text:
Filter Results
[Front cover - Volume 3]
Page(s): C1 -
[Title page i - Volume 3]
Page(s): i -
[Title page iii - Volume 3]
Page(s): iii -
[Copyright notice - Volume 3]
Page(s): iv -
Table of contents - Volume 3
Page(s): v - xiv -
Committee Members - Volume 3
Page(s): xvi -
List of Reviewers - Volume 3
Page(s): xvii -
Research on Sensitivity of Component-Based Reliability
Page(s): 3 - 7In complicated software system it is very important research task to improve software reliability by improving single component. This paper introduces a kind of sort method by calculating sensitivity of component-based reliability. Considering dynamic and static character of software and complexity, using frequency, dependent intensity of component, this method calculates and sorts sensitivity of component-based reliability to help system manager to allocate resource in developing and testing reasonably. View full abstract»
One of Aerial Image Geometric Correction Methods Based on 3-D Projection
Page(s): 8 - 11Visible images are always slantwise, simultaneity ground control points layout are not easy, so we must choose one method which can correct the slantwise image based on few reference points. When exterior orientation elements known, the paper can build a correction plane founded on collinearity equations, and then correct the slantwise image using gray interpolation. The corrective effect is very visible, and the speed is rapid. View full abstract»
Research on Fault Diagnosis of Mixed-Signal Circuits Based on Genetic Algorithms
Page(s): 12 - 15As the fault modes of mixed-signal circuits growing, aiming at the features for its signal are both analog and digital amount, the paper analyzed that the fault diagnosis program of mixed-signal circuits with genetic algorithms by using SABER simulation method to inject faults and data collection based on a brief discussion of basic principles and operation of genetic algorithms, focused on consideration for the fitness functions of genetic algorithms, and then selected an optimization genetic algorithm to a specific airborne DC converter circuit's fault diagnosis, verifying the effectiveness of the method, provided a new diagnostic method for mixed-signal circuits. View full abstract»
Researches of Test Nodes Selection of Analog Circuit
Page(s): 16 - 19Test nodes selection of analog circuit has great significance on fast, accurate circuit diagnosis, reduce test cost. For the lack of the current test nodes selection method of analog circuit, a test nodes selection method of analog circuit based on chaos immune clone selection optimization algorithm is presented in this paper. This method improves the efficiency and accuracy of test node selection. Finally the validity of this method is presented through circuit simulation. View full abstract»
Analysis on Analytic Arithmetic of Oriented Warhead's Contact of Missile and Target
Page(s): 20 - 22Rather than general warhead, oriented warhead asks for more accurate explode-time and explode-angle. For this problem, this paper analyzes the error of traditional analytic model in approximate calculation. The analysis is carried separately within and without the distance between guide and warhead. In Matlab simulation, it is concluded that the distance will affect the explode-time deeply but will affect the explode-angle hardly. View full abstract»
Research on QDFET Using for Single Photon Detection
Page(s): 23 - 25As an new pattern single photon detector, quantum-dot based single photon detector have good performance potential. In this paper, we first introduce the mechanism of photo-conductive gain of quantum-dot field effect transistor(QDFET), which is more suitable for quantum telecommunications compared to traditional mechanism. Then, QDFET in the form of a quantum point contact is mainly discussed, including its sensitivity and transport characteristics. This method is feasible and effective. View full abstract»
The Remote Surveillance System Based on the Processor -- S3C2410
Page(s): 26 - 29This thesis brings forward to a resolution of embedded remote surveillance based on the demand of reality. The system is centering on the embedded Linux and S3C2410, and basing on the Wi-Fi network to build the embedded remote surveillance, which can capture video signal from USB digital camera and transport the signal to client through Wi-Fi network. The way of remote surveillance based on Wi-Fi network makes the traditional way trend toward digitalization, networking and intelligence. View full abstract»
Analyzing Algorithms of Information Security
Page(s): 30 - 33Nowadays, Network information security problem has been increasingly considered. There are a number of ways proposed to tackle this issue, such as dynamic programming algorithm, fuzzy-C means algorithm, but they still have some disadvantages, in this paper, we will use the genetic algorithm to solve the security problem efficiently. View full abstract»
An Effective Pattern Matching Algorithm for Intrusion Detection
Page(s): 34 - 38In this paper, an improved algorithm based on the BM algorithm: BMD is proposed. BMD algorithm can reduce the space complexity and maintain the time complexity by reducing a pretreatment function and recording the number of times that a bad char found in the pattern. Experiments indicate that the space complexity is reduced by 36% at most. Therefore, the improved algorithm can provide significant improvement in pattern matching performance when using in an IDS. View full abstract»
Research for Spatial Interpolation Based on Cloud Computing
Page(s): 39 - 42In view of shortage of traditional spatial interpolation calculation needs a lot of time, putting forward spatial interpolation calculation method based on cloud calculation. This paper builds cloud computing platform of space interpolation calculation, discusses the key technologies of the cloud computing in realization spatial interpolation calculation, emphases load balancing schedule between client's Map/Reduce and client. Tests show that cloud-based spatial interpolation improves the efficiency of execution time, it is conducive to parallel computing, and it has some theoretical significance and application value. View full abstract»
Application of the Data Mining Technique in Case Information Systems
Page(s): 43 - 46This paper inquires into the application technique of the data mining in the case information systems. The related cases, the classifying characteristic regulations and the discovery models of the tendency analysis are presented. The ways of put them into practice are discussed which play a very important rule in the public security information analysis, mining and utilizing. View full abstract»
Kalman Filter in the RoboCup 3D Positioning
Page(s): 47 - 52In this paper, we introduced the positioning theory of robot in the RoboCup 3D simulation system, and proposed two improved orientation methods, it completed the robot walking path model, used the kalman filtering to track,and analysed the error of filter. View full abstract»
A New Method for Solving Inverse Kinematics of an Industrial Robot
Page(s): 53 - 56The kinematics model of robot is established based on the specific structure of 6R robot. In consideration of the robot base movement and the actuators replacement, the key problem of robot inverse kinematics is separated and a new simple method for deriving inverse kinematics without complex matrix inversion is developed. Furthermore, by analyzing the procedure of solution, the author optimizes the solution algorithm in favor of programming realization to satisfy the demand of off-line programming and real-time control. Finally, the validity of the solution of forward and inverse kinematics is verified by simulation experiments. And the result can be used on the robot which has similar mechanical configurations. View full abstract»
An Optimized Path Planning Method for Off-Line Programming of a Industrial Robot
Page(s): 57 - 60Aimed at satisfying the demand of complex path programming for industrial robot, a computer-aided programming system based on DXF file is developed. By analyzing storage information of the graphic elements in DXF file, we develop a method to extract lines, arcs and circles, and then come up with a connect algorithm, which rearranges and connects the original isolated graphic elements in drawing order to some continuous paths. Guaranteeing assigned working paths, this system can not only raise working efficiency by reducing spare travels, but also avoid position error in one continuous path between graphic elements caused by relocation. The paths after rearrangement can be converted into robot's working file directly, hence increasing the programming efficiency. The results of both simulation and field experiment prove the system's feasibility in cutting, gelatinizing, arc welding, grinding and etc. View full abstract»
Design and Realization of Grain Seed Quality Testing System Based on Particle Image Processing Technology
Page(s): 61 - 65How to quickly and accurately identify the quality of grain seed, grain type and other basic indicators and improve the efficiency of breeding quality, wheat production and quality in the work of selection or breeding have become a serious problem. The project developed the necessary software and hardware detection device platform, carried out research on the segmentation and counting algorithms of particle images for the system, and designed and implemented image processing techniques based on particle quality grain seed of the determination system. The result of the research has broad application prospects. View full abstract»
Intelligent and Active Defense Strategy of Cloud Computing
Page(s): 66 - 68Cloud's development has entered the practical stage, but safety issues must be resolved. How to avoid the risk on the web page, how to prevent attacks from hacker, how to protect user data in the cloud. This paper discusses some satety solution :the credit level of web page, Trace data, analyze and filter them by large-scale statistical methods, encryption protection of user data and key management. View full abstract»
Integrated Navigation System Design Based on DSP
Page(s): 69 - 71Integrated navigation system has wide application prospect in the military and civilian. Navigation system directly affects the performance of direct flight control accuracy in the high-altitude unmanned flight. In this paper, micro-navigation system has been studied, based on the TMS320C6713 hardware and software design, which has a broad application prospect in field of UAV. View full abstract»
Performance Evaluation of Turbo Product Codes over the PPM-based Satellite Optical Channel
Page(s): 72 - 75Atmospheric turbulence produces fluctuations in the irradiance of the transmitted optical beam, which is known as at-mospheric scintillation, severely degrading the link performance. Turbo product codes (TPC) has attracted much attention for its high coding rate and strong abilities of defeating long burst errors, which is a good choice for the highly correlated optical channel. In this paper, a scheme combining turbo product codes (TPC) and pulse-position modulation (PPM) has been analyzed for the temporally correlated satellite-to-ground optical channel with an avalanche photodiode (APD) receiver and Gaussian thermal noise. The results indicate that TPC is capable of defeating long burst errors and it can offer enough temporally diversity for the free-space optical communication (FSOC) system. View full abstract»
3D FEM Calculation for the Temperature Field of the Aluminum Electrolysis Cell Using Ansys
Page(s): 76 - 79The mathematical model of a three-dimensional temperature field in the full 300 kA aluminum electrolysis cell was calculated with ANSYS. The calculated results revealed that the thermal gradients strongly concentrated in the lateral freeze profile of the aluminum electrolysis cell, and the sharp temperature gradient in the insulating material under the cathode carbon block were also found, the temperature of liquid aluminum was between 1174-1233 K, the lowest temperature of bottom cell wall was about 322 K, which indicated that the temperature of the aluminum electrolysis cell bottom was overcooled, so the 300 kA aluminum electrolysis cell need to be redesigned to get the reasonable temperature field. View full abstract»
Study on the Method of Parallel Robot Mechanism Modeling in Parallel
Page(s): 80 - 83The modeling method of parallel robot mechanism has been extensively studied based on the Single Open Chain theory (SOC) in this paper. According to the characteristics of the parallel robot mechanism's, ideas and general methods of parallel robot mechanism modeling in parallel has been proposed and typical parallel robot mechanism's modeling has been performed. Study shows that the parallel modeling approach can dramatically increase the modeling and analysis efficiency for parallel manipulators. View full abstract»
A New Distance Property Analysis Algorithm for FTFs in DFH Systems
Page(s): 84 - 88By considering the frequency transition as a coding process, a new state diagram based distance property analysis algorithm for frequency transition function (FTF) is derived in this paper. In this new algorithm the distance property can be quickly obtained by solving the state equations derived from the transition process of the state diagram. It is confirmed that the BER performances of DFH systems which are decided by the distance properties of FTFs can be easily and effectively acquired. The new algorithm provides an efficient distance property analysis tool for the construction of FTF, it can help to optimize the design of a DFH system. Numerical simulation results support the theoretical analysis result of our algorithm. View full abstract»
The Grid Parallel Computing in Information Retrieval Research and Application
Page(s): 89 - 93This paper describes in detail construction of The Grid Parallel Computing of books and documents, system solves the problems and methods, as well as design to realization of MDS module. Scientific data grid software adopt SOA, through the standardization of metadata and metadata-based resource discovery to make users can be achieved uniform access to distributed heterogeneous data resources in two phases of query. View full abstract»
Design and Implementation of Teaching Management Systems Integrated of Vocational College Based on SOA
Page(s): 94 - 97Teaching Management Systems is the center work of Vocational College. The paper discuss exist some problems of the current teaching management systems, according to theoretical system based on service-oriented architecture, we propose a sort of architecture and hierarchical model SOA-based about academic management system, develop a integrated platform of teaching information system on web service of J2EE-based. The phenomenon is solved about data islands of teaching management system. View full abstract»
Structural Finite Element Method Based on Cloud Computing
Page(s): 98 - 101The structural finite element method has been widely used in modern architecture high-performance computing. And a lot of finite element tools based on parallel computing model have emerged. This paper analyzes and compares the difference between MPI and Map Reduce programming model. The combination of MPI and Map Reduce has been presented for the parallel finite element analysis based on the cloud computing environment. In this way, the existing structural software resources of parallel finite element analysis can be used with the advantages of cloud computing. View full abstract»
A Density-Based Clustering Algorithm for Uncertain Data
Page(s): 102 - 105As the development of the data acquisition technology, the research of the uncertain data has been the center of people's attention, and at the same time, the cluster of the uncertain data has been in use widely. In this paper, after studying the cluster of the uncertain data, considering characters of the uncertain data, we propose a improved algorithm. We called it En-DBSCAN. In order to adapt the request of uncertain data's clustering we add probability factors and the theory of information entropy. The algorithm brings in a conception of probability radius to adjust uncertain data's scope of EPS neighborhood and information entropy to reduce center point's indeterminacy. Besides, this paper gives an analysis and confirmation about the algorithm. View full abstract»
Screen Luminance, Subtitle, and Viewing Angle on Viewing Distance of Liquid Crystal Display High-Definition Television
Page(s): 106 - 109This study explored the effect of screen luminance, subtitle, and viewing angle on preferred viewing distance for liquid crystal display high-definition television (LCD-HDTV). The results showed the mean preferred viewing distance was 3246 mm, about 4 times of television width. Preferred viewing distance increased as the scale of screen luminance went upward from scale 10 to scale 60, then decreased from scale 60 to scale 90. Whether there was subtitle or not did not have significant effect on viewing distance. Moreover, viewing angle was highly correlated with preferred viewing distance. The more deflected from the direct front view, the shorter the viewing distance was. View full abstract»
Chromaticity and Luminance on Visual Performance and Subjective Performance for Imagery on LCD
Page(s): 110 - 112This study investigated the effects of chromaticity and luminance on legibility and subjective preference for imagery presented on LCD. The results showed that chromaticity and luminance had little effect on legibility speed. Both chromaticity and luminance significantly affected subjective preference. Chromaticity seemed to be more important than luminance for subjective preference. Participants appeared to prefer medium luminance, they also showed less preference for achromatic imagery. Regression equations for legibility speed and subjective preference were constructed. Correlation analysis showed that the equations were better than Lippert's ?GE (CIE Y, u', v'). View full abstract»
Application of a Capture Technique to the 3D Harbor Construction
Page(s): 113 - 117The main purpose of this paper is to design an innovative ship handling simulation program by combining the development of Quest3D software and the Google earth harbor terrain software. The paper describes the usage of the Google earth program to retrieve the latitude and longitude elevation, through GIS conversion and 3D graphical model to generate the Quest 3D harbor construction blueprint. Projectors display the image with build-in formula calculated angle settings to achieve a better perspective for the projectors installation. A 3D virtual reality scene was built by using the Maya Model, and then we overlap with the harbor module to complete the famous world ports. The results will be tested in the ship handling simulator machine at the 3D virtual reality software development laboratory. View full abstract»
Crack Image Extraction Using a Radial Basis Functions Based Level Set Interpolation Technique
Page(s): 118 - 122The extraction of crack images is an important process in the area of structural health monitoring for determining the severity of the damage induced by cracks. In this paper, a radial basis functions (RBFs) based level set interpolation technique is proposed to extract the images of cracks in structures. In the proposed method, the level set in the form of radial basis functions with an ellipse constraint can represent accurately various shapes without requiring building interior and exterior layers for the sparse mesh grid of RBFs centers or using information on contour/surface normal. The initial distance function embedded in the ellipse-constrained RBFs can be interpolated on a much coarser grid. Its deformation is considered as an updating of the RBFs coefficients by solving an ordinary differential equation (ODE) and a non-convex quadratically constrained quadratic programming (QCQP). The use of a semi-definite relaxation technique in solving the non-convex QCQP problem has shown that initialization and re-initialisation are no longer necessary. The images of a number of cracks have been extracted using the proposed method. It has been shown that the proposed method can extract crack images efficiently with coarse grid of RBFs centers and is also less sensitive to the distribution of the crack images in the domain. View full abstract»
An Interval-Valued Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process Approach and Its Application
Page(s): 123 - 128Project evaluation and selection is a complex multi-attribute decision-making problem. With the information uncertainty and inaccuracy considered, a new model for project evaluation and selection is proposed, which combines the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). The hybrid method is based on interval-valued triangular fuzzy numbers. An index system for selecting the optimal project is established. The weights of criteria and sub-criteria are derived by fuzzy AHP. The relative closeness is drawn from the calculation of the distance between the alternatives and positive ideal solutions or negative ones. Also, the ranking of alternatives can be based on their relative closeness. Finally, a case study is given adopting the proposed method. View full abstract»
Design and Optimization of Ethernet Access System for Receiving Frames of Ethernet Based on FPGA
Page(s): 129 - 133The purpose of this paper is to design and develop an implementation for the underlying data reception on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) by top-down structured design. In this paper, we optimize the receiving data function of underlying Ethernet access device, reducing the requirement of the Inter-Packet Gap (IPG) for flow control. It is shown by the test that Ethernet access device don't need IPG for flow control any longer after our optimization. View full abstract»
Petri Net Modeling of SIP of Traversing NAT Based on STUN
Page(s): 134 - 138Petri net is widely used in the simulation and analysis of the discrete event systems because of the features such as intuition, simplicity and understandability. The paper used Petri net to model and analyse SIP protocol of traversing NAT. Firstly the paper proposed using STUN to implement the NAT traversal of SIP protocol and simply introduced the advantages of Petri net modeling, then introduced the related knowledge of SIP and NAT and pointed out the impact of NAT on SIP protocol, and then detailedly described the SIP session interaction process of traversing NAT based on STUN, finally this process was modeled using Petri net and further made the reach ability analysis. In this way, the paper clearly and intuitively showed the voice communication process between the private network hosts by SIP protocol. View full abstract»
A Self-Rollback System for Vulnerability Attack
Page(s): 139 - 143In the paper attacks in view of the procedure loophole, proposed when the procedure movement from restores and returns draws back the method. First knows in the method to the procedure entrance point returns as the procedure draws back the spot , next when procedure collapse distinguishes and locates the procedure loophole, finally analyzes between the loophole input and exterior input dependent relations distinguishes the triggering procedure loophole the procedure entrance point, and returns to this input point correspondence procedure draws back an achievement this procedure from to restore returns draws back the condition to carry on to the procedure draws back, causes the procedure to be possible to continue the normal operation. The experimental result indicated that, the method can succeed the recognition to attack to the realistic software loophole and completes the procedure from to restore draws back. View full abstract»
Interactive Genetic Algorithms with Grey Modeling for Individuals Fitness
Page(s): 144 - 147In order to apply the interactive Genetic Algorithms (GA) into complicated optimization problem, an interactive Genetic Algorithms with grey prediction for fitness of evolutionary individuals is proposed, in which the uncertainty of evolutionary individuals is measured by gery modeling. By predicting the grey modeling, the reliableness which reflecting the measurement is abstracted. On this basis, the formulation of fitness adjustment is proposed. The algorithm is applied to a fashion evolutionary design system, test results show that it can find more satisfactory solutions per generation. View full abstract»
Exploring Speculative Procedure Level Parallelism from Multimedia Applications
Page(s): 148 - 151Multimedia applications are fast becoming one of the dominating workloads for modern computer systems. How to make use of multicore computing resources to accelerate multimedia applications has become a common concern problem. However, potential speculative procedure level parallelism in multimedia applications has not yet been explored thoroughly. This paper proposes a procedure level speculation architecture for accelerating multimedia applications, including its speculative mechanism and analysis method. It also takes several applications from Media bench to analyze their coverage parallelism, thread size, inter-thread data dependence feature and potential speedup. The experimental results show that: (1) the best adpcm application can get a 12.2x speedup in procedure level speculation, (2) limited parallelism coverage and severe inter-thread data dependence violations badly affect speculative procedure level parallelism in some multimedia applications. View full abstract»
A Hybrid Diff-SerV Pricing Scheme for Wireless Data Services
Page(s): 152 - 156With the development of wireless mobile communication, more and more wireless data services have gradually emerged, calling for effective pricing mechanism due to the nonapplicable traditional one. In this paper, a novel hybrid Diff-SerV pricing method for wireless data services is proposed, which considers radio resources, service characteristics as well as quality of service (QoS). The kernel of our algorithm is to distinguish service types and related the resource cost with QoS level. Therefore, it could be viewed as a method for resources scheduling, which can effectively exploit the scare radio resources to support more service users and meanwhile provide better QoS. View full abstract»
Research of the Platform for Mobile Service Support Based on Massive Signaling Mining
Page(s): 157 - 160On the basis of the research of massive signaling mining, obtain user track, analyze user behavior, mine user preference, and then utilize 3G mobile communications network technology to design a platform of mobile service support, which generalizes the signaling information for all types of customers and makes statistics, and reasons customized information intelligently, extracts effective data though technology of data mining, analyses user behavior and makes intelligent of processing, then selects services for the customer they need most automatically. It is personalized, precise and intelligent. View full abstract»
Design and Implementation of an Intelligent Information Integration System Based on Android Mobile Terminals
Page(s): 161 - 165The development of mobile terminals, 3G and networks, has brought strong momentum and broad prospects to the development of applications based on mobile internet [1][2][3]. On the other hand, users hope to get the information they want at anytime, anywhere through mobile devices rather than relying on a PC. This paper puts forwards an e intelligent information integration system based on Android mobile devices. Using middleware technology [4][5], web service technology [6] and lightweight XML parsing technology, the system takes individual needs of customers as the center, setting up a "digital application of Mobile Box" for each user, providing users with a variety of mobile multimedia applications and service that meet personal needs. The intelligent information integration system has been realized on the Android platform, and runs well providing intelligent space for users' personalized service. View full abstract»
Research and Implementation of Jacobi Algorithm Based on MPI with Checkerboard Decomposition
Page(s): 166 - 169In order to achieve parallel algorithm ported from serial algorithm, this paper proposes a simplified model based on MPI checkerboard decomposition. The process of analysis, design and implementation of parallel program will be speed up, by emphasizing data and calculation decomposition. Jacobi algorithm is used as an example to explain this simplified model. The example results show that simplified model is more suitable for implementation of parallel program than Foster's task/channel model, and checkerboard decomposition has better speedup than row/column decomposition. Furthermore, this simplified model applies to design not only Jacobi algorithm but also other parallel algorithms based on checkerboard decomposition. View full abstract»
J2EE-based Online Video Retrieving System Design and Implementation
Page(s): 170 - 173Most video contents on the Internet are regularly watched online, but it is also necessary for users to download them to local storage for further processing. Currently, many online video websites provide their own service for website specific video retrieving, it is difficult to build an integrated web retrieving system adapted for all online video website due to different protocols. This paper presents an online video address discovery and retrieving system which supports multiple online video protocols and formats, parallel retrieving task scheduling, vast amounts of unstructured data and video file storage management, it is suitable for integration in high load, large scale enterprise applications to provide video retrieving service. View full abstract»
Design of the Digital Frame Extractor Based on OMAP-L138 Application Processor
Page(s): 174 - 177The OMAP-L138 application processor is a dual core SOC(ARM926EJ-S and C6478VIEW DSP) chip developed by the Texas Instruments. In the paper, the performance features of the OMAP-L138 chip is introduced and a design scheme of the digital frame extractor based on the OMAP-L138 is proposed. The video input module and output module, the SATA hard disk module, the network module of the digital extractor are configured in detail. The application software design flow based on the hardware platform is proposed in the paper. The playback of the video data based on the network interface and LCD interface is designed. The image files stored in the SATA hard disk are transferred to the personal computer for broadcasting through the network. On the other hand, the image files can also be displayed through the LCD interface of the OMAP-L138. Taking advantages of the ARM core and the digital processing capabilities of the DSP core, low power high-performance is exerted. View full abstract»
A Two-step Discretization Algorithm Based on Rough Set
Page(s): 178 - 182A two-step discretization algorithm by dynamic clustering based on Rough set is proposed. The algorithm first discretization for decision table using dynamic clustering algorithm, then discrete again using cut importance discretization algorithms, and obtain the final cut sets, because the dynamic clustering algorithm processing speed is quickly and it impel a lot of breakpoint be screened, thus the operation efficiency of algorithm is increase notable. Finally, simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is correct and high efficiency. View full abstract»


text:
What does 2,000 calories look like? It looks like 285 almonds ... or 16 bananas ... or seven bagels ... or two and a half Cinnabons.
While it's romantic and all to think about lions roaming free, the reality is that lions that are not roaming free -- that are living in fenced-in reserves -- are doing better than the ones who can wander wherever they want.
The wolves at Indiana's Wolf Creek Habitat rescue program can't go back to the wild, so they just have to band together and hang out, making super spooky sounds.
This video makes the sky over Sweden look like the world's best executive desk toy.
It's possible to set it to a level of sensitivity so delicate that if anyone so much as jostles your bike, you will hear about it, via text message or email.
You might be excited that you could get paid to take a geodesic dome off this guy's hands. But trust me, this one should be filed under "more trouble than it's worth."
A duck fathered a chicken. This could provide a way for scientists to shore up endangered or even previously extinct species, or it could be the precursor to dogs and cats living together.
Scientists don't need fancy GM techniques to make weird plants that are not so good for human beings to consume.
Organic baby food costs like twice as much as regular baby food. A recent study raises the question: Is this money you really need to spend?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Shop by Brand
View All Brands
Vestal - Sale
Nixon - Sale
Tendence - Sale
Shop by Style
View All Styles
Unique Displays
Shop by Feature
Staff Picks
On Sale
Most Popular
New Arrivals
Watches on Sale
01 the One -ON SALE!
Ingersoll On Sale!
New Arrivals
Nixon Watches - ON SALE!
Uhr-Kraft Watches -SALE-
VESTAL on Sale!
01 the One Watches
AARK Watches
Aeromatic Watches
Alessi Watches
Arne Jacobsen Watches
Barcelona 666 Watches
Big Watches
Botta One Hand Watches
Braun Watches
Click Watches
Cognitime Watches
CT Scuderia Watches
Daniel Wellington Watches
Danish Design Watches
DEFAKTO One Hand
DEVON Watches
Diesel Watches
EONE Time - The Bradley
Fossil Watches
German Watches on Sale
G-Shock Watches
Haffstreuner Watches
Hamilton Watches
HYGGE Watches
Ingersoll Watches
Issey Miyake Watches
JCDC Watches
LIP Watches
Meccaniche Veloci Watches
Minus-8 Watches
Mondaine Watches
Mr. Jones Watches
M-Theory Zero Gravity
Nava Watches
Nixon Elite Watches
Nixon Ladies on Sale
Nixon Watches
Nixon Womens Watches
Nooka on Sale
Nooka Watches
Normal Watches
Novo Watches
ODM Watches
Phosphor Watches
Projects Watches
QLOCKTWO Clocks
QLOCKTWO Watches
Raidillon Watches
Rebosus XL Watches
Reflex Slap-on
Retrowerk Watches
Rosendahl Watches
RSW Swiss Watches
Seahope Watches
SevenFriday Watches
SISU Watches
Skagen Watches
Slow One Hand Watches
Storm Watches
Tauchmeister Watches
Tendence Watches on Sale!
The Vault -ON SALE!
Triwa Watches
Tsovet Watches
Ventura Watches
Vestal Watches
Vestal Watches -ON SALE!
VOID Watches
Welder Watches
XERIC Watches
Ziiiro Watches
Zodiac Swiss Watches
Cool Clocks
Most Popular Watches
Unusual Watches
Square Watches
Automatic & Mechanical Watches
Bigger is Better
Colorful Watches
Conversation Starters
Digital Watches
Diving Watches
Dress Watches
Eco Friendly Watches
German Watches
Gift Certificates
Gift Ideas for Men
Gift Ideas for Women
Groomsmen Gift Ideas
Jump Hour Watches
Limited Edition
Military Watches
Minimalist Watches
Multifunction Watches
Multiple Time Zone Watches
Pocket Watches
Single Hand Watches
Skeleton Watches
Smart Watches
Swiss Watches
The Vault
Thin Watches
Tide Watches
Top Twenty Time Machines
Under $100 Gift Guide
Vintage Style Watches
Wood Watches
Women's Watches
Classic Watches
My Account
Sign In
Create an account
Gift Certificates
Special Offers
Contact Us
View Cart
Daily Deals
Vestal GDEDP03 The Guide: Altimeter Barometer Compass Orange
* Nixon 51-30 Chrono Leather Gunmetal/Brown
Vestal PLA019 Plexi Brown Gold
Shop by Price
$0.00 - $99.99
$100.00 - $249.99
$250.00 - $499.99
$500 .00 - $999.99
$1,000.00 - $4,999.99
New Arrivals
G-Shock Classic X-Large Red Camo - Limited Edition
CT Scuderia Scrambler Chronograph Brown/Gold
Nixon Time Teller SS Gold Cobalt
Watchismo Home
Zodiac Swiss Watches
Zodiac Astrographic Limited Edition
Zodiac Sea Dragon Automatic
Zodiac Sea Dragon Limited Edition
Zodiac Racer Watches
Zodiac Special Ops Collection
Zodiac Adventure Watches
Zodiac PitchBlack Watches
Zodiac Diver
Zodiac Aviator Series
In 1882, Ariste Calame founded a workshop for the production of special watches in Le Locie, Switzerland, which would later become Zodiac. The son of a watchmaker, Calame was obsessed with the thought of creating the most precise watch of all time. The result of his careful work became the first Zodiac - a pocket watch with a unique character. Thus, the foundation had been laid for a whole series of technical wonders in the world of Swiss watches. Because of their high quality and technical innovations, Calame's dynasty managed to become one of the fastest growing companies in Switzerland.
All watches in the Zodiac collection are Swiss-made. To be certified and classified in this elite category, a watch must satisfy two main criteria. First, their movement must be both Swiss-crafted and cased in Switzerland. Second, the manufacturer must conduct the final inspection of the timepiece in Switzerland, and in accordance with the world's most rigorous standards for quality, precision and craftsmanship.


text:
Building a Website
10 Must-Know Tech Terms, Translated
Understanding these terms can help business owners deal more effectively with their IT specialists.
3 Ways to Outfox the Apps Craze
With billions upon billions of apps coming of age today, would-be developers may be hard pressed to stand out. Here, we explore top strategies for one-upping the competition.
3 Tips for Keeping Data Safe in the Cloud (Infographic)
The recent hack of a journalist illustrates how security needs to be a top priority for businesses that manage data online.
5 Free and Low-Cost Tools for Improving Social Media Productivity
Tips from the Search Engine Strategies conference about how social media can make your business run more efficiently.
10 Free Online Resources for Business Tech
Add new skills and brush up on old ones with these whip smart websites.
Selling Online
One Ecommerce Tool Makes Doing Business Internationally Easier
How Gilt Groupe uses FiftyOne to help manage overseas currencies, taxes and more.
The Pros and Cons of Mobile Payment Services
From fee structures to device compatibility and support, here are the differences between mobile payment providers you should know about before getting started.
Apps & Software
How Customer Data Can Help Build Better Marketing Campaigns
Online service Windsor Circle uses customer purchase histories to help small businesses improve their email marketing.
5 Reasons You Should Make the Switch to Electronic Signature Technology
Giving up paper and ink contracts can help make your business run more efficiently.
Apps & Software
Google Testing New Search Feature for Gmail Users
The search giant aims to make finding information from your emails even easier.
5 Things to Consider Before Buying a Smartphone or Tablet
Answering these questions can help you decide which kind of device is best for you.
Office Tech
7 Simple Tech Tools That Can Make Starting Up Easy
These gadgets and services can help a startup get off the ground without the hassle of more complex technology.
Apps & Software
Online Marketplace for App Builders
With components from Verious, developers are building better apps faster and for less.
3 New Technologies to Make Shopping More Interactive
Experts weigh in on new technologies from virtual greeters, to mirrors that give fashion advice, and touch screens loaded with information.
5 Steps to Creating Effective Customer Surveys
Audience research can help you create the kind of online content that your customers value and rank higher in search results.
4 Tools for Turning an iPad into a Retail Workhorse
From payment kiosks to protective sleeves, these accessories can help turn a tablet into your next POS.
Forget the iPhone 5. Apple's iPad Mini Might Be Better for Business
Both devices are rumored to be released next month, but here's why you might want to add the tablet to your wish list.
Low-Cost Tools to Add Game Mechanics to Your Site
Gamification expert Gabe Zichermann offers tips and tools for 'gamifying' elements of your online business.
What 'DDoS' Attacks Are and How to Survive Them
Here's how to fight back when a flood of bogus internet traffic threatens to immobilize your website.
Social Media
How Social Media Startup Wildfire Was Bought By Google for $250 Million
The acquisition is the latest in a string of social media marketing companies being bought by large tech giants.
3 Reasons Why Your Website Should Include Terms and Conditions
Attorney Nina Kaufman outlines why you should have the right policies in place online.
Apps & Software
6 Tech Solutions for Managing Sales Leads
These tools can both generate and organize leads so you can turn prospects into profits.
Angel Investor Esther Dyson on the Traits of Rock Star Tech Leaders
An investor in companies such as Flickr and del.icio.us, Dyson shares insights on building a thriving company.
SEO | Search Engine Optimization
5 SEO Metrics You Don't Need to Obsess Over
Don't waste your time constantly tracking the statistics that have little to say about your website's success.
News and Trends
Mike Jones on Ditching La La Land for Silicon Beach
Los Angeles has long been a mecca for creative types. Now it's attracting techies too.
5 Procrastination-Busting Smartphone Strategies
Follow these tips to limit distractions and focus on goal tracking.
Ads by Google
'Trep Talk
Ask Entrepreneur
Most Shared Stories
Connect with Entrepreneur
From the Entrepreneur Bookstore
Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords, 4th Edition
By Perry Marshall, Mike Rhodes, and Bryan Todd
More InfoAds by Google


text:
Erosion, pollution: The secret environmental cost of the United States' ethanol policy
But the administration never actually conducted the required air and water studies to determine whether that's true.
In an interview with the AP after his speech, Vilsack said he didn't mean that ethanol production was good for the air and water. He simply meant that gasoline mixed with ethanol is cleaner than gasoline alone.
In the Midwest, meanwhile, scientists and conservationists are sounding alarms.
Nitrogen fertilizer, when it seeps into the water, is toxic. Children are especially susceptible to nitrate poisoning, which causes "blue baby" syndrome and can be deadly.
Between 2005 and 2010, corn farmers increased their use of nitrogen fertilizer by more than one billion pounds. More recent data isn't available from the Agriculture Department, but because of the huge increase in corn planting, even conservative projections by the AP suggest another billion-pound fertilizer increase on corn farms since then.
Department of Agriculture officials note that the amount of fertilizer used for all crops has remained steady for a decade, suggesting the ethanol mandate hasn't caused a fertilizer boom across the board.
But in the Midwest, corn is the dominant crop, and officials say the increase in fertilizer use — driven by the increase in corn planting — is having an effect.
The Des Moines Water Works, for instance, has faced high nitrate levels for many years in the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers, which supply drinking water to 500,000 people. Typically, when pollution is too high in one river, workers draw from the other.
"This year, unfortunately the nitrate levels in both rivers were so high that it created an impossibility for us," said Bill Stowe, the water service's general manager.
For three months this summer, workers kept huge machines running around the clock to clean the water. Officials asked customers to use less water so the utility had a chance to keep up.
Part of the problem was that last year's dry weather meant fertilizer sat atop the soil. This spring's rains flushed that nitrogen into the water along with the remnants of the fertilizer from the most recent crop.
At the same time the ethanol mandate has encouraged farmers to plant more corn, Stowe said, the government hasn't done enough to limit fertilizer use or regulate the industrial drainage systems that flush nitrates and water into rivers and streams.
With the Water Works on the brink of capacity, Stowe said he's considering suing the government to demand a solution.
In neighboring Minnesota, a government report this year found that significantly reducing the high levels of nitrates from the state's water would require huge changes in farming practices at a cost of roughly $1 billion a year.
"We're doing more to address water quality, but we are being overwhelmed by the increase in production pressure to plant more crops," said Steve Morse, executive director of the Minnesota Environmental Partnership.
The nitrates travel down rivers and into the Gulf of Mexico, where they boost the growth of enormous algae fields. When the algae die, the decomposition consumes oxygen, leaving behind a zone where aquatic life cannot survive.
This year, the dead zone covered 5,800 square miles of sea floor, about the size of Connecticut.
Larry McKinney, the executive director of the Harte Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, says the ethanol mandate worsened the dead zone.
"On the one hand, the government is mandating ethanol use," he said, "and it is unfortunately coming at the expense of the Gulf of Mexico."
The dead zone is one example among many of a peculiar ethanol side effect: As one government program encourages farmers to plant more corn, other programs pay millions to clean up the mess.
- Top Catholics and evangelicals: Gay marriage...
- Mitt Romney courts middle class, jabs Hillary...
- Profiting as a Super Bowl host city...
- Attorney General nominee picks up support...
- McDonald's CEO steps down as sales decline
- NASA remembering 17 astronauts killed in the...
- Arizona monitoring hundreds for measles...
- Child grooms of Nepal are married off as...
- Mitt Romney courts middle class, jabs... 40
- Top Catholics and evangelicals: Gay... 39
- Victim of sexual abuse sues Boy Scouts... 19
- Denver police shoot, kill teen who... 13
- 'Potentially historic' blizzard... 12
- Some Republican presidential hopefuls... 12
- House GOP moves toward possible lawsuit... 11
- Prosecutors promise thorough probe of... 11


text:
Health minister confirms ORNGE ex-CEO Chris Mazza collected $9.3 million over six years
A Queen's Park committee investing the ORNGE air ambulance service will soon get a breakdown of former CEO Chris Mazza's $9.3-million in salary and benefits over six years.
Comments | ? |
Report an Error |
Share via Email
Ousted ORNGE CEO Chris Mazza collected $9.3 million over six years at the province's publicly funded air ambulance service, the governing Liberals confirmed Wednesday.
The recently reported figure "is accurate," Health Minister Deb Matthews said after testifying at a legislative committee that is looking into the ORNGE spending scandal.
That includes salary, bonuses, expenses and other fees, she said. A summary sheet outlining what Mazza collected will be provided to the committee to "make it all clear."
The committee had previously heard that Mazza made $1.4 million in a single year, on top of hefty loans totalling $1.2 million, but the grand total had not been confirmed until Wednesday.
Both opposition parties have been grilling Matthews at the committee about why she didn't make that figure public before.
She said she provided two million pages of documents last year to the committee that provided plenty of information about Mazza's compensation.
But the opposition parties said they could only find $5.6 million for Mazza in the documents. They said a government forensic audit report wasn't part of the package, even though the committee asked for all documents related to Mazza's compensation.
The committee got the report this week after making a specific request for the document.
"The ministry sat on this, and it wasn't until we called for it this past week that we now have access to this," said Tory Frank Klees.
"Transparency? Accountability? The minister has learned no lessons."
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, who has called for Matthews to resign, said it's "unacceptable" that taxpayers are only learning about Mazza's total compensation two years after the scandal hit the front pages.
"The government likes to talk a good game around transparency and openness," she said.
"They have a panel that's looking at better government openness. You can start being open by letting the people of this province know what they're paying for when it comes to executives like Chris Mazza."
Matthews said the final July 2012 audit report, which says Mazza collected $7.6 million, doesn't paint the whole picture. It doesn't include expenses and the information about his compensation has been updated since then, she added.
"It's expanded from what you see in the audit report," she said.
"I believe the forensic audit time period is one year less than what's in the documentation provided to committee."
ORNGE, which receives about $150 million from the province, has been under fire for almost two years over sky-high salaries, financial irregularities and corruption allegations.
Mazza's salary disappeared from the so-called sunshine list of top paid public sector workers after 2007, when his salary was listed at $285,000.
The committee heard that over the years, his compensation grew exponentially and he received loans as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars for being a medical director of ORNGE.
He also claimed extravagant expenses, including luxurious trips to Brazil, Europe and New York, limo rides for Ornge executives, as well as meals and drinks in posh restaurants.
ORNGE is trying to recover some of the money from Mazza, who is countersuing, alleging that he's owned $1 million in unpaid bonuses.
A spokeswoman at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre said Mazza performed some unpaid work for the hospital recently.
"Dr. Mazza's initial visit (and only, to date) was exploratory, and essentially that of a volunteer in that he was not paid, did not bill for any of his services and covered his own travel, meals and accommodation," Tracie Smith said in an email.
Ontario's auditor general has criticized the governing Liberals for failing to oversee ORNGE, despite giving it $730 million over five years and allowing it to borrow another $300 million.
The Liberals insist ORNGE went rogue with a web of for-profit companies and questionable business deals, as well as exorbitant salaries and lavish expenses.
The all-party committee has heard that the Liberals allowed ORNGE to set up its for-profit entities, but didn't pay attention to what was going on. Those subsidiaries are now bankrupt.
Top News
- Canadian medical professionals in line of fire on mission to save Syrian lives
- Conservative government's terror bill increases spy agency powers
- GTA West highway: Forward thinking or retro mistake?
- Raptors rally, take down Nets in overtime
- Canada's new backward-looking terror law: Walkom
- Political Sentimeter: 10 things we learned about Toronto
- Teaching consent to youngsters makes sense: Keenan
- Rebuilding Leafs need to get full value in Phaneuf trade: Cox


text:
Year of the Spark : one-line drawings
Last year I took Carla Sonheim's wonderful online class called, Year of the Fairy Tale. I loved it so much that I didn't hesitate to sign up for her new class for this year, Year of the Spark. I had first learned of her name through the Drawing Lab book but didn't think about her work much until I watched her videos of drawing tutorials. I love her smile. She has an aura of Muse that whenever I watch her enthusiastic face, I feel like I want to get a pencil or a brush and work with her :)
Year of the Spark is a collaborative class of 2 mixed media artists, Carla and Lynn Whipple. I don't know much about Lynn yet but she really looks fun in the class introduction video and I'm looking forward to learn more of her work next week.
Mixed media art is not really in my comfort zone. I have graphic design background and generally have clean organized look in my design. However, I feel that my work will look more fun and more attractive if I can be a little more relaxed and play more with paints and paper.
Above are sketches of our first assignment : to do one-line drawings. I actually had a headache when this first assignment was posted and I considered it as an art therapy while doing the homework. I felt fun, relaxed and enjoyed the time I had with marker and paper. Next step is to play more with different medium. I'm going to post it here soon. Below is my draw everyday 179 in which I used the one-line drawing technique. It's not really one line but I tried to lift my hand as little as possible :)
I hope you enjoy what I'm sharing here. Coming more next week :D
MerryDay Goes to School : Make Art That Sells Bootcamp 2015
I'm going to school again! If you have read this blog long enough (at least since 2013) you may remember that I took an online design course, Make Art That Sells in 2013. The course focused on design, illustration and art business. I learned so much from the class and always thinking about it. (You can read my class experiences on the topic of MerryDay Goes to School in this blog) This year, I decided to take the class again, not the full course but the mini one called MATS Assignment Bootcamp. This Bootcamp focuses on monthly assignments in which the students receive brief of an assignment at the beginning of the month and they have the month to complete it. It is different from the full intensive course as we can work at more relaxed paces but with the same energetic atmosphere in the class group :)
Each assignment starts with the mini which is a topic of drawing and sketching to ease us in the main assignment in the following week. This January's mini is 'Edwardian brooches'. This is quite challenging but when I searched for the keyword in Pinterest, all the gorgeous design just took my breath away. I'm not a jewelry wearer, it just looks too luxurious for me but I love looking at each design closely. Like all forms of art, jewelry design are mostly based on nature, organic shapes and geometric forms. It's fun to look at all the details and try to capture them into drawings. I enjoyed sketching these and felt in love with each design I found on Pinterest. Such beautiful shapes and colors! Can't wait to do the assignment next week :D Below are what I have so far. Sorry for the dark images, I'll do better next time :)
And I also have the topic in today's draw everyday project too. Thank you for coming and please come back as I will have many more art projects to share here.
Have a merry day!
draw everyday 173 : little drawing in little notebook
Staying at my mom's home tonight. I didn't bring the draw everyday sketchbook with me so I just grabbed my nieces' kid markers and drew on a little notebook instead.
This drawing is part of my draw everyday project. You can follow my daily updates via MerryDay facebook and instagram :)
Happy New Year 2015!
Happy New Year 2015! May you have a merry and fruitful year!
I'm especially excited for this year as I will be participating in a lot of creative art swap groups and art classes. It will be another year of creativity and more focus on my art and business. So, my resolution for this year is to have constant focus on each and every projects. Create, share and blog. Make this year of 2015 as fruitful as possible!
Here are classes I will take beginning this month. Promise to myself to blog about them every week :)
• Watercolor painting class (live class)
• Carla Sonheim's Year of the Spark
Merry Friday
Merry Friday. Long time away from this blog. I'm thinking about how to incorporate blogging into my creative life more smoothly and effortlessly. I really want to see myself updating this blog consistently next year...
Things that confirm me I'm walking on the right path :)
So, I have been busy again these past months. This time is quite different as I have done a lot of creative projects that really help set my goal for next year. It's November and I already think about next year with enthusiasm :D I have so many things to share on this blog, which will take some time to talk about them all. I'd like to put everything in details as each experience means so much to me. They boost up my confidence on my creative career, something that confirm me I'm walking on the right path of my life.
Right now I can only sum up what I have done here:
• I did my very first workshop making MerryDay pop-up card.
• I started painting fabric bags and got a big order to be done before Christmas
• I had a great experience selling my merry items in a Saturday art market.
• I got contacted to be guest blogger for Flow magazine blog in the month of November.
This is very exciting to me and you can read my first 2 posts here:
How I become MerryDay today
How my draw everyday project is important to me.
• The picture above are stickers I designed to sell on Line, a worldwide chatting service. If you use the service, you can now purchase them here.
There are many more things I plan to do and I hope I can have time and energy to record all these great experiences in this blog. In the meantime, you can look at my daily updates of my draw everyday project on my Facebook Page, that's where I am always :)
See you next post, have a merry day!
A day with creative energy
I have so many things to tell here but just too tired. I can only say that each day of my life right now is full of creative energy and I love it :D If you miss my work, I update my facebook page and instagram everyday. Hope to see you there :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)


text:
Ongoing Events & NotificationsRolplayMegaman-DA is looking for someone who can take over the group! If interested, contact SesakaTH. We're still accepting fan art dedicated to Megaman's 25th anniversary! CHATROOM: #MegamanEvolutionChat |
Ongoing Events & NotificationsRolplayMegaman-DA is looking for someone who can take over the group! If interested, contact SesakaTH. We're still accepting fan art dedicated to Megaman's 25th anniversary! CHATROOM: #MegamanEvolutionChat |
This gallery folder is the Miscellaneous/Other Folder. If you're not sure which folder your artwork should be in, you can submit it here. We'll try our best to put your artwork in the appropriate place. |
MM Reawakened S1 Episode ListMM Reawakened S1 Episode List by DestinyDecade
Mega Man: Reawakened
Chapter List Season One
Prologue The Beginning
Chapter 1: Life-Changing Tragedy; Disaster Strikes New Light City
Chapter 2: The Secret Project; Dr. Light's Last Hope
Chapter 3: A Hero Emerges; Enter Mega Man
Chapter 4: New Light City Is a Battlefield; Mega Man's First Strike
Arc One The Battle Begins
Chapter 1: Amazon on the Cutting Edge; Mega Man's Rainforest Rescue
Chapter 2: An Electric Nightmare; Battle in the Land of Dragons
Chapter 3: Threat of a New Ice Age; Mega Man vs. the Frozen Soldier
Chapter 4: Rumble Down Under; A Fiery Showdown
Chapter 5: Bombs in the Big Apple; An Explosive Encounter
Chapter 6: Shaking Through the Tremors; The Blue Bomber's Gutsy Heart
Chapter 7: Journey to Wily's Fortress; Beware the Yellow Devil
Chapter 8: Rematch of the Century; Bass Hits Overload
Chapter 9: Battle Royale; Return of the Robot Masters
Chapter 10: Fight to Save the World; Mega Man vs. Dr. Wily
Arc Two Searching for Downtime
THE HONORARY GALLERYThis gallery features the best Megaman fan artworks that are reserved for outstanding achievements, art skills, craftsmanship and creativity. |
More Journal Entries |
ClassicWe also accept fan characters or fan concepts of the Megaman franchise.
Battle Network/EXE
Star Force/Ryuusei
Be respectful and courteous to everyone.Failure to follow these rules will result in consequences such as your artworks being denied or removed. Repeated offenses may result in warnings and/or bans.
We welcome most kinds of art mediums. Whether your fan artworks are paintings, sculptures, cosplays, or fan fictions, you can submit them here.
Please submit your artworks in the right folder. If you're not sure, submit them in the "Features" folder. We'll try to arrange the artworks in the appropriate place.
Regarding art content: If your artworks have content that may not be kid-friendly, please set them as MATURE CONTENT. We recommend that you do not submit any artworks containing inappropriate or explicit content. Examples of mature content: complete nudity, sex, sexual fetishes, yaoi/yuri, excessive violence, gore, drugs, etc.
Please DO NOT submit official artworks, game sprites, anime/game screenshots or any official content that is copyrighted. Editing or tweaking any official content does not pass as an original work. All fan artworks should be made originally by your creativity!
Regarding pixel/sprite art submissions, we will accept pixel and sprite art submissions only if they meet 1 of the following criteria:The art submission is original and was made from scratch. Editing over official base sprites does NOT count!Please do not submit journal entries in our gallery folders. Our gallery folders are meant for art submissions, not for advertising journal posts.
Sprite sheets that contain 5 or more unique poses or unique characters/objects. Blowing up a couple sprites into several sizes and/or only having the same character in several alternate colors are unacceptable.
Sprite comics that have several panels AND contains quote bubbles/dialogue. Single-paneled sprite comics and/or comics that contain no dialogue are unacceptable. Using official sprites to tell your story is fine only in this situation.
To accept, deny, move or remove any/all art submissions directed towards Megaman Evolution's galleries when appropriate.
To moderate and issue warnings/bans when it becomes necessary for the peace and stability of the Megaman Evolution group.
To grant Contributors the same or similar authority as stated above.
Su5anLee |


text:
When is the best time to have a baby shower?
Posted: 08/18/2007 by witty619
Mom Answers
Sort by:
best answers | most recent answers
61 -
70 of
198 answers
I have to say, I dont see it as the responsibility of my friends and family to get us the majority of baby gear as many people have indicated as a reason to have a shower early. People like to buy fun and sweet things for the baby, this isnt like wedding for young couples just building a home, if youre having a baby I think you should go get the things you need and let people give you fun stuff. Save your receipts in case you get duplicates, but have the shower when your energy is best and think of your shower and celebrating life not as collecting lootposted 12/02/2012 by joannahg
One of the best times to have a shower is actually after you have the baby. I know it sounds crazy, but then you get the things you really need!posted 03/10/2008 by IdahoMom482008
I think you should have it when you comfortable with having it...im 23 weeks and ours is this weekend...i think it gives us just enough time to buy the things we need that we didnt get and not have to stress about it...hope you find this helpful :]posted 05/10/2010 by Brittnyxoxo1104
I think between 30-34 weeks is average. I wouldn't try any later than 35 weeks. I am having mine at 23 weeks so I know what we need and can get better deals.posted 05/11/2010 by LynzeRiffle
i'm due October 16th but my shower is October 2nd. i know its pretty late,but its the only day we can have itposted 07/15/2010 by baby_mama_tt
well i want to have a baby shower some what early but not sure i have a 7 yr old born at 7 months nd my 2 yr old born at 26 weeks !! and i wasnt able to get a baby shower :(..im at high risk right now !! i dont want people to think im being selfesh by having it early !! im 18 weeks right now some what on bed rest too ... due date dec.15.2010 !! please let me know what you'll think (ITS' A BOY) THANKSposted 07/16/2010 by gabe&xavi
I would say about 7 months so you could get everything organized that you got at your baby shower for your 9th month so when the baby comes you dont have to rush.posted 09/10/2010 by Lina_bryan
I am 35 weeks pregnant and my baby shower is October 16th. I will be 37 weeks at my baby shower, I wanted it sooner, but everyone was so busy with other stuff.posted 10/01/2010 by Taylormulkey
AFTER the baby is born... unless you don't have ANYTHING. I had mine afterward because I got hand-me-downs from family and friends, and having it after the baby, I got exactly what I needed, it was all gender appropriate (because he was guaranteed a boy...) and I didn't get anything I didn't need. It was a great idea. Good luckposted 04/21/2011 by wilson_family
Im due Jan 18. I am thinking of doing mine Nov. 5 or 12 because I dont want to have it during the holidays..posted 08/04/2011 by ericalm21
Answer this question


text:
Indian capital markets are at something of a crossroads. Equity and debt issuances are proving difficult to get away, but many deals are still being structured in anticipation of improved market conditions. In addition to this, many listed companies still need to meet the June 2013 deadline for 25% public ownership.
As a result, the decision between an Offer For Sale and an Institutional Placement Programme are at the forefront of many minds. There have also been a number of regulatory updates from Sebi, RBI and FIPB and the debate continues on the future of disclosure requirements, corporate governance and e-IPOs. The restructuring of Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds is also a pressing issue.
IFLR's India Capital Markets Forum 2012/13 brings together key regulators with leading practitioners from banks, corporates and top international and local law firms to discuss the vital issues for raising capital in 2012 in a panel session format.
The forum will discuss the best ways to raise capital in India, the ideal preparations for floating a company, how to access debt markets with high yield instruments and will provide a comparison of the best methods of raising debt internationally.
Benefits of attending the forum:
• Find out the latest considerations for listing Indian companies abroad
• Learn how to structure Indian and international debt and equity-linked offerings
• Discuss the decision between IPP and OFS
• Discover how deals can recover despite economic and ForEx concerns
• Hear analysis on how to prepare your company to float locally and abroad
• Listen to a detailed discussion on the benefits and pitfalls of early documentation
Wed, 21/01/2015 - 09:44
Read how prime brokers of all shapes and sizes are becoming both operational and balance sheet-efficient, and broadening out their product suites for hedge fund managers... »
Tue, 20/01/2015 - 10:06
This Hedgeweek Special Report explains not only why managed futures should be reconsidered by investors, but also how a more effective risk allocation strategy can benefit investor portfolios in both correlated and non-correlated markets... »
Tue, 20/01/2015 - 12:26
977 private equity funds held a final close throughout the year raising a total of USD486bn, higher than any annual amount between 2009 and 2012, and on track to match the 2013 total. Preqin's Christopher Elvin (pictured) reviews a year of private equity fundraising: ... »
Fri, 19/12/2014 - 10:24
With service providers reporting growth in hybrid funds, funds for single investors and bespoke managed accounts, this report examines the regulations and new services being developed in Cayman to tackle the fast-changing offshore funds market... »
Wed, 14/01/2015 - 13:22
Over half of infrastructure funds that closed in 2014 exceeded their fundraising target, up from 37% of funds in 2013. Andrew Moylan, Preqin's Head of Real Assets Products, takes a look at infrastructure fundraising over the last 12 months: ... »
Thu, 29 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT
Sr. Associate/VP Real Estate Investment BankingThu, 29 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT
Jr. Healthcare Associate Investment BankingThu, 29 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT


text:
I knew I needed to post because I don't wanna leave you guys hanging. I just have had writers block and don't know what to talk about. 119 more words
Tags » Fan Story
Some RumorsU
Sorry I haven't posted in a long time things have been crazy. Some people might think I'm a hypocrite writing this post, but those people probably aren't reading this. 299 more words
The Witch's House - Chapter 1: The Beginning :)
A cool breeze had entered the garden that afternoon, far cooler than I was used to. It had been a while since I had ventured outside, and with the sun glowing down on me, making my golden hair shimmer, I closed my eyes. 4,218 more words


text:
News Details
Welcome to our interactive coverage of round 11 of the 2014 Formula One season. Today we are at the Hungaroring for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton has an almighty task if he hopes to keep Nico Rosberg from stretching his lead in the drivers' championship by too much. The Brit will start from the pitlane after his car caught fire yesterday before he could eeven post a single qualifying lap while the German lines up on the front row of the grid alongside compatriot Sebastian Vettel. If all goes well it will be no surprise to see the two Mercedes ddrivers on thew top two steps of the podium which means that Williams, Red Bull and Fernando Alonso will be left to slug it out for...
Full Story »
Full Story »
6mo ago from SuperSport.com
You May Also Be Interested In...
Welcome to our interactive coverage of round 11 of the 2014 Formula One...
6mo ago from SuperSport.com
Daniel Ricciardo: "DRS has improved things" in...
The Infiniti Red Bull Racing team arrive in Hungary this weekend for...
6mo ago from TheCheckeredFlag....
Renault: The characteristics of this track suit us
Sebastian Vettel fastest Renault powered driver on day one
Renault report...
6mo ago from GrandPrix247.com
Preview of the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix
Preview of the 2014 Hungarian Grand PrixPosted On 23 Jul 2014By :...
6mo ago from ThisIsF1.com
Hottest News
Video: Kubica survives massive off on Monte
No description available... Read More »
2h ago from GPUpdate.net
McLaren fires up MP4-30 for first time
McLaren fired up the MP4-30, its 2015 Formula 1... Read More »
8h ago from GPUpdate.net
Listen – 2015 Ferrari F1 car firing up for the first time
2015 Ferrari F1 car firing up for the first time... Read More »
8h ago from ThisIsF1.com


text:
- News
- Video
- People
Find by writer
- Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
- Rebecca Armstrong
- Memphis Barker
- Max Benwell
- Chris Blackhurst
- Ian Burrell
- Andrew Buncombe
- Ben Chu
- Patrick Cockburn
- Mary Dejevsky
- Grace Dent
- Robert Fisk
- Andrew Grice
- Stefano Hatfield
- Lucy Hunter Johnston
- Howard Jacobson
- Alice Jones
- Ellen E Jones
- Comment
- Editorials
- Letters
- IV Drip
- Campaigns
- Archive
- Our Voices
- Commentators
- Columnists
- Democracy 2015
- IV Drip Archive
- Blogs
- Scottish independence
- Save the tiger
- The state of the NHS
Find by writer
- Sport
- Tech
- Life
- Property
- Arts + Ents
- Travel
- Money
- IndyBest
- Student
- Offers
THE GOVERNMENT'S penny-pinching treatment of the Queen is in sharp contrast with lavish expenditure on MPs: their offices in the new building at Westminster (Portcullis House) will cost over pounds 1m for each MP. For years the Queen has been economising. She carries out between 500 and 600 public duties a year and her Civil List money goes towards funding her role as Head of State and Head of the Commonwealth: this money is only obtained in exchange for valuable taxation income and hereditary revenues given up by George III, of which the Crown Estate alone paid pounds 113.2m into the Treasury last year.
London SW15
Green party leader Natalie Bennett says it should not be a crime to belong to al-Qaeda or Isis
Government faces fracking setback as MPs call for total ban
Australia Day 2015: Prime minister Tony Abbott ridiculed after making Prince Philip a knight
Ukip on the ropes? Voters don't think so
Britons should be able to vote online by 2020, says Speaker John Bercow
'Anonymous' NHS database could still allow patients to be identified, expert warns
i100: How to take a wild career break and come back more employable
Fancy a wacky sabbatical?
A warm welcome to the smiling coast of Gambia
The Gambia is fast becoming known as a winter sun haven
i100: Who makes your world a better place?
Tweet us the people who deserve some recognition to @thei100 with the hashtag #everydayhero and tell us why.
Turn Blue Monday Red
On officially the most depressing day of the year, Fitness First opens its doors to everyone for free. Get energised, focused and upbeat.
Build yourself a brighter future
Chartered surveyors will be critical to shaping our new world
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Jennifer Miller
Related Articles
We are not amused: MPs tell Queen to rein in her spending as she reaches final million
Fury's fashion people: Elizabeth I's clothing transformed her into a living, breathing icon
Jill Turton on why the National Railway Museum is the perfect day out
Bookmaker suspends betting on Queen Elizabeth's abdication after £200 Windsor bet
iJobs General
Sauce Recruitment: Financial Analyst -International TV Production
£250 - £300 per day: Sauce Recruitment: 6 month contract (Initially)A global e...
Recruitment Genius: Project Management Support Assistant
£20000 per annum: Recruitment Genius: This Railway Museum, the largest of its ...
Sauce Recruitment: FP&A Analyst -Home Entertainment
£250 - £300 per day: Sauce Recruitment: (Rolling) 3 month contractA global en...
Recruitment Genius: Sales and Account Manager - OTE £80,000+
£40000 - £80000 per annum: Recruitment Genius: This is a fantastic opportunity...


text:
404 File Not Found
Host by NetBox Version 2.8 Build 4128
Gift Wrap Not Available
Gift Wrap Not Available
Oeuf Toy Store
Oeuf Toy Store offers a novel and easy-to-assemble storage system that is both functional and appealing to complement your home decor. The three-layer Oeuf Toy Store has movable bin dividers, ideal for storing large and small articles, toys, books, puzzles and many other baby's belongings. The bins can tilt or lay flat for easy reach by little ones.
Why You'll Love It: This makes storage and cleaning easy and fun; watch kids do it in a jiffy!
Age: 2 years and up
Oeuf Toy Store
Innovation comes to play with the Oeuf Toy Store. Kids can organize their toys on different tiers how they like. Each bin is fitted with removable dividers, so you can store toys of any size and shape. The height is low so kids can access it easily.
Why You'll Love It: Kids will enjoy having this simple and convenient toy store around that they can easily access.
Product Notes
Finish |
Walnut |
Temporarily out of stock | |||
Birch |
Tell us where you're shipping to see delivery dates
Click this item for delivery times
Limit Reached |
For the out of stock item, please choose a quantity to Add to Registry
Quantity:For the purchase limit reached item, please choose a quantity to Add to Registry
Quantity:SELECT A CART
Please choose which cart you want to add the item.
By choosing one of the above, you are able to shop for both yourself and a registrant at the same time. Once you are ready to checkout your items will be waiting for you in both your personal and registry shopping carts.
Still need assistance?
Please contact us at 1-800-Diapers (1-800-342-7377)
© 2005 - 2015, Quidsi, Inc. or its Affiliates. Diapers.com is operated by Quidsi Solutions LLC. Unless otherwise noted, products on Diapers.com are sold by Quidsi Retail LLC. Gift Cards and E-Gift Cards sold on Diapers.com are sold by Quidsi Gift Cards, Inc.


text:
Via The Sports Daily:
Longtime actor Jeff Bridges was invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Friday night's Cubs-Dodgers game, and The Dude did not disappoint.
As a tribute to his character in The Big Lebowski, The Dude employed an unconventional method to officially start the matchup between the two teams.
He threw a strike -- but not in the traditional sense. And he was not done after just one toss. Bridges fired a sequence of pitches and put on a brief show for the fans.
Brian Wilson caught Bridges' pitches, so of course the two bearded men posed for a selfie after it was all over.
Bridges recently played the role of The Giver in The Giver, which is set to hit theaters on Aug. 15.
We now know his delivery method doesn't matter. Whether it's overhanded or underhanded, The Dude abides.
Dodgers News
Delivered to your inbox
receive Yardbarker's daily Top 10, featuring the best sports stories from around the web.
Customize your newsletter to get articles on your favorite sports and teams. And the best part? It's free!
Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao close to deal for fight
TJ Lang: Suh wanted to fight me after stepping on Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Hernandez jurors allowed to watch Super Bowl
Tiger misses cut: 'I'm only doing this so I won't get fined'
Roger Goodell grilled on Deflategate during presser
Rex Ryan: Seahawks need to 'take the air out of the football'
J.J. Watt buys cabin in the middle of nowhere to train
Six teams have done background work on Peterson
NBA set to earn $700M through streaming deal in China
Wade Phillips is the best coordinator hire this offseason
Best of Yardbarker | NFL News | MLB News | ||
Today's Best Stuff |
For BloggersJoin the Yardbarker Network for more promotion, traffic, and money. |
Company Info |
Help |
What is Yardbarker?Yardbarker is the largest network of sports blogs and pro athlete blogs on the web. This site is the hub of the Yardbarker Network, where our editors and algorithms curate the best sports content from our network and beyond. |
© 2015 Yardbarker, Inc. All rights reserved. Use of this website (including any and all parts and components) constitutes your acceptance of these Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. (What's New?) |


text:
87th out of 250 books
105 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking "Process Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed" as Want to Read:
Process Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed
Bruce G. Epperly (Goodreads Author)
<br /> >
Paperback, 192 pages
May 26th 2011
by Bloomsbury T&T Clark
(first published April 7th 2011)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Process Theology,
please sign up.
Be the first to ask a question about Process Theology
Community Reviews
I choose this book as my first venture into the world of Process Thought. If you are wanting an introduction to some of the basic theological tenets of PT this might not be the greatest. Bruce Epperly has constructed a "Christian" pantheistic worldview, with Process Thought as its foundation, so it has a distinctively "Christian" flavor. If you're curious as to how one may attempt to reconcile the Bible, Jesus, the Trinity, life after death, etc. with Process Thought, this book will interest you
Process Theology has been for many of us a rather complex and often incomprehensible theological system. It seeks to offer a theological perspective that speaks to and is conversant with the modern age, especially bringing into the discussion science and religious pluralism, but it too often one has had to almost learn a new theological language to make sense of the ideas. Bruce Epperly has done a nice job in helping us understand the basic principles of Process Theology by doing some "translati
I hate quitting, especially when I'm 3/4 done, but I just couldn't finish this book. Bruce certainly is descriptive and gives a general overview of Process Theology. I guess that is my problem with it. It was too general for me. I felt like he was an outsider describing the beliefs of a group of people. However, he is supposed to be an insider.
I was expecting him to bring me along on a journey to explore process theology and really understand where they are coming from and examine the ins and o ...more
I was expecting him to bring me along on a journey to explore process theology and really understand where they are coming from and examine the ins and o ...more
A really great book for anyone interested in understanding Process Theology. Process Thought began with a cleva so and so called Alfred North Whitehead (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/whi...). Process Theologians have researched as to how this enables Christians to have a deeper and more coherant understanding of God and the unfolding of God's work in our lives. It is not an exposition of Whiteheads Philosophy - for that I have ordered: Key to Whitehead's "Process and Reality"
Donald W. Sherbu ...more
Donald W. Sherbu ...more
Process Theology can be a difficult subject to read about. Process authors can write in such dense Whiteheadian jargon that their work requires decoding. They are often guilty of writing about concepts anyone can understand while using language no one understands. This book is a worthwhile introduction to the subject written mostly in plain, clear language. If you need a foot-in-the-door intro to Process thought or an approachable refresher course, this is a good one.
For a long time, I have been looking for a way to bridge the gap between the New Age/New Thought mysticism that has been so inspiring to me and the Christian faith of my childhood and heritage. Process theology fills that gap, and this book is an excellent introduction. I was a philosophy major, though, and regularly read philosophy and theology just for my enjoyment. I would not recommend this to someone unfamiliar with reading that type of work.
I would have liked to have rated this book higher but the rather sloppy production values made this a less enjoyable read than it should have been. Frequent typos and garbled syntax lead me to think that a cursory proofread was given before publication. In addition, I think there is probably better intros to process theology than this.
With that said, I did enjoy much of the book as I identify with much of process theology.
With that said, I did enjoy much of the book as I identify with much of process theology.
My review can be found here: http://catholicbooksreview.org/2012/e...
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »


text:
On display: May 2 through May 31 in "Expressions of Spring," at Dabbert Gallery, 76 S. Palm Ave.
Medium and size: Oil on canvas. 35 inches by 25 inches
Inspiration: "Besides the fact that I've always admired dancers for the work they put in their art, two years ago I had a Kennedy center fellowship to draw and photograph dancers in Washington, D.C. That particular painting is from one of the drawings I did then. It was from the dance tryouts for the New York State ballet that were held at Skidmore College. I liked the posture, even though she's much more relaxed — there's still the grace and strength great dancers have. She's a young person very much engaged in her upcoming trial, so she just sort of captured my attention and I was fortunate enough to work from her."
Role: Playing Captain Blifil, Blifil and Susan in "Tom Jones" running through June 1, at Florida Studio Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave.
Where are you from? New York City
What's your earliest memory acting? Performing in the church Christmas program.
If you could work any profession other than this, what would it be? I'd love to eventually teach or coach acting in order to continue sharing my love for this art form.
If you had to condense the plot of "Tom Jones" to three sentences, what would your synopsis be? Boy meets girl. Universe seemingly conspires against them. Will they end up with their true love?
Describe your character (the nemesis of Tom Jones) in three words: Manipulative, spoiled, intense
What's your favorite line from the production? "If you're still hungry, there are more melons."
The plot involves Squire Allworthy adopting a servant's illegitimate son (Tom Jones) and raising him as his own. If you could have anyone adopt you as his son, who would it be and why? Playwright Mark Brown. I want to be in all of his plays.
Why should people come see the world premiere of this production? It's an epic theatric tale that invites the audience to think, feel and, most importantly, laugh!
A&E Editor's Picks
Thursday, May 1
Sir Frederick Ashton Festival
Sarasota Ballet
At Historic Asolo Theater and Sarasota Opera House
Runs through May 3.
Call 359-0099, Ext. 101.
Art After 5
5 p.m. at The Ringling
Tickets $10. Call 359-5700.
Base/Flight Partnering Technique Intensive for Modern Dance with Tampa Bay artists Erin Cardinal and Brian Dean Fidalgo
Fuzión Dance Artists
6 p.m. at New College of Florida Fitness Center. Tickets $25, $10 observation. Call 345-5755.
nowHERE Gallery Performance: Bora Yoon and R. Luke DuBois
6:30 p.m. at The Ringling
Tickets $10. Call 359-5700.
'Annie Get Your Gun'
7 p.m. at Booker VPA
Runs through May 3.
Tickets $5 to $15. Call 355-2967.
Gershwin's 'My One and Only'
Manatee Players
7:30 p.m. at Manatee Performing Arts Center
Runs through May 18.
Tickets $27 to $37. Call 748-5875.
'Hero: The Musical' (Preview)
7:30 p.m. at Asolo Repertory Theatre. Runs through May 31.
Tickets $21 to $76. Call 351-8000.
'The Elephant Man'
8 p.m. at Venice Theatre
Runs through May 11.
Tickets $10 to $28. Call 488-1115.
Ninth Annual Ten-Minute Play Festival
Theatre Odyssey
At Asolo Repertory Theatre
Runs through May 4.
Tickets $18. Call 799-7224.
Friday, May 2
The Craft of Poetry
10 a.m. at Florida Studio Theatre
Tickets $15. Call 365-7900.
Mark Doty and Kevin Young live on stage
7:30 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre
Tickets $15. Call 365-7900.
Saturday, May 3
Young Voices Poetry Reading
10 a.m. at Florida Studio Theatre
Tickets $15. Call 365-7900.
Above and Beyond Luncheon
Noon at Florida Studio Theatre
Tickets $35. Call 365-7900.
Community Favorite Poem Reading
3 p.m. at Florida Studio Theatre
Tickets $15. Call 365-7900.
Sunday, May 4
Flute and Harp Duo: Cheryl Losey and Betsy Traba
4 p.m. at First United Methodist Church
Call 747-4406.
Musica Sacra Cantorum
4 p.m. at St. Boniface Episcopal Church
Tickets $20 to $25.
Call 405-7322.
Monday, May 5
Monday Night Movie: '42'
7 p.m. at Historic Asolo Theater
Tickets $7. Call 359-5700.
Tuesday, May 6
Guided Art and Backstage Tours
Fine Arts Society of Sarasota and the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
10 a.m. at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Tickets $5. Call 953-3368.
Currently 0 Responses
- Jan
31 Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota presents Adrian Anantawan, Violin and Amy Yang, Piano
7:30 pm - Jan
31 I'VE GOT A LITTLE TWIST - New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players
8:00 pm - 10:00 pm - Feb
1 Masterworks Series: Enigma
2:30 pm - Feb
2 SILL Music Monday
10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Gauls celebrate sweet 60
On Jan. 29, Jack and Joan Gaul will celebrate their 60th anniversary. -
Dora Walters goes by the book for readers
You saw her byline countless times during her 26 years at the Longboat Observer, but now, retired Senior Editor Dora Walters' byline appears on her new book, "Rewind…Playback: A Collection of Life's 'Little' Memories." -
Encore opening celebration
Members of the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce gathered for a ribbon-cutting event Jan. 20, at Amore by Andrea.


text:
Discussion BoardsOpen MenuDiscussion Boards Open Menu
- Welcome to the Community
- 1 categories, 7 boards
- Live with HP Experts
- 1 boards
- Converged Systems
- 1 categories, 1 boards
- Desktops and Workstations
- 1 categories, 12 boards
- Mobile
- 7 boards
- Networking
- 6 categories, 22 boards
- Operating Systems
- 7 categories, 77 boards
- Printing and Digital Imaging
- 1 categories, 18 boards
BlogsOpen MenuBlogs Open MenuCommunity Knowledge BaseOpen MenuCommunity Knowledge Base Open MenuEnglishOpen Menu
- Community Home
- >
- Software
- >
- IT Strategy, Planning & Governance
- >
- Discover Performance
- >
- 3 keys to successfully managing business services ...
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Mark as New
- Mark as Read
- Bookmark
- Receive email notifications
- Email to a Friend
- Printer Friendly Page
- Report Inappropriate Content
3 keys to successfully managing business services in a hybrid environment
Matthew Smith has over 20 years of IT experience, ranging from R&D to process and software solution consulting and has been with HP for the past 11 years. As the Business Service Management (BSM) Global Practice Manager for HP Software Professional Services, he is responsible for packaged solutions and the services catalog and works with HP customers to create solutions to align their IT operations across people, process and technology to meet the demands of the business.
I was in a Business Service Management (BSM) customer advisory board meeting not too long ago, and someone was brave enough to say, "Please stop talking to me about cloud." We all chuckled a bit uncomfortably, but when I thought about it, I started to see where he was coming from. After all, large organizations have been doing client/server and multi-tiered applications that are spread across geographies for years. Cloud is not so different; the issue is figuring out how to monitor these services now that IT does not own the entire delivery chain.
The cloud changes your control over and visibility into any service, which correlates to the depth and breadth of the information you can gather to monitor services that you have purchased from a provider—at the infrastructure, platform or application level.
Cloud models evolve—IT must always deliver
The business demands the same capabilities from IT no matter what—whether IT delivers the service or you source it externally. The business always expects to be able to understand how the service is running. That's considered IT's job, whether you own the entire service or only part of it.
In mature organizations, there is an emphasis on managing business services in a unified manner, regardless of location or ownership. This is a stepping stone to being able align IT operations to the business. If you cannot consolidate and correlate your monitoring data at a single point, you won't have the entire picture of what's going on with that service throughout its life cycle. As a result, you cannot fully understand the performance, availability and overall health of that service. By bringing all the information together, you move closer to that point of maturity as an organization.
In HP Software Professional Services, we see cloud driving customers to consider different business models around consuming a product or service. However, not everyone is ready or needs to reorganize IT to be a full-fledged service broker, so we get a lot of interest in hybrid models.
Embrace the cloud without losing control or visibility
There are a few things that need to happen for a large organization to realize the full potential of hybrid cloud services—namely cost savings and greater agility. But if you cannot monitor and measure the service, how can you achieve this goal? Getting the right people to communicate, having processes in place and products able to adapt to this agility are key.
Among HP enterprise customers, the most successful IT departments tend to:
- Ensure there are IT people aligned with the LOBs on purchasing decisions: If the LOB buys something then comes to IT and says, "I need you to monitor it," and IT wasn't part of initial consideration or purchasing decision, you're a bit stuck. But if LOBs partner with IT to procure external services, LOBs get what they need and IT is still providing value by offering guidance and owning the monitoring aspect.
- Define how and why to engage IT: If you don't put a framework around how others should engage with your group and define what value you deliver back, they might—and often will—decide there is no value to engaging at all. A consolidated business service monitoring platform provides application, system and network monitoring, along with service intelligence and analytics capabilities. This allows you to define the services, information (KPIs or metrics) and value that IT provides to the business to make informed decisions.
- Verify the business is getting what's promised from providers: Do you completely trust your service provider's SLA/SLO reporting? Not always. You want your tools to be able to monitor these services and the capability in whatever way they are consumed—via the Internet or mobile devices.
Of course, when shadow IT or external procurement occurs without your involvement, there may be nothing to do but react. Whether you call it "best practices," "increasing your maturity level" or "creating a center of excellence around business service monitoring," you must push monitoring in a unified and structured way. By being able to give the business an overall picture of service health, IT shows its value and becomes a partner in brokering services—not the fall guy.
To learn more about how HP BSM can help you manage business services in a hybrid environment, check out the white paper Manage IT Services Efficiently. Service Business Effectively (registration required).
Related links:
- Mark as Read
- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Highlight
- Email to a Friend
- Report Inappropriate Content
Matt thank you for your perspective. Yes. I tell my customers... don't you want to know what goes on behind the curtain? when it comes to TRUSTing their service providers. It is ever more important for IT to extend the ability to understand the health of end to end service delivery as part of the Value Chains they support. I'd like to hear more about how you see traditional monitoring software allow IT to stretch into the Cloud to do up/down monitoring.
- Mobility: All about that place, that place, not co...
- IT leaders: Let's talk less about technology
Automate applicatio
n release and ramp up release v... -
CIO Confidenti
al - Overcoming real-world barriers to maximizing the p...
- A Happy DevOps New Year?
Welcome homo-exten
sis: the future of the augmented. .. -
ing data science for fun and profit - Big Data's "brain", fuelled by DevOps DNA, creates...
Education of the nation: Creating better education.
Welcome homo-exten
sis: the future of the augmented. .. - Software Development Company on: Mobile DevOps: How to create the best app for your...
- Drew Dimmick on: Cloud computing is a means, not an end.
e advantage and the software defined ent... - mackey on: How to close the security skills gap: 40% vacancy ...
- KnowledgeBrief on: Why change should be a core competency in your org...
g customer-c entric IT's new 'secret weap... -
Jim Libersky
g attacks are hard to detect. How can yo... - John Toth on: The steering wheel for IT services: Using a servic...
Full Film izle
The Big Data solution that protects your customers.


text:
1966 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster. Numbers matching L79 327 / 350hp 4 speed Muncie trans . Am/fm radio. Side pipes. Knock off wheels. Big block... More
DOCUMENTED REAL L78!!!!!! 7 YR RESTORATION WITH ALL NOS PARTS!!! ALL DOCUMENTATION!!! 4SPD, 396/375 HP NUMBERS MATCHING!!! CANADIAN PAPERWORK DOCUMENTING THIS AWESOME MUSCLE CAR!!!... More
1968 Chevrolet K10 Custom 4x4, Only 64k, Strong V8 with 4 Speed. Manual lockouts, Nice Red Finish(Vermillion Poly to be exact) with White Roof.... More
Total restoration, restomod. LT 1 engine, 4 speed, p/s, p/b, a/c, too much more to list. 47K... More
1965 Corvette convertible, restomod, 4speed, 406 stroker, 450hp, vintage air, new chrome, new red line tires. This is a fun car to drive to... More
1965 Corvette convertible, both tops, 100% restored about 4 years ago, about 400 miles on build, 100% correct and matching. 56K... More
Handsomely displayed and well kept, this beautiful Corvette has just come in from a private collection form Cape Cod, MA. This 66 corvette roadster... More
1962 Chevrolet Impala SS 2 door Convertible Impala was the top of the line car for Chevrolet's 50th anniversary. This Impala Super Sport Convertible... More
Offered here is a superb 1952 Chevy 5-Window 3/4 Ton Flatbed Truck. Starting as a solid Santa Barbara area ranch lemon truck, the vehicle... More
Call 440-914-0000 or email [contact seller] 1975 Chevrolet Corvette Rare silver on silver 38,000 original miles Automatic transmission Clean inside and out... More
1990 Corvette ZR1 one owner top flight award winner pristine in every way original wheels come with the car. call us at 941-355-1955 ... More
Just in! Call or visit our website for more information.... More
The holy grail of Corvettes 1963 split window coupe frame off restored 2013. complete restoration with attention to detail. all correct ignition shielding. fuel... More
San Francisco Sports Cars offers a stunning Corvette Z06 for sale fresh off the showroom floor w/ only 800 miles. This fully loaded 2015... More
Just In: Very Rare Highly Optioned Factory Air Conditioning 1963 Corvette Split Window Coupe. Factory Optioned with: Soft Ray Tinted Glass (A01), Power Windows... More


text:
No answer yet
I am a complete N00B.
Just want to learn how to climb and have some fun while doing it.
I have always wanted to try climbing, but kept putting it off for whatever reason. This meetup group seems like a good bunch of folks who can help me get started in the sport.
Meetup members, Log in
By clicking "Sign up" or "Sign up using Facebook", you confirm that you accept our Terms of Service & Privacy Policy