text:
Splinter Sold!
A hapless guard goes about his routine patrol. You load your modular rifle with
a projectile noisemaker and fire it at a wall, in a corner, obscured by shadows.
You could be hiding there, but you are not. You are in a flower pot, unseen. You
are deadly! You set off the noise maker and startle the guard. He runs to the
source of the sound, only to find it a source of noxious gas! He staggers, clutches
his throat, gasps for air but only comes up with your terrible poison. He falls.
You have struck again.
as the owl. Cunning as the fox. Silent. Unseen. Deadly. You are a Splinter Cell.
In the PC version of Ubi Soft's Splinter Cell, you become Sam Fisher
– Fly On The Wall Extraordinaire! It's your duty to crawl, climb, rappel, and
headshot your way into the depths of enemy intelligence to solve the mystery
of two missing operatives, and maybe even prevent World War III. If this sounds
similar to the acclaimed Xbox
version of Splinter Cell, it should. In fact, the two games are basically
identical, with the exception of improved saving options.
The overall arc of the game is still linear, as are the objectives. Do this to get there. Kill him, and receive further orders. Kill them and the mission is over. However, Sam, bad-ass man of espionage and reconnaissance that he is, has lots of tools and abilities that present several choices in how he accomplishes objectives. The game is like a puzzle this way.
For example, at one point you have to grab an enemy commander and make him
open a door for you. However, this task is made difficult by several factors,
not the least of which is the fact that he's constantly moving and alert. I
found that the best way to get him was to leave bodies in a place where he was
sure to find them. Upon encountering his fallen friends, he would try to revive
them, and that's when I'd make my move. Subtle as a serpent, I would strike,
and force the officer to do my bidding, after which I'd discard his useless
corpse in the shadows.
However, I didn't come to this conclusion on my first try. Or on my third or fourth. This is why the ability to quicksave is so helpful and so much better than the checkpoint system in the Xbox version. Splinter Cell is a tricky game, and difficult even with quicksaves (especially since you can quicksave yourself into a hole and not be able to get back out).
Splinter Cell's gameplay is perfectly adapted to the mouse and keyboard.
You move using the W, S, A, and D keys and use a context-sensitive display panel
to perform most of Sam's more specific actions, like grabbing a baddy or opening
a door. You can still perform the wall-jump and the split jump, grab guys and
use them as human shields, hang off ledges, climb lattices, and shimmy hand-over-hand
along wires. And you can even do all this while shooting! Talk about covering
the bases.
walking and sneaking are effectively manipulated via the mouse-wheel, one click
of which will take your speed up or down one notch, and is another example of
how intuitively every aspect of the play mechanics transfers to the PC version.
Otherwise, all gameplay elements are identical to the Xbox version, such as
creeping around and watching your shadow-meter as you attempt to stay concealed
from enemy eyes, not to mention the cool gadgets (lock-picks, cameras, noisemakers,
grenades, etc.)
However, the graphics, which were breathtaking on the Xbox, aren't as impressive
in a PC context. They are still marvelous, but the beauty of Splinter Cell
lies more in creative use of light and shadow than having smoother edges or
finer textures. This isn't to say that Splinter Cell looks bad, because
it certainly does not. It's just that the credit is due more to the developers'
artistic propensities and not the game engine (even though the animation is
as smooth as 007, and certain effects, such as night-vision, are so realistic
it's uncanny).
The sounds are also done well, with different effects for different floor
surfaces and slight aural details which become noticeable the faster Sam moves.
All of the voices are clear and well-rendered and the acting is fine. It would
have been nice, though, if lines could have been delivered in their original
language and then subtitled.
If you grow bored with twitch-action mayhem, rocket launchers and the dumbest
enemies ever, then you may want to step into Sam Fisher's quiet and quite menacing
shoes. Likewise, if you enjoy the notion of taunting your hapless victims from
the shadow and weep every time Buffalo Bill puts on his night-vision goggles
in The Silence of the Lambs, you too should definitely give this game
a gander. And finally, if you just like video games and own a good PC, then
pick this up, don the black duds of Sam Fisher, and instantly become a fan of
the stealth/adventure genre.


text:
This site is the archived OWASP Foundation Wiki and is no longer accepting Account Requests.
To view the new OWASP Foundation website, please visit https://owasp.org
Testing: WS Information Gathering (OWASP-WS-001)
OWASP Testing Guide v3 Table of Contents
This article is part of the OWASP Testing Guide v3. The entire OWASP Testing Guide v3 can be downloaded here.
OWASP at the moment is working at the OWASP Testing Guide v4: you can browse the Guide here
Brief Summary
The first step to perform a Web Service Test is to determine the WS entry points and the communication schema: this is described in the WSDL associated with the Web Service.
Black Box Testing and example
Zero Knowledge
Normally you will have a WSDL path to access the Web Service, but if you have zero knowledge about it, you will have to use UDDI to find a specific service. Web Services have three critical building blocks – UDDI, WSDL and SOAP. There is a third intermediate player facilitating communication between the consumer and supplier, referred to as Universal Business Registry (UBR). There are several ways to find our WSDL: the easiest one is to make a search Query in public search engine. For example, if you have to assess an example.com public WS, on google.com you can type:
inurl:wsdl site:example.com
and you will find all the public Example WSDL.
Net Square wsPawn is a useful tool that acts as Web Services Consumer and makes a query to the UBR and looks for services as per requirements. Then UBR supplies the list of available services. The Web Services Consumer chooses one or more available services. Next, Web Services Consumer requests an access point or end point for these services. UBR supplies this information. From this moment, Web Services Consumer approaches the Web Services Supplier's Host/IP address (WSDL) and starts accessing service.
WSDL endpoints
When a tester accesses the WSDL, he can determine an access point and available interfaces for web services. These interfaces or methods take inputs using SOAP over HTTP/HTTPS. If these inputs are not defined well at the source code level, they can be compromised and exploited. For example given this WSDL Endpoint:
you can obtain the following description of the Web Services:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <wsdl:definitions xmlns:http="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/http/" xmlns:soap="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/soap/" xmlns:s="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:soapenc="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/" xmlns:tns="http://example.com/webservices/" xmlns:tm="http://microsoft.com/wsdl/mime/textMatching/" xmlns:mime="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/mime/" targetNamespace="http://example.com/webservices/" xmlns:wsdl="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/wsdl/"> <wsdl:types> <s:schema elementFormDefault="qualified" targetNamespace="http://example.com/webservices/"> <s:element name="GetURLIP"> <s:complexType> <s:sequence> <s:element minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1" name="EnterURL" type="s:string" /> </s:sequence> </s:complexType> </s:element> <s:element name="GetURLIPResponse"> <s:complexType> <s:sequence> <s:element minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1" name="GetURLIPResult" type="s:string" /> </s:sequence> </s:complexType> </s:element> <s:element name="string" nillable="true" type="s:string" /> </s:schema> </wsdl:types> <wsdl:message name="GetURLIPSoapIn"> <wsdl:part name="parameters" element="tns:GetURLIP" /> </wsdl:message> <wsdl:message name="GetURLIPSoapOut"> <wsdl:part name="parameters" element="tns:GetURLIPResponse" /> </wsdl:message> <wsdl:message name="GetURLIPHttpGetIn"> <wsdl:part name="EnterURL" type="s:string" /> …… </wsdl:service> </wsdl:definitions>
This WS simply receives in input a logical name (EnterURL) and gives in output the relative IP Address. So we have GetURLIP as method for the WS and EnterURL (string) as input.
In that manner we have identified the WS entry point and we are ready to test it.
Web Services Discovery
Web Services consumer needs a simple and standardized way to find Web Services available from remote servers. There are two ways to discover a Web Service, DISCO and UDDI.
The Web Service Discovery (DISCO) is one way that we can discover the URL's WSDL descriptor and other XML documents, like Schema Definition Document (.xsd).
For instance, with an HTTP query to a Web server: http://myexample.com/myexampleService.asmx?DISCO
we obtain the following DISCO descriptor:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <discovery xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/disco/"> <contractRef ref="http://myexample.com/MyexampleService.asmx?wsdl" docRef="http://myexample.com/myexample.asmx" xmlns="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/disco/scl/" /> <soap address="http://myexample.com/MyexampleService.asmx" xmlns:q1="http://myexample.com/terraserver/" binding="q1:myexampleServiceSoap" xmlns="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/disco/soap/" /> </discovery>
We can see in the above XML document we have a reference for a WSDL document, where we can obtain a description of Web Services available from remote Web Server.
DISCO is a Microsoft technology, UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration) is an OASIS standard .
WS Well Known Naming
Common Web Services platforms have a naming convention for offering a WSDL documents: This naming convention can be used to retrieve WSDL via URIs probing or through queries to web search server.
Some URLs that we can use are, for example:
http://<webservice-host>:<port>/<servicename> http://<webservice-host>:<port>/<servicename>.wsdl http://<webservice-host>:<port>/<servicename>?wsdl http://<webservice-host>:<port>/<servicename>.aspx?wsdl
instead of .aspx extension we can also use .ascx, .asmx, .ashx extensions
Same thing with ?disco instead of ?wsdl
http://<webservice-host>:<port>/<servicename.dll>?wsdl http://<webservice-host>:<port>/<servicename.exe>?wsdl http://<webservice-host>:<port>/<servicename.php>?wsdl http://<webservice-host>:<port>/<servicename.pl>?wsdl
For Apache Axis we can try:
http://<webservice-host>:<port>/axis/services/<servicename>?wsdl http://<webservice-host>:<port>/axis/services/<service-name>
Search for public Web Services
The seekda Web Services Search Engine can help to find a public Web Services with related descriptions. To find Web Services just type the keyword into seekda Web Services Search Engine. We can also browse by several other criteria such as Tag Cloud, Services by Countries, Most Used Services. http://seekda.com
Another Web Server with good links and Resources is WSindex (http://www.wsindex.org).
UDDI Browser
A web server that provides a very useful UDDI on-line tool to browse and search public UDDI resources is offered on http://www.soapclient.com/uddisearch.html.
We can see we can use two operators, Microsoft and XMethods
The server offers, for example, to search all UDDI with a specific string in business names, service names or service types.
Advanced UDDI browsing
We can search private UDDI registries using the Advanced feature of UDDI browser.
This service allows interaction with Web services dynamically.
Soapclient offer others methods to allow you to discover web services and useful links to other resources.
Command line interaction
Sometimes it is useful to interact with webservices from a command line.
Simple SOAP Client - SOAPClient4XG
SOAPClient4XG is a SOAP Client for XML which allows you to make a SOAP request from command line, for example:
java -jar SOAPClient4XG http://api.google.com/search/beta2 my_sample_search.xml
We can also use a Webservice using CURL.
For example:
curl --request POST --header "Content-type: text/xml
--data @my_request.xml http://api.google.com/search/beta2
Perl - SOAPlite
With Perl and SOAP::lite modules we can create a scripts to automatize a SOAP request.
SOAP XML File
To invoke web services from command line, we can create a SOAP request file similar to the following one, and then use CURL to submit it to server.
<SOAP-ENV:Envelope xmlns:SOAP-ENV="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" SOAP-ENV:encodingStyle="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/encoding/"> <SOAP-ENV:Body> <m:GetZip xmlns:m="http://namespaces.example.com"> <country>Italy</country> <city>Roma</city> </m:GetZip> </SOAP-ENV:Body> </SOAP-ENV:Envelope>
Creating a malformed XML file we can test a Webservices for a typical attack as the following:
-oversized XML Tag
-nested or recursive declarations
-parameter attack
-authentication testing
-SQL Injection
- DISCO: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc302073.aspx
- UDDI OASIS Standard: http://www.oasis-open.org/specs/index.php#uddiv3.0.2
- Understanding UDDI: http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/webservices/library/ws-featuddi/index.html
- WebServices Testing: http://www.aboutsecurity.net
- Net Square wsPawn
- OWASP WebScarab: Web Services plugin
- Mac OSX Soap Client: http://www.ditchnet.org/soapclient
- Foundstone WsDigger: http://www.foundstone.com/us/resources/proddesc/wsdigger.htm
- Soaplite: http://www.soaplite.com
- Perl: http://www.perl.com
- SOAPClient4XG: http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-soapcl/
- CURL: http://curl.haxx.se
On-line tools
- Web Services Directory: http://www.wsindex.org
- Seekda: http://seekda.com/
- UDDI Browser: http://www.soapclient.com/
- Xmethods: http://www.xmethods.net
- WSIndex: http://www.wsindex.org

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Why Marketing For Dentists in Ohio Is so Important.
When someone is a dentist, they work hard on their practice. They learn everything they need to do each day. They study and apply what they have learned to people who come to them.
They know teeth and what it takes to fix them. They know what needs to be done to run an office. They also need to focus on marketing. Without doing that they could be losing out on a lot of business.
When a dentist does marketing well they can reach out to their communities and bring people in. They can make it so people will keep coming back and to tell their friends about their practice. It might take some extra time but it is worth it for a dentist to have a good marketing plan.
Dental practices rely on a few things in order to get people to come to them. They rely on word of mouth from people who have been to their office before. If they like their experience they will tell their friends about it. If they don't they will tell their friends to stay away.
This is why it is important for them to provide good customer service to their current patients. They want to provide a good service and they want people to have a good feeling when they are done so they will tell their friends about them. They don't want people to walk away feeling badly about their experience.
People like to ask the people they know about which dentist they should see. They trust their friends and want to hear about their experiences. If the experience was good the dental practice will be able to draw in more people who way.
Dentists also need to work on bringing in new people from the community. They need to have good marketing campaigns that draw people in. Just like any other product, they want to come across as a place people would like to choose for themselves.
New people move to their area all the time. These people will be looking for a new dentist since they won't be able to go to their old one. They are the type of people a dentist should focus on to grow their practice.
A lot of times the dental practice will hire a company to take over marketing. This is a really good idea because it will mean that a professional is working on it. They will use their skills to get their name out there.
By hiring someone to do this a dentist can focus on teeth and other important issues with the patients. They don't have to worry about advertising or how to market. It can be a good use of money to do this.
When it comes to looking for a dentist, people respond well to nice advertising. If the ad looks inviting people will be more likely to call to find out more about it. They will also go online and find out more information and if that practice takes their insurance.
A good website is a big part of marketing as well. In today's world people don't want to spend the time to call to find out more information. They would rather go to a website. A dentist that wants to be seen and bring in new people is going to have a good one.
This is something that the dentist should also hire out. They can find someone who specializes in dental websites to get something up about the practice. It would be better to do it this way so the site has a professional look.
Together with marketing and a good website, people will want to know more about the dental practice. They will be drawn to it and will at least look into if they want to go there. This is a good thing and how a practice can get new people into their office.
It might take some time if a dental practice is just starting out. That is when marketing is even more important. They need to get their office out into the community so people know it is there. They need to treat their patients well so they keep coming back and to help their practice grow.
Focusing on marketing might take a lot of work and some money to get started but it is important that dentists realize how important it is. They can't ignore it because if they do they will not be able to bring in as many new people.
Having a successful dental practice depends on having enough people come and be patients. Marketing is the number one way to bring people in. If a dentist does not have a good marketing plan in place, they need to start one as soon as possible. It will be worth it.


text: I also registered on another topsite that has very few sites listed and has had no new ones for ages. (I wanted to breath some life into an existing list rather than start another one). I got the vote button and added my banner but am still waiting for the site' owner /admin to validate me. The absence of any response from that list's admin suggests that the list has been abandoned (which is the reason that I wanted gotop100 to make me the manager of that list).


text:
The following press release was issued by THQ.
THQ Announces Distinguished Lineup of World Wrestling Entertainment(R) Superstars for Front Cover of WWE(R) SmackDown(R) vs. Raw(R) 2011
WWE Superstars John Cena(R), Undertaker(R), Randy Orton(R), Big Show(R), The Miz(R) and Sheamus(R) Set to Be Featured on Multiple Front Covers of Upcoming Videogame
AGOURA HILLS, Calif., Aug 16, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — THQ Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!thqi/quotes/nls/thqi (THQI 3.65, +0.31, +9.28%) today announced eight World Wrestling Entertainment(R) Superstars will be featured across multiple front covers of WWE(R) SmackDown(R) vs. Raw(R) 2011, the latest edition to the renowned simulation-based cornerstone of the company's WWE videogame portfolio. WWE Superstars John Cena(R), Big Show(R) and The Miz(R) are slated to appear on the front cover in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and India, while WWE Superstars Randy Orton(R), Undertaker(R) and Sheamus(R) will appear on the front cover available throughout Europe. Additional regional covers are expected to be announced later this year. WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 will mark one of the few times in franchise history that multiple variations of cover artwork will be available around the world.
"John Cena, Undertaker, Randy Orton, Big Show, The Miz and Sheamus are incredibly talented WWE Superstars who took part in some of the biggest moments ever witnessed in WWE," said Danny Bilson, Executive Vice President, Core Games, THQ. "We look forward to delivering an unparalleled WWE simulation experience with WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011, including best-in-class creative tools and decision-making abilities for players to define their own virtual WWE moments."
About WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011
Having shipped more than 50 million units worldwide, the renowned WWE simulation experience and annual centerpiece in THQ's expanding WWE videogame portfolio returns to define the ultimate WWE moments and give players even greater creative and decision-making freedom throughout their storied journeys within WWE.
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 will empower players more than ever to define their gameplay experiences in a dynamic and ever-changing WWE. Along the way, gameplay scenarios will change based on player decisions, allowing for more spontaneous WWE action in and out of the ring. Players will also enjoy a greater level of interactivity and have increased control of their destinies in the game's popular Road to WrestleMania story-driven mode.
A hallmark of the franchise, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 will deliver its largest offering to date of best-in-class creation and customization features. Players will have more creative tools than ever to customize their WWE Superstars, finishing moves and story designs. In addition, searching and sharing content will be greatly simplified with improvements to the highly regarded WWE Community Creations feature, which generated nearly 10 million downloads, including more than 7.5 million Created WWE Superstars, 500,000 story designs and 500,000 finishing moves in its franchise debut.
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 will also boast one of the largest rosters in franchise history with more than 70 of today's prominent WWE Superstars and WWE Divas. Each in-game model will feature new skin textures and movement technology, delivering the most authentic looking and moving WWE Superstars and WWE Divas ever seen in a videogame. In addition, a new physics system will ensure all matches and object interactions look and feel unique, dynamic and unpredictable to capture the full essence of the WWE experience.
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 is currently in development for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable) system and Wii(TM) video game system, with a scheduled release date of October 26, 2010. For more information, please visit wwe.thq.com, facebook.com/WWEgames and twitter.com/WWEgames.
About World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., a publicly traded company /quotes/comstock/13*!wwe/quotes/nls/wwe (WWE 13.97, -0.16, -1.13%) , is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly, PG content across all of its platforms including television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing. WWE programming is broadcast in more than 145 countries and 30 languages and reaches more than 500 million homes worldwide. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, London, Shanghai, Tokyo and Toronto. Additional information on World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!wwe/quotes/nls/wwe (WWE 13.97, -0.16, -1.13%) can be found at corporate.wwe.com. For information on global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.
About THQ Inc.
THQ Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!thqi/quotes/nls/thqi (THQI 3.65, +0.31, +9.28%) is a leading worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. The company develops its products for all popular game systems, personal computers and wireless devices. Headquartered in Los Angeles County, California, THQ sells product through its global network of offices located throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. More information about THQ and its products may be found at www.thq.com. THQ and the THQ logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc.
Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, the Xbox logos, and the Xbox Live logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
"PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Wii is a registered trademark of Nintendo.
THQ Forward-Looking Statements: The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts may be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the business of THQ Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as "THQ"), including, but not limited to, expectations and projections related to the release of the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 videogame, and are based upon management's current beliefs and certain assumptions made by management. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, business, competitive, economic, legal, political and technological factors affecting our industry, operations, markets, products or pricing. Readers should carefully review the risk factors and the information that could materially affect THQ's financial results, described in other documents that THQ files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal period ended March 31, 2010, and particularly the discussion of risk factors set forth therein. Unless otherwise required by law, THQ disclaims any obligation to update its view on any such risks or uncertainties or to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.
Trademarks: All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, copyrights and logos are the exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.
WWE Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include risks relating to maintaining and renewing key agreements, including television distribution agreements; the need for continually developing creative and entertaining programming; the continued importance of key performers and the services of Vincent McMahon; the conditions of the markets in which we compete; acceptance of the Company's brands, media and merchandise within those markets; uncertainties relating to regulatory and litigation matters; risks resulting from the highly competitive nature of our markets; the importance of protecting our intellectual property and complying with the intellectual property rights of others; risks associated with producing live events both domestically and internationally; uncertainties associated with international markets; risks relating to our film business and any new business initiative which we may undertake; risks relating to the large number of shares of common stock controlled by members of the McMahon family; and other risks and factors set forth from time to time in Company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results could differ materially from those currently expected or anticipated. In addition, our dividend is significant and is dependent on a number of factors, including, among other things, our liquidity and historical and projected cash flow, strategic plan (including alternative uses of capital), our financial results and condition, contractual and legal restrictions on the payment of dividends, general economic and competitive conditions and such other factors as our Board of Directors may consider relevant, including a waiver by the McMahon family of a portion of the dividends.
SOURCE: THQ Inc.


text:
A few days back, Plunkett posted a pretty funny video in which an intreped modder tweaked the original Deus Ex to look a lot more like its current-gen, gold-tinged offspring Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Now, the mod itself is available for download over at ModDB, created and shared by ModDB user "ceski".
I haven't had a chance to fire up the mod yet, and since I've been revisiting Deus Ex unmodded for the Deus Ex Letters (which have hit a delay, but we'll be posting the fourth and final letter next week), I think I'll save it for a bit. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't get to have some fun—go ahead and fire up your golden AR goggles, look down your iron sights, and save Tracer Tong from the NSF, Adam Denton/JC Jensen style.
Woah, "JC Jensen" sounds like the star of a bad 80's flick. A bad 80's flick that I would totally watch.
Deus Ex Unreal Revolution [ModDB]
You can contact Kirk Hamilton, the author of this post, at firstname.lastname@example.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.


text:
A recent Sophos threat report, Security Threat Report 2013, has found that 80 per cent of malware attacks in 2012 were redirects from legitimate sites.
The security vendor highlighted some key observations for 2012 and what is expected for 2013.
It said that 2012 was a year of new platforms and modern malware—what was once a homogeneous world of Windows systems, is now a landscape made up of diverse platforms. According to Sophos, modern malware is taking advantage of these trends, creating new challenges for IT security professionals.
"Two of the defining terms of 2012 are 'empower' and 'evolve.' Attacks and threats—on PCs, Macs and mobile devices—continue to evolve as does the technology to combat them," Sophos chief technology officer, Gerhard Eschelbeck, said.
Eschelbeck claimed that the increasing mobility of data in corporate environments has forced IT staff to become even more agile.
The study also ranked the riskiest and safest countries for experiencing a malware attack.
Hong Kong topped the list as the most risky country, with a 23.5 per cent threat exposure rate.
Taiwan, UAE, Mexico and India followed respectively with 21.3 per cent, 20.8 per cent, 19.8 per cent and 17.4 per cent threat exposure rate.
Norway was named the safest country with a 1.81 per cent threat exposure rate. Sweden followed with 2.59 per cent; Japan with 2.63 per cent; UK with 3.51 per cent; and Switzerland with 3.81 per cent. Australia made it into the top 20 safest countries, ranking at 15.
Sophos predicts that in 2013, increased availability of malware testing platforms will make it more likely for malware to slip through traditional business security systems.
Additional trends expected in the year ahead include an increase in basic Web server mistakes and a greater number of "irreversible" malware.
However it also predicted that the market will see a decrease in vulnerability exploits offset by a sharp rise in social engineering attacks across a wide array of platforms.
"As users demand more and better ways to do their jobs, IT continues to evolve, bringing forth a new set of operating systems and other advancements, replete with different security models and attack vectors, making it crucial for security technology to evolve, ensuring that end users are protected and empowered—no matter what platform, device, or operating system they choose," Eschelbeck added.


text:
Memorial Day moment of silence: Let's get together
Leave it to us Americans to turn Memorial Day into a Coors Light-fueled, jeans short-wearing bacchanalian display of all things cheeseburger.
Seriously: On a day meant to -- very literally - memorialize those who lost their lives in war, we instead break out the Kid Rock CDs and get all bawitdaba da bang a dang diggy diggy diggy said the boogy said up jump the boogy with ourselves.
And while on the surface this seems wrong on just about every level, it does kind of jive with our uniquely American ability to completely forget about the past the moment it happens.
Listen: We're Americans, and we do the whole "pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and carry on" bit better than just about any other group of people in the world. No matter what befalls us, we seem to be able to move forward pretty quickly. To wit: We don't care if we get a little potato salad in our Coors Light; we'll still slug it back. We don't care if we splortz a little ketchup on our jorts (jeans + shorts = jorts); we'll dab at it half-heartedly and stuff another hot dog in our mouth. And we don't care if we happen to forget the whole reason we're celebrating Memorial Day; we'll just go ahead and celebrate and not give much thought to what, exactly, we're "celebrating."
Because really, it's pretty easy to not think about it.
For instance, did you know there's supposed to be a minute of silence at 3 p.m. local time Monday? (And while we're "did you know"-ing ... this whole "last Monday in May" was created by Congress in 1968 to create this three-day weekend, and before the law was changed, Memorial Day was May 30, and if it fell on a Wednesday, so be it. And furthermore, it wasn't even an "official" holiday until 1967, even though it started back in 1868 and was called Decoration Day to honor lives lost in the Civil War and ... well, you can Google it yourself.)
But yes, really: You'd think for a country that's lost over 1.3 million young men and women to war, we'd do a better job with Memorial Day. By all rights, it should be a somber affair. Less Coors Light, more deep thinking. Less cheeseburgers, more contemplation. Less "Bawitdaba," more "Picture" featuring Sheryl Crow.
But it's not. It's a party day, the unofficial start to summer day. And yeah sure, we have our local celebrations, our local parades, our local moments of reflection. But when it comes to our "one nation" getting together on this one, we're not quite there, not by a longshot.
And so while I applaud our ability to carry forth (and to wear jorts without irony) maybe, just maybe, we could get together on this whole "minute of silence" thing. Other countries -- again, based on nothing more than my Google search -- seem to do a better job with their moment of silences on their Memorial-type days. In fact, many countries have two minutes of silence.
Two minutes.
Now granted, two minutes of silence is too much for us Americans -- that's retail silence, right there -- but a minute feels just about right. And so yeah, even to this wannabe hippie dippy it would feel right if at 3 p.m. everyone was on board and turned off the Kid Rock and went ahead and had that moment of silence. Doesn't matter if you're a dove or a hawk, doesn't matter your stance on the idea of war in general, doesn't matter what you believe America is, was, could or should be -- I think it's a fair bet to say we can all agree lives lost to war are lives worth memorializing, if just for a moment.
Just think about it: If World War II broke a different way ... or the Civil War. ... or the Revolutionary War ... or any number of lesser battles, we'd be a much different society today, and certainly not for the better. We'd still have jorts, I'm sure, but I can't imagine Kid Rock would have had an easy time getting state-sanctioned.
Jeff Edelstein can be reached at facebook.com/jeffreyedelstein and twitter.com/jeffedelstein.


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Catholic priest targeted in acid attack in Zanzibar
- Published
A Roman Catholic priest in Zanzibar has received treatment in hospital after attackers threw acid at him on a street in the island's capital, police say.
Elderly priest Joseph Anselmo Mwagambwa was attacked as he was leaving an internet cafe in the island's old town.
It follows a similar attack on two young British women there last month.
Tensions between the majority Muslim population and Christians have been on the increase in recent years, as well as on mainland Tanzania.
"He sustained burns in his face and shoulders. The acid burnt through his shirt," Zanzibar police spokesman Mohamed Mhina told Reuters.
Tanzanian police say they are searching for witnesses to the attack which occurred in the old part of Zanzibar City, Stone Town, on Friday afternoon.
It is the latest in a series of assaults on religious figures in the country and the fifth acid attack since November, when a Muslim cleric was hospitalised with acid burns.
In a sign of further tension, a Catholic priest was shot dead in February.
The attack on the British girls in August occurred in the same part of Stone Town.
Zanzibar's President Ali Mohammed Shein said the assault had "brought chaos and confusion to our country and outside".
Zanzibari officials offered a £4,000 ($6,000) reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspects.
A popular tourist destination, the acid attacks came as a shock to many residents of Zanzibar who say attacks on foreign travellers are rare.
Police say no suspects have been arrested over the attack on the priest.


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TBS Unveils New Windows Store App for the Ultimate Comedy Experience
TBS has launched a brand new Windows Store app featuring a touch-centric interface that allows users to customize their daily dose of comedy and share the laughter with friends. The TBS app for Windows 8 is now available for free download from the Windows Store.
The TBS app takes advantage of new Windows user interface capabilities and provides users with easy customization and sharing functionality. With a couple of swipes, users can get an overview of featured content, a schedule of TBS shows and personalized saved content. Users can create personal favorites lists of videos to watch from a wide range of comedy shows on TBS, including the late-night hit CONAN; primetime originals like Men at Work, Sullivan & Son and Cougar Town; and acquired favorites like The Big Bang Theory and Family Guy.
"At TBS, we are not only creating and acquiring some of the best comedy content available, we're also exploring new ways to make that content available and shareable," said Dennis Adamovich, senior vice president of digital, affiliate, lifestyle and enterprise commerce for TBS, TNT and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). "The TBS app for Windows 8 utilizes the power of the digital world's latest platform to take comedy to a whole new level."
The following are just a few of the highlights in the new TBS app for Windows 8:
Main Hub: Comedy fans can dive right in with full access to featured video clips, TBS shows and the full TBS schedule.
Personalized Content: TBS offers the funniest videos from a huge arsenal of content, divided by category. With the TBS app, users can easily scroll through and view the wide array of comedy to find that perfect nerdism from The Big Bang Theory or the snappiest comeback from Men at Work.
Featured Videos: Comedy fans spend a lot of time online following favorite comics, watching the latest pop-culture parodies and sharing videos. Each day, the TBS app offers fresh video content, such as the best moments from the previous night's CONAN. The featured videos also include user favorites, like a classic Family Guy musical number.
Show Details: The Show Details section of the TBS app is a great place for users to dive deeper into their favorite shows and learn fun facts.
Favorites: Users have the ability to create their own Favorites list from the variety of TBS shows to choose from.
Tile: Users can get a sneak peek of the fresh comedy right on their Start Screen with the continuously updated TBS tile.
Share: Using the Share Charm, users can easily share videos via email, instant message, social networks and/or blogs.
Snap: Users can snap the TBS app to display two apps at the same time. Snap is handy if someone is watching funny content while working on a document or cooking a favorite recipe at the same time.
Semantic Zoom: The TBS app allows the user to stretch an on-screen element to zoom in, or pinch it to view the full display.


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Unlike most 24-year-old men, Sebastian Vettel will spend this weekend driving a Formula One car as the sports's youngest back-to-back drivers' champion, in an excellent place to make it three in a row. Like everyone with titanic achievements, he didn't do it by himself. A major contributor to his success was a strange Austrian man with eclectic and wide-ranging footprints in motorsport over the past 40 years: Helmut Marko.
One could be forgiven for not knowing much about Helmut Marko before the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix, when, after his protégé Sebastian Vettel had plowed into Red Bull teammate Mark Webber's car and took himself out of the race, Marko blamed Webber for the crash. Red Bull's Dr. Evil is not a man of the spotlight, managing his drivers from behind the scene. Based on Sebastian Vettel's performance as of late, you could say Dr. Marko—he earned a law degree in 1967—is not half bad at spotting talent.
Marko was a racing mate of the fabulous Austrian driver Jochen Rindt, who lived very fast and died very young, at the age of 28, after his Lotus failed him in Monza, becoming Formula One's only posthumous world champion soon after (that photo of his widow Nina posing with Jochen's trophy on Jackie Stewart's side is one you will most likely never forget). A year after Rindt's death, Marko made it to Formula One as well, but his single-seater glory would have to wait until he became a talent spotter decades later: over his ten-race career, he scored no points.
His life in F1 may have developed very differently had it not been for a stone thrown up by Emerson Fittipaldi's Lotus at the 1972 French Grand Prix, which hit Marko in the eye and blinded him on the spot. His racing career was over.
It was in endurance racing, in the years before his accident, where Marko set awesome records. In 1971, he drove a Porsche 917 with a magnesium chassis to victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, completing an incredible 3,315 miles with co-driver Gijs van Lennep, a record which stood for 39 years. A year later, he drove a 44.7-mile lap of the Targa Florio in an Alfa Romeo 33 at 33 minutes and 41 seconds, and this is a record which stands to this day. That's almost 80 mph on twisty, narrow, Sicilian public roads.
Later, he turned his attention to hotels and property before returning to motor racing as a talent agent. He's responsible for bringing Gerhard Berger, Karl Wendlinger and Juan Pablo Montoya into the sport, but it wasn't until his partnership with Red Bull magnate Dietrich Mateschitz that Marko returned to ruling the world like in his sports prototype days.
When Mateschitz picked up the ruins of Jaguar Racing in 2004, Sebastian Vettel was a precocious teenager racing Formula Three cars, already under Marko's wings. Barely five years later, Vettel and Red Bull were challenging for the Formula One title. And when you look at a modern Formula One driver's outfit and see a closed-face helmet, you're seeing yet another mark of Helmut Marko's contribution to the sport and to driver safety: helmets since his accident come with bulletproof polycarbonate visors.
Photos by Paul Gilham/Getty Images


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Gene Tang -- the owner, floor manager and master sommelier of 1515 -- knows how to work a room. One minute, he's on the stairs, smiling all the way back to his eyeteeth and greeting the point man for a group of eight just making their way up from the bar; the next, he's on the far end of the elegant, second-floor dining room with a wine bottle laid over his arm, presenting it for the inspection of four very fit, very blond, very professional young women who all lean in, squint and purse their lips in that way that screams, "I know nothing about wine, but if I try to look intensely interested, maybe no one will notice."
Gene notices, I'm sure of that, but Gene doesn't care. When they all lean back, look at each other and nod in consensus, he just hits them with that thousand-watt grin and compliments them on their astute choice. Does it matter that he's sold them a sharp, heavy Cabernet to go with their mixed greens and strawberry salad? Not a bit. The point is, those four women feel with-it and welcome; they feel as though they've made a wise and educated selection. The point is, the house gets to tack a bottle of wine onto their bill. The point is, Gene knows how to work a room.
He's like a wind-up food-service action figure: Turn the key, set him down in the middle of a packed house, and watch him go. He glides around the tables, sharply dressed in classic black-on-black with a walkie-talkie on his belt and eyes like a sniper -- focused, attentive and slightly predatory. Blink, and he's at the service station, head down, hissing at one of his servers with a hand clamped tightly on his shoulder. Blink, and he's behind you, snapping pictures of the blue-haired birthday party and chatting up the ladies out for a night on the town. Blink, and he's clearing a table, plates balanced up his arm. Blink, and he's glad-handing his way around a table of local VIPs, starting an infectious round of applause that ripples through the room -- even though half the people (myself included) have no idea what they're clapping for.
1515 Market Street
Hours: Lunch 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday
Dinner 5-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday
5-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Seared foie gras: $12
1515 burger: $8
Maryland crab melt: $9
Tuna ni�oise: $11
Chile and clove rubbed chicken: $15
Seared duck breast: $17 (special: $18)
Colorado rack of lamb: $28
Buffalo ribeye: $28
Blink, and he's at your table, thanking you for coming, making sure everything is okay, giving you the high-beam smile and a handshake and a "Hi, how ya doin'?"
Blink, and he's gone.
Finally, you can concentrate on your meal. But the buzz doesn't leave the room when Gene does, because no matter how electric he might be, his wattage fades compared with the star power of the food coming out of the kitchen.
1515 has a revamped menu (it's no longer Pacific Rim, not even new American, but a kind of nouveau French classicist with a worldly sense of style) and a line now firmly in the hands of executive chef Olav Peterson (formerly of Bella Ristorante and Cafe Giovanni, which two decades ago occupied this same century-old space at 1515 Market Street) and sous chef Ben Alandt (an art-school grad who earned his chops at the Hilltop and Rialto cafes). Their work is so impressive that Gene's flesh-pressing routine becomes a pleasant sideshow to the main event taking place at every table and on every plate.
Chicken is a throw-away dish at nearly every fine-dining restaurant: It's generally the simplest to prepare, almost always the cheapest entree offered, and -- like a New York strip or a simple pasta with red sauce -- it's the thing you keep on the menu for people who are afraid to eat anything else. But at 1515, the humble, oft-abused bird is lavished with the sort of attention usually reserved for a centerpiece dish. Beginning with a deep spice rub of cloves and chile worked so thoroughly into the meat that the warm, wintery flavors fill, rather than simply top, the bone-in chicken leg, the kitchen then presents it on a soft Arborio-rice cake dusted with mellow turmeric and smeared with a wonderful sweet-potato purée. Add to this a smooth, perfectly balanced broth of coconut milk and cilantro -- its sweetness playing off the warm weight of the turmeric and clove -- and a gaufrette of fried plantain, and what you have is exactly the kind of architectural food that I'd normally hate. But such care was given to every element of its construction, and the components worked so well together, that I dug into it wide-eyed and stripped of all my usual prejudice. I loved every bite.
Believe it or not, the chicken was still the cheapest and simplest entree on the dinner menu. For globe-trotting complexity, look to the Colorado rack of lamb, served with an Argentine chimichurri (a thick herb sauce made with olive oil, vinegar, onions, garlic and all the pepper you can lay your hands on), candied yams and a cold vegetable ceviche. For class, there's the tarragon grilled salmon presented with a simple chilled parsley jus, and for pure American appetites, a blackened ribeye of buffalo. But my stand-out favorite -- the one dish that stood me up, shook me around and spoke straight to that dim little part of my brain that recognizes instinctively a kitchen's most pure expression of itself -- was the special on a recent Monday night: a seared duck breast served over potato gnocchi with a golden-raisin reduction.
Some chefs today are afraid of blood. What with all the e. Coli scares and articles in major magazines telling us that we have to order everything we eat blackened until the plate it's served on looks more appetizing, many of my brothers and sisters in white have backed off from preparations or sauces that require a rare meat to properly mount them or bring out their strongest flavors. But while you do need to be careful how you order in many places, that's not true everywhere. And definitely not here.
At 1515, the boys in the back are not afraid. It was the bloody-rare presentation of that duck that made it such a knockout; the combination of the duck's own juices with the honey-sweet essence of the golden raisin sauce that gave it depth and a weighty tang. This was a sauce with muscle, with the legs of a marathon runner, and it lent to the duck layers of flavor that gave the sensation of wholeness and a well-rounded body. And even if the potato gnocchi weren't perfect (and they weren't: a little mushy, and way too heavy on the herbs), I can forgive that, because this duck will hang with me a long time as proof positive that these chefs have the guts to actually cook -- to experiment, to play, and to do so without fear. It makes me feel good to know that not everyone is giving in to the fussy tastes of the craven gastrological milksops; it gives me faith to know that there are still some chefs out there who aren't afraid of a little blood.
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That said, not everything coming out of 1515's kitchen was as inspirational. The seared Sonoma foie gras on the appetizer menu arrived at the table runny, had been less than expertly veined, and was seared past the point of caramelization. Still, it was plated over dried apple slices and served with a nice, tart apple-balsamic reduction that would have made for a fantastic combination had the liver been handled a bit more carefully. In general, lunch stood a couple of steps below the heights achieved at dinner, and although the 1515 burger is one monster sandwich -- served with real smoked bacon, Roquefort cheese and good sautéed mushrooms on top of a half-pound of ground beef cooked as I'd ordered to a perfect medium rare -- the signature fried potato salad just didn't do it for me. The greens were wilted, the potatoes too dry and the dressing simply not strong enough to hold its own against all that starch.
Also, I could swear the ahi tuna niçoise was actually made with the smaller bonito or skipjack tuna, and not yellowfin. The thick, smooth texture of sashimi-grade ahi wasn't there, and neither was the characteristic deep-red coloring. It was a decent salad -- a good starter, or filling enough for a light lunch -- but if it was ahi tuna being used (and Gene assured me that it was), then it was certainly from a lower-grade fish, possibly a tail cut, or just something else altogether. Ben and Olav, I owe you guys a couple of beers if I'm wrong on this. In fact, I owe you guys a couple of beers, anyway, because your kitchen is striving for greatness and recognizes that it is the food that matters -- first, last and forever.
The best restaurateurs understand this, and so the best restaurants accept that everything else is a stage on which great things are set. No floor man, however talented, can resuscitate a dinner crowd stunned lifeless by a dull menu, weak flavors or a poor presentation. But when a kitchen is firing on all cylinders, as 1515's is now, sending out plates that knock people back in their seats and make the ladies swoon, nothing else matters.
The kitchen should steal the show every night of the week. Ask Gene. That's something he knows.
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Mike Martens: A local lawman for 30 years
These days, working at the same place for any length of time is an accomplishment.
But for three decades?
Now that's dedication and commitment.
Emmet County sheriff Mike Martens has been working for Emmet County for 30 years now, much of that as either chief deputy or sheriff. During that time, he's seen changes in the role of law enforcement and the technology available to those who have the job of protecting all of us.
For Martens, knowing the people here helps a lot.
Growing up just over the Dickinson County line, Martens graduated from Estherville High School in 1981 then Iowa Lakes Community College.
He started part-time at Arnolds Park, then was contacted by the Estherville chief of police about a part-time position right in Estherville, so he went there. Meanwhile, a spot opened in Spencer where he'd applied earlier. He served there for two months before the call came from Emmet County where he's been ever since.
Starting as a patrol deputy, Martens was promoted to sergeant in 1988 then to chief deputy in 1995. In 2008, he was elected Emmet County sheriff, replacing Larry Lamack.
During his tenure, Martens has seen a lot of changes in law enforcement, probably most noticeably in technology. When he first started, officers either typed their reports or a dispatcher typed them for them. Docketing and fee books also were done by hand. Now everything is on computer.
"It has saved a great deal of time," said Martens. "It was a necessary step because of volume. I don't think there's any doubt that our role and our activities have changed since I started."
"Even the way in which we communicate has changed," said Martens. "When I started, our two-way radios had four channels and now they have channels to communicate with many different entities from state and county snowplows, ambulance services, fire vehicles, EMA and neighboring counties' radio systems. In addition, it used to be when sheriff's staff left their car there was not much chance they could communicate with dispatch by using their portable radio because of radio range.
"Eventually in the 1990's, former sheriff Lamack got the first radio repeater which helped communicate with dispatch," said Martens. "Today we now have three radio repeaters which now makes portable communications almost seamless. There are also now radio repeaters in place for the county's fire departments. They can also communicate by portable while on a fire scene and they also greatly add range to the firefighters' pagers by bringing the towers closer to the community they serve. These devices have greatly contributed to officer, firefighter and citizens' safety.
"The squad cars also now have laptop computers in them. That also has made staff more efficient, and allowed staff to have access to an amount of information in the squad car that was only dreamed of 30 years ago."
Now, people have greater expectations from the department.
"In our advanced society people expect more from their public servants and we try to provide that every day," said Martens.
That heavier volume has of course changed the roles that department employees play. Before, the sheriff and deputies took calls for service, patrolled the entire county, conducted investigations, serviced civil process and took care of the prisoners in the Emmet County jail. Today, there are four jailers to take care of the jail so the patrol staff can be on the road where they can be of more service.
So in regard to jailers, said Martens, "I can't imagine operating without them now."
When Martens started with the department, one deputy covered 408 square miles.
That doesn't mean a lot of staff have been added. Martens said just two deputies have been added over the last 30 years – one in 1987 and another in 1995. "We've been static since then," said Martens.
And there are different problems now.
"Drug abuse has become a huge problem," said Martens. "We see a lot more of it than when I started."
While it used to be rare for deputies to make an arrest for marijuana possession, finding pot is common now.
And there's also meth.
"Now it's around us," Martens said. "I consider meth a major problem here. I consider drug and alcohol abuse a major problem in our area."
Growing up here, Martens didn't see nearly the problems that he does now. He urges citizens who want to help to be aware of their environment and surroundings and to not put themselves into jeopardy where they will be exposed to drug activity. If they do notice any drug activity, they're encouraged to tell a law officer.
"Our smaller towns are particularly vulnerable," said Martens, noting that some criminal elements might want to move to a smaller town because it could offer anonymity. "They (criminals) want to be in an area where there's a lower level of law-enforcement protection," Martens said.
Between meth and prescription drug abuse, people could be facing very dangerous people. And, while the department is staffed a little better than when Martens started, a deputy may often find himself handling a tense situation alone.
"It's those kinds of people you have to handle alone in the field," said Martens.
A sheriff's deputy is by no means limited to law enforcement, though. The deputy may also handling civil process, jail duties and prisoner transports. Often, a deputy can be the first on the scene to give first aid. Today, Martens tries to roll a defibrillator in every car and to make sure deputies have first-aid equipment.
Martens wants the public to know that the department is there to protect them, and he deeply appreciates the support he's had. And he's proud of the citizens of Emmet County and the office of sheriff.
"I hope the citizens are happy with me," he said.
Martens makes sure his deputies are proactive with visible patrols. "We want to have that deterrent shock value," he said.
He's also proactive in seeking out violations of the law – whether criminal or aggressive traffic enforcement to minimize traffic accidents and deaths.
While he's definitely seen his share of tragedy, Martens has also had his rewards.
"I get a lot of reward from a lot of different things," he said. "It's nice when you know when you've made an influence – when you're made an impact."
A lot of that satisfaction comes from solving cases and rendering first aid. And, despite the challenges, Martens always tries to remain positive.
"I try to stay on the bright side of things," he said. "I try to surround myself personally and professionally with people that are positive people. I have also had a very supportive wife and family."
It helps a lot too that he loves the people and the area.
"This is a wonderful place to raise a family," said Martens. "It's a nice place to call home. I can't imagine living anywhere else."


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Media Contact: Wally Weart 303953-9295
E-mail: email@example.com
Website: www.tianet.org
Alexandria, VA –January 25, 2010- The Transportation Intermediaries Association will hold its 32nd Annual Convention and Trade Show on April 7-10 at the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador in Tucson, AZ with a theme of "The Power of Together". Seminars and workshops are focused on exploring the challenges facing the Third Party Logistics industry, providing real time solutions that work and offering strategies to cope with the current business climate. Details about the convention are available at www.tianet.org
Participants will benefit from 16 educational sessions in 4 tracks which can be mixed and matched to create a unique learning experience. Five plenary sessions on topics that affect every 3PL, three pre-conference seminars and the largest trade show for brokerage-based 3PLs make this a "must attend" event. In light of the implantation of CSA 2010, two educational sessions has been added.
The keynote speaker for the convention will be one of the world's most respected marketing strategists, Harry Beckwith who has influenced major marketing initiatives for 26 Fortune 200 companies, work that has won him the American Marketing Association's highest award. Beckwith's first book, Selling the Invisible, spent an unprecedented 36 consecutive months on the Business Week magazine's best-seller list and was recently named one of the top ten business and management books of all time.
The Convention will provide outstanding opportunities to build relationships at numerous networking events including a golf outing and the Chairman's Reception and Award Dinner on Saturday night.
"As the economy begins to improve and government changes increase, it is more important than ever to position your company for the future. TIA's meeting is designed to help the industry's leading 3PLs recognize the changes necessary to grow and prosper", said Robert Voltmann, TIA's president and CEO.
The Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) is the professional organization of the $162 billion third party logistics industry. TIA is the only organization exclusively representing transportation intermediaries of all disciplines, doing business in domestic and international commerce. TIA is the voice of transportation intermediaries to shippers, carriers, government officials and international organizations. TIA is the United States member of the International Federation of Freight Forwarder Associations, FIATA.


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Working at Uber in Pittsburgh
In our Pittsburgh office, the Uber Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) is developing self-driving technology to enable mobility that is increasingly shared, sustainable, and automated.
We pride ourselves on the amazing team we've built and are always looking for world-class researchers, engineers, and product specialists who prioritize safety to join our growing team.
Teams in Pittsburgh
Software Engineering
Software Engineering at Uber ATG has a fascinating, diverse mix of teams. From deep learning and neural networks, to robotics, maps, simulation, security and data science, if there's a type of software you're interested in, we probably do it. Uber is uniquely well-positioned to bring self-driving to the world through its ride-sharing network.
Hardware Engineering
Our Hardware Engineering teams cover vast engineering disciplines working cross-functionally in all areas of self-driving vehicles. With a multi-faceted approach that addresses challenges at the mechanical, electrical, and firmware levels, our R&D Hardware Engineering teams set the bar for talent.
Systems Engineering & Testing
The Systems Engineering & Testing (SE&T) team at Uber ATG is charged with answering, "What does the system need to do, what is the architecture, how is it performing, and when do we release it?" We are the cross-functional, technical interface between Product, Safety, Hardware, Software, and Operations. Our goal is to ensure a holistic system design that optimizes across domains.
Product & Design
The Product & Design team builds on a platform of deep empathy for our users both internally and externally, turning complex technology into elegant product solutions.
Technical Program Management
Technical Program Management oversees delivery of strategic programs to the business. Our programs are an independent source of truth for the organization. We ensure that timely decisions are made and that data and risk are well understood and managed. In the course of delivering programs, we drive continuous improvement within teams and growth of organizational capabilities. We are building the execution platform that will deliver self-driving to the world.
Safety & Systems
The Safety & Systems team within Uber ATG is charged with ensuring that, at every stage of development, our self-driving vehicles are demonstrably safe when operating on public roads. We also hold primary responsibility for establishing durable specifications that will guide the integration of self-driving technology onto the Uber network on a global scale.
We are a group of diverse researchers, engineers, and computer scientists working to develop perception algorithms for self-driving vehicles. Reliability and scalability are key drivers for us as our software must perform across a large fleet of vehicles in complex and diverse operating areas.
Learning from the Past to Move Forward
Read about our approach to returning to public roads.
Find open roles
51 open roles


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This path has great promise in economic finance, although it hasn't been pursued very far until recently. My Bloomberg column gives a sketch of what is going on, but I'd like to give a few more details here and some links.
The patterns we find in finance are statistical regularities -- broad statistical patterns which show up in all markets studied, with an impressive similarity across markets in different countries and for markets in different instruments. The first regularity is the distribution of returns over various time intervals, which has been found generically to have broad power law tails -- "fat tails" -- implying that large fluctuations up or down are much more likely than they would be if markets fluctuated in keeping with normal Gaussian statistics. Anyone who read The Black Swan knows this.
This pattern has been established in a number of studies over the past 15 years or so, mostly by physicist Eugene Stanley of Boston University and colleagues. This paper from 1999 is perhaps the most notable, as it used enormous volumes of historical data to establish the fat tailed pattern for returns over times ranging from one minute up to about 4 days. One of the most powerful things about this approach is that it doesn't begin with any far reaching assumptions about human behaviour, the structure of financial markets or anything else, but only asks -- are there patterns in the data? As the authors note:
The most challenging difficulty in the study of a financial market is that the nature of the interactions between the different elements comprising the system is unknown, as is the way in which external factors affect it. Therefore, as a starting point, one may resort to empirical studies to help uncover the regularities or "empirical laws" that may govern financial markets.This strategy seems promising to physicists because it has worked in building theories of complex physical systems -- liquids, gases, magnets, superconductors -- for which it is also often impossible to know anything in great detail about the interactions between the molecules and atoms within. This hasn't prevented the development of powerful theories because, as it turns out, many of the precise details at the microscopic level DO NOT influence the large scale collective properties of the system. This has inspired physicists to think that the same may be true in financial markets -- at least some of the collective behaviour we see in markets, their macroscopic behaviour, may be quite insensitive to details about human decision making, market structure and so on.
The authors of this 1999 study summarized their findings as follows:
Several points of clarification. First, the result for the power law with exponent close to 3 is a result for the cumulative distribution. That is, the probability that a return will be greater than a certain value (not just equal to that value). Second, the fact that this value lies outside of the range [0,2] means that the process generating these fluctuations isn't a simple stationary random process with an identical and independent distribution for each time period. This was the idea initially proposed by Benoit Mandelbrot on the basis of the so-called Levy Stable distributions. This study and others have established that this idea can't work -- something more complicated is going on.
That complication is also referred to in the second paragraph above. If you take the data on returns at the one minute level, and randomize the order in which it appears, then you still get the same power law tails in the distribution of returns over one minute. That's the same data. But this new time series has different returns over longer times, generated by combining sequences of the one minute returns. The distribution over longer and longer times turns out to converge slowly to a Gaussian for the randomized data, meaning that the true fat tailed distribution over longer times has its origin in some rich and complex correlations in market movements at different times (which gets wiped out by the randomization). Again, we're not just dealing with a fixed probability distribution and independent changes over different intervals.
To read more about this, see this nice review by Xavier Gabaix of MIT. It covers this and many other power laws in finance and economics.
Now, the story gets even more interesting if you look past the mere distribution of returns and study the correlations between market movements at different times. Market movements are, of course, extremely hard to predict. But it is very interesting where the unpredictability comes in.
The so-called autocorrelation of the time series of market returns decays to zero after a few minutes. This is essentially a measure of how much the return now can be used to predict a return in the future. After a few minutes, there's nothing. This is the sense in which the markets are unpredictable. However, there are levels of predictability. It was discovered in the early 1990s, and has been confirmed many times since in different markets, that the time series of volatility -- the absolute value of the market return -- has long-term correlations, a kind of long-term memory. Technically, the autocorrelation of this time series only decays to zero very slowly.
This is shown below in the following figure (from a representative paper, again from the Boston University group) which shows the autocorrelation of the return time series g(t) and also of the volatility, which is the absolute value of g(t):
Clearly, whereas the first signal shows no correlations after about 10 minutes, the second shows correlations and predictability persisting out to times as long as 10,000 minutes, which is on the order of 10 days or so.
So, its the directionality of price movements which has very little predictability, whereas the magnitude of changes follows a process with much more interesting structure. It is in the record of this volatility that one sees potentially deep links to other physical processes, including earthquakes. A particularly interesting paper is this one, again by the Boston group, quantifying several ways in which market volatility obeys several quantitative laws known from earthquake science, especially the Omori Law describing how the probability of aftershocks decays following a main earthquake. This probability decays quite simply in proportion to 1/time since the main quake, meaning that aftershocks are most likely immediately afterward, and become progressively less likely with time. Episodes of high volatility appear to follow similar behaviour quite closely.
Perhaps even better is another study, which looks at the link to earthquakes with a somewhat tighter focus. The abstract captures the content quite well:
We analyze the memory in volatility by studying volatility return intervals, defined as the time between two consecutive fluctuations larger than a given threshold, in time periods following stock market crashes. Such an aftercrash period is characterized by the Omori law, which describes the decay in the rate of aftershocks of a given size with time t by a power law with exponent close to 1. A shock followed by such a power law decay in the rate is here called Omori process. We find self-similar features in the volatility. Specifically, within the aftercrash period there are smaller shocks that themselves constitute Omori processes on smaller scales, similar to the Omori process after the large crash. We call these smaller shocks subcrashes, which are followed by their own aftershocks. We also show that the Omori law holds not only after significant market crashes as shown by Lillo and Mantegna [Phys. Rev. E 68, 016119 2003], but also after "intermediate shocks." ...These are only a few of the power law type regularities now known to hold for most markets, with only very minor differences between markets. An important effort is to find ways to explain these regularities in simple and plausible market models. None of these patterns can be explained by anything in the standard economic theories of markets (the EMH etc). They can of course be reproduced by suitably generating time series using various methods, but that hardly counts as explanation -- that's just using time series generators to reproduce certain kinds of data.
The promise of finding these kinds of patterns is that they may strongly constrain the types of theories to be considered for markets, by ruling out all those which do not naturally give rise to this kind of statistical behaviour. This is where data matters most in science -- by proving that certain ideas, no matter how plausible they seem, don't work. This data has already stimulated the development of a number of different avenues for building market theories which can explain the basic statistics of markets, and in so doing go well beyond the achievements of traditional economics.
I'll have more to say on that in the near future.


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Judge blocks expansion of Lake Tahoe ski resort
Resort at issue is Homewood Mountain
A federal judge in Sacramento has temporarily blocked the planned expansion of a 50-year-old ski resort on Lake Tahoe's west shore, ruling that regional planners did not adequately consider a smaller and, therefore, less environmentally intrusive overhaul of Homewood Mountain Resort before they approved the project.
Ruling late Friday in a lawsuit brought last year by environmental groups, U.S. District Judge William Shubb ordered the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and Placer County to go back and reevaluate whether a scaled-back makeover would be financially viable for the resort's owners.
The judge wrote in a 114-page opinion that because the regulators who gave the expansion the go-ahead in 2011 relied on incomplete information from an independent development consultant, "The economic feasibility of the reduced alternative is unknown beyond the obvious conclusion that it would be less profitable."
JMA Ventures and Homewood Village Resorts had hoped to turn Homewood from an unpretentious - and currently unprofitable - day ski area into an overnight, year-round destination by adding a four-story hotel, condominiums, townhouses and ski-in chalets and more retail shops. The alternative Shubb wants reconsidered would reduce the maximum number of residential units and hotel rooms allowed from 336 to 284, according to his written decision.
The judge's order does not mean the project may not be allowed to proceed under its original scope, only that construction may not begin without further study.
The Sierra Club and Friends of the West Shore, the groups that sued to prevent the resort's plans, cheered the delay.
"This decision is yet another reminder that the agencies entrusted with protecting beautiful Lake Tahoe, which has already suffered so much from runaway development, must not continue to allow private gain at the Lake's expense," said Earthjustice lawyer Wendy Park, whose firm represented the groups.
JMA Ventures said it did not plan to appeal, noting that Shubb had agreed with the company and Tahoe-area planners on other points of contention, such as whether adequate consideration was given of the approved project's potential effects on noise and air quality.
"JMA looks forward to working with the county and TRPA to address Judge Shubb's concern," company chairman Art Chapman said in a statement. "However, the ruling does nothing to undermine JMA's resolve to redevelop Homewood into the charming, environmentally sensitive, viable project it has the potential to be."


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The only legal action that is needed is against the IKA and their disgraceful representation of kiteboarding to kiters around the world, non kiters and voters to everyone in the 2 olympic reports to ISAF.
I was thinking about this today that not one highly experienced grassroots kiteboarder was involved in writing the report, and how messed up it is that the writer of the report (Markus) publicly asks kiteboarders that support the olympic cause (fine by me) not to comment... what a bunch of political bull. I just want to keep my fellow kiteboarders in full control of the safety of the sport not answering to sailing clubs, sailing committees and have actual kiteboarders making the decision 100% of who to send to olympics, not a group of "suits" that may decide it is better to send someone else cos they are not towing the line of isaf completely for example - that is my simple motive to these comments.
The whole sordid affair has really turned me right off kite racing (temporarily I hope), and i was super motivated before all this absolute political crap came up, smoked riders on raceboards with a surfboard in high winds, and didn't do too bad.
Most countries cannot afford box rule at top level, alright for Europe and US though i guess
Saying u can launch a kite 3-4 knots of wind in reports, but never mentioning if that is with assistance on boat or land for example so no reader in the wiser - just simply dishonest.
3 kite limit by isaf for event run over days - , ok so it is a shame it is more expensive but to have that outweigh safety and enjoyable riding in high winds - THE most fun conditions in ludicrous - no experienced kiter from maritime weather pattern countries would buy into that.
I have been personally attacked for my opinions by Markus at IKA calling me an anarchist! I remember all those discussions taking the piss out of the IKA when it started on this forum a few years ago...
Ahhh politics...lol Yawwwwwwn Anyway, I happy - i learnt some new tricks - and am inspired to make a vid like Toby's airstyle - but called allstyle. Keep it real, kiteboarders stay in control of their own sport and absolutely smoke them all Marc Jacobs tomorrow!


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We have a fascination with Victorian and Edwardian era scientific equipment, and these microscope slides are a perfect example of why. Each slide is housed in a gorgeous paper cover, framing the sample inside.
Victorian Microscope Slides has an amazing collection of microscope slides and samples from 1830-1900. That's when commercial manufacture began, thanks to a few entrepreneurial souls. The paper covers were originally a practical concern, a way to fasten the mica over the sample to the slide. But even after other methods of mounting became available, the paper covers remained as a means of self-expression.
It's easy to get lost in the Victorian slide site; in addition to slides from individual mounters, the site has slides featuring old botany samples, crystals, fossils, insects, as well as a few more unusual samples like lion whiskers, radium, and decomposed glass from Pompeii.
Victorian Microscope Slides [via Nerdcore]


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Export 5 results:
Filtres: Author is Boissy, Patrick [Enlever les filtres]
In-Home Synchronous Telespeech Therapy to Improve Functional Communication in Chronic Poststroke Aphasia: Results from a Quasi-Experimental Study. Telemed J E Health. 2017;23(8):630-639.
Patient Satisfaction with In-Home Telerehabilitation After Total Knee Arthroplasty: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial. Telemed J E Health. 2017;23(2):80-87.
Conditions of Use, Reliability, and Quality of Audio/Video-Mediated Communications During In-Home Rehabilitation Teletreatment for Postknee Arthroplasty. Telemed J E Health. 2016;22(8):637-49.
In-Home Telerehabilitation Compared with Face-to-Face Rehabilitation After Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Noninferiority Randomized Controlled Trial. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2015;97(14):1129-41.
Simulated in-home teletreatment for anomia. Int J Telerehabil. 2011;3(2):3-10.


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Facebook Tests iOS Notification That Nags You to Post an Update
Facebook's modus operandi is that it tests all kinds of things all the time just to see what sticks. So, don't be too alarmed about this notification feature which Bijan Sabet, a general partner at Spark Capital, tweeted about this week:
A Facebook rep says that the feature is in a "small test we're running." As Sabet's reaction illustrates, the feature has the potential to irk users. Facebook has attempted to toe the line between prompting engagement and becoming too intrusive before by asking users to check in with friends they haven't communicated with in a while. More recently, the company has drawn complaints for nagging Android users to download the latest update of its app.
What do you think of this feature? Let us know in the comments.
Images via iStockphoto, mattjeacock and Twitter, Bijan Sabet


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Good news: A company's employees may become the buyer of the company in a structure named ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan).
Bad news: An ESOP is complicated and the purchase prices is often 5X-6X EBITDA.
Motivation: An owner desires to transfer the company to employees, increase after-tax earnings, diversify personal assets, and still control key decisions. (Private Capital Markets, Second Edition, p. 425).
The ideal: The ideal situation for a business owner in an ESOP sales is (1) you sell 100 percent of your stock, (2) the sale is all cash and (3) the ESOP sale price is the same price that an unaffiliated buyer would pay. (Valuing Your Business, p.125).
Definition: An ESOP is a qualified plan under ERISA (Department of Labor). An ESOP is a tax-qualified defined contribution plan that has two distinguishing features: (1) It is allowed to invest exclusively in the stock of its sponsoring company, and (2) it can borrow money. A sponsoring corporation can contribute cash or stock to an ESOP on a tax-deductible basis. ESOP, at fair market value, often completely avoiding capital gain tax on the transaction (Private Capital Markets, Second Edition, p. 425).
Benefits: Structured properly, with an ESOP, the owner of a privately-held company can:
- Sell stock of the company, pay no tax on the proceeds, and still keep control.
- Increase the company's working capital and cash flow with no cash expenditure and no productive efforts.
- Buy out minority and majority stockholders with pretax dollars.
- Make acquisitions with pretax dollars that are tax free to the seller.
- Cut the cost of borrowing loan principal nearly in half by deducting principal payments as well as interest.
- Provide employees equity upside with no cash outlay on their part or on the owner's part.
- Create the ESOP and achieve these objectives without the approval of employees.
- (Private Capital Markets, Second Edition, p. 424).
Risk: In an ESOP, your company sells its stock to employees. A company's employees typically do not have the personal funds to purchase the company's stock in an ESOP. Your company will most likely need to borrow money from a bank to fund the ESOP. Initially, your company, as a guarantor, is responsible for 100% of the money borrowed to fund the ESOP, including the payments on the debt.
Leveraged ESOP: In a leveraged ESOP, the ESOP or its corporate sponsor borrows money from a bank or other qualified lender. The company usually gives the lender a guarantee that it will make contributions to the trust which enable the trust to amortize the loan on schedule; or, if the lender prefers, the company may borrow directly and make a loan back to the ESOP. If the leveraging is meant to provide new capital for expansion or capital improvements, the company will use the cash to buy new shares of stock in the company. If the leveraging is being used to buy out the stock of a retiring owner, the ESOP will acquire those existing shares. If the leveraging is being used to divest a division, the ESOP will buy the shares of a newly created shell company, which will in turn purchase the division and its assets. (The ESOP Association).


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nmnl November 2018 Spoiler #1 + Coupon!
We have a spoiler for the November 2018 nmnl box!
nmnl is a beauty subscription box. "The name itself stands for: *no make no life*, since beauty and makeup products are some of essential aspects in our daily life."
nmnl is a subscription-based service that delivers you a box full of unique japanese beauty products from tokyo to straight to your doorsteps. our aim is to introduce japanese culture via beauty products that not only look good but make you feel good. each box, curated personally by our in-house beauty consultant, includes 5- 7 items in several categories including skin, body, make, hair, bath and tools.
Each box will include:
The Subscription Box: nmnl
The Cost: $29.99
Coupon: Use coupon code 3OFF to save $3 off your first box
The Products: A mix of 5 – 7 full-sized beauty items from 6 different categories – skin, body, make, hair, bath and tools
Ships to: Shipping is free worldwide.
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wish list!
Check out our No Make No Life reviews to see what kind of products you can expect!
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Beef Bourguignon
By Nattie130
Total Time: 3 hr 10 min.
Prep45 min.
Cook 2 hr 25 min.
Yield:8 to 10 servings (makes 3 quarts) .
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 bacon slices, cut into 3-inch strips
- 4 pounds beef chuck or round, cut into 2-inch cubes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup Cognac
- 1 bottle dry red wine, such as Burgundy
- 5 cups low-sodium beef broth
- Bouquet garni (2 fresh rosemary sprigs, 8 fresh thyme sprigs, 2 bay leaves, tied together with kitchen twine or tied in cheesecloth)
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 pound white mushrooms, stems trimmed
- 3 cups blanched and peeled pearl onions
- Pinch sugar
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish
Step 1
Put a large Dutch oven over medium heat and drizzle in a 1/2-count of oil. Add the bacon and cook until crisp. Remove it to a paper towel; crumble when cool and set aside to use for the garnish. Season the beef with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Add the beef to the pot in batches. Fry the cubes in the bacon fat until evenly browned on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pot to a plate.
Add the tomato paste and flour to the pot and stir to combine. Turn off the heat, pour in the Cognac and stir to scrape up the flavorful bits in the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat back on and light the Cognac, with a long kitchen match. Be careful and stand back as the alcohol flame dies down. Whisk in the red wine and beef broth; add the beef back into the pot along with the bouquet garni. Stir everything together and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook until the liquid starts to thicken and has the consistency of a sauce; this should take about 15 minutes. Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour.
In a small skillet, over medium-low, heat a little olive oil. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms start to brown, about, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the pearl onions and cook until onions are heated through.
Uncover the pot and add the mushroom mixture along with the pinch of sugar to balance out the acid from the red wine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Turn the heat up slightly and simmer for 45 minutes longer, until the vegetables and meat are tender. Remove the bouquet garni. Transfer to a serving bowl and shower with chopped parsley and the reserved crumbled bacon before serving.
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Job Reference: TB14
Seven Animal Health is seeking a Locum Vet Surgeon for a Consult Only role in the Enfield area.
The role:
You will be involved in hands-on nursing care of a range of small-animals, providing both emergency and routine healthcare. You will work alongside veterinary surgeons and practice managers to provide the best possible care for animals, while educating pet owners about how they can manage and prevent further injuries and/or sickness.
Key Responsibilities:
· Handling and restraining animals in a safe and controlled way.
· Provide first-class nursing care to injured/sick patients, including documentation, monitoring, health checking, feeding and grooming.
· Administer treatments including injections, tablets, drips and blood transfusions.
· Perform diagnostic tests, e.g. Blood sampling, urine analysis and x-rays.
· Prepare animals for surgery and perform some minor procedures, e.g. Suturing wounds and dental hygiene.
· Assist veterinary surgeons with operations.
· Maintain the cleanliness and hygiene of the practice.
Applicant Requirements:
· Qualifications: A degree in Veterinary Medicine.
· Experience: Post-graduate experience as a Veterinary Surgeon in the UK.
· Compliance: Registered with the RCVS.
· Travel: Clean UK driving license with the ability to commute to and from work independently.
· Hours: Working 9:00-6:00 Mon-Fri. No weekends/OOH.
· CPD Allowance of £1,500 per annum and 5 days CPD paid leave.
· 30 days annual leave.
· RCVS and VDS fees paid.
· 50% discounted staff pet care plan.
Working with Seven Animal Health:
Established in 2011, the award-winning Seven Animal Health is a leading provider of Veterinary professionals to Hospitals and Private Practices across the UK, Australia and USA. We provide both temporary and permanent solutions, working with every type and level of veterinary professional.
Seven Animal Health is the recruitment service that guarantees experienced, qualified and available staff exactly when you need them. Our expert talent acquisition team seamlessly connect professionals to all areas of animal health; including exotic, equine, small/large animals, and everything in between.
After winning UK Animal Health Recruitment Firm of the year (2018) at the Animal Health & Wellness Awards, we are proud of our nationwide reputation for providing a world-class recruitment service that is underpinned by honesty, integrity and attention to detail.
Refer a friend, family member or colleague for £250
If you're not the perfect match for this role, but you know a Vet Surgeon who is, help them find their dream job by referring them to Seven Animal Health. As a little 'thank you' from us, you will receive £250 for every referral that is successfully placed into a new role.


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Presenting The Analog Affair: Electro-Pop Artist of the Week - 0 views
shared by Michael J on 19 Jun 10 - Cached
Michael J on 19 Jun 10This weeks featured artist is The Analog Affair. With 40 tracks and four EP's within a span of 2 years, Evan Baker and Cody Moser have produced some of most creative and most beautiful library of ambient styles of music that ties electronica, dark gothic, eletro-pop, contemporary, trance, and indie rock together. Each vocal song is charged with emotional lyrics with some smooth electro instrumentals. If you like Death Cab for Cutie or Cloud Cult, then you'll absolutely love this 4-track + plus bonus track preview from their newest EP's entitled Electronic Pop and Be Easy. Listen now: http://podOmatic.com/r/upk387o Also, read my exclusive interview with The Analog Affair. Find out everything about the band, only right here on Great Unknowns Music Expose http://greatunknownsmusicexpose.blogspot.com/2010/06/interview-with-analog-affair-music.html


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In an interview with GameTrailers TV that will air tonight, Valve head Gabe Newell elaborates a little bit on his distaste for Windows 8.
Here's the video, in which Newell says he hopes he's wrong about Windows 8 being a "catastrophe," because if he's wrong, the company will wind up making a lot more money. But right now, he thinks Windows 8 makes things a lot more complicated than they need to be.
More of Newell's interview will be up on GTTV tonight.