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I remember the good old days of dialing into a BBS before the Internet was really big. You could use a terminal emulator included with Windows or something more specialized like Minicom in DOS. Sometimes you'd have to wait for hours to get connected because someone was tying up the telephone line and you'd end up getting busy signals. Then finally, you'd get connected! Then you could login and navigate pretty much a text-only system, with the only graphics being ASCII art or anything you downloaded and viewed offline. I had a 2400 baud modem through most of my BBS days. I think it took an hour to download 1MB. Anyone could run a BBS, it just took a dial-up modem and software on your computer.
What would a modern one look like?
I think it would be based entirely off of the Internet technologies that have become more popular since the 90's. You could set up a dial-up server with TCP/IP connections. Anyone who connects in would get a private IP address, then have a captive portal (such as used in wifi hotspots) to redirect people into a webserver you have set up. You could run a phpBB instance on the webserver and call it a day. That would get you forums, you could run other servers for other services. For example, have a FTP server set up for files. The users might even upload a file and link it in a forum post. Or run an email server for the users.
Depending on location or access to locations, it could be possible to set up wifi access points to allow for high-speed access to this modern BBS. It's a shame that DSL isn't a little more like dial-up, not speed-wise but with dial-up's ability to just call anyone and get a digital conversation going.
Uses? Community-oriented network, really private network, backup communications path if a group loses access to the Internet, maybe useful in places like Egypt etc. I could see a case where wifi access is available and someone walks by with a Windows CE palmtop or similar device to send/receive email real quick.


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I hate email forwards and truth be told I only open them when someone who usually NEVER sends them out includes me on their list. I figure if they thought it was worth the distribution, I should give it a shot.
This one is hilarious!
A first-grade girl handed in the drawing below for a homework assignment…
After it was graded and the child brought it home, she returned to school the next day with the following note:
Dear Ms. Davis,
I want to be very clear on my child's illustration. It is NOT of me on a dance pole on a stage in a strip joint. I work at Home Depot and had commented to my daughter how much money we made in the recent snowstorm. This drawing is of me selling a snow shovel.
Mrs. Harrington

subset: commoncrawl


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Accepting payments carried out by customers from many different time zones, using diverse payment methods and holding cards issued by many different banks makes effective risk management an extremely challenging task. The featured client operates on multiple markets, helping thousands of travellers plan, book, and buy their dream holidays and business trips. In the travel business, each erroneous approval results in a painfully costly chargeback and each false positive equals a noticeable income loss. While scaling up, the client realised that their previous fraud solution was unable to cope with the pace of the company's development anymore. The high manual review rate was hampering sales, yet the side effect was not balanced by reduced chargeback rate. The OTA's risk team needed a smart solution that would enable truly accurate real-time detection of fraud attempts without interfering with the flow of healthy transactions. The desired system had to be capable of issuing risk assessment recommendations in real time and with superb accuracy. The goal was to simultaneously streamline risk management processes and significantly increase their effectiveness. Nethone took up the challenge with great excitement.
High chargeback rate
The average chargeback rate the company had been facing prior to implementing Nethone was as high as dangerously high. Expanding into new markets required immediate addressing of that issue as without an effective fraud tool those could possibly bring even more chargebacks, instead of generating profits.
Diversity of target markets
Handling risk while targeting diversified markets requires an outstanding flexibility of the fraud tool used to automate the process. The rule-based solution the company had been applying prior to integrating with Nethone was clearly lacking that feature. Certain sets of rules recognized as effective on some markets did not work at all under different circumstances.
Very high deny and manual review rates
With an extremely high denial rate, the OTA was continually losing potential customers and due to numerous manual reviews it was unable to effectively increase sales. Slashing both was a prerequisite of further expansion.
Complexity of local consumer habits
Latin America is one of the most diversified macro-markets in terms of consumer habits. The variety of payment methods and the occurrence of numerous country-specific economic anomalies require in-depth understanding of each specific national market. The client needed an effective tool to examine each targeted market and adjust their risk management operating model to the specific local conditions.
The goals defined by the client could be achieved only through deep understanding of each single user as well as the broad context of their interactions with the OTA. In fact, it required understanding of the entire user flow, not only the payment-associated information.
Custom Machine Learning models designed to automatically detect fraud attempts in real time
Nethone's team created custom models to analyse historical and live customer data flowing through the OTA's system. The models helped to discover links and interdependencies between numerous apparently unrelated factors, and "learned" to predict future fraud attempts.
Custom Machine Learning models designed to investigate target markets
Besides the fraud-detection models, Nethone's data scientists created special market investigation models - trained to examine, analyse and "understand" the markets targeted by the OTA, regardless of their complexity.
Intuitive and powerful analytical panel
Nethone has provided the client with a special analytical panel, making manual reviewing easy and effortless. The panel enables obtaining of all the information required for transaction legitimacy assessment with no need to switch between tens of data sources, as done by the risk team in the past.
The implementation of Nethone brought spectacular results. Thanks to an outstanding accuracy of the fraud tool, both the manual review rate and the chargeback rate have been reduced by 70%. The deny rate has been reduced by 55% while the approval rate increased by 27%. In other words, the OTA started to sell more with much lower chargeback burden and higher than ever cost effectiveness achieved through the reduction of costs associated with manual reviewing. Moreover, thanks to Nethone, the travel agent has streamlined their risk management processes and eliminated the "72 hours to departure restriction", which was formerly held due to a high level of fraud occurring among late bookings. Furthermore, the company has successfully expanded into numerous new markets, including the US and Europe.
Approval rate
Manual review rate
Deny rate
Chargeback rate


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What happened to all the talent in the world?
The last half of the 20th century seemed to be booming with talented musicians, actors, films, comedians ect. It was like endless creativity and something great was coming out every year. What is it about todays society that inhibits people from creating great art compared to the 1900s?
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Lloyds Banking Group revealed a bold three-year strategic plan last week, placing financial advice and pensions at the front of what it calls a "transformation for future success".
Shifts in the group's focus have been high on the news radar of late, with its pensions arm Scottish Widows also set to review its asset management arrangements after it terminated mandates with Standard Life Aberdeen last month. On 23 February, Standard Life then in turn announced it would sell its insurance arm to Phoenix in a £3bn deal to focus on asset management.
However, many questions remain over Lloyds' plans for Scottish Widows to develop an advice platform with £3bn allocated toward boosting planning offerings just 10 months after returning to full private ownership, and in the wake of conflicts with Standard Life Aberdeen.
Lloyds has intentions to hit £50bn in financial planning and retirement assets for its insurance and wealth business in just three years, perhaps a lofty target for the group which has yet to recover its cross-selling potential from the reputational hit of the payment protection insurance scandal in 2005.
An uncomfortable spotlight has also been shone on other parts of its business, for example the lack of inclusion of the defence and arms industry in its corporate social responsibility policy, the largest ever recorded fine from the Financial Services Authority over bonus schemes for sales staff, and ongoing court proceedings against former chief executive Eric Daniels over unpaid shares.
Profits are up, however. Lloyds announced a pre-tax profit of £53bn for 2017, 24 per cent higher than 2016 and its highest profit in 12 years. It was six years ago that it exited the financial planning space.
Money Marketing asks whether a return is on the cards and what else the next three years could have in store for the bank's relationship with advisers and asset managers.
Ambitious plans
With Lloyds planning to buy back around £1bn of its own shares, brushing off concerns about the rising capital requirements identified in last year's annual banking stress tests, and revelling in how pension freedoms could aid a return to advice, it could be said the time is right for building internal capabilities in the investment and planning spaces. On this front, chief executive António Horta-Osório confirmed the group will be increasing staff training by 50 per cent to 4.4 million hours a year during the next three years.
The withdrawal of £109bn of Lloyds' funds from Standard Life Aberdeen represented a hefty blow for the newly-merged entity, with the sum representing around 17 per cent of Standard Life Aberdeen's assets under management and five per cent of its revenues. This also gives Lloyds more space to manage its investments as it sees fit.
Money Marketing had previously reported that Lloyds would likely focus on rebuilding its own investment management capabilities after terminating the Standard Life Aberdeen deal, over fears of its status as a competitor.
This week things took another turn however, with Scottish Widows announcing it will continue to employ Aberdeen Standard Investments temporarily on a new range of retirement funds it is launching.
When it comes to interpreting the many directions Standard Life Aberdeen and Lloyds are taking Quilter Cheviot bank analyst William Howlett says there are still concerns for Lloyds around PPI, but that investors should look positively on its share buyback scheme.
Howlett says: "Lloyds' results were slightly below expectations due to a miss on other income and a further PPI charge is also disappointing. However, Lloyds' strong capital generation supports a 20 per cent rise in the dividend to 3.05p, and the announcement of a £1bn buyback is equivalent to a further 1.4p per share (total yield of 6.5 per cent)."
GlobalData principal retail banking analyst Saoud Fakhri was also confident of the group's financial position and says updating offerings, models and services will now be a key focus. He says: "After many difficult years, it is back on a strong financial footing, and can refocus its efforts on modernisation. The group is reverting to full public ownership, so drawing a line under the financial crisis."
For Standard Life, it is perhaps the best of both worlds now, having cashed in on the sale of its insurance arm but continuing to control the proposition side as closed-book provider Phoenix takes over formal ownership.
Zero Support managing director Phil Young says: "Potentially the corporate book could have gone to Scottish Widows, and the insurance or part of the bond business could have gone to Phoenix, but from their point of view, it's good having one buyer who will buy the lot – except the two businesses are like chalk and cheese and that's what advisers are going to be thinking too."
Tech talks
Lloyds could leverage its new technology spending to help steal a march on advice, however. It is investing £3bn in new technology and specialist staff as part of its digital services expansion strategy. Fakhri says the group is stepping up the game by placing a much-needed focus on streamlining and upgrading services.
He says: "Lloyds is one of only three banks to have met the deadline for launching its open banking interface. The interface allows third party providers to access a customer's bank account data in real time. They are also ahead of the competition in adapting to the new open banking landscape, and that means the bank will gain a competitive edge over its rivals."
Adviser view
Tim Page, financial planner, Page Russell
Advisers with six-year memories will probably be wary of Lloyds based on how they dropped their sales force in the run up to RDR and ruined a lot of careers. The question is whether you want to hitch your wagon to somewhere with a history of not sticking around when the going gets tough.
The second point is the key determinate of whether some form of return to advice would succeed is the governance and how they incentivise their advisers. The reason banks got out of advice was because incentives were all wrong and it was driving poor advice for clients, and that was the fault of managers who then kept their jobs. The bottom line is that if the proposition is wrong, they are going to repeat all of their past mistakes and go through the same cycle all over again. However, it is six years since they pulled out of advice and hopefully they have learnt their lessons and used their time to develop propositions which are going to add value, and that could be really good for the profession.
While Lloyds was also one of the 24 firms accepted into the FCA's regulatory sandbox in 2016, a source close to Lloyds does not believe the group will move very fast, criticising the lack of clarity so far in its direction.
The source says: "Every single big business out there, at some point in time, is going to say they are launching a robo-solution or some sort of digital offering, but it just sounds good, whereas 'we are going out and buying lots of financial advisers' doesn't sound great for the share price because it's expensive, and it's difficult to do, and it feels a bit short.
"As an organisation Lloyds are the biggest, slowest moving business – a bureaucratic slow moving nightmare – the worst of the lot out there. I wonder if £3bn isn't just papering over the cracks of their existing stuff as oppose to being interesting or exciting."
Customer trends at Lloyds would suggest it remains strongly positioned for digital growth however, after it recently announced its intention to close a further 49 of its branches due to low activity and heavier reliance on mobile channels.
In its results, Lloyds says it will: "Simplify and modernise our IT architecture, scaling up end-to-end customer journey transformation to cover more than 70 per cent of our cost base and we will therefore significantly increase our investment in developing in-house capabilities."
Adviser view
Lee Robertson, financial planner, Investment Quorum
There is a perception of an advice gap and a huge demand for advice and not enough capacity to fill it at the moment, so anything or anyone that comes back in is to be welcomed. The question then is will they do it well, because banks don't have a good record, and they dodge in and out. In terms of delivering good financial advice to the public, I want people to come in and do it ethically and well.
Banks seem to have quite sticky customer bases and everyone has quite sticky memories, so there's a bit of a trust hill for them to climb. However they have been putting a lot of money into glossy ads showing how long they have been around and how well they look after people.
Horta-Osório says the plan for the branch network is "refocusing" to meet "complex and value-added banking needs, such as mortgages to first time buyers, financial planning and retirement, and business banking," perhaps a suggestion that would see former branches turned into advice spaces, but still lacking any concrete detail about what will happen in the end.
Money Marketing approached Lloyds on Wednesday 21 February for an interview to further explain what putting financial advice as a priority in its strategy would mean in practice. The bank was unable to provide an interview, but provided a statement from Scottish Widows distribution director Jackie Leiper.
She says: "We expect the £50bn target announced last week will nearly all be met by growth in workplace and retirement account assets which come to us through intermediaries and employee benefits consultants. We expect workplace business to see the largest growth…. Workplace also sees significant growth as contributions step up over 2018/2019 again driving top line growth of assets under management. Workplace is expected to be 80 per cent of our growth between now and 2020.
"We are also investing heavily in our retirement account proposition. We've just launched the new retirement portfolio funds, providing a low-cost but innovative solution for customers drawing income. These funds aim to combine the security of reducing capital exposure by managing volatility with the flexibility of drawdown but avoids the expense or complexity of a hybrid solution – this proposition is aimed at IFAs, our primary channel."
"The D2C proposition will be aimed at Lloyds Banking Group's existing retail banking customers looking for financial guidance. The products and services here will be low-cost and simple, aimed at meeting essential needs such as family protection needs or basic retirement planning. We have customers visiting branch or going online wanting help in this area, but these are customers with assets below the thresholds set by IFAs who are, therefore, unable to access IFA support.
"In short, we have a flexible business model that allows us to wrap around our adviser propositions for those customers who do not want, or cannot afford, to pay for advice – this is complimentary and not competing with advisers."
A source close to the bank says the consistent confusion around Lloyds' multiple brands means specifics often flew under the radar.
He says: "They are very unclear internally because they talk about Lloyds, but don't tend to talk much about Scottish Widows."
December 1995 – Lloyds TSB created
March 2003 – Lloyds TSB purchases Scottish Widows
January 2009 – Lloyds Banking Group created
March 2013 – Lloyds sells its stake in SJP
September 2013 – Lloyds TSB becomes two separate banks
October 2014 – Lloyds announces intention to cut 9,000 jobs in three years
June 2015- Lloyds hit with £117 fine over PPI issues
December 2015 – Govt extends Lloyds share sale
July 2016 – Low rates results in a further 3,000 job cuts
July 2017 – Compensation of £283m paid by Lloyds over mortgage arrears errors
August 2017 – Sale of Lloyds London headquarters planned
November 2017 – Lloyds closes 49 bank branches
February 2018 – Lloyds pulls £109 from Standard Life Aberdeen
Expert view
Advisers won't be impressed by banks' client reach
More than 12 months ago, Scottish Widows were looking at getting back into advice in some kind of way. They probably want to keep the name out of it and say it is Lloyds however, because advisers strongly dislike banks, whereas Scottish Widows gets a lot of business from advisers. As a result, they will try and sidestep the issue by saying Scottish Widows and Lloyds are two separate things, but really they will be providing Lloyds advisers with Scottish Widows products, so in reality it's more of a Scottish Widows-driven thing.
It all started from when Facebook was buying up companies like Instagram and WhatsApp and everyone started talking about how many customers they had, and what potential they had. If you are a financial services institution, the shortest payback I have ever seen on a new product launch is eight years, and that will be longer tomorrow; you can launch something and you're never going to make money on it, all you are selling is a bit of a dream. All the banks out there are just talking about the number of customers they've got, it's the same thing that people play with corporate schemes. All they do is sell to people and say they have the potential because they have 'X' amount of customers, but at some point further down the line, they will also buy other things from us.
Phil Young is managing director of Zero Support


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You already know the startups we've built. Here are the ones we have yet to build. Reach out to us if you're inspired by one of the following ideas. You could be the founder of the next really big thing!
CRM counts for half the value of the SaaS industry ($50B in 2018). The market is extremely consolidated around a few big companies centered on enterprises sales. CRMs have originally been build for offline businesses and are not natively integrated within applications. Current software like Salesforce (value around $100B) are so ubiquitous that there is no way to attack them frontally.Interested? Let's talk! firstname.lastname@example.com
We see two options to enter this business and become a leader in 10 years. The first approach would be to put a foot in the door by focusing on an important CRM brick forsaken by big players and unrolling horizontally module by module. The second approach would be to start on one vertical to be addressed very specifically and to unroll vertical by vertical. SaaS or most generally online businesses could be an interesting vertical to start with.
We think there is a room for a project management solution dedicated to software development. Easy to deploy and integrated with software development tools.
Product (Software) development is no longer reserved to startups. Every company can count on a large product team - regardless of industry. There is no appropriate and modern solution to manage software projects. Trello is a generic solution convenient for simple project management. It's ideal for new businesses because of it's easiness to deploy. Once the product is more advanced and the team has grown bigger, Trello-like software solutions aren't enough. Product teams are looking for more organized and better integrated solutions. They either go for solutions designed for entreprise like Jira or for more advanced but very generic project management solution like Trello.Interested? Let's talk! email@example.com
As soon as you hire more than 20 people a year you need a software to manage applications. This class of software is called ATS : applicant tracking system. They are plenty of ATS software for SMEs like Workable/Lever or for entreprises like SucessFactor or SmartRecruiters. These solutions are well positioned in the HR process and can work as a platform.Interested? Let's talk! firstname.lastname@example.com
They are a good entry point in the HR chain. Employee onboardings, payroll, performance reviews can be connected downstream. The idea is to create a new kind of ATS that is both easy to deploy and able to manage the entire employee lifecycle from application to the separation.
We think there is a room to enter the market by starting to deploy a very simple signing solution based on blockchain technology. Then we will package this signature offer with - upstream - a notarisation solution to manage document tracked change and downstream by a contract hosting solution. Starting with blockchain technology will help save time to offer a complete software solution to manage contracts.
Electronic signature will replace current signature in the following years. It took a long time to evangelize the market but it's the right time today to claim the remaining 99% of the market. The market is huge with already some popular players like DocuSign, Adobe Sign, HelloSign or YouSign. They are all working the same and offering almost the same set of features.Interested? Let's talk! email@example.com
There are over 6 billion email accounts in the world, the number of email accounts is predicted to reach 8 billion by 2022 with over 22% growth. In spite of the growing trend for Chat applications (for consumers like WhatsApp or WeChat or for businesses like Slack), there are still more than 3B legitimate email sent per hour.Interested? Let's talk! email@example.com
Most companies start using Google Apps because they offer a didactic way to set emails for businesses with individual and group email addresses. We think there is an opportunity to enter this huge market by offering a similar service. It will include an email platform and a webmail application. We will differ from Google by offering a business-oriented solution whereas Gmail was originally built for consumers.


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Extraordinarily Nice Weather on the Way for the Eastern U.S. This Weekend
Most of the time when you see a post here on The Vane, it's about some horrible weather event somewhere that killed lots of people and destroyed most of their belongings. I have good news for once! We're about to have an exceptionally nice weekend across the eastern United States, featuring crisp temperatures and mostly clear skies. Such a universally nice weekend is rare, so enjoy it while you can.
A scalpel-sharp trough in the jet stream—one that models suggest will stretch from far northern Canada down to the Gulf of Mexico—is taking shape at this hour, and it will bring a big change in the pattern for most of us who live east of the Rocky Mountains. The cold front that serves as the leading edge of the Canadian invasion is already draped across the Upper Midwest, and it will steadily make its way southeast over the next three days.
The strong cold front crashing into warm, humid air to its east will fire off some thunderstorms—some of which could be severe along the Mid-Atlantic coast on Saturday, according to the SPC—but many of us need the rain anyway, and the reward behind the storms will be worth the 30-minute hassle.
The end result here is abnormally cool temperatures and drier air than many of us have seen since early last spring. The graphics below show surface temperature anomalies, in degrees Celsius, as predicted by this morning's run of the GFS model.
Here's 18z Saturday, which is 2:00 PM EDT/1:00 PM CDT:
...and the same time on Sunday:
...and for Monday:
Brr! Well, sort of. It will definitely feel chilly to those of us used to nothing but the crushing finger of heat and humidity for months on end, and folks up in the far north (near the border) will have to wear jackets for the next couple of mornings. Lows in the 30s will cover the northern Plains and Upper Midwest through Saturday, and a few spots in northeastern Minnesota could dip into the upper 20s.
Here are the forecast high temperatures for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (according to The Weather Channel) for select big(gish) cities affected by the cool-down, compared to the average high temperature in each city.
Chicago is expecting a high temperature in the low 60s on Saturday, which is 15°F below average for this point in September. Even Mobile, Alabama, down along the northern Gulf Coast, will get in on the coolfest, with high temperatures seven degrees below average and humidity levels practically unheard of in mid-September. The NWS predicts a dew point of 50°F (!!!!) in Mobile on Sunday afternoon. That kind of dry air nirvana usually doesn't make its way down that far until mid- to late-October.
The Canadian invasion will largely stay in interior parts of the eastern United States, with the nicest rock-bottom temperatures staying west of cities like New York and Boston (sorry!). Still, many of us will experience temperatures at or slightly below average through Monday before the chill peters out and a ridge brings in more warm weather.
This cool pattern will shift late next week, with temperatures ticking back above average for most of the country east of the Rockies, while the West Coast dives back into cooler (and for some, possibly wetter!) weather.
Fall is nothing but the dying gasps of summer and the first breaths of an eager winter duking it out for dominance, and the result is two or three seasons' worth of weather occurring all at once. The roller coaster is just beginning. Enjoy the nice weather while it lasts.
[Model Images: Tropical Tidbits | High Temp Forecasts: weather dot com | Chart/Forecast Map: author]
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com | Twitter: @wxdam
If you enjoy The Vane, then you'll love my upcoming book, The Extreme Weather Survival Manual, which comes out on October 6 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon.


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ELIZABETH CITY, NC – The Winston-Salem State Rams (0-1) started the season with a solid effort, but it was not enough as the team took a 69-63 loss to the Elizabeth City State Vikings (2-1), Wednesday evening. The Rams were solid in almost every facet of the game, but the team came up short in the hard-fought loss.
As a team, the Rams had a solid overall effort. The team shot a solid 43.8% (21-of-48) from the floor, including shooting 35.3% (six-of-17) from the three-point line. WSSU junior guard Robert Colon led the way for the Rams with a game-high 20 points. WSSU senior guard James Rucker, II added nine points with seven rebounds while forward Jamel McAllister added seven points with eight rebounds.
The Rams had a slow start to the game as they struggled to get points in the first half. The Rams managed just 25 first half points, but the team coupled that with a strong defensive effort to keep the Vikings within reach, trailing, 36-25 at the end of the first half. The Rams fell behind by as many as 17 points, 4-21 near the midway point of the first half, but the team stormed back to cut their deficit down to just 11 points, 27-16 after a Rucker, II free throw with 6:41 left in the half. The team struggled a bit more later in the half, but a furious last minute gave the team some life at the end of the half. After falling behind by 15 points heading into the final minute of play, the Rams stormed back as a three-pointer from junior guard Julius Barnes with just a second left sent the Rams into the locker room trailing, 36-25.
In the second half, the Rams saw a much better effort, but it was not quite enough as they took the tough loss. WSSU outscored Elizabeth City State, 38-33 during the half, but could not get the win. The Rams' comeback effort began near the midway point of the half as a Colon three-pointer with 9"23 left to play capped a five-point run by the Rams and pulled the team within six points, 52-46. Barnes would hit another three-pointer to cut the WSSU deficit down to four points, 52-49 with 8"49 left to play. The Rams would keep the game within reach as the Vikings never got more than nine points ahead for the remainder of the game. However, the Rams would not quite pull out the win an ended the evening with the 69-63 loss.
With the loss, the Rams fall to 0-1 to open the season. The team will return to action this weekend when they head to Atlanta, Ga. to take part in the SIAC/CIAA Challenge. For more information on Rams men's basketball, contact the WSSU Office of Atheltic Media Relations at (336) 750-2143 or log on to www.WSSURams.com.


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First Savings Mastercard members can login to their online account at firstsavingscc.com. From the homepage users can select the orange Account Login button and enter their login credentials to sign into their credit card account.
Visitors of the site that do not have a credit card but is interested in applying can select the green Accept Online button to complete the online application.
FirstSavingsCC Accept Online Application
First-time users of the homepage can apply from the homepage but typically consumers are invited to apply for the card via a mailer sent by First Savings Bank. The mailer will have the individuals reservation number and access code which is personalized for the individual. The web address for users to apply is firstsavingscc.com/accept.
At the site they would complete the 4 step online application process and at the end receive an instant decision on their offer. The 4 step process consists of:
- Entering their reservation number and access code (found on the acceptance form}
- Verify your mailing address
- Complete the acceptance form
- Accept offer
There is also the option to submit your application by mail. The mailer would have a hardcopy application to complete and mail back in. Applying online is much faster and you can find out if you're approved within minutes.
First Savings Credit Card Login
After you've been approved for your credit card the next step is to register your new card online. Registering your new card and accessing your account information online is a huge convenience for everyone. Some of the benefits and features that cardholders enjoy are:
- View your account summary
- Sign up for text and email alerts
- Schedule automatic payments
- View your balance
- View your credit limit
- Monitor transactions
- Make changes to personal info
To register your credit card simply click the blue Register New User link on the First Savings Bank login website. You will need to enter your account number, expiration date, credit card security code, and the last 4 digits of your social security number. Select the Continue button and setup your security protocols and create your login credentials.
After you've completed the registration process you can now login and start managing your account.
Pay First Savings Credit Card Bill
There are several options to pay your monthly credit card bill. Cardholders can pay make their Firstsavingscc payment online, by phone, by mail, Moneygram, or Western Union. Select which option is most convenient for you but the preferred option is online. From inside your account you can pay your bill.
To pay your bill online store your bank routing number and checking account number inside your account. Your bank information will be used for electronic drafting for payment. You can pay your bill manually each month or setup recurring payments.
Address For Mailing Payment
First Savings Credit Card
PO Box 2509
Omaha, NE 68103-2509
Western Union Payment Info
Code City/State: FSCC/SD
MoneyGram Payment Info
Code 3890
Pay By Telephone
Call Customer Service at 1-888-469-0291


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Proud participant of Ram Janmabhoomi movement: Uma Bharti on Babri verdict
| Updated: Aug 23, 2017 11:20 IST
New Delhi [India], Apr 20 (ANI): After criminal conspiracy charges were levelled against her, Union Minister Uma Bharti on Thursday refused to resign and declared that she was a proud participant in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. "I am proud to have been associated with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. For me, Ayodhya is not just about politics, but a matter of belief for me. Due to the media, I thought my going there would become a political event and not a personal one," Uma Bharti said. Slamming the Opposition, the Union Minister also asserted the Congress had no right to demand her resignation. "The party that caused the Emergency and the 1984 riots has no right to demand my resignation. A conspiracy would imply that something was done in secret, but whatever happened was in full public view," said Bharti. Further, Bharti added that she has no regrets over her involvement in the case. "I am ready for all kinds of questions at the shortest notice. I have no regrets over my involvement. The temple would definitely be built," she added. Meanwhile, the Congress demanded Bharti's resignation by reminding Prime Minister Narendra Modi to act in accordance with 'his love for transparency and morality in politics'. Earlier in the day, the apex court allowed the CBI's appeal in the Babri Masjid demolition case and restored criminal conspiracy charges against Uma Bharti, L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh. However, Kalyan Singh, who was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1992, enjoys constitutional immunity as the Rajasthan Governor and can be tried only after he leaves office. The apex court ordered that two separate cases in Lucknow and Raebareli against Advani, Joshi and Bharti and unknown 'kar sevaks' shall be brought together in one trial. The Supreme Court also directed the trial court in Lucknow to commence the proceedings in four weeks and hear the matter on a day-to-day basis so as to complete the hearing in two years. The apex court also said there will be no 'de novo' (fresh) trial. The CBI has been ordered to ensure that at least one prosecution witness appears in the trial court for recording of testimony. To ensure speedy trial, the top court has given two important directions - first, no party shall be granted adjournments without the sessions judge being satisfied of the reasons for it; second, the trial judge hearing the case shall not be transferred till the judgement is delivered. The Supreme Court also said that its order should be followed in letter and spirit. If the parties involved feel that the top court's order is not being followed in letter and spirit then they will be having the liberty to approach the apex court. (ANI)


text: Health RegulationMedical Complaint Health Regulation SectorAbout Ongoing ProjectsHealthcare ProfessionalsHealth FacilitiesPolicies and RegulationsDubai Clinical Services Capacity PlanHealth TourismDrug ControlMedical ComplaintsContact us Medical Complaint Page ContentIn our continued efforts to improve health care services in Dubai, the Medical Complaints Procedure allows us to handle your medical complaints openly, promptly and properly. 1. What defines a Medical Complaint? A medical complaint is any written or spoken expression of dissatisfaction with a healthcare service in the Emirate of Dubai. Any such complaint is taken very seriously and treated with the appropriate health professional attention and discretion. 2. Who can file a Medical Complaint? A medical complaint can be filed by a patient affected by the actions of a healthcare provider or the service received within a health facility. A medical complaint can also be filed by a family member or someone acting on behalf of the patient (provided they have a power of attorney). In case the patient in question is dead or in a coma, their next of kin can file a complaint on their behalf. If the patient is a minor, their legal guardian can file the complaint. Any person who received treatment in Dubai can file a complaint, whether they are residents of the UAE or tourists visiting the UAE. 3. Who is considered a tourist in the UAE? A tourist is a person traveling to and staying in the UAE for leisure, business or other purposes for short periods. A tourist is not a citizen of the UAE and does not hold a UAE resident visa. 4. Who is considered a resident of the UAE? A resident of the UAE is either a citizen of the UAE or an expatriate living and working in the UAE, who holds a UAE resident visa. 5. What is the age limit to file a medical complaint? The complainant should be 21 years or older to file a medical complaint. If younger than 21, legal guardian can submit the medical complaint on behalf of the complainant. 6. Can a complaint be filed against a medical health professional or health facility anywhere in the UAE? This Medical Complaints Procedure is for complaints against medical health professionals and medical facilities located in Dubai and licensed by DHA. Complaints about health professionals or facilities located in Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC), Ministry of Health (MOH) and outside of Dubai will not be reviewed. 7. How to file a complaint against a medical health professional? A complaint can be submitted against a medical health professional by completing the Medical Complaints Procedure online http://mc.dha.gov.ae It is important to explain and be specific about the health professional you are complaining about. When filing the complaint, please make sure you include all supporting and required documents. 8. How to file a complaint against a medical health facility? A complaint can be submitted against a medical health facility by completing the Medical Complaints Procedure online http://mc.dha.gov.ae. It is important to explain and be specific about the health facility you are complaining about. When filing the complaint, please make sure you include all supporting and required documents. 9 Can a complaint be filed against a medical health professional and medical health facility? Yes, a complaint can be submitted against both the medical health professional and medical health facility online. 10. What is the process of filing a medical complaint? The Medical Complaint Procedure aims to simplify the process of filing a medical complaint. fill up the Medical Complaint Procedure online by answering a set of questions. Please note that the complaint will not be filed until the full form is filled and submitted. While filling in the complaint form, please make sure to highlight the following concerns: Explain and be specific on what or whom the medical complaint is about. For example, Health care management not up to the expected standard in medical health facility or a medical health professional prescribed the wrong medication, etc. The expectations should be clear about what the complainant hoping to achieve. For example: more information about your condition, an explanation, etc. 11. What are the types of complaints Health Regulation Sector cannot help with? The Medical Complaint Procedure only handles medical complaints. Complaints about administrative, financial, insurance or behaviour-related issues will not be reviewed. These should ideally be raised with the health facility or Inspector. 12. What are the rights and responsibilities for the patient in Dubai? For a detailed list of a patient's rights and responsibilities, please visit https://www.dha.gov.ae/Documents/HRD/PDF6.pdf 13. What happens after filing in a complaint? After filing in complaint, the complainant (will receive an email with reference number notifying that the complaint has been received successfully. Clinical Governance Office will then contact all those concerned who can provide information about your complaint. It may be necessary to review relevant parts of your healthcare records. Complainant will then be informed if an investigation is required to resolve the case. Clinical Governance Office will notify the complainant in case of any delays. 14 . What is the period to receive the Medical Complaint? We can accept incidentswithin last three years. 15. How long does it take to resolve a medical complaint? Clinical Governance Office will review the complaints on a case-by-case basis and aims to resolve each one as soon as possible. Given the fact that Clinical Governance Office will deal with patient care and all healthcare providers involved in the case, the timeframe depends on the complaint. A complaint that requires extensive and detailed investigation may take time to be resolved, in order to ensure the interest of all parties involved. The Health Regulation Sectorwill do its best to speed the process and update all parties periodically about the progress of the complaint. 16. How does the Health Regulation Sector handle Medical Complaints? The Health Regulation Sector deals with each complaint separately, based on the severity of the complaint. The first step is to find out what happened and what went wrong. They can then make it possible for you to discuss the problem with the health professionals concerned if you wish to do so. They then identify the cause of the problem in order to ensure it does not happen again while facilitating communication between the health facility and the patient at all times. Once the investigation is over, the outcome will be communicated to you. 17. What is Malpractice? Malpractice Is an error occurs due to unfamiliarity of the practitioner with the technical aspects which each practitioner assumed to be familiar with, due to negligence, paying insufficient efforts or Failure to follow professional and medical assets. 18. Where can I get more advice and help? If you need further assistance or would like to know more, please contact 800 DHA or email to firstname.lastname@example.com Alternatively, you can visit Dubai Health Authority's website for more information on the medical complaints procedure – www.dha.gov.ae 19. Where can I submit non-medical related complaints? Non-medical complaint can be submitted through Wasel Sotak(https://www.dha.gov.ae/en/pages/wasselsotak.aspx) 20. What is MyID? My ID enables customers to have one single sign-on to all the eServices provided by Dubai Government entities and interact with them using one account only. All customers of Dubai government entities can register in MyID service on its website https://myid.dubai.gov.ae.


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High crude oil prices, along with outflow of foreign funds and fears over a hike in crucial domestic lending rates pulled the Indian rupee to a new record low of over 73.40 per US dollar on Wednesday.
However, possible intervention by the country's central bank aided the Indian rupee to recover before closing at 73.34 (73.3450) to the US dollar.
The apex bank is known to enter the markets via intermediaries to either sell or buy US dollars to keep the rupee in a stable orbit.
On Wednesday morning, the Indian rupee opened at a record low of 73.25 per US dollar surpassing the previous low of 72.98 per dollar, which it had touched on September 18.
It slipped further to — 73.42 — its lowest-ever mark — against the greenback at the Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange Market.
According to Edelweiss Securities Head for Forex and Rates Sajal Gupta: "Market has not reacted positively to steps taken by the government for stability in rupee as they were perhaps not strong enough to address the key issue of short-term demand."
"Most of the Asian and emerging currencies are calmer in the past one month. The market is reacting strongly to Brent crude movements, and with current pace 75 can likely be seen if crude touches 88-90 levels."
Currently, the Brent crude oil price is around $85 per barrel.
Additionally, fears over the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) turning more hawkish in its monetary policy stance due to a rise in inflationary pressure has subdued the prospects of the rupee.
"The rupee has made a new record low today on the back of consistent rise in the crude oil prices," Rushabh Maru, Research Analyst at Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers, told IANS.
"Sharp volatility in the domestic equities and steep FIIs outflows from equity and debt segments keeping sentiments bearish for the rupee. The dollar index is hovering around multi-months high as the Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates aggressively."
Investment-wise, provisional data with exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold stocks worth Rs 1,550.04 crore on Wednesday.


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Taylor's systems will save you time, effort and money by ensuring compliance through our automated systems.
As part of its core services, Taylor will be managing your data. So why not take advantage of having that data and complete your city energy benchmarking compliance? Cities like New York, Boston, Cambridge, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and many others, require commercial businesses to report their energy costs and usage through EPA Portfolio Manager. UtilityModule tracks these data points for your business and links directly into your PM account, saving time and money.
Energy Benchmarking
Energy benchmarking is a city mandated government program through which city governments can gauge how buildings are using energy, and help city officials manage and report energy consumption by the largest users in their City in order to implement improvements and efficiencies. By comparing buildings energy usage to other similar buildings in the surrounding area, the data can be used to create policies which reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the residents of these cities. This also allows property owners to assess opportunities for improvement, and quantify/verify energy savings.
The program applies to buildings of a certain size which is based on several metrics including square footage and number of units. Buildings that fall within a certain size criteria are legally obligated to submit their annual electric, gas, water, sewer, and other energy usage and costs to the federal government via the EPA portfolio management system. Each year, the minimum size required to report decreases so smaller and smaller buildings have to file. If businesses required to file annual usage and costs do not by the deadline, they could face fines up to $10,000. So, much like filing taxes, it is critical that the submission happens by the deadline designated by the City.
Taylor's UtilityModule program tracks your usage and cost data every single month for all properties and buildings in your portfolio, and submits that data into the EPA portfolio manager, so meeting your benchmarking requirements is a breeze. In addition, UtilityModule displays usage and cost per square foot and per unit, and the gathered statistics can be compared to other properties in the portfolio as well as the portfolio averages or groups of similar property types to help you unlock efficiencies and improvements.
Taylor Consulting and Contracting is a professional energy manager that has the deep market expertise and state-of-the-art technology to help you become benchmark compliant, find energy saving solutions, and make energy purchasing a breeze.


text: Several categories of data elements may be associated with increases in a program site's QRIS Score. Some of those categories are Quality Improvement, Workplace Conditions/Policies, and Program Management. Below are two examples of analyses that could be performed examining the intersection of quality scores with other factors that may not be included as indicators when making ratings determinations.


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The market for Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is flourishing. Beyond the hype and the heightened media attention, the numerous startups and the internet giants racing to acquire them, there is a significant increase in investment and adoption by enterprises.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence exhibited by machines. In computer science, an ideal "intelligent" machine is a flexible rational agent that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chance of success at some goal. Colloquially, the term "artificial intelligence" is applied when a machine mimics "cognitive" functions that humans associate with other human minds, such as "learning" and "problem-solving".As machines become increasingly capable, mental facilities once thought to require intelligence are removed from the definition. For example, optical character recognition is no longer perceived as an exemplar of "artificial intelligence", has become a routine technology. For example, optical character recognition is no longer perceived as an exemplar of "artificial intelligence", has become a routine technology.
Capabilities currently classified as Artificial Intelligence (AI) include successfully understanding human speech, competing at a high level in strategic game systems (such as Chess and Go), self-driving cars, and interpreting complex data. Some people also consider Artificial Intelligence (AI) a danger to humanity if it progresses unabatedly. Artificial Intelligence (AI) research is divided into subfields that focus on specific problems or on specific approaches or on the use of a particular tool or towards satisfying particular applications.
The central problems (or goals) of Artificial Intelligence (AI) research include reasoning, knowledge, planning, learning, natural language processing (communication), perception and the ability to move and manipulate objects. General intelligence is among the field's long-term goals Approaches include statistical methods, computational intelligence, soft computing (e.g. machine learning), and traditional symbolic Artificial Intelligence (AI). Many tools are used in AI, including versions of search and mathematical optimization, logic, methods based on probability and economics. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) field draws upon computer science, mathematics, psychology, linguistics, philosophy, neuroscience, and artificial psychology.
History Of Artificial Intelligence
|Image Source: Wekipedia.org
While thought-competent counterfeit creatures showed up as narrating gadgets in olden times, the possibility of really attempting to construct a machine to perform helpful thinking may have started with Ramon Llull (c. 1300 CE). With his Calculus ratiocinator, Gottfried Leibniz expanded the idea of the computing machine (Wilhelm Schickard designed the first around 1623), meaning to perform operations on ideas as opposed to numbers. Since the nineteenth century, counterfeit creatures are regular in fiction, as in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or Karel Čapek's R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots).
The investigation of mechanical or "formal" thinking started with rationalists and mathematicians in olden times. In the nineteenth century, George Boole refined those thoughts into the propositional rationale and Gottlob Frege built up a notational framework for mechanical thinking (a "predicate math"). Around the 1940s, Alan Turing's hypothesis of calculation proposed that a machine, by rearranging images as straightforward as "0" and "1", could reenact any possible demonstration of scientific finding.
This knowledge, that advanced PCs can mimic any procedure of formal thinking, is known as the Church–Turing proposition Along with simultaneous revelations in neurology, data hypothesis, and robotics, this drove scientists to think about how possible it is of building an electronic brain. The first work that is present, for the most part, perceived as Artificial Intelligence (AI) was McCulloch and Pitts' 1943 formal outline for Turing-finish "manufactured neurons". The field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) inquire about was established at a gathering at Dartmouth College in 1956. The participants, including John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Allen Newell, Arthur Samuel, and Herbert Simon, turned into the pioneers of AI explore. They and their understudies composed projects that were shocking to a great many people: PCs were winning at checkers, taking care of word issues in variable based math, demonstrating sensible hypotheses and communicating in English. By the center of the 1960s, look into in the U.S. was vigorously supported by the Department of Defense and research facilities had been built up the world over.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) originators were hopeful about the future: Herbert Simon anticipated, "machines will be competent, inside twenty years, of doing any work a man can do." Marvin Minsky concurred, stating, "inside an era … the issue of making 'computerized reasoning' will significantly be illuminated." They neglected to perceive the trouble of a portion of the rest of the errands. Advance moderated and in 1974, in light of the feedback of Sir James Lighthill and progressing weight from the US Congress to finance more gainful activities, both the U.S. Furthermore, British governments cut off exploratory research in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The following couple of years would later be called an "Artificial Intelligence (AI) winter" a period when financing for AI ventures was elusive. In the mid-1980s, Artificial Intelligence (AI) looks into was resuscitated by the business accomplishment of master frameworks, a type of AI program that recreated the learning and scientific abilities of human specialists. By 1985 the market for AI had come to over a billion dollars. In the meantime, Japan's fifth era PC extend motivated the U.S and British governments to reestablish subsidizing for scholarly research. However, starting with the fall of the Lisp Machine showcase in 1987, AI by and by fell into notoriety, and a moment, longer-enduring rest started.
In the late 1990s and mid 21st century, Artificial Intelligence (AI) started to be utilized for coordination, information mining, medicinal analysis, and other areas. The achievement was because of increment computational power (see Moore's law), more noteworthy accentuation on taking care of particular issues, new ties amongst Artificial Intelligence (AI) and different fields and dedication by specialists to numerical techniques and logical models. Dark Blue turned into the main PC chess-playing framework to beat a prevailing world chess champion, Garry Kasparov on 11 May 1997.
Progressed factual methods (inexactly known as profound learning), access to a lot of information and speedier PCs empowered advances in machine learning and recognition. By the mid-2010s, machine learning applications were utilized all through the world. In a Jeopardy! test indicate show coordinate, IBM's inquiry noting framework, Watson, vanquished the two biggest Jeopardy champions, Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings, by a noteworthy edge. The Kinect, which gives a 3D body–motion interface to the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One utilize calculations that rose up out of extensive Artificial Intelligence (AI) examine as do shrewd individual partners in cell phones. In March 2016, AlphaGo won 4 out of 5 recreations of Go in a match with Go champion Lee Sedol, turning into the principal PC Go-playing framework to beat an expert Go player without handicaps.
As indicated by Bloomberg's Jack Clark, 2015 was a point of interest year for manmade brainpower, with the number of programming ventures that utilization Artificial Intelligence (AI) inside Google expanding from a "sporadic use" in 2012 to more than 2,700 tasks. Clark likewise introduces accurate information showing that mistake rates in picture handling undertakings have fallen altogether since 2011. He credits this to an expansion in reasonable neural systems, because of an ascent in distributed computing framework and to an increment in look into instruments and data sets. Other referred to illustrations incorporate Microsoft's advancement of a Skype framework that can consequently make an interpretation of starting with one dialect then onto the next and Facebook's framework that can depict pictures to dazzle individuals.
Goals Of AI
the general problem of simulating (or creating) intelligence has been broken down into sub-problems. These consist of particular traits or capabilities that researchers expect an intelligent system to display. The traits described below have received the most attention.
Top 10 Hot Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technologies
A Narrative Science survey found last year that 38% of enterprises are already using Artificial Intelligence (AI), growing to 62% by 2018. Forrester Research predicted a greater than 300% increase in investment in artificial intelligence in 2017 compared with 2016. IDC estimated that the Artificial Intelligence (AI) market will grow from $8 billion in 2016 to more than $47 billion in 2020. Coined in 1955 to describe a new computer science sub-discipline, "Artificial Intelligence" today includes a variety of technologies and tools, some time-tested, others relatively new. To help make sense of what's hot and what's not, Forrester just published a TechRadar report on Artificial Intelligence (for application development professionals), a detailed analysis of 13 technologies enterprises should consider adopting to support human decision-making. Based on Forrester's analysis, here's my list of the 10 hottest AI technologies: Natural Language Generation: Producing text from computer data. Currently used in customer service, report generation, and summarising business intelligence insights. Sample vendors: Attivio, Automated Insights, Cambridge Semantics, Digital Reasoning, Lucidworks, Narrative Science, SAS, Yseop.
- Speech Recognition: Transcribe and transform human speech into the format used for computer applications. Currently used in interactive voice response systems and mobile applications. Sample vendors: NICE, Nuance Communications, OpenText, Verint Systems.
- Virtual Agents: "The current darling of the media," says Forrester (I believe they refer to my evolving relationships with Alexa), from simple chatbots to advanced systems that can network with humans. Currently used in customer service and support and as a smart home manager. Sample vendors: Amazon, Apple, Artificial Solutions, Assist AI, Creative Virtual, Google, IBM, IPsoft, Microsoft, Satisfied.
- Machine Learning Platforms: Providing algorithms, APIs, development and training toolkits, data, as well as computing power to design, train, and deploy models into applications, processes, and other machines. Currently used in a wide range of enterprise applications, mostly `involving prediction or classification. Sample vendors: Amazon, Fractal Analytics, Google, H2O.ai, Microsoft, SAS, Skytree.
- AI-optimized Hardware: Graphics processing units (GPU) and appliances specifically designed and architected to efficiently run AI-oriented computational jobs. Currently primarily making a difference in deep learning applications. Sample vendors: Alluvial, Cray, Google, IBM, Intel, Nvidia.
- Decision Management: Engines that insert rules and logic into AI systems and used for initial setup/training and ongoing maintenance and tuning. A mature technology, it is used in a wide variety of enterprise applications, assisting in or performing automated decision-making. Sample vendors: Advanced Systems Concepts, Informatica, Maine, Pegasystems, UiPath.
- Deep Learning Platforms: A special type of machine learning consisting of artificial neural networks with multiple abstraction layers. Currently primarily used in pattern recognition and classification applications supported by very large data sets. Sample vendors: Deep Instinct, Ersatz Labs, Fluid AI, MathWorks, Peltarion, Saffron Technology, Sentient Technologies.
- Biometrics: Enable more natural interactions between humans and machines, including but not limited to image and touch recognition, speech, and body language. Currently used primarily in market research. Sample vendors: 3VR, Affectiva, Agnitio, FaceFirst, Sensory, Synqera, Tahzoo.
- Robotic Process Automation: Using scripts and other methods to automate human action to support efficient business processes. Currently used where it's too expensive or inefficient for humans to execute a task or a process. Sample vendors: Advanced Systems Concepts, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism, UiPath, WorkFusion.
- Text Analytics and NLP: Natural language processing (NLP) uses and supports text analytics by facilitating the understanding of sentence structure and meaning, sentiment, and intent through statistical and machine learning methods. Currently used in fraud detection and security, a wide range of automated assistants, and applications for mining unstructured data. Sample vendors: Basis Technology, Coveo, Expert System, Indico, Knime, Lexalytics, Linguamatics, Mindbreeze, Sinequa, Stratified, Synapsify.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence


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"Made from a selection of the lots considered not rich enough for Les Pavots, the 2012 L'Esprit des Pavots is a 1,710-case blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. A fruity red displaying notes of coffee beans, chocolate, plums, black cherries, truffles and earth, it is a medium to full-bodied, lush red meant to be enjoyed over the next 10-12 years."
--91 points Wine Advocate, Dec 2014
I am at least 21 years of ageand wish to enter the site


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Original Twisted Metal making a u-turn for PSN?
Twisted Metal fans that are eagerly awaiting the next entry on PS3 might have a bone tossed their way; ESRB has listed the very first Metal game for a PSN re-release. Most PSOne Classics have been outed by ESRB before they hit the store so this is almost certainly going to happen.
Personally, I didn't get into the series until the sequel, World Tour, so I'll more than welcome a PSN return. It should keep fans in check until Jaffe's next hits in 2011.
About The Author
About the author: Jamie Feltham


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The Trump administration announced Friday it will immediately stop paying health insurance subsidies, called cost-sharing reductions, for people who qualify through exchanges.
"President Trump's decision to halt federal funding is a devastating blow to thousands of people in Washington state and further threatens the stability of our individual health insurance market," Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler's said. "I will be considering further action to challenge the decision and protect consumers and our individual health insurance market."
Kreidler said for months, consumers and insurers have lived with the threat of the end to cost-sharing reductions.
"The threat is now a reality, he said. "Last year, more than 70,000 people enrolled through our state-based health insurance exchange, Washington Healthplanfinder, and had lower out-of-pocket costs because of the $65 million in cost-sharing payments insurers received."
Kreidler said the president's short-sighted decision, combined with his executive orders announced Thursday, will result in higher premium payments for consumers and will force the state's insurers to determine whether they'll remain in an unstable market.
Consumers and insurers are at great risk of harm because of the president's actions, he said.
"Contrary to what the president says, these payments are not 'kickbacks' to health insurers but rather a lifeline for many consumers to afford coverage," Kreidler said. "The president's combined decisions ignore consumer-protection recommendations from insurance regulators, doctors, health insurers, business organizations, and advocates across the country."
He said it's time to put aside political differences and come together to fix the Affordable Care Act, which remains the law of land.
"President Trump is putting peoples' lives at risk," Kreidler said.
Trump's Thursday's action ignores the reality of how insurance works, he said.
The basic principle behind insurance is the more people you cover, the lower everyone's costs, Kreidler said. "Trump's executive order will allow healthier and younger people to pick skimpier, cheaper coverage, leaving the older and the sick to pay much more. This may lower some peoples' costs in the short term – as long as they don't get sick."
He said it also almost guarantees the eventual collapse of the health insurance markets across the country.
"Washington state has a long history with association health plans," Kreidler said. "Short-term medical plans are not required to provide comprehensive coverage, out-of-pocket limits are high, and vital essential health benefits are excluded. Most importantly, if you get sick, you may not be able to renew your coverage – there are no protections for people with pre-existing condition. Maternity care and mental-health benefits often are excluded."
For more information for boomer consumers, see my blog The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide.


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Southern smilax (Smilax Maritima), also known as wild smilax, East Texas smilax and Jackson Vine is grown and harvested here in East Texas. It is a hardy, green foliage that is usually in season from mid to late June through March of the following year.
On their own, smilax vines will form shrubs and create thickets full of heart-shaped leaves. These climbing, flowering vines can grow over 10m tall, their hooks allowing them to cling to branches and trunks. Smilax vines flower in May/June with clustered white and green flowers. Exceptionally hardy, Smilax is a very damage-tolerant plant that can be grown back from its rhizomes after being cut or burned down by fire, and its seeds have the highest chance of germination after being exposed to a freeze.
If possible, please place orders one week in advance.


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Essex County Nature Meetings:
Essex County Nature meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of every month at the Ojibway Nature Centre. There is no admission and everyone is welcome to attend. Check out our Upcoming Events to see what else we have planned as well as other events happening around the county!


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Other pre-trip knitting I got to do involve crochet and macrame instead: I was commissioned to make 20 crochet cotton motifs and two macrame bracelets.
It was rather enjoyful to make all these motifs, and have the freedom to try any design I like. I used this opportunity to experiment with different designs I have had in mind, but never enough time to try them out, since as you most probably have noticed, lately I knit a lot more than I crochet, and haven't experimented a lot with it at all.
I wanted to give them a light summer-like tone, so I used entirely cotton thread and rather soft colors (except for two multicolor motifs)
Their main purpose is to decorate the top of marmalade jars, but they can be used pretty much for anything. ^^
As for the bracelets I was asked only specific colors, the rest was up to me. I think I am starting to become addicted to the square motif..
:: Sunny by Marvin Gaye ::


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Claudia Cardaci
- Email: email@example.com
- Campus: University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, WA
What are you studying?
Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance).
Why did you want to become a CA Student Rep?
To showcase the invaluable learning opportunities that CAANZ provides to graduates from any background to kickstart their career.
How do you want to make a difference in the world?
The difference I make does not have to be profound in nature. The mark I make in the world will be achieved simply: I will fully commit myself to solving any problem, whether it be accounting-related or otherwise, by using my lateral thinking skills developed throughout my education.
What you are interested in outside of Uni and work?
I'm a huge fan of orchestral and chamber music (love me some Shostakovitch), and I love to play tennis and ultimate frisbee! I also love collecting accounting puns and listening to my friends laugh (*groan) as I subject them to my indisputable hilarity (by the way, if you have any good ones, feel free to send them to me).
If you had any advice for your fellow students about tackling university or preparing for the 'real' world, what would it be?
The change in lifestyle for high school to university is sudden and apparent. The only valuable advice I can provide is to: (1) keep on top of your work load (your work load will increase as exams approach); and (2) do your tutorial work BEFORE the tutorial (yes, it is hard to find motivation to do the work prior to the class, but you will gain more from that time if you come to class prepared and ready to learn new material and clarify your understanding).
What was your first impression of studying accounting/business?
Accounting was never my first choice at university. When I left high school, I had this set idea of studying economics and felt that nothing could sway me from what I was destined to do. That was until I took my first accounting lecture. The first thing that struck me about accounting was the logic behind every principle and entry completed - every number has its place, and there is a valid reason to support that understanding.


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Clever. Helping scientists collaborate on and publish research papers.
I have some relevant background here: scientific research for the Australian Federal Government, working collaboratively with other researchers on multiple government and commercially funded projects. I love the idea of the open science movement. Authorea and Plos One and the whole suite of open science changes are really helping to bring science forward. Technically the product looks sound, and I generally love Github For X type of products. -- I think the collaborative manuscript writing pitch is great, it looks like it is well implemented, and it makes a lot of sense as to how scientists work together all the time. I love this. Speaking to the "github for science" side of things, there are some issues to note regarding collaborative scientific data and the way in which scientists actually work: Scientists (or at least the scientific community as a system) are generally very reluctant to share data, and it is not because of a lack of tools. It is because of the competitive nature of research, the way research is funded, and the processes that surround scientific research and outcomes. This is a very different situation to OSS. In science there are many constraints on data sharing, and this occurs at the systems level, not at the tools level. What this means is that definitely yes, this tool will be excellent for coauthors to collaborate on a manuscript. It should work well and make that process more efficient. The much bigger challenge beyond that is the leap required to get to "github for science" and open data sharing. Services like Authorea are the beginning of those bigger changes, and hopefully we will see a more collaborative, open science community as we progress.


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A verdict by a Maryland jury found that a gynecologist failed to share with her patient a pathologist's warnings that the uterine tumors she discovered during a hysterectomy were potentially malignant.
According to the complaint, Lauren Rodgers, MD, discovered uterine tumors during the 2011 hysterectomy she performed on Roslyn Baxter and sent samples to a pathologist who described the findings as potentially malignant and recommended close clinical follow-up treatment. Dr. Rodgers, however, neglected to discuss the pathologist's findings with her patient and did not offer follow-up treatment, says the complaint.
Dr. Rodgers denied the claim, pointing to a note from a 2011 meeting that called for a discussion of the pathology findings, but Ms. Baxter maintained that the discussion was never had.
In 2014, Ms. Baxter underwent medical tests and was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer that likely originated in the uterus, as the suit claims, and she currently has stage-4 sarcoma in her lungs. The jury awarded Ms. Baxter $1 million, but as per Maryland's cap on noneconomic damages, the award has been reduced to $695,000.
The award is considered noneconomic because Ms. Baxter was not granted the amount based on past, present or future medical expenses. Experts couldn't provide exact judgment on whether Ms. Baxter's condition would have been prevented or treated differently had Dr. Rodgers offered proper follow-up care, so instead, the award is based on pain, suffering or inconvenience as a result of negligence.
Representing Ms. Baxter in this suit, Michael P. Smith, JD, holds that he and his client are satisfied with the award amount, but he hasn't ruled out the possibility of further action or appeal from the defense. Dr. Rodgers and her attorney, Robert C. Maynard, JD, have 30 days to appeal the decision and try the case again. They also have 10 days to file a motion for a judgment notwithstanding verdict (JNOV) that would let a judge overrule the jury's verdict based on insufficient evidence provided throughout trial. As of now, Mr. Maynard has made no comment on his client's intentions going forward.


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Category Archives: 2 Epic
Spring break bike binge slideshow
Here's a wee slide show of 8 days of fab riding Dave and I did north of Moab at spring break. We rode some trails we have ridden mtb's on before near Moab then headed further north to White Wash and traveled over some amazing new-to-us terrain. Fantastic scenery and riding.
Most days we ran into sections on the trail that were too difficult for me to ride and we had to turn around. This moto game is not like mountain biking where you can pick the bike up and carry on over something too difficult to ride. I need to build moto skills!
Coyote Gulch
Springbreak Arizona Trail bikepack trip
I love this AZT sign!
After Scott posted
We parked at Picket Post, rode 65 miles on the road to the trailhead at Tiger Mine Road, then 100 miles of sweet AZT back to the car. We took 4 days - very casual pace :-)
I was lucky to have my fave ride partner DH come along too. The flowers were wowzers!
Carpets of flowers.
We camped at Freeman Rd water cache and were treated to a spectacular Sonoran sunset
Riding the Boulders section the next day I had intense flashbacks to racing through there at sunrise/moon-set in the AZT300 race last year. It is such a flowy section.
Then onto Ripsey. Thumbs up from DH as we both had a perfect score on the big hill switchbacks.
The flowers were busting out on Ripsey too.
We camped that night near Kelvin Bridge. Unfortunately DH's rear tire was in the process of decomposing and he made the wise but disappointing decision to bail on the AZT and ride the road back to Picket Post. He nicely took my sleep kit and I got to ride the Gila River Canyons section from Kelvin Bridge to Picket Post only partially loaded.
The first thing I ran into was a trail crew turning a jeep road into a trail - how cool is that ?!?!
Brand new trail made from a jeep road
Trail slightly more mature trail with a few landscaping touches. It was like a bike path for a while!
The section along the Gila river on the "bike path" was fast and fun. Then the trail heads north and climbs skirting the border of the spectacular White Canyon wilderness area. So beautiful.
I was back at Picket Post before I knew it and before I was ready to be over with my ride. I'm hungry for more bikepack adventures now.
Grit testing
With any luck there will be some dots on this map today. A harbinger of things to come in the race scene!
Colorado Trail segment 22/23 – Cinnamon Pass
DH and I did a 2 day bikepacking loop linking up Colorado Trail Coney's segment 22, Cataract/Stoney Pass segment 23 with Cinnamon pass.
It was maybe the most amazing 2 days I have spent on a bike. The flowers were exploding, vistas eye popping, trails perfect, weather bluebird.
Altitude + flowers + blue sky + big vistas + bikes + sweet trail + DH = giddy Lynda :-) I'm still giddy.
I took 300 photos! Here is a slideshow of the best 30. Photos describe everything better than my words.
and on Strava
Dixie 200 mid-race update and pics
One of the best things about the Dixie's is the people it attracts. A small, talented group toed the start. Everyone's kit looked tight and pro. It's amazing how far bikepacking has come in a few short years.
Left to right: Eszter, Ken, Sara, Taylor, Aaron.
Since I had to be back in St George Sat evening I chose different ride for the day - one that put me on top of Powell Point when the leaders arrived.
Aaron was first up:
Followed shortly by Eszter.
They were carrying spots - with bluedot I knew when they'd be up there, and who was coming next. It appeared nobody - so I rode the route to Tropic with Ez. What a blast! Super fun 2 hour descent, it throws a little of everything at you.
Ken and Sara on the way up Powell Point looking snappy (they don't have a spot):
Ez on the Henderson Canyon descent
Looking the other direction on the trail...I finally discovered my droid was set on blue tint, doh!
Aaron about ready to roll south of Tropic
They are in the thick of the hardest part of the route. Very remote and the southern exposure can make it feel warmer than it actually is. It is gorgeous down there tho! We'll see what the day brings, but I don't think we'll see any finishers before dark.
Got crack?
Follow the race progress at
Dixie 200 route changes!
We headed up to the Markagunt Plateau Saturday for a final check on conditions. According to the snow models it looked tight - too tight for comfort. I had to have on the ground intel. Here is what we saw.
The Virgin River Rim trail is at the top of that ridge - and as far as we could tell it was covered in 4-8 feet of snow. The area is saturated with runoff, the snow is still deep, and the downed trees are worse than ever. A ranger said 200 trees were cut out of a 1/4 stretch of a local trail.
That turned out to be a pretty big deal. I had anticipated several snow detours, but the VRRT via Woods ranch is the entrance to the Markagunt. With that access currently unavailable, it was time for some thinking.
I have so many GPS files for the region from scouring out the best routes for Trans Utah - thousands of miles of tracks in fact - I was confident of coming up with a good alternative, one that did not even include the Markagunt at all. C'est la vie...
Looking at paper maps for about an hour I came up with an idea. It did require some scouting for a key connector, and it panned out nicely. Great Western Trail to the rescue!
The new route gets more singletrack in the Red Canyon area, finishes with Thunder Mountain(!), has an optional out and back to Powell Point, a fantastic descent into Tropic, completely circumnavigates Bryce Canyon NP, and still maintains the Paunsaugunt as its core. Beyond Tropic it gets quite remote - it will be committing for riders leaving Tropic. There are no bailouts until the other side of the Paunsaugunt.
It doesn't quite hit the 200 mile mark, but I guarantee you won't feel cheated on distance by the end ;)
One of my favorite areas on the route is Henderson Canyon beneath Powell Point. The ride to Powell Point is optional since it could be a bit wet up there, and it makes refueling in Tropic problematic. 10 hour time bonus and the best view going for those that do it!
From the top southern Utah is in view, including Bryce in this pic.
The Paunsaugunt is wild and remote. There is awesome singletrack, steep atv track, and some forgotten trail. It's slow going and the route's crux. Plan water carefully leaving Tropic.
There's a good hard core group making the trip. I'm really looking forward to meeting folks in Red Canyon for the start. Sadly, I can't do the ride this year but will ride a good bit with folks on Saturday before I make my exit.


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After seven years of unparalleled growth in Italy's gaming sector, there were those who imagined that 2010 would not match the double-digit increase in spend of most of the last decade, particularly with the delay in introduction of new products as a result of legal problems. However, figures published by gaming authority AAMS at the beginning of February have revealed that turnover last year soared to over €61bn, up 13 per cent on 2009's figure of €54bn.
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The person can also use the personal shopper functionality whereby the consumer can question the kiosk to do the looking for this craft for them. The user click the personal shopper button on their own picked out crafts job, and they are taken into a checkout and payment webpage, where the kiosk can take payment for the goods.
The expansion in e-commerce isn't going to necessarily mean the Dying of bricks and mortar retail. Whilst it can be certainly accurate that e-commerce is escalating rapidly, bricks and mortar income nevertheless account for the majority of total retail profits.
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Scientific studies show an average of seven% rise in incremental sales when kiosks are extra. Much more powerful investment decision returns are as follows:
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Electronic merchandising leader establishes new headquarters in Chicago for QSR and retail associates to speedily prototype and test merchandising remedies
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Cities are Checking out a sensible town eyesight that takes advantage of Online of Points (IoT) systems to collect and examine info for far better management of public means and products and services.
Modern developments suggest that there's been spectacular change in consumers' drive to control their transactions. Actually, a 2013 research exhibits that as many as sixty one p.c of Intercontinental consumers would shop in a totally automatic retail keep, with kiosk stations and vending devices.
The components for producing the crafts displayed should be over the cabinets beneath, don't anticipate the customer to path throughout Check This Out the shop looking for the fabric. The true secret is that you make the craft project as very simple to start as you can.
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The person can also use the personal shopper functionality whereby the consumer can question the kiosk to do the looking for this craft for them. The user click the personal shopper button on their own picked out crafts job, and they are taken into a checkout and payment webpage, where the kiosk can take payment for the goods.


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The folks at Lyft have been pondering the congestion problem in Los Angeles and they think they have a better — and far less expensive — solution LA's chronic traffic woes. They propose fewer but more efficient lanes that take advantage of autonomous driving technology. Lyft, in cooperation with General Motors, has been conducting trials of self driving cars. Just this week, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, said it is ready to invest a $1 billion in Lyft.
Monthly Archives: September 2017
Loftium Will Finance Your Downpayment for a House if You Rent it Continuously on Airbnb
Usually when you hear about shady stuff happening in the sharing economy it comes from the "labor" platforms, i.e., companies like Uber, Handy, and Postmates, that rely on the labor of independent contractors to make their businesses work.
The Sharing Economy Helps Fight Climate Change (But Not as Much as You Think)
The Washington Post – September 18, 2017
The rise of the sharing economy — via Uber, Craigslist, Airbnb and other platforms — could help reduce the climate impact of dense urban areas, a new study suggests. Cities produce a rising share of the global greenhouse-gas emissions that cause climate change.
Sharing Economy Extends to Mortgages as Co-Borrowing Becomes a Trend
Real Estate Weekly – September 20, 2017
The so-called "sharing economy" just added another facet to its mix – co-borrowing. Decades ago, while Baby Boomers typically were able to purchase a single-family home in the suburbs on one salary, nowadays, it takes a village. In today's millennial era, where co-living, co-working, and ride-sharing are all commonplace and part of many young people's daily lives, it's perhaps not surprising that when it comes to purchasing a home, that endeavor is shared as well.
Corporate Travel Policies Embrace the Sharing Economy
TravelPulse – September 14, 2017
More and more business travelers are relying on the sharing economy, and their companies appear to be taking notice. According to a recent survey from expense management and invoice automation solutions provider Chrome River Technologies, nearly eight out of 10 (78 percent) medium-to-large companies allow their employees to utilize ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft to get around for work.
How Ride-Sharing Can Close One Gap in Our Broken Healthcare System
Fast Company – September 13, 2017
In the conversation around America's disorganized healthcare system, high costs come up as the most obvious barrier to treatment and services. But for many people, even if they can arrange affordable care, actually making it to an appointment poses yet another difficulty. They may not own a car or another mode of transit; public transportation in their area may be unreliable or nonexistent. Each year, around 3.6 million people miss an appointment because they simply can't make it to the doctor's office.
Politicians Call to Ban Uber from London
The Drive – September 13, 2017
MPs from the Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat parties sent a letter to Transport for London urging the agency not to renew Uber's operator license when it expires at the end of the month, reports Business Insider. In the letter, MPs called Uber an "unfit and improper operator," claiming it doesn't do enough to ensure passenger safety.
Baltimore Bike Share Temporarily Shutting Down Amid Thefts, Maintenance Backups
The Baltimore Sun – September 12, 2017
Baltimore is temporarily shutting down its $2.36 million bike-share program, which has suffered so many thefts and maintenance backups that most of the bicycles are out of service.
Technology is Changing Transportation, and Cities Should Adapt
Harvard Business Review – September 13, 2017
It has taken only a few years for ride-hailing services to make urban journeys more convenient in many cities, much to the delight of city dwellers the world over. And as innovation brings self-driving cars, electric vehicles, in-vehicle data connectivity, mechanisms for sharing rides and vehicles, and other technologies to more people, getting around cities will become easier, faster, and safer.
GM Puts Pieces in Place to Take on Uber
Bloomberg – September 13, 2017
Ride-hailing apps and car-sharing services have been called existential threats to automakers as we know them, but General Motors Co. is looking to fight fire with fire. Or, in this case, robots with robots.


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There are a number of shows I am excited to see in 2012, and I think I won't be the only one. If you have questions about the details of any of the shows listed below, let me know.
On Broadway
Jesus Christ Superstar
Leap of Faith
Nice Work If You Can Get It
Peter and the Starcatcher
Porgy and Bess
On Tour
American Idiot
Catch Me If You Can
Les Miserables
The Normal Heart
War Horse
Regional Productions
The Music Man in Washington, D.C.
Next to Normal in Boston, Massachusetts
Red in Washington, D.C.
Scottsboro Boys in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Xanadu in Arlington, Virginia
I'm sure this list will continue to grow as the year progresses, but there is one show in particular I am rooting for to make it to Broadway in 2012 that hasn't yet been announced: Home. Scott Alan is one of my favorite artists, and this show, which includes several of his songs, will be touching and inspiring. His music is on iTunes if you're interested.


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Large Natural-Edge Crotch Oak bowl
€240.00 Sold Out
Last year I worked on a big oak tree felled in the woods near the house. I identified the tree while a company were cutting trees for the regular coppice, I marked it and waited a couple of weeks before falling it down so that the moon was waning, this is a very important operation in order to avoid possible pest attacks later and to allow the wood to season in a uniform and balanced way. Once fell down I cut the main trunk in many parts necessary to make bowl blanks. There were two main intersection zones at the branches, and one of these is the one I used to make this bowl. You can see how the intersecton zone has a nice burl figure. I was anyway lucky because the bowl after turned green didn't distort so much during seasoning, despite the thickness I left for the walls was quite thin. But what I love the best in this piece is the cream color it shows all around. I finished the bowl only with organic sunflower seeds oil after sand it down up to 1000 grit.
Dimensions : (mm) 290x195
Year : 2018
Signed under the base


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PM Abe's dominance in LDP highlighted by speedy move to extend term limit
(Mainichi Japan)
The discussion on extending the term of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)'s leader reached a conclusion in a little more than a month, underscoring the dominance of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose term was supposed to expire in September 2018.
"We judged that the discussion reached a conclusion as there was no opposition. It was a unanimous decision," LDP Vice President Masahiko Komura told reporters on Oct. 26 after a plenary meeting of the Headquarters for Party and Political System Reform Implementation.
The matter was put on the table in July when LDP Secretary-General Toshihiro Nikai suggested he would approve extending the party president's two three-year consecutive terms. Komura then launched the reform headquarters, which led the discussion. Starting with the headquarters' first meeting on Sept. 20, panel executives met a total of four times. There was hardly any objection to extending Abe's term at those meetings.
While what made the speedy conclusion possible was the fact that there are no strong rivals to Prime Minister Abe within the LDP who can threaten his dominance, it is unusual for party bigwigs such as Nikai to collectively create an environment for a term limit extension. The move could be seen as shattering an LDP tradition in which the party used in-house power struggles to vitalize itself. A former prime minister laments the current situation in the party, saying, "Everyone is currying favor with Prime Minister Abe and it's pathetic."
Extending the term limit to a total of nine years -- three consecutive three-year terms -- raises the possibility the Abe administration could go ahead with constitutional amendments and see the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics take place while Abe is in office.
Nevertheless, the term extension does not guarantee that Abe will have a third three three-year term. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga pointed out at a news conference that the prime minister needs to overcome the high hurdle of a public verdict in a Diet election.
The result of the next House of Representatives election will directly lead to an evaluation of Prime Minister Abe's unifying force. Furthermore, the House of Councillors election is scheduled for the summer of 2019 -- during his potential third term. With the consumption tax hike from the current 8 percent to 10 percent slated for October 2019 following the upper house race, the Abe administration, which has touted economic revitalization as its top priority will be put to the test over its ability to execute effective economic measures.
A source close to the prime minister said, "It requires hard work to maintain a winning streak in elections. A single loss could spark a call for the prime minister to step down."