text:
Portable Travel Rabbit Carrier (Large) - Red
Keeping your pet safe and comfortable on the go needn't be a struggle. With this brilliant carrier, your bouncy bunny will be snug and protected on any journey! Made from soft, machine washable polyester, this carrier has been designed with you and your pet's convenience in mind.
Featuring a sturdy metal frame that will protect your pet from sliding and sudden stops in the car, this portable and affordable rabbit house / carrier has plenty of space for all your pet's accessories. Included with the unit is a removable mat, which adds extra support during your pet's journey. The 2 included accessory bags make it easy for you to bring extra treats and food along.
Getting your rabbit ready to go has never been simpler than with this dual entrance carrier. Let him in and out via the front door, or simply lower him in through the top.v
In the event of a spill, don't panic! This carrier is water resistant and easy to clean. When no longer needed, simply collapse the sides and stow it away.
Our portable travel carrier comes with two hand straps and an optional shoulder strap, ensuring you have no problems getting your pet from point A to B. You'll never want to use another model.
Key tip: Incontinence sheets, also known as puppy training pads, make excellent carrier liners for your bunny. They will help absorb any excess moisture inside the carrier, keeping your rabbit clean and dry in the event of an accident!
- Strong metal frame
- Resistant to water
- Durable 600D polyester
- Removable floor mat
- 5 mesh windows for good airflow
- Large entry door to the top and front
- Side accessory bag
- Carrier straps on top
- Removable shoulder strap
- Snap clips to make carrying easier
- Folds flat for simple transport
- Machine washable
- Weight: 3.2kg
Animal Capacity:
This is the perfect carrier for up to 2 rabbits at a time.
12 month Warranty
Overall Size: 50cm x 50cm x 70cm
Top Door Size: 22cm x 50cm
Front Door Size: 32cm x 35cm
Folded Size: 53cm x 15cm x 70cm
Cartons: 1 Cartons
Carton Weight: 4.15 kg
Carton Size: 72cm x 57cm x 9cm
|Price Inclusion
1 x Soft Rabbit Crate
|Capacity Name


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A lane closure is in place on the Southbound M61 between junctions 8 (Chorley) and 6 (Horwich) this morning (8 December).
The accident, which involved two cars, happened at around 6.15 am.
One car is thought to be on the hard shoulder of the motorway.
Drivers are warned to approach with care.
More to follow.
Read more here

subset: commoncrawl


text:
how he is using Web 2.0 technologies, particularly blogs, wikis and media sharing applications, to assess traditional learning outcomes. In a recent classroom activity, it was discovered that less than 2% of the students had ever blogged before, proving that many of the assumptions about 'digital natives' are blatantly wrong and making the Web 2.0 classroom a difficult beast to manage. This workshop will assist beginners to teach Web 2.0 communication skills without compromising existing learning outcomes. Participants will learn how to set up their own blogs, wikis and media sharing tools and receive practical tips on managing the online classroom. It will also provide teachers with the skills to give the 'digital natives' the 'digital education' they should have had already.Top marks to the presenter for grappling with pedagogical challenges, in a hothouse or otherwise. However, in reading that promo we might ask some questions.
In my opinion the value of a program to "provide teachers with the skills to give the 'digital natives' the 'digital education' they should have had already" is debatable.
As part of that opinion I wonder -
1) If the 'natives' do not have the 'education' already perhaps that is because they do not want or need it.Elsewhere I've expressed my opinion regarding some of the enthusiasms for web 2.0, pointing to statistics that on occasion dishearten web 2.0 true believers and questioning glib characterisations such as 'digital natives'.
2) who says "they should have had" the "digital education"? Why? What is the basis for the statement?
3) what are the implications for legal academics in world of web 2.0 (or web 3.0)?
4) is teaching web 2.0 more critical, of a higher priority, than teaching law and teaching critical thinking (or with some students ensuring an awareness of basic grammar)?
Few people blog for very long and it is unclear that blogging per se strengthens an author's capacity to critically read, analyse and write. Merely having a keyboard does not an author (or an especially readable) make. We might indeed be thankful that the evanescence of blogs from the under-25 cohort - most as long-lived as a fruitfly but without the flavour - spares the world from a plethora of announcements that x is so so in love, y ate a cheese sandwich and z got munted after Facebooking through an online/offline lecture on pedagogical theory. Contrary to hype about crowdsourcing and the virtuous information commons few people contribute to wikis (as distinct from copying & pasting from them). Much of the web 2.0 education activity appears to be crude repackaging of very traditional exercises, valorising shiny new technology over substantive performance. It is questionable whether transferring the traditional 500 word answer from two A4 sheets onto a blog screen or two transforms the development of generic skills among students, whether asking questions on a wiki is necessarily superior to face-to-face seminars and whether tweets are sublime.
Much of the enthusiasm for web 2.0 strikes me as redolent of past vogues for education by broadcast television or the rollout of VCRs: potentially useful tools whose history induces a certain wariness about the breathless prose and problematical assertions coming from some enthusiasts in the US and elsewhere.
I've meanwhile turned to a recent Pew Internet & American Life report, this one about online US teens.
It claims
a decline in blogging among teens and young adults and a modest rise among adults 30 and older. In 2006, 28% of teens ages 12-17 and young adults ages 18-29 were bloggers, but by 2009 the numbers had dropped to 14% of teens and 15% of young adults. During the same period, the percentage of online adults over thirty who were bloggers rose from 7% blogging in 2006 to 11% in 2009.The report suggests that
Much of the drop in blogging among younger internet users may be attributable to changes in social network use by teens and young adults. Nearly three quarters (73%) of online teens and an equal number (72%) of young adults use social network sites. By contrast, older adults have not kept pace; some 40% of adults 30 and older use the social sites in the fall of 2009. ...There's bad news for microblog enthusiasts -
New survey results also show that among adults 18 and older, Facebook has taken over as the social network of choice; 73% of adult profile owners use Facebook, 48% have a profile on MySpace and 14% use LinkedIn. "Blogging appears to have lost its luster for many young users ...The fad stage is over for teens and young adults and the move to Facebook - which lacks a specific tool for blogging within the network - may have contributed to the decline of blogging among young adults and teens."
teens ages 12-17 do not use Twitter in large numbers – just 8% of online teens 12-17 say they ever use Twitter, a percentage similar to the number who use virtual worlds. This puts Twitter far down the list of popular online activities for teens and stands in stark contrast to their record of being early adopters of nearly every online activity.


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Basics of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3's Onscreen Keyboard
Whenever text input is required, your Samsung Galaxy Note 3 displays the onscreen keyboard. Don't let it freak you out! It is something you can get used to easily.
The onscreen keyboard appears on the bottom part of the touchscreen. The keyboard shows up anytime your phone demands text as input, such as when you type an e-mail, write something pithy on the web, or compose a drunken, midnight Facebook status update.
Here is an illustration of the standard Galaxy Note onscreen keyboard, also known as the Samsung keyboard. The onscreen keyboard you see on your phone may look subtly different because certain keys change their function depending on what you're typing.
The onscreen keyboard is shown in Alphabetic mode. You see keys from A through Z in lowercase. You also see the Shift key for producing capital letters, and the Delete key, which works to backspace and erase.
The Enter key changes its look depending on what you're typing. Five variations are shown. Here's what each one does:
Enter/Return: Just like the Enter or Return key on a computer keyboard, this key ends a paragraph of text. It's used mostly when filling in long stretches of text, when multiline input is needed, or when you're well-versed in English and can comprehend the concept of a paragraph.
Go: This action key directs an app to proceed with a search, accept input, or perform another action.
Search: You see the Search key appear whenever you're searching for something. Touching the key starts the search.
Next: This key appears whenever you're typing information into multiple fields. Touching this key switches focus to the next field, such as from the Username field to the Password field.
Done: This key appears whenever you've finished typing text in the final field of a screen that has several fields. Sometimes it dismisses the onscreen keyboard, sometimes not.
The large key at the bottom center of the onscreen keyboard is the Space key. The keys to the left and right may change, depending on the context of what you're typing. For example, a www or .com key may appear, in order to assist in typing a web page address or e-mail address. Other keys may change as well, although the basic alphabetic keys remain the same.
To display the onscreen keyboard, touch any text field or spot on the screen where typing is permitted.
To dismiss the onscreen keyboard, touch the Back button.
The keyboard reorients itself when you rotate the phone. The onscreen keyboard's horizontal orientation is wide, so you might find it easier to use


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Microsoft expands reach of best practices tool
Free software that checks the configuration and general health of Windows Server System products will be modeled on the Exchange Best Practices Analyzer.
ORLANDO, Fla. -- While Exchange administrators have had the Exchange Best Practices Analyzer tool since September, similar tools should soon be available to those responsible for ensuring that other Microsoft platforms run smoothly.
Beginning in 2006, Microsoft will release versions of the free tool for all of its platforms, said Paul Flessner, senior vice president of server applications, at the recent TechEd 2005 conference. The system analyzers follow the company's Windows Server System Common Engineering Criteria, aimed at making integration and management of its products easier, he said.
Ed Donnelly, senior systems engineer with Kaplan Inc., in New York City, has been using the Exchange Best
"It gives a good baseline for building forward, depending on the server build we do," said Donnelly, whose company provides educational and career services. After matching best practices with Microsoft, he said, you can tailor your own environment as needed, knowing you've met the company's suggested standards. "Each [analyzer tool] should also tell you what you're missing and be updated with each service pack."
In March, the company released an update for the Exchange tool, adding support for Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM).
The Exchange Best Practices Analyzer automatically examines a Microsoft Exchange Server deployment, including Active Directory, to check the configuration and general health of the system. To use the tool, administrators need to be running Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 on each Exchange server.
"It's nice to find out what we're supposed to be doing correctly and have some kind of game plan," said Scott Semrau, a network administrator with touch-free car wash system maker PDQ Manufacturing Inc., in DePere, Wis. His organization has downloaded the Exchange tool and is in the process of testing it.
The challenge of unique environments
Although best practices analyzers have the potential to be useful to Jeff Fantin, a computer analyst with SRP Inc., a Tempe, Ariz.-based engineering company, he wondered how Microsoft was going to make them work in diverse environments. "Every environment is unique, so it's going to be hard for them to make recommendations," he said. "I can see this working better in smaller organizations."
Chris Prime, a systems administrator for the Medmarc Insurance Group in Chantilly, Va., said he hopes the tool will help him pitch IT improvements to executives. "I know we're not [Sarbanes-Oxley Act] compliant, but it's hard to tell the CIO and CEO why we're not and how it affects us," he said. "This can generate a report that can be translated into business-speak."
Systems that will see best practice analyzers in 2006 include SQL Server, Content Management Server and Microsoft Office Live Communications Server. Administrators will have the ability to compare the configuration of their systems against Microsoft's best practices database, monitor system health and access online documentation of reported issues.


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vs Pro35
Published : 28th August 2003
I am about to shoot for 30 days on a feature with the F900. Just want to hear if there is anything I should know before using the Pro-35 adapter. We had the choice to shoot with the DigiPrimes but decided against due to limited availability with the rental house we're using.
Just curious what you all might think about either the Pro-35 or the DigiPrimes.
John Chester DP/Director
John said:
>Just curious what you all might think about either the Pro-35 or the >DigiPrimes.
Two completely different worlds - that really shouldn't be compared.
One increases optical resolution and gives you a sharper cleaner image…the DigiPrimes of course.
The other - in my opinion - is purely for "effect". The Pro-35 adapter is only half about enabling a B4 mount to accept PL mount lenses. At least 50% of it's 'function' is the Depth Of Field shift which then adds the ground glass factor (for better or worse).
One is about upping the quality, and the other is about adding an effect. I had fun with the P&S adapter and thought it made a pretty cool image, but I would choose it when appropriate and never in lieu of shooting with DigiPrimes.
If you are ending up on video - then it can be an interesting look, but be prepared for some lighting. I was constantly baffled at how much 'more' I needed to light things to compensate for the adapters absorption – very hungry. If you are going for projection - it's gonna be grainy methinks.
So there's that.
Az. D.P.
12 On / 12 Off!
The Zeiss DigiPrimes have the look and feel of standard 35mm cine lenses (one aspect of the "film look"), unlike some HD zooms out there, and they are very sharp. Wide-open or near wide-open, you get the equivalent depth-of-field of a f/2.8-to-f/4 split or so.
So the only reason, in my mind, to use the P&S Technic Pro-35 would be if you want the really shallow depth-of-field from shooting wider than f/2.8. Having had some focus-pulling problems on my last 35mm feature from shooting some Steadicam scenes at f/2.0, I'm not so enamoured of the shallow-focus approach right now... that's just to say, hire a really good focus-puller if you're going to use the P&S Technic Pro-35 and shoot at really wide-open apertures, just as you would in 35mm. But if you normally prefer the depth-of-field of f/2.8 to f/4 in 35mm, you might as well use the Zeiss Digi-Primes.
I guess another reason to go with the Pro-35 is if there are a number of lenses you wanted to use that are available in PL-mounts, from tilt-focus lenses to special macro or even scope lenses. If you already owned a set of PL-mount lenses and wanted to use those. I guess the best approach would be to test, test, test and see the results recorded out to film and projected (if the end goal is a 35mm print.)
I haven't used the P&S Technic Pro-35 but I did use the Zeiss DigiPrimes for Dale Lauer's feature and was very happy with the quality.
David Mullen
Cinematographer / L.A.
An additional factor to consider with the Pro 35 adaptor is how to support the lens you put on the front of it. Put a heavy enough lens on it without a good rod system and it will quickly deflect far enough to send the image plane out of normal, affecting focus from top to bottom across the image plane.
Dave Stump ASC
VFX Supervisor/DP
>Just curious what you all might think about either the Pro 35 or the >DigiPrimes.
We had that discussion recently so that might sound like I am repeating myself anyway...
I have never tested the Pro35 but in my opinion adding glass elements and a "pseudo" ground glass in the optical path is not the way to increase sharpness/definition (whatever you want to call it). It could be a cool device for work that stays on tape but I would be wary for film out stuff. But then again I confess I have never tested it nor was I interested to.
I have shot a feature with DigiPrimes and they are stupendous, amazing lenses. Tremendous definition, great design, nearly impossible to flare. Nothing else as far as other HD primes and zooms can even pretend to be in the same class. I did extensive testing of those. I just saw the film out of reel 2 last week and it looks great.
We were lacking for something between 20mm and 40mm but now this gap has been filled with a 32mm. A 70mm covers the long end better.
Daniel Villeneuve, c.s.c.
Directeur-Photo/Director of Photography
Montréal, Canada
demo à / at: http://pages.infinit.net/davil
Geez guys and gals I have to it's like shooting fish in a barrel...
John wrote:
We had the choice to shoot with the DigiPrimes but decided against due to limited availability with the rental house we're using.
John please note: There is never a shortage of DigiPrimes for those who choose to shoot with them. Me thinks thou should contacteth me on thine own offeth thine list.
Michael Bravin
Chief Technology Officer
Band Pro Film & Digital
Lets look at another aspect or your Problem.
Its a Given that the DigiPrimes Completely dominate the lens issue. Quality is unsurpassed and all that is great but where do you get A set.
This is your bigger problem than what to shoot.
Now I highly recommend calling Michael Bravin and finding out…
1) Who in your Area has a set and might be willing to part with them.
2) Who in the World has a set and might be willing to part with them.
3) See if Michael has any for you to Demo even for a Time.
I shot an entire USMC Commercial with a 7 mm and a 40 mm (which matches my 2 favourite 35 mm film focal lengths 24 mm and 100 mm) I also shot 1 week a BG Plates in DC using the 14 mm and 40 mm. That might not be realistic to you but ALL of "Touch of Evil" was shot on an 18 mm Lens.
I would rather have 1 Incredible Lens than 3 cases of Bad Glass.
B. Sean Fairburn SOC
Director of Photography
Castaic CA
Sean said:
>That might not be realistic to you but ALL of "Touch of Evil" was shot on >an 18 mm lens.
HEY! I didn't know that! I shot one of my features last year entirely on the 18mm lens. In fact that lens has come to be known as the "Linda lens" among
my crew (Linda was the Producer/Director on that 18mm feature).
Wasn't "The Last Picture Show" shot entirely with the 40mm?
Sorry about the change in topic.
I agree however, that I would rather have ONE DigiPrime to shoot with than a full set of mediocre lenses or zoom. I think the limitation is fun to work with as well.
Az. D.P.
B. Sean Fairbairn writes:
I would rather have 1 Incredible Lens than 3 cases of Bad Glass.
A quote for the ages.
Forgive the epic posts. Lyris didn't like the length (damn AOLextra nonsense) so I have to break this into four posts).
Part One :
Well I'm the one who started this thread last month, so I should chime in about now. Greg Gilliam and I just wrapped a Varicam feature in Denver. We went back & forth for a while about the options for shooting with the Pro35 v. the DigiPrimes. The project called for a softer, romantic look, and I thought the Pro35 "look" with it's built in diffusion factor might be appropriate.
I tested the Pro35 and we were generally happy with the artefacts it creates up to a point. But in the end we went with the DigiPrimes. I found that the Pro35 had a very narrow range for using the lens aperture and a very narrow range for using the internal rear diaphragm for controlling light level. Using Zeiss SuperSpeeds, I found that I could go from 1.3 to 2.8/4 split before the jiggling ground-glass of the Pro35 would become apparent. The rear diaphragm could be used up to .6 (two stops) before it created a "false sharpening" that I found unpleasing and also would not match the wider diaphragm (sorry I can't put this into more precise terms). Also beyond .6 I began to notice some darkening of the corners. This meant that we'd need to use ND filters to control exposure all the time. When light hits the jiggling ground-glass it has a scattering effect, which alters contrast, color depth and to a small degree sharpness.
I found that I really didn't like the look of the Zeiss SuperSpeeds wide open on the Pro35, as they were very washed out. Stopped down to about 2/2.8 - 2.8 the contrast and color returned for a much richer image. Another odd artefact of the Pro35 is how it alters exposure. Stopping down .6 on the rear diaphragm cut two stops of light but stopping down two stops (1.4 to 2.8) cut maybe 3/4 of a stop of light. I talked to a tech at ZGC who attributed this again to the light scattering effect.
End Part One.
Mitch Gross
Part Two :
I tried various combinations of T-stops and diaphragm positions as well as jiggle speeds for the ground-glass. I found what I thought to be a pleasing combination but when Greg saw the test tape I FedEx'ed him, he noticed jiggle artefacts at ALL speeds and combinations. We know that people have used the Varicam/Pro35 combination successfully so we were sure that we simply had not found the right combination of adjustments, but it was unnerving and we were afraid that it would not only hamper us severely on set but would also be a big risk as we did not have time to test a film out of any footage before going into principle photography.
That jiggle could've ended up all over our image.
I did really like the look of the Pro35. It lent a slight bit of diffusion similar to a weak ProMist or Diffusion F/X. There is the shallow depth of field concept but there's also the compression factor of the larger imaging format. A 25mm in 16 may have the same field of view as a 50mm in 35, but it does not have the same compression effect. That's probably the most pleasing artefact of the Pro35 to my eye. The Pro35 is also constructed quite robustly, much more so than the little Mini35 for the XL-1 and other MiniDV cameras. The Pro35 also comes with an integral frontrod system for follow focus, matte box, handgrips, lens support, etc.
Given more time to test the Pro35 I would have no issue using it in the future, but I do feel that I'd really need to extensively test with it before I'd shoot a paying job with one.
Next post is my thoughts on the DigiPrimes, which is what we shot with.
Mitch Gross
Part Three :
Here's what we felt about the DigiPrimes.
Very sharp, with clean, snappy contrast and no color fringing. They hold resolution from corner to corner and hold color, contrast and resolution all the way open. They were almost impossible to flare although I was able to notice a slight bit of veiling when placing a subject by a bright backlit white curtain. Of course video doesn't like this sort of lighting anyway so it wasn't much of an issue.
They are built like proper film lenses, not flimsy video news zooms. Their visual and physical characteristics are much like UltraPrimes. They were solidly built and the focus scale was huge, something like 350 degrees of turn. I could turn my hand on the follow focus three times without running the whole scale. The SharpMax was quick and easy to use for setting the back focus, which was a huge and well-marked scale. I did notice that the back focus could shift as the camera heated up in the Denver sun, so we'd shut down the camera in between long set ups and check it with the SharpMax every now & then to be safe.
Two possible faults in the SharpMax design:
The power button can be easily depressed in the case causing the battery to drain dead.
We went through a number of 9v batteries until we came up with a little pad to protect the switch. That and the 9v battery connector is the old rectangular clip-on type with two short leads. These can easily stick on the battery and be a real pain to pull off. Twice we needed to perform quick soldering surgery after tearing out a lead.
The modern way to connect a 9v is to make a slot in which it can only enter one way and have it press against the contacts. This should be updated in the SharpMax. But for these to be the only complaints speaks highly of the device otherwise.
End Part Three.
Mitch Gross
Part Four :
The 5mm & 7mm do create of image distortion, although not as much as I see with HD zooms that reach those same focal lengths. We only did a couple of shots with the 7mm and just one with the 5mm. The 10 & 14 were our hero lenses, regularly followed up by the 20 & 40. We didn't have the 32 or the 70 and we sorely felt that wide gap between the 20 & 40. We put on Greg's zoom for some telephoto shots on the last day and the change was painfully apparent. The supplied clip-on matte box has two combo 4x4/4x56 trays, one of which rotates. I was surprised to find that a 4x4 filter would cover the DigiPrimes, even the 5mm. Greg purchased a set of frontrods for his Varicam and I put on my Chrosziel follow focus and my handgrips from my Aaton, which made for a very comfortable, balanced camera with the DigiPrimes. While large they are not particularly heavy.
There were a couple of shortcomings of the DigiPrimes. For a couple of scenes we just could not get the compressed, shallow depth of field look that we wanted and knew we'd get in 35mm format, even when shooting at a T1.6 on the DigiPrime (which is where we stayed almost the entire shoot), and when we tried any diffusion it always felt a little too much, even in the weakest of grades. The weakest diffusion seemed more than the "built-in" diffusion effect of the Pro35. But the DigiPrimes were generally a joy to work with. Beautiful glass and well designed and built housings.
Sorry for the epic posts.
Mitch Gross
NYC DP (in Denver)
>Just curious what you all might think about either the Pro 35 or the Digi >Primes.
Back around 1972, I got to use what was probably one of the first adapters made for putting a film lens on a video camera. It was made by Warren Smith to adapt the ubiquitous 25-250 zoom to an Editel MKIII handheld camera. I think I still have the adapter around here somewhere, because I never throw anything out...
For the record, it had all the same issues as are being discussed here, which
brings two thoughts to mind:
1.) It never ceases to amaze me the amount of pain and image degradation people are willing to endure just to be able to look over at a video camera and get that warm fuzzy feeling seeing a known film lens on it. This is exactly the same thought I had in 1972 when I first saw the adapter working.
2.) Remarkable how little the laws of optics have changed over the last three
Bob Kertesz
BlueScreen LLC
ULTIMATTE® compositing.
>Remarkable how little the laws of optics have changed over the last >three decades
They were stalled in a Senate Subcommittee for years before finally being killed by the House.
Jessica Gallant
Los Angeles based Director of Photography
West Coast Systems Administrator, Cinematography Mailing List
Bob Kertesz wrote:
>2.) Remarkable how little the laws of optics have changed over the last >three decades.
But at the same time it must be said that it is remarkable how much the sciences of lens design and lens coatings HAVE changed over the last three
Dave Stump ASC
VFX Supervisor / DP
LA, Calif.
> Personally I thought 7mm going in close at 1.6 was pretty cool
You should see the 70 mm DigiPrime that focuses to 1 foot now that's Nice, and to help out with Distortion on the extreme edges I recommend shooting a Framing Chart and lining up the 90% Safe Area as your working Frame let the rest be waste.
This will improve the edges of the end product, and it helps Camera Operators rescue shots and Sound has some room for a Boom, plus Post can make minor adjustments to the frame if needed and Film out is going to loose 5% anyway this way you decide what 10% gets cut off.
There is much practicality to shooting this way.
B. Sean Fairburn
Director of Photography
Castaic Ca
Mitch Gross wrote:
> The 5mm & 7mm do create of image distortion
I sure didn't notice much if any with the 7mm (haven't seen the 5) it seemed more of a perspective issue to me. Personally I thought 7mm going in close at 1.6 was pretty cool....
-Sam Wells
>,,,I shot an entire USMC Commercial with a 7 mm and a 40 mm
The 40mm in HD does share a typical field of view with a 100mm lens in 1.85:1 35mm production, but a 7mm HD lens is NOT a match to a 24mm in 1.85:1/35mm.
As far as I can tell, you need to be at about 9mm in an HD lens to have the same field of view as a 24mm on a 1.85:1/35mm camera.
If one of your favourite lenses is the 24mm (in 1.85:1/35mm) why didn't you select the 10mm DigiPrime? This would be an almost perfect match of field of view.
David Perrault, csc
Hello everyone,
I've seen some very good responses to the question "Pro35 vs DigiPrimes".
For all out resolution, contrast and colorimetry, the DigiPrimes would win "hands down" over the Pro35. HOWEVER, the Pro35 has enabled not only the use of 35mm primes and zooms, it can be used with any of the 35mm specialty lenses that we, i.e. Clairmont Camera, have in our inventory.
This could be a 'squishy lens, revolution, T-rex, swing & tilt', etc. etc.
The Pro35 is simply a "tool" to produce a desired image on an HD camera as opposed to a 35mm motion picture camera. IT IS SIMPLY A TOOL! One particular tool is not necessarily 'the best tool' for every job.
Cinematographers are artists and this 'tool' simply gives them another look available for their creative palette. I think too much value is being given on specific performance of these optical tools. After all, how often have we gone to our lens manufacturers wanting the sharpest, most pristine images, and then gone and muddied it all up with diffusion, nose grease, etc.
IT'S JUST A TOOL...We have both of these systems available to test, subject to rental demands.
Michael Condon SOC, HD/Electronics Dept Manager
Clairmont Camera - Hollywood
Good Point Dave
First of all it wasn't Invented Yet when I shot the USMC commercial this was in the VERY early stages.
Second Remember I use the 90% Safe Area which chops off 10% of the edge
of the frame creating a smaller or narrower FOV I agree its not an exact match but its closer than anything else I had.
And To be completely specific I use the 105 mm as my favourite long lens in 35 mm shooting a Nikon FA, SLR Camera. I said 100 mm before, but I guess I should have said "Closer to" my favourite focal lengths instead of an exact match without my Lawyer present with a disclaimer.
The Point still is that you can still get a lot of good work done with only 2 Great lenses
B. Sean Fairburn
Director of Photography
Castaic Ca
It makes me laugh to know that Michael Bravin is getting red in the face every time this subject line (which I first launched many moons ago) crops up.
As you may have read, Mitch and I just wrapped a feature -
Varicam with DigiPrimes, but it was ALMOST Varicam with Pro35 and super speeds. So as much as Michael hates to see the "vs" in the subject line - it's a real dilemma. A dilemma that is obviously not mine alone. The fact is, if you like the visual attributes of primes (who doesn't?), and you like to have a lot of control over your DOF (not just shallow DOF, but CONTROL) then you need a relay like the Pro35 that simulates a 35mm film plane, or a 2/3" lens that looks good when it's wide, wide, wide open.
But - tricky - you can't open up the pro35/superspeed combo too much because of light scattering which washes out the image. This means shooting at least 2.8 - still more DOF control than a DigiPrime at f1.6, BUT - with the Pro35 eating about 2 stops you can see that you are quickly operating in a very different place with lighting than if you shoot wide (1.6) with the DigiPrimes. Since we had a limited lighting package, the speed was a BIG advantage for us. We achieved a lot more with a lot less. Man, do DigiPrimes look good at 1.6. BUT that said, we did have times when I wanted to lash out at the gods of 2/3" because we could not achieve the kind of focus control that one can with 35mm format lenses. It wasn't often. This was a romantic drama comedy type thing and it didn't demand really tight DOF control, but on those few shots where it bugged - it REALLY bugged. When you can't build your sets to suit, when you are locked into the geometry of the location, the limitations of 2/3", even at 1.6, are painfully evident from time to time. We were often able to juggle variables to solve different situations, some just can't be solved. Human geometry is what it is.
The Pro35 "look" is really cool. I wouldn't hesitate to use it on an SD project. It's a unique sort of glowing halo thing. But the DigiPrimes are perfect 2/3" workhorses - especially if you predict the DOF issues and choose your locations and sets accordingly. The clarity of the image is very reassuring and I'm sure we'll enjoy having a clean slate to work with in post.
Now, may I appeal to the DigiPrimes gods to end ANY debate by pricing the DigiPrimes a lot lower so the average Joe could buy a set to match his or her Varicam or F900. Personally, I would suggest a set comprised of the 7, 14, 28 and 70 for $35,000. Yeah - that sounds nice. And while Zeiss is dropping it's prices, can we get a 35mm CCD upgrade for the Varicam? Thanks.
Greg Gillam
Producer / Director
Red Sands Production Co.
Greg Gillam wrote:
>…Man, do DigiPrimes look good at 1.6.
Would the decreased DOF of S16 be much of an improvement? After all,
it's about a 1.28:1 size ratio...
Jeff Kreines
Jeff Kreines writes:
>Would the decreased DOF of S16 be much of an improvement? After >all, it's about a 1.28:1 size ratio...
I can definitely see the difference. Owning an Aaton, I've shot so much Super-16 that I reference all my visual cues off of that medium as opposed to 35mm or any video format. The sense of depth in HD with DigiPrimes wide open is still not quite that of S-16 with fast primes. It may have to do with the resolution of the formats, but having just done two HD features nearly back to back (one on the Sony and one on the Panasonic), I can still feel the difference from Super-16.
Mitch Gross
Prime HD lenses have *effectively* less depth of field than film or video lenses of the same focal length -- for the simple reason that their circles of confusion are appreciably smaller, so a given increment of deviation from perfect focus will have a greater softening effect.
In a perfect vacuum perhaps, but let's not forget that they are projecting their images onto much lower-resolution sensors than their film counterparts, so the true "effective" DOF is probably far greater. If the COC is much, much tighter than the pixel resolution, at a certain point it doesn't make a difference.
Mitch Gross
>The Pro35 "look" is really cool. I wouldn't hesitate to use it on an SD >project. It's a unique sort of glowing halo thing.
I remember when this was considered a major optical defect.
Now it's a feature?
Bob Kertesz
BlueScreen LLC
I remember when this was considered a major optical defect.
Now it's a feature?
Just like anamorphic lens artefacts are considered by some to be features. An artefact is an artefact, and it should not necessarily be considered a defect or an attribute. Just an artefact. These should all be duly noted and commented upon, but it's up to the user as to whether they are considered favourable or not. For the particular project in question, we really liked the "halo-ing" diffusion effect built into the Pro35.
Horses for courses.
Mitch Gross
Michael Condon wrote:
>I think too much value is being given on specific performance of these >optical tools.
Here Here! and well said!
I get requests for Digi Primes all the time, especially for SD work. I encourage anyone who hasn't done a side-by-side sharpness test with "HD" and "SD" lenses to do so, it's very informative. I think the marketing of lenses (and film stock) these days is very interesting, Kodak's "high definition" film anyone?
Illya Friedman
Senior Camera Rental Agent
Hollywood, Ca
>An artefact is an artefact, and it should not necessarily be considered a >defect or an attribute. Just an artefact.
Why can't an artefact be considered both a defect AND an attribute?
Dale Launer
Santa Monica
I. Friedman wrote:
> I encourage anyone who hasn't done a side-by-side sharpness test with >"HD" and "SD" lenses to do so, it's very informative.
For those of use in the hinterlands, what did these tests reveal?
Jeff Krines
You can compare & test all the lenses that you want, and I encourage everyone to do so, but I can tell you that after weeks of shooting on the DigiPrimes, when the HD zoom went back on the camera the difference was palpable.
I can just imagine Mike Bravin's smile as I type this...
Mitch Gross
Mitch Gross wrote:
>I can just imagine Mike Bravin's smile as I type this...
I see a new BandPro ad, with Mitch's smiling face...
Jeff Krines
Mitch Gross wrote:
>But I can tell you that after weeks of shooting on the DigiPrimes
Sounds like Zeiss needs to start working on a DigiZoom or a DigiVariable Prime. I'm curious were was the difference most noticeable, contrast, sharpness, flaring, focus breathing?
Tom McDonnell
New Orleans, La
Tom McDonnell writes:
>I'm curious were was the difference most noticeable contrast, >sharpness, flaring, focus breathing?
The contrast was the first thing I noticed right in the viewfinder.
The image seemed to lose it's snap. I didn't really get a chance to check the sharpness, although that could have been part of the snap feeling. I avoided flaring on the zoom as I do all lenses, but I did notice that the DigiPrimes were extremely flare-resistant, and they don't breathe in focus at all (or practically at all), which is so not true for any video zoom I've ever encountered.
How do the Optimo, Cooke or Digital Primo zoom compare? I've played with them at trade shows but have never had the pleasure of a rigorous test.
Mitch Gross
Tom wrote:
>Sounds like Zeiss needs to start working on a DigiZoom or a >DigiVariable Prime.
D'ya Think?!
Smiling Michael Bravin
Chief Technology Officer
Band Pro Film/Video, Inc.
Tom McDonnell writes:
>Sounds like Zeiss needs to start working on a DigiZoom or a >DigiVariable Prime
A variable HD prime (aka "varifocal") sounds like a *great* idea. It would be lighter and smaller than a zoom, and would allow intermediate framings -- but
of course it would make zooming impossible. (No biggie. Zooming ought to be banned in feature films anyway)
Dan "zooming is for docs, music videos and home movies" Drasin
Producer/DP/Closet traditionalist
Marin County, CA
Dan Drasin said:
> Dan "zooming is for docs, music videos and home movies"
Don't forget Soaps! And Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Robert
Rodriguez, and
Michael Bay movies.
Az. D.P. (occasionally zooms a little during dolly, jib arm, or crane shots)
Michael Condon wrote:
>I think too much value is being given on specific performance of these >optical tools.
I have to respectfully take a different tack here. I believe You can never put too much emphasis on performance when EVALUATING an optical tool. A perfect optical tool has NO distortion and NO aberration and NO existence in reality, but clearly if you start with a near perfect pristine image you have much more room to muddy it up with the "look" you want.
If you start out with an optical device that has a built in "look" it limits where you can go creatively. I think a near perfect lens need not ONLY make pristine near perfect images, the point is it CAN if that is the choice of the DP.
I am known as a strong advocate for choices and a wide range of them. I am
uncomfortable with anything in HD being "JUST" anything. Heck part of your and Clairmont's reputation is about giving the client any and all of the tools they ask for, even pristine ultra sharp contrasty mechanically well designed "digital" lenses.
Thanks to all of you with the "testimonials".
Smiling Michael Bravin
Chief Technology Officer
Band Pro Film & Digital
> A variable HD prime (aka "varifocal") sounds like a *great* idea.
How about replacing those pesky gear rings and confusing focusing scales marked in meters and feet ("let's see now, it's about a foot from my elbow to my palm, right ?") with a small plastic knob marked with an arbitrary set of numbers ?
-Sam Wells
I think Zeiss should make a relay system that allows the use of PL mount zooms on HD cameras. The thing can make the camera much larger and heavier [which is inherently cool]. It could be like the Ferrari body kit for a Pontiac Fiero. Pure Sweetness. Think about it.
.....Patiently waiting for the classic Bravin response.
Since this topic makes a return every couple of months [or weeks], maybe it could be its very own forum. We could compare good and evil and evil and good all day... with the same FREAKING result every time.... USE THE TOOLS AVAILABLE TO YOU, AS YOU SEE FIT FOR THE PROJECT AT HAND.
Different projects. Different looks. Different toys.
Carlos Acosta
Modern Movie Machines
Michael Bravin wrote:
> I am known as a strong advocate for choices and a wide range of them.
You and I are good friends (and friends are entitled to disagree at times) but this time I agree with you 100%. Let me rephrase my statement..."IT'S A TOOL". Is that better? I'll leave out the 'just'. Maybe the proper wording would be "It's only a tool"... You tell me!
Michael Condon SOC
Clairmont Camera - Hollywood
Carlos Acosta wrote:
>I think Zeiss should make a relay system that allows the use of PL >mount zooms on HD cameras. The thing can make the camera much >larger and heavier
[which is inherently cool].
Carlos- They did, the CLA35HD Cine Lens Adapter marketed by Angenieux
Classic enough...
Michael Bravin
Chief Technology Officer
Band Pro Film & Digital
Hello :
I've been used Optimo in a feature Film " La flaqueza del Bolchevique" and it was excellent.
I did several technical test you can see on www.revistasprofesionales.com in the magazine Shooting.
On the test we saw definition, contrast, color reproductión, aberrations, etc. In order to see the characteristic of Angenieux Zoom we compare with a Canon HD zoom. In the same way we have just tested Cooke S4 HD Zoom and compare with Optimo Zoom, the article will appear on Sept/Oct. To me the two Zoom are excellent in definition and contrast, while Optimo have a better resolution, the color corrections for Cooke are excellent. Optimo is a little more soft in contrast than Cooke. On the other hand the two Zooms have geometric aberrations (pincushion and barrel) and they have a very good correction for flare. The two Zoom are really good for digital cinematography.
Alfonso Parra (A.E.C.)
> They did, the CLA35HD Cine Lens Adapter marketed by Angenieux
I'm sorry I forgot the "Just Kidding" line. Without the sarcasm, the post would read something like..."We've been here before [years ago now] and the technical differences and limitations of 'film' lenses is plainly visible. If you like those differences, fine, there is an adaptor for you. If you want a clean, sharp, color accurate picture - there are lenses dedicated to that too. Whichever one you choose, be prepared to stick with it."
HD is full of 'adaptors'. They all seem to be focused on making things work, not really making things better.
Carlos Acosta


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Yumi Katsura: Yuzen Silk Champion
Since her first collection in 1964, Yumi Katsura has built a long and successful international career with her elaborate one-of-a-kind wedding gowns and has become known for her use of rich embellishment and luxurious fabrics.
The Japanese designer presented her one of a kind gowns in Singapore during Haute Couture Week.
Her most interesting design are those using yuzen silk which is dyed according to a technique first developed in the middle of the Edo era (around 1700). The process requires many fine manipulations and create exquisite patterns.
She has primarily used it for her wedding and evening gowns and even launched a Yuzen Collection dedicated to the dyed fabric.
Come January, Katsura is planning to introduce more casual wear in the collection she will present in Paris during Couture Week. "Of course there will still be evening wear, but there will also be more cocktail dresses. I might even shock people and mix yuzen with jeans," the veteran designer recently said through an interpreter, adding she still likes to experiment with design and use of material.


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President Barack Obama has said that the US must have an "exit strategy" in Afghanistan, even as Washington sends more troops to fight Taleban militants.
He was speaking in a CBS interview, as the White House prepares to unveil a comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan.
Mr Obama said preventing attacks against the US remained its "central mission" in Afghan operations.
Earlier, the US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan said US policy would no longer treat the two separately.
Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, told the BBC: "In the past, the United States government stove-piped it, they had an Afghan policy and a Pakistan policy. We have to integrate the two and I hope the rest of the world will join us in that effort."
Mr Holbrooke said Taleban sanctuaries in Pakistan's tribal areas along the Afghan border were the primary problem for Kabul.
He also said that the era of "neglect" of the region was over, promising more troops and resources.
'Effective strategy'
"What we're looking for is a comprehensive strategy [for Afghanistan]," President Obama told the CBS programme 60 Minutes on Sunday.
"Threre's got to be an exit strategy. There's got to be a sense that this is not a perpetual drift."
Mr Obama - who last month ordered the deployment of additional 17,000 US troops to Afghanistan - acknowledged that military force alone would not be enough to achieve Washington's objectives, which included the defeat of Taleban and al-Qaeda militants.
He said an effective strategy could include building up economic capacity in Afghanistan and improving diplomatic ties with Pakistan and other regional players.
But Mr Obama stressed that Washington "can't lose sight of what our central mission is".
"Making sure that al-Qaeda cannot attack the US homeland and US interests and our allies. That's our number one priority."
He said the central task was the same as when US troops went into Afghanistan after the 11 September 2001 attacks.
Bonus row
In the same interview, Mr Obama expressed doubts about a recent bill in Congress to impose punitive taxes on bonuses at companies that have been bailed out by government money.
The lawmakers' move followed outrage over the decision by AIG insurer to award its employees $165m (£113m) in bonuses after taking $170bn in aid from the government.
But Mr Obama questioned whether such a measure would be legal and constitutional.
He stressed that it was important to focus on the bigger picture of rescuing the US economy.
"We can't govern out of anger. We've got to try to make good decisions based on the facts in order to put people back to work, to get credit flowing again.
"And I'm not going to be distracted by what's happening day-to-day, I've got to stay focused on making sure that we're getting this economy moving again," Mr Obama said.
Source: BBC


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Nudged by RBI, country's biggest bank SBI today cut base lending rate by 0.15 percentage point to 9.85 per cent...
Nudged by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan's plain talk today after the policy review meet, country's biggest bank the State Bank of India (SBI) today cut base lending rate by 0.15 percentage point to 9.85 per cent, becoming the first major lender to ease the rate in many months.
The new rate is effective April 10. SBI Chairman Arundhanti Bhattacharya said other lenders should follow the move and lower their rates. She also hinted at lowering of deposit rates going forward.
The surprise cut came after Bhattacharya earlier today sought to defend banks not lowering rates despite two successive easing of monetary policy by the RBI since January.
SBI cut minimum lending rate or base rate by 15 basis points to 9.85 percent, making it the cheapest source of funds in the industry.
The move came even as the Reserve Bank of India today left repo rate unchanged at 7.5 per cent in its policy review earlier in the day.
In a post policy meeting with the reporters here, Bhattacharya, however, said: "You have to understand both ways it takes a little time for the things to pass through. And, it is not only the cost of deposits that determines this, the passing through is also determined by the amount of liquidity, the amount of credit demand and competition which also drives rates up or down.
There are very many factors and repo is only one of the factors."
Since January this year, the Reserve Bank has cut repo rate by 50 basis points in two out-of-the-policy move.
However, very few of the lenders have lowered their base rate.
Do you know What is Receipt Budget, Securities Transaction Tax, Revenue Deficit, Centrally Sponsored Scheme, Non Tax Revenue? FE Knowledge Desk explains each of these and more in detail at Financial Express Explained. Also get Live BSE/NSE Stock Prices, latest NAV of Mutual Funds, Best equity funds, Top Gainers, Top Losers on Financial Express. Dont forget to try our free Income Tax Calculator tool.


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Deckers Outdoor (DECK) shares are up 2.7% today, as the company gave a presentation at the ICR XChange Conference in Dana Point, California.
In their presentation, they outlined sales targets for 2012. They expect $1.1billion in revenue, a 40% increase from 2009's $782million:
Their guidance for UGG of $900million would take that brand's contribution to top line sales down from 87% of the total to about 82%.
With the premium-priced UGG representing a smaller portion of the company's revenue mix, I would expect gross margins to fall slightly, but this could be offset through SG&A leverage. If they maintain 22% operating margins, the company could earn over $12 per share in 2012 and $140million in Free Cash Flow.
A 12 PE on 2012 earnings of $12 per share would be a stock price of $148, and a 17 PE would get the shares to $210. However a generous 8% Free Cash Flow Yield would suggest a share price of $128.
Certainly a well run company with some big earnings ahead of it. I'll look into it further before recommending shares.
Copyright 2010 AlphaNinja
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Deckers has ambitious growth plans for UGG (DECK)
Posted by Brendan Wagner at 12:29 PM
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Frustration versus Fantasy: How the Movies Made Some People Restless
Fears about the impact of movies on youth led to the Payne Fund research project, which brought together nineteen social scientists and resulted in eleven published reports. One of the most fascinating of the studies was carried out by Herbert Blumer, a young sociologist who would later go on to a distinguished career in the field. For a volume that he called Movies and Conduct (1933), Blumer asked more than fifteen hundred college and high school students to write "autobiographies"of their expe
Camella Teoli Testifies about the 1912 Lawrence Textile Strike
When 30,000 largely immigrant workers walked out of the Lawrence, Massachusetts, textile mills in January 1912, they launched one of the epic confrontations between capital and labor. The strike began in part because of unsafe working conditions in the mills, which were described in graphic detail in the testimony that fourteen-year-old millworker Camella Teoli delivered before a U.S. Congressional hearing in March 1912. Her testimony (a portion of which was included here) about losing her hair
What should we do about global warming?
The What Should We Do About Global Warming module is a 3-4 week science module designed for introductory college courses and uses data to tackle questions related to global warming. The module includes short and long term temperature trend data, along with IR spectra, concentration trend data for greenhouse gases, and information about the Kyoto Protocol. Many of the data are in graphs which are part of Quicktime movies. On this Starting Point page, teachers can find learning goals, teaching not
The Color of Soil
This USDA soil-conservation education site has a variety of educational resources related to soil science. Users can follow links to soil facts, resources, organizations and professional development. Information on this site can be adapted for use in college geoscience classes, particularly the wide variety of photos and the GLOBE soil analysis protocols.
Sir Charles Lyell
The Sir Charles Lyell collection at Bartleby.com contains scientific papers authored by Lyell such as The Progress of Geology and The Uniformity of Change. Users may follow links to other Harvard Classics as well as a variety of literary material.
Germans to the Front
General Gerd Schmuckle served in the Federal Republic of Germany's Ministry of Defense from 1956 to 1962 under defense minister Franz Josef Strauss. Strauss was charged with building up the Bundeswehr, the newly formed federal armed forces. In this video segment, Schmuckle describes Germany's reaction to the U.S. doctrine of massive retaliation, which de-emphasized a conventional buildup-one that Germans advocated-and depended on thousands of nuclear warheads deployed on German soil. When French
Hall's Crossing
'Hall's Crossing' refers to a place in the American West where natural rhythms collide with scenic cruisers and tour buses. 'Hall's Crossing' is an electronic 'see America,' set in a place where natural vistas and cultural myths overlap, a place where the canyon meets the road. Scenes of the Grand Canyon portray both the beauty of the area and its invasion by tourists. The tourists attempt to capture the imagery through the medium of photography. At one point a narrator, Dr. Giselda Benda, speak
Lyrical Legacy: 400 Years of American Song and Poetry
Lyrical Legacy helps teachers explore eighteen American songs and poems from the digital collections of the Library of Congress. Each song and poem is represented by an original primary source document, along with historical background information and, in many cases, sound recordings and alternate versions.
The American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment, 1870-1920
This is a multimedia anthology illustrating the vibrant and diverse forms of popular entertainment, especially vaudeville, that thrived from 1870-1920. Included are 334 English- and Yiddish-language playscripts, 146 theater playbills and programs, 61 motion pictures, 10 sound recordings and 143 photographs and 29 memorabilia items documenting the life and career of Harry Houdini.
Writing and English as a Second Language
Strategies for helping English Language Learners throughout the writing process.
Molly Ivins: Mario Savio Memorial Lecture
This event took place on 10/6/04 in Zellerbach Hall. Molly Ivins, a nationally-syndicated political columnist, is the author of Bushwhacked! Life in George Bush's America and the new Who Let the Dogs In?: Incredible Political Animals I Have Known. Presented annually to honor the memory of Mario Savio (1942-1996), spokesperson for the UC Berkeley Free Speech Movement of 1964; to celebrate the spirit of moral courage and vision which he and countless other activists of his generation exemplified
Nationalism, self-determination and secession
What makes a 'nation' and what makes peoples strive for nationhood? This unit will provide you with an introduction to studying political ideas by looking at how people who see themselves as nations challenge the existing order to assert their right to a state of their own.
Värvusõpetus tunnikava
Arvutiõpetuse integreerimine kunstiõpetuse tundidesse. Tunnikavad 10 tunniks II, III kooliastmes.
TÜ Loodusteadusliku hariduse lektoraadi vastavatel kursustel (Loodusteaduste visualiseerimine) osalenud õpetajate koostatud interaktiivsed mudelid bioloogiliste protsesside tundmaõppimiseks. Kuigi mudeleid ei saa lugeda lõplikult viimistletuks, on nad õppeprotsessi visualiseerimiseks asjakohased: kasvõi ideede saamiseks. Kasutajal on soovitav fail enne oma arvutisse salvestada ning vajadusel täiendada.
Introduction to Design Computing, Spring 2004
Explores the role of computer visualization as a representational medium. Visualization is widely used in scientific, engineering, and design disciplines to help people understand complex phenomena and constructs. The key intellectual challenge is to develop the right visual metaphors for conveying information in the most effective way. Through programming projects and applications work, real and imaginary environments are constructed, probed, and displayed. Also covers the relevant computer gra
JFK50 Ireland and the American Dream — John Timoney
John Timoney, former Miami police chief and Institute of Politics fellow, talks about being a kid in Ireland and new immigrant in America during the JFK era.
Where Does Photosynthesis Occur?
Photosynthesis occurs in all green plants, as carbon oxide and water are converted into sugars and oxygen through the chemical catalyst called chlorophyll. (02:14)
Keynes and the Crisis of Capitalism
Robert Skidelsky is Emeritus Professor of Political Economy at the University of Warwick. His three-volume biography of the economist John Maynard Keynes (1983, 1992, 2000) received numerous prizes, including the Lionel Gelber Prize for International Relations and the Council on Foreign Relations Prize for International Relations. He is the author of The World After Communism (1995) (American edition called The Road from Serfdom). He was made a life peer in 1991, and was elected Fellow of the Br
Cities Under Siege
Cities have become the new battleground of our increasingly urban world. From the slums of the global South to the wealthy financial centres of the West, Cities Under Siege traces how political violence now operates through the sites, spaces, infrastructures and symbols of the world's rapidly expanding metropolitan areas. Drawing on a wealth of original research, Graham shows how Western and Israeli militaries and security forces now perceive all urban terrain as a real or imagined conflict zone
Lithuania 2030
Andrius Kubilius is Prime Minister of Lithuania, a position he has held since November 2008. He also served as Prime Minister between 1999 and 2000. Between 2006 and 2008 he served Deputy Speaker of the Seimas and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on European Affairs. Prime Minister Kubilius is interested in the political science, history, and the knowledge economy; he is a Chairman of the Policy Committee of the Knowledge Economy Forum. He was a Chairman of the Knowledge Society Council u


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Sports facilities
Sport is an important part of the Westminster College Lagos experience and amongst the wide range of facilities is the football pitch for track events and football game. Sporting activities include basketball, football, athletics, table tennis and cross-country.
Club and Societies
We operate a wide variety of Clubs and Societies, which are organized during lunch break, after school and weekends. These include political society, debating society, young farmers' club, geographical society, barbershop, Reading/poetry club, Science Society and Tennis Club.


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Following the Honolulu Marathon and an additional few days in Hawai'i, we took a 2 week vacation in Kyoto, Japan. Warning: lots of photos!
Some of you may know that I lived in Japan for close to six years, back in the late 90s and early 2000s. As readers of this blog will also know, I was quite physically inactive until the last few years, although I probably did more in Japan than in the years prior or immediately after – I rode my bicycle pretty much everywhere, and also went to the gym quite regularly for about a year. However, I never ran in Japan.
December 27 Run/Walk – 7km
I wanted to give myself a bit of time for recovery after the marathon, but by Christmas Day I was feeling the urge to get running again. I was having dinner that night with a couple of friends, one of whom is running the Kyoto Marathon (her first!) in February. I mentioned that I was planning to go for a run in a couple of days, and the other friend asked if she could join me. Of course! So bright and early on December 27, we met at Gojo Bridge, beside the Kamogawa, and went for a run!
As it turned out, we probably did more walking and chatting than actual running, but still it was great to get out and enjoy the riverside. During my time living in Kyoto, I rode my bike along the river hundreds of times…it was one of my primary travel routes. But to finally be there as a runner was truly special!
December 28 – 12km + Race Interrupted
The next day, I decided to make more of a go at things, and set my sights on Kitayama-dori – the northernmost 'main' street/bridge crossing the river – and close to my old neighbourhood. I headed north up the west side of the river from Gojo for about 3 kilometres until I reached Imadegawa, where the river veers slightly to the northwest.
At this point, I suddenly saw several runners heading toward me – moving at a pretty good clip – and realized that they were all wearing bibs. Somehow, I was facing down a race! The group (obviously the lead runners) ran by so fast that I couldn't read their bibs. When the next pack approached, I was able to make out…10km? What? A 10k race while I'm in town?? Why didn't I know about this? I should have signed up!
A few runners later, however, I could finally read the whole thing: 京都鴨川30kmマラソン(i.e. the Kyoto Kamogawa 30km Marathon – link is in Japanese) – and quickly realized that I would have been in no shape to do a 30km race that day! Around Kitaoji, I passed the Start/Finish line – turns out the race consisted of multiple out-and-backs along the same stretch of river – 8 x 3.75km, to be exact (well, sort of…I never found a course map so I'm a bit vague on the calculations). In any case, I ended up encountered the same runners several times, as I ran a simple out and back that day, totalling 12km (nowhere near 30km!).
Each night, I went to the local sento (public bath), and warmed my aching muscles. This made it easier for me to tackle running the next day!
December 30 – Short & a wee bit lost
I had some plans out of town, but wanted to squeeze in another run. I decided to try running south along the river. Unfortunately, I soon encountered this:
I had to head up onto the road, and promptly found myself on a busy truck-ridden highway/underpass. Mildly terrifying. After a few turns into blind alleys and cul-de-sacs, I managed to find a bridge across the river and headed back up the other side. A brief run – 40 minutes, just under 7km.
December 31, 2014 – 17km
Finally, New Year's Eve! I wanted to end 2014 with a solid distance, and committed to running as far north as Misonobashi – the bridge I used to cross daily during my first 3 years in Japan, and a solid 8km from my hotel. When I reached that distance, I stopped my watch and spent about half an hour wandering around Kamigamo Jinja, one of my favourite shrines in Kyoto.
After that, I trotted back towards Kamigamo-bashi, my second 'old neighbourhood'. After venturing into the residential streets, I thought I had lost my way…only to discover that my old apartment block had been torn down, replaced by a street of fancy new homes!
In short, along with visiting some of my favourite local sights, and spending quality time with friends – I immensely enjoyed the running I got to do while visiting Japan! And while I think I swore off marathons after Honolulu, I'm considering the Kyoto Marathon 2016…but no promises!


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Buy and build remains a popular private equity strategy across Europe and last year the number of transactions reached an eight-year high.
During the financial crisis, when organic growth opportunities were more limited, private equity firms increasingly turned to buy and build as one strategy to enhance the value and performance of their portfolio companies. Now, we are seeing additional factors drive the number of transactions including an improved debt market, which is helping to provide the necessary capital to facilitate acquisitions, and increased corporate confidence, which is spurring boardrooms to consider more ambitious growth plans.
Before embarking on a buy and build exercise it is crucial to assess whether the company's management team has the expertise and experience to implement such a strategy. Delivering organic growth requires very different skills to pursuing mergers and acquisitions, so if there is a doubt in this regard then recruiting senior managers with strong acquisition experience is advisable.
Below we identify three key approaches that often underpin buy and build strategies: enhancing product and service offerings, increasing supply chain performance and expanding into new markets.
Enhancing product and service offerings
Companies looking to stay at the forefront of their industry need to develop new product and service offerings and this is particularly true for businesses operating in rapidly changing sectors such as technology and retail. Acquiring a new company with both complementary and new generation offerings can help lessen R&D spending and allow businesses to move away from declining product markets and tap into new pockets of demand.
LDC recognised an opportunity for its portfolio company Driver Hire (now known as Specialist People Services), a provider of corporate client drivers for cars, vans and LGVs, to further expand operations and boost its existing offerings through the acquisition of Infra Safety Services Labour limited, a specialist provider of services to the rail industry. The transaction resulted in Driver Hire becoming the UK and Ireland's largest specialist supplier of drivers and non-driving staff to the transport and logistics industry.
Increase supply chain performance
Acquiring another business in order to vertically integrate can help companies to increase efficiencies and gain greater control of operations and costs through bringing together different aspects of their supply chains. This strategy is particularly relevant for companies operating in sectors such as manufacturing and retail, where there are clearly defined operational channels that can be merged together to deliver stronger supply chain and overall performance.
Expanding into new markets
Buy and build can also facilitate geographic expansion, whether into new regional or overseas markets. Since LDC invested in Angel Springs, a national supplier of water dispensers in the UK, some four years ago and backed its buy and build strategy, the company has expanded into new regional markets with a total of nine acquisitions. As a result Angel Springs has enhanced its competitive position, with a 35% increase in turnover in the past three years, and LDC made a 3x money multiple when exiting last year.
In terms of international expansion, acquiring a local company with strong existing management teams in the target overseas market, rather than setting up a wholly owned subsidiary or operating through an international agent/distributor, can be very advantageous in terms of benefitting from the local company's knowledge of the market. A good example from LDC's portfolio company is A-Gas, a leading supplier of refrigerants. LDC backed the company's buy and build strategy to accelerate its expansion abroad and since 2011, A-Gas has completed five acquisitions moving into both the US and Australian markets and as a result turnover has increase 47% in the last three years.
At LDC we have invested over £140m in our existing portfolio since 2011 and these success stories show the crucial role 'buy and build' strategies can play in driving growth and enhancing value.


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I will chime in that I am also having trouble keeping my wireless connected. Here is some information that may help Dell troubleshoot.
I have successfully tested a continuous stream for nearly 24 hours. Using silicondust's homerun prime I've streamed to powerdvd which is a continuous stream between 10-15 mbits/sec. I've tested this on my 5ghz 'n' network. This works.
But my next test was a file transfer and this fails badly. In most cases I am unable to transfer 100mbytes before the connection stops and hangs. after the hang I usually see wireless go disconnected. Reconnecting does not fix the issue, a reboot is required. I have also seen windows BSOD in a couple of tests. To isolate to the NIC I added a usb gbit adapter and it works fine. I have reproduced the transfer issues on both 'b/g' and 'n' networks. Also I tried doing a large web transfer instead of SMB and it also fails, so I can't fault the software stack. It is a driver issue for me I'm pretty sure. I'll wait a couple days before I start messing with driver advanced configuration since I have a workaround. Hopefully Dell are aware and working on the issue.
I think putting the tablet in sleep mode can cause WiFi issues, try leaving the screen on.
That seems to happen too, but mine will stop working in the middle of downloads when the screen is on. It took a few tries to download Adobe Lightroom (an 800M file) because the Wifi would suddenly drop out and could only be reenabled through a reboot (which meant having to delete the incomplete file, closing the browser, rebooting and then renavigating to the site and starting all over again.)
Strangely enough, I can stream without any problems at all.
I have been able to copy an 8GB ISO file from a WiFi connection. I just had to up the sleep time.
I have the sleep time set to "Never". Had to do that because sometimes the tablet occasionally won't wake up from sleeping unless I hit the On button over and over again for 10-15 minutes.
It's all very odd.
I can't figure out this WIFI issue, May be it's a driver issue. My WIFI just stopped working again, I hope it's not a hardware issue. I think I may have to reset my tablet again just for WIFI to work again, I'm going to try reinstalling the driver but this issue should have been taken care of by now. Windows 8.1 has a few glitches I can't blame DELL for, but I hope dell fixes this WIFI issue soon! it's frustrating.
I also have a WIFI issue with my new Dell Venue 8 Pro. WIFI connectvity is lost after the tablet goes into sleep mode. After waking from sleep mode the status of my WIFI shows limited connectivity. The only way to get it back up is to disconnect from my network manually and reconnect. I've tried reinstalling the latest Dell Drivers but no change. It's very annoying.
I wanted to update that my access point is a Netgear R7000 and they have a reported issue with wireless disconnections that sounds very similar to what I had reported. They feel this is an issue with their access point and so I need to withdraw the issue as a potential issue for me on the Venue 8 Pro - for now anyways!
It would be handy to provide Netgear logs of the specific behaviors of the card when the disconnection occurs - can anyone tell me how to capture detailed wlan status change information?
Having the exacts same issues. Have tried already these steps with no solution. Talked to Dell Support (useless) and surprised that they are not aware of this universal issue
- Updated driver to latest version - Did not resolve
- Updated chipset - Did not resolve
- Updated BIOS - Did not resolve
- Hard reset the entire unit - Did not resolve
- Changed setting to "metered" ON - Did not resolve
- reset TCP/IP - - Did not resolve
Not sure what else to try... but getting to a point that not worth time to keep the unit and continue to have issues.
My network router is a Linksys WRT54G. It's been running solid as a rock for over 5 years. I have two other Dell XPS Laptops using wifi with this network and they both work fine without issues. Only the Venue 8 Pro seems to have this issue after going to sleep mode. I also tried turning sleep mode off in settings and the prblem is still there.


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Charleston is absolutely beautiful. From the achingly perfect architecture to the impeccable landscaping, the entire city is a perfect blend of classic and romantic. I was so inspired by this mix that I couldn't help but channel it with a light and airy look featuring one of my favorite skirts.
I packed this light pink silk skirt in lieu of my plaid skirt when the forecast predicted sun and heat, and I couldn't have been happier once I arrived in the Low Country. To dress down the otherwise dressy skirt, I paired it with a striped cotton t. To tie the whole look together I threw on my trusty Brooks Brothers blazer adorned with some of my favorite vintage brooches. For footwear I wore simple ballet flats that kept me comfortable strolling on the sidewalks and cobblestones alike, and carried by J. Crew crossbody bag for handsfree navigation.
Striped T: J. Crew / Pink Silk Skirt: Banana Republic / Navy Blazer: Brooks Brothers / Purse: J. Crew / Ballet Flats: Chanel / Brooches: Vintage
Until next time!


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Although mathematically wrong, if Republican propaganda logic claims of the Recovery Plan costing a million dollars a day since Jesus (about two thousand years ago), than what the Neocon Republican leadership did in the last eight years was a million dollars a day since 20,000 years ago just with the national debt ($10 Trillion or $200K per American). That's about the last Ice Age.
The National Debt is nowhere near $10 trillion. Bush's spending (with the 2nd term help of a Democrat majority's ear-mark spend-a-thon and the lack of the cajones required to whip out the good ol' veto pen) put us in red to about half a trillion.
Furthermore, the stimulus package from 2008 was voted for by the majority of Democrats and against by the majority of Republicans, though Bush did sign it.
"…on March 14, 2008, then Sen. Obama voted in favor of the 2009 budget which authorized $3.1 trillion in federal outlays along with a projected $400 billion deficit. The 51-44 vote that morning was strongly along party lines with only two Republicans saying "Yes."
When the final conference report was presented to the House on June 5, not one Republican voted for it.
…the 2009 budget was almost exclusively approved by Democrats, with "Yeas" coming from current President then Sen. Obama, his current Vice President then Sen. Joe Biden, his current Chief of Staff then Rep. Rahm Emanuel, and his current Secretary of State then Sen. Hillary Clinton."
Bush gets a good amount of credit for his deficit spending, but he and his house-mates hardly represent the values of the majority of Republicans (with their social program spend-fest), and even so, Bush himself doesn't get credit for more than a sixth (a liberal estimate) of our current deficit spending.
Not propaganda: fact.


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Bupa Great Birmingham Run - week three/
This week was pretty awesome, between my first kettlebell class, *finally* making time to do some yoga, a mid-week race and a fantastic long run, I really couldn't have asked for more. All week I felt like my training plan was really coming together, and with the exception of an annoying tight calf I felt great! And even then that was sorted out with some lovely stretching and a rest day.
A couple of weeks ago I tweeted that I really wanted to learn to swing kettlebells. I loved the idea of throwing around a big weight and getting myself some guns in the process. I mean, who doesn't want toned arms?! In the office the next day I mentioned this to my colleague and it turned out the gym in our building offered a *free* class! It was awesome, hard but so awesome. I felt like a bad ass, which is exactly how I like to feel when I do any exercise - like I am the boss of my body and I am getting as much out of it as I can! Kettlebells are going to be a regular feature from now on - bring on the guns!
I *finally* managed to make a little time for yoga this week. I had been finding it really hard to make it to class over the last few weeks because of other things going on in my life, so I decided to take matters in to my own hands and did Sweaty Betty's Yoga For Runners workout in my living room. It was so great to stretch out, and I will definitely use this workout again. Sometimes you have to think a little creatively when time is not on your side.
What I did this week...
Monday - 10.18km on an exercise bike and 45 minute kettlebell class
Tuesday - Sweaty Betty Yoga for Runners
Wednesday - Reebok (not quite) 5k Fun Run
Thursday - 4 mile run commute
Friday - 2.96 mile run commute
Saturday - REST DAY
Sunday - 7 miles getting lost in South London
What did you get up to this week?


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Try Amazon Prime FREE
There's a good chance you've heard someone in your life talk about Amazon Prime in the last year or so. Want to know the reason? It's a membership program from Amazon that includes things like FREE two-day shipping on eligible items, free streaming movies, free streaming music, and even FREE eBooks.
That's right, Amazon Prime members enjoy free eBook every month. And the best new is that you can now try Amazon Prime absolutely free for 30 days! You can "test-drive" the membership and see if it's right for you. Even if you only occasionally order items from Amazon, the free content is great.
- Join Amazon Kindle Unlimited 30-Day Free Trial
- Shop Amazon – Give the Gift of Amazon Prime
- Shop Amazon – Create an Amazon Wedding Registry
- Join SHOWTIME Free Trial
- Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks
- Join Amazon Prime – Watch Thousands of Movies & TV Shows Anytime – Start Free Trial Now
- Amazon.com – Read eBooks using the FREE Kindle Reading App on Most Devices
As you can see, Amazon is working hard to ensure there are options for everyone this holiday season. When it comes to shopping on Amazon – or enjoying streaming music, movies, television shows – they have something for all types of people. They are a company committed to making their customers happy.
Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial and see what all the fuss is about.
Amazon Prime Consumer Benefits
Here is a look at some of the specific Amazon Prime benefits.
- Prime Shipping – FREE Two-Day Shipping on millions of items, FREE Same-Day Delivery in select areas & more.
- Early Deal Access – Prime members get 30-minute early access to Lightning Deals on Amazon.com.
- Prime Video – Stream thousands of movies and TV shows at no additional cost on over 200 devices.
- Prime Music – Stream a growing selection of two million songs – included with your membership. Unlock more with Amazon Music Unlimited, plus get an exclusive discount.
- FreeTime Unlimited – Access to thousands of kid-friendly books, shows, games and more, for just $2.99/month.
Please note: the list above is not complete. That's right. You get even more when you become an Amazon Prime member, and you can try it out free for 30 days with absolutely no risk. Amazon is a brand you know and trust. See how much more they can do for you this holiday season.
Is Amazon Prime Right for You?
Good question!
- Do you enjoy free streaming television and movies?
- Do you enjoy reading free eBooks?
- Do you like the idea of FREE two-day shipping?
If you answered yes, then Amazon Prime is likely right for you. Let's take that last item and look at it a little more closely. If you order from Amazon twice a month and two-day shipping would normally cost you $10 each time, over the course of a year, you'd be spending $240 on shipping alone! That's a lot higher than the cost of a yearly Amazon Prime membership.
And you can't forget about all the extras that come with Amazon Prime as well. When you become a member, it's like you're a part of the Amazon family. They are constantly improving the service, offering people a chance to save money on shipping and so much more. If you haven't even started your holiday shopping yet, give Amazon Prime a try today.


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School of Administrative Studies
282 Atkinson Building
Tel.: 416-736-5210
Fax: 416-736-5963
Program Description:
Students learn the fundamentals of marketing in marketing management, consumer behaviour and marketing research and gain the skills necessary to develop and implement effective marketing strategies. Students can combine their major with this minor in Marketing (for non-business students), and graduate with in-demand skills.
Certificates Offered
Professional Certificate in Marketing - Certificate Requirements
School of Administrative Studies
Graduating with a certificate: except where otherwise stated, a minimum cumulative grade point average of 4.00 is required to satisfy certificate requirements. Students must also submit application to graduate from a certificate program. Applications should be obtained from and filed with the unit administering the certificate program. Transcript notation that the requirements for a certificate have been completed will be made once the Registrar's Office has received notice from the unit administering the program. Certificates will not be conferred until candidates have successfully completed an undergraduate degree program if they are simultaneously enrolled in a degree and a certificate program. The Faculty does not award certificates retroactively. Refer to the Academic Standards section for details of the undergraduate certificate minimum standards.
Degrees Offered
Honours Minor in Marketing Degree Requirements
Honours Minor
School of Administrative Studies
The Honours Minor in Marketing may be combined with any approved non-business Honours program that offers a major/minor option in the Faculties of Environmental Studies, Health, Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, Science, the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, or the Lassonde School Engineering. Students in (a) the BBA program, (b) the iBBA program, (c) the BAS program, and (d) the BA in Business Economics or Financial and Business Economics programs are ineligible to combine their studies with the Marketing Minor. For further details on requirements, refer to the listings for specific Honours programs that may be pursued jointly with other Faculties.
Note: in a major/minor program, a course may count only once toward major credit or minor credit.
Entry requirements:
Students prior to entering the marketing minor must have completed 30 University credits or the equivalent and attained a minimum cumulative grade point average of 5.00 in their home program at York. The completion of one 4U Math course prior to entering the marketing minor is recommended.
Course Listing
Course Listings Timetables Fall/Winter 2018-2019


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This T-Shirt says it all!!!
Not to long ago I had the privilege and pleasure of getting to know Allan Cox @BaldisBold through Twitter. Allen's a great guy, His website Bold-Look.Com sells apparel for Bald men. This T-Shirt is black which is my favorite color, it's thick enough that you know you are wearing it, but yet it's lightweight so it's not weighing you down. The Logo is spectacular and captures the essence of the Bald man! There is a second shirt with the same logo but the colors are reversed a black logo on a white T-Shirt. No matter which T-Shirt you choose you're going to feel Bald and Bold! This T-Shirt by Bold-Look.Com is also well made, I've worn this shirt multiple times and it's been through several washes, It feels the same as the first day that I wore it. The logo hasn't faded or cracked its Bald Guy tough and rugged yet as smooth as your dome should be when wearing this shirt. With several different t-shirt designs on Bold-Look.Com, you could wear a different t-shirt everyday and support the Bald lifestyle in class on an everyday basis. So if you want one of these T-Shirt for your self head on over to Bold-Look.Com where you have 2 choices to choose from. The white logo on the black shirt, or, the black logo on the white shirt. While you're there check out his other selections as well. No matter which selection you choose from your helping him support our Bald community!
You can find Bold-Look.Com on these other social media platform


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Wouldn't it make the world a better place if we all randomly searched through our grandparents' stuff and one day discovered some super important antique book signed by the author? We could all share our magic book stories with one another, hold hands, and frolic in fields of emerald grass…
Or we could just sell them to one another and make hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is what this guy did when he discovered a copy of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein in his grandfather's house (one of two inscribed by the author to have survived the evils of time). We don't know how
much he sold the book for because the final auction price has been kept private (it exceeded his asking price of £350,000 ($567,000)). That's a lot of money, no?
|This guy is way cuter than I am, but it's all the book. Honest.
The question, for me, is whether I would have sold the book if it had appeared on my grandmother's shelf. I'm not sure I would, to be honest. A good chunk of my book collection is, well, collectible. I've got some 100+-year-old books, lots of signed and personalized ones, and so on and so forth. I even have a 1st Edition of the U.S. edition of the Silmarillion floating around in this apartment of mine (I think that's important, but it's probably not). But no Frankenstein. In fact, the most exciting discovery I recently had was realizing that my copy of Dionne Brand's A Map to the Door of No Return had been signed by the author. See?
|This is me trying my best creepy stalker / seductress pose. Any tips?
In any case, we now have two sexy copies of Frankenstein to hoo and haa over. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see one of them before I die…
And on a completely random note, this:
It's now Thursday, but Monday was kind of an important holiday for us American people — Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. MLK, I think it's fair to say, is one of the world's greatest heroes — I still tear up when I hear his "I Have a Dream" speech.
He also has a unique connection to the genre community through Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura on the original Star Trek. You can hear her talk about her brief interactions with MLK Star Trek on this repeat episode of Neil deGrasse Tyson's StarTalk podcast. I just thought it was worth mentioning on this blog, even if the day is over.
What nifty stuff has been going on in your worlds?


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CULJP Meetings
The Consortium's members meet annually, usually in conjunction with a relevant professional or scholarly meeting (such as the Law and Society Association's annual meeting). Our meetings involve serious discussion about teaching law and justice and about creating and administering undergraduate programs in this interdisciplinary field. We exchange ideas and questions ranging from nuts-and-bolts issues to big discussions about this emerging interdisciplinary field.
CULJP-sponsored panels
The Consortium also organizes and presents panels on undergraduate teaching and research at the Law and Society Association annual meeting and the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities.
Past Panels & Meetings
2019 - Washington, D.C.
2018 - Toronto
2017 - Mexico City
2016 - New Orleans, LA
2015 - Seattle, WA
2011- San Francisco, CA
2010- Chicago, IL
2009- Denver, CO
2008- Montreal, Quebec
2007- Toledo, OH
2006- Baltimore, MD
2005- Las Vegas, NV
2004- Chicago, IL
2003- Pittsburgh, PA


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Hottest Food Trends for Travelers in 2015
From cutting-edge ingredients to going back to the basics, today's chefs and food purveyors are finding new ways to feed people's passion for food, enabling them to feast their way around the world. So head off the eaten path and look out for these hot food trends in your travels this year. - As seen on SmarterTravel.com and TripAdvisor


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by Abdi-Noor MohamedMonday, April 02, 2007
When I looked at my daughter's eyes I couldn't find the bright glow that always warmed my heart. They were clouded by a haze of fear which denied them to flush out their usual smiles of joy and pleasure. Then I realized that I could not keep my family in the midst of war where rockets were landing indiscriminately on residential buildings. Then I packed and went to the bush in search of a safe place where Maria and the rest of us would find a sanctuary.
In moving out, I used all means of transport ranging from handcarts, donkey carts and light vehicles such as mini buses which are commonly known as "Homy". What I saw on the way was excessively unimaginable in terms of human suffering. The rough road, scorching heat of March, the starving children, the old and the disabled, people with feeble or in otherwise poor health condition who were ferried with handcarts etc. These grisly images were so horrible that no human being with a drop of mercy in his heart would allow them to happen to innocent populations. I couldn't avoid asking myself "Why African leaders spend millions of dollars in killing their own people who were already dying from hunger and disease". Then I had to say this almost to myself:
In the dusty lands of the HornThey are fighting a dirty war But in the shadows of despair Their children are dying from hunger Are they leaders of a nation? Or are they killers of a nation Is politics a shield to hide from reality? Or is it a license to kill the innocent? In the eyes of fear shock is the sparkle
On the other side of the war coin, the basic commodity prices have skyrocketed. People have to pay triple of what they would otherwise have paid under normal circumstances. The food and fuel prices escalated beyond imagination as they had become quite unaffordable by the ordinary citizen. There are always war-profiteers who make money out of peoples' pain and distress.
The next thing I immediately became aware of is the shortage of water. There was high demand of drinking water in the area as there was only one well around which was undergoing the strain of heavy load. To fetch water for cooking or washing you have to spend the whole day around the well jostling for a space to get closer to the pipe. And when finishing you have to fight back to pull yourself through the crowd. It is like crashing a human wall, no matter how badly you get hurt.
Almost every space or under the shade of a Qurac tree has been filled by displaced families who ran away from their houses when Ethiopian backed TFG soldiers and insurgent militia clashed in the city of Mogadishu. There are no latrines, no health facilities in their vicinity and no communication such as telephones with the exception of those who carry mobile phones with them though recharging batteries is another tough challenge as electric power is not available in the bush.
No access to internet. You just keep abreast with your little transistor radio to follow what is happening in the city and the rest of the world. If your radio runs out of batteries you may easily find them in the stalls that are teeming in the area as small-scale business is flourishing in the bush much faster than anyone could anticipate.
The biggest worry descends in the night when darkness falls upon. You hear sounds of unknown creatures which sometimes seem creeping to your direction but luckily die out soon without a trace. At one time Maria asked me " Dad who is singing around" I got frightened with the sound that grew thicker as it drew closer and couldn't grasp an answer instantly. Then I came to know that it was the wind that just whistled as it crossed over the thorny trees.
Yesterday we packed to move for the third time within a space of three days in the bush. "Dad" Said Maria "Are we moving to another Qurac tree" ( that is what we did in our previous moves). "No" I said "dear honey". We are going back home. There was delight in Maria's eyes showing a glint of hope in them. But she still remembered why we had left our house". "Are they not falling anymore" Maria queried. "Falling what, honey" I answered with a question. " The bullets" she said. Then a chill ran through my spine as I fumbled for a quick response. "No" I said, "They are not falling" relying on the unreliable ceasefire accord between the Ethiopians and Hawiye elders in Mogadishu "Yesterday afternoon, we made safely to our house in the Arafat area off the industrial road along the gravel lane.. That is how I got access to internet today in the center of the Bakaraha market, though business is not as briskly operating as it used to be. Shall keep you updated in my later postings.
Thank you all, dear readers.
Abdi-Noor MohamedMogadishu, Somalia[email protected]


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As much as I love Florida and really can't envision myself living anywhere else our summers are almost unbearable. Think hot sauna meets the rainforest. I find myself often scrambling for ways to keep the kids cool without giving them a crazy sugar high….. They can hear the sound of the ice cream truck in their sleep and 10 miles away! My youngest absolutely loves plain Greek yogurt( Not sure how that happened) and she loves ice cream so what's better than combining the two! Here's my favorite Recipe for frozen yogurt pops! Enjoy.
2 Cups plain Greek yogurt
1 Cup fresh strawberries
3 Tablespoons of raw local honey
2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients in food processor. Blend for about 3-4 minutes.Pour ingredients into ice cream mold.
I have terrible pouring skills so I decided to pour mix into a plastic sandwich bag and pour it from there.
Freeze for 3-4 hours and enjoy!!


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Fortunately, my friend Chris R, showed up with a sixer each of Alpha King and Hoegaarden, and was gracious enough to let me have an Alpha King. I said, "Yeah, unfortunately, we had to get a keg of Miller Lite," and Chris said, "It's tripple-hopped, dude!"
So basically, even though you triple hop your beer, if you're only getting 10-12 IBU, that's really not a big deal. It's unfortunate that a company has the need to trick its customers into believing that they're drinking a quality product, when they are not. It's too bad that the Macro-brewers in this country spend BILLIONS of dollars on advertising, trying to show how different they are from each other, when they could be spending that money on making good beer, and using better ingredients.
I was wondering what the whole "Triple Hops Brewed" ad campaign was about. The average person probably doesn't even know what a "hop" is, let alone what they add to the beer. Miller uses a lot of words on their web page to describe what hops add, including "flavor" and "spiciness", but never do you see the b-word ("bitter").
That's right! Hops make a beer bitter. When I brew beer at home, and it depends on the style, some are more hoppier than others, but I would say, that on average, I use at least three hop additions (thus, triple-hop) in a batch of beer. The wort, which is beer without the yeast in it, is boiled, usually for 60 minutes. I add hops at the beginning of the boil (60 minutes), somewhere in the middle (30, 20, 15, or 10 minutes left of the boil), and usually at the very end (5, 2, or 0 minutes - 0 being where I turn the fire off under the kettle and throw the last ounce or so of hops in). Then I cool the wort down, and pitch the yeast. Yeast eat the sugar in the wort and poop carbon dioxide and alcohol.
The hops added at 60 minutes are called the bittering hops. That's right. That is the correct technical term! In fact, a calculation is used based on the alpha acid content of each hop, multiplied by the amount, multiplied by the time in the boil to give you International Bittering Units, or IBUs. This will make no sense to you unless you already know that hops cause bittering, and have tasted many beers to get an idea of how bitter each number means.
However, this dude explains it with in this article , and discusses IBUs as simply as it can get:
Today's Budweiser and Miller might take their inspiration from true pilsner, but they lack key elements. Number one is malt. A great pilsner or lager should be based on nothing but. Instead, many light lagers are made with cheaper substitutes like corn and rice, which can be fermented to produce alcohol, but they lack that sweet richness that only malt can provide.
Number two is hops, which adds bitterness. Bitterness is measured in International Bitterness Units (IBUs), and according to Sapsis, a true pilsner should have anywhere from 25 to 45 IBUs. Pilsner Urquell, for example, weighs in at about 40 IBUs. Miller Lite and Bud are somewhere in the 10–12 range.


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Participants in FareManager 100 will acquire the skills to implement a basic pricing decision for international fares.
Participants will learn how to use the FareManager GFS and Market View tools for basic monitoring and analysis of pricing initiatives and to distribute data to pricing systems. Additionally, participants will learn to use the Fares system to view fares, create new fares, and increase or reduce existing fares. They will also learn how to create a Fare Basis Code and determine the correct Fare Type. Viewing maps and restrictions using the FareManager Routings tool is introduced. Finally, participants will learn how to code footnotes to modify a fare's Travel and Sales Restrictions.
This course contains a final exam. In order for this course to qualify as a prerequisite for future courses, you must complete the exam within the allotted time frame with a score of 85% or better.
Personnel responsible for implementing pricing decisions and who are new users of ATPCO input systems
Getting Ready for FareManager