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Operating Systems Posts - Page 21
iOS 7 shows up in website logs, suggests Apple is testing out the new mobile OS ahead of WWDC
Apple's iOS 7 beta has started to show up in website logs, suggesting that Apple is testing out the new operating system ahead of its rumored WWDC debut. This isn't the first time that operating systems have shown up in website logs ahead of their launch.
Onswipe, for instance, has seen massive spikes in iOS 7 traffic to the sites they manage. The majority of the iOS 7 traffic is coming from San Francisco and Cupertino, 18.75 percent and 17.9 percent respectively. 75 percent of the iOS 7 traffic is coming from iPhones and 25 percent is coming from iPads.
Apple is widely expected to announce iOS 7 at the WWDC. It's not clear what changes will be included, though there has been talk that it will feature a flat visual design. If iOS 7 makes an appearance at WWDC, you'll be sure to hear about it here.
Windows Blue public preview coming at BUILD conference at the end of June
There has been a lot of talk about Microsoft's upcoming update known as Windows Blue. Julie Larson-Green confirmed on stage at the Wired Business Conference that the Windows Blue update is coming later this year, though a specific release time was not provided.
Larson-Green announced that a public preview of the update will be made available during the BUILD conference taking place at the end of June. This will allow the public to get their hands on the update and provide feedback.
Tami Reller:
Windows Blue is a codename for an update that will be available later this year, building on the bold vision set forward with Windows 8 to deliver the next generation of tablets and PCs. It will deliver the latest new innovations across an increasingly broad array of form factors of all sizes, display, battery life and performance, while creating new opportunities for our ecosystem. It will provide more options for businesses, and give consumers more options for work and play. The Windows Blue update is also an opportunity for us to respond to the customer feedback that we've been closely listening to since the launch of Windows 8 and Windows RT. From a company-wide perspective, Windows Blue is part of a broader effort to advance our devices and services for Microsoft.
We'll be sure to update you when the public preview is made available in late June.
Microsoft have sold over 100 million Windows 8 licenses
Consumers might not be bragging about Windows 8, but Microsoft now has something bragworthy about their touch-friendly OS: it has passed 100 million licenses sold, and has no signs of stopping, for now.
These sales figures are pretty much identical to that of its predecessor, Windows 7, which reached 100 million sales on April 27, 2010. While the traditional PC industry is on a downward slope, Microsoft are still somehow moving significant amounts of Windows 8 licenses.
The next version of Android will be another iteration of Jelly Bean, will arrive as Android 4.3
Most have been expecting Google to unveil Android 5.0 "Key Lime Pie" at Google I/O in a couple of weeks, but ahead of that HTC have teased an event scheduled for May 16 in San Francisco, where HTC developers will talk about new features on Android 4.3.
These new features will include Bluetooth Low Energy and Open GL ES 3.0. The members of the group will be receiving "an overview of the BLE specification and take us through the new APIs with some hands-on demos with various devices, heart rate monitors, key finders, and multi-sensor kits (temperature, pressure, humidity, accelerometer)".
We should see a new Neuxs phone unveiled at Google I/O with Android 4.3 inside, as well as LTE capabilities and hopefully, expandable storage. I'm guessing we'll also see a screen bump from 4-inch to 4.7-inch or so.
BlackBerry wants BlackBerry 7.0 users to update to 7.1, offers 10 paid apps free as encouragement
If you're still rocking BlackBerry 7.0, your wait has been worth it. BlackBerry wants you to upgrade to the newer BlackBerry 7.1 and is willing to give you 10 paid apps for free if you do. If you upgrade before June 30, 2013, BlackBerry will give you apps that span the games and utilities categories.
The offer, which is only available in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, and the UK, includes the following apps:
- EA SPORTS FIFA 13 - Electronic Arts
- The Sims 3TM Supernatural - Electronic Arts
- BeWeather - Bellshare GmbH
- Screen Muncher - Motek Mobile
- Color ID FREE - Motek Mobile
- InstaPhoto - Smarter Apps
- DriveSafely Pro - iSpeech
- N.O.V.A for BBM - Gameloft
- UNO and Friends - Gameloft
- Photo Studio PRO - KVADGroup
All a user has to do to take advantage of the offer is upgrade your BlackBerry Curve 9260/9380, BlackBerry Bold 9790/9900, BlackBerry Torch 9810/9860, or Porsche Design P'9981. You'll get new features in BlackBerry 7.1 including Mobile Hotspot, FM radio, BlackBerry Tag, and WiFi calling.
Apple releases iPhone 5 exclusive update to iOS 6.1.4
Apple has released today an exclusive update for iPhone 5 devices. The update, which brings the version number up to 6.1.4, is exclusively for the latest iPhone and contains rather minor changes. The update is available over-the-air and comes in at a rather small 11.5MB.
The update brings with it an "updated audio profile for speakerphone." Between both the size of the update and change log, we're convinced that this is an extremely minor update. Of course, updating to the latest version will break your jailbreak and we doubt an updated audio profile is enough to make you want to lose your jailbreak. For everyone else, you can grab the update OTA or by clicking your device version:
ReportTT: Google likely to debut Android 4.3, not Android 5.0, at I/O
It looks as though people might have jumped the gun a bit in regards to whether or not Google will debut Android 5.0 at Google I/O. According to some leg work done by AndroidPolice, it's much more likely that Google will debut an updated Android Jelly Bean version at I/O going by the version number 4.3.
A build going by Android 4.3 JWR23B has been showing up in their server logs. They then traced down the IPs that they were coming from to Google. More specifically, AndroidPolice claim that the IPs are associated with two employees that are heavily involved with Android.
The build has been showing up on Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 devices. Typically, Nexus devices are the first to get a new version of Android. Finally, AndroidPolice cites several bugs that have cropped up in the Chromium bug tracker that list JWR23B as the build.
We'll know for sure as soon as Google I/O happens in about three weeks.
Apple increases iOS 7 team to meet deadline, pulling engineers from OS X 10.9 team
It looks as though the iOS 7 team is in crunch time as WWDC approaches. According to an AllThingsD source, Apple is "borrowing" engineers from the OS X 10.9 team to work on iOS 7. If the rumors we've been hearing about iOS 7 come to fruition, it's not completely surprising they're in need of a few extra engineers.
iOS 7 is reportedly undergoing some massive UI tweaks and changes. Gone are the days of skeuomorphic design cues. Instead, we should be facing a flatter, more Jony Ive-style interface. According to one source, "Put it this way. You know Game Center's green felt craps table? Well, goodbye, Circus Circus."
We'll be reporting on all the changes in iOS 7 when it eventually makes its debut. Until then, what would you like to see in the new iOS 7?
Windows 8 now takes 3.84% OS market share, still isn't doing well at all
With the first quarter of 2013 out of the way, it's time to reflect on those Windows 8 numbers, isn't it? Net Applications' latest data shows that April was a good month for Windows 8, but for Windows as a whole, not so much.
Worldwide OS market share for April 2013 showed that Windows 8 gained 0.53% from 3.31% to 3.84%, whereas Windows 7 dropped 0.01% from 44.73% to 44.72%. Windows 8 isn't growing much at all, gaining just 0.66% OS market share since December, four months ago now. Windows Blue, or Windows 8.1, is going to meet the same fate, unfortunately.
Google updates Chrome OS to better support public kiosks
Google has updated Chrome OS with a new Managed Public Sessions feature so that Chromebooks can more easily be set up as public kiosks. The new feature allows users to surf the web without requiring any sort of login, all the while providing Administrators the tools they need via a web-based management console.
Google points to examples of where this could be useful. For instance, a retail store could set up a kiosk so customers could order out-of-stock merchandise. They could also be used in the business center of a hotel. The uses are really quite endless.
Administrators can easily customize any Chrome device to be a public session device using the web-based management console. The features that you'll find in the console include the ability to set the default sites and apps a user sees at login, custom brand the homepage, block sites and apps that shouldn't be accessed, configure device inputs and outputs, and set timed log-out sessions. For security reasons, public session data is cleared on logout so the next user starts fresh.


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... more
Since 2008, CPM has provided placements for undergraduate and post graduate students studying a social work course from many different educational institutions, such as Birmingham City University and University of Birmingham. The placement involves the student working closely with our users and staff. Every placement student received tutoring, supervision and assessment during their time with us.
Currently, there are no vacancies for placements at our centre
Cerebral Palsy Midlands
Telephone: 0121 427 3182
17 Victoria Road
Registered Charity No: 529464
|Registered Charity No: 529464
|Copyright © 2012 Cerebral Palsy Midlands. Designed and produced by Studio 56 Ltd.

subset: commoncrawl


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Geisha Rossi
2000 - November 2, 2013 RIP
If it wasn't for Geisha, there would be no Shorty's Rescue or Shorty's Charities Inc. Because of her we have saved so many dogs and we will continue to do so through Shorty's Charities.
Geisha became Shorty's "alter ego" and went with him wherever he went. Geisha became a poster dog for pit bulls. When Shorty injured his back, Geisha was his first service animal.
Not only is Geisha a service dog, she also is involved in volunteer work; she makes frequent visits to nursing homes, schools, charity functions and hospitals. Geisha is an actress – she has appeared in music videos and print ads.
As of 2012, Geisha is over 13 years old and her age is finally catching up with her. She is now permanently retired and enjoying her golden years in Shorty's house in Mexico. Life couldn''t be any better for her.
Copyright © 2009-2012 Shortywood Productions / Shorty's Rescue - Hollywood, CA 90028
No Flakes Web Design - Webmaster, Graphics and Web Design


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Enhance the Experience With HDTV
Eye-popping High-Definition (HD) programming enhances any entertainment experience. At 10x the resolution of standard programming, HD images are beyond sharp. HD is also delivered in a wider format, increasing your viewing area by more than 30%! Combining enhanced visuals with theater-quality sound, your customers will see and hear the difference with HD service from Burlington Telecom.


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Saturday, December 20, 2014
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Some city students who are champion chess players are hoping to make all the right moves to highlight the importance of after-school programs.
As part of national 'Make a Difference Day' Saturday, chess players from championship-winning IS 318 in Williamsburg are setting up a program to put student chess coaches in local elementary schools.
The students are featured in a new critically-acclaimed documentary called "Brooklyn Castle."
Pobo Efekoro, a former member of the team, spoke about what the game has taught him.
"I can now be patient when I'm doing something, and I think that's very important because maybe that's something that a lot of people don't have today in our world," Efekoro said. "Strategy. You have to plan. You need to plan. And work ethic."
Chess boards are on their way to local schools so other students can get their own chess programs up and running.
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Orbite Aluminae,
Suzy Waite
LONDON Orbite Aluminae Inc. is close to completing construction of its high-purity alumina plant in Quebec and has initiated commissioning on many sections of the facility, the Montreal-based alumina start-up said Tuesday.
All of the "critical equipment" is in place and the company is on schedule to begin commercial production in the spring, it said.
"Initiation of the commissioning is an important milestone for the high-purity alumina plant. As a result, we expect to achieve initial production in the near term and commercial production, as planned, for the start of the second quarter 2013," Orbite president and chief executive officer Richard Boudreault said in a statement.
Production capacity will gradually increase from less than 1 tonne per day of high-purity alumina at the beginning of 2013 to 3 tonnes per day by mid-2013 and 5 tonnes per day at this time next year, Orbite said.
The facility will also produce gallium and scandium oxides once a recovery circuit is completed in mid-2013, Orbite said.
The company is also moving forward with its plans for an aluminum smelter-grade alumina plant, which Boudreault said is now undergoing a feasibility study. The metallurgical alumina plant is expected to begin production by the end of 2013 or 2014.
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We actually don't know who his investors are. At the point when we are ready, we will investigate further. There are just so many things to handle and there are a lot of items to be considered with the project."
-- Charles C. Mitchell, Barstow city manager


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Factory for the arts
Arts group signs agreement to buy 1850 Ball & Socket
|Ball & Socket Arts has singed a purchase agreement for the former factory on West Main Street. The group plans to turn it into arts space, a small cinema and retail space. Lauresha Xhihani / Republican-American
CHESHIRE — An arts group has signed a sales agreement with the owner of the former Ball & Socket building on West Main Street.
The agreement between Ball & Socket Arts and the building's owner, Dalton Enterprises, is for $1 million. A closing date has been set for November as the nonprofit still has some work to do including lining up its funding and getting permits.
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Brian wrote on May 8, 2013 6:28 AM:
" As seen countless times before, artists and their workshops and galleries can lead economic development in previously underdeveloped areas. I wish the Ball and Socket Group the best. "
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More stories from Local
- Ups, downs of budgets
- The library gets lively
- New school standards don't come with funds
- Factory for the arts
- Film goes to Washington
- Region 16 budget loses in one town
- Self-proclaimed hero sought
- Parent brings residency issue to selectmen
- Region 1 budget rejected by 236-vote margin
- Pupils teach on Science Night


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Fashion design company Diane von Furstenburg Studio resides in a new six story structure in New York City's Meatpacking District. Designed by WORK Architecture, the space multi functions as the company's flagship store, showroom and event space, administrative offices for the 120 person staff, and our favorite part the penthouse apartment sitting on the top floor.
The penthouse features its own roof top garden, an essential part of luxury living in New York; which also includes a spacious deck for lounging and entertaining purposes. A glass structure comprised of multiple triangular panes allows light to illuminate the apartment. The luxurious design elements continue throughout the penthouse, with the focal point behing the Swarovski crystal lined staircase.
via Inhabitat


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As organizations expose more sensitive data and business-critical functions via APIs, protecting the business means protecting those APIs against the kind of attacks and security breaches that can result in brand damage, loss of revenue and compliance penalties.
Axway API Gateway provides comprehensive API security and out-of-the-box identity management integrations to deflect attacks against, control access to, and secure the data transmitted by cloud and mobile APIs, as well as traditional SOA web services. Complete auditing, monitoring, logging and reporting capabilities also help enterprises meet compliance mandates.
Protection against both enemy and friendly fire
In recent years the growing number and variety of API clients has led to badly engineered clients and incidents of client malfunction. A misbehaving client can repeatedly send requests that cause as much or more damage as a denial-of-service (DOS) attack.
Serving as the policy enforcement point (PEP) that authenticates, authorizes and audits API access, Axway API Gateway protects APIs from malicious attacks as well as potential "friendly fire" by monitoring API call volume and client behaviors. Clients exhibiting disruptive behaviors can be blocked or throttled.
Message-level security across all API traffic
Network firewalls do not block message-level threats, and traditional firewalls only protect Web applications. Axway API Gateway can detect and prevent message level threats across all API traffic, including cloud, web, mobile and B2B channels. Messages are scanned at the protocol header, SOAP header, XML and attachment levels and REST API methods (GET, PUT, DELETE, POST, etc.) can be selectively secured to ensure that inappropriate method usage is detected and blocked.
Axway API Gateway also provides integrated virus scanning of all message content and attachments, and offers out-of-the-box integrations with leading anti-virus services, including CLAM AV, McAfee and Sophos.


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Related Stories
Updated: October 17, 2012 6:23AM
Fifteen of the city's top art dealers have banded together for the second-annual Gallery Weekend Chicago, a free open house taking place Sept. 21-23 in conjunction with Expo Chicago.
Participants include the Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Kavi Gupta Gallery, Richard Gray Gallery, Valerie Carberry Gallery and Western Exhibitions.
In addition to extended hours, the participating galleries will host a series of public talks and receptions as well as invitation-only parties and tours.
Gallery owner Monique Meloche, who spearheaded the event, said the weekend will complement the activities at Expo Chicago and give both visitors and local residents a "bricks-and-mortar" taste of the city's gallery scene.
For a complete list of participants and other information, visit galleryweekendchicago.com.
Kyle MacMillan


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Fixing education? It's a matter of common sense
By Eric Lee
As a former teacher, I would love to see teachers make six-figure incomes, because the ones we currently have deserve it. But Flanagan's reasoning about attracting more, smarter and more talented teachers is faulty at many levels. Right off the top of my head, here's a few:
1. Smarter doesn't mean a better teacher. In fact, high functioning individuals often cannot relate to the students at all. Imagine a Dr. Sheldon Cooper of TV's "Big Bang Theory" trying to handle students — a total disaster. I have seen this in practice. If the students can't relate to and respect the teacher, no learning will take place, no matter how good the teacher is at their subject.
2. The problem with public schools and students not learning is not the teachers, it's with students who are basically lazy, and parents who don't care enough about their education. Personal responsibility for one's own learning is virtually non-existent these days.
3. The problem of many students not wanting to learn will not be solved by paying teachers more. If kids don't care about learning, it doesn't matter who teaches them, or how they are taught, they still won't learn because they choose not to. Conversely, the student who wants to learn will excel no matter who teaches, how it is taught, or with no teacher at all. In fact, teachers' salaries that are based on student achievement simply promotes students purposely doing poorly to hurt teachers that they don't like. This is not uncommon.
4. Teacher education candidates are at an all-time low in colleges of Michigan due to excessive and poorly conceived micro-management by politicians who have no idea what makes for good education, making it a living Hell to teach. The word has spread, so look for increasing teacher shortages in the near future. All the more so for the "smarter people" — remember that they are smarter, which helps them deduce the pitfalls of teaching even better than we "stupid teachers." Due to state requirements, I was actually forced to write multiple-choice tests on how to do art projects for final exams and testing out in art classes — a complete waste of everyone's time. It's like taking a test on how to chew gum. That is one of many examples of clueless politicians meddling where they do not belong. Having been a student at one time doesn't qualify you to fix education. If you haven't taught in a public school classroom in the last 10 years, you are in no position to fix the problems of education.
5. Ridiculous, time-wasting paperwork and red tape for teachers to wade through from the state, keeping teachers from working on teaching better. I have worked in private industry as well, and I can tell you that if an office worker/executive was given this much busywork, they would be given one or more secretaries to handle the daily load. Currently, every teacher should have their own secretary, and two for special education teachers.
6. No one knows where the money will come from when schools are reducing their budgets already, can't buy books or supplies needed, can't pay for teacher conferences, and firing older (more expensive salaried) teachers through unscrupulous tactics and closing programs to save money.
7. There is nothing wrong with the teachers or curriculum we already have. As mentioned before, the main problem lies with the students and also too many uncaring parents. Too bad "I give a damn" isn't being taught in many homes, where the students get their attitudes toward education and their work ethic. But politicians don't get reelected when they are that honest with the voters.
8. At the least, a public campaign of awareness is needed to wake up these students and parents. Even better, a required course and connected licensing in how to parent if you want to get married and/or have children. As my deceased dad, a beloved and fantastic teacher of 35-plus years used to say, "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."


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Research Topics
Sigurd Braun
Affiliation: University of Munich
Country: Germany
Detail Information
- Shaping the landscape: mechanistic consequences of ubiquitin modification of chromatinSigurd Braun
Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, 600 16th Street, San Francisco, California 94158 2200, USA
EMBO Rep 13:619-30. 2012..These occur in a spatially and temporally controlled manner. In this review, we summarize our understanding of these mechanisms with a particular emphasis on how ubiquitylation shapes the physical landscape of chromatin...


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Naked Capitalism:
There is a common myth that unions hurt productivity, supposedly because they impose work rules that make their employers less efficient. The evidence from industrial relations studies does not support this myth. A broad study of the economics literature found "a positive association [of unions on productivity] is established for the United States in general and for U.S. manufacturing" in particular (Doucouliagos and Laroche 2003, 1).1 And as the second chart below reveals, international comparisons suggest that high productivity and very high union density are entirely compatible.


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Since 1979, The Phoenix School has been providing exceptional childcare! We are located in Oakhurst, 1 ½ miles southwest of downtown Decatur. It is a full-day (7:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.), year-round program for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old, including a state-funded Georgia Pre-K Program. To preserve our stable, high-quality learning environment, we do not offer part-time or drop-in childcare; however, we do offer summer camp for children ages 4 to 6 years old.
The Phoenix School is a non-profit corporation, and is managed by a Board of Directors. We are licensed by the State of Georgia, and have been recognized as a Center of Distinction. We are nationally accredited by National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (NECPA).
The Phoenix School is an inclusive community of families and educators dedicated to fostering the well-being and development of the whole child in a warm nurturing environment.
We, as staff and parents of The Phoenix School, believe that a quality early childhood program must meet the needs of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. We are, therefore, a non-profit, child-centered school offering an enriching environment and varied program consisting of a caring and nurturing atmosphere, developmentally appropriate curriculum, "hands-on" experiences, and learning & play activities for physical, intellectual, emotional and social growth. This program is provided by an experienced, well-trained staff dedicated to early childhood education through the use of developmentally appropriate practice and a loving, nurturing attitude toward children – which promotes healthy development.
The curriculum at The Phoenix School is constantly evolving because of staff and parents recognize and respect differences in learning styles, interests, cultures, customs, and family situations. Field trips promote a sense of belonging to the community and provide children with a learning environment that extends well beyond the walls of Phoenix School.
Because we believe in the importance of family, Phoenix School is a parent-governed family-centered school. Parent involvement is expected and appreciated. We welcome parent and other family members into The Phoenix School community. We foster this feeling of family cooperation through the school picnic, class parties, teacher in-service days, board meetings, fundraisers and other special events. We encourage each parent to become actively involved with his or her child's class and teachers so that optimal opportunities for learning and developing will take place through cooperation of home and school.


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"Location, Location, Location! It was truly like staying "home away from home". Perfect – the Innkeepers are wonderful, the staff is delightful. Breakfast is yummy! We will be back!"
~J. Peters, Germany
Anna is from Brighton - from the same
area of England that I was born and raised! I got to practice my
British accent again . . .it was delightful having her and her family
here to stay for a few days.
her and her hubby are traveling photographers for travel guides!! . .
.she says they go everywhere to take pictures for AA and other travel
guide books. They are on their way to Mexico from their home base, now
in Scotland. Her hubby doesn't like traveling by plane - so they got to
America by ship, and then traveled to San Antonio via a train and will
continue their journey all the way through Mexico in the next 7 weeks.
Wow - what an interesting and exciting occupation - and best of all -
they get to take little Eva with them . . .she's gorgeous!
Copyright 2014 © Inn on the Riverwalk. All rights reserved. » Site Map | Contact Us | Reservations «
Designed and hosted by Sublime Artistry. Photography by Carli - Inked Fingers Photography


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|Anonymous woman, identified only as "Friend of Rae"
This project has been funded by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, in addition to grants from local organizations and individual contributions. LSTA funding is provided by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and used to support statewide projects and competitive grants to all types of libraries.
Local organizations providing grant support include the Williamsport Hospital School of Nursing Alumni Association and the Board of the Williamsport Home.


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Last night I finally got to see something I've wanted to see again for many many years - an episode of "Cheggers Plays Pop!" I was able to acquire an early episode from 1978, and it made for both fascinating and excruciating viewing!
Keith Chegwin became a star thanks to "Swap Shop" and somebody at the BBC had the bright idea of giving him his very own show during the teatime Children's TV slot. None of those moronic "Children's TV" presenters or puppets between shows wasting everybody's time under the guise of "Childrens BBC" or "CBBC" or whatever the hell it is these days. You simply got the old rotating BBC globes, the voiceover guy and boom... into the show we'd go.
"Cheggers Plays Pop" was a bizarre hybrid of "Top Of The Pops", "Pop Quiz" and "Its A Knockout!" It would have two teams made up of schoolkids representing their schools and they would compete in various stupid games featuring some pop quiz rounds and daft Knockout-esque games always climaxing in an inflatable bouncy game.
For instance the above screencap shows one such game where the contestants have one minute to spin as many oversized rubber coins past the cut out animated goalie... erm... okay...
Keith Chegwin was even back then hugely irritating. Seeing this 29 years on is hilarious with his naff haircut and ridiculous outfit. He was always hyper this guy and throughout the show many times before he says something he does that annoying whooping intake of breath thing... always trying to make a cheap crummy show that extra bit more exciting.
There were three musical guests on this edition. First a British cod funk band called Hi Tension. When they come on, its very much like TOTP except the audience are not around the acts but we do get cutaways of the audience clapping along.
The second act is truly unbelievable and really do set the era in stone better than most. Now don't forget, this was the era of punk, new wave and disco, but one band who were always on TV round that era fitted into none of those categories...
Its the bloody Wurzels! The Wurzels spent the late 70s' recording and releasing a stream of parodies of older songs done over in their own inimitable style and in this show its their dire take on The Mixtures' "The Pushbike Song"! At first in 1976 these parodies were amusing but by 1978 they had become a predictable bore and were clearly on some kind of treadmill churning out cover after cover which musically had no artistic value at all but they were "safe" so they popped up regularly on shows like this. There they are complete with a REAL dog sat on a tractor trailer with the obligatory props of hay...
It is a genuinely wonderful piece of kitsch kids TV because Cheggers himself gets behind the wheel of what looks like a forklift truck heavily disguised to give the impression its some kind of tractor and Cheggers drives the Wurzels round the studio as they perform with all the kids merrily clapping away to the song! Unbelievable!
That's followed by more games, a stupid catapult type one. There's another pop quiz moment which is farcical. Cheggers announces he's asking questions about the number 9 record that week so what's the first question? "What number is this record in the top ten this week?"
If that isn't bad enough, it gets even worse. Cheggers then introduces the final music act... the dreaded Bonnie Tyler!
Its a rambling boring song with Bonnie being her usual rasping annoying self singing a song that wasn't a big hit that could well be "Its A Heartache Part 2". The musical items are all mimed by the way... no live vocals or anything like that... this was low budget TV after all. At the end of Tylers' song, Cheggers bounces on to present her with a gold disc for "Its A Heartache"! Now here's a real facet long hone from TV screens... I recall it was quite common for artistes to be presented with gold discs on variety TV shows and here's Bonnie Tyler's "golden moment"... on "Cheggers Plays Pop!"
Finally there's the obligatory inflatable round where the brats have to bounce along with these hula hoop nets and pull an overhead lever to be doused by feathers and try and catch a football, then bounce along and deposit them in a bucket on a see saw. The final scores are totted up and the red team are this weeks winners.., but what do they actually win? We never find out!
Cheggers does his goodbye bit and announces that it will return in two weeks time due to a bank holiday and the show ends with the closing credits. And then comes the final shock...
"Director - Johnnie Stewart!" Johnnie Stewart was the man who created TOTP and produced it for most of its first decade on air. How the mighty fell for here he is years after leaving TOTP directing this crummy kids TV show. It shows in the music sequences which are very TOTP in feel and style. It was also a BBC Manchester production so was obviously made there because it was much cheaper.
"Cheggers Plays Pop!" was a crap show even at the time - it ran until the mid 80's and rarely ever changed its style. It was simply a cheap kids TV game show designed as a vehicle for Keith Chegwin. What's noticeable about Cheggers at this early stage is how much of his Scouse accent is actually present. That got toned down over the years but here its rather noticeable and prominent.
But I enjoyed seeing this again. It is a great time capsule and a good example of the show. I used to watch it for the musical acts... the rest of it was nonsense I'd ignore but seeing it all these years on, it is very amusing. "Its A Knockout!" was a very popular show at the time so having elements of that in there with the irritating Stuart Hall replaced by the irritating Keith Chegwin with some pop music elements chucked in really does make this fun to see again.
Many major bands did appear on this show because Kid's TV was seen to be brilliant promotion to the degree that there exists an edition from 1983 where The Police perform "Every Breath You Take!" They looked thoroughly miserable, partly because by then they'd had enough of one another but also probably because despite being one of the biggest groups in the World, playing the biggest venues, there they are playing second fiddle to Keith Chegwin!
There's a good chance more episodes will surface... bring em on! I wanna see much more of this stuff. Yes, its crap - always was and always will be but it has plenty of kitsch value. It would be nice if someday I could show this to a child of my own and tell him/her that this was one of the shows I used to watch as a kid. They'd probably think all manner of dubious things... but Kids TV back then was much "safer" and more conservative. Disposable, sure... word has it that quite a few of these shows no longer exist. Is that a tragedy? Yes and No. There's a whole load of musical performances in this series that TOTP2 could do well to exploit and plunder so those are valuable moments. The rest looks very dated and silly and totally anachronistic and irrelevant. There's no way the BBC could ever have a repeat season of the show though that would be great, but it looks too old... its a relic of its time that has no place in today's time... and that's why I welcome the chance to acquire and see nonsense like this again!


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The International Housewares Association (IHA) is focusing on the Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act as the top legislative priority for its Government Affairs agenda and the housewares industry.
H.R. 32, the Stop Counterfeiting in Manufactured Goods Act, was introduced in the House of Representatives earlier this year and passed by a voice vote in May. The bill mandates the destruction of the counterfeit goods and the forfeiture of any assets traceable to illegal counterfeiting activities. The legislation would also permit the destruction of any equipment used to make the counterfeit products, along with the counterfeit labels/patches/medallions that are unattached to any of the goods.
IHA is joining the Coalition Against Counterfeiting and Piracy, which is being organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers to work to enact legislation to combat product counterfeiting during the 109th Congress.
Members of IHA's Government Affairs Committee discussed H.R. 32 with their Congressional representatives during visits to Capitol Hill in late June. In arguments supporting H.R. 32, committee members concluded that the influx of counterfeit goods from foreign markets is causing significant adverse effect on everything from housewares products to machine dies and tools.
"The U.S. Customs Service has estimated that counterfeiting has resulted in the loss of 750,000 jobs and costs the United States some $200 billion annually," said Phil Brandl, IHA president. "The effect on the home products industry alone has been substantial. H.R. 32 has focused the Congress's attention on the problem of product counterfeiting. Over the coming months, IHA will be lobbying Congress to strengthen the bill to better address the No. 1 priority of home products manufacturers—stopping the flood of counterfeit goods before they enter the U.S. marketplace."
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Only in Arkansas: The Top 10 Business Stories of 2011
by Arkansas Business Staff on Monday, Dec. 26, 2011 12:00 am
No. 1
Crystal Bridges Museum Opens
After six-and-a-half years of buildup, the question was, could Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art live up to the hype?
We learned the answer on Nov. 11, the day the Bentonville institution opened: A resounding "yes."
Alice Walton, only daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, announced plans for the museum in May 2005, soon after news reports revealed she had paid what was thought to be more than $35 million for "Kindred Spirits," an Asher B. Durand painting, from the New York Public Library.
At the time, Crystal Bridges was projected to cost $50 million, come in at 100,000 SF and open in 2009. The museum, designed by famed architect Moshe Safdie, eventually encompassed 201,000 SF, cost something north of $150 million and opened in 2011.
Decried, mostly in the big-city Eastern press, as a "culture vulture" seeking to snap up American masterworks only to display them in the hinterlands of Arkansas, Walton ignored her critics and, with the multimillion-dollar support of the Walton Family Foundation, continued her art-shopping spree.
Just a couple of the best-known prizes: Charles Willson Peale's "George Washington and Norman Rockwell's "Rosie the Riveter." The collection, however, came to cover the history of American art and feature works from lesser-known artists and edgier, contemporary pieces.
From the start, civic leaders in northwest Arkansas predicted the museum would be an engine for economic development in the region, forecasting up to 250,000 visitors a year. Bentonville Mayor Bob McCaslin said in early 2008 that the museum would be "the greatest catalyst for growth that this area has ever, ever experienced."
Indeed, construction of an upscale 104-room hotel in the city began earlier this month, and state tourism officials planned to buy advertising in national magazines to tout Arkansas as a cultural destination. In addition, Crystal Bridges and two other U.S. museums announced plans to partner with the Louvre in Paris to exhibit both American and European art.
For Walton, the museum is about more than telling the American story through its art; it's a tribute to her late mother, Helen, who shared with her daughter her own love of art. In an interview with Arkansas Business, Walton called that love "one of the real motivations for Crystal Bridges."
Although Alice Walton, whose net worth is estimated at about $21 billion, has been the driving force behind the museum, the Walton family and its foundation have shown increasing involvement in the project. The foundation disclosed that it had spent more than $1.2 billion on the museum in 2010 alone, including an $800 million endowment.
In July, the museum announced that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was giving Crystal Bridges $20 million to cover admission fees for all visitors, with the intent of making museum admission free in perpetuity.
No. 2
Kevin Lewis Admits Fraud
On Dec. 9, former Little Rock attorney Kevin Lewis was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison for committing the largest fraud prosecuted in Arkansas' history.
Lewis orchestrated a fake special improvement district bond scheme that cost Arkansas banks more than $50 million.
Lewis, 43, specialized in a niche of the law involving special improvement districts. Lewis knew and exploited the lax regulation of the districts.
Starting in 1997, Lewis created phony bonds that were either sold to banks or used as collateral for bank loans. The money fueled a luxurious lifestyle for Lewis that included buying in 2007 a $1.2 million home in west Little Rock that was then expanded. Lewis also bought stock in First Southern Bank of Batesville, eventually becoming its majority shareholder using borrowed money secured by the bank stock.
His scheme, a classic Ponzi in that new loans backed by phony bonds were used to pay interest on earlier phony bonds and loans, worked flawlessly until September 2010. Then, in a routine examination, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. questioned why First Southern Bank had invested $22.7 million in rural improvement district bonds. Further investigation revealed that the bonds, purchased from the bank's controlling shareholder, were worthless.
The bank never recovered. The FDIC took receivership in December 2010, rendering its stock worthless as collateral.
At the beginning of 2011, Home BancShares Inc. of Conway and a string of other Arkansas banks announced that they suffered losses from Lewis. At least 11 banks were victimized by Lewis, who spent months dodging process servers attempting to serve him with lawsuits from the various banks.
On Aug. 2, Lewis pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud in U.S. District Court in Little Rock and agreed to pay restitution of nearly $40 million. He is scheduled to report to federal prison on Feb. 7.
While Lewis' fraud was the largest prosecuted in Arkansas, it's not nearly the largest with Arkansas connections. Former North Little Rock businessman W.A. "Tony" Rand and his five sons cost oil and gas investors more than $110 million. Most of them committed their crimes in Texas and were sent to prison in 2011.
Rand and three of his sons were convicted in federal court in Texas for operating an oil and gas scam and started serving their sentences in 2011. Tony, Greg, Mark and Bill Rand also agreed to pay restitution of $99.7 million. Tony's oldest son, Wayne Rand, was sentenced to 20 years in Texas state prison in 2011 for conning investors out of $8 million.
Tony's other son, Jeff, started scheming when he was living in Hot Springs and continued after he moved to Houston. In July, Jeff pleaded guilty to fraud of between $2.5 million and $7 million in U.S. District Court in Fort Smith. No sentencing date had been set as of last week.
No. 3
Manufacturing Suffers
Arkansas manufacturing took some body blows in 2011.
The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services reported in October that manufacturing had the largest over-the-year decline of all the business sectors in the state, with a loss of 6,400 jobs "related to multiple layoffs and business closures."
State manufacturing took two especially newsworthy hits in 2011: The Yarnell's Premium Ice Cream Co. of Searcy closed abruptly in June, and Whirlpool Corp. of Benton Harbor, Mich., announced plans to close its Fort Smith plant in 2012.
About 200 Yarnell's employees lost their jobs suddenly when the 79-year-old family company closed and subsequently filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Yarnell's listed $15.7 million in debts and $8 million in assets.
Although the number of workers was relatively small, Yarnell's was very much an Arkansas tradition. The Yarnell family had operated the company from its 1932 beginning until its end. With a nod to its Arkansas origin, the manufacturer made an ice cream flavors in honor of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks.
Yarnell's ice cream was sold in Arkansas, Tennessee and parts of Missouri, Kentucky, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
Schulze & Burch Biscuit Co. of Chicago bought equipment, the Searcy plant, recipes and other assets for $1.34 million at an auction in November. Schulze & Burch has indicated an interest in reviving the Yarnell's brand, but firm plans to restart production have not been announced.
The pending Whirlpool closure in Fort Smith will affect many more workers.
As recently as 2007, Whirlpool was reported to be the ninth-largest employer in Arkansas, with 4,200 employees at the company's Fort Smith plant. But the number of employees working at the plant had declined. A year ago, the company said it employed 2,150 people in Fort Smith.
When the 45-year-old Fort Smith plant closes, about 1,000 employees will lose their jobs, and hundreds of jobs at companies dependent upon Whirlpool are also expected to disappear.
In an official statement, the company said, "This difficult but necessary announcement is being driven by a decrease in demand for the side-by-side refrigerator platforms that has resulted from the continued weakness in the global economy, and the aggressive pricing actions of global competitors."
No. 4
Shale Sales
2011 was dramatic for one of Arkansas' most lucrative resources: Billions of dollars were traded as some energy companies left the Fayetteville Shale Play and others moved in.
This year's first shakeup happened in February, when Chesapeake Energy Corp. of Oklahoma City announced it was selling all its Fayetteville Shale assets, including equity investments in Frac Tech Holdings LLC of Cisco, Texas, and Chaparral Energy Inc. of Oklahoma City.
Chesapeake's assets included about 487,000 net acres of leasehold and gas-producing properties. The company was producing about 415 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day through 420 miles of underground pipeline.
The company said it was selling the assets as part of a plan to reduce its overall debt by 25 percent.
The news came shortly after Petrohawk Energy Corp. of Houston also pulled out of the shale, selling all its Arkansas assets to Exxon Mobil subsidiary XTO Energy Inc. for some $575 million.
Chesapeake's assets weren't on the market for long: Less than a month after the announced departure, BHP Billiton, a huge Australian energy company, swooped in, dropping $4.75 billion for its first entry into the U.S. market.
Later, Frontier Gas Services of Tulsa sold its midstream assets in the shale to Crestwood Midstream Partners of Houston, tallying up $338 million.
Initial reactions to the big changes showed fear that the shale might not have been as much of a golden goose as originally thought. What would happen to all those jobs? Why were companies deserting the shale?
But experts were calm. The sales were a natural evolution, they said. The companies that explored the shale were simply done exploring, and were ready to hand over their treasures to long-term operators.
BHP, Exxon Mobile and Crestwood were settling in for the long haul, they said.
And they seem to be right, so far. By the end of 2011, XTO had hundreds of active wells in the state. In a presentation to investors, BHP lauded the cost-effectiveness of drilling in the shale. At only $3 million a pop, building new wells was a steal. Not only that, the company said it was hoping to build 14 more drilling rigs, adding to Chesapeake's original six.
No. 5
Windstream Expands Dramatically
In a hurricane of expansion, Little Rock's Windstream Corp. spent billions absorbing other companies throughout 2010 and making its largest acquisition yet in 2011.
The company has been working to build innovation as thousands of customers discontinue their traditional landline services.
"What happened over the last five years was clearly part of a five-year plan we put together to pretty radically change the focus at Windstream," President and CEO Jeff Gardner said in April.
During those years, the telecom invested more into rural broadband networks, as well as business services, data centers and cloud computing. To further this goal, the company acquired multiple companies with similar aims.
2010, Windstream absorbed Iowa Telecommunications Services Inc. for $1.2 billion; NuVox Inc. of Greenville, S.C., for $647 million; Q-Comm Corp. of Overland Park, Kan., for $782 million; and Hosted Solutions of Raleigh, N.C., for $310 million.
But the single largest purchase, by far, occurred in 2011. In August, Windstream announced it would merge with Paetec Holding Corp. of Fairport, N.Y., in a $2.3 billion deal.
The huge merger turned Windstream into an empire commanding 100,000 miles of fiber cables and promises to send the company into the Fortune 500.
But some opposition to the purchase was raised because Paetec had been planning a new headquarters building in Rochester, N.Y. The structure was to replace Midtown Plaza, a decaying downtown shopping mall, and was intended to house some of Paetec's 900 employees in the area.
With the 8.6-acre plot in limbo, locals in Rochester were worried the merger would stall downtown redevelopment. But in November, Windstream announced it would continue with the building project, completing the 335-person office. Gardner said Windstream would commit to a 15-year lease for 67,000 SF of office space in the building starting no later than August 2013.
Windstream also announced it would contribute $100,000 toward redevelopment of a Rochester community center. Rochester, in turn, withdrew all opposition.
By the end of November, the Federal Communications Commission had approved the merger. It closed in December.
No. 6
BOZ Grows, Banks Profit
Banks around the nation continued to feel the lingering effects of
the financial meltdown. While many lenders busied themselves mending fences and rebuilding, Bank of the Ozarks Inc. kept baling hay and adding new fields.
The company made its sixth and seventh FDIC-assisted purchase in April, expanding its total assets by nearly $1.3 billion with First Choice Community Bank of Dallas, Ga., and The Park Avenue Bank of Valdosta, Ga.
The Park Avenue Bank, a $953.3 million-asset concern, marked its largest such deal to date. The tandem buys in April were preceded by Oglethorpe Bank of Brunswick, Ga., in January.
George Gleason, chairman and CEO of Bank of the Ozarks, was pleased with the company's success ratio of competitive bidding on banks across the Midwest and Southeast. BOZ investors were pretty happy too.
The company outperformed just about every bank of comparable size in the nation as profits through the first nine months of 2011 soared to $83.8 million, a year-to-year gain of 77.9 percent.
Its stock soared as well, prompting a two-for-one split effective Aug. 16, the company's third since its IPO 14 years ago. Shares hit an all-time, split-adjusted high of $28.79 on Dec. 16.
Earnings also were good at another acquisition-minded lender, Home BancShares Inc. of Conway. The company recorded net income of more than $45 million during the first three quarters, a 29 percent gain compared with the same period in 2010.
After completing six FDIC-assisted deals in 2010, Home BancShares paid $27.9 million for 17 branches, $378 million in performing loans and $535 million in deposits at Vision Bank of Panama City, Fla. Eight Alabama branches marked the company's first foray in that state.
In August, Home BancShares repurchased its TARP-funded preferred shares and associated entanglements, clearing the way for the company to unilaterally increase its dividend payments.
Privately held lenders such as Arvest Bank of Fayetteville and First Security Bank of Searcy enjoyed sizable bumps in profits.
Net income through the first nine months of 2011 jumped nearly 30 percent to $62.9 million at First Security, compared with $48.5 million in 2010. The net income leap for the nine-month period at Arvest ($32.9 million to $62.4 million) was even more dramatic: a nearly 90 percent gain.
No. 7
Lottery Leaders Depart
If the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery were a business, its revenue would rank it among the 25 largest private companies in the state. That alone would make the rapid-fire departure of its top three executives big business news in 2011.
But the lottery isn't a private company; it's a governmental agency with a presumed mission to run efficiently in order to maximize the dollars available for college scholarships. And 2011 was the year that inefficiencies, incompetence and blatant abuse outweighed the expertise that the "South Carolina Three" - Ernie Passailaigue, David Barden and Ernestine Middleton - brought to the table.
It was also the year that legislators responsible for creating the distribution formula for lottery-generated scholarships began to consider some unintended consequences: a shift of students from two-year to four-year schools, high attrition due to academic failure and a shortage of dollars for the nontraditional students most likely to succeed.
The South Carolinians had successfully launched Arkansas' first state lottery in record time on Sept. 28, 2009. Twenty-five months later, on Halloween 2011, the total take from lottery ticket sales reached $1 billion. But by then, Passailaigue and Barden had resigned and Middleton had been fired.
Their combined salaries topped three-quarters of a million a year, yet they over-promised and under-delivered on revenue and especially on dollars available for scholarships. The IRS fined the lottery almost $100,000 for being late in remitting taxes owed by big winners, and a state audit found that Passailaigue and Barden each spent at least a quarter of their working days back home in South Carolina.
Since Passailaigue's departure in September, the lottery has been managed on an interim basis by Julie Baldridge, who had been its spokeswoman and lobbyist. The search for a permanent director began in December.
Meanwhile, 40 percent of the traditional freshmen who qualified for lottery scholarships lost them after their first year for failing to maintain minimum academic requirements. And the state Legislature's limit of $12 million in scholarship money for older, non-traditional students meant that nearly 6,000 of the students most likely to succeed were on a waiting list for scholarship assistance. Also of concern: 80 percent of scholarship recipients were opting for four-year schools, creating a glut of students at universities and hurting enrollment at two-year colleges.
No. 8
Football Teams Set Records
Mike Anderson returned to Fayetteville to take over as head coach of the Arkansas basketball team, giving hope of a return to the glory years the program enjoyed under the leadership of his mentor, Nolan Richardson. But the gridiron is where the fun manifested. 2011 was a good year to be an Arkansas college football fan.
University of Arkansas: The Razorbacks (10-2) achieved the team's first back-to-back 10-win seasons since 1988-89, with the only losses coming on the road against the top two teams in the nation, LSU and Alabama.
Along the way, junior quarterback Tyler Wilson threw for 510 yards against Texas A&M to set a new single-game school record.
The Hogs climbed as high as No. 3 in the BCS standings in Bobby Petrino's fourth season as head coach and were rewarded with a top 10 clash with the Kansas State Wildcats at the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, on Jan. 6.
Arkansas State University: The Red Wolves (10-2) made an undefeated run through the Sunbelt Conference under first-year head coach Hugh Freeze. Backed by an 8-0 conference championship, the team was awarded a bid to the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Ala., to face the Northern Illinois Huskies on Jan. 8.
ASU enjoyed its first 10-win regular season since its legendary 1975 campaign, backed by a passing offense that ranked No. 26 in the nation (273.6 yards per game). The team amassed 5,441 yards of total offense during 2011, a school record and the first time the 5,000-yard mark was surpassed.
The shock of Freeze resigning to accept the head coaching gig at Ole Miss was replaced with the euphoria of hiring Gus Malzahn, offensive coordinator at Auburn University.
University of Central Arkansas: The Bears (9-4) made their first appearance in the Football Championship Series playoffs in just the team's second season of eligibility. UCA advanced to the second round, losing 41-14 to the Montana Grizzlies on the sub-freezing Sprinturf of John Hoyt Field in Missoula, Mont. All the team's losses came against opponents that ended the season as conference champions.
Clint Conque, in his 12th season as head coach at UCA, was named among the 20 finalists for the 25th annual Eddie Robinson Award honoring the national coach of the year in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.
No. 9
Dillard's Dazzles
In 2011, Dillard's Inc. of Little Rock continued its major turnaround.
For the three quarters ended Oct. 29, its net income was $120.8 million, compared with $70 million for the same period in 2010. And its sales were $4.29 billion during that time, compared with $4.17 billion during the same period in 2010.
Its same-store sales were up every month except for February and March, when they were off only 1 percent.
This is coming from the retailer that suffered through 18 months of same-store sales declines between August 2008 and January 2010. But then in 2010, Dillard's managers started a stronger push to close underperforming stores, trim expenses and appeal to the affluent customer. At the end of 2010, it announced it was opening a 852,000-SF Internet fulfillment center in Maumelle to support the growth of its online sales, which Dillard's doesn't separate in its filings. The center is expected to open in 2012.
Other strategies paid off in 2011. In January, Dillard's announced it was going to move ownership of some of its real estate into a real estate investment trust. It was unclear, though, what Dillard's exact plans were for the REIT. Dillard's and its auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP of New York, couldn't agree on when the tax benefit related to the REIT should be recognized. Dillard's wanted it to be claimed in future earning periods. The Internal Revenue Service agreed with Dillard's, and Dillard's fired PricewaterhouseCoopers in October. It has hired KPMG LLP of New York as its replacement.
After the REIT announcement, Dillard's stock price soared. It started the year at $38.45 and then reached a record high of $61 in July. Last week, the stock price was trading just over $43.
Other stock prices of Arkansas companies were also on a wild ride in 2011. The stock price for Deltic Timber Corp. of El Dorado started out at $57 in January 2011 and zoomed up to $70 a share in April, fell and then hit $76 in October. It has since fallen to just over $59 during the week of Dec. 19.
Of the 16 largest public companies in Arkansas, half of them had increases in their stock price from Jan. 1 until the week of Dec. 19.
No. 10
UCA Makes News
The University of Central Arkansas' past two presidents kept the Conway school linked to controversy and scandals this year.
The former presidents, Lu Hardin and his successor, Allen Meadors, both drew public scrutiny throughout 2011.
Hardin pleaded guilty to two felony charges in March at federal court in Little Rock. He had resigned as president of UCA in 2008 after it was discovered that he had deceived the UCA board of trustees into giving him a $300,000 bonus, and he pleaded guilty this year to the charges arising from that deception: wire fraud and money laundering.
U.S. District Judge James Moody sentenced Hardin to five years of probation.
Meadors, who was named as Hardin's replacement in June 2009, resigned in September after he and UCA board Chair-man Scott Roussel apologized for not revealing the conditions placed on a gift to the school. Aramark, the university's food vendor, offered $700,000 to renovate the UCA president's home but only if its contract was renewed without competitive bidding.
Other UCA board members said they were led to believe Aramark's donation was an outright gift.
No criminal charges have been filed against Meadors, but the UCA board bought out his contract. University trustee Rush Harding said the board opted to buy out Meadors' contract to show its opposition to the lack of transparency.
"And the board just felt like we needed to send a strong message that we're not going to stand for that anymore, and this [buyout] is the result of that," Harding said.
Tom Courtway, the university's general counsel, acted as interim president after the departures of both Hardin and Meadors.
Also attracting an investigation this year was a longtime Meadors' friend, Alex Chen, whom UCA hired as associate vice president for international engagement in 2010.
The university demoted Chen on Nov. 2 to professor after reviewing complaints about him and the international department.
Among the complaints was hat Chen allegedly had Chinese students work at the school more than their visas permitted, some without pay.
Earlier this month, the UCA board of trustees removed "interim" from Courtway's title, although Courtway said he would serve as president for no more than three years. That means a new president for 2015.
Courtway asked for no contract, no money in addition to his existing salary of $162,577, no car allowance and no country club memberships, according to Harding.
Courtway represents "a breath of fresh air" for UCA, Harding said.
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Is this a good idea? I've seen different arguments for this, such as, "What if you need to use Mind Freeze and Icebound fortitude?" and "You should have an endless flow of runic power, you might as well bind it so you don't have to think about spamming it". Now as a blood tank, I have a lot of runic power on boss fights and I try to death coil when I can. It just wouldn't seem to be such a bad thing to bind them to some or even all abilities. What is your take on this?
Also I've seen two different types of macros for rune strike;
The Basic:
#showtooltip Heart Strike
/script UIErrorsFrame:UnregisterEvent("UI_ERROR_MESSAGE");
/cast Heart Strike;
/cast Rune Strike;
/script UIErrorsFrame:RegisterEvent("UI_ERROR_MESSAGE");
Then the one with the exclamation point:
#showtooltip Heart Strike
/script UIErrorsFrame:UnregisterEvent("UI_ERROR_MESSAGE");
/cast Heart Strike;
/cast !Rune Strike;
/script UIErrorsFrame:RegisterEvent("UI_ERROR_MESSAGE");
I believe the exclamation point makes it so it doesn't turn off if you spam the abilities with rune strike bound to it, correct me if I'm wrong.
Bind it to your strikes leave it off your diseases and you will find you have rune power a plenty for those awkward situations when you really must pop an ability
I bind it, for my blood spec, to HS, IT, PS, DS, and BB, and I never am unable to cast IBF or Mind Freeze for lack of RP.
I also use a very simple macro form without the ! or the error frame command, and I have no problems or errors.
The (Old) Book on Death Knight Tanking
The New Testament on Death Knight Tanking
I bind it to PS, OB, and BS. I find thats all I need to in order to pop it everytime its up. Also since I use the Glyph of Disease I refresh my diseases with pestilence even on single target. That minimizes my 'acidental' loss of RP and keeps me using RS everytime I can. As frost I really only get into issues if I start spamming FS.... so thats a personal error.
I always have it bound to all my abilities (exept DnD, it doesnt work since you have to click on the ground); about RP, I simply dont use DC/whatever RP dump if I am not at 90-100 RP. That way even if a RS come just after I still got 20-30 RP, enough for IBF.
Blood is the easiest as the RP dump of Death Coil isn't critical, especially if you're using the Glyph of Deathstrike and reserving RP. I rarely dump until I'm over 60, and even then I tend to have plenty of heartstrikes eating CDs.
Frost is similar, though instead of reserving RP for Deathstrike, you're likely using Glyph of Froststrike (32 RP ftw). In that case, RP dumps aren't going to completely drain you unless you choose to, thus you'll be ready to RS.
Unholy is where macro'ing gets tricky. I can and do drain my bar if I'm not careful when I'm renewing UB or Deathcoil'ing, as I want to maximize the dps and have no reason to reserve RP (see blood's Glyph of Deathstrike, again). If RS starts proc'ing successively, I can drain my RP, though it is uncommon.
Personally, I almost always pick up a tree's RP generation talent, such as Unholy's Dirge, to ensure when I'm spamming a rune ability I'm getting extra RP. Pre 3.1, I rarely had a protadin for BoSanc, and I did fine. The ultimate catch is managing your RP, as if you mindlessly dump, you will negate whatever macro'ing you've set up. For me, I keep 20 RP (40 in blood) where possible to avoid missing RS's. The slightly loss in DPS isn't as vital to me as ensuring the threat RS generates.


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Parsing sendmail logs, per message-id
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12th June 2012, 01:38
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Parsing sendmail logs, per message-id
I use spamass-milter - it works very well. But, since it doesn't log the IP Address of rejected messages, I have to manually grep through to identify the info I need.
I am not sure the IP address is available to the milter at that part of the transaction; however, failing adding that to the log output (which would make life easier), I'm looking for a means to parse the textual log, using the message-id as the key, to parse out the information I need.
I know I could just use syslog-ng and log to mysql, but I'm not there yet.
My limited programming experience would have me parsing over the entire log for the message-id multiple times to match lines - that can't be efficient :-)
Basically, I want to get the IP address of the host that was rejected by Spamass-milter -- from there, I determine whether the host is offensive and needs to be packet filtered.
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Thursday, November 1, 2012
Post Hurricane Sandy
7 comments:
I'm so glad to hear you are safe and ok! Take your time to get back to normal, we'll be here when you get back! :)ReplyDelete
xo, Yi-chia
Always Maylee
glad you and yours are doing well. hope everything gets back to normal soon! we miss you!ReplyDelete
So sorry to hear about everything that is going on, glad to hear you are ok and hope things get better over there!ReplyDelete
So glad to hear that you and your family are safe and sound!ReplyDelete
I hope everything gets back up and running quickly
Take care :)
xo Ally
Awww stay safe and hope everything goes back to normal in no time. :)ReplyDelete
xo - Sheila
Im glad that you're ok hun! I am ok too :)ReplyDelete
It is so good to hear that your family is okay! I hope that your town is able to smoothly get everything back to normal. And I am sure you will have Internet in no time :)ReplyDelete
All of your lovely comments mean so much to me! Your kind words never go unnoticed. Thanks so much for all the love & support xo


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|Horse Hauling Course
Transporting your horse does not have to be a stressful event for you or your horse - learn more, book the Horse Hauling Course for your area
|Read more...
|Equine Traceability Canada
Equine Traceability Canada (ETC) is an industry-led equine identification, tracing and tracking initiative. The program was developed through HWAC to protect the Canadian horse herd.
|Read more...
|Cushing's disease
WCVM research survey targets Cushing's disease
|Read more...
|International Equine Associations Align with a Common Purpose
|Read more...
|Horse welfare and processing in the United States
|Read more...
Page 5 of 8
The communication of accurate information related to the Canadian horse industry to horse owners and the general public.
The Horse Welfare Alliance of Canada will:
Questions and comments may be directed to the Chair Bill desBarres 403.526.1070
The Horse Welfare Alliance of Canada is an alliance of provincial equine organizations and farm animal care groups whose purpose is the dissemination of accurate information related to the Canadian horse industry to horse owners and the general public.


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Roscoe Village hit-and-run leaves 1 critically injured
SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE January 10, 2013 11:04AM
One person was critically injured Thursday morning when the car they were in was reportedly struck by another car in a hit-and-run crash at School and Paulina. | Marcus Gilmer~Sun-Times
Updated: January 11, 2013 1:19AM
Two people were in police custody and one person remained on the loose after high-speed chases through the North and Northwest sides Thursday morning that ended when a Jeep fleeing police flipped over in the Roscoe Village neighborhood.
It all started about 8 a.m. in the 4300 block of West Altgeld, police said. A 36-year-old woman looked out her picture window after hearing a crash and saw two men breaking into a van.
The men apparently saw her, and when she turned from the window, she heard a pop and a bullet struck her window. The woman was struck in the back of the neck by debris and flying glass but was not seriously injured, Perez said.
She then went back to the window and saw the men getting into a silver Jeep, Perez said. Grand Central District officers found the Jeep and tried to pull it over but the Jeep — with two men and a woman inside — drove off at a high rate of speed and the chase was terminated.
A description of the Jeep was broadcast over police radio and the chase was taken up by Illinois State Police, who also gave up because the Jeep was traveling too fast. It was next spotted by Shakespeare District officers near Fullerton and Clybourn but they lost sight of it as well, he said.
About 9:20 a.m., two police Transit Detail officers spotted the Jeep at Lincoln Avenue and School Street, still speeding, Perez said. They followed and saw the Jeep flip over at the corner of Paulina and School.
The three people inside tried to flee, and one, as of 1:30 p.m. Thurday, was still on the loose. The other two were caught and taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Perez said. A Fire Media Affairs spokesman said one of those in the crash was in serious to critical condition.
Officers also recovered a handgun at the scene, Perez said.
In addition to the Roscoe Village crash, the Jeep was reportedly involved in two hit-and-run crashes — one in the 1900 block of West Diversey and another in the 1000 block of West School, Perez said. There were no reported injuries.
A school near the crash scene on School Street locked its doors and brought students inside when it was learned that the man had fled the scene, Perez said.
Charges against the two suspects in custody were pending.