text:
Program Terminated. Fatal Exception Fault. Process Error. Not enough memory to complete operation.
Translation: I've croaked!
Don't act so naïve. You know darn well what these statements mean and you've seen them all before. The real problem when your lighting console starts to spit such epitaphs at you. At an inconvenient time it is mildly annoying. To see it after a 19-hour programming session can make you want to perform some sort of ancient Japanese sword ritual on yourself.
In a world where flattery will get you everywhere, these dire warnings usually send a lighting desk on a one-way trip down the nearest flight of stairs. However, such error messages are in reality a form of flattery. They congratulate the winning recipient on the fact that he or she has cracked the secret combination of key presses that render this fine piece of high technology absolutely useless. The task of whittling down any and all possible secret combinations most often lies with a very special group of people known as "the beta testers."
Beta testers are a unique breed of geek. While most people try to dodge dangerous button presses, the beta tester relishes in the glow of a "blue screen of death." They seek out computing crashes under simulated show situations so that the virtual reality remains virtual and doesn't rear its ugly head during your show. For a beta tester, it isn't enough to just suggest the implementation of a new tricky software tool. They get their kicks from stopping a console dead in its tracks; the true prize is achieved by finding the elusive, repeatable bug. That's the series of button presses that will immobilize a console's software time and time again. The main reason this is so enjoyable is because repeatable bugs are usually the easiest to document and fix.
Beta testing is very much a two-way street because finding bugs means absolutely nothing if action isn't taken to fix them. In this regard, the software developer more often than not, has the heavy burden of cranking out new software like an assembly line. The real hassle in all of this lies within the lines of digital code that comprise the actual software, which can potentially number in the millions. Change a single line of code and there's no telling where the fix of one bug can cause a domino effect of other problems elsewhere within the code.
Staying on top of all of this is not only a daunting task but is also the answer to the most obvious question. If there is so much beta testing being done, then why has every programmer and designer on the planet witnessed multiple console crashes on their shows? Understanding my previous statement is essential toward having some sympathy for software developers. It is almost mathematically impossible to figure out what could possibly cause a software crash under every possible situation.
I've had the pleasure of being involved in the beta testing process of many lighting consoles that have been developed over the past decade and two console manufacturers stand out in my mind as having been incredible savvy in directing the whole process of testing software. Both MA Lighting and Martin Professional have done "exceptional" jobs.
I put the word exceptional in quotes because I don't want to hear flack from people about other manufacturer's performances with regard to beta testing software. Save the political correctness for when you're up for the Nobel Peace Prize. The fact of the matter is that some people seem to pull off tasks better than others and in my opinion these two groups have really shined on the beta-testing front, and the software that they produce are testaments to that hard work.
In both cases the undisputed key to success has come from not only listening to the market's needs but also by recruiting professional programmers to beta-test their software under simulated show situations. There is a huge difference between having some geek in a cubicle test something verses having some geek at front-of-house testing it. Beta testers who actually work with the equipment find the bugs that are wildly elusive to software writers.
MA Lighting took an interesting approach to its beta-testing process when they were creating their grandMA console. At first they brought in programmers from all around the world to test drive their software. In turn these programmers beat the living hell out of it. MA Lighting responded to all of this input by putting their software development team in direct contact with the beta testers. The result not only got existing bugs fixed quicker but helped to find and eliminate that domino effect I mentioned earlier. Not only did they listen to the people who would be running the console in real-world situations, they also listened to and heavily supported their distributors as to what other customers were asking for.
The true stroke of simple genius came about a year later when MA gathered all the beta testers together at an undisclosed location for a think-tank meeting. This weeklong getaway would later result in the grandMA version 4.0 software. In the end version 4.0 brought forth some absolutely revolutionary console concepts which are sure to be copied and manipulated by their competition for many years to come.
Martin Professional has also done an outstanding job of directing the beta-test process of their new Maxxyz desk. They took a very similar approach in bringing in programmers from around the world, and have produced what I consider an exceptional product. It's incredible to see just how much they have asked for feedback directly from the marketplace and implemented that feedback into a tangible product. However, it's not really the relationship between software and lighting programmer that comes to mind here. What is truly insane is the rate of speed at which software is being produced over in Legoland.
I was given a brief opportunity to see the Maxxyz software in its infancy and was very unimpressed with its direction. Apparently I wasn't the only one who had expressed less than positive enthusiasm, because not more than two weeks later I was asked if I could take a look at its revision. The difference was not only drastic but startling. The writers of their software had completely rewritten the base philosophy of how the console would operate. I was very taken back by the sheer speed of this task; Martin has kept that pace going through every step of their beta testing. Now, when I look back to the version of software that I saw at LDI last year versus what I'm seeing today, there is simply no comparison. The release of Maxxyz version 1.0 is light years ahead of what was shown 12 months ago.
So the next thing I'm going to be taking flack about is what the big deal is about the Maxxyz. People already say to me "It's only in version 1.0 and that means that it can't do this, that, and the other thing that I need it to do." Those people are absolutely right. But I heard the same thing about the grandMA too, and those boys continue to come shining through with their software updates.
The Maxxyz may very well be missing a feature or five that you consider critical. However, when you look back at the shaky state of the version 1.0 Wholehog II software a few years back, and compare that to where the Maxxyz is today, then there is reason to be optimistic about the next six months and beyond.
And if you're going to argue with me on that point, then you might as well go all the way and tell me what a failure you think the Hog II was as well. Somehow, I don't think you'll do that.
All Designers, Technicians, Manufacturers, Distributors, Groupies, Hangers-On, & Entertainment Technology Geeks:
Got an idea you want to share with your peers? An important industry issue you want to address? Or something you just want to get off your chest? Entertainment Design is always looking for more contributors to its monthly On Lighting, On Audio, and On Projection columns. If you can write and want to share your views with ED readers, please send your ideas to David Johnson at email@example.com.


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A new Farmers Market will open this summer in Bismarck.
Tonight an informational meeting is held for vendors who are interested in selling their products at the new BisMarket.
Everyone from Farmers to craft vendors are invited out to hear about what the BisMarket is all about.
"What's going to be a little different about the BisMarket is it will be in Sertoma Park, so it will be a nice green outdoor space, a place to allow families to go and hangout for awhile, play on the playground, there will also be ready to eat foods, so it will be more of an experience versus go grab your food and leave," Megan Myrdal with the Burleigh County Extension said.
The BisMarket will be open Tuesday Evenings from 4-7 p.m. and Saturday Mornings from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. the first market will be held Saturday June 8th.
Evangelist Franklin Graham prayed on a sidewalk outside the Pentagon Thursday after his invitation to a prayer service inside was withdrawn because of comments that insulted people of other religions. More>>

subset: commoncrawl


text:
By Rick Teverbaugh
The Herald Bulletin
— There has always been just one downside to the tremendously popular board game The Settlers of Catan and that is that it just doesn't play well with two players.
In 1996, Mayfair Games, publishers of Settlers, tried to correct this by releasing the Settlers Card Game, which tried to emulate the board game with a card-driven variant strictly for two players. The game was very successful and spawned several expansions.
The main problem with that game was the length of playing time, which grew when the expansions were added. There were also some rules that seemed a bit disjointed.
Now every single problem has been solved with the introduction earlier this year of The Rivals for Catan. It is a reworking of the Catan Card Game at its heart. But it is more than that as well. The rules have been streamlined and the play is easier to grasp and to play.
For those unfamiliar with Catan in general, it is a game of managing resources to build up areas of the island world. There are victory points given for accomplishing certain things in the game and the winner is the one that reaches the victory point total first. One of the key elements in the board game is the trading of resources between players. That mechanic works poorly with two players.
In rivals that mechanic is removed and that's what makes the two-player aspect shine. There are two dice used in the game and the rest of the play is powered by cards. Cards are used to keep track of resources as well as roads, settlements and cities.
The more resources a player has, the more things he can add to his principality. As he adds roads, then he can add more settlements. More settlements can provide the opportunity to get more resources as well as allow for settlements to become cities and those cities to grow. Players have choices to make about adding skills for residents to use or military might to win battles and protect the realm or commerce to become the best in trading.
Each of these things will provide more victory points toward the seven needed to win the game.
There are five different ways to play Rivals. The first is by using the base cards that come with the game and this is the best way for players to learn the game. There are action cards, event cards and development cards.
Included in the game are three additional sets of cards. The Era of Gold introduces new card types and has an emphasis on commerce. The Era of Turmoil is more confrontational and allows players to harass their foes. The Era of Progress is expansion driven without the fighting.
It is possible to mix each individual set with the base set to create an entirely new feel of Rivals. To win any of those games, you need 12 victory points instead of seven. Once a good feel for those cards has been established, then there is a Duel of the Princes version that combines all of the cards in the game and plays until one gamer has 13 victory points.
While each of these games is a bit longer than the base game alone, the nice thing is that the rules stay the same. Only the setup is different.
Mayfair has shown its commitment to the game by releasing one expansion for Rivals, Age of Darkness. In this expansion you get.
• The Era of Intrigue – You will witness the confrontation of followers of new and old beliefs and take part to determine Catan's spiritual balance. "Religious Dispute" causes both players to lose cards; Churches and Temples minimize losses; Temple cards strengthen your access to your own draw stacks. Church cards lure opposing heroes and earn gold. With a Church and a Temple, you may build the Great Thing and end the conflict.
• The Era of Merchant Princes – Using the "Commercial Harbor" and the "Merchant's Residences", decisive buildings in the struggle for trade advantage, players try to control Catan's commerce. "Maritime Trade Monopolies" and the "Master Merchants" enhance trade ships. "The Shipbuilder" reduces the building costs of ships. Dominate trade using clever card combinations!
• The Era of Barbarians – Use Castles, Border Fortresses, the Strategist, the Caravel, and new heroes to fend off both the barbarian attacks and your rival's efforts to dominate your holdings.
The Rivals for Catan is one of the best and most engaging two-player card games ever published. There is another set of cards planned for the game in 2012, The Golden Age. This would be a great time to experience Catan as a two-player encounter.
For more information:


text: Top of the Pops Kenny Everett: Top of the Pops 1973 Share: About this programme An edition of the show first broadcast on 11 October 1973, presented by Kenny Everett. Featuring music by Electric Light Orchestra, Elton John, Michael Ward, Status Quo, Engelbert Humperdinck, Slade, and Limmie & the Family Cooking. Cast and crew Cast Presenter Kenny Everett Categories Music Share:


text:
BARNSTABLE (AP) - A Cape Cod judge has found a motorist not guilty ina teenager's death after a fatal crash on New Year's Day in 2010.
The Cape Cod Timesreports Andrea Mastandrea was acquitted Wednesday of leaving the scene of anaccident causing death, and negligent motor vehicle homicide.
The 31-year-old admitted her car hit and killed 17-year-old Andrew Dexter IIin Bourne, but said she didn't know it at the time and left the scene afterhearing a "thud."
Dexter had been walking home from a party after drinking.
The Barnstable Superior Court judge said a recent Supreme Judicial Courtruling guided his verdict.
It says a motorist has to know he or she hit someone to be guilty of leavingan accident scene after causing death.
Dexter's family said there's been no justice.
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text:
The Hoosier Lottery posts names and photos of big winners online, along with personal stories of how winners may spend their fortunes. Big winners are featured at lottery press conferences, where reporters can ask questions and take photos.
Under Waltz's bill, the state lottery commission would have been forbidden from identifying or publicizing a winner without written consent. It would also have prohibited the commission from paying the winner to publicize their name or image.
Don McNay, a Kentucky-based financial adviser who works with people who come into sudden money, says Waltz's proposal is a good idea.
"People who win a lot of money in the lottery need to stay quiet, get their lives organized and get the help they need to make wise financial decisions," said McNay.
Plenty don't. The vast majority of big-money winners wind up broke within five years, said McNay, who authored the e-book, "Life Lessons from the Lottery."
"The money just overwhelms them," he said. "It just causes them to lose their sense of values."
And that makes them vulnerable.
McNay cites the story of Jack Whittaker, a West Virginia businessman who won a $315 million Powerball jackpot a decade ago. When Whittaker showed up at a strip club, someone drugged his drink and took nearly $600,000 in cash from his car.
"He might not have been out of the $600,000 had nobody known who he was," said McNay.
He also cites Florida lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare, who ended up dead after winning a $30 million jackpot. His body was found under a concrete slab at the home of his financial planner's boyfriend. She'd befriended him after seeing him appear at a lottery press conference.
"He's the poster child for keeping lottery winners' names anonymous," McNay said.
In January, Chuck Strutt, executive director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, which oversees Powerball and Mega-Millions, told an Associated Press reporter that disclosure laws ensure a transparent process.


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text: Sara Evans will sing at Major League Baseball's All-Star Game on Wednesday (July 15). She will perform "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. President Barack Obama will throw out the first pitch. The game, as well as Obama and Evans' appearances, will be televised on Fox starting at 8 p.m. ET. Evans recently released a new single to country radio called "Feels Just Like a Love Song."


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GENEVA, Ohio - Two Dakota State University men's distance runners placed in the top four in the semifinals Friday afternoon. Both Trojan runners advanced to the finals in the NAIA National Indoor Track and Field National Championships at SPIRE Institute Sports Complex.
Both Fidler and Coy made their third appearance in the national meet.
Fideler (senior - Volga, S.D.) placed third overall in the 24-runners field in the one-mile run. He clocked a time of four minutes and 14.08 seconds to advance to the finals on Saturday. He will race at 12:35 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time)/11:35 a.m. (Central Standard Time).
Coy (junior - Hill City, S.D.) finished fourth in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:31.57. He will be competing in the finals on Saturday at 1:55 p.m. (ET)/12:55 p.m. (CT).
The top six athletes in each event will earn team points and achieve NAIA All-America status.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director


text:
Got any questions about the candidates' answers?
By Sue Owen, W. Gardner Selby
Published on Monday, January 27th, 2014 at 9:44 p.m.
The Republican candidates for lieutenant governor faced questions on border security, abortion, education and other key topics in Monday night's debate hosted by KERA-TV, Channel 13 in Dallas.
Some of their answers touched on claims we've checked before:
Nov. 14, 2012 -- Dan Patrick: Says the state of Texas rates as "unacceptable" almost 500 of the state's 8,000 public schools. — True
Sept. 26, 2013 -- David Dewhurst: "I've been reducing the number of Democratic" Texas Senate committee "chairs since I came in" as lieutenant governor. — Mostly False
Oct. 9, 2013 -- Dan Patrick: I am "the only candidate for lieutenant governor to oppose in-state tuition for illegal immigrants." — False
What piqued your interest? Let us know at email@example.com, @PolitiFactTexas and facebook.com/politifact.texas.
See Truth-O-Meter articles.
Researchers: Sue Owen, W. Gardner Selby
Names in this article: David Dewhurst, Dan Patrick, Jerry Patterson, Todd Staples
We want to hear your suggestions and comments. Email the Texas Truth-O-Meter with feedback and with claims you'd like to see checked. If you send us a comment, we'll assume you don't mind us publishing it unless you tell us otherwise.


text:
Education Week magazine published an article this week about how school districts nationwide wrestle with how to allow students to take home computer devices that schools issue.
Riverside Unified School District and Ramona High School's 1-1 computing program are featured. At the school where the vast majority of students' families are low-income, the school issued small $180 tablet computers for each student. Their textbooks are loaded on the tablets, as well as other learning tools, such as dictionaries. The small computers are checked out to students just like textbooks and, under district policy, students are responsible for them just like textbooks. The cost is roughly equivalent to one or two new high school textbooks. Parents are taught to use them to check students' grades, assignments and progress toward graduation.
Other schools in Riverside, and some in other Inland districts, encourage students to bring their own devices, which could be smartphones or laptops, and have some students can check out. They're also issued for students in specific programs at some schools. Kindergarteners at Bryant Elementary are taught to put their school-issued iPods "to bed" in a special case with a cloth to protect them.
The benefits, say educators in Riverside and other districts with similar policies around the country, is students will use their school-issued devices to spend more of their day learning, which shouldn't stop at 2:30 or 3 p.m.


text:
My View
Lisa Fornero
---- — I delivered this address to the Gloucester School Committee on Wednesday:
My name is Lisa Fornero and I live on Addison Street. I address you regarding my concerns with this School Committee and administration's lack of focus on learning and instruction time.
Here, in Gloucester, we are blessed with some of the best teachers in the world. They are dedicated, passionate and highly qualified. Our children love them and they each have earned excellent reputations.
However, by scheduling so few hours of instruction, you are robbing our children of the best those teachers have to offer them — their instruction. We have put our children's education in your hands and you are failing them.
The state of Massachusetts Department of Education is extremely clear on its expectations of school districts. You are not meeting those expectations. The math Dr. (Richard) Safier sent to me in his email of August 19th is simply incomplete. My question to this School Committee is: What are you going to do about it?
I urge you not to take my word for it. Do the math yourselves. You offer a 6-hour school day. There are 180 school days. Thirteen of those are scheduled to be half days. There is a 30-minute lunch, a 15-minute recess, about 15 minutes of transition times, about 10 minutes of homeroom activities, 15 minutes of snack, and now, another 10 minutes of breakfast.
Even if you count snack and breakfast as working times, you're still not meeting the minimum time-frames. Do the math. Get out your calculators. I promise you, if you're being truly honest with yourselves, you will not like the numbers you see as a result.
We have an opportunity to make a really positive change in the Gloucester schools.
Although many students have reported getting excellent educations here, our standardized test scores are not showing that. We need to get better. We need to do better.
And the first step is for students to be spending more time learning, not less.
I urge you to ask yourselves, what does it mean for a student to do poorly on a standardized test? Not what it means for the school district, not what it means for you, or for me. What does it mean for that student? For the rest of his or her life, they will be asked to live up to standards. However you feel personally about the validity of those assessments, is irrelevant. This is the standard by which students in Gloucester need to be assessed. By not giving students the time they need to learn the skills necessary to do well on those assessments, we are in essence, harming their futures.
Beyond our moral obligation, you have a legal obligation as well. It is not up to you to cut learning time. You don't have that right. This is why state mandates exist. There is no guesswork here. You must schedule more instruction time. Period.
Gloucester parent Lisa Fornero regularly sends letters to the editor of the Times about issues in the city's schools.


text:
Product Number: 002-491-1124
The War of 1812, however, ultimately yielded one of our nation's most sacred adornments; out of ashes of destruction, the United State's national anthem: "The Star-Spangled Banner". Tragically, even though the two countries had signed the Treaty of Ghent, effectively ending the war on December 24, 1814, fighting continued on until January of 1815 because the combat forces, simply, were unaware of the treaty. Ultimately, both sides claimed victory, but the war really ended in stalemate, for America's efforts to take control of Canada had failed.
This commemoration set marks the war's 200th Anniversary, in addition to 200 years of peace, and is the second installment of the limited edition 3-year Pipe of the Year series. It includes a sandblasted Zulu, whose shape was specifically chosen to honor the mariners who fought in the war, presented in a rich antique brown stain, and banded in pewter, emblazoned with "War of 1812". Its wooden box depicts a beautiful image of Derek Gardner's painting of the battle between the HMS Macedonian and the USS United States on October 25th, 1812. The tamper is cast from an original carving of Admiral Matthew C. Perry of the US Navy. A Canadian 'toonie', the coin features a depiction of the HMS Shannon which, on June, 1st 1813, captured the USS Chesapeake in the battle of Boston Harbor. The set envelops the struggle of the great conflict, echoing US Commander James Lawrence's final dying command: "Don't give up the ship!"
-Seth Ellison-
We apologize, but this product is currently sold out. If you would like information about products similar to this one, please email us or call us toll free at 1-888-366-0345, and we will be glad to assist you.-
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text:
YULEE -- As officials of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission prepared to release a female panther back into the wild on Commissioner Ron Bergeron's spacious Hendry County ranch last month, they briefly mentioned White Oak as the facility where the cat was rehabilitated after being struck by a vehicle and nursed back to health.
"What's White Oak?" members of the media throng wanted to know.
Turns out White Oak — a rural, privately owned, 7,400-acre spread that straddles the Florida-Georgia line — has been a key partner in efforts to conserve the endangered Florida panther population and numerous other endangered and threatened species from around the world for more than 30 years.
Owned by the Gilman lumber family since the 1930s and operated as a private retreat, it became a conservation center in 1983 — breeding, raising and caring for as many as 27 species of mammals and birds in open-air enclosures, some as large as multiple football fields. Accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), White Oak has a staff of about 70 that includes veterinarians, animal care specialists, and groundskeepers.
"Very different from a traditional zoo," said Brandon Speeg, director of conservation and education at White Oak.
Drive along the dirt roads that crisscross the expansive property and you will encounter herds of zebra, antelope and rhinoceros in what look like giant, fenced farm pastures — grazing, snorting and sometimes galloping around. There are 27 cheetahs, some of which purr and rub against a fence at a visitor's approach. You can see critically endangered species such as the Addra gazelle native to the Sahara and the mountain bongo from Mount Kenya.
White Oak is particularly proud of its 25-year okapi project — a threatened animal in the giraffe family native only to the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Besides breeding the okapi in captivity, the center helps raise money to conserve its native habitat in Africa.
Other White Oak residents include the maned wolf from Brazil and a large, colorful, fierce and weird-looking bird called the southern cassowary native to northern Australia and New Guinea. Resembling a cross between an ostrich and a peacock, the cassowary has a casque, or protrusion on its head that enables it to plow through dense forest in its hunt for fruit.
On a recent visit to White Oak, the 15-acre panther enclosure — dense with pines and underbrush — was empty, enabling animal collections manager Karen Meeks, a former Miami resident, to clear fallen brush from the adjacent dirt road. During the 10 months that the female cat released at Bergeron's ranch last month lived here, Meeks closed the road to all vehicular traffic. She sneaked around on foot, dropping off food and refilling a water dish, making sure the panther never saw her. With a goal of minimizing the animal's exposure to humans, Meeks relied on two strategically placed cameras to follow her guest's progress.
"I don't want to see the cat, and I don't want the cat to see me," she said.
When the panther had fully recovered from her injuries and had begun to hunt on her own, Meeks and colleagues joined FWC staffers for the five-hour van trip to Green Glades West to release her.
"To see her come in as a pitiful kitten and then see her run out of the crate was pretty exciting," Meeks said. "It made it all worthwhile."
Meeks figures the cat is the 13thto be rehabilitated and released from White Oak since the 1980s and the third since early 2013.
Darrell Land, who heads the FWC's panther restoration project in Naples, says White Oak "has been a huge partner over the decades" and "an impressive facility."
"I don't think there's any other facility in Florida with large pens and the on-site care to raise them in such a way that they can be released into the wild," Land said. "Those would be doomed to captivity without White Oak."
Only 30 to 50 Florida panthers roamed the southern part of the peninsula in the mid-1990s because of loss of habitat and vehicle strikes. In 1995, Land and colleagues embarked on a controversial genetic restoration program that brought eight female cougars from Texas to mingle with the natives in the Everglades, Big Cypress and Fakahatchee Strand in order to broaden the gene pool and boost the population.
One of those original females, now age 20, lives at White Oak. Today, panther numbers are estimated at 100 to 160 — and could go higher. Land says radio collar tracking data shows the recently released female has moved west and north of Bergeron's ranch and "appears to have found a boyfriend."
Until fairly recently, White Oak remained little-known and largely shielded from public view. Only presidents, bigwigs and A-list celebrities were admitted to its cloistered grounds, which feature a golf course, guest houses, swimming pool, horse stables, banquet hall and a conference center that doubled as Mikhail Baryshnikov's ballet studio. No public tours were offered until about five years ago.
Last year, White Oak was purchased from the Gilman Foundation by Mark and Kimbra Walter — part owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers — for more than $16 million, according to published reports. The Walters pledged to continue operating it as a conservation center.
Corporations and conservation groups may book White Oak for retreats and conferences, and individual visitors can make reservations to take tram tours two days a week for $100 per person. There are other special events such as "Breakfast with the Beasts" and a sunset safari. New this year is a summer camp for kids.
"A pretty important part of our conservation and education mission," Speeg said. "It's not a Disney tour."
• For more information about White Oak's conservation and education programs, call 904-225-3396 or visit www.whiteoakwildlife.org.


text:
Former SU Goalie signed to MLS deal
Former Syracuse goalkeeper Jeremy Vuolo has signed with the New York Red Bulls. Vuolo spent his senior season at Syracuse after playing three years at Hartwick College. As a senior in 2010 for the Orange, Vuolo started 15 games. He was named the team's Most Valuable Player after ranking fourth in the Big East in saves and saves per game.


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1 Radio Stations from Vallorbe
Radio Cinema
Adult Contemporary
Vallorbe, Switzerland
Vallorbe Radio Stations on your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, Blackberry, and other app-enabled mobile phones. Get in touch via the Contact Us below if you're interested in these apps. Also, find the top new songs, playlists, and music on our website!


text:
Chrome Week : Our favourite Chrome apps (Part 2)Apr 14
We already told you about some of our favourite Chrome apps in the first post of this series, So this time its time to dive a little deeper into applications/extensions that will actually help you to do things for which you otherwise would need an application. We have broken them down into some easy categories for you to follow.
I think the days we actually stored music on our devices and played back those files are as obsolete as shouting "Put the needle on the Record" at some teen playing a DJ gig with his laptop. Since we are talking about Chrome extensions here, I can only assume that you have a connection to the internet all the time. With so many free audio streaming services available the only thing that is keeping you from playing the latest Shakira album over and over (and over) is your bandwidth cap. Some of the Chrome extensions we love here are Spotify and Soundcloud. Sure you get some commercials when you use the free service, but that's just like real actual radio. If you should be in the business of running your own PLEX server at home and would like to stream your (audio and video) content on your Chromebook ? Try the Plex app. (But do make sure that you open up the right ports on your router if you want to access your server from the outside).
But what about when listening to music is not enough ? There are a couple of great apps out there that will actually help you MAKE some music. From simple voice recording with "Voice Recorder" to rather complex audio mixing with Audiotool. Want to annoy your friends by badly mixing 2 tracks together using an online DJ mixer ? Try Until AM.
Connecting to other machines.
But what if your Chromebook isn't enough and you need to connect to other systems and devices ? When you need an SSH session to your Linux machine (or your mac) at home "Secure Shell" is without a shadow of a doubt one of our favourite applications. It reminds us of the popular Windows terminal client PUTTY only 4983 times better. It remembers sessions you have saved to your servers across multiple sessions of Chrome, so you always have your connections at your fingertips. If you need to go a step further and dive into the graphical side of things, you might want to try "Chrome RDP" to connect to your machines running the Remote Desktop Protocol.
Ok, The only reason you bought a Chromebook (or use Chrome) is so you can spend hours on 9gag and Reddit. So its a good thing we even dug up some productivity apps. Outlook.com might be a little bit of blasphemy in this Gmail centered environment, but the Chrome app DOES get you to your mailbox environment even though its not controlled by the "Big Bad G". Another pretty simple Chrome app we found is called Workflow. Workflow lets you organise your tasks into lists and sub-lists. It's more like a text based mindmap but it does give you a pretty good overview of what you are working on and what subtasks are involved. Speaking of "simple" and "text based" we found "Writer" to be a very nice distraction free text editor for writing up text without being distracted. We love the "black and green" terminal like interface, especially if you run the Chrome app fullscreen. Writer lets you download your writings to different formats or saves them to the cloud so you can continue editing them in another chrome browser.
And finally
With all the commotion about the Heartbleed exploit .. Install the Lastpass Chrome app and sort out your passwords once and for all.
- Spotify
- Soundcloud.
- Plex
- Voice Recorder
- Audiotool
- Until AM
- Secure Shell
- Chrome RDP
- Workflow
- Outlook.com
- Lastpass
- Writer
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Chrome Week : Our favourite Chrome extensions (part 1)Apr 13
When you think of it "having applications inside of a browser" might seem like a bizarre idea. However this IS the case when you take a look at Chrome and the Chrome OS. All chrome applications that are available in the store (and that turn your Chromebook from a porn-browsing paperweight into an actual "computer") are also perfectly usable inside the chrome browser.
The great thing about these chrome extensions (or chrome apps) is that they are highly cross platform. Whether you are running chrome on your Chromebook, your windows or Linux machine or even on your mac : Chrome apps will look the same everywhere. The also have vastly the same possibilities (and limitations) everywhere. Most of them might not be usable if you are offline, but most of them do simulate a full fledged application (where it not that you KNOW they are running inside a browser). As we hop from OS to OS we write sweet love poems to the following list of chrome-apps for giving us a consistent and pleasurable experience .
Some chrome apps are just links to web services, and with the Feedly chrome-app there is not getting around it. Its basically a link to the web based interface of Feedly. The good thing is : Feedly looks good, its fast and it works. The Chrome app takes care of logging in for you and BOOM you are reading through your 2908383098 unread articles. Good luck with that.
"Oh – Ah" .. I want to read that later ! That's something we scream about 4 times a day when we tread upon an interesting article that is just to long to read at that very moment. I hit the "save to pocket" icon in my top tool bar and the article gets saved (with pictures and everything) to Pocket. Whenever I feel that i'm browsing around aimlessly ( Facebook – newspaper- Reddit – 9gag – newspaper …) I punch up the Pocket extension and browse through the articles I saved earlier. Pocket also has a great mobile app that lets you read the articles offline on your mobile device AND have the articles read out to you with a text-to-speech function that sounds like Stephen Hawkings hot sister.
Here we can only say one thing : This is without a shadow of a doubt one of the very best Evernote clients for Linux. By the time that our popular note taking application to release a native Linux application, pigs will have colonised other planets. There have been some attempts by open source beard bearing goblins to make a client that interfaces with Evernotes API on Linux .. but the chrome app takes the cake. Sure it won't work offline, but it IS the cleanest way to connect to your web based version of Evernote on ANY OS.
Google Drive
Why would one need Google drive when one has Dropbox or even the locally installed Google Drive client ? The answer is simple. This extension does not drop the Google files into your desktop ecosystem .. this IS the Google desktop ecosystem. Not only do you get easy access top all the files you have stored on Google Drive , you can also instantly access them in the very same window, regardless of your OS. Whether you would like to write a love poem to Miley Cirus, do a spreadsheet on how you will managed your finances one you marry her .. or draft up a slideshow on why a care-bear should be featured as your upcoming company logo .. its all right there in ONE window.
Google Calendar
Without my calendar I am lost. Browsing over to my calendar in the cloud and logging in to enter an appointment ? I'm too lazy. The Google calendar extension gives you your calendar in a window at the click of a mouse. I love having the short cut to this Google app (Because that is what it is) on my desktop is just too darn handy.
Google Mail
In know I might be boring you to death with Chrome apps for "standard" Google services .. but they ARE the ones that do what they do just right. The cool thing is that these (native) Chrome apps do give you the luxury of a standard desktop applications like notifications and the ability to become the "default' application for handling any email shortcuts.
Visio. Microsofts 'Miauw Du Chat' when it comes to drawing up complicated flowcharts or organisational charts that feature your name waaaay down the bottom. There aren't a lot of replacements from this app in the cross platform world. Good thing that there is Gliffy, Gliffy is free and has all kinds of nice flowcharts and funky network diagrams for you to play with. Gliffy even lets you store them on line (all though the number of Flowcharts you can save is limited in the free version).
We all have brilliant idea's. We just don't have the brilliant idea to stuff something (like a piece of paper or a pencil) in our pocket to write them down. That's not such a bad thing because pen and paper is a pretty shitty way to manage an entire brain fart. You want to be able to draw branches and sub-branches. You want to organise your thoughts into categories and subcategories . You want to do this anywhere and preferably .. for free. Enter Mindmeister. A great online mindmapping tool that works on any device that comes with a browser (except the Nintendo Wii). Aside from having native clients on IOS and Android that sync with the cloud, Mindmeister now also has its own chrome app. You can only store one or two acts of brilliancy online in the free version .. but nobody ever said that you should have just ONE brain dump per document.
The one thing you have to DO with TO-DO lists is keep track of your to-do's. If your to-do's are stored on different devices, one of the things you need to do is keep them in sync. Any.do does sport a native IOS and Android client that syncs your Todo list with the cloud. The great thing about its chrome app is that it creates a nice pop-up window that you can set to the side and keep track of your to-do list that way. Any-do is as polished as a native app and looks identical on every os. Love it !
There are of course more Chrome apps out there that might carry your favour. Tell us about them in our comments section.
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Chrome week : Unboxing the Chromebook.Apr 09
Guestpost by Stayathome G33kDad.
Hello Wisegirls and Wiseguys! It is Matt, the Stayathome G33kDad from Northern California. I am jumping in here on Chrome Week to share my Chromebook with you. I received an Acer C720 for my birthday and I am loving it. I use it everyday to keep my journal, surf the web, send and receive email and manage multiple websites. It is lightweight, starts up in under 7 seconds, and the keyboard is so easy to type on.
I was initially considering a tablet with a bluetooth keyboard to fill this need. I have a great lenovo laptop, and it is fairly light. I run whatever my current favourite linux distro is on it. However, to have the Chromebook to just pick up and go; it's awesome.
I find the Chrome OS (based on Gentoo linux, btw) to be snappy and powerful I am in the process of doing a couple of proof of concept pieces to prove just how versatile this computing platform can be. I will be releasing both a video and audio podcast recorded, produced, and published using solely my C720. I'll keep you all posted on the progress of those projects.
All in all, I love my Chromebook and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a lightweight, fast, task-oriented device. And, it's fun, too. Just last night I used the HDMI port to stream episodes of The Walking Dead on my flat screen tv! Really cool.
Here's my unboxing video.
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Bike-wise Kickstarter Kicks (By Matthew Deboysere)Apr 07
Biweekly I go through Kickstarter and try to find some interesting projects that you just must back. I have backed 21 projects since February 2011. My strategy is simple: I just cruise through the pages until I find something I like. Sometimes I search for keywords. Earlier this week for example I tried "bike". I am someone who never takes a bus and doesn't have his driver's license, so whenever I need to be somewhere, I go by bike. And I like to pimp my modern stallion with all these exclusive gadgets I find on Kickstarter.
After the "Better Bicycle Bell, made in the USA", which I received two months ago and is really loud – although nobody cares, stupid tourists – I ordered the Zondo Firefly Bag. I ride my bike during nights a lot and sometimes I just don't feel safe. During the weekend there are a lot of drunk people behind their steering wheel and I tend to ride near the beach because cars aren't allowed there. But with the Zondo, I have a compact and really cool looking backpack which you can use for casual riding or for professional use. It has a pocket which can hold your bladder bag in case you need to take a pee on your bike – no thanks – and it has a switch that lights up a strip on the front side of the bag.
The Zondo will be made in the United Kingdom and only costs you 40 GBP if you want it in any colour you like. If you want the basic blue one, then they ask you to pledge 30 GBP, which is actually a great bargain. The problem is that they just reached the 50 percent mark, and they only have 18 days to go. It's not a product that a lot of people need, because mostly bicycle lights should suffice, but if you want to feel more safe – and need a new cool rucksack, then this is something to go for.
Another interesting bicycle project on Kickstarter is the Fietsklik line of transportation accessories. The Dutch people of Fietsklik have invented The Click that goes over your bicycle rack. It needs some basic mounting, but once you've found the right spot you can click some awesome accessories on it. As a miniature wargaming enthusiast, I have a large backpack with all my figurines ready to go, but I also have a big crate with other stuff that I usually need. So I am particularly looking forward to the Crate. You slide it on the Click, push it locked and turn the key to secure it. It can hold all your groceries and even a big crate of beer! They have tested it for several years and it looks really legit – although we will never forget we are paying to support an idea, not to buy a product. Sometimes they fail. But I feel confident about this one.
The people at Fietsklik also want to launch three types of bags that you can attach to the Click easily. The Click allows you to attach three accessories at the same time – two bags and the Crate – but also is looking into a child seat. They have finished the prototype and are looking into getting it checked and certified. You can pledge to get one, but you will receive the seat only at least in April 2015. All the other accessories will launch in July 2014.
If you pledge 99 USD, you will receive the Click and the Crate, which is an awesome deal. The crate also can be folded up to be more compact and has an extendable handle and wheels. Ideally you will shop with your Crate and mount it quickly on the back of your bike. Cool! Need more space? It will cost you 149 USD but you will receive the Click and two accessories of your choice. That can be two crates, or two bags, or one of each. And for 199 USD you will receive the Click and the Crate, and can choose two bags. If you're quick, there are still some early birds available. Fietsklik has already surpassed their target. They are at 150 percent right now. It's a solid investment if you need easy transporting on your bicycle and hate tying several bags on your steering wheel.
Matthew Deboysere is a video game journalist for several Belgian media. Is the co-founder of G.Mag, a free digital gaming magazine, but left for a new adventure. Previously wrote for GUNK and 9lives. Loves video games with a great story that reduces him to tears. And cat videos.
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Column : Why I still run my own servers.Apr 04
IT is changing, dramatically so. With the advent of total ubiquity on smartphones and tablets among the general population, the rise of the connected fridge and the smart scale that loves to tweet how fat you are .. the "classic computer paradigm" is slowly changing. Our devices are becoming dumber and dumber and both our data and our services are slowly but surely evaporating into the cloud.
And still I insist on running some of those servers and services myself. "Why ? " you ask with raised eyebrows as you randomly upload a selfie to an unknown service from an unknown company. As the file travels towards its mistic location where it will be stored forever, it sheds unwanted complication like "your intellectual property" and any notion of privacy. It's a cloud service … so it should always work for free, always .. So why run your own server ?
Because its FUN.
For one : Tinkering with computers and running your own servers and services is FUN. It stems from the day that computers were built to tinker with and where a combination of a piece of software, a network connection, a spare computer and 3 pots of dark coffee would get you your very first self-hosted webserver. Tinkering around with software and systems and making that very first "connection" to your very own server .. is just plain FUN.
The chance to learn and understand WHY things work.
The beauty about setting up and running your own servers is that you get a very enlightening insight into how and why things work. It is something you probably never think about when you "check in' as mayor of the porta-potty around the corder where you work. What data is envolved, how does it get there, who keeps track of it, how does it show up on my mobile device .. what magic oomph loom pa's need to hold hands and sing koomba-yah in order for all of it to work. You can rest assured that the wonders of trail and error when setting up your own service will teach you a great many deal about why things work. (By showing you over and over how things DON"T work.)
The notion of control.
Every single time Facebook changes its UI, the internet moans under the weight of millions voicing their complaints on how they want "The old Facebook" back. What many people continue to forget is that, when it comes to "free cloud services" .. you aren't their client , you are their product. They make money by bouncing adds of your screen or selling your personal information and interactions to some very very clever marketeers. If the "free cloud service" is no longer profitable they can either start to charge you money or go out of business altogether. When they decide its time to bring in a feature that would make Bonzi Buddy* appear as your best friend (* check your internet cultural history you noobies) , you have ZERO control.
The right to privacy.
Privacy is a buzzword these days so lets not pretend that the files you store on dropbox contain the secret plans for an orbital death ray satellite. I'm not worried about government snoops sniffing my files, as long as they have due cause to do so. I'm more worried about these so-called 'free services" selling my data (and my content) to whoever they want to. It might be in their "EULA's", but nobody reads those anyway.
So I love to run my self hosted version of Dropbox using the Bittorrent protocol. Its fun to set up, there are no data limits, nobody is snooping my files (that I know of) and I am in total and complete control of what is going on.
Ok , I have to admit, if the tech goes POOP .. it goes POOP and I am the one to fix it. There is not tech support , there is no hotline to call ( Well , there is , but since you will be calling yourself you will get a busy tone) It does mean that you might have to spend many an hour repairing an unforeseen issue. But think of it this way .. every sigh of frustration is a pebble on the road of knowledge (mostly knowledge on how NOT to do things).
Thus I embrace the possibility of running my own servers; not because i HAVE to.. but because I still can.
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Server week : Trust no-one with Owncloud.Apr 03
Dropbox changed its terms of service so they can give you data to the Feds if they just ask for it, Ubuntu shuts down the online fileservice "Ubuntu One" : Who can you trust these days ? The great thing with cloud solutions is that they are on a server far far away, most of them are free and you never have to maintain them. The downside is that they are on a server far far away, they are free and you cannot maintain them. We give up a certain level of control for the convenience of the cloud. It would be of course far nicer if you had a service that offered you all the luxury of the products mentioned above .. but gave you full control, absolute privacy and a completely controlled solution. (and free ! It has to be free).
Do not fear : Owncloud is here.
Owncloud is a self hosted cloud solution that gives you the luxury of the cloud in the privacy of your own home (or on your own hosted environment). Its a cross platform webservice that gives you the ability to store files in the "cloud" and access them from anywhere, Sync those files with your desktop (like Dropbox) You can share your files with friends and access them using mobile clients on Android and IOS devices or a simple browser window.
Don't trust the cloud with your Calendar and contacts ? Owncloud takes care of that too. Manage your contacts and calendars straight from Owncloud or sync them up with your mobile devices using open standards like .vcard and caldav.
Tired of the tracks on Groovebox or spotify ? Would you like to stream your music (and movies) from your own hard drive at home ? Owncloud even has an answer for that. The built in media player lets you access your library from anywhere as long as you sport at least a browser (AND some underwear .. Owncloud is classy like that).
Want to tie all of your different cloud services together ? Owncloud supports connecting external storage to the service (like network and usb drives) but can also connect to Dropbox and Google Docs, offering ALL those files up in one simple interface.
So what does it take ?
Installing Owncloud is pretty simple. All you need is a linux server and you can choose to install Owncloud either from the repositories (if you are using Ubuntu or Debian) or you can go and download version 6 straight from their website.
Owncloud is based on a web based server so you can access everything from port 80 and add some security by choosing to go for https to do your authentication (highly recommended). You can run it on your server at home OR on a webspace you rented somewhere (or if you are really lucking on your own hosted server in some datacenter). You don't need a lot of power, but Owncloud does need some ram and some cpu power if it is going to manage and index thousands of files for you.
So how do I do it.
- You can install owncloud directly from the repositories in Ubuntu.
- You can download a ready-to-go Virtual machine (or preinstalled ISO image) of Owncloud on Turnkey Linux.
- You can go to the Owncloud website to download and install the package yourself (and its THE place to get the Desktop client
Find out more.
In all , Owncloud is a very powerful solution when it comes to hosting stuff yourself. It has come a long way since version 6 and I have been a big fan of the convenience, the cross platform compatible-ness (is that a word ?) and the sheer power of integrating multiple storage locations (usb drives, network drives, cloud storage) to ONE single web interface. Try it .. you'll be on cloud 9.
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Server Week: What is OSX Server and Why Would a Home User Need One ?Apr 02
*By guestblogger Todd Oldhoff *
As someone who teaches about using OS X Server I get a lot of questions from home users about why they would even need a server in the first place. Most people perceive that servers are for big business operations. They are huge machines that sit in a dedicated room and are monitored by IT professionals who make sure everything is running smoothly and fix things when they break down. The whole process seems overwhelming and most feel they lack the expertise and spare room to even consider running a server. So why would a home user need to run it in the first place?
I want to start by saying this is a great question to ask and one that we should ask not only as it relates to servers but all of the software we use. If you don't have a real need for an application you should just avoid it as it will only clutter up your hard drive and cost you money to purchase. Also, if at the end of this post you still don't see the need for running a server than don't do it. This article is designed to help you see what a server could do for you so you can truly determine whether the features fit any of your needs. So let's get started with why you might want to run a server by looking at the hardware requirements.
One of the myths most people have about servers is they are huge machines that need dedicated rooms to run. The beauty of our current place in history is that servers can be run on very small hardware that won't take up more than the size of a shoe box on your shelf depending on your needs. You can run OS X Server on a Mac Mini and have plenty of power for your home environment. In fact I would recommend using a Mini for home use because of the power benefits and it's small size. I would however recommend getting at least 8GB of RAM and, if you can swing it, 16GB. With that you should be in great shape to run OS X Server. But server can also run on any Mac you have in the house so don't feel like you have to purchase a new Mac to run server (unless of course your Mac is too old to run Mavericks). As long as you plan on leaving your server on and not move it around, you could even use a laptop.
Now that we have the hardware issue out of the way, let's look at some of the benefits of running a server in a home environment. Each of these things should give you a good idea if Server is for you:
Wireless Time Machine Back Ups
If you don't happen to have a Time Capsule or would rather have your storage space outside your router, you are out of luck when it comes to wireless Time Machine backups. Yes you could do some things to try to get it to work with an Airport Extreme Base Station with an attached drive but things could get corrupted and its not supported by Apple. With OS X Server you can designate any drive connected to your Mac Server to serve as a back up disk for Time Machine and the best part is that it is supported by Apple.
Your Own VPN Service
With most of us spending a lot of time on unsecured public networks, fear of data being stolen over the air is a real concern. VPN creates an encrypted connection to the internet and protects what is sent and received over the air. OS X Server has a built in VPN service that you can use on all of your devices to make your remote web access secure.
Network Accounts
With most of us having multiple computers at home with multiple users wanting to access their stuff on those computers having the ability for any user to log into any computer on your network to access their files and desktop is a much needed service. With OS X Server you can create your own network accounts and host your user's home folders on the server so they can access their own desktop and files on any Mac in the house. This really saves arguments over who gets what computer in the house. If you have kids you know what I mean!
File Server
One of the first things most people think about when it comes to a server is gaining access to files when they are away from their main Mac and outside their network. With a server, you can designate any folders or drives as accessible outside your network and set who can access what files and folders.
Manage Multiple Devices
Most homes have become mini corporate environments with multiple Macs and iOS devices. Managing all of those devices can be tedious and difficult to set up and maintain. With OS X Server you can manage all of your Macs and iOS Devices from a simple web interface and push changes over the air to your devices as groups or individual device profiles making managing devices a lot easier.
Personal iCloud Service
For some people the idea of having all of their personal information online in the cloud somewhere makes them uneasy. What happens if a security breach happens with the service you are using? Instead of having those things on a hosted service, they may want to manage their own calendar, contact, iMessage and Mail Server. For those with kids this is a great way to help them get their feet wet in some of these services while you control what they can can't see or do. Built into OS X Server are services to that allow you to manage these things and then sync your settings to all of your Apple devices.
Personal Web Server
Built into OS X Server is a web server complete with a built in Wiki website that you can customize. You can also host your own websites with OS X Server though there are some challenges for home users depending on your ISP service and how they feel about home users hosting websites. But even with that limitation you could host an in-house only website that your family uses on your home network only to share things. Another great way to get the kids used to using a website and publishing to it in a safe environment.
As you can see there are a lot of different uses for OS X Server for home users. If you saw anything in there that you could take advantage of, then OS X Server is for you. You don't have to use every service to run server but can pick and choose what works best for you. For those of you that like step by step instructions on how to set all of this up, I have a Youtube Channel where I do just that. You can check out more information on my website or on my Youtube Channel. If you choose to get started and get stuck along the way feel free to send me an email or leave a comment.
About Todd.
Todd Olthoff is a Mac enthusiast who loves to pass on what he has learned to others. He regularly produces screencast tutorials on his website and on his Youtube Channel. He is also a regular contributing screencaster for ScreenCastsOnline and for MacStadium a Mac colocation company.
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Server week : The essential SSH Server.Mar 18
This week in "Server week" we are going to set up a variety of servers that allow you to do a variety of things. One of the most basic and versatile server you can set up must be the SSH Server. Long time fans probably know that the SSH server is the base ingredient for a lot of fun stuff you can do. For example.
- Transfer files over the internet.
- Work with command line applications from a remote computer.
- Tunnel your browser traffic through your own server to stop nosy network admins.
- Connect to your home network with a VPN connection.
These are just a couple of things you can do, but before you can do that, you will need the basic ingredient : Let's set up an SSH Server.
Required ingredients.
- Debian based Linux distribution : ( you can do it with a redhat based one too, but we use a debian based one for the tutorial)
- Static ip for your Linux distribution.
- Connection to the internet.
- If you don't have a static IP : A dynamic DNS service like opendns or Dyndns.
- An open port on your router forwarded to your linux machine.
Let's get cooking.
- Open up a terminal on your linux machine and type : sudo apt-get install openssh-server
- After the server is installed, connect to it from a remote machine using a terminal application like Putty (for Windows) Secure Shell (for the Chromebooks) or from the terminal on other Mac and Linux machines.
- Connect to your Linux server with the command : ssh yourusername@theipofyourserver
And starting out that is ALL you need to do. If you want to do this from the internet you need to forward the correct port (The standard port is Port 22) from your router to your linux machine so you can make it accessible from the internet.
Lets make it pretty.
- Want to have a unique login screen when you connect ? create a cool ASCII banner using THIS tutorial.
Lets make it secure.
- SSH servers run standard on port 22, so a lot of scriptkiddies will go around the internet and "knock" on your port 22 to see if there is a server there. We are going to "obscure" the location of your SSH server a little by changing the default portnumber (Remember you also need to adjust this on your server) Follow THIS tutorial to get you started.
- Next time you connect remember to connect with ssh -p portnumberyouchose yourusername@theipofyourserver
- If you want to get rid of entering your password when you connect you can log in using secure SSH keys. Its a little bit on the advanced geeky side but it DOES keep your machine extremely secure : Only a machine with a unique digital fingerprint can connect using this method : Here is a good tutorial.
Lets start using it.
The SSH server offers you a variety of functionalities we talked about in previous blogposts. We will line up the best uses for SSH here.
- Make a VPN connection to your home network using SSHUTTLE.
- Turn your server into a proxy server and tunnel all browser traffic though your home server. (here is the pdf howto)
- Keep an eye on what your server is doing.
- Run a remote supergeeky wordprocessor.
- Run remote graphical applications.
- Have a blast controlling your server from the command line.
- Run command line apps.
These are just a couple of examples of what you can do over this very powerful little SSH connection. Remember always to use strong passwords and keep your server up to date. Have fun !
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Server week : Why not "roll your own private little cloud".Mar 10
Cloud services. We love them ! All you need to do is hand over your email address, use the same password you have everywhere and sito presto : Before you know it you are using yet another free service that does whatever you require. From handling your email, to storing your documents, from chatting with your friends to keeping track of all the Care-Bear stuff you track on line .. there is a cloud service for everything.
We are not always the customer, sometimes we are the product.
What most of us forget is that, unless you are paying for said service, you are not a customer, but a product. If your free cloud service has any plans about staying in business and paying that giant hosting bill for that 'free storage', it'll better have a business plan. Most cloud services make money by selling you adds that you click on. The people who PLACE the adds are the actual customers of the service .. YOU .. are the product. This might not be true with a paid service ( Another way of working for a cloud service might be to get you hooked with a free account and then make you UPGRADE into a subscription plan). So if you are using that favourite cloud service of yours, ask yourself : Am I ok with being "The Product" ?
Just "Who IS" the cloud ?
Behind every fancy logo or snazzy name is a company. That company can be a multi brazillian dollar company who buys up instant messaging clients for sixteen billion the way you buy new socks. It might also be two crummy guys sitting in their moms basement remote controlling their servers somewhere else. You only see the flashy logo, you never read the terms of service (just click agree-agree-agree) and have no idea of who might be looking at your data. Who knows you may have signed over the creative rights of your summer snapshots to the cloud company that turns it into a "Free online picture-slideshow".. because you never read the terms of service. And for the sake of argument : What if there is a problem you can't fix ? Who are you gonna call … Chances are you will probably get to talk to the REAL Ghostbusters before you get a living person on the other end of the line at your "free cloud service". So are you safe ? Is the data yours ? What happens if the bubble bursts and the service goes away ?
So what if you rolled your own ?
If you make it really simple you can say that cloud services are just servers running on applications. ( But they are actually spread out on servers all over the world and are optimised for coping with a LOT of simultaneous users). But what if you don't need that ? What if its just you and your dog using them ? Then you could basically run them yourself right ? The answer is : YES. It takes some tinkering and having at least one machine that is online for most of the time to make sure your "private cloud" is accessible but aside from a little patience, a spare machine and an internet connection, its about ALL you need.
I don't trust cloudy skies.
This week we boldly choose to chose "DISAGREE" on the terms of service of the cloud providers, we decide NOT to trust their free business model and we venture out on our own little geeky adventure : Rolling our own private cloud. The luxury of a cloud service, but being run on your own hardware, in your own home (or on YOUR webspace) with YOU in control. We will try to show you some great examples of just how much fun you can have while being your personal cloud provider. Most if not all services we will setup can be hosted on a Linux virtual machine and are accessible from any operating system (or device) that is capable of connecting to the internet.
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Google Hacking Week : Grab juicy info with the right search query.Feb 28
So we showed you how powerful a good Google search could be this week. Time to turn to the dark side and give you some examples of how hackers can use these skills to get to some pretty scary things. To create a dangerous situation where the wrong information can fall into the wrong hands, you need 2 ingredients. Somebody who is stupid enough to put it online, and somebody who is clever enough to find it. Below are some pretty creepy examples of how some Google dorks spill some information that was supposed to be private.
Some juicy searches.
Some people write down their domain registration information in a .doc file .. and then put it on the internet. Whoever can put two and two together .. can steal their domain.
filetype:docx Domain Registrar $user $pass
How about finding product licence files for the Avast antivirus program ? Some of them are just up for grabs.
How about we go searching for a randomly published list of phonenumbers.
- allinurl:phonenumbers filetype:xls
Search for random resume's that candidates (or their employees) put online.
- inurl:Curriculum Vitae filetype:pdf
How about some "Confidential Salary" documents that people put online. (we stood in awe at the first hit )
- ext:(doc | pdf | xls | txt | ps | rtf | odt | sxw | psw | ppt | pps | xml) (intext:confidential salary | intext:"budget approved") inurl:confidential
Or take a peek at people's random downloaded hotmail emails.
- inurl:getmsg.html intitle:hotmail
Its a little bit of history .. but how about a random netscape browser history file. (we giggled at THIS one)
- inurl:netscape.hst
And when combining this generic search query for root directories of certain FTP servers with a certain domain .. you can find out a lot. If you use it as listed below .. its just an interesting way to browse random file directories.
- intitle:"FTP root at"
Msn messenger does not exist anymore, but there are plenty of contact lists well stocked with juicy email addresses up for grabs.
- filetype:ctt "msn"
And the list goes on and on and on. Now, standing by themselves the Google searches above are quite harmless. They are too generic to do any harm and are only good for a chuckle. The dangerous part begins when these queries are targeted at a certain person, site our domain. Armed with ONLY their browser and an internet connection, the wrong people can find out all the right things they need to know to make you / your company / your website have a really bad day. Knowledge is power and it is also ambivalent. It can be used for good and for evil… So are you SURE that there is not digital flotsam with your username/passwords floating around on the internet ? Because once Google indexes it .. anybody with the right skills can find it.


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WHAT TO WEAR: Study GroupWhat to Wear
It is so weird to think that the semester is almost over. Everyone is now just focusing on final exams and group projects. I am a senior, and just thinking over everything that I have to accomplish by the end … Keep Reading


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Three veteran storm chasers were among the 10 people killed when a violent tornado barreled into the Oklahoma City metro area.
Jim Samaras told The Associated Press yesterday that his brother Tim Samaras, 54, of Bennett, Colo., was killed Friday. Tim Samaras' son, 24-year-old Paul Samaras, also of Bennett; and another chaser, Carl Young, also died.
The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said it believed the deaths were the first time scientific researchers were killed while chasing tornadoes.
The Samarases and Young were pursuing an EF3 tornado as it bore down on a metropolitan area of more than 1 million people.
"He looked at tornadoes not for the spotlight of TV but for the scientific aspect. At the end of the day, he wanted to save lives and he gave the ultimate sacrifice for that," Jim Samaras said.
The Storm Prediction Center issued a statement yesterday, saying it was terribly saddened by Tim Samaras' death.
"Samaras was a respected tornado researcher and friend ... who brought to the field a unique portfolio of expertise in engineering, science, writing and videography," the center's statement said.
Tim Samaras had appeared on the Discovery Channel's "Storm Chasers" show until last year and also contributed to the National Geographic Society.
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of Tim Samaras, his son Paul and their colleague Carl Young. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families," Discovery Channel spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg said.
The channel planned to dedicate a show last night to the three men, capping the broadcast with a tribute that read: "In memory of Tim Samaras, Carl Young and Paul Samaras who died Friday, May 31st doing what they love, chasing storms."
Jim Samaras said his brother, nephew and their colleague were dedicated to avoiding trouble while chasing storms, and that the family wasn't worried about whether he was taking care of himself.


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Clay Soldiers 1.6.2 Mod – I was kind of hesitant of taking this mod up, since two years ago the only use was making these things fight. It's changed so much since then I think I'm going to be keeping it around for my own use. The clay soldiers mod adds little colored steves that you can make from clay and soul sand. One soul sand on top of one clay block in a crafting grid will give you four of these little guys. There are a bunch of ways to upgrade them using sticks, leather, gold nuggets, iron blocks, bowls, etc. They can even grab their own upgrade materials from nearby chests! They'll only grab what they need and leave the rest for the others, too.
Clay Soldiers Mod for Minecraft 1.6.2 Main Features
- Clay soldiers for your own amusement.
- Clay soldiers can also build houses
- Horses and pegasi for your soldiers to ride
Clay Soldiers Mod for Minecraft 1.6.2 Pros and Cons
- Little clay dudes to help you build.
- The battles you can set them on are quite amusing.
- None. What else are you using that clay for?
Clay Soldiers Mod Version 2.0.0 for Minecraft 1.6.2 Changelog
- Compatibility with Minecraft 1.6.2
- Fixes
How to Install Clay Soldiers Mod for Minecraft 1.6.2
- Download and install Minecraft Forge
- Download the Package Manager here.
- Drag the Package Manager into your mods folder
- Download the Clay Soldiers mod
- Drag the downloaded .jar file into your mods folder
- Run minecraft and enjoy
Download Clay Soldiers Mod for Minecraft 1.6.2


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Daily arts and popular culture show
Daily arts and popular culture show
with Sinead Mooney - Glen Hansard and team of "Once" win twice at Olivier Theatre Awards, one of the artworks to be auctioned in London next month is 'Island Men Returning' by Jack B Yeats, a potentially-valuable small artwork appears on side of terrace house in England and is possibly by graffiti artist Banksy
Sinead Gleeson reviews "Department of Speculation" by Jenny Offill (published by Granta)
Sonya Kelly on how a week-long artistic residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre was harder work than she thought
Jim Carroll on 20th anniversary of the ground-breaking rap album "Illmatic" by Nas
Abie Philbin Bowman reports on launch of Dublin City Council's new music festival MusicTown 2015
See www.musictown.ie for more information
Harvey O'Brien looks at the 1992 adaptation of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" starring Gary Oldman and directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Presenter: Seán Rocks
If you require a CD copy of this programme please e-mail email@example.com or click here for RTÉ Archives sales form. Transfer fees and terms and conditions apply.
Presenter: Seán Rocks
Tip: You can drag and scroll the programme grid with your mouse


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Journal for General Philosophy of Science
The Journal for General Philosophy of Science is a forum for discussion concerning the philosophy of science. Its subject matter encompasses the philosophical, especially methodological, ontological, epistemological, anthropological, and ethical foundations of the individual sciences. The coverage brings the natural, cultural, and technical sciences into a philosophical context, including discussion of historical presuppositions and conditions of the current problems of the philosophy of science. The Journal bridges gaps between the different sciences, especially the natural, cultural, and social sciences. Its discussion exposes the common as well as the divergent methodological and philosophical foundations of the individual sciences, and takes into account all currently relevant positions of the philosophy of science. The journal considers the historical dimension of the sciences as context for understanding current problems of philosophy of science.
45 Volumes 88 Issues 1,177 Articles available from 1970 - 2014Browse Volumes & Issues
Latest Articles
Guest Editor's Introduction: An Overview of the Epistemological Perspectives on the Higgs Mechanism
Koray Karaca (August 2014)
On the Heuristics of the Higgs Mechanism
Sébastien Rivat (August 2014)
Higgs Models and Other Stories about Mass Generation
Michael Stöltzner (August 2014)
- Journal Title
- Journal for General Philosophy of Science
- Coverage
- Volume 1 / 1970 - Volume 45 / 2014
- Print ISSN
- 0925-4560
- Online ISSN
- 1572-8587
- Publisher
- Springer Netherlands
- Additional Links
- Topics
Continue reading...
To view the rest of this content please follow the download PDF link above.


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A man has been arrested on suspicion of sending explicit messages via cell phone last summer to a girl from Tucker.
According to Gwinnett County Police, Jose Rocha-Mata of Norcross was arrested Feb. 7 on charges of child molestation, and terroristic threats and acts. Police are also looking into his immigration status.
The parents of the 14-year-old girl reported to police that Rocha-Mata had sent multiple sexual text messages and a photo of his penis that were intended for their daughter, a student at Meadowcreek High School. The messages were in Spanish and sent to the girl via her mother's cell phone.
The girl had been using the phone during the day and evening when the communication started. She didn't reply to the man and instead showed the messages to her mother the following morning, who then called police.
The mother and stepfather said they and Rocha-Mata regularly attended the same nearby church, El Buen Samaritano off Pleasantdale Road near I-85.
Police were directed to an apartment in Norcross where Rocha-Mata apparently rented a room from the church's pastor. They spoke to the pastor, but the suspect was not home, according to the report.
Rocha-Mata was eventually found and arrested by the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office.


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Customer Reviews
Posted by Reviewer2501017 on Jan 11, 2011
Purchased at iHerb
good to mix in seeds as a snack
Posted by Reviewer2754236 on Feb 02, 2011
Purchased at iHerb
Maybe it's me but I don't like the taste or texture of these berries. I'll stick with dried cranberries. I use these in homemade cookies, granola bars and salads but after they're gone I won't order again.
Goji berries
Posted by Reviewer2336101 on Feb 19, 2011
Purchased at iHerb
Organic is great! Berries too dry for my taste, but very good in smoothies etc.
This is OK
Posted by Reviewer1924200 on Apr 11, 2011
Purchased at iHerb
I know these are supposed to be good and nutritious, but I just don't think they taste good. And when I let them soak in water over night for smoothies they smell a little bit like alcohol. The taste is bitter.
Just okay!
Posted by Reviewer1564822 on Apr 13, 2011
Purchased at iHerb
So 3 stars is generous. More like 2 1/2. This is an okay product but with a fair price. I have had better quality goji berries but pay a hefty price for them. These are more like smoothie mix in berries rather than eat'em on their own berries.


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Grades have no direct impact on the overall score.
XXX Abigail is the home to the Abigail Productions studio and they specialize in lesbian action. This site is a compilation of their video scenes along with some photo gallery content. Members also get access to what they refer to as 'network scenes' from their sister sites which gives members additional content that is in other niches like milf, interracial, and more. XXX Abigail was launched in early 2011 so in the grand scheme of things it's a relatively young site and the content totals come in at over a couple hundred video scenes and over one hundred photo galleries.
Although the site title of XXX Abigail initially made me think this would be a solo model site it is indeed Abigail Productions studios. The focus on lesbian action is the defining characteristic of the collection and they have a nice mix of models with white, black, latina, and asians in there along with girl/girl, group action and some solo action. Content is organized by scene with all of them having a video scene and then about half also including a photo gallery along with the video.
Lots of Additional 'Network Scene' Videos/Photos Available.
Inside the member's area the 'Network Scene' section is linked to from the navigation header and there you'll find quite a lot of extra videos from collections like Blackout Pictures, MILF Mania, Want WOW, and others. Abigail's stuff is mixed into that list as well so it's kind of a catch-all section for this company's stuff.
Other Good Stuff:
Little Scene/Model Info, Many Blank Thumbnails in Model Index.
For a studio site of this kind the details on the content and models are too sparse for my liking. They don't provide DVD or movie titles for the scenes, release dates, or much info at all. The model index has a majority of girls without any preview thumbnails and no model bio info is provided. The index just links through to the girl's scenes and nothing else.
Average Level HD Specs, HD Filesare MP4 Only.
While there are some HD videos here they are only in MP4 format and the specs are 1280x720 2000k which is near the bottom of the spectrum for high-def content. The video downloads are in one quality level for each format so there aren't any choices within the formats.
Minor Negatives:
Abigail Productions hardcore lesbian & solo mastubation scenes plus some bonus site content.
Abigail XXX is a fairly straightforward collection of this studio's video scenes some of which also include a photo set too. The focus on lesbian action is the main thing that stands out and then they do give members the 'Network Scenes' which gives a good amount of extra bonus content in other niches. The updates have begun to lag and become sporadic which isn't a good sign considering the site is only about one year old at the time of this review.
About the Content:
Downloadable videos/photos from Abigail Productions studio featuring hardcore lesbian sex along with solo masturbation action.
Download Managers:
Yes, should work.
Channel Max: 8
Able to pause/resume.
Test Software: IDM
Download Speed:
Download Mgr: 1.7MB/sec.
Browser: 200-400KB/sec.
(228MB video, 20Mbps cable internet)
Exclusive Info:
Advertised: Original.
My Opinion: Their own Abigail Productions content that's also available on DVD.
File Sizes (HQ):
(average size, HQ)
HD Video:
Yes, all videos.
File Type: MP4
Bit-Rate: 2000k
Dimensions: 1280x720
Quality: Pretty low HD specs.
Live Cams:
No free live cam shows.
Logging In:
Only user/pwd required.
Videos don't require pwd.
Model Appearance:
White, black, asian, latinas.
Mostly pornstars.
Thin, sexy, average body types.
Model Info:
214+ models total.
Ages 18-30.
Mostly U.S. based.
Other Content:
'Network scenes' extra videos & photos.
Other Details:
Some scenes with background music.
Pic Details:
Professional level photography.
Studio style images.
Zip files available.
Pic Dimensions (HQ):
All = 1600 x 1066
Consistent sizes.
Streaming Player:
Medium Flash player.
Can jump ahead immediately.
3-5 second buffer.
Smooth playback.
Average quality.
Updates in Last 7 Days:
(generally weekly updates, can be gaps)