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The Master Chiefs left the offices of Creative Artists Agency around midday on June 6, 2005, in a fleet of limo vans. In their green, red and blue Spartan armour the cybernetically-enhanced super soldiers made quite a spectacle. Each stood six-foot-three tall, visored helmets obscuring their faces. Each carried a red bound document folder stamped with the CAA logo that contained two things: a copy of the Halo screenplay commissioned by Microsoft and written by Alex Garland and a terms sheet. None of them spoke a word.
The security guards on the gates of the major motion picture studios are used to seeing many things. Still, a hulking soldier from the future striding towards them and demanding access to the studio's top brass was inevitably going to end in some kind of shooting incident – whether involving a United Nations Space Command BR55 Battle Rifle or a security guard's arguably more deadly .38 revolver.
Fortunately Larry Shapiro's team at CAA had called ahead and warned the studios' security heads what was going on. The Master Chiefs were allowed onto the lots at Universal, Fox, New Line, DreamWorks and others without firing a single shot. If this was the videogame industry literally invading Hollywood, it was remarkably bloodless. They delivered their scripts and waited outside the meetings rooms in silent character, flicking through the pages of Variety. Everyone knew the clock was ticking: Studio executives only had a couple of hours to read the Halo screenplay and decide whether or not to make an offer before the Master Chiefs returned to CAA with the screenplay. It was the deal of the century, and a fantastic piece of showmanship.
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The Master Chief suits were Shapiro's idea and they ensured that the Halo deal made headlines even before the trade papers learned how rich the demands were. It was a spectacular attempt to turn Microsoft's first foray into Hollywood filmmaking into a theatrical event and it very almost worked. Master Chief, the hero of Microsoft and Bungie's bestselling Halo games, made his debut in Hollywood. Sadly, though, his Tinsel Town ascension was short-lived.
Microsoft was aggressive in pursuing the idea of taking Halo to the big screen. It's easy to understand why. The games, developed by Bungie Studios, were perfect blockbuster material: high-octane, intense sci-fi shoot 'em ups with a dense mythology and storyline and a dedicated fan-base of millions. Combined sales of the first two Halo games grossed in excess of $600 million over four years, selling north of 13 million units. The movie biz looked on in envy.
When Microsoft approached CAA about their movie ambitions, Shapiro told them about the Day After Tomorrow auction set up by CAA agent Michael Wimer and director Roland Emmerich. With a script for the apocalyptic eco-movie in hand, Wimer called the major studios and invited them to bid for it. The process was unusual: Every studio would send a messenger to CAA at an allotted time, pick up the script and then have 24 hours to read it and make an offer. Each script was despatched with a terms sheet: Here's how much we want; here's how much we want for the director, and it has to be a "go" movie (in other words, a picture with a guaranteed start date for production). Each studio responded by trying to negotiate terms. The only exception was Fox, who simply wrote on the term sheet: "Yes".
Microsoft, unaccustomed to Hollywood's culture, was impressed by that story. It wanted to be able to dictate the terms even though it was a newcomer in the movie biz. Halo was its prize property and they wanted to protect it.
Microsoft was entering into negotiations brandishing a very big stick.Microsoft also wanted to make a bundle of money from its sale. For Shapiro, it was typical of the gulf between the two industries. Games creators are, by their nature, engineers who deal in absolutes. For them the subtleties of Hollywood production, with its ebb-and-flow of egos and power plays, were often alien. "To sell a movie into a studio and actually get it made is a lot of work," he says. "It takes a lot of conversations and a lot of pixie dust being thrown about while you're getting the deals done. In the games industry, they're technologists and they're data driven. They're looking at data points and saying: 'We need the movie to be made, it's got to be this, this and this. If you get A, B and C to be part of the movie, then great we'll sell you the rights.' You can't do that." But, if that's what Microsoft wanted, CAA was willing to try.
To set up that kind of deal, Microsoft needed to be ready. Most importantly it needed to have a screenplay so it paid Alex Garland (28 Days Later, The Beach) $1 million to pen a spec script. The screenplay was supervised by Microsoft, which meant it was – for good or ill – heavily steeped in the games' mythology. Still, the project now had a blockbuster screenwriter and was based on a high-profile videogame franchise.
Next, it was a case of setting up the auction. Peter Schlessel, the former president of production at Columbia Pictures, was one of the main negotiators in the Halo movie deal and served as Microsoft's Hollywood liaison. Together with Microsoft and its lawyers, Schlessel and the CAA team hammered out a term sheet. "We were literally setting out to be the richest, most lucrative rights deal in history in Hollywood," says Shapiro. "You have to remember that no property, not even Harry Potter, was getting [what we were asking for]." Microsoft, a global software giant used to getting its own way, wasn't about to kowtow to Hollywood. It knew Halo was the jewel of videogame movies, the one that could be a true blockbuster hit. According to Variety, Microsoft wanted $10 million against 15% of the box office gross, in addition to a $75 million "below-the-line" budget and fast-tracked production.
Those were big demands. Not least of all since, at the time, videogame movies were still floundering on the edge of respectability. Tomb Raider had made a pot of money and pushed towards the mainstream but its 2003 sequel, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life, suffered a disappointing opening weekend at the U.S. box office and limped by on its foreign grosses. The Lara Croft franchise was running out of steam early. And most other videogame movie outings weren't even in the same neighbourhood as Lara. Paul W. S. Anderson, the director of Mortal Kombat, parlayed his success into the zombie-themed Resident Evil franchise distributed by Sony Screen Gems. The first movie based on Capcom's survival horror game series took $102 million worldwide and did gangbuster business on DVD selling over a million units. But it lacked the prestige and mainstream crossover potential of Tomb Raider.
Microsoft were aiming higher – much, much higher. CAA's deal-making matched the software giant's aspirations. According to the New York Times, Microsoft were demanding creative approval over director and cast, plus 60 first-class plane tickets for Microsoft personnel and their guests to attend the premiere. It wouldn't be putting any money into the production itself beyond the fee paid to Garland, nor was it willing to sign over the merchandising rights. To add insult to injury, Microsoft wanted the winning studio to pay to fly one of its representatives from Seattle to LA. They would watch every cut of the movie during post-production. Clearly, Microsoft was entering into negotiations brandishing a very big stick.
With the screenplay written and the ink still drying on the terms sheet, the agents called up the major studios and advised them to be prepared. It was a bold, some might say arrogant, show of power. As Shapiro remembers it, "We told them: 'You need to have all your decision makers in a room because we're going to deliver the script for you to read together with a terms sheet. But there's a fuse on it. You'll only have a certain amount of time to make a deal.'"
Because Hollywood is a town built on relationships, CAA's agents made sure they called all the major players. Even then there were some who felt snubbed; Miramax head honcho Harvey Weinstein called up to shout about being left off the list. Everyone had assumed Miramax wouldn't be interested in the property. Truth was they probably weren't, but there was prestige to be had in being invited to the Halo party. The only major studio Microsoft refused to approach was Columbia, which was owned by Sony, its chief rival in the console war.
With his production background, Shapiro decided to add a little razzle dazzle to the proceedings. Remembering the Master Chief costumes he'd seen at Comic-Con, he tracked down the one person in the U.S. who was fabricating the game's official Spartan UNSC battle armour and hired seven suits: a Red, a Blue and several in Master Chief green. "I had them shipped out to CAA," recalls Shapiro, "they came in crates and had instructions about how to put them on. I hired character actors to wear the suits because, you know, you don't just put anyone in these suits. They had to feel like Master Chief."
For a few hours on June 6, 2005, Hollywood became Halowood. Everyone was buzzing about the Master Chiefs spotted walking through the studio lots and – more importantly – about the richness of the deal Microsoft was demanding. No one had ever seen anything like it before. Microsoft, the global corporation whose products sat on every desktop, had come to Hollywood and wasn't afraid of throwing its weight around. "If showmanship and arrogance and Hollywood don't go together, I don't know what does," says Moore who was Microsoft's go-between with Universal during the negotiations, reporting to the software company's point man Steve Schreck.
Not everyone was impressed. Movie executive Alex Young, who by the time of Halo had moved from Paramount to Fox, recalls reading the screenplay under Master Chief's watchful eye. "It was one of those gimmicky Hollywood things: hey, force everybody to be in a room, make it feel urgent, have a guy show up in costume and 'Oh my God! This feels like a big deal'. It probably served Microsoft and CAA well at the time, but ultimately it seemed like a bit of manufactured theatre to me."
Another problem was that the Halo property was so well-known by that point that everyone knew what to expect. "You either loved the idea of making a Halo movie or you did not," suggests Young. Having a guy in costume deliver the screenplay wasn't going to convince you one way or the other.
In the end, though, it wasn't the Master Chiefs' fault that the deal stumbled. Nor was it CAA's. The failure of the Halo movie remains a potent illustration of the gulf that still lies between Hollywood and the videogame business. It should have been the tent-pole movie to die for, instead it became the one that got away. Millions of Halo fans around the world wanted a movie, yet it failed to launch. Partly, it stemmed from the on-going inability of both sides of the deal to understand each other's culture, needs and language.
"When the videogame industry talks to people they do it open-kimono and they expect the same transparency back. Hollywood doesn't function that way."Most of the studios who read the Halo screenplay passed immediately. Microsoft's terms were simply too demanding. By the end of Master Chief Monday there were only two horses in the race: Fox and Universal. Microsoft hoped to use each to leverage off the other but hadn't banked on the studios' very different approach to doing business. "What the games industry doesn't understand is that this town is all about lunch," explains Shapiro. "It doesn't happen like that in the games industry. If there was a movie studio going out to the games publishers to license Avatar or something like that, they'd say 'Ok we're licensing Avatar, send us your best deal. But none of the games publishers would talk to each other and say 'Hey, what are you going to offer them?'"
The studios weren't so reticent in sounding each other out. "What happened was Universal called Fox and asked them what they were going to offer," continues Shapiro, who watched events unfold close-up. "They decided to partner on it. 'Let's offer the same deal and offer to partner'. So now we lost our leverage." Universal agreed to take U.S. domestic, Fox would take foreign. In the blink of an eye Microsoft's bargaining position had been pole-axed.
The immensely powerful Microsoft had wandered into the deal naïvely expecting everyone to play by its rules and the resulting culture shock put immense strain on the Halo deal. For Moore, then corporate vice-president of the Interactive Entertainment Business division at Microsoft, there was clearly culture clash during the negotiations: "You work for a company like Microsoft, where you do what you say, you say what you do; you think you have an agreement, you're ready to go, and then... [the deal falls apart]."
It was something that talent agents working at the intersection between the two industries have experienced many times. "When the videogame industry talks to people they do it open-kimono and they expect the same transparency back," says Blindlight's Lev Chapelsky. "Hollywood doesn't function that way, they dance and they sing and they play games and go through their ritual haggling. To somebody who's not accustomed to that, it can be insulting."
Microsoft clearly weren't accustomed to it. They were used to being the strongest contender in any negotiation they entered into. But this time they were far out of their comfort zone. "We don't understand Hollywood," Microsoft Games Studios general manager Stuart Mulder confessed to the trade papers in 2002 as the company inked in its deal with Shapiro at CAA. It was a throwaway comment that would turn out to be disturbingly prophetic.
What was apparent during the Halo deal-making was that Microsoft was far from home, perhaps even surrounded in enemy territory. In the middle of the Halo negotiations, as all parties sat around the table, Shapiro recalls the discussion between Microsoft's Hollywood liaison Peter Schlessel and Jimmy Horowitz, Universal's co-president of production, taking an aggressive turn. "Schlessel was getting really tough on some of the terms with Horowitz: 'Come on, don't be a jerk, blah, blah, blah...'. It was getting really heated. The guy from Microsoft [Steve Schrek] was like, 'Wow, this is really good.' Then we took a break and Schlessel goes to Horowitz, 'Are you coming over for Passover?' Because they know each other. You don't have those kinds of relationships in videogames. In Hollywood you can be getting at each other but then you're playing golf together the next day."
Even after the deal was struck, the misunderstanding over how the movie business operated continued to be a problem. Microsoft wanted a big-name director, but Peter Jackson, helmer on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, decided to sign on as a co-producer alongside Peter Schlessel, Mary Parent and Scott Stuber. Jackson wanted his new protégé, an up-and-coming commercials whiz kid called Neill Blomkamp, to direct. With Jackson's fee running to several million dollars the studios knew there was an advantage in hiring a cheaper, less well-known talent to sit in the director's chair. Microsoft was reputedly not happy with the decision.
Blomkamp, a South African director who had made his mark with commercials for Nike and had shot an intriguing short about alien apartheid called Alive in Joburg, was concerned about getting chewed up and spat out while making his first feature with these three enormous corporations and a budget north of $100 million. "My instinct was that if I crawled into that hornet's nest it would be not good, and it was a clusterfuck from day one," he admits. "There's no question that there was a clash of worlds, for sure. The two sides weren't seeing eye-to-eye."
What lured him in, beyond the obvious kudos, was his love for the property: "I told Tom Rothman [co-Chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment] that I was genetically created to direct Halo." However, Blomkamp quickly realised that the studio didn't share his artistic vision and was uncomfortable at the prospect of his gritty, post-cyberpunk aesthetic – all blurry video feeds and radio chatter - dominating a summer blockbuster. "Rothman hated me, I think he would have gotten rid of me if he could have," says the director. "The suits weren't happy with the direction I was going. Thing was, though, I'd played Halo and I play videogames. I'm that generation more than they are and I know that my version of Halo would have been insanely cool. It was more fresh and potentially could have made more money than just a generic, boring film – something like G.I. Joe or some crap like that, that Hollywood produces."
Blomkamp's relationship with Fox was particularly fraught. The way the deal was split between three major corporations and a handful of Hollywood producers caused several unusual imbalances in terms of power. "The way Fox dealt with me was not cool. Right from the beginning, when Mary [Parent, Universal's former president of production turned Halo producer] hired me up until the end when it collapsed, they treated me like shit; they were just a crappy studio. I'll never ever work with Fox ever again because of what happened to Halo - unless they pay me some ungodly amount of money and I have absolute fucking control."
He was also being pressured by Microsoft's demands too. One of the biggest issues was creative control. Microsoft had paid Garland to pen the screenplay to their specifications in order to retain control over what was clearly a very valuable property to them. Halo was an Xbox exclusive title, a billion-dollar franchise, and its chief weapon in the console war against Sony. The problem was, though, that filmmaking was a collaborative exercise and total control simply wasn't possible.
"If you're dealing with a company that doesn't understand the film industry, its sense of assurance comes with glossy names that have done a lot of big projects that have made a lot of money," says Blomkamp. "I think the guys at Bungie liked what I was doing. I'm fairly confident in saying they liked where I was going. It's highly possible that that artwork was getting back to Microsoft and Microsoft itself, the corporate entity, was not happy with it because it was too unconventional. I don't know if that's true or not, but it was entirely possible."
Against this fraught background, Universal funded $12 million of preliminary development on the movie. Some of the money was spent before Blomkamp came on-board by director Guillermo Del Toro, who was initially attached before going off to make Hellboy II: The Golden Army instead. The rest was spent on Blomkamp's watch and included paying various screenwriters – Scott Frank, D.B. Weiss, Josh Olson – to redraft the original screenplay.
Meanwhile, Weta Workshop, the New Zealand physical effects company co-founded by Jackson, was fabricating real-life versions of the weapons, power armour and the Warthog assault vehicle from the game. Blomkamp would eventually use them to shoot a series of thrilling test shorts. "The legacy of a movie never made," is how Moore describes the collected footage, which was later cut together under the title Halo: Landfall and used to promote the Halo 3 videogame release in 2007.
With development proving slow, Fox and Universal were beginning to get impatient. The gross heavy deal and costs increased the growing sense of unease. In October 2006, right before a payment was due to be made to the filmmakers and Microsoft, Universal demanded that the producers' deals be cut. Jackson consulted with his co-producers and Blomkamp, as well as with Microsoft and Bungie, and refused. In a stroke, the Halo movie was pronounced dead in the water.
What ultimately killed the Halo movie was money. "Microsoft's unwillingness to reduce their deal killed the deal," says Shapiro. "Their unwillingness to reduce their gross in the deal meant it got too top-heavy. That movie could have been Avatar."
Blomkamp agrees: "One of the complicating factors with Halo was that Microsoft wasn't the normal party that you'd go off and option the IP from and make your product. Because Microsoft is such an omnipresent, powerful corporation, they weren't just going to sit back and not take a massive cut of the profits. When you have a corporation that potent and that large taking a percentage of the profits, then you've got Peter Jackson taking a percentage of the profits and you start adding all of that stuff up, mixed with the fact that you have two studios sharing the profits, suddenly the return on the investment starts to decline so that it becomes not worth making. Ultimately, that's essentially what killed the film."


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We invite you to take a few minutes to look through the many ministries that are here, and to consider becoming a part of this 100 year old family of faith. This congregation has a significant history of caring and outreach which represents the inspired faithfulness of those who worship here.
On this site you may have your questions about being Presbyterian answered, learn about how to "Get Involved" in the life of the church and take a look at volunteer opportunities. You will quickly discover that this is not only a caring community but an active one. People say there is "always something happening at Woods," and there is: from personal and confidential counseling to vital community involvement.
Of course Woods is an energetic and exciting place to be; but, most importantly, we are continually enriched and guided by Christ. This means that we count your presence among us as a blessing and are enthusiastic about the gifts you will bring to our community. Come and explore that possibility with us.

subset: commoncrawl


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Are Selena Gomez + Justin Bieber Going to Couples Counseling?
In what sounds sort of weird for a couple so young, Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber may be going to couples counseling.
The pair have had a really rocky couple of months, with breakup rumblings growing loudest in November and earlier this month. By all accounts, Bieber is head over heels in love with Gomez, but he seems to have a tough time showing it. A huge bustup went down following his flirting with Barbara Palvin at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, but the pair were spotted on several dates since to try to mend the relationship.
Still, more split stories emerged following their reconciliation. Every breakup was said to be the ultimate and last one, but they can't stay away from one another! The couple, whom fans affectionately dubbed "Jelena," are now looking for outside, unbiased help in keeping it together. The Examiner reports that the pair are seeing a couples counselor twice a week to get themselves in line.
The report also says that Bieber has the most work to do, apparently. Gomez reportedly handed over a list of things she thinks Biebs needs to work on. Perhaps the 'Love You Like a Love Song' singer can afford to work on some issues of her own -- like compromise (it takes two!), determining what's really important to her (a good relaysh or just the fame of being with him?) and self-respect (she and Rihanna keep taking back guys who hurt their feelings).
Here's hoping these two work it out for good!
Watch the Selena Gomez 'Hit the Lights' Video


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Impress your dinner guests or that special someone with this delicious mousse.
Preparation Time: 35 mins
Extra Time: 9 hrs
(overnight refrigeration and 1 hr. standing)
Yield: 10 x slices
MOUSSE: Remove skin and bones from the salmon, break up the flesh.
Dissolve gelatin in warm water; set aside. Add the prawns, chives, parsley, spring onions, lemon juice and dissolved gelatin. Mix well. Add mayonnaise and yogurt and combine well. Add 2 or 3 drops of Tabasco sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the ground pepper.
Lightly oil a 10-inch X 3.5-inch oblong cake pan and spoon in the mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
CUCUMBER SPAGHETTI: Cut cucumber in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Cut the cucumber into very fine strips and place in a colander. Sprinkle on the 1 teaspoon remaining salt and allow to stand for one hour to drain before serving, pressing down well to expel any fluid. Pat dry on paper towels. Serve mousse with cucumber spaghetti.


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However, I do know from the Bible that worldly fame can't take anyone to heaven.
The only one who can save is Jesus Christ. By faith in Him you can be saved, guaranteeing you a place in heaven for all eternity, regardless of your popularity, talent, or wealth.
Did Roger Moore ever place his faith for salvation in Jesus Christ and Him alone? Only he and God know that. The only thing that matters to him now is his relationship with Jesus Christ.
This is what the Bible says about how to be saved:
Being world-famous doesn't save anyone from Hell. Having a fortune in worldly wealth doesn't purchase a place in heaven.
God is not impressed with worldly fame, or great riches or professional talent.
God sent His only begotten Son Jesus to die on the cross to pay for Roger Moore's sins. God offered him the free gift of eternal life, if only he would believe on Jesus Christ and call out to Him for salvation. God gave Roger Moore 89 years to accept the free gift of eternal life.
Did he ever receive Jesus as his personal Saviour? I certainly hope so. If not, it is eternally too late for him.
But it is not yet too late for you. Only Jesus Saves!


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Our aim is to provide you with advice when your business needs it - not just when you ask for it. We'll help you manage every aspect of your business, and because we establish a one-to-one relationship with each of our clients, our advice will be tailored for your business.
Schulz Hobbs is an Adelaide-based firm of professionals with a wide variety of experience and qualifications. We are a "one stop shop" for you, providing you with the quality and range of knowledge, advice and service that you will value.
At Schulz Hobbs we offer a full range of free, easy to use, online resources. Tax Facts is a helpful list of FAQs to help you answer and queries regarding taxation and doing your tax return. Key Dates highlights specific financial dates throughout the year and Internet Links lists useful financial resource web sites.


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Well, I'm switching gears from diaper cakes to towel cakes. I created this cake for my sister's bridal shower. I found a youtube video HERE that was very helpful in rolling the towels. I cut the pumpkin pie paper into a doily design to go under the cake. This was really easy to make and I am going to use it as a decoration for the cake table. If you have any questions, let me know! Thanks for looking!!!
- 2 bath towels
- 2 hand towels
- 3 washcloths
- flowers (I used 6 large Gerber Daisies)
- wide ribbon
- floral pins
- wooden kitchen utensils
- cake round
- Pumpkin Pie SU! cardstock


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AI policy: The chance for governments to play catch-up with a purpose
June 4, 2018
June 4, 2018
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will change the world. That's no longer a prediction. It's a fact. But the impact that AI has and how it changes the world is very much still up to us.
From day one, I've been passionate about analytics and AI. Why? Because I believe that by using the vast amounts of underlying information we have available and leveraging AI to analyze and harness it, we can fundamentally shift the quality of life for people around the world. We can deploy AI to address global issues that otherwise look intractable, like climate change, congestion, pollution, health and many other problems we face as a planet.
What's particularly interesting to me is not just that these strategies suggest a clear potential for European countries to play catch up with today's AI leaders, but to play catch up "with a purpose"
To give one example that's close to my heart, there's a project that we've been working on in India. When I was a teenager, I used to volunteer to read books to visually impaired people at the National Institute for the Blind. Today, in the same place, our tech labs have created a 'hearing and seeing' AI engine that is enabling visually-impaired people to navigate their world in a whole new way. It can read to them, give them verbal descriptions of the people and things around them and in doing so, help them live more independent lives.
By taking the same approaches that commercial organizations are already discovering through AI and applying them to citizen needs, we could achieve real breakthroughs that would grow substantial social capital. To do that, governments need to act on the three key attributes of AI: providing deeper insights and pattern recognition from data; enabling highly targeted outcomes and empowering the automation of processes at a scale that humans simply cannot hope to match. And all three of these are just as applicable to addressing areas like climate change, traffic congestion, pollution and the allocation of public goods as they are to running a business more efficiently and effectively.
Those were some of the issues that we discussed at a recent Politico Summit, held in Brussels, which I attended in March. As the Summit took place just before GDPR legislation was set to come into effect, there was naturally enough a lot of attention paid to data privacy. But at the same time, there was a clear focus on the wider AI agenda and governments' role within it. Both the recently published EU and French strategies for AI are exploring how intelligent machines can be harnessed to make sure that citizens enjoy a better quality of life. The UK is doing much the same with, for example, the Turing Institute. What's particularly interesting to me is not just that these strategies suggest a clear potential for European countries to play catch up with today's AI leaders, but to play catch up "with a purpose".
The leaders in AI are the US and China, and both nations have made a clear advance on the rest of the world, including Europe. But in trying to match their progress, it makes no sense for Europe to simply try and recreate the tech giants in European form. The constraints on capital and talent are too great, and the market positions of the technology leaders are already entrenched. Shaping Europe's AI strategy in a different way requires a mindset that is not about replicating what's gone before, but instead takes things in a different direction. The question of how AI can be developed to create broader social benefits could be a bigger and better one to pursue. Trying to solve it could lead to what might be thought of as the second evolution of AI, with the first being driven by the Chinese and US giants. This second evolution could be more thoughtful in terms of evolving national strategies. The unconstrained resources flowing into commercial models, as they are in the US and China, may or may not be the right way to create and grow social capital. It's definitely a question worth asking.
With a little more shaping, some of the huge volume of AI capital that has poured into commercial sectors could have gone, for example, into health and infrastructure. But in reality, only a tiny fraction has made its way to areas like those. The European approach may have a chance to do things differently. Rather than seeking to constrain the power of the existing tech giants (which would arguably only serve to limit innovation and wider human benefits), governments in Europe have the opportunity to more usefully explore other ways to level the playing field. For example, directing investment towards logistics, as France intends as one of its sectoral priorities, could open the opportunity for all business to access new ways to reach their customers that have to date been largely the preserve of the largest US players.
The Internet and AI have changed business models forever. That's a given. But governments have the chance to invest in supporting a new set of commercial businesses to develop alternative models that can compete with some of the global giants. Rather than taking on the tech giants directly, governments could help new and existing companies to compete in a different way. Instead of seeking to constrain existing businesses (which would arguably diminish the quality of life for many), governments can use policy to help businesses compete. In doing so, they'll open new possibilities for innovation and help shape a future from which everyone can benefit.
Accenture prepared a White Paper on what needs to be done to enable Europe to maximise the economic and societal potential of AI.


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arts, admin, care, education,
finance, health, housing, HR, IT,
revenue, social work, transport jobs
Install our widget on your personal homepage,
blog or website for a live feed of our latest jobs.
You can customize the feed to display just jobs
in the sector and area that interests you.
Works with:
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Twitter can help you find your next job!Simply follow us for our live job tweets:
twitter.com/uksocialjobs - our social work jobstwitter.com/ukcarejobs - our care jobstwitter.com/ukhousingjobs - our social housing jobs
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(We won't pass your details to third parties)


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Men's Web Exclusives
Whatever it is you need you're bound to find it in our Men's Web Exclusive range. We have great selections of men's trainers, shoes, boots and slippers available exclusively online. Shop a whole host of top quality brands including Merrell, K-Swiss, Base, Nike, Rockport, Hudson, Hi-Tec, the list goes on and on!


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Women wake up grumpier than men, study finds
Sleep-deprived women have higher risks of heart disease, depression
A new study finds that women are prone to waking up grumpier than men in the morning, the New York Daily News reported.
The study, by researchers at Duke University, found that women just need more sleep.
View a slideshow of the best, worst foods for sleep
The researchers found that women suffer more than men, both mentally and physically, if they go without sufficient sleep, the newspaper reported.
Sleep-deprived women have higher risks of heart disease and depression.
"In this particular study, women had more depression, anger, and hostility early in the mornings when they weren't getting the same amount of sleep that they normally get," Dr. Michael Breus told CBS News. "When they have problems falling asleep, staying asleep, that seems to have a dramatic effect."


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Stardust by U.S. Army Blues
Album Description
TAGGED AS:public domain, us army blues, swing, tracks to sync, blues, See More...
TAGGED AS:public domain, us army blues, swing, tracks to sync, blues, jazz, See Less...
The U.S. Army Blues was officially formed in 1972 but has its roots back in 1942 as the Army Dance Band entertaining soldiers and civilians in battle zones during WWII. With appearances at jazz festivals from Monterey to Montreux, and jazz clubs from Birdland to Blues Alley, it has evolved into the leading jazz ensemble of the U.S. Army, and one of the few remaining full-time big bands in America today.
This release, recorded live at historic Blues Alley in Washington, DC on January 20, 2010, features sixteen different soloists and seven composers from the eighteen-piece band. It also pays tribute to the legacy of Washington, DC native, Duke Ellington. Enjoy and keep jazz–America's only indigenous art form–alive.
Special thanks to Harry Schnipper and the staff at Blues Alley; Greg Hartman and the crew at Big Mo Recording, Rockville, MD; Bob and Gloria Dawson and the staff at BIAS Studios, Springfield, VA; Lou Williams and the Washington, DC Department of Transportation
» VIEW ALL"Stardust" Fans
Track Info
"lasso" by soulwithoutaking
Stardust by U.S. Army Blues is licensed under a Public Domain Mark 1.0 License.


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Ashgabat(redirected from Ashqabad)
Also found in: Dictionary.
Ashgabat(əshkhəbät`), formerly
Ashkhabad,city (1991 pop. 412,200), capital of Turkmenistan, near the border with Iran, on the Trans-Caspian RR. The city has textile, motion picture, and crafts industries. Ashgabat was founded in 1881 as a fortress. From 1919 to 1927 it was named Poltoratsk. An earthquake in 1948 virtually destroyed the city, which stands in a major fault zone. The southern section of the city has been extensively developed since the 1990s, with wide boulevards and monumental buildings, many them clad in white marble. The Turkmen Academy of Sciences is in Ashgabat.
Ashkhabad, Ashgabat
the capital of Turkmenistan. Pop.: 598 000 (2005 est.)


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Montres pour homme
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Petit (<31mm)
Moyen (31mm-40mm)
Grand (>40mm)
Acier Inoxydable
Or Jaune
Or Rose
Or Blanc
Large (>40mm)
3000 - 4999
5000 - 9999
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What do you guys think of Prince racquets? My wife and I have the Prince Hornet and Prince Diva racquets. They are very light. We're not ready for the real expensive racquets yet, but these weren't that cheap either.
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It has been revealed by Russia Now, a news blog that reports 'beyond the headlines in Russia', that people in the city of Tomsk, Western Siberia, are preparing for the end of the world.
The survival kit pictured above was put together by none other than a wedding planning company. Seems a bit morbid for a company that makes money on helping people plan their special day, but perhaps it's intended to encourage couples to tie the knot before it's too late?
The reason a survival kit is necessary in the first place is because of the rumour and Internet scaremongering surrounding the ancient Mayan calendar, which some allege puts the date of the end of the world at December 21st, 2012. On paper it does look kinda scary, all those ones and twos lining up like that, but really? That is just around the corner!
The president of the wedding planning company, Yurianna Shichogorewa, leapt at the chance to implement a new marketing strategy with this prophecy, coming up with the idea for a survival kit. Borrowing tips from a Mexican acquaintance, she was able to produce a kit in just two weeks. Read More


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Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director of luxury Paris brand Chanel, ensured a major coup for Scotland this winter by choosing a ruined palace in West Lothian as the dramatic backdrop for the brand's most spectacular and extravagant fashion show.
The Metiers d'Art Collection 2012/13 took place at the very special location of Linlithgow Palace on Tuesday 4th December at 6pm. Entry to the event was by invitation only. The collection presented the latest beautiful creations from the design studio founded by Coco Chanel.
The Collection series, which launched in 2003, has previously been shown in iconic locations such as Grand Central Station in New York, Huangpu Park in Shanghai and other exotic venues in Tokyo, Moscow, Bombay, Paris and London. The Metiers d'Art Collection 2012/13 is an opportunity for the brand to showcase the outstanding craftsmanship and work of the ten ateliers gathered under the umbrella of Chanel subsidiary Paraffection ('in the name of love'). Paraffection was set up in 1997 in order to promote the heritage, craft and manufacturing skills of fashion artisan workshops. The subsidiary represents part of a long held strategy of Chanel to protect - and if necessary purchase - it's most valued suppliers.
The Metiers d'Art show always carries a clear theme. Karl Lagerfeld chose Edinburgh as the location for the collection, inspired by the rich heritage of Chanel in Scotland and the craftsmanship of Scottish tweed and cashmere, which are an integral and iconic part of Chanel's creations. Linlithgow Palace was selected for its fairytale-like surroundings, gothic architecture, nearby loch and adjacent rocky hills.
The Palace, situated 15 miles to the west of Edinburgh, was originally a royal manor, then a fortification known as the Peel, whose site made it an ideal military base for securing the supply routes between the castles of Edinburgh and Stirling. In the 15th and 16th centuries it was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland. The palace was also the birthplace of James V and Mary Queen of Scots. After the act of Union in 1603, when Scotland's monarchs left for England, the palace, while maintained, was little used. Bonnie Prince Charlie visited Linlithgow in 1745 on his historic march south, and legend has it that the elaborate fountain ran with wine in his honour on the occasion.
Due to the legendary reputation of the Metiers d'Art shows in the fashion world, Linlithgow dwellers are thrilled to have hosted such a high calibre event in their small town. The event was seen by the locals as a fantastic opportunity to showcase Scotland's culture and heritage in the Year of Creative Scotland 2012. Historic Scotland worked with fellow tourism agencies to capitalise on the opportunities the international show brought.
Attendees from all over the world have had the opportunity to visit the capital's tourist attractions, including the palace and the Royal Yacht Britannia. The guest list comprised of prominent figures within the fashion and entertainment industry. Those invited included Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Anna Wintour, Rebecca Wang, Carine Roitfeld and Keira Knightly. Producer Rebecca Wang said 'It's wonderful to be here tonight, Linlithgow Palace is a stunning historic location for such a prestigious show'.


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YCC was conceptualized in the summer of 95, when a number of small 'IT Companies' were flooding the markets with technology solutions. Our group of companies providing services in Digital Color Printing Solutions Laser Print and Document Services Graphic & Web Designing Hardware & Network Solutions Web Developments & Promotions Advertising and Marketing Printing & Publishing Document Binding & Lamination services.
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Re: How to debug init.m?
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg92349] Re: How to debug init.m?
- From: Bob F <deepyogurt at gmail.com>
- Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2008 07:22:07 -0400 (EDT)
- References: <email@example.com>
On Sep 27, 8:24 pm, John Fultz <jfu... at wolfram.com> wrote: > I agree that Tech Support is being a little onerous here. Here's a tec= hnique > which ought to make debugging things much easier... > > First, with all of your settings in place, evaluate the following... > > Put[Options[$FrontEnd], > ToFileName[{$HomeDirectory}, "OldSettings.m"]]; > > Then restart the FE with clean preferences. And evaluate the following= ... > > TestOption[opt_] := ( > Print["Testing option ", First[opt]]; > Pause[3]; > SetOptions[$FrontEnd, opt]; > FrontEndTokenExecute["OpenHelpLink"]; > Pause[2]; > MathLink`CallFrontEnd[ > FrontEnd`NotebookClose[FrontEnd`DefaultHelpViewerNotebook[]]]); > Scan[TestOption, Get[ToFileName[{$HomeDirectory}, "OldSettings.m"]]]; > > This will iterate through each option one at a time, telling you which on= e it's > trying. Presumably, after one of the settings, it will crash. Just = keep an eye > on it and see which one it is. Feel free to reduce the time in the fir= st call > to Pause[] if you're an attentive and fast reader. > > Once finished, you can run the following to reset your settings to the wa= y they > were. > > SetOptions[$FrontEnd, > Get[ToFileName[{$HomeDirectory}, "OldSettings.m"]]] > > Or you could send me your init.m file and I can do it for you. > > Sincerely, > > John Fultz > jfu... at wolfram.com > User Interface Group > Wolfram Research, Inc. > Well, I did what John suggested and no luck. The funny thing is that after doing the shift-option_start_Mathematica, and running John's program, then exiting, the init.m file is exactly what it was before deleting the init.m file, but no crash during the running of John's program. But I exited Mathematica and restarted and now with the "rebuilt" init.m file from John's program, it crashes like it always has. I am suspecting that it is some combination of the lines in the init.m file, not just a single one. But the puzzling thing is why does it not crash after completing all the steps in John's program? I looked at the init.m file after John's program ran and it is the same before exiting Mathematica as it is when starting Mathematica and it crashing. So there seems to be something extra that happens during startup that is not done when running this program like this. One other tidbit that seems odd -- if I delete the init.m file entirely and startup Mathematica I get two errors (same thing repeated twice) about ToExpression::notstrbox: FEPrivate`FrontEndResourceString[GetFEKernelInit] is not a string or a box. ToExpression can only interpret strings or boxes as Mathematica input. Is this pertinent? They go away with the problematic init.m file in place. I don't recall ever seeing this error before. I do have a couple of kernel configurations in the problematic init.m file, but with deleting the init.m file, they are gone, so not sure why this error would be here, as with the empty init.m file there are none listed than the default "Local" and there does not seem to be anything bogus there (only thing set is "Kernel name" of "Local", "Automatically launch on front end startup" is checked, and "Basic Options" has "Local Machine" set and "Kernel program:" set to "MathKernel", and all other boxes are unchecked). Any other suggestions? -- nevermind -- Well, I think I have figured it out partly. The problem seems to occur even without my init.m file (just removed it entirely) and then start up Mathematica, then open the Option Inspector and set the "View" to "as text" (default is "alphabetically"), then open the Documentation Center and the "Internal self-test error" pops up but no crash. Will now give this info to Wolfram and see if they can tell me why that it would matter what mode Option Inspector was running in. Would people try this out and see if you also get an "Internal self-test" error or a crash?? If you do please let me know and I will pass this along to Wolfram as well. Thanks everyone -- will let you know what I find out from Wolfram. And thanks very much to John Fultz -- without his program would not have wandered into the real clue. One minor change I did make to his program was to print a number in addition to the option so I could quickly read the screen and know where it would crash, even though it never did. Here is the revised program if anyone is interested... ii = 1; TestOption[opt_] := (Print["Option #", ii, " -- Testing option ", First[opt]]; ii = ii + 1; Pause[1]; SetOptions[$FrontEnd, opt]; FrontEndTokenExecute["OpenHelpLink"]; Pause[1]; MathLink`CallFrontEnd[ FrontEnd`NotebookClose[FrontEnd`DefaultHelpViewerNotebook[]]]); Scan[TestOption, Get[ToFileName[{$HomeDirectory}, "Old-init.m"]]]; By the way, the 217 line init.m file ended up being 38 different options, so obviously several lines were needed for some options. -Bob


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Dear Em.
Say this was sertainly Santa Claus day and he was the mail man, for I got six postal cards and a letter from Anna and Aunt Molly. You see now I have some job answering all these, but I welcome it. Now really, all the time we have is one afternoon and night every two days and then some times we do not get that afternoon. We sure do feel like sleeping the whole night, and any part of the day we have off is well use in cleaning up, washing under clothes, legging, pants and o.d. shirt besides hankercheif and other little things. We take a shower and change and wash our clothes every day when we get a chance. I am sorry I cant write a letter but I trust you will realize my position.
© Copyright 2008 by Richard Landers, All Rights Reserved. No reproduction without permission.


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Editors' note: In our review of the HTC Surround and Samsung Focus, we point out some of the more major features of Windows Phone 7, but for a more detailed look at the full operating system, please check out our in-depth review of Windows Phone 7.
HTC came out strong at the Windows Phone 7 launch event with the introduction of five handsets. Most were for the European and Asian markets, but AT&T landed the HTC Surround, while Sprint will get the HTC 7 Pro in early 2011. The Surround is unique in that it offers built-in surround-sound speakers with Dolby Mobile and SRS WOW HD technology--a cool but niche feature. As far as devices go, the Samsung Focus will be the best choice for most consumers. Of course, the bigger story here is Windows Phone 7. Microsoft's gamble to completely overhaul its mobile operating system paid off, resulting in a fun and easy-to-use interface and an updated feature list that keeps it in step with the iPhone and Android. There are certainly issues and omissions that need to addressed --and hopefully quickly on Microsoft's part--but Windows Phone 7 shouldn't be overlooked.
The HTC Surround will be available starting November 8, for $199.99 with a two-year contract.
The HTC Surround fits right into the company's portfolio of smartphones with its classic, corporate-appropriate look and high-quality construction. The handset measures 4.7 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide by 0.5 inch thick and weighs 5.82 ounces, so it's a tad on the hefty side but in turn, you get a very solid-feeling device. The soft-touch finish and metal frame around the screen also add to the phone's premium design.
Now, there's actually a reason for the extra bulk and that's the built-in Yamaha speakers. They hide behind the screen until you push the screen to the left. If you flip the phone around to the back, you'll also see there's a kickstand at the bottom that allows you to prop the phone on a flat surface for watching a video, listening to music, or taking a call hands-free. The speakers actually offer surround sound via Dolby Mobile and SRS WOW HD and to activate it, you just press the small button on the left-hand side of the speaker.
There's a noticeable difference when you do this, as the audio sounds richer and fuller. However, the overall sound quality didn't really knock our socks off. It's certainly better than most, but songs still sounded somewhat tinny. Also, during a speakerphone call, the volume, even at its highest level, was too low to have a conversation in a slightly noisier environment. For being the phone's highlighted feature, it's certainly not the selling point for the phone. We already felt like the speakers were bit of a superfluous item that would only appeal to a limited number of people, but now even more so.
Moving along, the Surround features a 3.8-inch, 480x800 pixel capacitive touch screen. It's crisp and bright, but colors don't quite pop off the screen as they do on the Samsung Focus' Super AMOLED screen. However, it's easy to read and viewable in daylight, and responsive.
The back, Start, and search keys are below the display, and like the Samsung Focus, HTC chose to go with touch-sensitive buttons. There's a volume rocker and a camera button on the right spine, and a power button and 3.5mm headphone jack on top of the device. On back, you'll find the camera and flash.
AT&T packages the HTC Surround with an AC adapter, a USB cable, a wired stereo headset, and reference material.
User interface
Windows Phone 7 is a complete and refreshing departure from previous versions of Windows Mobile. Microsoft essentially pressed the restart button and worked with a team of designers to create a mobile operating system based a number of principles, including elegance and simplicity, typography, motion, and relevance, which we mostly saw during this preview.
The change is immediately noticeable as soon as you pick up the phone. Microsoft stripped away all unnecessary information (almost too much actually--the status bar displaying battery life, signal strength, and so forth goes into hiding after a couple of seconds) and soft buttons, and created a Start screen that consists of "live tiles," which are essentially dynamic widgets to your favorite apps, contacts, and hubs and also display alerts, such as new e-mail and missed calls. You can rearrange the order of the tiles and remove them by doing a long press on the screen. You can also "pin" new tiles, but to do so, you must first navigate to the list of apps (press arrow to the right of the Start screen) or the People hub, find the item that you want to add, and then pin it to the Start screen.
Beyond the Start and apps menu, you will find the platform's Hub system. The idea behind hubs is to bring together related content into a single place for consumption and interaction, and it really showcases some of the work Microsoft has done on relevancy, organization, elegance, and typography. There are six hubs in total--People, Pictures, Games, Music + Video, Marketplace, and Office.
Within each hub, you will find a panoramic user interface with bold, attractive text splashed across the top to identify different subsections (aka Pivots) that you can swipe across and in some cases, a small contextual toolbar along the bottom of the screen to help you perform specific tasks to the app.
Now, some might complain that this type of navigation requires too much scrolling and can be overly complicated and admittedly, when compared to iOS and Android, this is true and certainly won't be for everybody. On the flip side, we found it absolutely wonderful to be able to do so many things from one place, without having to launch several apps, so we have to give Microsoft kudos for thinking of this kind of organization. We also very much appreciated the consistent user interface, since it made it easy to work each of the other hubs.
Overall, Windows Phone 7 provides a more pleasant navigation experience than previous iterations of Windows Mobile, mostly from an aesthetic standpoint but in other aspects too. As much as Microsoft focused on the typography and creating a chromeless user interface, it also concentrated on motion and as you launch apps and navigate through the different screens, you'll notice that some of the transitions are marked by turnstile motions. It's modern and fresh, but sometimes it can slow down navigation.
The back and Start buttons did their assigned jobs of returning to the previous page and Start screen, but we wish there was a way to bring up a list of your recently used apps as Android does, since it's easy to get lost once you start diving deeper into an app. In general, however, we found the touch interface and general navigation zippier than past versions of Windows Mobile.
There are things that could be improved, though. For example, there's only limited support for landscape mode. It works for messages, videos, and photos, the Web browser, and games. However, if you rotate the phone, the Start screen will remain in portrait mode. Microsoft said that user testing showed that customers were really only rotating the phone to type messages, but were otherwise using the phone in portrait mode. But what about maps? What about when you're listening to music on the Surround with the kickstand open and want to see what song is playing?
All things considered, will Windows Phone 7 resonate with consumers? We think so. It's interesting to note that several times throughout the review period, people commented on how they liked the user experience on Windows Phone 7 better than Android--both from a looks standpoint and user friendliness. The iPhone is still the one to beat in terms of ease of use, but in a competition for simplicity between Android and Windows Phone, we'd say the latter would win.
Along the same lines, there's something to Microsoft's decision to crack down on third-party customization. From the very beginning, the company said it wanted to provide a consist end-user experience regardless of the phone or provider and in the long run, this will help make the transition easier as users switch devices or move carriers. This should also prevent delays when pushing out software updates, since each custom user interface doesn't have to go through testing to ensure it works with the new software. OEMs and carriers also still have the opportunity to add their customizations. It's just a more subtle approach. For example, there's an HTC Hub that brings some of the familiar HTC UI elements, such as the animated weather widget, as well as highlights some the company's featured apps.
At the end of the day, we have to give Microsoft credit for being able to acknowledge that its old OS wasn't working and taking a chance on rebuilding something from the ground up. The end result is something fresh, fun, and functional.
Phone features
The HTC Surround's voice features include quad-band world roaming, a speakerphone, conference calling, voice dialing, text and multimedia messaging, and the full range of wireless options: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G, and GPS. The dialer app is simple and straightforward, though to access it as well as other phone options (mute or speaker) once on a call, you must tap a small icon to activate pull-down menu.
Like many other smartphones, Windows Phone 7 is able to merge contact information from different e-mail accounts and social-networking sites, but it's a bit limited in scope and capabilities right now. The OS draws from Facebook, Windows Live, Exchange, and your other e-mail accounts for contact data, and after setting up your device with these accounts, the phone immediately pulls in contact information.
Previously, there was no way to filter the contacts--it was all or nothing--but Microsoft added a feature where you can now exclude Facebook contacts that don't exist in your other synced accounts (for example, Outlook, Windows Live, and Gmail), which makes your address book manageable if your Facebook account is full of casual contacts.
We chose this option and imported our Facebook, Gmail, Windows Live, and Exchange accounts. The syncing process was painless and happened in the background, but we ended up with numerous duplicates for the same contact. It's easy enough to link profiles, but with the number of duplicates we had, it was tedious and annoying.
As we briefly mentioned in the Navigation section, the People hub also provides real-time updates to your friends' Facebook statuses, and allows you to quickly like or add a comment if you wish. You can easily update your own by tapping on your individual card from the contacts list. For the most part, you can access most of the information you would see on Facebook from within the People hub, but if there is something that requires you to go outside the hub, you have to sign into your account via the browser as the dedicated Facebook app isn't available yet.
One other notable omission that might irk a lot of people is the lack of Twitter integration. This isn't to say it won't be offered in the future, but as of now, it's not supported at launch. It would also be nice to have a Favorite category in the People hub. The Recent list doesn't quite cut it.
E-mail and calendar
Windows Phone 7 offers a variety of e-mail support, including the standard POP3/IMAP accounts and, of course, Exchange/OWA. For most personal accounts, setup is a simple matter of entering your log-in ID and password, and we were able to sync up our Windows Live and Gmail accounts in a matter of seconds. Setting up Outlook requires some more information, such as server and domain info, but again, we didn't encounter any problems here. That said, for Outlook accounts not connected via Exchange ActiveSync, you must sync through the cloud (via Windows Live/Hotmail) in order to get your calendar and contacts synced to the phone.
We should note that you don't have to have a Windows Live ID to start using the phone, but if you want to access the Marketplace or Xbox Live, it is required, so you'll most likely want to create one or log in, for access to apps at the very least. This will also back up your phone's data to windowsphone.live.com where you can also manage your contacts, photos, and use several tools to locate or wipe your phone in case it gets lost or stolen.
Windows Phone 7 doesn't offer a combined in-box; a separate in-box is set up for each of your accounts. The e-mail experience is the same regardless of which client you're using, and it's strikingly simple in appearance, though that isn't a reflection of the app's capabilities. Messages are filtered by all, unread, flagged, or urgent, and also features a robust search function that can find keywords within the text of the message or within the e-mail fields. It's also a treat that you can simply tap to the left of a message(s) and press the small trash icon at the bottom to delete it.
You can configure the device to sync e-mail at different time intervals, ranging from manually to as items arrive. We received our messages as they arrived, sometimes before they even hit our real in-box. We didn't have any issues download attachments, but be aware that initially you have to manually sync your folders.
Though you don't get a unified in-box, you do get a combined calendar, with appointments color-coded by account. The calendar app provides views by agenda, day, and month, with a similarly clean and minimalist view as e-mail. There is no week view, however. Microsoft said it didn't find necessary, but we think it would've been a helpful, especially as you're preparing for the work week.
You can also easily create new appointments using the contextual toolbar at the bottom of the screen, and set such options as a reminder, occurrence, and status, but we weren't able to access our corporate directory to add attendees, only those listed in our contacts list. If you receive a meeting request, there are simple icons for accepting, declining or responding to invites, and there's even an option to send a note to all the meeting attendees if you're running late.


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We get it. You don't want to work too hard to save energy at your house. That's fine. But there are still some really, really easy things you can do today to trim that electric and/or gas bill that haunts your mailbox month in, month out.
After all, you don't exactly have to be Bob Vila to save a little bit of money while greening up your home.
Still, we'll take this in baby steps. First, we'll show you the super-simple stuff, and by the fifth tip -- it'll still be super-simple. Wouldn't want to tax you, after all.
OK, here goes. All you need to know in this first step is to turn things to the left, and then turn things to the right ...
No. 5: Change your bulbs
Welcome to the 21st Century. Welcome to the CFL! That's right, it's time to stop buying those old-fashioned incandescent bulbs. They served their purpose for generations, but the CFL is the way to go.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, CFLs will save you about $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulb's lifetime.
They also produce about 75 percent less heat, which means they won't burn your pinkies when you try to unscrew one.
Every single hardware store (worth its salt) on the planet is stocked with CFLs. Visit www.energystar.gov to figure out the right bulbs for your fixtures.
Wasn't that easy? Good. It's going to stay easy. Our next tip involves turning off something once it reaches a certain cycle. Intrigued? Well, click on and all will be revealed ...
No. 4: Air-dry dishwasher dishes
This is almost too easy. First of all, don't believe anyone who says washing dishes by hand is more energy efficient than using a dishwasher. Wrong. You use more water washing and rinsing a load of dishes by hand.
That doesn't mean the common dishwasher won't try to take a few bucks out of your wallet. When the device's heat cycle kicks in to dry the dishes, that's when you step in.
This is when you turn the thing off, and simply let the dishes air dry. Yep, good old-fashioned air is less expensive than electricity! If you have a few kids who have finished their homework and are looking for something constructive to do, instruct the monsters to take a dry towel to hasten the process.
Don't worry, the next tip isn't much more difficult than that. But it may require you to walk down a flight of stairs. But in the end, you may breathe easier ...
No. 3: Replace furnace filter
This is so easy to forget to do. But changing your furnace filter is not only a no-brainer, but super, super easy. Just figure out where it is, lift out the old one and slip in a new one.
Furnace filters are also basically priced in three stages: cheap, not-so-cheap and moderately expensive. The cheap filters are about $1 and you change them every month without fail. If you forget, they'll clog up fast. The not-so-cheap filters should be changed every three months or so.
As for the moderately expensive filters, the experts say they're the way to go. You don't have to change them as often as the not-so-cheap filter, and they block a lot more dust and dirt. You'll find in the long run, your furnace won't have to work as hard to heat the house.
Work. Oh, that four-letter word. The next tip involves work. Sorry. But it's still super-easy ...
No. 2: Install a door sweep
Once upon a time, the bottom of a dunce's door had about 1/16th of an inch of light shining through. The dunce, not to be confused with the writer of this article, decided he would do something about it.
In the dunce's basement was weather stripping for the bottom of a door. In more common vernacular, a door sweep. The dunce, however, let it sit there for about 15 years before he touched it. He thought it would be really hard to install. What a dunce.
He took the slim strip of plastic out of its paper container and went upstairs. He went to the front door and measured. He cut the strip the proper length, removed the backing to reveal the adhesive strip -- and stuck it to the bottom of the door. The act took about 30 seconds, and the bottom of the door suddenly didn't have expensive hot air whistling outside!
When the dunces' bride heard about this, she said: "You waited 15 years to do something so simple? Why?"
Whatever. OK, time to deliver our fifth and final tip ... one that will electrify you ...
No. 1: Install a programmable thermostat
This one basically involves a screwdriver. But it's still really easy to do, and the payoff can be huge.
According the federal government, you can save as much as 10 percent a year on your heating/cooling bills by turning back your thermostat while you're at work and/or asleep.
The simple way to do this is to install a battery-powered programmable thermostat. Just turn the power off to where your old dial thermostat is located, unhook it and install the new one. It's just a few wires off, a few wires on. Not a big deal all.
When the new one is online, you can program it to any temperature for any time of the day or week. Wintertime and you're at work? No need to heat an empty house. Back off a few degrees. Summertime and you're at the beach for the day? Have the temp go up automatically. No need to keep it cool if you're not there.
You can also use the manual override without affecting the rest of the daily or weekly program. The other person in the house, for example, might want it set on 68 instead of 63. She's sick of winter, and wants a break for a few hours! No problem. But since you bought it -- and installed it-- you reserve the right to hike it down to 59 the second her eyes shut for the evening.
It's only fair!


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AF Holdings, represented by infamous copyright trolls Prenda Law, voluntarily withdrew its copyright infringement claims against the defendant, an alleged BitTorrent infringer. Defendant sought to recover his costs and attorney's fees pursuant to the Copyright Act, which provides that:
In any civil action under this title, the court in its discretion may allow the recovery of full costs by or against any party other than the United States or an officer thereof. Except as otherwise provided by this title, the court may also award a reasonable attorney's fee to the prevailing party as part of the costs.
The court found that all factors for an award of costs and attorney's fees weighed in defendant's favor:
- Degree of success: There was no dispute that defendant completely prevailed in the case.
- Frivolousness/Objective Unreasonableness: Plaintiff's case was frivolous and objectively unreasonable in that it never presented any evidence (although it had the opportunity to do so) to support its claim that it had standing to assert a claim for copyright infringement. Moreover, the court found that plaintiff did not do a proper investigation to determine defendant was the one in the household who committed the alleged infringement. Instead, it simply alleged that he fit the best demographic of one who would infringe.
- Motivation: The court found that it did not appear plaintiff was motivated to protect the copyright at issue, but merely to coerce settlements.
- Compensation/Deterrence: The court awarded fees as a deterrent to copyright trolls everywhere: other persons or entities that might contemplate a similar business model that is not intended to protect copyrighted work but instead designed to generate revenues through suits and coerced settlements.
- Furthering the Purpose of the Copyright Act: The primary objective of the Copyright Act is to encourage the production of original literary, artistic, and musical expression for the good of the public. But here, the court found, plaintiff had not acted to protect original expression but rather to capitalize on coerced settlements.
Based on these factors, and after considering the number of hours spent and the hourly rate of defendant's counsel, the court ordered plaintiff to pay $19,420.38 in attorney's fees and $3,111.55 in costs (mainly for electronic discovery and deposition costs). Copyright trolls be warned.
AF Holdings LLC v. Navasca, 2013 WL 3815677 (N.D.Cal. July 22, 2013)


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I love my blueberry bran muffins, but to mix it up a little bit, and because I'm rather muffin-obsessed of late, I came up with this variation. Makes 12 muffins.
The Ingredients:
1 c wheat bran
3/4 c unbleached white flour
3/4 c whole wheat flour
2/3 c sugar
1/2 c cocoa powder
1/4 c ground flax
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1 1/2 c almond milk
1/3 c olive oil
1 T apple cider vinegar
2 t vanilla
1 t almond extract
1 1/2 c frozen cherries
The Process:
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Whisk together dry ingredients.
- Stir in wet ingredients until just combined.
- Fold in cherries.
- Pour into oiled muffin tins, and bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes.


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B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Unofficial DataVolley Statistics * Official Statistics
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 13, 2011) – The U.S. Men's A2 Volleyball Team got off to a good start at the 2011 Pan American Cup with a 25-14, 25-12, 25-12 victory over the Bahamas on Monday at the at the Robert Guertin Centre in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada.
The U.S. Men's A2 Team (1-0) will play Panama at 3 p.m. PT on Tuesday. Bahamas (0-1) will play Argentina.
Matches can be viewed online at www.sportscanada.tv/index.php/2011-pan-american-mens-volleyball-cup.
The U.S. Men's A2 Team dominated Bahamas, out-killing the island nation 34-25, out-blocking it 8-3 and scoring on four aces while Bahamas had none. Bahamas was also hurt by 29 team errors while the U.S. committed 10.
According to the unofficial DataVolley statistics, the U.S. Men's A2 Team's hitting efficiency was 0.608 and its kill percentage was 64.7. The Bahamas' hitting efficiency was 0.123 and its kill percentage was 38.5.
"We are very pleased with how we came out," U.S. Team Captain Robert Tarr (Cape Canaveral, Fla.) said. "All the guys were chomping at the bit to get into action."
Every player on the U.S. roster competed in the match.
Outside hitter Jayson Jabonsky (Yorba Linda, Calif.) paced the U.S. Men's A2 Team with 10 points on seven kills and a match-high three aces. Murphy Troy (St. Louis, Mo.), who came off the bench to play opposite added seven points on five kills, one block and one ace.
"It was good to play a real match today," U.S. Head Coach Gordon Mayforth (St. Petersburg, Fla.)said. "The players have been ready to play since last Wednesday after a good three weeks of training."
Princtanique Wilson led Bahamas with seven points on seven kills.
Starting opposite Will Price (Laytonsville, Md.) scored six points on four kills and two blocks. Middle blocker David Smith (Saugus, Calif.) totaled six points on six kills. Outside hitter Jeff Menzel (Santa Barbara, Calif.) contributed five points on three kills and two blocks.
Middle blocker Andy Hein (Carol Stream, Ill.) totaled four points on three kills and one block. Tarr at outside hitter, added four points on four kills.
Substitute middle blocker Ryan Meehan (Dana Point, Calif.) scored two points on a kill and a block. Starting setter Jonathan Winder (Irvine, Calif.) scored a point on a block and backup setter Kawika Shoji (Honolulu, Hawaii) scored a point on a kill.
According to the unofficial DataVolley statistics, the U.S. Men's A2 Team finished with 30 receptions and four errors. 87 percent of the receptions were positive and 53 percent were excellent. Libero Dustin Watten (Long Beach, Calif.) led the way with 12 receptions (three errors), 75 percent positive and 53 percent excellent. Jablonsky added 10 receptions (no errors), 100 percent positive and 70 percent excellent.
Mayforth started Jablonsky and Tarr at outside hitter, Smith and Hein at middle blocker, Price at opposite, Winder at setter and Watten at libero.
Troy started the third set for Price and Menzel started for Tarr. Shoji started for Winder. Meehan and Garrett Muagututia (Oceanside, Calif.) played as substitutes.
2011 Pan American Cup
June 13-18 in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
U.S. Men's A2 Team
No. Name (Position, Height, Weight, Hometown, College)
1 Jeff Menzel (OH, 6-6, 210, Santa Barbara, Calif., UC Santa Barbara)
4 Garrett Muagututia (OH, 6-5, 225, Oceanside, Calif., UCLA)
6 Murphy Troy (OH, 6-8, 240, St. Louis, Mo., USC)
7 Jonathan Winder (S, 6-8, 216, Irvine, Calif., Pepperdine)
8 Andy Hein (MB, 6-11, 232, Carol Stream, Ill., Pepperdine)
9 Ryan Meehan (MB, 6-8, 209, Dana Point, Calif., Long Beach State)
11 Kawika Shoji (S, 6-3, 194, Honolulu, Hawaii, Stanford)
12 David Smith (MB, 6-7, 190, Saugus, Calif., UC Irvine)
16 C Robert Tarr (OH, 6-6, 200, Cape Canaveral, Fla., Long Beach State)
17 Will Price (Opp, 6-5, 207, Laytonsville, Md., Penn State)
18 Jayson Jablonsky (OH, 6-5, 205, Yorba Linda, Calif., UC Irvine)
19 Dustin Watten (L, 6-0, 162, Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach State)
Head Coach: Gordon Mayforth (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Team Leader: Jon Roberts
Assistant Coach: Sean Byron
Therapist/Trainer: Shawn Patchell
Technical Coordinator: Jacob Schick
Medical Support: Chad Eichten
Schedule (all times PT)
Group A
June 13: Brazil def. Mexico 25-22, 25-20, 25-15
June 14: Mexico def. Venezuela 25-16, 23-25, 23-25, 25-15, 15-13
June 15: Brazil vs. Venezuela, noon
Group B
June 13: Canada def. Puerto Rico 25-17, 25-17, 25-17
June 14: Puerto Rico def. Dominican Republic 25-27, 25-23, 28-26, 25-17
June 15: Canada vs. Dominican Republic, 5 p.m.
Group C
June 13: USA def. Bahamas 25-14, 25-12, 25-12
June 13: Argentina def. Panama 25-16, 25-23, 25-21
June 14: Argentina def. Bahamas 25-20, 25-16, 25-9
June 14: USA def. Panama 25-14, 25-14, 25-11
June 15: Panama vs. Bahamas, 10 a.m.
June 15: USA vs. Argentina, 3 p.m.
June 16 at 10 a.m.: Classification 5-10
June 16 at noon: Classification 5-10
June 16 at 3 p.m. Quarterfinals
June 16 at 5 p.m. Quarterfinals
June 17 at 8 a.m.: 9th/10th Place
June 17 at 10 a.m.: Classification 5/8
June 17 at noon: Classification 5/8
June 17 at 3 p.m.: Semifinals
June 17 at 5 p.m.: Semifinals
June 18 at 10 a.m.: 7th/8th Place
June 18 at noon: 5th/6th Place
June 18 at 3 p.m.: Bronze Medal
June 18 at 5 p.m.: Gold Medal


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As a mortgage agent I offer wide range of services suited for many different customers and situations. On my website you will find information on various mortgage products from many mortgage institutions as well as tools to let you find out what is available to you. You can also see how making extra payments or changing your payment schedule can shorten the time needed to pay off your mortgage.
I am licensed mortgage agent located in Hamilton area and provide full spectrum of mortgage services in Golden Horseshoe area and the rest of Ontario.
There are many different types of mortgages I offer to my customers:
No money down mortgages
Residential mortgages
Mortgages for first time buyers
New to Canada mortgages
Commercial mortgages
Mortgages for self-employed (BFS)
Secured Lines of Credit
Equity take-out mortgages
Second homes
Vacation properties
Rental properties
Rent-to-Own programs
Foreclosure and Power of Sale situations
While browsing this website you can use many tools which are provided on this website. Whether you want to calculate you weekly mortgage payment, bi-weekly mortgage payment, monthly mortgage payment, create amortization table for your particular mortgage and even see the effects of regular and bulk mortgage overpayments on your mortgage you can all do it right here. There is also very comprehensive mortgage dictionary covering most if not all mortgage terms which you can check whenever you need.
Occasionally new articles are posted in the blog section on the topics of mortgages and real estate with special interest in Ontario's situation. Check our blog often as new information is being posted whenever necessity or new developments dictate.
And last but not least you can always contact me when you need more information, are looking to be pre-approved for your mortgage, need guidance on your credit history and ways to improve it or have any other questions which need to be answered I will be happy if you give me a chance to assist you.
|Current Mortgage Rates
|Mortgage Term
|1 year
|2 year
|3 year
|4 year
|5 year
|7 year
|10 year
|ARM 3 years
|ARM 5 years


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Tower, this is Ghost Rider, requesting a flyby...but it'd better involve an actual plane.
Last month, a producer of the upcoming, anticipated "Top Gun" sequel said Tom Cruise's iconic character, Maverick, would be in the film. On Saturday, the 53-year-old star talked about the planned movie with the Reuters news wire and explained his vision.
"It would be fun. I would like to get back into those jets," he said. "It would have to be practical. I don't want any CGI jets. I want to shoot it like how we shot the first one."
U.S. & World
Cruise made his comments at the London premiere of his latest movie, "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation," in which he performs several dangerous stunts. The film hits theaters on Friday, July 31.
"Top Gun 2" update: Tom Cruise to return? Find out what a producer said about the sequel and Maverick
"Top Gun," released in 1986, remains one of Cruise's most popular movies and sees him playing a fighter pilot. The sequel, which doesn't have an official title, will incorporate more advanced military aircraft, such as drones, co-producer Jerry Bruckheimer had said in 2014. However, this does not mean there will be no pilots.
"The concept is, basically, are the pilots obsolete because of drones," he told HuffPost Live. "Cruise is going to show them that they're not obsolete."


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Financial Facts: Credit card debt – friend or foe?
Special to the Daily
Consolidate your debt, eliminate your debt, live debt free, new lower interest rates, roll all your debt into one credit card. We all have seen these ads that promise to get you in terrific financial shape with little effort on your part and then your life will be fine and dandy. Sounds great at a brief glance, but it really may cause you more problems than you were in before.
First off, not all debt is bad. Having a mortgage debt may mean you own real estate and you are building equity. It also means that you will have mortgage interest to deduct at federal tax time, and that too is good.
Having a credit card or two is also good, especially if you pay them in full each month.
Every month, as you pay your bills on time, it builds your credit history. By paying your bills on time, your credit scores should rise; and when it comes time to buy a new home, the mortgage process goes much quicker.
But do not fall into the trap that some credit card companies and second-mortgage lenders offer. Some of these companies are less than honest when they advertise financial freedom and a debt-free future.
Keep in mind that like all businesses, they are in business to make a profit. They provide a service that may or may not really benefit you, but they do charge for their service. And I do believe that these businesses will all say that it is not their business to tell you exactly how their service will or will not benefit you.
As a consumer it is fully your responsibility to investigate the services offered to you and you need to make the final determination as to the benefits you may derive by using the service.
So, with all of that said, here are my thoughts on how you should structure your debts and credit situation. First and foremost, have no more than three credit cards. Generally three name brand cards, such as a Visa, MasterCard and Discover will be accepted in most all places of business. Having more than three does give you the potential of more debt, but that is the only thing that it does give you. The credit reporting companies start lowering your credit scores when you have more than three credit cards, especially if you carry balances on all of them.
The second item you need to know is that the longer you have a particular card, the better your credit score can become. I carry two cards and I have had them in excess of 15 years. I know for a fact that my credit score has improved over the years as I have paid the debt on time and have not applied for every credit card that offers some minor incentive.
If you have more than three cards, I suggest that you pay off and cancel the specialty ones and stick with the name-brand cards. Call the 800 number on the cards that you want to cancel and ask that the account be cancelled and a letter be sent to you that document the closure. You can then pay the debt as you are billed, but the temptation to continue using these cards is eliminated.
Plus, do not pay one credit card debt by transferring the debt to another credit card. This just postpones the payment and the credit reporting companies can track this activity and it lowers your scores.
Your small amount of work now can pay off when it comes time to buy a home, car or boat, or any major purchase.
For answers to your mortgage related questions call Bob Kieber at (970) 453-4700 or email him at firstname.lastname@example.com. Bob is a local mortgage lender with Centennial Bank. He has 30-plus years of professional experience in real estate, finance and investments, and is a longtime resident of the High Country. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender. NMLS Bank #401640 Broker #289610. For tax benefit information please consult with a professional tax advisor. The opinions expressed are those of the individual, and do not necessarily reflect those of Centennial Bank.
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For All You College Grads
Posted June 16, 2011on:
I am two years out of college. Actualizing that in my mind is strange. It feels like it's been ten, long, unpredictable, and eventful years (but I definitely don't look that way, wink*).
Generally speaking, my college experience was probably similar to most. I was always surrounded by friends, always meeting new people, and always planning and looking forward to the next big get together. Most of my meals were eaten in groups, a week did not go by where someone did not crash on our couch, I never woke up to an empty apartment, and there was always someone willing to play beer pong with you, no matter what time of day. We studied together, watched Gossip Girl together, abused our livers together, and laughed together- always so much laughter. I never felt lonely, never felt bored (unless I was in class), and never had trouble finding someone to share a memory with.
Graduating and entering the working world was a harsh reality shake. Looking back on my life after college thus far, I struggled. Before I could say, "cheers, we graduated!", I was working a 9-5 job, eating my meals alone, being bored out of my mind, and not making many new friends. I spent more time in my car by myself than I ever had before and had less motivation to be social than I had before. Hanging out was no longer spontaneous and had to be planned, being randomly hung over all day was now much more painful, and skipping work was not nearly as easy as skipping class.
Since I am very much a mind-over-matter type of gal, at the time, I refused to believe that I was not happy. It was not that I wanted to go back to the college years, I just missed that family feel. I have an old soul so I liked the idea of growing up, but I did not like the idea of not having a steady support group to share it with.
On top of it all, single felt so much different than it used to! Single used to mean that I had too many options to choose from and was readily available for new ones at any moment. Now single felt like a synonym for lonely and a precursor to a spinster, old cat lady lifestyle.
As I said, it has been two years and I am only starting to adjust. However, I know I am not alone in this struggle. How? Because I see a lot more sad eyes in the working world than I ever did in college. I believe many people are struggling at this very moment, but without a known solution, we learn to deal with it instead of change it.
In college things just happen and outside factors are constantly pushing us forward. We flow to this party, drink too much, then flow home… the next day. We attend class, are told exactly what to do, do it, and then repeat. Our four years are planned in advance down to the very hour, we have a good idea what life will be like in the next few months, and we are not concerned with being unemployed or not having health insurance. As long as there is Plan B then there is nothing to worry about! (totally joking)…
In post college life, there is no set path. Anything could happen or nothing could happen and it is all up to you. It is up to you if you have a job. It is up to you if you stay in a job you don't like of if you choose to pursue a job you do like. It is up to you to set your own goals, challenge yourself, and keep learning. It is up to you where you live, how much money you save, and who you chose to spend time with. It is up to you to put the effort into meeting new people, maintaining relationships, and creating a network of like-minded people. It is up to you if you chose to feel lonely or do something to change that.
There is no blueprint or case study. No one's path will mirror your own. Nothing is guaranteed. So how are we supposed to know what to do?
Stay true to yourself and follow your intuition. Figure out what is important to you, and go after it zealously. Don't get comfortable with mediocre. Cut yourself slack… if you are not making mistakes, then you are not trying.
I have made large changes in my life recently. For example, I quit a steady job to pursue writing, am selecitvely choosing a fantastic group of goddesses to surround myself with, have decided to be nothing but myself in every situation (especially with men!), and have made up my mind to fight for what I want (assuming I figure out what that is).
Although the future is unstable, deep down I feel a sense of peace knowing that I am not taking life lightly. Even on days when June gloom makes it hard to get out of bed, I feel my savings account slowly dwindling, and my love life looks like a huge zero on paper, I know I am growing and heading somewhere positive.
Growing up is hard! But if we do it together as a collective group of unique individuals, it really can be exciting to realize how much power you have on the outcome of your life.
Cleo xx
5 Responses to "For All You College Grads"
Finding yourself can be a beautiful thing
You're crazy, then it's probably best for everyone that you keep looking :)
This is a great Post!
Amazing smart and i like your through very much!!