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Alexa Vega Is Now A Roller Derby Girl [AUDIO]
With time has come reinvention for legendary rock band Aerosmith, who released their first music video in eight years on Tuesday. Watch below.
The same could be said for the video's star Alexa Vega, a former "Spy Kid" who's shedding her childhood image for more grown-up and racy roles. She's currently filming "Machete 2," where she plays the role of a scantily clad assassin.
Steven Tyler & Joe Perry of Aerosmoth Talk New Album And Upcoming Tour
In Aerosmith's music video, a blonde Vega is seen racing away—on roller skates— from some serious looking men in suits.
Several of Vega's co-stars are actually real-life roller derby girls with whom she goes toe-to-toe with in the saga. Vega must have held her own because she was even asked to join the team!
Best Friends Nikki Reed & Alexa Vega Plan On Being Pregnant Together
The video is just episode one of a series that Aerosmith is doing to document their more than four decades in the industry.
Check out what she had to say about her new gig below.
[soundcloud id='65604157']


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Posted Monday, April 21, 2008
View the recipe demo:
Submitted by
John Kish
Westlake Fire Rescue
1 green pepper, cut into chunks
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
1 sweet onion, cut into chunks
3 cloves garlic
1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice
½ cup chicken bouillon (optional)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-6 mushrooms, sliced
Salt (to taste)
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons Cajun spice
4-6 quarts water
1 12-ounce box linguini
½ cup shredded Asiago cheese
In a medium pot, heat the water to a boil. Add the linguini and cook till soft. Drain and add 1-2 tablespoons of butter to prevent the pasta from sticking.
In a large frying pan, heat olive oil and add chopped garlic to hot oil. When garlic becomes translucent, add chicken and spices and cook until no pink shows (about 7-10 minutes).
Add peppers, onion, tomatoes (with juice) and bouillon to the chicken and cover with a lid. Cook for 10-15 minutes until veggies begin to soften, stirring occasionally. When veggies are soft, add the mushrooms and cook 2-5 minutes more.
Serve the dish by dividing the noodles in half onto two plates. Divide the chicken and veggie sauce evenly and spread over the top of the noodles on each plate. Top it all with the shredded Asiago cheese.
For a thicker sauce, hold back 2 tablespoons of chicken broth and add ½ teaspoon of corn starch. Stir to dissolve the corn starch. Remove the chicken from the pan, add the cornstarch mixture and put it back on the heat.
From its inception, the idea for the WVIZ/PBS Cooks! series was simple… and simply delicious! With Northeast and North Central Ohio being so rich in ethnic diversity, our plan was to gather together traditional and family-favorite recipes from some of the region's best home cooks and then, through the power of television, share those recipes with you, our family and friends.

subset: commoncrawl


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Dick Ayers Archives - Comics Should Be Good! @ Comic Book Resources
Frantic as a cardiograph scratching out the lines, Day 167: Tales of Suspense #19
Every day this year, I will be examining the first pages of random comics. This month I will be doing theme weeks, with each week devoted to comics from one decade. This week's decade: the 1960s! Today's page is from Tales of Suspense #19, which was published by Marvel (although the indicia lists "Vista Publications") and is cover dated July 1961. I borrowed this and several other comics over the next few weeks from Howard Harris, my comics retailer, who was nice enough to let me take them home and scan them. Enjoy!
Continue Reading »


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Home → Special Education → Support & Supervision → Policies, Procedures & Effective Implementation → MUSER FAQ → Definition
See our list of commonly used acronyms
Define Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) as you did with present level and annual goals.
An explanation of how the student will participate with or without supplemental aids and services in the general education curriculum, non-academic areas and extracurricular activities alongside her non-disabled peers, or, an explanation of why the student, with supplemental aids and services, cannot participate with non-disabled peers in the general education curriculum, non-academic areas and extracurricular activities.
There is no clarification on the contents of the "multiple" label.
The MUSER give the definitions of the disabilities in Section VII.
We need more guidance on "scientifically based" and "peer reviewed research" in determining both methods of service delivery and supplemental aids and services. Please advise.
MUSER Section II.33 states:
"The term 'scientifically based research'—
(A) means research that involves the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowledge relevant to education activities and programs; and
(B) includes research that—
(i) employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment;
(ii) involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn;
(iii) relies on measurements or observational methods that provide reliable and valid data across evaluators and observers, across multiple measurements and observations, and across studies by the same or different investigators;
(iv) is evaluated using experimental or quasi-experimental designs in which individuals, entities, programs, or activities are assigned to different conditions and with appropriate controls to evaluate the effects of the condition of interest, with a preference for random-assignment experiments, or other designs to the extent that those designs contain within-condition or across-condition controls;
(v) ensures that experimental studies are presented in sufficient detail and clarity to allow for replication or, at a minimum, offer the opportunity to build systematically on their findings; and (vi) has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective and scientific review."
The following discussion is given in the federal commentary section of IDEA:
Discussion: "Peer-reviewed research" generally refers to research that is reviewed by qualified and independent reviewers to ensure that the quality of the information meets the standards of the field before the research is published. However, there is no single definition of "peer-reviewed research" because the review process varies depending on the type of information to be reviewed. We believe it is beyond the scope of these regulations to include a specific definition of "peer-reviewed research" and the various processes used for peer reviews. (Revised September 2010)
Who are you defining as the public agency? School, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), private—non-profits, Community Care, or Community Health and Counseling Services (CHCS)?
The School Administrative Units (SAU) are responsible for providing FAPE. Section II of the MUSER defines "Public Agency."


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Championship leader continues to push the limits with devastating speed
Reigning MotoGP Champion secures maximum points ahead of Marquez and Pedrosa
Reigning MotoGP Champion sets fastest time on first day of practice
Rookie takes fourth win on the bounce ahead of Pedrosa and Lorenzo
Rookie takes fourth win on the bounce ahead of Pedrosa and Lorenzo
Last year's winner Pedrosa will set off from fourth on the grid
Repsol Honda rider extends championship lead with third win in America
Repsol Honda rider takes fourth pole position of his career in devastating fashion
Championship leader leads Repsol Honda one two in first two sessions
Casey Stoner makes a comeback for Repsol Honda to test 2014 bike but won't race
Double MotoGP World Champion expected to be back on Honda machinery next month
Repsol Honda rookie extends championship lead with devastating win
German rider storms to maiden MotoGP pole in thrilling qualifying session
Repsol Honda rider fastest in first two practice sessions on debut at US track
Former MotoGP World Champion will not renew contract with Italian manufacturer
Repsol Honda rookie leaps into lead of world championship standings
Spaniard considering racing following massive highside crash
Heavy crash yesterday sees reigning MotoGP Champion further damaging collarbone
Repsol Honda rider grabs pole on weekend of attrition at the Sachsenring
Multiple crashes on day one causes havoc with team preparations
Important to keep fighting for wins, says Pedrosa.
Marc Marquez recuperated from his heavy crash on Friday to place second in TT Assen.
British rider grabs first MotoGP pole ahead of young guns Marquez and Bradl
Reigning World Champion suffers high-speed crash in wet afternoon practice session
Lorenzo grabs the victory ahead of countrymen Pedrosa and Marquez
Repsol Honda rider leads Crutchlow and Lorenzo in front of home fans
Rossi and Lorenzo top both free practice sessions at Montmeló circuit
Repsol Honda's rookie heads to his home race for the victory in the GP Aperol de Catalunya
Dani Pedrosa hopes to take the victory in his home race on the Circuit de Catalunya.
Spaniard demolishes his competitors with Pedrosa and Crutchlow in second and third
Repsol Honda rider storms to top of the timings ahead of Lorenzo and Dovizioso
Incident prevents Spanish rookie from securing automatic Q2 position
Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa won a wet and wild French Grand Prix ahead of second-placed Cal Crutchlow on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1 and teammate Marc Marquez who was third.
Spaniard takes second win of the year ahead of Crutchlow and Marquez
Repsol Honda rider tops the timesheets ahead of Lorenzo and Dovizioso
Marquez has travelled to France as the youngest ever sole leader of the MotoGP™ World Championship


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BACKGROUND: Time series microarray experiments are widely used to study dynamical biological processes. Due to the cost of microarray experiments, and also in some cases the limited availability of biological material, about 80% of microarray time series experiments are short (3-8 time points). Previously short time series gene expression data has been mainly analyzed using more general gene expression analysis tools not designed for the unique challenges and opportunities inherent in short time series gene expression data. RESULTS: We introduce the Short Time-series Expression Miner (STEM) the first software program specifically designed for the analysis of short time series microarray gene expression data. STEM implements unique methods to cluster, compare, and visualize such data. STEM also supports efficient and statistically rigorous biological interpretations of short time series data through its integration with the Gene Ontology. CONCLUSION: The unique algorithms STEM implements to cluster and compare short time series gene expression data combined with its visualization capabilities and integration with the Gene Ontology should make STEM useful in the analysis of data from a significant portion of all microarray studies. STEM is available for download for free to academic and non-profit users at http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~jernst/stem.
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- AARP - http://blog.aarp.org -
Welcome Readers
Posted By Tamara Lytle On November 9, 2012 @ 12:31 pm In Bulletin Today | Comments Disabled
Welcome readers. This is a new adventure and I'd like to cover what you care about. I've covered Congress, the White House, politics and policy for longer than Justin Bieber has been alive. The music that politicians make can be quite a cacophony at times. I'm aiming to help you find the right notes – the news that matters to readers 50 and older. So please, listen in.
Tamara (Tammy) Lytle
Article printed from AARP: http://blog.aarp.org
URL to article: http://blog.aarp.org/2012/11/09/welcome-readers/
Click here to print.
Copyright © 2013 AARP. All rights reserved.


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Each of my responses hinges on the assumption that the questioner isn't asking because it's all okay. I assume the questioner is asking because it troubles him/her and is a problem.
1. Is it harassment if my boss emails me and tells me to f*uck off?
I can't speak at all to the legality of any of this but if my boss did that, I'd be pretty upset. And understandably so. It's grossly unprofessional and inappropriate. (I assume you aren't seeking validation because it was said jokingly and is the common form of speech, a la teenagers shrieking goofily, "Oh SHUT UP!" when what they mean is, "For real, seriously?") There's a problem, and if it's a pattern, I urge you to try constructive problem solving with a person who can help. If it is past any point of return, consider whether it is the right environment for you.
2. Boss hand on thigh
Yes, this is in appropriate.
Women, we need to not worry about hurting feelings or creating an awkward moment at the expense of ourselves.
First, the awkward moment was already created when the man acted inappropriately. You can ignore it but it won't go away.
Second, this means you need to use your words.
"That's a personal touch, please remove your hand and don't do that again."
You can both speak up and be polite.
Third, you need to keep track if there is a pattern or he won't stop, and report it. I don't promise reporting it will solve it, or provide justice, but I still strongly believe it needs to be done.
3. Boss coming on to me
See number 2.
4. Coworker saw my underwear and harassing me
Juvenile locker room behavior aside, this creates a hostile and distracting work environment if it goes on too long or too strong. Use your words. Follow avenues available to you to stop this and solve it.
5. Advice about sexual harassment at work
Don't take it. Just don't.
You didn't cause it; it's not your fault. It's wrong and needs to stop. You know it's wrong because you feel uncomfortable. If you ask for it to stop and it doesn't, you need to use your words and take action.
To all these and the rest:
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has a straightforward fact sheet about sexual harassment. Click here to read it. A key point from that sheet is
Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.
That sheet also provides instructions about how to file a complaint. If your company wont do anything, there are other avenues available to you.
Human resources at about.com offers some examples of sexual harassment:
Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of situations. These are examples of sexual harassment, not intended to be all inclusive.
* Unwanted jokes, gestures, offensive words on clothing, and unwelcome comments and repartee.
* Touching and any other bodily contact such as scratching or patting a coworker's back, grabbing an employee around the waiste, or interfering with an employee's ability to move.
* Repeated requests for dates that are turned down or unwanted flirting.
* Transmitting or posting emails or pictures of a sexual or other harassment-related nature.
* Displaying sexually suggestive objects, pictures, or posters.
* Playing sexually suggestive music.
I believe every person is responsible for knowing this, and for being accountable for when their actions---intention or not---harm a coworker. Companies should provide the education, but if not, know it yourself.
To those being harassed
It's not your job to fix the system. I sometimes wonder if one person can, anyway. But each time we stand up against sexual harassment, each report we make...it all adds up and hopefully creates a better situation for the next woman or next generation.
You do what you can, not what someone else thinks you should or what you think a better woman would. You are a good woman. And this sort of abuse wears you down, drains you, robs you of your power. Sometimes, we can't do as much as we'd like. The most important thing is to salvage yourself and get your power and equilibrium back. Just do what you can.
To those of us who let it roll off our backs or think we just need to be good sports
It's a slippery slope, friends. We are all well-conditioned to not be the spoilsport---women even more so with the nice thing. But there is a hard line, here, now. What is a funny joke to one woman might seriously disturb another.
Take a look at the definition and examples of harassment.
And just keep that out of the workplace. In case.
But consider...all I went through? Somebody else thought it was funny.
Too, too many people don't understand the boundary. So just keep on the safe and courteous side.
Copyright 2007 Julie Pippert
Also blogging at:
Using My Words
Julie Pippert REVIEWS: Get a real opinion about BOOKS, MUSIC and MORE
Julie Pippert RECOMMENDS: A real opinion about HELPFUL and TIME-SAVING products
Moms Speak Up: Talking about the environment, dangerous imports, health care, food safety, media and marketing, education, politics and many other hot topics of concern.


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Let me apologise for neglecting this site slightly. All was going well until my dear husband put the thought of going back to work into my head. We were sitting in a nice café enjoying our coffees when Hubby asked if I was keen to head back. I honestly hadn't thought about it as I'm not on maternity leave so the thought of work was pushed to the back of my mind and was being ignored. But the minute it was mentioned I started to get very excited. Not really about the work side of things but more the idea of having to get dressed up, having a coffee when ever I wanted it, going to the toilet without an audience, having a lunch break and finally being creative again. I don't plan to go back full time, hopefully just a couple of days a week. We shall see. So the past week has been all about updating my CV and portfolio. Who knows what will happen, I'm slightly nervous but in a good way.
Now here's a surprise recipe. The other night we went to wonderful dinner at a friends house and they had made this amazing tzatziki dip and after being told how easy it was to make I thought I would I would give it a go and would see what Miss F thought of it.
To my surprise Miss F loved it, she even nibbled on some cucumber whilst I was making it. CRAZY.This dip is oh so good; it does make you wonder why you would every buy tzatziki again. So for a quick, healthy and easy snack, this is the way to go. I served it with toasted pita bread.
10 minutes
2 minutes
INGREDIENTS (serves 12)
2 (about 600g) telegraph cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthways, seeds removed
1/2 tsp salt
520g (2 cups) Greek-style natural yoghurt
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Use the coarse side of a grater to grate the cucumber. Place in a small bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Toss to combine.
2. Place the yoghurt, garlic, oil and cumin in a medium bowl, and stir to combine.
3. Transfer the cucumber to a sieve and use your hands to squeeze out any excess moisture. Stir the cucumber pulp through the yoghurt mixture. Taste and season with pepper. Cover and place in the fridge until required.
You can make this recipe up to 3 days ahead. Place the tzatziki and beans in separate airtight containers and store in the fridge.
Recipe sourced Good Taste - December 2001, Page 29
Recipe by Michelle Noerianto
Recipe by Michelle Noerianto


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Alabama woman rescued from Lake Charles hotel; man, woman accused of human trafficking
POSTED: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - 2:05pm
UPDATED: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 - 5:40pm
LAKE CHARLES, LA (NBC33) — A man and a woman have been arrested for human trafficking after they allegedly forced a young woman from Alabama into prostitution and threatened her life.
The Lake Charles Police Department reports that its agency was contacted on Sunday, Sept. 22 regarding a missing 19-year-old woman from Huntsville. Investigators believed she was in Louisiana based on information provided by the victim's mother.
Officials say the young woman went missing on Friday, Sept. 20, but she managed to call her mother. She told her that she had been taken against her will and her captors threatened both her life and the life of her family members if she tried to leave.
The woman's mother reported the information to the Huntsville Police Department. Based on the information provided, they identified Lake Charles as her possible location.
Officers with the Lake Charles Police Department were able to track the young woman to a local hotel. The woman was recovered unharmed, and they arrested Ivory Charles Pantallion, III, 33, of Beaumont, TX, and Jessica Lynne Morgan, 24, of Shelbyville Tennessee.
Investigators learned that the victim left Huntsville freely with the two suspects. However, once they arrived in Beaumont, TX, the victim's phone was taken from her and she was given a disposable phone.
The woman claims that Pantallion and Morgan advertised her services online. They told her she would provide an escort service for men, and the threats against her life were stated.
The trio only spent one night in Beaumont. They then packed up and left for Lake Charles, where her services were again advertised online.
At this point the victim managed to call and contact her mother and the investigation was launched. Detectives were able to track them down via the information that was posted online.
Pantallion is charged with Human Trafficking and Simple Kidnapping. His bond was set at $1 million. Morgan is facing the same charges, but her bond was set at $500,000.
Both were booked into the Calcasieu Parish Correctional Center.


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The current regulatory framework for controlling unwanted/pesky calls/SMSs has been laid down by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) through "The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2010" dated 1st Dec '2010. All the provisions of the said regulation have come into force from 27th September 2011. TRAI has also issued several amendments to these regulations to strengthen the regulatory framework. The details of complaints of unwanted/pesky calls/SMSs to the mobile consumers/subscribers that has come to the notice of TRAI/Govt. for each of the last three years and the current year are as given below:
Total No. of complaints received related to Unwanted/ pesky calls/SMSs
Current year (upto 27.11.2012)
In order to strengthen the current regulatory framework for controlling Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC), TRAI issued the Consultation paper on "Review of Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2010" on 3.8.2012 seeking stakeholders comments. To discuss the measures required to control the unwanted/pesky calls/SMSs with the stakeholders, an open house discussion was held by TRAI on 10th October, 2012 at New Delhi. During the open house discussion, final views of the stakeholders on some of the possible solutions were sought by 25th October, 2012. The response(s) to the consultation paper were received from:-
(i) Three industry associations - Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI), Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI),
(ii) Eight service providers - M/s Reliance Communications Ltd., M/s Tata Tele Services Limited, , M/s Bharti Airtel, M/s Vodafone, M/s Idea, M/s Aircel, M/s Loop & M/s BSNL,
(iii) Twelve Consumer Advisory Groups - Consumer Guidance Society (CGSI), Consumer Protection Association (CPA), Shramik Varg & Nirmal Varg Vikas Sansthan, SAMARPIT, SANRAKSHAN, Harijan Adivashi Mahila Kalyan Samiti, All India Chamber of Consumers, Amen Society, Gramvikas Parishad, Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), Telecom Users Group of India, Voluntary Organization in Interest of Consumer Education (VOICE),
(iv) Three individuals - Ms. Rashi Arora, Sh. S. K. Virmani, Sh. Surendra P.A. and nine other entities.
Keeping in view the comments of the stakeholders, TRAI issued the "The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Tenth Amendment) Regulations, 2012" on 5th November, 2012.
(d) As on 29th Nov., 2012, 2830 telemarketers have been registered with TRAI in the country.
Government / TRAI has been aware that several calls and SMSs are emanated from private / individual numbers, who have not registered with TRAI as a telemarketer. The Regulation provides for disconnection of telecom resources of such 'unregistered telemarketers' on complaints received on second instance, after issuing a notice on first violation. As per the above provisions of regulations, notices have been issued to 1,48,095 subscribers and resources of 1,37,052 subscribers have been disconnected.
To address the issue and to strengthen the framework for controlling the pesky calls/SMSs, corrective measures have been taken by TRAI through issue of "The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Tenth Amendment) Regulations, 2012" on 5th November, 2012 after due consultation with the stakeholders. A brief of the salient features / measures taken under this Regulation are given below:-
(i) A minimum charge of 50 paisa per SMS sent in excess of 100 SMS per day has been imposed. Service providers have been mandated not to allow sending of more than one hundred SMS per day per SIM at a concessional rate. Subscribers can send SMS beyond one hundred SMS per day per SIM, however, all such SMSs will be charged at the rate, not less than fifty paisa per SMS.
(ii) To increase consumer awareness, Access Providers have been mandated to send SMS to their subscribers on periodic basis advising them not to send any commercial communications if they are not registered with TRAI as a telemarketer and that sending of commercial communication using private/individual numbers shall result in disconnection of telecom resources.
(iii) Access Providers have been also mandated that at the time of providing a telephone connection, they shall obtain an undertaking from the subscriber that the SIM purchased shall not be used for telemarketing purposes.
(iv) For making lodging of a complaint regarding Unsolicited Commercial SMS easy, provision has been made for forwarding of such SMS by appending the telephone number (or header of the SMS), from which the unsolicited commercial SMS has originated and date of receipt of such SMS to 1909.
This information was given by Shri Milind Deora, Minister of State for C&IT in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.


text:
Posts Tagged: Fran Keller
Cataloging Insect and Bat Diversity in Belize
"Our crowd sourcing ends on Sunday night, April 20," said wildlife biologist David Wyatt, professor at Sacramento City College. (To learn more about the effort or to donate, check out the "Cataloging Insect and Bat Diversity in Belize" website.)
Wyatt, a professor in the field ecology program and a veteran of nine trips to Belize, in Central America, has scheduled the trip for June 2-16, 2014. A veteran of nine trips to Belize, he will guide the research team of six other biologists, including entomologist Fran Keller, his former student. Keller, who is finishing her doctorate in entomology at UC Davis, studies with major professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and UC Davis professor of entomology.
In addition to establishing a major entomology collection in Belize, the research team will conduct an inventory of bats from this area of Belize. An added bonus to the bat work is that the team will be collecting insect ectoparasites from the bats - in particular the bat flies (Nycteribiidae and Streblidae). "These are a fascinating group of parasitic dipterans that only occur on bats with a high degree of coevolution between the bats and the bat flies," said Wyatt, who specializes in mammals (ringtails and bats) and also extensively studies in entomology.
The researchers are also teaming with the Biodiversity Center of Belize to conduct DNA barcoding of the insect specimens they collect (each will donate a leg to the analysis) and also barcoding of small wing punches of skin from the bats. Regular updates of the project are being blogged under the Lab Notes section of the website. Supporters who donate are automatically informed of new Lab Notes updates by email.
Keller said that starting an entomological collection "is not an easy thing nor is it inexpensive. With university and governmental cutbacks, funding for basic scientific research, such as biodiversity surveys and discovering new species, is rejected and being replaced by studies focused on climate change and alternative energy resources. Insects act as indicators of climate change and understanding the distribution of insects over time informs the scientific community on how various ecosystems are being altered by climate change."
"Our crowdsource funding is an attempt to fund research through a unique online company called Experiment.com. We are presenting our research proposal to the public and the public will decide the value by backing the project with donations that range from $5 to--well we will take any maximum amount. Any funds over the requested amount will be applied to the collection set up equipment. With only three days left we are hoping to get as many backers as possible. Getting to work with David to establish this collection in Belize is also an opportunity for a former student to give back to a dedicated mentor."
Keller is an alumnus of Sacramento City College. She began her academic career as a microbiology major but after completing classes in natural history, entomology, and field entomology, she turned her interests from single-celled organisms to multi-cellular animals. She is now teaching science at the college.
Keller credited Wyatt with encouraging her to transfer to UC Davis to continue her education. "David's enthusiasm and energy for teaching and entomology were contagious," Keller said. "Although I really do enjoy cell and molecular biology, entomology is my true passion and David helped me recognize that fact. David and I have collected insects together many times in the Mojave Desert and Arizona. He also encouraged me to sign up for a one-week course in the summer to work with bats. Many bats rely on insects as their major food source."
"I guess I have been an entomologist since I was a child but just didn't know it," Keller said. During her childhood, she collected bees in jars and added flowers "to see what the bees would do." She and her sisters also collected caterpillars and watched them form chrysalids and emerge as butterflies.
Fran Keller chasing dragonflies. (Photo by Alex Wild)
David Wyatt with a ringtail.
All That Glitters May Be Beetles
All that glitters may be beetles--jewel beetles.
You'll want to attend the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on Saturday, Nov. 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. to bask in the theme, "Beauty and the Beetles."
The museum, located on the UC Davis campus in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, houses nearly eight million insect specimens, plus a live "petting zoo" and a gift shop. The open house is free and open to the public. The museum is people friendly, family friendly and bug friendly.
And the beetles?
"Beetles are awe inspiring because they are so different," said Fran Keller, who is completing her requirements this year for a doctorate in entomology. She studies with major professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor of entomology in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
"As a human, I and the 7 billion people on the planet are only one species, Homo sapiens," Keller said. "But the insect Order Coleoptera, or beetles, has more than 360,000 species. Beetles have the greatest diversity of all the insects. Butterflies are big and showy, but beetles can be. too. On a ladybug, which is really a beetle and not a bug, those red and black spotted front wings are called elytra. Beetle elytra are not used for flying so beetles actually fly with one pair of wings. But those elytra help protect them because they can be very tough and sometimes incredibly flashy to warn off predators."
Keller said that "If you can think of an ecological niche there is probably a beetle there taking advantage of the resources. Believe it or not, there is a beetle that is a parasite and lives in the butt of a beaver. Beetles are truly amazing and although I am partial to the flightless, black tenebrionids, I do collect and appreciate the beauty of all beetles. Okay, maybe I don't collect the beaver butt parasite beetle but wow, who would have thought beetles would be there!"
Keller, who noted that Darwin was an avid beetle collector and enthusiast, acknowledged that she has many "favorite groups of beetles," but "one of my favorites has to be the jewel beetles. Most of them are pests but they are very stunning, hence the name jewel beetle. There are so many different types of beetles that we know of or that have been described but there are still so many that await discovery."
So, all you beetle fans and would-be beetle fans, head over to the Bohart Museum on Saturday afternoon. There will be arts and crafts for the youngsters (and adults, too, if they wish!) Find out more here.
These jewel beetles will be displayed at the Bohart Museum's open house. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Ridin' the Rails With a Butterfly
Hint: It's the state insect.
"What, we have a state insect?" you ask.
Yes, and it's the California dogface butterfly (Zerene eurydice).
On the monorail, it's an artistic blue and white and it seems to flutter along for the ride. (See what the Monorail Society wrote about it in 1995.) In real life, the male of the species is yellow and black, and the female, predominantly yellow.
Fran Keller, doctoral candidate in entomology at the University of California, Davis, and her colleague, naturalist Greg Kareofelas of Davis, a volunteer at the Bohart Museum of Entomology identified the insect on the monorail right away. Several years ago they teamed to create a California dogface butterfly poster, which graces many a classroom, office, and den. The poster is for sale in the Bohart Museum's gift shop on Crocker Lane, UC Davis, or online.
Keller went on to write a children's book, "The Story of the Dogface Butterfly," with watercolor-and-ink illustrations by Laine Bauer, a 2012 graduate of UC Davis. Kareofelas contributed photographs.
Net proceeds from the sale of the 35-page book, also available at the Bohart Museum or online, benefit the insect museum's education, outreach and research programs.
The book tells the untold story of the California dogface butterfly, and how schoolchildren became involved in convincing the State Legislature to select the colorful butterfly as the state insect.
Bauer's illustrations depict the life cycle of this butterfly. As part of their research, Keller, Karofelas and Bauer visited a Placer County habitat of the butterfly last year.
As for the book, "There are also ecology, life cycle, taxonomy and conservation issues presented that are relevant to grades K-6 that can be used in classroom curriculum," Keller said. In addition, the book includes information on the butterfly's host plant, false indigo (Amorpha californica).
So, score one for the California State Fair. And score two for the Bohart Museum.
California dogface butterfly is illustrated on the California State Fair monorail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Up Close and Personal with a Female Flame Skimmer
What a beauty.
But not nearly as striking as her male counterpart.
The flame skimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata) owned a perch on a bamboo stake last Tuesday in residential Davis.
Davis resident Gary Zamzow, a dynamite insect photographer (especially bumble bees), pointed his Pentax camera at the insect, just inches away.
The dragonfly did not move.
"The female flame skimmers are not as intensely orange as the males are and they also have the expansions on the 7th abdominal tergite that you can see in your picture (below)," said senior museum entomologist Steve Heydon of the Bohart Museum of Entomology (http://bohart.ucdavis.edu/), University of California, Davis.
If you like dragonflies, you may want to purchase a dragonfly poster at the museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge building on Crocker Lane, or online at its gift shop. It features 18 species of dragonfies, ranging from the common whitetail and green darner to the Western river cruiser and the bison snaketail. And, of course the flame skimmer.
Entomology doctoral candidate Fran Keller designed the poster with images provided and donated to the museum by naturalist Greg Kareofelas of Davis.
A female flame skimmer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Female flame skimmer being photographed with the camera of Gary Zamzow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Fran Keller: Entomologist, Teacher, Artist, Author
In her professional life, she's an entomologist, researcher, teacher, mentor, artist, photographer, and author.
In her private life, she's a wife and mother.
Her specialty: darkling beetles. You'll often find her at her "home away from home," the Bohart Museum of Entomology where she studies with major professor Lynn Kimsey, Bohart Museum director and UC Davis professor of entomology.
Fran Keller is the designer and impetus behind the many Bohart Museum of Entomology posters and t-shirts. Posters include Butterflies of Central California, Dragonflies of California, California State Insect (California Dogface Butterfly) and Pacific Invasive Ants. T-shirts spotlight dragonflies, butterflies and walking sticks. (Access them at the Bohart's online gift shop.)
Fran Keller also found time to author a children's book on the California dogface butterfly, with sales benefitting the Bohart Museum.
If you belong to the Entomological Society of America (ESA) or another entomological organization, you've probably seen her leading symposiums, presenting talks, and conferring with other scientists.
There's not much that she CAN'T do.
So, on Wednesday, Fran Keller will probably convince her audience that darkling beetles are more exciting than any other insect. After all, her enthusiasm is well known and led to her UC Davis honor as an outstanding teacher.
Keller's exit seminar, "Taxonomy of Stenomorpha Solier, 1836 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Asidini," will be from 12:05 to 1 p.m., Wednesday, May 29 in Room 1022 of the Life Sciences Addition, located on the corner of Hutchison and Kleiber Hall drives. Plans call for the seminar to be videotaped for later public viewing on UCTV.
"My research focuses on a very large genus which historically had 88 species and no modern species level work for several taxa for nearly 175 years," Keller said. "Part of my research focuses on a group of flightless species restricted to the Sierra Transvolcanica or southern Transverse range in Mexico. Using biogeography, morphological analyses and the examination of over 10,500 specimens, I recognize 51 valid species of Stenomorpha Solier, 1836, with seven newly recognized subgenera, while 37 formerly recognized species are synonymized or newly combined."
"Certain Stenomorpha species occur in California vernal pools but are not listed as vernal pool species," Keller said. She also will discuss the importance of taxonomy in conservation.
If time allows, Keller will discuss her other projects, working in the Bahamas and mentoring students, as well as her recent research on morphology and developmental patterns of gene expression.
Keller received her associate science degree in biology and chemistry, with highest honors, from Sacramento City College in 2001 and then transferred to UC Davis where she received her bachelor's degree in evolution and ecology (2004), and her master's degree in entomology (2007).
She served as a teaching assistant for a number of courses at UC Davis and has also presented guest lectures, including "Insect Sex and Mating Systems" and "Insects and the Environment—Ecological Physiology."
Among her many awards at UC Davis:
- Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award, May 2008
- Division of Biological Sciences (DBS) Commencement Speaker, June 2004
- DBS Departmental Citation for Outstanding Achievement in Academics and Research in Evolution and Ecology, Spring 2004
- Outstanding Senior, 2004
- Undergraduate Research Conference, Oral Presentation, April 2004
- President's Undergraduate Fellowship, Spring 2003
Her students applaud her teaching skills, her enthusiasm, and her care and concern. Said one student: "It's reassuring to know that out of a maze of 30,000 students and faculty at Davis that there are people like Fran who really care."
Fran Keller photographing insects in the Mojave Desert. (Photo by Mark deVries)
Fran Keller is a big fan of all things insects. She designed the monarch t-shirt. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)


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Reader comments are listed below. Comments are currently closed and new comments are no longer being accepted.
The definition of recession should be different, dependent on different purpose. That may sound strange. But in the first place why the term recession should be used ? what is the purpose?For measuring the well-being of average folk on the street, real GDP per capita should be a good yardstick. Unemployment rate could be quite tricky sometimes owing to some subjective feeling. One may not be working and still considered not unemployed if he choose to enjoy life. For business entities focusing on market share of the pie of real GDP or the expenditure of consumers, real GDP should be a better yardstick. A higher GDP per capita with less consumers would not be good for business. For politicians in office, nominal GDP growth may be a preferred choice, as their job is to use people's money day in day out, so they would not like to use yesterday year's (inflation-adjusted) money. In fact, many governments use future money when they operate under deficits.
a thought: numbers are nothing more than indicators that could point to certain paths; they should be mixed with a healthy dose of gut instinct when attempting to make sense of current situations and forecast how they are going to pan out.
A low growth rate is not a recession. Period. What crap are we peddling when we try to imply that economic growth is a recession.
The fact is, we will enter enter a period of time that will fall within the technical definition of a recession, and it won't be pretty.
Please, don't try to pander, and stick to rigor.
Although from the profitability perspective it pays for an individual enterprise to lay off workers , the alternative of short time working causes less hardship and could possibly be better for the economy as a whole.Tatra has just put the Landrover workforce on shorter hours, as did Volkswagen in Germany last year. The British practice in the Thirties was to reduce working hours , which maybe is why the conditions were better than in the U.S. My parents in the thirties were put on a three day week and thereby got by rather well, using the extra time to grow vegetables , repair, rather than replace etc.Obviously people and countries are best applying themselves to their comparative advantage , but in downturns shift to towards relative self sufficiency.
I believe there is in imbalance in the distribution within the economy. Specifically, healthcare now representing more than 16% of GDP is a significant driver. If healthcare is growing at 6%-10% per year than other sectors must be receding. Add to this imbalance the unchecked growth of government the overall GDP is a poor measure of performance for much of the economy.
With plans to attack healthcare costs to control government spending in both parties the stage is set for calamity. A 20% reduction in healthcare expenditures will result in the loss of millions of jobs.
I would say the biggest reason to officially define a slowdown as a recession is so that the party in power can be blamed for starting one. Economists in and out of government are well aware of the underlying facts of the economy - the "R" word is for the ignorant and gullible public.
This is a welcome reanalysis of an issue brought up weeks ago in another article. The Economist prudently heeds voices suggesting that recession is a condition in which the majority of society is affected by a deteriorating economic situation. While unemployment isn't a perfect proxy metric, it is in many ways better than GDP for many reasons mentioned by the author.
I would only add what I said before. Concentration of wealth often masks a broad recession in general society. When corporate profits are healthy Mr. Bush can claim that the economy is sound while the majority of Americans are experiencing a decline in real income and wealth. This delusion should not be supported by an antiquated definition of recession.
This is perhaps for another article, but I would add that changes in environmental capital and debt ratios should be integrated into general econometrics. Otherwise, assessment of growth and selection of policies designed to produce it will be skewed towards excessive borrowing from the earth or the future.
China's pollution burden and Wall Street's woes are among the unfortunate results.
I don't know. I'm in favor of a full-employment program program for economists, regardless. Unemployed economists are more dangerous than unemployed terrorists.
This is yet another attempt by the economist to understate the fundamental problems that the EU area and GB have in the economic arena.
There's an old adage that reads something along the lines that perception always yields when confronted with the brick wall of reality.
Standby Europe & GB. The economist can pretend the EU and GB are fine -- but we know better. (regardless of the propaganda you push our way).
Btw, if you're going to pick indicators, pick better ones. Your motives are quite transparent as others have noted.
MelasChasm, I think you have no idea about the situation in real Communist country. If you stay in China for several months and make some polls, you would find that in china the unemployment rate is rather higher than in US. Chinese labor force are lack of protection from unemployment.
The supposed GDP growth in the US is only due to a faulty GDP deflator. While inflation runs at 5.4%, the GDP deflator is estimated at 0.1% !!p.s. Looking at GDP per worker, Japan has been doing quite well for the last few years. The Japanese economic funk has more to do with birth rates than bank rates.
Please note that the data for the eurozone given by The Economist are just mean values. They say nothing about the performance of the individual member states (15 in all) that make the single currency area. The eurozone is not a country like Britain or the United States. It is therefore quite absurd to compare the economic data for Britain with those of the euro area.
It is difficult to define recession, but it is easy to tell whether the economy is in recession based on your feeling.
There are many big problems with exclusively using unemployment to define recession (and thus economic performance).
1. Communist countries would never experience recessions since all people are employed by the state (a constant 100% employment rate).
2. It would encourage bad decisions by the government to minimize unemployment statistics, without actually helping the economy. For example, unemployment beneifts could be replaced by a government job of digging holes and then filling them up, would result in 0% unemployment (they are now classified as government employees), and never again would a recession occur.
3. The term recession would lose all meaning, since it would be easier and more accurate to never again use the term, and instead talk only about unemployment rates, and changes in unemployment rates.
We need a large range of tools to measure recession, ones that can overlap; this is not the search of a true "measurement" which is important, but our ability to distinguish various degrees of slump.
For example, a tool to explain why precisely America is not in a "conventional recession" while the unemployment rate is edging up is needed.
I think editor is finding out some reason to show that US has already entered into recession. I think the existing definition of recession is correct. Any country's progress is measured by its GDP worldwide and it is a proven fact. If a country is showing positive Purchasing power then it is in healthy state. Increase is the unemployment rate may happen due to various reason other then economic slowdown. It may happen due to;1. Increase in the salary structure. 2. Lack of talented/skilled labour resource,Finally I would like to ask the editor that what is the use of finding out the other method to define the recession. The bottom line is as you said in the last paragraph "When you lose your job, it is a recession" IRRESPECTIVE of country's economic condition.
No need to muddle the gross internal product with gross national product! Given 3.3 % this GNP which consists of incom corporation got overseas. The Main profit is received by oil companies.
Glad to see somebody surfacing these issues but let's separate the standard public understanding, a rule of thumb, from the NBER's significant slowdown in output, employment, etc. Which is consistent with your argument, entirely IMHO.Another service you could do is to look at YoY figures. US real GDP on that basis grew 2.5% in Q1 and 2.2% in Q2. And there's another anomoly to be considered. Because of accounting for import prices GDP has diverged significantly from GDP net of trade impacts. Which is measured by something called Gross Domestic Purchases. That grew 1.1% and 0.4%, which more than handily fits into your argument AND is consistent with the weaknesses in the other data.There is nothing wrong with the data but a great deal to be fixed in how it's looked at. Unfortunately there is a prnounced and profound lack of grasp on these matters by people making major decisions on all our futures. The sooner fixed the sooner we're steering by an accurate compass.
pzm7dq wrote: September 11, 2008 14:27"You ignored one important factor: unemployment can rise if wages risefaster than productivity.... one of the reasons U.S. unemployment hasjumped recently is the large increase in minimum wage..."I would be interested to see a link for this. This is last century's theory; the supposed link between min wage and unemployment is not a solid cause-and-effect relation.The US minimum wage is no gravy train. Its effective value doubled ($2008) in 1950 from $3.50 to around $6.85 per hour, peaked in 1968 at $9.68, and zigzagged between $7 and $8.50 till after 1980, when it fell steadily to hit $5.50 in 1990. Since 1990 it has remained firmly between $5.15 and $6.50, hitting a post-1950 low of $5.15 in 2006. It's at around $6 now, and the rise to $7-something is projected, not yet in effect.Full time work paid $7 is a pretax income of $13,000. This is the poverty line for a two person household. http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p60-235.pdfDoL minimum wage chart and stats: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:History_of_US_federal_minimum_wage_in...
The Economist said... "One solution is to pay much more attention to unemployment numbers, which, though not perfect, are generally not subject to revision and are more timely..."...or better yet, pay more attention to the employment numbers. Census data I found here: http://tinyurl.com/48egj4 shows the US employment from 1998 to 2003 was flat at 400 per thousand (409 to 384). Not sure what the numbers are post-2003, I didn't have time to comb through the Census site.Between definitions of unemployment excluding people who want work and could be working but don't fit the definition, and growing numbers of people entering retirement, an employed-per-thousand number seems much more solid.This does not, of course, tackle the problem of the definition of "employment". Two part time jobs at big box stores do not equal the same hours spent in an office or manufacturing job. If nothing else, the lack of a long stable horizon for budgeting and life planning destabilizes families and communities, creating externalities of its own. difficult to measure but paid by all.
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Beat the Street is a learning centre for street-involved youth. We provide programs in literacy, computer training, GED and creative arts. Visit our web site for a details on some of our past arts programming. Murals Sculpture Photography Wrting - Zines Music - Computer-based recording
Postal address
Beat the Street - Frontier College
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416 979-3361


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"The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become."
- Henry Martyn, missionary to India and Persia
"At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word..." Colossians 4:3


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ISABELA, Philippines – A powerful booby trap bomb wounded 22 soldiers, seven of them critically, as they patrolled a former stronghold of al-Qaeda-linked militants Tuesday (April 10th), local army commander Colonel Ricardo Visaya told AFP.
The soldiers were patrolling the outskirts of a remote camp captured last month from Abu Sayyaf extremists when the device went off. The Abu Sayyaf had formerly used the camp on the southern island of Basilan to hide many of their kidnap victims until a large military assault dislodged the rebels in March, Visaya said.
Helicopters were deployed to airlift the wounded to a military hospital, Visaya said.
The group has been blamed for the worst terror attacks in Philippines history and has frequently resorted to kidnapping to raise funds, often targeting foreigners.
Seven foreigners -- a Dutchman, a Swiss national, an Australian, two Malaysian traders, an Indian and a Japanese man -- are believed to still be held by the Abu Sayyaf and other outlawed groups in the south.


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BigDoor is a startup in Seattle, WA with 33 employees. They make game toolbars that sit on websites and allow the users to make a game out of getting to know the website by making the users part of a community. This type of toolbar didn't exist 5 years ago, it is a new form of internet marketing known as gamification (aka gaming something). Keith Smith the CEO discovered that involvement with website users improved 300% when websites installing what he calls "the holy grail of online monetization," his BigDoor toolbar. Keith was originally looking to improve involvement by double digits however he was surprised and excited to see that he had achieved increased involvement by triple digits. The 300% increase was leaps and bounds better then a 10% or 15% improvement. BigDoor Game Toolbars are installed with one line of Javascript. Below is a sample of this toolbar that one might see on the bottom of a website:
In 2009, Keith Smith and Jeff Malek formed BigDoor. The company was built to help online publisher's add game mechanics to their websites in an effort to increase loyalty and engagement. The team built an open, flexible, easy to use API and went live in 2009. The company quickly iterated on their product and in October 2010 launched the first ever "Five Minute Gamification process" with the BigDoor MiniBar.
This isn't the first time that Keith and Jeff have worked together, in 1997 they started an online advertising company called Zango with one simple goal of building an online technology platform that delivered the right ad to the right user at the right time. Keith and Jeff grew Zango to $78 million in annual revenue and $24 million in EBITDA, employing 300 people in six offices in four countries and multiple years was ranked among the Best Places to Work in Seattle. And then the financial crisis of 2008 hit and the bottom fell out.
Keith and Jeff took some time after Zango and regrouped to form BigDoor. Their goal was to drive social engagement and build a loyalty program through the use of game mechanics. Two years later and now BigDoor is the most widely used gamification and loyalty program, with over 300 companies actively using our platform. The company's infrastructure supports the full spectrum of customers, from independent bloggers to enterprise partners like Major League Baseball and Dell.
Management Team:
Keith Smith, BigDoor co-founder and CEO has been working on gamification well before the term was invented. An avid game fan, at the age of six he sold magazine subscriptions in an effort to buy the original Atari Pong console. Keith wore out five Atari consoles and used his love of games to work his way through college as a game play counselor at Nintendo. Gamification again had a place later when Keith was founder and CEO of Zango; a startup he grew to a multi-national company employing 300 people, with $78 million in annual revenue and $24 million in EBITDA. While at Zango, Keith spent two years building a game-based loyalty program and discovered his passion for gamification. Wanting to focus on game mechanics and gamification, Keith co-founded BigDoor with Jeff Malek in 2009.
Jeff Malek, Co-Founder & CTO – Prior to starting BigDoor, Jeff co-founded the company that became Zango in 1999 and became the company's Vice President of Engineering. Jeff held various roles within Zango including serving as Chief Client Architect and Vice President of Product Development. While the company was still in its infancy, Jeff authored and tested the first versions of the company's desktop software, and aided in the development of the middle tier and backend systems that supported it. Since then, his responsibilities have included the direction of the Project Management, Web Development, Internal Systems Development, Quality Assurance, Desktop Applications Development, and Product Management teams. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado.
Ring Nishioka, COO – Ring has built his career as a Human Resource Executive with corporate background balanced with high growth tech experience. Smith says he joined Zango during the early days and was a victim of the ups and downs. Ironically, this HR Exec was laid off on his birthday only to be hired back two years later…to the day. Smith says when he went to hire Ring for BigDoor it was on his birthday once again. As the former VP of Human Resources for Zango, Ring was responsible for scaling all aspects of HR and Facilities from 20 employees to over 300 and from $1 million to $78 million in revenue. Ring is focused on leveraging culture and performance management programs to create fast growing companies with an award winning culture 364 days a year. Apparently, he makes a point to always take his birthday off…just in case.
Matt Shobe, Chief Design Officer – Matt brings his extensive knowledge of user experience and design skills to BigDoor as Chief Design Officer. Matt was previously a Staff UX Designer at Google where he spearheaded the major advertising tools for publishers (including AdSense and Google DFP as well as the Google Apps Enterprise Marketplace). Prior to his work at Google, Matt was a Co-Founder of FeedBurner and led user experience design efforts with the popular service for blog publishers, podcasters, and commercial producers of syndicated content. Feedburner was acquired by Google in 2007. Matt earned his Graduate degree from the University of Washington's Human Centered Design & Engineering department and earned his undergraduate B.A. from Purdue University.
Series A: Close Date 10/09 $250k Founder's Co-Op; $100k unattributed
Series B: Close Date 5/10 $5M Foundry Group led by Brad Feld
Revenue Model:
BigDoor works on a revenue share model. They only make money when their partners make money and are getting value from the platform. They call this an Engagement Economy and it is currently in private beta and will be launching in early November. The BigDoor Engagement Economy creates a layer on the website that can actually generate revenue. As they provide these actions that are valuable to other sites BigDoor and the publisher take a small revenue share on the transactions.
Key Stats and Product Information:
Users who participate in the loyalty program are 3X more likely to return to the site than those not in the loyalty program. BigDoor's rewards program results in a 200% increase in sharing, and due to the innovative referral mechanism users who click on shared links are 7X more likely to register on the site. When a site implements BigDoor, their overall site engagement increases by 30%.
Competitive Landscape:
I asked Keith who his biggest competitors were. He thinks the a lot of companies have decided to build their own gamification add-ons with their own developers. It is sort of easy now days to use the Facebook API to get more information from users and alert their friends. It comes down to build vs. buy. Actually BigDoor pays shares revenue with websites so the real question is build vs "get paid". Their are a number of different providers out there like Badgeville and Bunchball who also offer gamification platforms. However Keith points out you need to pay them and you get locked into a contract. With BigDoor there are no contracts and no need to purchase.
Acquisition & Consolidation
Earlier this year year BigDoor acquired OneTrueFan to help accelerate product development resources. OneTrueFan made by Co-founders Todd Sampson and Eric Marcoullier which were also responsible for IGN.com (IPO in 2000, acquired by NewsCorp in 2005), MyBlogLog (acquired by Yahoo in '07) and Gnip.
Hard at Work
It will be interesting to see where BigDoor goes next. When I dropped by BigDoor last week I caught Keith hard at work at 9:30pm at night. He wasn't expecting me, I just walking by his company on my way back from a Poker game at TechStars and found him still working. With drive and determination like that, I think BigDoor is going to be a successful company with a lot of growth. I am still blown away they pay websites and they also increase the engagement as well. That is a win-win.


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Welcome to Chic4Eva
A truly secret hair, nail and beauty salon, Chic4Eva in Broadstairs, Kent has a High Street entrance but is secluded from prying eyes and you can enjoy whatever treatment you like with out feeling as one client put it 'like you are in a gold fish bowl'!
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- " excellent service! thank you so much. "
- 13 Feb 2015 Paulina Mexico
- " Its a Nice place To stay. I haven't been that much time in the hostel, but I felt there wasn't that much people. Seems better in the summer because of the swimming pool. Althought, I have nothing o say it wasn't a good stay. The value of the money was good! "
- 03 Feb 2015 Antonio Brazil
- " I spent five days at this hostel. I had an issue with my payment, the amount that I had to pay was different from what the booking site had promised. "
- 28 Dec 2014 Anonymous Brazil
- " The room had a weird smell and the sheets were dirty. The bathroom and the kitchen were a mess. The wi-fi signal was weak. "
- 27 Dec 2014 Anonymous Brazil
- " The room wasn't clean at all!!! We thought about changing to another hotel but we stayed there and left as soon as possible! I would never go there again - not even for 1 night!!! "
- 14 Aug 2014 Tanja
- " My experience was good overall. Personally I'm not bothered by cigarette/cigar smoke but I think some people are and its worth thinking about enforcing the no smoking by the pool rule so everyone can enjoy. "
- 20 Jun 2014 Jesse
- " I stayed 2 nights at the Las Vegas Hostel since I wanted to go to EDC 2014 ! The Hostel is around 18Miles away from the EDC and pretty close to the center of Las Vegas. I reallt enjoyed my stay out there it was really fun :) I highly recommend this Hostel and Hostel.com because it's simple and cheap. "
- 20 Jun 2014 Anonymous France
- " Our stay at the Las Vegas Hostel was great! The staff was super friendly and helpful. The pool was awesome and came in great need as the temperature rose above 110 Fahrenheit! The location was perfect for us since we wanted to stay in a more quiet neighborhood, away from the Strip's traffic and huzzle. The hostel was within a walking distance from the downtown and one could easily go to the Strip by bus or taxi. We would highly recommend this to any other travelers, its worth every penny! "
- 05 Jun 2014 Anu Finland
- " Free breakfast! Yay :) "
- 24 May 2014 Jakub Poland
- " Thank you ALL @ the LV Hostel for making my visit extremely, mellow, worthwhile, and happy. I really fell in love with the place and cant wait to come back again... soon! One thing I forgot to mention is the bathtub drain in Room 109 isn't draining well enough and the shower/bath lever needs replacement. not functioning properly such that your loosing valuable water supply See ya next time! Great visit & keep up the wonderful hospitality & good work! Steve "
- 21 Mar 2014 Anonymous USA


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The Merrell Parva is a casual women's thong leather sandal.
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Forests Events
Minerals, Forests, and Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
October 04, 2006 // 3:00pm — 5:00pm
Environmental Change and Security Program
The forest and mineral wealth of the DRC is critical to the country and its people's political, economic, and social future. John Katunga explores the interconnections between natural resource wealth and stability.
The Double Edge of Legal Advocacy in Environmental Public Participation in China: Raising the Stakes and Strengthening Stakeholders
September 25, 2006 // 9:00am — 11:00am
China Environment Forum
Drawing on the feature article they wrote for the China Environment Series 8, Allison Moore, American Bar Association and Adria Warren, Foley and Lardner, LLP, discussed the political and legal dynamics of the development of public participation in the environmental sphere in China
Environmental Vulnerability in Haiti
August 02, 2006 // 9:00am — 5:00pm
Environmental Change and Security Program
A Stakeholder Workshop to Discuss Findings and Recommendations with USAID's Technical Assessment Team
Conflict Timber, Sustainable Management, and the Rule of Law: Forest Sector Reform in Liberia
June 08, 2006 // 3:00pm — 5:00pm
Environmental Change and Security Program
Over the past two decades, Liberia's forests have helped subsidize two civil wars and the dictatorial regime of Charles Taylor. Today, the forests may offer the country's best chance at revitalization.
Reception: Global Environment Change and Human Security
May 23, 2006 // 4:00pm — 6:00pm
Environmental Change and Security Program
Researchers from the GECHS network will be on hand to discuss the ways in which diverse social and environmental processes combine to affect human well-being, including people's health, economic opportunities, and political freedoms.
Conflict and Cooperation in Eastern Africa: Making the Case for Environmental Pathways to Peacebuilding
April 27, 2006 // 12:30pm — 2:30pm
Environmental Change and Security Program
Rather than only leading to conflict, shared environmental resources also offer promising pathways to peace, says Patricia Kameri-Mbote.
Building Partnerships to Reduce Forest Conflict
December 02, 2005 // 12:00pm — 2:00pm
Environmental Change and Security Program
Although not as valuable as some resources linked to conflict, such as diamonds and gold, timber's easy access, availability, and demand can make its trade troubling. Experts explore how best to identify and manage forest conflict.
Conservation and Development: Lessons from Costa Rica
November 17, 2005 // 2:00pm — 4:00pm
Environmental Change and Security Program
Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, Costa Rica's minister of environment and energy, speaks about efforts to resuscitate the forest cover using creative market-based approaches that achieve both conservation and development.
Brazil at a Crossroads: Repercussions of Embracing Genetically Modified Agriculture
November 17, 2005 // 9:00am — 11:00am
Brazil Institute
The Brazil Project and Environmental Change and Security Program co-host a conference on the debate over genetically modified (GM) agriculture in Brazil.
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: Innovations and Challenges in Environmental Policy
September 21, 2005 // 11:00am — 12:00pm
Brazil Institute
Brazilian Minister of Environment Marina Silva speaks on government actions and policies to curb deforestation, dismantle illegal logging rings, and fight corruption among federal employees accused of collaborating with loggers in exchange for bribes.


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The System..UghSubmitted by nctrooper1072 (not verified) on Wed, 02/06/2013 - 6:28pm.
And they are worried to death about mopeds? WTF ? I know this is off thread, but shows how "broke" the system is. Its messed up 4 sure. Gonna take a lotta ppl smarter than the ones we have that are running the so called system to fix it. We (NC) need ppl that posses at least a 6th grade level of common sense..My bad// sorry if it offended any GOV dummies.. »
Reply |


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Client-9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
Black socks, kinky sex, The Mayflower…sex, power, greed, betrayal, scandal…producer and director Alex Gibney's "Client-9″ has it all and it's much better than a Lifetime movie because it's not just based on a true story-it is a true story. Once known as Wall Street's "Sheriff", some said Eliot Spitzer was his own worst enemy. After watching 117 minutes of this rated-R documentary filled with candid interviews with not only the man himself, but some of corporate America's most powerful people (think O.W.R.M "Old. White. Rich. Men.") you learn that Spitzer had in actuality created his own Legion of Doom that wanted him obliterated. And they were not afraid to let the world know.
Think what you want about what the media wanted us to think about Eliot Spitzer, once you watch "Client-9″, I beg to bet your opinion will be altered. Mine was. An intimate group invited by the Washington Post and IMPACT Arts + Film Fund screened the film with Mr. Gibney at the newly opened West End Cinema Monday evening. By the way, the after gathering was held at The Mayflower (where the Governor spent that one fateful evening). Giggle. Giggle.
I had met Eliot Spitzer when he was running for Governor here in Georgetown at a fundraiser at a private home of an elite Washington couple. Slight in size, he shook my hand, looked me straight in the eyes and did what all good politicians do when they know they are going to win, thanked me sincerely for coming, mentioned how nice it was to meet me and immediately moved onto my friend who had the real check writing ability. I had met him on the "Rise". It wasn't until the "Fall" of Eliot Spitzer that I remembered meeting him and after the story broke of his daliances with high class call girls, did I consider, was he sleazy back then? With the same hand that shook mine, was he later dialing the booker to set up a date? I wondered. It was thrilling to think back and recall if there were any clues I could have picked up on while this super straight laced charismatic tiny man with so much power, that Wall Street feared, was meeting up with hookers in hotel rooms.
So, this political rock star was fulfilling his duties as a politician who lived in a glass house and loved throwing stones. But the frenzy went on and on and on because of well: Ashley Dupree. And the "kinky" rumors. His force of nature for doing right on a wrong-doing Wall Street was overshadowed by questions of his sexual prowess and private life. The work he was starting to do in a corrupt Albany was forgotten. "I knew there was something not right about that guy, you can see it in his eyes!" proclaimed a girlfriend of mine. Take down AIG what? Forget that, did you hear he likes to do it with his black socks on?
In Client-9, there are plenty of ironic and laughable comments, roll your eyes moments and "are you kidding me?!?" times. While the tag line is "The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer" we might be able to add "and Rise Again" as he is back in the public eye and even has his own show on CNN called "Parker Spitzer". One wonders as we look into his deep set eyes during his interview (where you can hear some of the questions being asked of him), is he for real?
If he is or isn't, looks like Spitzer is back, back in the saddle, back on the rise … after all, if this country loves anything, it's a comeback.
Magnolia Pictures' "Client-9″ opens at the E Street Cinema November 12th.
Pamela Lynne Sorensen is the founder of Pamela's Punch, a leading source of information for the "who, what, when, and where" of Washington, DC's elite social, professional, and philanthropic scene, which she founded in November of 2006. In 2012 she launched Pacific Punch, based in Los Angeles. Pamela comes from an extensive background in sales and business development from a variety of industries, has been involved with charities and fundraising for a number of years and holds several Board and leadership positions. She currently resides in Arlington, Virginia and when she's not out on the town, she's reading or writing while sipping fine wine, or traveling the country and the world ISO adventures, beauty, fun, food, style, libations, music, and the good life. Follow her on Twitter at @pamelaspunch. |


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Remove Security Antivirus (Uninstall Guide)By Lawrence Abrams on February 9, 2010 @ 01:39 PM | Read 74,248 times.Security Antivirus is a rogue from the same family as Virus Doctor. This rogue is promoted through the use of Trojans and fake online anti-malware scanners. When installed Security Antivirus will be configured to start automatically when you log into Windows. The installer will also create numerous fake malware files that will be detected as malware when the program scans your computer. The list of fake malware files that it installs is: When Security Antivirus scans your computer it will find the above files and state that they are infections. It will not, though, allow you to remove any of them until you first purchase the program. In reality, the above files are harmless and can cause no harm to your computer. They are only being created in order to validate the scan results. As these infections are fake, please do not purchase the program based upon anything that this program displays.
While the program is running it will also display numerous security alerts and warnings on your desktop. These alerts will state that your computer is under attack, sending SPAM, or that your personal data is at risk. Some of the alerts that you may see are: Just like the scan results, these fake warnings should be ignored as they are just another attempt to make you think your computer has a security problem. This infection will also hijack your web browser's default search engine and set it to findgala.com. Last, but not least, this infection will add entries to your HOSTS file so that when you visit certain sites such as Google or Bing, you will be redirected to a site under the control of the malware developers. As you can see, you should not purchase this program regardless of what it may state. If you have already purchased the program, then please contact your credit card company and dispute the charges. Finally, please use the guide below to remove this infection and any related malware for free. Threat Classification: Advanced information: View Security Antivirus files. Tools Needed for this fix: Symptoms that may be in a HijackThis Log: O1 - Hosts: 126.96.36.199 4-open-davinci.com Guide Updates: 02/09/10 - Initial guide creation. Automated Removal Instructions for Security Antivirus using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware:
Your computer should now be free of the Security Antivirus program. If your current anti-virus solution let this infection through, you may want to consider purchasing the PRO version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to protect against these types of threats in the future. If you are still having problems with your computer after completing these instructions, then please follow the steps outlined in the topic linked below: Preparation Guide For Use Before Using Malware Removal Tools and Requesting Help Associated Security Antivirus Files: c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\345d567\ Associated Security Antivirus Windows Registry Information: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\3 This is a self-help guide. Use at your own risk. BleepingComputer.com can not be held responsible for problems that may occur by using this information. If you would like help with any of these fixes, you can ask for malware removal assistance in our Virus, Trojan, Spyware, and Malware Removal Logs forum. If you have any questions about this self-help guide then please post those questions in our Am I infected? What do I do? and someone will help you. |


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By: | googoo (downingtown, pa, June 4, 2010) |
Review: | The image of the Pieta is one of "in sorrow there is strength." This powerful image contains a message of healing in and of itself. The lamination of the card keeps it safe from tears and wear and tear of handling. This particular card contains a prayer on the back which reminds people to pray and that in being a part of life, one's duty is to join fully in humanity, good reminders when one is in a state of grief because grief so easily causes forgetfulness. |
By: | Julie G (Newport News, VA, February 23, 2012) |
Review: | I am part of our card ministry at my church. I send cards to people that are in nursing homes or rehab centers. This was a perfect item to send to a man who's wife just passed away. Best Uses: Card Ministry; Pros: Appropriate Prayer, Good size |


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A look at cloud based music services
By Loh Ving Sung GooglePlus
09 June 2012 - With the option to store out music on the cloud right now, we can play our music library while we are not on our home computers anymore.
In a nutshell, you either buy or sign-up for free an amount of free space on one of these services and you can listen them either on your smartphone or another on another computer no matter where you are. There are services that offer you streaming music that are not on your library list too.
And with everyone jumping in to offer users storage in the cloud, let's look at a few cloud-based music services that work in Malaysia.
How it works: Apple's iCloud was announced last year's WWDC, and it allows users upload up to 25,000 tracks and which then syncs to iOS devices attached to your account. Aside from iOS devices, iCloud works on iTunes either on Windows or Mac.
iCloud then syncs all your tracks, but it does not stream your music, rather it downloads tracks to your devices instead. If you have a WiFi network handy, sync your music to your iPhone/iPad should be easy.
iTunes Match is not supported in Malaysia yet. But for an annual fee (USD $24.99), iTunes Match can scan and match tracks inside their iTunes library which were copied from sources like CDs or perhaps more illicit websites. Apple then allows users to download tracks in 256kbit/s to replace their older tracks.
How it does not: If you are on iTunes and actively buying music from the platform, iCloud should work quite seamlessly for you. Unfortunately, there is no web based player, so if you move to another computer, you will have to download the iTunes client. iCloud will not work if you have an Android smartphone either.
How it works: Malaysia has its very own music service as well, and it is called WowLoud. While users cannot upload their own tracks for streaming, they can search for their favourite songs on the service's library instead.
WowLoud has partnered with Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music and One Stop and at launch the service had a million songs for streaming.
As free user on WowLoud, you will get up to 20 hours' worth of free airplay however the free music comes with audio adverts though. After a few songs, WowLoud will slip in an advert. With a paid account at RM9.90, you will enjoy unlimited listening time and zero ads.
WoWLoud has a smartphone app for Android/Apple users too but you have to pay RM14.90 to use the app. Paid accounts will get to enjoy high-quality music.
Free and paid users will get to create custom playlists, pre-cache your music library offline and sync your list across multiple devices.
How it does not: You can also import your own tracks on the WowLoud client - however your music does not go into WoWLoud's cloud but stays on a single computer, so you cannot stream your personal music library. Also, the service does not have a webplayer, so you will have to install the client on computers that you want to listen on.
How it works: This web based client allows users streaming of not only your songs but songs from its massive library. Grooveshark starts by scanning your music library for tracks it has and adds them to your Grooveshark library, so you will not need to buy storage space.
It has a web client, and will stream to mobile devices for a fee. Grooveshark's big library means you can probably look for some pretty obscure tracks. And its web player that makes it easy to search for music and build playlists.
How it does not: Unfortunately, both its App Store app and Android app has been dropped from their respective app stores after the Grooveshark smartphone apps drew flak for copyright issues. Its huge library is also slightly disorganised and the presence of duplicate tracks mean there is a bit of trial and error before you get the track you actually want to listen to.
How it works: Similar to iCloud, mSpot allows you put your music in the cloud too. You get 5GB for free, and mSpot streams your music to any desktop web browser with the mSpot flash player. mSpot works cross-platform so you will be able to use it on your iPhone and Android. Plus, it is able to cache songs for offline play so you can play music when you have no internet connection.
mSpot will require a 1.79MB client on your home computer, but after that all you need is an flash-powered web browser