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The present invention provides a communication system for integrating audio and visual messaging. The communication system includes a mobile communication device for receiving visual messages and for transmitting voice messages to a recipient, a base station system in communication with the mobile communication device, an electronic mail gateway for delivering visual messages to the base station system for transmission to the mobile communication device, and an integrated mail gateway for receiving from the base station a voice message and addressing information that were both transmitted from the mobile communication device. The integrated mail gateway is programmed to create an e-mail message comprising the voice message. The integrated mail gateway is also programmed to use the addressing information to address the e-mail message, and to send the addressed e-mail message to the recipient.
1. A method for integrating voice and text messaging comprising:
an integrated mail gateway (i) storing a text message, and (ii) receiving reply messaging data and voice data from a first wireless cellular messaging device as a response to a text message;
the integrated mail gateway, upon receiving the reply messaging data and voice data, using said reply messaging data to generate a message for transmission to a second wireless cellular messaging device, the message including said text message from the memory and the voice data.
This non-provisional application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/126,939, filed Mar. 29, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, and also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/155,055, entitled, "System and Method for Integrating Audio and Visual Messaging", filed Sep. 21, 1999, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to communication systems such as voice paging systems, cellular telephone systems, text paging systems, voice mail systems, and conventional land line telephone systems and, more specifically, to methods, systems and apparatus for non-real-time audio and visual messaging between two messaging devices wherein a communication device receives visual messages from a visual message originator device and transmits audio messages (e.g., voice messages) to the visual message originator device for playback.
2. Discussion of the Background
A conventional mobile communication device (MCD), such as a pager or a mobile telephone, can receive various types of messages. There are numeric pagers which receive only numbers such as a telephone numbers (i.e. 818-555-1212), and there are alpha/numeric pagers which can receive alpha/numeric messages (e.g., Please call me at 929-555-1212). Additionally, there are voice pagers which receive voice messages. In addition to receiving messages, pagers are often configured to transmit messages. An alpha/numeric pager may be configured to receive alpha/numeric messages from an Internet-based computer and to transmit to the Internet-based computer originator alpha/numeric reply messages. Similarly, a voice pager that receives voice messages from a telephone-based originator can be configured to transmit a voice message to a voice mail system for retrieval by the originator via a telephone. In short, alpha/numeric pagers are configured to transmit alpha/numeric reply messages and voice pagers are configured to transmit voice reply messages.
In the field of wireless messaging generally, numeric and alpha/numeric messaging is, by far, more bandwidth efficient than voice messaging. Radio spectrum is a dwindling resource and wireless messaging companies are increasingly sensitive to their bandwidth efficiencies. Better bandwidth utilization means more capacity on the system. More capacity equates to more customers. Hence, the wireless messaging industry has migrated from voice paging to alpha/numeric paging in order to provide a bandwidth efficient, robust and high information content messaging service for their so called "road warrior" customers.
However, to date, there is no simple method for sending a message containing more than a small amount of information from an alpha/numeric pager. Generally, alpha/numeric pagers that have the ability to send messages are configured to transmit small, preprogrammed ("canned") text messages, such as "1 will call you tonight" or "yes" or "no" or "I will reply later." Other alpha/numeric pagers have been configured with a miniature, QWERTY type, text keyboard. The miniature keyboards are difficult to type on because of their size. This makes input very slow, inaccurate and very annoying to operate. Additionally, the miniature size of the keyboard is still too large for a pocket-sized pager.
Audio pagers are generally larger than keyboardless alpha/numeric pagers, in part because of the large speaker required in order to reproduce a high quality, audible audio message. An audio pager's battery life is lower than an alpha/numeric pager due to the amount of time it takes to receive a message and the amount of power required to process and play the message.
One solution to the above problem is to route a mobile telephone originated voice reply message to a computer. However, it's simply not convenient to send a voice message via a mobile telephone, configure a computer to receive a voice reply message and then mentally correlate the sent and received messages together (i.e. Was the reply "sounds good to me" meant to be an answer to the message, "I will pay $140,000.00 for your home" or "lets have lunch tomorrow at the fish place").
A need, therefore, exists to blend audio (e.g., voice) and visual (e.g., text and/or graphics) messaging in a manner that conserves valuable bandwidth and simplifies user input of messages in a mobile communication device. An attempt to that end, is the so-called "smart phone." Smart Phones are wireless mobile telephones that have added features, implying that they are smarter than the average telephone. These features may include a numeric and alpha/numeric messaging feature, a personal digital assistant (PDA), computer functions, Internet access, and a miniature keyboard. Similar to an alpha/numeric pager, many mobile telephones today are capable of receiving alpha/numeric messages and have the capability of connecting to the Internet for sending alpha/numeric reply messages via a miniature keyboard. There is a need to simplify the input of reply messages into wireless devices for delivery of the reply messages to the originating device, wherein both messages may be correlated.
In an alpha/numeric pager messaging environment; text messages are routinely exchanged between a computer and a text pager (i.e. text in/text out). In a voice pager messaging environment, voice messages are routinely exchanged between a telephone configured voice mail system and a voice pager (i.e. voice in/voice out). In a mobile telephone messaging environment, as with an alpha/numeric pager, text messages routinely are exchanged in non real-time (i.e. text in/text out). However, mobile telephones also have the ability to make and receive real-time voice calls. More often than not, when a mobile telephone user receives a text message requiring some type of response, he or she will simply use the mobile telephone to place a real-time telephone call to the message originator. In many cases, the line is busy because the originator is either on the phone or connected to the Internet. In either case, the mobile caller is diverted to a voice mail system or answering device and is instructed to leave a message, which is then retrieved by the called person at a later time.
Many people prefer to communicate by messaging as opposed to real-time conversation in order to manage their time. Thus, there is a need for a device that can not only send non real-time text messages, but also receive non real-time voice messages (i.e. text out/voice in). At the wireless side of the messaging loop, there is a need to send non real-time voice messages from the same mobile device that receives non real-time text messages (i.e. text in/voice out).
It is widely accepted in the field of two way paging, that only a fraction of received messages generate a reply message response. On the other hand, when text message reception capability is combined with a mobile telephone, the mobile telephone user will attempt to reply much more often via a real-time voice call. Mobile telephone companies call this process "call completion" and it is highly favored among mobile telephone companies because additional calling generates more revenue. There is a need to increase reply traffic in a wireless environment without decreasing the efficiency of text message delivery to a mobile communication device. There is also a need to simplify the input of messages in a mobile communication device, such as a pager or wireless mobile telephone. Finally, there is a need for a wireless messaging system that provides end to end audio and visual messaging, wherein only one device is required at each end of the messaging loop (e.g., computer on the one end and mobile communication device on the other).
The present invention provides a communication system for integrating audio and visual messaging. The communication system includes a communication device for receiving visual messages and for transmitting voice messages to a recipient, and an integrated mail gateway for receiving from the communication device a voice message and addressing information. The integrated mail gateway is programmed to create an electronic mail (hereinafter "e-mail") message comprising the voice message. The integrated mail gateway is also programmed to use the addressing information to address the e-mail message, and to send the addressed e-mail message to the recipient.
Preferably, the communication device is a wireless mobile communication device. However, this is not a requirement. The present invention is contemplated to be used with wireless as well as non-wireless communication devices.
In one embodiment, the communication system is used by a user of a communication device to send a voice message in reply to a received visual message. For example, consider the situation where a first person uses a messaging device with Internet e-mail capability to transmit a visual message to a second person. The communication system of the present invention enables the second person to easily transmit a voice reply message to the first user's messaging to device. In one embodiment, the second person uses a communication device (such as a conventional telephone or mobile telephone having visual message reception capability) to establish a telephone call with an integrated mail gateway (IMG) that preferably has access to the visual message sent to the second person. After the telephone call is established, the second person uses the communication device to transmit, or the communication device automatically transmits, to the IMG addressing information associated with the visual message received from the first person. For example, a keypad on the communication device could be used to transmit the addressing information, or a processor in the communication device can be programmed to automatically transmit the addressing information. In one embodiment, after the IMG receives the addressing information, it prompts the second user to begin speaking a voice reply message for the first person after hearing a tone. The IMG records and stores the voice reply message. Optionally, the IMG will format the voice reply message into a conventional audio file format. The IMG then creates an e-mail message and includes the voice reply message in the e-mail. Optionally, the e-mail message includes at least part of the received visual message to which the voice message is a reply. The IMG uses the addressing information provided by the mobile communication device to address the e-mail message. After the e-mail message has been addressed, the e-mail message can be sent to the first user. Upon receiving the e-mail message, the first user's messaging device can play the voice reply message associated with the original visual message so that the voice reply message is heard by the first user.
Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form part of the specification, illustrate various embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the invention. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.
A first embodiment of the present invention is hereinafter described, with reference to the diagram of
Preferably, messaging device 105 is directly connected to a data network 120 (such as the Internet or other like network) or connected to an internet service provider (ISP) 170(1) or 170(2) (such as America Online) that has a connection to data network 120. ISP 170(1) and 170(2) each has a point of presence including data storage and retrieval equipment for enabling e-mail services and file transfer as is well know to those skilled in the art of internet communications. Messaging device 105(3) is shown connecting to ISP 170(2) through PSTN 110. Although this is the most common way today for messaging devices to connect to an ISP, other connectivity options are available, such as satellite links and cable modems. Messaging device 105 is enabled for two-way e-mail and file transfer communications. Data network 120 is a communications network for transporting data. There are no limits to the type of data carried by data network 120. For example, the data can be simple text data or it can be voice or video.
An integrated message gateway (IMG) 150, is connected to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 110 for automated storage and forwarding of audio messages. Operation of the IMG 150 will be described in detail hereinafter.
A Mobile Switching Office (MSO) 125 (also referred to as a base station) comprises all of the necessary equipment and software for enabling communications between mobile telephone 145 and PSTN 110 as well as data network 120. The MSO 125 and mobile telephone 145 are configured for voice communications and visual messaging. Other than the improvements to be described in detail hereinafter, the MSO 125 and mobile telephone 145 components are readily available and are well known to those skilled in the art of mobile telephone communications. The mobile telephone system described herein may be configured to operate using various format technologies well known in the art of mobile telephone systems such as for example, CDMA, TDMA, GSM, N-AMPS, etc.
A Pager Switching Office (PSO) 130 (also referred to as a base station), comprises all of the necessary equipment and software for enabling communications between a paging transceiver 140 and the PSTN 110 or the data network 120. The PSO 130 and paging transceiver 140 are configured for voice messaging from the paging transceiver 140 to the PSO 130 and for visual messaging from the PSO 130 to the paging transceiver 140. Visual messaging is well known to those skilled in the art of paging systems. Paging systems capable of transmitting visual messages may be purchased from Motorola, a U.S. manufacturer of paging equipment. Voice paging systems are also well known to those skilled in the art of paging systems. Motorola manufacturers paging systems for transmitting voice messages to voice pagers. Readycom of Chapel Hill, N.C. produces a system for transmitting voice messages to cellular voice pagers and for transmitting voice messages from cellular voice pagers.
Other than the improvements to be described in detail hereinafter, the PSO 130 and paging transceiver 140 components are readily available and are well known to those skilled in the art of paging communications. The paging system described herein may be configured to operate using various format technologies well known to those skilled in the art of mobile telephone systems and paging systems, such as for example Inflection, pACT, TDMA, etc.
In operation, a user (not shown) enters an e-mail message via a keyboard (not shown) attached to messaging device 105. The e-mail message is addressed to one or more communication devices, such as paging transceiver 140 and/or a mobile telephone 145. The e-mail message is routed through the data network 120 to MSO 125 or PSO 130 for transmission to the designated communication device(s).
The mobile communication device receives/retrieves and stores the e-mail message and, optionally, alerts the user that a message has been received. The user may view the message from a display screen on the communication device. In order to reply to the e-mail message, the user simply activates a reply command (e.g., the user can press a "reply" button or select a "reply" menu option) and then speaks a voice message into the mobile communication device microphone (not shown). The voice message and addressing data are transmitted to the wireless system operator (i.e., MSO 125 or PSO 130) and forwarded to the IMG 150. The IMG 150 formats the voice message into an acceptable messaging file format. It then creates an e-mail message with the formatted voice message attached thereto. Optionally, part or all of the received visual message is included in the e-mail message, thus providing the e-mail originator with a means to easily identify the message to which the voice message is a reply. The e-mail message is then sent to the ISP 170(1) for retrieval by messaging device 105(2) or is sent directly to messaging device 105(1). The user of messaging device 105 then listens to the formatted voice message using an audio system.
The process of sending an e-mail message from a messaging device 105 to a mobile communication device is well known to those skilled in the art of wireless visual messaging systems. However, the integration of audio and visual messaging presents novel features never before available to a wireless service company or end user. With the present invention, a cellular telephone company may now offer integrated (i.e., audio/visual) messaging services which are transported over the Internet, thereby achieving a substantial reduction in cost. Cellular telephone companies are offering e-mail type text messaging to mobile telephone subscribers today (through the Internet). In short, the cellular telephone company is already connected to the Internet. The present invention provides new opportunities for transporting non real-time voice messages over a network connection that would not be possible in real-time.
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As illustrated above, a voice message may be routed from a mobile communication device 140, 145 to a messaging device 105 utilizing a variety of message routing designs. It is important to note that the voice message may be routed through one particular path while a visual message may be routed through a different path. For example, a text e-mail message may be routed from the messaging device 105(1) through the data network 120 to an e-mail server and short messaging service at the MSO 125. From the MSO 125, the visual e-mail text message is transmitted to the mobile telephone 145. The e-mail message is viewed by the user and the user speaks a voice reply message to be delivered back to the message originator at the messaging device 105(1). The voice message is then routed to the messaging device 105(1) through one of, or a variation of, the routes previously described. The system operator is given the option to choose a two-way messaging system for voice and visual messaging that utilizes the most efficient delivery path for touting messages depending on the type of message to be delivered or received (i.e. audio or visual). An MSO 125 or PSO 130 may now utilize the data network 120 for transporting voice messages.
Prior art systems currently exist for sending e-mail text messages from a computer over the Internet to a mobile communication device. The present invention enables a mobile communication device to send a voice reply message over the Internet (or other data network) to the user that originated the e-mail text message. This is a highly desirable feature. For example, consider a mobile device user who is driving a car and receives an e-mail message to which a reply is urgently required. Such a user is unable to safely use a keyboard to enter a text reply message, but can easily create a voice reply message while keeping his or her hands on the wheel.
Referring to
The necessary software instructions and operating system for enabling mobile telephone 145 or paging transceiver 140 to receive visual messages are included and well known to those skilled in the art of mobile telephone and paging systems. Mobile telephones for two-way voice communications are commonly available today. Many of these mobile telephones receive and display visual messages such as text messages. Generally, this service is called Short Messaging Service or SMS.
One format for receiving SMS is known as Cellular Digital Packet Data or CDPD. There are many variations for text messaging in mobile telephones and there are many formats in which the text messages may be transmitted. A few mobile telephone types that receive text messaging are CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), and GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). There are also a plurality of languages and protocols for enabling a wireless mobile telephone to communicate over the Internet. A few of them are HDML (Handheld Device Mark up Language), HDTP (Handheld Device Transport Protocol), TTML (Tagged Text Mark up Language) and WAP (Wireless Application Protocol).
There are many prior art configurations for receiving visual messages by mobile telephone 145 or paging transceiver 140, and all such configurations are herein contemplated for use in combination with the novel features of the present invention. In short, it is widely known in the art of wireless paging systems and mobile telephone systems that paging transceivers and mobile telephones receive visual messages.
The process by which a visual message, such as text, is received is not critical. However, the novel system and method for processing the received message information in connection with transmitting a voice reply message will be described in detail hereinafter.
Referring again to
The antenna 351, antenna interface 352, receiver 353, transmitter 354, processing module 355 and user interface 356 are connected in a typical mobile telephone or paging transceiver configuration. A controller 357 and memory 358 have been included for processing of received visual messages, storage of visual messages, and processing of transmitted voice messages. The controller 357 comprises a conventional microprocessor of the type commonly used in mobile telephones and paging transceivers. The controller 357 also includes a memory manager, I/O ports, RAM and ROM memory and all necessary software instructions required to communicate with the processing module 355, user interface 356, and memory 358. The controller 357 connects to the processing module 355 for receiving and sending data, messages, and commands. The controller 357 is connected to memory 358 for storage and retrieval of messages and message data and to the user interface 356 for input and output interfacing with a user.
Continuing with
When a user wishes to send a voice message in reply to a received visual message, the user enables a voice reply mode via user interface 356. This causes the controller 357 to read the necessary addressing information from the processing module 355 and memory 358 for addressing and sending the voice reply message to the originator of the received message. Optionally, the user may enter addressing information associated with the received visual message manually using a keypad, as previously described. After enabling the voice reply mode, the user speaks into the microphone of the user interface 356, and a real-time voice message is transmitted to the IMG 150 for forwarding, in non real-time, to the visual message originator (e.g., messaging device 105). In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a pre-recorded voice message is transmitted to the IMG 150 as will be described in detail hereinafter.
When a mobile communication device receives a visual message, the mobile communication device also receives and stores messaging data associated with the visual message. This messaging data may include, but is not limited to: a reply name, a reply address, a reply code, a reply type code, and reply subject matter.
The reply name is generally the name of the person who sent the visual message. The reply address may be an e-mail address such as "email@example.com" or an abbreviated address such as a sequence of letters and/or numbers that is associated with an e-mail address stored at the IMG 150. The reply address may also include an IMG 150 system identifier or e-mail system identifier or a telephone number to a particular IMG 150. The reply code is a code that corresponds to the original visual message stored at the MSO's 125 or PSO's 130 e-mail system or at IMG 150. The reply type code indicates the type of voice message that is allowable by the system (i.e. pre-recorded, real-time, analog, digital, format, etc.). The type code may also indicate the allowable length or size of a voice Message. The reply subject matter may contain to the original text subject matter of the received visual message.
A complete system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in connection with the mobile telephone 145 and the MSO 125 system of
In order to send a visual message from the messaging device 105 to the mobile telephone 145, a user of messaging device 105 creates an e-mail message using an e-mail program, such as one provided from AOL, Lotus, Netscape or Microsoft. The e-mail message is sent from the messaging device 105 to the MSO 125 via data network 120. An e-mail gateway (EMG) 115 is configured at the MSO 125 for receiving the e-mail message for delivery to the mobile telephone 145. Such a configuration is well known to those skilled in the art of mobile telephone systems.
After the e-mail message is received by the EMG 115, the MSO 125 transmits a signal to the mobile telephone 145. The signal includes the e-mail message and messaging data associated with the e-mail message. For this example, the signal consists of a reply name of "John Doe," a reply code, and the e-mail message, as shown below:
From: John Doe
To: Mary Jane
Subject: Airport Delay
Reply code: 12
The antenna 351 of mobile telephone 145 receives the signal sent from the MSO 125. The receiver 353 demodulates the signal to recover the e-mail message and message data contained in the signal. The processing module 355 stores the e-mail message and message data in memory and causes the user interface 356 to alert the user that a message has arrived.
Upon being alerted, the user may activate the user interface 356 to cause the processor 355 to read the stored visual message and associated messaging data from the memory and display it on a display screen for viewing by the user. The time at which the message was sent or delivered may also be displayed on the display screen. Additionally, a reply indicator, which is triggered by the reply code and gives an indication to the user that the visual message selected is one in which a voice reply may be sent, is displayed. After viewing the displayed information, the user makes a decision to send a voice reply message to the originator by selecting a reply option provided by the user interface.
Referring now to
In step 406, the controller 357 searches an electronic address book (hereafter "address book") stored in memory 358 for an address associated with the reply name that was included in the messaging data. If the controller 357 does not find such an address, then flow proceeds to step 410, otherwise flow proceeds to step 412. In step 410, the user is informed via a visual or audible indicator that there is no return address and the process ends.
It should be noted that the reply code search at step 404 was for a code that corresponds to the visual message stored at the MSO 125. If the reply code does not exist, the reply name included in the messaging data is used to search for a corresponding address. As previously described, the reply code might simply be the sequence "12". Reply codes reduce air time because all of the necessary addressing information is stored at the MSO 125 and the reply code points to that data.
In step 412, the controller 357 of mobile telephone 145 attempts to establish communications with the IMG 150 at the MSO 125 by sending the pre-programmed telephone number read from the memory 358 or obtained from the messaging data. This attempt is automatically accomplished by the controller 357. After step 412, flow proceeds to step 414, where a determination is made to see if communication is established. If communication is not established, flow proceeds to step 416, otherwise flow proceeds to step 418.
In step 416, the user is informed that a connection could not be established and the process ends. If this occurs, the user can simply attempt to send the reply message at a later time. In step 418, the mobile telephone transmits addressing data to the IMG 150, and the IMG 150 transmits acceptance or error codes back to the mobile telephone 145. The addressing data either includes the reply code or the address determined in step 406.
After step 418, flow proceeds to step 420, where the controller 357 checks for "invalid data" error messages sent from the IMG 150. If an invalid data error is detected, the controller 357 tags the invalid addressing data stored in the memory 358 as invalid and reads the memory 358 for valid messaging data in order to correct the problem. For example, if the mobile telephone 145 sends a reply code associated with a message that is no longer available to the IMG 150, the IMG 150 will send an error code to the mobile telephone 145 indicating that the message can not be replied to using the current reply code.
When the controller receives this error code it reads the memory 358, to see if there is a name and address for the recipient stored in memory 358 (step 422). If yes, at step 428, flow proceeds to step 418 and the process continues. If the controller 357 does not find valid addressing data, flow proceeds to step 430 where the user is informed of the problem via an indicator and the process ends.
If at step 420 it is determined that the addressing data is valid, flow proceeds to the message record process at step 424. At step 424, the mobile telephone 145 user is informed by the IMG 150 to begin speaking a message at the tone for the designated recipient. The mobile telephone user may also be informed via an LCD or any other means of indication to the user to begin speaking. The user may also be informed as to how much time the user may speak a voice message. For example, "begin speaking a 30 second message for Mary Jane at the tone." However, a preferred embodiment provides for a more efficient means for notifying a user of the amount of available record time. As previously discussed, a reply type code can be included in the messaging data transmitted with the visual message. The reply type code can include a length code indicating the amount of time allowable for a reply message. This feature can be very useful for a mobile telephone 145 user, in that the user is informed at the time the visual message is viewed, of the amount of time given to reply. This advanced notice gives the user time to compose a reply message in advance as opposed to finding out two seconds before recording starts.
At step 424, the voice message is recorded by the IMG 150 in a manner consistent with conventional voice mail systems well known to those skilled in the art of voice mail systems. For example, the user may be given the option to review the message, delete the message, re-record the message, etc. When the user is finished recording, flow proceeds to step 426, where the IMG 150 notifies the mobile telephone 145 user that the voice message has been accepted and or sent and the process ends.
As illustrated by the above process, a voice message may be sent as a reply message to a visual message. A number of schemes may be used to send the voice reply message to a messaging device 105 so that the messaging device 105 user knows that the voice message is a voice reply to a particular visual message: In one scheme, the mobile telephone 145 simply transmits a reply code to the IMG 150. The reply code corresponds to a particular visual message available to the IMG 150. For example, the visual message could be stored within the IMG 150, MSO 125 or EMG 115. When the IMG 150 formats the voice reply message, the IMG 150 can include in the reply message the particular visual message associated with the reply code.
In another scheme, if the visual message is not available to the IMG 150, the mobile telephone 145 searches its memory 358 for a name or address. If found, the name or address, together with the received visual message or part of the received visual message, is transmitted along with the voice message to the IMG 150, which will then create an e-mail message containing the voice message and the received visual message or part thereof. The name or address sent to the IMG 150 is used by the IMG 150 to address the e-mail message.
In short, if the visual message is available to the IMG 150, and the messaging data transmitted to the mobile telephone 145 includes a reply code, then there is no need for the mobile telephone 145 to transmit to the IMG 150 anything other than the voice message and the reply code, thereby saving valuable bandwidth.
Voice messages that are not reply messages may also be initiated by the mobile telephone 145. The mobile telephone user may simply select a pre-stored name or address from a name and address book (also referred to as, "send message list") stored in memory 358. When the name appears on the display screen, the user simply uses the user interface to select a send message function and the process starts at step 412,
Voice messages transmitted from the mobile telephone 145 may be analog or digital. If analog transmission is utilized, the IMG 150 converts the analog voice message to digital data representative of the voice message for storage and transmission to the messaging device 105. If the voice message is in digital format, the digital data representative of the voice message may be stored directly by the IMG 150.
Additionally, a voice message may be pre-recorded and stored in memory 358 for transmission to the IMG 150. In such a configuration, a digital signal processor and associated analog to digital converter may also be configured with the controller 357 in a conventional manner for recording voice messages and storing the voice messages as data in memory 358. If the stored voice message is to be transmitted in analog format, then a digital to analog converter may also be utilized for converting the voice message data stored in memory 358 back to analog. For a pre-recorded voice message configuration, step 424 of
In connection with the paging transceiver 140, it should be noted that a telephone call is not normally initiated between a paging transceiver and the pager switching office (PSO) 300. In the case of paging transceiver 140 sending voice messages to the PSO 130, a pre-recorded voice message, as opposed to a real-time voice message, may be sent as previously described. However, at step 412, a telephone connection is not established. Step 412 would be changed to: Page PSO 130 utilizing a conventional voice paging protocol such as Inflection, pACT, etc. Step 414 would be changed to: Did the PSO 130 respond to the selective call (i.e. page and handshake). Finally, step 424 would be changed to: Transmit the pre-recorded voice message using a paging protocol. Optionally, prior to transmission, the pre-recorded voice message can be compressed using conventional compression algorithms to decrease air time.
Referring now to
The mail server 530(2) is coupled to data network 120 and receives visual messages sent from messaging device 105. The ECS 531 retrieves visual messages from the mail server 530 and reformats the messages for wireless transmission. The ECS 531 sends the reformatted messages to the SMS 532 where it is queued and sent to the MSO 125 for transmission to a targeted mobile telephone 145. There are many formats and systems available for delivering e-mail messages to the MSO 125 or PSO 130 for transmission to a mobile telephone 145 or paging transceiver 140, respectively. These systems are well known to those skilled in the art of wireless messaging. Other than the improvement described hereinafter, these systems are readily available.
The VMS 510 is connected to the MSO 125 so that voice messages sent from mobile telephone 145 can be received and stored by the VMS 510. The VMS can be directly connected to the MSO 125 (as shown in
The VMS 510 is an enhanced voice mail system. Voice mail systems are readily available from manufacturers such as Centigram Communications Corporation in San Jose, Calif., to Nortel Networks in Santa Clara, Calif. and AVT in Kirkland, Wash., to name a few. The VMG 520 is an enhanced voice mail gateway. Voice mail gateway systems are also readily available from the above manufacturers. Voice mail systems and voice mail gateways are generally software driven and adaptable to various messaging environments. These systems are easily networked for communication between different manufacturer's platforms. Additionally, these systems have evolved to the point that many have the capability of sharing messages and data between platforms. One such system manufacturer is Data Connection Limited in Enfield, England. Data Connection Limited manufactures voice mail systems, voice mail gateways and networking systems which will communicate utilizing a protocol called "Voice Profile for Internet Mail" (VPIM). The VPIM protocol is a common messaging language for the transport of voice messages between platforms. VPIM additionally allows for the sending of voice messages from a computer or voice mail system to a voice mail system or computer via the Internet. Other than the improvements described hereinafter, voice mail systems, voice mail gateways, voice mail networks, mail servers, e-mail gateways, short messaging service systems, MSO systems, protocols for transmitting voice messages over the Internet and protocols for transmitting e-mail messages to a wireless transceiver are well known to those skilled in the art of these systems and are readily available.
After step 602, flow proceeds to step 604, where the VMS 510 accepts or rejects the call based on the subscriber identification data. If the call is rejected, flow proceeds to step 606, otherwise flow proceeds to step 608. In step 606 the call is terminated, an error message is transmitted to the mobile telephone 145, and flow returns to step 600.
In step 608, the VMS 510 receives data from the mobile telephone 145. The data may include a request code. The request code indicates the type of action requested. For example, a request code of "01" indicates that the current request is for sending a general message, and a request code "02" indicates that the current request is for sending a reply message. Request codes may also be used for forwarding, cc, bcc, etc. The data may also include addressing information such as an e-mail address, an abbreviated e-mail address, a name, subject matter, type, a reply code, a coded address, etc.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention utilizes messaging data codes whenever possible in order to conserve transmission time. When a mobile telephone 145 user wishes to originate a message (as opposed to reply to a message), the user selects the name of the person to whom the message is to be sent from an address book stored in the telephone 145. When the user activates the send message command after selecting a recipient, only the message to be forwarded to the recipient, a request code, and a coded address normally needs to be transmitted to the IMG 150.
The request code directs the VMS 510 to perform an action, in this case, the example is to send a message. The coded address corresponds to all other information required to send the message to the recipient, such as the intended recipient's name, e-mail address, message type code, etc. To send a reply message, only the request code and a reply code need be sent together with the reply message.
It should be noted that there are many methods contemplated that may be used for finding information stored at the MSO 125 or IMG 150. A mobile telephone 145 may, for example, transmit the name of the message recipient. The VMS 510, may utilize the received name for looking up the associated address stored in a database associated with the IMG 150 in order to reduce the amount of transmission time required by the mobile telephone 145. The mobile telephone 145 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention does not transmit the actual addressing information if that information is otherwise available to the IMG 150 or associated interconnected systems via a coded address or the like.
Referring back to
Referring to
It is beneficial for the mobile telephone to transmit a complete recipient name and address when the mobile telephone 145 may be roaming in another system area where the IMG 150 does not have a corresponding address book. If at step 616 the VMS 510 determines that coded data representing a recipient was received (i.e. coded address), flow proceeds to step 618. At step 618, the VMS 510 searches an address book stored in its database for a corresponding match. The VMS 510 may alternatively utilize an algorithm for converting the code to an address or name.
After step 618, flow proceeds to step 620, where the VMS 510 determines if the recipient address can be produced from the coded information or found in the VMS 510 address book. If at step 620 an address cannot be obtained, flow proceeds to step 622, where an error is transmitted to the mobile telephone 145, the connection is terminated and the process is returned. If an address is obtained at step 620 flow proceeds to step 626.
Step 626 is a voice recording process performed by the VMS 510. If a real-time voice message is to be received by the VMS 510, then voice prompts are returned to the mobile telephone 145 (e.g., "start recording at the tone"). The VMS 510 allows a caller to review, re-record, append, erase, etc., messages in a manner consistent with typical voice mail systems. If, on the other hand, a non-real-time message is to be received, then voice prompts are not returned. A record type indicator is transmitted from the mobile telephone 145 at the beginning of step 626 indicating the desired recording format (i.e., real-time vs. pre-recorded). A paging transceiver 140 may, for example, utilize the pre-recorded format while a mobile telephone 145 may utilize a real-time recording format.
At step 626, the voice message is received from the mobile telephone 145 and recorded by the VMS 510. Recording stops after an assigned amount of time or after the VMS 510 receives a stop record command from the mobile telephone 145. Recording may also be terminated by the VMS 510 responsive to a noisy communications connection. When the recording is complete, the VMS 510 sends an acknowledgment to the mobile telephone 145 and the communication is terminated (step 628). Flow then proceeds to step 630, where the VMS 510 transfers the voice message and the necessary addressing information to the VMG 520.
The VMG 520 converts the voice message to a conventional audio file format suitable for transmission over the Internet 120 and reproduction by the destination messaging device 105. An example of a conventional audio file format is the ".wav" format developed by Microsoft. The VMG 520 also creates an e-mail message comprising the converted voice message and uses the addressing information to address the e-mail. The converted voice message can be stored in a file and attached to the e-mail message.
The addressed e-mail message is then forwarded to a mail server such as the mail server 530 (step 632). The VMG 520 preferably inserts the words "voice message" in the subject line of the e-mail And inserts instructions for playing the message in the body of the e-mail. It is preferable that the e-mail message be given a priority level equal to primary mail so that it will not be inadvertently filtered by a recipient's e-mail system that limits attachments or treats attachments as secondary mail. After the addressed e-mail message is delivered to the mail server 530, the process returns to step 600. The mail server 530 is responsible for sending the addressed e-mail message to the intended recipient.
Referring back to
After step 640, flow proceeds to step 642, where the VMS 510 determines if the reply information corresponding to the received reply code is present in an archive file. If the reply information is not present, then flow proceeds to step 644, otherwise flow proceeds to step 658.
In step 644, the VMS 510 requests reply addressing information from the mobile telephone 145. Flow then proceeds to step 646, where the VMS 510 analyzes the information received from the mobile telephone 145. If the reply addressing information is complete, flow proceeds to the record process (step 658). If the reply information is coded, flow proceeds to step 648 where the address and or name is calculated or found, as previously described. Flow then proceeds to step 650 where the VMS 510 makes a determination as to the validity of to received data. If no addressing data was received or if the data received was not valid, flow proceeds to step 652, where an error code is returned to the mobile telephone 145, communication is terminated, and the process returns to step 600. If at step 650 it is determined that the data is valid, flow proceeds to step 658.
At step 658, if the process flow is from step 642, the "reply to" name, address, subject matter and text are obtained from the e-mail archive at the mail server 530 via the VMG 520 and appended to the voice message by the VMS 510. The "mailed from" information, as previously described, is obtained by the VMS 510 when communication is established by cross indexing the subscriber identification data with the subscriber data base associated with the VMS 510. At step 658, if the process flow is from step 650 or step 646, a "reply to" name, address and subject matter including "mail from" information is appended or attached to the voice message by the VMS 510.
It should be noted that the preferred method for receiving reply information from a mobile telephone 145 is to receive a reply code in order to conserve transmission time. The original message file stored in the archive at the mail server 530 provides all of the necessary information required to send a reply. The next preferred method for receiving reply information from the mobile telephone 145 is to send a coded address and subject matter. The coded address may then be correlated with the subscribers mailing list stored at the VMS 510 in order to produce the name and/or address. The least favorable method is to receive from the mobile telephone 145 the complete name, complete address and subject matter.
During step 658, the voice message is recorded by the VMS 510 in the same manner as to described with reference to step 626. After step 658, flow proceeds to step 660 where the call is terminated. The VMS 510 then sends to the VMG 520 the recorded voice message, addressing data, and a pointer to or the actual visual message to which the voice message is a reply (step 662). The VMG 520 converts the recorded voice message to an acceptable Internet and messaging device 105 format and packages the reply voice message with the original visual message for transmission. Flow proceeds to step 664, where the VMG 520 forwards the packaged addressed message (i.e. audio and visual) to the mail server 530 for transmission to the messaging device 105, as previously described, and the process returns to step 600.
Referring once again to
As previously described, it is preferable that the mobile telephone 145 transmit coded address information representative of an actual address stored in the IMG 150. However, there may be times, such as when the mobile telephone is roaming in another IMG 150 system area, when it is necessary to transmit an un-coded name and address. In order to solve this problem, the mobile telephone 145, according to one embodiment, may store both the complete name and address and a coded address which corresponds to the complete address information stored at the IMG 150.
When the IMG 150 sends a visual message to the mobile telephone 145, complete addressing information is also sent if the coded address is not already stored in memory 358 of the mobile telephone 145. In other words, the IMG 150 need not transmit information to the mobile telephone 145, if the information is already stored there. When a visual message is transmitted to the mobile telephone 145, the IMG 150 first sends a coded address to the mobile telephone 145. The controller 357 then searches for corresponding complete addressing information stored in memory 358. If a match is found, the mobile telephone 145 indicates to the IMG 150 that a match was found. The IMG 150 then does not need to transmit the actual data. It is a simple matter for the controller 357 to insert the corresponding name and address in the proper place within the message indicating from whom the message was sent. If the complete address information including the name is not stored in the memory 358, the mobile telephone 145 indicates to the IMG 150 that a match was not found. The IMG 150 then transmits the complete information to the mobile telephone 145 for storage.
When the mobile telephone 145 receives a visual message from the IMG 150, the message is stored as previously described for viewing on an LCD type display. When a mobile telephone 145 user views the message, the user may elect to save the name and address. The name and address may be saved in memory 358 by selecting the "add to list" option on the user interface which causes the controller 357 to store the address information in the address book in memory 358 for addressing out-going voice messages.
The first time that the mobile telephone 145 transmits the saved address information to the IMG 150 (i.e. when sending a message), the IMG 150 will issue an associated coded address to the mobile telephone 145 for storage in memory 358. The mobile telephone 145 then adds the coded address to the entry in its address book associated with the stored address. The IMG 150 adds the address information and coded address to its address book. In this manner, the mobile telephone 145 need only transmit the complete address information one time. Thereafter, only the coded address need be transmitted.
A mobile telephone subscriber may also add an address to the mobile telephone 145 address book using a messaging device 105. The subscriber may simply send an "address list message" to their own mobile telephone 145. An "address list message" is a visual message having a predetermined format and including a list of names and corresponding addresses. One example of an address list message is an e-mail message wherein the body of the e-mail includes a list of address book entries, wherein each entry includes a name and at least one corresponding address.
The integrated voice and visual messaging system described and illustrated herein is readily adaptable to a plurality of messaging formats, protocols, modulation schemes and system configurations. Voice messages may be transmitted from a mobile communication device such as a paging transceiver 140 or a mobile telephone 145 to an integrated message gateway for forwarding over the Internet or other type of network to a personal computer or other visual messaging device. Voice messages may be transmitted to the integrated mail gateway in analog or digital format. Additionally, voice messages may be pre-recorded at the mobile communication device for non real-time transmission or real-time voice messages may be transmitted to the integrated mail gateway for forwarding in non real-time. The system is adaptable to various wireless telephone systems and paging systems. The mobile communication device may be configured in a mobile telephone, pager, wireless PDA, or other wireless device which provides visual messaging and includes means for voice communications.
While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents:
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text: Dedicated beer advocate, and owner of The Beer Temple, a retail store in Chicago focused on craft beer. I love to talk, teach and learn about artisanal beers, which I feel are going through an unprecedented renaissance. I am a Certified Cicerone, and graduate of the Siebel Institute of Technology & World Brewing Academy. You can find out more on my website, craftbeertemple.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Materials Science & Technology 2012 Conference
October 7-11, 2012
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
MS&T annual conferences are hoste4d by four leading materials societies: ACerS, AIST, ASM, and TMS. This partnership brings together scientists, engineers, students and suppliers from to discuss current research & applications, and to shape the future of materials science and technology.
For more information please visit www.matscitech.org.
Organizers would like to invite you to submit our work for presentation for the MS&T2012.
Abstract submission deadline is March 15, 2012. Visit www.matscitech.org.
Click Here to register for this event.


text:
My Beautiful Bride Episode 1 Eng Sub
Synopsis :
This drama is about a husband, Kim Do Hyung who desperately searches for his wife, Yoon Joo Young who suddenly disappears. Meanwhile, Cha Yoon Mi is the detective on the case who helps him along the way.
Title : 아름다운 나의 신부 / My Beautiful Bride
Broadcast network : OCN
Episodes : 16
Genre : Melodrama, Romance
Air time : Saturday and Sunday 23:00
Broadcast period : 2015-June-20 to 2015-August-09


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Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Stratford High rising senior Tara Watkins is the first high school student in South Carolina to become a Microsoft Office specialist master and specialist expert designations that shows she has the deepest level of skills needed to proficiently use Office programs.
She has earned her specialist certifications in Word, Excel, Access, and Powerpoint; and she has earned her specialist expert certification in Word and Excel.
I made that my goal before I graduate, to get all of them, Watkins said.
Stratford offers some Microsoft certification courses, but Watkins went beyond the curriculum and began studying on her own to earn the certifications.
Last week, Tara traveled to Tennessee to put her Office skills to the test in a national competition, called Future Business Leaders of America.
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Antique Black Verona Buffet 7 7
Great storage! This piece is great! We recently downsized kitchen space and needed more storage. This stores all our liquor, wine and bar glassware. I added 2 baskets above the wine section to hold wine/bottle openers, coasters, etc. etc. Perfect! Assembly instructions were easy to follow! April 2, 2014
Great addition! I am so in love with this piece. I was able to assemble it myself, although, a second set of hands would have been helpful at one point. But, in the end, it was easy to assemble and turn over myself. The wine section holds 24 bottles and the cabinets are bigger than I imagined. I love the small details that make the cabinet look unique - subtle touches like the X detail on the cabinet doors. I'm really happy with the item and the purchase. January 1, 2014
Love it! Looks great in my kitchen. Great storage and functionality. Very nice December 8, 2013
Absolutely beautiful! This piece was easy to put together. I used it as a TV stand in my small house. We just purchased a larger house, and this looks just gorg next to my Verona table and bar. August 26, 2013
perfect we needed extra storage for our dining/kitchen area, and this is perfect. it's nice and narrow and doesn't take up much room, but somehow there's a ton of space inside. and the black is very stylish - the design is "farmhouse" but the color is modern. we love it. May 19, 2012
Beautiful! This buffet is exactly what I was looking for! Very easy to assemble, and offers lots of storage space. Better than expected quality! April 18, 2012
Nice Piece. Let me start by saying I like the piece a lot. It was probably the easiest piece I have ever assembled ( I have a lot of experience) I am a 40+ year old women and I assembled it with very little effort. Two negative one of the shelves had split and a piece broke off and the peg had fallen out. This was out of the box like that. Also, there were a few imperfections on the front where the finish had been chipped. A side note to World Market I got a discount but paid for shipping and it looks like literally the next day you gave both shipping and the discount. A 30+ dollar loss to me. November 11, 2014
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Here are some of this week's new erotic romances (info provided by publishers):
Office Affair by Jess Dees (Samhain Publishing). Melissa Sparks has had enough of being an overachiever, enough of having no social life. Just this once she wants something different. Something that looks very much like her business associate, Ben Cowley. Ben is all alone in the deserted offices of Preston Elks. He's gorgeous, he's single and he's been her secret fantasy for the last two years. It's a split-second decision, but there's no going back. When Ben looks up from his desk, the last thing he expects to see is his too-serious, straight-laced colleague stripping naked.
The Story of X by A.J. Malloy (William Morrow Paperbacks). A darkly seductive and passionate tale of secret societies, elaborate rites and sexual experimentation, in the tradition of Pauline Réage's classic Story of O and Stanley Kubrick's film Eyes Wide Shut.
Nautier and Wilder by Lora Leigh and Jaci Burton (Berkley). First there was Nauti and Wild. Now, New York Times bestselling authors Lora Leigh and Jaci Burton go one step further. Can you take it? Lora Leigh returns to the relentlessly scorching backdrop of her Nauti Boys series with an all-new novella of a man—bad to the bone—and the one woman who knew he was trouble. That's why she couldn't let him go. Jaci Burton once again blisters the asphalt with an all-new novella in her Wild Riders series. A hot biker craves a life of passion and danger—and finds it with the woman he's sworn to protect.
Lush by Lauren Dane (Berkley). USA TODAY best-selling author Lauren Dane delivers a second serving of sexy in her new Delicious novel, in which taste and temptation make up a sweet recipe … Mary Whaley has her hands full running a successful catering company and overseeing her supper club. She has everything she ever wanted—or so she thought. When she meets ridiculously hot and very dirty rock star Damien Hurley at her friend's engagement party, the attraction she feels is overpowering—and she isn't about to deny herself. (Check out HEA's interview with Lauren.)
Hidden Heat by Leah Braemel (Samhain Publishing). Hauberk Protection, Book 4. When handling Hauberk's managers, efficiency is Sandy Hallquist's watchword. In her personal life? Excitement all the way, baby. That's why she escaped Minnesota for a job with one of the hottest bodyguard companies. Invisibility is Troy's stock in trade, the only way he can manage Hauberk's international offices while answering the call of his other career: assassin. In one moment of weakness, he allowed Sandy a glimpse behind his carefully crafted mask. The more he's around her, the sharper his yearning for stability. A home. Love. Pity those are the last things she's looking for.
Lunchtime Sex by Missy Jane (Ellora's Cave). Passion and fun have been missing from Genie's life for a long time, but that changes when a hot prospective resident walks into her leasing office and turns her world upside down. There's only one thing holding her back from responding to his advances—he's only three years older than Genie's college-age son. She should resist …
Worlds Apart by Barbara Elsborg (Samhain Publishing). Niall is in trapped between the world he longs for and a place he can't leave behind. Cursed to hold his tongue, unable to claim what he wants until it's given, he's allowed one year to capture his heart's desire. But speaking those three simple words might very well kill him. As a private investigator, Taylor has witnessed the aftermath of love and he's convinced that love will never plant a seed in his heart—until Niall sparks a completely unexpected reaction in both mind and body. Roo has spent her entire life bouncing from relationship to relationship. When she finds herself out in the cold again, she discovers love can come from the most surprising of places.
Fever by Maya Banks (Berkley). Jace Crestwell, Ash McIntyre, and Gabe Hamilton have been best friends and successful business partners for years. They're powerful, they're imposing, they're irresistibly sexy, and Jace and Ash share everything—including their women. When they meet Bethany, Jace begins to feel things he's never experienced before: jealousy, and a powerful obsession that threatens him, overwhelms him—and excites him beyond control. (Check out HEA's interview with Maya about Fever.)
Bargain With the Beast by Naima Simone (Ellora's Cave). Breathlessly Ever After, Book 2. In a last-ditch attempt to save her beloved community center, Gwendolyn Sinclair corners childhood friend Xavier St. James, brother of her dead fiancé … and the man who secretly owns her heart. Surely his wealth and contacts can save the run-down building from ruin. The arrangement he proposes confirms what she's long suspected. He's become a beast, and he offers a beast's bargain, one that offends her pride even as it stirs her every desire and titillating fantasy—submit her body to his whim for seven days and the community center remains open.
Desired by Anne Rainey (Samhain Publishing). Temptation never takes a holiday. When a sexy hunk checks into her B&B, desire reawakens inside widow Summer Chase. Gage desperately needs a vacation, but one look at Summer and relaxation is the last thing he wants. He wants a tasty Summer treat to savor, one delectable inch at a time.
Cherie's Silk by Dena Garson (Ellora's Cave). Cherie's favorite work adversary, Mason, stumbles across her in the midst of a humiliating "wardrobe malfunction." She has to choose between possible public embarrassment and exposing her secret undergarment obsession to Mason. An obsession that could taint Cherie's prim and proper office persona. Thankfully Mason is willing to lend a hand in more ways than one.
Wicked Ties by Shayla Black (Berkley). Morgan O'Malley has seen a lot of kinky things as the hostess of a cable sex talk show. But she's never met a man like Jack Cole before. A self-proclaimed dominant, he's as alpha as a male can get—and good for Morgan to have around when an obsessed stalker ratchets up his attempts to get to her. Though Jack is a bodyguard, Morgan feels anything but safe in his presence because, slowly and seductively, Jack is bringing her deepest fantasies to the surface. And when he bends her to his will, what's more shocking than her surrender is how much she enjoys it.
Coming Unbound by Lacey Savage (Ellora's Cave). Ginny and Cole have struggled to connect intimately since before their marriage. When Cole suggests they surprise each other with the most sexually daring things they can dream up for their anniversary, Ginny reluctantly musters every ounce of courage she possesses to get nipple piercings. Cole's surprise? He's turned their suburban basement into a dungeon—and hired a sexy Dom to teach them the art of BDSM.
Forbidden Fires by Jodie Griffin (Carina Press). Book three of Bondage & Breakfast. A year ago, Detective Delia Robinson and Fire Marshal Colin Butler got up close and personal while working a case. But their sizzling relationship didn't last. Now there's a serial arsonist on the loose, and it's up to Delia and Colin to bring him down—if they can resist their attraction long enough to concentrate on the investigation. Delia quickly sees the connection between the crime scenes: elements of BDSM. Though she denies it, Colin is stunned by the realization that his former lover is aroused by the idea of bondage play. And suddenly he can't stop fantasizing about being the one to bind her …
Passion's Trust by Cara Carnes (Ellora's Cave). Book four in the Pleasure Brigade series. Katey Meadows has a dream job—working at The Brigade, an exclusive BDSM resort. Studiously taking notes and formulating her strategy for plunging desire-first into her submission fantasies becomes an exercise in sexual frustration when the Master she wants more than anything is the one man who rescued her from the brink of financial ruin. Lorenzo Garofali has adhered to a hands-off policy with Katey—until now. He soon discovers that baring her submissive desires means setting aside his baser instinct to claim her as his.
Drilling Down Deep by Angela Claire (Ellora's Cave). Michael Reynolds is the perfect heir to his family's vast commercial empire. A mysterious stranger's wild seduction and impromptu striptease have him rethinking the benefits of losing some of his legendary control. Vanny Donald is an oil driller, like her father was—before he was fired on a trumped-up charge of sabotage. Disguised as "Shelly," she seduces Michael to gain access to his apartment and steal some files. Vanny wants payback for her father. What "Shelly" gets is a night of no-holds-barred sex and the personal satisfaction of making Michael Reynolds lose control.
Dragon's Claim by Anya Richards (Ellora's Cave). Book three in the Unveiled Seductions series. Talathion Frostbane was tasked with saving his people and took on the responsibility unflinchingly. Yet all it takes to throw his entire existence into chaos is one encounter with the wyvern shifter he spurned 200 years before. The passion between the two men is as strong as ever, but there's no escaping the expectations of the clan. And giving in to the all-consuming desire for the dragonkin would have devastating consequences.
Man or Machine by Electra Shepherd (Ellora's Cave). Book two in the Body Electric series. Geek-girl Ilsa Morgenstern has had enough heartbreak to last a lifetime, so she builds Dallas—a smart, sexy male robot—to keep her satisfied without requiring any pesky emotions. She's not expecting Hal, her computer genius ex-boyfriend, to break into her home in an attempt to steal her family's tech secrets. And she's certainly not expecting that Dallas will want Hal and Ilsa to increase his knowledge of human sexuality by having sex with him—both separately and together.
Working It All Out by Dena Garson (Ellora's Cave). When Angie needs a trainer to prepare for a corporate fundraiser, Noel comes highly recommended. No one told her he's sexy as hell, too. Unfortunately, he's way too young. He couldn't possibly share the same fantasies that inundate her every time she looks his way. Or so she thinks. Noel has other ideas. When they get the gym to themselves for an intense one-on-one, he gives her the workout she's been waiting for.
Check out some newer contemporaries, historicals, romantic suspense and inspirationals and paranormals.


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As an original member of the iconic Four Horsemen, Tully Blanchard was one of the most notorious bad guys the sport of professional wrestling ever knew. Many years removed from antagonizing fans of WCW and WWE wrestling, Blanchard now brings a message far more powerful than his signature slingshot suplex move ever delivered to opponents.
Battling with alcohol and drugs, Blanchard's life changed forever on Nov. 2, 1989 when he failed a drug test with the WWE. Trying to get back into the WCW – the former National Wrestling Alliance where Blanchard made his mark as a member of the Four Horsemen with Ric Flair and Ole and Arn Anderson - Blanchard finally came to a moment of truth.
"At one in the morning on November 13, Flair called to tell me the WCW reneged on my deal. Three hours later, I said 'Jesus, take over my life,'" Blanchard said in a phone interview. "And it was the first time I ever used the name Jesus when I wasn't cussing somebody. My life was changed at three or four in the morning that day."
The energy that Blanchard used to spend winning titles such as the NWA's World Television Championship is now spent spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. During the January 18-20 weekend, Blanchard will visit the area to share his epic struggle with drugs and alcohol and how he found his rescuing grace in God.
"The biggest thing is that we have hope in Christ," Blanchard said of the message he hopes to convey to the people of Hillsville and the surrounding area. "When governments will let you down, when society is crumbling around you, there is hope in Jesus Christ. And I didn't learn that until I was 35 years old, but there is a better way. Even in the midst of chaos, we can still live victorious lives."
Blanchard's visit to the area will begin January 18 with a scheduled stop to speak at Firehouse Ministries in Mount Airy, N.C. beginning at 7 p.m. The next morning, his day will begin in Hillsville with a meet and greet at Race-In from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Fans will have an opportunity to have pictures taken and to get autographs from Blanchard that morning.
That will lead up to the big event that night at the Carroll County High School Auditorium. Admission is free, and the event will start at 6 p.m. with the drama team from Hillsville Pentecostal Holiness Church. A pair of dance teams from Firehouse Ministries, Blaze and The Firesteppers, will perform after that. Local worship band Common Creed (Craig and Jessica Vaughn) will then play for about 30 minutes before Blanchard takes the stage to speak for about 45 minutes. Blanchard will also speak at Fellowship Wesleyan Church in Hillsville on Jan. 20.
Blanchard's visit is being coordinated by the same committee that put together the Christian Family Fun Day event in Hillsville this past September. That event drew a huge crowd to the area and ultimately led to many people giving their lives to the Lord, said Greg Talley, who served on the committee for the Christian Family Fun Day. The overwhelming success of that day drove the committee to seek similar events.
"We are just excited to be able to do this. There hasn't been any kind of Christian events in the area, and people are coming out of the woodwork wanting to do this stuff," Talley said. "Right after the Christian Family Fun Day, it touched so many people we had tons of people contacting us wanting us to do more Christian events in the area. We are not doing this for personal recognition. We just want people to get saved."
Talley said everyone involved with the Christian events has volunteered their own time. Hoping to keep every event free, the committee basically relies on donations, Talley said.
"We don't ask for anything, and I think that is what makes it so gratifying for everybody," Talley said.
Approximately 50 churches were involved in the Christian Family Fun Day, and many have joined forces to help with the Tully Blanchard event, Talley said. The Hillsville Police Department and Carroll County Sheriff's Office have also partnered with the Christian committee.
"Everybody has just been so excited, even the Town of Hillsville. They have their Beach Nights in the summer, but they want to do a Christian Night as well," Talley said. "After we do this with Tully, we want to build on that and do some more wrestling stuff. Sting has been saved and we would like to get him up here too at some point."
Talley encourages anyone with questions about the event or the committee to call him at (276) 233-5654 or Richard Edwards at (276) 733-5227.
"We have a wide range of people performing January 19. We want the youth to come as well as wrestling fans," Talley said. "It's just a blessing for us and we want to pack out this gym."
Blanchard was inducted into the WWE Wrestling Hall of Fame on March 31, 2012 as a member of the Four Horsemen. After a bitter feud with fan favorite Dusty Rhodes in the mid 1980s, Blanchard's next nemesis was Magnum T.A., another popular wrestler with fans. A series of bloody and brutal matches culminated with one of the memorable matches in wrestling history, the famous "I Quit" match, set inside a steel cage for the U.S. Championship at Starrcade '85. The advent of Youtube and other social media platforms have brought Blanchard and wrestlers of his day to a new generation of fan, opening even more doors for him to spread his message of faith.
"Certainly if the people have got some commonality with you, know who you are and what you have done, they listen in a different fashion then if you just put somebody you do not know in front of them. It's just a platform that the Lord has used for me," said Blanchard, who spends most of time serving in the prison ministry these days. "But it's amazing how many young people with Youtube and all those videos that are accessible, that know the Four Horsemen and the things we have done, the "I Quit" match with Magnum T.A., guys like Ricky Steamboat and Dusty Rhodes. They weren't old enough to remember it, weren't exposed to it, so it's just a little beyond me."
Blanchard said he has wrestled in Hillsville before, but can't remember if it was in the early or late portion of his career. He remembers wrestling with Dusty Rhodes in Mount Airy one time at an event so packed that promoters had to turn people away. Hopefully, his return visit to the area will be met with the same passion.
"I'm just honored they chose to have me do it," Blanchard said.


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Six days ago, I posted a poll that asked you to evaluate the quality of the first results from Google, Yahoo, Windows Live. You had to enter a query you were particularly interested in and decide which result is the best. If you found two or three equally good results, you were allowed to select all of them.
Obviously, the poll doesn't have any scientific value, but it's still interesting to see that Google doesn't have an impressive score (in only 51% of the cases, Google delivered the best result), while Windows Live and Yahoo have similar scores: 35% for Windows Live and 30% for Yahoo. It's also interesting to see that these results were almost constant every day of the experiment, so there might be some truth there.
While I didn't monitor the correlation between queries and votes, here's a list of some of the most frequent queries: Google, test, directoryEntry, Linux, Microsoft, Radiohead, cow, Gmail, Java, search, sex, "Magnus Franklin", The Torah and the West Bank, art Liverpool, sweet krissy, quchen, server based solutions, ruby, sweet krissy.
Workin' In A Cocktail Bar
4 hours ago


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|Photo courtesy the outstanding @james_in_to's Flickr stream.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Reflections on a Winning Streak
2 comments:
- Lost and Found said...
"Still, over the last couple of weeks, even knowing a streak like this won't last, I've gone from cheerful to being about two steps removed from skipping down the street like a giddy schoolgirl. " I'm no longer two steps removed lol... I've been shrieking like a girl every win since number 4!!
Great piece! Love it!
- June 24, 2013 at 1:14 AM
- Lyle Weiser said...
I am a National League fan. However, to see this team rise from the ashes with "Jose, Jose" ready to add to the festivities, is quite exciting. It would be great to see the Jays pull off their first pennant since the early nineties. I'm pulling for you guys. Matter of fact I have 20-1 on the Jays winning the East (bet last week).
I hope that Ricky comes back and throws bullets. One more solid starter (maybe JA or Drabek or Ricky) will put the team over the top.
It's certainly better pulling for the Jays than trying to watch the Mets!
- June 24, 2013 at 6:41 AM


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There are a number of great books which are appropriate for use with primary school children. Use these books to talk about different families and to address homophobic bullying and language.
Download the complete list of primary school books.
The bookstore Blackwells are running a special promotion of primary school story books which celebrate difference and include different families. To find out more download Blackwell's promotional brochure.


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In Chicago, Kuma's Corner, a heavy metal-themed beers-and-burgers restaurant, has ignited a debate over a burger that unites beef and the Eucharist.
The hamburger of the month is the Ghost, named for a Swedish metal band known as Ghost or Ghost B.C., the lead singer of which wears a Roman Catholic cardinal's robe on stage.
The burger features a 10-ounce beef patty accompanied by slow-braised goat, a "Ghost chile aioli," white cheddar cheese, a pretzel bun, a red wine reduction, and an unconsecrated communion wafer.
The restaurant's Facebook announcement deems the burger in "the spirit of our undying reverence for the lord and all things holy" and "a fitting tribute to the supreme blasphemous activities carried out by the band itself," describing the red wine reduction as "(the blood of christ)" and the communion wafer as "(the body of christ)." The call to action: "Come pay your respects!" The cost: $17.
Not everyone was happy to hear about the Ghost burger. A local "Catholic foodie" blogger proclaimed it "a mockery of something that is holy." After the debate went national, Kuma's posted an announcement online, citing the First Amendment and stating they would be donating $1,500 to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Catholic Charities declared they wouldn't accept the donation. "Communion is a central part of the Catholic faith," a representative told the Chicago Tribune. "We strongly urge Kuma's to discontinue selling a burger that disrespects that faith and the faith of all Christians." Kuma's says they will continue selling the burger.
The day I visited the Kuma's in the Avondale neighborhood, one of two locations in Chicago, the place was packed. Metal music blared, and a smog of grilled burger smoke wafted through the air. In the front window, a sign advised: "HIPPIES USE BACKDOOR."
An unsmiling hostess in a Rob Zombie T-shirt took me to a table on the back patio. The menu noted, "THERE ARE NO VEGAN OPTIONS ON KUMA'S MENU." The burger options included the Black Sabbath, the Iron Maiden, and the Plague Bringer. Beers ranged from the Cane & Ebel to the Greenbush Anger to the Flying Dog Raging Bitch.
My blonde, tattooed waitress, who was wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with "LUCIPURR" and a picture of a kitten with an upside down cross on its forehead, reassured me the Ghost burger was really good.
Eventually, the Ghost burger arrived, accompanied by a side order of fries. It was heavy and messy, delivering a spicy kick, its bun sweet, the result hearty. It was delicious.
I peeled back the top bun to find the communion wafer smooshed into the red wine reduction and cheese. The wafer tasted like nothing.
A man took a seat at a nearby table. The back of his T-shirt read, "IDOLIZE NOTHING."
A few days later, I reached out to Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest, author of My Life with the Saints, and editor-at-large at America Magazine, to find out what he thought: Is the Ghost burger blasphemous or good business?
"Technically, an unconsecrated host is just that — unconsecrated and, basically, just a piece of bread," he replied in an email. "So, on the one hand, it may be just one burger joint's desperate attempt to attract customers and stir up some controversy, which always increases sales. On the other hand, as a Catholic, I find this kind of needless sarcasm annoying — would they pull a stunt like this mocking Judaism or Islam? I doubt it. Anyway, Chicago is more known for its hot dogs: I'll stick to that."
So far, nearly 4,500 people have liked Kuma's Facebook post stating they will continue selling Ghost burgers.
All photos by the author. Email me. Follow me on Twitter. My personal blog.


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Local attorney and retired judge Lowell Rayford Burgess Jr., of Antlers, passed from this life on Friday, March 7, 2014 at the age of 66. Lowell was born on November 20, 1947 to Noveline (Martin) and Lowell Burgess, Sr. He was raised in the Hall community, where the family attended the Hall Free Will Baptist Church, and was baptized in 1959 at the age of 12. Later in life he attended the Antlers Free Will Baptist Church. He attended school in Antlers for twelve years and graduated from Antlers High School in 1966. He became a United States Marine in June 1967 and served a tour of duty in Vietnam. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Oklahoma State University in 1973 and a law degree from the University of Tulsa in 1976. He attended the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant (U.S. Army Reserve) in 1976. Lowell Ray practiced law with Bob Settles from 1976 to 1978 and served as Pushmataha County Associate District Judge from 1978 to 1995. He practiced law in southeast Oklahoma from 1995 to 2003 and again served as Pushmataha County Associate District Judge from 2003 until his retirement in 2009. Lowell maintained an active law practice from 2009 until death.
Lowell Ray is survived by his wife of 28 years, Karen Burgess; his parents, Lowell Sr. and Noveline Burgess; his former wife of almost 20 years and mother of his first three children, Sheila (Miller) Burgess; his children, Andrea (Burgess) Hart and husband Scott, Lori (Burgess) Sparks and husband Brandon, Adam Burgess and wife Kimberly, Allen Janoe and wife Andrea, Wayne Janoe, Joshua Burgess and wife Kylee, Mary (Burgess) Nelson and husband Bailey; eleven grandchildren, Aidan and Landon Scott, Brandon, Hunter, and Bodee Sparks, Jackson and Skye Burgess, Austin and Claire Janoe, Ayce and Jethro Nelson; two brothers, Terry Burgess and wife Kathleen, David Burgess and wife Alberta, and one sister, VeAnn (Burgess) Tilson and husband Jay. He is also survived by in-laws Edward and Joyce Brooks, numerous nieces, nephews, and friends.
Family night will be held Thursday, March 13, 2014 from 6-8pm at Burkhart Funeral Service. Memorial services will be held Friday, March 14, 2014 at 2:00pm at the First Baptist Church in Antlers with Jay Tilson officiating.
Relatives and friends are invited to sign the guestbook or send private condolences online at www.burkhartfuneralservice.com [1].
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary @ www.wildmustangs.com [2] or The Wounded Warrior Project @ www.woundedwarriorproject.org [3]. The donations can be made online or accepted at Burkhart Funeral Service.
[1] http://www.burkhartfuneralservice.com
[2] http://www.wildmustangs.com
[3] http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org


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Follow the link for the entire article.Thiago Alves '100% healthy', wants to make his return at UFC 171
By Mookie Alexander @mookiealexander on Dec 5 2013, 9:00a
Ex-UFC welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves is looking to make his return to the Octagon next March.
Remember Thiago Alves? He was the violent KO artist who made his way towards a Welterweight title shot against Georges St-Pierre, where he lost a unanimous decision and nearly had to deal with GSP "hitting him with his groin" per Greg Jackson's advice. Leading up Alves fought 7 times from October 2006 to October 2008 before challenging St-Pierre. Since his 2009 loss to the champion, the 30-year-old has fought a grand total of 5 times in 4 years. Per UFC Tonight and Alves' manager Malki Kawa, the Brazilian is finally healthy and is targeting a UFC 171 return date:
Thiago Alves is finally 100% healthy and he hopes to return to action at UFC 171 on 3/15 in Dallas, per his mgr Malki Kawa. #ufctonight— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) December 5, 2013
Alves (19-9) last fought in March of 2012 against Martin Kampmann at UFC on FX 2. Thiago was on his way to a decision victory (or perhaps a late TKO) when he went for a takedown on a seemingly hurt Kampmann but got caught in a dramatic fight-ending guillotine choke instead. He's since pulled out of fights with Siyar Bahadurzada andMatt Brown, citing injuries on both occasions.
UFC 171 is on March 15th in Dallas, TX and will be headlined by Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira for the light heavyweight belt. If Alves is set to come back, I'd imagine he'd either get a highly winnable fight against someone on the verge of being cut, or be used as a testing ground for someone like Brandon Thatch or Stephen Thompson. Regardless, it'll be interesting to see how Alves performs when he does fight again.


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Prelims are about to start on Facebook and Youtube.
Here we go....
Prelims are about to start on Facebook and Youtube.
Here we go....
Last edited by Fedorlei Gomipierre; 08-04-2013 at 12:24 AM.
See? I said bet on the Brazilian in the first fight. I wonder what the line was on that?
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if woodchucks could chuck wood?
Working on client stuff (assuming I stop being lazy) and watching the fights. This is great!
Am I the only one putting money on Perosh?!
Oliveira seems to just not have the speed he needs. Not sure why a guy that long and tall isn't peppering with a jab.
Oliveira just doesn't feel like a UFC caliber fighter.
Hard to disagree with that.
Brian Stann is absolutely awesome.
He's very solid; doing a great job. But I have to admit I enjoy the less buttoned-up comments of Rogan or the Miletich/Shamrock randomness.
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- Oversized clutch
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Fresh Air Weekend
9:15 am
Sat April 7, 2012
Fresh Air Weekend: Paul McCartney, Aziz Ansari
Originally published on Sat April 7, 2012 1:11 pm
Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors, and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:
Paul McCartney Blows 'Kisses' To His Father's Era: McCartney recently released a collection of standards — songs he heard while growing up in Liverpool. He talks about several of those songs, and his own songwriting, from his home studio.
Aziz Ansari's Latest Is 'Dangerously Delicious': The comedian, who plays Tom Haverford on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, just released a new comedy special directly on his website. He's also embarking on a multicity tour, where he'll be riffing on the things that terrify him — marriage, for instance, and babies.


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Gloria Bornstein
Neototem's Children's Garden
Seattle Center - East of the Children's Museum
Seattle Center 1% Percent for Art
Gloria Bornstein based the concept of the Neototems Children's Garden on a Native American legend of whales swimming underground, connecting the salt water of Elliott Bay with the fresh water of Lake Union. The whale whose tail appears in the Children's Garden is part of a pod represented in Bornstein's first Seattle Center sculpture - Neototems (1995) which features two large bronze whales located on the west side of the International Fountain.
The Neototems Children's Garden features a maze of paths through landscaped gardens leading to a bronze, five-foot tall baby whale tail fountain enhanced by water rolling over and cascading down the rounded lip of the tail, mimicking a breaching or surfacing whale. The gardens surrounding the central fountain figure provide a place of discovery for children.,including a series of "tidal pool" sculptures featuring small bronzes of a sea horse, an octopus, a flying pig, a hermit crab, and a family of three blowfish.
Bornstein says, "On a simple level my work tells stories of a place, its people, its culture, land, and geology. On another level, I explore the thresholds between the public and the private. My work is also psychoanalytically based in that I chose the labyrinth design as a symbol of psychological challenge, where girl and boy heroes learn to explore, play and take risks on their journeys through life."