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1) Laura Rozen -- proprietress of the amazing War and Piece blog -- has a wonderful new article up at Mother Jones (where she's a star at the magazine's powerhouse DC bureau) on Shlomi Michaels -- a former Israeli commando who seems to turn up in the oddest places in US foreign policy. For instance, in the spring of 2004, Rozen reports that Michaels met with a former CIA agent in the office of GOP string-puller Ed Rogers, bringing along material that he claimed might help George W. Bush get reelected. Rozen writes that:
He had a well-placed Iraqi source—a former officer in an Iraqi military psychological operations unit, he said—who had gathered hundreds of pages of contracts, maps, and photographs documenting meetings between Iraqi and Ukrainian officials. The information, Michaels said, would prove that Iraq had pursued a covert chemical weapons program. Michaels wanted Bruner to set up a meeting for him and the Iraqi source with the CIA. To turn over the whole dossier, he wanted $1 million.
Rozen weaves a fascinating story about the nexus between spooks and security and reconstruction and runaway capitalism that draws in former CIS director James Woolsey and former FBI director Louis Freeh. It's terrific journalism. Read it here.
2) Ken Silverstein -- the Washington editor at Harper's magazine -- caused a stir in July 2007 when he published a devastating article that showed Washington lobbyists at their absolute worst.
What Silverstein did was undercover muckraking at its very best:
(a) He crafted a fictitious interest group.
(b) He chose a vicious repressive regime that the imaginary firm wanted to rehabilitate. In this case, it was the Stalinist Central Asian "republic" of Turkmenistan.
(c) He went looking for lobbying help to burnish the Turkmen regime in Washington's corridors of lobbying power.
Surprise, surprise. Silverstein found DC lobbying firms jockeying madly to help out a nation firmly on every world human rights watch, despite the odious nature of the regime and the flimsy cover story he concocted to seek their help.
Equally unsurprising is the fact that media scolds --led by lead scold Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post -- actually pilloried the messenger. As Silverstein noted in a follow-up piece, "Earlier this year, when I was working with my editors to plan out a story about lobbyists willing to work for the Stalinist regime in Turkmenistan, I predicted that after the story was published Washington Post columnist Howard Kurtz would write a hand-wringing, tut-tutting column about my tactics. Right on schedule, Kurtz delivers his opinion. 'No matter how good the story,' he writes, 'lying to get it raises as many questions about journalists as their subjects.'"
Yep, that's just the kind of nonsense you'd expect from a media columnist whose wife is a media spinner and lobbyist largely associated with conservative causes. Oooh, pity the poor lobbyists busted as they salivate over Stalinist cash by journalists with gumption and a knack for exploiting the greed and gullibility of the powerful.
Anyway, Silverstein's article is now a terrific book called Turkmeniscam (Random House). You can get a sense of how it's being received in this online book forum at Firedoglake, hosted by journalist Lindsey Beyerstein. You can also buy Turkmeniscam here. Do so.


text:
to and from
For whatever reason I've always found getting to Sumba an awful lot easier than getting from it. Something no doubt to do with information. However Sumba, as with most of Indonesia, operates on the principle that information about a place is best found in the place itself. This means that making a visit to anywhere not on a route others are taking requires a fair amount of breath holding, counting to three and diving into dark places hoping that air and light will appear soon. Whether you come by plane or boat your planes may well have to shift a day or so but hopefully by having an understanding of the overall picture of the thing you'll get through it with as much fun and as little stress as possible.
There are are currently two airlines flying to Sumba. Merpati Nusantara Airlines and Trans Nusa. This is mostly contrary to any information that travel agents outside of Bali or NTT will give you. The majority of people believe there to be only one. But again I repeat there are two. Merpati and Trans Nusa. And while the routes fluctuate ever so slightly depending on demand they both roughly follow the following pattern
which when translated means you can definitely fly to/from Denpasar and to/from Kupang and you may be able to fly to Maumere. Between the two airlines there's pretty much a flight in both directions every day with Merpati taking the Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday options with a flight to Kupang on Mondays and Trans picking up the Wednesday and Sundays's with occasional flight on Fridays and a Monday flight to Kupang.
Currently Merpati sleeps in Denpasar and Trans Nusa sleeps in Kupang which means the Merpati flights starts first thing in the morning in Denpasar and finishes there late afternoon (11am to Kupang; 4 pm to Denpasar. Trans Nusa does the reverse (9am to Denpasar; 3pm to Kupang).
The Trans Nusa plane is a little smaller, a little friendlier, better serviced and a little cheaper. It's also a little harder to get. Best thing to do is ask in the airport in Denpasar before you leave or phone them.
Both flights in either direction will set you back in or around Rp1,000,000 (Roughly US$110 or €70).
From Kupang you can fly pretty much anywhere in NTT and from Denpasar you can just fly pretty much anywhere.
There are various routes and means here. The Pelni Boat "Awu" stops here twice on its fortnightly circuit which goes: Waingapu, Lembar (Lombok), Denpasar (Bali), Waingapu (Sumba), Ende (Flores), Kupang (Timor), Kalabahi (Alor), Loweleba (Lembata), Maumere (Flores), Makassar(Sulawesi), Maumere (Flores), Loweleba (Lembata), Kalabahi (Alor), Kupang (Timor)
It is definitely the safest and most comfortable option on the water. Phone the Pelni Office to ask one of the dates and then calculate on your own from there (the second Waingapu is three days after the first). A ticket to Denpasar for passengers cost about Rp. 284,000 and to Kupang Rp.170,000 and your pretty safe bringing lots of luggage.
On Friday's there a Ferry to Ende, Sabu, Kupang, Rote.
On Tuesday's there's a Ferry to Aimere in Flores and those of you interested in further adventure could leave from Waikelo in West Sumba to Sape ( Bima, Sumbawa) on your way to spot some Komodo dragons.
All Ferry's are cheap, if not cheerful. Operated by ASDP and can be phoned if you're brave.

subset: commoncrawl


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The League was established not to support a separate Anglican version of Catholicism, but to evangelise society and the Christians of that society in the Catholic faith and so to bring about the corporate reunion of the Church of England with "the rock whence it was hewn" - the Catholic Church in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome. The challenge was large in 1913, 17 years after the blow of Apostolicae Curae, but a setback did not deflect the founders from the truth about the nature and divine constitution of the Church. Christ founded but one Church for all, not several for many diverse people. Thus in 1908 the Church Unity Octave had been started by Anglicans (Paul Wattson and Spencer Jones) to pray for the Catholic unity of Christianity. It was the League and no other that promoted this devotion, which would later become the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, when no others would. Paul Wattson, superior of the Friars of the Atonement, prophetically led his community into full communion in the Catholic Church where they have worked generously ever since for Christian Unity into the age of the modern ecumenical movement. in the 1920s Anglican-Papalists and Anglo-Catholics undertook discussions with the Belgian Primate, Cardinal Mercier, that struck upon the idea of an "Anglican Church united not absorbed". This phrase has inspired Anglo-Catholicism ever since, until it became a mainstream aspiration of the Anglican Communion as a whole. In the 1930s it was the League that fostered contacts with European Catholics when few others would or could, notably Fr Paul Couturier, the visionary who took the Church Unity Octave and transformed it into the means to spiritual ecumenism, a phrase enshrined in the Second Vatican Council's Decree on Ecumenism, as the path to the conversion of all Christians to Christ and thus towards each other in the deepening unity of the Church.
When from the 1980s onwards it became clear that the Anglican communion was resolving upon a different course from one that would lead to unity, members of the League led discussions with Catholic bishops in England to find a way to realise long held hopes for an Anglican church united not absorbed. In 2009, these thoroughly explored plans themselves led to the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus and the establishment of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham the following year for Anglicans seeking to be Catholics while retaining elements of their canonical, liturgical and spiritual patrimony - as well as their corporate mutual belonging.
The League was the first "third party" to support this new development unequivocally, both as an important outworking of Ad Gentes, Lumen Gentium and indeed Catholic ecumenism in a very fast changing world of overlapping faiths, cultures and associations by which we belong to one another - the diversity that is the measure of the Church's universality. Ever since we have been its advocate as a prophetic signal to ecumenism and the contribution it can make to the work of all Christians alongside each other, with integrity for the legitimate tradition of each, towards the unity expected and demanded by Christ. We have indeed devoted a considerable proportion of our modest assets to help the nascent Ordinariate in England to get on its feet, because it realises the objective of the League's founders and historic membership - not the whole story of Anglican-Catholic reconciliation, nor the last word, which is yet to come - but the mission and culture of Anglican Christianity embedded not merely in an ecumenical process for future hope of what might be but here and now in the wholeness of the Catholic Church, as part of all that is and needs to be to realise the Universal Church of Christ that perfectly subsists in it.
So it was that His Excellency Mgr Keith Newton readily agreed to be the one to celebrate our first Centenary Eucharist. We were delighted and honoured, the more so because it was the first occasion on which the newly authorised eucharistic rite of the Anglican Use for the Ordinariates was offered in England. In a sense this was strange for the League as it had once historically nailed its colours to the mast of using the Roman Rite, not as an imitation of Rome, but because it was the only available canonical rite in the western Latin Church. To the founders, since the Book of Common Prayer rite was inadequate to the mission of Catholic proclamation and practice and had been imposed by the civil power, there was no question of using a version of the Prayer Book like 1928 aimed at meeting some Anglo-Catholic aspirations but also at excluding the principles of Papalism and reunion with Rome, nor of a rite that mixed elements of Anglican worship with elements of the Roman rite - this had no legitimacy and even the Interim Rite with episcopal tolerance, or official sanction of the doomed 1928 Revised Prayer Book thrown out by Parliament, was objectionable to the League as unprincipled. Yet here we were celebrating a version of the Roman rite in traditional English translation, with elements of the historic Anglican liturgical patrimony. Here was the Roman Canon, alongside the Collect for Purity, the Prayer Book Gloria, Sanctus and Agnus, the Prayer Book Confession, the Comfortable Words, the Prayer of Humble Access in full, and the Prayer of Thanksgiving (the version from the Book of Divine Worship already in use in the Pastoral Provision for Anglican Use parishes in the US, which corrected the impression of Receptionism but also made some novel changes to the grammatical constructions, presumably on the ground of simplification, which can trip up the rhythm of what one is repeating from memory).
Fr Mark, our priest director, who had once been an Anglican cathedral precentor, remarked, it was good to go to a new version of the rite of mass where you did not have to learn new words.
The readings were Ephesians 4 (1-7, 11-13) and John 10 (11-16). The proper of the mass was provided in a Votive for the Unity of Christians, and enabled the use of the principal chants from the Roman rite, along with carefully chosen and deployed hymns from the Anglican tradition. The music was as follows.
- Introductory Hymn: O thou, who at thy Eucharist didst pray - by William Henry Turton, to the tune, Song 1 by Orlando Gibbons.
- Introit: God in his holy habitation (Deus in loco sancto) - Gregorian
- Choral Setting of Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus and Agnus: Communion Service in C, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, 1852-1924, completed by Jeremy Dibble in 2010
- Gradual: Psalm 122, "I was glad" - translated by Coverdale and sung to a chant by Sir George Clement Martin
- Alleluia: Ego Pastor Bonus - Gregorian
- Offertory Hymn: Thy hand, O God, has guided - by Edward hayes Plumptre, to the tune Thornbury, by Basil Harwood
- Communion: Amen dico vobis - Gregorian
- Motet: Beati quorum via - by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford
- Post Communion Hymn: The Church's One Foundation - by Samuel John Stone, to the tune, Aurelia, by Samuel Sebastian Wesley


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This soup is perfect for a mid week Winter meal, or just on one of those nights when cooking is a chore you simply cannot face.
Soups are perfect MamaBake fare! For this red lentil soup, simply make your big batch up to the point of adding milk, then decant into containers for freezing.
(serves 12)
1 cup olive oil
3 onions – peeled and finely diced
3 tablespoons plain flour (I used gluten free)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1.5 cups red lentils
1.5 litres vegetable stock (or water)
750mls milk
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil.
Add the onions and cook, stirring regularly, until soft and translucent.
Add the flour and tomato paste and stir well.
Stir and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the red lentils and stir to coat in the onion mix.
Add the stock (or water), bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft.
Add the milk and continue to simmer until warmed through.
Serve as is, or blended, seasoned with salt and pepper.
Freezer Guide: this soup can be frozen, once cooled, prior to adding the milk. When reheating, add the milk once the defrosted soup has returned to a simmer.
Recipe adapted from here.


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Roger Williams, pianist to presidents, dies
Los Angeles --
Roger Williams, the virtuoso pianist who topped the Billboard pop chart in the 1950s and played for nine U.S. presidents during a long career, died Saturday. He was 87.
Mr. Williams died at his home in Los Angeles of complications from pancreatic cancer, according to his former publicist Rob Wilcox.
Known as an electrifying stage performer and an adept improviser, Mr. Williams effortlessly switched between musical styles.
Mr. Williams' 1955 hit "Autumn Leaves" was the only piano instrumental to reach No. 1 on the Billboard pop charts. It remains the best-selling piano record of all time, with more than 2 million sold.
Nicknamed the "pianist to the presidents," Mr. Williams played for every commander in chief from Harry Truman to George H.W. Bush. His last trip to the White House was in 2008, when he performed at a luncheon for then-first lady Laura Bush.
Mr. Williams was good friends with Jimmy Carter, with whom he shared a birthday. When the two men turned 80, Mr. Williams played a 12-hour marathon at the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum in Atlanta, with the former president in attendance.
Born Louis Wertz in Nebraska, he started playing piano at age 3. By age 9 he was prolific with several instruments and could play anything by ear.
As a teenager, he was given his own 15-minute radio show on KRNT, which was broadcast live from a Des Moines, Iowa, department store. Later he hosted a program on WHO, where he first met the station's young sports announcer, Ronald "Dutch" Reagan. The two men started a friendship that lasted over 60 years.
Mr. Williams moved to New York to study jazz at the Juilliard School of Music. He won performing contests on the popular radio shows "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" and Dennis James' "Chance of a Lifetime."
Soon after, Mr. Williams was signed to Kapp Records, where founder Dave Kapp was determined to find a hit for the young prodigy. Producers decided on a shortened arrangement of "Autumn Leaves," which Mr. Williams recalled first clocked in at three minutes and three seconds.
"In those days the disc jockeys would not play a record over three minutes long. So Kapp asked if I could play the thirds a little faster. I did, and it came in at two minutes and 59 seconds," Mr. Williams said, according to Wilcox.
It was an instant hit, and catapulted Mr. Williams to national renown. He followed it up with a string of hits including "Born Free," "The Impossible Dream," "Theme From Somewhere In Time," and "Lara's Theme from Dr. Zhivago."
Mr. Williams became a popular guest on the top television shows of the time including "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Perry Como Show" and "The Steve Allen Show."
He is the first pianist to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Steinway & Sons.
On his 75th birthday, Mr. Williams played a 12-hour marathon at Steinway Hall in New York City, a stunt he repeated several time in the following years.
In March, Mr. Williams announced on his website that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Mr. Williams is survived by his daughters, Laura Fisher and Alice Jung, and five grandchildren.


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- Research article
- Open Access
Evolution of male genitalia: environmental and genetic factors affect genital morphology in two Drosophila sibling species and their hybrids
- Ignacio M Soto1Email author,
- Valeria P Carreira1,
- Juan J Fanara1 and
- Esteban Hasson1
© Soto et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2007
- Received: 28 September 2006
- Accepted: 15 May 2007
- Published: 15 May 2007
The rapid evolution of genital morphology is a fascinating feature that accompanies many speciation events. However, the underlying patterns and explanatory processes remain to be settled. In this work we investigate the patterns of intraspecific variation and interspecific divergence in male genitalic morphology (size and shape) in the cactophilic sibling species Drosophila buzzatii and D. koepferae. Genital morphology in interspecific hybrids was examined and compared to the corresponding parental lines.
Despite of being siblings, D. buzzatii and D. koepferae showed contrasting patterns of genital morphological variation. Though genitalic size and shape variation have a significant genetic component in both species, shape varied across host cacti only in D. buzzatii. Such plastic expression of genital shape is the first evidence of the effect of rearing substrate on genitalic morphology in Drosophila. Hybrid genital morphology was not intermediate between parental species and the morphological resemblance to parental strains was cross-dependent.
Our results suggest the evolution of different developmental networks after interspecific divergence and the existence of a complex genetic architecture, involving genetic factors with major effects affecting genital morphology.
- Wing Length
- Male Genitalia
- Isofemale Line
- Genital Morphology
- Elliptic Fourier Analysis
The evolutionary processes governing the divergence of animal genitalia are mostly unknown and constitute one of the most intriguing pieces of a mayor puzzle that is speciation [1–5]. In many arthropod groups male genitalia evolves at particularly high rates and this special feature constitutes the mechanistic basis of its use as a specific diagnostic trait [6, 7]. Notwithstanding the taxonomic importance of genitalic morphology, intraspecific studies addressing the causes and consequences of intraspecific morphological variation are scarce. Such studies, using methods successfully applied in evolutionary biology, offer the opportunity to gain new insights into the evolutionary processes and forces involved in genitalic evolution [3].
Three main hypotheses have been proposed to explain the evolution of genital morphology: the lock and key, the pleiotropy and the sexual selection hypotheses. The lock and key hypothesis [8] states that male genitalia evolve as a species-specific trait in order to properly fit in female genitalic organs. This theory predicts a canalized development of male genitalia and low levels of phenotypic and genotypic variation, since genitalic traits are expected to be under strong stabilizing selection [3, 9].
The pleiotropy hypothesis assumes that genital variation is largely neutral. Since genital and non-genital morphological traits are implicitly genetically correlated, changes of allele frequencies at loci pleiotropically affecting general morphology and genitalia may lead to rapid and arbitrary evolution of genitalic traits [2, 10, 11]. The sexual selection hypothesis states that morphological differences in male genitalia are related to variation in fertilization success and that morphological divergence is driven by sexual selection [3].
The study of the evolution of male genitalia may be even more complicated not only because it may be influenced by both natural and sexual selection, but also because it's phenotypic expression might be influenced by environmental factors [12] as occurs for other morphological traits. Thus, the joint study of intraspecific variation and interspecific divergence may provide a useful approach for the understanding of the underlying genetic architecture of genital traits and the evolutionary processes involved [13–15]. In this sense, it has been suggested that differences in genital morphology between closely related species would be largely polygenic [16]. Such claim is based on the single study comparing the morphology of male posterior lobe in two closely related species of Drosophila and their hybrids [17]. Therefore, it is clear that more studies are necessary to further support this affirmation and to determine whether simple genetic differences can account for the evolution of fast evolving and complex structures such as male genitalia.
The aedeagus, which is the intromittent organ of male genitalia [18], is considered the main diagnostic trait for species recognition in the Drosophila repleta group [6]. To this group belong the South American D. buzzatii and D. koepferae [19, 20], which are morphologically undistinguishable except for conspicuous differences in male genitalia. These species are reproductively isolated by partial ecological isolation [21], sexual isolation and post mating barriers [22]. Both species can breed and feed on the necrotic tissues of several cacti species [23, 24], however they exhibit a certain degree of niche separation; D. buzzatii is mainly adapted to breed on decaying tunas (genus Opuntia), while D. koepferae prefers the necrotic stems of columnar cacti of the genera Cereus and Trichocereus [21]. Though sexual isolation between these species is strong, behavioral barriers can be forced in the laboratory, since D. buzzatii males can inseminate D. koepferae females and female hybrid offspring can be successfully backcrossed to D. buzzatii males [25]. Furthermore, recent population genetic studies have provided indirect evidence of past or recent gene flow between these species [26, 27].
The knowledge of the ecology of these cactophilic Drosophila [21, 24, 28, 29], coupled with the possibility to produce interspecific hybrids in the laboratory and the potential for natural hybridization, makes this pair of species into an excellent model for speciation studies, particularly those addressing the genetic and ecological basis of morphological change associated to interspecific divergence.
In this work we investigate the sources of phenotypic variation, genetic and environmental, by examining genitalic size and shape in flies of several isofemale lines of both species and interspecific hybrids raised in two different species of host cacti.
A total of 606 males were analyzed in this study (252 D. buzzatii, 294 D. koepferae and 60 interspecific hybrids).
Shape variation.
Intraespecific analyses
Interespecific analysis
D. koepferae
D. buzzatii
Parental species + hybrids
Shape variables
Parental species size and shape variation
Sources of variation of male genitalia in Drosophila buzzatii and D. koepferae.
Sources of variation
Species (Sp)
Species × Cactus
Drosophila koepferae
Line × Cactus
Drosophila buzzatii
Line × Cactus
The results of intraspecific ANOVAs also revealed important differences (Table 2b). In D. buzzatii the Cactus by Line interaction was significant and accounted for a relatively high percentage (12.1%) of phenotypic variance in aedeagus size. However, only the Line factor was significant in D. koepferae, neither the Cactus effect nor the Cactus by Line interaction were significant.
In summary, according to our experimental design, based on the isofemale line technique [30], shows that aedeagus size is not only phenotypically plastic, but also that substantial heterogeneity exists among lines in their plastic response, suggesting that plasticity has a genetic basis in D. buzzatii. In D. koepferae, in contrast, our results show that variation in aedeagus size has a genetic component, devoid of any plastic response in relation to the breeding substrate. According to the results of the MANOVAs, variability among lines in aedeagus shape was significant in both species (Table 2a, b). The proportion of total shape variation explained by the interaction Cactus by Line also differed between species. Approximately 9% of total shape variance was explained by the Cactus by Line interaction in D. koepferae. This interaction was significant for PC3 which is related with variation in thickness in both dorsal and ventral median portions of the organ (Figure 1). Conversely, in D. buzzatii, the Cactus by Line interaction was significant for PC1, which describes changes in the process of the ventral margin (Figure 1) and accounts for an important proportion (30%) of the explained morphological variance.
Allometric patterns
Within organ allometry. Correlation coefficients between size and each one of the principal components (PC) scores accounting for shape variation in the aedeagus of D. koepferae, D. buzzatii and F1 hybrids.
Shape variables
Genital size
D. koepferae
D. buzzatii
F1 Hybrids
Total allometric shape variance (%)
We also studied the relationship between variables describing size of male genitalia and wing length. These variables were not significantly correlated in D. koepferae (r = 0.13, p = 0.07), whereas in D. buzzatii, we detected a significant allometric relationship (r = 0.32, p < 0.001). Furthermore, aedeagus size and wing length varied isometrically in D. buzzatii as suggested by a coefficient of allometry not significantly different from 1 (slope value of linear adjusted function = 0.82; 95% confidence interval values [0.42 to 1.23]).
Aedeagus morphology in interspecific hybrids
Four interspecific crosses, out of 25 attempted, (crosses 4855, 4853, 8832 and 3512) yielded enough hybrid progeny as to perform the present study. These results are in agreement with previous studies reporting strong premating isolation between D. buzzatii and D. koepferae [31]. In order to asses hybrid male fertility, and prior to dissection, hybrid males were aged for 1 week and placed for 5 days in vials with several mature virgin females of D. buzzatii or D. koepferae. In all cases hybrid males failed to produce offspring even though copulation attempts were observed in the vials. Hybrid progeny obtained in crosses 4853 and 8832 could only be tested in vials prepared with the medium prepared with fermenting Opuntia due to low numbers of hybrid larvae, while in the other crosses the yield of hybrid progeny was high enough to be reared in both cactus media.
Sources of variation of male genitalia interspecific crosses.
Sources of variation
Genotype × Cactus
Genotype × Cactus
Significant shape differences among genotypes were detected in all crosses (Table 4). Post hoc comparisons showed that all genotypes differed from each other in the shape of the genitalia at least in PC1 shape scores (p < 0.001 in all cases). However, neither the Cactus factor nor the Cactus by Genotype interaction were significant in the crosses in which hybrids were raised in the two cactus media (4855 and 3512).
Aedeagus morphology is a diagnostic trait that along with chromosomal inversions provides a guide for species identification in the genus Drosophila and particularly in the D. repleta species group [6, 19, 20, 32]. Several studies have, recently, turned the attention to the D. buzzatii cluster, a guild of cactophilic flies, in active cladogenesis, that inhabit the arid regions of Southern South America [33]. However, recent molecular phylogenetic studies [34] cast doubts on the reliability of male genital (aedeagus) morphology to infer the evolutionary relationships in the D. buzzatii cluster [33]. For instance, mitochondrial DNA sequence data place D. koepferae as the sister species of D. buzzatii, albeit the comparative analysis of aedeagus morphology indicates a close relationship with D. serido and allied species [34]. These results indicate that rates of evolution of male genitalia may be heterogeneous among branches of the clusters' phylogenetic tree. In this context, our study, motivated by such inconsistency between molecular and morphological data, provides valuable information that could help to distinguish the relevant factors involved in morphological variation of male genitalia in D. buzzatii and D. koepferae, a pair of species in the heart of an evolutionary conflict.
The first issue raised by our study is that aedeagus size and shape vary substantially in both species, and, that a significant portion of variation is genetically determined. Moreover, the inclusion, in our experimental design, of semi-natural rearing media prepared with different cactus hosts permitted the characterization of morphological variation in terms of phenotypic plasticity in both species. In this sense, phenotypic plasticity in genital morphology was evident in D. buzzatii: flies emerged in alternative cactus hosts showed significant differences in aedeagus size and shape. Moreover, the analysis of the sources of variation also revealed a significant Line by Cactus interaction in D. buzzatii, i.e. isofemale lines did not respond in the same way to the two environments tested, suggesting that the plastic response of genital morphology has a genetic basis [35]. Such a plastic expression of genital morphology constitutes the first evidence of a rearing substrate affecting genital morphology in Drosophila, and is in line with a recent study showing a plastic response of aedeagus morphology in relation to rearing temperature in D. mediopunctata [12]. In contrast, comparisons between males of D. koepferae emerged in different cactus media did not reveal any sign of phenotypic plasticity, suggesting a more canalized (non plastic) development of male genitalia.
Another relevant point is that patterns of allometry within (aedeagus size and shape) and between organs (aedeagus and wing size) also differed between D. buzzatii and D. koepferae. In the latter, shape and size of male genitalia, as well as aedeagus size and wing length, appeared to be largely uncoupled as suggested by the low level of within and between organ allometries. These results suggest that differences among flies in wing length are not expected to be accompanied by changes in the size of the genitalia, indicating that the factors involved in development of wings and male genitalia are largely independent in D. koepferae. In contrast, aedeagus shape and size were significantly correlated in D. buzzatii, suggesting that factors affecting size (for instance the type of cactus host) may also indirectly affect the shape of the organ.
In D. buzzatii, body size related traits (such as wing length), known to be under natural selection [36–38], are affected by the nature of the breeding substrate [21, 39–41]. Furthermore, a positive correlation between body size and male reproductive success is well known in this species [38, 42–44]. If the phenotypic correlation observed between aedeagus size and wing length has a genetic basis, any directional selective pressure affecting body size (wing length) would indirectly affect the evolution of male genitalia.
Several features of the mating system, such as female remating frequency, premating time, copulation duration, interval between successive matings, and progeny numbers, have been shown to be genetically variable in D. buzzatii [45]. However, the connection between these traits and male genital morphology has not been explored. Indeed, the implications of our present results in genital evolution and speciation would obviously depend on the kind of relationship between genital morphology and mating success, as it was reported to occur in other insect taxa such as Heteroptera [46] and Coleoptera [15].
To this point we have presented basic features of the patterns of variation of aedeagus morphology in D. buzzatii and D. koepferae, now, we would like to examine whether our data allow a critical evaluation of the plausibility of the three main hypotheses proposed to explain genital evolution. Though our results are not entirely conclusive in this respect, the extensive phenotypic and genetic variation in aedeagus morphology are strong evidence against the "lock and key" hypothesis, that predicts low levels of variation (both phenotypic and genetic) in genital structures. However, the correlation between aedeagus morphology and wing length, along with the condition dependence (phenotypic plasticity in relation to cactus hosts) are in agreement, at least in D. buzzatii, with predictions of the hypothesis of pleiotropy. Concerning the third hypothesis, sexual selection, we must await for the results of experiments testing the relationship, if any, between genital morphology and reproductive performance.
The final issue we would like to address is whether our study allows us to envisage the genetic architecture underlying differences in male genitalia between D. buzzatii and D. koepferae. In this sense, our results seem in conflict with the single available work comparing genital morphology in hybrids and parental species [17, 47]. Genital size and shape of hybrid males were not intermediate and the morphological resemblance of hybrids to either D. buzzatii or D. koepferae varied among crosses. In fact, hybrid's morphological distance to D. buzzatii and D. koepferae depended on the parental strains employed in the crosses. In none of the 4 crosses hybrid morphology was phenotypically intermediate (Figure 4). Hybrids from crosses 4853 and 8832 tended to be more similar to the D. koepferae parental strain, while in crosses 3512 and 4855 the morphology of the hybrid genitalia resembled closer that of D. buzzatii male parent. These results seem to be incompatible with the idea that interspecific differences in the morphology of male genitalia are caused by polygenes with small additive effects as claimed by Coyne and Orr for D. simulans and D. mauritiana [16] (however, it should be noted that the authors in [47] acknowledged some degree of dominance and epistasis). Actually, our results suggest a complex genetic architecture probably involving a certain degree of dominance and the involvement of genetic factors with large effect.
However, there are certain differences between our study and Liu et al's [47] that are worth mentioning. The first relates to the part of the genitalia examined in each case, the intromittent organ in D. buzzatii and D. koepferae and the posterior lobe (a particular element of male genitalia in the D. melanogaster group [48]) in D. simulans and D. mauritiana. These organs perform different functions during copulation [48] and therefore their evolution might be governed by different processes. The second is methodological and can be avoided by applying our methodology to Liu et al's dataset. To this end, we captured the outlines available in the digital version of [47], and tested for shape differences between F1 hybrids and parental species. This reanalysis confirmed that F1 hybrids have an intermediate morphology between D. simulans and D. mauritiana (the morphological distances between hybrids to both parental phenotypes were not significantly different: F1, 18 =, 008, p = 0, 93). Another non trivial point, that may complicate our interpretation is the difference in the time of divergence between the members of the two pairs of species, since development in interspecific hybrids is a result of a balance between the effects of the degree of heterozygosity and the degree of genomic coadaptation (expected to increase/decrease as a function of divergence, respectively) and the outcome of the past selection pressures on the species studied (see [49]). D. simulans and D. mauritiana are two recently derived species that shared their last common ancestor 0.6 – 0.9 million years ago [50], while D. koepferae and D. buzzatii are older species that diverged 5 million years ago [26]. Finally, D. simulans and D. mauritiana are homosequential species, i.e. their basic polytene chromosome banding patterns are identical [51], whereas two inversions became fixed since divergence in D. buzzatii and D. koepferae. In addition, rich second chromosome inversion polymorphisms have evolved independently in the latter pair of species [20, 23]. Our knowledge of inversion polymorphisms is mostly restricted to D. buzzatii, in which polymorphic inversions are known to affect morphological and fitness related traits (see [52] and references therein). Although there is no direct evidence linking inversions and genital morphology, inversions may affect aedeagus morphology via its effect on general body size (recall the allometric relationship detected between aedeagus size and wing length in D. buzzatii). In this context, the idea that morphology (size and shape) of an organ potentially involved in species recognition (such as aedeagus morphology), might be associated to polymorphic inversions is consistent with recent theories linking chromosomal rearrangements and reproductive isolation [53, 54], and deserves further investigation.
Our comparative study of patterns of intraspecific variation in male genital size and shape and intra and inter-organ allometries in D. koepferae and D. buzzatii suggest different scenarios of genital evolution and probably the evolution of different developmental networks. Moreover, our study suggests that extrapolations across species are unwarranted, different evolutionary mechanisms might be involved in the evolution of genital morphology even in closely related species.
Experimental design
Fifteen isofemale lines (lines hereafter) of each species, derived from collections in the locality of Suyuque (San Luis province, Argentina), were employed in the experiments outlined below. In this area both species coexist in nearly equal proportions (45% of captured females were D. koepferae, 55% D. buzzatii). The advantages of the use of the isofemale line technique in quantitative evolutionary genetics have been thoroughly described in [30]. Briefly, the isofemale line technique is a convenient methodology for the analysis of quantitative traits under laboratory conditions. All experiments described below were conducted 24 generations after the foundation of isofemale lines.
Thirty first-instar larvae from each line were seeded in vials containing 6 ml. of media prepared with artificially fermented cactus (see [41] for details). Two different cactus species, Opuntia sulphurea and Trichocereus candicans which are commonly used as breeding substrates by D. buzzatii and D. koepferae in the locality sampled, were employed for the preparation of the semi-natural media. For each line, 4 replicated vials were run in each cactus type.
Five lines of each species were randomly chosen to generate interspecific hybrids. All possible combinations were attempted (25 potential crosses). F1 hybrids were produced by crossing 25 virgin females of a D. koepferae line with 50 males of a D. buzzatii line. The reciprocal cross invariably failed to produce viable progeny. Crosses were identified according to the number of the female parental line (D. koepferae) preceding the number of the male parental (D. buzzatii) line (e.g. the cross between D. koepferae line 48 and D. buzzatii line 55 was designated as 4855). Batches of 30 first-instar hybrid larvae were transferred to culture vials containing one of the two 'semi-natural' media. Four replicated vials were run per every combination of cactus and cross when the number of hatched larvae allowed it. The hybrid status of the descendants was ascertained by the cytological analysis of the polytene chromosomes of progeny larvae grown in vials run in parallel.
All cultures were maintained at 25 +/- 1°C with a 12:12 light/dark photoperiod until the emergence of adults. Adult flies were simultaneously collected and sexed under light CO2 anesthesia.
The aedeagus and both wings were dissected from 2 to 5 males emerged in each replicate. Aedeagi were mounted on slides and photographed with a digital camera mounted on a microscope at 400 × magnification. Wings were also mounted and ventral views of wing images were captured with a digital camera attached to a binocular microscope (25 ×) connected to a computer. In each image, we scored total wing length (WL) using TpsDig [55].
Morphological quantification
The area of each aedeagus (in pixels) was calculated from the digital images and considered as an estimator of the size of the organ. We performed a normalization of the descriptors based on the first harmonic ellipse that corresponds to the first Fourier approximation to the contour information (reviewed in [60]). Thus, size, orientation and starting position of the contours were standardized in accordance with the size and alignment of the major axis of the first ellipse, leading to representations of the organs that are only based on internal properties of the outlines (i.e. shape) [56].
The variance-covariance matrix of the 120 (4 per harmonic) estimated EFDs coefficients was used as input in a principal components analysis. This procedure allowed us to summarize the information assessed in the coefficients and reduce the dimensionality of the variables [61] in a lower number of principal components (PC). Thus, the resulting scores of each PC of each specimen could be considered as reorganized uncorrelated morphological traits representing different aspects of total shape variation [57] that were used as shape descriptor variables in subsequent analyses. For the sake of simplicity and in order to avoid components accounting for possible biologically meaningless morphological variation only the first 5 components of both intraspecific and interspecific analyses were considered as shape variables in the ANOVAs.
We worked with two sets of PC scores. The first set of principal components were calculated from the matrix of coefficients derived form the analysis of the outlines of the genitalia of males of the parental lines employed in successful interspecific crosses and the hybrids. The second set was obtained separately for each species improving the assessment of intraspecific variation in aedeagus morphology by avoiding the noise resulting from conspicuous interspecific morphological differences in the estimation of the PCs. This set was used in the evaluation of intraspecific sources of shape variation. Preliminary analyses with this technique showed that it is repeatable and reliable in species discrimination [62].
Analysis of variance of aedeagus size and shape
Both interspecific and intraspecific size differences were investigated by means of ANOVAs, with Species (2 levels, fixed factor), Cactus (2 levels, fixed factor) and Line (nested in Species random factor) as main sources of variation. The variable was log-transformed to ensure homoscedasticity. According to our experimental design, in the ANOVAs for species, a significant cactus effect (C) may be interpreted as phenotypic plasticity, while significant differences among isofemale lines as due to genetic differences (since all lines were reared under the same conditions). Finally, a significant L × C interaction may be construed as an estimation of genotype by environment interaction (GEI) or more explicitly, that the response of isofemale lines is not independent of the rearing cactus.
Shape variation was assessed by means of MANOVAs using the scores of each PC as dependent variables and Cactus and Line as main sources of variation.
In the presence of allometry, a fraction of the changes in shape might be explained by changes in the size of the organ. We were interested to comparatively evaluate the amount of allometric change in genital morphology in these species. Thus, we calculated Pearson's product-moment correlation matrix among shape scores and aedeagus size in each species separately to explore the relationship between aedeagus shape and general size of the aedeagus (within organ allometry).
We also evaluated the allometric relationship between aedeagus size and wing length, a trait correlated with overall body size, which in the studied species are known to be affected by the rearing substrate [41]. Size data were log-transformed prior to all analysis.
The principal components scores obtained by means of the general assessment of interspecific shape variation of parental lines and F1 hybrids were used in the examination of morphological patterns of variation in the offspring of interspecific crosses. Size was analyzed by means of an ANOVA and shape with a MANOVA. In both cases the principal factor was Genotype (both parents and the hybrids) and in those crosses in which hybrid larvae could be reared in both cactus hosts, Cactus was also considered as a fixed factor.
Statistica 6.0 [63] was used for statistical analyses and in all cases the corresponding assumptions were properly tested.
We especially thank D Roccatagliata and M Mudry for help during the early stages of this research. E. Soto helped during the data acquisition and made insightful comments during the writing of the manuscript and A. Korovaichuk greatly influenced the final draft. We also wish to thank to two anonymous reviewers for comments that helped to improve this paper. We also thank other members of our research group for helpful discussion. IS and VC are recipients of postgraduate scholarships of CONICET and Universidad de Buenos Aires, respectively. JJF and EH are members of Carrera del Investigador Científico of CONICET. This work was supported by grants of Universidad de Buenos Aires, ANPCyT and CONICET awarded to EH.
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Junkin' with Jenny K.February 19th, 2009 in blog
Have you ever wondered how another junker operates? I, for one, am always intrigued. JMS contributor JennyK was kind enough to invite JMS's Georgia Moon and me over for a little look-see and fun fest inside her lab. Organization is key when you are in the creative mode and Jenny has the art of "A Place for Everything and Everything In Its Place" down to a science. Take a look at some of Jenny's nifty ideas for being tidy with trash. Keep in mind, you don't need a large space to create a lab of your own. A vacant nook, a closet, or even a a cupboard can become a the lab of your dreams that helps you work more efficiently. With that said, Georgia was the only one to actually complete a project that day. You know what they say... you can lead a horse to water. Ha! I was too busy scouring through the treasures and Jenny too busy being the tour guide. That's our excuse and we're sticking to it! As for the organization, I think we may have left the lab a bit out of sorts. Sorry!
posted in: blog, container, artwork, organizer
Comments (14)
thanks for sharing.
Sandra Posted: 11:52 pm on March 5th
Sue - your narrative was so funny, and I would have been peeking into every nook and cranny too - so many treasures, and so little time, right????? (but, we do want to see your project too...) - Geo - nice job on your junk girl!! :)
I've been working on my basement work area for the last couple weeks (where does all that stuff come from anyway???), and hope to have it done in a week or so (gotta do it in bits and pieces - literally!) - so, will share some pics.. Jenny - in your "spare" time you could be an Organizational Junk Consultant!!! (All of us would keep you very busy!!!)
Thanks for sharing!
Kathy Posted: 9:46 am on February 23rd
I had equally as much fun having the junkin' gals over for some fun. It was just a ball and it was great to finally meet Sue in person. We laughed and laughed which is always the best part and it was so cool to watch Geo and Sue pick out lots of treasures to create with.
As ya'll can see, I've completely taken over the garage and the cars just have to park outside now. :-)
I appreciate all the great comments - it is really my place to disconnect and I am (and always will be) very happy to share!
ps - I would love to do a video - maybe I can convince Geo to do it with me...
Posted: 11:21 pm on February 21st
-MB Posted: 9:00 pm on February 21st
Lani Posted: 8:50 pm on February 20th
xojanis Posted: 4:19 pm on February 20th
Thanks for the best ever junk spot. You could sell tickets for show & tell!
alice Posted: 1:10 pm on February 20th
Now I'd like to see Georgia's creation and wonder if you and Jenny will finish yours off too. Looks like it was a blast! Great post.
Posted: 8:30 am on February 20th
Midge Posted: 10:24 pm on February 19th


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When ski season's over, we open Eastman Golf Links, a breathtaking 18-hole, semi public golf course, which is open daily for public play and membership.


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When word got to President Trump that FBI Director James Comey dropped the ball on what should be a slam-dunk against the Clinton regime, he had all he could take. He marched personally into the Hoover building, demanded a meeting with Comey and asked to be shown to the forensic evidence department.
When they got there, according to a source inside the White House, Trump wanted answers on how the agency's top-rated forensics team could have possibly not performed the tests necessary to complete a study on Vince Foster's exhumed body. The bullets, which could possibly have been tied to the Clintons, were never recovered before the body was stolen from the Naval Hospital at Norfolk.
Investigators now believe that the body was inside the ambulance found on fire in a parking lot just a few miles away but that it is now completely useless as evidence. President Trump was so livid that he fired the FBI Director of Forensic Evidence on the spot and issued a final warning to Comey:
"Either put Crooked Hillary away for good or you'll be the one looking for a new job."
The fired director, Edward Wheaton, apologized to his colleagues and the American people in a statement.
\Click on like button and support Donald Trump on facebook below:


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Plugin - Google reCAPTCHA 2.0 - No CAPTCHA (Spam protection)
The plugin can be downloaded by logging into our website using the account that holds the subscription and heading to Downloads >> My Downloads area.
Google recently released (this article was written on the 9th of December 2014) a more advanced version of reCAPTCHA, the No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA. The new technology included allows for a simplified user experience that requires much less interaction from human users, only enforcing the verifications (which got some radical improvements that we'll be presenting further along in this article) if it automatically detects a bot.
What it's all about
Everything in web design seems to be heading towards simplifying the user experience. The old, well-known reCAPTCHA Antispam was very effective for a long enough time but there are two main reasons for which it has become obsolete:
- Security-wise, it is no longer suitable (Google states that their recent research shows that modern AI can detect, with a 99.8% accuracy, distorted text and images)
- The user experience would get slowed down by the need to always type in the codes necessary to submit forms
The new No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA includes advanced bot detection algorithms and will only enable the verifications if suspicious activity is detected. It includes both the old method of typing in scrambled text, and a brand-new one in which you will be presented with an image and select, from a listing, the images that are associated with it (for example, if you are shown an image of a cat, you will need to select all images of cats from the listing).
RSForm!Pro and No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA
RSForm!Pro keeps up with the latest trends in spam prevention by including a plugin that provides the possibility to add a No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA field to any RSForm!Pro form.
Download and Install
Download the plugin
Or you can get the plugin from our website, in the Downloads — My Downloads section. Once you get there, click on the view all plugins and modules button associated with the RSForm!Pro license — RSForm!Pro Files — Plugins — Google No Captcha ReCAPTCHA v2 Plugin for Joomla! 3.x.
Installing it is done through the default Joomla! Extension Manager, the article linked below will guide you through the whole process:
How to install the plugin
After installing make sure to go to Extensions — Plugins and publish the "System - RSForm! Pro reCAPTCHA v2" plugin!
After installing and enabling the plugin you will see, in Components — RSForm!Pro — Configuration that a new tab was added, reCAPTCHAv2:
Three configuration parameters are required:
- Site Key: You can get this by registering your domain on the Google reCAPTCHA account
- Secret Key: You can get this by registering your domain on the reCAPTCHA account
- Language: Auto (Detected by Google) / Site (Joomla! language) - Translate the No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA field in the language used in the frontend. Either let Google detect the language, or use the Joomla! setting.
- Fallback for users without Javascript: Yes / No - A noscript tag will be added for users without Javascript active, if you'd like to support them.
- Use async & defer: Yes) / No - Setting this to Yes will set the async and defer attributes on the external ReCAPTCHA script tag.
- If you are an old reCAPTCHA user, there's no need to generate new keys for your domain, you can simply use the old reCAPTCHA Public and Private keys.
- If you're new to reCAPTCHA, use this link to get a reCAPTCHA account (Google account is required).
The Form Field
To add a No CAPTCHA reCAPTCHA field to your form, head to Components — RSForm!Pro — Manage Forms — edit your form — Components — scroll down to reCAPTCHA v2 and click on it. The field includes the following configuration tabs:
- Name: Type in an internal name for the field
- Caption: Type in the field's caption. This will be visible in the frontend
- Description: Type in a description for the field. Also visible in the frontend
- Validation Message: Provide a validation message that will be displayed if the field fails validation
- Theme: Light / Dark - Choose a visual theme for the field
- Type: Image / Audio - Choose a verification method
- Size: Normal / Compact / Invisible - Choose the HTML size attribute for the verification field
- Additional Attributes: Here you can add additional HTML attributes for the input field
The Invisible reCaptcha comes with a Badge Location functionality which allows you to choose between the following positions: Inline / Bottom Left / Bottom Right
46 persons found this article helpful.
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text: Hello all fellow bass players, I understand that these threads have been done before but i need some input. See i am just lost, and dont know what a new bass i should get. I play alot of -Beatles -The Who - Blues - Hendrix - Pink Floyd - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers as you can see classic rock. I was looking at a fender jazz in the time machine section but i dunno and I have even thought about a hofner. I jave played G&L and Lakeland, i wasnt impressed. So could someone give some advice that would be great.


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Another article by Monivette Cordiero on the Michael Cravey incident sheds a little more light on the incident.
Some interesting things to note in the article:
– Link to car chase video courtesy Monivette Cordeiro/Gaineville.com and the University of Florida → HERE
– Michael left his mom's home at 6:30 am which would be no big deal if her home wasn't an hour away from Gainesville. Kinda makes the stabbing a little before 7 a.m. implausible.
– While eating at McDonald's that infamous morning, Michael received a call from his brother who obviously was wondering what the heck was going on. His mom also
called texted him. Michael didn't know what they were talking about.
– The victims? Cliff Preston and wife Beckie Preston.
– Allegedly before the stabbing attack,
Michael Cliff Preston told the wife to run. She actually did and locked herself in the car, leaving her husband to fend for himself.
– The 911 caller? Karah Mechlowitz. She mentioned that Michael "seemed to be enjoying himself" the whole time this was going on. Uh…okay. That certainly makes sense when you take the wife's story into account, who reported that after stabbing her husband, Michael came back to the car she had locked herself in and began "slamming his fist" on the window. Yeah. That definitely sounds like a jolly guy.
– Remember how scared she was on the 911 call (not really but she tried to use words to insinuate she was)? Yeah. She allegedly used her car to block Michael from escaping. She was petrified.
– The police said they handcuffed Michael after shooting him, then performed CPR. But I'm certain in the CPR video his arms are not handcuffed.
– Oh man, there's so many details in this story my head just exploded.
For the FULL ARTICLE → www.gainesville.com


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Archive for the Tag 'Coimbatore'
HH JPS activities at Coimbatore. (18-04-2009)
Coimbatore, 18th of April, 2009.
Dear devotees,
Dandavat pranams.
Coimbatore, 18th of April, 2009.
We would like to submit a short report about the health and the preaching
activities of HH Jayapataka Swami.
As you all know Gurumaharaja is in Coimbatore city in south India having his
ayurvedic treatments which is helping him a lot in speeding up his recovery
and now he is in the super intensive stage with a lot of therapies and his
schedule is very tight, but nevertheless His Holiness, as a first class
preacher, always try to add some time for preaching and associating with
devotees to his daily schedule.
12-Apr-09, Report of GM's health by Santa Gopi dd
All glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada
Hare Krishna,
This is the report about Guru Maharaja's visit to ISKCON, Coimbatore temple
on Sunday 12th April.
Guru Maharaj had his regular treatments aurvedic and physiotheraphy. He
reached the temple by 7.30 P.M. He had Darshan of Lord Jaganath Baladev and
Subadra Devi. He did arathi to their Lordship and gave an enthusiastic
lecture as usual.
He did a Kirtan before he started the lecture, the lecture goes as follows
Lecture by H.H. Jayapataka Swami Maharaj – Coimbatore (12-04-2009)
Hare Krsna!
HH Jayapataka Swami leaves Mayapur for treatment at Coimbatore
Dear devotees,
Dandavat pranams.
Yesterday, 8th of April 2009, HH Jayapataka Swami left Sri Mayapur Dham
towards Coimbatore for his ayurvedic treatment, that will last till few days
before Narasimha Caturdasi, where His Holiness is scheduled to be back to
Sri Mayapur Dham. Gurumaharaja left early morning from the holy dham towards
Kolkata airport to catch the flight at 11:30 am by Jet Airways.


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With its annual Las Vegas backdrop, the International Consumer Electronics Show has been bringing together the world's best brands, tech gurus, and innovators for more than 40 years. And each year brings a new set of top tech trends that we'll be sure to see become the next consumer must-haves over the next 12 months.
Many are weighing in on the hottest trends at the show this year, so we thought we would share our perspective too!
1. Cloud Computing & Services
It's all about the cloud. Almost all of the top brands are announcing new devices and services that are connected – even some you wouldn't expect – like a toothbrush that can monitor your brushing activity. The cloud is more than a trend, however, it's the future – hence our own announcement at CES around Nuance Cloud Services – a configurable, connected platform that transforms devices, consumer electronics, services and mobile apps into intelligent personal assistants – irrespective of the platform they are running on. Leveraging our full portfolio of voice, natural language understanding, predictive input, and content, Nuance Cloud Services gives personal assistants both a brain and a personality – all tailored for the phone, tablet, TV, PC, car, mobile apps and even wearable devices. For instance, the new Dragon Assistant for Intel® RealSense™ Technology announced this week is tapping into the Nuance Cloud Services, as is our Dragon Mobile, Dragon TV, Dragon Drive, Dragon Mobile Assistant, Dragon Voicemail-to-Text offerings, and more.
2. Biometrics
From iris scanners to facial recognition and, of course, voice – biometrics has been a big topic at the show so far. Tablets that measure your pupil size to see what mood you're in, clothing and accessories that can monitor your every move (inside and out), and more are currently on display for folks to see. Nuance has long led innovation in voice biometrics for the world's leading banks and enterprises, and at this year's CES 2014, we are bringing the convenience and personalization of voice biometrics to consumer electronics. Today, we announced that ZTE is integrating our voice biometrics capabilities for quick and hands-free unlocking of their Android smartphone lineup – no PINS, passwords or swiping required. And earlier this week, Nuance announced the availability of voice biometrics for Dragon TV, creating an even more personalized TV experience through voice with the ability to speak, be recognized and authenticated, and have your very own menu appear with favorite shows, content and more.
3. Wearables
Wearables was among the biggest trends for 2013 – with the Samsung Galaxy Gear leading the way – and many more are following suit this week at CES 2014. We couldn't agree more that wearable devices are the next big thing in consumer devices, and have partnered with Omate to unveiling a vision for Dragon Mobile Assistant for wearable devices, displayed on Omate's TrueSmart Android smartwatch. With Dragon Mobile Assistant optimized for the smartwatch experience, people can immediately access game scores from their favorite sports team, quotes for their most important stocks, restaurant recommendations, local weather, and much more. Nuance is also showcasing its Swype keyboard designed specifically for smaller screen devices, like the smartwatch, supporting handwriting input for wearable devices as well as the ability to choose from a variety of mini-keyboard layouts.
4. Connected Cars
In a world of connected devices, consumers increasingly expect access to apps, content and mobile services behind the wheel. And at CES 2014, we saw a large trend of connected cars from numerous brands – including BMW, Audi, and more. Automakers globally are designing next-generation connected cars that keep drivers connected to relevant content without increasing driver distraction. Nuance's Dragon Drive is central to that experience, providing automakers with access to voice, content, applications and connectivity services all in one platform – totally customizable and optimized specifically for the in-car environment.
At CES 2014, Nuance's Dragon Drive can be experienced inside the updated Chrysler UConnect system and see how to launch their personal Pandora, iHeartRadio, Slacker Radio or Aha accounts, listen to incoming text messages using Nuance's text-to-speech capabilities and dictate a response back, use their voice to search Yelp, find and navigate to the most popular places to eat, shop, drink, relax and play in the area. Kia Motors' next-generation connected car prototype is also on display at CES powered by Nuance, showcasing Kia's vision for an in-car assistant experience that gives hands-free, eyes-free access to music, content, navigation, weather apps, and much more. Finally, QNX Software Systems will showcase the power of Nuance voice recognition in a new technology concept car based on a Mercedes CLA45 AMG.
5. Home Automation in the era of the Internet of Things
And, of course, connected cars are pulling up to connected homes, while we don our connected devices. Here you'll find smart refrigerators, smart beds and, of course, smart TV. Dragon Mobile Assistant on display at CES is connecting the dots between wearable innovation and home automation, showcasing how you can speak to your smartwatch to control the new Philips Hue lighting system to command and control lighting – pretty enlightening if you ask us.
Stay tuned for updates from us on Twitter to see what we're up to the rest of the week.
CES 2014 by