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A design for life: An hour with Alain de Botton
Deloitte Review issue 14
Philosopher and author Alain de Botton talks with Scott Wilson on what it means to be a philosopher in the modern age, explains his views on enlightened capitalism, and discusses what we should all do to navigate the pleasures and sorrows of work and make our lives more meaningful.
Author and philosopher Alain de Botton discusses, among other things, the promise of enlightened capitalism and how to survive the pleasures and sorrows of work in the modern world.
You'd be forgiven for thinking that talking with Alain de Botton, whom the Guardian has called Britain's "most popular philosopher," could be somewhat intimidating for those with no more than a layman's grasp of Seneca, Nietzsche, and the joys of the unreconstructed Schopenhauer. But ten minutes into our discussion I'm struck by just how friendly, polite, and dare I say it, unassuming, one of the UK's foremost polymath thinkers comes across in an interview. It's like chatting with your Aunty Ethel on the state of her rose garden during another wet English summer—albeit an aunty armed with a Cambridge double first and a litany of distinguished intellectual contributions.
The Swiss born, bestselling author of books such as How Proust Can Change Your Life (which John Updike declared "dazzling" in his New Yorker review), The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, and Status Anxiety is also a recognized authority on architecture and an increasingly prominent voice on well-being. I was made aware of the breadth and depth of his intellectual reach when preparing to research his work for this article. Wandering into my local bookstore I was enthusiastically led around every nook and cranny by an assistant who pulled his books from shelves in fiction, self-help, travel, philosophy, architecture, art, and design. Sixty minutes later I left with a lot of reading to do. I wondered if he ever feels confused about what he does.
"Well I recognize that I've got an odd job. Basically, I'm in the business of selling ideas. And that sounds like an odd and intangible thing because one might immediately go, well, ideas for what? After all, a company like Deloitte sells ideas as well. But they have a very clear application. Their ideas are designed to make businesses go better. I would say that I'm in the business of selling ideas that can make people's inner psychology, what you could call their emotional life, go better. The way I do this is to look at a number of areas of psychological life, ranging from personal emotions, to working life, to relationships with the community, and other such problematic areas of life. I'm sifting and looking around for good ideas or what could more grandly or pretentiously be called wisdom, which sounds like an odd concept. But I think wisdom can be a useful word because it sort of suggests a bit of knowledge which is not only true, but is useful."
Glancing at the pile of books next to me, I suggest such an eclectic canon of work must require a supercharged approach to creativity. Does wielding such an obviously wide, diverse lens through which to observe, think, and write demand some sort of a process to getting stuff done?
"Yes. Broadly speaking, my discipline base is the humanities. So I feed off history, psychology, philosophy, sociology. I'm not a scientist; I'm not an economist. I look at a number of areas related to, let's say, emotional satisfaction or well-being, which encompasses lots of different areas. So it can go as widely as architecture because architecture and the spaces we inhabit are part of what contribute to well-being. Overall I think it's about getting to grips with a topic and trying to find out what belongs to that topic. Really what I'm trying to do is to work out what ideas belong where. It's a chance to structure an order to a topic. So, if I'm writing about architecture, I want to try and gather all my thoughts that are around space and aesthetics and the psychology of location. I want to try and get all those ideas in there. And so the working process starts off relatively free form and fluid and I'm just trying to get to the main idea. The best analogy is again with architecture. You start with a sketch. You then build it up into detailed plans. You then go into the actual construction of the thing. You put down the main bones and supporting pillars, and then at the very end, you're tidying and decorating the little details, the minor things. So it's very similar to putting up a building except you're putting up chapter three rather than a floor."
The son of a famously successful Swiss banker, de Botton grew up in Zurich but was educated at those twin citadels of the British elite, Harrow and Cambridge. Now that he has been firmly established in London for a number of years, I wonder if all his time in the UK has given him a particularly British slant on life?
"And with London nowadays, it's a working city; there are very few artists left. It's a very expensive city in which to live … So it's not a kind of bohemian life, it's not groups of people sitting around in silk dressing gowns, you know, composing Latin sonnets."
"Well I operate from the UK, but I don't see myself as particularly British, no… But there are things that I very much appreciate about the UK. It's a relentlessly skeptical society when it comes to intellectuals, when it comes to people who sort of think about stuff. It's a very empirical society that worships down-to-earth common sense. And in a way that's a tougher environment in which to make it, as somebody with ideas. You come up against a lot of irony and sarcasm around anyone who's trying to think about anything with any degree of solemnity, as I am sometimes. But that's kind of a good discipline as I think the dangers of a rather over-indulgent culture are obvious to see when you look at France or Germany, whose intellectuals can really only talk to each other. They are very hermetically sealed, partly because they're quite pampered, whereas the UK. does not pamper anyone who thinks for a living. In fact, it mocks them and teases them constantly! I think that keeps us sharp, keeps us on our toes. And with London nowadays, it's a working city; there are very few artists left. It's a very expensive city in which to live. Most people living there are professionals of one kind or another. That lends a particular kind of tenor. The people I meet and see day to day are politicians and business people and doctors and marketeers, all sorts of types. So it's not a kind of bohemian life, it's not groups of people sitting around in silk dressing gowns, you know, composing Latin sonnets."
Outside of London, de Botton's increasingly high profile in the US business community can be traced back to participation at a number of TED conferences and their use of social media as a potent channel for disseminating the talks. In particular, his 2009 talk A Kinder, Gentler Philosophy of Success earned him widespread recognition throughout the TED community. Has this inspired him to embrace technology as a means of developing new ideas and getting them out to an expanding audience?
"I think in a weird way the TED talk I gave in Oxford in 2009 in many ways did change my life and I didn't know it at the time. The reason being, as you hint, businesses look at TED talks, and that particular talk opened doors to an incredible array of businesses that I've been in contact with since 2009. I find myself often invited to come and talk to them, to think with them, to write stuff for them. It's become an increasingly important part of what I do every year, which involves many different kinds of projects. But it tends to come from the same place, from this one talk.
"And with technology, it's crept up on me like on so many people. I realize that the old model, which is that some wise and old, powerful publisher would publish a book and you could stand back and that was it, was never really quite true anyway. I was always very aware that publishers are quite old-school and they don't really understand their readers and they're not really on the case in terms of building audiences for writers. I always knew that you kind of have to do it yourself. And social media gave me, like so many other people, a real, very easy, cheap chance to do that. You set up a Twitter account at no cost and I can get a message out to my constituency, bypassing the two traditional gatekeepers, which are publishers and the mainstream media. I'm finding that the book doesn't even need to be reviewed because the news is already out through social media. That's an extraordinary and, for me, very comforting position, because this used to be a real bottleneck. So that's a huge kind of freedom. And the cost of doing so is more or less nil."
But with printed media seemingly on course to follow audio and visual media down the democratized path of streaming content and relegating the physical format to niche categories in the process, isn't technology more than ever a double-edged sword in the world of the writer. Because does anyone actually read books anymore?
"I think books have got good things going for them. They don't require huge advertising. They can't be easily divided. They are a unitary thing. You know, you can't say, I'm just going to take chapter two. It makes no sense, unless you've read chapter one! Unlike a newspaper or a CD, you can't rip the bit out, it just makes no sense. It has to be sold as a unitary package. It's never needed much advertising, and customers have got used to the cost of it. So it's insulated from some of the pressures. The publishers will bleed, but the underlying statistics on book sales and e-books is, you know, fairly stable. The thing that's collapsing is of course bookstores. They really will collapse. And there still isn't a proper mechanism for news about new books and new authors to emerge in a systematic way. So the process of discovery is floundering, and it means that some of the big names are getting more sales than ever. So for every Malcolm Gladwell, there are lots of people with actually just as good if not better ideas who are getting a little bit drowned out. But, you know, humans are resourceful creatures, and the bushfires will keep signaling that there's stuff out there. So I'm confident it will get through."
De Botton's recent work has been suitably wide and varied to provide plenty of useful content. The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, for instance, saw him dabble in ethnography in a way that recalls sociologist Donald Francis Roy's classic studies of industrial blue collar America of the '40s and '50s. Spending two years researching a variety of professions, jobs, and the people who work in them allowed de Botton to explore whether we can ever truly be satisfied with work and navigate what he calls the fallacy of meritocracy in the workplace. So, is it possible to actually enjoy work and lead a more meaningful life in the process?
"I think the question is similar, or I always think of an analogy, with love. You know, when people ask is it possible to have a relationship that's satisfying? Well I think we have to start with the theory. And at the level of theory, yes, of course it is possible. Is it hard? Yes. It's unbelievably hard. And part of the reason why it's hard is because human beings have so much imagination. By imagination I mean a capacity to imagine affections and developments from pretty good situations. So we're ambitious. We're all the time thinking, this is quite nice, but could it be better? And we think that in love and we think that in work.
"So, when you're starting off in your job, you think, wow, it'd be amazing just to have a job! That alone would be great. You know, I could buy a suit and I'd go to work every day and be smart, and that'd be really cool! And then after a few years, you think, well, that's not quite enough. What about getting further up the ladder? And then, when I'm further up the ladder, what about having my own business? And then you have your own business and think, yes, but what about having more money? And then one thinks, I've got some money, but why am I not Bill Gates? And so on and on. There's a constant rise of expectations. We've all got so many different things in us, so many different potentials in us, but the modern world responds and rewards specialization, people who know how to zero in on a particular thing. The ideal sweet spot is that you're very interested in a specialized bit of the world that society needs but where there are few other competitors, and you can draw a good salary. But that happens for very few of us.
"Indeed for many of us, we might not ever know what we actually want to do. We've got intimations of it on a Sunday evening but can't really bring it into the kind of focus that you need to sort of get the job on a Monday morning. And of course we can't necessarily pursue as many different careers as our imaginations would like. You know, we'd like to be chefs and a hotelier and a technology specialist and a pilot, and it sounds pretty fun to be a carpenter too, and what about being a photographer? That'd be quite cool, etcetera, etcetera. But most of us at the age of 16 or 17, we start making some choices and by the time you're 21 or 22, those choices are hardening. You've actually already reduced the kind of options for yourself. By the time you've got a family and you're settled in a particular job, it takes unbelievable courage and effort and will to change your career. So, there are a lot of people out there who may be drawing quite a good salary but are just not necessarily deeply satisfied by their work. And it's very painful—very painful."
So with people endlessly chasing rainbows in their careers, is it actually possible to get relief from the pressures to succeed in work?
"We live in a world partly driven by the ideology of the United States that is very forward-looking, very optimistic, very much placing the emphasis on individual achievement and the possibilities that are open to everyone so long as they work hard, which is a beautiful philosophy of life but also a very punishing one. It places huge responsibility on the individual to perform and leads to deep shame if there is failure. And with failure—well, we worship success but we also implicitly punish failure, very harshly, psychologically speaking.
"For example, the psychological consequences of unemployment or professional mediocrity are very severe. And I think that the answer to this is really some kind of collective consolation and recognition of the difficulty of the task, and that it's not any one person's fault. At the end of the day, we live under this philosophy of success which is going to leave most people feeling that they've underperformed. Only a very narrow elite will feel that they've done what that society wanted them to do. So I think it's important to recognize the psychological pressures rather than meet them only in the middle of the night as frightening characters that are chasing just us and instead to see them as actually written into the contract of modern society. To recognize that you may be suffering it personally, but realize it is a social and historical phenomenon."
Fear of failure and the debilitating pressures to succeed at everything are recurring themes in de Botton's work and underpin many of his ideas on navigating the path to a more meaningful life. His bestselling book Status Anxiety was a pointed take on just such a topic. Reading it reminds me of the famous Gore Vidal line: Every time a friend succeeds a small part of me dies.
"That book started off really from an awareness that the number one fear that many people in developed societies have is the fear of being a professional failure. This is really something that haunts modern men and women. I wanted to try and trace that idea. I wanted to start saying, look, it happens in your head but it has a history, it has a philosophy. And it's really important to get to grips with it. Human beings have not always thought this. For most of human history, people have been terrified of starving, they've been terrified of, you know, being killed or falling on the wrong side of court politics or whatever it happened to be—but they haven't had this feeling that they should create themselves afresh, where every person is this kind of self-created being who has to be very special and do something extraordinary. This is very modern. And I wanted to look at the history of this happening so I looked at the history of America where that story is very central and then spreads across the world.
"… I also explored the kind of nasty sting in the tail that you can get in a society which wants equality of opportunity for everybody but isn't going to have an equality of outcome for everybody."
"I studied concepts such as the concept of equality—equality of opportunity, which is so fundamental to the way we look at the world now, that we want equal opportunities for everyone. But I also explored the kind of nasty sting in the tail that you can get in a society which wants equality of opportunity for everybody but isn't going to have an equality of outcome for everybody. So with that you're going to get what we call a lot of "losers," which gives rise to problems with what some call self-esteem. It creates a lot of psychological disturbance. So I wanted to explore and understand how people have traditionally coped with this kind of thing. I looked at the role of religion in appeasing some of those doubts, the concept of an afterlife where some of the pressures of this life are taken care of. Then what happens when religion declines, looking at things like nature, the role of art. So, just really looking at the strange psychological position we find ourselves in today. And it's a book that remains very alive in a way. It's a book people keep coming back to. It's one that resonates strongly in different parts of the world such as China and South Korea, where I think people feel this very intensely, where they're just trying to grapple with it every day."
What lessons can one take away from your books that help deal with these pressures?
"Well, take the philosophy of stoicism, which developed in the Roman Empire during some very turbulent times. Stoicism doesn't give us the comfort of thinking that life can be made perfect. What it tries to do is to steel us for the challenges and make us feel in a sense heroic about the difficulties. And I know that may not sound like an ideal and cheerful solution, but I think there are many problems in life, particularly around relationships and work, to which the best response is essentially a kind of stoic response. Accepting and bowing down to certain necessities, understanding where they come from and using understanding to kind of blunt the force of bitterness or anger and essentially not seeing it as a personal plot against you but as something which is endemic and structural to being alive. There are very, very few people who get through this life thinking that they've done justice to their talents and have answered their romantic longings. This is just a privilege that's open to very few. And yet the world leads us to expect that this is for the many."
Some of de Botton's recent thinking on what he calls enlightened capitalism also hints at a need for business to embrace human needs more so than in the past in order to become more effective in a world where disruptive technological change is the norm. Are you suggesting a reworking of the classic Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs for the 21st century?
"There are very, very few people who get through this life thinking that they've done justice to their talents and have answered their romantic longings. This is just a privilege that's open to very few. And yet the world leads us to expect that this is for the many."
"I think capitalism, as I see it, is a concept that to date has been very useful and very good at delivering answers to many human needs that have plagued human beings for most of their history. You know, we are now very good at delivering food, construction material, certain kinds of information, transport, logistics, legal knowledge, financial knowledge, medical knowledge and assistance. These things are going pretty well in many advanced economies, although obviously disastrously in other nations. But in the kind of economies where the people reading this will be, these things are going quite well.
"But of course, critics of capitalism say it's hollow, it's meaningless, it's soulless. It's all about more running shoes and pizzas! It's not about the stuff that matters. Now I think this is interesting and the true capitalist has to take that onboard. And yes, if you think of the famous pyramid of needs from Maslow, capitalism has been making its profit and centering its energies around the bottom bit of the pyramid. I think the challenge for the future is how can money and labor be made and employed towards the top of the pyramid. And if you'll remember, the top of the pyramid is things like the need for connection, the need for community, the need for understanding.
"Take something like psychotherapy, which I'm interested in. It's striking that psychotherapy, despite being the most important intellectual achievement in the psychological sphere of the 20th century, still struggles to have a broader monetary impact. The net value of psychotherapeutic services in, say, the American economy is probably way, way, way below landscape gardening or certain kinds of dental hygiene. It's very low down on the scale. It's economically puny. And yet, all sorts of claims are made on it, you know, this is supposed to help us to live wonderful lives and all the rest of it. So it all comes back to what I was saying earlier, that there is a divorce between financial logistical organization and good ideas.
"For example, take the mobile phone and communications. We've made unbelievable progress at learning how to get in touch with one another. But the real challenge is not just how to find someone in space and send them a text message, it's how to get through to them in the really difficult areas of life. Communication between colleagues, between friends, between family members remains very challenging, despite the iPhone! So I think technology is still at the dawn of cracking some of the harder issues, and businesses are still not necessarily capitalizing on those more thorny psychological needs that lie outside of business as we currently understand it."
You're also a well-known atheist, but in your book Religion for Atheists you propose that secular societies should look to religions for more insights into how to build a sense of community, make our relationships last, overcome feelings of envy and inadequacy, and much more. What exactly is it about religion that informs your thinking in the realm of enlightened capitalism?
"Well the question that interests me as an atheist is: What do human beings get from religion? And what kind of needs does it answer to? So when people celebrate religious rituals to do with human development, I look at it from a psychological perspective as a kind of mechanism that's trying to make people suffer less and trying to answer to their needs. And so that excites me because I think there are lots of good ideas here that we haven't really looked at properly as atheists, that the secular world has been too hasty in rejecting. So again it comes back to this idea of enlightened capitalism. You know, religions are massive organizations transmitting ideas. What's Buddhism transmitting? Well, Buddhism is basically transmitting ideas about calm. Now that's kind of a weird thing, right? It's like it's the size of General Motors and it's selling you calm. But that's a really interesting idea that gets me going. And I thought, okay, well I'm not interested in Buddhism per se, but the idea of an organization that will systematically say, we're going to take calm seriously, we're going to try and do everything to make people who interact with us calm. That's a fascinating challenge."
From stoicism to enlightened capitalism, we've covered a lot ground. What else occupies de Botton's time these days? It seems much of it is taken up with running The School of Life, which he founded in central London a few years back. Housed in a former shop that sells books and has a space for seminars and teaching, it is, he says, "a kind of one-stop shop where you should be able to pick up stuff about emotional intelligence and emotional well-being. We do a lot of activities around that core mission. We offer classes and seminars. We consult with businesses. We make some films. We generate content. And it's all based around trying to raise emotional well-being and intelligence in the community." Next year will see the business move toward a licensing model with branches opening in Melbourne, Seoul, Amsterdam and Paris. Does this hint at a yearning to become more entrepreneurial and explore the business world in more depth?
"I spend a lot of time wondering about the impact of what I do. And one of the things that I think separates me from other writers is that I've always had a much more practical outlook on life. And for better or for worse, I'm actually interested in changing how things happen. And this means that, especially in recent years, I've spent a lot of time involved with things that are not typical writerly pursuits.
"For instance, I've set up a couple of businesses that are in fields quite different from writing, although they're connected. One organization I set up is called Living Architecture, which grew out of a book I wrote on architecture. And the question really, what's wrong with the British that they're so uncomfortable with modern architecture? Not just the British but, you know, what's gone wrong with the modern world that good contemporary architecture is still quite an anomaly.
"And then a lot of my work has been focused on changing the atmosphere around culture and how people respond to philosophy, literature, etcetera, and to their own emotions. And that led to the creation of The School of Life where we have a rolling procession of lectures, speakers, classes, and all sorts of things. What I've been thinking about now is how can the good ideas in this world ally themselves with power, which nowadays is around business."


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ALAMEDA -- The author of one of the most famous takeaways in Super Bowl history can't believe the Raiders have played eight quarters without one.
Cornerback Tracy Porter went so far as to call the Raiders' goose egg when it comes to forcing turnovers "shocking" and "mind-boggling."
"We're (first) in sacks, we're one of the tops in passing yards allowed, but we don't have an interception," Porter said. "We know they're going to come, and once they do, they're going to come in bunches."
Considering the Raiders are facing Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos on Monday night at Sports Authority Field, Week 3 would be a good place to start.
Manning has nine touchdown passes and no interceptions in two games, a career touchdown pass-to-interception ratio of 445-209 in the regular season and a reputation for taking care of the ball.
Porter stole the one pass Manning would probably most like to have back, a 74-yard interception return for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLIV, a 31-17 win by Porter's New Orleans Saints over the Indianapolis Colts.
"It'd be nice to have a few more come Monday night," Porter said. "That one was on a big stage, but this one is a big stage also. It's Monday night."
Creating turnovers is the one area where the Raiders defense has come up short in what has been an encouraging start.
Since giving up touchdowns on their first two possessions against Indianapolis in Week 1, the Raiders have allowed just two touchdowns and one field goal in 17 total possessions by the Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars.
After finishing 28th in scoring defense a year ago, giving up 27.7 points per game, the Raiders are tied for third at 15.0. Their nine sacks are tied for most in the NFL after they totaled 25 a year ago, second-worst in the league.
The Raiders are ranked fifth in total defense (261.0 yards per game, down from 354.5) and No. 5 in pass defense (180.5, down from 235.9).
Free safety Charles Woodson knows it's not enough, particularly when the opponent is Manning.
"We have to get the ball," Woodson said. "To not have any fumbles, not to have any interceptions has been tough. I'm used to having a couple myself at this point."
Raiders coach Dennis Allen thinks continued emphasis on getting multiple tacklers to the ball and pressuring the quarterback will pay off.
"It will come with getting those 11 guys to fly around," Allen said. "If we continue to be able to get to the quarterback in the pocket, we're going to get some of those sack-fumbles. Defensively the only reason you go out there is to get the ball back for the offense, and that's what we have had a little trouble doing."
Porter stressed attacking the ball in flight, while Woodson believes film study will put players in better position to get turnovers.
Defensive coordinator Jason Tarver has placed an emphasis on ball-stripping, something Woodson does particularly well. Tarver was also heartened that the Jacksonville game included some tipped passes and near-interceptions -- with cornerback Mike Jenkins coming the closest.
"We need to do a better job of being the second one in on the tackle and pulling at the ball," Tarver said. "The more tips, the more chances you have."
Porter, who played in Denver last year, is fine with rehashing his Super Bowl moment but said the topic was off limits last season when he and Manning were teammates.
"It was kind of understood that the play happened and we moved on from it," Porter said. "He didn't bring it up, I didn't bring it up. Kind of slipped it under the rug. ... He remembers, though. You know he remembers it to this day."

subset: commoncrawl


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Michelle Badash, MS
A risk factor is something that increases your likelihood of getting a disease or condition.
It is possible to develop colorectal cancer with or without the risk factors listed below. However, the more risk factors you have, the greater your chance of developing colorectal cancer. If you have a number of risk factors, ask your doctor what you can do to reduce your risk.
Risk factors for colorectal cancer include the following:
Heredity is perhaps the strongest risk factor for developing colorectal cancer. It is estimated that approximately 20% of all cases of colorectal cancer are hereditary. This risk increases if you have a primary relative, such as a parent, sibling, or child who develops colorectal cancer.
Hereditary colon cancer occurs at a younger age. As a result, anyone with a history of colon cancer in a relative should seek screening early. Guidelines recommend a screening at age 40 or 10 years younger than the earliest age at which a relative developed colon cancer, whichever is younger. Even in the absence of hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC) and familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), the presence of the disease before age 60 in near relatives increases one's own risk.
The two most common forms of inherited colon cancer are:
Colorectal cancer most commonly occurs after age 50, though certain forms of this cancer may develop earlier. However, colorectal cancer can occur at any age.
Colorectal cancer has been strongly associated with lifestyle factors. The following factors may increase your risk of developing colorectal cancer:
Although both men and women develop colorectal cancers, men are at a higher risk.
The following medical conditions have been shown to increase the risk of developing colorectal cancer:
Colorectal cancer. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed/what. Updated May 3, 2013. Accessed May 14, 2013.
Colorectal cancer prevention.
National Cancer Institute
website. Available at:
Accessed May 14, 2013.
Familial adenomatous polyposis. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed/what. Updated June 25, 2012. Accessed May 14, 2013.
Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed/what. Updated May 1, 2013. Accessed May 14, 2013.
National Cancer Institute
website. Available at:
Last reviewed May 2015 by Mohei Abouzied, MD, FACP
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Copyright © EBSCO Publishing. All rights reserved.


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Ra's al-KhaymahU.A.E.
January 7, 2013
Lebanon, beirut
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text:
Warhol Snapshots, 1973–1986
August 29–October 25, 2009
Andy Warhol— his name is so ingrained in the popular imagination, and his art so definitive of contemporary culture and style in America, he needs no introduction. His art changed the game in so many provocative ways that it continues to this day to give rise to new understandings of the nature of art—as product, process, and performance.
Warhol always insisted that his art wasn't deep or profound in any way—but rather "deeply superficial." On more than one occasion he has been compared to a mirror, simply there to reflect society back to itself. This exhibition of Warhol's photographs will direct focus to the signs of the times reflected in the mirror's surface: the spirit of the seventies and eighties that Warhol and his art embodied. Those depicted include his friends, followers, and fellow denizens of the underground, the famous faces of his era as well as those not destined to be remembered.
UMMA is one of 183 college and university art museums that received a gift of photographs as part of the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy project, and the black-and-white photographs and Polaroids in this exhibition are the first of this collection to be publicly presented.
On Sunday, September 27 at 2 pm, Christina Chang, curator of the exhibition, will discuss the exhibition in the gallery.
Click here for a rundown of documentary films offered in conjunction with the exhibition.


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Ridgecrest Mayor Dan Clark confirmed this Wednesday over the phone.
"All the members had a history of working on the committee" Clark said. "It was decided it was best to have that continuity."
City Planner Matthew Alexander said he still needed to confirm with some OTAP members and the city council.
"The unofficial decision has been to keep the current OTAP membership active," he said in an email.
The committee will move forward on reviewing sections of the Down Town Action Plan, which was established in 2010.
While still only 65 percent finished, the plan is expected to finish with the recent unveiling of the proposed "Balsam District" at its Nov. 27 public hearing.
Alexander is in the process of integrating the brand into the Downtown Action Plan.
"The intent will be to incorporate the Balsam District brand into the approved Action Plan," Alexander said in an email Wednesday. "There will be some discussion of this on January 8."
However, Alexander stressed the importance that the committee would not be voting on anything involving the Balsam District brand.
The brand was put together by marketing consultant Ron Smith, who was elected to the state assembly in November. Smith was instrumental in the development of the Boulevard, Lancaster's own downtown revitalization, while he served as a planning commissioner and later its vice mayor.
"The staff and OTAP members will have to do some more research and thinking about the proposed brand before taking action," Alexander said.
With two tag lines — "Skies the Limit" and "The Perfect Landing" — and art deco-inspired theme appealing to the city's aerospace roots, the brand's goal is to help revitalize the downtown Ridgecrest area around Balsam Street and parts of Ridgecrest Boulevard.
The ultimate goal is to create a place that will appeal to people in the 25-40 age group as a means of keeping them in town instead of heading to areas like Lancaster or Los Angeles.
The Downtown Action Plan itself, a product of committee meetings and research, outlines the objectives and overall layout for the proposed revitalization effort.
While Balsam Street is considered the historic downtown of Ridgecrest, with many of its small businesses stretched between Ridgecrest Boulevard and Argus Avenue, the initial draft plan indicates the Old Town Action Plan will include Ridgecrest Boulevard between Norma Street and China Lake Boulevard and the Balsam Street business area.
"The fundamental objective of this planning process is to ensure a program that encourages good design, promotion and community pride in Old Town, Ridgecrest's historic and cultural heartland," the action plan states.
Page 2 of 2 - There is some concern over how the city could fiance this, especially given that the city no longer has a redevelopment agency to help finance projects.
The OTAP Committee meets Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 5:30 p.m. in City Hall's downstairs Conference Room A.
Location, ST | website.com


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Egyptians gather body parts at the scene of a train crash that killed at least 47 people, most of them children near Assiut in southern Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012. As one man picked up a body part he screamed: "Only God can help!" The bus was carrying more than 50 children between 4 and 6 years old when it was hit near al-Mandara village in Manfaloot district in the province of Assiut, a security official said, adding that it appears that the railroad crossing was not closed as the train sped toward it. (AP Photo/Mamdouh Thabet)


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What is the longest one-syllable English word?
The one that's most commonly cited is screeched (nine letters). But there are also schlepped, scratched, scrounged, scrunched, stretched, and the plural nouns straights and strengths (all with nine letters).
The 20-volume historical Oxford English Dictionary also has scraughed, scrinched, scritched, scrooched, sprainged, spreathed, throughed, and thrutched. It includes, too, a single instance of the ten-letter word scraunched, from the 1620 English translation of Don Quixote, a novel by the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes.
See other Vocabulary Questions.
Take a look at: What is the longest English word?


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Cottages With Table Tennis
Just Show Me Cottages With Table Tennis
Planning a family holiday or a get-together with friends and
need some kind of evening entertainment laid on other than the
usual TV and music system? We've found a variety of holiday
cottages with table tennis and they're proving hugely popular.
After-dinner fun Victorian style!
Did you know that table tennis was first played by upper class
Victorians as a form of after-dinner entertainment? They
transformed their dining tables into miniature indoor tennis
courts, setting up a row of books in the centre as a net, and then
used cigar box lids as paddles and Champagne corks as balls. As the
game evolved, early racquets were made from parchment whose sound
when striking the ball gave the game the nicknames of
'wiff-waff' and later the more affectionately known
So follow in the footsteps of our inventive ancestors and plan
some after-dinner fun in your holiday cottage with table tennis.
Or, should it rain, perhaps an impromptu ping-pong tournament,
competing in twos or fours. And do be prepared for speed as you
spin and smash the ball over the nets at a much faster pace with
today's rubber laminated bats! View our full range of holiday
cottages with a table tennis table below.


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Vernon Leo Coons Jr., 75, of Moberly, died Tuesday, March 12, 2013, at the Macon County Health Care Center.
A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. Friday at the Madison Community Center with Agnew Funeral Home, Paris, in charge of arrangements. Following the memorial service there will be a Masonic and military service.
Visitation is from 4-6 p.m. Friday at the community center.
Location, ST | website.com


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Manchester United End of Season Review 07/08 DVDItem #386081
- Don's miss a minute of Man. U.'s glory!
$29.99Goal Club Members
$26.9990Goal Club Points
Manchester United fans haven't had a season like this since the 1999 treble. During the 07/08 season, the Reds produced some stunning soccer and secured their 17th league title on a tension-filled final day at Wigan, before traveling to Moscow to complete an incredible double. In the exciting and stressful finale, Manchester United was just one penalty kick away from defeat when a slip and a Van der Sar save let Fergie's men capture the European Cup for a third time. Relive the glory of a truly momentous season, savor all of Ronaldo's incredible 42 goals and hear exclusive insight from Sir Alex, Giggsy, Rio, Rooney and Carlos Tevez among others. Make it a double. . . Champions of England and Champions of Europe!
Release Date: June 9, 2008
Format: NTSC
Language: English
Revive la fabulosa temporada 07/08 del Manchester United con este DVD que recuerda cómo los Rojos conquistaron su título 17 en la Liga Inglesa y su tercer campeonato de Europa. Incluye los 42 goles de Ronaldo y comentarios de Sir Alex y el equipo. (154 min


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Ginger XX43/20/15A Antique Nickel Cantebury 20" Metal Shelf with Towel Bar
Offer Ends
We still have product details, accessories, replacement parts and reviews below, scroll down to see them!
- Hotel Shelf Frame
- Towel Bar
- 20" Length
- 4.8"H x 11.1"D
Additional Ginger Links
Our SKU: XX43/20
This product is listed under the following manufacturer number(s):
- Antique Nickel*
*Denotes a finish or option that has been discontinued
Ginger Canterbury Collection
Other Products In The Ginger Canterbury Collection
Ginger 1542
Cantebury 26.4" Arched Mirror with Beveled Edge and Frame$391.89-$520.77
Ginger 1539B
Cantebury Brackets for Shower Rod$75.60-$90.30
Ginger 1100SCL
Soap Dish Replacement Glass$27.99-$27.99(2)
Ginger 154B
Cantebury Shelf Mounting Kit$70.00-$84.00
Ginger 1508D
Canterbury Triple Post Double Roll Tissue Holder$149.69-$201.59
Warranty Info
GINGER brand products are warranted to be free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal use and service for as long as the original purchaser owns them, unless otherwise specifically noted. The defective part must be returned to the GINGER prepaid, accompanied by proof of purchase. GINGER will inspect to determine the nature of the problem - whether it is a defect or has been otherwise damaged. If the item is defective, GINGER will replace it at no charge. If it is determined that the item has been otherwise damaged, GINGER will repair or replace the item for a charge.
Glass and Shower rods are not covered under GINGER's limited warranty.
Cleaning Instructions for GINGER Products:
Ginger products are manufactured with the most advanced techniques to
assure a durable and long lasting finish.
Cleaning of Ginger accessories requires special care to avoid damage to the
finish and to preserve the original brilliance.
Clean the surface with a mild detergent and water only. Dry with a soft cloth.
Never use rough cloths, abrasives or chemical cleaners.
The use of chemical cleaners for cleaning tiles and the bath area can impeach the finish of our products and care should be taken to avoid contact with the accessories.
An occasional paste wax is recommended.
Contact with chemical cleaners and abrasives will void the manufacturer's warranty on all products.


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MINNEAPOLIS -- The major gamble of the A's offseason has become the major quandary of the early season, with Jim Johnson no longer the Oakland closer.
The A's didn't need Johnson or anyone else to close Thursday in a 6-1 win over the Minnesota Twins that completed a series sweep. Oakland built a five-run lead in the sixth, and Ryan Cook and Fernando Abad handled the eighth and ninth innings in a non-save situation.
But the A's will need a closer soon, perhaps Friday night when they open a three-game set in Seattle, and it's not clear whom that will be.
Manager Bob Melvin's decision for now is go with a closer-by-committee. Johnson's demotion is a short-term move, at least that's what the A's hope.
But with an 18.90 ERA, an 0-2 record and one blown save in five appearances, something had to be done. No one knows that better than Johnson.
"You've got to do what's best for the team, and Bob's the manager," Johnson said after the game. "Obviously it's not an ideal situation, but I'll fight like hell to get through it."
Melvin said Thursday morning that he would use a number of relievers -- Luke Gregerson, Cook, Sean Doolittle and Dan Otero -- to close while the club focuses on helping Johnson find his 50-save stuff from each of the last two seasons.
In December, the A's traded for Johnson, who'd saved 101 games combined the last two years. The player cost wasn't much -- infielder Jemile Weeks and a minor-leaguer -- but it was a gamble because Johnson was arbitration eligible. The $10 million settlement between Johnson and the A's to avoid arbitration made him the second-highest-paid player on the Oakland roster before he'd ever thrown a pitch as an Athletic.
"We're going to give Jim a break from closing," Melvin said. "There's no timetable, and I'm not going to say that I'll be looking to give him a soft landing. We just want to let him get straightened out. And we have plenty of guys to do this."
Johnson said he was frustrated by his own performance, but Melvin said the closer understood the move.
"It's uncomfortable, yet he makes it easy because all he wants to do is win," Melvin said. "That's what he conveyed to me. He said 'I just want to win here, and if I'm not doing my job, I understand.' "
Cook was the only one of the potential closers to pitch Thursday, but it was more a case of him needing work. Oakland was up by the final count of 6-1 when he entered in the eighth.
Dan Straily (1-1) worked the first seven innings, allowing three hits and one run. A's starters have allowed three runs or less in all nine games this season, although Straily wasn't as dominant as his numbers suggested.
"It was apparent to me pretty early on that I didn't have my best stuff," he said. "I was able to mix things up a lot, and part of baseball is getting through when you don't have your best stuff."
Minnesota scored first when Brian Dozier homered with one out in the first. But that was it for the Twins, who managed only two more hits and two walks off Straily.
After Daric Barton's single tied the game in the second, the A's got two-run homers from Josh Donaldson in the third and Sam Fuld in the fourth and were able to put it on cruise control. Donaldson added a single late to finish with three RBIs.
A's (Tommy Milone, 12-9 in 2013) at Seattle (Felix Hernandez, 2-0), 7:10 p.m. CSNCA


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From the sound of the tape, the turnout is pretty good and some of the audience is clearly familiar with the material. After Divided Sky, Trey tells the crowd Were finally here, after years of trying to play California.
During a clean but otherwise unremarkable YEM, the band's vocal jam includes them repeating "Take off your jacket now".
Trey introduces Fishman by saying "His first performance ever in Color- excuse me, California."
Fishman's solo includes an explanation of the source of his new vacuum. "I bought this for $69 I Colorado. In Steamboat Springs. My other ones an Electrolux but its dying. I found this at a vacuum sale. Its got as much power per square inch as an Electrolux."
The early Chalkdust starts off a little tentatively, but finishes nicely. An historic night, even if there's little that's musically memorable about it.


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About 100 volunteers are expected to gather about today near Meeker Lake, where an organized search will begin at 9 a.m. for a Shawnee family's missing kangaroo.
Lucy Sparkles, the 2-foot tall pet of Larry and Shayla Menhusen, and their three children, went missing from her home north of Shawnee on Nov. 22 and the search has been ongoing since.
Now the family is receiving some help from the operators of the G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Park in Wynnewood, as they are leading the organized foot search today.
Shayla Menhusen said the operators are planning a search encompassing a five-mile radius around the lake. Volunteers wanting to help can meet at Meeker Lake, which is about seven miles north of Interstate 40 on Kickapoo Street. The search begins at 9 a.m. but Menhusen said volunteers will start gathering about 8 a.m.
That's also the general area where Lucy Sparkles was captured on a hunter's deer camera last week. While the hunter didn't retrieve any of the images until recently, Menhusen said it was a positive sighting so they hope Lucy Sparkles is still in the area.
Lucy, who is 11 months-old, became part of the Menhusen family in June.
Anyone with information or sightings of Lucy are asked to call Shayla Menhusen at 405-990-4867.
Location, ST | website.com


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NEW: For a prettier blog interface, see the Wordpress version!
The Electronic Classroom as a Communications Medium: Foundations and Strategies of Online Instruction; Mark Vincent Escaler, Violet B. Valdez, Ph.D., and Chay Hofileña; Konrad Adenauer Center for Journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University
Common Reasons for Student Attrition in an Online Learning Environment; Maria Beatriz V. Espejo; Ateneo de Manila University
Are You Ready for E-learning?; Prof. Armi Trenas, Asian Institute of Management
I'd love to hear about any questions, comments, suggestions or links that you might have. Your comments will not be posted on this website immediately, but will be e-mailed to me first. You can use this form to get in touch with me, or e-mail me at [email protected] .


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Website: zetutorials.tk In this tutorial I will be bringing you through the easy process on how to make a Live CD for Free from Ubuntu.com What is a Live CD? A life CD basically lets you to install the operating system safely onto your computer with a wide variety of customizable options. It also lets you to test out the operating system without doing any harm or changing anything on your computer. Ubuntu lets a user get free software that would otherwise cost with other operating systems like Windows 7 and Snow Leopard. It is completely customizable and an open source meaning new updates and software are always available. Ze-Links Subscribe: bit.ly My Website: zetutorials.tk Twitter twitter.com Please subscribe to help me out www.ubuntu.com infrarecorder.org Please show your appreciation and support by subscribing! If you have a problem please leave a comment ╔═╦╗╔╦╗╔═╦═╦╦╦╦╗╔═╗ ║╚╣║║║╚╣╚╣╔╣╔╣║╚╣═╣ ╠╗║╚╝║║╠╗║╚╣║║║║║═╣ ╚═╩══╩═╩═╩═╩╝╚╩═╩═╝
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A North Augusta mother wants to change divorce laws in South Carolina.
Karyn Young, who now goes by her maiden name Grace, is the mother of two young boys who were killed by their father.
Authorities say Terry Young drowned his two boys and then shot himself.
Grace and Young were in the middle of a divorce. Current law requires a couple be separated for one year before the divorce is final.
Now one representative from our area wants to change that, and wonders if the young boys would still be alive today if the law had been different.
"Ms. Young and I feel like if…she had been able to get a divorce earlier, this situation…[would] have been a lot better in long run," says Don Smith, Republican representative for South Carolina House District 83.
Right now, the only grounds for immediate divorce are desertion, infidelity, and physical cruelty. Rep. Smith wants to add mental cruelty.
"That would be what I consider mental abuse if you would. It has nothing to do with physical abuse itself, but the fact that you are perhaps threatened, intimidated or coerced into doing things you don't want to do."
Rep. Smith says Karyn Grace approached him about changing the current South Carolina law.
The bill would be named after her boys.
"Ms. Young feels that would be a good idea, she actually suggested that and we all concur that it would be a great idea," says Rep. Smith.
"Ms. Young is wanting to do this not for anything that happened with her boys, not to gain any spite or anything of that nature, but she simply is trying to set a trail so that this same type of thing won't happen again. Maybe the next family won't have to go through what she's gone through."
Representative Smith will meet with South Carolina governor Mark Sanford in a couple of weeks to talk about the proposed bill.
He hopes to have it passed by the end of this legislative session at the beginning of June.


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NEW YORK -- Hard to believe this is the same Rafael Nadal who was home during the U.S. Open a year ago, nursing a bad left knee.
Hard to believe this is the guy sent packing in the first round of Wimbledon in June, losing against someone ranked 135th.
Looking fit as can be and maybe even better than ever, the No. 2-ranked Nadal pulled away from No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Monday in a taut, tense U.S. Open final for his 13th Grand Slam title.
"This is probably the most emotional one in my career," Nadal said. "I know I had to be almost perfect to win."
They started in sunlight and finished at night, a 3-hour, 21-minute miniseries of cliffhangers and plot twists and a pair of protagonists who inspired standing ovations in the middle of games.
"Probably nobody brings my game to the limit like Novak," said Nadal, who collected $3.6 million in prize money, including a $1 million bonus for results during the North American hard-court circuit.
There was no quit in either of them, during points that lasted 15, 25, even more than 50 strokes. Those rallies went so long, rarely over when they appeared to be, and spectators often shouted out during the course of play, prompting Nadal to complain to the chair umpire.
This was their 37th match against each other, the most between any two men in the Open era, and Nadal has won 22. It also was their third head-to-head U.S. Open final in the last four years. Nadal beat Djokovic for the 2010 title, and Djokovic won their rematch in 2011.
They know each other's games so well, and play such similar hustle-to-every-ball styles, but in the end, it was Nadal who was superior.
"He was too good. He definitely deserved to win this match today and this trophy," Djokovic said. "Obviously disappointing to lose a match like this."
Nadal improved to 22-0 on hard courts and 60-3 overall in 2013 with 10 titles, including at the French Open, which made him the first man with at least one Grand Slam trophy in nine consecutive seasons. The 27-year-old Spaniard's total of 13 major championships ranks third in the history of men's tennis, behind only Roger Federer's 17 and Pete Sampras' 14.
Nadal has won a record eight titles at the French Open, two each at the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, and one at the Australian Open.
"Thirteen Grand Slams for a guy who is 27 years old is incredible," said Djokovic, who owns six himself. "Whatever he achieved so far in his career, everybody should respect, no question about it."
Nadal no longer wears the strips of white tape he once did to bolster his left knee, and the way he covered the court against Djokovic -- switching from defense to offense in a blink -- proved that while he says he still feels pain in that leg, he definitely does not have problems moving around.
He was off the tour for about seven months, missing the London Olympics and U.S. Open last year, and the Australian Open this year.
"The hardest part is the pain, always," Toni Nadal, Rafael's uncle and coach, told The Associated Press. "You have pain, and you play. But the problem is you never know if you can run so fast, like before, or if you can play against the best players. From one day to (the next), it's difficult, always."
There were no surprising or innovative tactics from Nadal. In the simplest of terms, he reached nearly every ball Djokovic delivered, and Nadal's replies nearly never missed the intended spot, accented by his huge uppercut of a swing and loud grunts of "Aaaah!" By match's end, Djokovic had made 53 unforced errors, Nadal only 20.
"Credit to my opponent. He was making me run," said Djokovic, who won the Australian Open in January and will remain No. 1 in the rankings despite Monday's loss. "I had my ups and downs.
"It's what we do when we play against each other, always pushing each other to the limit. That's the beauty of our matches and our rivalry, I guess, in the end."


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PHOENIX -- A's third baseman Josh Donaldson took Oakland infield coach Mike Gallego aside the other day to voice his concerns about the angle he's been taking on slow grounders hit his way.
"He's not afraid to ask questions, and he thought the approach he was taking was making him fall offline as he was throwing,'' Gallego said. "He wasn't satisfied with his angle and felt he could make a stronger throw.''
The answer was for Donaldson to keep his shoulders over the ball more to get better spin and more accuracy on his throws to first base.
And that's how it is these days for Josh Donaldson, the baddest of the Bad News Bears -- learning on the fly.
When the 2012 season ended in the playoffs, Oakland had an outfielder playing first base, a shortstop playing second base, a catcher playing third base and four rookies in the starting rotation. Walter Matthau's bunch didn't have anything on these guys.
Donaldson was the catcher-turned-third baseman. And as he comes back for a second season at what is still something of a foreign position, the question arises: Was last year a fluke?
The A's don't think so. Manager Bob Melvin has Donaldson penciled in as the starter at third, to be sure, but the A's also went out and traded for Jed Lowrie, a shortstop who could play third if needed. And Scott Sizemore, whose injury last spring led to Donaldson's ascension from behind the plate, is healthy, too, and he could be pulled from the second base competition to third if Donaldson isn't true to form.
Sizemore's ACL injury on day one last spring sent the A's scrambling for options. They didn't have another true third baseman they wanted on the roster, so they turned to Donaldson, a catcher who had spent perhaps a month playing third base in winter ball in the Dominican.
The move was hardly an immediate success. Donaldson wound up getting sent down a couple of times, but by season's end he was a threat offensively and defensively as the A's surged to the American League West title.
His goal now is to make sure his travels to the minor league need not be repeated.
"I used the time in Triple-A to regroup,'' said Donaldson, who hit .290 in the final month and a half after his final recall, lifting his average from .153 to .241. "I managed to work it out.''
That six weeks, as good as it was with 11 doubles, eight homers and 26 RBIs in 47 games, is at best a partial résumé. The same is true for his strong defense down the stretch, which is why he's still asking question of Gallego on an almost daily basis.
"When a pitcher makes a pitch, I want to be able to make a play,'' Donaldson said in describing his defensive philosophy. "I had a little experience in the Dominican playing at third, but I'd always been a catcher. So from day one here this spring, I'm back working and trying to learn the position.''
The question Donaldson doesn't ask is this: Will he continue to own third base?
Gallego, who played second, third and short in his 13 seasons in the big leagues, is the one serving as Donaldson's Yoda. They'll work before or after practice, as necessary, and get in plenty of time during practices, too, to make sure the answer to that question is "Yes.''
"This is still a new position to him, it's not natural to him,'' Gallego said. "so he's out here working on his footwork, on his positioning and on seeing the ball off the bat. The good thing is he has great athletic ability, and he doesn't take shortcuts. He's out here working hard to get better; nobody works harder.''
After Young was sent to get a look by the medics, the initial diagnosis of a quad cramp stood. He's not going to play Monday, but he was scheduled off anyway and should be good to go Tuesday.
"It was a nice play and a nice at-bat for him,'' Melvin said. "He should be fine.''
Young was long gone by the time the A's closed out the win over the Angels on a sunny but cold and windy day. The game lasted 3:44, and most of the crowd of 5,213 was elsewhere by the time this one ended.
Online extra
For more details on the A's 7-5 Cactus League win over the Angels on Sunday:


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Welcome to The Nest! We've been serving fine cuisine and the best entertainment in the valley since 1965. Located in the heart of the Coachella Valley in the beautiful city of Indian Wells, The Nest has long been a favorite of celebrities, golf and tennis legends, and locals alike. It's no wonder that The Nest is at the top of the Things-To-Do in Palm Springs list, as we like to say, at The Nest life begins after five.
Under the new ownership of Dodi and Kevin Henry The Nest has continued its tradition of exquisite hospitality and service while carefully updating our fine dining menu and the restaurant itself. After 45 years in business The Nest has recently been remodeled carefully preserving the cozy and comfortable atmosphere our guests have come to know and love while bringing on a more contemporary look to signal a new era of life at The Nest. At The Nest the best just keeps getting better and better! You can still find classic dishes like Frog legs and Escargot on our new dinner menu but our newly appointed Executive Chef JC Valadez has added some modern classics as well like Seared Ahi and Porcini Mushroom Ravioli with Pancetta and Balsamic Glaze. Don't worry about leaving hungry all of our entrees still come with soup or salad. If for some strange reason you can't seem to find anything you want on the dinner menu just sit back in one of our new luxury booths and ask your server " What the Henrys ate" and try not to salivate as they describe the nightly specials like the Cajun Pork Chop or Dodi's family recipe Cabbage Rolls. If you're feeling nostalgic and find yourself longing for the good old days just take a stroll around the restaurant and gaze back in time as the many pictures of famous faces, family, and friends smile back at you.
After dinner prepare to rock! And roll. And swing. And waltz! The Nest brings local live entertainment to the next level! Playing everything from Classic Jazz Standards to Lady Gaga the live music of Tim Burleson, Kevin Henry, and many other local entertainers will have those calories from dinner burning away in no time! With live entertainment 7 nights a week it's no wonder we know our guests so well…We see them all the time! Song requests are welcome just remember to put a little green in the jar so the boys in the band can keep up their donations to local charities. Who knows, a generous donation may have you singing your favorite tune with the band! Be sure to keep an eye out for Rosalie as you're dancing the night away, watching her weave in and out of the crowd with trays full of cocktails is part of the show! When the band slows down, grab that special someone and find out why so many love connections have been made at The Nest.
Available for large parties, banquets, and special functions The Nest makes every occasion a special occasion.
© 2014-2015 Indian Wells Restaurant, Inc. All rights reserved. 75-188 Highway 111, Indian Wells, CA 92210 (760) 346-2314 www.gotothenest.com


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Men's Jordan Flight Hoodie
Iconic style and a warm, cozy feel combine in the Jordan Flight Men's Hoodie. Whether worn as a warm-up before games and practices, or as everyday causal wear, this stylish hoodie will keep you feeling comfortable.
Made with a multi-panel hood and brushed interior, this comfy hoodie offers superior warmth and protection. The front pocket is great for keeping your hands warm and storing small items, while signature details deliver athletic style that the hoops legend himself would be proud of.


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Z9 Plus supports bottom PSU installation and provides an aperture for cable management to make better use of interior space.
Front Mesh Cover for High Cooling Performance
The front mesh bay cover provides cool air into the system while dust filters prevent dust from entering.
Supports up to 7 System Fans
Up to 7 system fans are installed to expel hot air effectively from the case.
Supports Bottom PSU Installation and Aperture for Cable Management
Z9 Plus supports bottom PSU installation and provides an aperture for cable management to make better use of interior space.
Black Interior Coating
The interior of chassis is coated black to provide a sense of unity and elegant design.
Tool Free HDD Installation with Anti-Vibration Rubber
The server-type Tool-Free HDD Mount Trays allow easy HDD installation/removal and maintenance.
Spacious Interior for Installing 290mm Card
The interior has been designed to be spacious for easy installation and maintenance of various components.
Front I/O module for Easy Component Change
Front I/O module enables the location of DVD-ROM and other components to be changed easily according to user preference.
2-Channel Fan Controller and Temperature Display
2-Channel Fan controller for adjusting the system temperature and external LED temperature display are provided. By controlling noise and interior temperature with the fan speed, system can be operated at the most optimal condition.
Side Acryl Tuning
Side Acryl Tuning is provided for users to view the interior of gaming system.
Supports 4 USB 2.0
Front I/O module provides 4 USB 2.0 ports for user convenience and expandability.
Supports Front, Top, Side 120mm Blue LED fan and Rear 120mm Fan
Four 120mm fans deliver maximum cooling, and 3 Blue LED fan emphasizes cool aesthetics. For Z9, 1 front 120mm Blue LED and 1 rear 120mm White Impeller fan are provided.
Front and Bottom Dust Filters
Dust filters in the front and bottom mesh covers prevent dust from entering the system and keep the internal components dust-free.
Supports Solid State Drive (SSD)
Space is provided on the back of M/B plate for installing 2.5" HDD/SSD.
Separate Apertures for Convenient CPU Cooler Installation
Separate apertures for CPU cooler are provided for convenient CPU cooler installation without having to remove motherboard from case.
3IN1 Adapter Tray Provided
3IN1 Adapter Tray is provided for installing FDD / 3.5" HDD / 2.5" HDD/SSD.
Tube Apertures for Liquid Cooling Systems
Tube apertures are provided at the rear of the case for convenient water cooling set-up and maintenance.
In The Box
- Main Unit
- Stand-off
- A Bolts (BH 6-32*6) [PSU/PCI Slot Installation]
- B Bolts (PWH M3*5) [M/B, FDD, SSD Installation]
- C Bolts (M3*6) [5.25" Bay ODD Installation]
- D Bolts (#6-32*4) [3.5" Bay HDD Installation]
- E-Bolts (#6-32*6) [3.5" HDD Installation]
- HDD Anti Vibration Damper [3.5" Bay HDD Installation]
- Cable Ties
- CPU 12V Extension Cable
- User's Manual
- Enclosure Type ATX Mid Tower
- Dimensions 207(W) x 464(H) x 504(D)mm
- Weight 7.2kg
- Material Plastic, Steel
- Motherboard Compatibility Standard ATX / m-ATX
- Power Supply Compatibility Standard ATX / ATX12V
- VGA Compatibility Full Size (290mm)
- Expansion Slot 7
- Drive Bay External 5.25" 3
- Internal 3.5" 5
- External 3.5" 1
- Internal 2.5" 1
- Cooling Front 120mm /140mm fan x 1 (120? Blue LED fan x 1 standard)
- Top 120? /140mm fan x 2 (120? Blue LED fan x 1 standard)
- Bottom 120mm /140mm fan x 1 (option)
- Rear (L) 120mm fan x 1 (standard)
- Side 120mm fan x 2 (120mm Blue LED fan x 1 standard)
- Front I/O Ports Mic x 1, Headphones x 1, USB 2.0 x 4, Fan Controller, Temperature Display
- Color Black
- Product Description
- Zalman Z9 Plus - mid tower - ATX
- Product Type
- System cabinet
- Form Factor
- Mid tower
- Colour
- Black
- I/O Connectors
- 4 x USB 2.0 , 1 x audio line-out , 1 x microphone
- Supported Motherboards
- ATX, microATX
- System Cabinet Features
- Vibration-absorbing drive cage, screwless PCI card retainers, screwless drive bays, removable side panel, Water-Cooling Hole Ready, fan speed controller, meshed front panel, blue LED
- Power Device
- No power supply
- Specification Compliance
- Dimensions (WxDxH)
- 20.7 cm x 50.4 cm x 46.4 cm
- Weight
- 7.2 kg
- Form Factor
- Mid tower
- Max Mainboard Size
- Supported Motherboards
- ATX, microATX
- Specification Compliance
- Internal Bays Qty
- 6
- Front Accessible Bays Qty
- 4
- Colour
- Black
- Cooling System
- Front : 120/140 mm fan x 1 , Top : 120/140 mm fan x 2 , Rear : 120 mm fan x 1 , Side : 120 mm fan x 2
- System Cabinet Features
- Vibration-absorbing drive cage, screwless PCI card retainers, screwless drive bays, removable side panel, Water-Cooling Hole Ready, fan speed controller, meshed front panel, blue LED
Expansion / Connectivity
- Expansion Bays
- 3 (total) / 3 (free) x front accessible - 5.25" , 1 (total) / 1 (free) x front accessible - 3.5" , 5 (total) / 5 (free) x internal - 3.5" , 1 (total) / 1 (free) x internal - 2.5"
- Expansion Slots
- 7 x Expansion Slot
- Interfaces
- 4 x USB 2.0 , 1 x audio line-out - mini-jack , 1 x microphone - mini-jack
- Power Device
- No power supply
Dimensions & Weight
- Width
- 20.7 cm
- Depth
- 50.4 cm
- Height
- 46.4 cm
- Weight
- 7.2 kg
Customer reviews
Write a review for the Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller here!
Fantastic case.
Reviewed by Ronnie. Review Posted 13/10/2012
From the moment i took it out of the box all i thought was quality. It looks really good and has loads of space inside. It came with 3x120mm fans, 2 Led blue fans that are really cool. A+++
- Overall
- Ease of use
- Value for money
Best case I have ever had.
Reviewed by Mike. Review Posted 24/06/2013
This case is very good value, installation of parts easy to complete with no problems at all. Previous reviewer stated had 3 fans, my case contained 4, very pleased. I loved the 'Tool less' system. It would have got a 5 for all 3 catergories but for the following, 24pin mains lead from my power supply to short, so had to purchase an extension, no speaker installed in case so used my old unit.
- Overall
- Ease of use
- Value for money
The opinions expressed in this reviews section are those of our customers and not of BT Shop. Nothing contained herein amends BT Shop's terms and conditions.


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Communicated: October 10, 2013Closure dates: October 10, 2013 until further notice
The 200 block of Crompton Road between Nations Ford Road and Carpet Street is closed until further notice. This closure is necessary to repair a storm water pipe. Motorists should detour using Nations Ford Road, Olympic Street and Carpet Street. The road will be closed to all through traffic for the period above.
Local access to residences will be maintained.
CATS will not be affected.
Weather and unforeseen circumstances occasionally prevent work from being completed as scheduled, and make it unsafe to reopen lanes or streets when planned. When this occurs, City traffic engineers work directly with other City staff and contractors to resolve the situation as quickly as possible and reduce impacts to the traveling public.
Pedestrians walking near work zone areas should be alert, cautious and allow extra traveling time. It is advised they cross at signalized intersections, use pedestrian walk signals where available and abide by detour signage.
Motorists traveling through work zone areas should be alert and extra cautious. Drivers should get in the correct lane well in advance and constantly be on the lookout for vehicles merging into adjacent travel lanes as they approach a work zone. Drivers should double their following distance.
For additional information about this closure, contact Emily Perry, Engineering and Property Management, at 704-336-3106 or Bill Greentaner, CDOT, at 704-336-7308.
For more information about CDOT, contact Nicole Ramsey, CDOT, at 704-336-3870 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Main Content
Cuteness doesn't need to take a back seat when you are trying to stay warm. This French terry Classic Adrift hoodie by Quiksilver features a printed brand name running down the sleeve, a front pouch pocket, V-neckline and a drawstring hood makes this hoodie super soft and super comfy.
- Body: 75% Cotton/25% Polyester
- Front pouch pocket
- Hood with drawstring
- Imported
- Lining: 48% Cotton/48% Polyester/4% Elastane
- Screen print graphics
- V-neck
- Woven brand tag
- Long sleeve
- Imported
- Brand: Quiksilver
Quiksilver Customers also liked:
Special event items are produced by manufacturers only after the outcome of a game or event. These are advanced sale items and will ship immediately after they are received in our warehouse.
Manufacturer direct items are shipped directly from the manufacturer. These items are not available for international or expedited shipping.
Customized items can be personalized with options such as your name, your favorite number, and/or designs. Some options may be limited by league rules.


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Primal Blueprint Fitness: Obstacle Course
Mark's Daily Apple reader Kevin submitted this Primal Blueprint Fitness video as his entry to this year's Primal Blueprint Workout Video contest. This is one in a series of recipe videos, workout videos, Grokfeasts and other contest submissions that will be published all week long. View them all and vote for your favorites later this week. Grok on!


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All I want for Christmas is a fancy Stable Table
Category: Products,
Posted by: John F
Posted: Nov 26th 2013
No. of comments: 0
Posted: Nov 26th 2013
No. of comments: 0
So we all know the traditional 'Stable Table'... in fact you've probably used one at your Nanna's place while eating dinner in front of the TV. But is this the right product to be using while designing a website on your laptop for your local cafe, drinking an espresso at the same time as combing your beard (or whatever lady Hipsters like to comb), glancing briefly at your fixie in the corner of the room. OF COURSE NOT!
So can I suggest you check out Slate. Which I came across this morning while on the Yanko Design Blog.
Of course I could be completely wrong and the stable table might just have that retro charm that will fit nicely into your vintage hipster home... but I really doubt it.


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I'd like to begin this post by quoting White Prism. (I just lost 50% of my readers right there, didn't I? )
In reply to:The Mods these days have admitted themselves that they're lazy and bureaucratic and won't do shit to improve the boards [...] While it is tempting to attack the posters whose quality of posts are sub-par, it is in fact far better to harangue the *moderators* who permit their brand of vacuous chit-chat to continue
The Mods these days have admitted themselves that they're lazy and bureaucratic and won't do shit to improve the boards [...] While it is tempting to attack the posters whose quality of posts are sub-par, it is in fact far better to harangue the *moderators* who permit their brand of vacuous chit-chat to continue
Isn't White Prism, directly or indirectly, implying that there needs to be a re-election of moderators here on TW? A democratic election this time, since the first election was anything but democratic. Sure, Evan pays for this site, but he never posts. Hasn't made a post in like five years, and probably won't ever post here again. He's the owner of this site only in theory. So, who, then, "owns" the TW Conversation Piece in practice? Its members, surely. The people who still come here. By all logic, they should be the ones that get to decicde who will moderate this place for them. The election of moderators should be a democratic process. In other words: let's vote. Many TWers have already criticized the current moderators for a variety of reasons. I'm not saying I personally think Adam, ohramona, Tati, EJ and Sysiyo have been bad, but they've all been criticized by the people, and, frankly, I see no other option than to bring democracy to TW. If Evan was still visiting and taking part in this MB, the situation would be different. But since the owner is gone, we're all equals here, I'm sad to say. Of course, since Adam was given his role by Evan himself, he should remain some kind of boss, but I think that, in the name of democracy, the moderators should be elected through democratic elections. Yes, I over-use the word democracy in this post, but, on the other hand, can a word like democracy ever be over-used? Is it not the word of the day, these days? Anyway, I think there are many good potential moderators out there, but that's not the main point. The main point is that, if we elect our own moderators, we can't really complain about them, because they were elected by us. So, naturally, there should be re-accuring elections. Perhaps a new election every year. Also, I'm sure most, if not all, of the current moderators are loved and appreciated by many members of this board, so there's a big chance they will be re-elected. Here's a list of people I could see myself voting for:* Pablo Picasso* ziggfried* Monkeyboy* Beltene* Marquis* Rabbitfighter* DogzYes, I am serious. I think we are to gain by putting more "rebellious", wicked elements, or perhaps I should say individuals, in power. I think Adam's thinking, when electing his original moderators all those years ago, was a little...conservative and naive. Not stupid, not wrong. But he went with some "obvious" choices. He was playing it safe. Or, he thought he was. But what does the typical mass murderer look like? The answer is he doesn't look like the typical mass murderer. In theory, the list of moderators Adam had in mind was too good. It was too good to be true. These people were too good to be true. Now, in theory, Marquis strikes us all as a terrible choice for moderator. But in practice? I'd say not so terrible. At least that's my guess/hope/fear.So, now, tell me this has been discussed before. I mean, I sincerely hope it has. GFried: What aspect of your personallity do you think makes you post at a David Bowie message board?Dara: For me it's pretty much an interest in David Bowie.
I was thinking of making myself an administrator secretly but then I figured that power will corrupt me and I'll lose that fresh and fruity attitude that I pride myself for.Share Zi Love
In reply to:Isn't White Prism, directly or indirectly, implying that there needs to be a re-election of moderators here on TW?
Isn't White Prism, directly or indirectly, implying that there needs to be a re-election of moderators here on TW?
I was implying, first and foremost, that we needed a greater presence of the existing moderators, simply to answer routine questions and relocate threads, etc.; a job that even an overgrown primate could perform correctly. The absence of the mods has been felt harshly, particularly in the last few days, in situations where we needed an impartial voice of reason to curb the excesses of certain posters. My attempts at engaging in a fair and sensible dialogue with the existing moderators have been ineffectual. They still visit the site regularly, they post, but they do not attempt a serious answer to important queries, nor explain actions for which they are accountable. The only response I received to my query over why they deleted certain pictures was a salvo of terse, cruel sniping from EJ Sunday, from whom I had come to expect much more.In short, if (as all indications show) the Mods are not here, or they are unwilling to moderate, THEY SHOULD HAVE NEVER ACCEPTED THE INVITATION IN THE FIRST PLACE! They need to be replaced by people who actually want the job not simply for the position of privilege, but because they can comprehend how a message board operates and respond admirably to a position of responsibility. And, of course, they should visit the site often.
In reply to: Also, I'm sure most, if not all, of the current moderators are loved and appreciated by many members of this board, so there's a big chance they will be re-elected.
Also, I'm sure most, if not all, of the current moderators are loved and appreciated by many members of this board, so there's a big chance they will be re-elected.
Indeed, that would be a fair test. Of the existing Mods, I say keep Adam and Ohro. Despite occasional absences by each, Adam is popular and has shown a willingness to explain his actions in past, while Ohro proved her qualities for being the only Mod ready to impound Dogz for his erratic behaviour prior to his first ban. I firmly believe ohro's intervention was responsible for the cessation of Dogz' quintuple posting and his sudden miraculous ability to understand the workings of the apostrophe. (A fine CV if ever there was one.)Of the other posters eraserhead has listed, Ziggfried visits on a daily basis, even though most of his posts are confined to Quotes. I understand he still reads the boards, and I'm sure many see him as a popular, level-headed individual who would only intervene when necessary due to his qualities of even-handedness and impartiality. Marquis, also, is on-site most days, and has displayed commendable perseverance with those members who have shown, shall we say, 'posting difficulties'. He has been here many years and understands the community, and has demonstrated exactly the kind of hands-on approach in nurturing newbies that would allow fewer confrontations between the more established posters on the board and newer members. Despite being more vocal in opposition than most, I do not believe this corresponds to being more vigorous or impetuous in action; on the contrary, Marquis is a pillar of wisdom and prudence.Monkeyboy and Rabbitfighter would also be good choices. I'm sure you appreciate that I couldn't possibly stand because of my lengthy absences. But thank you, eraserhead, for raising this topic for discussion. I think the idea of democratically elected mods has been mentioned in passing once before, but it hasn't been given the attention it deserves. It's good to know that some of the more sane-minded posters of the site are beginning to question the competency of those in charge in the wake of my unfortunate tussles with their elitism. Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking when I saidI�d like to smash every tooth in your head
Out of curiosity, when was the last time Tati posted anything? London Bye Ta-Ta...
07/17/04 07:40 AMMan said, "Now we will make God, and He will be unlike us."
In reply to:07/17/04 07:40 AM
In that case unless the said moderator is ill/unwell? that is no way to behave, a moderator that hasn't even posted one post since 07/17/04 07:40 AM doesn't deserve the position IMO. London Bye Ta-Ta...
I could be the perfect moderator! ----------------------Claude
In reply to:I could be the perfect moderator!
I could be the perfect moderator!
Let's see, how do I respond in terms he'll understand...Imagine the above be-(*BOOM*)
The only moderators worth having should be those that seize power for themselves. Sod all this democracy rubbish."I swear I saw your face change, it didn't seem quite right."
Power to the posters!Dignity is valuable, but our lives are valuable too.


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The Morning Download: Microsoft-Dell Deal Could Clarify the Cloud
The Morning Download comes from the editors of CIO Journal and cues up the most important news in business technology every weekday morning. Send us your tips, compliments and complaints. You can get The Morning Download emailed to you each weekday morning by clicking here.
Good morning. CIOs today are forced to deal with an increasingly complex maze of hybrid data centers, and private and public clouds, almost defeating the very reason they're tempted by cloud computing to begin with: simplification. That's why CIOs should be cheering for the reported deal betweenDell, Silver Lake Partners andMicrosoft to come to fruition — and fast.
Business technology executives need "to have ways to build their own world-class private cloud infrastructures that are orders of magnitude easier to achieve, without having to put the pieces together in-house," says Forrester Research analyst David Johnson in an email to CIO Journal. "In the face of VMware and others surrounding software-defined datacenters, converged infrastructures …will be critical. A Microsoft investment in Dell could really shake this up in short order."
The way the deal is shaping up thus far, private-equity firm Silver Lake would take Dell private, with Microsoft investing roughly $2 billion, the WSJ reports. Even if Microsoft doesn't get a board seat out of the deal, it will certainly have access to Dell decision-making at the highest level — and vice versa.
The outlines of the deal bring to mind another scenario in which Microsoft bailed out another vendor –Apple, in which it invested the relatively small sum of $150 million in 1997. As CNET reported at the time, the move was seen at least partly as a way for Microsoft to keep antitrust charges at bay. Few would have predicted the outcome we see today.
Finding a balanced risk-management approach. Traditional command-and-control policies no longer fit a world of mobile devices and social media, especially when an organization's most innovative minds are using those tools on a daily basis. The best companies are now developing social media policies by gathering feedback from their employee power users –- those who most actively use social media platforms. "Over-investing in getting the right stakeholders to the table will be worth the effort," writes Sampriti Ganguli, a managing director for CEB's Legal, Risk and Compliance business line, in a guest post for CIO Journal.
Google profit rises 6.7%. Google Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit rose 6.7% as the Internet search giant continued to boost revenue. But maintaining its growth rate for ad sales remains a challenge, report the WSJ's Amir Efrati and John Letzing. Average cost per click, the metric used to gauge how much advertisers pay for a Google search ad, continues to decline as more customers opt to advertise for mobile, where the rate is cheaper. Nevertheless, Google reported that the rate of paid clicks rose 24%, offsetting the 6% decline in cost-per-click. Google posted a quarterly profit of $2.89 billion, or $8.62 a share, up from $2.71 billion, or $8.22 a share, a year earlier. It's also worth noting that Google spent more than $1 billion on infrastructure in the fourth quarter, reports GigaOm's Derrick Harris. It stands to reason, given the number of customers Google serves around the world with a variety of services, but the figure is still quite staggering. Meanwhile, Google managers said nary a word during the earnings call about the Google+ social network, reports CNET's Charles Cooper.
IBM profit up 6.3%. International Business Machine Corp. saw its shift toward higher-margin software and services continue to pay off with a modest rise in fourth-quarter earnings. But with world-wide business technology spending still on the weak side, IBM posted a third straight quarter of revenue decline. Overall, fourth quarter net income increased 6.3% to $5.83 billion, but revenue slipped almost 1% to $29.3 billion, report the WSJ's Spencer Ante and Nathalie Tadena. "Our performance in the fourth quarter and for the full year was driven by our strategic growth initiatives—growth markets, analytics, cloud computing, Smarter Planet solutions—which support our continued shift to higher-value businesses," said IBM CEO Virginia Rometty.
Soft PC-chip market hits AMD and TI. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Texas Instruments provided more evidence of soft demand for personal computers and other products, as AMD's net loss widened and TI's profit fell 11%, the WSJ's Don Clark and Ian Sherr report. TI said customers are holding off on placing orders amid concerns about Europe's economic health, as well as over growth in China. AMD's results reflected moves to cut costs and modify a manufacturing partnership, along with weak demand for PCs that use its chips. But there were signs that it is making some progress in a turnaround, including an increase in the average selling price of its microprocessors from the third period.
Verizon walloped by Sandy. Verizon Communications Inc. reported a $4.23 billion fourth-quarter loss that stemmed largely from charges from its pension plan, debt-related costs and damage to Northeast communications wrought by superstorm Sandy damage, reports the WSJ's Thomas Gryta. Verizon's wireless division, which accounts for two-thirds of total revenue, added a highest-ever 2.1 million in new wireless-contract customers in the quarter and activated 9.8 million smartphones. Smartphones now account for more than 58% of the Verizon Wireless contract customer base. Overall revenue rose to $30.05 billion, beating expectations of $29.83 billion.
Apple earnings today. Apple is expected to report record iPhone sales and revenue when it releases its earnings for the holiday period after the markets close. But the company's push into new markets and its more complex supply chain are making its growth prospects more difficult to understand and predict, writes the WSJ's Jessica Lessin. Verizon's earnings yesterday offer both good news and bad news for Apple, the Journal says. Demand for iPhones is strong, but it appears to be coming from price-conscious segments of the market buying cheaper—and likely less profitable—Apple phones. "You had a very low entry point for people to come in on an iPhone that quite honestly never had that ability on the Verizon Wireless network before," Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said. "It is a price-point issue for consumers."
Intel to shutter motherboard business. Intel Corp. will shutter its long-standing retail desktop motherboard business after the imminent rollout of 4th generation Intel Core processors (aka Haswell), reports PC Mag's Joel Santo Domingo. Intel will still produce the motherboard chipsets that are found on these motherboards, but the end consumer will no longer be able to buy an Intel-branded motherboard after the Haswell board life cycle ends in 18 months to two years.
Mozilla's Firefox jumps into the smartphone wars. The Mozilla Foundation has taken its first at shot at denting Apple and Google's dominance in smartphones. The free software community unveiled two phones it will ship to developers who want to make apps for its forthcoming open-source mobile platform, reports Forbes's Parmy Olson. The devices will ship in early February with no option to pre-order, and the platform itself, built on open Web standards, won't be available to consumers till later this year. Spain's Geeksphone will help build the handsets.
Website visitors fall victim to 'watering hole' attacks. Hackers have been exploiting vulnerabilities found in Java and Internet Explorer to hijack computers visiting certain websites, reports Ars Technica's Dan Goodin. Security research firm Avast says some visitors to the Reporters Without Borders website fell victim to a so-called "watering hole" attack. Analysis of the site revealed code that queried the system of each visitor, looking for an older version of Internet Explorer or Java. When a match was made, the prey's computer became host to a trojan that allowed hackers to monitor communication and install malware. Other sites belonging to political organizations in Tibet, Hong Kong and Taiwan have also been hit. "In our opinion, the finger could be safely pointed to China (again)," wrote Avast's Jindrich Kubec.
Google works to give passwords a touch up. Google is looking into USB cards, embedded smartphone chips and even high-tech rings as a means to make log-ins more secure and easier to manage, reports Mashable's Samantha Murphy. The search giant is currently running a program where access to Google accounts is tied to the use of a physical device. Should the program take hold, users will have yet another physical item to fret over should it be lost. Then again, having one's own customized "decoder" ring could be cool.
AMD hires engineers for new markets. Chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has hired two senior engineers with experience at Apple andQualcomm Charles Matar, an expert in low-power embedded chip design, comes from Qualcomm, and Wayne Meretsky, who will lead software development for AMD's chips, worked at Apple in the 1990s. A spokesman tells Reuters's Noel Randewich that the new hires will help AMD expand into new markets.
Surface Pro goes on sale next month. Microsoft says it will start selling a Surface tablet running a full version of Windows 8 on February 9, reports the Verge's Tom Warren. The Surface Pro will start at $899 for a 64GB model without a cover. Back in late October, Microsoft released the Surface RT, a tablet running a special version of its operating system made for mobile devices.
ZDNet: Oracle installs deceptive software with updates. If you are one of the few not to have disabled the Java browser plug-in following the wave of security flaws (and accompanying warnings), ZDNet's Ed Bott wants to add one more reason. Oracle Corp., keeper of the Java flame, makes it almost impossible for users to run a software update without installing "foistware," that is, software that no user in his or her right mind would ever possibly want. "I continue to recommend that Windows users avoid installing Java at all, if possible," he writes.
House to vote on plan to suspend debt limit. The House of Representatives votes today on a bill to raise the debt ceiling for three months. It's likely to pass and President Obama says he won't oppose it. If the bill clears Congress, on May 19, the debt limit would automatically be reset at a higher level, probably pushing the new default deadline into late July or early August, the Washington Post reports.
Overseas cash actually sitting right at home. Corporate earnings are shining a spotlight on how much cash U.S. companies have stashed overseas. But there's a funny thing about that money: a lot of it is actually sitting at home, writes the WSJ's Kate Linebaugh. Just yesterday, we learned that Google's stockpile of cash increases to $48.1 billion from $44.6 billion a year earlier. But in a securities filing back in October, the company said that most of the $29.1 billion that it plans to "permanently reinvest" outside the country is held in accounts or investments in the U.S. The same is true for most of the foreign earnings of Oracle. Almost all of the $58 billion in cash held by Microsoft's foreign subsidiaries is invested in U.S. government bonds, U.S. corporate bonds and U.S. mortgage-based securities.
Executives worried about economic stagnation. Business leaders are considering cutting back on M&A activity and hiring in 2013 amid fears the global economy will stagnate, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Overall, 52% of executives think the economy will flatten this year. Executives are equally glum about their own businesses' short-term performance. Only 36% of CEOs are "very confident" about their company's growth prospects over the next year, compared with 40% in 2012, the WSJ notes.
Tom Loftus contributed to this article.