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June 13, 2016
[hetzog] Lo And Behold: Reveries Of The Connected World Trailer … the official trailer for Werner Herzog's film about the Internet … 'Have the monks stopped meditating? They all seem to be tweeting.' [via Kottke]
June 13, 2016
[hetzog] Lo And Behold: Reveries Of The Connected World Trailer … the official trailer for Werner Herzog's film about the Internet … 'Have the monks stopped meditating? They all seem to be tweeting.' [via Kottke]
November 12, 2015
[tech] The Room Where the Internet Was Born … A visit to the place where the first messages over the internet were sent from … 'In a strikingly accurate replica of the original IMP log (crafted by UCLA's Fowler Museum of Cultural History) on one of the room's period desks is a note taken at 10:30 p.m., 29 October, 1969—"talked to SRI, host to host." In the note, there is no sense of wonder at this event—which marks the first message sent across the ARPANET, and the primary reason the room is now deemed hallowed ground.'
October 16, 2015
[internet] Nihilistic Password Security Questions … 'What is the maiden name of your father's mistress?'
August 28, 2015
[web] Almost None of the Women in the Ashley Madison Database Ever Used the Site… Gizmodo does some data analysis on the user data from the hacking of the Ashley Madison website … 'When you look at the evidence, it's hard to deny that the overwhelming majority of men using Ashley Madison weren't having affairs. They were paying for a fantasy.'
February 2, 2015
[funny] 5 People on Etsy Who Are Clearly Serial Killers Part 1 | Part 2 …
'Hey, remember that nightmare you had once where you wandered into that rural cult compound and everyone celebrated the arrival of an outsider by tying you to a banquet table, putting on their ceremonial animal masks, and drinking your blood from a chalice? Well, even if you don't, this nice woman sure does, and she was really hoping you'd like to be reminded for only $30. She's a Canadian photographer and expert in subtle terror. Objectively, there's nothing scary about a kid wearing a plastic animal mask, and yet her pictures are so ominous, they look like something you'd find in the attic of a house no one will buy.'
January 30, 2015
[web] What the Web Said Yesterday … a New Yorker profile of the Internet Archive and Brewster Kahle …
"Every time a light blinks, someone is uploading or downloading," Kahle explains. Six hundred thousand people use the Wayback Machine every day, conducting two thousand searches a second. "You can see it." He smiles as he watches. "They're glowing books!" He waves his arms. "They glow when they're being read!"
January 14, 2015
[fake] 86 Viral Images From 2014 That Were Totally Fake … a fascinating collection of well faked images …
November 8, 2014
[net] What happens when you accidentally become internet famous? … 'Fist clenched, a look of pure determination on his face, Success Kid is the boy who can do it all. You may have seen his face posted when someone's particularly proud of an achievement. Success Kid's real name is Sam Griner and the photo is one of many his mother Laney, a photographer, took of her son and posted on her Flickr page. She still remembers the day and the moment she snapped this picture…'
October 23, 2014
[internet] Twitter I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down … Quinn Norton On The Internet … 'The net never forgets. Forgetting is a gentle process of thought and learning which the net can't do. Losing things, which the net does plenty, is different.'
August 17, 2014
[tech] Browsing speeds may slow as net hardware bug bites… BBC News on the 512K routing bug … 'This may come as a surprise to non-specialists who view the internet as a high-tech affair comparable to the bridge of the USS Enterprise of Star Trek fame, in actuality, the internet is more akin to an 18th century Royal Navy frigate, with a lot of running about, climbing, shouting, and tugging on ropes required to maintain the desired course and speed.'
July 6, 2014
[web] Report mobile and Internet Service Providers blocking sites… what British ISP's are blocking your website? Turns out I'm blocked by Talk Talk. '20% of sites tested were blocked.'
April 29, 2014
[trolling] The Compleat Troller, Or, THE ART OF TROLLING …
March 19, 2014
[internet] How to use the Internet …
March 13, 2014
[www] 25 Things You Might Not Know About The Web On Its 25th Birthday … '5 Tim Berners-Lee is Gutenberg's true heir – In 1455, with his revolution in printing, Johannes Gutenberg single-handedly launched a transformation in mankind's communications environment – a transformation that has shaped human society ever since. Berners-Lee is the first individual since then to have done anything comparable.'
February 22, 2014
[tv] What happens at Netflix when House of Cards goes live … 'Edberg said the last time House of Cards launched, the engineers figured out that the entire season was about 13 hours. "And we looked to [see] if anybody was finishing in that amount of time," Edberg said. "And there was one person who finished with just three minutes longer than there is content. So basically, three total minutes of break in roughly 13 hours."'
January 19, 2014
[web] Have I Been Pwned? … a service that allows you to check if any of your usernames or passwords been compromised in recent website security breaches.
January 15, 2014
[internet] Cicada 3301: I tried the hardest puzzle on the internet and failed spectacularly … more on the mysterious internet puzzle that restarted recently … 'The image included text hidden with steganography, a technique which lets users bury information in seemingly innocuous files. To get the information out required me to use a program called OutGuess. To install OutGuess, I need to compile the program from source. To do that, I need to install Xcode, the Mac OS X developer tools, create a new command line project based on the source code I downloaded, reconfigure the program for Mac, deal with any dependency issues, build it, and then run it from the terminal. What I actually do is spend the better part of an hour clicking around in Xcode, desperately trying to find a magic button to click which will make everything work without requiring me to learn how to code in an afternoon. There is no such button. This may be harder than I thought.'
December 18, 2013
[mystery] The Internet Mystery That Has The World Baffled … the fascinating story of a complex internet hunt / puzzle that nobody knows who created. '…a scavenger hunt that has led thousands of competitors across the web, down telephone lines, out to several physical locations around the globe, and into unchartered areas of the "darknet". So far, the hunt has required a knowledge of number theory, philosophy and classical music. An interest in both cyberpunk literature and the Victorian occult has also come in handy as has an understanding of Mayan numerology. It has also featured a poem, a tuneless guitar ditty, a femme fatale called "Wind" who may, or may not, exist in real life, and a clue on a lamp post in Hawaii. Only one thing is certain: as it stands, no one is entirely sure what the challenge – known as Cicada 3301 – is all about or who is behind it.'
November 14, 2013
[work] Hyperemployment, or the Exhausting Work of the Technology User … Whatever happened to Keynes idea of a Leisure Society? 'The economic impact of hyperemployment is obviously different from that of underemployment, but some of the same emotional toll imbues both: a sense of inundation, of being trounced by demands whose completion yields only their continuance, and a feeling of resignation that any other scenario is likely or even possible. The only difference between the despair of hyperemployment and that of un- or under-employment is that the latter at least acknowledges itself as an substandard condition, while the former celebrates the hyperemployed's purported freedom to "share" and "connect," to do business more easily and effectively by doing jobs once left for others competence and compensation, from the convenience of your car or toilet.'
November 12, 2013
[internet] Netflix Has Taken a Huge Bite Out of File Sharing … interesting look at what's being downloaded on the Internet these days … 'BitTorrent, the report notes, now accounts for only 7.4 percent of traffic during peak period, while file-sharing in general hovers below 10 percent. And that's a sharp drop—only five years ago, BitTorrent managed to draw 31 percent of daily streaming traffic and even twice that 10 years ago.'
September 11, 2013
[web] The Pinterest Skeptics Board … pushing back at fake, misleading or wrong quotes on Pinterest.
June 20, 2013
[tech] Internet Anonymity Is The Height Of Chic … A look at the plausibility of remaining anonymous from Google and the Internet … 'In the 1930s, HG Wells wrote of a "world brain" through which "the whole human memory can be … made accessible to every individual". Today, perhaps we have that world brain, and it is called Google. Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, professor of internet governance and regulation at the University of Oxford's Internet Institute, sounds an Orwellian note about this: "Quite literally, Google knows more about us than we can remember ourselves." No wonder some dream of slipping under Google's radar.'
October 16, 2012
[webstalking] Find that fireball! When journalist turns stalker … fascinating demonstration of efficient webstalking … 'Back to the video for more clues. As the camera panned across the garden, we saw palm trees come into view – not so common in New York, perhaps, but pretty ubiquitous in Florida. We honed in on Naples, Florida. The knowledge database Wolfram Alpha returned the weather report below for Naples, Florida on the date the video was uploaded (October 5), and the word thunderstorm leaped out.'
September 19, 2012
[blogging] Pinterest, Tumblr and the Trouble With 'Curation' … some thoughts on what you do when you blog with a Pinterest or Tumblr …
Silbermann suggests that collecting online is a form of self-expression for people who don't create. "If you walk around Brooklyn and ask people how they express themselves," he said in a speech at New York University, "everyone's a musician or an artist or a filmmaker. But most of us aren't that interesting. Most of us are just consumers of that. And when we collect things and when we share those collections with people, that's how we show who we are in the world."
August 7, 2012
[security] How Apple and Amazon Security Flaws Led to My Epic Hacking … a sobering look at how one man's digital life – Google Account, Apple Account – was compromised and his iPhone and Mac were remotely wiped … 'I asked him why. Was I targeted specifically? Was this just to get to Gizmodo's Twitter account? No, Phobia said they hadn't even been aware that my account was linked to Gizmodo's, that the Gizmodo linkage was just gravy. He said the hack was simply a grab for my three-character Twitter handle. That's all they wanted. They just wanted to take it, and fuck shit up, and watch it burn. It wasn't personal.'
July 23, 2012
[blogs] This is a reblog of Brooke Magnanti's terrific how-to guide on blogging anonymously. I gather that someone is trying to get this post removed from Blogspot. I have no doubt that Brooke has every right to publish it and that she wrote this based on her unique blogging experiences as Belle de Jour. I read recently about a British publisher that has started a legal action against Twitter to discover the individual behind an spoof account that parodied their CEO. In situations like this Brooke's guide is useful, timely and deserves a wide audience. – Darren/LMG.
How To Blog Anonymously (and how not to)
by Brooke Magnanti
It's not up to me to decide if you "deserve" to be anonymous. My feeling is, if you're starting out as a writer and do not yet feel comfortable writing under your own name, that is your business and not mine. I also think sex workers should consider starting from a position of anonymity and decide later if they want to be out, please don't be naive. Statistics I made up right now show 99 out of 100 people who claim 'if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear' are talking out of their arses.
The items in the list fall into three general categories: internet- based, legal and real-world tips, and interpersonal. Many straddle more than one of these categories. All three are important.
This is written for a general audience because most people who blog now do not have extensive technical knowledge, they just want to write and be read. That's a good thing by the way. If you already know all of this, then great, but many people won't. Don't be sneery about their lack of prior knowledge. Bringing everyone up to speed on the technology is not the goal: clear steps you can use to help protect your identity from being discovered are.
Disclaimer: I'm no longer anonymous so these steps are clearly not airtight. Also there are other sources of information on the Web, some of which are more comprehensive and more current than my advice. I accept no responsibility for any outcome of following this advice. Please don't use it to do illegal or highly sensitive things. Also please don't use pseudonyms to be a dick.
This is also a work in progress. As I remember things or particular details, I'll amend this post. If you have suggestions of things that should be added, let me know.
1. Don't use Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail et al. for your mail.
You will need an email address to do things like register for blog accounts, Facebook, Twitter, and more. This email will have to be something entirely separate from your "real" email addresses. There are a lot of free options out there, but be aware that sending an email from many of them also sends information in the headers that could help identify you.
When I started blogging, I set up an email address for the blog with Hotmail. Don't do this. Someone quickly pointed out the headers revealed where I worked (a very large place with lots of people and even more computers, but still more information than I was comfortable with). They suggested I use Hushmail instead, which I still use. Hushmail has a free option (though the inbox allocation is modest), strips out headers, and worked for me.
A caveat with this: if you are, say, a sex worker working in a place where that is not legal and using Hushmail, you could be vulnerable to them handing over your details to a third party investigating crimes. If you're handling information some governments might consider embarrassing or sensitive, same. Google some alternatives: you're looking for something secu re and encrypted.
There are a few common-sense tips you can follow to make it even safer. If you have to bring people you know in real life in on the secret, don't use this email address for communicating with them even if only about matters related to your secret (and don't use your existing addresses for that either). Example: I have one address for press and general interactions, one for things related to my accountant and money, and one for communicating with my agent, publisher, and solicitor. I've also closed and opened new accounts over the years when it seems "too many" people are getting hold of a particular address. Use different passwords for each, don't make these passwords related to your personal information, and so on.
I unwisely left the Hotmail address going, and while I did not use it to send mail, I continued to read things that arrived there. That led to this failed attempt by the Sunday Times to out me. It was an easily dodged attempt but something I would have preferred to avoid.
Over the years I have had about two email account changes every year and have changed my mobile number five times (eventually, I just stopped having one). If you change email addresses it's a good idea to send people you need to stay in contact with a mail from the old and the new address so they know it's not someone else trying to impersonate you. And to have a password so you know the response is from the right person – a password you did not exchange via an email conversation, of course. Example: you might send an email to your editor from firstname.lastname@example.com and from email@example.com at the same time, and the one from new_address contains Codeword1. They respond with Codeword2, indicating they acknowledge the change.
It sounds silly, but people can and do scam personal info all the time. Often they do so by pretending to be in on a secret so someone reveals something they did not mean to say. Play it safe. It can feel a stupidly cloak-and-dagger at first, but you soon get over it.
You can register internet domains while staying anonymous but I never did. Some people registered domains for me (people I didn't know in person). This led to a couple of instances of them receiving harassment when the press suspected they were me. In particular Ian Shircore got a bit of unwanted attention this way.
Because all I was ever doing was a straight-up blog, not having a registered domain that I had control over was fine. Your needs may be different. I am not a good source for advice on how to do that. But just in case you might be thinking "who would bother looking there?" read about how faux escort Alexa DiCarlo was unmasked. This is what happens when you don't cover your tracks.
2. Don't use a home internet connection, work internet connection, etc.
Email won't be the only way you might want to communicate with people. You may also want to leave comments on other blogs and so forth. Doing this and other ways of using the Web potentially exposes your IP address, which could be unique and be used to locate you.
Even if you don't leave comments just visiting a site can leave traces behind. Tim Ireland recently used a simple method to confirm his suspicion of who the "Tabloid Troll" twitter account belonged to. By comparing the IP address of someone who clicked on to a link going to the Bloggerheads site with the IP address of an email Dennis Rice sent, a link was made. If you go to the trouble of not using your own connection, also make sure you're not using the same connection for different identities just minutes apart. Don't mix the streams.
The timing of everything as it happened was key to why the papers did not immediately find out who I was. The old blog started in 2003, when most press still had to explain to their audience what a blog actually was. It took a while for people to notice the writing, so the mistakes I made early on (blogging from home and work, using Hotmail) had long been corrected by the time the press became interested.
Today, no writer who aims to stay anonymous should ever assume a grace period like that. It also helped that once the press did become interested, they were so convinced not only that Belle was not really a hooker but also that she was one of their own – a previously published author or even journalist – that they never looked in the right place. If they'd just gone to a London blogmeet and asked a few questions about who had pissed off a lot of people and was fairly promiscuous, they'd have had a plausible shortlist in minutes.
After I moved from Kilburn to Putney, I was no longer using a home internet connection – something I should have done right from the beginning. I started to use internet cafes for posting and other activities as Belle. This offers some security… but be wary of using these places too often if there is a reason to think someone is actively looking for you. It's not perfect.
Also be wary if you are using a laptop or other machine provided by your workplace, or use your own laptop to log in to work servers ("work remotely"). I've not been in that situation and am not in any way an expert on VPNs , but you may want to start reading about it here and do some googling for starters. As a general principle, it's probably wise not to do anything on a work laptop that could get you fired, and don't do anything that could get you fired while also connected to work remotely on your own machine.
3. There is software available that can mask your IP address. There are helpful add-ons that can block tracking software.
I didn't use this when I was anonymous, but if I was starting as an anonymous blogger now, I would download Tor and browse the Web and check email through their tools.
If you do use Tor or other software to mask your IP address, don't then go on tweeting about where your IP address is coming from today! I've seen people do this. Discretion fail.
I also use Ghostery now to block certain tracking scripts from web pages. You will want to look into something similar. Also useful are Adblocker, pop-up blockers, things like that. They are simple to download and use and you might like to use them anyway even if you're not an anonymous blogger. A lot of sites track your movements and you clearly don't want that.
4. Take the usual at-home precautions.
Is your computer password-protected with a password only you know? Do you clear your browser history regularly? Use different passwords for different accounts? Threats to anonymity can come from people close to you. Log out of your blog and email accounts when you're finished using them, every time. Have a secure and remote backup of your writing. Buy a shredder and use it. Standard stuff.
Sometimes the files you send can reveal things about yourself, your computer, and so on. When sending manuscripts to my agent and editor, they were usually sent chapter by chapter as flat text files – not Word documents – with identifying data stripped. The usual method I used to get things to them was to upload to a free service that didn't require a login, such as Sendspace. When writing articles for magaznes and papers, the text was typically appended straight into the body of the email, again avoiding attachments with potentially identifying information. This can be a little irritating… having to archive your writing separately, not altogether convenient to work on. But for the way I worked, usually not sharing content with editors until it was close to the final draft, it was fine.
When exchanging emails with my agent and editor, we never talked about actual meeting times and locations and threw a few decoy statements in, just in case. Since it has been recently revealed that Times journalists were trying to hack bloggers' email addresses after all, in retrospect, this seems to have been a good thing.
Another thing I would do is install a keystroke logger on your own machine. By doing this I found out in 2004 that someone close to me was spying on me when they were left alone with my computer. In retrospect what I did about it was not the right approach. See also item 7.
5. Be careful what you post.
Are you posting photos? Exif data can tell people, among other things, where and when a picture was taken, what it was taken with, and more. I never had call to use it because I never posted photos or sound, but am told there are loads of tools that can wipe this Exif data from your pictures (here's one).
The content of what you post can be a giveaway as well. Are you linking to people you know in real life? Are you making in-jokes or references to things only a small group of people will know about? Don't do that.
If possible, cover your tracks. Do you have a previous blog under a known name? Are you a contributor to forums where your preferred content and writing style are well-known? Can you edit or delete these things? Good, do that.
Personally, I did not delete everything. Partly this was because the world of British weblogging was so small at the time – a few hundred popular users, maybe a couple thousand people blogging tops? – that I thought the sudden disappearance of my old blog coinciding with the appearance of an unrelated new one might be too much of a coincidence. But I did let the old site go quiet for a bit before deleting it, and edited archived entries.
Keep in mind however that The Wayback Machine means everything you have written on the web that has been indexed still exists. And it's searchable. Someone who already has half an idea where to start looking for you won't have too much trouble finding your writing history. (UPDATE: someone alerted me that it's possible to get your own sites off Wayback by altering the robots.txt file – and even prevent them appearing there in the first place – and to make a formal request for removal using reasons listed here. This does not seem to apply to sites you personally have no control over unless copyright issues are involved.) If you can put one more step between them and you… do it.
6. Resist temptation to let too many people in.
If your writing goes well, people may want to meet you. They could want to buy you drinks, give you free tickets to an opening. Don't say yes. While most people are honest in their intentions, some are not. And even the ones who are may not have taken the security you have to keep your details safe. Remember, no one is as interested in protecting your anonymity as you will be.
Friends and family were almost all unaware of my secret – both the sex work and the writing. Even my best friend (A4 from the books) didn't know. ;
I met very few people "as" Belle. There were some who had to meet me: agent, accountant, editor. I never went to the Orion offices until after my identity became known. I met Billie Piper, Lucy Prebble, and a couple of writers during the pre-production of Secret Diary at someone's house, but met almost no one else involved with the show. Paul Duane and Avril MacRory met me and were absolutely discreet. I went to the agent's office a few times but never made an appointment as Belle or in my real name. Most of the staff there had no idea who I was. Of these people who did meet me almost none knew my real name, where I lived, where I was from, my occupation. Only one (the accountant) knew all of that – explained below under point 9. And if I could have gotten away with him never seeing a copy of my passport, I damn well would have done.
The idea was that if people don't know anything they can't inadvertently give it away. I know that all of the people listed above were absolutely trustworthy. I still didn't tell them anything a journalist would have considered useful.
When I started blogging someone once commented that my blog was a "missed opportunity" because it didn't link to an agency website or any way of booking my services. Well, duh. I didn't want clients to meet me through the blog! If you are a sex worker who wants to preserve a level of pseudonymity and link your public profile to your work, Amanda Brooks has the advice you need. Not me.
Other sources like JJ Luna write about how to do things like get and use credit cards not tied to your name and address. I've heard Entropay offer 'virtual' credit cards that are not tied to your credit history, although they can't be used with any system that requires address verification. This could be useful even for people who are not involved in sex work.
Resisting temptation sometimes means turning down something you'd really like to do. The short-term gain of giving up details for a writing prize or some immediate work may not be worth the long-term loss of privacy. I heard about one formerly anonymous blogger who was outed after giving their full name and address to a journalist who asked for it when they entered a competition. File under: how not to stay anonymous.
7. Trust your intuition.
I have to be careful what I say here. In short, my identity became known to a tabloid paper and someone whom I had good reason not to trust (see item 4) gave them a lot of information about me.
When your intuition tells you not to trust someone, LISTEN TO IT. The best security in the world fails if someone props open a door, leaves a letter on the table, or mentally overrides the concern that someone who betrayed you before could do so again. People you don't trust should be ejected from your life firmly and without compromise. A "let them down easy" approach only prolongs any revenge they might carry out and probably makes it worse. The irony is that as a call girl I relied on intuition and having strong personal boundaries all the time… but failed to carry that ability over into my private life. If there is one thing in my life I regret, the failure to act on my intuition is it.
As an aside if you have not read The Gift of Fear already, get it and read it.
See also point 9: if and when you need people to help you keep the secret don't make it people already involved in your private life. Relationships can cloud good judgement in business decisions.
There is a very droll saying "Two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead." It's not wrong. I know, I know. Paranoid. Hard not to be when journos a few years later are digging through the rubbish of folks who met you exactly once when you were sixteen. Them's the breaks.
8. Consider the consequences of success.
If you find yourself being offered book deals or similar, think it through. Simply by publishing anonymously you will become a target. Some people assume all anonymous writers "want" to be found, and the media in particular will jump through some very interesting hurdles to "prove" anything they write about you is in the public interest.
In particular, if you are a sex worker, and especially if you are a sex worker who is visible/bookable through your site, please give careful consideration to moving out of that sphere. Even where sex for money is legal it is still a very stigmatised activity. There are a number of people who do not seem to have realised this, and the loss of a career when they left the "sex-pos" bubble was probably something of a shock. I'm not saying don't do it – but please think long and hard about the potential this has to change your life and whether you are fully prepared to be identified this way forever. For every Diablo Cody there are probably dozens of Melissa Petros. For every Melissa Petro there are probably hundreds more people with a sex industry past who get quietly fired and we don't ever hear from them.
If I knew going in to the first book deal what would happen, I probably would have said no. I'm glad I didn't by the way – but realistically, my life was stressful enough at that point and I did not fully understand what publishing would add to that. Not many bloggers had mainstream books at that point (arguably none in the UK) so I didn't have anyone else's experience to rely on. I really had no idea about what was going to happen. The things people wrote about me then were mainly untrue and usually horrendous. Not a lot has changed even now. I'd be lying if I said that didn't have an emotional effect.
Writing anonymously and being outed has happened often enough that people going into it should consider the consequences. I'm not saying don't do it if you risk something, but be honest with yourself about the worst possible outcome and whether you would be okay with that.
9. ; Enlist professional help to get paid and sign contracts.
Having decided to write a book, I needed an agent. The irony of being anonymous was that while I let as few people in on it as possible, at some point I was going to have to take a leap of faith and let in more. Mil Millington emailed me to recommend Patrick Walsh, saying he was one of the few people in London who can be trusted. Mil was right.
Patrick put me on to my accountant (who had experience of clients with, shall we say, unusual sources of income). From there we cooked up a plan so that contracts could be signed without my name ever gracing a piece of paper. Asking someone to keep a secret when there's a paper trail sounds like it should be possible but rarely is. Don't kid yourself, there is no such thing as a unbreakable confidentiality agreement. Asking journalists and reviewers to sign one about your book is like waving a red rag to a bull. What we needed was a few buffers between me and the press.
With Patrick and Michael acting as directors, a company was set up – Bizrealm. I was not on the paperwork as a director so my name never went on file with Companies House. Rather, with the others acting as directors, signing necessary paperwork, etc., Patrick held a share in trust for me off of which dividends were drawn and this is how I got paid. I may have got some of these details wrong, by the way – keep in mind, I don't deal with Bizrealm's day-to-day at all.
There are drawbacks to doing things this way: you pay for someone's time, in this case the accountant, to create and administer the company. You can not avoid tax and lots of it. (Granted, drawing dividends is more tax-efficient, but still.) You have to trust a couple of people ABSOLUTELY. I'd underline this a thousand times if I could. Michael for instance is the one person who always knew, and continues to know, everything about my financial and personal affairs. Even Patrick doesn't know everything.
There are benefits though, as well. Because the money stays mainly in the company and is not paid to me, it gets eked out over time, making tax bills manageable, investment more constant, and keeping me from the temptation to go mad and spend it.
I can't stress enough that you might trust your friends and family to the ends of the earth, but they should not be the people who do this for you. Firstly, because they can be traced to you (they know you in a non-professional way). Secondly, because this is a very stressful setup and you need the people handling it to be on the ball. As great as friends and family are that is probably not the kind of stress you want to add to your relationship. I have heard far too many stories of sex workers and others being betrayed by ex- partners who knew the details of their business dealings to ever think that's a good idea.
So how do you know you can trust these people? We've all heard stories of musicians and other artists getting ripped off by management, right? All I can say is instinct. It would not have been in Patrick's interest to grass me, since as my agent he took a portion of my earnings anyway, and therefore had financial as well as personal interest in protecting that. If he betrayed me he would also have suffered a loss of reputation that potentially outweighed any gain. Also, as most people who know him will agree, he's a really nice and sane human being. Same with Michael.
If this setup sounds weirdly paranoid, let me assure you that journalists absolutely did go to Michael's office and ask to see the Bizrealm paperwork, and Patrick absolutely did have people going through his bins, trying to infiltrate his office as interns, and so on. Without the protection of being a silent partner in the company those attempts to uncover me might have worked.
I communicate with some writers and would-be writers who do not seem to have agents. If you are serious about writing, and if you are serious about staying anonymous, get an agent. Shop around, follow your instinct, and make sure it's someone you can trust. Don't be afraid to dump an agent, lawyer, or anyone else if you don't trust them utterly. They're professionals and shouldn't take it personally.
10. Don't break the (tax) law.
Journalists being interested in your identity is one thing. What you really don't want is the police or worse, the tax man, after you. Pay your taxes and try not to break the law if it can be helped. If you're a sex worker blogging about it, get an accountant who has worked with sex workers before – this is applicable even if you live somewhere sex work is not strictly legal. Remember, Al Capone went down for tax evasion. Don't be like Al. If you are a non-sex-work blogger who is earning money from clickthroughs and affiliates on your site, declare this income.
In summer 2010 the HMRC started a serious fraud investigation of me. It has been almost two years and is only just wrapping up, with the Revenue finally satisfied that not only did I declare (and possibly overdeclare) my income as a call girl, but that there were no other sources of income hidden from them. They have turned my life and financial history upside down to discover next to nothing new about me. This has been an expensive and tedious process. I can't even imagine what it would have been like had I not filed the relevant forms, paid the appropriate taxes, and most of all had an accountant to deal with them!
Bottom line, you may be smart – I'm pretty good with numbers myself – – but people whose job it is to know about tax law, negotiating contracts, and so on will be better at that than you are. Let them do it. They are worth every penny.
11. Do interviews with care.
Early interviews were all conducted one of two ways: over email (encrypted) or over an IRC chatroom from an anonymising server (I used xs4all). This was not ideal from their point of view, and I had to coach a lot of people in IRC which most of them had never heard of. But again, it's worth it, since no one in the press will be as interested in protecting your identity as you are. I hope it goes without saying, don't give out your phone number.
12. Know when les jeux sont faits.
In November 2009 – 6 years after I first started blogging anonymously – my identity was revealed.
As has been documented elsewhere, I had a few heads-ups that something was coming, that it was not going to be nice, and that it was not going to go away. We did what we could to put off the inevitable but it became clear I only had one of two choices: let the Mail on Sunday have first crack at running their sordid little tales, or pre-empt them.
While going to the Sunday Times – the same paper that had forcibly outed Zoe Margolis a few years earlier, tried to get my details through that old Hotmail address, and incorrectly fingered Sarah Champion as me – was perhaps not the most sensitive choice, it was for me the right move. Patrick recommended that we contact an interviewer who had not been a Belle-believer: if things were going to be hard, best get that out of the way up front.
So that is that. It's a bit odd how quickly things have changed. When I started blogging I little imagined I would be writing books, much less something like this. Being a kind of elder statesman of blogging (or cantankerous old grump if you prefer) is not an entirely comfortable position and one that is still new to me. But it is also interesting to note how little has changed: things that worked in the early 2000s have value today. The field expanded rapidly but the technology has not yet changed all that much.
As before, these ideas do not constitute a foolproof way to protect your identity. All writers – whether writing under their own names or not – should be aware of the risks they may incur by hitting 'publish'. I hope this post at least goes some way to making people think about how they might be identified, and starts them on a path of taking necessary (and in many cases straightforward) precautions, should they choose to be anonymous.
September 26, 2011
[web] The Relative Sizes of the World's Largest Photo Libraries: '…this year people will upload over 70 billion photos to Facebook, suggesting around 20% of all photos this year will end up there.'
July 3, 2011
[web] Friendster Password Emails Spark Site Hack Fears / Friendster Wipes Data Slate Clean … if you had a Friendster account back in the day it's probably worth deleting what remains of it now … 'Multiple users have reported receiving spam emails containing their Friendster password in plain text.'
June 29, 2011
[internet] Social Fax Machines … James Shelley On Social Media … 'Imagine that you were one of 300 people with fax machines. Each one of you program your respective machines to carbon copy every fax to all 299 other machines. Then, together, you go about your day diligently reading the faxes that pour in.' [via Sore Eyes]
May 9, 2011
[email] Legal Disclaimers: Spare Us The E-mail Yada-Yada … Legal disclaimers at the bottom of e-mail's are useless … 'They are assumed to be a wise precaution. But they are mostly, legally speaking, pointless. Lawyers and experts on internet policy say no court case has ever turned on the presence or absence of such an automatic e-mail footer in America, the most litigious of rich countries. Many disclaimers are, in effect, seeking to impose a contractual obligation unilaterally, and thus are probably unenforceable.'
May 4, 2011
[life] Suburban woman is sued after elaborate online hoax … 'Every decade or so I get a taste to pose as a man (and up to 20 other people simultaneously) and reel me in some juicy middle-aged woman flesh…'
February 23, 2011
[internet] 7 Chrome Annoyances and How to Fix Them … some useful tips for Google Chrome.
February 18, 2011
[internet] Egypt's Autocrats Exploited Internet's Weaknesses … some patchy details on how Egypt pulled the plug on the Internet …
'After the Internet collapsed, Mr. ElShabrawy, 35, whose company provides Internet service to 2,000 subscribers and develops software for foreign and domestic customers, made urgent inquiries with the Ministry of Communications, to no avail. So he scrambled to re-establish his own communications.
February 15, 2011
[internet] Cyberspace When You're Dead … ever wondered what happens to the stuff you uploaded to the internet after you die? …
Lustig pointed me to a recent corporate study that identified "chief memory officer" as a kind of unofficial role taken on by someone (often mom) in many families — the person who is paying attention to the idea that there may be no physical scrapbook or set of journals to hand down to future generations and that bits-and-bytes memory objects need to be preserved somehow.
January 26, 2011
[books] How Novels Came To Terms With The Internet … 'It is what the internet lures out of us – hubris, daydreams, avarice, obsessions – that makes it so potent and so volatile. TV's power is serenely impervious; it does all the talking, and we can only listen or turn it off. But the internet is at least partly us; we write it as well as read it, perform for it as well as watch it, create it as well as consume it. Watching TV is a solitary activity that feels like a communal one, while the internet is a communal experience masquerading as solitude.'
January 25, 2011
[internet] Five Emotions Invented By The Internet … 'The state of being 'installed' at a computer or laptop for an extended period of time without purpose, characterized by a blurry, formless anxiety undercut with something hard like desperation.'
December 30, 2010
[internet] Yahoo!locaust … Jason Scott's view on Yahoo and Delicious … 'Obviously "sunset" got the most attention, because that's the kind of mealy-mouthed language one would expect out of assholes. It's the same thinking that took "mass firings" to "downsizing" and then made it "rightsizing" because they thought "downsizing" was too negative. Those sort of assholes. The kind that run Yahoo!, in other words.'
December 29, 2010
[email] American Charged With Hacking After Snooping On Wife's Emails … 'Walker was charged after opening the Gmail account of his wife, Clara, who was married twice previously. Walker found she was having an affair with her second husband, who had once been arrested for beating her in front of her young son from her first husband. Walker handed the emails over to the boy's father, saying he was concerned for the child's safety. The father sought custody.'
December 27, 2010
[wikileaks] Wikileaks Exposes Internet's Dissent Tax, not Nerd Supremacy … 'Ability to disseminate one's ideas on the Internet is now a sine qua non of inclusion in the global public sphere. However, the Internet is not a true public sphere; it is a public sphere erected on private property, what I have dubbed a "quasi-public sphere," where the property owners can sideline and constrain dissent.'
December 8, 2010
[movies] That Facebook Movie … review of Catfish from Ghost in the Machine (contains spoilers) …
I thought the entirety of this movie can basically be summed up in four words: "Psycho preys on douchebag."
November 4, 2010
[archive] A Paper Internet … how to archive the internet … 'The makeup of our capsule is simple: cellulose, carbon, polymers, and distributed information. You print a bundle of paper, place it inside a box, stick a label on it, then drown it in translucent epoxy resin.'
November 3, 2010
[people] Is Margaret Thatcher Dead Yet? … possibly the only single serving site hated by the Daily Mail so I feel compelled to link to it … 'She's out of hospital. Put the kettle on.'
October 27, 2010
[twitter] Inference … interesting look at how to passively geo-stalk your friends … 'I just wanted to document this for future reference. Certainly not as some impressive moment of Holmesian deduction, or some dire warning about the leaking of personal information. Just as a moment of oddness. That choosing to give away one piece of information publicly, allows accurate inference of other things. Something that has always been true, but for which a new dimension has been introduced.'
October 10, 2010
[funny] Go Look: This Painting Is Not Available In Your Country [via Unreliably Witnessed]
September 7, 2010
[joke] How many SEO experts does it take to change a light bulb, lightbulb, light, bulb, lamp, lighting, switch, sex, xxx, hardcore? [twitter]
August 26, 2010
[internet] The Acceleration of Addictiveness … Paul Graham on internet addiction (amongst other things) … 'Several people have told me they like the iPad because it lets them bring the Internet into situations where a laptop would be too conspicuous. In other words, it's a hip flask.'
August 20, 2010
[internet] Human-flesh Search Engines in China … fascinating look at online vigilantes in China who use the internet to track down perceived wrong-doers and punish them … 'Chali was moved by the powerful feeling that Wang shouldn't be allowed to escape censure for his role in his wife's suicide. "I want to know what is going to happen if I get married and have a similar experience," Chali says. "I want to know if the law or something could protect me and give me some kind of security." It struck me as an unusual wish — that the law could guard her from heartbreak.' [via Sore Eyes]
August 15, 2010
[internet] What's the carbon footprint of… the internet? … 'If we decided (somewhat arbitrarily) that half of the emissions from all these laptop and desktop machines were down to internet-based activity, and then add on the emissions from the data centres that make all this online activity possible, then the internet would clock in at around 1% of all the CO2 emissions released from burning fossil fuels. Put another way, the internet releases around 300m tonnes of CO2 – as much as all the coal, oil and gas burned in Turkey or Poland in one year, or more than half of those burned in the UK.'
July 10, 2010
[funny] Columbo Box Set … 'I bring pornographic pictures… and the opinions of angry children!'


text:
How To Gain Value From Big Data
Big data expert and television personality Deborah Berebichez discusses specific use cases through which data analytics can provide ROI.
5 Companies That Had A Rough Week
For the week ending Aug. 26, CRN looks at IT companies that were unfortunate, unsuccessful or just didn't make good decisions.
5 Companies That Came To Win This Week
For the week ending Aug. 26, CRN takes a look at the companies that brought their 'A' game to the channel.
IoT Channel Chronicles: Alvarez Technology Group Doubles Down On Agriculture Internet Of Things Applications
Alvarez Technology Group has been driving revenue from IoT services in the agricultural vertical for years and now the solution provider is digging deeper into the space by building out its data analytics segment.
Apply now for Enterprise App Awards.
XChange 2016 Coverage
Check out all of CRN's coverage and analysis from the show floor in San Antonio.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Making Tressel into some villan was the only purpose of the SI article imo.It certainly wasn't to inform.
Making Tressel into some villan was the only purpose of the SI article imo.It certainly wasn't to inform.
Last edited by Captain Hook; 05-31-2011 at 12:28 AM.
Anyone in here feel free to answer this question.
You are hired to coach a top ten program. How in the world do you ensure your players don't get involved in this sort of thing. Now of course what did Tressel in was the coverup...but that's not what I'm wondering. You have 100 young athletic males who can seedily make a buck or get a discount simply for being on the team. How in the world do you police your own players? It makes my head hurt to think about how that is even possible in this day and age.
That being said, I don't think it would be that crazy to suggest that it wasn't just that one violation that forced this decision. There may well be another incident, or series of incidents that led to Tressel's resignation. If so, I'd expect the additional reasons to come to light soon.
I've heard from numerous places that things will probably get worse for OSU. Any new allegations, and OSU is flirting with a lack of institutional control charge, if they aren't already. There are some very nervous folks in Columbus right now. If what I've heard and read are true, and who knows if they are at this point, it is about to be a very long summer for OSU.
I feel bad for OSU fans. It has to be absolutely horrible to look at the possibility of the program being set back for a few years. The thing the fans can bank on is that they will be back, even if the program is gutted. OSU can survive this type of thing with the fan and booster support they have.
Did anyone here Thom Brennamen last night announce in the Reds game something to the tune like, "0It's a shame Tressel had to resign, I'd want my kid to play for him anyday", What a moron.
"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
--Woody Hayes
Oh yea lets not forget that he placed record numbers of players into the NFL and as of last year ranked 5th out of college football in ARP rankings. The guy got his football players educated and drafted. He is exactly the type of coach I would want my son to play for.
And, if rumors are true, he paid players (or at least knew of pay-for-play schemes).
He certainly broke the cardinal rule in the NCAA coach's handbook.
By almost all accounts, Tressel was a nice guy. But he was also a cheater and a liar.
Suprise, a god with feet of clay.
"You can learn little from victory. You can learn everything from defeat."
-- Christy Matthewson
"Show me a good loser and I'll show you an idiot."
-- Leo Durocher
That doesn't mean you can't fully support the program but don't stick your head in the sand and deny that a tsunami is coming
Frankly, I can't come up with any good reasons as to why he'd lie to the NCAA besides hoping that this mess could get swept under the rug and the OSU football machine could continue.
There will still continue to be a lot of OSU fans that are Jim Tressel fans. I'm still one, albeit a much more realistic one. He's still a good man. I don't know what its like to have my ethics and morals challenged almost every day. If a guy like Tressel gets worn down and lets himself get ethically compromised, it just makes me wonder if its really possible for big time NCAA Div. 1 coach to be anything but a glorified pro coach who wins at all costs.
The motel of lost companions,
Waits with heated pool and bar
I'm a Buckeyes fan, but not into idolatry, so none of this surprises me. I am saddened, but not because "there goes the season," but because I think Tressel had his King David moment of weakness with tattoogate, and now is having buffoon "investigators" having a field day with innuendo and unnamed sources.
College football/basketball is obviously as corrupt as ever. Jim Tressel got caught up in the whirlwind of an inequitable system, where he makes millions, while his players are supposed to play for the love of the game. I don't think that can be fixed, because I really can't think of a way to pay college football/basketball players and not water polo and lacrosse players. Stepping up the War on Cheating is probably impossible--you just wait for the disgruntled players to start talking.
Anyhow, the idolatry will continue, the money will continue to flow, and the exploitation of inner city kids for 2-4 years will continue, and then we will wag our self-righteous heads when they break rules to get theirs, and continue to call coaches liars and cheaters. College football/basketball corruption could probably make an entire season of "American Greed." It certainly gives us a glimpse into early American plantation life.
Last edited by traderumor; 05-31-2011 at 09:40 AM.
Can't win with 'em
Can't win without 'em
Can't win with 'em
Can't win without 'em
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text:
Best Sci-Fi Movies Of All Time
Quite a good number of sci-fi flicks have been known to stimulate both interest and inspiration in their matching science topics. From low-budget indie films to brilliantly crafted blockbusters, some intimate character studies have, among other things, span multiple planes of reality. It's easy to be a little cynical when you look at the current state of filmmaking, but until someone exposes you to a list like this, there's no way you will ever know the role filmmaking played to get us where we are now.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writers: Stanley Kubrick (screenplay), Arthur C. Clarke (novel)
Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
Year: 1968
The puzzling story in this film was as a result of a collaboration work between Kubrick and the sci-fi writer Arthur C. Clarke. The film received massive hype for the world-shattering special effects used therein. Spacecraft consultants Harry Lange and Fredrick Ordway, who at the time worked for NASA, managed to convince big corporations such as IBM and Boeing to supply the technical documents and prototypes needed to make the movie a success. And when the movie came out, even the harshest critic of all scientists had a positive commentary to make about the film.
Blade Runner
Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: Hampton Fancher, David Webb Peoples
Stars: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young
Year: 1982
Coming second is the Ridley-directed sci-fi film Blade Runner, whose story spins around Harrison Ford's police officer Rick Deckard in pursue of four cloned humanoids dubbed replicants in what seems to be a dystopian adaptation of Los Angeles. Replicants are considered illegal, and Deckard, a blade runner who specializes in fighting them, has to pull all stops to ensure all of them are exterminated before they do the city any major harm.
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Director: Scott Derrickson
Writers: David Scarpa, Edmund H. North
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Bates
Year: 2008
Klaatu (starred by Keanu Reeves) is an extraterrestrial being visiting the earth. Its arrival spans a lot of turmoil on a global scale. With the help of scientists, the world's government and scientists have to make head and tail of what's happening before they can figure out a way to stop it. Only Dr. Helen and her stepson know of something the whole world is oblivious.
Jurassic Park
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Michael Crichton (novel), Michael Crichton (screenplay)
Stars: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum
Year: 1993
Jurassic Park is an American Sci-fi adventure film based on Michael Crichton novel of the same name. The film takes place in a fictional Isla Nublar, an island off the Pacific Coast of Central America, near Costa Rica, where a wealthy philanthropist was heading a group of genetic scientists owns a park of cloned dinosaurs.
Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett
Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
Year: 1979
Alien, if you can remember, is the movie where one of the scenes has an infant creature bloodily bursting through John Hurt's upper body. But that's not where the fun stops; watching the rest of movie is both amusing and inspiring for any sci-fi fan.
Director: Andrey Tarkovsky
Writers: Stanislaw Lem (novel), Fridrikh Gorenshteyn (screenplay)
Stars: Natalya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Jüri Järvet
Year: 1972
The film to in 2002 by Steven Soderbergh. But the original version had something more fascinating to fans of the novel that inspired it. The film revolves around a psychologist traveling to the base of a remote planet as a replacement to a mysteriously deceased scientist.
Three Colors: Red
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Stars: Irene Jacobs, Jean Loius Trintignant
Year: 1994
Three Colors evokes mysterious, invisible forces that shape human life. It was the final chapter in Krzysztof's Three Color's Trilogy, an apolitical exploration of the French revolution relevance with regards to the ideals of Freedom, fraternity, and equality. Set in Geneva, the film tells the story of a fateful encounter between a reclusive, misanthropic judge and a sensitive young maiden.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Writers: Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón
Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris
Year: 2013
3D resurgence came with some films that could otherwise never been produced in 3D. Talk of "Clash-of-the-Titans" But for Gravity, the 3D seemed to bring with it something else other than the ticket price. It immersed viewers in the narrative experience, thus making space become a character in the film.
Artificial Intelligence
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Brian Aldiss (short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long"), Ian Watson (screen story)
Stars: Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, william Hurt
Year: 2001
AI is a film ripping the lid off the tension between robots and humans, real and fake or, better, the creator and the created. The film is both scary and entertaining… and probably the future… Spielberg takes us through the world where robots are advanced to serve all the flesh and blood needs of humans. These robots are capable of so much, but the film zeros into David, a young man who's only interested in becoming a real boy.
District 9
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Writers: Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell
Stars: Sharlto Copley, David James, Jason Cope
Year: 2009
Neill Blomkamp takes us through a highly detailed alternate reality revolving around a group of aliens that accidentally landed in South Africa, only to film's in a section of South African community called District 9.
Galaxy Quest
Director: Dean Parisot
Writers: David Howard (story), David Howard (screenplay)
Stars: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman
Year: 1999
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
If Star Trek II and IV had a baby and who would be raised watching Trekkies, he would grow to become "Galaxy Quest" a humorous, compassionate version of Star Trek. The film is filled with full-blooded sci-fi adventures, aliens, rock monsters and plasma-armored spaceships that make it even more riveting.
Director: Danny Boyle
Writer: Alex Garland
Stars: Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans
Year: 2007
Try visualizing yourself in a dying world whose only chance of survival rests in the hands of a motley crew of explorers, scientists and whack jobs. Well, that's Sunshine's full description in one sentence.
Minority Report
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Philip K. Dick (short story), Scott Frank (screenplay)
Stars: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton
Year: 2002
Who could have thought that the Phillip Dick short story' Minority Report,' could one day be adopted as the potential sequel to Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Total Recall" Starring Tom Cruise, the movie turned out to be even better and more brilliant than most people expected?
Attack the Block
Director: Joe Cornish
Writer: Joe Cornish
Stars: John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Alex Esmail
Year: 2011
The most notable features of "Attack the Block" film are the rowdy, highly green energy, unusual designs. But that's not the only thing making the film so damn good; there's the threat of furry aliens glowing with teeth and the desperate fights for survival that somehow makes the story even more captivating.
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Carl Sagan (novel, story)
Stars: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Skerritt
Year: 1997
Contact is a sci-fi fantasy film based on a Carl Sagan novel of the same name. Its story follows Ellie Arroway, a brilliant Astronomer in search of extraterrestrial life. Not only is the movie entertaining, but its story is also brilliantly primed to challenge our tugs, beliefs and emotions, all in the attempt to rivet our senses.
Director: Steven Lisberger
Writers: Steven Lisberger
Stars: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner
Year: 1982
Tron has every element of a classic sci-fi film. Produced in 1982, the film follows a fictional planet whose system of authority scans its people before digitally injecting them into a computer system that already has a society of its own.
Source Code
Director: Duncan Jones
Writer: Ben Ripley
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga
Year: 2011
Source Code is a science fiction techno-thriller that brings together alternate futures, time travel, and virtual realities.
War Games
Director: John Badham
Writers: Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes
Stars: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood
Year: 1983
War Games focuses on the subject of powerful computers and the risks they bring. The Film is based in the 1980s, and its mission is to prove that computers can be hacked using an acoustically coupled modem and plain text first name password.
Director: Josh Trank
Writers: Max Landis
Stars: Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan
Year: 2012
Chronicle features superheroes, grounded in both fantasy and sci-fi. Science fiction prevails as many superheroes report to have gotten their super powers from aliens. It makes them start questioning human condition, and that's where the story takes a whole new, different twist.
Director: Joss Whedon
Writer: Joss Whedon
Stars: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Year: 2005
Serenity came as a sequel to the short running series Firefly. It was directed by Joss Whedon who also directed Avengers. The movie takes pride in excellent dialogues and emotional depth that will certainly get you indrawn all the way to the last second.
Back to the Future
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale
Stars: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson
Year: 1985
The film follows Marty McFly, a California-based teen thrown back into the 1950s by an experiment that runs amok. Marty has to travel through time and find his way back to the present.
Director: Luc Besson
Writer: Luc Besson
Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Min-sik Choi
Year: 2014
Lucy is an English-language French sci-fi action film directed by Luc Besson and produced by Virginia Silvia (Besson's wife). Shot in New York City and Taipei, Paris, the film follows Lucy, a female character who gains psychokinetic abilities after an a nootropic drug she was forced to transport in her belly bursts open finding its way into her bloodstream.
Director: Shane Carruth
Writer: Shane Carruth
Stars: Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Casey Gooden
Year: 2004
Mike D' Angelo, a renowned film critic, pointed out recently that no one is the position to understand what's happening in Primer after watching it only once. Even Caruth himself has on several occasions been heard saying that his plan was to make the movie as obtuse as he possibly could. So only the smart and attentive viewers will figure out the exact message Carruth has in the film.
Guardians of the Galaxy
Director: James Gunn
Writers: James Gunn, Nicole Perlman
Stars: Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper
Year: 2014
"Guardians of the Galaxy' is a mega-nerdy experimental fiction comedy following a group of misfits who band up to get back an all powerful stone from the blue-skinned despot. There are no special costumes and secret identities, but there are future gadgets, sentient space trees, and alien spacecrafts.
The Matrix
Director: Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Writers: Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss
Year: 1999
To sum up everything, The Matrix is mostly loved for its original story, great acting, epic fighting, philosophical questioning and great content on the vast. The film revolves around Neo who believes that Morpheus, an elusive figure considered dangerous, has an answer to a question he's long been having—what's the matrix?


text:
CORRECTION: Scout repainted plane for project
Eagle Scout Tim Thornhill earned Scouting's top rank after completing a project that entailed repainting an old airplane at March Field Air Museum. An article that ran May 30 on the Community News page incorrectly stated that he restored a plane at March Air Reserve Base. We apologize.


text:
Flying Giraffe HD
By yaMobil.co
Open iTunes to buy and download apps.
Maybe you've never heard of it, but Giraffes LOVE to fly delta-planes!
Help young delta-planner Giraffe to make his dream true - visit all tropical islands of the world!
Flying Giraffe HD is a new exciting game with unique gameplay.
Collect different fruits and avoid collisions with rusty birds.
Score and compete with your friends via GameCenter.
★ Many ways to accomplish each level ★
★ Cartoon graphics, which both kids and adults will adore ★
★ Cartooney sound effects and fun tropical music ★
★ 90 unique levels ★
★ Nice atmosphere of a tropical paradise ★
★ Unique gamplay with accelerometer ★
In-app purchases:
Red wings increase speed by 10
Blue wings increase speed by 15
Violet wings increase speed by 25
After completing first level pack you will be prompted to buy all 90 levels.
What's New in Version 1.3
* Bugfixes
- Category: Games
- Updated: 29 August 2012
- Version: 1.3
- Size: 10.5 MB
- Language: English
- Developer: Igor Korsakov
- © 2012 yaMobil.co
Compatibility: Requires iOS 4.3.1 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.


text:
Miranda Hopes To Knock Bellew Silly, Then Get Froch
Edison Miranda is determined to use Saturday's showdown with Tony Bellew as a stepping stone to a fight with Carl Froch.
The explosive Colombian faces Bellew at Alexandra Palace - but it is Froch's IBF super-middleweight title that he has his sights on.
Miranda's record is littered with top class opponents, including Arthur Abraham, Andrew Ward and Kelly Pavlik, but the fading 31-year-old wants to add another name to the list.
"It was a good victory for Froch against Lucian Bute but I know that if I knock out Tony Bellew, then Froch is the one who will be looking for me. I want to fight Froch," he said.
"Carl Froch against me is one of the best fights you will ever see.
"I am here to fight hard, to put up a good show and to take a KO win home with me. Then Froch will take notice of what I am doing."
Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn, the promoter of Froch and Bellew, insists Miranda may get his wish if he impresses on Saturday.
"This is a big fight in front of a big audience. If Miranda did something, he'd put himself in the frame for a world title fight," Hearn said.
"Miranda's exciting, is a name and will always be around. One big win when you're Edison Miranda makes you a great opponent for a world a champion."
no matter @ '68/'75 Froch ko's Miranda early...he's like Maragariot @ the end, all mouth...Comment by BattlingNelson on 09-07-2012
[QUOTE=MJ406;12486223]last I checked aren't Adonis Stevenson and Donovan George lined up to meet in a IBF Eliminator? how would Miranda jump ahead of the above? ^[/QUOTE] Because it would be a volontary defense for Froch.Comment by MJ406 on 09-07-2012
last I checked aren't Adonis Stevenson and Donovan George lined up to meet in a IBF Eliminator? how would Miranda jump ahead of the above? ^Comment by Boxing Bob on 09-07-2012
LOL, Miranda always talks big sheet then usually gets his azz kicked. But as they say as long as you're dreamin, dream big!Comment by ddangerous on 09-07-2012
Miranda would be well-served to concentrate on the task at hand. Bellew is a big, strong boy.Post a Comment - View More User Comments (9)


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Dr. Kathleen Wasylik specializes in pediatric otolaryngology in St Petersburg, Florida.
Dr. Kathleen Wasylik has been compared 21 times. Details of Dr. Wasylik's 15 years experience as an MD, her hospital affiliation and education at Tulane University are available on your free doctor report.
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Pediatric Pulmonary Associates
601 5th St S
Suite 708
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Dr. Kathleen Wasylik has been identified as specializing in Pediatric Otolaryngology.
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Uk Housing Crisis In Pictures ~2008
Posted 14 May 2008 - 01:05 PM
Underneath the sign is an old Fox & Son shadow
Are they trying to tell us something about the state of the housing market ?
Maybe I need to keep in touch with what is going on out there
Posted 26 May 2008 - 04:38 PM
The wastrels, the overspenders, the over-ambitious, the high borrowers, the unrealistic and the greedy in our society are being cosseted and pampered by the Government's low interest rate policy.
The careful, the frugal, those who live within their income and save for the future are being severely punished.
Mervyn King and Charles Bean can shove 0.5% IR up their backsides ..... I don't support an economy built on foolish spending and greed
Posted 26 May 2008 - 07:20 PM
A former branch of Spicer McColl
A block of city centre flats with 4 'for sale/to let' signs outside. Sorry if its hard to see.
Who needs a house out in Hackensack? Is that all you get for your money?
Posted 26 May 2008 - 07:21 PM
Who needs a house out in Hackensack? Is that all you get for your money?
Posted 27 May 2008 - 10:47 PM
Many thanks
Posted 04 June 2008 - 07:18 AM
In spite of the much talked about 'credit crunch' - I hate that phrase, there are dozens of new developments that are going ahead in my local area. In order to show my disaproval of this I intend to plaster the house price crash logo all over these sites. I expect I will be arrested at some stage. I will endeavour to post some photos of my exploits on here. In the meantime I would greatly appreciate some ideas for funny remarks I could print under the logo.
Many thanks
Has anyone got pics from the flats for sale in York....where poplar court is...just along from the shell garage on Hull road...there MUST be 30+ boards within ten yards of each other? Will be classic IMHO
'I have long held that the HPC would see at east 50% off house prices. I recently revised this to 60%. Why so dramatic? Again, another no-brainer'
RealistBear Oct 24, 2008
Posted 13 June 2008 - 10:28 PM
w250h170.jpg 9.97KB 220 downloads
I go past these regularly. I saw them go up and week by week I've seen the increasingly desperate marketing banners draped across the front: "Now accepting reservations". "Last few remaining". "Ask about our special incentives". "Ideal buy-to-let opportunity".
The latest says "only 4 remaining". I'm not sure if that includes flat 3. It has an auction notice posted outside!
Edited by onthesofa, 13 June 2008 - 10:33 PM.
Posted 23 June 2008 - 09:56 AM
Posted 23 June 2008 - 06:40 PM
Some brave investor wants to rent out these new properties. The rest of the site to the left of the picture looks pretty much unfinished.
Too late to invest? Or will it eventually pay off with many sellers movinginto rented property?
Who needs a house out in Hackensack? Is that all you get for your money?
Posted 26 June 2008 - 10:20 AM
The first photo in this thread needs updating. It looks almost the same as before, but now all the signs say "To Let". There are still for sale signs around the side of the property. Could someone local go and take a look please, I don't pass down that way very often.
Your wish has been granted - I have updated the first picture for you showing the history of this development - Polyposh
Posted 27 June 2008 - 06:41 PM
There is no point in filling in the property description, as the place is not going to sell anyway.
Posted 03 July 2008 - 12:47 PM
EA's are so despondent with the current housing market.
There is no point in filling in the property description, as the place is not going to sell anyway.
Oh my life... I laughed so much here at work that everyone is looking at me strangely!
Surely, that cant be for real!
Posted 04 July 2008 - 01:03 PM
Just round the corner from Telometers crash-proof SE1 properties.
Injin @ Nov 10 2008 - Yup, they are all lies.
Posted 10 July 2008 - 03:32 PM
SpencerThomas.JPG 62.88KB 312 downloads
Edit to add: sorry about the poor quality. It was raining and I was on a bus! It is an Estate Agents with a Rent or Buy sign above it.
Edited by Disillusioned, 10 July 2008 - 03:33 PM.
Injin @ Nov 10 2008 - Yup, they are all lies.
Posted 15 July 2008 - 06:39 PM
gatehouse_estates.JPG 48.24KB 223 downloads
Shame that..
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a1 Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, University of Helsinki, Finland
a2 Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland
In Finland in April 2010, a 3-month old baby was diagnosed with type A infant botulism. He excreted botulinum neurotoxin and/or Clostridium botulinum in his faeces until November 2010. Five months of excretion was after clinical recovery and discharge from hospital. C. botulinum isolates recovered from the household dust in the patient's home were genetically identical to those found in the infant's stool samples. Long-term faecal excretion of C. botulinum may pose a possible health risk for the parents and others in close contact with the infant.
(Received February 06 2013)
(Revised April 25 2013)
(Accepted May 01 2013)
(Online publication May 21 2013)
Key words
c1 Author for correspondence: Professor M. Lindström, Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 66, 00014, Helsinki University, Finland. (Email: email@example.com)


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-Nutrition Club will post a flyer before each meeting or event to our Facebook page. Share three separate fliers with your friends before the next meeting or event in order to receive a point. See our Facebook page for more details.
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Skip to comments.Ortega poised for return to power in Nicaragua
Posted on 10/30/2006 10:57:31 PM PST by MadIvan
Daniel Ortega, the former leader of the Left-wing Sandinistas in Nicaragua and one of the United States' most reviled Cold War enemies, appears to be on the brink of making a spectacular comeback.
Twenty years after his Sandinista government fought a bitter civil war against American-funded ''Contra" rebels, he is leading in the polls for the presidential elections on Sunday.
But now he has ''found God" and talks of ''peace and love" not Marxist-Leninist ideals. In a final frenzy of campaigning, the podgy, balding 60-year-old, is spreading what he calls a "spiritual revolution", "full of love and hope" around this country, the second poorest in Latin America, after Haiti.
"Thanks to God, the Supreme Creator, whose message always was for the Nicaraguans to love each other," he shouted to a euphoric crowd in the Laureles Sur "barrio" slum of Managua. "We want work and peace," he went on, holding his arms up like an Evangelical preacher.
On his third attempt to win back power after losing it to conservatives for the past 16 years, Mr Ortega is offering himself as "the solution" for almost every walk of Nicaraguan life.
Without explaining how, he promises to provide jobs, improve human rights and turn Nicaragua into the most developed country in the region.
Several indigenous communities who were forced to flee during his 1979 to 1990 government, Contra fighters who fought a bitter civil war against the Sandinistas and members of the Catholic Church, which he once accused of collaborating with the CIA, have all been "converted" and now openly support the man they once hated.
"Ortega is just saying whatever he can to every group, to win their votes," said Sofia Montenegro, a sociologist and the director of Cinco a Managua-based think tank. "There is nothing left of the revolutionary man. Now it is just pure opportunism. He is a political pendulum, ready to say whatever people want to hear. He has no scruples."
As the vote approaches, Washington has made clear its discomfort.
"We've made clear we want to have a close, positive, constructive relationship with Nicaragua, and up to this point that's been reciprocated," Thomas Shannon, the assistant Secretary of State, told Newsweek.
"I'm not sure that would be the case with Daniel Ortega."
Human rights campaigners, including Nicaraguan-born Bianca Jagger, have warned that Ortega's human rights record is far from squeaky clean. He is accused of presiding over "disappearances" and imprisonment of thousands of political opponents.
While large numbers, perhaps even the majority of the 5.5 million population, are against Ortega, their vote is likely to fragment among four different parties, giving the Sandinista leader a chance of a victory in the first round of voting. Under a recent change to electoral law, a party wins if it secures 35 percent of the vote, with a five percent lead.
"He is going to win, thank God," said Arodys Villega, 54, a diedhard Sandinista supporter whose son died aged 15 fighting against the Contras. "Until now we have had democracy only for the bourgeois. The poor have remained poor. Daniel will change that. Nicaragua is going to be blessed by him."
Regards, Ivan
I didn't even know that sh*thead was still kicking.
FYI...Ortega is staunchly pro-life and has promised to outlaw abortion in absolutely every case (eliminating rape, incest, and health and life of mother exceptions).
The measure, expected to be approved by President Enrique Bolaños, was voted in 52 to 0, with 9 abstentions and 29 representatives not showing up to vote.
Nicaragua joins El Salvador and Chile as the only countries in the Western hemisphere to ban abortion without exception. But across Latin America, abortion is outlawed except in rare circumstances. It is readily available only in Cuba and a few English-speaking Caribbean countries.
The ban in Nicaragua comes two weeks before a hotly contested presidential election on Nov. 5, and opponents of the law say it was introduced now because no one dared to oppose it in the political climate.
The presidential election is so polarized that the church saw this as an opportunity to force this issue now, Dr. Mirma Cunningham, a former minister of health and member of the National Assembly, said in a telephone interview.
The measure was supported by Daniel Ortega, the front-runner in the presidential race. He favored the right to an abortion during his presidency in the 1980s but has since embraced the Roman Catholic Church and has spoken out strongly against abortion.
Source: New York Times
great minds thinking the same
Regards, Ivan
Who said anything about trusting him?
Oh that will make me change my opinion right away. /s
You and me too, Ivan.
So do you support him or not? Sure sounds like it.
Democracy is always vulnerable to a skilled demagogue.
George Will-style polite and passive conservatism will never succeed.
We need strong leadership willing to call a Liberal Democrat a traitor.
But in the meantime, VOTE REPUBLICAN if you want to continue to breathe.
"I shouldn't say I hope you win because they will accuse me of sticking my nose into Nicaraguan internal affairs," Chavez quipped to former Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega, who joined him on his weekly television show. "But I hope you win."
Not a good sign.
No, of course not. I thought it was exceptionally odd he of all people is now more pro-life than just about anybody in the West, and I'd wonder what John Kerry would say of his hero now. In any event, Nicaraguan politics are very strange to me.
...not that I have a dog in this election, not being Nicaraguan or anything...
This is real sick stuff. Oliver North and Co should bow out of this, they are splitting the oppposition. It's too late to campaign now to be arguing about who should oppose Ortega, right now they should be flipping a coin as to who runs against Ortega. Because the stakes are that high. They should vote for a bum on the streets if they have to. ANYTHING - ANYTHING would be better than Ortega.
That's what he says NOW. While he still wants Nicaraguans' vote. Back in Sandinista times, he INTRODUCED ABORTION - in a country that had never known it before. He is a certified liar and it's an absolute certainly that he will bring back abortion, especially when the International Sandalista Left gets after him. Guaranteed.
Uh huh. And when is Ortega going to start doing time for the rape of his step daughter?
Anybody who believes a single word this monster says, deserves whatever Ortega serves up.
When the contras won, the US packed up and left them to their own troubles. Their country was a wreck. It's not much better today. The best thing they have going now is tourism and ex-pats buying land. That will dry up if Ortega comes back.
FYI Ping
Then this is the object lesson for the RATS and anyone else who wants us to just get of out Dodge.
So what's he doing trotting around with Hugo Chavez? Hugo Chavez has censored the Catholic Church -- and they are fighting his regime with everything they've got.
Expect to see President Peanut hot-foot it down there to hastily declare Ortega the winner and the election legitimate. Another communist dictator puppet-feather in ol' Jimmah's cap.
disturbing ping
That thug Ortega should have been terminated with extreme prejudice 20 years ago.
"Man that turns me on...If he were a she I'd consider mowing the lawn"!
I wonder if Kerry will support Ortega this time around? Now that Ortega is claiming he's pro life (LOL), maybe Kerry will find his views repugnant.
Jimmah Cahwattah! Call your office!
He'll say whatever seems right at the time to support his old buddy, then later deny he said it. I wondered the exact same thing, btw, LOL!
I'm going to go the other way on this. I think the man actually found Jesus when the Communists abandoned him after what Reagan did.
Many of these leaders were awestruck by the power, money and influence that Communism brought them. I think that Castro is the last of the true Communists.
Ortega ran in elections and became part of the political process. Granted he lost because his country rejected the ideology he once supported. The Church is a powerful thing.
Use Reagans motto on this one. "Trust but Verify"
He sounds like the Dems here in the US running for election
You're right .. Where is the Nut Carter these days?
In Iraq, we haven't done anything yet to get them back to work on a large scale. Ergo, a few malcontents screw everything up.
Agreed. Solidly. Concretely. Aggressively. Adamantly.
If it was legit, he wouldn't have Chavez praising him. Look upthread.
You're badly misinformed. We have sent them help, and they are very democratic. The problem is a holdover of the Sandinista regime which still controls a lot of the local political scene and were able to rewrite the election laws so that Ortega could win with a 35% popular vote with no run-off.
As it is right now, Nicaragua is very pro-American. After signing CAFTA, they have reformed their laws and foreign investment is pouring in.
An Ortega victory could alter the direction of the country, but it's not because we turned our backs on them.
Time will tell.
Hugo Chavez is at it again...
Ortega sounds like Hugo Chavez. Once in power, you can bet he will start acting like Chavez, and will turn to Russia to modernize his army.
One man, one vote, one time.
Watch out, Nicaraguans!
I also have trouble moving to an area that won't allow my gun collection.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


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Last week we asked you for your thoughts regarding jailbraking/rooting you phone. According to the results, the vast majority of readers think jailbreaking/rooting is useful, although not all of these readers have actually jailbroken/rooted their device.
With 323 votes, answers were divided as follows: 52% won't use their device without jailbreaking/rooting, 15% think it's useful, but too complicated to do, 19% think it's useful but don't want to void their warranty, and 14% think their device is fine just the way it is.
Full results and this week's poll after the jump.
This week's poll question is: Do You Use Pinterest?
Pinterest is the new social phenomenon everyone's talking about. Officially, it's still in beta and requires an invite, but anyone who fills out the Pinterest form gets an invite almost immediately. In a time when everyone was supposed to be talking about Google+, all you can hear about is Pinterest. So did you join the party?
So far I haven't encountered many negative thoughts about Pinterest. Do you have some to share? Or maybe you absolutely love it? Or just don't care? Tell us everything in the comments!


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Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrations
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month -- September 15-October 15 -- Montgomery County is hosting numerous local events geared for all ages. Programs include musical presentations, book discussions, poetry readings, a health fair, mortgage foreclosure prevention counseling and a Latino Festival.
See the complete calendar listing in English and in Spanish.
Calling All Teens: "Picture It @ your library®"
Begun in 1998, Teen Read Week (TRW) is now barely a teen itself.
But in its 13 years of existence, TRW -- sponsored by the American Library Association's Young Adult Library Services Association -- has presented special events and programs that encourage teens to read for pleasure and to visit their libraries for free reading materials.
TRW is celebrated this year from October 16 to 22, and, through the theme "Picture It @ your library®," teens are invited to read graphic novels and other illustrated materials, seek out creative books or imagine the world through literature, just for the fun of it.
TRW is also a great chance to let your school or your public library staff know how important teen services are.
Get specific information about TRW in Montgomery County Public Libraries.
"Where's Ike?"
The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC) announces the launch of "Where's Ike?", an online, interactive campaign to increase awareness of and appreciation for the amazing public art pieces located around Montgomery County.
Each week through October, AHCMC will release a new snapshot of County Executive Ike Leggett and a piece of public art on the AHCMC Facebook page (http://facebook.com/creativemoco). Visitors will be invited to guess where the public art piece is and share any personal stories they have about the piece.
At the end of the week, AHCMC will reveal the location and details about the piece by posting an updated picture of "Ike's Public Art Passport."
Germantown Indoor Swim Center Reopens after Renovations
The Germantown Indoor Swim Center at 18000 Central Park Circle in Boyds, has reopened after being closed since early May for renovations. Repairs included removing old paint and repainting the ceiling over the center's three pools.
For more information on this facility or on classes and programs, visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/rec.
A Healthy Way to Start the Day
Join thousands of students, parents and community members throughout Montgomery County in celebrating the simple act of walking and bicycling to school on International Walk to School Day, Wednesday, October 5.
International Walk to School Day brings community leaders and children together to promote more walkable communities, safer streets, healthier habits and cleaner air. For those who live too far from school to walk, drive part of the distance, park and walk the rest of the way.
For more information about Walk to School Day or organizing an event at your child's school, contact Nadji Kirby, 240-777-7169, email email@example.com, or visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/saferoutestoschool.
How the Changing Face of Montgomery Impacts Local Government's Service Delivery
Anyone who has lived in Montgomery County for any length of time realizes the face of the community is changing in many ways. Basically, we know how these changes affect us personally, but do any of us stop and consider how our local government is affected?
A recent power point presentation to the County's Quarterly Leadership Forum entitled "The Impact of Changing Demographics on Service Delivery in Montgomery County" shows in charts, graphs, tables and text how the County looks today and will look in the future. It is a bellwether for the County and a basic guideline for elected officials and administrators as they plan appropriate programs and services.
The Quarterly Leadership Forum provides an opportunity for discussion and professional development among County managers, the County Executive and the Chief Administrative Officer.
County Cable Montgomery's New "No Boundaries" Show Features Local Leaders
Montgomery County Council President Valerie Ervin and Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker are both from military families. They are also both originally from the southern parts of the U.S. Both are now influential leaders in Maryland.
In the second episode of County Cable Montgomery's (CCM) new show, "No Boundaries," Ervin and Baker talk about how their upbringings led them to devote their lives to public service, why they share a passion for improving education opportunities and the importance of their two counties working together on key issues.
The 30-minute show is broadcast on CCM on Sundays at 1:30 p.m., Wednesdays at 9 p.m. and Saturdays at 6 p.m. throughout September and October.County Cable Montgomery (CCM) -- Channel 6 on Comcast and RCN, Channel 30 on Verizon -- created the show to allow local leaders to express their views in an informal atmosphere.
A New Website Address -- and More -- for the Volunteer Center
The County's Volunteer Center website has a new address, www.montgomeryserves.org, a new look and some new features.
New to the site are:
The center's online database also has a new look. You can still search by location, interest area or organization to find opportunities that interest you. Volunteer accounts were not moved to the new database. If you used to log on to the old system to express interest in opportunities, you still can, you just need to create a new account on the new database. Create a new account or start searching.
Organizations already registered with the Volunteer Center that are wondering how these new changes can benefit them are invited to attend the upcoming October information session to learn more about how to use the new database and other features of the website. See the Orientation schedule for details.