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fluocinolone topical (generic name)
Derma-Smoothe/FS (brand name)
- Addiction
- Arthritis
- Auto Immune Conditions
- Bladder & Kidney Health
- Brain & Nervous System
- Cancer
- Caregiving
- Care Transitions
- Cholesterol
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- Diabetes
- Emotional Health
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- Sleep
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- Stroke
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What is this medicine?FLUOCINOLONE (floo oh SIN oh lone) is a corticosteroid. It is used to treat skin problems that may cause itching and swelling.
What should I tell my health care provider before I take this medicine?They need to know if you have any of these conditions:
- any type of active infection
- diabetes
- large areas of burned or damaged skin
- skin wasting or thinning
- an unusual or allergic reaction to fluocinolone, steroids, other medicines, peanuts, foods, dyes, or preservatives
- pregnant or trying to get pregnant
- breast-feeding
How should I use this medicine?This medicine is for external use only. Do not take by mouth. Follow the directions on the prescription label. Wash your hands before and after use. Do not use this medicine more often than directed or for a longer period of time than ordered by your doctor or health care professional. To do so may increase the chance of side effects. Do not use on healthy skin or over large areas of skin. Do not get this medicine in your eyes. If you do, rinse it out with plenty of cool tap water.
For areas other than the scalp- Apply a thin film of oil to the affected area and rub in gently. Do not bandage or wrap the skin being treated unless directed to do so by your doctor or health care professional.
For use on the scalp- Wet or dampen your hair and scalp before using this medicine. Apply a thin film of oil, massage well, and cover your scalp with the shower cap provided. Leave on overnight or for at least 4 hours before washing off unless you are given different instructions from your doctor or health care professional. Then, wash your hair with regular shampoo and rinse completely.
Talk to your pediatrician regarding the use of this medicine in children. While this drug may be prescribed for children as young as 3 months of age for selected conditions, precautions do apply.
What if I miss a dose?If you miss a dose, use it as soon as you can. If it is almost time for your next dose, use only that dose. Do not use double or extra doses.
What may interact with this medicine?Interactions are not expected. Do not use any other skin products without telling your doctor or health care professional.
What should I watch for while using this medicine?Tell your doctor or health care professional if your symptoms do not get better within one week. Tell your doctor or health care professional if you are exposed to anyone with measles or chickenpox, or if you develop sores or blisters that do not heal properly.
What side effects may I notice from receiving this medicine?Side effects that you should report to your doctor or health care professional as soon as possible:
- dark red spots on the skin
- lack of healing of the skin condition
- painful, red, pus filled blisters in hair follicles
- severe burning and continued itching of the skin
- thinning of the skin with easy bruising
Side effects that usually do not require medical attention (report to your doctor or health care professional if they continue or are bothersome):
- burning, itching, or irritation of the skin
- dry skin
- increased redness or scaling of the skin
- unusual increased growth of hair on the face or body


text:
More...Phoenix Coyotes forward Brett MacLean is reportedly improving after suffering a cardiac emergency while playing hockey in Owen Sound, Ontario on Monday.
Coyotes general manager Don Maloney gave an update to the Arizona Republic's website, azcentral.com, on Wednesday.
"He's better," Maloney said. "Our understanding is he'll be out of ICU later (Wednesday). Our medical staff is in communication with the people up in Ontario, so our understanding is things are improving".

subset: commoncrawl


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Three tree species remain in Operation ReLeaf
OTTUMWA — There are only three tree species left in Ottumwa's first Operation ReLeaf program.
The program, run through Alliant Energy, gives residential customers an opportunity to purchase trees at discounted prices. The city began participating in the program this year after residents on Chester Avenue raised concerns last summer about trees being cut down to allow for the sewer separation project to continue.
City Administrator Joe Helfenberger said there are three tree species left: tuliptree, sweetgum and white pine.
"And out of nearly 200 trees, there are only 30 left," he said.
Private property owners can purchase up to two trees per year for $25 per tree. For more information, go to www.cityofottumwa.org/releaf.
Residents can pick up the trees they have purchased from 9-11 a.m. Saturday in The Beach Ottumwa parking lot, where parks staff will be on hand to assist people in loading their trees. A professional tree planting seminar will also be given at 10 a.m.


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To the editor,
On Friday, July 19, I was enjoying a nice but very hot day with my sons at Devereux Beach in Marblehead. We spent the morning on the beach and then we were planning to have lunch at Lime Rickey's before leaving. While we were standing in the very long line, I began to not feel very well due to being hungry and being in the heat for so long. I turned to the young ladies behind us and asked them to please help us because I wasn't feeling well. I briefly fainted and the next thing I remember I was sitting in a chair.
The kindness of strangers and the care I received from the lifeguards were amazing. Luke, a lifeguard at the beach, who also works at the Lynch/Van Otterloo YMCA, was a kind young man who went above and beyond. He cooled me off and stayed with us until my husband could get us after leaving his office in Watertown. Staff members also made sure someone could go with my boys to the bathroom when they needed to use it. I must acknowledge the many strangers who made sure the boys had their lunches and drinks, as well as kept them from getting too nervous during this crazy time. Many people were wonderful to us that day, but unfortunately the only person whose name I got was a lady named Allison. I also must acknowledge Bob Jackson, Park and Recreation commissioner from Marblehead, who was checking on me and making sure I didn't need to go the hospital.
The assistance we received made a nerve-wracking situation a bit easier. Thank you again to everyone who helped us.
Amy Ouellette


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Hunkydory Domes & Windows
Viewer Comments
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It seems like I've been a part of the paper wishes family forever. You all work so hard for us out here so we can make beautiful Art to share with the ones we love. Thank-you so much!! Consider your self Hugged! :)
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Paper Wishes Weekly Webisodes
Free scrapbooking videos! Learn the latest scrapbooking ideas and fun ways to use your scrapbooking supplies with our free scrapbooking videos. Each week Paulette and Gail share tips and scrapbooking ideas on Paper Wishes Weekly Webisodes. These scrapbooking videos cover scrapbooking ideas like using templates, punches, patterned papers and more. Join us for exciting scrapbooking ideas with our scrapbooking videos!


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Thread: Defense starting to take offense
Defense starting to take offense
[size=18px]Vikings: Defense starting to take offense[/size]
With the offense not what it once was, the defense believes it must do more to put points on the scoreboard.
Judd Zulgad, Star Tribune
Last update: December 21, 2005 at 5:41 AM
Mike Tice could sense it each time he watched his tired defense leave the field in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 18-3 loss to Pittsburgh. The Vikings coach saw growing frustration from a unit that felt it was doing more than its share.
That feeling would have been understandable. The defense spent 36 minutes, 48 seconds on the field and, when it was on the sidelines, it was subjected to ugly performances by teammates.
The offense was 3-for-12 on third-down conversions -- 5-for-24 in the past two games -- and managed only three points in four trips inside the Pittsburgh 20-yard line.
"We are all human beings, and when guys are working that hard ... I'd be a fool to stay they're not frustrated," Tice said.
But that frustration -- according to some members of the Vikings defense -- was as much the result of the unit putting responsibility for scoring on its own shoulders as anything. That likely will happen again Sunday night when the Vikings face a Baltimore defense that is ranked sixth in the NFL, one spot behind the Steelers.
"We have to try to find a way to score on defense," free safety Darren Sharper said. "Whether it's likely or whether it's not likely, that's what we have to have. You would like the offense to help you out, and we've just got to keep grinding. If they're not on, we have to find a way on defense. We need to get a pick or a fumble and set them up right in the red zone. That's the way we've got to keep trying to look at it."
That line of thinking is an enormous departure from recent years, when a high- powered offense has been counted on to cure all the team's ills. The Vikings offense hasn't ranked lower than the defense since 1993, but that could happen this season; the defense is ranked 24th in the NFL and the offense is 26th.
Though the defensive ranking is low, that unit played a significant role in the team's recent six-game winning streak because of its ability to give the offense favorable field position through interceptions and forced fumbles. During the streak, which ended Sunday, the defense had 17 interceptions and four fumble recoveries.
Two of its five interceptions in a 27-13 victory over St. Louis on Dec. 11 gave the Vikings the ball inside the Rams 30 and resulted in 10 points. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, well aware of the opportunistic nature of the Vikings defense and with his team ahead much of the game, attempted only 15 passes. Most were of a low-risk nature.
"The opportunities for interceptions weren't there and then running the ball, [the defense] was trying as best they could to strip it," defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell said.
Pittsburgh's only turnover came when Antwaan Randle El had a punt bounce off his facemask, and the Vikings recovered on the Steelers 3 in the first quarter. However, the offense failed on three attempts to get into the end zone, and Paul Edinger kicked a field goal.
"We were kind of upset they didn't score when we had the ball on the 3-yard line, but that happens," cornerback Antoine Winfield said, dismissing the notion that any animosity might exist toward the offense. "We need those guys, we have to be supportive of them. It's not like I'm playing both ways, and I can do anything on the offensive side of the ball. We need them just as much as they need us."
Sharper -- whose brother Jamie played linebacker for Baltimore in the 2000 season, when the Ravens won the Super Bowl behind a superb defense -- appears willing to give it a go alone.
"Would you like to get more points? Of course, that's a no-brainer," he said. "But if it's a situation where it's not happening and you're playing a good defense, you have to try to win the game on defense. That's the type of attitude I want us to have as a defense. Not rely on anyone else. Try to win the game by ourselves."
"If at first you don't succeed, parachuting is not for you"
12-21-2005, 02:01 PM #2SamDawg84 Guest
Re: Defense starting to take offense
lol nice title and smiley man, and im suprized how bad we played
12-21-2005, 02:13 PM #3Pro-Bowler
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Re: Defense starting to take offense
nice post once again singer
Re: Defense starting to take offense
good one, sad but tru
12-21-2005, 04:08 PM #5Jersey Retired
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Re: Defense starting to take offense
And here's the Pioneer Press' take on the same thing:
[size=18px]Vikings' offense regresses[/size]
Team's unquestioned strength in recent seasons has become its weakness
Pioneer Press
Running back Michael Bennett recalls that during his first four seasons with the Vikings, the offense consistently handled the defense in practices.
The offense won upward of 85 percent of the practice battles, Bennett said.
But things have changed dramatically this season as the Vikings' personnel and personality have evolved.
"I think it's still about 50-50, because they know us and we know them," Bennett said. "But our defense has been playing great. As an offense, we need to take it upon ourselves, because it doesn't get easier from here.
"We need to hold up our end."
The offense hasn't thus far. It has been anything but elite in the wake of the offseason trade of receiver Randy Moss. With just two games remaining, the offense is ranked 26th of 32 NFL teams, the team's lowest standing since it was 25th out of 28 in 1984.
That's a precipitous fall for a team that, since 1998, boasted six top-five offensive rankings, including No. 1 in 2003.
Although the defense is ranked 24th, it ranks second in the NFL with 23 interceptions, and, along with the special teams, has provided the fourth-most takeaways in the league.
During Minnesota's six-game win streak, the defense's dominance masked concerns about the sputtering offense. But an 18-3 loss Sunday to Pittsburgh exposed recurring struggles. In four trips inside the Steelers' 20-yard-line, the Vikings' offense mustered just three points.
Compared with last season, Minnesota's red-zone offense has gone from 12th to 26th, its pass offense from second to 22nd, its third-down efficiency from first to 30th, and its points per game from sixth to 22nd. That doesn't factor in three defensive touchdowns and two on special teams.
"It's just one of those things in the back of your head you always think about," Bennett said. "We went from the best show on turf, and now we're still trying to get that form back. And I think we will. We have the playmakers to get it done. It's just taking some time."
But the Vikings are running out of time, and their final two opponents, Baltimore and Chicago, have the sixth- and top-ranked defenses, respectively, in the NFL.
"Speaking for the offense, it is frustrating," guard Adam Goldberg said. "You always want to be the unit that the team hangs their hat on. I just think we need to get going, when the defense gives us a big turnover, or a momentum shift or a short field."
That didn't happen against Pittsburgh. Minnesota's punt team recovered a fumble at the Steelers' 3-yard line. Four plays later, the Vikings settled for a 20-yard field goal. That was one of the nine times this season the offense got a gift-wrapped possession inside the opposition's 30. It has scored five touchdowns and made two field goals. But it also has missed two field goals.
Coach Mike Tice said the defense played well enough to win Sunday against Pittsburgh, and he sensed frustration with his defensive players after the loss.
"I could see them, unfortunately, in the fourth quarter getting a little frustrated," Tice said. "I know it was tough on them. They were holding them to three-and-outs, and maybe they would make a couple of first downs and then we'd hold them on third down, and then we go out and go three-and-out.
"That's two weeks in a row. We are all human beings, and when guys are working that hard, I'm not going to say there's going to be any finger pointing. But I'd be a fool to say they're not frustrated."
But defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell and two of his leaders said that's not the case at all.
"I didn't sense it. If that's the way Mike felt, he may have sensed it. I don't know," Cottrell said. "I kept talking to (the defensive players). We really weren't worried about it. We were just like, 'We got to get the ball.' Get the ball. Keep fighting."
Safety Darren Sharper said he is sympathetic to the plight of the offense, which lost Moss in the Oakland deal and quarterback Daunte Culpepper and Pro Bowl center Matt Birk to injuries.
"I think when you have different guys in different places, you see the chemistry change," Sharper said. "The outlook of the offense changes a little bit.
"Would you like to get more points? I mean, of course. That's a no-brainer. But if it's a situation where it's not happening, and you're playing a good defense, you have to try to win the game on defense. That's the type of attitude I want us to have as a defense. Not rely on anyone else."
Cornerback Antoine Winfield said he's not about to criticize the defense because he's been on the flip side.
"This is a team game. I've been on teams where we had good offenses and I was a part of that bad defense," Winfield said. "We're all professionals. We have a job to do. So you just try to do the best you can each week. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
"But we need each other. It ain't like I can go out there and throw the ball and catch the ball. So I need the guys on the other side."Kentucky Vikes Fan
When you require nothing, you get nothing; when you expect nothing, you will find nothing; when you embrace nothing, all you will have is nothing.
Re: Defense starting to take offense
Its weird goin from we can score pretty much when we want how we want to being at the 3 yard line and only coming away with a field goal. I like the new defensive feel to this team....I think with a little more time the offense will really find its self and be more consistant. The O-Line and the lack of a running game really hurt us week to week.
Theres NOTHING greater then a Florida Gator!
"I promise everyone this. When Childress is let go in two years I can honestly say this.
"I am not surprised"."-PurplePackerEater
Re: Defense starting to take offense
For the first time in 6 weeks I felt myself wanting Culpepper to return like mad. I had a kind of flash back of last year when he was rifling crisp passes to wiggins and burleson. Brad Johnson is not a Quarterback for the future.
Re: Defense starting to take offense
If KRob would have caught that shovel pass and MRob wouldn't have been, well, ROBBED of that TD, we wouldn't be complaining as much...still, the offense needs to get the ball in the end zone more...we need someone to make plays in the red zone. Simple as that.BANNED OR DEAD...I'LL TAKE EITHER ONE
Re: Defense starting to take offense
It is weird how one game can make us realize how bad we need CPep back.. Not that Johnson is bad, he pulled us out of a 2-5 hole, and is 6-1 as a starter for the vikes this year.
I didn't realize we were so low in the defense and offensive ranking.. 24 and 26.. remember when we were in the top 5?
But these numbers, do they reuly reflect how well the vikes play as a team? Are these numbers an accurate portayal of the team we know and love?
The steelers loss gives the vikings a reality check that beating teams with losing records doesnt get you to the super bowl.i m better than you, so just give up...
12-21-2005, 06:06 PM #10Coach
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Re: Defense starting to take offense
they are putting to much pressure on themselves. they were doing good when they had nothing to lose, now they are choocking up to much."you dream of beating me, its time you wake up and apologize."
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You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?10...ate-in-St-Paul
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You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?10...ate-in-St-Paul
If the Twins really want to get an affiliate in St. Paul, perhaps the target date should be 2020, not 2016.
My understanding is that the current franchise agreements in the Midwest League are in place through 2020. In other words, all the current teams are guaranteed players through that year. However, when that's up, we could have a whole new ballgame. I don't think its out of the question for MiLB and/or the Midwest League to say at that point Beloit, Burlington, and maybe even Clinton's facilities are not up to par, and essentially revoke their franchises.
And then you've got expansion on the table, where you could open up moving into St. Paul, and/or some of the other Northwoods or Frontier League cities that might be interested in going with affiliated ball.
Its probably a longshot, and at best, its almost a decade away, but if the Twins actually want to have a minor league team in their backyard, that might be the way it could actually get done.
2020 will be interesting well beyond the MWL. That's when the whole MLB/MiLB agreement expires, I believe. So all of these rules about how the whole minor league affiliation system will have to be renegotiated by then. So yes, how that negotiation changes things could certainly change the landscape. At the very least, I would think stadium standards would get a thorough review and that's why any community that's currently way down the list in terms of facilities should plan on doing something about that before 2020.
I'm still not sure that the Twins and/or Veeck are really all that excited about a possible affiliation, though. Then again, 8 years is a long time and who knows how anyone will feel by then?
So what's the benefit for the Twins? Easy access for rehab assignments, but most players are going to do serious rehab at the complex in Ft Myers anyway so that doesn't really matter. Easy access for viewing some prospects, but it's a low level so there's little need to see them too frequently and the location isn't really a big upgrade over Beloit.
Wouldn't the Twins be against it, just from a business competition standpoint? They probably already figure they are losing some sales to the Saints. The Tigers effectively blocked a minor league startup from using old Tiger Stadium for business reasons.
The Saints becoming a Twins Affiliate wouldn't be more competition, it would be less.
Regardless of what happens, the Saints are going to be playing in St. Paul in a new ballpark. The only question is if it would be an independent league team like it is now, or if they someday join the Twins family. Either way you look at it, there is another professional team in the Twin Cities.
If they became affiliated, then the Saints basically become a gigantic advertising tool for the Twins. They'd be able to promote Target Field all over the new Midway, and fans who go to Saints games will be getting to know players that will someday be on the Twins roster, which only helps. Imagine if people going to Saints games this year had been watching Miguel Sano play, how much more excited would they be to watch him when he makes it to Target Field in a couple years?
The other reality is that its already being done all over baseball. The Indians MWL team is less than 20 miles from Cleveland. The Reds have a team in Dayton - and if you ever go to Great American Ballpark, you see tons of Dragons gear and ads. The Cubs just moved their MWL team to the suburb of Kane County. The ones I think are real interesting are the AAA teams that are right next door, like Seattle whose AAA team is in Tacoma, and the Braves who have both their AAA and an A ball team near Atlanta. Certainly, such an arraignment could work, if the Twins wanted it to, and all of the other, bigger, complications could be solved
Our family took a trip to Beloit earlier this summer, and a great Father-Son memory is a road-trip with my Dad to see the Kenosha Twins several years ago. My boys have already seen the "Mr. Shucks" videos, so we'll be driving past the corn fields on our way to Cedar Rapids next summer. All the same, The St. Paul Saint, as MN Twins Class-A affiliate would mean 4 or 5 games a season for me, as opposed to two games over, what, almost 30 years... I love the concept. Now, does the Midwest League see this as a "value added" move? What's in it for them?
WOW! This information made me understand something, and it is that I never knew before.


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French - Australian artist, K-NARF, was born in France in 1970. Accented with a strong focus on photo graffiti, his works are conceptual, experimental, and denounces the incoherencies, extravagances and aberrations of our time. To him, photography is an outstanding medium to use for the creation of art that is personally enjoyable.
Often in the form of ephemeral installations, KNARF shows his works without distinction in places ranging from galleries and art biennales, to old theatres, operating plants and abandoned garages. Having exhibited in many countries including Japan, Australia, France, USA, Italy and Singapore, his works were also featured at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Scottsdale, the Museum of Sydney, Japan Foundation for the Arts, the Yves Klein Archives, the French Embassy in Tokyo as well as the Arles Photo Festival.
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The Kansas State University Veterinary Health Center is offering a three year ophthalmology residency which combines residency training with graduate work leading to the M.S. Degree. The goal of the program is to prepare the resident to pursue an academic career if desired. During the training program it is expected that the resident will become qualified to take the board examination of the American Board of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ABVO) and will have completed the course work and research needed to defend for a M.S. degree. This intense training program requires the successful applicant to have established an excellent academic record and to have achieved intern level or greater clinical competency.
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People behind Swiss Innovation
The best Swiss entrepreneurial quotes of the Year!Mi. 30.07.2014, 17:00
Entrepreneurs love quotes, sharp words from great people, which offer insights into entrepreneurial spirit and bring inspiration for our next actions. Some are universal, repeated again and again. We want to find the once said or used by Swiss based entrepreneurs, close to us, leading the way. So we've launched "The best Swiss entrepreneurial quotes of the Year" ...Read more
Martin Zahnert - Dacuda
Plus de 500'000$ levés en 30 joursMi. 30.07.2014, 16:00
Martin Zahnert, alumni venturelab, et sa souris scanner sont au centre des attentions depuis bientôt cinq ans en Suisse et ailleurs. Tout a commencé en 2008 avec le cours venture challenge à l'ETH de Zürich, où s'est formée l'équipe. Le marché américain a pu faire connaissance avec Dacuda en 2010 pendant venture leaders, un programme entrepreneurial et commercial intensif de 10 jours à Boston. Martin Zahnert, co-fondateur de Dacuda, a la chance de participer au nouveau programme « venture leaders China » avec son nouveau produit : le plus petit scanner sans fil au monde. ...Read more
Salvador Garcia Zalduegui - iRewind
Unique video memories on the spot, on your mobile.Mo. 28.07.2014, 12:00
"No entrepreneur can ignore Asia anymore, especially at a time when China and other countries' economic growth shift to an innovation-driven model. venture leaders China will guarantee that the startups will learn how to make the best of this fast moving region," Pascal Marmier, Swissnex China CEO. In our video the venture leader IREWIND talks about their plans in China....Read more
Michael Felber, founder of Cobalytics
"In the beginning it is important to get and extract the essential information of your business case"Mo. 21.07.2014, 09:00
We asked 10 questions to one of the latest winners of the second stage of venture kick (20'000.-) : Michael Felber of Cobalytics, a startup aiming at introducing a multiplex point-of-care testing platform for fire smoke toxins to make one decision less in an emergency situation: Knowing whom and how to treat. ...Read more
Arnaud Bertrand and his wife, Junjun.
A new CEO for HouseTrip !Fr. 18.07.2014, 14:00
HouseTrip, one of the world's largest holiday home marketplace, announced that George Hadjigeorgiou has been named Chief Executive Officer. Hadjigeorgiou was previously COO of the company and succeeds Arnaud Bertrand, venture kick alumni, who co-founded HouseTrip in 2009 with wife Junjun. Bertrand will remain focused on HouseTrip in his day-to-day role as President of the company....Read more
Eric Tremblay from Composyt Light Labs
Andreas Guggenbühl from Selfnation
Clink glasses for a new Google Glasses competitor and a pair of jeans kicked by 130.000 CHFMo. 14.07.2014, 11:00
Composyt Light Labs and Selfnation, spin-offs from EPFL and ETH Zurich starting a new era of smart glasses and jeans, raised CHF 130.000 by winning the third and last round of venture kick....Read more
More than 100 start-ups entered this year's Swisscom StartUp Challenge.
Swisscom StartUp Challenge 2014: start-ups from French-speaking Switzerland set the toneDo. 10.07.2014, 11:00
More than 100 start-ups entered this year's Swisscom StartUp Challenge. We have now selected the ten finalists, who want to conquer the global market with their innovative solutions. One thing stands out: start-ups from French-speaking Switzerland are outshining their German-speaking counterparts. ...Read more
Dr. Elodie Dahan and Dr. Anna Laromaine / OsmoBlue
Nadja Mrosek, COO of Glycemicon
CHF 300,000 seed capital for venture kick alumniMo. 07.07.2014, 14:00
Five young entrepreneurs and businesswomen, including three venture kick and venturelab alumni (Calcisco, Mimedis and Geosatis), each got 100,000 francs at the W.A. de Vigier Prize. In addition to this, Dr. Pascale Vonmont, vice-director of the Gebert Rüf Foundation and venture kick initiator, got the "Supporter of the Year 2014" award. We also could meet with two nominees OsmoBlue and Glycemicon....Read more
Sébastien Flury, CEO from Coteries and blogger from Startupolic
The venture leaders team
The best learnings from the venture leaders: "Awesome, cool, amazing don't have any single meaning in the mouth of Americans"Di. 01.07.2014, 14:00
Sébastien Flury, Co-founder & CEO from Coteries had the chance to be selected as a venture leader 2014. He came back from the trip to Boston and New York and thought that what they have learnt or experienced could be profitable to everybody. ...Read more
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»venture kick is a great first instrument if you're serious about a startup«Mi. 25.06.2014, 12:00
RAW and Adaptricity convinced the venture kick jury in the second round with sovereignty and preparing now for the final of venture kick. We spoke to Miguel from RAW who just finished the venture challenge course at EPFL and developed a database system that helps businesses get their facts right....Read more
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Subject: Case study: the industry insider
12:51 10 July 2014
The international group that names cosmic bodies is crowd-sourcing names for exoplanets – but will you be able to name a planet Alderaan or Westeros?
11:23 10 July 2014
The government wants to dam northern rivers to create a giant food bowl – but no one knows how it will affect the environment or Indigenous people
08:00 10 July 2014
The current epidemic of gluten intolerance says more about our psychology than our physiology
21:00 09 July 2014
Hundreds of women are raped in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo every day. A new app for doctors could help prosecute some of the perpetrators
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A mother and her two daughters sit in front of a classroom of 20 high schoolers in Southwind High School , Memphis, Tenn. Leslie, 14, is the model student. Her sister Jamila, 16, is now regretting some very bad decisions.
Jamila got pregnant at 14, and then discovered she had a sexually transmitted infection. The infection complicated her pregnancy because it was not treated on time. The baby was born too early. "We lost my grandson a day after he turned four months," mom said.
The family presentation took 20 minutes, and the silence in the classroom was only broken, here and there, by the sobbing of some students. Then, the real surprise came.
"So, that's not your mom?" asked a boy who was so upset with the story that he was ready to lecture Jamila on the suffering she caused. The class was shocked.
"Mom" was Cynthia Murry, faculty advisor from Lane College, Jackson, Tenn. Preconception Peer Educators Janesia Simmons, 25, played Leslie and April Nellum, 22, played the regretful Jamila.
"Basically we wanted to paint a picture," said Simmons, a master's candidate at Morgan State University, who visited students at Southwind High School and at World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church afterschool program. "We wanted them to know that things you do today will affect your future."
College-age peer educators, physicians and health professionals converged on Memphis for the College to Community Health Outreach Week, part of the Office of Minority Health infant mortality campaign, A Healthy Baby Begins with You.
The campaign is aimed at decreasing the infant mortality rates in the African-American community, 13.6 per thousand live births, which doubles the national average of 6.9. Memphis was selected for this outreach week due to the high rates of African American infant mortality in the state and the city.
In Memphis in 2005, 144 infants of all races and ethnicities died before reaching their first birthday, an infant mortality rate of 13.0 per 1,000 live births; this is almost twice the national rate of 6.9 per 1,000 live births. Black infants (18.5) were nearly 4 times as likely as white infants (5.2) to die during the first year of life during 2003-2005 (average).
During the week, peer educators, like Simmons and Nellum, ventured to high and middle schools to talk to students about infant mortality, preconception health and having a healthy future.
"It may not be our story, but a lot of people have these same stories and we made that clear to them- even though it's not true [for us], we represent a lot of people who this is true for," Simmons said. "We also wanted to let them know there are two ways you can go: you can go the extreme bad way of hurting yourself and there's another way, you can abstain, eat healthy and exercise and focus on your school work."
Instead of distributing handouts or lecturing, Simmons said the group knew the skit needed to be entertaining and informative, which led to students disclosing about a miscarriage and being born prematurely.
"I think they really responded well to it and I think it's mostly because of the college students that came in," said Cristy Boggan, a life-skills teacher at Southwind, who noted that infant mortality isn't always a topic on her students' minds. "I think they were really much more involved and they paid more attention. They were asking more questions than they would with just a regular speaker coming in and doing a PowerPoint."
But the excitement wasn't just from one class.
"I was just surprised how eager they were to learn about preconception health," Simmons said, adding that talking to young people about the topic is imperative.
"And I like how we do it with the preconception health or general health, because that's basically what we're talking about-eating right, exercising, taking your vitamins-and then you can slide into why is this important; why do you need to be generally healthy," she said. "And my key tag was healthy people have healthy babies. If you're healthy, most likely you're going to have a healthy baby."
Isabel M. Estrada-Portales is the Director of Communications for the OMHRC. Comments? E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


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July 2014
Children Exposed to Violence: When Domestic Violence Meets Child Abuse 9:00 am
Children Exposed to Violence: Wh… @ Northwest Regional Reentry Facility
Jul 17 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Children Exposed to Violence: When Domestic Violence Meets Child Abuse Training Information: Thursday, July 17, 2014 9:00am-12:00pm Northwest Regional Reentry Facility 1121 Forum Dr. Shreveport, [...]
Louisiana Protective Order Registry Legal Seminar 8:00 am
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Jul 18 @ 8:00 am – 12:30 pm
The LPOR Legal Seminar will: Explain how the protective order registry works. Explain the appropriate use of the mandatory order forms. Identify and discuss state [...]
Attorney General's Office Basic 2-Day Domestic Violence Course for Law Enforcement 10:15 am
Attorney General's Office Basic … @ Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office Training Center
Jul 23 @ 10:15 am – Jul 24 @ 11:15 am
The Louisiana Attorney General's Office and P.O.S.T. invite your department to participate in classes to be held in your area as a part of our [...]


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Sandra K Reabuck
Southmont Borough Council plans to hold the line on property taxes and user fees when it meets Monday to adopt the 2013 budgets.
The 13-mill property tax has been in place since 2008, when it was last raised by two mills, said Richard Wargo, borough manager.
There also will be no change in sewer rates and garbage fees, he said.
Council is proposing an $830,000 general fund budget, up about $30,000 from the current budget. It includes a carry-over surplus of $40,000, Wargo said.
The borough has five full-time employees and about six workers used as needed seasonally.
The cost of police protection for Southmont, provided through the West Hills Regional police, will go up $7,200 to $190,000 next year, Wargo said.
The sewer budget totals $177,980, including some carry-over funds that will be used to help pay for the replacement of old terra-cotta pipes with new plastic pipes in portions of the borough, Wargo said.
The $146,000 line replacement is part of a five-year project that is being carried out to update lines in conjunction with the Johnstown Regional Sewage System, Wargo said.
The garbage budget is $120,000, approximately the same as this year.
Pro Disposal of Summerhill, which was the low bidder, will again collect the garbage in Southmont.
"Overall, we have a sound and stable budget," Wargo said.


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"Nice french-style pastisserie. Everything is made on the premises. There are several café-ty...
Brian Polcyns stylish bistro, situated on the unlikely east side of Woodward Avenue, is on the grou...
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The idea of charging Los Angeles County property owners a fee to fund the cleanup of local waterways met with enough opposition Tuesday that the Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to rework it.
"What is clear is that this is not ready for prime time," said Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, a champion of the proposal.
Nearly 200 people turned up at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration for the public hearing on the proposed Clean Water, Clean Beaches measure. The majority spoke in opposition.
Those in favor hailed the plan as a cost-effective way to reduce urban runoff—including trash and toxic substances like industrial solvents, lead, mercury and infection-causing bacteria—into county waterways and the ocean.
"This measure is the most important water quality, water supply and flood control measure that the region has ever seen," said Mark Gold, associate director of UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and former president of the nonprofit Heal the Bay.
But those against the proposal characterized the fee as a tax that many could ill afford, argued that the measure offered little detail on how the money would be spent and said it duplicated other existing taxes and fees.
"God sends us rain and you figured out how to tax it," said Santa Clarita City Councilman TimBen Boydston.
The ordinance, if passed, would raise more than $200 million annually. A typical single-family homeowner would pay about $54 on average, according to Phil Doudar, project manager for the initiative. About 90 percent of parcel owners would likely pay less than $100, he estimated, though large commercial property owners could be charged thousands of dollars.
Elected officials spoke out on both sides of the issue.
Malibu Mayor Lou La Monte said his city has invested more than $60 million—almost half its annual budget over the last six years—to clean up runoff before it flows into the ocean.
"The Los Angeles County Flood Control District has worked collaboratively with municipalities and other stakeholders, who drafted an initiative that will charge a fair and reasonable service fee for cleaning up the polluted storm water that comes from every corner of this 4,000-square-mile county," La Monte said.
Burbank officials disagreed.
"We are committed to environmental stewardship," said Burbank Vice Mayor Emily Gabel-Luddy, "However, we, the city of Burbank, remain opposed to this for a number of reasons," including because, she argued it would divert tens of thousands of dollars from public education.
Representatives of many school districts asked Tuesday for an exemption for schools, saying the measure would otherwise result in cuts to already decimated education budgets.
"The Long Beach Unified School District will lose more than $700,000 and have to make even deeper cuts," said Jim Novak, chief business and financial officer for that district.
Businesses—including those in aviation, real estate, construction and metals manufacturing—also raised concerns, some saying they are already paying to comply with environmental regulations they view as redundant.
Even some environmental agencies, largely in favor of the measure, called for changes before it goes to a vote.
Some residents argued that the mailing advising them of the proposed fee looked deceptively like junk mail and that the county was making it difficult to register their opposition. Others asked that the matter be put to a vote during an upcoming general election, rather than a mail-in vote by property owners, as originally planned.
The South Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce came out against the fee in December, saying that the county was trying to raise taxes without the benefit of a "full public dialogue."
"it appears to SBACC that the county was hoping that the protest ballots would get overlooked by property owners during the busy holiday season—the county should be engaging property owners not hiding from them," said SBACC chairwoman Patricia Donaldson in a statement.
More than 50 percent of property owners had to oppose the measure in writing in order to avoid a ballot on the proposed fee. Only about 4.3 percent had submitted an objection prior to the start of today's meeting, according to the Department of Public Works.
But the concerns raised were significant enough that Supervisor Don Knabe—who represents much of the South Bay and Long Beach—asked that the protest process be continued for another 60 days. He also recommended that county staffers consider a way to allow protests to be filed by email or online, a process for putting the initiative on a general election ballot, a sunset date for the measure, a specific list of projects to be funded, alternative funding sources and a way to address concerns of property owners already capturing and treating storm water.
The board's vote was 3-2 in favor of Knabe's motion, with Supervisors Gloria Molina and Antonovich dissenting.
Antonovich suggested instead that the clean water measure be eliminated entirely, which was voted down 2-3, with only Knabe adding his support.
A report is expected March 12.
—Editor Nicole Mooradian contributed to this report.


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By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — A technology sector rally fizzled Monday as shares of Apple Inc. sank on news that China Telecom was cutting back subsidies for the iPhone.
Tech stocks began the day by joining a market rally on news that former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers had withdrawn his name from consideration for the top post at the Federal Reserve.
But the sector was later weighed down by Apple Inc. /quotes/zigman/68270/delayed/quotes/nls/aapl AAPL -2.60% , which shed 3.2% to close at $450.12. The Wall Street Journal reported that China Telecom Corp. was cutting back on subsidies of the iPhone that suggests users will have to pay more upfront for the iPhone 5S than those who bought the iPhone 5 last year.
Hackers use code to break gender barriers
A report from a first-ever hackathon designed to create apps and web sites for the Transgender community.
The Nasdaq Composite Index /quotes/zigman/12633936/realtime COMP -2.09% was off 0.1% to close at 3,718. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index /quotes/zigman/1468249/delayed SOX -2.10% rose 0.4%, but the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index /quotes/zigman/6015481/realtime MSH -1.90% fell 0.2%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/zigman/627449/realtime DJIA -1.88% gained 119 points on news that Summers will not be the next Federal Reserve head.
Gains came from Oracle Corp. /quotes/zigman/19452757/delayed/quotes/nls/orcl ORCL -1.39% , which was up 1.6% to close at $32.97, and Yahoo Inc. /quotes/zigman/59898/delayed/quotes/nls/yhoo YHOO -2.16% , which was up 1.2% to close at $29.62.
Shares of Facebook Inc. /quotes/zigman/9962609/delayed/quotes/nls/fb FB -2.71% slipped 4.1% to close at $42.51, Groupon Inc. /quotes/zigman/7212269/delayed/quotes/nls/grpn GRPN +1.41% shed 3.8% to close at $11.24, while Hewlett-Packard Co. /quotes/zigman/229301/delayed/quotes/nls/hpq HPQ -1.38% gave up 1.5% to close at $21.74.


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PHOTO SLIDESHOW: NH Primary - Democrats
- Election
'Glad it's over'
PEABODY -- John Tierney looked tired but relaxed. He was smiling and joking. There were no visible bruises from what he called one of the nastiest campaigns in the country. Sitting back in his office overlooking Peabody Square yesterday, the newly re
Tisei concedes race through email
Richard Tisei's journey to become the 6th District's next congressman began with pomp and circumstance a year ago on the steps of the Americal Civic Center in Wakefield. It ended yesterday with a three-paragraph email to reporters. "This has been a
Grass-roots support led Tierney to victory
If you listened to the conventional wisdom in the lead-up to Tuesday's election, you'd have expected Republican Richard Tisei to be the next congressman in the 6th District -- and you'd have been wrong. Against almost all predictions, incumbent John
Scramble on for Lovely's Salem City Council seat
SALEM -- Former City Councilor Lucy Corchado has emerged as a possible candidate to succeed City Council President Joan Lovely, who announced that she will step down in January after her landslide election this week to the Massachusetts Senate. Corch
Duff secures Governor's Council seat
Gloucester Democrat Eileen Duff has officially emerged as the winner of the 5th District seat on the Governor's Council. Duff secured the seat with 50,713 votes over Haverhill Republican Maura Ciardiello. She won with 203,496 votes to Ciardiello's 15
- Tisei concedes election in email
- Eileen Duff of Gloucester secures Governor's Council seat
- Duff clings to lead for Governor's Council
- Tierney claims victory
- Lovely coasts to victory in state Senate race
- North Shore swings toward Obama, Brown
- CPA passes in Salem, Beverly
- North Shore voters turn out in droves
- Massachusetts voters decide three ballot questions
- Obama powers to re-election
- Speliotis tops Bennett again in state rep race
- Dan Bennett concedes to Ted Speliotis in 13th Essex House race
- North Shore election officials report heavy voter turnout
- Up to the voters now
- Who's backing Tierney, Tisei?
- Speliotis has ties to Peabody and Danvers
- Question 2: The choice to die
- Bennett credits his grandfathers for his work ethic
- Outside groups spent $3.5M to bolster Tisei campaign
- Torkildsen behind super PAC targeting Tierney
- Joan Lovely lets money do the talking
- Incumbent Speliotis outpaces Bennett in campaign financing
- Campaigning with Dan Bennett
- Warren still calls for 4th debate against Brown
- Tierney, Tisei outline budget-deal ideas
- 'Glad it's over'


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Denon DHT1312XP (Black)
5.1-channel home theater system
Turn your "entertainment center" into a home theater with the DHT-1312BA. Featuring a Denon receiver and a Boston Acoustics speaker system, this home theater kit customizes your experience, providing top quality processing and amplification with speakers from a company with more than a little experience in the area. Add this to your cart today to find out just how much you've been missing.


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Erik Kain, Contributor
I write about video games: the industry and the culture.
Brevity is the soul of wit, and William Usher sums up very briefly why the internet rallied against EA and gave the gaming publisher a Golden Poo award.
If you haven't been playing close attention, "it's not just over the Mass Effect 3 ending," writes Usher, "it's over Origin, it's over Project $10, it's over early server closings, it's about DLC charity abuse, it's over them gutting studios like Pandemic, Westwood, Origin Studios and Bright Light, it's over the lawsuits, it's over the nickel-and-diming with Day-1 DLC, and everything else in between. If you didn't any of that then you're informed enough to say why people shouldn't have voted for EA."
If, on the other hand, you do know about all of these issues, it's not hard to see why EA took the top spot in The Consumerist's contest. If it were actually an issue of anti-gay backlash surely JC Penneys would be somewhere up there at the top. Of course, the retailer wasn't even included in the contest.
To be clear, when I say that EA is running a PR campaign aimed at shining a good light on the company, I am not claiming that they are directly responding to any one item of bad press. EA isn't explicitly saying, "Hey, we were just voted worst company because people are homophobic."
This isn't going on, to my knowledge, at all. But the recent spat of articles defending EA over the anti-gay boycott does seem awfully well-timed.
P.S. No, I don't think EA is the worst company in America. As I've said before, this contest is just badly-named. It ought to be "most hated company in America" or at least, most hated company online in America since this is more a gauge of internet opinion than anything else.
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here.
The Mass Effect 3 ending was what got many looking into what EA was doing, everyone heard how horrible EA was but I think many just brushed it off and did not really look into it. After the debacle of ME3, many gamers did their research about the puppet master to BioWare and learned about all of this. I know I certainly did and it opened my eyes.
People complaining about how EA just won the award because of ME3 should really do their research on EA, and for that matter all the companies that were in the competition.
In my opinion, this isn't remotely the case. For a vast majority of people, we have dealt with EA's various idiotic closures and injustices, gritting our teeth more and more with each one. And EA has, up until this point, been able to feel rest assured that people would accept their abuses without complaint.
But though EA has merrily gutted countless companies, having them do the same to Bioware is what has finally caused a tipping point. There's a point that people have been willing to be pushed towards, and we're well past it.
I think for a lot of us the BioWare/ME3 incident was just the last straw. We've seen so many great companies purchased and gutted by EA. We thought BioWare would be different, but it seems like they'll be following the same track as every other once-great company that was bought by EA.
I've never liked EA, but I've always tolerated them. What they've done to BioWare has changed that and, as a result, I've instituted a full EA boycott. I don't plan on ever purchasing another one of their games.
I'm glad somebody gets it.
I actually had a laugh reading this article. Not for any fault in it, no; but this article seems to have brought us full circle.
It should be noted that this isn't the first time that EA brushed off customer dissatisfaction as mere homophobia. In fact, your article on homophobia and ME3 was what first brought your articles to my attention.
What do you think would be our best bet in getting our actual complaints across in this sea of 'you just hate teh gays'?
gah, need an edit button…
didn't mean to use the word 'article' 48 times in one sentence.
I can see you're phrasing your words very carefully near the end.
The way I see it you're 100% correct about EA's anti-consumer practices and EA is DEFINITELY trying to spin the whole Golden Poo fiasco to make it look like a bunch of homophobes attacking a righteous company as opposed to real and valid criticism by dedicated fans that feel they are being taken advantage of.
Jennifer Hepler is criticised for being a mediocre writer and making ill-advised comments about her least favourite part of working in making games being the actual playing of games. She claims it's because people are jealous of her having ladyparts and working in video games, which sparks off a storm of protests, and suddenly gamers are misogynists.
EA get the Golden Poo for… reasons outlined in this post, and being the worst company in video games nowadays. Coincidentally they're "flooded" with messages about the gay romance routes in ME3, and a storm of protests ensues. Suddenly gamers are homophobic.
What's next? What'll they blame gamers for when they get any negative press the next time? My guess is gamers will suddenly be racist.
As for the very coincidental timing of the campaign of homophobia around ME3, well. I'm not saying EA is making stuff up, but they do have a proven track record of… making stuff up.
Because a bunch of people who otherwise didn't care about this award began voting because they were perturbed by EA recently. Yes, EA is a terrible company, but to even imply they're as bad as financial institutions like Bank of America is just ridiculous. The illegal foreclosures thing alone would put them ahead of EA and they have a laundry list of condemning shit.
They should just restrict consecutive victories though because otherwise Bank of America would win every time.
Hello Mr. Kain, as always thanks for your thoughtful perspective of the issues regarding EA, BioWare and gaming in general. I believe EA's recent wave of bad press is merely a symptom of a larger issue. There is a war coming. I'll say it again, there is war coming to the gaming industry.
Already we have seen the signs of the "honeymoon" period between Hard Core Users and Developers/Publishers ending. Both sides have become more cynical as the innocence of youth now leaves the industry.
Developers/Publishers view their Hard Core user Base as group of spoiled children, frustratingly capricious in their tastes, ignorant of the mechanics of game development and disdainful of the "necessary" business aspects within the industry. Developers view things like DLC, licensure agreements, software compatibility requirements and extensive preorder hype for AAA titles as valuable and indeed, vital tools that provide sustainable revenue and some insurance for the massive financial risk AAA titles present. These tools also provide a welcome modicum of protection against used game sales and piracy.
Conversely, protection is exactly what the Hard Core User community believes it lacks. Users view Developers/Publishers as money grubbing selfish individuals whose greed is matched only by their hubris. Time and again users have ceded control of the industry in order to promote its expansion. Because they believed that was best for industry. Now, they no longer trust Publishers/Developers have the Hard Core Users best interests at heart. Hard core users want protection from Developers/Publishers they view as corrupt. Users want a larger voice in the industry they helped build. An industry that is rapidly moving beyond them into the more lucrative and easier to please casual gaming market.
Unfortunately, I fear acrimony between these sides will grow. Developers/Publishers will continue using these "aggressive" tactics to extract revenue from a disgruntled user base which in response will complain, by used games and yes pirate. I augur that, if things continue down this path, the relationship between Hard Core Users and Developer/Publishers will be similar to the relationship one has with the cellular phone or Cable Company. That is relationship in which the consumer base accepts what the developers and manufactures provide for it because it has no alternative.
I think you are right and that a "war" is coming between the "hard core user" and big publishers like EA.
The problem I see is that while long time gamers, those with refined tastes, experience and a real passion for games are the customers that EA cares least about and for.
We are the ones that refuse to buy crummy games, refuse to pony up for stupid DLC and are a vocal presence on the internet.
EA's bread and butter customers, the ones that the actually care about are the newer gamers that are more interested in a franchise or online play, the ones that are less discerning, the ones that have extra disposable income or parents to buy games, the "casual" gamers.
The more homogenized, washed out, and bland gaming becomes, the more money EA makes. EA and Activision represent the Hollywood of videogames, I if we're lucky, the videogame industry will resemble the movie industry in a few ways that will benefit all consumers.
As long as small studios can still make games, as long the Valves and the Blizzards are still out there, as long as the PC is a gaming platform, we will be okay. But we'll just have to be patient, choosier and less forgiving of crap. The gaming industry still hasn't really seen it's Ishtars, it's John Carters, it's Battlefield Earths yet, but if ME3 had been that bomb, maybe EA would have sat up and taken notice.
Not that a few big bombs will change the industry, but it's a start to an industry that might take into account the things that fans have been talking about for years now.
They was are and ever will be the worst company with the less EVER few bright moments.
Dark age of camelot,C&C,Mass Effect 3 you name it… they buy profitable companies like they get a loan when it's time to feed themselves out of actual profitable companies and then they waste them with poor to nothing support system and poor designers when it comes to new ideas. (not to mention the web-marketing which is dreadful!) A 10 years old that loves gaming would have far better ideas than them!
As it concerns the support telephone system they got of which you must call in america time to have support! and that 8 hours a day!!
i had a conversation like that…
-I have a problem with my account
-yes tell me your username
-can you tell me the names of your chars
-i dont see anything…
-yes that's mainly the problem :PP
Not to mention that in a support line for a game like Dark Age of Camelot he didn't even know what realms are! (of which you don't need much of an imagination from the word itself!!)
Playing WAR (warhammer online age of reckoning), we get the same thing. Multiple people have been banned for things like "speed hacking" when really it was a perfectly legit in game item giving the speed boost (temp items, talismans, etc) but the CSR (and ill informed player) did not even know better. There are also multiple screenshots of people playing WAR where the CSR will contact them, a discussion will ensue, and the CSR will close by saying "Thank you for playing DAOC". It is simply pathetic.
Halliburton won the contest in 2006, RIAA in 2007, Countrywide Home Loans in 2008 (which merged with Bank of America), AIG won in 2009, Comcast in 2010 and BP took it home 2011, so most of those are already covered and weren't even running anymore, can't have the same company winning it every year :P
Aside of that, and this only being a poll that obviously doesn't have much real life consequences on the companies aside of a bit much-needed publicity, a few things about EA:
- Gaming is now the largest entertainment industry, larger than both music and also movies in regards to money made
- Despite that, it is largely uncontrolled by both governments and laws, EA for instance can do things like forbidding people to sue them by putting it in their EULA, they also take the rights to collect personal data of their consumers and use it whatever way they want and the right to terminate any previous purchase agreement taking away any or all products out of any reason, even as stupid as "misbehaving" on their forums and they've done it before. Some of these things wouldn't be possible in other industries.
- EA is also known for "ruining" certain people's lives, from the companies they buy out just to destroy them to a large amount of staff fired (Origin, Bullfrog, Westwood, Criterion, Maxis, Pandemic and right now they're working on Bioware), to a large part of their employees, for instance this is a good read in regards to that from a while back: http://ea-spouse.livejournal.com/274.html , 85-90+ hours of work 7 days a week crunch times over months without overtime. Sometimes they cut peoples jobs and re-hire them if they're desperate enough just so they don't get any bonuses or when benefits were supposed to kick in, other times just in time for their quarterly earnings figures so they look better to investors
- They are asserting market domination by literally buying and sucking dry promising studios that might rise to be competition of any creativity they might have had before they close them or they outright perform hostile takeovers of smaller companies to ruin them sometimes, they even tried a hostile takeover upon Take Two a few years ago over the Grand Theft Auto franchise, fortunately it failed: http://www.1up.com/news/initiates-hostile-takeover-take-two
Their sports games are mainly selling as they do because they managed to acquire exclusive rights to about any existing league out there, from the NFL, NBA, FIFA, UEFA to the NHL and more just so they don't have any competition in that field.
Unlike some of the bank foreclosures or similar that are often of the "shit happens" sort of thing, these practices are considered and methodical.
- They are pioneers in the way of cutting out parts of a product to keep them behind pay walls they call "DLC", they're abusing peoples psychological weaknesses with micro transactions just like Zynga, they got their own social sector for that and it's seeping over into their main products, love what Ricitiello had to say on the matter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR6-u8OIJTE
- They're known for outsourcing their work to places like China, India, Romania etc. just so they can have cheap and convenient labor that doesn't complain, in regards to that they've also been caught using viral marketing using hundreds of people in well-known forums to deflect issues and do PR for them, a guy they had just fired because his job was moved to Asia said a few things in regards to that: http://www.cinemablend.com/games/EA-Viral-Marketing-Exposed-Big-Buyout-Horizon-40885.html and they're well known for influencing or outright paying off their respective press.
Add false advertisement, quiet support for SOPA, their constant attempt to kill used sales for their products they want people to believe they don't actually "own", the practice of shifting the lion share of their profits based on marketing hype to "Pre-Orders" before one is able to judge the quality of said products and the increasing sequelization of their games as well as pillaging of old franchises for quick cash grabs and spreading those practices into larger parts of the industry (both by potentially buying off further companies, who knows maybe CDProjekt, THQ in their sad state just for their IPs or whoever is next as well as encouraging other companies to mimic them) along with Activision and you might just get the bigger picture that this isn't just about some stupid game ending or only DLC. :P
Saying that EA isn't bad because "they only work on games", is doing them a great disservice over their deserved accomplishment, if they worked in any other industry considered "important" they'd have been regulated and sued to hell over some of these practices.
Wow, I am going to copy paste this everywhere, if you don't mind. Tons of people think this but are not patient or articulate enough to write this all out. Thanks
WHY do studios like Maxis ever NEED useless publishers like EA in the first place to promote their games that really speak for themselves?


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Toyota Sienna Brakes
flaher Posts: 1If you haven't found a solution to the problem yet, please have the mechanics check you master brake cylinder. I had a similar problem. Took the car into dealership before July 4th vacation and was told rear brakes needed replacing. Had those done. While on our trip, my husband kept complaining about the brakes and that the pedal needed to go to the floor to engage brake. When we got back took the car to a private mechanic that we have used regularly in the past and was told the master cylinder needed to be replaced. $750 later and I can definitely feel the difference with the brakes. I have a 2005 Sienna with about 114K. Good luck.
knang8888 Posts: 13My van is now 204000 miles. After the dealer replace the front rotors and front pads at 190000 miles, the locking problem went away. Now, I'm tempted to check the brake pads after 12K miles of driving since the last repair to see the brake condition. When driving, I noticed that the slight noise is starting in the front again. yikes!
My van needs new timing belts (last replaced at 102K), new shocks/struts (never been replaced). The dealer recommend to do valve adjustments but I don't trust them after the poor brake job. Overall, the van is great condition but should I trade it in or should I keep it till 300K. :confuse:
alot of times, people put really cheap autozone pads in their cars and the pads are too hard. so when the brakes r applied then the system thinks you're slamming on brakes either locking it or applying abs when its not necessary. Just make sure you put in dealer stuff only.
I recently read a few posts about a malfunction that occurred after a recall repair of the Stop Lamp Switch Bracket so I decided to join this chat and post my experience to share with others.
I brought my 2011 Sienna in for its 1st service after purchase (3500 miles) and at the same time they did the recall replacement of the stop lamp switch bracket. Prior to this my car was running great - no issues at all. As I left the dealership, I noticed the brake pedal felt hard, like a rock with no give or squishiness – like stepping on a rock – and when I did press down on the brake pedal, it was very sensitive and stopped abruptly. This is an issue I never had before, prior to bringing it in for service. At the time, I didn't think it was an issue that maybe it was part of the recall work that had just been done, that they replaced the brake pedal. After about 1 mile, lots of warning lights (including the ABS light) went on and it was very hard to drive & control the car. At that point, I turned around and headed back to the dealership; it was very hard to drive & control the car safely – when I pressed the gas pedal, it was like driving with brakes on, there was lots of resistance & there was a burning rubber smell, when I took my foot off the gas pedal – my car would not glide, but came to an abrupt stop. It was hard to pick up speed & stopping the car became unpredictable. Brake pedal was still hard, with no give. So scary, with my baby in the car! I was so lucky that I didn't get in an accident - I was trying to navigate through a busy intersection during rush hour traffic and there was no place to pull off!!!!
The dealership still has my car after 4 days, they told me it might be a faulty recall part (the switch bracket). Toyota opened a case to investigate this matter and a Toyota engineer is checking out my car this week. Not sure if a new switch bracket will fix the issue - if not, next time I may not be so lucky. It seems this is a serious problem that's been happenning to lots of people - I wonder how many others there are that haven't spoken up? I decided to join this chat forum just to get the word out there to other people. I hope others do the same! It's only a matter of time until a real tragedy happens...after all, these are family cars.
I just went to the dealer to get some stuff out of my car and ran into a mechanic who said it was a mechanical error - by this he meant the mechanic made errors when putting on the new bracket assembly. I don't have much more info since Toyota is still doing an investigation and I don't have an offical report yet. I've seen a number of other cases similar to mine so it makes me think there needs to be better training to repair this recall - maybe it's a bit more complicated than expected. I'll know more next week when I speak with the managers and get a hold of that report. Until then, my car sits at the dealership.
For most cars with ABS, maybe all cars, when the brake pedal is initially depressed the system automatically checks to see that/if the ABS "reserve" brake fluid pressure level is as high as it should be. If it is not then the electric ABS pumpmotor is activated to bring the reserve brake pressure source back up to the functional level.
If, as I suspect, you were driving around with your brake lights always on ABS "armed"), then an ABS fault would undoubtedly eventually arise.
kingofnothin Posts: 14TY so much for sharing this with the rest of us. We are not currently having any issues, but thought we'd have the recall done on our next oil change. We will now be waiting to hear more ... and hopefully give Toyota mechanics more time to figure out what they are doing!
Please keep us all posted!! Thanks again!
Final Report of Malfunction: They had my car for 2 weeks & opened a case and a Toyota Specialist/engineer came in and the investigation revealed that the problem was improper installation – the brake lamp switch had moved position & was applying pressure to the brake pedal causing partial engagement of brakes (brake pedal switch was not adjusted properly) Ended up they replaced rotors, brake pads, and front/back calipers. A 2 hour investigation uncovered traces of brake fluid at all four brake calipers – fluid had bypassed caliper piston seals indicating the calipers had overheated I drove less than 2 miles in total with the malfunction in stop & go traffic. I requested new rotors & brake pads and all parts associated with malfunction – the caliper damage wasn't something I thought of and am so glad an investigation was opened. The dealership took full responsibility and is working hard to earn my trust. It seems from all the research I've done, there needs to be more training or care when doing this recall. It seems like an easy install BUT THE MECHANIC NEEDED TO READ DIRECTIONS!!!!!!!!!!
The mechanic probably rushed.
Nowadays they get paid a set number of hours for each type of job they do, so they rush in order to get paid more.
The first time they do any given task, though, it simply takes longer. He (she?) probably rushed to compensate for that.
Automakers should provide better training so they're efficient even the first time they do any given task...
siennasue Posts: 3Hi Patti, I took my van to the dealer & was told that the noise was due to the rear brake drums & would need to upgrade to a new style which would run about $600. I then took it to a local car repair shop that a co-worker recommended & they resurfaced the rear breake drums and cleaned & adjusted the brake shoes all for $72 !! and the thumping noise has been gone since March 2008.
Good luck!!


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If you want to be kinder to the planet and save some money at the same time, here are 16 ways to go green in 2013.
1. Buy fresh, local food this summer at the Saline Farmers Market. The market even continues during the winter with the Winter Farmers Market at Liberty School.
2.Have your kids make their friends birthday cards and bring gifts in decorated paper bags or a cool reusable bag. Kids love getting a handmade card—as do adults.
3. Bring your own bags when you shop for groceries.
4.Shop at local consignment and antique stores such as the Pineapple House, Resale Boutique, Nu2U Resale and Reincarnations and thrift stores such as Goodwill.
5. Rip up some lawn and create new garden beds this spring, and then grow your own food this summer. Your kids will eat more veggies if they grow them themselves.
6. Dispose of your hazardous waste properly by dropping it off at the Washtenaw County Home Toxics Collection Center in Ann Arbor.
7. Ditch those dreaded plastic sandwich bags and get some washable containers or bags. I like ReUsies, created by two Seattle moms.
8. Pack cloth napkins instead of paper towels in school lunches.
9. Look for an environmental service project you can do with your children, such as removing trash and non-native plants and planting trees in their place. There are usually opportunites for these at the local state parks.
10. Got an older house? Install double-pane windows and you'll see immediate savings on your heating bill.
11. Dump your bottled water costs. You could save hundreds of dollars by buying snazzy metal water bottles for everyone in the family and a personal filter for your kitchen faucet. Bed, Bath and Beyond has an assortment of kid-pleasing water bottles.
12. Organize a Halloween costume swap in September. This can be a great service project for a Girl Scout troop. Reserve a room at the Saline District Library and publicize to local parenting groups and preschools.
13. Replace your old light bulbs with LED bulbs. They last 15 times longer and use 75 percent less energy. You can find bulbs at any of the local hardware stores.
14. Expand your hand-me-down circle. Organize a clothing swap for your kids' preschool or a group of friends. Everyone brings gently used and clean kids' clothes to your garage and parents can take as many items as they donated. The rest goes to charity. You can also swap toys and books.
15. Replace your showerheads with low-flow models. Low-flow showerheads can save you up to 15 percent on water heating costs and reduce your water usage by as much as 20,000 gallons a year.
16. Give service and experience gifts this year instead of stuff. Make homemade gift certificates for services and experiences that could include tech support, dinner and a movie, yard work, pet walking or babysitting, or a day of organizing support for the clutter challenged.
TELL US: Do you think you could stick to a green New Year's resolution? Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments sections below.


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