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A smart card has a repository having a first data element and a value added function. The card further has an operating system having a data element access function for sequencing to said repository and a microprocessor for executing said data element and said value added function in accordance with said access function.
1. A smart card comprising
(a) an repository EF3 having a first data element (Di) and a value added function (Fj),
(b) an operating system (3) having a data element access function (Gk) for sequencing to said repository EF3, and
(c) a microprocessor (1) for executing said data element (Di) and said value added function (Fj) in accordance with said access function (Gk).
2. The card of claim 1, further comprising
(d) a memory for storing repository EF3 stored therein,
(e) another elementary file (EF1), having said data element (Di),
(f) means to copy said data element (Di) from said other elementary file (EF1) to said repository EF3, and
(g) means to copy and to link said value added function (Fj) to said repository EF3 whereby said value added function, and said elementary file are executed with one another.
3. A card according to claim 2, comprising an external input for receiving and storing instructions to perform said coping to said repository EF3.
4. A card according to claim 3, wherein at least part of said added value function (Fj) is added to the card via said external inputs and after said card has been manufactured.
5. The card according to claim 2, wherein said operating system first sequences (TTP1) said repository EF3, (TTP2), and then bypasses (TTP2→OS2) said other elementary file (EF1, OS4).
6. A method of programming and operating a smart card having added value functions comprising
(a) entering a data element into card memory,
(b) setting an operating system in said card to access said data element,
(c) adding a value added function to said card memory, and
(d) linking said value added function to said data element so that said value added function is performed with said data element.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein
(a) said entering of said data element comprises entering a plurality of data elements (D1 . . . Dm), in a first elementary file (EF1)
(b) said entering of said value added function comprising entering a plurality of value added functions (F1 . . . Fn) in a second elementary file (EF2), and
(c) said linking step comprising transferring one of said data elements (Di) and one of said value added functions (Fj) to a third repository EF3, and
(d) said operating system accessing said third repository EF3 and skipping said data element (Di) in said first elementary file (EF1).
8. A smart card comprising
(a) a plurality of data elements in memory,
(b) a plurality of functions in memory,
(c) means for assigning one of said data elements as active,
(d) means for associating one of said functions with said active data element, so that said one function is seamlessly executed with active data element when said active data element is accessed,
(e) operating system means, in response to an external signal coming from outside said card to execute said one of said elements, for commanding and execution of said active data element, and
(f) means for receiving an external signal from outside the card to execute said one data element.
9. The card of claim 8, wherein
(a) said active data elements are in a first elementary file,
(b) said functions are in a second elementary file,
(c) said means for assigning comprises copying one of said data elements from said first elementary file to a third elementary file,
(d) said means for associating comprising copying said one function to said third elementary file and attaching said copied function to said copied active data element so that the programs in said element and function are executed seamlessly, and
(e) said operating system means commanding for going to said third elementary file for access to said active data element and said attached one function.
10. A card according to claim 9, wherein said operating system means in response to said external signal to execute one of said data elements causes execution of said one data element and said one function by going to said third elementary file and by-passing said first and second elementary files, and further comprising means for storage of a result of said seamlessly executed functions in said card.
11. The card of claim 8, wherein
a plurality of said data elements are each a different application for the card;
a plurality of said functions are each a different value added function,
one of said plurality of said functions being associated with each of said plurality of data elements, and
said means for receiving, comprises means for transmitting to the operating system signals for initiating each of said plurality of applications.
12. The card of card 9, further comprising means for associating another of said data elements with said active data element in said third elementary file for causing said other data element to be executed with said one data element and said one function in said elementary file.
13. The card of claim 8, wherein said memory comprise non-volatile programmable memory, and at least one of said functions being entered into said non-volatile, programmable memory by said means for receiving a signal.
The invention relates generally to integrated circuit cards, and more particularly to improved cards, systems using said cards and methods of operating such cards and systems
An integrated circuit card is often defined as an International Standards Organization, ISO, standard card with an embedded circuit chip. The IC card may have a microprocessor, in which case it is sometimes termed a smart card. An advantage of integrated circuit cards is that the data in the card is usually quite secure, i.e. the data cannot be easily read out or changed by an unauthorized user. The security is much greater than with magnetic cards or optical track cards The security, light weight of the card (the card is typically the size of a conventional credit card), ability to hold data and perform a variety of applications has made the cards increasingly; about 1 million new cards are put into service each day.
The smart card is often referred to as the invention about 25 years ago of a Frenchman, Roland Moreno, U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,916. An introductory text on smart cards and their applications may be found in Ayer, Kenneth R. and Schuler, Joseph F., Smart Card Primer, 1994, Minneapolis, Minnesota, The Schuler Consultancy.
Integrated circuit cards are usually the size of a conventional credit card, with six or eight small electrical contacts on one face. The newer type of card is of the "contactless" type, i.e the contacts are not electromechanical and there is no physical contact. There is a small loop or antenna inside the card, which makes electromagnetic or induction contact with a card reader or terminal. This type of card is shown for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,874,934 and 5,206,495 presently owned by the same assignee as in this application. When the term "contacts" is used it includes both the electromechanical and electromagnetic contacts.
The mechanical and electrical specifications of the cards are standardized, and one set of standards is published by ANSI, American National Standards Institute, 11 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036 under the title "Identification cards-Integrated circuits cards with contacts" ISO 7816-1 and ISO 7816-2. Such cards are manufactured by and are commercially available from several companies, including applicant's assignee, Gemplus Card International, avenue du Pic de Bertagne, Parc d'Activites de la Plaine de Jouques, 13420, Gemenos, France.
Proposed higher numbered parts to ISO 7816 deal with electrical signals and transmission protocols, interindustry commands for interchange numbering systems and registration procedure for application identifiers, interindustry data elements, etc. Certain applications of the card, e.g. in mobile telephones, and in financial transactions have their own standards. Telecommunication standards are defined by GSN, and financial transaction cards have proposed standards in ISO 9992 and 10202. There are sets of European standards from the European Telecommunication Standards Institute ETSI and the European Committee for Banking Standards ECBS, as well as the Commite Europeene de Normalisation CEDN.
In most countries, the ISO physical and electrical card size standards are used. The application standards are semi-standardized, and may have variations among providers of the goods or services. E.g., one group of banks may have one standard or convention for use of bank cards, while another group of banks might have a slightly different one. But these modifications are add ons to the various standardized applications, whether mobile telephone on the GSM, or electronic purse on EMV, or pay TV, etc. Each standard, must be rigidly adhered to by all systems operators, all terminals, and cards used in these applications It becomes difficult to add value to these standardized protocols, as the agreed to protocols must not be changed.
The term "transaction" is defined to mean any type of interchange between the smart card and a remote processing system (computer system). The interchange could be on-line or off-line depending on the application and security architecture of the interchange The access point is the point of service for the smart card. This could be an intelligent device with a smart card reader and communication capabilities
The development of microprocessor based smart card operating systems to date has been driven and limited by smart card international standards and specifications (for example ISO-IEC 7618, ETSI TE9 and EMV). The specifications define the functions or commands that the operating system should have in order to support the application segment to which it caters (e.g. the ISO-IEC 7816-4 defines commands for a general purpose operating system, or the EMV specifications, which define commands for a payment card). These operating systems usually provide a subset of standardized commands as well as commands proprietary to the smart card supplier. These commands normally provide smart card administrative commands as well as commands that add value to the operating system Administrative commands are needed to help manage the smart card life cycle. Value added commands allow solution providers to innovate and build new applications using the smart card, e.g. the payment based MPCOS card is often used in identification based applications. Traditional smart card operating systems are conservative in nature. They are small, and the number of value added functions is few. This is due in part to the long cycle time needed to mask an operating system into the smart card ROM. To allow modifications to these operating systems, software hooks for filters are normally provided by the operating system. A filter is a small piece of software code that is loaded into the smart card nonvolatile memory in the early stage of its life cycle. The filter extends the functionality of the operating system as it allows new commands to be accepted by the operating system. These commands are intercepted by the operating system and passed to the filter code to be executed. The process of developing and loading the filter requires intimate knowledge of the operating system and chip internals. The information needed to perform this task is usually confidential in nature. A filter may also permit looking into the internals of the operating system, thus, the loading and execution process is usually protected by cryptographic means.
With the increased use of smart cards and standard applications (for example GSM, EMV), more and more card issuers are looking towards value added functions to be added to a standard operating system. The filter type of process becomes ineffective, as it is too cumbersome. Coupled to this, there is an increased demand for more and more complex smart card acceptor devices, e.g. GSM handphones, or point of sales terminals, which are expected to accept and interact with a set of standard applications as well as the value added application,. the latter being inserted by the card issuer or acceptor device owner.
An aspect of the present invention is to permit easy addition of added value programs to the standardized application with no change to the accepted standards, and minimal or no change to the readers and central offices operating on the standard.
In operation, a card is inserted into a reader, also called terminal, interface device, or access point. Remote from the reader is a computer system, which performs the accounting, tracking of the cards and use of the cards, the goods and services provided by the cards, and supervision of the transactions between the cards and the readers. In the GSM telephone system, the remote computer is a telephone switch, which handles the call in addition to the payments for the calls, which are tied to the IC-cards.
It might be helpful to have a specific example for the present invention.
A multifunction smart card is one that can be used in two different applications, e.g. a pre-paid telephone card to make calls from a public telephone booth equipped with a reader; and an electronic "purse", to pay for purchases from self-service vending machines, such as gasoline from a gasoline pump, or candy from a vending machine.
In addition to the application transaction, it is desirable to permit the system to give added value to the card user when goods or services are purchased. For example, frequent flier miles might be given for each dollar of gasoline purchased, or points could be given for the purchase of a certain number of candy bars. The points would then be redeemable for a prize, e.g., an extra candy.
At the present time, when added value is to be given to a transaction, that added value is calculated in the reader or in the remote system and then transferred to the card. This has a number of disadvantages First, there is a security risk in transferring data between the card and the reader, and between the reader and the central computer. Encryption is used, but it adds to the complexity and cost of the overall operation The reader must be updated to provide the added value, e.g. points, or frequent flyer miles, which awards may change from time to time, and which may vary from card user to card user, thus potentially presenting a very complex reader calculation or central office calculation As goods and services are dispensed from a stand-alone gas pump or vending machine, without a real time link to a central computer, the calculation and the updating of the added value is moved to the vending machine to administer.
An object of the invention is to avoid the shortcomings of the prior art, and to facilitate the provision of value added features to smart cards, and to systems using smart cards.
Another object of the invention is to reduce card/reader interface complexity
A further object of the invention is to increase functionality of existing smart card applications with minimal changes in the readers
A further object of the invention is to allow application designers to easily add value in standard smart card based architecture, e.g. mobile telephone, GSM, electronic purse, EMV, pay TV, etc.
Another object of the invention, in a multifunction card, is to permit value added functions to be attached to one or more than one of the card applications
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a smart card with an elementary file having a first data element and a value added function; an operating system having a data element access function for sequencing to the elementary file, and a microprocessor for executing the data element and the value added function in accordance with the access function.
Another aspect is a method of programming and operating a smart card having added value functions In the method a data element is entered into card memory; the operating system in the card is set to access the data element; a value added function is linked to the card memory; and the value added function is linked to the data element so that the value added function is performed with the data element Further details of entering linking and operating are then defined
Another aspect is a smart card with a plurality of data elements in memory, a plurality of functions in memory, means for assigning one of the data elements as active, means for associating one of the functions with the active data element, so that the one function is seamlessly executed with active data element when the active data element is accessed The card has an input for receiving an external signal from outside the card to execute the one data element, and an operating system, which in response to the external signal coming from outside the card to execute one of the elements, commands an execution of the active data element, and thereby seamlessly also executes the added value function.
An aspect of the invention is a method for the use of ASSIGN and ASSOCIATE commands in a smart card to provide transparent transaction with seamless execution of an added value function with a highly standardized application.
The above and further advantages of the invention may be better understood by referring to the following description, with the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of part of a smart card structure
FIG. 2 is a further schematic block diagram of part of a smart card logical structure.
FIGS. 3 and 4 are variations of the smart card structure at different stages of organizing data in accordance with one embodiment of the invention
FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a typical smart card operating structure of the prior art.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing operation of a smart card according to the invention.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating another application
FIG. 1 shows a smart card having a processing unit 1, and communications circuitry and input-output contacts 2a. The card, has an operating system 3, usually ROM, a programmable memory 4, and a random access memory RAM for calculation 5. The operating system 3 manages the smart card as well as performs the application specific functions 6. The programmable memory is organized with a smart card that includes dedicated files and elementary files, and contains data elements 7 shown here with the legend Dl . . . Di . . . Dm. The data elements are stored in the elementary files. The elementary files may also contain processing instruction in code 8. In the more advanced multiapplication cards, the invention assigns specific data elements as active 9, and then associates an active data element with certain processing capabilities or added value functions. These are coordinated from the operating system 3. The operating system causes the associated value added function to be executed when the active data element is accessed. The value added function may be from the EF or may be from the OS itself. By linking the added value function to the data element, the added value function is performed in the card, while previously the added value function was performed in the reader or remote processing system, and then the results of that added value function were stored in the card. It should be noted that calculations performed within the card are much more secure from tampering, than when the function is calculated in the reader and transferred to the card.
FIG. 2 is a logical block diagram showing the data elements 7 in a file structure in a elementary file EF1. The added value functions 8 are stored in another elementary file EF2. Data element access functions Gl . . . Gk, are in the operating system 3. The card operating system and file structure of FIG. 2 has a master file MF and dedicated files, one of which DF1 is shown The master file MF is the root of the file structure In the example the dedicated file that is of interest is DF1 Under this data file DF1, data elements are defined. The elements are stored in the elementary file EF1 and EF2. In this application, let the elementary file that is of interest be EF1, and some added value functions of interest Fl . . . Fj . . . Fn, are stored in the elementary files EF2. Data element access functions, i.e. the access to the data elements are basic functions, and are defined in the operating system as shown in FIG. 2, and are listed as Gl . . . Gk.
In the example, on the purchase of gas, a value added function would award points when gasoline is purchased using the card. The data element Di would correspond to a charge in a credit card system, or a debit equal in amount to the gasoline purchased in a prepaid card system. The value added function Fj would correspond to the calculation and storage of a certain number of points (or frequent flier miles) corresponding to the gas bought. The card is to perform the value added function in a transparent manner, i.e. so that the terminal does not know that the points are being calculated and awarded. It is done entirely in the card.
In order to do this, the data element (e.g. purchase gas, Di) which is to trigger the value added function is an "active" data element. In the example the chosen element is Di stored in EP1. A command to perform the assignment of data element Di may be ASSIGN. On the command (ASSIGN, Di) Di's identity is copied into a repository This is shown in FIG. 3 where an additional repository EF3 has been set up and contains the data element Di.
Let the value added function (e.g. calculate and store points) that is to be executed when Di is accessed be Fj. When the command ASSOCIATE 1 (Di, Fj) is given, Fj's identity is copied to the repository in the same record as Di, i.e. to repository EF3 as shown in FIG. 4. Next, let the data element access function in the operating system that will cause Di to be executed be called Gk. Let the command to perform the second association between the data element and the access function be ASSOCIATE 2. When the command ASSOCIATE 2 (Di, Gk) is called to associate Di to Gk in this embodiment, Gk's identity is also copied to the repository in the same record as Di and Fj. The commands ASSOCIATE 1 and ASSOCIATE 2 could have been performed in a single step by a composite command ASSOCIATE that performed the 2 tasks together. At this stage the smart card is ready to perform transparent transaction processing This is also shown in FIG. 4.
When, in the example, the gas is being pumped and paid for, the data element Di and the added value function Fj are executed by the smart card operating system The application transaction flow been designated so that the sending of the command Gk references Di to the smart card. The reader may or may not have knowledge of the association between the data element Di and the value added function Fj, or the access function Gk. Once the command Gk is sent, and executed by the smart card operating system, Di and the added value function Fj will be executed Hence, the performing of the added value function is a transparent transaction proceeding without knowledge of the reader.
The smart card operating system, as shown in FIG. 5 accommodates the value added function and performs it transparently FIG. 5 shows a flow chart of a prior art smart card operating system The card responds to power, i.e. inserted into a reader, with a well defined start-up sequence frequently called an "answer-to-reset". This is shown as block OS1 After answer-to-reset, the operating system waits for a command from the reader, and this is shown in block OS2. When a response is received, the operating system parses the commands and checks in its function look-up table to see if it is a valid command. This is shown in OS3. If it is not a valid command, an error status is returned, and the operating system returns to block OS2. An example of a return signal would be using a prepaid card in a vending machine which does not accept that form of payment; or using a German telephone card in a French telephone booth. If the command is valid, e.g. the card is acceptable for this application, then the transaction proceeds. This is shown as OS4. After the transaction is completed, the operating system then returns to OS2. If the card is a multifunction card, there might be several branches extending down between OS2 to several OS3 and for each OS3 decision, there would be a corresponding OS4. Each of the commands will invoke common utility functions as buffer management, data checking, cryptographic functions stored in the operating system code, etc.
FIG. 6 shows a modified operating system with one aspect of the invention. Here, in FIG. 6, elements which are common to FIG. 6 bear the same legend. The power up sequence remains the same. The block OS2 remains the same. When a command is received, the operating system now parses it, checks first in its repository for several things. If the command is an access function, accessing an active data element, as shown in decision box TTP1, then the operating system proceeds to block TTP2. If the decision is negative, then the operating system proceeds to the original decision tree OS3 and proceeds as before. If the block TTP2 is activated, the data element Di and the associated added value function Fj the repository EF3 is executed. After execution the operating system returns to OS2.
The implementation of the decision in TTP1, for example, might forward the instruction to location of data element Di in the field 7 and when a data element is made active, a flag is set with a new address of Di in repository EF3. Alternatively, the operating system would look first at a location in repository EF3 where it might expect to find data element Di, if it is an active element. That location, if not an active element, might say "return to the operating system", so that the next step would be to go to data element Di in the elementary file EF1 As shown in FIG. 6, when a file is made an active file, the embodiment is to go from the operating system step OS2 to that active file branch as shown by TTP1.
In the present embodiment, the data element Di and the value added function Fj have been placed in a separate repository EF3. The data element Dl might be erased to save space in the memory, and the file reallocated. The value added function might also be erased, and the space reallocated, or might be saved for use with other data elements, i.e. different applications. An alternative would be to include addresses at the end of the data element Di and at the end of the value added function, leaving those two programs in their respective elementary files, EF1 and EF2. It should be noted that in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the data elements and the value added functions are shown in separate elementary files, but this is for convenience, and they may be arranged in any convenient or conventional matter within the memory. In foreseeable developments of smart card operating systems, the data elements coudl even be fileds of a database table or member elements of software objects Additionally, throughout the system, the operating system is shown in ROM. Some of the access functions, Gl . . . Gk may be stored in ROM, or in EEPROM. The choice as to what type of memory, ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM, depends to a large extent upon the volume of cards to be made for each application, and for each added value function For small runs, EPROM or EEPROM is presently more desirable For very large runs, ROM is preferred
The value added functions Fl . . . Fj . . . Fn may be entirely or partially entered into the card at the time of manufacture and shipment from the card manufacturing company, or may be added by the system's operator at the time of initializing the card and shipping it to the user. Alternatively, if the card needs to be verified or entered into the system, and the PIN number entered, etch, some or all of the added value functions might be entered at that time During the life of the card, the added value functions might be changed, added to, or removed, depending on the added value program that is currently of interest, e.g. additional bonus points might be given for a period of time when there is low usage of the underlying product to stimulate additional use of that product, or in certain geographical areas, e.g. at certain gas pumps, additional frequent flyer miles might be given to encourage sales of a new product coming into that area.
Let us look now at a practical use of the present invention. This example illustrates a design cycle and how the invention can bring about added benefits, not only to the card user, but to the overall system, and the system operator. Consider a provider of goods or services, e.g. selling gasoline against a prepaid smart card. The smart card user inserts his card into a reader on the gasoline pump. The card is verified, and thereafter a certain amount of gasoline is transferred to the card user's automobile. As the gas is being metered out, the value of the gas is subtracted from the card, a record is kept at the pump, and later transmitted to a central office, and the filling station gets money for the gas delivered. Suppose the filling station or the gasoline company wants to start a loyalty program in which card user who uses this brand of gasoline, and/or this particular station receives a bonus point or frequent flier mile for each quantity of gasoline purchased. The gasoline bonus point or frequent flier miles are based, in this example upon three variables, the amount of gasoline purchased $X, the type of account, and the salary of the card user. Thus, every time the card user makes a purchase of $X, he is awarded Y points based on a formula: Y (points)=F ($X, account type, salary). Prior to applicant's invention, the calculation of the Y points was conducted in the reader on the pump. If the pump was a stand alone pump not connected in real time to a central computer, then the program for performing the calculation was stored in the reader or in the pump. If on line, the calculation might be performed at a central computer. The typical sequence of steps include the following.
The supplier of the smart card to the customer would define the requirements of the value added program, and each smart card would contain the user's profile, e.g. account type, salary, and other information, and a counter for points.
The manufacturer of the reader, or other party would modify the reader at the pump to produce an application set around the added value function. When the card was inserted, the following steps would typically be:
Reset card
Read application data
Do cross authentication
Based on the $X transaction, calculate Y(points)=F($X
account type, salary)
Increase the counter by Y
Update log file, etc. . . .
In an implementation according to the example of the invention, the following steps would be performed.
The provider of the card would do an initialization, including mapping based upon the requirements.
The smart card would contain the user's profile (account type, salary, etc.) and a counter for points.
A function Fj is designated that will calculated Y(points)=F($X, account type, salary); and which will increase the counter by Y.
The function is associated with data element Di.
The reader in the pump does not have to be changed or modified to provide the loyalty program, and performs the functions of:
Reset card
Read application data
Do cross on authentication
Perform update $X
Update log file, etc. . . .
The first benefit is that the complexity of the application is transferred from the terminal to the smart card. If the profile of the customer, and the variables on which the points are to be awarded, is complex, the terminal application has to contain many conditions and much calculation. For example, if different amounts of points are to be awarded on different types of accounts, and salary, e.g. type 1 and salary <X, then do this.
If account type=type 2 and salary <Y, then do that.
Or, if the account type=3 and salary <XYZ, then do something else, etc. This can be transferred into the smart card when the condition checking and execution is done. Better still, classes of functions can be created so that card with, let us say, account type 1, will be loaded with function 1, and given to a card holder who is an account type 1 similarly, cards with account type 2 will be loaded with function 2, and given to card holders with account type 2, etc.
After the application is launched and the environment changes, changes to the value added program may need to be done. If the calculation is done in the reader/terminal, it is often difficult to change the formulas inside the terminal. What is required as times change and new programs are installed is to issue new cards with additional data elements; importantly the same terminals, e.g. pumps, are unchanged and can be used unchanged. Also, in areas where the terminals are spread over a very large geographic area, persons might travel to areas where the added value is not in the pump readers, so that it becomes important to have the program entered into the cards.
For example, let us say that the oil company now wants to include a fourth variable into the card for calculating points, and that a new function is needed to take this into account, e.g. Y points=G ($X, account type, salary, and status (new)). The new cards can work with the pump terminals, without changes to the terminals, and this implement the new application with the new cards. Better still, if the cards are of the type which can load in new functions dynamically, i.e. remote update, then the new application can be introduced in the field into existing cards, and provide users with the benefits straight away. The dynamically loading of new functions could be performed either at selected pumps, or in the event of a multifunction card, which works off an ATM, as most pre-payment cards do, then at the ATM machine. Also, the old card, unchanged, would still work, i.e. calculate points until updated.
As a further illustration consider the use of the invention as a system where script processing is supported (for example GSM Phas 2 with ESMS or EMV version 2 qand above terminal requirements) This is especially important as it allows `globalization` of applications. The EMV processing is shown in FIG. 7. Here, there is an application selection 72 to initiate application processing 74, and a read application data 76. There is a branch to terminal risk management shown in block 78. Another branch is to a static data authentication 80, followed by a processing restriction 82, and a card holder verification 84. The two branches merge at a terminal action analysis 86, followed by a card action analysis 88. A card on line decision is then made at 90. If on line, the process proceeds to an on line processing 92. This processing is then completed 94, and followed by an issuer-to-card script processing 96. Going back to the card on line decision 90, if it is to be done off line, then the completion is done as shown in box 98.
In a prior art system, only terminals acquired by the customer can perform the whole transaction Suppose that now we are in the EMV environment and that terminals in that environment support script processing (compulsory in EMV2.0 and VIS). The processing flow is shown in FIG. 7. Note that in the EMV context the card can be configured so that on line processing is performed periodically During the script processing, the issuer host, issues commands to the card through the terminal Using the example above the command: Update (ZZ,$X) will cause the application to be executed without the terminal being aware of it.
The functions or commands to create active data elements Di and/or tags to designate a data element as active and/or privileged locations in the smart card to store the active data elements would all be protected by access security functions.
Similarly, the functions or commands to load the value added functions into the smart card file structure or memory and the locations of those functions would also be protected by access security functions.
Functions or commands to associate the value added function to the active data elements and/or privilege locations in the smart card memory to show this association would also be protected by access conditions.
Functions and locations of functions of the basic operating system could also be designated as value added functions to make use of the transparent processing ability.
Additionally, functions or commands to associate the normal access functions to active data elements, and/or privilege locations in the smart card memory to show this location The association also reflects the security requirements needed to execute the access function.
Further, functions in the operating system that will allow the value added function to execute when the active data elements are accessed by the associated access functions and the security requirements have been satisfied
Functions in the operating system that will provide the results and/or proof of execution of a value added function, are protected by access conditions and/or cryptographic certificates The access conditions use pass words or PINs or encrypted passwords, encrypted PINS, or cryptographic certificates. Preferably, the encryption used is the DES (data encryption standard algorithm), or triple-DES, or RSA algorithm. Preferably, the cryptographic certificates are generated using the DES algorithm or the triple-DES or RSA algorithm with a standard hashing/function SHA or MDS, or a signature algorithm like DSA or SCHNORR signature. The smart card file structure for example may be a subset of the ISO-IEC standard 7816-4 file structure. The data elements may be tagged using ISO-JEC standard 7816-6. In the future the data elements could be identified as a field of a database table in the card or a member element of a class object.
The ASSIGN instruction typically takes a file, e.g. file Di, from memory and moves it to RAM for execution. The ASSIGN instruction typically takes a data element e.g. Di, from its location and copies it or its reference in the system into a repository that is typically a file. The ASSOCIATE instruction typically takes a function e.g. Fj from its reference in the system and copies it into the same repository linking it to the Di reference. In the present example, the data element Di would be associated with the added value Fj.
As a variation, several value added functions may be stored in memory during the card initialization by the issuer, for example, Fi, Fj and Fk. In this case, new value added functions can be activated when the needs arise without on-line loading.
For an example of how these instructions work consider an IC payment or purse card, which is a multifunction card. Part of its functions include its ability to be used at three different gas stations, Exxon, Texaco and Shell.
Assume that all three gas stations accept payment from an electronic purse card, i.e. money or value is stored in the card electronically, and removed as the gas is pumped. The Exxon station gives bonus points. The Texaco station does not give bonus points. The third station, Shell gives a different type of bonus points. The cards are purchased by drivers, or persons wishing to purchase gas. Loading of money to the card is done through a conventional procedure i.e. on line to the card issuer after guarantee payment has been performed. It is assumed that pumps have been installed with the purse debiting program. It is also assumed that for Exxon pumps a field B1 is assigned to hold bonus points and that a function Update(D1,Data) will be executed during the course of the transaction. Likewise the Shell pumps the field B2 and a function Update(D3,Data). It is assumed that Exxon will have a bonus award function F1 worked out with the card issuer, Shell F2 and Texaco has none worked out for the moment. F1 will update the bonus point field B1, and F2 B2.
When the card is first inserted to a card reader, for example, an Exxon pump, the card reader will perform an on-line dial-up to the card issuer. During the exchange between the card issuer system and the card, the card issuer host will first create the data element D1 and download the function F1 to the card's memory. Next the host will perform an ASSIGN of D1 and then an ASSOCIATE of D1 to F1. The ASSIGN D1 command will copy the D1 reference into the card repository and the ASSOCIATE D1 to F1 command will associate the value added function F1 to the data element D1. This function F1 will increment the field B1 in the card based on the amount of money or the amount of gas and other variable, e.g. the card holder's salary, or geographical, or whether he is a preferred customer or not. When a pump transaction takes place, money from the card is debited. The pump then issues the command Update(D1,data). At this point, the card operating system will sequence execution to the function F1. The bonus point field B1 will then be increased accordingly.
When the card is inserted into a Shell card reader for the first time, the same sequence of steps takes place. The card issuer host will create D2, download F2 to memory, ASSIGN D2 and ASSOCIATE D2 to F2. The function F2 will increment the field B2 in the card based on some other profile that Shell has worked out.
Since no application has been designed with Texaco, when the card is inserted into a Texaco card reader for the first time, no dial-up takes place. Supposing after some time, Texaco decides to start its own bonus program It shall design a bonus function F3. The dial-up sequence in the Texaco card reader is then activated. When the card is inserted into a Texaco card reader for the first time, the sequence of steps described above will then take place. The card issuer host will create D3 and download the function F3 to memory, then ASSIGN D3 and ASSOCIATE D3 to F3.
It should be noted that with the present arrangement, there will exist 3 different value added function associated to 3 different data elements for a card that is used in 3 different gasoline suppliers It is within the scope of the invention to allow the same value added function to be assigned to different data elements For example if Shell and Texaco have agreed to an identical award function F4, the card issuer would have performed ASSOCIATE D2 to F4 and ASSOCIATE D3 to F4 in the sequence described above.
It is also within the scope of the invention to change the value added functions for a particular supplier. Suppose that after some trial period, Exxon finds that its value added function F1 is not effective enough, and that a new function F5 will be able to perform better For new cards, the same sequence of steps takes place, except that the card issuer host will issue the command perform ASSOCIATE Dl to F5. For existing cards, the card issuer host can foe example during an on-line exchange for loading, load the new function F5 into the space occupied by the previous function F1 in the card.
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Famed billionaire Tom Perkins has compared anti-inequality rhetoric to Nazism. This is obviously wrong. It's factually wrong. It's disastrously wrong. It is infantile. It is also offensive. All true.
Tom Perkins is not just a billionaire, he is a co-founder of one of the most storied venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, he is a titan of American capitalism. And this makes his comments news, especially since he has doubled down on them. True, true.
But here's the thing: Tom Perkins is a long-retired old man who has no active role in business or public life anymore. And that makes me want to say: let he who has never said anything stupid in a public forum cast the first stone.
Here's why I'm writing about this. I don't think I'm the only one who's noticed that our media ecosystem has devolved into an endless cycle of outrage, where one person or group is held out to the community as an object of rebuke.
One of the most tragic parts of this phenomenon is that to merely point out that this is happening and deploring it is construed as defending the actions of the one being rebuked. Of course, that's part of the problem.
History and myth tell us that scapegoating is a social phenomenon as old as society itself, and that we always partake of it. And history and myth tell us that we all enjoy a bit of scapegoating–until we ourselves are the scapegoat. And that any of us can be the scapegoat. It should be possible to say that scapegoating is wrong even when what the scapegoat did was wrong.
Yes, what Tom Perkins said was disastrously wrong. Yes, it's newsworthy, because he's a prominent figure. He's also a human being like you who errs and makes mistakes. He's not Monty Burns, he's Grandpa Simpson. So let's please move to the next round of outrage.
And if you construe this post as defending Tom Perkins or his views, I'm sorry for you.

subset: commoncrawl


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Celebrity couple Jude Law and Sienna Miller have broken up just six weeks after buying an £8 million North London home together.
The split was announced by Law's spokesman on Tuesday (February 8).
A rumour of a secret relationship between Miller and Joe Armstrong, her co-star in the West End play Flare Path, has been denied by her spokesperson.
Jude and Sienna got together on the set of the film Alfie in 2003 and got engaged in 2004. However they never married, and in 2005 Law issued a public apology to Miller for an affair with his children's nanny.
The romance was rekindled in 2009, and in December last year they moved into a huge Grade II listed London home together.
Miller now has no legal right to remain in the property, as Law's name is on the title deeds. Reports suggest she will move back into her West London home, which was put on the market, but has not yet been sold.
Currently there are few legal rights for cohabiting couples. Whether they rent or own their home, if one partner's name is on the paperwork, the other has no right to a share of the property, or to continue to live there. This does not change if one partner contributes to childcare or other costs.
Last Friday (4 February) Nicholas Wall, head of the UK family law division, told the Times he believed cohabiting couples should have greater legal protection. Until the law is reviewed, couples can protect themselves by drawing up a Living Together Agreement.
When buying a property, they can ask to be named on the title deeds as 'joint tenants', or as 'tenants in common', making a significant difference to their rights.
Related articles
Jude Law and Sienna Miller split (Evening Standard)
Making a 'living-together agreement' (Findlaw.co.uk)
How is living together different from being married? (Findlaw.co.uk)
Find a UK solicitor in your area. (Findlaw.co.uk)


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(A) A nursing home or hospital may appeal the fee assessed under section 5168.42 of the Revised Code, as adjusted under section 5168.44 or 5168.45 of the Revised Code, and redetermined under section 5168.48 of the Revised Code solely on the grounds that the department of medicaid committed a material error in determining or redetermining the amount of the fee. A request for an appeal must be received by the department not later than fifteen days after the date the department mails the notice of the fee and must include written materials setting forth the basis for the appeal.
(B) If a nursing home or hospital submits a request for an appeal within the time required under division (A) of this section, the department shall hold a public hearing in Columbus not later than thirty days after the date the department receives the request for an appeal. The department shall, not later than ten days before the date of the hearing, mail a notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing to the nursing home or hospital. The department may hear all the requested appeals in one public hearing.
(C) On the basis of the evidence presented at the hearing or any other evidence submitted by the nursing home or hospital, the department may adjust a fee. The department's decision is final.
Renumbered from § 3721.55 by 130th General Assembly File No. 25, HB 59, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2013.
Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.28, HB 153, §101.01, eff. 7/1/2011.
Amended by 128th General AssemblyFile No.9, HB 1, §101.01, eff. 7/1/2009, op. 7/17/2009.
Effective Date: 07-01-2000


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Book Launch -- Black Earth: A Journey through Russia after the Fall
At a recent Kennan Institute book launch, Andrew Meier, contributor, Time Europe, and former Fellow, Woodrow Wilson Center, discussed his new book, Black Earth: A Journey through Russia after the Fall. Meier spent nearly a decade as a journalist in Moscow, where he frequently met with the criticism that "Moscow-based journalists don't really know Russia." In response to this criticism, he traveled to the far ends of the country, stopping in St. Petersburg, Chechnya, Norilsk in the far north, and the island of Sakhalin just off of Russia's eastern coastline. In Black Earth, Meier tells his stories of these places and the people who live in them.
Meier explained that he wanted his book to belong to a somewhat different genre than that of the memoirs that foreign correspondents almost inevitably write at the end of their tenure in Moscow. He noted that Black Earth is not the story of his own experiences in Russia, but rather a picture of Russia itself. Meier also commented that although the research for the book was done in Russia, he did most of the writing in the U.S., and this helped him to avoid becoming too close to his subject and maintain a balanced perspective.
Meier provided a sampling of his journey in Russia by reading a few excerpts from his book. He began with an excerpt from his travels in Chechnya. He explained that Russian troops frequently conduct "mop-up" operations in the republic, entering a village, demanding that residents show their documents, and often arresting young men. He told the story of one such operation, passed on to him by a Chechen woman from the village of Aldy. The Russian soldiers who were rounding up the villagers were drunk, violent, and so out of control that their own commander was more afraid of them than he was of the Chechens.
Meier also read an excerpt about Norilsk – a desolate city of over 100,000 located deep in the Arctic tundra and formerly a Soviet prison camp. In Norilsk he met former prisoners and the children and grandchildren of prisoners. Life in the far north is very difficult and many people have moved away, but Meier found that some residents also take great pride in their city and feel a sense of accomplishment for having helped build this island in the tundra.
Speaking of his time in St. Petersburg, however, Meier focused on the city's disappointed hopes. St. Petersburg, he explained, had seemed well positioned to take full advantage of the Soviet collapse and become a prosperous center of commerce and culture. Instead, the city grew decrepit and corrupt and became famous as the "criminal capital" of Russia.
Meier's final excerpt focused on Moscow and the dramatic changes Russia has experienced since the time of perestroika. When he asked about the changes of the past and the possibilities for the future, Meier found a mixture of hope and despair. He noted that he was continually surprised by his Russian friends and contacts and their assessments of the state of their country.


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America's Next Top Model
ANTM Cycle 10's Fatima Siad Debuts Herve Leger Campaign (PHOTO)
The news that America's Next Top Model Cycle 10 beauty Fatima Siad had scored a high-fashion campaign proved two stereotypes incorrect: that a Top Model only goes on to get a few low-key modeling jobs before fading from the spotlight, and that Tyra Banksalways knows best when it comes to those infamous makeovers.
Fatima, who came in third during her Cycle and ultimately lost to plus-size model Whitney Thompson, announced that she had scored the big shot job in October 2011. But the actual shot finally debuted recently, and it's a winner.
Fatima has already walked the runways of Dries Van Noten and Hermes, but with this Herve Leger (famous for their trend-resistant, celebrity-friendly "bandage dresses") campaign, she is now making the big bucks associated with jet-setting Tyra-level supermodels. We're always happy to see a Top Model succeed — especially one who resembles Ty Ty herself.
Source: New York Magazine
Get your ANTM fix: Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter.


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Wet sanding is a method of sanding that can be used to make rough surfaces have a smooth mirror-like shine. In this case it is paint on your car.
This method can be used if you've recently repaired damage to your paint, put clear coat on or simply want to remove that ugly factory orange peal.
**For this tutorial I used a bumper cover with an extremely low quality and thin paint job. It is not the factory paint/clear coat which is much thicker. This will allow me to demonstrate some error, since I plan on re-painting the bumper cover anyway.
Reasons you may wet sand:
- Repair deep scratches
- Remove factory orange peal
- Smooth recent paint or clear coat
Things you will need:
- Sand paper 320 (optional), and wet sandable 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit
- Rubbing compound
- Meguiars Scratch X (optional) or Scratch X 2.0 (optional)
- Car Polish
- Good quality wax
- Large bucket
WARNING: This process removes some of your car's clear coat. If you're doing this process to your factory paint it will be extra important to keep wax on your car to help protect your diminished clear coat. If you are uncomfortable undertaking this process than it is not recommended.
Step 1:
This step is optional, only perform this step if there is severe damage or defect to the paint. Using 320 grit sand paper will rapidly remove clear coat and paint, but also rapidly smooth any uneven spots. If this is not the case for you, skip to step 2.
WARNING: Always use a dust mask which meets the NIOSH N95 standard when dry sanding any material.
If you have a surface which looks like the below picture you may consider starting your project with 320 grit sand paper.
Begin sanding, in a circular motion, until the majority of the surface defects are removed. The pictures show straight sanding which works pretty well, but ciruclar is better.
(Figure 2: Dry sanded with 320 grit)
As you can see your paint looks considerably worse than when you started. This can be rather intimidating, but don't be to scared. Besides, it is to late now to go back .
Step 2:
Next fill your bucket with water, you will need a fair amount of water to complete the process depending on the size of the area you are sanding. Thoroughly wet your sanding surface and your wet sandable type 800 grit sand paper. If this is your first step begin sanding your work area in a circular direction (unlike pictures). If you performed step 1, than begin sanding your previous work, but expand slightly beyond the previous section to ensure you remove any of the previous scratches.
Do not sand to quickly, you will only tire yourself out and put friction burns in your paint creating more work for yourself. Also do not use to much pressure. Make sure your work surface stays very wet, this will help lubricate your sanding, prevent friction burns to the paint, and keep dust out of the air.
WARNING: Be very careful around raised areas, edges of fascia and lips. These areas are prone to rapid wearing and you will more quickly sand through clear coat or paint. In the next image I have purposefully done this as demonstration. You can see some primer beginning to show on the center ridge of the bumper cover.
(Figure 3: Wet sanded with 800 grit)
Step 3:
Begin wet sanding your work area with 1000 grit wet sandable paper. Expand the work area slightly to ensure you remove all scratches from the previous grade paper. Use plenty of water, and take your time.
(Figure 4: Wet sanded with 1000 grit)
Step 4:
Continue the process of the previous two steps with 1500 grit, and then 2000 grit paper until scratches from previous grade papers are removed. Sanding with anything over 2000 grit is pointless.
Your surface will look considerably smoother, but will still look rather hazy and unappealing.
(Figure 5: Wet sanded with 1500 and 2000 grit paper)
Step 5:
This is the final portion of the process which will give you a perfect shine. Use a fair amount of rubbing compound on your work area, don't be afraid to use to much, after-all you did just use sandpaper on your paint… I followed the rubbing compound with Meguiars Scratch X, but you don't have to, then polish and Meguiars Gold Class wax.
If you did everything correctly there should be no orange peel, no scratches and a perfectly smooth mirror like finish.


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Soaps Boards :: Passions Forum :: It better happen
Please register and login to be able to post in this message board.
Quote Teenie:I agree,especially the last sentence. Ethan and Teresa are the main ones talking about follow whats in your heart or you know my heart crap. yet they seem too always think the opposite of what each other would do. Some fated connection they got.
make it happen with teresa and ethan. Sure they need to be toghether.....I do not see them together. He lies about his vows...she lies about anything and everything. Seems like the only truth ethan and teresa know is the bedroom. They have no clue about each other.
Quote Marleysmommy2006: I keep having these panicked feelings that by the end of the show Ethan and Theresa still will not be together. I think I'm traumatized from all the years getting geared up for them to get together and stay together, only for them to be ripped apart again. It just seems too good to be true. I won't even know how it turns out because I can't get sattelite and I'm only on a 20 day free trial from aol right now. Someone should volunteer to phone me when it happens, but no one probably will.
I know you joking about being traumatized right??? you have been watch Passions for the pass 9 years right? You should be familiar with the written style and able to expect the unexpected when it comes to Passions. Annnnnd I know you aint offering too exchange phone numbers cuz for the looks of some of these ppl they are not wrap to tight or their elevator don't go all the way to the top floor. Please Don't do it, I don't wanna see you on here telling how crazy so and so is cuz they calling you 10 times a day calling you all kinda names but the child of god. lol or they saying it about you
Quote Dj_2008: all4babe,
You are so right about Ethan and Theresa getting together
it will never happening. All theses triangles will not end.
It just drives me crazy with these dreams where they get together and it is a stupid dream!! So I am sure it will happen again!!! Donna have a happy 4th of July!
They are meant to be........somehow it has not happpened? Sad.
Teresa mention to Ethan's so call Dad Julian.....she had an envelope..... Hey Juian, we all knew that Fancy is the one...she had no idea and still don't. She saw Teresa trying smothering her gramps with a pillow? Fancy saw this...
I agree with everyone. Also, Ms.HuNNi, I agree with you, and I don't have to worry about that now because my sis lives with my mom now and is home to whatch passions and I will give her a tape to record it for me. I mean you have now idea how lucky I feel, I only found out yesterday that my mom haS directTV, I thought she had the other one.
Teenie, can you tell me more about Fancy seeing Theresa smother Alistar with a pillow? I don't think I saw this.
Quote Marleysmommy2006: Teenie, can you tell me more about Fancy seeing Theresa smother Alistar with a pillow? I don't think I saw this.
I'm not Teenie, but I do recall a scene in Alistars bedroom where Theresa tried to smother him with a pillow. This is when he had been brutally raping her, after they had married.
AlaNurse..What a beautiful doggy in your avatar!! Is he/she yours??
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Bradley in CA
I was concerned the pads would be too bulky but they aren't. I'm a 32 waist and would get the medium next time. Large fits but a little loose. A must have if you like to go down a lot.Read All Reviews
DOUG in CA
It's a really nice size, but that's about all that was good. We looked for a long time, and never found a place for the bladder hose to exit, as was advertised. The waist strap also did not work, as one side did not have the right type of buckle, so it would never tighten. very disappointing TECH NOTE: BLADDER HOSE EXIT IS ON THE RIGHT SHOULDER STRAP.Read All Reviews
Andrew in AZ
These are great shorts and amazing durability.Read All Reviews
CASEY in UT
works like it is supposed to and is holding up fineRead All Reviews
Craig in VIC
These are very loose fit on the lower leg, and perfect on the upper. Expected a better fit!Read All Reviews


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Hundreds of thousands took to the streets Sunday in downtown Vancouver for the annual event
Vancouver partied like it was 1989 on Saturday night, as Taylor Swift's world tour made a stop at BC Place. See photos from the show here.
Great travel photos from around the world
Island-hopping Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao in the Caribbean is not quite as easy as ABC, but is definitely possible and certainly rewarding.
It doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg these days to take a cruise, although the twenty foot-plus crocodile which we encountered on the Tarcoles River...


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Sept. 8, 2007
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --- The University of New Mexico baseball team had a special visitor at fall practice on Friday, Sept. 7 - New Mexico Hall of Honor inductee Mark Johnson. Johnson shared stories of his days as a Lobo and as one of the winningest collegiate baseball coaches in the nation.
Johnson, in town for the 2007 New Mexico Hall of Honor ceremonies on Thursday, Sept. 6, is currently in his second season as the head coach at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.
Johnson is a graduate of the University of New Mexico where he received his bachelor's degree in science and physical education in 1967 and his master's degree in Recreation and Physical Education in 1971. He earned All-Conference honors as a member of the Lobos' baseball team in 1965, 1966, and 1967 and was NCAA All-Region in 1967.
After playing professional baseball in the Mets organization from 1967 to 1969, Johnson served as an assistant coach at New Mexico (1969 to 1971), Arizona (1971 to 1976), and Mississippi State (1976 to 1982) before joining Tom Chandler's staff at Texas A&M in 1982.
In his first season at Sam Houston State, the Bearkats had one of the three best turn-around seasons in NCAA Division I baseball in 2007. SHSU rolled up a 40-24 record, a improvement of 17 victories over SHSU's 23-31 record in 2006.
The 40 victories were the most by a Sam Houston State team since 1987 when the Kats won 44. The Bearkats' fourth place Southland Conference regular season finish earn SHSU its first SLC playoff berth since 2000 and was the team's best league finish since 1997.
Sam Houston rolled undefeated through the 2007 Southland Conference post-season tournament to earn its first NCAA Division I national playoff berth since 1996. With thrilling come-from-behind victories over Troy and Southern Mississippi, Sam Houston reached the NCAA regional finals for the first time in its four NCAA Division I playoff appearances.
The Bearkats broke or tied 16 school records in 2007 including the university's highest season batting average (.315).
During the 2007 season, Johnson picked up his 900th career coaching victory and now owns a lifetime collegiate head coaching record of 916 victories, 457 losses, and three ties in 20 years.
For 19 years, Johnson was head coach at Texas A&M where he directed the Aggies to two NCAA College World Series appearances and a record of 876 victories, 433 losses, and three ties.
Johnson served as head baseball coach at Texas A&M from 1986 to 2005. He won Southwest Conference championships in 1986, 1989, and 1993 and Big 12 league titles in 1998 and 1999. His teams competed in the NCAA playoffs 13 times, making 13 NCAA regional appearances and reaching the College World Series in 1993 and 1999.
Johnson was Sporting News National Coach of the Year in 1993 and is a member of both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Texas Baseball Hall of Fames.


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HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah , Jan. 11, 2006 – A new earpiece is about to be implemented among Hill's F-16 pilots affording them better hearing protection and an improved mission focus.
The 4th Fighter Squadron's "Fighting Fuujins" will receive the new Attenuating Custom Communication Earpiece System this month. The earpiece was developed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base by the Battle Space Acoustics Department. The Department is part of the Air Force Research Laboratory's Human Effectiveness Directorate.
"The new system should increase communication intelligibility for our pilots," said Capt. Eydin Hansen, Aerospace physiologist with the 75th Aerospace Medicine Squadron. "Currently the pilots are using foam earplugs and headsets with speakers that offer 8-12 decibels of protection, while sacrificing communication intelligibility."
Currently, pilots are having a hard time hearing tones, many associated with air traffic controllers and ground-based controllers.
The new earplug system costs less than $600 per person and is made from deep ear canal impressions from the pilots.
It has a speaker system giving the pilots something similar to that used with an iPod, ultimately providing better clarity while giving them 25 to 30 decibels of protection. This technology was initially designed for the ground crews and then adapted for the state-of-the-art F-22A Raptor.
Hill pilots are excited to be using the next generation of hearing protection and communications device in the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Capt. Dax Cornelius, 4th Fighter Squadron Demo Team member, said that while performing he experiences violent negative and positive G-forces and most of the time his earplugs tend to fall out.
"We'll be flying with one plug in and one out," he said. "It can be very distracting to have the radio blast in one ear and not in the other," said Cornelius. "This new system is really going to allow us to focus on the mission rather than the peripherals."


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Sunday, March 21, 2010
Why the Hell is Barack Obama Still Talking about Tiger Woods?
Politics are strange. When discussing them, I fall under this guise -- "man that has strong opinions but doesn't like to share them or argue about them because it leads to absolutely nothing but bad things." It is like texting when you're drunk. Nothing good ever happens from it, and most of the time you wake up in the morning scratching your head, wondering what the hell you actually said to get you to this point.
But I'll admit I'm a fan of Barack Obama. Like most politicians, he is likable to a fault. Drinks beer, likes sports, is super smart and seems to want things to actually get better. I'm sure half the readers will disagree, and that's fine. It doesn't pain me that we have difference of opinions. When Eve decided on that apple, people began disagreeing and here we are.
What I think needs to be said, however, is this -- Obama needs to chill on things like this Tiger Woods issue. He has spoken of it twice, with the latest being in an interview with Fox Sports were Barack said he still thinks Tiger is a "fantastic" golfer.
Fact -- Tiger is still a fantastic golfer. We all know this. Just because he stuck his peg in more holes than a Lite Bright doesn't mean it is going to affect his swing or putting stroke. Sure, it might shake him mentally, but when speaking of golf, he is still going to be terrific.
I just don't get why Barack has to say anything at all. His job isn't to give advice on sports figures, and on something this touchy, it seems almost irresponsible. At this point I could say something like, "he has so many other things to worry about," but we all know that isn't realistic. Of course he is going to have some thoughts on Tiger, because in the sense of public issues, it was tops in the last three months. I just wish Obama would keep the thoughts to himself, so we don't have to hear more barking about the president being behind a guy like Tiger, or whatever the GOP would like to say on this issue.
Okay, rant over. Back to fun stuff. Anyone interested in a golden shower?
4 comments:
- Superficial said...
I think Obama is probably part of the new breed of politician, who is as much celebrity as they are leaders and statesmen. You could ask why he did a televised Women's BB bracket, or why he was in the booth at an NFL game the Sunday before the election.
He seems to really, really enjoy being famous and talking sports with people. This is just the latest occasion.
- March 21, 2010 at 2:49 PM
- AppleDawg said...
I don't see anything wrong with Obama discussing it. Is he not allowed to state his opinion on this matter?
I find it better that Obama is telling us how he really feels than previous Presidents just not saying anything or lying about how they hope both teams do well or something
- March 21, 2010 at 3:49 PM
- Patricia Hannigan said...
I assumed he was asked about it. Right? And just responded... as opposed to saying, "I'd prefer not to talk about it." BTW, do they still make Lite Brite? That was my favorite toy.
- March 21, 2010 at 10:55 PM
- Roody said...
My guess is someone asked him his opinion about Tiger. Regardless, him simply saying that "Tiger is a fantastic golfer" isn't exactly dicey conversation either. If he were to comment on Tiger's "transgressions", that might be something more worthy of throwing darts at.
- March 22, 2010 at 5:15 AM


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The Department of Aeronautics produces a quarterly newsletter, annual audited financial statements, and an annual profile to
keep members of the community up-to-date on happenings at GFIA. Copies of these and other publications are available in electronic
(.pdf) format.
Airport Connections | Report to the Community | Financial Reports | Master Plan Update | Archives of Older Publications
( These documents require the Adobe Acrobat - Click .)
Airport Connections
Airport Connections is the free quarterly newsletter of the Gerald R. Ford International Airport. Airport Connections is published by the Kent County Department of Aeronautics. Airport Connections highlights events and services at GFIA.
Spring 2015
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If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe to the Airport Connections mailing list via the USPS, please click
here or call the Department of Aeronautics at 616-233-6000 (option 7).
If you would like to e-subscribe to Airport Connections, send us an email request.
report to the community
The Report to the Community is an annual publication produced each spring and contains information relating to airport developments, business practices, and finances. Each edition recaps the previous year's activities and shares information about the coming year's projects and goals.
Download a copy below, or contact the Kent County Department of Aeronautics at 616-233-6000 to request a printed copy be mailed to you.
2015 Report to the Community
2015 Report to the Community
Previous editions of the Report can be found from our Archives page.
Financial Reports
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The Video Guy
Started more than nine years ago at The Olympian, The Video Guy column is a weekly look at films from a "regular guy's" perspective. I have no formal training as a critic, other than I've seen a lot of movies and have a lot of opinions, but I'll do my best to give you an idea of what's out there and whether it's worth your time.
Monthly Archive for March, 2011
Quick take: The Resident
I guess no actor is immune to appearing in questionable movies. How else can you explain two-time Oscar winner Hillary Swank showing up in the pedestrian, cliche-ridden THE RESIDENT (R, 1 1/2 stars)? Seriously, when a movie featuring an established star goes straight to DVD (after the obligatory contractual release in one or two theatres), […] [Read More]
New release roundup: The serious stuff
Like many of his other films, Clint Eastwood's HEREAFTER (PG-13, 3 1/2 stars) is an understated look at a serious subject – in this case, death and the afterlife. And like many of his other films, Eastwood has taken a sensational topic and created an anti-Hollywood take on the material. Aside from the stunning (if […] [Read More]
Black Swan: Dance with the devil
I realize I'm not the only hacky film critic to make this connection, but in a lot of ways BLACK SWAN (R, 3 1/2 stars) reminds me of Dario Argento's 1977 horror classic "Suspiria," which also uses ballet as the milieu for an unsettling descent into darkness. While "Suspiria" drifts off into cheese during its denouement, […] [Read More]
Jackass 3: The title says it all
I don't think it's necessary to spend 800 words getting into the deep symbolic meaning and artistic precursors to be found in "Jackass 3D." Your enjoyment of the film will boil down to several simple questions. Do you like to see people getting hit in the junk? Can you stomach having feces fly at you […] [Read More]


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I'm not supposed to be eating gluten…or bacon
So, it's been about 2 ½ weeks since I started thinking about/working toward/figuring out how to get healthy. Gym membership, check! Support of family and friends, check! Cute workout clothes, double check!! Healthy eating plan…no check. Why is it so hard to eat healthy? I have always heard "if it tastes good, it's probably not good for you." Is that true? Can't be. I have friends with food blogs with beautiful pictures of healthy foods and god knows, the Weight Watchers cookbook editors can make just about anything look good, but mine never looks like theirs!
In a couple of days, I have my first appointment with an Advanced Nurse Practitioner that several of my girlfriends go to. My understanding is that she is going to do a lot of blood work and run a lot of tests to find out what's wrong with me, then tell me that eating right and working out is the answer to all of my problems. DUH!! I'm hoping she'll be able to tell a little more than that, like maybe I have an allergy to something I don't know about or I'm not supposed to be eating gluten…or bacon.
Either way, this week I feel good. I have done yoga twice, aqua fit once, and I have a session tonight with a personal trainer (gym membership perk) although I'm probably going to have to tell the trainer that I just want him to tell me about the equipment and classes because I can't do any of them on account of being in so much pain from doing yoga twice and aqua fit once this week. Thank god for Advil!
To everyone out there going through this too, just remember…Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels…except maybe bacon.


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Is anything more American than a gaggle of Hooters waitresses (and their respective, perky bosoms) shouting "Theeeenk you!" to the heroes of 9/11 in a video called — wait for it — "Hooters Remembers"? No. That's the United States in a nutshell. (And thank you for remembering, Hooters!)
It's like if Uncle Sam had an amazing chest and took tips for serving you extra spicy BBQ chicken wings, and then he saluted the flag. That's what it's like. That's exactly what it's like.
Her eyes are up here, fellas. Stars and stripes. Never forget. Boobs.
[via Hyper Vocal]


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Cease-fire still holding in conflict
Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 8:45 PM
Author: Sierra Birx (news editor)
As Behrend students were beginning to wind down and start Thanksgiving break, Israel and Gaza were locked in the middle of a deadly conflict. This conflict, lasting eight days, saw the death of 139 Palestinians and five Israelis.
This region of the world has been on the edge of conflict for most of the existence of Israel and Gaza, and on Nov. 14, the fighting flared up once again. The conflict started when Israeli forces assassinated the head of Hamas' military, Ahmed al Ja'abari, in Gaza. They aimed at taking out terrorist organizations during a precise airstrike, according to CNN. Israel's goal was to stop attacks across the border by Palestinians in Gaza.
"They wanted to destroy the infrastructure of the resistance of Hamas. They claim they have done so, and they have not," said Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal, according to CNN.
After days of Gazan airstrikes on suburbs of Jerusalem and Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians, the fighting was ended by a truce at 2 p.m. EST on Nov. 21.
The cease-fire agreement came the day after Secretary of State Hilary Clinton landed in Israel, the West Bank, and Egypt. While switching from place to place, she started peace talks with all those involved, despite a bus attack in Tel Aviv which occurred during the talks. To Gazans, the cease-fire is thought of as a military victory over Israel as Israel agreed to stop all acts of aggression against Gaza.
Israelis, though, feel it is a victory for them, as the agreement means that Gaza will stop firing rockets and taking part in attacks across the border.
"For us, that's victory. That's what we wanted," said Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev.
The most damage done by the eight day conflict was the death of more than 140 civilians, most of which were Palestinian.
"Innocent people, including children, have been killed or injured on both sides. Families on both sides were forced to cower in fear as the violence raged around them," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who visited Egypt on Nov. 19 and left Tel Aviv the night the cease-fire took effect.
While this temporary cease-fire is still holding, both Palestinians and Israel are wary of further attacks leading to the need for a more permanent agreement that attempts to resolve long-running conflicts.
"Once calm is fully restored and the violence ends, a broader cease-fire will have to address all the underlying causes of conflict including the full opening of crossings, Palestinian reconciliation and an end to weapons smuggling," Ban said.
Both Israel and Gaza are ready and willing to start up the fighting again if these dividing issues are not soon resolved.


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PMIs hint at Eurozone contraction
Indicies fall to 5-month low.
Indicies fall to 5-month low.
by Alex Hern Published
Purchasing managers indices have fallen for the third month in a row in the Eurozone, to their lowest point in five months. PMIs are important economic predictors which tend to indicate coming changes to the economy, so the fall implies that the economic contraction in the Eurozone isn't likely to end soon, contrary to the predictions of many economists.
The composite index, which looks at manufacturing output and business services, fell for the third month in a row to 47.4, down from 49.1 in March. A figure of 50 in the index indicates that there is likely to be no change, so a PMI of 47.1 signals a faster rate of decline of private sector economic activity. Output has fallen seven times in the past eight months. As the chart above shows, the PMI tends to track GDP growth cleanly, so the new information indicates that the Eurozone is likely to have contracted this month.
Stock markets took a hit this morning following the news, with Spain's Ibex 35 index down 2.8 per cent, only half a percentage point above its lowest close in over than 9 years, and the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 1.8 per cent.


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text:
Such reports were fuelled by comments from Milan supremo Silvio Berlusconi to Mediaset, when he said he hoped to sign the player he considers the 'heir to Andrea Pirlo'.
"Berlusconi should talk with PSG, he has a good relationship with Leonardo [PSG sporting director, ed.]", Donato di Campli told Tutto Mercato.
"For me, Marco will not return to Italy. He is an important player for PSG and committed to the club's project."


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Can't comment on all of these, but watching one after another.
LOVE the verbal going on.


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MMA News
VIDEO | Jake Shields Still Open To Moving To Middleweight
"I'm just trying to lift a lot of weights, eating a lot, gaining a little weight. I'm putting a few pounds on, just gotta make sure it's the right kind of weight. I imagine within the next week or two I'll have a for sure answer (on a possible move to middleweight)."
4 Responses to "VIDEO | Jake Shields Still Open To Moving To Middleweight"
Jake seems like one of the nicest, sincere guys. I wish I could get behind him as a fighter, but I just don't enjoy the way he fights or feel he has a real shot at a title in the UFC. His punching is just too weak.
in the ufc, welterweight is the more appropriate weight class for him; he hasn't even had stellar outings since moving to the UFC.
i hear ya, but his grappling is still world-class. WW was a tough weight cut for him. i think MW suits him better.
personally, i'd rather root for a genuinely classy guy like jake than someone that maybe ko's more people, but tries to be someone their not. i'm not a fan of fake class. he might not be the most exciting fighter out there, but he's a good guy and that counts a lot for me.
I think Jake will do better at Middleweight. He just seems weak at Welterweight since the UFC move. Everyone adjusts differently to weight loss and gain. I would like to see him fight at Middleweight.
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I have to admit that I find this really rather amusing. Google has kept its word about one of the components of the various search services. As a result, Microsoft now attacks Google for doing precisely that.
At issue is the new campaign from Redmond, the "Scroogled" site. The basic contention is that when you search on Google then you only get shown those vendors who have paid to be included in the engine:
Bing is attacking Google over its shift to a pay-for-play shopping search engine through a new "Scroogled" site, pledging that Bing has "honest search." Great campaign, if it were true. It's not. Bing itself does the same things it accuses Google of. It's also another indictment of how little the FTC is doing to protect consumers from "search results" they might not realize are ads.
Well, yes and no.
Microsoft is launching its latest anti-Google campaign this week. A new Scroogled site has emerged that directly attacks Google's "unfair pay-to-rank shopping practices" says Microsoft. "Simply put, all of their shopping results are now paid ads," reads a statement on the site.
That's not quite true either.
Scroogled stresses how Bing is better than Google. It says, "In the beginning, Google preached, "Don't be evil"—but that changed on May 31, 2012. That's when Google Shopping announced a new initiative. Simply put, all of their shopping results are now paid ads."
The site adds: "In their under-the-radar announcement, Google admits they've now built "a purely commercial model" that delivers listings ranked by "bid price." Google Shopping is nothing more than a list of targeted ads that unsuspecting customers assume are search results. They call these "Product Listing Ads" a "truly great search.""
And that is true.
Under the new policy, which Google quietly rolled out in mid-October, the company highlights the products of paid advertisers on Google Shopping, its comparison-shopping service, while effectively discriminating against other companies who do not pay to be listed. For example, one company frequently missing in Google Shopping results is Amazon.com.
As is that.
Here's what is actually happening. At google.com you'll search for something and you'll be shown the standard results of the algorithm. You'll also be shown a variety of ads by people who have paid Google to show ads. These ads will be clearly marked as being different from the straight search results.
In other words, the results will be, tweaks to the algorithms aside, exactly the same as what you get at bing.com. Search results plus ads. We can always have fun arguing about whose algorithms are better but the essence of what is being delivered is the same.
Then if you go to google.com/shopping you'll be results purely from those who have paid Google to be included in the results. Bing does not offer this functionality. Google has previously announced that this is exactly and purely what /shopping is going to be doing.
At which point Microsoft attacks Google for a) offering something Bing does not and b) offering something that Google said it would.
Go figure.


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Below is the poem entitled Your Son Is Autistic Part 1 which was written by poet
Robbins. Please feel free to comment on this poem. However, please remember, PoetrySoup is a place of encouragement and growth.
Read Poems by
Justin Robbins
This day I awoke, I had spent nights up before,
till the point my body is what gave in.
One would say I was probly depressed,
but I like to think I spent it,
asking myself what I already knew.
I can remember feeling,
love, shame, anger and happiness,
all after opening my eyes,
i wanted to but i couldnt bring myself to cry.
I manged to get dressed,
and while it seemed like forever,
before I knew it,
it was time to go.
The ride there, was drivin in silence,
neither of us realy talked,
the music singing sounds,
that I couldnt realy hear.
I have never felt so alone
and I asked myself...can I do this?
When we arrived, I prepared myself,
only for what I already knew.
they greeted me with honesty,
and a calming I can't describe,
and i wonderd if,
perhaps Kim had felt this way.
They spoke with words they probly didnt think I understood,
but have been through so many tests myself,
now my child was the one,
the one about to be labled.
I had to ask myself "Is this my fault?"
I would like ta say when they told me,
I broke down and cryed,
the truth is I felt nothing,
and I began to ask myself why.