text:
Alpha-1 Research Studies
Alpha-1 Association Genetic Counseling Program- Phone vs. Webcam
Currently the Alpha-1 Association Genetic Counseling Program provides contract-funded clinical services by telephone exclusively that are standard of care. This study introduces genetic counseling provision by video conferencing. When callers contact the Alpha-1 Association Genetic Counseling Program, the certified genetic counselor (Sara Wienke) assesses if their needs require a genetic counseling session. If so, the genetic counselor discusses the research study with the caller and ask if they have Skype availability. If the caller does have access to Skype and elects to participate in the study, the caller is randomized to either the video group or the telephone-only group. If the caller does not have access to Skype but does want to participate in the study, he/she is enrolled and recieves telephone-only counseling. This group serves as a third group of subjects to compare to the two groups being randomized. This allows for comparisons of satisfaction between subjects with varying technological advances. Informed consent is obtained verbally by the caller if he/she elects to participate. The genetic counseling session is provided in the same manner as it is provided to all callers outside of this study. The call data is documented in the confidential database of the Alpha-1 Association Genetic Counseling Program. After the call is completed, the genetic counselor emails the subject a web link to access the REDCap confidential survey online. The survey asks questions about satisfaction with the genetic counseling services, as well as Study ID, age, race, and gender. The Study ID is linked to the subject's data in the Genetic Counseling Program database.
Alpha-1 Coded Testing (ACT) Study
The ACT study began in 2001 and provides free and confidential at-home genetic testing for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. After a participant completes the confidential REDCap questionnaire online, a bloodcard and lancets are mailed to the partipant's home. The participant pricks his/her finger and fills three circles in with drops of blood and mails the bloodcard to MUSC. The cards are processed and mailed to the Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Genetic Laboratory at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The genetic analysis takes approximately a month and then the participant is mailed a letter discussing the results. Supporting patient literature is mailed to each participant in the results packet. www.alphaoneregistry.org
Alpha-1 Foundation Research Registry
The Research Registry is a confidential database of individuals diagnosed with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency and individuals identified as carriers. The Registry was established in 1997 by the Alpha-1 Foundation and relocated to MUSC in 2000. It was established to facilitate research initiatives and promote the development of improved treatments and ultimately a cure for Alpha-1. Registry participants have the ongoing opportunity to participate directly in clinical trials. www.alphaoneregistry.org
Lung Cancer Research
Four of these projects are sub-studies of a Department of Defense (DOD) program grant. The study Development and testing of multivariate statistical prediction model of malignancy potential of small (< 1.5cm) pulmonary nodules seeks to develop and test a model which will estimate the probability that a CT-detected pulmonary nodule is lung cancer, based on sociodemographic, exposure, medical history, and imaging variables. An ARRA supplement to Dr. Silvestri's K-24 award provides additional funding to enable our team to incorporate data from the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial and thus develop a superior prediction model that we expect to be of great value to patients, clinicians, and researchers. A second DOD study is investigating the molecular markers associated with lung cancer, while a third involves collaboration with investigators at Clemson University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This team is developing a clinically-based discrete event simulation model to provide predictive estimates of health and economic outcomes associated with different smoking cessation interventions, thus improving clinical and patient decision-making and subsequent health and economic outcomes. The fourth DOD study, Respiratory-gated PET/CT for evaluation of the small (4-10 mm) indeterminate pulmonary nodule, is investigating the utility of respiratory gating to "freeze" nodule motion on CT scans. In current clinical practice, nodules less than 1 cm are not good candidates for PET, thus limiting the utilility of PET as a diagnostic tool. This study will show that if motion could be diminished or stopped, small nodules will be a valid target for PET and clinicians will be able to accurately assess growth and malignancy potential.
Dr. Silvestri is the principal investigator for the multi-site clinical trial Airway Epithelium Gene Expression in the Diagnosis of Lung Cancer (Allegro Diagnostics, Inc.) which is developing technology for the detection of molecular predictors of lung cancer and lung cancer metastasis. Dr. Silvestri's team is the leading enroller nationally for this multi-site trial, having accrued 113 participants during one year. He is also leading an investigator-initiated study which aims to identify a learning curve in terms of diagnostic accuracy among pulmonary fellows learning to perform Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS-guided TBNA). Outcome data from this study will enable physicians to formulate objective guidelines for proficiency in pulmonary fellowship. Lastly, Dr. Silvestri received a Duke Endowment award to create a virtual thoracic tumor board (Remote Expert Assessment of Lung Cancer, or REAL Cancer). This web-based program (available at http://hcc.musc.edu/research/real/index.htm) will enable physicians in rural, underserved regions of South Carolina to consult with the multidisciplinary team which meets weekly at Hollings Cancer Center to discuss complex thoracic cancer cases. This real-time consultation will eliminate the current delays in care created by scheduling and travel constraints, and thus decrease the wait time from detection to care for rural patients in South Carolina who are facing lung cancer.


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Sensors 2014, 14(7), 13006-13023; doi:10.3390/s140713006
A Bionic Camera-Based Polarization Navigation Sensor
1 University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China 2 Institute of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changzhou 213000, China
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 10 March 2014 / Revised: 20 June 2014 / Accepted: 3 July 2014 / Published: 21 July 2014
(This article belongs to the Section Physical Sensors)
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AbstractNavigation and positioning technology is closely related to our routine life activities, from travel to aerospace. Recently it has been found that Cataglyphis (a kind of desert ant) is able to detect the polarization direction of skylight and navigate according to this information. This paper presents a real-time bionic camera-based polarization navigation sensor. This sensor has two work modes: one is a single-point measurement mode and the other is a multi-point measurement mode. An indoor calibration experiment of the sensor has been done under a beam of standard polarized light. The experiment results show that after noise reduction the accuracy of the sensor can reach up to 0.3256°. It is also compared with GPS and INS (Inertial Navigation System) in the single-point measurement mode through an outdoor experiment. Through time compensation and location compensation, the sensor can be a useful alternative to GPS and INS. In addition, the sensor also can measure the polarization distribution pattern when it works in multi-point measurement mode.
Keywords: bionic navigation; polarization measurement; camera based; Cataglyphis
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0).
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Wang, D.; Liang, H.; Zhu, H.; Zhang, S. A Bionic Camera-Based Polarization Navigation Sensor. Sensors 2014, 14, 13006-13023.View more citation formats
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Wang D, Liang H, Zhu H, Zhang S. A Bionic Camera-Based Polarization Navigation Sensor. Sensors. 2014; 14(7):13006-13023.Chicago/Turabian Style
Wang, Daobin; Liang, Huawei; Zhu, Hui; Zhang, Shuai. 2014. "A Bionic Camera-Based Polarization Navigation Sensor." Sensors 14, no. 7: 13006-13023.
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Brutal hits doing the game harm
Phil Rothfield
–, Monday, March, 05, 2012, (1:00am)
FRANK Pritchard is not a thug but he needs to urgently address his tackling technique.
The one he uses at the moment puts players into hospital and turns mums and dads off our sport.
League is a tough and brutal enough game without sickening collisions like his hit on David Simmons on Saturday night.
Any impact that leaves players concussed, bloodied and in the back of an ambulance has to be rubbed out.
It's all right to say his hit on Simmons was an accident, but the same accident happened last year when he floored Cronulla's Wade Graham.
The objective is to belt an opponent so hard it forces an error, which is a legitimate tactic. But the NRL has a duty of care to its players. Tackles have to be below the neck.
Imagine the outcry if it was Benji Marshall or Billy Slater on the receiving end. Or even Darren Lockyer last year.
What if someone suffers a broken jaw next time.
Pritchard was charged by the match review panel for the tackle on Graham last season but escaped suspension.
I am in no way suggesting he be rubbed out of the game for an extended period. But rules need to be enforced and something needs to be done.
It will happen again if nothing is done about it.
Call me soft but no footy code can allow what happened to Simmons and Graham to be deemed legal play.
Storm leap ahead
BILLY Slater got Melbourne Storm home against Canberra on Saturday with a try from a spectacular high leap that would have done Adam Goodes proud.
It's no fluke that Melbourne Storm are by far the best at dealing with the high ball in attack and defending bombs.
Craig Bellamy is a perfectionist who takes full advantage of being based in an AFL city. He has called and taken advice from some of the AFL's best operators.
Mick Malthouse, Alastair Clarkson and Dermott Brereton have attended training sessions in the past 12 months.
In a competition as close as this one, AFL skills required for tries like Slater's on Saturday night can make the difference between winning and losing.
No spark in Eels
PARRAMATTA tried their hardest against the Broncos but fell apart in the second half - the same as they did last year.
I worry about their lack of creativity. Tim Mannah's statistics back up my point.
In 24 games last year he made 332 runs for THREE offloads. Compare that to Matthew Scott from the Cowboys (272 runs for 26 offloads) or even old Jason Ryles at the Roosters (247 runs for 28 offloads).
Stephen Kearney comes across as a particularly strong disciplinarian but surely the players need more of a licence to use the football.
Shocker by Dugan
JOSH Dugan got off to a poor start in his battle for the NSW fullback jersey with Brett Stewart and Jarryd Hayne.
His attempted tackle on Billy Slater which allowed Melbourne's first try would be unacceptable in park football.
He also spilled possession late in the game when the result was on the line.
The Raiders' No.1 is a potential champion but Saturday night's effort was not good enough.
Have Your Say
I didn't see the tackle in question, but judging by his reputation, it was a shoulder charge???? The tackle has been rubbed out in Rugby Union as well as in junior rugby league, I see no reason why it shouldn't be banned at the highest level as well. It has always been a dangerous method (remember the Harragon -v- Carroll hit?) of tackling, The referees need to be adequately trained in distinguishing between a great 'ball and all' tackle and a shoulder charge. In junior league I see so many refs get it wrong.
NS Bear
Mon 05 Mar 12 (06:16am)
Mate, referees can't work out the offside rule, let alone big hits like this one.
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (07:50am)
This is ridiculous.
How is this in any way different to Simon Dwyer's much lauded 'hit of the year' on Jared Warea-Hargreaves?
I will tell you how it was different, Dwyer's was worse.
The nonsense and inconsistency from officials and media is sickening to fans. In a finals game Dwyer can nearly decapitate a man but Pritchard needs to be suspended or change for doing an almost identical thing?
Mon 05 Mar 12 (07:21am)
Did you read the story? I'm not suggesting a lengthy suspension but if nothing is done about it, it will happen again, again and again.
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (07:53am)
How pathetic. Maybe you should be covering netball or lawn bowls Phil?! Pritchards hit was front on and perfect for any forward stamping his authority on the field. Anyone claiming that it was illegal or too 'hard' should be ashamed to call themselves a man and find another sport more in line with their feminine nature. I feel for any player in our game if the idiots in the media want to vilify them for being too hard in defence. God help our game!
Mon 05 Mar 12 (07:58am)
You are an A-grade goose mate. This game is tough enough without belting blokes so hard and so high they finish up in hospital. There are enough injury risks, as we saw at Leichhardt yesterday when that poor kid did his knee. What's wrong with a good hit in the ribcage or around the ankles like the old days. It stops them just as effectively - and without the need to call an ambulance.
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (08:09am)
These type of hits brings crowds and TV audiences. The hit might of needed to be a touch lower but all and all it was a good hit.
I am tried of people using the line that it turns mums and dads of letting their kids play footy. Where is there any evidence of this? I would say it brings the crowds. People pay to watch big hits. Why does the NRL highlights reel and TV add feature Dwyers hit on Warea Hargraves, when it is excatly the same hit if it didn't bring the crowds?
Mon 05 Mar 12 (08:03am)
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:44am)
Big hits bring the crowds, big illegal hits do not! That tackle on Saturday night was sickening to watch. Are we happy to watch someone lying prone and unconscious for 5mins??? I certainly wasn't. Pritchard was off the ground executing this tackle, is that necessary? Different story if the attacker is on the way down and it can't be avoided but launching yourself off the ground to charge someone roughly the same height is asking for trouble.
Good contests bring in crowds too. One team having 17 available while the other has 16 due to a concussed player doesn't make for a good contest in my eyes
The rules state the tackles have to be shoulders or below.
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:22am)
Did Dugan kill your pet goldfish or something, Rothfield?
I didn't realize one handling error (in wet conditions) and one missed tackle (against the best player in the world) was enough to get a player singled out for being 'not good enough'.
Let's conveniently ignore all the excellent takes he made in horrible conditions, and the fact that he kicked the field goal that nearly won Canberra the game.
Mon 05 Mar 12 (08:28am)
Mon 05 Mar 12 (12:41pm)
There were several poor one on one misses near the tryline last season from Dugan. It's not that he should always be expected to come up with a trysaver, its that his efforts are really poor and he is being beaten so easily.
He made two handling errors - under no real pressure and it wasn't that he missed Slater, it was that the attenpt was so ordinary.
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:20am)
I'm dead serious Rothfield. Follow touch footy, very minimal contact which is really your style. BTW I know you write this bollocks just to get a reaction.
Mon 05 Mar 12 (08:34am)
Do you really think I wake up every morning and hit the keyboard to stir up gibbbbbererererers like you. Puhlease.
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (11:15am)
Buzz, I love the fact Cronulla lost. Hey what about those Dragons. I see you tipped against them again. You'll never learn. These should charges are becoming dangerous.
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:03am)
Hahaha. I saw enough from Cronulla to be confident they will make the top eight.
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:32am)
There was nothing wrong with the tackle. It needs to be taken into consideration that Simmons tried to step inside of Pritchard and slipped a little, hence the contact to the head. Also why are you so worried about this tackle, when Jennings was put on report for what looked like a head slam in the same game.
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:03am)
The bloke he head-slammed didn't finish up in hospital.
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:39am)
The tackle was no worse than Dwyer on JWH. You called that a great hit, yet because a winger gets KO, you don't like it.
The diddfrence was the refs didnt have the spine to award a penalty in front that would decide a game.
You cant have it both ways Phil.
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:05am)
Phil, these jokers that think this was just a tough tackle that should be applauded or biased thugs. It doesn't matter who you follow, anyone that intentionally attacks the head of an opponent, whether with the elbow, knee, head or even shoulder, should be rubbed out for at least 10 weeks.
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:18am)
I think that's a bit over the top. Somehow the message has got to get to the clubs that anything above the shoulders is not on. The same player has done it twice now so its not an accident. I'd probably suspend him for a week or two.
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:26am)
I love a big hit as much as the next guy but yes, any style of tackle legitimate, accidental or otherwise that hits an opponents hid with such force as to render them unconscious needs to be removed from the game. Even more importantly though, what was going on with the refs in the Sharks Tigers game? Surely once the ball is touched by a defender attempting a charge down then all attacking players are on side (or isnt that the case). I know I go against all when I say this but again Benji proved why he is a good player and not a great player. He too often makes the wrong decision (yeah yeah, scored a try and kicked a field goal) but he lacks the strategic mind that would make him gr eat. Todd Carney for mine was the better of the two (and I support the big Red V) not sharks.
Your thoughts on the refs?
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:18am)
The refs made me feel physically ill.
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:31am)
Forgot to ask, whats you mail on Brett Stewart and the Dragons, I hear that it is pretty much a done deal?
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:20am)
Personally, I think he'll stay at Manly but I'm not 100 percent.
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:27am)
How bad was the offside call against the Sharks in extra time yesterday? How can a ref stuff up such a simple call.
2 good games yesterday, Sat night's games left a bit to be desired. Anything happen in week 1 to change your pre season predictions?
Titans and Cowboys lay of the day next week!
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:23am)
The refereeeing standard at Leichhardt was appalling. Three major blunders cost the Sharks victory. Colin Best scored a fair try that was ruled a double movfement. The player who charged down Todd Carney was a mile offside. Should have been a penalty, game over. If not a scrum should have been packed for Benji knock-on.
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:29am)
Phil - I'm not sure if you realise but the NRL season kicked off last weekend?
It seems you may have forgotten. Also it's a tough, contact sport and the 'hit' you are so focused on highlighting was a big one. It was also marginally high by an inch or so.
Hardly worth your hysterical over-reaction.
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:23am)
How's my reaction hysterical? I've said the bloke's not a thug but he needs to work on his technique.
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:30am)
maybe you should stick to gayfl , simmons was falling and pritchard is a tall man, the tackle on james graham , around the neck , was ten times worse !
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:31am)
Rubbish. You should go and follow UFC is you like your rugby league with a bit of thuggery
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:33am)
Morning Phil,
I'm a Panthers supporter and this hit happened directly in front of me on Saturday night. At first I didn't think there was much to it. Obviously the replay showed there was contact with the head and that is pretty straight forward as a penalty. I think if its timed right than there is no reason why blokes can't get in there and try and smash a bloke with a shoulder charge. I think if your going to hit someone in the head regardless of whether its a shoulder charge or a swinging arm or a knee if your mug like Tahu than you probably should be spending time on the bench.
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:39am)
buzz i tend to agree with you on this one whilst as a fan i love the big hits. But your right a players have to be protected. pritchard probably didnt try to knock him out but you ask yourself why didnt he bend his back that lil bit more to make it a good ball and all tackle?? he connected with his head and he was out before he hit the ground it didnt look good!! why no blog one how the sharkies got dudded ?? does the charge down put everyone else onside i was always of the opinion it does am i wrong or did they change the rules?? also which has been your favourite game this weekend???
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:40am)
Bill Harrigan has admitted the refs got it wrong yesterday but it doesn't get Cronulla the two points they were entitled to
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:52am)
I think that if it is a heavy player like Pritchard who makes contact with the head area with pace in the tackle, then he should be suspended for a longer period of time then say a smaller player like foran for a similar incident.
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:40am)
You can't judge blokes on weight and height. It's very simple ... if you put someone in hospital by belting them above the shoulders, something needs to be done.
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:45am)
bet you simmons wont run at pritchard again , go back to reporting on handbags at 10 paces razza and leave the hard stuff to real journo's…
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:46am)
Phil Rothfield
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:47am)
The worst tackle in the game was Dayne Weston in the 76th minute and you have said nothing about it. You write: "Imagine the outcry if it was Benji Marshall or Billy Slater on the receiving end. Or even Darren Lockyer last year." Hmmmm… imagine the outcry if you wrote the article on Weston.
Mon 05 Mar 12 (09:46am)
Phil Rothfield
Phil Rothfield is Sports Editor-at-Large for The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph. See more of Phil's views and video.
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THE FIRST STEPWhile I was busy seeking the guidance of fellow Rodinhooders before taking my first…Continue
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In India, Tendulkar is treated like God and has been recently nominated to the upper house of parliament (Rajya Sabha) to participate in the process of making rules for the country. Fans all over the country go crazy at the mere sight of this man. The man has become a billionaire just by playing cricket very well.
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American McGee's Spicy Horse Games and publisher DeNA are launching a new fast-action strategy and fantasy card-battle game called The Gate.
The title is a new entry in the crowded fantasy card-battle mobile game genre, but it features high-end, Diablo-style 3D graphics that give players more control over the action. You can, for instance, use your finger to direct a character to attack a certain enemy.
"This is very unique. There's a lot more action involved," McGee said in an interview with GamesBeat. "It gives the player a chance to employ strategy in when to attack and how."
The game is in testing in Oceania, and it will launch soon on a global basis.
This is the fourth mobile game from Spicy Horse Games after it transitioned out of console games. Japanese mobile-game company DeNA is publishing The Gate today as a free-to-play title on the iPhone and iPad. Spicy Horse Games developed it independently and set up the partnership for publishing the title after the Game Developers Conference this year.
The game is set in hell, where you battle all sorts of demons. You train, command, and upgrade fighters and send them into battle against the legions of hell. The battle arena is a lush, 3D landscape while the collectible cards for characters have a detailed, 2D look.
You can make friends with other players, build an alliance, and fight against other armies. Your goal is to become the master fighter in hell.
"We have combined different mythologies, like Christian demons and Sumerian demons and demons from Judaism," McGee said. "We're an equal-opportunity demon employer. We think of it as Pokemon in hell."
Beijing, China-based Spicy Horse Games started the work on the game earlier this year, and it returns McGee to some familiar terrain, as he worked on the original Doom game from id Software in the early 1990s.
"This is my first return to a game in Hell since Doom," McGee said.
The game has hundreds of cards and a dozen maps. The company will continue to put out more card packs and levels over time.
McGee is also working on short films based on his American McGee's Alice series of games. Spicy Horse Games is publishing the title in China, but DeNA is distributing it in the West.
DeNA (pronounced "D-N-A") develops and operates mobile and online services including free-to-play games, e-commerce and entertainment content distribution. Established in Tokyo, Japan in... All DeNA news »
Founded in 2006, Spicy Horse Games is an independent developer of AAA game content for web, social and mobile platforms. The studio has built award winning content across PC, console, mobile... All Spicy Horse Games news »
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Fuet is a long, slender all-pork sausage originating in Cataluña. Enjoy slices of this fully cured sausage with a good crusty bread. It is also tasty hot off the grill and adds great flavor to stews and soups.
Our fuet is made using free-range pork and Spanish spices. It is flavored with garlic and black pepper and differs from chorizo, in that it contains no smoky Pimentón de La Vera paprika.
The Pyrenees mountain towns of Osuna and Vic are especially known for excellent examples of these sausages. Unlike the Butifarra, another in the family of Catalan sausages, fuet is dry cured, like salami. You will receive two fuets in each package -- they are a little under 1 inch in diameter.


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Dixieland Drive-In
Victory Drive,
Victory Drive,Savannah, GA 31404
75 cars
No one has favorited this theater yet
A restaurant is now on the property. Had a capacity for 75 cars. Opened in 1949, closed in 1960.
Contributed by Dave Bonan
Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
Mike Rogers on August 11, 2010 at 9:46 pm
It is not listed in my 1956 Motion Picture Almanac,wonder if it closed sooner. 75 cars is downright small for a city the size of Savannah.
Jay Harvey on July 7, 2013 at 3:53 pm
75 car capacity is very small for a drive-in
SidKCols on May 6, 2015 at 9:57 am
This was a really good drive in restaurant with free movies in the back. They had hanging speakers plus telephone polls on the ground to sit outside. Showed mostly B westerns.
SidKCols on May 6, 2015 at 9:58 am
It was located next to the famous Johnny Harris Restaurant.
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New Twist in Democrats' Push for Mortgage Debt Relief
A former Fannie Mae employee has told congressional staff members that executives at the mortgage-finance company canceled the launch of a pilot program to cut loan balances for troubled homeowners due to "philosophical" disagreements in 2010 after months of internal study.
The disclosure Wednesday is the latest twist in an effort by congressional Democrats to prod Fannie and sibling government-controlled mortgage finance company Freddie Mac to provide principal write-downs to homeowners who owe more on their homes than their properties are worth.
An internal dispute over this issue at Fannie was disclosed in a letter by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D., Md.) to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie and Freddie Mac. Mr. Cummings is the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.
Fannie Mae declined to comment. An FHFA spokesperson said: "FHFA stands by its analysis of principal forgiveness. We will soon respond to the Congressmen's letter."
Last year, Mr. Cummings requested that FHFA's acting director, Edward DeMarco, provide a detailed financial analysis of principal write-downs and their impact on Fannie and Freddie. After the housing regulator did so last month, Mr. Cummings said his office was contacted by a former Fannie Mae employee involved in a pilot program that Fannie considered around two years ago.
The employee, whose name was not revealed, told Mr. Cummings's staff that Fannie Mae worked on a principal write-down pilot program for several months before it was canceled two weeks before its launch in 2010. The program was canceled by Fannie Mae executives who were "philosophically opposed to writing down principal balances," the former Fannie Mae employee is reported to have told Mr. Cummings's staff.
The proposal received internal legal and accounting approvals as well as a thorough analysis from officials at FHFA and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a key banking regulator, the former official asserted. The company's analysis concluded that "the program would minimize losses for Fannie Mae versus conventional loss mitigation practices," the former employee told Mr. Cummings's staff.
Fannie and Freddie have been propped up since September 2008 with regular infusions of money from the Treasury Department, a rescue that has cost taxpayers $151 billion to date.
Despite pressure from the Obama administration, Democrats on Capitol Hill and top Federal Reserve officials, Mr. DeMarco has long insisted that principal write-downs would violate his primary mandate of protecting assets of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
"Any money spent on this endeavor would ultimately come from taxpayers," Mr. DeMarco wrote last month to lawmakers. "Given that our analysis does not indicate a preservation of assets for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac substantial enough to offset costs, an expenditure of this nature at this time would, in my judgment, require congressional action."
The FHFA provided lawmakers with an analysis of how such a program would impact Fannie and Freddie. In the letter, which has been criticized by a former Obama administration official, the regulator indicated its preference for a principal forbearance plan, which does not require lenders to forgive debt.
Mr. Cummings also criticized Mr. DeMarco for arguing that a write-down for all three million borrowers with loans backed by Fannie and Freddie owed more on their homes than their properties were worth as of last summer would cost taxpayers $100 billion.
Mr. Cummings called that statement "a highly inflammatory assertion" that overstates the impact on taxpayers. "To the contrary, your own data show that principal reduction programs would save taxpayers billions of dollars," Mr. Cummings wrote.


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kinsey schofield
Politics Of The Avengers? Govt Secrecy Killing Us? Could You Be Evil? (The Point)kinsey schofield 4y ago
Here's An Insane Ford Mustang Police Chase With A Hilarious News Commentary - SHORTCUTkinsey schofield 4mo ago
IS MEDIA GIVING CRUZ A PASS AND TRUMP THE SHAFT?kinsey schofield 6mo ago
FNN: Tim Cook issues letter on Apple lawsuitkinsey schofield 6mo ago
KINSEY SCHOFIELD on Instagram: "#SHOUTOUT"kinsey schofield 1y ago
KINSEY SCHOFIELD on Instagram: "Just a #FBF of my soulmate, Styles! "kinsey schofield 1y ago
Mary Lynn Rajskub's Dating Etiquettekinsey schofield 2y ago
I get the new iPhone 5s and Vote for Kinsey Schofieldkinsey schofield 2y ago
Kinsey Schofield on Jodi Arias Settlement w/ Jane Velez-Mitchellkinsey schofield 2y ago
Brody Jenner preview of Party Monsters Cabo w/ Kinsey Schofieldkinsey schofield 3y ago
Who is Kinsey Schofield?kinsey schofield 3y ago
NBC 12 Discussion: Martinez Misconduct in the Jodi Arias Trial - Kinsey Schofieldkinsey schofield 3y ago
YH Host vs. THE YOUNG TURKS Host on THE POINT! - QUIET ON THE SETkinsey schofield 4y ago
Tim & Eric Give Most Awkward Interview Ever at BILLION DOLLAR Screeningkinsey schofield 4y ago
Behind the Scenes with HOW TO ROCK Stars Romeo & Cymphonique! - QUIET ON THE SETkinsey schofield 4y ago
Saying HELLO to Karmin!kinsey schofield 4y ago
Jasmine Villegas & More Rock The Roxy! - GUEST LIST ONLYkinsey schofield 4y ago
Meet the AMERICAN IDOL Top 4!kinsey schofield 4y ago
Weird Al & Rob Zombie Hit Up Nerdist Launch Party! - GUEST LIST ONLYkinsey schofield 4y ago
Bella Thorne's Fave MEAN GIRLS Moments! - STUDIO SECRETSkinsey schofield 4y ago
What Scares VAMPIRE DIARIES Star Steven McQueen? - STUDIO SECRETSkinsey schofield 4y ago
Skateboarding Film Inspires Rob Dyrdek & More! - GUEST LIST ONLYkinsey schofield 4y ago
Hang Out LIVE with Young Hollywood!kinsey schofield 4y ago
Morgan Page Makes a Splash at Coachella!kinsey schofield 4y ago
What is the politics, if any, of The Avengers? Is government secrecy killing us, and is the Obama administration going after whistleblowers like Bradley Manning? Are people naturally good or evil and can we all be happy? Cenk Uygur (host of The Young Turks) leads this weeks panel to discuss these issues and more with Patrick Meighan (writer - Family Guy), Kinsey Schofield (correspondent, Young Hollywood), and Shari Young Kuchenbecker (psychology professor and author of 'Raising Winners'). Special thanks to Chase Madar (author of 'The Passion Of Bradley Manning'), and Philip Zimbardo (professor emeritus at Stanford University and founder of HIP*) for sending in points. Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=townsquare Jump to segment 2 (Are people naturally happy or evil?): ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6liIaOD4D4#t=18m28s Jump to segment 3 (Politics of The Avengers?): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6liIaOD4D4#t=33m51s Watch More Points: http://www.youtube.com/townsquare More on our Points, Point-makers and Guests: Passion of Bradley Manning: http://www.orbooks.com/catalog/bradley-manning/ *Heroic Imagination Project: *http://heroicimagination.org/ Young Hollywood: http://www.youtube.com/user/younghollywood Raising Winners: http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Winners-Parents-Helping-Succeed/dp/081293167X Review of The Avengers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX9eqzo8zUU The Young Turks: http://www.youtube.com/theyoungturks Twitter List To Follow: https://twitter.com/#!/chmadar https://twitter.com/#!/philzimbardo https://twitter.com/#!/HIPorg https://twitter.com/#!/kinseyschofield https://twitter.com/#!/younghollywood https://twitter.com/#!/cenkuygur https://twitter.com/thepointtyt https://twitter.com/stevenoh88 https://twitter.com/cultureshlock https://twitter.com/tytmedia Support The Point for FREE by doing your Amazon shopping through this link (bookmark it!) http://www.amazon.com/?tag=townsquaretyt-20


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Last week Jeremy Miller introduced their own opinionated MVC stack built on top of the MS ASP.NET MVC framework. They talked about this at the KaizenConf that was held last weekend in Austin and as it happened for all the PDC sessions, here are the videos of their "Using and Abusing ASP.NET MVC for Fun and Profit" session. It's available in two parts: Part 1 and Part 2. Technorati Tags: aspnetmvc,KaizenConf
This is the blog of Simone Chiaretta, an Italian .NET developer, architect, Microsoft MVP, ASPInsider, Subtext core member, ASP.NET MVC lover with a passion for mountain climbing.
Want to know more? Keep reading...
I also wrote a book about ASP.NET MVC and a news feed reader for Windows Phone 7
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Europe's Morning MoneyBeat: Risk Appetite Shrivels
Good Morning Europe
A fourth straight losing session for U.S. stocks Tuesday is likely to make gains tough for European benchmarks from the open Wednesday. Focus for the moment remains resolutely transatlantic, with Washington's ongoing debt-ceiling wrangle and the policy confusion sown by the Federal Reserve last week combining to strangle risk appetite. Closer to home, heightened tensions in the quest to form a coalition government in Germany won't help either.
At least the Fed heads are silent today, a lack of speakers which may allow investors to focus on something else for a change, although a rather sparse data slate boasts only Germany's Gfk confidence survey and U.S. durable goods orders as highlights, along with new homes sales numbers.
By David Cottle
What You May Have Missed From MoneyBeat:
Tokyo Electron Deal a Rare Foreign Takeover in Japan: Flush with cash, Japanese companies have aggressively snapped up firms all over the world. But when it comes to foreign investments into Japanese firms, there are far fewer examples, making the takeover of Tokyo Electron Ltd. by Santa Clara, Calif.-based Applied Materials Inc. a rare case and key litmus test for whether such deals will work in the future.
Korean Bonds Win Haven Status; Issuance Takes Off: South Korea is poised to issue a record amount of bonds in September as investors seek the relative safety of Korean assets amid uncertainty over the outlook for emerging markets.
J.P. Morgan's Legal Headaches: A Tally: J.P. Morgan has had its fill of legal headaches. To solve a large chunk of the problem, the bank is now making a big offer: It will pay what would amount to one of the biggest fines in history to the Department of Justice to wipe clean the slate with prosecutors.
Dealpolitik: Dell's Meaningless Annual Meeting: If you are a Dell shareholder, you can be forgiven for any confusion you experience when opening the Dell annual meeting proxy in the next few days. You probably assumed that since the buyout by Michael Dell and Silver Lake was approved earlier this month and is supposed to close within a few weeks, the next envelope you got would be your check.
Barrick Gold Looks to Sell Two Australian Mines: The world's largest gold miner by output Barrick Gold Corp. has hired UBS AG and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to sell two Australian mines, as it continues to shed its higher-cost, shorter-life assets, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
From The Wall Street Journal:
Social Democrats Resist Joining Merkel: Progress toward a coalition looks likely to be slow.
China Widens Real Estate Buys: Chinese developers and real-estate investors now see opportunities from Houston to Seattle and Boston as the property market rebounds.
ANZ Pulls Bid for Lloyds Australian Units: ANZ Banking withdrew its bid of more than $900 million for the Australian arm of U.K. lender Lloyds, on concerns about integration with its Esanda financing arm.
Quitting Chrysler Not Easy for Fiat: Fiat's warning it could scale back its alliance with U.S. auto maker Chrysler if it cannot get full control amounts to a threat against a partnership that has become key to the Italian auto maker's fortunes.
ICAP Staff Face Criminal Charges Tied to Libor: U.S. prosecutors are preparing to announce criminal charges against past or present employees of ICAP PLC for their alleged roles in rigging benchmark interest rates, according to people familiar with the planned charges.


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LATHROP — Block parties are scheduled throughout Lathrop as part of National Night Out on Tuesday.
All across the country, people are encouraged to turn on their porch lights, unlock their doors, and congregate on porches and front lawns, from 7 to 10 p.m.
Lathrop city staffers are also planning a National Night Out party from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 5 in the Generations Center, 450 Spartan Way. It's a way for city staffers to hand out information to residents, for one thing, and members of the Lathrop Manteca Fire District will provide hot dogs and other snacks. Activities are also planned.
Location, ST | website.com


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Bike Hugger @ MauiComments
by Byron on Dec 25, 2007 at 5:20 AM
In our 21st episode of the Huggacast, we ride Maui – to the world's best banana bread stand, Hana, and everywhere else.
Download now for iTunes, your iPod, and iPhone
The audio sample is Hurry On Now, Hurry On Now (Boub Mix) - Single – Alice Russell.
More Maui


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The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue & Frame Story
by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue & Frame Story The Franklin's Interruption Summary
- The Franklin interrupts the Squire's tale, saying that he has spoken very well considering his youth. In fact, he thinks that no one in the company could match the Squire in eloquence.
- The Franklin expresses his wish that his own son be as great a man as the Squire. Instead, his son gambles and spends all his money, and would rather talk with servants than gentlemen from whom he could learn proper behavior.
- The Host interrupts this exchange to remind the Franklin that everyone must tell a tale.
- The Franklin asks the Host to excuse him for speaking a few words to the Squire, and announces his intention to tell a tale he hopes will be good enough for the Host.


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Same benefits, reduced pay
Save some coin by banking on these sales
Join the NASDAQ Community today and get free, instant access to portfolios, stock ratings, real-time alerts, and more!
) was upgraded from Neutral to Outperform following the recent
positive earnings surprise. Earnings estimates for future quarters
were in line with company guidance. The most recent quarter saw the
company top the Zacks Consensus Estimate on both the top and the
bottom lines.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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|Reviews for Kill or be Killed
| Saigishin 13 Hiyamoto chapter 1 . 4/19/2014
Me neither... Which is why I'm glad the Draft never happened when we hit Afghanistan and Iraq... I couldn't survive that choice.
Another good poem, keep it up
| Arella White chapter 1 . 11/20/2012
Awesome. Makes sense too.
| Lolitroy chapter 1 . 11/13/2012
I prefer to be killed . since I'm not able to kill an ant, much less a person
| Bahiyya chapter 1 . 7/25/2012
Great, as usual, i just have on note for you. "or kill a man cry" sounds a bit... off. The rhythm is right but the words don't sound right together. Just giving you a friendly heads up! Love you!
| Shauni Cooper chapter 1 . 7/25/2012
Nice one! You packed quite a lot into so little. A lovely piece and well worded. Well done! I dont know what to say other than, beautiful, simply beautiful. :)
As always, keep writing!
| DappledKarma chapter 1 . 7/24/2012
It's interesting. It's also short, simple and thought-provoking. All of which I love. :)
| Natari Mirumura chapter 1 . 7/24/2012
Beautiful! A truly lovely piece indeed. Amazing job, keep it up :D


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What is Symbaloo?
Symbaloo is the easiest start on the internet.
- Discover pages with the best links about a subject
- Create your own pages with favorites
- Share your page with the rest of the world
Open a free account now , and get access to all of your webmixes anywhere in the world.
Sight Word Songs
Sight Word Songs
About this webmix : Sight Word Songs, sight words, kindergarten,
Created by Kinderchat
Give Off Says Under VeryHis To Had But Go Play if Out
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Treaties, States Parties and Commentaries
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Convention (II) with Respect to the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its annex: Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land. The Hague, 29 July 1899.
ANNEX TO THE CONVENTION : Regulations respecting the laws and customs of war on land #Section III : On military authority over hostile territory - Art. 48.
Art. 48. If, in the territory occupied, the occupant collects the taxes, dues, and tolls imposed for the benefit of the State, he shall do it, as far as possible, in accordance with the rules in existence and the assessment in force, and will in consequence be bound to defray the expenses of the administration of the occupied territory on the same scale as that by which the legitimate Government was bound.
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There seems to be a buzzer beater every day between the NBA, college and high schools. But what's the best one ever?
This has to be a nominee. UMKC was beating Chicago State 69-66 with less than 10 seconds left when Chicago State hit TWO miracle shots to somehow win the game (ignore the guy taking about 10 steps before making the first three).
Can this one be beat?
Yes it can with Grant Hill's Christmas buzzer beater.
WOW! This is a awesome buzzer beater! It can be best one, as I saw...
check out all of these from ncaa
Man, that has me itching for the NCAA Tournament. I specifically remember watching live as Richard Hamilton of UConn drilled the fourth-chance shot at the buzzer. Awesome game.
This one didn't win the game, but there probably hasn't been a bigger shot in the 2000s yet.
ACTIVE is the leader in online event registrations from 5k running races and marathons to softball leagues and local events. ACTIVE also makes it easy to learn and prepare for all the things you love to do with expert resources, training plans and fitness calculators.


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Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
In this previous June 2012 article we questioned whether the ECRI Weekly Leading Index (WLI) was still a relevant predictor of the U.S. economy and concluded then that it was not. We have now analyzed 10 years of representative component data of the index from which we constructed the Shadow WLI (ShWLI). After an investigation into the discrepancies between the WLI and our ShWLI we came to the conclusion that ECRI still uses M2 as a component in the WLI, whereas leading economists, more than ten years ago, had already downgraded and excluded M2 as a leading indicator from their models (Appendix A).
|(Economists use M2 when looking to quantify the amount of money in circulation and trying to explain different economic monetary conditions. M2 was traditionally recognized as a reliable indicator of economic conditions. Recently, however, M2 had ceased to perform well as a leading indicator due to structural changes that have occurred in the U.S. economy in the last several decades.)
Furthermore, we found that for the period August 2008 to September 2011 the average error between the ShWLI and the WLI was statistically double that of the average error for the remaining time, i.e. before and after the mentioned period. This implies that the WLI reacted very differently than the ShWLI to their respective underlying components during the 2008/9 recession and the recovery years thereafter.
ECRI has not disclosed the current components of the WLI, nor how the index or its growth is calculated. However, in 1999 for a short time on the ECRI website, they did publish the underlying components of the WLI as:
- Initial claims for unemployment insurance,
- Money supply (M2 plus),
- Industrial materials price index,
- Mortgage loan applications,
- 10 year treasury bond yield / BAA corporate bond yield
- BAA corporate bond yield; and
- Stock price index.
According to ECRI, the WLI is designed to anticipate turns in the business cycle, while the growth of the index should anticipate turns in the growth rate cycle. It is supposed to provide leads to cycle peaks and troughs of about 10 months and 3 months, respectively. ECRI publishes this widely followed index together with its growth figure every Friday morning.
We have no idea why ECRI is still keeping the components of the WLI and their weightings in the index a secret, similarly it is absurd that they did not disclose how the growth of the index was calculated. The formula for the growth rate was found and it is given in Appendix B.
We have been able to successfully replicate the WLI thanks to Franz Lischka's pioneering work, and we have since June 2012 produced the ShWLI one day ahead of the ECRI's Friday publication.
We set out to improve the ShWLI algorithm with the aim to better the tracking accuracy of our model with the ECRI's published values. We began by plotting the error over the last 10 years using the formula ShWLI/WLI-1, and noticed the higher error values in the period August 2008 to September 2011. (See Figure 1) We then proceeded to optimize the "old" ShWLI excluding this period for best fit with the WLI to obtain the "new" ShWLI.
We calculated the standard deviation (sigma) of the error to evaluate the performance of the new model against the old and found that 99.7% of all samples are below the three-sigma level, meaning that they are within 3 standard deviations away from the mean. Table 1, further down, shows the standard deviation of the error of our ShWLI models and the improvements obtained, which can be seen in the fourth column of the table.
When studying Figure 1 it is apparent that before August 2008 the old and new ShWLI was tracking the WLI within normal statistical limits. The first major deviation of minus 1.5% was for the WLI record date week ending Sep-26-2008. This deviation is a 7 sigma event (7 standard deviations away from the mean); statistically a seven sigma event has a probability 0.000000000256% of occurring (that's nine zeros after the decimal – to put this into perspective, the fraction represents 13 days in the existence of the universe).
As both our old and new ShWLI exclude M2 in the algorithm, and wanting to explain this unexpected error, we introduced the 'M2 seasonally adjusted' into a "trial" ShWLI model and we were astounded to see this 1.5% error reduced to 0.6%, which is within normal statistical expectations.
The next logical step was to calculate the correlation between the weekly changes in M2 and the error of the ShWLI for both the "new" (excluding M2) and the "trial" (including M2) models. The result of this calculation is highlighted in Table 1, columns 5 and 8. The correlation between the error of the new ShWLI (excluding M2) and changes in M2 are also observable in Figure 2; a positive change in M2 in most cases corresponds with a negative error of the new ShWLI, hence a minus value in the correlation coefficient.
The correlation between the tracking error and the weekly change of M2 is given by the correlation coefficients -0.33 and -0.43 (column 5 of Table 1). The values of the coefficients is indicative that M2 is a component of the WLI. All doubt of this being coincidental is removed by the fact that these correlation coefficients are reduced to near zero (column 8), merely by changing the ShWLI algorithm with an algorithm that included M2. This is irrefutable evidence that M2 is a component of ECRI's WLI.
The second remarkable observation from Figure 1 is the periodic occurrence of statistically unexpected high errors in the three years after the 2008 stock market collapse; the trial model that included M2 only slightly reduced these high errors. This period was, of course, when the Fed expanded the money supply by unprecedented levels; the WLI with M2 as a component reacted accordingly and probably distorted the signals that it was supposedly designed to provide. M2 increasing during a recession due to monetary policy can hardly be construed as a positive indication of economic growth, but would have been reflected as such by the contribution of the M2 component to the index.
The erratic behavior of the WLI over the above mentioned period is also observable in its growth rate, WLIg, shown in Figure 3. The extreme high and low values and oscillations of WLIg from June 2009 to March 2012, when compared to the more steady characteristics of the growth rate of the Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (CBg) are noteworthy. Both, WLIg and CBg, were raised by 2.63 and 2.35, respectively, to provide for best recession capturing using our recession indicator evaluation system.
In September 2011 ECRI did a major revision of the WLI that affected it back to Jan-2011. This revision stabilized the index as the excessive swings of the errors disappeared from that point onwards and the growth rate also appears to have normal characteristics from that time onwards.
The WLI has been a poor predictor of oncoming recessions in the past. The fact that M2 is included impairs the quality of this index. This should have been corrected, especially since it has been generally accepted for many years that M2 does not help in predicting recessions. Since ECRI has kept the components of the index in a "black box", it was incumbent on them to fix this problem. The WLI enjoyed prime status and guided many analysts including ourselves; we use it is also as a major parameter in one of our market timing models. It is therefore distressing to be confronted with the fact that the ECRI WLI may be impaired by the inclusion of M2.
In September 2011 ECRI made a recession call without providing any hard evidence in support of it, partly relying on the WLI according to their statement. (For the actual recession call and TV interview transcript see Appendix B in this article.) The vertical black lines in Figure 3 show the dates of their calls. It is of interest that CBg was not in recession territory in September 2011, unlike at the previous ECRI recession calls of 2001 and 2008.
It is not surprising then that ECRI's dire 2011 recession predictions turned out to be incorrect, given the impaired WLI model which supported their forecast. Their other models may be equally compromised as none of them can be checked by outsiders. This state of affairs is unacceptable; it is high time for ECRI to disclose how their models are constructed.
ECRI has for the past 17 months continued to maintain that their September 2011 forecast cannot yet be discounted. It is evident from Figure 3 that the WLIg has steadily risen from the September 2011 nadir to a level which is now well out of recession indicating territory. It is astounding for ECRI to maintain that the U.S. economy is in recession when their own indicator does not support this position.
Since their initial recession call the S&P 500 has gained a lot, 37.5% with dividends reinvested is the performance of SPY (which tracks the S&P) over this period. This shows how bad recession calls can hurt investors if they heed the call and act as advocated in Beating the Business Cycle, by Lakshman Achuthan and Anirvan Banerji, co-directors of ECRI - "historically, the prospect of an economic downturn has been bad for stock prices" and "you should move most of your money into cash".
On our website imarketsignals.com we publish every Thursday morning the Shadow WLI for underlying component data to Friday of the prior week. Furthermore, on Monday and Wednesday we publish the development of the Shadow WLI as the components become available. To help estimating the trend we also publish a graphic representation of the weekly change of the Shadow WLI and WLIg.
Appendix A
Anderson and Vahid, Macroeconomic Dynamics September 2001 concluded in their research paper that M2 does not help in predicting recessions; the fact that M2 was a negligible leading indicator was observed already from the late nineteen-eighties onwards. Quoting Anderson and Vahid:
| M2 has traditionally been recognized as a particularly reliable indicator of economic conditions. Recently, however, with the introduction of new financial instruments and the increasing importance of credit markets, the value of M2 as a leading indicator has been questioned.
For example, Stock and Watson (1989) decided against including M2 in their index of leading indicators. In 1993, the Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan, informed Congress that M2 had been "downgraded as a reliable indicator of financial conditions in the economy" and that "the historical relationships between money and income had broken down".
Also, after an extensive reevaluation, the 2011 Comprehensive Benchmark Revisions for the Conference Board Leading Economic Index® removed M2 from the index back to 1990, and replaced it with a newly developed Leading Credit Index. According to their research M2 had ceased to perform well as a leading indicator due to structural changes that have occurred in the U.S. economy in the last several decades.
Appendix B
WLIg is the compound annualized growth rate of the WLI for a 26.5 week period.
WLIg = [100*(MA1/MA2)^( 52/26.5)] – 100
MA1 is the 4 week moving average of the WLI.
MA2 is the moving average of MA1 over the preceding 52 weeks.
The ratio MA1/MA2 yields the change over a 26.5-week period, i.e. over six months, because the 52-week average in the denominator is centered 26.5 weeks before the current middle of the week.
Anton Vrba & Georg Vrba
Anton Vrba is an electrical engineer. He pursued a career in R&D, manufacturing and construction project management. His interests are mathematics and physics. He is a lateral thinker and has ideas that challenge the established explanations to the workings of the universe, which he is in the process of publishing on his website.
Georg Vrba is a professional engineer who has been a consulting engineer for many years. In his opinion, mathematical models provide better guidance to market direction than financial "experts." He has developed financial models for the stock market, the bond market, yield curve, gold, silver and recession prediction, all published in Advisor Perspectives. The models are updated weekly at http://imarketsignals.com/.


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Brings in new pre-IPO investor, Keating Capital, to lead the round
VANCOUVER, BC – Today, Chrysalix Venture Capital, the world's most active cleantech venture capital firm in 2010, announced its continued support of portfolio company, Agilyx Corporation, with participation in the Company's $25 million Series C round. Joining Chrysalix and other existing investors is first-time and lead investor, Keating Capital.
"With oil prices remaining high and forecasted to rise over the medium to long term, Agilyx's "clean" and economically-attractive waste plastic-to-crude oil conversion technology is looking even more attractive to the waste and oil industries and to strategic investors," said Brian Wawro, Sr. VP of Investments at Chrysalix and Board Member at Agilyx. "The completion of this financing round, attracting a top-tier investor like Keating, and the closing of several new commercial projects confirms Agilyx's leadership position in the waste-to-energy sector. We're very pleased with the Company's progress to date as Agilyx is certainly proving to be a cleantech success story. We now look forward to significant expansion both domestically and internationally."
Agilyx addresses the world's significant waste plastic problem by converting difficult-to-recycle plastic into ultra-sweet synthetic crude oil in a scalable, versatile, and environmentally-beneficial manner. Additionally, the Company's patented technology provides a local source for crude oil production limiting dependence on often unstable and expensive foreign oil supplies.
Agilyx deploys its systems around the world with organizations engaged in the management of plastic waste streams who are demanding an alternative to land-filling or incineration. With the Series C funds, the Company will expand geographically, scale its sales and service organization, and expand the rollout of Agilyx-built, owned, and operated systems in the U.S.
About Chrysalix Venture Capital
Chrysalix is a venture capital firm investing in technologies that will drive the new energy economy. The Firm provides early-stage financing, hands-on assistance, and strategic connections to innovative companies confronting the world's most important energy and environmental issues. In the past few years, the Firm has consistently ranked among the top most active clean energy technology venture capital firms in the world and in 2010, was listed as the most active cleantech VC by the Cleantech Group. The Chrysalix team has an exceptional track record in this emerging industry. Collectively, it has over 120 years of experience in the energy industry and over 120 years in the venture capital business. The Firm is backed by a strong group of international blue-chip industrial and financial Limited Partners, and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. In total, Chrysalix has approximately $300M in assets under management. For more information, please visit http://www.chrysalixevc.com.
Jamil Karim
Magnolia Marketing Communications
(604) 317-5786


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Undercover Detective Allegedly With Bikers Shattered SUV Window
By Pervaiz Shallwani
UPDATED | An off-duty undercover New York Police Department detective was allegedly among the bikers seen on a video pounding on a Range Rover during an attack on a Credit Suisse vice president, according to a law-enforcement official familiar with the investigation.
The detective, whose name has not been released, can be seen on one recording striking the SUV's hatchback window, contradicting what he told investigators about his involvement, said the official, who was not authorized to talk about the case and was speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The video, which has not been made public, allegedly shows the detective breaking the window during the September 29 assault, where Alexian Lien was dragged from the driver's seat and beaten in front of his wife and two-year-old daughter, the official said.
The Manhattan District Attorney's office is examining the video evidence to determine if any criminal charges should be brought against the detective, the official said.
Philip Karasyk, an attorney representing the detective on behalf of the Detectives Endowment Association, the union that represents detectives, did not immediately return calls for comment.
During an interview on Monday, Mr. Karasyk said the detective had told investigators that he was among bikers as they chased Mr. Lien north along the Henry Hudson Parkway but did not see the beating.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly on Tuesday declined to comment on the investigation into the detective's action, saying, "We want to continue the investigation."
As the investigation reached into its 10th day, officials continued to comb through additional videos and witness statements in hopes of identifying suspects, officials said. On Tuesday, police released photos of four more people who are wanted for questioning in connection with the assault.
"We anticipate identifying more people," Mr. Kelly said.
Mr. Lien suffered lacerations above each eye, lip and cheek as well as the side of his body, requiring stitches, in addition to abrasions on his back and shoulder.
So far, four people have been charged in the chase and subsequent assault. The most recent was Craig Wright, 29 years old. He was arraigned on Tuesday and plead not guilty to charges of gang assault, assault and unlawful imprisonment for allegedly punching and kicking Mr. Lien. Mr. Wright did not speak in court and his family declined comment.
So far, the three people charged for the actual attack on the victim have been charged with gang assault.
In the case of the detective, the new alleged evidence seemingly contradicts what he told NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau investigators when he came forward last Wednesday, three days after the attack, to tell them that he had been at the scene.
An investigation was launched, and the detective was assigned assigned to modified duty, where he has been assigned to a desk and stripped of his shield and gun.
On Monday, Mr. Karasyk said the detective, a 10-year veteran of the department with a spotless record, is an avid biker who read about the ride on social media and was off-duty "just doing his thing."
The attorney said the detective did not come forward because he arrived after one biker was run over by Mr. Lien's SUV, did not see the assault and did not want potentially blow his cover.
"He gets off at the exit where they get off and he just rode on," Mr. Karasyk said. "He couldn't identify anyone. He didn't know anyone and he drove off."
The detective changed his mind on Wednesday because it became apparent based on the scope of the investigation that he could be able to help in some way, Mr. Karasyk said.
– Sarah Armaghan contributed to this article.


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Add some color to Visual Studio 2012
Usability studies have shown that both shape and color help to distinguis visual elements in a UI. The upcoming/current beta release of Visual Studio 2011 has removed color from the toolbars and from icons in e.g. the Solution Explorer.
Please make this optional so those of us that want a more accessible and user friendly IDE can have their cake and eat it too.
Please make more Color the the Visual Studio 2012. We must work with that black and white Studio. Colors help to find faster items. I don't know what Microsoft think about colors? Please give me my Color back!
I hate the chrome of the new Visual studio 2012. All toolbar icons are bitonal. Just blank and while not even grey shades in them and are tiny. I am having a hard time finding toolbar buttons. It look like i am back in early 1980s with bitonal computer screens. But this one is even worse than that. PLEASE BRING COLORS BACK!
revert to a more colorful theme so that screen elements are more easily differerentiated
Please bring back the colors in Solution Explorer. I am back to reading the words instead of quickly looking at the icons.
Have the UI designers of VS 2012 lost thier mind. Guys look at the UI, it looks so medicore that it seems older version than Visual Studio 1.1. I think VS 1.1 look and fill was better than VS 2012. Look at UI 2010. It was one of the best UI look and fill. How come quality of UI design degrades so sharply. I think designers of VS 2012 have lost theirs eyes. Folks go back to drawing board please.
Why microsoft is leaving the colorfull world? Some of the MS beauti doesnot require to change. You are making developer life so difficult with new IDE color theme.(I am sorry Black and white theme as there is no color.).
The User interface of VS2012 is ungly and black and white. Icons colors,location of toolbars all looks ungly.
I know in general if you want to teach someone color and picture is the best way to teach. but after seeing UI of VS2012 its hard to teach. I am feeling like I am a color blind.
Please do not change the nature.
I would like to add my voice to the list of those asking for color, at least as an option, to be brought back to Visual Studio. I understand the usability arguments that Microsoft is making, but it seems to me that you are overlooking one very important consideration. Many of us use autohide to solve this problem. Therefore, when we go into Solution Explorer (for example), we want our focus there, and the color schemes help us more quickly find what we need. Then, as soon as we click out of there, it is hidden and therefore cannot possibly distract us. Please don't take this option away.
RC from Beta has a minor improvement, but its not enought!
The coloring is really almost not noticable, the problem was not with the status bar coloring, but with the items in the solution explorer and the ToolBox menu, and toolbars.
even in RC the files are not easily recognised!
and the all CAPS in the menu is really like watching Clipper from 1980 all over again!
guys please reconsider, METRO Style is NOT for an IDE developing tool!
you are making our lifes ******, and eventually we will stop folowing the .NET.
PLEASE!!!!!! Switch to a sane color scheme who ever had the idea to remove colors and contrast have him tared and feathered!!!
and sent to Siberia!
this color schema is painfull to look at and debilitating..
it will reduce productivity and programmers will to live!
even cats and dogs would complain and they only see a few more cholors the monocrome...
the human eye in contrast can see as much as 10 milion colors why should we be limited to gray scale?!!
I love html canvas javascript api intelisense but the colors i cannot stand!
I wont be upgrading my visual studio 10 if these colors remain that a absolute iron hard fact...
If your adding a theme editor to it and this is your way of forcing the comunity to find the optimal color theme by giving them a kick in the @$$ then by all means... but i seriously hope your not expecting anyone to work like this...
that would be insanity!
Removing color from icons and symbols in Visual Studio is a step in the wrong direction. What is the use of icons and symbols? They have to make functions recognizable. The more icons you have the more they have to be well recognizable.
Another aspect: the use of color makes Visual Studio friendlier. The actual beta looks gloomy and sad
Updated Status: 7/2/2013
Thanks to everyone who voted and commented on this issue. Visual Studio 2013 has increased color and contrast use within the user interface while continuing to focus on giving the content you are creating and editing visual prominence. We've utilized the feedback you gave us to help refine our approach to color and contrast within three main areas: 1) we added color to icons and reduced line weights to improve icon scan-ability and to better communicate icon meaning and categorization; 2) we added line work and raised contrast levels to increase visual separation between screen regions; 3) we included a built-in "Blue" theme option at product first launch to better support user choice.
In keeping with these three areas we have made many changes to the Visual Studio 2013 built-in themes. In high utilization and icon intensive areas of the product, such as common toolbar actions and code hierarchy elements, we refined the color and/or line weight of over 1,000 commonly used icons resulting in color being applied to ~80% of standard and debug toolbar icons, ~75% of code hierarchy icons, and 100% of active notifications. In both the Light and Dark themes we increased contrast levels and introduced more border line work to better highlight the edges of content areas such as input fields, tool window borders, active selection states, etc. We also introduced the ability to choose the theme that best meets your preferences and work environment needs as a part of the product first launch experience.
Many of the changes we've made are subtle in nature but broad reaching in their application. As Visual Studio 2013 Preview has now shipped, we're closing this item to give your votes back for you to use on emerging topics. We encourage you to try out the changes we've made and then share additional feedback you might have.
Visual Studio UX Team
Hi folks,
Take a look at the VS 2012 Color Theme Editor – it is an option for creating and editing your own Visual Studio themes.
Doug Turnure – Visual Studio PM
1124 comments
Ali M commented
Dear Visual Studio Team,
One question always goes in my mind any time I look at the VS 2012 UI:
I use VS12 every day and I really comprehend how you could make such decision for the icons. I am really concern for the future of the product.
Concerned developer …
Gustavo Ganna commented
@Anonymous ... Well maybe the UI is the first major issue ... some devs don't want to invest time trying to decrypt what means such bicolored icons.
I personally start to check the product capabilities "only if" the GUI is in some fashion ... usable ... if not (like this case) I simple close the **** out and return to a well know & productive enviroment ... almost there is no such feel of increasing stress by trying to adopt and work with those products designed by marketers.
Are you ******* kidding me? There are major issues, and the top problem people vote up is that there isn't enough ******* color?
brian commented
Please you are still not listening:
a) Its not enough!
b) VS should come out of the box with a usable and workable interface
Why can't you take the feedback on-board? The tools group are becoming as bad as the Windows group at turning what should be a winning product into a lame duck with such amazing gusto and arrogance.
The comment from Anonymous April 24, 2013 2:20 p.m about says it all for a lot of us developers
As a longtime developer all I can say is wow. I've invested 25 years in learning and promoting the use of your products and managed to build a career for myself. Why? Because you had a successful business image and Exec's were comfortable with me using your products. I followed your design cues and produced applications that solved business problems i.e. we put some serious money on the table with good custom software. It looks good and it works even better.
I've said it before and I'll say it again - there's real work to do out here. Giving serious development tools a modern or metro interface treatment is not necessary. It's a solution for a problem that doesn't exist. We need elegant development tools that are aligned with how we work today and are not being mocked by the entire user community as consumer oriented toys. Whatever your goals were with the desktop - it hasn't exactly been a hit.
VS2012 needs the VS2010 skin and icons. The Windows desktop needs Aero, the Start Button and the Start Menu. Why? Because we need a consistent development platform to innovate and move technology forward. Out here in the real world it takes time and by extension money to change things. You're not helping us at all by giving the development tools a consumer interface treatment. Stability is everything. I see it. My customers see it. Why don't you?
It's the most minging UI I've ever had the misfortune to have to use, but with some of the third party hacks coming online it's possible to make it usable.
Visual Studio Icon Patcher is a good start but misses all the Class View and C++ Project icons. Just release an official patch to reinstate the VS2010 coloured icons and all will be calm again in the land of the Windows developers.
Axel Grude commented
add userChrome.css, like a xulrunner app. support gradients and background-image / list-style image overlay and border-radius, then I will style it back to something usable.
Why VS became do-it-yourself kit? MS was sold to Ikea?
Kwan McComas commented
Is there a way to add color to the icons as well?
angieK commented
Typical Microsoft; some team needed to justify its existence so they cook up some bogus research data to show how this new UI will be great for developers and everybody will love it. In reality, it's just **** being shoved down customers' throats and since the people who sign corporate purchasing agreements can't tell the difference between a C++ project and the Matrix screensaver, people who have to do real work get screwed.
brian commented
The art of not listening is going to be Microsoft's downfall. The sooner they start listening and correct the serious usability problems in Windows 8 and VS 2012 the better.
You have let the new boys and girls on the block try their new look and ideas - its been a failure now go back and keep your real users and customers happy!
Ben Bowen commented
The Color Theme Editor doesn't begin to address the usability issues introduced by this version of Visual Studio. Give the option to restore the window borders, return to the familiar and usable icons that we all loved in VS2010. This new version is almost unsable, even after applying the third party hacks to return some of the look and feel of VS 2010.
I HARE the look and feel ... VEEEEEERY BAD ... CHANGE IT
>Just give me a real UI or bring back VS200X!
No. ZOG decided all must become imbeciles, and that's why all will work in square-clustered monochrome indistinguishable ui.
UI Sucks commented
Fµckìnġ UI, NiceVS and "Color Theme Editor" can go to the same **** as all other fµckėd-up toolbars crâp. Just give me a real UI or bring back VS200X!
ThomasX commented
Visual Studio 2012 Update 2 released. UI issues remain unfixed.
Michael commented
I used to work with Visual Studio 6, 2003 and 2008 on Windows and MonoDevelop on Mac. And up to now I never had the "need" to change the UI of an IDE immediately after starting it the 1st time. But with Visual Studio 2012 before starting to code or explore any new features I spent 2 hours of customizing the UI, using the "Color Theme Editor" and the registry patch for disabling the uppercase style in the main menu bar. And up to now Iam still not satisfied.
Other comments talk about bad usability regaring to the UI I don't know if this is really the case.
but if I look at Studio 2012 it does not feel good and positive, no matter what I do to the colors.
ITMAGE commented
You know I was just thinking about something. We've all been under the impression that Microsoft has changed the UI to be more inline with metro and such. However,,,, I wonder if there's another plan at work here. In not using the Windows themes, colors and icons, maybe they're trying to make VS more platform agnostic, which would mean this might be a step in making VS easier to port it to another OS. I'm probably way off base here, but hey who knows.
Just thinking out loud.
ITMAGE commented
" should support the features of the given operating system. In other words - VS 2012 running on Windows 7 should support Aero and the other visual features"
Absolutely agree.
When will be available service pack with restored icons?


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1) Give a warning before you talk about the dead dog. I was eating! lol
2) On a trip to Wales, we were taken to a certain part of the road on a certain hill. They put the car in neutral, and if you looked straight out or behind, it looked like you were facing downhill. But the vehicle was rolling backward "uphill". There is no ghost story attached to this, as it is a documented optical illusion that you are facing downhill in the first place. I bet Gap road is the same.
3) Guthrie as a whole should be on this list.


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Bloomberg Abandons Push for Nonpartisan Elections
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has one last shot at his long-time dream of abolishing partisan primaries for New York City's municipal election — and he's apparently giving up without another fight.
At a news conference Thursday, Bloomberg made clear that he doesn't plan to seek another public referendum on nonpartisan elections before he leaves office at the end of next year. The proposal failed to win majority support from city voters in 2003 and was last considered (and rejected) by the Charter Revision Commission in 2010.
In New York City, candidates for elected offices are nominated by political parties. With registered Democrats vastly outnumbering Republicans in the five boroughs, the winner of the Democratic primary — open only to members of that party — often has a tremendous advantage in the general election.
Bloomberg, who has switched partisan affiliations twice while in public life, sought to replace party primaries with an open system. Under the proposal rejected by voters in 2003, primaries would have been open to all voters and all candidates, regardless of party membership. The two top vote-getters, even if both belonged to the same party, would compete in a general election.
The billionaire mayor spent more than $7 million of his personal fortune in 2003 while attempting to convince the electorate, but 70% of voters opposed the measure. Bloomberg on Thursday recalled how he failed to get support from the major newspaper editorial boards — or anyone, for that matter.
"I don't remember getting the support of any good-government group, any party — of anybody," the mayor said. "It's like crying in the wind."
While opinion polls in recent years show city voters' thoughts on nonpartisan elections have shifted towards the mayor's stance, Bloomberg signaled Thursday that he's throwing in the towel.
"The fact of the matter is I spent $7 million of my own money and couldn't convince anybody that nonpartisan elections" should be enacted, he said, noting how most major cities in the U.S. have nonpartisan elections.
New York City uses a nonpartisan structure for all special elections. Next month, for example, the Bronx race to succeed former Council Member Larry Seabrook, who was forced out of office this summer after his conviction in a corruption scheme, will be a nonpartisan election.
Bloomberg has been pushing for nonpartisan elections since he first ran for mayor in 2001; it was the subject of his first policy news conference on the campaign trail. He was a lifelong Democrat before joining the Republican Party to run for mayor in 2001, and he left the GOP in 2007 as he considered a bid for the White House. The mayor has remained unaffiliated with political parties ever since.
Even as he gives up, for now, on one of his signature issues, Bloomberg said Thursday that he wished the status quo would change.
"It's fair to say that because the city is so overwhelmingly one party, the primary in that party will be essentially the election," he said. Everybody else — members of other parties, voters who don't participate in primaries, unaffiliated voters — "will be disenfranchised," Bloomberg said.
"I don't know what else to tell you," the mayor added. "I said it one thousand times."


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Target ratios for skill sets or roles
At work (software company), we're wondering about the "typical" ratio of developers to usability staff. I may as well go whole hog and do a proper survey.
Is this an appropriate list of roles?
- Interface/interaction designers.
- Usability testers.
- Software developers.
- QA-testers.
- Technical communicators.
- Product managers.
- Development managers.
- Project managers.
- Subject-matter experts (customer domain, not software).
Please e-mail me any missing roles. I'll set up a survey and then invite you all to respond.
-=- Jerome
I would say "usability researchers" rather than usability testers.
Testing is done with an existing artefact of some sort. A lot of the
most important aspects of usability is done at the very beginning of
a product cycle, things like: Are we building the right product? Does
our thinking conform to actual needs/empty niches/felt wants/our
users' perceptions of their own needs? How do our expected users
conform or not to our expectations of their behavior...all of this
and so much more goes into developing a reasonable first cut at a
usable product with a well defined series of interactions.
At 4:17 PM -0800 12/18/07, Jerome Ryckborst wrote:
>At work (software company), we're wondering about the "typical"
>ratio of developers to usability staff. I may as well go whole hog
>and do a proper survey.
>Is this an appropriate list of roles?
> - Interface/interaction designers.
> - Usability testers.
> - Software developers.
> - QA-testers.
> - Technical communicators.
> - Product managers.
> - Development managers.
> - Project managers.
> - Subject-matter experts (customer domain, not software).
>Please e-mail me any missing roles. I'll set up a survey and then
>invite you all to respond.
>-=- Jerome
>*Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah*
>February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA
>Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/
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Katie Albers
User Experience Consulting & Project Management
katie at firstthought.com
You might add:
- Visual Designers
- UI Architects
- Software Architects
- Animators
- HTML/CSS coders (sometimes in the UI group. Often different than
the programmers)
For a game company:
- Sound Designers/Engineers
- 3D modellers
- Scene designers
- etc.
- Creative services (packaging, collateral materials)
- Legal services (trademark, copyright, intellectual property, licensing)
- Marketing (typically represented by a Product Manager, but
sometimes more people are involved)
--- Market researchers
--- Competitive analysts
- Manufacturing and Distribution folk
- Some companies have "Producers" rather than "Product Managers"
By Product Managers did you mean the Marketing folk?
At 4:17 PM -0800 12/18/07, Jerome Ryckborst wrote:
>Is this an appropriate list of roles?
> - Interface/interaction designers.
> - Usability testers.
> - Software developers.
> - QA-testers.
> - Technical communicators.
> - Product managers.
> - Development managers.
> - Project managers.
> - Subject-matter experts (customer domain, not software).
Bill Fernandez * User Interface Architect * Bill Fernandez Design
(505) 346-3080 * bf_list1 AT billfernandez DOT com *
On Dec 18, 2007, at 7:17 PM, Jerome Ryckborst wrote:
> Is this an appropriate list of roles?
Hi Jerome,
Our research shows that focusing on roles is the wrong approach.
Teams that focus on skills are more likely to create great user
experiences that teams that focus on roles. In those teams, they may
have skills distributed across team members and any given team member
will have a pile of skills. This creates a team that is more flexible
and can react better to the demands placed upon it.
Another advantage is that focusing on skills reinforces a culture of
constant improvement across the individuals on the teams and sets up
nice opportunities for mentorship and coaching from within, which is
one of the most effective ways to bring up the quality of the team's
I've written about the skills necessary more in an article, Assessing
Your Team's UX Skills: http://tinyurl.com/22c3qw
Hope this helps,
Jared M. Spool
User Interface Engineering
510 Turnpike St., Suite 102, North Andover, MA 01845
e: jspool at uie.com p: +1 978 327 5561
http://uie.com Blog: http://uie.com/brainsparks
Yesterday, I wrote:
> Is this an appropriate list of roles?
Jared M Spool replied:
> Teams that focus on skills are more likely to create great user
> experiences than teams that focus on roles.
OK. I want to know how our ratio of UX to other job titles compares to the ratios of other companies because I think I can use that data to argue for an improvement in our ratios, at work. I don't expect to get much comparables data in a survey about skills because of the rating complexity and the effort, as described in the Spool article (http://tinyurl.com/22c3qw).
In the absence of comparables, would it be possible to combine the roles and skills idea? For example:
Ignoring actual job titles, in your workplace how many
people -- in-house (IH) and contractors (C) do the following work?
Use fractions, as needed:
__ __ Visual designers or graphic designers.
__ __ Information architects or information designers.
__ __ Interaction designers.
__ __ Usability testers.
__ __ User researchers.
__ __ Software developers or programmers.
__ __ QA-testers.
__ __ Technical communicators (copywriters, incl. text in GUI).
__ __ Development managers.
__ __ Project managers and fast-iteration managers.
__ __ Subject-matter experts (customer domain, not software).
__ __ Product managers.
I welcome feedback, including offlist.
Oh, and I should add: my boss likes the idea of industry ratios to which we can compare ourselves.
-=- Jerome


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Smoked Salmon and Pesto Scrambled Eggs
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As she says about this recipe, One of the things I am trying to eat more of is protein especially the good kind. Salmon is the best way to get your protein.
I usually make a sandwich with smoked salmon or add it to scrambled eggs. I beat two eggs and add sliced salmon and cook up the whole thing. I find the combination very satisfying, especially if I top it with some hot sauce yum!
Smoked Salmon and Pesto Scrambled Eggs
By Monica Puri Bangia
2 eggs, beaten with 1 teaspoon water and ½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon organic extra virgin olive oil or organic macadamia nut oil
1 tablespoon basil pesto
2 to 3 ounces sockeye salmon lox sliced into strips OR hot-smoked sockeye (plain or peppered), broken into small chunks
Check out these customer favorites


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With rain steady over a couple days, parts of the Presidential hills neighborhood in Mississippi are bracing for more flooding.
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Interested in more information on LLN and how to become a member? Please contact us:email@example.com back to top