text:
In spite of the myriad of problems in the way of libraries in Sudan to apply modern information technology techniques, they are likely to have very little choice in this 21st Century. As Sudanese are clamouring for development so is the world focusing more attention on the potentially dangerous situation in Sudan, albeit, for diverse purposes. To meet the legitimate aspiration of the people for rapid socio-political and economic development, the libraries, being engines of development are faced with serious challenges are basic levels of technology transfer. These include:
4-1 Power Sources
are basic requirement at even initial level of technology transfer in information institutions. Basic electricity is necessary to provide power for IT infrastructure. There are various ways to generate a stable source of Stability. Sudan has currently installed electric generation capacity of 500 megawatts (MW). Of this, around 60% is accounted for by thermal (mainly oil) and 40% by hydropower. Hydroelectric power generation varies greatly over time, however, according to rainfall patterns. Sudan's total electricity generation was 1.760 billion kilowatt hours (kwh) in 1999. Also Sudan has plans to add additional generating capacity. This is considered, as popular and cheapest source, in addition, solar and diesel energy are more reliable for rural areas of some parts of Sudan and to run mobile libraries. Both sources are graceful in powering IT system in case of power failure and scheduled programs of distribution of electricity. So distribution and reliability are other factors are to be considered. Typically to improve these factors, IT infrastructure was equipped with UPS (uninterruptible power supply) which provides protection against power and line noise which could be harmful to sensitive electric and mechanic part of the system. It is also used in powering the IT system from batteries.
4-2. Information Technology:
The libraries need to be at the vanguard of technology transfer from the developed world to the developing economy of Sudan. To meet this expectation, the Sudanese libraries must provide a link between local researchers, lecturers and scholars and their counterparts in other parts of the world. Internet connectivity, for example, is about the surest way of achieving this objective. All users of the Internet enjoy a whole range of services such as electronic mail, file transfer protocol, database access, and so on.
Unfettered access to databases around the world through the Internet offers a great opportunity for scientists and technologists in Sudan to acquire knowledge from their colleagues elsewhere. The Internet could also afford Sudanese scientists and technologists the opportunity to collaborate with their counterparts around the world on research projects.
The author calls attention to the fact that, increasingly, research is carried out by multinational teams. According to citation analysis of Sudan Bibliographical database and International Databases (CD-ROM and Internet) of NCR-DIC, there has been an enormous increase in recent years in the number of research papers resulting from international collaboration. Whereas the number of papers with international co-authors rose by 201% from 1981 - 2002 more than 80% of such co-authored articles involved writers from the developed countries while only 0.08% involved authors from Sudan.
For Sudanese researchers to be able to collaborate more significantly with their counterparts in other parts of the world, they need access to the Internet especially through their local libraries. It must be reiterated that such collaboration between researchers from African as well as Arab and their counterparts in the West and North is highly desirable as it can promote technology transfer.
Moreover, NCR-DIC set up Microfiche Technology in 1988 to facilitate the acquisition of documents related to Sudan, which cannot be easily obtained in hard copy. These include government document, theses, existing special library Collections of older documents now out of print, and the documents from Libraries outside Khartoum such as Gezira. Its system fits into the computerized cataloguing system very easily through the microfiche accessioning system. Each document on the fiche is given an accession number and this is added to the Catalogue record on the computer when the document is catalogued. If an online search identifies references on the fiche can be retrieved from the Storage cabinet by using the accession number, as the fiches are stored in accession number sequence.
Also NCR-DIC had introduced Microcomputer Technology using CDS/ISIS based Library system that is advanced non-numerical information storage and retrieval software developed by UNESCO since 1985. CDS/ISIS is an integrated and Multilanguage package offering all the basic features demanded for a database management system including: database definition; data entry; indexing; retrieval; printing, some utilities; database management and data exchange. CDS/ISIS has become the software of choice for the developing world, but it also enjoys extensive use in Canada, Australia, and Western European countries. Cuba, Vietnam, and China have also used and developed the software for their national libraries and archives. Some of Library institutions of UNSECO members have succeeded in encountering CDS/ISIS databases on the Web.
This paper refers to the development of a microcomputer-based system using the Micro CDS/ISIS (English and Arabic versions). It comprises the application interfaces for creating a machine-readable catalogue and for information retrieval. The CDS/ISIS software is distributed free to libraries and information centers all over the world by UNESCO where in Sudan, NCR-DIC coordinates the distribution of the software and provides training on it. CDS/ISIS has a wide application as an indexing tool but its flexibility has extended its use to library automation applications like cataloguing and information retrieval. This is because CDS/ISIS comes with a built-in subset of the Pascal language that allows local customization and development of user applications and interfaces. Many such customized applications have been reported in the literature (Ghobrial, 1992). Some good interfaces have also been developed to complement the information retrieval capability in CDS/ISIS.
NCR-DIC system developed whose machine-readable catalogue based on the standard Common Communication Format (CCF). It is complemented with the information retrieval interface, which has full search and retrieval functions, including keyword searching. The electronic catalogue created form the resource database that can be used to teach and give hands-on experience on on-line information retrieval.
Conversion of record formats of other databases, which are either on CD-ROM or floppy disks to NCR-DIC databases, which is accomplished through conversion programs. Such type of conversion is very limited as compared to keying from keyboard including data elements not available in the imported databases. Generally conversion of original records can be made to suit NCR-DIC database format, which is ISO 2709.
This results in development of following NCR-DIC systems:
System |
Objective |
Output |
-Support research and development projects -Develop library policies, the structure and procedures for acquisitions and technical processing -Enhance information culture |
NCR-DIC Library (R&D Library) -Sudan Collection database (Scientific Sudanese heritage) whose online catalogue (in Arabic and English) can be retrieved. -Accession Bulletin for New Publications |
-Identifies, abstracts, and indexes studies and research paper s of relevance to Sudan currently published or presented at conferences or accepted for high degrees by scientists in Sudan or aboard -Disseminates Scientific and technical, social and economic findings related to Sudan |
Sudan Science Abstracts (SSA) which are extracted from National Bibliographical database Biannual Journal and 26 volumes were issued. |
Identifies current researches, active sources of expertise among researchers -Facilitates communication among researchers, managers of research and Funding agencies |
National Register for Current Researches (NRCR) database |
Serves as conduit for sharing, disseminating and using information in support of R&D projects in different phases |
_ Malaria Bibliography (unpublished), 1991 -Water Resources in Sudan List (unpublished), 1998 - Health Database for Ministry of Health, 1998 -Bibliography of Sudanese Medicinal plants database (1999) - Records of Researchers of National Centre For Research database (1999) - Records of Researchers of Ministry of Science and Technology database (at Stage of data Collection) |
-Facilitates Periodical acquisition and consequently national cooperation among Sudanese Libraries - Enhances better periodical delivery policies in the country -Provides a cost effective necessary |
Union Catalogues for Periodicals in Sudanese Libraries database |
The development of the Windows version was the result of a strategic development policy decision aiming at maintaining the leading role CDS/ISIS has played and is still playing on the international scene, which resulted:
· The complete rewriting of the software in C++, in order to provide a common standardized language for all the versions (MS-DOS, WINDOWS, and UNIX), thus reducing maintenance costs;
· The adoption of a multi-platform software development system in order to increase the level of portability to different hardware and operating systems (covering therefore a whole range of computers from stand alone PC's to powerful mini-computers);
· The implementation of a client-server architecture using market-standard interfaces.
No conversion is needed when moving from CDS/ISIS DOS to CDS/ISIS for Windows. However, formatting language functions are just 95% compatible. In some cases you may find some syntax errors appearing: you may have to adapt your display format to the new one. In terms of search engine, the two versions are totally compatible: both can use the same I/F (inverted file). The data entry worksheet is also compatible but the screens will appear different. CDS/ISIS for Windows (WinIsis) is 100% compatible with all Windows Operating Systems, which can be used as a platform for developing simple applications using its powerful formatting language. New commands for handling nice presentations are now available as well as hypertext capabilities.
A number of tools for making CDS/ISIS databases on the Internet are available. Some of the tools are distributed free-of-charge and available for downloading e.g.
· JavaISIS 3.0 Client/Server suite for CDS/ISIS databases (UNESCO) databases on the Internet. It provides its clients with advanced remote database management functions such as: browse, query, data entry, export and print.
· The WWWISIS server, versions 3 and 4
· ISIAM, publication on NT servers - free (built with ISIS_DLL)
In addition, the CD-ROM technology affords libraries in Sudan a unique opportunity to acquire information materials to meet the needs of their users. Ghobrial (2002) has extolled the virtues of the CD-ROM and highlighted its potentials for researchers in Sudan. Apart from storage space economy, the CD-ROM provides access to information held by important databases without laying cables. This is very significant considering that lack of good telephone services is one of the major obstacles to computerization and networking by libraries in Sudan during those decades. Furthermore, the full text compact discs might also prove more secure than print copies; it is impossible to mutilate them by cutting out pages to be taken home. Mutilation and stealing of information materials is known to be a serious problem facing libraries all over Sudan.
One sometimes hears the Internet characterized as the world's library for the digital age. This description does not stand up under even casual examination. The Internet and particularly its collection of multimedia resources known, as the World Wide Web was not designed to support the organized publication and retrieval of information as libraries are. It has evolved into what might be thought of as a chaotic repository for the collective output of the world's digital printing presses. So, Digital Technologies enable ultra rapid access to the richest sources, wherever they are located in the world's collections, and the rapid exchange of commentaries in electronic forums or videoconferences. These new possibilities favour an 'extensive' reading, the comparison of diverse texts and viewpoints, multidisciplinary transversality, a "conversation" between readers. They are beginning to have a considerable impact, as much on the individual mechanism of the appropriation of texts, as on the sociology of reading. True polytextuality - in which diverse types of texts and images, sounds, films, data banks, mail services, interactive networks may mutually resist or interfere with one another - this process of reading generates progressively a new dimension - polymorphic, transversal, and dynamic. We may call it 'metareading', which is becoming a new driving force of culture. Instead of aprioristic strategies that envisage cataloguing every document using a universal classification, hypertextuality prefers a tactic of using small steps, capable of binding them together after the event, whole corpora generated from research and particular points of view. It wagers, in short, on the plurality of the world of documentation. In other words, the ideal of coherent and convergent, unified knowledge (of which the library would be the microcosm). At the same time that it explodes the limits of text, hypertextuality revives one of the founding questions of culture: by what mediations can private experience and collective practices enter into an exchange?
4-3. Automated information services:
The economy of Sudan has so seriously declined that it is unable to provide basic teaching and research facilities in its tertiary institutions and research institutes. To provide its users access to the best of teaching and research materials available in the world, timely, and at least cost, Sudanese libraries must automate their services and form networks. Most of the problems associated with acquisitions and collection management in general would be over for Sudanese libraries once they are on the web.
4-4. Sustenance of electronic Publishing:
As publishing goes electronic, many primary journals and secondary services previously acquired by libraries through normal subscription to hard copies can only be accessed through the Internet (Arunachalam, 1999). Due to the lack of appreciation of decision makers has hinted that publications such as Current Contents Connect, SciFinder (Chemical Abstracts) and multidisciplinary citation indexes such as Web of Science are available on the World Wide Web, though at a fee that most university and research libraries in Sudan cannot afford.
Grant led the cost implication to libraries of Sudan to access to journals published on the Internet is very high. However, of even greater concern is that any library that is not computerized has, as it were, automatically cut off its users from access to important journals available only on the World Wide Web. This development poses a great challenge to Sudanese libraries that have the onerous responsibility to meet the information needs of the users especially for research and development.
4-5. Information networks and Internet Connectivity Projected Sudan to the World:
Sudan is very rich in culture and has great tourism and investment potentials. While documentation and other records on Sudanese cultural heritage and investment potentials abound locally, such information is yet to be sufficiently marketed to the outside world, which are discussed intensively in workshops and seminars individually or collectively. With the opportunities offered by modern information technologies, Sudanese libraries have a great chance of projecting Sudan positively to the world thereby attracting foreign investments and promoting tourism. In spite of everything, abundant indigenous knowledge, the outcome of local research efforts into various fields of life, including agriculture, medicine, science and technology abound all over Sudan. These are scattered on library shelves and in private offices in form of grey literature and are largely unutilized. Since such materials can easily become part of the collections of libraries in Sudan, such indigenous knowledge could be projected to the rest of the world through the Internet. For this to happen, Sudanese libraries must embark on aggressive acquisition of Sudan collections, including grey literature, computerize their information management and form library networks. Such library networks in Sudan will surely boost development through the provision of serious development information appropriate to the Sudanese environment.
So far, much of the information on Sudan in the world's information networks tend to project only the negative tendencies and situations of Sudan and Sudanese. It is noteworthy that such tendencies are found with all peoples and nations. While Sudanese libraries should not be merely out to counter the negative information about Sudan, there is serious need to project to the whole world the positive sides of Sudan and the achievements of Sudanese often swept under the carpet. Sudanese in various fields of life have performed many feats but these are hardly given publicity by the Western press.
Sudan can benefit of network development programs as discussed by Ghobrial (1999, 2000) which include:
1- PADISNET (Pan African Documentation Centre Network) - This is a project to interconnect centres performing research on planning of development in some African countries into a network for data and information exchange and NCR-DIC acts as national focal point;
2- CABECA - (Capacity Building for Electronic Communication in Africa) - This is a project to promote computer networking throughout Africa. It is sponsored by the Pan Africa Development Information System (PADIS) of the United Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). CABECA is funded by the IDRC, Canada to achieve low cost electronic connectivity in some countries of Africa. It has already established nodes in some parts of the Region.
3- SLDS (Strengthening Libraries and Documentation Services in IGAD States). The Netherlands Government sponsors it. NCR-DIC designated as National Information Node.
4- RAIN (Regional Agricultural Information Network for ASARECA states. It is designed to remove the isolation suffered by agricultural researchers in the sub-region by integrating them via network with their counterparts in other parts of the globe and to create linkage among the researchers themselves.
There are certainly many other networks all over the world but not listed here. Considering the existing regional and international information networks, there is no doubt that the networking capabilities of Sudanese libraries will be greatly enhanced in the coming decade. Once the libraries can put their houses in order and establish local networks, these can under proper arrangement be interconnected with the existing networks. A major criticism of the information networks in Sudan is that they have been initiated and entirely funded by bodies outside Sudan. The implication of this is that whenever such sponsoring bodies do withdraw their support the systems are most likely to fail. For sustainability, it is important for Sudan to take the initiative on information networks and to be committed to funding them, at least, jointly with donor agencies and nations. It is only then that whatever networks established can serve the best interest of Sudan in terms of priority and sustainability.


text:
Wedding Inspiration – Darbie and Justin
A Summer Camp Wedding in Hueguenot, NY – 09.12.09
I love DIY weddings where all of your creative friends and family get together to make the day really unique and special.
I got a chance to hang out with Darbie and Justin last October at the Woodstock Film Festival; James, Arthur, Joy and I had worked on 2009 Signal Film and Justin had starred in Harmony and Me, a wonderfully funny film about a broken heart, directed by Bob Byington.
Darbie and Justin are also in one of my favorite bands, Bishop Allen. If you haven't heard their music, go get their albums and your life will be happy.
At the festival we could tell they had just gotten married because Justin kept playing with his wedding band. Boys are so cute when they get their new hardware aren't they? Darbie told us a little bit about their recent summer camp wedding and my heart was captured.
A year later, on their anniversary, Darbie posted a link to the wedding photos on her blog, field guide 35 and described their day. I asked her if she wouldn't mind me sharing them here and she was delighted:
"The whole thing was a real DIY family affair. I handmade all of the invitations, table numbers, seating cards, maps of the campgrounds, and boutonnieres for the boys.
My dad made all of the signs and hand-built the chuppah out of branches from the backyard. My mom sewed the tablecloths and a zillion feet of pennant flag bunting. Both of our families got together to decorate the dining hall with all kinds of lights and lanterns and more tissue paper decorations than imaginable.
My wedding dress (a stunning 1920′s beaded beauty) was from my mom's best friend Susie.
Our friends and bandmates played the ceremony music (Chapel of Love, Sea of Love, and Then he kissed me — on marimba, ukulele, glockenspiel, guitar, drums, alto horn, and kazoos. SO BEST.)
My friend Frankie (aka Kid America) deejayed.
And Justin's friend Ryan took all the photos. Even the priest was a friend of Justin's family.
And this was our wedding song:
And if I do say so myself…I think it HAS been our year."
Now go to the slideshow and see all of the lovely photos.
PS! Darbie's blog, field guide 35, is a fantastic read on cooking, inspiration and arts & crafts.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Home → Sports→ UT
44 minutes ago- UT women top Detroit 79-70
- Women's basketball: Toledo Invite
- Rockets, Falcons named All-MAC
- Rockets men's basketball goes 7-0
- UT crushes Detroit 91-75
- 11 Rockets, 10 Falcons earn All-MAC honors
- UT uses 'loser' mindset to prepare
- Turnovers may hurt UT's hopes
- UT falls in tourney championship
- Akron knocks Toledo down
Loading Videos....
Dave Hackenberg
BG defense is star of show, not individu...The BG defense is not its parts, but the sum of its parts.
Matt Markey
Henry Co. man gets memorable buck78-year-old Russell Strayer gets 10-pt. buck after 6 decades of hunting.


text:
Welcome to Ruhlman.com where I blog about food, cooking, recipes and technique, because the world is better when we cook for ourselves. Thanks for visiting and I hope you'll join the conversation.
Follow Kitchen Tools
Category Archive
Tag Archives: Rome
Side Notes
Big Cheese
People in the United States have increased their dairy intake significantly over the last 30 years, via The Atlantic. (0)Wild Mushroom Stew
Vegetarian or just a mushroom lover, this is a recipe that should be made this fall, via NYT. (0)Extra Pumpkin
Just good to have a set of extra uses for pumpkin puree this season, vis Brown Eyed Baker. (0) Recent comments
Chef Blogs
Blogs To Read
- Accidental Hedonist
- Andshecooks2
- Bob del Grosso
- Cheese Underground
- Chewing the Fat
- Cook Blog
- cook eat FRET
- David Lebovitz
- Dorie Greenspan
- Hip Pressure Cooking
- Honest Food
- Matt Bites
- One Vanilla Bean
- Orangette
- Pioneer Woman
- Sassy Radish
- Stay At Stove Dad
- The Amateur Gourmet
- The Culinary Life
- The Gurgling Cod
- White On Rice
Food Sites
Trusted Recipe Blogs
Gluten Free Blogs
Photo Blogs
Video Blogs
Food Politics


text:
Wincor Nixdorf Supports Bangladesh with Financial Inclusion
Germany-based technology provider works with local partner IT Consultants Ltd (ITCL) to increase consumers' access to self-service ATMs
Wincor Nixdorf, one of the world's leading providers of IT solutions and services to retailers and retail banking, is supplying its latest ATM technology to banks in Bangladesh to support an increase in the populations access to financial services via the self-service channel.
More than 330 ProCash 280 ATMs have been installed with the support of Wincor Nixdorf's partner ITCL, with a further 170 systems expected to be deployed until October, 2012.
"Self-service technology is a critical channel to give consumers access to basic financial transactions across Bangladesh. Adopting a multidimensional approach to financial inclusion such as using ATMs will make a significant difference in serving the unbanked population," said Ricardos Khoury, Regional Vice President and Head of Banking, Wincor Nixdorf, Asia Pacific.
Approximately half of the adult population in Bangladesh is unbanked (48.5%) in terms of deposit accounts held at banks. The major barrier is geographical or physical access from a household to bank branch or ATM, according to Bangladesh Bank, the country's central bank.
ATMs are regarded as an efficient lower cost method to provide multiple financial services and products. The number of ATMs per 100,000 people increased from 0.09 in 2005 to 1.43 in 2010, according to Bangladesh Bank.
It is expected that more than 500 Wincor Nixdorf ProCash 280 systems will be installed across the Q-Cash network by October, 2012. Q-Cash is the largest shared ATM network in Bangladesh, with more than 26 member banks connected to it.
"ITCL has extensive experience of deploying ATMs in suburban and rural areas to ensure greater numbers of unbanked people have access to basic financial services. We are planning to deploy further ProCash 280 ATMs based on the system's reliability and performance," said Dr. Kazi Saifuddin Munir, Managing Director and CEO, ITCL.
The increase in demand for Wincor Nixdorf's ATM is attributed to the reliable technology used in the systems. Common operational problems are soiled or torn bank notes that increase the possibility of jams and reducing the availability of ATMs to users.
"Wincor Nixdorf's ProCash 280 ATMs are significantly better at overcoming these common problems because of its advanced cash dispensing technology that has enhanced the systems' performance under tough conditions," said Mr Osman Haider, Business Development Director, ITCL.
Meanwhile, The ProCash 280 systems are fitted with embedded portrait and cash slot cameras which provide additional security to both users and banks by recording users' features and whether money was removed from the machine in the event that a cash-out transaction dispute arises.


text:
Not logged in
Log in now
Create an account
Subscribe to LWN
Recent Features
LWN.net Weekly Edition for December 5, 2013
Deadline scheduling: coming soon?
LWN.net Weekly Edition for November 27, 2013
ACPI for ARM?
LWN.net Weekly Edition for November 21, 2013
If they did that, then the new logs that systemd tried to write to the files would look like the fake ones.
unless you are relying on systemd to know the current sealing key (and that won't work across a reboot, unless systemd stores the sealing key somewhere on the system, at which point it's vulnerable to being replaced, unless it's sent off the box, just like the hash that logtools has)
Forward secure sealing
Posted Aug 24, 2012 11:44 UTC (Fri) by DavidS (subscriber, #84675) [Link]
For verification a off-system key is needed which is never stored on the system, but only displayed at key-generation time.
Does it keep an intruder from rm -Rf / ? No.
Does it reliably raise a red flag in a system audit? Yes.
Could an android app be written that could tell me every timerange where a downloaded FSS log is trustworthy without a third system? Yes.
Is that an improvement over having no verification (in security) and needing special logging equipment (in cost)? Yes.
Therefore I believe that FSS is a pareto optimal solution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_efficiency). There may be systems that are more secure and systems that are cheaper (intellectually, monetary and otherwise). There may be even systems that have similar security at similar costs.
Posted Aug 24, 2012 23:20 UTC (Fri) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
If it's not stored somewhere off the system, then it can be replaced along with the file and you are no better off than the simple hashing that logtools does. If you can send the key off the system, you can send the logtools hash off the system.
If it's stored on the same filesystem as the 'sealed' file, then it can be replaced, along with the file it's protecting.
The only case I am seeing where this helps you is if the system has not been restarted and so you can query systemd to find out what it thinks the current key is to validate that it matches the file.
If you don't send the key off the box, I don't see why this is any better than the initial systemd hashing. both will detect if a file has been edited after the fact, but neither will detect if a file has been forged in it's entirety.
Posted Aug 24, 2012 23:42 UTC (Fri) by jake (editor, #205) [Link]
aiui, the verification key can calculate the keys at any given point in time. so the old key isn't needed, just the log and the verification key (which is kept elsewhere).
because the attacker can't calculate the keys from the past, they can't forge a validating log file that covers the past. they can delete it, or forge messages after the compromise, but can't go back in time.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 0:03 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
so you are saying that if the verification key is stored off the box, it can tell that not only is every line 'sealed' but that none of the lines are missing?
This sounds like it is relying on some signing technology that's beyond what I'm aware of as the state of the art. This is possible, but I would have expected to hear about such a new technology through the security side of things rather than as something implemented in any FOSS project as the first word.
I am skeptical about this, because very similar claims were made about the hashing that systemd implemented
The ability to generate a key for signing documents where you can use a key for signing once, use it to generate a new one and forget the old one, and people verifying the signature can not only validate it no matter which key you use, but verify the order that you signed the documents and validate that there are no gaps in the order is something that seems like it would be a revolution in digital signatures.
If it's something less than this, the limitations are likely to greatly weaken it's value for logs as well.
If, for example, you have to have every document that was ever signed by the sender, then it's going to be much less useful. You don't keep all logs that a system has ever generated, you roll them and delete the old logs
Posted Aug 25, 2012 0:31 UTC (Sat) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link]
That's how it works, I expect.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 0:50 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
are you saying that this uses the hash chaining (similar to what logtools does) and then 'seals' the hash, and it's the fact that the hash chaining detects gaps that makes this work, not the sealing?
Posted Aug 25, 2012 0:53 UTC (Sat) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link]
Each log block is hashed and sealed separately. Using hashes, of course, but each such block is independent from all the previous blocks.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:00 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
so what stops someone from deleting an entire block?
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:03 UTC (Sat) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link]
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:10 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:15 UTC (Sat) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link]
I.e. if you delete a block then the administrator would be able to see that your current key can't be generated without skipping a block.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:26 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:30 UTC (Sat) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link]
You can't recreate key_3 from key_4 (which you know) and you can't modify the sealed block.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:33 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
<block> key_4 <block> key_5 <block> key_6
how is the admin supposed to know that this log file was supposed to start with key_1? remember that logs rotate and so you cannot count on having logs since the beginning of time, so make the nubmers 748934 and up instead of 1 and up.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:40 UTC (Sat) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link]
I have not yet checked how log sealing actually works, so I'm making it up as I go along. But it certainly seems doable.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:47 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
I don't see how keys can be time dependent. As you note there will be downtime when keys don't get rotated, and any records of what those downtimes were are subject to being tampered with.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:48 UTC (Sat) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link]
Posted Aug 25, 2012 2:01 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
A) which of the keys was used to sign this block
B) which key should have been in use at that time
If such technology exists, I'm very interested in learning about it. But I would have expected that technology like this would be in use for things much more significant than just logs.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 2:12 UTC (Sat) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link]
> B) which key should have been in use at that time That's true because of the key's construction.
Suppose that you have the initial key (key_0) constructed on 24 Aug 2012, 00:00 UTC. You encode the key update interval (say, 10 minutes) in this key and start using it. Every 10 minutes you then generate the next key and use it for signing.
Each signed block is numbered, without gaps.
If it turns out that your current system time is ahead of the key's time (because you've resumed your computer from a long sleep) then you insert a special "skip-time" block, signed by your existing (and now obsolete) key and the time-derived key. I.e. that block in essence authenticates a legitimate gap in the log history.
Again, I'm making it up as I go along :) So I might be incorrect.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 3:22 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
I am assuming that this is an asymmetric key, and so knowing the validation key does not let you know the signing key. If that's not the case, all you would need to do is to seed a PRNG and use the output as your symmetric key along with a generation number. That wouldn't be nearly as good as as if this is an asymmetric key.
your 'skip time' log entry does you no good if you don't have logs from all time (what happens when you delete the 'skip time' log entry), you would have to chrun thorugh however many key generation cycles you need to get you to the valid key (and hope that time never goes backwards on your box) as was noted by someone else on this thread.
we can speculate and design what we think is a valid algorithm here, but we don't know if that's what's being implemented in this case.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 0:51 UTC (Sat) by nybble41 (subscriber, #55106) [Link]
K[0] = HASH(V) K[n] = HASH(K[n-1]) S[m] = HASH(K[n] + M[m])
From V you can get any K[n], and from any K[n] you can get K[i] where i >= n, but not V or K[j] where j < n. From K[n] and M[m] you can get S[m], and with K[n], M[m], and S[m] you can verify that M[m] was logged while K[n] was known. Periodically you would calculate and store a new K[n] and securely wipe K[n-1].
Once an intruder is on the system they could wipe the logs (in full or selectively), and fake any _future_ messages signed, but not _past_ entries requiring signing keys which have already been wiped from the system.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 0:55 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
If an attacker can delete all log entires newer than X and put whatever they want after that point, the logs are again worthless.
These are the sorts of things that the initial hashing implementation from systemd was broken on, and why I am skeptical of further security claims from the same product.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:10 UTC (Sat) by nybble41 (subscriber, #55106) [Link]
There is some value in ensuring that an attacker can't fabricate log entries from before the break-in. If you want to prevent any individual log entries from being deleted, or (more likely) detect any such deletions, you have no choice but to send _some_ data (the log entries or an updated hash) to an external, uncompromised system.
> If an attacker can delete all log entires newer than X and put whatever they want after that point, the logs are again worthless.
That the attacker will be able to fabricate new log entries after the break-in is inevitable, even if you log to an external system. This scheme does prevent the scenario you describe for new log entries between time X (assuming X is before the attack starts) and the generation of the signing key in effect at the time of the actual compromise.
This could be combined with hash chaining to make it harder to get away with erasing individual log entries while keeping other, later, entries. For example, each message M[m] could include the signature of the previous message (S[m-1]). That would make any gaps rather obvious, without requiring you to have all previous log entries on hand to verify the hashes.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:24 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
This is part of my point
If you are required to send _some_ data, then simple hashing is enough (as implemented by logtools for example)
The claim here is that by sending the verification key off of the system at key creation time, there is no need to ever send any other data off of the system for you to know that your logs haven't been tampered with.
If you can truncate the file (either partially or create the entire logfile) and write bogus stuff after the breakin, you can truncate the part of the file that shows the breakin and re-create everything after that point, making the logs look like they had been created before the breakin.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:49 UTC (Sat) by nybble41 (subscriber, #55106) [Link]
Assuming the messages are chained as I described, that's only true if you're willing to accept a gap in the logs from the first deleted entry to the beginning of the valid interval for the K[n] in effect at the time you compromised the system.
> If you are required to send _some_ data, then simple hashing is enough
The "simple hashing" requires you to send data _continuously_ as the logs are updated. That's a more difficult problem than making a record of a single verification key once at the beginning of the log.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:59 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
so you delete everything and there's no 'valid' entry to compare anything to that will let you detect the gap.
I understand that they are claiming that this verification key eliminates the need to send any data off the box ever again, I'm just not believing it. If someone can point me to the peer reviewed papers that describe how the technology can work, I'll believe it.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 2:12 UTC (Sat) by nybble41 (subscriber, #55106) [Link]
If you deleted everything then I wouldn't need a "valid" entry to compare against; the simple lack of previous logs would be plenty suspicious by itself.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 0:59 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
only if the person doing the verification can know that those log entries needed to be signed by an old key.
If the signing doesn't create gaps, what stops someone from creating new log entries that look like old ones, but are signed by the newer key?
remember that everything that systemd relies on as part of it's validation can be forged by a root user (including the SCM_CREDENTIALS, which even systemd forges when sending the logs on to syslog)
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:12 UTC (Sat) by nybble41 (subscriber, #55106) [Link]
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:16 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
how can it tell key 20 from key 2000? or more precisely, how can it tell that something was signed by key 20 instead of being signed by key 2000.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:33 UTC (Sat) by nybble41 (subscriber, #55106) [Link]
The keys follow a very specific pseudo-random sequence. K[2000] = HASH^2000(K[0]) is an entirely different value from K[20] = HASH^20(K[0]). Using a different key value will result in a different message signature S[m] = HASH(M[m] + K[n]). Assuming the message includes a timestamp t[m], keys are rotated every ten seconds, and you have the verification key V and the initial time t0, then n = floor((t[m] - t0) / (10 seconds)) and you would expect message M[m] to have S[m] = HASH(M[m] + K[n]).
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:37 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
Even if you can do this, you still have the question of how do you know that message should have been signed by key 20 instead of key 2000, or better still, how it should have been signed by key 934503459 instead of 934505459.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 1:43 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
This is an honest question. this seems like it would be a breakthrough in non-reputiation if you can sign one message with a key and send it to person A, a second with the next key and send it to person B and a third with the next key and send it to person C and therefor prove that message B was send between message A and message C
As far as I know, all signing services currently boil down to "we include the timestamp in what we sign, and since you trust our signature, you trust the timestamp", with the trust in the signature being that you trust that nobody else is able to sign anything that can be verified with the verification key you have.
It's very possible that I am ignorant of some digital signing technology here, but this seems like such a useful combination of features that I would have expected to have heard that such things are at least possible, even without knowing the details.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 2:05 UTC (Sat) by nybble41 (subscriber, #55106) [Link]
In this scheme you already know which key the message should have been signed with, so you only need to check that one key. However, if all else fails you could generate every signing key from the verification key up to the present and calculate the message hash for each key, checking it against the provided signature.
> Even if you can do this, you still have the question of how do you know that message should have been signed by key 20 instead of key 2000, or better still, how it should have been signed by key 934503459 instead of 934505459.
I already answered this at least twice. The initial time t0 and key change interval are known. The message includes a timestamp t[m]. If it was really logged at that time, the signing key will be K[floor((t[m]-t0)/interval)].
Since the question has come up, the logging system knows t0 and n in addition to K[n], and rotates keys however many times are necessary after downtime until n is correct for the timestamp of the next log entry.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 2:11 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
You seem to know about this technology, can you point me at a paper on it?
Posted Aug 25, 2012 2:14 UTC (Sat) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link]
Posted Aug 25, 2012 2:19 UTC (Sat) by nybble41 (subscriber, #55106) [Link]
As for "knowing this technology", I have no idea how systemd actually implements this. I only presented one possible implementation based on the design requirements. Obviously, since I made the implementation up on the spot, I can't point you to any papers; everything there is to know is in this thread.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 3:27 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
However, I was assuming that this was some form of asymmetric key, since that's the norm for signing something. The problem with using a symmetric key is that the person trying to validate the signature is also in a position to forge the signature.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 3:41 UTC (Sat) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
if you are on key 9834750927 and need to iterate through that key generation routing that many times to get you from the starting validation key to the key needed to validate the file, it's going to take a long time.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 4:54 UTC (Sat) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link]
And you can easily walk through the keys. If you do log sealing every minute then key 9834750927 would be some time after 20711.
Given that AES on modern CPU works can produce about 1Gb of data per second, it'll take only a few minutes to walk to that point.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 19:00 UTC (Sat) by nybble41 (subscriber, #55106) [Link]
Yes, but that doesn't matter here, since the person doing the validation is also the person who administers the server; they're _already_ in a position to forge log messages, if they cared to do so.
You are correct that the signing key is basically just the output from a PRNG, but the PRNG does need to have a special property that some PRNGs lack: the computation must only work in the forward direction. Given the internal state of the PRNG, it must not be possible to go back to a previous state and generate a past signing key.
For example, both the following functions will produce a stream of pseudo-random numbers:
F[0] = HASH(seed) F[n] = HASH(F[n-1])
G[n] = HASH(seed + n)
However, only the former PRNG would be suitable, because computing G[n] requires the original seed value, and given the seed you can compute any G[n], past or future.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 20:22 UTC (Sat) by ikm (subscriber, #493) [Link]
May I suggest S[m] = HMAC(K[n], M[m])?
Also, calculating K[n] from V is O(n). If we use the systemd default of 15 minutes per key, we would have 35,040 iterations per year, which doesn't seem bad. If we, however, decide to narrow it down to 10 seconds, as the article suggested we could, we would get a much worse looking number of 3,153,600 iterations per year, which might get a little expensive, especially if the verification is done on an Android device. Other than that, the scheme you've proposed seems fit and may even be the actual scheme systemd uses.
Posted Aug 25, 2012 20:38 UTC (Sat) by ikm (subscriber, #493) [Link]
Posted Aug 25, 2012 21:13 UTC (Sat) by ikm (subscriber, #493) [Link]
The only missing piece is what to do in case the system goes down. All log data before the system came up can then be erased with a plausible explanation that the system was down at that time. If an attacker gains entry, he can erase all traces of his activity and hard-reboot the machine once he's done, making everything look like it was a hardware failure. I wonder if journald accounts for that.
Posted Aug 28, 2012 14:48 UTC (Tue) by mathstuf (subscriber, #69389) [Link]
Well, systemd is the first thing running in these situations. Conceptually, it could do the sealing before starting anything else. The only leak I can think of there is if systemd itself is compromised in which case you're SOL anyways. In the general case, it might be an issue.
Copyright © 2013, Eklektix, Inc. Comments and public postings are copyrighted by their creators. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds


text:
- Belladonna
Belladonna's an easily recognizable face in the porn industy, thanks to her breast-framing tattoo, sexy gapped-teeth and the fact that she's one of the few women in porn to try fitting a baseball bat inside her anus (successfully, with a little help from then boyfriend, Nacho Vidal, in 2002's No Limits ... which is sadly out of print).
She owns and operates Belladonna Productions which is distributed through Evil Angel. She's been featured on "Primetime with Diane Sawyer" in an infamous interview in which an emotional Belladonna was brought to tears. Belladonna has since called the interview skewed and claims that "Primetime" manipulated the footage to present a negative view of pornography. For shame, Diane Sawyer!
Belladonna annouced her retirement from boy/girl and girl/girl porn in mid-2007, only to rescind the announcement a few weeks later. Sighs of relief soon followed from porn-lovers around the world.
Born: 05/21/1981
Biloxi, MS
Measurements: 34C-24-34
Height: 5 ft. 4 in.
Hair Color: Green


text:
There's another delay with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and this time, it impacts smokers.
This post has been updated, as indicated below.
The insurance reforms in the 2010 federal healthcare law (a.k.a. Obamacare) are expected to raise the price of coverage for younger, healthier Americans in order to make it more affordable for older, sicker ones. A computer glitch threatens to make that shift even more pronounced, albeit just for younger people who smoke.
The Obama administration confirmed Tuesday that a glitch in its software for evaluating insurance plans will prevent insurers from imposing as big a gap as they may have wanted between the premiums for younger and older smokers. In short, it means either older smokers will be charged less than insurers might have planned or young smokers will be charged more.
The glitch is (supposedly) temporary, and applies only to the market for individual insurance policies. And it may not affect some of the states running their own insurance exchanges, although it apparently will affect California. That's because this state's exchange, Covered California, is relying on the feds' computers to check whether the premiums proposed by insurers comply with the law.
[Updated, 5:30 p.m. July 9: As it turns out, California's reliance on the federal government's computer system isn't germane because Covered California previously decided not to allow insurers to charge smokers higher premiums, regardless of their age. It's one of at least four states to bar the surcharges. That's a win for smokers, whose risks will be spread across all those who shop at the exchange.]
To dive deeply into the weeds, the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act allows insurers to vary their premiums in only four ways: They can charge more for family coverage than individual plans, and assess different premiums in different regions of a state. They can vary their premiums by age, but the highest age-based premiums can be no more than three times the lowest ones. And they can charge smokers up to 50% more than nonsmokers.
The law doesn't require insurers to apply the same differential for smokers across the board. Insurers had been expected to apply a much higher differential to older smokers' policies than younger smokers' coverage, mainly because the latter tend to be a lot healthier than the former. As a result, the premiums for older smokers could be as much as 4.5 times what younger smokers pay.
These rules will be enforced by the federal government in at least the 33 states where Washington will be operating the local insurance exchange, along with any other state that is relying on Washington to evaluate insurers' compliance. But the computer system the Department of Health and Human Services is using ran into some, err, computational issues that caused it to reject some proposed premiums that don't actually violate the law.
As a result, next year insurers won't be able to impose tobacco surcharges that push older smokers' premiums more than three times higher than those paid by younger smokers.
"In 2015 and beyond, the system will expand to allow issuers to increase this ratio, if they choose to do so," said HHS spokeswoman Joanne Peters. "This is a temporary circumstance that in no way impacts our ability to open the [exchanges] on Oct. 1, when millions of Americans will be able to purchase quality, affordable insurance for the first time."
Some analysts speculated that insurers would impose smaller-than-anticipated surcharges on older smokers to keep rates low for young smokers -- a relatively healthy group that insurers are afraid will be deterred by the cost of coverage. Without young people on board to balance out the risks posed by older consumers, insurers could be stuck with spiraling medical expenses.
Others, however, predicted that insurers would react by imposing higher surcharges than planned on younger smokers, raising the premium surcharges on older smokers as well.
What they will actually do, however, remains to be seen. No matter how small a surcharge they impose on young smokers, their premiums are still going to be higher than the ones for bare-bones policies available today. They're also going to be considerably more expensive than the tax penalty imposed for not obtaining coverage, at least in 2014.
Pope John Paul II and the trouble with miracles
L.A.'s broken-parking-meter scheme may soon expire
Safest seats in an air crash: They're not where you might think
Follow Jon Healey on Twitter @jcahealey


text:
High-Speed Digital
- Design & Simulation: Download the Quick Start Guide
- Analysis & Debug: Download the Debugging application note
- Compliance: Visit the compliance web page
- Signal Integrity: Link to the PLTS technical overview
In digital standards, every generational change puts new risks in your path. We see it firsthand when creating our products and working with engineers like you. Agilent's solution set for high-speed digital test is a combination of instrumentation and broad expertise built on our ongoing involvement with industry experts. By sharing our latest experiences, we can help anticipate challenges and accelerate your ability to create products you'll be proud of. Agilent - achieve your best design.
Navigate the entire design cycle
Explore this web site for solutions within all four stages of the design cycle as well as the crucial—and integral—field of signal integrity analysis.
U4154A 4 Gb/s AXIe-based Logic Analyzer Module
U4154A 4 Gb/s AXIe-based Logic Analyzer Module
The U4154A AXIe-based logic analyzer module provides confidence in state measurements up to 4 Gb/s on signals with eye openings as small as 100 ps by 100 mV.
M8190A 12 GSa/s Arbitrary Waveform Generator
M8190A 12 GSa/s Arbitrary Waveform Generator
Agilent's M8190A - An Agilent AWG is the source of greater fidelity, delivering high resolution and wide bandwidth – simultaneously
N4903B J-BERT high-performance serial BERT up to 7 Gb/s and 12.5 Gb/s with complete jitter tolerance
N4903B J-BERT high-performance serial BERT up to 7 Gb/s and 12.5 Gb/s with complete jitter tolerance
J-BERT N4903B High-performance Serial BERT. The only complete jitter tolerance test – now for next generation of forwarded and embedded clock designs such as QPI, HyperTransport, PCIe(TM), DisplayPort, SATA, USB, FB-DIMM, Fibre Channel, 10GbE
N5454A Segmented memory acquisition for InfiniiVision Series oscilloscopes
N5454A Segmented memory acquisition for InfiniiVision Series oscilloscopes
Segmented memory acquisition software
E5071C-TDR Enhanced Time Domain Analysis
E5071C-TDR Enhanced Time Domain Analysis
Agilent E5071C ENA Option TDR provides a one-box solution for high speed serial interconnect analysis for S-parameter, TDR, and eye diagram measurements.


text:
Rolbonr Leather Belt
Italian based line, Diesel, was started in 1978 by Renzo Rosso. Known for their modern denim washes and fits, along with their urban styles outerwear, Diesel has found a place in so many closets around the world.
- Genuine leather
- Measures approx 1.5" in height
- Buckle measures approx 2.5" in length
- Metal logo plate at end
- Styled with Marc By Marc Jacobs Lightweight Sateen Twill in Waking Night.
- Styled with Surface to Air Portofino Chinos in Khaki.
- Modeled in size 95. See fit guide for model's dimensions.
- Revolve Style No. DIES-MB129
- Manufacturer Style No. 00CPJF 00CJQ


text:
Pet Wearables
Gift Buzz
The perfect gift for techies on the go, these cool wearable devices track daily activity, amplify music and deliver the best sound, and even keep your hands warm when you're using your gadgets! Shop our top picks for the best in wearable tech! Read More »
Summer is on its way and that means lots of time out of the house. Friends and neighbors go out of their way to make sure your pets are happy and safe while you're away and your appreciation goes deeper than a handshake or a hug, so give them... Read More »
As a pet owner to two Shih Tzu's I am always looking for fun treats to give them for being so cute! Of course we can't forget about the kitties either. They do eat other treats besides catnip you know! Well, I couldn't stop laughing... Read More »
Can you believe the holidays are here? A few weeks ago, I started putting together a list of gift ideas for my boys. Let's face it; gift giving can be tough when you are trying to find something original, within your budget, age appropriate,... Read More »
Hand-pickedPet Wearables
Gift ideas in the pet wearables category are hand-picked based on their popularity, uniqueness, high quality and more. Find great pet wearables ideas from the top online gift stores right here on Gifts.com.
The holiday season is here and we've got great Christmas gifts to help you get a head start on your shopping. Find gift ideas for everyone on your list including great stocking stuffers, holiday gift baskets, gourmet foods and more. |


text:
What is the Country Doing for Millennials? Not Enough
By Alex BrownIf millennials are to fulfill their promise, they need to focus on education and political engagement.
Battle Widens Over 'Gas Rush' Climate Footprint
By Ben GemanA new study is raising questions about the impact of the U.S. natural-gas production boom.
About 10 Percent of Obamacare Enrollment Files Have Errors
By Sam BakerHHS has struggled to figure out the extent of HealthCare.gov 's back-end problems
Poll: Majority of Republican Men Support Universal Background Checks on Gun Sales
By Peter BellUnited Technologies/ National Journal Congressional Connection Poll finds a quarter would be "very pleased" to extend checks to gun shows and Internet sales.
Yes, We're Dropping Thousands of Dead Mice Laced With Tylenol on Guam
By Brian ResnickThe island territory is trying to control its rampant population of invasive brown tree snakes.
Emails: Administration Decided on Obamacare Delay in August
By Sam BakerOfficials scrambled on options for small businesses.
Thad Cochran to Seek Reelection
By Michael CataliniSix-term incumbent likely to face stiff opposition in primary.
That Personal Touch Helps Americans Save Money
By Amy SullivanA handful of nonprofits, credit unions, and start-ups are trying to new and different ways for customers to establish good credit.
23andMe Halts Health-Related Genetic Test Sales
By Sophie NovackAncestry information and raw data will still be available, as the company undergoes FDA review.
Interior Finalizes Longer Eagle Kill Permits for Wind Farms
By Ben GemanThe rule lengthens the current five-year permitting for the unintentional deaths of eagles caused by wind farms and other facilities.
Best Time(s) to Help a Kid Succeed
By Janell RossA timely intervention can help a disadvantaged youngster find economic success later. Stepping in early, scholars say, is cheaper and more effective.
Nelson Mandela: Loved Universally In Death—But Not In Life
By Elahe IzadiMandela had been on the U.S. terrorist watch-list until 2008.
A Greek American's Greek Identity Crisis in Athens
By Matt VasilogambrosIt took one week in Greece to question 25 years of Greek pride and identity.
The Unseen Criminals of the United States
By Marina KorenA Minnesota-based group interviews people whose crimes went unnoticed to change the perception of those who did get caught.


text:
Keldoclock wrote:Swordsalmon: Argues about the price of bits of plastic, yet happily forks over $1 for a quarter-sized bit of plastic that does nothing but look cool.
Jay Dee wrote:Maybe if she's the waste of skin you should politely ask her to borrow some so you can stitch it over that flapping hole you call a mouth and shut the fuck up.
BFenix wrote:Silent-sigfig wrote:
Coolest 1000th post ever
Warhead wrote:my head burns with War.
IVhorseman wrote:Ayup. Those new feet look way more ancient and natural.
BrikWars 2010 Rules wrote:BrikWars ... stands in pretty direct opposition to many fundamental elements of the LEGO® philosophy, such as "Not Teaching Kids How Funny It Is to Set People on Fire."
Users browsing this forum: mercury19 and 2 guests


text:
Top Baby Names of the Year Revealed: Dumbest Celeb Baby Name of 2012?
SLIDESHOW: Stupidest Celeb Baby Name of 2012?
Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence Thurman-Busson (Uma Thurman)
6,686 votes
73% | |||
820 votes
9% | |||
204 votes
2% | |||
687 votes
7% | |||
103 votes
1% | |||
705 votes
8% |
The top baby names of 2012 have been announced, and while America seems to be able to choose relatively normal names for their offspring, like Sophia and Aiden, celebrities, once again, showed their need to stand out.
In 2012, we saw celebs come up some of the wackiest baby names ever. Robert Downey Jr. and "Real Housewife" Kim Zolciak both invented new words (Exton and Kash Kade), while inappropriate place names were the weapon of choice for Mariah Carey and Nick Lachey: hello, Moroccan and Camden.
Reese Witherspoon gave us likely future oil baron Tennessee Toth, while Uma Thurman introduced the longest stupid baby name in history: Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence Thurman-Busson.
So with a plethora of ridiculous and unfortunate names to choose from, click through our gallery and tell us: Which celeb baby name do you think was the stupidest this year?
Top Opinion
Phantom ^-^ 2012/11/30 22:06:15Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence Thurman-Busson (Uma Thurman)+25People stop it! Stop calling your Sons and Daughters names such as:
1. Hastag
2. Audio Science
3. Facebook!
4. Tu Morrow
5. Zuma Nesta Rock
6. Kal-El
7. Seven
9. Jemajasty
10. Camera
11. Mars
12. Moon Unit
These kids have gotta grow up with these names! unless they change them. Its just NO!!!
More polls by SodaHead Slideshows
I think it's a cute nickname. I don't understand him naming two different sons the same name, though. :--)
I think he went out of order....his oldest is Prince Michael III and blanket is Prince Michael II.
- Infinite Love <3 2012/11/30 21:23:25
- zomgitsyoulol 2012/11/30 21:20:26
- WWZ Captain 2012/11/30 21:12:34
- Papillon 2012/11/30 21:02:52
- Alexander T Steward 2012/11/30 21:02:39
- rhaver1 2012/11/30 20:55:06
- painted desert 2012/11/30 20:55:04Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence Thurman-Busson (Uma Thurman)+9That's just a bit much. What is it RAAARTB for short?
Here are a few more names just waiting to be used again:
1. Audio Science: Shannyn Sossamon and Dallas Clayton
2. Moxie CrimeFighter: Penn and Emily Jillette (also: Zolten)
3. Pilot Inspektor: Jason Lee and Beth Riesgraf
4. Pirate: Jonathan and Deven Davis (also: Zeppelin)
5. Tabooger: Dan Cortese and Dee Dee Hemby
Boy, a lot of these kids are doomed!! - Shifting Piece 2012/11/30 20:53:52
- WolfEyes 2012/11/30 20:37:20
- BlytheSpirit~bn0 2012/11/30 20:26:03
- A. J. Kenner 2012/11/30 20:16:20Kash Kade (Kim Zolciak)+5Are these people high on something when they think of these names? That Creep Gwynyth "Paltry" Paltrow named Her Kids "Apple" and "Moses." WTF?????!!!!!
BTW, that didn't look like Uma Thurman at first, but She looks GREAT!!!!! Her father, Dr. Robert Thurman, noted Historian and Archaeologist, named all of his Children after Gods, Goddesses and other Historical Figures. Seems that he never left work at the office. - Michaela★ 2012/11/30 20:06:40
It's weirdish because it's a geographical name (Camden Town in London). But I agree it sounds fine for a person too.
See Votes by State
2013/12/19 02:59:44
- Who's the Most Overrated Actor?
- Who's the Sexiest Man of 2013?
- Which Star Do You Want to Shut Up?
- View more slideshows »


text:
Hire a wedding entertainer in Bronx to add some extra pizazz to your celebration. Just browse our list below to find your unique brand of entertainment – from fireworks, dove releases, magicians and more.
We are not the typical wedding band! We play an eclectic mix of songs chosen from our extensive library of songs. Our song list exceeds 1000 selections. We work closely with all of our clients to assure the perfect wedding day. www.aroundtownent.com


text:
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid details
Formats: | 12 DVD, PG Blu-ray |
Starring: | Ted Cassidy, Strother Martin, Paul Newman, Katharine Ross, Henry Jones, Henr, Kenneth Mars, Robert Redford, Jeff Corey, Cloris Leachman |
Director: | George Roy Hill |
Genres: | Action/Adventure, Comedy |
Studio: | 20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
Collections: | 100 must-see movies, 100 Wild Westerns, American Film Institute's top 100, Must See Movies |
Name | Discs | |
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid |
12 Feature |
DVD Information
Run time: | 1 hour 46 minutes |
Rental release: | 27 Aug 2001 |
Main languages: | English |
Hearing impaired subtitles: | English |
Most helpful review
The fact that it's a Western should not put off any anti-western viewer. This is one of the GREATS of any genre
By roncoach (370 reviews) from suffolk , 24 Oct 2011[Highly rated reviewer]
I see this film as one of the Top 100 in its own right; and I see it as one of the best Westerns ever made......it even has music and comedy to add to a strong and serious plot.
Newman and Redford are quite outstanding...neither 'outdo' the other : they have a chemistry that is so hard to find. It is a pity that 'The Sting' ( another top-notch movie) was their only other film together.
How on earth did 'Midnight Cowboy' beat this wonderful film in the best Oscars list ?? But I suppose I am used to seeing the Academy getting it all wrong so often !
This film is for everyone......a rip-roaring yarn, two heroes who remain in the memory, lots of aspects for viewers who are not big Western fans, a wonderful song ( in a film sequence on a bicycle that is nothing short of brilliant ), humour as well as action , adventure and joy and sadness.
And one of the great screen dialogue moments as Butch and Sundance are about to literally jump for their lives. Great.- Was this review helpful to you?
- (33) Yes |
- No (23)
All reviews
(75)Newman and Redford at their best
By Chrisaljack (419 reviews) from Hellingly , 25 Aug 2013Robert Redford and Paul Newman are two greats of American Cinema. They are perfectly paired in this absolute classic. This is not a traditional western - it is alternatively fun, sad, a love story, a record of history and finally hugely entertaining. Even Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head became a huge hit and when coupled with the delightful bicycle on a farm scene with Newman and Ross it will be forever etched in your memory. This film was a hit in 1969 - it is just as deserving in 2013!- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (0)
Wonderful, fantastic movie ! ! !
By ElPedro (38 reviews) , 13 Jun 2013Wow what a great film ! This has to be the best on-screen chemistry ever between the wonderful Newman & Redford who look & feel 100% genuine Funny, exciting & thrilling throughout ! Don't be put off by the Western genre. Wonderfully shot, great locations, fantastic screenplay & epic dialogue- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (0)
Slighly dated but still very watchable.
By The KnightWatcher (629 reviews) from Gloucestershire , 04 Nov 2012Not the all time classic that I remember but nevertheless a good watchable film. It is a bit dated now and a bit naff in places. Cannot be taken seriously as a western as the two outlaws are just too polite and friendly, charming and unscary to be taken seriously. It is more of a light hearted drama / comedy really. Katherine Ross is excellent.- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (0)
Engaging, fun and memorable movie
By Abby88 (170 reviews) from Bognor Regis , 14 Oct 2012I enjoyed this film. Newman and Redford are great together and play loveable rogues very well. A top western and interesting true story.- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (0)
The most overrated film in the history of cinema.
By Kowalski (41 reviews) , 08 Sep 2012I can't see what all the fuss is about. Two interchangable characters compete to find out who can be the most self-consciously charming for nearly two hours. Meanwhile, they crack heavily cued jokes from a remarkably dull script in an effort to show how loveable they are. They also manage to flee a town for days, only to find they are still in its vicinity when they finally lose their pursuers - a massive hole in the plot that seems to have gone unnoticed.
If you like films because other people tell you they are 'classics', watch this.
If you like watching actors managing to give apparently brilliant performances by simply posing and using jokes the Rat Pack would have rejected, watch this.
If you like films that merit their acclaim, don't bother.- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (3)


text:
Final Sale
Shimmery Jacquard Strapless Dress
Item# 3278579
Sorry, this item is no longer available!
- Lustrous jacquard with burnout pattern woven in shimmery threads
- Fitted bodice with silicone gripper
- Removable shoulder straps
- Invisible side zipper
- Full skirt with inverted pleats
- Fully lined
- Measures approximately 30" from center back top edge to bottom hem
- 68% Rayon/23% Polyester/9% Nylon
- Machine wash.
- Imported
This dress is so incredibly beautiful!! I never buy clothes online but after reading the great reviews this dress has I decided to order it, I'm so happy I did!!
The fit of the dress is perfect, the color is true white and the fabric is light and shiny. You can dress it up and down. I will wear it for a special occasion with diamond earrings, a shawl and white elegant shoes. A lady like outfit!
August 15, 2013
Looks great on!
I was pleasantly surprised with how dainty and flattering this dress is on. The material is great. It's very forgiving. The pockets are an absolute plus! Runs true to size. My typical size 6 worked perfectly.
July 27, 2013
Very Pretty
I haven't worn this out yet, but I tried it on, and I just love how shimmery it is. It is comfortable but has just the amount of shimmer to look a bit more elegant. Once I steam it, I think I will just bought a suit jacket over it and wear it to work.
July 25, 2013
Awesome Dress!
I purchased this dress to wear for my rehearsal dinner. I think it would be cute to wear a shimmery dress before my wedding day. This dress is so amazing, the jacquard fabric adds so much flare and elegance to what could be a simple white dress. Great for special occasions or a fancy night out!!
June 29, 2013
I love this dress! I purchased it to wear for pictures at the beach with my boyfriend. It is a little too dressy for that but I will make it work. The shimmery detail gives this dress a more classy look. I did however have to go up one size in this dress. I found it to be a little tighter around the bust.
June 26, 2013
I'm in love!
Being a naturally busty woman, I always thought I wouldn't be caught dead in a anything strapless. However, when I saw this dress in store, I couldn't resist trying it on (in my regular size). Surprisingly, it looked pretty good! It was almost as if I had it custom made, because I raised my arms and danced around a little and everything stayed where it was supposed to.
The material is quite lovely, not just because it has a pretty shimmery design, but because it moves with your body. I also love that it can be dressed up or down...perfect for a garden party or a day at the beach. Everything about this dress is so flattering! I can see this dress staying in my wardrobe for years and years.
June 7, 2013
Sexy Summer Dress
Love this dress! It's the perfect date for date night
June 4, 2013
Great Summer Dress
This is a great dress. Lightweight fabric and the pockets are wonderful. I can't wait to wear this dress throughout the summer.
June 2, 2013
1-8 of 8


text:
It's HOLIDAY SAVINGS Month at the Co-op! In the spirit of the season, we're excited to announce a new Co-op contest -- the Big SmartPoints Holiday Giveaway which gives members a chance to win up to 50,000 SmartPoints!
What could you do with 50,000 SmartPoints? Get a year's worth of curriculum or supplements from the Co-op!
With over 10 different categories to choose from such as, math, science, language arts, and more, you are sure to find something to add to your homeschool -- Check out the Spend 'Em SmartPoints page for a complete list of products!
For the Big SmartPoints Holiday Giveaway, we'll have not one but nine winners with a chance to win:


text:
You're watching...
Fiscal Cliff Survival Kit: Home Edition
David Lykken of Mortgage Banking Solutions on the fiscal cliff and the housing market.
Nov 29, 2012
You're watching...
David Lykken of Mortgage Banking Solutions on the fiscal cliff and the housing market.
Nov 29, 2012
Also in this playlist...
Auto-advance: ON
Auto-advanceThis transcript is automatically generated
-- and well fiscal club survival kit today it is your home addition there is new talked a Washington may do away with the -- -- out tax breaks.
The home mortgage deduction or that could change the calculations.
And hit high income earners that worries David like -- managing partner mortgage banking solutions.
Joins me now from Austin, Texas with his fiscal club could be revival of -- -- your being with us on our series this week.
You say.
That now it worth -- -- about buying a home right now we should do why.
Absolutely interest rates are at the -- as affordability index.
Is that the highest great -- -- prices are low people are buying we're seeing a bottom form because of the investors that are coming in.
And picking up property is a rental so whether you're an investor or -- home buyer that's been displaced or a first time home buyer.
Did it in -- by now you're not gonna see a time like this for decades.
David why what I do that I'm gonna be a lose saying potentially my mortgage interest deduction there's also talk about changing some of the other.
Quote unquote loopholes.
Like you know primary properties.
You living in the house for two years.
You -- for five years right now you can sell it with no taxes paid at all no -- year old ever not right about change and that as well.
As a -- -- in the negatives David negatives for house.
Well if if that is a negative NFF -- I think that may impact foreclosure -- because I think those that are going to be losing that incentive.
To you know the taxes and about that they have that little bit that shows and their refund each month as a result of the mortgage deduction when that goes away.
That gives them one more incentive to just let go that house if they're really when things get tight.
But here's the upside and this is why -- recommend people to really look at this even more so than gold.
The inflation component is gonna kick in at some point these properties at these values are going to go back up it is an appreciation -- But you know what what -- -- but not it look at this point we're still looking -- -- to your recovery now we're talking about a four year recovery some of these changes.
Do you take up that I wanna -- your tips our viewers because your a cut -- -- to supply -- don't wanna go through them to get give a sensible people should be doing.
Right now you -- course interest rates may -- higher later by now.
It will become a nation of -- -- for investors fair enough you also say I think doesn't think it's gonna remain a good investment as the that cliff drive more people to rent.
But hasn't that already happened David have a we RD had to -- happen in the last three years with a foreclosed properties.
What there was a seminar here and there's a group of investors it was an invitational only had acted -- -- be invited to speak at it.
All real estate investors a lot of them.
And they one regret they have -- as they said if we had any clue how fast this real estate -- bottomless uniform and prices are gonna start going up.
We would've bought more there's billions of dollars to be yet invested.
In real estate.
This is gonna drive prices higher it's gonna be -- investors doing it -- not first time homebuyers and they're in this adding 4567.
David let's get a deal like the bullish tone on all of -- I certainly hope you're right David -- and thank you for being here appreciate.
Filter by section


text:
February 17 – Happy Birthday Cody Ransom
Remember when Cody Ransom made his Yankee debut in August of the 2008 season? Joe Girardi inserted him in a blowout game versus Kansas City as a pinch-hitter for Jason Giambi and the native of Mesa, AZ hit a two-run-home run in his first ever Yankee at bat. Five days later, Girardi again pinch hit Ransom for Giambi, this time in the ninth inning of a game against Baltimore and Ransom hit a three run home run on his second-ever Yankee at bat. He remained hot right through the first half of September before cooling down quite a bit, and he provided a welcome respite for us Yankee fans during the emotional closing days of the old Yankee Stadium, as we sadly watched our favorite team miss the playoffs for the first time in fourteen seasons.
That strong showing convinced Girardi that Ransom could fill in for Alex Rodriguez at third base to begin the 2009 season, while A-Rod recovered from off-season hip surgery. I clearly remember hoping the experiment would work but it certainly did not. I'm not exactly sure why Ransom seemed like he had completely forgotten how to hit that April. It could have been nerves or perhaps American League pitchers had gotten wise to something, but whatever the reason, over the space of a single off season, this guy had become an automatic out. By April 24, he was hitting .180 and by May, he found himself back in Scranton. He did get called back up in late June of that season but he was not put on the Yankees' postseason roster. Fortunately by October, A-Rod's hip had completely healed and he put together that magical postseason run that led the Yankees to their 27th World Championship.
Ransom shares his February 17th birthday with this great Yankee first baseman and this former Yankee reliever.


text:
Prince Harry's collar and cloak
WPA Pool/ AFP/ Getty
Prince Harry joined his grandfather yesterday on a visit to Westminster Abbey to commemorate upcoming Armistice Day. I was in London around this time a couple of years ago. The "field of poppies" is incredibly moving. Each poppy is attached to a cross, and each cross represents a life lost in service of country. Full Story
Princess Catherine's red coat Poppy Day
CARL COURT/ Getty
The Cambridges were out today in London supporting Poppy Day staff and volunteers. At some point, they went on a bus ride. The poppies are for Armistice Day in England which is Remembrance Day here in Canada which, I think, is Veterans Day in the US. In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. Full Story
Princess in the City…
Asadorian-Mejia/ Splash
In a cape! Princess Serenity was in New York today doing some shopping. The photographers tried to frame him out but I'm pretty sure the dude holding her bag is her bodyguard. Just one bodyguard? Or did they fan out so that the paps could take their pictures? I feel like that's a lot of distance for a royal. Full Story
Little G knows how to pose
IAN WEST/AFP /Getty Images
And the official Prince George christening photos have been released. You can see them here. I tried to buy them but they were super expensive with all kinds of restrictions. You've probably already seen them everywhere else anyway. Little G is hard to miss, what with him already being such a pose-hard. Full Story
Christened in cream & blue
Ben A. Pruchnie/ WPA Pool/ Getty
I'm not here to regurgitate facts about the 7 godparents and how many guests and the age of the christening robes and where the water came from. You can get that everywhere else. What we do is GOSSIP. Let's start with all the speculation about the new royal strategery – that the Queen, Prince Charles, and Prince William have decided to tier the royal family and they've put themselves and their spouses into an 8 person little club that's more special than all the others. Full Story
Will & Kate's state dinner with Taylor Swift
Prince William and his Princess Catherine will host their first ever State Dinner at Kensington Palace on November 26th in support of Centrepoint and its services to help homeless youth rebuild their lives. For 50 thousand pounds, you'll be invited to join the Cambridges at the VVIP reception for a meet and greet with their celebrity friends including Eliza Doolittle, James Blunt, Taylor Swift, and Jon Bon Jovi. Full Story
Dear Gossips,
It's christening week. Prince Little G's big day is coming up on Wednesday, almost exactly 3 months since we saw him for the very first time. This is a big deal because A. our society is baby crazy, B. a lot of us are royal crazy, C. Princess Catherine might wear McQueen, D. 3 out of 6 godparents remain unannounced (as of post time), and E. aristocrats in hats, always entertaining.
So far the extended guest list hasn't been made public. There are rumours that since it's to be a relatively small affair, several members of the royal family won't be invited. Afterwards the Queen will pose with Prince Charles, Prince William, and G too – the monarch and the 3 future monarchs all together. And if Her Majesty is the one holding the baby, everyone will explode with excitement. Read Full Intro
Princess Catherine playing volleyball
Ian Gavan/ Getty
OK but the volleyball isn't what you care about. The volleyball isn't what people are talking about. Princess Catherine of William made an official appearance today in London at the SportsAid Athlete Workshop to hang out with some athletes. She played…in wedges. It's so Victoria Beckham, except Victoria Beckham wouldn't be playing. Full Story
Hot Harry's 3 changes
BEN STANSALL/ Ian Gavan/ Getty
Busy day for Prince Harry today. First he played rugby so he was in his sweats. What do you think of Hot Harry in sweatpants? You know, when some men wear sweatpants they get…floppy. A member of the royal family can't afford to flop around on an official appearance, can he? What kind of support undergarments do you think were arranged for Hot Harry today? After that, Harry put on a lab coat, personalised for a prince. Full Story
Why you should buy PEOPLE this week with Hot Harry on the cover
For Hot Harry maybe getting married? NO. Look in the corner. In the corner is all that matters. Here. Look in the corner: RIVER PHOENIX It's been 20 years. So who gives a sh-t that they keep insisting that "Harry" is crazy about "Cressie"? Or is it "Cressy"? F-ck it, whatever. Full Story
Harry to marry?
Chris Jackson/ WPA Pool/ Getty
But first, check out hot Harry being super cute with the babies in Australia the other day. The thing about Harry that's so irresistible and entertaining is that he doesn't seem to change his personality with the venue or the event. Wherever he is, Hot Harry is always at the club. Tonight Harry is at a fundraiser for Sentebale in Dubai. Full Story
Slim Harry Down Under
KHAP /Grey Wasp /Splash News
Prince Harry arrived in Sydney today in advance of the International Fleet Review. As I wrote the other day, Harry has some contouring back in his face now that he's training to Walk With The Wounded. He did however go clubbing twice with Cressida Bonas since then. Full Story
Harry de-bloats
Wenn, James Whatling/ Splash, Chris Jackson/ WPA Pool/ Getty
Prince Harry attended the MapAction reception last night in London. He looks very handsome. And… trim. Around the face, right? Less beer bloat for sure. Harry will be Walking With The Wounded in November and he's been training for it. Perhaps that's what we're seeing here – the results of that on his face. Full Story
A monarch and two heirs go to church
Pacific Coast News
Prince William and his Catherine went to church in Aberdeen with the Queen and Prince Charles on Sunday. Will drove himself, with Kate in the passenger seat, and Charles too. God that must be a pain in the ass that they can't travel together. Otherwise, like most families, it's all in one car. Full Story


text:
If I hadn't been so exhausted when i checked in at 10 PM after driving all day....no way would I have stayed in this room, or maybe this hotel. Wall paper peeling, the sheets were dirty (I hope those weren't bugs I brushed off the bed), musty and generally run down. Thank goodness i paid extra for a 'suite' -... More
- Also Known As:
- Holiday Inn Batavia
- Batavia Holiday Inn
- Official Description (provided by the hotel):
- Home of the BRAND NEW Palm Island Indoor Waterpark!!! Whether traveling for business, leisure or planning a meeting or banquet, the Clarion Hotel Batavia in the Darien Lake area will make your stay a memorable experience by providing excellent service, impeccable rooms, and fantastic dining options. 195 spacious guest rooms including 48 executive suites will provide all of the amenities expected by modern travelers. All of the rooms are oversized with refrigerators and microwaves, the executive suites include a separate sitting area with a dry bar, desk, speaker phone and two TVs. The entire hotel is equipped with free high speed wireless internet access. This hotel has over 10,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space. Conveniently located on Park Road at exit 48 off I-90, situated approximately 25 miles from both Buffalo and Rochester, New York. This beautiful Batavia hotel is located less than 45 miles from Niagara Falls/Seneca Casino. Short walk to the Batavia Downs Casino, Race Track and Video Gaming and located only 10 miles from Darien Lake Amusement Park. Also nearby are Letchworth State Park, Terry Hills Golf Course, NYS School of the Blind, Genesee Community College, Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Dwyer Stadium (Home of the Muckdogs), Jello Museum, Snow Tubing, Antiques and much more. With free parking and accessibility for trucks, buses, and RVs. ... more less
- Reservation Options:
- TripAdvisor is proud to partner with Booking.com, Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, Hotels.com, Travelocity, Choice Hotels, Cheap Tickets, Venere and Tingo so you can book your Clarion Hotel Palm Island Indoor Waterpark reservations with confidence. We help millions of travellers each month to find the perfect hotel for both holiday and business trips, always with the best discounts and special offers.


text:
This simple to plant garden is best sited within a greenhouse, conservatory, poly tunnel or warm sheltered garden. Many of the plants can be grown successfully in containers.
Contains the following established plants:
NB.Contents of the garden may vary slightly depending upon the season
FOOD, DRINK AND MERCHANDISE ORDERS UK delivery is £4.95. Delivery available to Europe and North America. The charge varies depending on the weight and destination. The cost of delivery will be calculated once you have entered your delivery details. We will do our best to dispatch your order as soon as possible and it should take between 2-7 working days for UK orders depending on whether it is a busy time. For Europe and Rest of World orders should take between 8-14 working days. The majority of our orders are tracked and therefore will require a signature on delivery. . |
GIFT VOUCHER ORDERS Standard UK delivery is £2.95. Europe and North America delivery is £7. If you need the vouchers quickly then we can send via Royal Mails next day delivery for £6.50. This is available for orders placed before 1pm, orders received after this will be dispatched on the next working day. Next day delivery is only possible in mainland UK. (Unfortunately it is not guaranteed to certain areas, these are Ireland, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Isles of Scilly or the Scottish Islands. |


text:
Already a member? Log in.
About us…
Welcome to the Los Angeles Ruby/Rails Meetup Group. Members generally refer to this group as "LA Ruby". We also have postings where we are referred to as "laruby" and even "la-ruby". By the way, we have a twitter account which is @laruby and the hashtag is #laruby. A related group is la.rb which is the group that has the Los Angeles Ruby Brigade Weekly Hack Night.
The Los Angeles Ruby/Rails Meetup Group is for anyone interested in learning or sharing experiences with "Ruby" or "Ruby on Rails". We meet the second Thursday of each month. The location of the Meetup depends on who is sponsoring. We attempt to rotate between West-side and Northeast side. This is a thriving developers community through the efforts of everyone involved. Special thanks goes out to Alf Mikula for going beyond the call of duty to make our Meetups extremely interesting and successful. His devotion to this group has been awesome. Speaker Proposals: If you have a pertinent subject matter that you'd like to present to the group at an upcoming meetup - please contact myself (JR Fent) or Alf Mikula - with a short bio and description of your presentation.
Membership: This is a PRIVATE organization. We have the right to deny anyone membership. If you wish to join, you must fill out the questionnaire truthfully and completely. Please tell us both your FIRST AND LAST NAME. If you do not supply your full name - you will be asked to supply a link to your LinkedIn profile. IF IT IS YOUR INTENTION TO JOIN JUST TO RECRUIT DEVELOPERS: Don't bother. We will not allow you access. Best Regards, JR Fent LA Ruby Meetup Organizer
The only Recruiting sponsor chosen for the LA Ruby Meetup.
Software developers & designers specialize in Ruby on Rails.
Leader in text and video messaging.
one of the largest online performance marketing networks in the world.
The leading introduction to web development with Ruby on Rails
Partners with creative development teams and forward-thinking companies
1,184 LA Techies
Next Meetup: Wednesday, Jan 15
198 Civic Hackers
94 JS Junkies
Next Meetup: Thursday, Jan 09
1,326 New Technologists
Next Meetup: Tuesday, Jan 07
193 AWS All Stars
Next Meetup: Monday, Jan 13
1,614 Web Software Engineers
Not registered with us yet? Sign up
Forgot your password?
Meetup members, Log in
By clicking "Sign up" or "Sign up using Facebook", you confirm that you accept our Terms of Service & Privacy Policy


text:
I am a teacher at a school in Singapore, and I would like to take my students on a field trip in the near future. I have managed to get a certain budget together for the field trip, and I want to make sure that it is a large enough budget in order to make this trip a possibility. I have never orchestrated a field trip before, so it is all very new and exciting for me. I want to find transport services in singapore that offer bus charters are prices that are reasonable.
I need to figure out how far the travel is going to be for the buses, because that might be relevant to the pricing for the charter services.
Blog this! Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post


text:
Davenport aspires to be renowned as a quality institution of higher education that understands the market better than any other institution. We strive to apply that understanding to our programs and teaching, preparing Davenport and its graduates to exceed employer expectations, transform communities, and change lives by believing that every person can achieve his or her dream.
Davenport University prepares people and organizations to excel in the knowledge-driven environment of the 21st century.
Davenport University's Values represent the behavioral expectations of our faculty, staff, and students in performing their responsibilities and achieving their goals. These values are represented through STAIR.
Serving with Quality
Innovation and creativity
Respect for people
[1] http://www.davenport.edu/system/files/Pappas_Vision_2011.pdf


text:
Travis Cloke welcomes change on marking contest rulings
MATT MURNANE Collingwood spearhead Travis Cloke is licking his lips at the prospect of being allowed greater freedom to use his strength in marking contests.
AFL's funding threat to Essendon over James Hird payment issue
Jon Pierik and Emma Quayle 4:39pm The AFL has told Essendon it will withhold a substantial part of the club's monthly allocation of funding until it explains whether and why it is paying suspended coach James Hird.
AFL seeks assurances from 'Dons over Hird
1:59pm AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou says he has asked Essendon for an assurance that James Hird is not being paid while he's suspended.
Heath Shaw, Shane Mumford join Giants leadership group
11:14am Greater Western Sydney star recruits Heath Shaw and Shane Mumford have been appointed to the emerging AFL club's leadership group.
Tania Hird takes aim at AFL
MATT MURNANE James Hird's wife says AFL chief knows suspended coach is being paid.
AFL players 'no' to daily log of vitamins
EMMA QUAYLE Players resist push to log supplement intake via a mobile phone application.
Bulldogs recruit sees forward line improvement as the key
MATT MURNANE Signs late last season that Dogs solving the forward line problems.
New coach Paul Roos springs to the Dees' defence
JON PIERIK Paul Roos has already made it clear what he expects of his players in terms of defence.
AFL allows players more freedom on marking, tougher on hands in back
JON PIERIK Players told they will be given greater freedom when attempting to mark next season.
Tigers lock in Hardwick with new AFL deal
Roger Vaughan 7:16pm After leading Richmond to their first finals appearance since 2001, coach Damien Hardwick has secured a two-year contract extension.
AFL Players Association to monitor long-term health effects of Essendon players caught up in drug scandal
JON PIERIK AFLPA chief Matt Finnis maintains such players will require long-term monitoring.
Damien Hardwick gets two-year contract extension
7:12pm Richmond gives coach two-year contract extension after he ended its AFL finals drought.
Campbell Brown stint a success: Guy McKenna
Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna gives dumped veteran Campbell Brown's three-year Suns tenure a pass mark on Wednesday, saying he'd provided the young Suns with a valuable on-field example.
Brown stint a success: AFL's McKenna
Laine Clark Despite run-ins on and off the field, dumped AFL defender Campbell Brown's three-year Gold Coast tenure was a success, according to the Suns coach.
Magpies eye outside growth to boost membership numbers
JAKE NIALL Collingwood crosses 60,000-member mark for 2014 season two weeks before Christmas.
Green light for VFL Good Friday footy
Brent Diamond Essendon will play former affiliate Bendigo Gold on April 18.
Bendigo gets the green light for Good Friday VFL football in season 2014
Brent Diamond The VFL will host Good Friday football in 2014, with Essendon drawn to play former affiliate Bendigo Gold at Queen Elizabeth Oval in Bendigo on April 18.
Collingwood players were not unhappy with coach Nathan Buckley, says Luke Ball
JON PIERIK Luke Ball says grumblings at Collingwood last season were a result of poor form.
Nick Duigan was open about knee injury, says Carlton
MATT MURNANE Carlton denies utility blindsided them with his shock decision to retire.
Two key players sign on at Fremantle
Fremantle tagger Ryan Crowley has been re-signed until the end of 2015, while Lachie Neale has signed a new deal that ties him to the club until the end of 2016.
AFL fines Bulldogs in whereabouts blunder
Roger Vaughan An administrative error over a pre-season camp in Colorado has cost the Western Bulldogs a $5000 AFL anti-doping fine.
Western Bulldogs fined for breaching ASADA player movement rules
EMMA QUAYLE The Western Bulldogs have been fined by the AFL for breaching the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority's player movement rules during its recent training camp in the US.
Fremantle's Michael Walters helps Josh Simpson
Forward doesn't want a teammate to repeat his mistakes.
AFL players' group wants football department taxed to give fairer league
Jon Pierik and Emma Quayle AFL, AFLPA yet to settle on ideal figure for football department spending.
Footscray Bulldogs return to Whitten Oval
JON PIERIK Footscray Bulldogs will host Richmond, Northern Blues and Essendon at ground once feared by rivals.
Under-18s up for grand final date
EMMA QUAYLE AFL adds new representative game to its underage schedule for 2014.
Dean Robinson's legal action against Essendon could put heat on AFL executives
Jon Pierik, Emma Quayle and Mark Russell Senior AFL officials could be dragged into Essendon's dispute with former high-performance coach.
Michael Walters ready for big role in Docker's midfield
Brad Elborough Has a footballer in the AFL grown as much as Fremantle forward Michael Walters in the past two years?
Lance Franklin to wear No. 23 with Swans
MATT MURNANE Sydney gives Lance Franklin given the same number that he wore at Hawthorn.
Robinson to fight Bombers over lost wages
Joel Cresswell Essendon and its former high-performance manager Dean Robinson will return to court next year over a contract dispute relating to the supplements scandal.


text:
Thor tchotchkes to brighten a fan's Dark World
Working at CNET means working with people who know how to answer the question, "Most awesome Thor-related gift, any suggestions?"
I was looking for something to entertain my convalescing aunt, who's a big Thor fan from the Jack Kirby days. She's embraced the current Avengers series, including the Hemsworth movie despite its lack of Donald Blake, and has been counting down the days until the sequel.
During her recent hospital stay she even convinced someone to change the wording of the regular lucidity check she was being given from, "Do you know who the president … Read more


text:
funny and pleasant work ...
I use a lot of the prebent and straight Herringbone Purfling and the Herringbone Rosettes. It's always top quality.
Stew Mac's herringbone are a good product which hold together when lightly bending over a low heat with a touch of water. Check each end for best parallel lines for good match. (Pic is burst [with stewmac stains] 00 with Brazilian RW bridge).
I used (a small piece of) this to repair some damage on a very fine Santa Cruz TR. Match was perfect and it was easy to work with. Well made product.
Perfectly manufactured, high quality, in few words: perfect
Picked this up for a recent guitar I built and it was great. Bent easy and I was really happy with how it looks.
To add items to your order, select the check box next to the item you want. You can edit the quantity you wish to purchase here, or in Your Order.
To add items to your saved list, select the check boxes next to the items you want. You can edit the quantity you wish to save here, or in your Saved List.