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Koren, Pure Matters -
I recently read an article about brides going to extreme measures to lose weight for their weddings. While your wedding day is arguably one of the most important days of your life, there are some much more rational and safe ways to make sure you look your best on your wedding day.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Sound and how the brain reacts to it
Human Anatomy, Physiology, and Medicine. Anything human!
Moderator: BioTeam
Also wanted to mention that, several years ago when I was shopping for baby toys for my neices and nephews, I noticed that a lot of them were stuffed with crinkly plastic. (Aaaaaaah, crinkly plastic.) So presumably, someone has actually done some research on this, in order to come up with that idea, I'm guessing.
Re: Sound and how the brain reacts to it
I'm a 2nd year student at Wenstminster University, London and I'm currently working on a project on the stimulation of emotions caused by our exposure to everyday sounds.In my final work I'm presenting an illustrated piece that includes a mixture of all sorts of sounds.
I've been reading all of your comments and I find it particularly interesting how sounds effect you in such a great scale. I personally don't experience emotions is such a degree but I do believe that most people do experience emotions in a much lower level.
What I'd like to ask whether you have any particular interest in music. Either you are musicians, or have an natural talent or drawn to any sort of musical activities?
Do you also have any particularities, like one girl talked about Tourette Syndrome?
Do you think these emotions you get from sounds, are connected to a past experience (e.g childhood), memories or impressions.
And last whether these emotions can change your mood or influence your relationships with others or even your performance at work?
I would appreciate it so much if you could share your thoughts
I know exactly what you are talking about. For me, it is the sounds of certain people's voices - usually on the telephone or in recordings where the voices are kind of squawky. I also like the sound of people rustling papers on recordings and the sound of people hanging the phone up on a voicemail. It sounds super weird when I am saying it out loud, but it causes this warm and cuddly feeling to overcome me and I am sort of incapacitated, but it is so pleasant. I have always wondered what causes that, but I am so glad to find that other people know what I am talking about! I would love to know how to get that natural high more often.
Re: Sound and how the brain reacts to it
I'd always thought this was just me... a quirk of my brain that wasn't shared by anyone.
Good to hear there are others. For me it's always another person making the sounds, probably because the state it induces forces you not to think to much, activity ruins it.
I find it to be anything from keyboard strokes to paper sounds, either writing or page turning. Somebody doing paper work and flipping through notes, I'd often fall asleep beside my girlfriend as she studied or did homework for college.
When I say 'asleep' that doesn't really describe it properly. The feeling, for me anyway. is more akin to a trance like state, blissful, peaceful and completely passive. I imagine this is the medidative state some people practise yoga for, or other eastern practises.
It can happen anytime, somebody can be speaking in a cetain manner, usually while reading a list or something in a slow and steady (not monotonous) voice.
I googled the sound of paper and found this forum and I'm glad I did, now I don't feel like such a freak!
It happens to me rarely and I forget all about it until it's triggered again, sometimes weeks or months apart, it happened a few moments ago in the office as two accounts staff whispered and ruffled through some files. It was only when they stopped that I noticed it again and remembered. I can only guess but I think I was like that for a good fifteen minutes, not moving, just listening, when i say listening I mean it in the sense of letting the sounds come to me as opposed to listening with any sort of intent.
The sounds are addictive and if I can't find anything online I'll probably record or edit something suitable, i may even post it on you tube when I'm done, in fact I'll do just that! No reason not to share it....
Here's a list of the things that trigger it for me..please add to it and we'll see what's recurring among everyone...
1. Paper noise...anything related to paperwork or paper packaging.. paper cutting too....
2. Keystrokes and other desk sounds like calculators, measuring, using tipp-ex, etc...soft desk sounds.
3. Whispering...not to me, but others whispering amongst themselves
4. people reading lists as I described above...lists or instructions, this never happened much in school but it did on occassion...
Re: Sound and how the brain reacts to it
The same thing happens to me and I would love to know more. It happens for me mostly when certain people are talking. If I hear a voice that triggers this, I almost fall asleep because it is so enjoyable. It's definitely euphoric. I actually did a search on youtube for soothing voices to no avail. I've noticed that the voices that usually do this are ones that are very low, slow and do not fluctuate in pitch or volume. They stay pretty steady and do not have verbal pauses. I'd love to know more. If I had a recording of someone speaking like this, I'd never have an issue falling asleep!
Wow, so glad I found this forum. I'm from the Netherlands (so I'm sorry if my English is not perfect) and I've been googling for a long time but I couldn't find any information in Dutch.
Today I found out I'm not the only one who experiences the sensations as described in previous posts.
I don't know anyone around me who understands what I'm talking about.
The first time I experienced it, was when I was in kindergarten. I also remember when I was about 8 years old and we went to the library with our school class. The voice of the librarian, combined with the books she picked up from the shelves; I simply couldn't move anymore and I felt too embarrassed to tell my friends. Usually, I was always making fun at school but now: I couldn't respond to the children around me; I just sat there, frozen but in heaven....
I love the sound of rustling paper, people folding paper or making small noices while they're concentrated and packing a bag, for instance.
Funny enough, some people can fold papers forever and I don't get the same feeling. It doesn't work when my wife reads the newspaper. I have 2 small boys (3 and 5 years old). I sometimes try to convince my youngest son (since it doesn't work with his brother but with my youngest it works 4x as good as usual) to build something with lego or turn the pages of a book. My hair rises and I'm in paradise.
Samestory, I found a soothing voice on youtube (it works for me, at least):
The combination with the paper folding is perfect for me.
Haha, happy to find out I'm not the only one.
It's not always the sound, but also the mindstate that you are in. I get the same tingly brain feeling from certain noises in certain situations. This phenomena is common but not spoken about much. I have the feeling it has to do with your brainwaves at the time and the noise stimulates the brain waves to the right level to trigger pleasure.
Sounds have a reasonable affect on me, though I cant say it is profound. I have many noises I cant stand:
1. glass against glass
2. light metal (an aluminium bowl, for example) falling on the floor or being banged against another like bowl
3. clack of heels on the street
4. teeth grating against material (both my own teeth and someone else doing so)
5. insistent, repetitive and dull noise (repeated drumming)
6. humming
I am a pianist, self taught, and though I am told I have a talent for it I fail to see it. I am also at least a little tone deaf so cannot play by ear, and am unable to sing along to anything (I can sing in tune without a backup track, but completely poorly with a song in the background)
Sounds and emotions I associate with them:
1. strong winds - fear (thunderstorms and recovered circumstantial insomniac)
2. slamming doors - fear (not sure why)
3. my boyfriend's singing voice - comfort (personal, won't expand on this one)
4. Very soft clicking - comfort (heating has come on, Mum is awake/ home)
5. Gentle breathing - contentment (other half is sleeping peacefully)
All of these, both the ones listed as hates and the ones just above, affect me in some way if I notice them for too long. Ones to note are the metal upon mental/ the floor, which sends horrible aches through my body for up to two hours at a time, the fear responses because they keep me from sleeping and the teeth grating against material, as I shudder just thinking about it.
All the positive ones put my mind to rest and help me sleep/ relax.
What do you mean by particularities?
Re: Sound and how the brain reacts to it
This is honestly fascinating. I have always had these moments when I'll be listening to something and the oddest sound will set off this tingly feeling in my forehead and the back of my neck, my eyes will start to flutter and my head will feel really fuzzy. I don't know exactly how to explain it. Trying to put it into words makes it sound uncomfortable, but it's the exact opposite. My big thing is certain voices. It's usually the soft voices, but occasionally a medium-volume voice will set me off too. Sometimes, things like the crackling sound the TV makes when you run your arm over it and the static goes beserk, the typing of laptop keys, a bottle of perfume spraying, others that I can't remember will almost, like many of you said, wil put me in a trance.
Every so often though, the most random chords in songs will also make me respond involuntarily, sometimes to the extent of violent shivers (yes, I have fallen out of my chair once at a band concert). For example, in the song No One Mourns The Wicked, the last time they sing "Goodness knows, the wicked die alone" the way the chorus sings "die alone" I get these intese waves of happiness.
I don't think that I relate any sounds to an emotion other than the low beeping sound I metioned before always makes me angry and scared (never found out why). Any pleasant sounds I experience, I always just asscosiate with excitement.
For the opposite reason, I CANNOT STAND certain repetitive noises. Usually it's things like alarm clocks with the repetitive beeping noises. Especially at low pitches... They make me want to tear things apart.
Edit: I also forgot to mention, roupis91, that I do play piano and I am in the school ensemble choir. I'm not extrodinary at either, but I'm pretty good. Sometimes in choir, we'll sing one of "those chords" and I'll just have to drop out and listen because I get so overwhelmed.
I didn't know this was as rare as it appears to be on here. I just figured that other people went through it too, maybe I just wasn't explaining it well enough.
I have also always had this phenomenon. For me it is usually people eating or the sound of certain people's voices. When it happens I just sit back and lose myself in the feeling, never wanting it to end. I too have wanted to find something that I know will trigger the feeling and record it.
I have not been experiencing it as much recently and have been Googling it to try to discover what the source of this wonderful experience is, with the hope that by understanding it I can perhaps replicate it. It really would be the most pleasant thing to fall asleep to!
Re: Sound and how the brain reacts to it
Recently I Googled, "Sounds that put me in a trance like state" and was very surprised to find so many others who share this strange but very comforting sensation. However, I find that I relate to the comments on this site more than the others I have reviewed. The depictions of everyone's personal experiences posted here are very familiar to me.
I'm currently 50 years old and my earliest remembrance of this "feeling" was in the first grade and it remains as one of my most prominent memories to date. It was raining out and the classroom was quite. I sat at the desk in front of Denise, a very shy and quite girl. The teacher broke the silence by instructing us to take out our pencils and begin practicing our letter writing. Even though her command started a rustle across the room, as we all scurried for our Ticonderoga #2's, a strange sensation came over me. It was Denise. I could hear her movements above all the other sounds of the room. She had a clear plastic box in her desk where she kept her supplies. As she took it out and began rummaging through it, the sounds of rattling of pencils and other items in the box combined with her soft whispers to herself struck a nerve in my brain. I can only describe it as if all of my body parts had shut down, all other sounds and thoughts were completely blocked out and a total sense of relaxation had taken over. I can also remember that when the bellowing of the teacher broke my trance, how disappointed I was. I began wondering what had just happened to me and would I ever feel it again? I wanted to feel it again.
For 40 plus years this has gone on, less as I've gotten older, and I never spoke to anyone about it and honestly believed that I was the only one who experienced such sensations. Now as I read these many similar accounts, I realize how silly that thinking was and how comforting it is to know that others feel exactly as I do during these rare times. Over time I came to pick up on other sounds and situations that create this feeling, but it's been many many years since any new discoveries . I think maturing, the addition of increased responsibilities and the stresses of life clutter our minds and don't allow it to happen as easily or naturally as when we're young?
Some of the other sounds that can have this effect on me are the sound of certain voices or watching and listening to a crafts person performing their art. Crafts like carving, pottery making, sewing or painting (Bob Ross). The rustling of paper and the humming of florescent light fixtures aren't as strong but do have a a calming effect. I would have to say that the one sound that has the deepest effect on me, is the sound of scissors during a haircut. It doesn't have to be my hair that's being cut, although that is a very strong sensation, it can just be the quite sounds of the shears and the "barbers" feet shuffling along the floor as he/she works. I've found video clips of hair cutting online and I can almost completely drift away while I listen to them.
I don't know what causes this, perhaps it is something from childhood or our brain waves? Sometimes I feel strange that these feelings exist in me, but when it happens it's amazing and it sucks when the spell is snapped. It's very fragile, such as life..
Sorry I went on so long, but it just came pouring out of me.
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As regulations continue to evolve in jurisdictions around the world, corporate boards and senior managers are paying very close attention to compliance efforts enterprise-wide. Organizations are reviewing procedures across business units and geographic boundaries to improve visibility into their regulatory compliance and mitigate compliance risks. In this process, though, treasury departments often get short shrift.
Deloitte recently published a book titled "Enterprise Compliance: The Risk Intelligent Approach." Treasury & Risk sat down to discuss the book, and treasury's role in enterprise compliance, with two of the firm's thought leaders: Robert Biskup, director of forensic and dispute services, and Melissa Cameron, a Deloitte principal who specializes in treasury. Biskup previously served as the chief compliance officer for a Fortune 10 company, and Cameron served previously as a corporate treasurer and a wholesale banker. Both see the treasury function as a key, and often neglected, player in corporate compliance efforts.
T&R: More than a decade after the Sarbanes-Oxley Act brought regulatory compliance to the forefront for corporate boards and management, how well are most businesses doing in the area of compliance?
Robert Biskup: The past 15 years have been a very dynamic period of development in corporate compliance programs. In the pre-SOX [Sarbanes-Oxley] era, companies that weren't in highly regulated industries, such as defense or financial services, commonly had compliance programs that consisted of a vision statement and little else. I think of that as the first generation of corporate compliance programs. Then, post-SOX, a lot of corporations started doing a good job of enhancing their vision statements; publishing robust codes of conduct; expanding their policies and procedures; and enacting everything that SOX specifically called for, including whistle-blower and incident-management programs. But despite these proactive aspects of compliance, some of the back-end aspects—around assurance, auditing, monitoring, things of that nature—were lagging. I think what we are seeing now is the unfolding of the third generation of corporate compliance programs. Companies have spent 15 years in an incubation period, filled with trial and error and experimentation. Now they have a better understanding of what the effective elements of a compliance program ought to look like.
T&R: What does an effective compliance program look like?
RB: Well, we could spend the better part of the day on that subject, but at a high level, we at Deloitte see an effective program as structured in three broad layers. The first layer, which we call the 'environmental layer,' requires an in-depth understanding of the company's industry, geography, and emerging risk trends within the sector and locations where the company does business. The second layer we call the 'evaluation layer.' It includes a deep and rich analysis of risks and incorporation of enabling technologies like analytics into program and risk evaluation. And finally is the 'execution layer,' which consists of the tools, standards, and business processes involved in the program's execution. [For more, see the sidebar "Key Considerations in Designing a Corporate Compliance Program," below.]
T&R: How does the treasury function fit into the broader corporate model for compliance?
RB: Compliance is critical to treasury, and having a compliance-oriented mindset in the leadership of the treasury organization is especially critical. Like the bank robber Willie Sutton said when asked why he robbed banks: "Because that's where the money is." Companies have to have a compliance focus in treasury.
Melissa Cameron: It's interesting. When I go out and meet with companies, I generally find that their compliance programs have evolved quite substantially over the last 10 to 15 years, as Rob described—but I often feel that the treasury organization is the poor cousin in finance. Most of the companies I work with have annual revenues between $1 billion and $50 billion. They might have a few hundred people in the finance organization, but rarely do we see more than 10 people sitting in treasury. Treasury departments are now handling a very substantial portion of the balance sheet. They're managing the liquidity of the company, dealing with business units in many countries around the world. Yet there are very few people in the organization, and the compliance infrastructure may be underinvested in relative to other areas.
T&R: What kinds of control structures do you usually see, and where are the weaknesses?
MC: We often see a very high reliance on dual control—for example, in initiating and transmitting a wire transfer—which means that if two people decide to collude, they'll break through just about every treasury control the company has. We also tend to see much less reliance on segregation of duties between a front office and a back office in treasury. Companies may be lacking independence around accounting and reconciliation, compared with the initiation and execution of trades. And accounting teams may not fully recognize the role they can play in detecting breaks in controls. If they're reconciling bank accounts on a monthly or quarterly basis, that's a big window of opportunity for someone who wishes to commit fraud before it might be detected.
Treasury departments do have much better technology in place than they had, say, 5 or 10 years ago. Still, most treasury departments face limitations, in large part because they just don't have enough people in the department. Folks end up with more systems entitlements, or permissions, than they should have. Often they have access to both front-office and back-office functions because they're backing each other up. The internal auditors might see a nice SOX process on a piece of paper, but the controls are actually pretty easily broken.
T&R: What should companies do to tighten up treasury controls?
MC: When we're working with clients to implement treasury systems, we spend a lot of time taking them through case studies of what we've seen go wrong from a fraud perspective. Internal auditors need to start thinking like a crook and looking at what could go wrong, how to break the treasury controls. They can really get on top of this by proactively considering toxic combinations of duties within treasury organizations and then mapping those to the ways in which systems are entitled, including the trading portals for foreign exchange and investments, the treasury workstations, confirmation platforms, and all the other treasury systems. What are the process flows, and where are the manual breaks in automated processes that might allow someone to do something like change routing instructions for a payment?
T&R: What are some of the first steps that the average company should take to start improving compliance processes in treasury?
MC: One obvious step is to start doing quarterly reviews of system entitlements in all the company's treasury and banking platforms. That doesn't require new technology, just added vigilance. Organizations may want to create detective controls, as well. For example, if a systems administrator adds new users into treasury systems, an automated report might be sent to the treasurer, controller, or CFO. This would enable the manager to determine, "Did Joe Blogs really join the organization, or is Joe Blogs a fictitious person that was created by a systems administrator to get around dual controls?"
Companies should also pay special attention to whether they transact with their counterparties through any basis other than standard settlement instructions. If they choose to transact on a basis that allows routing to be developed and executed on any trade, then they have a higher risk profile than companies that use standard settlement instructions with their financial counterparties. Businesses that are doing that need to have additional reviews, and they need to set up templates for those kinds of wiring instructions.
T&R: Are the types of reviews you're describing the domain of the audit team, or should someone within treasury be keeping an eye on these things on an ongoing basis?
MC: Both are very feasible. The treasury function might verify that Joe Blogs did join the organization. Then the internal auditors might want to take a sampling of transactions to make sure, for example, that the entitlements were set up correctly and that they don't create a toxic combination of entitlements in any treasury system.
RB: If companies can also include some advanced anomaly detection and analytics within their internal audit protocols, those kinds of things can help reduce risk and strengthen overall compliance. It certainly starts with general ledger and financial transaction testing, but increasingly we're also seeing the unstructured data universe being blended into the mix. There are some important correlations and anomalies and, as Melissa said, toxic combinations that can be uncovered through the use of techniques such as predictive analytics, where algorithms may look for X and Y as possible predictive combinations of Z.
T&R: Would this type of data analytics be something a company runs to receive alerts on an ongoing basis, or is it a process that a company should undertake to see whether there are any warning signs at a particular moment in time?
RB: Typically, we see a combination of both. For known schemes and anomalies, companies are going to engage in ongoing monitoring that focuses on what they know. There are steady-state programs that can be run on an ongoing basis to throw flags when possible anomalies occur. These are similar to the systems banks run in the anti-money laundering context, which detect in real time, as transactions are being processed, whether they have a suspicious element to them. However, in addition to the known world, there is the unknown world. That's where the audit testing and the predictive analytics can be usefully employed.
T&R: Is training another element of improving controls? Are there other people within finance who should be educated about red flags that might come across their desk in one form or another that could alert them to a problem in treasury?
MC: Companies may want to give finance and treasury staff direction on what types of things to look for. If the treasury department is involved in accounts payable, for example, staff can look for duplicate payments, or they can pay close attention if a vendor changes the routing instructions. This is a pretty common fraud scenario: Someone creates a fictitious vendor and then makes a payment to them, and the money's gone. Treasury can also start to be more vigilant around any small transactions on the bank statement that aren't explained when they're doing reconciliations. Many skimming schemes are established by people that know that if the amount is under, say, $100, no one's going to investigate it because it's not worth their time. Taking out just under $100 every day adds up over years and years.
Treasury managers need to run a tight ship and have a skeptical mindset, rather than just a compliance mindset. They need to think, 'We push out so much money, and it's so easy for us to push out. What are the things that could really go wrong? Do we have the right number of people? Do we have the right segregation of duties? Do we have the right reviews, and are we making people take vacations? Are we doing everything we can to uncover fraud?'
Control mechanisms that are very well-established in the banking industry are oftentimes not in place in multinational corporations. Perhaps they should be, even if it costs a little more for the company to have this type of infrastructure in place. Because, frankly, treasuries may be dealing with billions of dollars, and it doesn't take a lot of extra budget to add a couple people to the treasury department to improve the robustness of the controls environment.


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Evaluation means another delay in shooting case
JANESVILLE—After a doctor reported he could not say if a town of Plymouth man is fit to stand trial for a fatal shooting, a Rock County judge ordered another evaluation for the man Wednesday.
The decision further delays the case against Daniel Bellard, 75, who is accused of killing 59-year-old Christine Gestrich in February before turning the gun on himself.
Judge James Daley on Wednesday ordered Bellard be evaluated at an in-patient psychiatric facility.
Daley scheduled an Aug. 22 competency hearing for Bellard.
Injuries from two self-inflicted shotgun blasts kept Bellard in a Madison hospital for five months while he recovered and could now render him unable to assist in his own defense.
Daley ordered a competency evaluation at Bellard's initial appearance July 9 to see if he could stand trial in the shooting.
Bellard's attorney, Robert Junig, said at the initial appearance Bellard "doesn't hear at all."
After the out-patient evaluation, a doctor told the court he could not make a determination about Bellard's competency, Daley said.
"There are all kinds of inherent difficulties," Daley said, in assessing Bellard's competency.
The evaluation would determine only if Bellard is competent to stand trial and would not address his mental condition at the time of the shooting, District Attorney David O'Leary said earlier this month.
Bellard was not in court for Wednesday's hearing and is still being held at the Rock County Jail.


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Immune Responses to Antigens in Non-infectious Eye Inflammatory Diseases
This study is enrolling participants by invitation only.
National Eye Institute (NEI)
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First Posted: July 27, 2006
Last Update Posted: October 19, 2017
Information provided by (Responsible Party):
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC) ( National Eye Institute (NEI) )
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
No Study Results Posted on ClinicalTrials.gov for this Study
|Study Status:
|This study is enrolling participants by invitation only.
|Study Completion Date:
|No date given
|Primary Completion Date:
|No date given


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Top 10 smartphone gadgets & apps
9 comments
NEW YORK Smartphones are turning the CE industry upside down.
Back at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, 2012, I wrote: "Brace yourself for the dawn of a new consumer electronics era, one in which TV no longer defines itself. Evident in this years Consumer Electronics Show was the notion that mobile devices are beginning to redefine what TV must do next in terms of apps, services and connectivity that hardware will need to accommodate."
That trend has now spread to everything from TV, cameras and car entertainment systems to headsets, set-tops and lighting systems to personal health devices. It is morphing the consumer-electronics industry into something weve never seen before. Developing an easy-to-use mobile app to control your new CE device is already a given.
Theres no need to duplicate what a smartphone already does in a new CE device under development. In some cases, theres no need to develop hardware at all. A smartphone already exists as a hardware platform, on which you can design -- in software -- whatever functions you want it to perform.
What follows are 10 new gadgets, developed with the same design objective: They are meant to function side-by-side with a smartphone.
Smart glasses: Over-the-eye display for your mobile phone
Vuzix offers smart glasses M100, billed as the world's first enhanced hands-free smartphone display and communications system." The monocle contains a virtual display with an integrated camera and a processing engine that runs on Android OS. It wirelessly connects via Bluetooth or WiFi to a users smartphone (iOS or Android).
The M100, while designed to work in harmony with a smartphone, is powerful enough to connect to the Internet, run applications and games on its own.
Beyond letting a user answer the phone, the M100 enables text messages, email and visual navigation, while allowing video recording and running other basic augmented-reality applications.


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Gregory Alan "Greg" Mayfield, Janesville, WI/Scottsdale, AZ/Hermosa Beach, CA (1965-2013)
June 18, 1965 - November 1, 2013
Gregory Alan, "Greg" Mayfield, an eight year resident of Hermosa Beach, passed away on Friday, Nov. 1, 2013. Greg was born on June 18, 1965, in Janesville, WI. Greg was a huge Green Bay Packer fan, never forgetting his roots. Greg graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater with a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and emphasis in Finance. Greg worked hard and dedicated himself to his career and he ultimately become a very successful business owner/entrepreneur. Greg donated to many charitable organizations and volunteered to coach children's flag football and baseball teams. Greg was very much a family man who loved his mother deeply and with her passing, Greg took on even a stronger role as a father. The brightest stars of Greg's accomplishments are his children, whom he loved dearly.
Surviving Greg are his three children: Madison, Zach, and Ryan, of Redondo Beach, CA; their mother, Patricia Hogan; his brothers, Stephan (Dawn) of Janesville, WI, and Lester (Patty) of Roscoe, IL; and several nieces and nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Betty and Melvin (Gene) Mayfield; his brother, Rodney; and his nephew, Jacob.
A gathering of family and friends will be held at WHITE & DAY MORTUARY in Manhattan Beach, on Friday, Nov. 15, 2013, from 11 a.m. until Noon, with a Service beginning at 12 p.m. Burial will follow at Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Children's Hospital of Santa Monica or the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Please go to the mortuary's website, www.LAfuneral.com to send the family messages, share memories, or to obtain directions to the services. Check back to view the online video tribute.
A growing leaf, green in color, has fallen prematurely. It has separated from the tree of life and landed in a pool of water, of many tears. It is a dark moment. A human tear lingers on the freshly fallen leaf…before it turns brown.
Drifting aimlessly
On a sea of grief and pain
The leaf cradles a teardrop.
Offers refuge. Embodies hope.
Just as winter awakens spring,
Our deepest sorrow harbors the seed of hope renewed.
By Susan Ring
White & Day Mortuary – Manhattan Beach (310) 792-7575


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"When the Fed raised the overnight borrowing rate from 3% to 5.5% in 1994," notes Hui-Chien Chang, director of the portfolio management group, "the Barclays' U.S. aggregate bond index had a dismal return of -2.94%." That was not the kind of loss Google could accept.
Like any fixed-income security, MBS prices move inversely to interest rates, so rising rates depress prices. Agency mortgage-backeds have little perceived credit risk because they are issued by agencies of the U.S. government, but they have prepayment risk. The securities are backed by home mortgages and homeowners can pay off their mortgages at any time, so the duration is not fixed. Higher rates would discourage prepayments, lengthening the duration of the securities and making their price drop even more. Google needed a hedging strategy and an appropriate hedging instrument.
It found its hedge in the to-be-announced (TBA) market, which is liquid and transparent. In a TBA trade, a buyer and seller agree on general terms such as the type of security, the coupon, face value and price, but not the specific pool of mortgages. Trades settle only once a month. Until two days before settlement, sellers are free to choose which pool of mortgages to offer, so naturally they pick the worst-performing pool. This worst-to-deliver option is understood and priced into the trade.
TBA contracts work as hedges because if rates rise and mortgage prepayments slow, the value of the underlying MBS pool would drop but the payoff from shorting TBA contracts would generate positive returns to offset that drop, explains Aditya Agrawal, a senior portfolio analyst. Google also mitigates credit risk by negotiating collateral postings with its counterparties, he adds.
While this approach creates good economic hedges, they don't qualify for hedge accounting treatment, Agrawal explains. As a result, the mark-to-market value change of the TBA hedges flows through the income statement without any offset from the changes in the underlying MBS portfolio, which are recorded on the balance sheet. Thus, a key constraint is "to manage the risk of the hedging program and control the accounting mark-to-market volatility associated with it," he says.
Google also hedges by selling forward specified pools of mortgages that are revealed to the buyer before the sale. Because specified pools are usually of better quality than pools delivered to settle TBA contracts, they are priced at a premium over TBA prices, Chang says.
Because Google's investment strategy is a hybrid of relative value and absolute return, having a hedging tool "helps us manage that dual mandate in a rising interest-rate environment," says assistant treasurer Tony Altobelli. For operational efficiency, treasury systems helped the hedgers build a fully integrated user portal.
"During a rising rate environment, it becomes critical to protect our portfolio returns," Chang says. "Our hedging strategy already proved invaluable during several instances when markets were volatile and we needed to tactically manage our risk."
See a slideshow of the 2012 Alexander Hamilton Award winners here.
Read about the Microsoft project that won the Silver in the Financial Risk Management category here, the Ford Motor project that won the Bronze here, and the FLIR Systems project that won the Editors' Choice Middle Market Excellence Award here.


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Local Views: Congressman Ryan wrong on his immigration reform plans
Rep. Paul Ryan states that his support for immigration reform (paulryan.house.gov/issues) is based on upholding the rule of law and helping the economy.
His specific reasons?
Ryan says immigration reform can improve Wisconsin's economy if the system could be structured to help the dairy and hospitality industries, which suffer from worker shortages. (Gazette, July 19)
In other words, we need to legalize more low-wage guest-worker jobs with H2B or W visas. This labor incentive swamps Ryan's concern of the negative effects of having more poor, uneducated, second-class (future) citizens.
An alternative to worker shortages in these industries? How about raising wages? Maybe even through unionization?
Ryan says undocumented workers must get in back of the probationary 15-year line, pay fines and work, and breaking the terms of that probation means immediate deportation.
If you're on the invisible edge of society, keeping your head low, maybe trying to raise a family, would you risk deportation on the hope you won't lose your job for 15 years?
Ryan asserts that granting quick citizenship for undocumented workers wouldn't be fair to those by-the-book nicely queued folk. That's a red herring. Those queued folk only want their own quick admissions, a very different problem than that facing residents.
Get back in line? Even the expression belittles the immigrants, reducing the collective "sneaks" to something like third-graders wanting ice cream.
Ryan's "First Principle" for immigration reform is to secure the border, his issue paper stating we must raise our presence to deal with the high pressure. The inevitable result is more fencing, more guards, more surveillance and more National Security Agency. Ryan concludes, "In order to achieve a lasting and permanent solution to our broken immigration system, we must secure the border, enforce our laws and fix our immigration system."
Ignoring the lack of rigor (Can anything in politics be considered permanent?) and circularity (The solution to the broken system … is to fix the system.), is there any alternative to Ryan's bigger, more militarized government?
Instead of increasing defensive border posture, Ryan could immediately advocate high penalties for employers of undocumented workers. That would reduce the border pressure. It's a no-brainer, yet Ryan defers.
Further, because Ryan's First Principle is border security, let's not ignore the 500-pound gorilla. Imagine the effect of legalizing marijuana. There would be no need for cantaloupe-legged kids carrying heavy bundles. The trillion-dollar drug war could flip-flop into half-empty jails and a trillion-dollar surplus. The 42 percent of Americans older than 12 who've smoked pot would have "the chance to get right with the law." Ryan's issue paper says conservatives deal with the world as it is. Too bad their reality misses the lesson taught by the 18th and 21st (Prohibition) amendments.
Illegal aliens pay huge prices: survive coyotes, risk family separations, shoulder day-labor abuse. Ryan is a fifth-generation American, a millionaire aristocrat, clueless.
Real Americans focus on individual justice, the human being, the man, woman or child kept down.
Ryan is right in supporting immigration reform. He's just got the reasons wrong.
Tom Breu of Janesville is treasurer of the Democratic Party of Rock County; phone 608-741-2020; email email@example.com.


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Although born, reared, and educated in the United States, I have been living in Europe for well over half of my life – primarily in Germany, and the pictures I submit are for the most part from the southern slopes of the Black Forest in the Rhine Valley between Germany and Switzerland. I have learned a great deal about photography from all the excellent posters on this site, and I am very thankful to everyone from all over the world for the help.
Sunrise Through the Fog
Uploaded by: Hotzenwaelder
Friday March 29, 2013
Laufenburg, Germany
Caption: This is my first sunrise since the middle of March, albeit it through the fog.
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Digital Zoom Ratio: 0.00
Focal Length In 35mm Film: 281
Scene Capture Type: Standard
Gain Control: Normal
Contrast: Hard
Saturation: High saturation
Sharpness: Hard
InteroperabilityIndex: R98
InteroperabilityVersion: 0100


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Two crashes, whiteout conditions close part of Highway 11 in Walworth County
Gazette staff
Friday, February 21, 2014
ELKHORN--Two crashes and whiteout conditions have prompted Walworth County authorities to close a two-mile section of Highway 11 from Highway 120 east to Clausen Road, said Scott McClory, patrol division commander at the sheriff's office.
Deputies are investigating two crashes--one car versus semitrailer truck and one five-vehicle crash involving two semitrailer trucks and three autos, McClory said.
He expects the stretch of Highway to be closed until at least noon.
He advised motorists to use Highway 36 to detour around the closure.
Snow driven by wind gusts of up to 50 mph were making driving extremely hazardous, McClory said.


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2008 Invitees Discuss Board Choices in this Week's Waimea Weekly Update Webisodes with Mark Healey
(Huntington Beach, California) December 24, 2008 — Invitees and Alternates for The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau expect another quiet week on the North Pacific horizon. The jetstream has pulled north, taking the swell-generating systems with it. As a result, the North Shore of Oahu anticipates mostly small surf this week with a bump to around six-feet (Hawaiian scale) mid-week.
As December draws to a close, conditions start to look more promising for a return to typical larger winter wave heights. Statistically the biggest surf arrives through January and February, allowing still plenty of opportunity remaining in the event's holding period window.
In this week's Waimea Weekly Update, Quiksilver team-rider and 2008 Invitee Mark Healey interviews a handful of Invitees including Kelly Slater, Peter Mel, Tom Carroll, Bruce Irons as well as veteran Eddie Invitees Brock Little, Titus Kinimaka and Keone Downing as they discuss what boards they will be surfing when the event goes. Big-wave guns, like the ones that will be surfed at Waimea, can range from 9-foot to over 11 feet in length and vary in dimensions and fin set-up. To see the full webisode, viewers can tune-in at www.quiksilver.com/eddie.
These video clips along with other videos from The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau are available for syndication through Splashcast; videos can be embedded to blogs, social networking sites and more. Make your way to http://web.splashcast.net/web_watch/?code=HXBN3705OC.
Special thanks to Pat Caldwell from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the swell data and forecasts. Current conditions and surf report for Waimea Bay, provided by Surfline, is available on the event website www.quiksilver.com/eddie. Visitors can also sign up for the official text alert for when the Bay Calls the Day.
About The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau
Scheduled to take place at the hallowed grounds of Waimea Bay, on the North Shore of Oahu, between November 30, 2008, and February 28, 2009, The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, requires one day with a minimum of 20-foot surf (Hawaiian scale, translating to waves exceeding 40 feet faces) in order to run. It is the world's most prestigious big-wave surfing event and is the only big-wave surf contest sanctioned by the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), the governing body of professional surfing.
Held in honor of the legendary Hawaiian waterman, Eddie Aikau, The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau gathers 28 of the most skillful and dynamic big-wave surfers from around the world as polled by a comprehensive panel consisting of influential watermen, members of the surf industry, and internationally recognized surfing Associations.
The first memorial event for Aikau was held in 1984 at Sunset Beach, two miles north of Waimea Bay. It was won by local standout Denton Miyamura. Following the inaugural event, The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau moved to Waimea Bay, where it has remained ever since. 2008 marks the event's 24th anniversary; in only seven of those years have the waves been big enough and the conditions right to hold the contest.
About Quiksilver
"Quiksilver is committed to providing tools for uncovering, expressing and expanding your personal style. Our aim is to foster the sense of individual expression and excitement – the stoke that is the essence of boardriding*. We're also here to spread the word because the only thing better than finding stoke is sharing it.
* Boardriding is about timing and style. It's youthful, active, casual, and free flowing. There is no wrong way to ride a board. The goal is simply to learn, progress, improve, and give it your own interpretation."


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Get an update on changes of the IACR web-page here. For questions, contact newsletter (at) iacr.org. You can also receive updates via:
To receive your credentials via mail again, please click here.
You can also access the full news archive.
Further sources to find out about changes are CryptoDB, ePrint RSS, ePrint Web, Event calender (iCal).


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Human Pathology 'Multiple-Choice Questions'
Human Anatomy, Physiology, and Medicine. Anything human!
Moderator: BioTeam
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
Human Pathology 'Multiple-Choice Questions'
Hello guys! Double checking my answers for my graduate pathology class! Thanks! Feel free to respond! Would love to debate on answers!
1. The following hormones are easily detectable in the systemic blood EXCEPT:
a. GH
b. CRH
c. FSH
d. Oxytocin
e. TSH
2. The Drug Discovery company has developed a compound X that binds and activates TSH receptors with a very high affinity. A 30 year-old XY subject that has been taking very high daily doses of the compound X would have which of the following blood profiles?
a. above normal TSH: above-normal thyroxine
b. above normal TSH: below-normal thyroxine
c. below normal TSH: above-normal thyroxine
d. below normal TSH: below-normal thyroxine
e. normal TSH: normal thyroxine
3. A 35 year-old XY subject with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (21-hydroxylase deficiency) would have:
a. moon face
b. enlarged adrenal glands
c. hypertension
d. above normal hematocrit
4. Which of the following enzymes is highly expressed in the adrenal medulla but not in the adrenal cortex?
a. P450scc
b. tyrosine hydroxylase
c. aromatase
d. 5-reductase
e. 21-hydroxylase
5. Three weeks after a severe hemorrhage that caused a blood clot that totally blocked the hypothalamic-pituitary portal vessel, a 30 year-old XY subject would have:
a. lower plasma levels of oxytocin than those prior to the hemorrhage.
b. higher plasma levels of ACTH than those prior to the hemorrhage.
c. higher plasma levels of ADH than those prior to the hemorrhage.
d. lower plasma levels of LH than those prior to the hemorrhage.
e. higher plasma levels of TSH than those prior to the hemorrhage.
6. A XY subject with the loss-of-function mutation in the 5-reductase gene would have which of the following at birth?
a. uterus and scrotum
b. vas deferens and scrotum
c. uterus and labia
d. vas deferens and labia
7. Compared to an age-matched healthy XY male, a 30 year-old XY subject with hormone-secreting Sertoli tumors would have:
a. below normal plasma LH levels & below normal plasma FSH levels.
b. normal plasma LH levels & above normal plasma FSH levels.
c. normal plasma LH levels & below normal plasma FSH levels.
d. above normal plasma LH levels & above normal plasma FSH levels.
8. Which of the following induces meiotic progress of a primary oocyte to a secondary oocyte?
a. The estradiol surge during the second half of the follicular phase
b. The midcycle surge of LH
c. Fertilization
d. The progesterone surge during the luteal phase
9. Granulosa cells are aspirated from a dominant follicle of a 25 year-old XX subject on day 11 of the menstrual cycle. Granulosa cells are then cultured in vitro, in the presence of LH and FSH. At the 3rd day of culture, estrogen secretion by these cells would:
a. skyrocket to surge levels comparable to those found on day 14 of the menstrual cycle.
b. be at intermediate levels comparable to those found on day 10 of the menstrual cycle.
c. be at moderate levels comparable to those found on day 7 of the menstrual cycle.
d. be negligible.
10. Bilateral ovariectomy (removal of both ovaries) of a 30 year-old pregnant woman on the 60th day of gestation would cause:
a. an increase in plasma estrogen levels.
b. a decrease in plasma LH levels.
c. an increase in plasma inhibin levels
d. an increased myometrial contraction.
e. a rapid growth of her fetus.
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
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Make sure perennials are really perennial where you live
Friend-of-the-blog and Janesville Gazette reporter Cathy Idzerda recently wrote an article about the benefits of planting perennials in the fall. She's right, it is a great time to plant perennials for many reasons – plants can develop deep root systems and aren't as stressed by heat, insects or the need to produce flowers. It's also a great time of year for the gardener – you aren't busy planting annuals and you've spent the whole summer looking at your garden with a critical eye. Perhaps you've visited other gardens and gained some new ideas. It's a great time to reassess your garden and think about where new plantings might be in order.
There are some cautions when buying perennials, however. I've found at some big box stores plants can be labeled "perennial" when in fact they are not perennial here in southern Wisconsin. My guess is that the stores provide plants to all their nationwide locations and so these plants may indeed be perennial somewhere else. I recall seeing purple fountain grass labeled as a perennial in a Janesville chain store. There is no way this plant will survive a typical Wisconsin winter. However, purple fountain grass is really great to plant as an annual in fall containers. But believe me; if you plant it in the ground now it will be dead by spring.
Another fall plant that can be confusing is the garden mum that we see for sale everywhere this time of year. These showy mums have been pushed to the limit into putting most of their energy into producing huge numbers of flowers. Root growth is not their first priority. Yes, with proper care (this involves watering, mulching, deadheading and I think perhaps rattling chicken bones over them) they can survive the winter, but don't count on it. I know one gardener who told me she over wintered potted mums in an unheated garage and was able to plant them successfully in the spring, although I haven't tried this yet. Mums are super beautiful, a wonderful symbol of fall and inexpensive, so I suggest treating them as annuals and if they do come back in the spring consider it a bonus. On the other hand, I've had great luck overwintering New England asters, perhaps because they finish flowering sooner than the mums and can spend some time developing roots.
How do you avoid buying a plant that is not hardy where you live? Here are four surefire tips:
1. Read labels. (Is the hardiness zone for the plant listed? Rock County is zone 4a/5b.)
2. Research the plant's growth requirements from reliable books or internet sites.
3. Buy from sellers who have well-informed staff, such as local garden centers or plant sales at botanical gardens. They make sure to offer perennials that are appropriate for their area.
4. Divide and share plants with neighbors and friends. (Just make sure it isn't being shared because its growth is too aggressive!) This is one of my favorite ways of getting new perennial plants. You'll be sure to get a plant that's been tested in your area, and the price is right!
Janice Peterson has worked as a grounds horticulturist at Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville since 2002. She is a master gardener with the Rock Prairie Master Gardener Association. Though her education is in plant science, she considers her love of gardening and strong back to be her true qualifications. Janice is a community blogger and is not a part of The Gazette staff. Her opinion is not necessarily that of The Gazette staff or management.


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Hi all ! My name is Maxime, I'm 25 years old and I live in a beautiful city called Sainte-Marie de Beauce in Quebec Canada. I love nature and mostly all Meteorogical phenomenons. I enjoy all extremes of mother nature because she has an incredible force. I take photos since Mai 1997 and passed to the numerical in August 2008. I do weather videos since December 2004. I love nature since i was 6 years old. I hope you enjoy and will enjoy a portion of that here on wunderground ! And PLEASE ! NOTE AND COMMENT !!!!! ALWAYS APPRECIATED ! I will comment on yours in return ! I also like to see your pictures everydays because everyone have unique thoughs while taking a photo ! See you all on the site ! Maxime
Uploaded by: emixam101
Tuesday November 13, 2012
Saint-Elzéar, Canada
Caption: 10h02 PM - LUCKY to get a TAURID FIREBALL in the view WITH THE AURORAS!! ENJOY AND MAKE A WISH!! :)
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White Balance: Auto white balance
Scene Capture Type: Standard
InteroperabilityIndex: R98
InteroperabilityVersion: 0100


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evolution debate
Discussion of everything related to the Theory of Evolution.
Moderator: BioTeam
evolution debate
I think that the teaching of intelligent design is addition to evolution is wrong. Evolution has stood the test of time. Intelligent design is just a huge cover for creationism. Has anyone ever read pandas and people?
Last edited by mothermary on Thu Apr 22, 2010 9:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
contradicting? Im just trying to get some feed back on how people feel about the subject of intelligent design vs evolution. How is that contradicting?
I think the way you worded the first sentence of the O.P. can be misleading. I think you meant that teaching Intelligent Design in addition to evolution is wrong.... correct?
intelligent design as i see it... scientifically says that GOD exists.... i dont think it should be encouraged... i feel that we are trying to cover up our inability to answer everything......
Re: evolution debate
Though i don't say that the whole "UNIVERSE" is created by SOME intelligent design... i do say that there is possibility that life on earth MAY be the result of some intelligent design.... All we can do is to guess.... FACT is that we can never find out how we came into existence... But everything does not have a possible explanation... Our obsession for answers to everything can be understood by the attempt kierkegaard logical explanation of GOD...
My point is... that intelligent design cannot be accepted or rejected.... it's not a scientific theory.... a scientific theory CAN be tested for proof... intelligent design... cannot be tested.. and thus can never be proved... it's just a philosophy ... which you are at liberty to believe or not.....
Well I do agree that ID could be a possibility. My point is that because its not a scientific theory, it has no place in the education system. These thoughts of intelligent design are meant for places of faith or in your own home. Scientific explanations are the only thing that should be taught in class.
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Get started now. Simply fill out this form and take the questionnaire to receive your matches.
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Wedding clip from our Success Story of the Year-Virginia
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eHarmony was mentioned in their wedding ceremony!
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A Marine on a mission- a mission to propose
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Two worlds become one!


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Cerridwen provides geocentric planetary data suitable for a broad spectrum of astronomical and astrological applications, with a focus on our solar system. Among its data you will find, for example, the time of the next sunrise or that of the last full moon, or simply the current tropical position of the sun. It comes with a simple command-line utility and a JSON server, but is also designed to serve as a basis for your own application.
AstroStack is an easy-to-use astronomical imaging and processing tool geared towards the use of inexpensive webcam CCDs. It provides a very tunable environment to produce the best quality images. It supports the following features: tunable webcam sampling; image stacking (averaging, additive etc.); pre and post-capture gamma (brightness) and contrast correction; dark-shot CCD calibration (subtractive); and an internal 16-bit grey-scale format for optimal resolution.
WCSLIB is a C library, supplied with a full set of Fortran wrappers, which implements the "World Coordinate System" (WCS) standard in FITS (Flexible Image Transport System). It also includes a PGPLOT-based routine, PGSBOX, for drawing general curvilinear coordinate graticules, and a number of utility programs. The FITS "World Coordinate System" (WCS) convention defines keywords and usage which provide descriptions of astronomical coordinate systems in a FITS image header.
GRALE is a set of tools - a library and a number of accompanying applications - to study gravitational lenses. Gravitational lenses are astronomical objects so massive that their gravitational pull even deflects light rays. This can cause multiple copies of the same background object to be visible, like a cosmic mirage. The locations and shapes of these copies can provide information about the mass distribution of the gravitational lens, which GRALE can help recover using a genetic algorithm-based method. Apart from these so-called lens inversions, it's also possible to simulate gravitational lenses.
The satpass script provides satellite visibility predictions, given the position of the observer and the NORAD element sets for the desired satellites. It can acquire the NORAD element sets directly from any site supported by Astro::SpaceTrack. It can acquire the observer's latitude and longitude from http://geocoder.us/, look up star positions in the SIMBAD catalog, and more.
ChiantiPy is a Python interface to the CHIANTI atomic database for astrophysical spectroscopy. The CHIANTI atomic database for astrophysical spectroscopy provides the information necessary to calculate the emission spectrum from hot plasmas. ChiantiPy provides several top-level classes to access the database and calculate continuum and emission line intensities.
Aciqra is a night sky simulator to show the sky and celestial objects. It uses the highly precise Aloac program to calculate highly accurate positions for planets, stars, comets, and everything else in the sky for thousands of years into the future. It can load a variety of catalogs and even custom ones with a bit of extension.
A versatile and flexible enterprise service bus.
An LDAP-enabled mailing list access policy daemon for Postfix.


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Basic Broadcaster (bb) allows you to transfer text messages simply from one computer to another on a LAN. The messages are broadcast in the LAN and and can be received by each machine running bb. No setup is required other than starting the application. The messages are transmitted as plain text, and no encryption is done. The broadcasts can only be sent to machines on the same subnet as the sending machine, and will not be forwarded by routers to the Internet.
NaturePHP is a classes wrapper using PHP's autoload to create a non-intrusive, simple, organized, and extensible library system. It is aimed at intermediate and advanced PHP developers, providing a lot of non-intrusive functionality for Web site and application development. Upcoming development will include internal library management and the ability to download/update libraries from the repository.
SDLbits is a very lightweight SDL wrapper for Java. This library was designed to be very small and simple. It does not use Swig, but goes directly from "native" Java definitions to the sdlbits C wrapper library to SDL or OpenGL (in C). All symbols are exposed as they would be in C, except the "SDL_" prefix has been removed, since all names are inside the SDL class. The SDL structures from C are translated to very simple Java classes, such as SDL.VideoInfo. Most fields are exposed as read-only "get" methods, but "set" methods for writable members are supported as well. These classes simply interface to the actual C data with a ByteBuffer "pointer".
libKISSlog is a trivial lightweight C++ template library designed and written according to the KISS (Keep It Simple and Straightforward) principle. It leans heavily on STL for keeping its implementation as simple as its usage, and tries to provide C++ developers with a lightweight, paradigm-pure, and flexible alternative to logging libraries which use design and/or implementation decisions which at least the author of libKISSlog believes to be questionable. Its easiest to explain why libKISSlog would be suitable for your needs by listing the things which libKISSlog does not choose to use or do: no singletons or other forms of mutable global state, no macros, no attempt to fit the Java runtime everything model onto a C++ library, no attempt to be a Java-style (bloated) framework, no attempt to make the choice for you of whether you need thread safety, and no compromise on simplicity in order to facilitate questionable inner-loop logging practices.
A high performance, scalable database modeled after Bigtable.
A utility that convert an email to a Trac ticket.


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Cut it out!
News writers have been preached at for years to keep it clean, keep it clear, and keep it short. ("And don't use passive voice, and don't use parentheses," my editor would say.)
The point is that if you distill that kettle of verbiage to its bare essentials, the result is clear and potent and does not leave your reader with a headache the morning after.
Of course, this is one of those goals that must be pursued while knowing that perfection is never to be reached, like the search for the Holy Grail. All have sinned, as the Bible says.
Journalism-writing experts might sometimes feel like prophets calling out in the wilderness as they consider the verbosity and dense jargon of, say, the legal profession or college professors. So it's nice to see an academic castigating his colleagues for messy writing. The writer calls for an end to needless adjectives and adverbs. Here it is. It's a short read.
Last updated: 11:55 am Friday, August 30, 2013


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Extinction - Raising conservation awareness
Moderator: BioTeam
Extinction - Raising conservation awareness
Hello Ladies & Gentlemen,
I will be working along with artists on a collection of pieces called 'Extinction'. It will showcase the great animals mankind has helped wipe out.
Each piece will feature an iconic image along with scientific/historical facts.
Here are the current apex contenders;
*Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacine
*Panthera tigris virgata (Caspian Tiger) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_tiger
*Dinornis novaezealandiae (North Island Giant Moa) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Island_Giant_Moa
I'd love to here your opinions and add a few more creatures to the list
Re: Extinction - Raising conservation awareness
The New England Red Wolf was declared extinct in the wild in 1980. Luckily 17 or so were captured prior to that and with a little breeding there are now estimated to be 100 or so in the wild and 165 in captivity. They're not technically extinct, but the story behind it is very interesting.
Very interesting. From a biodiversity standpoint, its great to know that humans are now using their brains instead of a gun/spear. Bringing back top predators is definitely the way to go for to improve overall flora/fauna recovery.
What a beautiful animal. Humans can have such a direct influence.
Well I'm of opinion that apex predators keep animal populations at an equilibrium.
Take the gray wolf as an example and look up Yellowstone Park.
Without a natural check to keep grazers from over grazing, plant species die off & the food source of small (little) animals is exhausted.
Lose Lose for everyone
Re: Extinction - Raising conservation awareness
Jack makes a good point. For the example offered, the prey species are also affected by man and the less evident (and less emotional) extinctions can also be interpreted to have a substantial impact.
But these guys are artists - not biologists - and are looking for the emotional appeal. Plec, what do you see as the objective, bext outcome of this effort?
Re: Extinction - Raising conservation awareness
Jack and Jorge you both make good points. Perhaps I should have explained myself better. The plan is to start with a top predator and work down the food chain. I'd love to do a close to extinction set of pieces. Bonobo's and and Scottish wild cats are something I'd love people to take interest in (for the right reasons). New Zealand flora & birdlife too.
Re: Extinction - Raising conservation awareness
Oh I forgot to mention Moa/ hasst's eagle will be linked together. Just designing the Moa first so wanted a bit of feedback on that
I've added the golden toad to the list
Along with the western black rhinoceros
I wish to add marine life along with rodents to the list. Could someone point me in the right direction?
Thank you
Re: Extinction - Raising conservation awareness
Who is your audience - what demographic?
The designs will be on guitar picks (so options for separate pictures/details on each side).
I will obviously be selling to musicians and i can imagine them wanting something bold and unique. Album art has always has always been designed to be eye catching, striking or quirky so along them lines.
I'm interested in doing a skeletal profile on one side & drawing upon that to recreate what the animal would look like alive on the flip side. So striking anatomy
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CoverTuff Canopy for Pier Pleasure 16'x 84"
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Please make sure you select the correct make, model, year or style and length of your boat before ordering. After all, we want you to be satisfied with your order so you'll return again and again as an iboats.com customer, and to also recommend us to your boating friends.
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Canadian customers, please be careful when placing your order; iboats.com does not accept any return merchandise on Canadian orders unless the merchandise you received was defective, damaged, or an error was made by iboats.com. In such cases, please contact iboats.com Customer Service within 30 days of the original shipping date for a return authorization number. Returned items that do not have a RA # will not be accepted.


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I'm Michał and I live in central Poland in small town of Ksawerów. I really enjoy to look at your photos and also I appreciate your ratings and comments under my shots. All your photos give me possibility to see places that I'll probably never could visit. Thank you!I'm sorry that I don't comment and respond to your comments as fast as I used to, but I don't have enough time because of my job. But I'll try to catch up with everything when it will be possible. I miss you all and your beautiful pictures!
Fresh Fluffy Snow
Uploaded by: Kajzar
Thursday December 13, 2012
Ksawerów, Poland
Caption: I dedicate this photo to my friend who passed away three days ago. I hope it's a better place where are you now.
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Death Notices for Sept. 9, 2013
Gazette Staff
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Mary Elizabeth Curry, 88, Clinton, died Tuesday at Alden Meadow Park Nursing Home, Clinton. Private family services were held.
Robert Danner, 80, Beloit, died Saturday at Azura Memory Care, Beloit. Arrangements are pending with Brian G. Mark Funeral Home, Beloit.
Caroline E. Slater, 83, Elkhorn, died Saturday at home. Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Community Church, Elkhorn. Visitation will be from 1 p.m. until the time of services Friday at the church.


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Craigslist ad for sex led to woman's death, documents indicate
TOWN OF PORTER—The man who admitted burning the body of Aprina Paul in his fire pit told investigators he met Paul by posting an ad for sex on Craigslist.
The information is contained in search warrant documents that became public Wednesday.
Nathan C. Middleton said his ad was answered the morning of Oct. 27, and he and a woman text-messaged each other before he agreed to pick her up in Fitchburg, the document states.
Middleton dropped off his fiancee at her job that night before driving, with his 5-month-old daughter in the car, to meet Paul in Fitchburg, Sheriff Robert Spoden said.
The two drove to his residence at 12016 W. Highway 14, where Paul "consumed an unknown type of drug," Middleton told investigators according to the document.
"We don't right now have any physical evidence that that was the case," Spoden said, in part because Middleton burned Paul's body.
That makes it impossible for authorities to do a toxicology test or to have a complete autopsy, Spoden said, which might prove or disprove Middleton's version of the events.
Paul's remains were sent Tuesday to Orchid Cellmark, a Dallas lab that performs DNA testing for state law enforcement.�
Middleton said he had sex with the woman in the shower, they smoked marijuana together and then went to the bedroom and had sex again, the document states.
Middleton claimed he paid Paul for sex, but Spoden said that is another aspect of the story investigators cannot confirm.
"Whether it's him seeing her use drugs or them having sex or him paying her for prostitution, (that's) something he's alleging," Spoden said. "It's something, again, that we take with a grain of salt."
When Middleton woke the next day, Monday, Oct. 28, he found the woman "still in his bed, but she was not breathing and did not have a pulse. Middleton claimed he attempted to revive the female by doing chest compressions but could get not a pulse," the document states.
Middleton said he wrapped Paul's body in a blanket and hid it under a pickup truck bed liner outside the garage, authorities said. He put her clothing and purse in a burn barrel and set it afire, the document states.
Middleton said he later threw the woman's cellphone into a ditch north of the home, the document states.
The next day, Middleton bought a shovel and kerosene from a business in Evansville and built a fire pit at his residence, authorities said.
He later sent his fiancee into town to buy supplies for s'mores, Spoden said, using that time to move Paul's body into the fire pit, cover it with wood and kerosene and set it afire.
"Middleton and his fiancee tended the fire until around 11:30 p.m.," the document states.
Middleton said he burned wood and the body again the next day, Wednesday, Oct. 30, the document states.
Investigators showed Middleton a photo of Aprina Paul, and he identified her as the woman he met via Craigslist and burned in the fire pit, the document states.
The document does not make clear whether Middleton's�fiancee knew about Paul's presence at the residence.
Detectives are hoping to talk with Middleton's fiancee more, so they can determine "what she knew and when she knew it," Spoden said.
Investigators used Middleton's words to obtain search warrants for Middleton's cellphone and car.
Middleton remains in the Rock County Jail on suspicion of a probation violation. He has not been charged in connection with the investigation.
Gazette reporter Nico Savidge contributed to this story.


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Milton schools closing early Monday
MILTON—The Milton School District has announced early school closures Monday as a winter storm continues to move through the area.
Superintendent Tim Schigur has announced the following afternoon closures and release times Monday:
- Milton Middle School: closed with students being released at 1 p.m.
- Milton High School: closed with students being released at 1:10 p.m.
- Milton Elementary Schools: closed with students being released at 2:15 p.m.
The closures follow local weather advisories and forecasts that call for a winter storm to drop 4 to 7 inches of snow locally Monday, creating driving hazards for afternoon commuters, forecasters say.
The early releases Monday come on a scheduled late-start day development. The closure will not prompt an extra make-up day, Schigur wrote in a Twitter posting Monday morning.
Last updated: 12:04 pm Monday, February 17, 2014


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by Jennifer Roberts | Updated: June 22, 2014 | | No Comments
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is the founder, designer and author of Jen Spends Less. Formerly an architectural drafter and designer, Jen cut her spending and embraced a frugal lifestyle to be a stay at home mom. Keep up with Jen's latest posts and musings on Facebook, Google+ or Twitter.


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Please complete the form above to purchase bus tickets to Chicago from Des Moines. Shofur offers clean and modern motor coaches to take you to nearly any city in North America.
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Teen Pregnancy Prevention Overview
The Maryland State Department of Education utilizes multiple approaches to address teen pregnancy prevention. Comprehensive school health education includes instruction that complies with the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) 13A.04.18.01-.02. The goals of comprehensive health education curriculum are listed in COMAR 13A.04.18.02. To view the goals click on the link.
COMAR 13A.08.01.06 sets forth the responsibility of the local school system to provide appropriate educational programs for pregnant students. Click to view the regulation.


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Navigating the fast-moving and quickly-evolving area of privacy and cybersecurity (PCS) litigation is no easy task. Not only are the technological challenges emerging at a lightning-quick pace, but the legal landscape is also changing — a perfect storm for in-house counsel. In the last article, we focused on the liability standards that companies today are likely to confront in litigation over a data breach. In this article, we expand on that theme by focusing on new standards for liability that businesses may face in the future given the legislative proposals now being considered on the federal and state levels.
By focusing on new standards that might emerge, we hope to provide a guide for future-proofing current in-house practices. Given the intense media attention and public scrutiny, it is very likely that some of the proposals under consideration will be adopted. As an overview, pending legislation has the following common themes:
- Early disclosure to consumers
- Expanded private liability for data breaches
- Compensation to consumers for data breaches
- An increasing role for state and federal regulatory agencies in data privacy and cybersecurity issues
On the federal level, Congress is considering a variety of bills to increase the liability of businesses that fail to safeguard consumer information or promptly report data breaches to consumers and law enforcement. For example, under the Data Security and Breach Notification Act of 2014 proposed by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), businesses would be legally obligated to notify every person in the United States believed to have been compromised by a data breach within 30 days of the business discovering the breach. Failure to comply with this requirement would trigger hefty civil fines of up to $100,000 a day, with a maximum total penalty of $1 million for a single breach.
Data breach notification is also a significant feature of the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2014 proposed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). In particular, the Act would require that that businesses notify law enforcement of data breaches no less than 10 days after discovery of the breach if the breach involves more than 5,000 individuals or a database containing information about more than 500,000 individuals. In turn, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Attorney General, and state attorneys general would each be empowered to enforce this notification requirement and penalize violators with fines of up to $11,000 per day per data breach (with a cap of $1 million per breach).
State legislatures are no less eager than Congress to impose new liabilities on businesses that own or maintain the personal information of their customers. For example, on April 10, 2014, Kentucky became the 47th state to enact a data breach notification law, leaving Alabama, New Mexico and South Dakota as the only states to still not have such a law on the books. Additionally, according to the National Conference of State Legislators, "[a]t least 19 states have introduced or are considering security breach legislation in 2014."
In this regard, while much of new legislation being considered at the state level merely serves to amend pre-existing laws, several of these bills would expand private liability for data breaches in significant ways. For example, in a bill now before the Minnesota state legislature (H.F. 2253, introduced in February 2014), any entity conducting business in the state would be required to inform customers of a data breach affecting the customer's personal information within 48 hours of the business discovering or being notified of the breach. Businesses would also be required to compensate consumers whose information had been breached by providing these consumers with both one year's worth of free credit monitoring services, made available within 30 days of the breach, and repayment of any charges or fees incurred by the consumer as a result of the breach. Retailers of consumer goods and services would additionally be required to provide a $100 gift card to each consumer whose information was breached.
New laws are not the only source of new liability in the world of PCS litigation. Indeed, federal and state agencies are capable of raising the bar for businesses through their rulemaking authority and their public proclamations. Consider the following April 2014 announcement by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) addressing the recently revealed "Heartbleed" vulnerability in the encryption code used by many businesses to safeguard consumer transactions online: "Financial institutions should operate with the assumption that encryption keys used on vulnerable servers are no longer viable for protecting sensitive information and should therefore strongly consider requiring users and administrators to change passwords after applying the OpenSSL patch." Such language is bound to be cited by plaintiffs in asserting negligence-related claims against financial institutions and other businesses that suffer Heartbleed-related data breaches in the wake of the FFIEC's advice.
In PCS litigation, preparing for tomorrow means understanding not only where the law is right now but also the direction in which the law is headed. On this score, Congress and state legislatures are considering a bevy of new laws that will significantly increase the obligations and liabilities that businesses must face in the wake of a data breach. It is therefore critical that in-house counsel maintain a constant awareness of these developments if they are to provide their clients with effective advice on how to best prepare for this brave new world.


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When an employee returns to work after giving birth, the employer must be mindful of the employee's rights to breastfeed or express breast milk in the workplace. In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, sometimes known as "Obamacare," amended Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to require covered employers to provide non-exempt, nursing mother employees "reasonable" break times to express breast milk. Employers must also provide a place of privacy for these breaks. The amendments to the FLSA permit nursing mothers to take breaks during each work day, each time they are needed, for one year after a child's birth. Employers must also set aside an area that that is "shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public." This space can be any vacant area as long as it has a locking door, otherwise meets the provision's privacy requirements, and is not a bathroom stall (which the law specifically prohibits as an option).
Significantly, non-exempt employees do not have to be paid for any time spent taking these breaks, but employers should be conscious of a couple potential pitfalls.
First, the applicable regulations clarify that if paid breaks are already given, and an employee uses that time to express breast milk, the employee must be compensated as she otherwise would for the paid break. Thus, employers may wish to develop a time-keeping system that entitles a nursing employee to be paid while expressing milk only for the length of or during paid breaks. For example, if an employee ordinarily receives a 15 minute paid break and she uses that time to express milk, but takes a total of 25 minutes to do so, the employee is not entitled to be paid for the additional 10 minutes of break time.
Second, employers must also consider the FLSA's general requirement regarding break time, which also applies here: Non-exempt employees must be completely relieved from their duties during their break or they must be compensated. Practically speaking, this means that employees should not be "working" while they are expressing milk; indeed, even checking email on a smart phone or reviewing a document could trigger an employer's obligation to compensate the non-exempt employee for this time "worked" during her nursing break.
One challenge facing employers in the wake of these new rules is determining what constitutes a "reasonable" break. To provide some insight, the Department of Labor (DOL) expounded on the "reasonable" break component of the law, directing employers to consider both the frequency and number of breaks a nursing employee might need and the length of time needed to actually express milk.
In general, although the number of nursing breaks varies among women, the DOL posits that a nursing employee will likely need two or three nursing breaks during an eight hour shift. As for the length of each break, although this also varies among women, the DOL has surmised that the act of expressing milk alone (not including time to get to the designated area and get situated) generally takes 15 to 20 minutes.
The DOL further instructs that it will consider the following factors in determining whether an employer's provided break to a nursing employee was "reasonable":
- The time it takes to get to and from the nursing space and the wait, if any, to use the space
- Whether the employee needs to retrieve her breast pump and other supplies from another location
- Whether the employee will need to unpack and set up her own pump or if a pump is provided for her
- The efficiency of the pump used to express milk (employees using different types of pumps may require more or less time)
- Whether there is a sink and running water nearby for the employee to use to wash her hands before pumping and to clean the pump attachments when she is done expressing milk, or what additional steps she will need to take to maintain the cleanliness of the pump attachments
- The time it takes for the employee to store her milk either in a refrigerator or personal cooler
Under these circumstances, employers would be prudent to discuss these factors with employees in an effort to estimate the length of a "reasonable" break. Also bear in mind that employers may be subject to similar, but more protective, state laws. To date, 24 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have enacted workplace breastfeeding laws, some of which are more expansive than the FLSA.
In Colorado, for example, employers are required to provide a reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for up to two years after the child's birth. Maine and Vermont further extend the relevant time period to three years following childbirth. Montana even requires employers to provide facilities for storage of the expressed milk.
Thus, the accommodation of an employee's pregnancy now extends far beyond maternity leave. To ensure compliance with the new FLSA requirements, employers should begin choosing or developing a compliant nursing area, checking applicable state laws for any further requirements, drafting employee policies to outline the nursing break procedures and developing a time-keeping system to track time spent taking nursing breaks. Employers who prepare a game plan now will be better served when an employee returns to work after giving birth and will be less likely to run afoul of the law's requirements for nursing mothers.


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The Kansas City Royals will celebrate their 45th season at Kauffman Stadium in 2017. Kauffman has always been one of the crown jewel ballparks of Major League Baseball. Having hosted 79,611,876 fans since 1973, "The K", with its signature look, has proudly stood the test of time. More Info »
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Take a tour of this "Crown Jewel" of baseball stadiums. More info »
Looking for specific details on how things work at Kauffman Stadium? Our A-to-Z Guide can answer your questions! More info »
Kauffman Stadium
One Royal Way or P.O. Box 419969 Kansas City, MO 64141 816-504-4040 or 1-800-6ROYALS
Park on the side of the stadium you enter! Check out all the tips for parking at "The K."Details »
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