't expect to be able to change a web page's content.
You and Google seem to imagine that websites are semi-public property because they are on the web. They are not. And you seem to imagine that Google has a right to help people navigate through this mass of semi-public property by modifying it. Google doesn't. It isn't even a matter for debate. What belongs to person belongs to that person, and nobody has any right whatsoever to change it without permission.
It's worse than your cache system because at least there's an opt-out for that. But I wonder how many people know that Google uses other people's bandwidth to operate the cache system. The text and HTML is stored by Google, but, if there are graphics on the page, they are retrieved from the website owner's server. So the owner is paying for people to stay in your site. That's immoral.
The images directory is much worse but I won't get into that - and there is an opt-out. But there is no built-in opt-out with autolink. Look at what happened with the Barnes & Noble site. Was that a huge embarrassment for Google, or do the people there have delusions of grandeur and imagine they are above everyone else?
Chris, I gather that you are looking at the autolink issue from a user's perspective, and I accept that it can be a benefit to users. I don't think anyone thinks otherwise. But you just can't go modifying other people's property no matter how useful it is for people. If websites allow you to do it, fair enough. But if they don't want you to do it, you are very much in the wrong if you do it. When double cassette and video players came out, they were challenged in the courts because they allowed people to make illegal copies. But the challenges were defeated because copies can be made quite legally. With autolink, there is no other use to which it can be put other than immorally, and probably illegally, modifying other people's property.
- Chris DiBona said...
So when you say "What I said was that users dont have any rights to change the content of a web page unless the webmaster gives it to them. Users don't have that right, and Google doesn't have that right." you think then that there can be no:
1) caching proxies.
2) pop-up/under/ad blockers.
3) search engines
4) bibliographies
5) fair use
So, yeah, we disagree. And yes, it is up for debate and will be for a long long time. I don't think that you and I can find a common ground.
- iBall said...
The problem I have with this is that my web pages are part of my advertising and marketing strategies.
Like any advert, users have the choice to ignore it and go and look elsewhere. Now that's the important concept, they have to look elsewhere.
If the user doesn't like my ad in a magazine or the yellow pages they can simply turn the page, they have that choice and I accept that. If they're driving down the road and see a billboard they can either act upon it and call the 1800 number at the next rest room or ignore it.
Yes the toolbar does allow them to look elsewhere but where's the choice? Instead of giving the user a choice it simply points them to the company with the largest marketing budget.
Now my website is mine, not the user's, not Google's and definately not my competitors'.
Yes it's my advertising space, I pay to host it, I pay for the bandwidth and I pay to design the content. I own it and have full editorial control over it. If I want to place other adverts on the pages then I can, and even Google's Adsense programme allows me to filter out adverts from direct competition.
But the toolbar doesn't allow this. It simply makes the ads available totally ignoring my editorial and copyright controls.
If I were to hijack every copy of the yellow pages before they were delivered and placed my ads over everyone elses would that be legal, and how much choice would the user have then?
If I hijacked every magazine that I advertised in and placed my ads over everyone elses would that be legal, and how much choice would the user have then?
And if I hijacked every billboard and placed my ads on them. Ads that someone else had paid for to have designed, that someone else had paid for to have them at the busiest intersections, would that be legal, and how much choice would the user have then?
No I'm sorry, as far as I'm concerned the internet is nothing more than an electronic advertisng medium and the fact that you are now hijacking others marketing material is not only immoral and illegal, but will also remove user choice, not add to it.
I think that Google have got it very wrong, but hey big corporations, big bucks, big balls, what chance has the little guy got?
What's the answer? Give the webmasters the code to place into our robots.txt file and then do whatever you want.
- PhilC said...
You are right that you and I (and everyone else who has made a comment) don't see eye to eye, Chris. You think it's ok to modify people's property without their permission - I (we) dont. Ok.
Here's something else. The autolink feature *breaks* the browser's normal functionality, and that is very bad.
When a new browser instance opens, holding the mouse over a link causes the URL to display in the status bar, and it stays displayed until the mouse is moved away from the link. But once the autolink button is pressed, the status bar display always disappears after about a second. And it stays that way for that browser instance no matter where the person goes on the web. Once the buitton is pressed, normal browser functionality is broken - or, more accurately, hijacked.
I don't think I need to expound on what I think of that particular aspect.
- PhilC said...
On second thought, I think I will expound on it a bit.
It appears that Google has decided to prevent people seeing the URL in the status bar, because 1 second (or less) is much too short a time to give it a good look. Perhaps Google has decided that people don't really want the URL in the status bar anyway. Or perhaps Google has decided to hide the targets of the hijacked links as best they can.
I'd be interested to hear a defense of why Google thinks it's ok to hijack browser functionality, and deprive people of something useful.
- iBall said...
Quote "I sounded harsh in earlier posts, please excuse that as a view into my passion for Google and user rights, two things that are very important to me and close to my heart."Suggesting that the people who make the internet possible, the webmasters, who pay for the space, bandwidth etc. without whom the user would have very little to search for, have no rights?
That I find disturbing.
- Chris DiBona said...
Hi All,
Obviously people aren't reading my previous posts on this. I've said before that I know that publishers have rights, but the people who say that users have no right to change a web page simply don't understand the foundations of intellectual property. I suggest you do more reading before commenting. The internet is a mess for intellectual property because the question of who -owns- a page isn't clear once a user recieves it.
You might think it is clear, but it isn't. That said, as I've said before if people could actually read first, publishers do have rights. Even statements that you think make sense like "What belongs to a person belongs to a person." makes me think you've never really tried to understand why fair use is important to society.
So instead of getting in a huff, why don't you try to explain how a feature like this could be respectful of publishers. Even if your answer is that it never should exist, it'd be better than all the posturing, which I'm getting very tired of taking part in.
I've heard a lot of good suggestions, and I know that my employer has too. Little google balls next to the link, meta tags, robots.txt language, etc.. I personally like the little balls, it's neater than a simple link and it's pretty clear.
- Nicky said...
I think the main issue here is that people dont want to loose business by having links to their competitors on their websites. That much is clear.
If Google want to improve the users search experience, why must they create links to pages where a product is sold? Why not create links to sites which just give information about a product or whatever it is a user is interested in? If Google want to link ISBN numbers, dont link to Amazon, link to a library with information about that book. That was be fairer for the publisher as well as improving the users search experience and would make much more sense.
Also, why not create the link so the page opens up in a new window rather than taking the user away from the initial webpage?
No one has real problems with users changing the format of a page for "visability" but it's just the issue of loosing a sale because a third party has placed a link on a page to a competitors site and not offering any control over to the webmaster as to whether or not they would like this to happen.
That my opinion anyway.
- PhilC said...
I'm sorry that you are getting tired of this discussion, Chris, but you did start it and you did invite people to join in.
I notice that you didn't address my point that the autolink button breaks the browser's functionality. Do I take it as meaning that there is no defense for it?
About "fair use":-
I haven't read all the legal stuff, but I've seen it crop up enough to have got the general idea, and nowhere have I seen anything about changing the content of a publication. "Fair use" is about reproducing parts of a publication - not changing them.
You say that it is a legal grey area as to who owns the page once it is loaded into a browser. So you are saying that Google doesn't know if it's legal to change the content of a page once it is in the browser, and, therefore, you may be providing people with the means to break the law. Have I understood you correctly?
- PhilC said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- Chris DiBona said...
I'm not saying anything for google, but for me. Pay attention to that, otherwise, I won't even bother answering. I'll post more later.
- PhilC said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.


text:
Amanda & Phil Fall Engagement
Autumn is here! At least in Florida it is - if you live up north it's probably already winter for you, but down here in the sunshine state we are playing with leaves and wearing cardigans and sipping holiday drinks from Starbucks! In honor of the seasonal change, I'm sharing Amanda & Phil's autumn engagement session this morning. These two kept me laughing the whole time - they are just too much fun. Enjoy!


text:
Loot Crate Subscription Box Review & Coupon – January 2016
Loot Crate is a monthly subscription box for geeks and gamers. Each month they include everything from collectibles, to stickers, and sometimes there's even a t-shirt.
Loot Crate kindly sent us this box to review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
I really like the lid design this month!
The Subscription Box: Loot Crate
The Cost: $13.37 plus $6 shipping a month
The Products: 6-8 epic products curated around a geeky theme.
Ships to: 27 countries including US, Canada, Australia, and the UK!
Keep track of your subscriptions – add Loot Crate to your Subscription List or Wish List!
Check out all of my Loot Crate reviews and make sure to add Loot Crate to your subscription list or wishlist!
The box also comes with a mini-mag. This month's theme was Invasion
Here's a look at the content in the magazine.
X-Files Shirt – Value $10?
This month's exclusive shirt features The X-Files. This design was a contest in collaboration with Threadless – which is a very cool idea that I hope they keep up, I think we'll get many more unique designs when anyone can contribute their designs! This also matches this month's Loot Pets shirt!
UPDATE: Here is the twinsies photo for this month:
Facehugger Plush – Value $10-15?
This is an exclusive plush from Kidrobot. This will probably be stolen by Buckles, it really is inevitable.
The facehugger is smiling on the backside.
They included a yellow rubber band in the box and it was random and confusing, until I read the booklet more, and found out that this is what its use is:
X-Files LED Flashlight – Value $10?
This is an exclusively branded X-Files mini flashlight. While it's not really exciting, I can always use another flashlight around the house.
Space Invaders Vinyl Figure – Value $10-15?
This is an exclusive item, and I couldn't find a comparable online. I really like this one! I already have it on a shelf.
It's a bit translucent and a decent size. Very cool!
The Fifth Element Prop Replica Multi Pass – Value $10-15?
This is another exclusive this month. It's a prop replica of The Fifth Element's Multi Pass
Source: http://data.whicdn.com/images/135760494/large.jpg
They also include a plastic ID sleeve if you want to use it to carry your ID.
As always, you get your monthly pin.
Here's a close up of the pin – I like the design!
Mini-Prints – Value $10?
This month also came with two mini prints.
Very cool designs on these prints. I've never had a real use for mini prints – but I do appreciate the artwork!
Verdict: While it wasn't my favorite month of Loot Crate, I did have more fun than I expecting while unboxing it. I'm not a huge fan of the theme, so I knew this one might be a let down for me, but, overall, I thought it was good! I'm a big fan of the shirt, Space Invaders vinyl, and the plush (my dog is a fan now too).
What did you think of this month's Loot Crate?


text:
"Nobody reads 'real' books anymore," said Boy Wonder, the kid with an ever-present book in his hand. "Everybody has an e-reader and I want one, too." With his birthday coming up and his school's recent allowance of e-readers on campus, I thought, "Hey, why not?"
The idea of a portable library in the palm of my son's hand excited me. Imagine all the books he'll read! Imagine all the space e-books will save! And with that, an e-reader quickly became his most prized possession.
Soon, he was reading books more voraciously than I could afford to download them. "Mom, I've read three books this week!" he'd boast, but I wondered… was he really reading them? He never consumed traditional printed books at this pace before.
New study findings presented by West Chester University associate professor, Heather Ruetschlin Schugar and instructor, Jordan Schugar at the annual American Educational Research Association conference found that middle schools using e-readers suffered lower reading comprehension levels than those reading traditional hard copy books.
But wait, aren't they the same? Words on screen versus words on the printed page?
Apparently not. The study found that kids using e-readers had a tendency to focus on a digital book's interactive features while skipping over entire sections of text altogether.
Sigh. It's not our kid's fault, what with all those colorful, entertaining interactive displays that threaten to woo their attention away from the "boring words" my younger son describes. According to The New York Times, "It seems that the very 'richness' of the multimedia environment that e-books provide — heralded as their advantage over printed books — may overwhelm children's limited working memory, leading them to lose the thread of the narrative or to process the meaning of the story less deeply." Oof. While I think we can all agree that interactive features totally rock, they need to be formulated in a way that enhances comprehension, instead of taking away from it.
Schugar and colleagues went on to discuss another study's findings that revealed over 40 percent of a child's e-book "reading" time was actually spent engaged in interactive play rather than reading. Grrrrreat, here I thought my kids were exceeding their recommended reading time, when in reality they're probably only reading 57 percent of the time.
So what are parents and e-book loving kiddos to do?
Study authors have some suggestions:
1. Do your homework.
Not all e-books are created equal. Research e-book options that offer interactive opportunities within the text, not in spite of it. Look for interactive features designed to build a greater understanding of vocabulary and enhanced comprehension. Also, e-book interactions should be brief, you know, so they can get back to reading.
2. Help your child.
While your kids are probably technological wizards, they may not know how to optimize their e-reading experience. Researchers advise parents to guide their children in transferring reading skills from print books to e-readers by talking to them about main plot points and characters.
3. Minimize the use of e-book features
As wonderful as "read-to-me" and look up features can be, researchers suggest using them sparingly as not to interrupt the flow of your child's reading and comprehension. Makes sense.
OK, so e-readers pose risks to my kids' reading comprehension that I admittedly hadn't thought of before but I'm still a believer.
While I'll forever subscribe to the theory that any reading is good reading, now that I possess a greater understanding of the ways in which interactive e-books can both enhance and distract learning, changes are a' coming in the way my kids will be utilizing these devices going forward.
Get your daily dose of Mommyfriend here where nothing is sacred.
Follow Mommyfriend on Facebook and Twitter too!