text:
Maybe your kids want to horse around this summer. A recent trip to Spicewood Farms got us back in the saddle, but not without some important safety tips first. 61 more words
Tags » Children's Birthday Parties
Happy birthday? Pay up!
The news sites this week have been all agog at the story of a mother who invoiced a 5-year old for not showing up to her son's birthday party. 360 more words
A Lumberjack Birthday Celebration! - 2nd Birthday
Happy 2nd Birthday to Cruz! His momma put on another amazing birthday party!! The details were absolutely amazing. It was a cold and rainy day, so we all really felt like we were up at a cabin in the mountains somewhere. 39 more words
8 Year Old Shocked To Learn He's Only 7
Emerald City, Oz. In sad news today a local boy's 8th birthday party was violently ruined when his mother, Ms. Elizabeth V. Ulva, informed him it was, in fact, his 7th birthday and not his 8th as he'd been lead to believe. 124 more words
Are balloons dangerous?
By: Libby Jackson
Libby, you can explain to your husband that your concerns are justified and it's best not to give your 2½-year-old balloons. Although balloons are popular at children's birthday parties, they can be dangerous, and health authorities recommend that parents keep young children away from balloons. 220 more words
Let It Snow!
Alan, Cathy, Ava and Kaylah
As with most families there is always someone missing from the family photos. It's usually the person who is taking the photos. Alan hired me so that people could actually see that Ava has a Mom and a Dad. 222 more words


text:
HCPL branches will close on Thursday, April 2 at 5 PM and will be closed April 3 through April 5. We will reopen on Monday, April 6 for regular hours.
Lone Star College - Cy-Fair Library will be open Thursday April 2 until 10 PM.
ADA Info
On December 21, 2012 the Mayan calendar reaches the thirteenth bak'tun.
Come join us this Monday, October 8 at 2:45 to celebrate the milestone and create thematic artwork.
photo courtesy of Templarion
Come to High Meadows and learn about computers. For the month of October classes should meet at the following times.
Computer classes in English
Tuesdays 10 AM
And by appointment.
Classes de computadora en Espanol.
Martes 11 AM – 12:30 PM basica
Miercoles 10 AM-11:30 AM; 4:30 PM-6 PM basica
Jueves 6:30 PM-8 PM intermedia
Ven y aprende de una manera nueva y refrescante!
Photo courtesy of Old Shoe Woman
Join us at 4pm on Tuesday, September 25 and make a mini-pinata! Supplies are limited so don't be late.
Danica Shardae is tired of the war between the Avian and the Serpente for as long as anyone can remember. She is tired of losing those she loves. As she nears ascension to leadership of the Avians and after she watches an enemy die in her arms, an opportunity seems to present itself. But can the long-reviled Serpente be trusted? Can a marriage between Avian and Serpente possibly work? And even if it could, can they keep their subjects in line?
Preschool storytime happens every Thursday at 10:30am.
Toddler storytime happens every Tuesday at 10:30am.
Join us for stories and songs. We'll look forward to seeing you.
Harris County Texas
Mobile Site
About the Library
Locations & Hours
Holiday Closings
Library Cards
Military Library Cards
HCPL Digital Media Catalog
Interlibrary Loan
Meeting Rooms
Purchase Suggestion
Library Jobs
Job Search Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
Ask a Librarian
Staff List
Connect with HCPL
Staff Login
Information for Persons with Disabilities: Harris County Public Library will make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities who are interested in attending library programs. To make a request for yourself or someone you know, please notify the Branch Librarian two working days in advance of the program.
The Harris County Public Library Website by Harris County Public Library is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. It is designed for 1024x768 resolution and Internet Explorer 7+, Firefox 3+, and Safari 3+ browsers. For additional information, see our Credits page.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Lack of sleep is affecting you more than you think
According to a recent talk in Dubai, work and sleep go hand-in-handMarch 31, 2015 10:46
Register for our free newsletter
Dubai's Drake & Scull drops after proposes no dividend for 2014
Dubai's DAMAC jumps after Q1 sales report
Dubai's Arabtec says appoints CEO for its construction unit
Middle East funds moving to cash as risks rise
UAE central bank foreign reserves up 4.1 pct y/y in February
Turkish Airlines flight diverted to Morocco after bomb scare
Soccer-Qatar 2022 World Cup may not need cooling systems
Dubai developer DAMAC says sales boosted by foreign buyers
Turkish Airlines flight declares emergency, diverts to Casablanca
Abraaj raises $1.3 bln for African investment funds
New data shows downward trends continue.
July 28, 2010 2:20 by Samuel Potter
Rents in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai continued to fall in the second quarter of the year, according to new data.
Gulf News reports the findings of property consultants CB Richard Ellis, who found that residential lease rates showed minial movement over the quarter but have eased by as much as 33 percent over the same period in 2009.
The company said that areas such as Barsha, Bur Dubai, Shaikh Zayed Road, Marina, Greens and Jumeirah Lakes Towers saw rents ease as new supply came into the market. Apparently the highest drop in the freehold category has been in JLT and the Greens, which saw lease rates easing by 40 and 36 percent respectively. Among non-freehold locations, Barsha witnessed the biggest drop in lease rates with a decline for 44 percent from the market peak.
Meanwhile the latest figures from Jones Lang Lasalle say that prices in Abu Dhabi continued to fall in Q2. Average rents of a prime two bed apartment dropped 6 percent, with average rents of around AED 153,000. The year on year decline is around 16 percent.
"Forthcoming over–supply in the upper segment of the market is expected to result in a continued decline in average rentals," said the JLL report. "Lower and mid-market segments will remain expensive relative to affordability due to an overall shortage of supply in these segments."
Japan tanker hit by quake, no sign of attack-Oman
July 28 2010
Bahrain's AUB Q2 net profit rises 22 pct
July 28 2010


text:
This is the first of three short videos showcasing the dramatic changes in Alaska's marine ecosystems through interviews with scientists and Alaska Natives. This introduction to the impacts of climate change in Alaska includes interviews with Alaska Natives, commentary by scientists, and footage from Alaska's Arctic.
This video addresses the impact of climate change on several butterfly populations. Warming temperatures lead to shifts in location of populations of butterflies or die-offs of populations unable to adapt to changing conditions or shift to new locations.
This video focuses on the conifer forest in Alaska to explore the carbon cycle and how the forest responds to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide. Topics addressed in the video include wildfires, reflectivity, and the role of permafrost in the global carbon cycle.
In this EarthLabs activity, learners explore the concepts of coral bleaching, bleaching hot spots and degree-heating weeks. Using data products from NOAA's Coral Reef Watch, students identify bleaching hot spots and degree-heating weeks around the globe as well as in the Florida Keys' Sombrero Reef to determine the impact higher-than-normal sea surface temperatures have on coral reefs.
This interactive map from National Geographic shows selected geographic locations for a number of impacts of global warming (on freshwater resources, food and forests, ecosystems, etc). Impact overview is summarized for each highlighted impact.
This video features changes in the land, sea, and animals that are being observed by the residents of Sachs Harbour, Northwest Territories, Canada â many of whom hunt, trap, and fishâbecause of their long-standing and intimate connection with their ecosystem. Scientists interview the residents and record their observations in order to deepen our understanding of climate change in the polar region. Background essay and discussion questions are included.
In this video, a team of paleontologists, paleobotanists, soil scientists, and other researchers take to the field in Wyoming's Bighorn Basin to document how the climate, plants, and animals there changed during the Paleocene- Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) when a sudden, enormous influx of carbon flooded the ocean and atmosphere for reasons that are still unclear to scientists. The PTEM is used as an analog to the current warming occurring.
This video describes the effect of a warming climate on the tundra biome and specifically the impacts of changing climate on the Rocky Mountain Pika, a small rodent that struggles with summer heat.
This video provides a comprehensive introduction to the role of coral reefs, the physiology of corals, and the impacts of both ocean warming and acidification on coral survival. It highlights experts from the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and the University of Miami.
This interactive world map shows the impact of a global temperature rise of 4 degrees Celsius on a variety of factors including agriculture, marine life, fires, weather patterns, and health. Hot Spots can be clicked on to get more specific information about the problems in different regions.


text:
The Palace Hotel - Kota Kinabalu
No. 1 Jalan Tangki - Kota Kinabalu1-877-662-6988
Free parking is just one of the great things you'll find at The Palace Hotel, a formidable choice for guests looking for eco-friendly Kota Kinabalu hotels.
Enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner at this 4-star Kota Kinabalu hotel's restaurant where you're sure to find something to suit your taste. If you are in need of rest and relaxation you can find massage/treatment rooms, a fitness center and a steam room on offer. Be sure to leave some room for your swimsuit as this hotel features an outdoor pool, a nice way to unwind. There is also a poolside bar and a bar/lounge so guests can sip a refreshing drink by the pool or indoors.
Planning a meeting? This hotel has 10 meeting rooms, as well as a business center. There is a TV in the lobby area, perfect if you are waiting for friends or simply want to catch up with the news. Other amenities include a shopping center shuttle, gift shops/newsstands, dry cleaning/laundry, an elevator (lift) and laundry facilities.
These reviews have been left by customers who actually stayed at this hotel
Check Availability at The Palace Hotel
Breakfast at The Palace Hotel
Breakfast is served each morning for a fee.
Facilities at The Palace Hotel
- Business Center
- Conference room
- Steam bath
- Massages
- Bar
- Pool bar
- Restaurant/Dining
- Laundry service
- Lift/elevator
- Room service - limited hour
- Minimarket
- Laundry room
- Gift shop
- Personal newspapers
- Front desk - 24 hour
- Gym
- Outdoor swimming pool
- TV Lounge
- Shuttle service
- Free parking
Know before you go
- Up to 2 children 10 years old and younger stay free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding.
Check-in: after 2 PM.
Check-out: before noon.
PolicyExtra-person charges may apply and vary depending on hotel policy.
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges. Special requests cannot be guaranteed.
City tax and/or any other fees charged by the hotel
The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, check-in, or check-out.
- Breakfast fee: MYR 25 per person (approximately)
- Rollaway bed fee: MYR 60 per night
The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.
The Palace Hotel is also known as
The Palace Hotel Kota Kinabalu
Palace Hotel Kota Kinabalu
The Palace Hotel reviews
Loading reviews in other languages...
- February 2014
- Venere Guest
- Not Specified
- Germany
- August 2013
- Venere Guest
- Couple
- Netherlands
The Palace Hotel reviews by TripAdvisor
Room Details
The Palace Hotel has 151 guest rooms. Guests can kick back at the end of a busy day and enjoy 32-inch LCD televisions with satellite channels. Corporate travelers will benefit from complimentary newspapers during their Kota Kinabalu visit.
Refrigerators, minibars, coffee/tea makers and hair dryers are supplied in each room to facilitate basic travel needs. Additional comforts include air conditioning.
Accommodation Services
- Air conditioning
- Mini bar
- Mini fridge
- Extra beds
- Coffee and tea maker
- Hairdryer in each room
- Satellite TV
- LCD flat screen TV
Distances from The Palace HotelAll Saint's Cathedral - 0.1 km / 0.1 mi
Kompleks Karamunsing - 0.3 km / 0.2 mi
Kompleks Asia City - 0.4 km / 0.3 mi
Centre Point - 0.6 km / 0.4 mi
Plaza Wawasan - 0.6 km / 0.4 mi
Sedco Square - 0.6 km / 0.4 mi
Atkinson Clock Tower - 1.1 km / 0.7 mi
KK Plaza - 1.2 km / 0.7 mi
Kota Kinabalu Central Market - 1.2 km / 0.8 mi
Gaya Street Sunday Market - 1.3 km / 0.8 mi
Sabah State Museum - 1.4 km / 0.9 mi
KK Esplanade - 1.4 km / 0.9 mi
Wisma Merdeka - 1.5 km / 0.9 mi
Signal Hill Observatory Platform - 1.6 km / 1 mi
Sabah State Mosque - 1.6 km / 1 mi
The preferred airport for The Palace Hotel is Kota Kinabalu (BKI-Kota Kinabalu Intl.) - 5.9 km / 3.7 mi.
Distances are calculated in a straight line from the property's location to the point of interest or airport and may not reflect actual travel distance.
Distances are displayed to the nearest 0.1 mile and kilometer.
Transportation services The Palace Hotel
- Shuttle service
- Free parking
We have the accommodation you need, all over the world
- • Comfort Inn Monclova - Monclova, Mexico
- • Hotel Eliseo Terme - Padua, Italy
- • Hostal Central Barcelona - Barcelona, Spain
- • Seacove Resort - Coolum Beach, Australia
- • Hotel Le Saint Cirq - Saint Cirq Lapopie, France
- • Comfort Inn Ellsworth - Ellsworth, USA
- • Hotel Aqua - Abano Terme, Italy
- • Hotel Terme Internazionale - Abano Terme, Italy
- • La Prima Fashion Hotel - Budapest, Hungary
- • Hotel Terme Patria - Abano Terme, Italy
- • Hotel Terme Milano - Abano Terme, Italy
- • Hotel Posthotel Holiday Villa Arosa - Arosa, Switzerland
- • Hotel Abano Ritz - Abano Terme, Italy
- • Hotel Korpilampi - Helsinki, Finland
- • Hotel Savoia spa - Abano Terme, Italy
- • Puerto Iguazú Hotels, Argentina
- • Plovdiv Hotels, Bulgaria
- • Washington Hotels, United Kingdom
- • Val de San Vicente Hotels, Spain
- • Carrick-on-Shannon Hotels, Ireland
- • Domus de Maria Hotels, Italy
- • Ingenio Hotels, Spain
- • Güímar Hotels, Spain
- • Derby Hotels, United Kingdom
- • Icod de los Vinos Hotels, Spain
- • Castiadas Hotels, Italy
- • El Cotillo Hotels, Spain
- • Puntallana Hotels, Spain
- • Pula Hotels, Italy
- • Santa Luce Hotels, Italy


text:
Hosni Mubarak
Daybreak: Sinai Burning
Plus Jordanians warn their king, and more in the news
Road Rules
Imagining "Keeping Up With the Mubaraks," a reality show of life in exile, as the Egyptian president's 30-year rule comes to an end
Sundown: The Week That Nothing Happened
Plus a few minor things that happened, and more
Egypt on the Brink
Tablet Magazine's coverage of the Egyptian uprising, including insights from Yossi Melman, Leslie Gelb, Judith Miller, Lee Smith, an Obama Mideast adviser, and a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt
Mubarak, Alone
While Israeli officials stay silent on Egypt, a former ambassador to Cairo tells Tablet Magazine about the embattled president he once knew and respected
Daybreak: Egypt Prompts Israeli Retreat
Plus violence continues, Mubarak's supporters, and more in the news
Sundown: Violence in Cairo
Plus conflict among the neocons, and more
Daybreak: Mubarak Boosters Emerge
Plus Friedman and Halevi view it from Israel, and more in the news
Desert Storm
Israeli leaders have long had only one concern when it comes to Egypt: stability, which Hosni Mubarak provided. That's changing, no matter who ends up in charge.
Mubarak Won't Run Again
No resignation


text:
Pax Hotel
No availability found through our partners. Please contact the business directly or check some of our recommended alternatives.
Travel Blogs from Pannonhalma
So we were here a little ahead of schedule due to our experience in Bratislava, thankfully everything improved here and we were happy to stay the 2 nights we planned.
Gyor was only ever a stop over destination and we visited the city centre today before we head off to Budapest tomorrow.
Next up Budapest... Then Tom's Birthday on Tuesday 27th May - just incase you had all forgotten which I guess you ...
... we went down into the old town and explored the narrow streets, it was graduation week and groups of students walked around making a great racket and generally celebrating. As it was still raining there was no one at the numerous coffee shops etc. one can imagine on a sunny day it is far more lively. There was one street where there was a plaque for Beethoven, Mozart and Liszt who all either stayed or ...
Our final leg
Our boat was able to move upriver to the border between Slovakia and Hungary overnight, giving us a little more sleep. At 2:15 am we boarded a bus to the airport. At home it's 7:15 Saturday evening. We will get home in approximately 24 hours! At 3:40am, our bus driver and a colleague have been yapping in some Slovak language the entire time. Note to self - learn how to say "shut the ...
Day Trip to Gyor
... Back in town I made it to the main town square which was a large plaza with restaurants and cafes along one side. Then back to the town hall to reach the station
The train back was nowhere near as crowded and almost empty. I tried to take the subway home but for some reason all the ...
Last day in Gyor
Sunday is a free day in Gyor for the team. We had booked Warren and Gary in for a two hour massage so Elaine and I went to the main square. Rotary International has a festival for the weekend with stalls and food and drink for minimum donation of 100 forints which is about 50 cents.
The entertainment for the children was refreshingly simple, making origami birds, experiments with dry ice, puppet show and hitting rubber chickens with a wooden spoon into a basket. We ...


text:
Celebrity Central / Top 25 Celebs
Josh Duhamel
Credit: Ramey
Published: Saturday March 16, 2013 06:00 AM EDT
More from PEOPLE
Latest News!
- Wait Until You Read What Martha Stewart Said to Justin Bieber at His Comedy Central Roast
- The Best Photos from the Week of Mar. 23- Mar. 29, 2015
- Mother Allegedly Smothers Her Child in NYC Restaurant Bathroom
- Iggy Azalea Talks Britney Spears Duet: Grabbing Lunch, Becoming Friends
- Cate Blanchett on Watching Her Three Sons Bond with Baby Edith: It's Extraordinary


text:
I get some error messages from the back end service and I want them to be displayed in the Validation Summary control on the page.
I am using MVC 3 and ValidationSummary is not on the page till a validation fails due to unobtrusive stuff i believe.
I looked at the following example but it does not work with MVC 3.
Does anyone knows how to simply insert an error message in Validation summary control in MVC 3 with all the unobtrusive stuff switched on?


text:
Peter's Denial
April 04, 2012 Length: 15:43
Frederica reads the narrative of Peter's denial of Christ from St. Romanos the Melodist.
Direct link
Play in Popup
Send Feedback
This episode is in the Journeys through Great Lent collection.
"Amidst the sea of chaos and uncertainty that grips the world today, your zeal for God's Word and love for Christ has shone through like a brilliant flame for all to see. By the grace of the Holy Spirit I see that our Lord is bringing together the most beautiful aspects of Eastern and Western Christendom to breathe life into His One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church, that all may partake of this beautiful gift. God bless you and thank you from the depths of my heart."


text:
$41.5 Mil 'Paranormal' Scares 'Jackass' From No. 1 at Weekend Box Office
Paramount's Paranormal Activity 2 had a spooky-good weekend, topping the domestic box office with an estimated $41.5 million in the best debut ever by a horror film.
The tally was at least a third better than prophesized for the haunted-house prequel and beat its franchise predecessor's bow running away. But it was never really a contest, due to the fright pics' vastly different release strategies.
Paranormal Activity opened in September 2009 with $77,873 from just 12 theaters, part of a low-profile launch prior to the micro-budgeted original's wide expansion. A year ago this past weekend, Paranormal topped domestic rankings with a $21 million session en route to an eventual $107.9 million domestic haul.
Paranormal 2 unspooled in 3,216 locations, with most programming midnight Thursday performances as part of a $20 million Friday. The prequel collected more coin during its first weekend than its predecessor rang up in its first four weeks and wiped from the record books a $40.6 million bow by 2009 horror pic Friday the 13th.
Produced for just $3 million, Paranormal 2 relied on a low-wattage cast with location costs limited to a haunted house, while its faux video-camera look skirted pricey lensing. Helmed by Tod Williams (The Door in the Floor), the R-rated pic drew mostly positive reviews from critics and attracted first-day audiences comprised 54% of females, with 61% of patrons under age 25.
"The first Paranormal was like making something out of thin air," Paramount exec vp distribution Don Harris said. "With the prequel, they were able to make a movie that got a stunning number of positive reviews."
The outsize bow by Paranormal 2 -- including $2.5 million from 151 high-grossing Imax specialty venues -- underscores the difficulty in forecasting the market strength of Internet-buzz pictures, especially with second installments in youth-targeting franchises.
Before its launch, some dismissed the solid prerelease interest expressed in tracking surveys and predicted the prequel would flop like Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, a disappointing $13.2 million debutante in 2000. But with the Paranormal series suffering no such burn-out, the only question now is how quickly Paramount will scratch up the pocket change required to produce a threequel.
"The company is certainly going to take a look at making a third but will be exceedingly careful in how to go about it," Harris said.
Never miss a story. Stay up-to-date with THR's Daily Headlines.
Must Reads
'Game of Thrones' Star Emilia Clarke on Playing Sarah Connor, Turning Down 'Fifty Shades' and Moving on From Nudity
L.A.'s Soho House Turns 5: Membership Rejections, Success Secrets Revealed in Oral History
Gavin Polone on TV's Dirty Secret: Your Agent Gets Money for Nothing (Guest Column)
Reality Power: The Declining Clout of the Broadcast Unscripted Chief
Why More 'Star Wars' Actors Haven't Become Stars
From Christian Bale to Benedict Cumberbatch: Why British Actors Nab So Many American Roles
Monsters, Mythology and the Smoking Man: 10 Crucial Reasons the 'The X-Files' Remains Iconic (Video)
The Uncensored, Epic, Never-Told Story Behind 'Mad Men'


text:
hey my names lucy this is my first post as iv just joined ur website.... i have just bought my first ford :-) shes a lurvly 1990 xr3i cabriolet in white she needs a good clean but its in good condition i have a couple of questions that need answering if anyone is up for it :-)
first of all im wondering if its a possibility to do a power steering conversion ? as im a girl n its a bit hard to park lol if its possible then i would like too know what parts i would need or if it would be easier too get a car n take the bits off ??
also i saw that you can get insurance discount how do i do this ??
all answers appreciated thanks guys....lucy xx
Power Steering In An Escort Xr3I :)
Started by MissEscortXr3i, Mar 27 2012 11:37 AMxr3i escort ford power steering conversion info help
3 replies to this topic
Posted 27 March 2012 - 11:37 AM
Have something to contribute?
Sign in or register to start a topic...
Sign up to FOC Premium Membership To Remove These Ads
Posted 29 March 2012 - 07:42 PM
Hi and welcome to the club
Posted 30 March 2012 - 10:55 AM
Hi, you will need the rack, pump and all related gear from a later model with power steering fitted. You can possibly pick these up from a scrappy, but a big pain in the bum to do. Keep it a standard if I was you.
Posted 25 April 2012 - 08:36 PM
hi lucy i also live in amazingstoke if you want the parts needed to do this i would get them from padworth breakers there quite cheap or if focus parts can be used go to eric in old basing he's cheaper
Not what you're looking for?
Register now, we have a huge community of enthusiasts to answer any questions you might have
Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: xr3i, escort, ford, power, steering, conversion, info, help
Ford Models →
Ford Fiesta Club →
Car Meets In North East
Started by CREED, Yesterday, 05:00 PM car meets, north east, yorkshire and 2 more...
Ford Models →
Ford Focus Club →
Vibration When Braking
Started by Welshnel, 20 Mar 2015 Braking, Disks, Ford, focus and 6 more...
Welcome to Ford Owners Club →
General Ford Related Discussions →
Cd Player/ Radio Stopped Working :(
Started by London's Finest, 18 Mar 2015 Radio, cd player, ford fiesta and 3 more...
Ford Models →
Ford Fiesta Club →
Osram® Led Fog Lamps With Drl
Started by ch97, 16 Mar 2015 Ford, Fiesta, Mk7, Mods and 6 more...
Ford Models →
Ford Fiesta Club →
Recommend Front Speaker Upgrade Fiesta 2002
Started by Willaby, 16 Mar 2015 Speakers, Audio, Upgrade, Help
0 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users


text:
PETA Calls Chris Christie "Thoughtless" For Killing Spider In Video
PETA says Gov. Chris Christie was "thoughtless" for posting a video of him killing a spider in his office.
PETA says Gov. Chris Christie was "thoughtless" for posting a video of him killing a spider in his office.
Governor Christie is expected to make a major announcement Monday on the six-month anniversary of Superstorm Sandy.
The April edition of Ask The Governor touched on Gov. Chris Christie's proposed tax cut, security issues arising from the Boston Marathon bombing, the possibility of rehiring Tim Pernetti as Rutgers Athletic Director and some Jersey Shore musical memories.
Here are the video highlights:
Governor Christie has been quiet in recent months on the idea of a tax cut in New Jersey but today he will announce plans for a new middle class tax cut.
Some New Jersey residents, who were expecting their state income tax refund check in the mail, instead have received letters from the State Treasury Department, informing them they need to submit copies of their social security card, pay stubs and W2's so their information can be reviewed and verified.
For the fourth consecutive month New Jersey voters give Governor Chris Christie approval ratings above 70 percent.
As Sandy restoration and rebuilding efforts continue up and down the Jersey Shore, Governor Christie says we're doing better than expected in some areas, and worse in others.
Wall Street is already wagging its finger at Governor Chris Christie warning of credit downgrades if the state budget proposal he lays out this afternoon is not on the up and up.
There's no turning back for State Senator Barbara Buono. She's pushing every chip she has to the center of the table and going all-in.
Assemblyman Reed Gusciora sponsored the bill to legalize gay marriage. Governor Chris Christie vetoed it last year. Gusciora now says he's ready to try again and he thinks there are two options.
Governor Christie makes his first appearance of 2013 at the New Jersey 101.5 studios for "Ask The Governor."


text:
Martin Le-May was walking in the Hornchurch Country Park in east London with his wife when they heard an animal in distress: 'The bird flew across us'
The charges are similar to the 'corkage' fees that many bring-your-own-alcohol venues impose but only birthday celebrations in the capital are being hit
The liquor store cashier with the strong Newfoundland accent tried to warn me: "Don't go ruining that $100 gin with vermouth
'The historical novelist,' or so I once read, 'must necessarily turn history into romance, and romance will always lie with the deposed or threatened king'
The man was on an imposing black fence that surrounds the church and school frequented by U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron's family
It's difficult to think of another public figure in modern times who can compare. He finds fully formed epigrams, historical references, comedic intonations, drive-by zingers and verbal jabs in the driest of subjects
For parents of young teens bridging out of elementary and into high school, a trip abroad could come at an optimal time
Damien Hirst is wading into the world of curating art for the masses, and he is set to open his first museum in the spring of next year in London
In London, the late-'90s are back: property values have hit the stratosphere. But three of this summer's art exhibitions turn the perceived worth of art on its head
Dave Bidini tours Toronto's parks and parkettes, one at a time. This week: Trinity Bellwoods, on Queen Street West


text:
Black Sabbath
Book Report: 'Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History Of Metal'
The book starts off in the pre-metal era of the '60s, covering the Stooges, the MC5 and Alice Cooper (when "Alice Cooper" represented a band, not just the frontman). It quickly moves to the early '70s, starting with the formation of Black Sabbath and, shortly after fellow Brummies Judas Priest.
Watch Black Sabbath Experience Their Own 3D Maze At Halloween Horror Nights
When you're the Prince of Darkness like Ozzy Osbourne and/or you've done as much drugs as he has, it's hard to imagine that you'd be scared at anything, but Black Sabbath's Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer […]
In True Wife Form, Sharon Osbourne Manipulated Ozzy With Money Threats
According to Sharon Osbourne's candid new autobiography, Unbreakable, the wife to Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, manipulated Ozzy to get his crap together during his 18-month relapse into drugs by threatening him with taking his […]
Black Sabbath Announce 'Live…Gathered In Their Masses' DVD From Their 2013 Tour
After years of anticipation, battles with former drummer Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne's relapse, and guitarist Tony Iommi's harrowing health scare, Black Sabbath finally released 13 a few months back, which debuted at #1 on the […]
Sharon Osbourne Had A Fling Once With Jay Leno
In today's news that we didn't need to know, but are still morbidly intrigued by, Sharon Osbourne had admitted to her co-hosts on The Talk that she once slept with late night television guy, Jay […]
Black Sabbath Previews Their Halloween Horror Nights 3D Maze At Universal Studios
Halloween is almost here. Are you ready for what sounds like the most metal-tastic maze that has ever been at Halloween Horror Nights 3D at Universal Studios? Our dudes of darkness, Black Sabbath, are relishing […]
Black Sabbath Talk About Their Maze At Halloween Horror Nights At Universal Studios Hollywood
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios is pretty badass and totally frightening every year, but this fall the popular scare attraction will have the touch of doom classic rockers, Black Sabbath. Bassist Geezer Butler talked […]
Not Fade Away: Black Sabbath + Deep Purple = 'Born Again'
In Not Fade Away, we take a look at the legacy of some of the greatest albums of the past few decades. Here, we focus on Black Sabbaths 1983 post-Dio-era curio 'Born Again.'
Black Sabbath-Inspired 3D Haunted Maze Coming to Universal Studios
Black Sabbath is incorporating some of its darkest lyrical imagery into a completely original 3D haunted maze that's coming to Universal Studios in Hollywood.
Black Sabbath Brings Brutal Riffs – And Lots Of Love – To New Jersey During '13' Tour
How was Tony Iommi's playing? How did Ozzy sound? And did the band suffer at all from not having original drummer Bill Ward with them on this tour?


text:
The Agency provides further clarification on how new federal labels impact how pest management professionals apply pyrethroids.
WASHINGTON — On April 13, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) sent a letter to EPA outlining concerns about how new federal labels will restrict how pest management professionals apply pyrethroids. (Click here to read the letter).
Specifically, NPMA asked for (1) clarification of environmental hazard statements. NPMA asked that EPA clarify whether or not certain label directions were advisory or mandatory; (2) clarification of the label statement: "Do not water to the point of runoff." NPMA asked EPA to confirm that if the applicator does not water to the point of runoff but the customer or another person does water the treated area subsequent to the application, the applicator has not violated the label directions; (3) an amendment to labels allowing products to be used "to treat building surfaces for brown marmorated stink bugs, kudzu bugs, boxelder bugs, spiders, cluster flies, multicolored Asian ladybeetles, clover mites and carpenter bees, provided that the application does not exceed the point of runoff, and the surface being treated is above a permissible treatment site like a lawn, soil, turf or other vegetation, and not above an impervious surface or other use site that may not be treated."
On May 21, EPA responded to these NPMA concerns in a letter addressed to NPMA Senior Vice President Bob Rosenberg.
Regarding the environmental hazard statements, EPA confirmed that those statements are "best management practices" and "not written to be mandatory, enforceable statements."
In response to NPMA's questioning the statement about "watering to the point of runoff," EPA responded that, "If the customer or homeowner, subsequent to the PCO application and watering-in, waters the treated area creating runoff, the applicator would not have violated the label directions."
In response to NPMA's request that the Agency allow non-agricultural outdoor use pyrethroid product labels to be amended for certain uses, EPA denied that request, noting that it "believes that the flexibility inherent in the 2009 pyrethroid non-agricultural outdoor labeling initiative covers the scenarios NPMA has raised."
NPMA has indicated that it is still discussing this issue with the Agency.
Related PCT article: Pyrethroids Under Pressure
Two of the most destructive termite species in the world -- responsible for much of the $40 billion in economic loss caused by termites annually -- are now swarming simultaneously in South Florida, creating hybrid colonies that grow quickly and have the potential to migrate to other states.
Casey Parker recently won the ONE WORLD competition, organized by the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Challenge 2050 Project in conjunction with the Syngenta Good Growth Plan.
During its meeting in Washington, D.C., on March 14, the National Pest Management Association's (NPMA) Board of Directors approved the organization's Pollinator Best Management Practices (BMPs).
Featuring a "Who's Who" of speakers with decades of experience serving the commercial pest management segment, the April 29 virtual event is filled with information you need to know to expand your presence in this dynamic marketplace. Cost is only $99 and attendees will receive full access to all of the educational sessions and a complimentary copy of the highly-acclaimed PCT Guide to Commercial Pest Management, a $29.95 value!
PMPs can put EcoRaider to the test in their own field applications.


text:
Ready to save some money and eat great meals? You will find everything you need to know here at Good Cheap Eats, from meal planning to savvy shopping to eating down the pantry. Join thousands of people who've decided to eat well, spend less, and enjoy time at the table a whole lot more. Become […][Continue reading...]
Freezer Cooking How To
5 Basic Rules for Saving Money on Food
Looking to cut your food costs? Consider these "rules" for saving money on food. So, you wanna save some money on groceries, do ya? Well, lucky for you, it's really not that difficult. You don't need to clip coupons — though they can help the right situation — and you don't need to worry that you'll […][Continue reading...]
How to Make a Croque-Monsieur
A Croque-Monsieur is the French answer to the grilled cheese sandwich. And it's pretty darn awesome. French food gets a reputation for being complicated. I can see that. There are definitely some complex recipes. Souffle? Croissant? Yeah, I get you. Even a simple mousse au chocolat takes several steps and dirties many bowls. On the other hand, […][Continue reading...]
5 Winter Salads to Brighten Your Day
Craving something fresh during these last weeks of winter? Try one of these delicious salads! Who says that winter needs to be gray and dreary? When you consider some of the fruits and vegetables that are plentiful and often on sale in winter, there's no need to be sad. You can still eat the rainbow […][Continue reading...]
Cilantro Chicken Rice Bowls
Take beans and rice to a whole new level with this savory chicken topping touched with the awesome sauce that is sour cream and salsa verde. The fabulous magic of mixing sour cream and green salsa together is not to be underestimated. I use it as the topping for my famous Poblano Chile Enchiladas as […][Continue reading...]
Real Food Products We Love: Organic Applesauce
I love it when I find real food ingredients that are convenient and cheap! This is part of my Real Food We Love series. It is not a sponsored post. Years ago I started making my own applesauce in the slow cooker. It was so tasty and cheaper than what I could buy in a jar. In those days […][Continue reading...]
Enjoy a taste of the Mediterranean with this easy Escalivada, chock full of eggplant, zucchini, onion, tomato, and peppers, drizzled with olive oil.[Continue reading...]
Grab a Budget Meal Plan
There's a new meal plan available on Life as MOM. This Week's Dinners for $70 or Less is focused on easy-to-prepare meals. Grab the meal plan and get shopping. Bonus: it can be shopped at Trader Joe's and Aldi as well as regular grocery stores.[Continue reading...]
Real Food Products We Love: Safe Eggs
One thing that relieves my fears about using raw eggs is to use pasteurized eggs, like Davidson's Safe Eggs, when I make homemade mayonnaise or chocolate mousse.[Continue reading...]
Jam-Filled Chocolate Chip Muffins
Make muffins as good as the bakery with this recipe for Jam-Filled Chocolate Chip Muffins.[Continue reading...]


text:
The Details
Dynasty Square Coffee Table
Dimensions: 43.5"w x 16.5"h x 43.5"d
Item#: 138001
Collector's Classics
Steeped in Chinese tradition, this table's sleek, elegant style harkens back to the Ming Dynasty period. Its design features knife-edge gaps at the joints and fissures in the finish to add to its authentic appearance.
- Knife-edge gaps where top meets legs
- Natural expansion/contraction of the wood may result in intentional finish fractures along the joints adding to the beauty and authenticity of the table's design
The Short List
Item# 138000
Item# 438476
Starting at $2,749.00
Item# 207935
Item# 139282
Starting at $1,379.00
Item# 207512


text:
Analysis of implementations of and issues associated with the parallel programming framework MapReduce. Related subjects include:
Where the innovation is
I hoped to write a reasonable overview of current- to medium-term future IT innovation. Yeah, right. But if we abandon any hope that this post could be comprehensive, I can at least say:
1. Back in 2011, I ranted against the term Big Data, but expressed more fondness for the V words — Volume, Velocity, Variety and Variability. That said, when it comes to data management and movement, solutions to the V problems have generally been sketched out.
- Volume has been solved. There are Hadoop installations with 100s of petabytes of data, analytic RDBMS with 10s of petabytes, general-purpose Exadata sites with petabytes, and 10s/100s of petabytes of analytic Accumulo at the NSA. Further examples abound.
- Velocity is being solved. My recent post on Hadoop-based streaming suggests how. In other use cases, velocity is addressed via memory-centric RDBMS.
- Variety and Variability have been solved. MongoDB, Cassandra and perhaps others are strong NoSQL choices. Schema-on-need is in earlier days, but may help too.
2. Even so, there's much room for innovation around data movement and management. I'd start with:
- Product maturity is a huge issue for all the above, and will remain one for years.
- Hadoop and Spark show that application execution engines:
- Have a lot of innovation ahead of them.
- Are tightly entwined with data management, and with data movement as well.
- Hadoop is due for another refactoring, focused on both in-memory and persistent storage.
- There are many issues in storage that can affect data technologies as well, including but not limited to:
- Solid-state (flash or post-flash) vs. spinning disk.
- Networked vs. direct-attached.
- Virtualized vs. identifiable-physical.
- Object/file/block.
- Graph analytics and data management are still confused.
3. As I suggested last year, data transformation is an important area for innovation. Read more
Hadoop's next refactoring?
I believe in all of the following trends:
- Hadoop is a Big Deal, and here to stay.
- Spark, for most practical purposes, is becoming a big part of Hadoop.
- Most servers will be operated away from user premises, whether via SaaS (Software as a Service), co-location, or "true" cloud computing.
Trickier is the meme that Hadoop is "the new OS". My thoughts on that start:
- People would like this to be true, although in most cases only as one of several cluster computing platforms.
- Hadoop, when viewed as an operating system, is extremely primitive.
- Even so, the greatest awkwardness I'm seeing when different software shares a Hadoop cluster isn't actually in scheduling, but rather in data interchange.
There is also a minor issue that if you distribute your Hadoop work among extra nodes you might have to pay a bit more to your Hadoop distro support vendor. Fortunately, the software industry routinely solves more difficult pricing problems than that.
|Categories: Cloud computing, Databricks, Spark and BDAS, Hadoop, MapReduce, MemSQL, Software as a Service (SaaS)
|14 Comments
Thoughts and notes, Thanksgiving weekend 2014
I'm taking a few weeks defocused from work, as a kind of grandpaternity leave. That said, the venue for my Dances of Infant Calming is a small-but-nice apartment in San Francisco, so a certain amount of thinking about tech industries is inevitable. I even found time last Tuesday to meet or speak with my clients at WibiData, MemSQL, Cloudera, Citus Data, and MongoDB. And thus:
1. I've been sloppy in my terminology around "geo-distribution", in that I don't always make it easy to distinguish between:
- Storing different parts of a database in different geographies, often for reasons of data privacy regulatory compliance.
- Replicating an entire database into different geographies, often for reasons of latency and/or availability/ disaster recovery,
The latter case can be subdivided further depending on whether multiple copies of the data can accept first writes (aka active-active, multi-master, or multi-active), or whether there's a clear single master for each part of the database.
What made me think of this was a phone call with MongoDB in which I learned that the limit on number of replicas had been raised from 12 to 50, to support the full-replication/latency-reduction use case.
2. Three years ago I posted about agile (predictive) analytics. One of the points was:
… if you change your offers, prices, ad placement, ad text, ad appearance, call center scripts, or anything else, you immediately gain new information that isn't well-reflected in your previous models.
Subsequently I've been hearing more about predictive experimentation such as bandit testing. WibiData, whose views are influenced by a couple of Very Famous Department Store clients (one of which is Macy's), thinks experimentation is quite important. And it could be argued that experimentation is one of the simplest and most direct ways to increase the value of your data.
3. I'd further say that a number of developments, trends or possibilities I'm seeing are or could be connected. These include agile and experimental predictive analytics in general, as noted in the previous point, along with: Read more
Some stuff on my mind, September 28, 2014
1. I wish I had some good, practical ideas about how to make a political difference around privacy and surveillance. Nothing else we discuss here is remotely as important. I presumably can contribute an opinion piece to, more or less, the technology publication(s) of my choice; that can have a small bit of impact. But I'd love to do better than that. Ideas, anybody?
2. A few thoughts on cloud, colocation, etc.:
- The economies of scale of colocation-or-cloud over operating your own data center are compelling. Most of the reasons you outsource hardware manufacture to Asia also apply to outsourcing data center operation within the United States. (The one exception I can think of is supply chain.)
- The arguments for cloud specifically over colocation are less persuasive. Colo providers can even match cloud deployments in rapid provisioning and elastic pricing, if they so choose.
- Surely not coincidentally, I am told that Rackspace is deemphasizing cloud, reemphasizing colocation, and making a big deal out of Open Compute. In connection with that, Rackspace has pulled back from its leadership role in OpenStack.
- I'm hearing much more mention of Amazon Redshift than I used to. It seems to have a lot of traction as a simple and low-cost option.
- I'm hearing less about Elastic MapReduce than I used to, although I imagine usage is still large and growing.
- In general, I get the impression that progress is being made in overcoming the inherent difficulties in cloud (and even colo) parallel analytic processing. But it all still seems pretty vague, except for the specific claims being made for traction of Redshift, EMR, and so on.
- Teradata recently told me that in colocation pricing, it is common for floor space to be everything, with power not separately metered. But I don't think that trend is a big deal, as it is not necessarily permanent.
- Cloud hype is of course still with us.
- Other than the above, I stand by my previous thoughts on appliances, clusters and clouds.
3. As for the analytic DBMS industry: Read more
Notes from a visit to Teradata
I spent a day with Teradata in Rancho Bernardo last week. Most of what we discussed is confidential, but I think the non-confidential parts and my general impressions add up to enough for a post.
First, let's catch up with some personnel gossip. So far as I can tell:
- Scott Gnau runs most of Teradata's development, product management, and product marketing, the big exception being that …
- … Darryl McDonald run the apps part (Aprimo and so on), and no longer is head of marketing.
- Oliver Ratzesberger runs Teradata's software development.
- Jeff Carter has returned to his roots and runs the hardware part, in place of Carson Schmidt.
- Aster founders Mayank Bawa and Tasso Argyros have left Teradata (perhaps some earn-out period ended).
- Carson is temporarily running Aster development (in place of Mayank), and has some sort of evangelism role waiting after that.
- With the acquisition of Hadapt, Teradata gets some attention from Dan Abadi. Also, they're retaining Justin Borgman.
The biggest change in my general impressions about Teradata is that they're having smart thoughts about the cloud. At least, Oliver is. All details are confidential, and I wouldn't necessarily expect them to become clear even in October (which once again is the month for Teradata's user conference). My main concern about all that is whether Teradata's engineering team can successfully execute on Oliver's directives. I'm optimistic, but I don't have a lot of detail to support my good feelings.
In some quick-and-dirty positioning and sales qualification notes, which crystallize what we already knew before:
- The Teradata 1xxx series is focused on cost-per-bit.
- The Teradata 2xxx series is focused on cost-per-query. It is commonly Teradata's "lead" product, at least for new customers.
- The Teradata 6xxx series is supposed to be able to do "everything".
- The Teradata Aster "Discovery Analytics" platform is sold mainly to customers who have a specific high-value problem to solve. (Randy Lea gave me a nice round dollar number, but I won't share it.) I like that approach, as it obviates much of the concern about "Wait — is this strategic for us long-term, given that we also have both Teradata database and Hadoop clusters?"
Also: Read more
|Categories: Aster Data, Data warehouse appliances, Data warehousing, Hadapt, Hadoop, MapReduce, Solid-state memory, Teradata
|2 Comments
Teradata bought Hadapt and Revelytix
My client Teradata bought my (former) clients Revelytix and Hadapt.* Obviously, I'm in confidentiality up to my eyeballs. That said — Teradata truly doesn't know what it's going to do with those acquisitions yet. Indeed, the acquisitions are too new for Teradata to have fully reviewed the code and so on, let alone made strategic decisions informed by that review. So while this is just a guess, I conjecture Teradata won't say anything concrete until at least September, although I do expect some kind of stated direction in time for its October user conference.
*I love my business, but it does have one distressing aspect, namely the combination of subscription pricing and customer churn. When your customers transform really quickly, or even go out of existence, so sometimes does their reliance on you.
I've written extensively about Hadapt, but to review:
- The HadoopDB project was started by Dan Abadi and two grad students.
- HadoopDB tied a bunch of PostgreSQL instances together with Hadoop MapReduce. Lab benchmarks suggested it was more performant than the coyly named DBx (where x=2), but not necessarily competitive with top analytic RDBMS.
- Hadapt was formed to commercialize HadoopDB.
- After some fits and starts, Hadapt was a Cambridge-based company. Former Vertica CEO Chris Lynch invested even before he was a VC, and became an active chairman. Not coincidentally, Hadapt had a bunch of Vertica folks.
- Hadapt decided to stick with row-based PostgreSQL, Dan Abadi's previous columnar enthusiasm notwithstanding. Not coincidentally, Hadapt's performance never blew anyone away.
- Especially after the announcement of Cloudera Impala, Hadapt's SQL-on-Hadoop positioning didn't work out. Indeed, Hadapt laid off most or all of its sales and marketing folks. Hadapt pivoted to emphasize its schema-on-need story.
- Chris Lynch, who generally seems to think that IT vendors are created to be sold, shopped Hadapt aggressively.
As for what Teradata should do with Hadapt: Read more
|Categories: Aster Data, Citus Data, Cloudera, Columnar database management, Data warehousing, Hadapt, Hadoop, MapReduce, Oracle, SQL/Hadoop integration, Teradata
|6 Comments
Optimism, pessimism, and fatalism — fault-tolerance, Part 2
The pessimist thinks the glass is half-empty.
The optimist thinks the glass is half-full.
The engineer thinks the glass was poorly designed.
Most of what I wrote in Part 1 of this post was already true 15 years ago. But much gets added in the modern era, considering that:
- Clusters will have node hiccups more often than single nodes will. (Duh.)
- Networks are relatively slow even when uncongested, and furthermore congest unpredictably.
- In many applications, it's OK to sacrifice even basic-seeming database functionality.
And so there's been innovation in numerous cluster-related subjects, two of which are:
- Distributed query and update. When a database is distributed among many modes, how does a request access multiple nodes at once?
- Fault-tolerance in long-running jobs.When a job is expected to run on many nodes for a long time, how can it deal with failures or slowdowns, other than through the distressing alternatives:
- Start over from the beginning?
- Keep (a lot of) the whole cluster's resources tied up, waiting for things to be set right?
Distributed database consistency
When a distributed database lives up to the same consistency standards as a single-node one, distributed query is straightforward. Performance may be an issue, however, which is why we have seen a lot of:
- Analytic RDBMS innovation.
- Short-request applications designed to avoid distributed joins.
- Short-request clustered RDBMS that don't allow fully-general distributed joins in the first place.
But in workloads with low-latency writes, living up to those standards is hard. The 1980s approach to distributed writing was two-phase commit (2PC), which may be summarized as: Read more
|Categories: Clustering, CouchDB, Data warehousing, Databricks, Spark and BDAS, Facebook, Hadoop, MapReduce, Sybase, Theory and architecture, VoltDB and H-Store
|1 Comment
Notes and comments, May 6, 2014
After visiting California recently, I made a flurry of posts, several of which generated considerable discussion.
- My claim that Spark will replace Hadoop MapReduce got much Twitter attention — including some high-profile endorsements — and also some responses here.
- My MemSQL post led to a vigorous comparison of MemSQL vs. VoltDB.
- My post on hardware and storage spawned a lively discussion of Hadoop hardware pricing; even Cloudera wound up disagreeing with what I reported Cloudera as having said. Sadly, there was less response to the part about the partial (!) end of Moore's Law.
- My Cloudera/SQL/Impala/Hive apparently was well-balanced, in that it got attacked from multiple sides via Twitter & email. Apparently, I was too hard on Impala, I was too hard on Hive, and I was too hard on boxes full of cardboard file cards as well.
- My post on the Intel/Cloudera deal garnered a comment reminding us Dell had pushed the Intel distro.
- My CitusDB post picked up a few clarifying comments.
Here is a catch-all post to complete the set. Read more
Spark on fire
Spark is on the rise, to an even greater degree than I thought last month.
- Numerous clients and other companies I talk with have adopted Spark, plan to adopt Spark, or at least think it's likely they will. In particular:
- A number of analytic-stack companies are joining ClearStory in using Spark. Most of the specifics are confidential, but I hope some will be announced soon.
- MapR has joined Cloudera in supporting Spark, and indeed — unlike Cloudera — is supporting the full Spark stack.
- Mike Olson of Cloudera is on record as predicting that Spark will be the replacement for Hadoop MapReduce. Just about everybody seems to agree, except perhaps for Hortonworks folks betting on the more limited and less mature Tez. Spark's biggest technical advantages as a general data processing engine are probably:
- The Directed Acyclic Graph processing model. (Any serious MapReduce-replacement contender will probably echo that aspect.)
- A rich set of programming primitives in connection with that model.
- Support also for highly-iterative processing, of the kind found in machine learning.
- Flexible in-memory data structures, namely the RDDs (Resilient Distributed Datasets).
- A clever approach to fault-tolerance.
- Spark is a major contender in streaming.
- There's some cool machine-learning innovation using Spark.
- Spark 1.0 will drop by mid-May, Apache voters willin' an' the creek don' rise. Publicity will likely ensue, with strong evidence of industry support.*
*Yes, my fingerprints are showing again.
The most official description of what Spark now contains is probably the "Spark ecosystem" diagram from Databricks. However, at the time of this writing it is slightly out of date, as per some email from Databricks CEO Ion Stoica (quoted with permission):
… but if I were to redraw it, SparkSQL will replace Shark, and Shark will eventually become a thin layer above SparkSQL and below BlinkDB.
With this change, all the modules on top of Spark (i.e., SparkStreaming, SparkSQL, GraphX, and MLlib) are part of the Spark distribution. You can think of these modules as libraries that come with Spark.
|Categories: Cloudera, Complex event processing (CEP), Databricks, Spark and BDAS, Hadoop, Hortonworks, MapR, MapReduce, Predictive modeling and advanced analytics, SQL/Hadoop integration, Yahoo
|14 Comments
Distinctions in SQL/Hadoop integration
Ever more products try to integrate SQL with Hadoop, and discussions of them seem confused, in line with Monash's First Law of Commercial Semantics. So let's draw some distinctions, starting with (and these overlap):
- Are the SQL engine and Hadoop:
- Necessarily on the same cluster?
- Necessarily or at least most naturally on different clusters?
- How, if at all, is Hadoop invoked by the SQL engine? Specifically, what is the role of:
- HDFS (Hadoop Distributed File System)?
- Hadoop MapReduce?
- HCatalog?
- How, if at all, is the SQL engine invoked by Hadoop?
In particular:
- If something is called a "connector", then Hadoop and the SQL engine are most likely on separate clusters. Good features include (but these can partially contradict each other):
- A way of making data transfer maximally parallel.
- Query planning that is smart about when to process on the SQL engine and when to use Hadoop's native SQL (Hive or otherwise).
- If something is called "SQL-on-Hadoop", then Hadoop and the SQL engine are or should be on the same cluster, using the same nodes to store and process data. But while that's a necessary condition, I'd prefer that it not be sufficient.
Let's go to some examples. Read more
|Categories: Cloudera, Data integration and middleware, EAI, EII, ETL, ELT, ETLT, Hadapt, Hadoop, HBase, Hortonworks, MapReduce, Microsoft and SQL*Server, NewSQL, PostgreSQL, SQL/Hadoop integration, Teradata
|36 Comments


text:
Report NEP-GTH-2008-09-05This is the archive for NEP-GTH, a report on new working papers in the area of Game Theory. Laszlo A. Koczy issued this report. It is usually issued weekly.
Subscribe to this report: email, RSS or Twitter.
Other reports in NEP-GTH
The following items were announced in this report:
- Penta, Antonio, 2007. "Collective Bargaining and Walrasian Equilibrium," MPRA Paper 10260, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Sep 2007.
- Gallice, Andrea, 2008. "Preempting versus Postponing: the Stealing Game," MPRA Paper 10256, University Library of Munich, Germany.
- Velu, C. & Iyer, S., 2008. "The Rationality of Irrationality for Managers: Returns- Based Beliefs and the Traveller's Dilemma," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0826, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
- Item repec:dgr:umamet:2008021 is not listed on IDEAS anymore
- Penta, Antonio, 2004. "Perfect Sequential Reciprocity and Dynamic Consistency," MPRA Paper 10261, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Sep 2007.
- Item repec:cla:levrem:122247000000002346 is not listed on IDEAS anymore
- Zhijun, 2008. "Collusion and Strategic Favoritism in Organizations," Working Papers 08-27, Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia.
- Oliver Board & Andreas Blume, 2008. "Intentional Vagueness," Working Papers 365, University of Pittsburgh, Department of Economics, revised Aug 2008.


text:
1600-1698 Oak Avenue
Evanston, Illinois, 60201
Commute to Downtown Evanston
Most errands can be accomplished on foot.
Score Details
1600-1698 Oak Avenue has a Walk Score of 81 out of 100. This location is Very Walkable so most errands can be accomplished on foot.
1600-1698 Oak Avenue is a four minute walk from the UP-N Union Pacific North at the Evanston (Davis St.) stop.
This location is in Evanston. Nearby parks include Alexander Park, Merrick Park and Smith Park.
Explore how far you can travel by car, bus, bike and foot from 1600-1698 Oak Avenue.
Rail lines:
UP-N Union Pacific North
0.1 mi
Purple Line
0.2 mi
Bus lines:
213 Green Bay Road
0.0 mi
208 Golf Road
0.0 mi
250 Dempster Street
0.0 mi
422 Linden CTA/Glenview/Northbrook Court
0.1 mi
201 Central/Ridge
0.1 mi
93 California/Dodge
0.1 mi
Car shares:
View all Evanston apartments on a map.
Popular apartment searches include hardwood floor, fitness and fireplace.
This location is in the city of Evanston, IL. Evanston has an average Walk Score of 74 and has 74,486 residents.


text:
@LauraPetrolino Yes!
@biggreenpen @ginidietrich Not sure I can add much to your comment other than the importance of integration. I used to work with larger clients with budgets for large paid programs. Now I'm trying to figure out the best way to develop and integrate paid programs for small clients. Have either of you tried UberFlip? Further suggestions welcome.
@Karen_C_Wilson @belllindsay Good first point Karen. ;)
And one more... not even sure what to say except @belllindsay you're leaving big shoes to fill, you'll be missed and hope you continue contributing to the comments come May 1. @ginidietrich exceptions are made for every rule and it would be weird if you didn't acknowledge Lindsay's contribution to Spin Sucks/AD and transition plans. xo
@ginidietrich @lkpetrolino Because Laura asked... this just arrived... only four more sleeps!
@LauraPetrolino @lkpetrolino @ginidietrich Haha! Thanks for asking. Assuming we rid this house of the flu, we'll be brining her home on Saturday. I met her brother last night. He moved into the neighbourhood. What a cutie.
Happy early birthday, @lkpetrolino! Please keep on sharing online photos of you and your gorgeous Oliver enjoying the snow. Only you and @ginidietrich can make winter look like the best season of the year. I hope you find this comment personalized and relevant. ;)
@StickyBranding Smart marketing. :) Thanks, can't wait and will do.
@StickyBranding Thanks! I bought the eBook. I didn't expect the Kindle version to be on sale. You're practically giving it away on Amazon today - .com and .ca. In this case, we've already been working with someone. I'll definitely keep you in mind for future too.
So sorry I missed this. Would you believe I was consulting with a branding strategist on behalf of a client at the time? ;) This is going on my 2015 reading list.
I always wanted to be a mystery shopper. :)
@JodiEchakowitz took the words right out of my mouth. Looking forward to seeing the results of your experiment @ginidietrich.
@belllindsay Wait, you're old enough to remember Tommy Hunter?
@ginidietrich @Digital_DRK As someone who made the switch, I agree with Gini 100%. I wouldn't use Blogger for a business blog or website unless I worked for Google. There are other ways to optimize your site.
@elmayuga I forgot to mention that I tend to avoid the design elements that aren't free and either create my own of upload ones from other sources such as my own photos, Morrquefile or Creative Commons images with attribution when required.
@elmayuga Canva does offer custom dimensions. Note the screenshot created below in Skitch and saved to Evernote @ginidietrich.
@JohnMTrader @KristenDaukas @ginidietrich @jasonkonopinski Gini and Kristen, please share how you use Evernote on the blog. I'm an Evernote hack and would love to know how to integrate it more effectively into my workflow (or lack thereof.)
They say you should learn something new every day and SlideBatch is on my to-do list. These tools are awesome. I've been using Talkwalker since you blogged about it last year and it has been amazing. I have a love-hate relationship with Canva. Often I find the dimensions don't work the way they should and the images pixelate... or maybe it's just me. I wish they'd merge with PicMonkey. Sometimes I have to use both of them (and Skitch) to get what I need. For you Evernote fans, Skitch is fabulous for taking screenshots and marking them up, especially if you want to share notes visually with team members or clients.
@Digital_DRK Thanks this is handy.
OMG! I can't believe you blogged about this topic today. Freaky I was thinking about how I was going to update an older guest post on my blog while I was in the shower – TMI, I know. ;)
One of my pet peeves is PR people/agencies that don't disclose their material relationships in their social media posts. In Canada, we don't have an official stance yet there are competition laws being tested with regard to fake online reviews, and many of us consider the FTC position to be best practice. I've had this discussion several times with a digital marketing friend. His PR colleague at work hired a PR agency that constantly talks about their organization yet never discloses the client relationship, nor do they ask influencers to do so.
Leadership by example must come from the top and this is a good reminder for all of us to have regular communications with our team(s).
@ginidietrich I say so!
@ginidietrich Aren't experience with failure (not that not meeting your financial goal means you've failed) and stepping outside of your comfort zone supposed to be two ingredients for success? Yes, another book to add to my list. The one thing I'd hoped to accomplish over the holidays but didn't was more reading. Time to step that up for 2015!
@jasonkonopinski Me too @jasonkonopinski but I don't have a chance to use it enough. ;)
What @Danny Brown said and wow, a Spin Sucks conference? More that just a bunch of crazies nattering at you to do it? Time to put some of my conference budget aside for that one.
As for your business, how do you measure publishing a new book and book tour into the equation? Seems like that would suck up a lot of billable work time that will pay off in the long run.
Although last year was financially sound, due to restructuring I lost a long-term client at the end of last year. After a rough late 2012/early 2013, I made a point of preparing for client "transitions". I'm comfortable with the current workload but now there are some people working for me part-time and they're eager to be in growth mode. I've also learned never to be too comfortable and always think about growth because you never know when a client situation may change. Guess I should pick up a copy of Traction too. I haven't done much formal planning but I can handle a two-page plan. Thanks!
Happy New Year to everyone at Spin Sucks! Thanks for keeping even the sanest of us crazy all year round. Looking forward to seeing what's in store for 2015.
@Corina Manea It goes faster than you think and it's an exciting ride, even through the learner times. Enjoy! ;)
Congrats @corinamanea! It sounds like you're well on your way to building a successful business. I left my day job to start my own consulting business a little over four years ago. It was the best career decision I've ever made.
@chelpixie That would be awesome! It's probably Feb. 21/22 but that's only a guess. I stepped down from the organizing committee a few years ago. Regardless, you should find your passport especially if you're planning to go London. ;)
@chelpixie Previous Agency Taxes! Love it! Been there, done that and I feel your pain sister. How can we get you back here for PCTO? Agree 100% about Sherlock including the beatch/babe stuff. Ugh! Miss you.
@LauraPetrolino @chelpixie @belllindsay @ginidietrich Gini's such a trendsetter. Emily has copied her hairstyle.
@LauraPetrolino @JodiEchakowitz Especially when it comes to Ms. Petro Power. ;)
@NancyDavis Fresh baked just for you...
@lizreusswig Thanks Liz! Coming from the nicest person here that's a HUGE compliment.
Does it help if my excuse for not posting earlier was because I was IMing with @belllindsay? :) Rule #2 admit @ginidietrich is the real Wonder Woman! And never underestimate the power of Pixelmator, Skitch and PicMonkey.
@chelpixie So true. I have a client in an industry where there's a ton of Facebook engagement, in small targeted groups regardless of whether they engage through business pages or Facebook groups. It works well for them but they're just one case. On the other hand, it's almost starting to feel like we have to start all over again in the new year. I'm looking forward to your next post.
Fun post @Eleanor Pierce. Unfortunately, several organizations are already starting to emulate the Ice Bucket Challenge. I saw a bad one today. Boo!
@ginidietrich <blushing> I hope we haven't set your expectations too high. ;) Read it before you see the movie. It took me a year after it was recommended before I picked iit up and then I couldn't put it down.
Thanks for sharing your reviews and for the inspiration to write a book review post. There's definitely a couple there I'll be adding to my list. Wild by Cheryl Strayed is my favourite read of 2015 so far, plus Spin Sucks, the Book of course. ;) I've read several memoirs and got about a third of the way through The Goldfinch. I'll pick it up again over the holidays.
Happy Thanksgiving!
@RobBiesenbach I'm with you about the licensed drivers and I liked Hailo too.
@HeatherTweedy We need Lyft in Toronto!
@ginidietrich I didn't understand either. He was used to driving regular clients and has/had a good thing going. They wouldn't put up with that garbage.
@ginidietrich I think we have that in Toronto too but I haven't tried. Not out of conscious avoidance but because I haven't needed to take many cabs lately. Definitely no Uber X for me. Not sure how long Uber will be here now. It's unfortunate because services like Hailo and Uber had a lot of potential.
@ginidietrich I swear! You can't make this stuff up. I was scared and texted my relatives. I had no idea where I was and they lived near the south side. It was pretty deserted around there so I had no choice but to wait and act "normal" until I got to the house. I let my BIL deal with him upon arrival.
@ginidietrich @HeatherTweedy It's hard to generalize between Canada and the U.S. (not in terms of the smell factor - LOL!) but much of it probably depends on whether or not you're in a large urban centre such as Toronto or Chicago vs. a smaller city or town. I'm not familiar with Lyft. I've only had positive experiences with cabbies in NYC.
I did have a truly bizarre experience with a limo driver in Chicago a couple years ago. A relative of mine who used to live there and travels A LOT – even more than Gini – booked his favourite driver for me. I was picked up from the airport and on the way to my family's house in a not-so-great neighbourhood, in the dark at 10:30 p.m. the driver stopped on the side of the road with a field on the passenger side of the car and a small BBQ restaurant on the other. He asked if I wanted anything – yes, I wanted to get to my destination – and left the car. He came back 10 minutes later with his dinner!
Powerful post @ginidietrich! Although I've never tried Uber, I did use Hailo a bit when it first started in Toronto. At that time, it was using licensed cab drivers. The City of Toronto is now trying to ban Uber. They claim Uber drivers aren't licensed and therefore pose a safety risk, among other things. Critics, including the mayor-elect, feel the city is more opposed to disruption and that we need a company like Uber to effect change. As long as safety is an issue, I'll keep my distance.
@biggreenpen Yoga mats are multipurpose. I had no idea until recently and now thanks to you, strategic planning gets added to the list.
Next time I attend a strategic planning session, my yoga mat is coming with me. ;) Thanks Paula!
This is such an interesting topic. We've been discussing it a lot in class lately and at it came up during a panel about the future of tech and wearables. My kids (16 and 19) have gone from using their own names (or easily identifiable derivatives) to using platforms like SnapChat because they fear content permanence and the impact it may have on their future job searches, etc.
On the one hand, devices such as wearables and other mobile tech are becoming more and more dependent on using our personal data to help us. On the other hand, some members of the younger generation are opting out sharing their personal data. I'm curious to learn how these two opposing forces will reconcile in the future.
Thanks for your comment @DonnaPapacosta. There are so many giving people in our community with interesting stories. We're often to rushed to take the time to get to know them and learn about their experiences.
@bensonhendrix Thanks! I'm a regular trying to register but having a glitch. I've asked @belllindsay for help. ;) Should be a good session.


text:
Sign In to Your Account
Shop The Large Selection Of All Fiocchi 12 Gauge Shells At Rock Bottom Low Prices...Guaranteed at Sportsman's Guide
10 rounds Fiocchi Nickel-plated 12 Gauge 2 3/4"
10 rounds Fiocchi® 12 Gauge 2 3/4" 1-oz.
80 rds. Fiocchi Exacta 12 Gauge 2 3/4"
100 rds. .410 Gauge 2 1/2" Buckshot Rounds
In Stock
10 rds. Fiocchi® 12 Gauge Buck Shot, PRICED LOW!
A deadly pattern of stopping power, reliable with every shot! Each pellet is nickel-plated, providing denser and more consistent patterns with less deformation in the air. You get long-lasting accuracy, and better power down range. Muzzle Velocity: 1,150 F.P.S.
!!! Limited Quantities !!!
More Details...
10 rds. Fiocchi® 12 Gauge Rifled Slugs.
POWERFUL with accuracy to match! These 12 Gauge Rifled Slugs use Fiocchi®'s Aero Wad for increased aerodynamics at long range. Muzzle Velocity: 1,300 F.P.S.
!!! Limited Quantities !!!
80 rds. Fiocchi® Exacta® 12 Gauge 2 3/4" 00 Buckshot with Can. GREAT PRICE!
Tight patterns, better penetration. That's Fiocchi® Exacta®.The specs:
Item not currently available for sale.
410 Gauge 2 1/2" Centurion® Buckshot Rounds, PRICED LOW!
Superior stopping power! 410 Gauge 2 1/2" Buckshot Rounds by Centurion® are reliable and powerful.
3 Pellet, current-production rounds. 25 rounds per box, 250 per case. Perfect for home defense or predator routing. This is for 3" chambered .410's. This will not fit in 2 1/2 chambers because of the roll crimp. Not for use in handguns.
Don't miss out! Act Now!


text:
On Wednesday evening at the Rocky Mathey Theater, we attended another GREAT performance by our students: La malattia della famiglia M by Fausto Paravidino.
A special thanks to Professor Florent Masse who made this happen.
Here find some excerpts:
– Beginner's Italian II
– Intensive Intermediate and Advanced Italian
– Introduction to Italy today
– Music and Lyrics: Italy in the Eyes of its Pop Singers
– Dante's "Purgatorio" and "Paradiso"
– Topics in Modern Italian Cinema – New Italian Cinema: New Media
– Advanced Language and Style
– The Literature of Gastronomy
Class 1027, Spring 2013.
Classi 102, Spring 2013!


text:
VIEWS: 61 PAGES: 17 CATEGORY: Transportation POSTED ON: 8/1/2012
2 stroke engine
CONSTRUCTION Cylinder head Gasket cylinder head Cylinder Piston ring Conneting rod Piston Bearing Piston pin Crank pin Gasket cylinder Crank shaft Crank case CONSTRUCTION 1. CYLINDER HEAD Function is : a. Place the combustor b. Place holder spark plug c. as coolant 2. CILYNDER BODY Function is : a. Place the hole rises b. Place of drain c. Place movement piston d . As coolant CONSTRUCTION 3. PISTON Function is: 1. Compressing the gas mixture 2. Accept the results of the burned gas mixture explosion 3.Membuka and close the hole - hole channel (intake, transfer, rinse, exhaust 4. PISTON RING Function is: a. prevent leakage b. Transferring heat from the piston to silynder. CONSTRUCTION 5. PISTON PIN Function is : Combining with the piston rod conneting the top 6. CONNETING ROD DAN BEARING Fungtion is : a. To combine the piston with crank shaft b. With the bearing swivel movement becomes smoother and smoother CONSTRUCTION 7. CRANK SHAFT Function is : a. Changing up and down motion of the piston into rotary motion b. Rotary motion successor 8. CRANK CASE Function is : a. The scene of the initial compression (Primary compression) b. With the movement of grass bearing becomes smoother and smoother CLASIFICATION 1. CYLINDER HEAD A. Clasification by cooling 1. Cylinder head with air coolIng - Simple construction 2. Cylinder head with liquid cooling -more better cooling B. Classification by the combustor shape 1. Dome-shaped combustion chamber 2. Taper-shaped combustion chamber CLASIFICATION 2. CYLINDER a. Clasification by cooling 1. Cylinder with air cooling 2. Cylinder with liquid cooling b. Clasification with consctuction 1. Types of cast iron cylinder 2. Cylindrical type tube 3. Plated aluminum cylinder type chrom CLASIFICATION 3. TIPE OF PISTON a. Piston without channel entry b. Piston with revenue channel 4. SHAPE OF PISTON a. tapering Diameter of the piston head 1 is smaller than at the bottom of the 2 b. OVAL The size of the tube / pin boss 3 is smaller on the side of 4 c. OFFSET Central axis of the hole piston did not coincide Kerucut 2>1 Oval 4>3 with the central axis of the piston shown in (0.03 ~ 0.05 mm) (0.1 ~ 0.2 mm) distance of 5 CLASIFICATION 5. RING PISTON a. Flat ring type - Flat b. Keystone type ring - Tyre 6. PIN PISTON a. Full floating type CLASIFICATION 7. CONNETING ROD Conneting rod cross-section of (the piston rod) is a rod I 8. Tipe of chrankshaft a. single cylinder b. double cylinder CLASIFICATOIN 9. TIPE- TIPE CRANK CASE a. Type the horizontal parts of the crank case b. Type crank case parts of the vertical 10 RULES OF OPENING & INSTALLATION -Demolition: Loosen the screws outermost and innermost with crosswise direction. -Installation: Replace bolts deepest then bolt to the outer crosses. WORKING PRINCIPLE 2 STROKE ENGINE 1. When the the piston starts moving up, going suction in the crank case, because the pressure in the crank case is negative, so the gas (Air and fuel from the carburator into the crank case). Compression Starting 2. Until the room filled crank case by gas (gas and air) Secondary Compression WORKING PRINCIPLE 2 STROKE ENGINE 3. The piston moves down to press (Compressing) a mixture of air and gasoline (initial compression) Primary Compression 4. The piston moves down to encourage air and fuel mixture from the crank case into the cylinder. At the same time, the remaining gas combustion will be driven out of rinsing step in the cylinder occurs Scavenging WORKING PRINCIPLE 2 STROKE ENGINE 5. The compression process begins A number of air mixture - gasoline will be pushed out through the channel disposal Compression Starting 6. Mengkompresikan piston air mixture - gasoline (both compression / secondary compression) Secondari Compression WORKING PRINCIPLE 2 STROKE ENGINE 7. Spark plugs that sparked campuranbahan compressed fuel on fire Combustion 8. Combustion gas flowing out of the cylinder (Disposal) Exhaust Is a cycle that occurs on 2 stroke engine, which is described by Graphs, based on the position angle to the axis of the crank pin Crank shaft. TMA Work Secunder compretion income Primer compretion flushing disposal TMB
Pages to are hidden for
"2 stroke engine"Please download to view full document


text:
The nonprofit group shows local people in India, Haiti, and Kenya how to plant trees in dry regions – and improve their lives.
A public dialogue on gun control, begun at a 2013 Monitor forum, continues in Montana.
The group Got Your 6 wants to refocus the story of post 9/11 US military veterans. Instead of being damaged and fragile, most of today's generation of vets are committed to lives of serving others.
Andris Nelsons recently took over as the newest conductor for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and is the youngest conductor to lead its musicians in a century.
The School Fund, founded by college student Matt Severson in 2010, allows a donor to provide financial assistance to a worthy student anywhere in the world.
She founded the Unstoppable Foundation, which concentrates on getting girls in Africa into school and keeping them there.
This week's roundup of Good Reads includes a look at new dinosaur fossils in Argentina, how robots are taking American jobs, a professor's search for oral history, how one beautician's movie magic redefined modern beauty, and the futuristic dreams of some heavy-hitting entrepreneurs.
Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut has originated theater classics like 'Annie' and 'Man of La Mancha,' and it's still thriving today by keeping shows fresh.
This week's roundup of Good Reads includes the Rawabi planned community in the West Bank, on the trail of online scammers, the women of Shakespeare, why the city needs trees, rare footage of 1919 World Series.
The Supreme Court's 1954 ruling Brown v. Board of Education overturned the idea of 'separate but equal' and became 'the opening salvo' of the civil rights movement, says African-American legal scholar Sherrilyn Ifill.
The physicist heads a new $5 million Georgetown Energy Prize that encourages midsize cities to develop innovative ways to slash energy use.
This week's roundup of Good Reads includes how Crimea is prompting a geopolitical shift in Japan, efforts by Bill Gates to solve world problems, how to get girls to become computer scientists, and a classic essay on baseball.
The Live Below the Line project April 28-May 2 aims to help people understand extreme poverty more personally by spending only $1.50 a day on food.
Designing and distributing technically sophisticated yet durable solar lights has been a nifty accomplishment for Greenlight Planet, whose aim is to replace dangerous kerosene lamps.
The founder of the nonprofit University of the People, an online, degree-granting institution, wants to educate the world – for free.
This week's roundup of Good Reads includes a look at how snow days are determined, tax reform, how techno-optimists view the future, the growing business of ride sharing, and why watching binge watching TV is good for you.
The Malala Fund, co-founded by Malala Yousafzai, the teenage girl from Pakistan who was shot by the Taliban for promoting the education of girls, is working to put refuge children from Syria back into school.
His Ubuntu Education Fund provides intensive, long-term help to 2,000 impoverished children and their families in South Africa.
Building on her role in negotiating a ceasefire between Muslim insurgents and the Philippines government, Irene Santiago has become an advocate for women as a vital part of any peace talks.
Million Women Mentors, launched Jan. 8, will reach out to at least a million girls and young women in the next four years and support them in pursuing STEM careers and education.


text:
- Studio: FilmDistrict
- Release Date: Apr 13, 2012
- Critic Score
- Most active
- Publication
- Most clicked
Apr 13, 2012Lockout is derivative and ridiculous and a good time, provided you can turn off higher brain functions along with any other part of you that might want to lodge a complaint about liberal borrowing from better movies.
If you're an "Escape From New York" fan, you might have wondered about those rumors about a possible remake...Well, wonder no more. Producer Luc Besson's action factory has beaten everyone to it, stylishly. They're just calling the thing Lockout, and setting it in outer space.
More than any masculine heroics, Pearce's primary job is maintaining the tone: smug, irreverent, and giddily punch-drunk.
The space prison set-pieces get the job done; only in the film's terrestrial bookends does this nuts-and-bolts action film show its rust.
Lockout is genre all the way. The film wears its colors proudly, but it also, alas, wears out its welcome.
The idea of the president's daughter being held captive isn't blindingly original (it's an alarmingly dangerous occupation), but placing the story on a space station is a masterstroke, since we're about filled up to here with prison movies set on Earth.
Luc Besson's producing career has been so geared toward lean, tough genre films that it's somewhat apt that he'd ape--or, if we're being kind, pay homage to--John Carpenter's preeminent sci-fi actioner Escape from New York with his latest, Lockout.
The pretty good thriller Lockout peaks with its first shot...When the camera moves and the plot kicks in - as it must - the movie loses its witty economy. Things get cluttered.
Lockout, is as dopey an entertainment as imaginable, but it's also a reminder that the film's star, Guy Pearce, has always had great screen magnetism, to which he has now added a bedrock of muscle. Also: he can act.
Directors Stephen St. Leger and James Mather fill the film's obvious narrative gaps with enough witty banter and tongue-in-cheek humor for audiences to overlook the subpar special effects used throughout.
Tackles a nifty futuristic premise with bargain-basement efficiency and a deadpan, devil-may-care attitude. It's an initially invigorating tactic that proves slapdash and unsatisfying over the long haul, reducing a potentially rich sci-fier to the level of a halfway decent time-killer
If you were to watch Lockout a few months from now, at home alone, it wouldn't produce more than a shrug. Movies this bad need to be revered in public places. Go see it in a mall, and try to sneak a beer or two in with you.
Pearce pumps a surprising amount of levity into his one-liners – sure, it's still hot air, but at least the banter comes fully inflated.
Most of the time Lockout is pleasant enough, not something to recommend to a friend, but enjoyable in the moment. Guy Pearce has a lot to do with that, as the most impervious action star imaginable.
Pearce gets into his groove swiftly, owns it and remains entertaining throughout. The rest of the movie, however, would work better as a video game.
With no thriller cliché left unused, the gaily outlandish plot is matched by tin-eared dialogue, ripe tough-guy overacting from the very game Pearce, and best-that-she-could acting from Grace.
Lockout consists of disciplined action pastiche, but much of its thundering engine borrows from better movies.
It's just not quite as much fun as it should be, despite Pearce's best efforts and some good chemistry with Grace. Unusually for an action thriller, this could have benefited from being just a little longer.
Apr 19, 2012Luc Besson's clunky, space-bound actioner apes '80s B-flick excess but skimps on all the good parts. Fans of really bad science and pixelated CGI won't be disappointed, though.
Pearce has fun; world-weary in the style of a 15-year-old told one too many times to tidy his room – but shoddy special effects and the surface-level sass of the president's daughter leave this one spinning in low orbit.
Movies like this are supposed to be ridiculous on some level. It's part of the fun. But, dang. Falling through space, popping your parachute and landing on the one empty stretch of freeway in some bustling future city? C'mon. We all have our limits.
A putrid film that comes dead-weighted with hammy one-liners and a plot so silly it borders on comedy?
Lockout is painful. Not painful in the way Uwe Boll or "Sex and the City" movies are painful. But painful enough that I kept waiting for Nicolas Cage to show up. Or Katherine Heigl. Or, god forbid, both.
The aftereffects of watching Lockout include an inability to focus or to complete a simple declarative sentence without an ill-timed cutaway in the middle.
Directors James Mather and Stephen St. Leger stage a few good action set pieces, but unlike the 1981 midnight movie classic it imitates, the blandly titled Lockout never busts out of its cheesy concept.
Besson co-wrote and produced this cheesy mash-up of elements from James Bond and "Battlestar Galactica."
User Score
Generally favorable reviews- based on 143 Ratings
User score distribution:
Positive: 21 out of 45
Mixed: 17 out of 45
Negative: 7 out of 45
Apr 13, 2012the hunger games was better... ok but seriously my score equals the amount of time it took for the main character to get to the space stationthe hunger games was better... ok but seriously my score equals the amount of time it took for the main character to get to the space station and meet the president's daughter. It was one of the fastest paced movies I've ever seen. Overall was terrible. No character development. No back story. Plot holes (why would the US spend trillions and trillions of dollars on a space station for prisoners when they could kill them at the cost of one bullet?). Would only recommend if it was on netflix and you had nothing else to do.… Full Review »
Apr 17, 2012This is no Fight Club or Braveheart but a VERY GOOD film all the same, if you have been getting sick of all the BADLY made movies lately youThis is no Fight Club or Braveheart but a VERY GOOD film all the same, if you have been getting sick of all the BADLY made movies lately you should see this movie. I don't understand where this bad rating or coming from......maybe people started liking bad movies like Transformers,Battleship or the like.… Full Review »
Oct 29, 2012All I can say is this movie was entertaining enough to keep me watching until the end. Other than that, there is nothing special about it.All I can say is this movie was entertaining enough to keep me watching until the end. Other than that, there is nothing special about it. It's one of those movies that you will probably watch on cable TV some Saturday afternoon when nothing else is on and you don't have anything else to do.
The story is interesting enough, but the pure cheesy rots through towards the end. I don't want to spoil anything so I will not go into that but let's just say the "love" interest part is totally predictable. The action is good and the special effects are on par with today's movies.
My gripe would be the acting, mainly from the support characters. The 2 leads are okay, and that is about it. The rest of the cast pretty much mulls their way through their lines and shows no real character while doing so. The main villain is not at all convincing as a psycho.
In all, I thought this movie was exactly what I thought it was going to be: a movie I would watch, be satisfied that I didn't waste 2 hours and then forget about until I see it on TV some time later.… Full Review »


text:
Visit create.airbnb.com »
Thanks for taking the time to report this user.
Your participation helps keep Airbnb a safe and trusted
community, and it doesn't go unnoticed!
Me encanta viajar, sobre todo conocer a las gentes y sus maneras de vivir. Desde Madrid os ofrezco mi apartamento para que vivais la experiencia del Madrid de los Austrias.
Juan Carlos has completed online and offline ID verification.
Learn more »
This apartment is beautiful! The pictures capture its quaint decoration and rooms perfectly. All necessary things like towels, bedding, and kitchen supplies were great. The kitchen in particular was well equipped for making big meals. The apartment is in a cute neighborhood with a great market nearby to buy food and many restaurants to go it. Juan was very accommodating and helpful during our stay. I highly recommend staying in this apartment!
Great apartment in a charming building in the best neighborhood in Madrid! It was comfortable, clean, and quiet, and we especially loved the 2 balconies that overlooked the little pedestrian street. All the basics of the apartment were great: nice new shower, lots of closet space, and the wireless internet worked perfectly. It's really easy to walk to any part of the city center, and there are lots of great restaurants, bars, and markets within just a few steps. (Opera metro stop is close by as well, which we used to get to work/school). Finally, Juan Carlos is super responsive and a really friendly guy. He gave us a warm welcome, and even took the time to show us the best shops/restaurants in the neighborhood when we arrived. We would definitely stay here again; highly recommended.


text:
Ybarra aide blasts Luna over Schoolnet contract"We can count. … And we can calculate. … And we can spell." A top aide to Sherri Ybarra pledges…
Education groups oppose highway funding planThree prominent Idaho education groups are banding together to oppose diverting dollars from school spending to highway projects.
More from the EDge »
Statehouse roundup, 3.25.15: teacher salaries
House Education Committee also introduces a pair of charter school proposals.
Statehouse roundup, 3.24.15: STEM initiative, and more
Lawmakers also killed two education bills Tuesday.
Report: State has 'sunk' $61 million into Schoolnet
A newly released state report blames "poor management, poor decisions and poor system functionality" for the troubled Schoolnet rollout.
Idaho Falls coach has lasting impact on students
Britney Christensen learned that being a teacher of basketball is more about personality and seeing the sport as an art form.
Statehouse roundup, 3.23.15: Teacher salaries, and more
After it was fast-tracked, the career ladder salary bill next heads to the Senate
House Education passes teacher salary bill
The House Education Committee passed a five-year teacher salary bill Friday on the strength of unanimous support from education groups. Lawmakers, state officials and education groups had been engaged in a deep debate over teacher salaries and accountability throughout the session, with two previous versions of the career ladder salary bill being shelved due to…
Broadband: Goedde questions whether cost savings will stand up
School districts have saved by switching away from Idaho Education Network contractors, but the numbers are not an apples-to-apples comparison, an aide to Gov. Butch Otter said Thursday.
Teacher salary hearing planned for Friday
Lawmakers introduce a third career ladder bill, setting up a major hearing planned for Friday.


text:
Ancient Egyptian Research
Today you will begin to research Ancient Egypt. From your research you will create a Google Presentation that will be "Shared" with me. This presentation will take place of a test for Chapter 15 & Ancient Egypt.
You will have a handout that will outline what you should should have on your presentation. Follow the requirements on the handout and use the link below to gather your research.
Click Here ---> Ancient Egypt Research
When you are finished with your research and ready to start your Google Presentation, you can use the link below to find pictures.
Click --->Creative Commons
Grading Rubric
This is how you will be graded. Look this over as you are working on your Google Presentation.
When you are finished with your Egypt Presentation, you can play any of the games below or watch the videos listed.
Short Egypt Videos You Can Watch


text:
Tropical Islands
Europe's largest tropical holiday world
Come in and discover the delights of Tropical Islands. Stroll along the sandy beach by the Tropical Sea, join an expedition through the Tropical Rainforest, relax in the Tropical Sauna & Spa Complex, experience exciting attractions for kids, have fun with the whole family, taste the wonderful food and enjoy some first-class entertainment. You will also find that we have various accommodation options for you.
All year open 24 hours a day
Tropical Islands´ Tropical World is open 24/7 for overnight guests – all year round. From 6.00 a.m. to 0.00 a.m. day guests have access to the Tropical Islands dome. The tropical Sauna & Spa Complex is open every day of the week from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. the next morning.
Just 60 km south of Berlin
Tropical Islands is located 60 km south of Berlin and 100 km north of Dresden - in the popular Spreewald.
Tropical Islands is just off the A13 Berlin/Dresden motorway. Come off the motorway at the Staakow exit.
By train: The trains of the lines RE2 and RB19 will take you to Brand, From the station Brand, a free shuttle bus takes you to Tropical Islands.
Tropical Spring
Feel the Tropical Spring - from € 149.00!
Sunday Special - overnight stay from € 49.50 per person
Stay from Sunday to Monday in tent and enjoy the Tropics from € 49.50 per person incl. breakfast.
Special discount for early bookers!
Six weeks to book in advance and save up to 10%!


text: http://www.downloadsquad.com – Filed under: Features, Mozilla, BrowsersPhew, what a week we've had here in the dark, dank Download Squad bunker! Not only has it been a good week for Firefox, but for all browsers everywhere! This week we saw the release of IE9 preview 3 -- and while it's by no means complete (it doesn't e (General)


text:
Hi, Foobies fans! We're moving from Fark to our new home at Zivity.com. Expect lots of sexy new photos soon!
If you can read this, either the style sheet didn't load or you have an older browser that doesn't support style sheets. Try clearing your browser cache and refreshing the page.
You might try our Headline Search for easier navigation here.
These links may be stale and generate errors. Can't do much about it. Tastes like chicken.
(Headline T-Shirts are still available for archive links.)
Sun November 04, 2012
Sat November 03, 2012
Fri November 02, 2012
Thu November 01, 2012
Wed October 31, 2012
Tue October 30, 2012
Mon October 29, 2012
Foobies Archives


text:
Slinki is a hard-as-nails 2.5D action-platformer, for Windows, Mac and Linux, where your own prostetic arm is the ultimate multipurpose weapon: Use it as a bladed boomerang to control the population of mutated critters, pull levers towards you to get through puzzles and zip-line across grappling surfaces. Furthermore, instead of having your weapon return to you, why not return to it instead with the power of Slinki's slingshot? All this to find out what happened to the once peaceful forest you used to live in.
A Demo with the first 2 levels is available:
Where can I buy it?
By purchasing Slinki you are also fuelling our ability to add more features down the road and allow us to keep creating cool games
We can also be on Steam if you would kindly vote for us on Greenlight. We'll be good.


text:
Loading stream...
Now Playing
Podcasts & RSS Feeds
|All Content
|View all podcasts & RSS feeds
Connect with Us
Behind the Mics
News Director & Morning Edition anchor
Production Director & host of All This Jazz
Operations Director & documentary host
General Manager & host of StudioTulsa
Around the Nation
8:23 am
Thu March 21, 2013
TSA Finds Sword Hidden In Cane At Dulles Airport
By editor
Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. Guards at Dulles Airport outside Washington have a sense of humor. I once asked a guy at a checkpoint in the basement how he was doing, and he answered: Living that dream. Too bad we don't now what Dulles guards said when a woman put her cane in the scanner. There was a sword inside. It was a sword cane. The woman had no idea.
The TSA now says passengers should try unscrewing the tops of their canes to be sure there's no hidden blade inside. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.