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Voles, sometimes called meadow mice, really like potatoes. If you've grown potatoes for any amount of time at your place, it's a good chance the voles have discovered them and moved right on in. Before I grew so many cover crops, I mulched everything with leaves. Voles love the cover of mulch, happily going about their business (of eating potatoes) out of the reach of predators. As much as I loved mulching the potatoes with leaves, or anything else, I had to stop that practice.
It turns out that voles also love living among the grain crops. More than a decade ago I gave up the leaves in favor of cover crops. I've been doing some great soil building and the voles appreciate every bit, living among the roots of the grains while they're growing and when the roots are decomposing in the beds. I've changed up the preceding cover crop for potatoes, first with Austrian winter peas and now with oilseed radish. The winter peas were wonderful, leaving the bed friable and able to be worked by April 1, pulling out the green pea plants for the compost pile, but I still had vole problems. I was betting on the oilseed radish. After all, it's a brassicus and potatoes and the cabbage family are supposed to be friends. Voles also love radish and their holes were evident through the winter where they'd feasted. One advantage of that is that I set traps and caught a few before the potatoes went in.
I figure maybe I'm supposed to have vole problems, so that I can work on balancing that part of the ecosystem and give you some advice. This year I decided to address the vole problem head on. I scoured the Internet for suggestions and came up with a few to try. Adding greensand to the bed should help, said one source. I'm a little short on potash in my garden anyway and so I added greensand to every potato bed. Bury elderberry stems with the potatoes, said another source. Drop in some crushed oyster shells when you plant, urged my friend. Crushed oyster shells are something you can buy by the bag and are often used as a calcium supplement to feed to chickens. I planted potatoes six different ways to test all the ideas.
I already knew that varieties make a difference and that the voles love the yellow fleshed ones more than anything, which is why I had long since given up growing Carolas, my favorite variety. One year when I did grow Carola potatoes, I also had Butte at one end of the bed. I remember that the voles took out the Carolas and slowed down considerably when they came to the Buttes. My choices for 2012 were Kennebec and Butte. As it turns out, they love Butte more than Kennebec. In my trials, the Kennebec yields were 1.6-2.6 times higher than the Butte yields, with the same planting methods.
Adding elderberry to the plantings interested me, and we have elderberries growing at our place, so that was easy. I put elderberry leaves on top of each potato piece and buried green elderberry stems between the rows. That bed gave me the worst yield of all, resulting in 6.4 lbs/100 ft² for the Buttes and 17.2 lbs/100ft² with the Kennebecs. Remember we make no mistakes, only learning experiences. I learned not to try that again.
One thing I had an interest in trying is to put a post in each potato spot with a plastic bottle on top to bang around and make vibration. I used old metal posts, the kind used for electric fence, for some of the posts and bamboo for the rest. I cut "wings" in the sides of the plastic bottles and cardboard milk cartons that I put on top of the posts, hoping the "wings" would catch in the wind and vibrate the posts, making conditions uncomfortable for the voles. Even rain should have caused some vibration. I learned that was nothing I need to try again, also. Dealing with the posts and bottles were a lot of bother, anyway. In that bed, I had a row of potatoes down the middle of the bed and I hilled around each one. On one side I set out cabbage when the potatoes were planted. The other side had snap beans, planted after some hilling had been done to the potatoes. Another year I had interplanted potatoes and cabbage and the voles took out the potatoes. Interplanting potatoes and brassicus is officially off my to-do list.
Oyster shells seemed like a logical thing to do, reasoning that voles don't like the rough surface, but I had tried that before. If it had worked as well as I'd hoped, I'd still be doing it. Besides, my soil didn't need more calcium. However, my friend said he had good luck with that and urged me to try it again. I did, putting a handful of crushed oyster shells in with each potato piece, then soil, then shells, then topping with soil. Only Buttes were planted in that bed with a yield of 24 lbs/100 ft². Oyster shells are officially off the list of things to do again, also.
I built a new 4' x 8' coldframe this spring. I dug everything out to about 15" and put ½' hardware cloth in the bottom. Then I built the sides with dry-stacked solid cement blocks, topping that with a wood coldframe, right out of Eliot Coleman's Four Season Harvest. Although I needed it to grow seedlings, I wanted to first try it as a potato planter. I only had Kennebecs in there for a yield of 43 lbs/100 ft². I still found vole tunnels in this planting. The voles could have crawled in over the top (an edge sticking out from the coldframe all around might have prevented that) or may have gotten through a crack where the cement blocks may have shifted. Still, I had potatoes. Things were looking up.
In one bed, I tried a variety of things. I buried large black plastic pots with the bottoms cut out, each with 2 potatoes; 2' high circles of ½" hardware cloth dug into the ground about 10", each with 3 potatoes; and potatoes planted loose in between these barriers. The Butte half of that bed yielded 35 lbs/100 ft² and the Kennebec yield was 71.8 lbs/100 ft². At the end of that bed I had built a planter, laying hardware cloth on the ground and making a surround 3 bricks high, filling it with soil. Into that I put 4 potatoes. Granted, it was a very small area, but the yield was 98 lbs/100 ft²! After fighting the voles for years, friends of mine had done something similar to grow their sweet potatoes in, with success. I would have thought the voles would just climb over the bricks to get in, but maybe they like to stay close to the ground.
I usually space my potatoes equidistant, every 12", but with the vole problems, I thought I might be making it too easy for them to go from one to the other. This year, in one 4' x 20' bed I put just two rows of 20 potatoes in each row, hilling each plant separately. The Butte half yielded 18.25 lbs/100 ft² and the Kennebec half gave me 30.25 lbs/100 ft². Comparing the Kennebecs in the hilled rows and the ones in the brick planter, 30 pounds is a lot less than 98 lbs. per 100 ft², but just about the same yield per plant. I could increase the yield in that bed with hilled rows if I interplanted something after the potatoes were hilled for the last time and if I was more aggressive about trapping voles early. The interplanted crop would have to be ready to come out with the potatoes.
Our daughter, Betsy, Lightfoot Gardening Coach, and I have been exchanging notes on potatoes. This is her second year in a garden that she carved out of a field, double-digging the beds when she started. She had planted oats and oilseed radish in her beds preceding potatoes. Since we had such a mild winter, she had to chop the oats in and let that crop compost in place. She pulled the radishes for the compost pile. In "normal" years, if there is such a thing, those crops would have winter killed. She planted Elba potatoes and in the oats bed, with the potatoes planted intensively with offset spacing, she harvested 107 lbs/100 ft². In the radish bed she planted two long rows and hilled each row 3 times. Her yield there was 90 lbs/100 ft². Planting it that way, she used only about half the potatoes and came close to the same yield. She also noticed that the hilled Elbas were larger than those planted intensively. She planted Red Norlands in a bed that had oilseed radish over the winter. It was treated the same way as the hilled Elbas. There was lots of vole damage, producing a yield of 50 lbs/100 ft². She had noticed vole damage during the winter in her radish cover crop and had worried about this year's potato harvest. She did okay, with bushels of potatoes for her larder.
One good thing about keeping records is that it helps in planning for next year. I will continue working with Kennebec potatoes and will compare them to Betsy's Elbas. I might grow a radish cover crop and trap the voles through the winter, something I should have worked more on this year. I'm going to be looking at different preceding cover crops and planting in hilled rows with space for possible interplanting on the sides. Although I don't like to do much cultivation, I think regular cultivation and hilling helps deter the voles. Hoping to develop an ecosystem that makes the voles stay away voluntarily, I've been adding daffodils to the perimeters of some beds (have yet to see that as effective) and have added castor plants to the garden. In the end, it will be everything together that determines success—variety, planting and cultivation, soil fertility, weather, etc. Wishing you success in your potato endeavors. Do you have any potato/vole experiences you would like to share?


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You might decide to perform backups within the non-global zones in the following cases.
The non-global zone administrator needs the ability to recover from less serious failures or to restore application or user data specific to a zone.
You want to use programs that back up on a file-by-file basis, such as tar or cpio. See the tar(1) and cpio(1) man pages.
You use the backup software of a particular application or service running in a zone. It might be difficult to execute the backup software from the global zone because application environments, such as directory path and installed software, would be different between the global zone and the non-global zone.
If the application can perform a snapshot on its own backup schedule in each non-global zone and store those backups in a writable directory exported from the global zone, the global zone administrator can pick up those individual backups as part of the backup strategy from the global zone.

subset: commoncrawl


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In 'America the Philosophical' We Learn That America Is to Philosophy What Italy Is to Art -- Really
America today towers as the most philosophical culture in the history of the world, an unprecedented marketplace of truth and argument that far surpasses ancient Greece or any other place one can name. Don't believe it? Read on!
Adapted from the Introduction from America the Philosophical by Carlin Romano. Reprinted by arrangement with Knopf Doubleday. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or printed without permission in writing from the publisher.
America the Philosophical? It sounds like Canada the Exhibitionist or France the Unassuming: a mental miscue, a delusional academic tic. Everyone knows that Americans don't take philosophy seriously, don't pay any attention to it, and couldn't name a contemporary academic philosopher if their passports depended on it. As historian Richard Hofstadter drily observed in his Pulitzer-Prize-winning Anti-Intellectualism in American Life (1963), "In the United States the play of the mind is perhaps the only form of play that is not looked upon with the most tender indulgence."
But if the title phenomenon of Hofstadter's classic indeed boasts "a long, historical background," the peculiar attitude directed at philosophy in America is more quizzical than hostile, closer to good-humored wariness than contempt. Philosophy doesn't threaten or bother the practical on-the-go American. The American middle manager confronted with a devoted philosophy type is most likely to yank out the old cliché, "What are you going to do, open a philosophy store?", and leave it at that. If, of course, the information has been accurately downloaded. Tell your seatmate on a short-haul flight that you're "in philosophy" and the reply is likely to be, "Oh, that's great. My niece is in psychology too."
The infrequent philosophy blips on America's media screens suggest that philosophy doesn't register on the American psyche with the gravitas professors in the field deem warranted. Occasional mentions drive that impression only deeper.
When a wrestler named Nick Baines declared, upon entering the University of Northern Iowa to get his B.A., that he planned to become a professor of philosophy, the Des Moines Register treated him as an oddity. Local philosophers, historically wiser, noted the traditional lore that Plato, ne Aristocles, actually pulled a similar career move--he adopted his better-known name, which meant "broad shoulders," while competing in the Isthmian Games. And when the University of Chicago, in October, 2011, simultaneously hosted a conference on British philosophical giant Bernard Williams and another on the hit reality show Jersey Shore, guess which one got the front-page New York Times coverage?
Summing up the American media mindset, it seems, was a publicity release from a New York publishing house, hyping a two-book deal with Dennis Rodman, America's faded, body-pierced, ex-basketball badboy. It offered a sweeping historical perspective on its previously unheralded new thinker in ascending font:
Does America take philosophy seriously? One might as well ask whether America takes monarchy seriously. Joking about philosophy in the United States, or just ignoring it, comes with the territory. Hardboiled, concrete-minded descendants of everyone from the Pilgrims to the slaves to the boat people, we pick it up along the way, like mistrusting politicians.
It's the way we're supposed to think about a discipline described by journalist Ambrose Bierce as "a route of many roads, leading from nowhere to nothing."
Tocqueville, that touchstone for all synoptic thinking about America, thought the peculiar attitude of its residents toward philosophy so obvious that he began the second volume of Democracy in America by noting it: "I think that in no country in the civilized world is less attention paid to philosophy than in the United States."
Even Tocqueville, however, nodded. For all his general insight into the fledgling United States, he saw American thought through the prism of European assumptions. His belief that "in most of the operations of the mind each American appeals only to the individual effort of his own understanding" was false then, and is even more false now. Tocqueville's misstep came in using the word "only." He should have written that each American "also" appeals "to the individual effort of his own understanding."
For the surprising little secret of our ardently capitalist, famously materialist, heavily i-Podded, i-Padded and i-Phoned society is that America in the early 21st century towers as the most philosophical culture in the history of the world, an unprecedented marketplace of truth and argument that far surpasses ancient Greece, 19th-century Germany or any other place one can name. The openness of its dialogue, the quantity of its arguments, the diversity of its viewpoints, the cockiness with which its citizens express their opinions, the vastness of its First Amendment freedoms, the intensity of its hunt for evidence and information, the widespread rejection of truths imposed by authority or tradition alone, the resistance to false claims of justification and legitimacy, the embrace of Net communication with an alacrity that intimidates the world: all corroborate that fact.
To exalt America as the world's philosophical culture par excellence is not just to argue that American philosophers have occasionally swayed everyday society, though a few examples are worth repeating. Emerson, we know, spurred American intellectual independence, and John Dewey co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union, with huge consequences for the republic. We recognize that William James catalyzed psychology into a full-fledged discipline, and that Alain Locke helped spark the Harlem Renaissance that began the explosion of black artistic self-expression in the 20th century. Closer to the present, the theory of justice of John Rawls, the economics-accented jurisprudence of Richard Posner, the "end-of-art-history" musings of aesthetician and critic Arthur Danto, affect politics, judicial reasoning and curatorial practice, respectively.
America the Philosophical means more than that.
It is similarly more than the boom in so-called "applied ethics," which over the past 30 years has seen American philosophers taking jobs in corporations, hospitals, prisons and other places outside the academy to bring fresh thinking to the moral dilemmas of those institutions. It is more than the effort of individual academic philosophers, such as gay social critic Richard Mohr, or complicated feminist figures such as Martha Nussbaum, to draw attention to terrain traditionally bypassed by the discipline's establishment, and to extend their philosophical work to activism on issues, as Nussbaum has done in regard to poor women in India.
Finally, America the Philosophical is more than a phenomenon it encompasses, but to which it cannot be reduced: the transformation by which America has become a net exporter rather than importer of professional academic philosophy, an intellectual bank whose bottom line is in the black. The development is not new. As far back as the mid-1980s, The Economist observed that "British philosophy now consists of sophisticated commentary on the bright ideas of Americans." In Germany, leading philosophers such as Jurgen Habermas direct their theorizing toward ideas developed by the American pragmatists. In France, Jacques Bouveresse, best-known for his maverick promotion of Anglo-American analytic philosophy in the land of sometimes murky "masters of thought," was elected to the prestigious philosophy chair at the College de France. In Scandinavia, in Southeast Asia, in South America, professors evoke the names of American giants--Rorty, Danto, Quine, Rawls, Nussbaum--as they once did those of the French, English and Germans.
No, more than all that, acquiesing to America the Philosophical requires seeing America in the new millennium as directly, ebulliently and ordinarily philosophical in a way that remains unappreciated by philosophers, media and the general public alike. It is to see Americans as almost uniquely able, given their rude independence of mind, to pierce through the chief metaphorical scam of moribund yet still breathing Socratic philosophy: the "justification language-game" of academic epistemologists that purports to tell the rest of us the precise meaning of concepts (e.g., "knowledge") by reasoning through a pocketful of examples. It is to see the United States as the exemplar of a new paradigm of philosophy--albeit one with roots in the pragmatically accented view of the ancient Greek thinker Isocrates (436 B.C.-338 B.C.)--suited to the 21st century.


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Sharon Axton is Adjunct Associate Clinical Professor, Texas Women's University, Nelda C. Stark College of Nursing, Houston Center, Houston, Texas.Axton, Sharon is the author of 'Pediatric Nursing Care Plans for the Hospitalized Child', published 2008 under ISBN 9780135035924 and ISBN 0135035929.[read more]
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Below is the feedback from the students who attended SIGGRAPH 2011 in Vancouver, BC, through the Spend a Week at SIGGRAPH program. The ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Pioneers and the GRAND Network Centre of Excellence sponsored the students.
We've removed the students' and mentors' names, and reformatted the text for consistency.
All content, grammar and spelling are directly from each student.
SIGGRAPH 2011 is easily defined as an experience, the only question for me here is: was it a good experience for me?
Well, to answer the question quickly: yes, SIGGRAPH 2011 was a great experience. I had not heard of SIGGRAPH before I signed up for this, and thus could not place what level my expectations should have been. That being said, a lot of what I learned at Siggraph 2011 completely blew my mind. The schedule, upon receiving and reading, made it clear that I would not be able to attend every event that I wanted to. So I had to prioritize. Between the tutorials, courses, events, demonstrations, there was a lot I wanted to see. And thankfully I got to most of them. The tutorials and courses that I went to gave good examples of how to work and cheat in a lot of the animation software as well as some tricks to make your life easier. A lot of what I saw I made mental notes on; how to simplify water, how to render and texture. While I will have to find out how to use the tools on my own, these examples will defiantly make it easier when I eventually start to work on them. The exhibition by far was the most incredible, as well as daunting. Upon the first entrance into the exhibition, I found myself utterly confused on where to go and what check out. Eventually the little light clicked on, and the answer became: all of them. So thus started the endless travel of walking from booth to booth. I can say that without a doubt, that got a lot out of this, both mentally and literally. First off, I gathered quite a bit of knowledge on the present companies, and knowing that there is more about them on their website, I go online and I am still in the process of going through each of their websites, it is quite a long process since I have to go through all of the business card and brochures that I received. That bring me to my second off, all the stuff: business cards, brochures, pamphlets, booklets, stickers, pens, t-shirts, and pins. There was an endless supply to it and majority of it seemed to be top quality material. This is their way of having us remember them, and it works like a charm, what shocked me was that they gave out stuff that for a fact I knew were over twenty dollars. I did feel a bit awkward walking away with software.
Seeing as how SIGGRAPH 2011 was a memorial experience that was great, I had to ask myself: would I do it again? SIGGRAPH blew my mind and gave me a lot of knowledge that I did not know before I came. I found new programs; new techniques; and new styles, most notably using 3D models to make a comic book (it was new and interesting for me). and I even got myself a book from the little shop, a tutorial on designing characters. So now that I went and saw a lot, I could easily say that I found all I need to know. That is not the case, something important I found is that technology and software development moves fast and the industries constantly find new and interesting methods and tricks. If the opportunity ever came up again, yes I would defiantly go to SIGGRAPH again, maybe when I have more knowledge about animation, so that can see just how far animation has come and fast it can go.
My SIGGRAPH experience was overall, informative, exciting, and extraordinarily fun.
Though I did find quite a few things that went over my head, I'm still amazed and grateful that I had the opportunity to be exposed to the world of design this early and thoroughly.
One of the places that I visited the most was the Computer Animation Festival Screen Room. I sat in on the Commercials and Cinematic show as well as the Shorts and Long Shorts show. It was amazing and inspiring to see the power and potential of designers in the field today. I was very entertained not to mention more motivated than ever to pursue a career in the field of Graphic Design after watching those clips.
Another place that I visited most often was the Exhibition Show Room. If I didn't know what to do, I'd go here. I found that the room was full of excitement and there was always something to look at or do. I enjoyed sitting in on the Wacom Tablet instructional sessions, getting information and pamphlets about colleges with a Graphic Design Major, and sitting in and watching artists sketch in the 20 minute sketch competitions held by Nvidia (so much so that my friends and I were practically regulars). Here, I learned useful techniques that I would apply to my own art as well as got useful information about design and the field itself (be it from booths or from wandering designers).
I found the Emerging Technologies Show Room to be absolutely fascinating. I learned about how the holographs that mimic the person who talks into the microphone work, played with the bicycle wheels, played with the sand bugs, and learned (and saw) the new technology that I'm sure I'll be seeing in stores within my lifetime. The whole experience in there was by far the most astounding thing I saw at the convention. Just being exposed to all of this new technology really impressed upon me the drastic advancements we're making.
All in all, my SIGGRAPH experience was enjoyable, educational, and enthralling. Being introduced to the world of Graphic Design in a conference like this makes me want to pursue a career in it all the more.
The first thing I'll say about SIGGRAPH is WOW!
That was absolutely amazing! So far, that is the largest and longest convention I have attended, and it was also the best. The closest thing to compare SIGGRAPH to is an ocean, overflowing with technologies, information, free give-aways, and people.
When my Animation teacher first introduced me to SIGGRAPH, I thought it would be the perfect place to look for where to continue my education towards a career in the game design industry. Suffice it to say I got what I wanted. Along with a metric ton of business cards, I attained a knowledge of what the various schools, academies and institutes are looking for in a student. I also got a good feel for what I could expect to learn, how they'd teach me and even an idea of the environment at many of the campuses. However, my absorption of information wasn't limited to just scholastic.
I got a great look at some emerging and developing technologies, such as 3D printers, new interface methods and new ways to display information. Three-D printers really fascinate me because I love the idea of being able to sculpt something on a computer, where it is far easier to correct mistakes there is often a greater degree of freedom, then take said creation and simply print it into a physical state. Much easier and accurate, in my opinion, than sculpting by hand.
One interface that really impressed me is a drawing program that allows you to draw in mid air, using a camera-tracked stylus to lay out the design, and a similarly tracked set of eyewear to allow you to walk through the 3D canvas. Though it takes a bit of getting used to, the potential for such a system is phenomenal!
Three-D has gone a long way since the glasses with red and blue acetate. So far, in fact, that some systems render the glasses obsolete. I'm not complaining. Those glasses can be really uncomfortable.
In the Emerging Technologies section, there was one booth that really caught my attention. The Recompose was the most amusing thing I have ever used. Even though it was designed as a tool, I could play with that thing for hours on end. It kind of makes you feel a bit god-like.
The few lectures I actually made it to were very interesting. This included things like gender stereotypes in games all the way to a new modeling method that only requires the input of a grand total of two lines. Unfortunately, I missed the Game Papers due to over sleeping, and from what I heard people say about them, they were most fascinating.
The greatest part about being a student attending SIGGRAPH was that so many companies offer free software use to students, so over the course of the convention, I gained access to many tools that will undoubtedly help me towards building my skills and success.
The people there were all friendly and helpful, ready to give information and/or assistance at any time. I noticed some were overworked or in a hurry, and would still assist where possible. It's not often I have run across a building full of people like that.
So, saying all that, I can conclude without a doubt, SIGGRAPH was a learning experience unlike any other I've yet experienced, and that I am definitely going to be among the crowds of this wonderful convention again. I can state that as a fact.
The conference as a whole was a brand new experience for me as I have never been to such a thing before.
To begin with it was quite intimidating seeing the crowds of older and more knowledgeable people everywhere and hearing bits and pieces of their conversations. As the days progressed, I became more and more comfortable talking with strangers. From people in the hallway to employs running the exhibit booths at the end of the conference I felt quite comfortable asking about how they got to where they are in the industry and if they had and advice for a student wanting to enter their industry.
I spent the majority of my time in The Studio and Exhibition area mainly because those areas were more hands-on which is what I enjoy. The talks within these areas made more sense to me than the technical papers.
Within The Studio there were many interesting people and stations to interact with. The most memorable would have been the Unity3D in the middle of the studio. Throughout the past year I've been working with Unity which made it really insightful being able to sit down with other devs and the creators of Unity and discuss ways around problems I had.
One of my favourite parts about SIGGRAPH was the exhibition area. It was filled with a diverse spread of people and companies. All the companies were for the most part welcoming and forthcoming with information about themselves and how students should approach the industry.
The two booths I enjoyed the most were Google and Intel. The employs there were friendly and very helpful in answering my questions and telling me more about their companies. We had some deep and meaningful conversations about their products and services that they offer.
Another company that was exceptionally kind towards me was Shotgun Software. We spent some time discussing various project sharing software and the pros and cons to each of them. They seemed genuinely interested in my goals and projects in the near future. Stephen, the employ who was dealing with me then offered me a "special deal" on his software.
My mentor came about two hours late and seemed quite busy the whole time. She explained to me about her company along with what talks and presentations that use her company's product. She also later invited me to a private gathering. In this gathering there was a roomful of people in the industry who use their product. I was introduced to a once intern at Digital Domain and we discussed the industry and how a student should go about entering the industry. The whole gathering was slightly awkward because it seemed as if the majority of the people knew each other and I was unsure exactly how to approach them. I believe I would have benefited more if my mentor had of been more hands on and a bigger part of SIGGRAPH as I only saw her those two times throughout the entire conference.
The talks that I understood were every enlightening and educational but many times they delved deeper past my understanding and I was completely lost. Some of the topics of the papers were a bit dry and others I could not grasp their purpose. One of the Game Papers I sat in on was about World of Warcraft and how the genders of the NPCs were evidence of sexism within video games.
The 6 days I spent at SIGGRAPH were amazing.
SIGGRAPH truly was an incredible experience, and I feel that I truly contrived many great and extremely useful pieces of information about not just the game design industry, but the digital media industry overall. I wish I was there longer, there was so much to learn and so many things to see; I found I could hardly find time to even get lunch because I would miss at least one lecture. It was something that can really only be defined if you were there.
By far my favourite parts of SIGGRAPH was the exhibition room and the gallery, I got the chance to meet an incredible slew of new people who were happy to oblige my questions involving the industry as well as I got to hear some stories and learn much from their own experiences. In the exhibition hall I spoke to a lot of amazing and talented experts from the industry. In the gallery I saw a lot of really cool things, from a chair that simulated things happening in a video game (things like hitting the brakes and accelerating), to a bunch of wire imitating a patch of tall grass out in a field. However their was one booth that left the most lasting effect, the Makerbot 3D printer booth where I met a man named Isaac; I am currently still maintaining contact with him despite the fact that he lives in New York. I really enjoyed the time in that booth and most likely spent most of my time at SIGGRAPH at that booth. I also was extremely inspired by mentor. He answered many of my questions and silenced many of the fears that I had regarding the game design industry, despite the fact that I spent at most a total of 30 minutes talking to him it; was enough to set me on a pure trajectory into the digital media and game design world, if It hadn't been for him I most likely would not be heading the direction I am now.
Overall I would consider SIGGRAPH one of the best weeks of my summer, I have next to nothing negative to say about, and the only complaint I could think of was the fact that it was so short. I definitely will be attending next year!
SIGGRAPH Vancouver 2011 was an amazing experience I hope to have again in the near future.
SIGGRAPH has given me the opportunity to learn a lot more about what I would like to do once I leave high school. I also found it very helpful that I was able to talk to professionals in a lot of different fields to get some tips on what classes and courses to take to try and help me get a job where I want. I met a lot of these professionals in the job fair part of the expo. There I was able to see some of the jobs that I could do and too see what I might be doing as a future career choice. I was also given the opportunity to give out my resume and was even able to talk about high school internships. Although the job fair was pretty small there was a lot to do and I spent quite a lot of time in there.
There were so many amazing things to do and see. All of them blew my mind but a couple stood out for me. First, were the showings of the animated shorts. They were outstanding! One of them I really enjoyed and cannot wait until it comes out so I can watch it again. One of the big things at SIGGRAPH this year was the 3-D printers. They were everywhere with all different material types, sizes, accuracy, and costs. It got even better when I learned that I was able to bring in models that I made at home on the computer and print them out. Also just walking around on the expo floor was a great experience.
There was not much to dislike about SIGGRAPH, but one thing that bugged me. Since it was my first time going to an event like this I was very lost once I arrived. It was easy to find help, but the help that was given only made me more lost. I was being sent in circles around the place and it seemed that the people working at SIGGRAPH were not given the same information. That and the timing of events are my only dislikes. Other than that it was very well done. SIGGRPAH has amazed me and I hope that I will be able to visit next years and the ones to follow.
Attending the Vancouver SIGGRAPH convention was a massive experience.
I never thought I would have seen and learned so much from this; this was an incredible opportunity! Meeting real professionals in the business and getting to talk to them and learn what they do was by far the best part. Having the opportunity to see what it's like to be in this industry was eye opening for me and now I can't wait to get my career started! Talking to the professionals really opened my eyes for what I am going to do post high school; they gave me a clear path to my career!
Going into the open gallery was mind-blowing. I never knew so much technology actually existed, and I would love to this technology used in the future. As well as we got the opportunity to interact and use most of the machines and prototypes in the room; I can easily see people utilizing this technology for greater purposes. Using the 3D printers was great! I never knew something could print in 3D with such accuracy!
The conferences put on by NVIDIA and all the other companies were really eye opening. I got to take a look at rendering techniques in math equations, and had no idea what I was looking at. But none the less, I can't wait to learn! Also the short film showing was really uplifting, especially watching the indie short films; they were artistic. There were so many conferences I couldn't see them all, but I wish I could've! Seeing a conference was like getting taught to do something I'm going to learn in ten years, and getting a little sneak peek and what's in store!
The exhibition was my favourite part; I got to speak with industry professionals and learn about what they do, what they are working on, and technology coming out in the future and test their equipment! There were so many companies it blew my mind! I never knew half the companies in the exhibition existed, and I'm so glad I got to meet all of them. The job-fair was an excellent add-on to the exhibition. I was offered an internship program for high school students and learned about many great scholarships companies were offering.
Going to this convention was the greatest opportunity I've had career-wise. I hope to attend other SIGGRAPH conventions in the near future and see what they've got in stock for me!
Attending the SIGGRAPH convention this year for me was one of the coolest experiences I've had.
Between all the talks, courses, presentations, animations, and the exhibition, there was never a dull moment, and there was always something to do. Sometimes I found myself conflicted between many different things trying to pick and choose what to do. One of the things that I took particular interest in was the Emerging Technologies section. It was really neat to see all the up-and-coming technologies being brought up in the future. I'd often visit this section at least once daily, since it was easy to reach and spend whatever amount of time I wanted there while I waited for the next thing on my list to occur.
The exhibition itself was a major part of the whole experience itself. Between getting to watch presentations and seeing all the new advances in technology, it was neat to be able to talk to all the people who actually worked in the industry and it was really useful to be able to ask them questions about their field and about what they did; it gave me a real insight into their work and gave me a better idea of what their company was like. I found it really valuable to be able to look around at everything and I was able to discover new things I knew nothing about previously.
Along with the whole discovering new things thing, I also came across something at one of the courses I went to about NIME (new interfaces for music expression). It seemed like a really interesting concept and I got into it more as the course went on. Music is something I'm very interested in and this showed a new kind of way to make a present music. Not only that, there's a lot more behind NIME then just the making of the music-there's the creation behind the instrument used to make it, and with varying styles, it was shown that music can be made out of anything, even sensors.
Overall, my week at SIGGRAPH was a very satisfying and full-filling experience that I would defiantly do again if the opportunity presented itself again. I had a very good time at the convention and enjoyed practically everything that it had to offer to me.
The first thing that strikes you is the colours and the noise.
You suddenly feel small compared to this strange wonderful place. It reminds you of things you have heard of, but never had the chance to see, something which has always been out of your reach. Then you remember your purpose here and leaving your mind open, you begin to wander this place of technology, this place of dreams that have taken form. I am a student at Frank Hurt Secondary School. I attended SIGGRAPH 2011 as part of the student pioneer program and this essay is about my impressions of it. The things I liked about SIGGRAPH were the Art Gallery/Emerging Technology, the presentations, and meeting people from all over while I didn't like the confusion.
The Art Gallery/Emerging Technology was definitely an interesting part of SIGGRAPH. It showed both technology and innovation. Most of the exhibits were interactive and made for practical use such as an optical illusion meant to organise pedestrian traffic and an egg meant to simulate closeness through touch over long distances. Other interesting devises include a pillow that makes sounds when it is touched, a robot that moves under a metal floor, a music box that make sounds depending on which buttons you touch and how much you turn them, and an interactive game meant to replicate making a pancake. Not only was the purpose of the exhibits in itself interesting, but the interactive part showed that such ideas could be accomplished.
The presentations were also a wonderful part of SIGGRAPH. The Computer Animation Festival Screenings were not only entertaining, but inspiring too. It showed how emotion and messages could be projected through imagery as well as that student (most likely university students) could achieve the same quality and effect as professionals. The Production Sessions were also fascinating. Explaining how they create such great effects and storylines make it seem much more possible for novices to be become great animators.
One of the things that really stood out during SIGGRAPH was the diverse nationalities of the people there. You could hear it in their accents and their languages. It's amazing how people travel the world to come to this event, whether it is to show off their projects or to observe. It shows just how important SIGGRAPH is. My mentor was from the east coast of the USA. He had great humour and was understanding of my shyness. I enjoyed my time with him and I think he did the same. Having people come from all over to divulge themselves in this wonderful technology, it shows just how much we are in this together. It is all our duty to advance this world.
Now, the one thing I didn't like about SIGGRAPH was the confusion. It is easy to feel overwhelmed with hundreds of people walking around and all 149 exhibit booths were crammed into one building. I understand that there is really no where you can fit SIGGRAPH without it being a bit pressed for space, but it was very easy to overlook some of the booths because you don't notice them. It would have been helpful to distribute a pamphlet with a little bit of information on each booth so that it is easy to understand what each company or product does so you can locate certain booths in particular. There was also an occasion where a presentation was supposed to show, but it didn't. It would have been nice if there was a sign to say 'Show Cancelled' or something like that.
I liked SIGGRAPH because of the Art Gallery/Emerging Technology and the presentations while I didn't like it because of the confusion. All in all SIGGRAPH was definitely remarkable and much bigger than I expected. If it ever comes to western North America again I will be sure to visit. Thanks for giving an underage high school student the ability to attend this year. I will look into some of the programs I've learned of and see if computer animation is the path I wish work in in the future.
The best part of the conference in my opinion was the emerging technology.
My experiences at SIGGRAPH was a verity of different emotion, from absolute fascination, to the anxiety for waiting to go into a different event. Some of the things a did not know what they were about such as the new technology exhibits, but that was where my mentor was to help me and explain what they were about.
The best part of the conference in my opinion was the emerging technology. The floor mat that picked a direction for you to walk so you do not knock into another person seemed like a bad idea at first but once I knocked into someone i realized its potential, if only it was a bit bigger. The virtual crepe maker was really cool, how it got weighed down the more you had in the bowl and pan was nothing to the enjoyment of having to flip it and place it perfectly into the plate to add the topping onto it. Also the racing game with vibration could help blind people play video games which would be excellent for the industry, it would vibrate in different places when you would knock against a wall or when you hit the break and the boost. I thought that would be revolutionary. I also really liked this new technology that would allow you to work on 3D objects really well by spinning, magnifying, and using your hands to work on it. It was sort of like the modal viewer in Iron Man, but with two screens.
I also enjoyed the animated shorts, they were really expressive and interesting, and just watching the applause they got made me want to create one, so I know it would make other people want to make them also, which would be excellent for the industry. Some of the things I did not like was the art sections, although the one that showed the wind from a different place was cool, along with the Polaroids. Not being an artsy person I could not find myself enjoying them as much as I did the emerging technology section. Also watching the making of different things such as movies and video games make you realize just how much go into making these things that people enjoy or just set aside. Just seeing the difference of stage one Thor to stage three is extraordinary and then from that to final productions makes you at a loss of words. Just looking at how many companies went into the making of Thor is amazing, because it makes my head hurting just wondering how long it would take a single company to do all of Thor or Captain America.
Some other things that I did not like was how slow it felt in a few moments, if you were not interested in a particular event you were stuck twiddling your thumbs. For example, Monday, I saw all of the emerging technology, artistry, and even at my try at 3d modelling, which is not for me. I went through all of that in about 3 hours and was left doing nothing but waiting for the Captain America and Thor event and the reception, just lucky I had a book on me. All in all I really enjoyed this conference and would like to thank you for the opportunity to attend and would be thrilled if it came back to Vancouver. Thank you.
To be honest, I didn't even know about SIGGRAPH before my animation teacher told me about it.
but once he did, it definitely looked like something that I would be really interested in (and it was pretty much a no-brainer because I was actually getting paid to go!). Luckily, I was accepted to attend the conference and my friends were a bit jealous. In the few days before the conference I have to say that I was getting to be a bit nervous as the whole thing seemed quite daunting and was so much bigger than me. However, once it all started and I got to experience it a bit, I got into it and really enjoyed myself.
I ended up spending most of my time in the screening theatre where short animations and trailers and such were being shown, as well as the exhibition floor. There was so much to look at in the exhibition and I was drawn to the Autodesk, Pixologic, and Wacom booths because they were always having demonstrations from industry professionals and I would learn a lot from them, even if much of what they were talking about was far more complex than anything I had done in the past (these booths also had seats and my tired legs were thankful). It was a joy to see the programs that I have used and to see them used to their full potential, with tools and options that I didn't even know had existed. It was all quite humbling. At the Wacom booth I got to play around with their massive tablets and it made me really want one. The Theatre was a great place to just go and relax if I was getting tired and I could see some great animations.
One problem that I had with the conference was that if there was more than one presentation happening at the same time that I wanted to see, I was kind of hooped for seeing one of them. But it wasn't a big problem because I didn't run into it that often. I ended up seeing most of what I wanted to see, and it was especially cool to see people from the video game companies talk about their games, games which I had played at home.
Another small problem that I had was that everything seemed really spaced out and I would have to go on a long walk just to get from one place to another, but I do understand that in order to hold a conference of such scale things would have had to have been spaced out as they were.
Although I spent most of my time wandering the conference by myself, my mentor was very helpful and really enthusiastic. On the first day we met and had a look at the schedule of the day to see what I might want to go and see, and after the first day I had a good idea of what I would be doing for the rest of the conference. I had a really great time at SIGGRAPH and am grateful to have gotten to go.
It is difficult to summarize the experiences I've had at SIGGRAPH2011 this year in Vancouver.
In a place full of people passionate in the digital arts, my time here was well spent as a student, receiving valuable insight into the world that revolves around digital media. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to participate in an extraordinary event such as this.
The various exhibitors, company representatives, and SIGGRAPH staff and volunteers were all very friendly and helpful. It is amazing how much I have learned in a short week at SIGGRAPH that would otherwise take me years to acquire, and even then would not be comparable to the value of first-hand experience.
SIGGRAPH was as much of an inspirational experience as it was instructional. Exploring the many exhibits and events available was entertaining and inspiring. Although most of the information that was given in the talks went right over my head, the experience of simply being there, listening to professionals speak and educate others, was truly priceless.
I probably spent most of my time in The Studio. There I attended many talks, some of my favorites included: 'The Spirit of Rango', 'Zbrush Life Sculpting and Portraiture', and a studio workshops titled: 'An Introduction into After Effects for Motion Graphics'. These educative speeches taught me the fundamentals and basics in the programs I previously had no experience with.
Another favorite place of mine to visit was The Exhibition, which – I think goes without saying – was outstanding. I spent much time venturing from booth to booth, seeing what companies were present, what they were offering, and mostly what it was all about. I attended various demonstrations at the Autodesk booth, Intel booth, and participated in an Autodesk: Maya workshop in the AMD Graphics booth. I also made sure to visit the numerous digital art school booths to see what they had to offer for post-secondary students. Finally, I had a great time in the Job Fair. Although I was not there to submit any applications, the opportunity to speak to actual employees belonging to major-companies and studios was phenomenal, including some from Lucas Arts, Bungie, Microsoft, and Walt Disney Studios.
Overall, my experiences at SIGGRAPH was memorable and is not something I'll soon forget. This was an inspirational week that has given me much insight into an area of interest of mine: the world of digital media and design. I am trilled to have been given such an opportunity to participate in this event, and with that I'd like to thank everyone behind SIGGRAPH and the Pioneer Program for making this possible for the other students and myself.


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Top Items:
Louise Story / New York Times:
Online Customized Ads Move a Step Closer — Yahoo will announce new tools for online advertising today that could pull the company ahead in the race for what is called "behavioral targeting," that is, the ability to better tailor online advertisements to the people most likely to buy.
David A. Utter / WebProNews: Yahoo Gets Smart About Behavioral Ads
Derick / Internet Marketing Monitor: Yahoo! SmartAds Promises Uber-personalized Display Ads on the Fly
Shelly Palmer / Media 3.0 with Shelly Palmer: MediaBytes 07.02.07 — YAHOO will announce Yahoo Smart Ads today.
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Roundtable: Yahoo SmartAds Bridging Search Ads & Behavioral Targeting
Ross Dawson / Trends in the Living Networks: The rapid progress of personalized advertising and the changing role of creative
Yahoo!'s New ''SmartAds'' Meld Brand and Direct Response Advertising — Innovative, Patent-Pending Ad Delivery Platform Allows Marketers to Present Highly Targeted Online Display Ads in Real Time to Match a User's Distinctive, Expressed Interests — SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jul 02, 2007 …
Discussion: AppScout and Paul Mooney
Elinor Mills / CNET News.com:
Yahoo launches customizable ad tool — Yahoo just upped the ante in the display advertising space. — On Monday the Web giant launched a new display advertising product called SmartAds, which allows marketers to offer ads that are customized according to the Web surfer's age, gender, location and online activities.
Discussion: Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim and Mashable!
Pete Cashmore / Mashable!: AdJug Gets Millions for New Ad Marketplace
Donna Bogatin / Insider Chatter:
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Stan Schroeder / Mashable!: 5 New Online Advertising Tactics We Fear
Zachary Rodgers / ClickZ:
Yahoo's New SmartAds Product Aims to Ease Creative Production
Yahoo's New SmartAds Product Aims to Ease Creative Production
Discussion: Search Engine Watch Blog
Kevin Newcomb / Search Engine Watch Blog: Yahoo SmartAds: Super-Targeted Display Ads
Jeff Leeds / New York Times:
Universal in Dispute With Apple Over iTunes — Steven P. Jobs, the co-founder and chief executive of Apple, is an emerging force in the mobile phone business, thanks to the snaking lines of gadget fans who queued up last week to buy the iPhone. But now he faces a headache in an industry Apple already dominates — digital music.
Discussion: Slyck, TechCrunch, Between the Lines, The Register, Boing Boing, hypebot, Hardware 2.0, Engadget, Mashable!, Podcasting News, BloggingStocks, Buzzworthy, paidContent.org, PSFK and jkOnTheRun
Thomas Mennecke / Slyck: Universal and Apple get Ugly
Duncan Riley / TechCrunch: Universal Music To Apple: Adieu Perhaps?
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines: Universal Music plays iTunes hardball with Apple
Andrew Orlowski / The Register: World's biggest label kneecaps iTunes store
Cory Doctorow / Boing Boing: Universal threatens to drop iTunes Store contract
Bruce Houghton / hypebot: Universal Threatens iTunes Exit
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes / Hardware 2.0: Has Steve Jobs dropped the iTunes ball?
Kristen Nicole / Mashable!: Universal Music May Drop iTunes Contract
Douglas McIntyre / BloggingStocks: Universal turns the tables on Apple
Staci D. Kramer / paidContent.org: Updated: Universal Will Not Renew Long-Term iTunes Deal; Seeks Flexibility: Report
Piers Fawkes / PSFK: Apple Sells A Lot Of iPhones, Universal Thinks It Can Go Alone …
James Kendrick / jkOnTheRun: Universal Music Group tells Apple to take a hike
Yinka Adegoke / Reuters:
Universal Music declines long-term iTunes deal: source — NEW YORK (Reuters) - Universal Music Group, the world's largest music company, has declined to sign a long-term deal with Apple Inc.'s iTunes music store, leaving open the possibility for exclusive deals with other services, an industry source said on Sunday.
Discussion: The Webpreneur and Lost Remote
Nick ONeill / The Webpreneur: UNIVERSAL DEALS HUGE BLOW TO APPLE
Wall Street Journal:
Universal Music May Seek Shorter iTunes-Sales Pact
Universal Music May Seek Shorter iTunes-Sales Pact
Discussion: Apple Gazette, Coolfer, The Unofficial Apple Weblog, Gizmodo, ParisLemon, Lost Remote and digg
MG Siegler / ParisLemon: Universal Music Group Leaving iTunes?
Vince Veneziani / CrunchGear:
Breaking: UMG Will Not Renew iTunes Contract
Breaking: UMG Will Not Renew iTunes Contract
Discussion: Gadgetell and Texas Startup Blog
Colbert Low / Gadgetell: Universal Music will not renew its iTunes contract
Alexander Muse / Texas Startup Blog: iTunes to run out of music?
Tom Krazit / CNET News.com:
Piper Jaffray: 500,000 iPhones sold over the weekend — Apple sold around half a million iPhones the first weekend the device went on sale, one analyst firm has estimated. — Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster released a report Sunday night estimating that Apple sold about 500,000 units …
Discussion: Engadget, Between the Lines, Virtual Economics, Big in Japan, CrunchGear, Macenstein, The Unofficial Apple Weblog, TechCrunch, Things That, Gadgetell, Apple Gazette, Gadget Lab, Orbitcast, IP Telephony, VoIP, Broadband, Gizmodo, Mashable!, CNET News.com, mocoNews.net, The Boy Genius Report and Podcasting News
Thomas Ricker / Engadget: 500,000 iPhones sold so far — but can Apple keep up?
Larry Dignan / Between the Lines: The iPhone launch report card
Vince Veneziani / CrunchGear: Over 500,000 iPhones Sold — Tools Consumers line up at the Apple SoHo store
Chris Ullrich / The Unofficial Apple Weblog: Apple Sells Half a Million iPhones in the First Weekend
Nick Gonzalez / TechCrunch: iPhone has a $250 - $300 Million Opening Weekend
Robert Nelson / Gadgetell: Piper Jaffray estimates 500,000 iPhone sold
Charlie Sorrel / Gadget Lab: Apple's Opening Weekend: 200,000 iPhones Sold
Matt Buchanan / Gizmodo: Analyst Antics: Opening Weekend iPhone Numbers: 500,000 Sold …
Pete Cashmore / Mashable!: 500,000 iPhones — Reportedly, that's the number of phones …
Tom Krazit / CNET News.com: Some iPhone customers put on hold
Staci D. Kramer / mocoNews.net: iPhone Roundup: Activation Woes; 500,000 Sold?
Joshua Karp / The Boy Genius Report: 500,000 iPhones sold during opening weekend
iPhone sales said to hit half-million — New Apple device lives up to the hype, though some buyers have activation woes; availability mixed at Apple Stores heading into new week. — NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Opening weekend sales of iPhones may have reached 500,000, according to an analyst's estimate …
Discussion: Blackfriars' Marketing, BloggingStocks and Cult of Mac
Carl Howe / Blackfriars' Marketing: iDay+3: iPhone Buzz Index rises to 16,492 as half a million join the iPhone nation
Melly Alazraki / BloggingStocks: Apple sold half a million iPhones?
Leander Kahney / Cult of Mac: Analyst: Apple Sold 500,000 iPhones
Connie Guglielmo / Bloomberg:
Apple May Have Sold 500,000 IPhones, Beating Estimate
Apple May Have Sold 500,000 IPhones, Beating Estimate
Adario Strange / Epicenter: Apple IPhone Sales Meet Expectations, But What About Video IChat?
Charles Starrett / iLounge: News: Apple sells 500,000 iPhones?
Ed Hardy / Brighthand.com Handheld News and Reviews:
"Palm OS II" Pushed Back to 2008 — In May of this year, Palm, Inc. announced that it is developing its own operating system that will be based on Linux, but also include important parts of the Garnet OS (formerly Palm OS Garnet). — At that time, the company said that the first devices running …
Discussion: PalmAddicts, CrunchGear, jkOnTheRun, Gadgetell, The Mobile Gadgeteer and Engadget
Sam Mcloughln / PalmAddicts: Palm OS II delayed until 2008
Ilya Kochanov / CrunchGear: Palm OS II Delayed Until 2008
Kevin C. Tofel / jkOnTheRun: Palm postpones next OS version until 2008: is that 'Taps' playing?
Robert Nelson / Gadgetell: Palm OS II delayed 'til 2008
Darren Murph / Engadget: Palm's Linux OS not surfacing until 2008?
Washington Post:
Calling In Pros to Refine Your Google Image — At the height of the cyber-abuse, Sue Scheff, a consultant to parents of troubled teens, would type her name in a Google search box and brace herself: Up would pop page after page of attack postings. … The stream of negative comments began …
Discussion: Innovation in College Media
Brad Stone / New York Times:
In a Bid for Dow Jones, an Entrepreneur Again Finds Murdoch as Rival — In the continuing saga of Rupert Murdoch's quest for Dow Jones & Company, perhaps the strangest turn is the rival offer from Brad Greenspan, a former chief executive of Intermix Media, the onetime parent company of the social networking service MySpace.
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Ashkan Karbasfrooshan / HipMojo.com: WSJ Becomes Battleground for New Media Millionaire's Beef …
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Wily Ferret / Inquirer:
Google apologises for Sicko outburst — A la Ferret Blog ye not — THE LATEST TWIST in Google's do-no-evil saga reflects a growing uncertainty about the direction Silicon Valley's biggest startup is taking. — The public and press perception of the company is now heading towards …
Discussion: The Register and Insider Chatter
Andrew Orlowski / The Register: Google in Sicko storm
Donna Bogatin / Insider Chatter: Why Google Health IS Sick (o): $2 trillion Medical Target
Matt Cutts / Gadgets, Google, and SEO:
Company blogging 101 — Here's a short summary of the recent Google blogging brouhaha:
Company blogging 101 — Here's a short summary of the recent Google blogging brouhaha:
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Donna Bogatin / Insider Chatter: Google, Hillary Clinton and U.S. Health Care
Danny Sullivan / Search Engine Land:
Google, "Sicko" Opinions & Issues With Playing Ad Agency
Google, "Sicko" Opinions & Issues With Playing Ad Agency
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Cory Doctorow / Boing Boing: More on Google vs Sicko
John Leyden / The Register:
Senior execs targeted in 'precision' malware attacks — Spear phishers prey on friends and family of top managers — Hackers are targeting senior managers of large firms - along with members of their families - in a new wave of highly-focused email attacks.
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Jeremy Kirk / Computerworld: Hackers target C-level execs and their families
Anything But iPod:
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Discussion: Engadget, Mobility Site and Ubergizmo


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Just after you let a car cut in front of you, it brakes and forces you to wait until it makes a left turn. Chances are, your hand quickly finds its way to the horn.
We often feel the urge to teach cheaters and other rule-breakers a lesson, even when we don't seem to benefit from doing so. A Swiss study now suggests a possible motivation: penalizing rule-breakers activates a part of the brain involved in experiencing pleasure.
Although our "tit for tat" behavior may seem childish in some cases, it also appears to be a basic human quality that allowed our ancestors to form cooperative societies, according to Ernst Fehr of the University of Zürich and his colleagues. Their study appears in Friday's issue of the journal Science, published by AAAS, the nonprofit science society.
Is fairness in our self-interest?
Economists have long assumed that human behavior is essentially rational, meaning we don't do something unless we somehow benefit from it. In fact, self-interest seems to motivate most behavior in the animal kingdom.
Of course, animals can behave in ways that appear purely altruistic, such as parents caring for their young. Some researchers have argued, though, that these acts are self-interested from an evolutionary point of view, since they improve the chances that the family's genes get passed down.
Although the "me — or my genes — first" model does explain a lot about how we behave, it doesn't at first glance explain the social norms involved in human cooperation.
We wait in line with people who aren't our relatives and allow them to save seats in movie theaters; sometimes we even give them interest-free loans. And we feel betrayed if we don't receive the same treatment in return.
"We know that this desire for retaliatory justice is very widespread," Fehr said.
An ancient inclination
Teaching social rule-breakers the error of their ways may be as simple as a blast of the car horn in response to an inconsiderate driver.
At the other end of the spectrum, if your uncle Claudius kills your father and marries your mother, you may start moping over skulls and plotting his demise. Revenge has long been fodder for popular dramas, from Sophocles to Shakespeare to "Seinfeld."
In fact, the desire to retaliate against those who have wronged us or otherwise broken social rules probably goes back all the way to the earliest human societies. Before the days of modern law enforcement, people living together still had to follow common rules, or norms, for their behavior.
Or course, just because the instinct to get even may be partly rooted in our biology, "that doesn't imply in any sense that we should allow private revenge. It only means that we can explain why people do this," Fehr said.
Getting some satisfaction
Fehr and his colleagues set out to determine whether the human brain might provide motivation for what they call "altruistic punishment."
They organized pairs of male volunteers to play a game in which both players began with the same amounts of play money. Player A could choose to give player B his money, and if player B returned the favor, both players would be rewarded with an extra sum.
If player B kept all the funds, however, player A could impose a penalty that cost player B a portion of his money.
The researchers monitored the brain activity of player A as he made a decision about penalizing player B. (Player A almost always decided to do so, even if he had to give up his own money in the process.)
Fehr's team found that imposing the penalty activated a brain region called the dorsal striatum, which is involved in experiencing pleasure or satisfaction.
"We found large differences across subjects in reward-related brain activity and the associated willingness to spend money for punishing an unfair player," said co-author Dominique de Quervain of the University of Zürich.
"These findings reflect the everyday experience that some people are willing to invest much more than others in punishing norm violations," he added.
'Go ahead, make my day'
At this point the researchers had discovered a correlation — that the pleasure-related brain activity occurred along with inflicting the punishment — but a deeper question remained: Did one experience cause the other?
Further experiments indicated that inflicting the punishment didn't cause the players to feel satisfaction. Instead, as they decided to impose the penalty, the players were anticipating feeling satisfied.
And that, Fehr said, is as rational a motivation as any.
"You can look at our experiment as saying that people seem to feel rewarded when they punish a defector," he said. "Now there is nothing irrational about feeling rewarded about eating a chocolate. Similarly, there is nothing telling us that altruistic punishment is irrational."
"As with any compelling study, the findings raise additional questions for future research," Brian Knutson of Stanford University writes in a "Perspective" article that accompanies the Science study.
For one thing, people approach both cooperation and fairness quite differently from one society to the next. Anthropologists have observed very little altruistic punishment in some small-scale societies and much more in others.
"Altruistic punishment is likely to be shaped by cultural forces, because we know from cross-cultural studies that the propensity to punish social norm violations varies widely across different small-scale societies" said Fehr.
Also, the researchers only studied men. The team also interested in investigating whether women's brains work the same way.


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- Where can I get more information?
What is diclofenac?
Diclofenac is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). This medicine works by reducing substances in the body that cause pain and inflammation.
Diclofenac is used to treat mild to moderate pain, or signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. The Cataflam brand of this medicine is also used to treat menstrual cramps.
Diclofenac powder (Cambia) is used to treat a migraine headache attack. Cambia will only treat a headache that has already begun. It will not prevent headaches or reduce the number of attacks.
Diclofenac may also be used for purposes not listed in this medication guide.
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What are the possible side effects of diclofenac?
Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: sneezing, runny or stuffy nose; wheezing or trouble breathing; hives; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Get emergency medical help if you have signs of a heart attack or stroke: chest pain spreading to your jaw or shoulder, sudden numbness or weakness on one side of the body, slurred speech, feeling short of breath.
Stop using diclofenac and call your doctor at once if you have:
- the first sign of any skin rash, no matter how mild;
- shortness of breath (even with mild exertion);
- swelling or rapid weight gain;
- signs of stomach bleeding--bloody or tarry stools, coughing up blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds;
- liver problems--nausea, upper stomach pain, itching, tired feeling, flu-like symptoms, loss of appetite, dark urine, clay-colored stools, jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes);
- kidney problems--little or no urinating, painful or difficult urination, swelling in your feet or ankles, feeling tired or short of breath;
- high blood pressure--severe headache, pounding in your neck or ears, nosebleed, anxiety, confusion;
- low red blood cells (anemia)--pale skin, feeling light-headed or short of breath, rapid heart rate, trouble concentrating; or
- severe skin reaction--fever, sore throat, swelling in your face or tongue, burning in your eyes, skin pain followed by a red or purple skin rash that spreads (especially in the face or upper body) and causes blistering and peeling.
Common side effects may include:
- indigestion, gas, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting;
- diarrhea, constipation;
- headache, dizziness, drowsiness;
- stuffy nose;
- itching, increased sweating;
- increased blood pressure; or
- swelling or pain in your arms or legs.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
What is the most important information I should know about diclofenac?
Diclofenac can increase your risk of fatal heart attack or stroke, especially if you use it long term or take high doses, or if you have heart disease. Do not use this medicine just before or after heart bypass surgery (coronary artery bypass graft, or CABG).
Diclofenac may also cause stomach or intestinal bleeding, which can be fatal. These conditions can occur without warning while you are using diclofenac, especially in older adults.
What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking diclofenac?
Diclofenac can increase your risk of fatal heart attack or stroke, especially if you use it long term or take high doses, or if you have heart disease. Even people without heart disease or risk factors could have a stroke or heart attack while taking this medicine.
Do not use this medicine just before or after heart bypass surgery (coronary artery bypass graft, or CABG).
Diclofenac may also cause stomach or intestinal bleeding, which can be fatal. These conditions can occur without warning while you are using diclofenac, especially in older adults.
You should not use diclofenac if you are allergic to it, or if you have ever had an asthma attack or severe allergic reaction after taking aspirin or an NSAID.
Do not use Cambia to treat a cluster headache. Do not use Zipsor if you are allergic to beef or beef protein.
To make sure diclofenac is safe for you, tell your doctor if you have:
- heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or if you smoke;
- a history of heart attack, stroke, or blood clot;
- a history of stomach ulcers or bleeding;
- asthma;
- liver or kidney disease;
- fluid retention.
Taking diclofenac during the last 3 months of pregnancy may harm the unborn baby. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.
It is not known whether diclofenac passes into breast milk or if it could harm a nursing baby. You should not breast-feed while using this medicine.
Diclofenac is not approved for use by anyone younger than 18 years old.
How should I take diclofenac?
Different brands of diclofenac contain different amounts of this medicine, and may have different uses. If you switch brands, your dose needs may change. Follow your doctor's instructions about how much medicine to take. Ask your pharmacist if you have any questions about the brand of diclofenac you receive at the pharmacy.
Follow all directions on your prescription label. Your doctor may occasionally change your dose. Do not take this medicine in larger amounts or for longer than recommended. Use the lowest dose that is effective in treating your condition.
Take Zorvolex on an empty stomach, at least 1 hour before or 2 hours after a meal.
Do not crush, chew, or break an extended-release tablet or delayed-release tablet. Swallow it whole.
Dissolve diclofenac powder (Cambia) with 1 to 2 ounces of water. Do not use any other type of liquid. Stir this mixture and drink all of it right away. Diclofenac powder works best if you take it on an empty stomach.
Call your doctor if your headache does not completely go away after taking Cambia. Do not take a second dose of diclofenac powder without your doctor's advice. Overuse of migraine headache medicine can make headaches worse. Tell your doctor if the medicine seems to stop working as well in treating your migraine attacks.
If you use diclofenac long-term, you may need frequent medical tests.
Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat. Keep the bottle tightly closed when not in use.
Read all patient information, medication guides, and instruction sheets provided to you. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions.
SLIDESHOWSee Slideshow
What happens if I miss a dose?
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. Skip the missed dose if it is almost time for your next scheduled dose. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.
What happens if I overdose?
Seek emergency medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222.
What should I avoid while taking diclofenac?
Avoid drinking alcohol. It may increase your risk of stomach bleeding.
Avoid taking aspirin or other NSAIDs while you are taking diclofenac.
Ask a doctor or pharmacist before using any cold, allergy, or pain medication. Many medicines available over the counter contain aspirin or other medicines similar to diclofenac. Taking certain products together can cause you to get too much of this type of medication. Check the label to see if a medicine contains aspirin, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, or naproxen.
What other drugs will affect diclofenac?
Ask your doctor before using diclofenac if you take an antidepressant such as citalopram, escitalopram, fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine, paroxetine, sertraline (Zoloft), trazodone, or vilazodone. Taking any of these medicines with an NSAID may cause you to bruise or bleed easily.
Tell your doctor about all your current medicines and any you start or stop using, especially:
- cyclosporine;
- lithium;
- methotrexate;
- rifampin;
- antifungal medicine;
- a blood thinner (warfarin, Coumadin, Jantoven);
- heart or blood pressure medication, including a diuretic or "water pill";
- other forms of diclofenac (Flector, Pennsaid, Solaraze, Voltaren Gel);
- other NSAIDs--aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), celecoxib (Celebrex), indomethacin, meloxicam, and others; or
- steroid medicine (prednisone and others).
This list is not complete. Other drugs may interact with diclofenac, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products. Not all possible interactions are listed in this medication guide.
Where can I get more information?
Your pharmacist can provide more information about diclofenac.
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We offer advanced chemistries to help you protect your infrastructure during the complex process of creating higher-value products. Our heavy-oil upgrading programs are designed to mitigate fouling, corrosion, foaming and other side effects of heavy crude blends.
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Iowa Bed and Breakfasts
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More About Iowa
This Midwestern state is birthplace to many famous people and athletes such as Buffalo Bill Cody, Johnny Carson, Ashton Kutcher, Elijah Wood, Shawn Johnson, Tom Brands, John Wayne and many others. But it is also known as The Food Capitol of the World due to its deep roots in agriculture and the soul of the Corn Belt. Birthplace of the Eskimo Pie, Iowa is also home to Quaker Oats, Heinz, ConAgra Foods, and Blue Bunny Ice Cream. Tourism is also a huge business. Sporting events from baseball to soccer can be found throughout the state. Additionally, an inordinate amount of state and regional parks are a huge draw to the outdoor enthusiast. Anyone with even the slightest romantic streak must visit Madison County, home setting of the novel The Bridges of Madison County and the Clint Eastwood-Meryl Streep film. Although there are only 6 covered bridges left, they are a must see. All of Madison County seems to resonate romance. Whether you start in Ames and end in Waterloo, get to Iowa, and enjoy a state steeped in good eats and great American history.


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This page is now closed to comments. To continue the conversation Please go to the latest Odds n Ends page.
Please click on the comment balloon below to contribute to the discussion of Forrest Fenn's Treasure Hunt. Please note that many topics have their own pages. Please scroll through the blog to see all the discussion pages. There are also stories, scrapbooks, searcher's reports general information, tips from Forrest, a rumors blog and even email responses from Forrest. So please look around and if you want to make a comment please use the most appropriate page.


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If you are suffering from a very slow internet connection and want to use fast internet then you need a good apn setting of your network. So use this best Net10 apn settings in your phone to experience fast internet.
Best Net10 Apn Settings For Windows Phone
The Internet is the basic thing now. Everyone is on the internet and they want fast internet at any cost. If you are paying money you definitely deserve a fast internet. There are few tricks thought which you can get better internet as compared to now. Apn settings are one of the things. If you have a good Net10 apn setting for windows phone then you will get better or best internet speed the problem is you don't know which one is best. This is why we have brought the best Net10 internet settings for windows phone. Just keep reading this article to know how to implement these settings in your phone.


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We can all agree that Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is the worst in the United States? Like, way worse than O'Hare or Newark, right? Nevertheless, this story that originated with New Orleans Saints backup quarterback Chase Daniel clearly shows that flying into Atlanta should only be done if a) Atlanta is your final intended destination and b) no other reason whatsoever.
Tight end Jimmy Graham also corroborated Daniel's account.
Safety Rafael Bush? He's just confused by the whole thing.
As for linebacker Will Herring, ain't no big deal for him.
Meanwhile, wide receiver Joseph Morgan has different problems to attend to:
Ain't nobody got time for that, indeed.
New Orleans Saints team charter reportedly egged in Atlanta [NOLA.com]


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Sonitrol of Evansville launches video company
EVANSVILLE, Ind.—After "dabbling" with different video verification products and services and seeing that grow into a profitable initiative, Sonitrol franchise owner Ken Krapf this month launched a new integration company called Action Security.
Krapf estimated that video verification services currently account for 15 to 20 percent of his overall revenues. "Our goal is to continue to gain market share [with Action Security]," he said.
Krapf, who has Sonitrol franchises here and in Muncie and in Louisville, Ky., said the birth of Action Security had been a long time in the making. "It was a long pregnancy," he said, laughing.
"We started as an early adopter of video verification products," he said.
There are strict guidelines about what is sold under the Sonitrol name, so when Krapf's video verification offerings started to gain traction, he decided to launch Action Security as a separate business, located here.
"It's my baby, so I oversee both [the three Sonitrol franchises and Action], but they are separate entities with [separate technicians, vehicles, websites and] separate income statements," he said.
Krapf predicted that in the next five years, video verification will be required to dispatch an alarm in 90 percent of the country.
In addition to the three franchises and Action Security, Krapf also has a UL-listed central station. All told, there are 50 employees.
Action Security offers indoor and outdoor video monitoring using camera technology from VideoIQ, Videofied, Check Video, I-View Now and Axis Communications. Krapf offers some additional video analytics, DVRs and off-site cloud video storage.
All of the systems offer text alerts, video clips and other alert options, and all except for one option enable customers to view live video via a smartphone, tablet or PC.
So instead of the standard integrator model of selling camera systems on the install margin, "we slash the margin to accelerate growth on the RMR side," he said.
The RMR for Action Security services is "three or four times what we used to sell conventional stuff or even Sonitrol stuff for," Krapf said.
The range is wide, but Krapf said the average is "over $100 per month," even for a small system. Add a maintenance agreement on top of that and the RMR is substantial. "Even our standard systems come with a robust maintenance agreement," Krapf said. "We provide updates and replacements as technology changes."
He also offers a zero-down option for small video systems. "We'll do in-house financing under the right circumstances," he said.
Krapf said that as a Sonitrol dealer, his employees are good at selling RMR-based systems and services. They use iPad presentations that make those sales even easier.
"We have smoking-hot presentations," he said. "I have a guy who is a wizard with these. He does really cool presentations that are four minutes long that help customers understand the concept [of video verification and the options we offer]."
Franchise agreement
As a possible new Franchisee of Sonitrol, and also wishing to start another company, I understand that the Franchise agreement, non compete section, as I read it from Sonitrol does not allow you to compete in any way with its products or services such as monitoring or video vs audio verification, even through a new company. Although 20.03 seems to be flexible, 20.01 seems very restrictive and in contradiction to 20.03. Did sonitrol / Stanley approve this . or how did you do this while keeping to the agreement. This would be great if it can be done.


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Everyone competes or practices some activity that at a point requires a bit of motivation to keep going. No matter is swimming, running, boxing or coding, after a while, your brain gets tired, and ready to give up. Well, in that moment, you need something to stimulate you, so you can keep going. This is called a pump-up. Often boxers for instance are using war-songs to make their entrance. These greatly increases their confidence and puts them in a proper battle stance.
In my case, I often get tired while swimming, before achieving my goal for that session, and I really need to keep pushing and pushing while my lungs or muscles are letting me off. At that point, I put myself either in a life-saving scenario, where I imagine that at the end of the lane relies a drowning person, so I push harder and harder to get to it; or I think to something I'm dreaming at, and imagine it at the other end. This really works for me!
So, my question is ...what is your pump-up method/thing/thought etc?
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Stith was drafted in the first round by the Nuggets in the1992 draft with the 13th overall pick. However that season would be marred with injuries (he broke a bone in his right foot in November of '92 and then broke the second metacarpal in his right hand in April of '93) limiting him to just 39 games.
However in his second season, Stith would shine. He played and started all 82 games that year, averaging 12.5 ppg in 35 minutes per night. And it would be during that postseason where the 8th seeded Nuggets would come back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the top seed, best-record-in-the-league Sonics in 5 games.
the Evil Emperor resigned in January and was replaced by Jim O'Brien.
Eric Williams (with Pierce sliding to the 3 for Stith to play the 2) or Erick Strickland and Tony Delk. Then again maybe if Stith were in the mix there wouldn't have been the need to acquire Delk and Rodney Rogers and the Celtics would still have Joe Johnson today. Then again, they wouldn't have gone as far as they did without Rogers in those playoffs.]
But that's not all (this is becoming the most informative WTHHT segment). Bryant also has a car detailing business and in the likeness of Derek Strong, has become involved with NASCAR, where he owns Team SCORE Motorsports. He also has become the head basketball coach of his former high school Brunswick High which is located in Lawrenceville, VA. He resides in Lawrenceville with his wife Barbara and their 4 children.
For a complete list of the "What the Hell Happened To" Series please click here. tb727 4/26/2010 09:47:00 AM Tweet Edit


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"There are things you cannot change here, they are outside your control," said Hamzah Assaf, an educator and coordinator at the onlychild centre in the Qalandiya refugee camp. "The main problem we face is the checkpoint, it's right next to us, so when there is a conflict out there we have to close the centre immediately," he continued.
The Child Centre was started in 2003 by the community residing within the Qalandiya camp, who sought to create recreational and educational facilities for children under the age of 18 (inclusive of all genders), to address the psychological effects of occupation on the camp's children. By providing educational instructors, a community of peers to assist in identity development, creative outlets, and a computer lab, the centre provides vital social services.
Qalandiya camp is located between Ramallah and Jerusalem, overlooking a settlement and the contentious West Bank wall, with a population of approximately 15,000 within 353 dunums of land. It was established by UNRWA in 1949, by leasing land from Jordan. Currently under the Jerusalem municipality, and subject of Israeli occupation, the camp has a population coming in from about 52 villages and four cities. Its location next to the checkpoint has made it subject to multiple raids and operations, during which children are often targets of detention and arrest by the Israeli military.
Considering that about 41.3 percent of the population in the camp are children aged 14 and under, serving their needs is of utmost importance for the administrators at the Child Centre, who recognise the stark contrast in realities of children growing up in refugee camps in comparison to their counterparts. This sentiment for Assaf is apparent. "If you look around, there are no green spaces or fields for children to play at the camp," he said, "so our upcoming goal is to make an area where the children can at least come to play and be active, so they can take their mind off this harsh reality."
The Palestinian Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Social Affairs provide legal supervision to the Child Centre. Jamal Abu Leil was serving as Director of the centre, until he was placed under administrative detention in 2016. The centre has been functioning with an administrative council, educators, activity coordinators, and volunteers since.
In collaboration with the German organization, GIZ, the camp is aiming to build a library and a studio space for media related projects. Even though resources run scarce at the centre, administrators and educators have managed to have the children partake in activities like, painting, drawing, dabka, poetry, storytelling, sports, and learning how to operate a computer. The centre in collaboration with international organizations has taken the participating children on field trips to historically and culturally relevant sites in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, France, and Italy.
Political rallies, commemoration events for hunger strikers, and cultural activities are a routine for children growing up in Qalandiya camp. For volunteers like, Roni, 30, the purpose of the centre is to address issues regarding traumas caused by child detention and occupation by the Israeli military. "I was 12 when I spent 22 days under investigation for throwing a rock. Once you go to jail, you are more likely to keep going back in. So, for us here at the centre, it is important to provide these children with a sense of stability."
The Child Centre's primary aim is to provide children with a therapeutically creative and educational environment to help them deal with the disenfranchised socio-political engineering that comes about as a result of living in a refugee camp.
According to Roni, "I wake up everyday, and I go to work at the Child Centre, the rehabilitation centre, and the women's centre - we are a community. Serving your community is the best thing you can do, because our situation here in the camp will not be fixed anytime soon."
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