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|Howard Johnson Kelso properties are provided below. Search for cheap and discount Howard Johnson hotel rooms in Kelso, WA for your upcoming meeting or individual travels. We list the best Howard Johnson Kelso venues so you can review the Kelso Howard Johnson hotel list below to find the perfect place.
Our service will also list Kelso, WA hotels/properties that get similar quality scores of a Howard Johnson.
Need 5+ Rooms? Get group bids from hotels in Kelso WA
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Chuck Landon grades the Herd
Chuck Landon Grades The Herd ... MU 59, East Carolina 28
OFFENSE: A - It made the No. 9 run defense in the nation look like a sieve.
DEFENSE: A - It held a high-flyin' offense to zero TD passes.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A - It went from the outhouse to the penthouse.
COACHING: A - It was the difference in the game.
OVERALL: A - MU advanced to the C-USA Championship Game. Cha-ching.
The Herald-Dispatch welcomes your comments on this article, but please be civil. Avoid profanity, obscenity, personal attacks, accusations of criminal activity, name-calling or insults to the other posters. Herald-dispatch.com does not control or monitor comments as they are posted, but if you find a comment offensive or uncivil, hover your mouse over the comment and click the X that appears in the upper right of the comment. If you do not want your comment to post to your personal Facebook page, uncheck the box below the comment.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Latino Texan
Life in Texas with Juan Alanis
Posts filtered on Tag
Ghosts, Goblins, and an Online Costume Contest for Halloween – Submit your pictures!
Disclaimer: I don't generally post the same blog post on multiple blogs, but this is a competition open to all my readers on all platforms. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday!! For one, you get to dress up in whatever kind of costume or alter ego you want to. Then, you can actually walk […] [Read More]


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Yahoo announced on Tuesday that they have incorporated Dropbox to its email service to provide easier and quicker attachments.
This integration allows users to manage, send, and receive Dropbox files directly within the Yahoo Mail client. People will be able to swiftly select files in their Dropbox account and include it as an attachment when sending Yahoo Mail. Users will also be able to save received attachments via email directly into their Dropbox file.
Yahoo Mail's senior product management director, David McDowell, says the integration allows users to store and share files simply, including documents like research papers and tax returns, and personal photos. Because files are stored in the users online Dropbox account, it's easy to find the files even when users are away from their desktop. This new feature will roll out to a global audiance beginning this week in English, Spanish, French, German, and Italian Web-based Yahoo Mail.
People that are new to Dropbox have the option to sign up for the cloud storage account from directly within their Yahoo Mail. Users will simply click on a Yahoo Mail attachment, then click "Save all to," and then "Save to Dropbox." The following instructions appear on the screen with instructions for setting up a Dropbox account.
To save files into Dropbox from Yahoo Mail, it's easy to open an attachment, then select "Save to Dropbox." They also make it easy to send an attachment already in the Dropbox using Yahoo Mail by clicking the dropdown menu next to the icon of the paperclip, and click "Share from Dropbox."
McDowell says he's listening carefully to ideas that make using Yahoo Mail even easier. He thinks people should have better options to access their inbox, finish what you need to accomplish, and get on with their day.
This integration comes at the heels of the email app Mailbox that Dropbox recently acquired that aims to simplify the mobile email experience.
Company Profile for Dropbox
Arash Ferdowsi and Drew Houston founded Dropbox in 2007. They were frustrated by having to work from multiple computers without access to their files. This frustration inspired Drew to produce a service allowing people to bring their files anywhere, without the slow and lack of file organization in email attachments. Drew formed a Dropbox demo and shared it with MIT classmate Arash Ferdowsi. The pair dropped out when they had only had one semester left to make Dropbox a reality.
They allowed their relentless focus to guide the process of designing a reliable, simple, and fast experience that works on every computer and Smartphone. Arash and Drew relocated in fall 2007 to San Francisco, received seed funding from Y Combinator, then set out to build a top-notch engineering team. By fall 2008, $7.2 million in Series A funding was supplied by Sequoia Capital, with Accel Partners to bring Dropbox to the market.
Seed funding from Sequoia Capital and Pejman Nozad equaling $1.2 million was raised in September 2007. Series A funding in October 2008 from Accel Partners and Sequoia Capital amounted to $6 million. Series B funding in October 2011 in the amount of $250 million was raised with help from Index Ventures, RIT Capital Partners, Valiant Capital Partners, Goldman Sachs, Benchmark, Greylock Partners, Sequoia Capital, Institutional Venture Partners, Accel Partners, SV Angel, and Glynn Capital Management. In August 2011, Index lead a $4 billion valuation round in Dropbox.
Dropbox acquired Mailbox this March 2013 for $100 million. They also acquired TapEngage in January 2013, Snapjoy and Audiogalaxy in December 2012, and Cove in February 2012. A partnership with Yahoo Mail brings the platform to the email client for easy attachments.
Drew Houston is the Cofounder and CEO, Arash Ferdowsi is the Cofounder and CTO, Sujay Jaswa is the VP of Business Development, Aditya Agarwal is the VP of Engineering, and Ruchi Sanghvi is the VP of Operations. Allison House, Adam Polselli, and Morgan Knutson are Product Designers. Operations and Online Sales, Kim Malone Scott, formerly of Apple and Google Adsense resigned from Dropbox yesterday, April 3, 2013 after four months.


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Whether you are meeting for business or pleasure, Achray House is an ideal venue for small private groups. Our eight double and twin bedrooms can accommodate up to sixteen people, with capacity for another six in the adjacent lodges.
Our conservatory restaurant overlooking the loch is an idyllic location for a celebration meal, and we can cater for parties of up to fifty people. Whether you are celebrating a wedding, special birthday or anniversary we can work with you to create a suitable menu and plan a memorable day.
Despite its rural setting on the shore of Loch Earn, Achray House is only just over one hour's drive from the cities and airports of Glasgow and Edinburgh, making it readily accessible for business meetings. We can provide a laptop computer, LED projector and screen for presentations and there is WIFI internet access throughout the hotel. We are also equipped with the latest in VOIP telephony, allowing you to extend your office to Achray House if you wish.
We can also arrange local activities ranging from a gentle round of golf to abseiling to add variety to your day.
Achray House is available for exclusive use from February until the end of November, and for Christmas and New Year.
If you would like to discuss exclusive use of Achray House, please call us on +44 (0)560 368 4252, or email them.
Our online booking system is simple and secure. Just choose your check in date above by clicking on the calendar, and choose the number of nights you want to stay. (You can alter both of these later before completing the booking if you wish).Then click on the Search button.
You will then be given a list of the best bed and breakfast rates available for your chosen stay. Choose the room you want, and you will then be given the option to add dinner (for all the nights of you stay). If you want to benefit from our discounted rates for dinner for stays of two or more nights you must select this option when you book the room.
Our online booking engine does not support our luxury packages (Indulge, Gourmet Night and Whisky, Food & Sonse): you will need to call us to book these.
When you book you will receive a confirmation email. We will then process your deposit and send another email to confirm this.
|Last Minute Deals
Book on the day you arrive, or the day before for one or two nights bed and breakfast and get 40% off. This deal is subject to availability, must be booked by telephone, cannot be changed or cancelled, and must be paid in full at the time of booking. For a bargain night away The Coachman's Room costs only £54 for the night (in low season), or why not splash out and have a night in The Dundurn Suite for only £99 (in low season).
Call us on 0560 368 4252 to check availability and book.
|Stay Awhile with us
Throughout the year we discount our dinner, bed and breakfast rates for stays of two nights or more. Rates per person per night based on two people sharing a room are as follows:
|3 for 2
In low season we offer three nights dinner, bed & breakfast for the price of two (based on our standard rates). Rates per person per room for the 3 nights (based on two people sharing a room) are as follows:
Chilled Champagne awaits you in The Dundurn Suite. With its super king size sleigh bed, designer bathroom and superb views it will pamper you.
Enjoy an Achray Sparkler in the Neish Lounge before a four course dinner at a window table in the Conservatory Restaurant overlooking the loch. In the morning enjoy breakfast in bed, or in your private seating area overlooking the loch.
£487 for 2 nights for 2 people(£542 in high season).


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TripAdvisor ratingRead reviews
Hotel Capacity:Total Number of Rooms - 424
The Westin Chicago River North
The Westin Chicago River North is a retreat offering a full spectrum of services. The Westin Chicago is nestled in the heart of the business and theatre districts, trendy restaurants and art galleries. Guests enjoy scenic views of the Chicago River and an ideal location just steps from fabulous shopping on Michigan Avenue. It is within walking distance of Millennium Park, restaurants and shopping.
The hotel features 407 elegantly appointed guest rooms,
a spa and fitness centre, business centre, the Ember Grille restaurant and Hana Lounge.
Accommodation details
Address:320 North Dearborn St
Check-in Details:
Room types and facilities
Sleeps 4, Bed Type: King(s) or double(s) In Room Movies, Private bathroom, Satellite television, Air conditioning, Television, Bathtub/shower combination, Minibar
General facilities
- Dry cleaning
- Massage services
- Live entertainment
- Business center
- Coffee shop
- Exercise gym
- Sauna
- Non-smoking rooms (generic)
- Off-Site parking
- Room service
- 1 Lounges/bars
- Currency exchange
- On-Site parking
- Onsite laundry
- 1 Restaurant
- Shop
Dining information
Ember Grille - Serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Dinner on Friday or Saturday only. A la carte menu. Traditional menu.
Hana Lounge - Unique cocktails and light bites. 5pm to 12am.
Plan your holiday
To search for prices and availability simply click the button below.
Pick a departure date
Simply select the number of nights and choose a departure date that suits you.
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Based on 2 adults, night(s).
room. .
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Can't find what you're looking for? Change:
- Departure airport
- Destination
- Number of nights
- Passenger numbers
- Travel dates
Why BA Holidays?
Plan and book your holiday with British Airways, online or by phone. Enjoy all these great benefits:
- Combine and save - book your flight + hotel or flight + car hire together for the best deals
- Choose from over 8,000 hotels
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Can't find what you're looking for? Change:
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Why BA hotels?
Book your hotel with British Airways and enjoy all these great benefits:
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Just follow these easy steps to completely clean your room.
Step one: The bed
Step two: The Laundry
Step three: The nightstand
Step four: Random stuff
Step five: Dressers and closets
Step six: Bookshelves
Step seven: computer desks
Step eight: The floor
Step 1: Step One: The Bed
1-Remove stuff from bed, and wash if necessary.
2-Replace and tuck in sheets.
3-Place warming blanket (down or otherwise (unless its summer out)).
4-Place the decorative blanket.
Step 2: Step Two: Laundry
2-Sort in light, dark, colored, and towels/rag piles
3-Send a load down to laundry, and place the rest of the piles on the bed
Step 3: Step Three: The nightstand
2-Clean glass/top of stand, and apply a wood-oil if necessary
3-Place sorted items in respectable places, and throw away garbage
Step 4: Step Four: Random junk
Step 5: Step Five: Dressers and Tabletops
2-Wipe down dresser/table
3-Replace sorted items, and remove garbage
Step 6: Step Six: The Bookshelf
4-school stuff
5-hardback books
6-paperback books
7-product boxes
8-stray CDs
9-Jewel cases
Step 7: Step Seven: The Computer Desk
2-Remove garbage and dishes
3-Clean surface of desk
Step 8: Step Eight: The Floor
2-Vacuum the floor, starting with rugs, which you should roll up and store on the bed while vacuuming the floor
3-Vacuum the floor, and replace the rugs
4-Use the extension tool for your vacuum to get around edges
Jesus, i must be a horrid teenager.
This helped me though, thank you. XD
It took me 7 hours i kinda guess that i am a bad cleaner.
My bf had a bunk bed. his mattress was on the floor because his brother broke it. The rest of his room was clothes and comics and a tv he never used all piled on the floor with three empty dressers and a two inch layer of dust throughout.
Trust me, girls wanna get laid too. Even to 26 year old boys. >.<
Oh and to add to the instructable, vinegar and baking soda make a VERY good universal cleaner.
how do i clean a 13 year olds room and make it look good
1. coat all surfaces in petroleum or other similarly flammable substance.
2.from outside room, throw match.
3.rinse and repeat until you can see all the walls and have a complet veiw of the floor without any pesky beds ect.
your room is now free of rubbish, funiture, paint, carpet, books, clothes and any other irritating things.


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Comfort House to remain open
HUNTINGTON -- The Jeffrey George Comfort House will remain open after an anonymous local donor offered to assume its $545,000 mortgage, said Jo Fannin, executive director.
The board of directors met Tuesday evening with the donor and his attorney and voted in favor of accepting his offer.
"The gentleman, who wants to remain anonymous, told the bank he would assume the loan himself, and the house would pay it back as it could," Fannin said. "He said he had total faith in the folks running the house, and his only desire and goal was to have the good the house has done in 14 years to continue."
The house, located behind St. Mary's Medical Center in Huntington, provides temporary lodging for families of adult patients recovering from serious illnesses or injuries at several of the region's hospitals including St. Mary's as well as Cabell Huntington Hospital, Cornerstone Hospital, HealthSouth, River Park Hospital, Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital and the Veterans Administration. It was named after one of its founders, Dr. Jeffrey George, a local cardiologist who died in a car crash in December 2008.
Since it first opened in February 2000, the Comfort House has provided temporary lodging for 25,000 guests who have lived farther than 50 miles from the Huntington area.
It has had the capacity to house 12 families at any one time in a comfortable, family-style atmosphere.
It operates on an approximate annual budget of $250,000 and is staffed by volunteers. Donations and a $50,000 grant from the state has helped cover operational expenses over the years, such as the mortgage, insurance and utilities.
On Feb. 15, at its annual fundraising dinner, Dr. Grant Shy, board chairman, announced the house would not be able to accept any new patients after March 1.
He said then that the bank holding the mortgage on the house's 25-year loan was calling it in after 12 years of timely payments and great credit rating.
The news stunned many, Fannin said, and resulted in an outpouring of support.
Fannin said the donor, who is from Cabell County, immediately reached out to her after reading in the Herald-Dispatch about the Comfort House closing.
"He's knowledgeable of a lot of people involved in the Comfort House," she said. "He was not close friends with Jeff George, but he said he knew if he ever got in trouble and needed him, Jeff would be there."
Sen. Joe Manchin also got involved, sending a representative from his office to the meeting on Tuesday.
"We were thrilled and delighted when Sen. Manchin's staff called to express his appreciation and support for the house," Fannin said. "He got involved with the house in 2007 before Dr. George died. He knew firsthand what it meant to him."
"We've also gotten letters and emails from the VA, distressed about what would happen to their veterans who stay here," she added. "We had a woman walk into the house and give us $1,000 and challenged others to step up to the plate."
Fannin said they are overwhelmingly thankful that the community has stepped forward.
"It re-enforces what we already knew about the culture of the people here," she said. "When Dr. George dedicated this house, he said he was giving it back to the community and we need people to continue helping us and supporting us."
Fannin said they have started a campaign to allow donors to give $100 a month for five years or they can give a one-time gift of any amount. More information can be obtained by calling the house at 304-525-6705.
The Herald-Dispatch welcomes your comments on this article, but please be civil. Avoid profanity, obscenity, personal attacks, accusations of criminal activity, name-calling or insults to the other posters. Herald-dispatch.com does not control or monitor comments as they are posted, but if you find a comment offensive or uncivil, hover your mouse over the comment and click the X that appears in the upper right of the comment. If you do not want your comment to post to your personal Facebook page, uncheck the box below the comment.


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Viewers: in countries Watching now:
Premiere Elements 10 Essential Training breaks down the editing workflow into bite-sized pieces, covering everything from setting up a project to exporting the final video to any format. Author David Basulto introduces the basics of editing in Adobe Premiere Elements as well as the advanced features like picture-in-picture overlays and audio and visual effects.
So, what if you had an interview such as the one we have here and you want to apply a mask on her face? You've seen it on TV before where they have some kind of a key witness to the murder or some celebrity that's cheating on another one and you want to mask them so you don't know exactly who it is. So, that's pretty easy to do here in Elements. Let's take a look how. So, I have this clip-- I'll just show you a little bit--- of her talking, and I want to mask her. I don't want anyone knowing who she is. So, I can right-click here on the clip, go down, remember our right-click menu, and down here it says Effects Mask, and I'm going to Apply. And what that does is it creates a duplicate of the clip, just the video only, on another layer above, and now this box here, whatever I choose to put behind it is going to be masked.
So, let's go up here, and I want to make sure I cover her face. That's looking pretty good. Let me just scroll through this, and that looks good. A person that you're masking, if they move their heads back and forth or they stand up, you have to do things like keyframe, which we'll talk about later, but on this particular one, she's sitting down talking and we're just going to mask her out. So, let me go back to frame 0, and now I'm going to go into my Edit Effects, and inside of my effects I'm going to Video Effects, and I'm going to look under the Show All, and Stylize, and let me just bring this down a little bit.
I am looking for Mosaic. So, I could have easily just typed in Mosaic here and it would have found it. So I want to make sure that this clip is selected, my mask, and here's a preview here. So, we see that's what's going to have an effect applied to. I'm going to drag it onto the clip, and now you can't see her. And we're going to edit that a little bit and clean it up a little bit. So, I'm going to go into Mosaic. And there're really only a couple of options where I can change the horizontal or the vertical blocks, so let's see what that looks like.
If I bring it all the way up, it doesn't do too much, but just a little bit. It adds a little more blockage. And then this one, if I bring it too far, it does some weird stuff. So, we're just going to leave it like about right there. And Sharp Colors bring some of the color through that make it sharp. So, if you want that kind of a look, you can. It looks like some ancient video game, but we're not going to do that. So, once again you'll see the red line. That means we might have to render this. Let's press play and see what happens. (Female speaker: It's interesting because with BDN it's a sort of duality.) So, that's not such a demanding effect, and it's only to a small area, that I don't really need to render this, but if you want to or your computer is playing slow, then you can just press the Enter button and it will render this out, but as we can see-- (Female speaker:--having youth help youth. So it's--) --we have her totally covered.
So, adding an effects mask onto your footage is easy to do in Elements 10.
There are currently no FAQs about Premiere Elements 10 Essential Training.
Access exercise files from a button right under the course name.
Search within course videos and transcripts, and jump right to the results.
Remove icons showing you already watched videos if you want to start over.
Make the video wide, narrow, full-screen, or pop the player out of the page into its own window.
Click on text in the transcript to jump to that spot in the video. As the video plays, the relevant spot in the transcript will be highlighted.


text:
Join OkCupid
Find better matches with our advanced
Find better matches with our advanced
matching system
—% Match
—% Enemy
57 • Columbus, OH • Man
I'm looking for
- Women
- Ages 30–55
- Near me
- Who are single
- For new friends, long-term dating
My details
- Last online
- Yesterday – 3:34pm
- Orientation
- Straight
- Ethnicity
- Native American, White
- Height
- 6′ 1″ (1.85m)
- Body Type
- Fit
- Diet
- Strictly other
- Smokes
- No
- Drinks
- Rarely
- Drugs
- Never
- Religion
- Christianity, and somewhat serious about it
- Education
- Working on university
- Job
- Other
- Income
- Rather not say
- Status
- Single
- Type
- Strictly monogamous
- Offspring
- Has kids
- Pets
- Has dogs and likes cats
- Speaks
- English (Fluently)
My self-summary
Write a little about yourself. Just a paragraph will do.
I have been told that I am not your average guy. Not above average, or below average, just not average. I kind of march to a different drum, and I look terrible in pictures! lol My friends are always surprised that I can be shy and awkward around the women that I am attracted to. They see me as a confident, no adventure too great person, always looking for the next challenge. I am told that I am a good, kind, caring man. Joking, smiling, and laughing come easy to me. Sometimes I may be a bit too ornery with those close to me. I work very hard to be attentive to the needs of those around me. I am hoping to find that special someone, but not feeling very confident about that lately. She will have to be understanding when I am always trying to figure out how to meet her needs. I have 3 grown children, and am very family centered.
What I'm doing with my life
Don't overthink this one; tell us what you're doing day-to-day.
I work in the outdoor adventure industry, and have traveled, guided and instructed in a number of the wild places in our world. I do not plan on stopping any time soon. I have been teaching adventure courses (backpacking, whitewater rafting, kayak touring, hot air ballooning, etc,...) at OSU for 25 years. My current passions are flying hot air balloons as a commercial pilot, and motorcycle adventure touring on a dual sport bike. If you have seen many balloons in the air in Central Ohio, it is often me as the pilot.
I'm really good at
Go on, brag a little (or a lot). We won't judge.
... caring for my family and friends, teaching outdoor skills, and leading trips. I am also a pretty good resource for a lot of things that we come across in life, as I have done many different things for a living. My family, friends and students often look to me for information on almost anything.
The first things people usually notice about me
I'm an empty essay… fill me out!
My eyes. I tend to look at everyone directly in the eyes. I have been told that my stare can be intimidating. I do not like that. I would rather be told something like, my smile is inviting...
Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food
Help your potential matches find common interests.
There are so many things. I like big band jazz, classical, classic rock, and any sound that is not such a main stream commercial sound. I like most music that has horns. I was a semi professional musician many years ago. Music tends to touch my very soul. I do not have time these days to read a lot of books, but do read a lot of items on topics that interest me in my hobbies and vocation. I use to eat (and a lot of, lol) almost anything. I have developed an intolerance (more like an allergy) to wheat, rye and barley. This has made eating more of a challenge, but I can make do almost anywhere. Mostly, I am eating better than I use to, and it has kept my weight in check. I am healthier than I have been in many years.
The six things I could never do without
Think outside the box. Sometimes the little things can say a lot.
My God, people I love, and people that love me. Most everything else can, and will, come and go.
I spend a lot of time thinking about
Global warming, lunch, or your next vacation… it's all fair game.
...new things to do, my next trip (with students or for fun), if the weather is good enough to fly, is today a good day to ride, or what I need to do to my house, or vehicles. Sometimes, it is hard for me to shut my head down. All of this is predicated by what the ones that I care about might want or need. I am a social person, and feel pretty lonely, but I will not trade my loneliness for just any relationship. I believe in real friendship (I have a lot of close friends.), and true love (I thought I had that, but it was only one way.). I would like to find that again. I want to be attracted to the one I love, and I need to be wanted. I am hoping to spend the rest of my life learning and sharing new things that support and enhance each other.
On a typical Friday night I am
Netflix and takeout, or getting your party on — how do you let loose?
... doing what I feel like, riding my bike, or flying my balloon. I don't mind being alone, or at home, but too often I am home and a little lonely. I never was a "hang out at the bar" person, so I seem to be out of the loop with what most people do.
The most private thing I'm willing to admit
I'm an empty essay… fill me out!
Here?... I like Hallmark movies (Did I say that out loud?!!). I am not a good housekeeper because I can be disorganized and distracted at times. Anything else? You will have to get to know me. I do not hide very much. Lol
You should message me if
Offer a few tips to help matches win you over.
... you think you would like to have some adventure. The woman that I am looking for isn't looking for the perfect man, but the man that is perfect for her. I am looking for a young woman or a woman that is "younger" than her years. I am looking for someone that wants to stand with each other as partners in life. I would like a woman that understands who she is, and how she fits into the world. She will be interested and open minded to new things and adventures. She will need to have patience with me, as I tend to be a little distracted at times (... an ADD thing). She will have a lot of true love to share with me and those around her. She will he honest, kind, and giving. I hope that she will be focused on making our relationship a priority, not just an addition to a busy schedule. I hope that she will not be afraid of showing affection, publicly or privately as our relationship grows.
I do not date around, and I hate this "online shopping". I do not want to talk forever through this internet veil. If we connect and both seem to some interest, I will want to physically meet soon. Real contact is important to me. I am not looking to build a friendship, and hopefully a real relationship. It seems like too many people have had drama problem with dating. I have had games played on me also. It hurts too much. I could never do that to another. We all need to take an honest chance, or be stuck here forever.
I do not date around, and I hate this "online shopping". I do not want to talk forever through this internet veil. If we connect and both seem to some interest, I will want to physically meet soon. Real contact is important to me. I am not looking to build a friendship, and hopefully a real relationship. It seems like too many people have had drama problem with dating. I have had games played on me also. It hurts too much. I could never do that to another. We all need to take an honest chance, or be stuck here forever.
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text:
Click Here To Watch This Video at Club Amateur USA
Original, high-quality, digital MPEG movies featuring straight, bi-curious, bisexual, and gay amateur men baring it all for the camera.
Description: Until Today, Royce Has Not Ever Been Penetrated, Acting Only as a Top Since the Determination That He Is Gay. so I Do My Best to Ease Him Into the World of Penetration and Possibly Bottoming In the Fu
Permanent link to this video:
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Post this video in the JUB Forums with this code:
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text:
County appraised values in the mail
CORPUS CHRISTI - Nueces County property owners soon will receive notices about changes to appraised values.
The Nueces County Appraisal District began the notification process last week by mailing more than 100,000 notices to property owners. About 30,000 more will be sent in the next few weeks. The notices show proposed 2008 appraised values and include information on protest procedures.
Property owners have the right to protest to the Appraisal Review Board on any disagreement with the district on their property's value, exemptions, ownership, equal and uniform appraisal and other such issues, said chief appraiser Ollie Grant.
Property owners who file a protest may ask the appraisal district to make its evidence supporting its value assertion available to them not less than 14 days before a scheduled hearing. The district cannot use evidence at the hearing if it was not made available to the requesting property owner at least 14 days before the hearing.
The general deadline for filing protests with the review board is June 2 or 30 days after an appraisal notice was mailed.
Grant said the property owner should carefully review the proposed value notice for 2008 because it should state the values of the land and any improvements separately. An improvement doesn't mean necessarily an owner has improved the property since the previous appraisal, it is simply a Texas Comptroller's Office appraisal term that means a building, structure, fence or any other type of fixture on or attached to the land.
Homeowners who file and qualify for a homestead exemption also have a 10 percent increase limitation on their homes' appraised value. This means that the district cannot increase their home's value by more than 10 percent in any one year.
Property owners who do not receive a notice and have questions or need current information about their homes' value or exemptions are encouraged to call 881-9978 or visit the appraisal office at 201 N. Chaparral St. or visit the district's Web site at nuecescad.net for information.
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Sat October 1, 2011
Bahrain Doctors Face Prison After Protests
By editor
This week, a military court in Bahrain handed down harsh sentences to 20 doctors and medical personnel accused of stockpiling weapons and illegally occupying a hospital during recent protests. The doctors say they're being punished for treating demonstrators injured in anti-government protests. Host Scott Simon speaks with Dr. Fatima Hajji, one of the medical professionals sentenced to prison.


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Below is the poem entitled The Empty Bar which was written by poet
John Patrick
Robbins AKA Gonzo. Please feel free to comment on this poem. However, please remember, PoetrySoup is a place of encouragement and growth.
Read Poems by
John Patrick
Robbins AKA Gonzo
John Patrick Robbins AKA Gonzo
At nights when they stumble back to there corners of the world I
sit keeping the neon cast shadows company.
Old dust covred piano plays to a concert of empty stools and
a old ghost or two.
The music fades like a smoke ring to vanish where none will know.
As a homeless soul stumbles from the shadowsto cross the
empty street.
The glass sits half empty as I continue to play.
As beaten as a broken tail alley cat.
We all yern for comfort but in this life.
Often were met with a back hand.
I play as nothing will ever change.
The broken soul so very tender and strange.
And wait for the for them to return from there corners.
To mask my troubles and fill this dark empty bar.


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All Along the Watchtower on MusicBrainz
Jimi Hendrix on Last.fm
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; 27th November at Seattle's King County Hospital, 1942 - 18th September 1970) was a U.S. guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Hendrix was not very popular in the U.S.A. at the outset of his musical career, only later gaining recognition after taking a trip to England in 1966 with The Animals' Chas Chandler, where he subsequently formed The Jimi Hendrix Experience with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell. While The Experience quickly became popular in England, they remained relatively unrecognised outside the country.
Read more about Jimi Hendrix on Last.fm.
Also from this album:
Voodoo Child (Slight Return),Taking Care of No Business


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Shabbat & Nature
The conundrum of Shabbat observance and environmental damage.
By Jeremy Benstein
We Also Recommend
Excerpted from The Jerusalem Report, January 26, 1995.
The Sabbath appears out of place in the Ten Commandments. It is the only ritual requirement in the bunch. Tucked in between the first three commandments, which deal with monotheism and idolatry, and the following six, which regulate relations between people, Shabbat is connected to both categories yet fully part of neither.
It is among the best known Jewish practices, and one of the least understood.
We are commanded to rest, yet nowhere is the meaning of rest spelled out in the written Torah. The rabbis, on the other hand, provide us with more details than we might care for. It becomes a violation to pick a flower, write a poem or, later on, flick a switch.
"Are we dealing here with extravagant and compulsive exaggerations of an originally `sensible' ritual," psychoanalyst Erich Fromm wrote, "or is our understanding of the ritual perhaps faulty and in need of revision?" Fromm's answer was the latter, and he provided the following definition of what is forbidden on the seventh day: "'Work' is any interference by man, be it constructive or destructive, with the physical world. Rest is a state of peace between man and nature."
This aggadah of Shabbat, the theory behind the practice, is hinted at in the commandment itself: We rest in imitation of the original divine rest that was the climax and cessation of Creation. Yet God's rest allowed the world to exist without divine intervention. In the same way, Shabbat is as much a respite for the world as it is for the people who observe it. How else can we understand a day of joy and rest that prohibits labor-saving devices, and involves frequent inconvenience – but by seeing that something other than human needs are paramount?
Creation and Rest
The link between the commandment and the creation story indicates how Shabbat rest contrasts with creative labor. Genesis describes a very anthropocentric world: Humanity stands at the head of the created beings, as benevolent dictator in chapter 1, and conscientious steward in chapter 2. Shabbat implies an approach that can be labeled biocentric, demanding that humans abstain from domination. It thereby allows them to see themselves as creatures, rather than creators.
Did you like this article? MyJewishLearning is a not-for-profit organization.


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95-year-old Mt. Vernon, IL resident, Evelyn B. "Peggy" Lemay, died at 12:15 p.m. Sunday, July 7 at Green Tree in Mt. Vernon, IL.
Surviving are a son, Carl Lemay of Tampa, FL; two daughters, Linda Auxier of Carterville, IL and Pat Enteman of Tyler, TX; five grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren; one brother, Carl Ezell of Sparta, IL; and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services for Evelyn B. "Peggy" Lemay will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 10 at the Logan Street Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, IL. Interment will be in Oakwood Cemetery in Mt. Vernon, IL.
Visitation will be from 9 a.m. Wednesday, July 10 until the time of service at the Logan Street Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, IL.
Memorials may be made to the International Mission Board and will be accepted at the Hughey Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon, IL, which is in charge of the arrangements.


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STARKVILLE, Miss.--Founded in Texas in 2006, No Excuses University is a private network of U.S. elementary, middle and high schools working to promote higher education readiness among their students.
In part, by exposing the young classroom members to specific collegiate symbols--including flags and banners--participating teachers in the network hope to forge mindset associations between their students and universities, even those that might be miles away in other states.
One example was a second-grade teacher at Aurora Elementary School in the Indiana town of the same name who contacted Mississippi State to request the university's assistance with her project.
In correspondence with the Office of the Provost, teacher Pam Grady said an earlier visit to the Starkville campus led her to choose MSU as her class' adopted institution. Though not an alumna, she said she felt her students would be attracted to the 185-year-old land-grant institution's lovable bulldog mascot. They also would enjoy learning to spell M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i, she added.
In response to her request--and, obviously, to encourage interest among potential future students--staff members in MSU's Office of the Provost sent Grady letters and other items. They will continue to do so throughout the current school year.
In a follow-up note, Grady said she appreciated MSU for helping her students "see college as a possibility for everyone, and that all students need to strive to do their best." She went on to explain how each Aurora Elementary class has a university that they represent at school pep rallies and on "spirit Fridays" when each class wears their adopted institution's school colors.
Aurora students also expressed their excitement and appreciation through hand-written, hand-colored letters covering topics from career goals to mascot Bully. "Thank you for sharing your university with us," one student wrote. "I liked learning about MSU! I think Bully is cute. When I grow up I want to be an artist."
For more on No Excuses University, visit http://noexcusesu.com/.


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A digital arbitration system comprising a server node and at least one signatory node coupled together through a communication link. Each of the signatory node(s) may be configured with a unique private key which is used to digitally sign a message, a hash value of an electronic document for example, and transmits the digitally signed message being a digital signature to the server node via the communication link. The server node determines whether the digital signatures have been received from at least one of the signatory node(s) and whether each of the digital signatures is valid. The server node then transmits all of the digital signatures to each of the signatory node(s), provided both conditions described have been met.
1. A server comprising:
a bus;
a host processor coupled to the bus;
a memory element coupled to the bus; and
a cryptographic device coupled to the bus, the cryptographic device including
a processing unit, and
a memory element accessible by the processing unit, the memory element to store at least a public key, a private key and arbitration software which, when executed by the processing unit, determines whether each of a plurality of digitally signed messages is valid, and returns the plurality of digitally signed messages to each of a plurality of parties upon determining that each of the plurality of messages is valid, each of the plurality of digitally signed messages further includes a list of signatures associated with the digitally signed message and either (i) an electronic document, or (ii) a hash value of the cryptographic device.
2. The server according to claim 1, wherein the cryptographic device is dedicated to exclusively operate as control arbitration between the plurality of parties.
3. The server of claim 1, wherein the cryptographic device further comprises an internal random number generator contained within the package, the random number generator to generate information to produce the public key and the private key.
4. The server of claim 1, wherein the arbitration software of the cryptographic device is non-modifiable.
5. The server of claim 1, further comprising an input to receive the plurality of digitally signed messages from a plurality of signatory nodes corresponding to the plurality of parties.
6. The server of claim 1, wherein the arbitration software of the cryptographic device is non-modifiable by a user.
7. A server to arbitrate execution of a digital agreement involving a plurality of parties, the server comprising:
a bus;
a memory element coupled to the bus, the memory element containing software to respond to an authentication message and to arbitrate execution of the digital agreement; and
a host processor coupled to the bus, the host processor executing the software to at least determine whether a plurality of digitally signed messages from the corresponding plurality of parties arc valid and to provide the plurality of digitally signed messages to each of a plurality of parties when each of the plurality of messages is deemed to be valid, each of the plurality of digitally signed messages further includes a list of signatures associated with the digitally signed message and either (i) an electronic document, or (ii) a hash value of the cryptographic device.
8. The server of claim 7, further comprising a random number generator coupled to the bus.
9. A computer comprising:
a memory element containing software to respond to an authentication message and to arbitrate execution of a digital agreement; and
a processor coupled to the memory element, the processor executing the software to at least determine whether a plurality of digitally signed messages from a corresponding plurality of parties are valid and to provide the plurality of digitally signed messages to each of the plurality of parties when each of the plurality of messages is deemed to be valid, at least one of the plurality of digitally signed messages includes a list of signatories associated with the at least one digitally signed message.
10. The computer of claim 9, wherein the message includes either an electronic document or a hash value of the electronic document.
11. The computer of claim 9, further comprising a random number generator.
12. The computer of claim 9, wherein the processor is a general purpose microprocessor.
13. A method for digitally signing a digital agreement between a plurality of signatory nodes, comprising:
receiving a query at an arbitration node by at least one signatory node, the query requesting information regarding a configuration of a cryptographic device situated in the arbitration node;
receiving at the arbitration node a digital signature and a signatory list from each signatory node of the plurality of signatory nodes, each digital signature including a hash value of the digital agreement signed with a private key associated with its signatory node; and
producing an acknowledgement for each signatory node of the plurality of signatory nodes upon confirmation that the digital agreement has been digitally signed by the plurality of signatory nodes.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein prior to producing the acknowledgement, the method comprises receiving a copy of the digital agreement.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein prior to producing the acknowledgement, the method comprises:
comparing the signatory lists from each of the plurality of signatory nodes;
if the signatory lists compare, recovering a hash value of the digital agreement for each digital signature provided by the plurality of signatory nodes using public keys associated with one of the signatory lists; and
performing a hash operation on the copy of the digital agreement to produce a resultant hash value;
comparing the resultant hash value with a hash value recovered from each digital signature; and
producing the acknowledgement if the resultant hash value matches each hash value recovered from the digital signatures.
The named inventor of the present application has filed a number of United States Patent Applications entitled "An Apparatus And Method For Performing Secured Cryptographic Operations" (application Ser. No. 08/578,177, a Continuation of application Ser. No. 08/251,486, filed on Dec. 29, 1995), "A Method For Providing Secured Communications" (application Ser. No. 08/538,869, a Divisional of application Se. No. 08/251,486, filed on Oct. 4, 1995), "A Method For Providing A Roving Software License In A Hardware Agent-Based System" (U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,552). These applications are owned by the same assignee of the present Application.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of communications. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for creating a remote digital agreement formulated through an execution procedure.
2. Description of Art Related to the Invention
Over hundreds of years, written agreements have been used as a vehicle for a variety of purposes, among which is to establish certainty and clarity in business, legal and other types of arrangements between two or more parties to the agreement. In general, one type of an agreement is a "contract", which is defined as a promise or set of promises between two or more parties by which the law allows the party or parties that abide by the terms of the contract to recover damages (e.g., monetary compensation) from the party or parties that breach the contract. Another type of agreement is a stipulation agreement used during litigation in which the parties agree to material facts not in dispute. Although there exists a wide variety of execution schemes, one type of scheme is where the parties to the contract negotiate "at arm's length" to formulate terms of the written agreement (e.g., contract) which are mutually agreeable to the parties.
After agreeing to the terms of the written agreement, the parties select an execution procedure for signing the agreement. The nature of that execution procedure may depend on the importance of the agreement, past dealings between the parties, and many other factors. The execution procedure may be overseen by a "non-signing party" acting as an arbitrator (referred to as "independently-arbitrated agreement execution"), or by the parties themselves in a localized setting (referred to as "mutually-arbitrated agreement execution").
Referring to FIG. 1, mutually-arbitrated agreement execution is generally preferred when all of the parties or the signatories of the agreement 110 can meet at a selected location to execute one or more printed copies of the agreement 120. This guarantees that each party possesses an original copy of the agreement upon adjournment of the meeting. Such meetings are costly and difficult to arrange, especially when the agreement involves a large number of parties.
In the event that the simultaneous assembly of all parties is not feasible or undesirable, an alternative approach may include an independently-arbitrated execution procedure utilizing human arbitration as shown in FIG. 2. For this execution procedure, each signatory 110 1 and 110 2 separately executes one or more copies of the agreement and provides the partially-signed agreements 130 1 and 130 2 to the arbitrator 140 (e.g., a third party who is not a signatory of the agreement). When receiving partially-signed agreements 130 1 and 130 2 from all of the parties, the arbitrator 140 provides a copy of the fully-signed agreement 150 1 and 150 2 back to each signatory 110 1 and 110 2. The disadvantage associated with this execution procedure is that it is entirely dependent on the integrity of the arbitrator 140 to properly follow a static procedure. However, it is apparent that it is quite difficult and costly, especially for parties situated in other countries and/or in different states, to check the integrity of the arbitrator. Likewise, the cost of the arbitration service itself and the time delay in execution of the written agreement may be unacceptable.
Referring now to FIG. 3, another execution procedure (referred to as "non-arbitrated execution") is applicable when the written agreement is of lesser value or when a sufficient degree of trust exists between the "an" signatories ("n" being a whole number, n≧3 in this example). One signatory 110 1 starts the execution process by signing the agreement and forwarding the partially-signed agreement 160 1 on to the next signatory 110 2. As each successive signatory receives the partially-signed agreement, it applies its own signature and forwards it to another signatory until the agreement is fully executed. The last signatory 110 n has the responsibility to return copies of the fully-executed agreement 170 1, 170 2, . . . 170 n-1 to all signatories, as did the arbitrator in FIG. 2. This method has the advantage of cost reduction, since the signatories need not be assembled nor is an arbitration fee incurred. The significant disadvantage is that the success of the process is dependent on the integrity of the last signatory who is a party to the agreement. The last signatory is not compelled to redistribute copies of the signed agreement, especially if a business advantage can be gained by being in possession of the only signed agreement.
Recently, a number of states have passed legislation that recognizes private key-based digital signature as legally binding a party to the terms of a digital agreement. A "digital agreement" is an electronic document representing an agreement that is to be digitally signed by all parties to the agreement through their respective private keys. Like written agreements, digital agreements may be executed through independent-arbitration, mutual-arbitration, or non-arbitration execution procedures. However, it is evident that cost and time saving advantages offered by digital agreements would be greatly reduced by following an independently-arbitrated execution procedure or a mutually-arbitrated execution procedure. Thus, it has been desirable for digital agreements to undergo non-arbitrated execution as shown in FIG. 4.
Referring to FIG. 4, after negotiating the terms of the digital agreement 205, a first party at a first node 200 (e.g., computer) normally signs the digital agreement 205 by (i) applying a hash algorithm (e.g., "MD5" algorithm developed by RSA Data Security of Redwood City, Calif.) to the digital agreement 205 to obtain its unique hash value 210, and (ii) encrypting the hash value 210 with an asymmetric cryptographic algorithm (e.g., RSA algorithm) under its private key ("PrKA") to produce a "first digital signature" 215. It is contemplated that such hashing is not necessary, but may be used to reduce the amount of data thereby preserving bandwidth during transmission and memory during storage. Thereafter, at least the first digital signature 215 is transferred to another party at a second node 220. Additional information may be transferred in combination with the first digital signature 215 such as the digital agreement 205 or its hash value 210. Optionally, some or all of this information may be protected during transfer (for privacy purposes) by encrypting with a previously chosen symmetric key.
The execution procedure can be continued in a serial manner by the party at the second node 220 creating its own digital signature 230 (e.g., in this embodiment, hash value 225 encrypted under a private key "PrKB" of the party at the second node 220). Thereafter, an aggregate signature set 235 (including the first and second digital signatures 215 and 230 and possibly additional information) to the next party of the agreement. This procedure may continue for an arbitrary number of parties with the final party at node 240 being responsible for returning the fully-signed digital agreement 250 (i.e., in this case, a hash value of the agreement individually encrypted with the private keys of each party to the digital agreement) to all of the other signatories.
Referring now to FIG. 5, if the first digital signature 215 is created by encrypting the hash value 210 under the private key PrKA, the first digital signature 215 may be validated by any party with access to the hash value 210 or the original digital agreement 205. Such validation is accomplished by decrypting the first digital signature 215 with a well-known public key ("PuKA") associated with the first party at node 200 to produce a resultant value 260. Thereafter, the resultant value 260 is compared to a previously obtained or computed hash value 210 of the digital agreement 205 as shown. If the resultant value 260 and the hash value 210 are identical, the first party is deemed to have signed the digital agreement. This procedure may be performed to validate the signature of any of the signatories.
As realized by viewing FIGS. 4 and 5, this non-arbitrated execution procedure for digital agreement clearly poses a risk to all signatories, except the final signatory 240 in the event that the final signatory 240 fails to return a copy of the fully-signed digital agreement to each of the other signatories 200 and 220. For example, if the agreement requires a first signatory to make a monetary payment, to supply goods, or to provide services to the final signatory and the first signatory has not yet received the fully-signed digital agreement from the final signatory, the first signatory risks breaching the agreement if it does not act in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Moreover, if the final party later decides to not abide by the terms of the agreement, the first party may have only limited legal recourse to retrieve its monetary payment or return of its goods. This is due to the fact that the first party only has a copy of a partially-signed digital agreement, not the fully-signed agreement which may have been erased, destroyed, or never signed by the final party. Regardless of the outcome, this non-arbitrated execution procedure allows the business arrangement to be controlled by the final party signing the digital agreement by the accidental or intentional failure to return the fully-signed digital agreement.
In a recent cryptography publication by Bruce Schneier entitled "Applied Cryptography" (2nd Edition), an overview is presented of protocols for non-arbitrated, "simultaneous" execution of digital contracts, attempting to address the issue of one signatory to a digital contracts having an advantage over another. These are very tedious, communication intensive protocols, based on each signatory taking a great number of steps in the signature process to build up complete signatures from the other signatories. However, this publication fails to provide a simple protocol for arbitrated execution of digital agreements and a protocol that does not exclusively depend on the integrity of the arbitrator.
Therefore, it would be desirous to create a system and method for reducing the risks associated with execution of digital agreements, while maintaining the cost, time, and convenience advantages of remote execution.
A digital arbitration system comprising an arbitration node and one or more signatory node(s) coupled together through a communication link. Each of the signatory node(s) may include a unique private key which is used to digitally sign a message, forming a digital signature, and transmit the digital signature over the communication link to the server node. Alternatively, if only one signatory node is used, each party's signature may be created within a removable personal token supplied by that party. The server node transmits an acknowledge signal or the digital signatures from the parties to each of these parties upon receiving all of the digital signatures and determining that each of the digital signatures is valid.
The features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention in which:
FIG. 1 is an illustrative embodiment of a face-to-face meeting of two signatories of an agreement following a mutually-arbitrated agreement execution procedure.
FIG. 2 is an illustrative embodiment of a non-signing human arbitrator receiving partially signed agreements from signatories of the agreement and returning fully signed agreements in accordance with an independently-arbitrated agreement execution procedure.
FIG. 3 is an embodiment illustrating the normal operations undertaken by a non-arbitrated agreement execution procedure.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a conventional technique for digitally signing a digital agreement concerning two or more remotely located parties through the use of well-known cryptographic techniques.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a conventional technique used to verify whether a party has digitally signed the digital agreement.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a digital arbitration system.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the cryptographic device implemented within the arbitration node of the digital arbitration system of FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the digital arbitration system.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a third embodiment of the digital arbitration system.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the method of operations of the digital arbitration system of FIGS. 6, 8 and 9.
The present invention relates to a system and method for digitally signing a digital agreement between remotely located nodes in a manner which precludes fraudulent withholding of the fully-signed digital agreement in an effort to gain an unfair advantage over a contractual business arrangement. In the following description, numerous details are set forth such as certain configurations of a digital arbitration system in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be obvious, however, to one skilled in the art that other system configurations may be utilized while still practicing the present invention.
In the detailed description, a number of cryptography-related terms are frequently used to describe certain characteristics or qualities which is defined herein. A "key" is an encoding and/or decoding parameter being a sequence of binary data that is used by cryptographic algorithms (e.g., Rivest, Shamir and Adleman "RSA", Digital Signature Standard "DSS", Elliptic Curve, etc.) as public and private key pairs, or used by cryptographic algorithms (e.g., Data Encryption Standard "DES") as a selected "session" key shared in confidence between the two parties. A "message" is digital information, for example, an electronic document or a hash value of one or more electronic document(s) if hashing is utilized. A "digital signature" is digital information resulting from information encrypted with a private key of a party. Such information may include, but is not limited to, an electronic document, a hash value and the like. This digital signing process allows a recipient of the digital signature to verify the identity, of the party sending the digital signature. This may be accomplished by decrypting the digital signature with a public key corresponding to the private key of the signing party. A "certificate" is defined as digital information resulting from information, typically a public key associated with the holder of the certificate, encrypted with a private key held by another entity (e.g., manufacturer, arbitration service provider "operator" responsible for the arbitration system, trade association, governmental entity and the like).
Referring to FIG. 6, a first embodiment of a digital arbitration system is illustrated. The digital arbitration system 300 comprises an arbitration node 305 such as, for example, a computer functioning as a server. The arbitration node 305 is coupled to one or more signatory nodes 310 1- 310 m ("m"≧1 and a whole number) through a communication link 315. The signatory nodes 310 1- 310 m may include any device capable of communicating with the communication link 315 and producing digital signatures. Examples of such devices include, but are not limited to, personal computers, servers, mainframes, workstations, PDAs (personal digital assistants), telephones, etc.
The arbitration node 305 contains a cryptographic device 320 that is capable of operating as a digital arbitrator by collecting digital signatures produced from signatory nodes 310 1- 310 m. The signatory nodes 310 1- 310 m may be owned or controlled by each party of a digital agreement having nodes 310 1- 310 m, or alternatively one signatory node may be controlled with an ability to receive personal tokens (e.g., circuitry configured to securely store one's private key) having a private key associated with the party securely implemented thereon. Thus, one signatory node placed at a centralized location may be used by the parties of the digital agreement.
Thereafter, copies of all of these digital signatures (collectively representing the fully-signed digital agreement) may be returned to each of the parties after certain conditions have been met. It is contemplated that the fully-signed digital agreement may be stored in the arbitration node 305 with acknowledgment signals sent to each of the parties that agreement has been signed by all parties. Copies of the agreement may be requested by any of the signatories or may be sent after signing is completed.
The communication link 315 may be accessible to the public at large (e.g., Internet) or accessible to a lesser number of individuals as in a local area network ("LAN") or a wide area network ("WAN"). This communication link 315 provides bi-directional communications between the arbitration node 305 and the signatory nodes 310 1- 310 m representing one or more parties to the digital agreement so that the arbitration node 305 transmits and receives information to produce a legally enforceable digital agreement. The procedure undertaken by the arbitration node 305 for exchanging information is discussed below in detail.
Referring to FIG. 7, the cryptographic device 320 comprises an internal bus 400 interconnecting a processing unit 405, non-volatile memory unit 410, an optional volatile memory unit 415 (as denoted by dashed lines), an optional random number generator 420 (as denoted by dashed lines) and a bus control unit 425. The non-volatile memory unit 405 contains at least the public/private key pair 411 and 412 uniquely associated with the cryptographic device 400. It is contemplated that as arbitration software 413 may be contained within the non-volatile memory unit 405 or may be stored outside the cryptographic device 320, assuming such software is cryptographically protected. When in operation, the arbitration software 413 performs one or more arbitration protocols. The bus control unit 425 controls data transmission between the cryptographic device 400 and the communication link 315, establishing communications with any one of the "m" signatory nodes remotely located from the arbitration node 305.
Optimally, the volatile memory unit 410 may be utilized as temporary storage by the processing unit 405 during execution of arbitration software 413. The random number generator 420 may be used in the initial generation of the public/private key pair 411 and 412 contained in the non-volatile memory unit 410. It is desirable to implement the random number generator 420 to guarantee that a private key of a unique public/private key pair has not been exposed in readable form outside the cryptographic device 320. Also, the cryptographic engine hardware represented by symmetric (e.g., DES-based) and asymmetric (e.g. RSA-based) encryption/decryption units may be implemented, as indicated by dashed lines, to assist in cryptographic operations.
It is contemplated, however, that the cryptographic device 320 may be implemented in a number of alternative embodiments. For example, the cryptographic device may be implemented with discrete logic on a printed circuit board, or implemented within a chip set operating in cooperation with a host processor There exist many embodiments which, although slightly different in design, do not deviate from the spirit and scope of the invention. An example of such an alternative embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 8.
Referring to FIG. 8, a second embodiment of the digital arbitration system 500 is illustrated in which the collective cryptographic operations are performed by the arbitration node 505. In contrast to the description of FIGS. 6-7, the arbitration node 505 does not employ the general purpose cryptographic device. Instead, the arbitration node 505 may be implemented with hardware dedicated to exclusively handle cryptographic arbitration operations.
As shown, the digital arbitration system 500 comprises the arbitration node 505 coupled to a number of signatory nodes 510 1- 510 n through a communication link 515 (e.g., Internet, LAN, WAN, etc.). The arbitration node 505 contains a dedicated hardware arbitration device 520 (e.g., programmable logic devices, state machines, etc.) that primarily performs arbitration functions without being implemented with other general capabilities. The advantage of this type of embodiment is that it may have cost advantages over other embodiments. Once authentication of the dedicated hardware arbitration device 520 is performed (as detailed in following sections), no further authentication is required since the functionality of the arbitration node 505 is not easily modifiable due to its fixed or static hardware implementation.
Referring to FIG. 9, a third embodiment of the digital arbitration system is illustrated in which the collective cryptographic operations are performed by a computer at a platform level (e.g., host processor, memory, etc.), not by a specific cryptographic device as described in FIGS. 7 and 8. The digital arbitration system 600 comprises the arbitration node 605 coupled to a number of signatory nodes 610 1- 610 n, through a communications link 615 (e.g., Internet, LAN, WAN, etc.). The arbitration node 605 is configured with arbitration software stored in memory (e.g., Random Access Memory "RAM", various types of Read Only Memory "ROM", flash memory and the like). The arbitration software is coded to produce similar functionality to that provided the cryptographic device, as shown in FIG. 10 and discussed below, when the host processor is executing instructions associated with the code. However, this implementation does not provide an ability to remotely authenticate the arbitration software implemented within the arbitration node 605 to guarantee its operation in a manner designated by the parties. Rather, the parties need to rely on the integrity and reputation of the owner or controller of the arbitration node 605.
Referring now to FIG. 10, the operations of the arbitration node implemented with one of the three embodiments of FIGS. 6, 8 and 9 to produce a fully-signed digital agreement are shown. First, in Step 705, the parties can mutually verify that each party is authorized to enter into the digital agreement. This can be accomplished verbally over the phone or, when dealing with business entities, by exchanging a digital certificate signed by a private key ("PrKTA") of a trusted authority (e.g., a partner or officer of the business, security office, etc.). The public key of the trusted authority ("PuKTA") should be widely available or verifiable through additional digital certificates or a digital certificate chain. Then, the parties negotiate the terms and wording of the digital agreement and specify the required signatories, including their public keys (Step 710). Next, the parties seek out and tentatively agree on a digital arbitrator, such as those shown in FIGS. 6,8 and 9 (Step 715). Upon agreeing on a digital arbitrator as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the parties check whether the digital arbitrator is implemented with an appropriate and acceptable arbitration mechanism. Otherwise, for a digital arbitrator utilizing only arbitration software as in FIG. 9, authentication of the arbitration mechanism is not performed, but rather of the owner or operator of the arbitration node. Thus, reliance is placed on the reputation of the owner or controller of the arbitration node (Steps 710-725).
More specifically, in the event that the arbitration node employs a cryptographic device having either a dedicated arbitration functionality as shown in FIG. 8 or general cryptographic functionality configured for arbitration (e.g. via software or firmware) as shown in FIGS. 6-7, authentication of the cryptographic device may be performed by a number of authentication procedures. One authentication procedure is by at least one of the parties requesting the arbitration node's (or cryptographic device's) public key ("PuKARB") and its manufacturer's certificate. Normally, the manufacturer's certificate is a message indicating that the arbitration node was manufactured by a certain company. Both the manufacturer's certificate and the public key are encrypted with a private key of a reputable manufacturer or trusted authority (e.g., a trade association, governmental entity, etc.) whose public key is widely disseminated. Thus, the parties can obtain PuKARB and send a challenge message to the arbitration node requesting a response to the message, this requested response being the message encrypted with the private key ("PrKARB") of the arbitration node. If the party can read the response by decrypting it with PuKARB, the arbitration node has been authenticated to be the device that the parties have sought.
If a general purpose cryptographic device configured for arbitration via software or firmware is employed within the authentication node of the arbitration system as in FIGS. 6-7, an additional authentication operation may be performed to ensure that an acceptable version of such firmware/software is installed. This authentication operation consists of querying the previously authenticated cryptographic device for details of its configuration. Based on the authenticity and known functionality of the cryptographic device and its firmware/software, a determination is made as to the acceptability of the installed arbitration protocol.
If the arbitration functionality is implemented as software running on the arbitration node under the control of an arbitration service provider, alternative methods of authenticating both the node and its configuration may be required. For example, one technique is to authenticate the node using a "Challenge-Response" authentication technique. Normally, the Challenge-Response authentication technique involves at least one of the parties sending a message requesting an "operator" certificate from the node. The "operator" certificate includes a message indicating that the node is under the control of the arbitration service provider and a public key of the node. Both the message and the public key of the node are encrypted with a private key of the arbitration service provider. The message and public key of the node can be obtained by decrypting the operator certificate with the public key of the arbitration service provider. Thus, authentication of the arbitration node is implicit depending on the reputation of the arbitration service provider who may be legally responsible for the operations of the arbitration node.
Of course, the highest degree of overall execution security and integrity is achieved when each party of the agreement performs these authentication operations and does so in an independent fashion. If the arbitrator authentication cannot be completed, a new digital arbitrator is selected by returning to Step 715.
In Step 730, each signatory digitally signs the digital agreement by encrypting a hash value of the digital agreement or the digital agreement itself (if hashing is not desired) with its private key. This digital signature, along with a signatory list and preferably, although not required, a copy of both the digital agreement or an equally acceptable alternative representation (e.g. hash value of the digital agreement), is then transferred to the digital arbitrator. This communication to the digital arbitrator is confidential, such as being protected through standard cryptographic means, typically by encrypting at least the digital signature with a temporary session key shared between the signatory and the digital arbitrator. This prevents the illicit capture of the digital signature by antagonistic parties, for use prior to the availability of the fully signed digital agreement from the digital arbitrator.
For each individual message received from the various signatories in Step 735, the digital arbitrator performs the operations described in Step 740. These include (i) comparing the received digital agreement (or its acceptable alternative representation) against all versions of the agreement previously received, (ii) comparing the received signatory list against all versions of the signatory list previously received, and (iii) validating the digital signature using the public key of the signatory derived from the signatory list in the manner described for FIG. 5. As shown in Step 745, the arbitrator must successfully complete all of the operations in Step 740 for all signatories before proceeding.
If valid digital signatures are received from all signatories and all copies of the digital agreement and signatory list are identical, the agreement is deemed to have been fully executed and the arbitrator proceeds to Step 750. In Step 750, the arbitrator distributes an acknowledgment to each signatory indicating that the digital agreement has been fully signed. The digital agreement is contained in the arbitration node to be provided upon request by one of the signatories. Similarly, requests for a copy of the signatory list, or the set of signatures may be satisfied by the arbitration node. Alternatively, it is contemplated that the entire set of digital signatures associated with the digital agreement may be distributed with or without the use of the session key or asymmetric (public-private key) cryptography techniques.
The present invention described herein may be designed in many different methods and using many different configurations. For example, the present invention may be utilized by escrow companies or other financial institutions for arbitrating the exchange of wired monetary payments for records of title (e.g., deed). Another example would be the remote electronic mutual stipulation to a set of facts as might occur in a judiciary proceeding. Likewise, it could be used by any state or federal regulated entities (e.g., Department of Motor Vehicles). While the present invention has been described in terms of various embodiments, other embodiments may come to mind to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The invention should, therefore, be measured in terms of the claims which follows.
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