text:
For years, Ew2 has been tryng make the team.
Month: August 2010
New starting two guard?
The Knicks may have given up on Rudy Fernandez; they are signing Roger Mason to one year deal worth $1.4 million.
Mike D'Antoni to sit out World Championships
The fantasy basketball fans weren't yet old enough to watch Dominique Wilkins
Dominique was one of my favorite players ever.
He could fill up a stat sheet like no one else.
He was guaranteed to do at least 5 amazing things in every basketball he played in during his prime.
And yet, he never went deep into the playoffs during his Hawk days.
There is more to basketball than just statistics, that's what John Hollinger doesn't understand when he's counting all those beans.
You could not put a price on what players like Oakley did for the Knicks. There are intangibles beyond the numbers game.
Walsh's big challenge then is to assemble a team with good team chemistry. We haven't had that kind of winning culture team chemistry since '99.
Good thing we only have 2-4 guys coming back from last year.


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Recent Nai Harn beach Reviews
My wife and I just turned 60, for a special vacation we started in Chaing Mia, and worked our way south. Hua Hin, Koh Samui and Krabi. We where very fortunate to land in Phuket and stay at Ian's villa. Because of the volume of fringes (foreigners) who enjoy Thailand each year, it is easy to end up in a miniature hotel room, and stuffed onto overcrowded beaches like sardines in a can. THIS IS WHERE IAN'S VILLA EXCELS!!! Quite beach less than 100 yards from the property. No it is not the white sand beaches, with crystal clear water found on the Islands surrounding Phuket, But it is a great spot to start a days adventure or finish off the night, listening to the waves lapping up onto the sandy beach. The Villa is complete in every detail down to small flashlights by bed stands and, the huge BBQ, with a Local market (2 X a week) within walking distance, offering fresh fruit, vegetables, and seafood so you can cook your own dinners. A short walk on the beach brings you to a great restaurant where food is complemented by the friendly staff, and seating thirty feet from the ocean. You need transportation to get around, whether exploring the Big Buddha site, going to different beaches, day trips to the Islands (A Must Do) or discovering a Thai BBQ restaurant, a Taxi cab, or scooter---for the adventurous is a must. Our drive from the airport to Villa (45 minutes)got us in touch with Viratt, a great taxi driver, and tour guide. Dropping by with fresh pineapples, bananas, mangos or just checking up on us we felt privileged to have a driver at our beck and call. (Or Thai Taxi Stand minutes from Villa.) CAUTION: before you jump on a tour boat and head for Phi Phi islands, or other destinations, research your choices. "Offspray Liesure" a great tour boat service that will not overpack their boats to make an extra buck, at your expense. Service 1st class. If the boat can hold 24 people they take 15-17. What Ian writes about the Villa is exactly what you get, great value for your money, clean comfortable with everything you need for R & R. Huge bedrooms, great private pool, and Pascal steered us to great spots to see and feel Thailand. Thanks Ian We will be back. C & R

subset: commoncrawl


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I'd be interested to hear of examples or ideas like that as well.
I think the best improvement I've seen is to disable scrolling after
a user clicks an item from the dropdown. Since focus remains on the
dropdown, scrolling often becomes a problem, especially for web pages
/ apps, since scrolling is generally required on most web sites. It's
pretty annoying to have the dropdown change after you make your
selection because you needed to scroll back up to some other control
or to the top level nav, etc.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Posted from the new ixda.org
Hello Henry,
Adding functionality to dropdowns is something we explored quite a
bit on a project I worked on for E*Trade.
One function we developed was the ability to add new items to the
drop down list. We placed the function for adding a new item at the
bottom of the list in parentheses. Choosing %u201C(add new
choice)%u201D causes a small modal dialog box to appear, where the
user can create the new choice.
Another function that is accessible from a dropdown is to create
custom subsets of tables, or what we referred to as "column views."
If the user selects %u201CManage Column Views%u201D from the column
view dropdown, the first screen in a Guided Workflow appears in a
floating window. The user chooses an existing column view as the
basis for creating the new view. The user can also delete a column
view from the list on this screen. The user can also delete a column
view from the list on this screen.
I'd be happy to send you some screen shots if that would be helpful.
It is worth mentioning here that you should also NOT just function on a "drop-down" as a solution that allows the functions you are looking for. A drop-down may be a starting point, but the functions you are thinking about can also be achieved in other Web 2.0 ways such as an AJAX floating window that allows you to build on your list, show all options with checkboxes (replaces multi-select list), show all options with radio buttons (replaces single select list), add to list (replaces seperate grid control) etc.
A nice list control is used on iStockphoto's "add to lightbox" function for instance.
A good example of similar functions can be found in RichFaces for JSF and in a number of the excellent javascript libraries such as MooTools and JQuery.
For me, the old Selection List is so limiting in many of these "add" and "add definition" tasks.


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Tuesday, February 5, 2013 | BIO-IT World | Archives | Advertising | CHI Conferences | Subscribe
Courtagen Leverages Level 3 to Provide Direct Access to Amazon Cloud
Bio-IT World | WOBURN, MASS.—Although it didn't require digging up any local roads in the end, a small biotech company has struck a partnership in life sciences with Level 3 Communications to create a seamless and secure data link that pipes genomic data directly from its laboratory just outside Boston to the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud facility in Ashburn, Northern Virginia. Read More
NetApp Eyes Opportunities in Health Care Data Storage
Bio-IT World | Whatever happened to NetApp? When Bio-IT World launched in 2002, NetApp was one of the big names in big data storage in the biotech and life sciences arena. But over the past decade, while brand names such as Isilon, EMC, BlueArc, Quantum, Panasas, DDN and many others have cashed in on the data deluge, NetApp kept at best a very low profile in the space. But there are strong signs that NetApp is turning things around. Read More
Selventa Says Systems Diagnostics is Key to Harnessing Patient Data
Bio-IT World | To hear any CEO claim that their company has become "the premier big data analytics company focused on personalized healthcare" might raise an eyebrow or two. When the company in question is a small software firm that underwent a name change just 18 months ago, that is certainly the case. Read More
EMC Supports 4 TB Drives
HPCwire | EMC today announced support for 4 terabyte drives for EMC Isilon's industry-leading scale-out NAS solutions. Read More
Opscode Releases Chef 11
TechCrunch | Opscode has delivered Chef 11 with the help of Facebook. Chef 11 has been rewritten with the Erlang programming language and the PostgreSQL database. Read More
Life Tech Helps ID Libyan Remains
U-T San Diego | Life Technologies is assisting in an effort to identify tens of thousands of remains found in mass graves in Libya. Life Tech is donating infrastructure, including the expertise, training, and the forensic instruments and materials to validate the workflow and process DNA samples from about 20,000 people. Read More
PLOS and Dryad Assign DOIs to PLOS Genetics Articles
PLOS Blog | PLOS and Dryad are expanding their integration to PLOS Genetics. The partnership applies data identiers (DOIs) to data "packages" associated with published articles so authors, editors, and readers can access underlying data along with the published results. Read More
Computational Challenges of Protein Function Prediction
News Brief | A worldwide effort encompassing 102 researchers and students from 30 research groups working over 2 years tackled the computational challenges of protein function prediction. The results were published this week in Nature Methods. Read More
Oracle's IaaS Plans
InformationWorld | Oracle shared their infrastructure-as-a-service plan yesterday in a conference call with the press. The plan would boost the company's hardware usage while building its cloud subscription numbers. Read More


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I wanted to pack a bowl, crack a cold one, and take a day trip to the Jersey Shore when I turned on the self titled debut album, The Wayside Shakeup! Originally formed in 2003 by acoustic duo Chris D'antonio and Rob Valansky in Haddon Township, NJ, a suburb of Philly. After taking some time to explore personal creative endeavors the pair got back together in 2007, filling out the roster with John McLeod on bass, Mike Leger on drums and Eric Raible on keys.
Skipping the urge to drink and smoke and quit my day job, I continued to get ready for work, all the while surfing on a positively bi-polar, trans genre, feel good, melodic wave, reminiscent of the shore I wanted to race to. Inspired by doo-wop to funk to classic rock, this group delivers everything from "shameless pop to wobbly blues". Being influenced by an orgy of amazing artist ranging from Marvin Gaye to Led Zepplin to Dr. Dog that help fuel The Wayside Shakeup's sound. Vocally being compared to such epic greats as Pearl Jam and The Grateful Dead with melodies familiar to Wilco and even the Beatles (wow). The members ultimately wanted to make music that they themselves wanted to listen to. Luckily, they aren't the only ones listening.
This relatively short, all american back road burn ride takes us on an eclectic trip to 9 destinations. Each with their own independent yet somehow cohesive vibe.....for the most part. I wanted to drive right by one or two of the songs as I normally do when i listen to most albums. Thats actually a positive thing. It's not realistic to please everyone including myself or hit a home run every time. It shows vulnerability, increases drive and creates an opportunity for professional growth. Overall I recommend listening to the album and forming your own opinion but I loved the summertime feel and the variety of genres explored.
With gritty unpolished vocals, solid guitar, undeniable keyboard and competing drum beat my head instantly starts to bob and feet start to tap. Recorded over 2 years on limited time and budget "The Wayside Shakeup" crashes onto the scene just in time for spring, starting off this 9 track album with their coming out party "Nothing But A Good Time". With a solid bridge and catchy chorus, track #1 sets the groove out, belt out, chill out vibe. I immediately started to sing along and attempt to hone in on a familiar yet fresh sound bouncing in between my ears. "So Fast" is the polar opposite of its deceptive title and honestly my favorite track on the album. Now I'm truly lost in a melodic Pink Floyd acid trip. The Wayside shakeup can deliver versatility, strong instrumentals, a fresh vocal, and the ability to write songs that tell a story that you want to read. This track could easy be the soundtrack to anyone's life. Halfway through the album we come storming into a destination entitled "My Old Lady Got No Heart". A simple and smoky, magical place where the universe aligned one fateful night during their first gig ever at Milkboy in Ardmore, PA. Rehearsing only once as a group before this, and feeling like this track was the weakest, they made the call to try the song during a chance sound check and quote, "promptly killed it". "Something magic happened". The band was formed and the rest is history. After listening to this track, I want to visit my local speak easy (if they existed today) or modern day hole in the wall, order a Pabst Blue Ribbon, and listen to some original rock and roll happening in my own back yard. Another stand out track is "Barkley"! I have a feeling this song was written about a intoxicated homeless man. Similar to the ones that can be found in most people's hometown cities. It's goofy and fun and I can picture exactly who Barkley is. Literally laughing out loud as the band seemingly stalks and torments this poor transient. With soft vocals and pleasing harmonies, I'm officially a fan.
I know good music when I hear it! This is a modern all american rock band rooted in multitude of musical places. Capturing so many styles and genres, a true mixture and "shakeup" on the norm, "The Wayside Shakeup" is what happens when creative and talented artist get together and stay true to their pasts and the music that inspires them. With their own unique sound and cult following forming, I predict they will only continue to get bigger and better.


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Amar Chitra Katha's Creator Dies at 81
Anant Pai, the creator of those comics and of children's magazine Tinkle, known to many as "Uncle Pai," passed away on Thursday at the age of 81 after a brief illness, according to a statement from ACK Media.
Indians of all ages expressed sorrow at his passing.
The fans of the comics include Jammu and Kashmir's Chief Minister Omar Abdullah who wrote on Twitter, "Sad to hear about Uncle Pai. Grew up on a steady diet of Amar Chitra Katha comics from Kashmir Bookshop and my yearly subscription of Tinkle."


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SCOT Hickman, MD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis: A 73-year-old man was referred to the hematology clinic in January 1979 for evaluation of hyperglobulinemia detected at a routine visit to his private physician. The serum total protein level at that time was 9.1 g/dL with an albumin level of 4.4 g/dL. He denied bone pain, fevers, chills, bleeding episodes, and easy bruising. Findings from a physical examination were normal. Examination of the skin showed no petechiae or rashes. No bone pain could be elicited, and he had no notable adenopathy or organomegaly. Pertinent laboratory studies disclosed the following values: hemoglobin, 14.6 g/dL; hematocrit, 43%; platelets, 200,000/cu mm; and WBCs, 7,000/cu mm, with a normal differential cell count. A serum protein electrophoresis demonstrated an M spike of 3 g/dL, found by immunoelectrophoresis to be an IgG monoclonal immunoglobulin with k light chains. Levels of IgM
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November 8, 2012 | 6 Comments
BUIES CREEK – Campbell University's Board of Trustees unanimously approved the expansion of Greek Life for undergraduate students at its Oct. 30 meeting.
The vote will allow up to four fraternities and sororities to be introduced in August at the beginning of the 2013-2014 academic year. A committee of faculty, staff and undergraduate students will begin to develop policies and a handbook for Greek Life during the spring 2013 semester.
Dennis Bazemore, vice president for Student Life at Campbell, said Greek Life presents a variety of benefits to the total Campbell undergraduate student experience. He also noted that many of Campbell's sister institutions across North Carolina already have a Greek presence.
"Studies have shown that students who join a fraternity or sorority are more pleased with their college experience, are retained at a higher rate than other students on campus, attain higher grades, graduate at a higher rate than other students and are more loyal alumni after graduation," Bazemore said. "We hope to create a vibrant Greek Life environment for Campbell students to thrive."
Since the mid-1800s, Greek Life has been present at hundreds of college and university campuses across the nation. These groups have been involved in service to the community and university, philanthropy, leadership training, fellowship, academic support and preparation for future academic work or careers.
There are Greek organizations in two of Campbell's graduate and professional schools: the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences and the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law.
Mon, 26 Sep 2016
Wed, 21 Sep 2016
Mon, 19 Sep 2016
I am considered a Kappa Delta alumnae looking to transfer for Fall 2014 and it would be so cool to see a Kappa Delta chapter here and become a part of the new chapter and new greek life!
By Nikki O on September 21, 2013 - 8:56pm
When and how will we know what Fraternities and sororities will be added to the institution.
By Alexandra on September 21, 2013 - 5:11pm
I was a Sigma Sigma Sigma at East Carolina University from 2009-2013 and now, I am currently enrolled in Campbell's MBA program. As a sister of Sigma Sigma Sigma, this is a great opportunity for Campbell University and Greek Life. Having a Tri-Sigma as one of the first sorority on campus would be awesome!
By Hope Hanson on June 13, 2013 - 12:34pm
By Priyank Patel on May 17, 2013 - 12:41pm
If any male students are interested in founding a culturally based fraternity, Lambda Alpha Upsilon Fraternity Inc. is looking to expand.
By Jacob F on May 13, 2013 - 1:10am
How can students learn about potential sororities and fraternities for next year?
By Kimberly Reilly on January 15, 2013 - 12:04am
We invite you to leave a comment if you want to discuss this article. Please note any posted comment will be viewable by the public. If you notice any errors please email Haven Hottel at [email protected].


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Input: NIOSH Strategic Goals
The NIOSH CRC is in the process of developing formal strategic goals to guide our research and partnership efforts over the next decade.
NIOSH previously used "priority" topic areas (e.g., cancer, cardiovascular disease) to guide research efforts. Goals take this approach a step further by identifying specific outcomes that we want to target, performance measures for evaluating progress in meeting the outcome goals, and intermediate goals to describe the necessary steps that need to be performed to accomplish the goal. Setting goals is challenging because
- It forces us to focus on a subgroup of issues where we think NIOSH can make an impact—a long list would spread our resources too thin to accomplish the goals. Not every worthwhile topic can be included.
- It is difficult to develop performance measures. Available surveillance data have limitations, and exposure and health outcome measures are typically not available.
- It is ambitious for NIOSH to set goals to achieve outcomes such as reductions in incidence of cancer. NIOSH is a research agency so we do not often directly influence outcomes—we must partner well and influence other groups to show results.
NIOSH Program Portfolio Approach
NIOSH has been organizing research, guidance, information, and service efforts into specific programs that can be readily communicated and strategically governed and evaluated. Ten Sector Programs represent industrial sectors, and twenty-four Cross-sector Programs are organized around adverse health outcomes, statutory programs and global efforts.
The Sector Programs intersect with Cross-Sector Programs in a matrix-like fashion. For example, an Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Program goal of reducing farm-related deaths and injuries due to tractor rollovers and trucks would likely be a shared goal with the Transportation Program and if appropriate would be adopted by both programs. This approach provides an added advantage and will allow multiple Programs to work towards accomplishment of intersecting goals.
Each of the 34 programs in the NIOSH Program Portfolio has a Manager and Coordinator. Each of the 10 NIOSH Sector Programs facilitates the work of a NORA Sector Council to engage external stakeholders in the process of developing sector goals for the nation and methods to measure the short-term, intermediate and long-term outcomes arising from those goals. The NORA goals for the nation will be considered when choosing NIOSH sector program goals. Cross Sector programs have internal Steering Committees that develop program goals and monitor outcome measures.
These planning efforts will position NIOSH to align with the most current governmental approaches for evaluating program effectiveness, i.e., the Program Assessment Rating Tool (or PART). PART is a mechanism to hold governmental agencies accountable for accomplishing results. As part of our comprehensive approach to performance measurement, NIOSH has engaged the National Academies to independently evaluate our sector and cross-programs for relevance and impact
CRC Program Goals for Intramural Research
NIOSH developed strategic goals for the Cancer, Reproductive and Cardiovascular Diseases (CRC) Program to guide NIOSH research. The current strategic goals guiding NIOSH researchers developing new projects related to the CRC cross-sector are below:
- Strategic Goal 1: Reduce the incidence of work-related cancer.
- Strategic Goal 3: Reduce the incidence of work-related adverse reproductive outcomes.
- Strategic Goal 4: Reduce the incidence and mortality of work-related cardiovascular disease.
- Strategic Goal 5: Reduce the incidence and mortality of other chronic diseases, including (but not limited to), work-related neurologic (cerebrovascular) and renal disease.
CRC Program Priority Goals for Extramural Research
The Cancer, Reproductive, and Cardiovascular Diseases Program selected the following priority goals as particularly suited for extramural research during fiscal years 2014-16:
- Strategic Goal 1: Reduce the incidence of work-related cancer.
- Strategic Goal 3: Reduce the incidence of work-related adverse reproductive outcomes.
- Strategic Goal 4: Reduce the incidence and mortality of work-related cardiovascular disease.
Those seeking NIOSH grants to conduct studies related to the CRC Program can view the current funding opportunities .
NIOSH is interested in your opinions about the relevance and value of strategic goals for the CRC. We encourage you to consider partnering with us on issues of interest to you and your organization.
NORA Next Page: Emerging Issues
- Page last reviewed: September 25, 2013
- Page last updated: September 25, 2013
- Content source:
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Office of the Director


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Even after the big Oscar blast, I bet people won't be lining up to see "The Hurt Locker." I'd put money on it.
Even after the Academy Awards for best screenplay, best director and best picture, along with three more in the technical categories, watching adrenalized war junkies defusing bombs in the streets of Baghdad isn't most audiences' idea of a fun time, or even something they'd care to watch, at the movies.
Not to mention, it's been out in DVD for months.
As of last weekend, prior to the Academy Award ceremony, "The Hurt Locker" was 20th at the box office. It had made just under $15 million since its release last June as compared to $115 million for "Alice in Wonderland" since its release last Friday.
Which isn't to say box office numbers have anything to do with whether a movie is good or not. It they did, this column would be about "Avatar." But it is to say that at Oscar time, Hollywood gets this schoolmarm mindset that equates movies with Brussels sprouts, heaping prizes on what it thinks is good for you, even, or especially, if you don't like the taste.
I read recently that movie stars have this quality to make audiences feel like we know them or know that we like them. Just look at best-actor winners Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock to see how it works.
Watching them - their humility, humor and unabated happiness - was one of the delights of Sunday's broadcast, going a long way to make up for the mindless, sycophantic prattle that passes for journalism on the red carpet.
I also got a kick out of odd couple Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin's cut-to-the-chase punch lines as the show's co-hosts, making millions of nobodies in the TV audience feel like we were in on Tinseltown's best in-jokes.
What makes the Oscars great each year, I have finally realized, is the movies. Despite the format that pits them against each other in one "race" after another, it's their cumulative weight that reminds us what "best" really means on the silver screen.
Oscar night is a film-fan feast, saying farewell to a year as it appeared over 12 months on screen.
This year's awards surpassed even the usual overload of industry hype to reach the designation of historic. For the first time, it broke unwritten racial and gender barriers with the adapted screenplay prize going to a black man (Geoffrey Fletcher for "Precious") and the best director Oscar going to a woman (Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker").
And yet it all felt strangely preordained, staged, stripped of anything like real surprise or passion. Oscar predictions feel more like rocket science these days, with handicappers breaking the field down into percentages.
Entertainment Weekly's annual Oscar forecast edition should come with spoiler alerts. The time-honored practice of rooting for your favorites on Oscar night has been replaced by something more cold and calculating. Worse is the sense - reinforced by next-day advertising already in place to announce the winners - that the whole thing has been carefully manipulated by marketing departments and ad campaigns.
Last fall -according to the Hollywood buzz mill - "Up in the Air" was the film to beat at awards time. Then it was "Precious," then briefly, "Nine." In recent weeks, the publicists guided the journalists through a David-vs.-Goliath scenario between director Bigelow and her former husband, "Avatar" director James Cameron.
When Oscar night finally rolled around, wasn't it convenient that it was Barbra Streisand -herself a former best director nominee - giving Kathryn Bigelow her Oscar? All the prizes for "The Hurt Locker" - despite so obviously not being the viewers' choice -felt less like artistic recognition than muddled stabs at a political statement.
Yes, it's definitely a good movie that haunts and stays with you. But the best of the year? Explain that one to us, Steve and Alec.
Between the ambivalent message "The Hurt Locker" delivers on the subject of war, the differing opinions it has spawned among the real guys it's based on, the charges of plagiarism and the controversies it sparked among Oscar voters, its victory reinforces the sense that Hollywood isn't really in California at all, but instead is in a galaxy far far away. It plays by its own rules, invisible to mere mortals on this planet.
Sharing many of the political views Hollywood likes to champion, I still get nervous leaving these matters in the hands of the beautiful people. We keep getting reminded that conscience, Hollywood-style is a contradiction in terms.
Not that many people will take that message away from "The Hurt Locker." They're not going to see it.
* Contact Rick Chatenever at email@example.com.


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20 Tips for More Efficient Google Searches
Buzz Marketing for Technology
Subscribe via RSS. Subscribe via Email. Welcome to Dumb Little Man. Each week we provide a handful of tips that will save you money, increase your productivity, or simply keep you sane. 20 Tips for More Efficient Google Searches. For millions of people Google is an indispensable search tool that they use every day, in all facets of their lives. Either/or. dumb | little | man]. Quotes. Wildcard.
Can a social media strategy boost your lead generation efforts?
B2B Lead Generation Blog
came across a blog this weekend that reinforced my thoughts. This post, written by Christian Fea , CEO of Synertegic, Inc., started off with a this statistic that he found on compete.com: Twitter had around 3 million people visiting the site in 2008, and it grew 640% between November 2007 and November 2008. Ok, so how do we harness all of social media's potential and use it to build a lead generation system? Well, I've started to use my Twitter account a lot more, and I've found some productive uses for the application: Sent mini survey question and got answers quickly. Offer actionable advice.
How to select the right web design and web development firm
Confluent Forms
Having been on all sides of the process we'd like to pass along a bit of the knowledge we've gained in how you should select your web design and web development partner. to meet your organization's changing needs. 4) Know your own project! Before you even begin to engage others, especially those that you'll be paying money to, define your project to the best of your ability. And finally.
Start-Up PR - Four Tips for Getting Media Coverage
PR Meets Marketing
When you're a start-up, PR can be a difference for the company. The challenge is how to get targeted, quality media coverage on a limited budget and competing objectives. One One of my favorite sayings lately is "by hook or crook." What I mean is what can I do in the short-term to satisfy immediate results while keeping the eye on long-term value. The name of the company is CashTomato.com.
150 Content Marketing Tips
Drive traffic—and leads—with these tips for SEO, social media, content optimization, email marketing, and more.
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Copywriting tips for B2B SEO
B2B copywriting is tough stuff. Instead of, "Wipes clean with a damp cloth," you may find yourself trying to simultaneously explain and extol the virtues of some complex mechanical system while being creative and persuasive at the same time. Copywriting for B2B SEO is even tougher. Here are ten tips to help you succeed. Watch the [.].
The Book: Digital Body Language
Digital Body Language
Marketing is undergoing a major shift that has been brought on by the change in the way people find and consume information. As this transition happens, marketing and sales teams must react. With the shift to online from face to face, the ability to see body language and "read the room" has disappeared.
Marketing - It's Not Who You Know It's Who Knows You
Marketing Edge
Time 16:43. About 15 years ago at Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium, I saw a guy wearing a T-shirt with the following slogan – It's Not Who You Know, It's Who Knows You – Right there and then I thought "That's it, that's marketing.". All the other words on this blog help address that single slogan. He has more than 6000 contacts on LinkedIn, and they all know him. Giving to the community. 2.
Conference Focuses on Making the Most of Customer References
A customer who is willing to provide a reference for your product and company is a tremendous asset for your marketing efforts. But it doesn't take long for your list of potential customer references to grow, and tracking how
Content Marketing 2016: Staffing, Measurement, and Effectiveness
We surveyed 2016's content marketing leaders on their biggest issues, hurdles, and goals.
The Rapid eLearning Blog
Buzz Marketing for Technology
The Rapid Elearning Blog. Simple Steps to Create Background Images for Your Next E-Learning Scenario. June 24th, 2008. 15 comments. good scenario can make your elearning courses engaging and more real to your learners. It's a great way to get them to learn to use the course information and make the decisions you want. Needless to say not many of us did. Find Images with Good Backdrops. Media.
Should lead generation ignore current customers?
B2B Lead Generation Blog
â€We know more about our prospects (leads) than we know about our current customers†was a shocking statement I heard from a client and it stuck with me. In fact, it's the impetus for this post. When you have a complex sale, it can be easy to think of lead generation as only a process for acquiring new customers rather than a process that can also be applied to generating new or more business from current customers. while back I was in a meeting with a marketing leader of a Global 100 software firm. He shared a story about their new CEO at the time. So, do you have a Customer First Plan
How not to destroy a project during the contract phase
Confluent Forms
Contracts have a funny way of bringing enthusiastic and optimistic partners in a project quickly back to earth and miring them in angry back-and-forth that can soil the project before it even starts. The following article is based on our experience issuing contracts for Confluent Forms LLC as well as reviewing contracts on behalf of clients when performing technology advising services.
Additional Twitter Tricks - Twhirl
PR Meets Marketing
Since I first started tweeting on Twitter (thanks Jeremiah !), I have learned some additional tricks for maximizing my time and presence on Twitter. My main difficulty was how to manage more than one account for person and work related tweets. That is until I found out about Twhirl. With Twhirl, I no longer have to constantly refresh my browser for updated tweets. Shorten URLs automatically.
Study: How Much of Your Content Marketing Is Effective?
745 marketers told us how effective their content marketing is. Between November 5 and November 17, we surveyed 601 marketers with an 18-question online survey. A few weeks later, Adweek sent the questionnaire to 144 additional marketers. As the survey was answered by nearly our entire population target, the calculated margin of error was approximately 1 percent. Here's what we learned.
Diagnosing the Gap
Why are architects and engineers less valued than other professionals? In my last post, I offered some pretty compelling evidence of the disparity between A/E firms and other professional service firms. The gap is apparent in more ways than simply lower fees. So how did we get here? don't know that anyone can offer more than an informed opinion in response to that question. Yes, they are. Strateg
Lead Gen 2.0 - Social Media & Search Alone Won't Attract C-Level Buyers
Smashmouth Marketing
Social media is all the rage right now, and it should be. It is shaping how people communicate, how companies and people brand themselves, how we educate ourselves and how we grow our network. Lead generation in the world of b2b can be enhanced by social media, especially with early adopters, techies, and the net-gen crowd. The best lists we've seen for the money are from Jigsaw hands down.
How to Prevent List Attrition yet Drive Event Attendance
Anything Goes Marketing
This week's blog post was inspired by an idea by Yaro Starak over at Entrepreneurs-journey.com who suggested to look for blog ideas by scanning Facebook groups. decided to do a quick scan on Linkedin instead and found a great topic on email marketing. How often do you email your customers and do you have a format that eliminates multiple emails to the same contacts within a short time frame?
Tips on Leveraging B2B SEO During the Recession
Many people have a "set it and forget it" approach when it comes to SEO. But if you have a good site (in terms of organic search), you should be taking advantage of it—especially during these tough economic times. SEO remains one of the most cost-effective marketing strategies, especially over the long haul. If your site [.].
Content Methodology: A Best Practices Report
If you're concerned that your organization's content marketing isn't as effective as it could be, this report is for you.
6 Ways to Get Sales to Adopt CRM Systems
Digital Body Language
As refined as today's CRM systems are, they suffer from an age-old problem; sales rep adoption. They have come a long way in terms of usability, configurability, and universal access, but the problem still remains. The good news is that we as marketers can help to tackle that problem, and in doing so, gain a lot of goodwill with the folks over in sales management. How can you do that?
Can Your Personal Brand Be Too Popular?
Marketing Edge
This post was inspired by Jeremiah Owyang on the topic of personal brands within a corporate community. In some ways this is more an issue of individual popularity rather than a personal brand, but I'll use the term personal brand because it is commonly accepted. The issue of personal brands clashing with corporate brands is something I've commented in the past. Ouch, that's a tough one..
Demand Gen vs. CRM Paper Now Available
Customer Experience Matrix
Over the weekend I completed "Demand Generation vs. Customer Relationship Management", the third in my trio of papers explaining where demand generation systems fit into the larger world of customer management software. Like the other two, they are available at the Raab Guide to Demand Generation Systems Web site [link]. It's all good stuff, in my humble and unbiased opinion. Do take a look.
Google Guide--Tutorials on How to Use Various Google Features and Services
Buzz Marketing for Technology
Google Guide is an online interactive tutorial and reference for experienced users, novices, and everyone in between. developed Google Guide because I wanted more information about Googles capabilties, features, and services than I found on Googles website. Nancy Blachman. Start now: Jump to a section: Overview. Contents. Favorites. Query Input. Understanding Results. Search Tools. Services.
Staffing and Launching Your Content Marketing Program
Brand voice? Editorial calendar? Approval workflow? Learn how to craft the crucial parts of a content marketing program. In the third installment of our five-part playbook series, discover the necessary steps to execute a content marketing program.
Share your marketing 'wisdom' with Sherpa readers worldwide
B2B Lead Generation Blog
I wanted to be sure to let you know that MarketingSherpa is gathering content for its seventh annual "wisdom report." It's a great opportunity for you to share your top 2008 story – and get back lessons learned from colleagues worldwide. Marketing Wisdom from the Field Report" will be published in January and distributed free to all MarketingSherpa readers. Here are a few suggestions for 'wisdom' stories: -Test campaign that worked better (or worse) than anticipated. Deadline for quotes for the 'wisdom report' is December 31. Here's the link: [link
Not all Requests for Proposals are worth a proposal
Confluent Forms
In an earlier article we wrote about how you could increase your RFP win percentage by being selective about the Requests for Proposals that you choose to respond to. Writing a good proposal can take an inordinate amount of time, and when time = money, proposals can be expensive propositions. So how do you know when is the right time to sit down and start writing a proposal response to a RFP? Educate them and help them see why your solution is the best for them, but also find out who, if anyone, assisted them in the creation of their RFP as a Situation #3 might be in hiding.
Let the 2009 Trend Lists Grow
PR Meets Marketing
One of my most popular posts last year was my summary of 2008 trend lists. I'm a little late this year, but better late than never =) When I look back at my three trends, it seems odd that I selected the growth of blogomerates, social media connections for PR and long tail PR. To me, these seem almost second nature! So what do I think will be top trends for 2009? Here are my top three: .
Technology PR Sessions at 2008 PRSA Conference
Although I don't attend every year, I have always found the annual conference of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) very worthwhile for keeping up with the latest trends in the field and making valuable contacts
2016 Email Marketing Metrics Benchmark Study
To build a world-class marketing program, it's crucial to compare yourself to the best performers - but competitor data can be scarce.
Lead Gen 2.0 - Social Media & Search Alone Won't Attract C-Level Buyers
Smashmouth Marketing
Social media is all the rage right now, and it should be. It is shaping how people communicate, how companies and people brand themselves, how we educate ourselves and how we grow our network. Lead generation in the world of b2b can be enhanced by social media, especially with early adopters, techies and the net-gen crowd. The best lists we've seen for the money are from Jigsaw hands down.
The Recession is Here - Time to Become an Eco-Marketer
Anything Goes Marketing
When I say that you should become an eco-marketer, I don't mean that you should add some corny green recycle image to your website (who would do that?) or support a "Save the Whales" campaign. Although I'm a big supporter of environmental issues and started my career running an environmental organization , I would like to focus on eco-marketing in terms of demand creation. Did I just write in caps?
10 Commandments of Successful Marketing Management
Smart Marketing
Here are my 10 Commandments of Successful Marketing Management: I. Thou shalt learn from mistakes - If you're not taking risks, and making mistakes, you'll never progress past the point of what you already know. Thou shalt apply every worker to the task - Each marketing team member (and quite a few members who aren't on the team) brings a unique skill set to the marketing team. It's your job as marketing manager to discover each worker's value, then apply that to the overall marketing task. Thou shalt commit to generating momentum and activity - Without either, your effort will grind to a halt.
Decorative Cakes and Social Media Policy
Digital Body Language
I just happened upon a friend of mine's blog. She does incredibly ornate, customized cakes for special occasions. Fun stuff like Mini Coopers, McDonald's Happy Meals, cowboy hats, etc. And I know for a fact that she does not have dedicated web team creating content. So why is it that getting into social media is so difficult for many companies. Minimal rules, just guardrails. link].
Content Marketing Playbook: Strategy and Roadmap
Every brand's content roadmap is different; each path to success is unique to that brand's story, perspective, assets, and goals. But there is an overarching approach that's proven to work—one we've refined after helping hundreds of brands reach their content marketing goals and after speaking with some of the brightest minds in the industry.


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What happen if you don't remove a splinter?
I have something similar to a splinter in my finger except I don't give attention to it's wood. I was inept to remove it and it is beneath the surface of my finger. If I leave it within, will my finger become infected? Is it imperative that it be removed?
How can I tell if my rib is broken ?It depends on a LOT of things. I am almost 46 years older, and I swear I must have plenty splinters in my feet to equal a unbroken tree... When I was younger I run around barefoot all the time (still do whenever I can). Sometimes my dad (a doctor, himself) would sterilize a plunger with a meeting and pick the bugger out... other times, I preferred the momentary pain of a stuck splinter to a hypodermic in the foot.
That said, some splinters become infected and some do not. Best entry to do is some preventative care.
Soak your finger in hot wet (as hot as you can stand it - not boiling... not scalding) for about 15 to 20 minutes. That should loosen your skin adequate to make the splinter any float out on its own, or make it easier to tweeze it out.
If the splinter does not come out after soaking, next the hot water will hold, at least, cause your infection-fighting white blood cells to rise closer to the surface of your skin... You'd be amazed at how economically a simple thing approaching hot soaks help hold infections down.
In addition, as long as the splinter is lodged in your finger, hold on to soaking it nightly... pat it dry... may dip it in a small bowl of hydrogen peroxide... pat dry, and then use somewhat Neosporin with a Band-aid.
Now, let's voice you do all those things and the affliction continues and gets worse, possibly the area around the splinter reddens and get tender... if that happens, after adjectives your preventative care, later go to your doctor... you might stipulation some antibiotics... and maybe, at worse, the doc might involve to lance your finger and bring back the splinter out.
One last consideration... where on earth did you get the splinter? And when be your last tetanus shot? If it's be more than ten years, I would definitely jump for the tetanus shot, to be on the safe side.
Is there any bearing to make yourself tired so you can acquire some sleep?if it didn't go too weighty then you're probably okay. but preserve and eye on it. if it gets red or sore, draw from it removed.
What can i put on poison ivy that i got on my skin?Yeah, if you quit it there too long it will receive infected and you'll have to tolerate the doctor look at it.
Is it true that there is a shot that go in your butt/buttcrack?unless it get infected your body will surround it in a puss membrane untill the skin can grow around it and cause a unyielding knot. later it will be very intricate to remove, get it out very soon
Can I turn a sunburn into a tan? I am roasted!?It could draw from infected. Try digging it out with some tweezers or a sewing syringe. If you still can't get it out, turn to the doctor.
if it is a pressure treated splinter then i would run to the doctors because the stuff they put on the wood is harmful to you
any side effect for the TNB glorious tension to us human person?Yes it needs to come out, try breaking the skin near a needle and tweezers to remove. What is the splinter and where on earth did you get it? You involve to know if the source is a likely tetanus threat, if so receive a tetanus booster too.
If you still can't get the splinter out, try Magnesium Sulphate cement under a plaster, this will draw it out plus any pus. You can buy the attach over the pharmacy counter.


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Access your Emirates Skywards or Business Rewards account
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KALAMAZOO, MI — Like most K-12 teachers, Ashley McDonald extolls the virtues of a good breakfast.
Unlike most teachers, she doesn't have to worry whether her students will get that meal: McDonald serves breakfast to to them herself, thanks to the universal breakfast program in Kalamazoo Public Schools.
"A lot of our students don't have breakfast or didn't have a substantial dinner the night before, so they come in very hungry," said McDonald, a first-grade teacher at Kalamazoo's Woodward School for Technology and Design. "I think you'd see a big difference (in student behavior) if we didn't do this."
KPS has long served breakfast to low-income children through the same program that provides federally subsidized school lunches. But about six years ago, the program was expanded in some schools to include all children whether or not they qualified for the subsidized lunch program.
This fall, for the first time, the universal breakfast program is in place at all 17 KPS elementaries and next year, it is expected to be phased in at the middle-school level. The money comes for the district's breakfast/lunch program budget versus the general operating fund.
The bottom line: The district served 405,648 breakfasts in 2006-07 compared to 678,609 in 2011-12, a 67 percent increase, according to a recent presentation to the Kalamazoo school board by Christine Haller, the district's food-service manager.
Research has shown that children who have breakfast perform better in school both in terms of academics and behavior, have lower rates of absence and tardiness, and are less likely to be sick, Haller told the board.
"It's important," KPS Michael Rice said. "As children get their physical needs met, it helps with their cognitive development. … We're part of a national effort to get children to eat breakfast."
Haller also said that providing breakfast to all children takes away the social stigma attached to feeding only low-income children and provides an opportunity to teach children about the importance of a good breakfast and what a nutritious breakfast looks like.
It also makes it easier logistically: When only low-income children received breakfast, it required those students to go to the cafeteria as soon as they arrived at school and quickly eat a breakfast before the start of classes. Now, breakfast is served in the classroom and early arrival at school is no longer necessary.
McDonald starts her day by putting breakfast at each child's desk. This past Monday, it consisted of a carton of milk, an individual box of Apple Jacks cereal and a fruit cup.
She also put out a list of spelling worksheet for each child, so they could do schoolwork while they ate.
"Take a bite and work, take a bite and work," she encouraged her students as they settled into their chairs.
McDonald said she lets the children keep the food at their desks until they finish.
"It's really important to me that they have full bellies," she said. "I don't want anyone complaining that they're hungry."


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DiamondBack HD Tonneau Cover
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Hauling services in Shell Rock manage relationships with carriers in ways that their customers don't have to bother about. Their goal is to provide a complete resource to assist customers with all of their transportation needs. They offer heavy equipment movers, flatbed trucking, freight brokerage, freight shipping, long haul trucking, truck brokerage service, and oversized loads and superloads, which would mean they have the capability of providing transportation for both oversized loads and superloads for all states in the US. They use the most state-of-the-art and cost effective technologies and service solutions.
Biofuel: Food In, Fuel Out, But Is It The Answer We're looking For?
(Long Island, NY) In today's environmentally-conscious worldview that is being shared by more and more people, alternative fuel sources are the Holy Grail of the "green" movement. There are many new ways to eschew hydrocarbon-laden gasoline when it comes to filling up your vehicle's tank at the pump, and one of the most oft-talked about are biofuels- mainly ethanol and..


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The Worship & Song Singer's Edition is for use by the choir and soloists and provides additional harmonies, harmonizations, descants, choral introductions, and endings. Chord symbols are included to facilitate rehearsals.
The Faith We Sing was published in December 2000 and has now sold more than 1 million pew copies to more than 3,000 churches. Since that publication date, much new music has been written for congregational worship. This follow-up is available in six editions: Music Pew Edition, Leader's Edition, Singer's Edition, Accompaniment Edition, Worship Resources Edition and Presentation Edition.
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Insect Behaviour
In contrast to both the
, recent research suggests that large, seemingly organized insect colonies (leaf-cutter ants, for example) obtain
at least some
of their apparently ordered behaviour from the near random actions of the member individuals, without significant real-time communication between those individuals.
A team at the University of Alberta have built non-communicating and very dumb robots that can seem to collaborate to solve simple problems using a similar strategy. See [
I'd not say it's random behavior. It has been pretty well shown that many harvesting ants species use a reinforcing mechanism based on density of scent trails. Other ants wandering about will pick up trails left by other sisters and reinforce it. In some other species, when a harvester finds some food, it goes back to the nest (leaving a scent trail, by the way) and physically kidnaps a sister by the jaws and drops it where the food is. Then, the new recruits do likewise until all food is harvested. Also, some may give other sisters the food (using trophallaxis, which means giving food to others from the social stomach) to try to convince them to go there and bring it back to the nest. In particular, leaf-cutters use the scent trail to go back and forth to the nest and back to the green leaves, while smaller, warring workers are usually over the leaf-fragments protecting their bigger scissor-worker sisters (the big jaws aren't for fighting, but for raw cutting power and smashing small seeds) from flies and other flying foes. The frequency at which they cut the leaf also attracts other workers; ants are deaf, but feel vibrations through their legs.
The complex, intelligent behavior emerging from many simple behaviors is the reason many myrmecologists think that an ant nest can be treated like a superorganism. This would be
. But as there are hints that point to individuality of character and behavior between different nests of the same species in the same region, one could thinks the HolisticBehaviour
brings a
cooperative hive mind
individual collective intelligence
in which the emerged intelligence uses the bodies but does not control them.
Superorganisms of this kind are found not only in ants, but in several eusocial wasps, bees, spiders and coral reefs.
A small, usually destructive similar behavior, of a short span lifetime, can be found in mobs, where emotion driven events create a superego that seems to control the behavior of the whole mob as if the individuals' intelligence didn't count. Considering the usually highly emotional, most of the time negative emotions driven, nature of those events, it's probable that the whole thing emerges from the lymbic system and lower brain, cancelling any higher intellectual functions like logical thinking. --
The interested will be interested in reading "Swarm Intelligence" by Bonabeau, Derigo and Theraulaz. The interested will be very interested in looking at
's (of no free lunch theorem fame) work on Collective Intelligences (reinforcement learning meets multi-agent systems). --
It appears that the most impressive results in robotic cooperative task-driven behavior would be in nanotechnologies, where, for example, nanos inserted into an ill person's bloodstream would cooperate in destroying malign bacteria, viruses or prions, cancerous cells, &c... something which is really starting to be a possibility in the Reality Realm... Interesting link, by the way. --
Loosely coupled "random" individual acts that self-organize into a complex superbehaviour also form a
. It works much like the
would if you want a more common example of (proposed)
. CraigReynolds
' boids flocking algorithm is also a good example of a
where the
of "go this way" is the result of integrating over the individual boids' actions. --
P.S. Ants are cool.
Agreed! --
Any URL to check on those algorithms? I pretty much agree with you... -- d@
Craig moved his pages, the cheeky bugger. They now live at
the new address
. He's got some other papers online besides the boids one. -- ss
An event is random or not. Near random only means that there is a very small influence being exerted. Dis lil' ant finds food, she spends small amounts of time trying to convince other lil' ants to go there, say 50. Once they find the food, they too enter into this communication. Even at less than 10% success rate, it won't take long to have a mess of lil' ants over there. Does not need a vague, unmeasurable intelligence. Also, is anything but random. And, the involved individuals (not someone who can't even talk to them) get to decide what's significant communication. I doubt they know how fast an ant can talk. We should always examine for simpler answers to patterns. We may find they're
. --
Any URL to check on those algorithms? I pretty much agree with you... -- d@
I wrote a tiny ant-hill simulator many years ago when I learned pascal programming in high school. Create two ant-hills, drop several hundred ants in them, make 'em lay pheromone trails and give em four simple rules... or something like that. And you get beautiful emergent behaviour.
If you want the binary and/or source, I'd be glad to send it. Drop me a line.
Just reread the paragraph above. Let me do a quick summary of the rules I used as far as I can recall them.
Ant does a little random walk, in a way that prevents it from staying close to its starting point for too long.
If ant is looking for food and finds food, take food home and leave trail.
If ant is looking for food and finds trail, follow trail.
If ant reaches end of trail, engage in a spiral search pattern for a short time.
If ant carries food and reaches nest, drop food and start searching again.
Tadaa, you get very
looking ant-trails and a population proportional to the distance of food from the nest. (It might be interesting to graph what kind of proportionality.)
Oh, and ants have a limited lifespan, and as food is collected, new ants get born for each number of food units. That's about it... it sure looks cool. I used to watch my ants for hours during my 'O' level classes. ;)
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Well I just got done watching the game.
Not much more can to be said really.
Only thing left to determine, is Jason Williams spot on the all time greatest wings list, I was thinking 1st? He's really really good, that much I'm sure of.
Let's hope he sticks around
Go wings.
You really have to marvel at what a complete, total buffoon Jason Williams is. I thought it was bad enough that his never-ending boneheaded plays practically cost us the Edmonton series in 2006. Alas, no -- he has to set a new standard in 2010 by firing off an absurd, ridiculous shot in OT that does nothing but spark a 2-on-1 clincher the other way. McClellan is a smart guy and a good coach, and I have little doubt that he constantly reminded the Sharks to be prepared to pounce whenever Williams was on the ice.


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In 2004 or 2005, crossing Bigelow at Fifth, I remember having this discussion with one of my EMBA classmates and telling him that a major shift would happen, most likely in the Republican party given the current state of affairs. The Tea Party is almost that. I am not sure it is. At one time I thought it was – until a member told me to leave the Republican party because my views on what governments should do regarding homosexual marriage were too liberal.
Perceived government abuses, and idealogical differences led to the rise of both major parties we have today. In the early days of our republic the changes were frequent. We haven't seen a major shift since the rise of the Republican Party in the 1860s.
As David Boaz of Cato says libertarianism is on the verge of a political breakthrough. Whigs, Federalists, Anti-Federalists, Democrat-Republicans, Democrats, even independents all were elected in the early years. Then what? Republican and Democrat were elected over and over, and over and over again.
The results were of course predictable. We expanded the size, scope, and supremacy of the government in every facet of life. Rather than enforce the rule of law, and the blindness of the law to all sorts of things, we have implemented failed policies through prohibition and the ensuing "war on drugs", poverty preservations, and government controlled retirement.
George Washington warned, "The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism." Herein lies the reason we need a change. The rising libertarian influence, whether it leads to a strengthened Libertarian Party, a renewed vitality in the Republican Party, a more fiscally conservative Democratic Party, or something else entirely has yet to be seen. What is clear is that two things are unsustainable – uncontrolled government largess and government controlled activity.
Triblive Monroeville Mayoral Primary Coverage
The Trib/ Times Express covered the Mayoral Primary pretty succinctly, but, my entire responses to the questions are as follows:
Why am I running?
My sole reason for running is out of a sense of obligation and service to this community. Many decry the present as less than the glorious past. I do not think one needs to attempt holding on to a past that may or may not have existed save for a sense of nostalgia. The present and the future can be shaped by decency and a positive view of the opportunities before us. I gain no advantage running for Mayor. In many respects the Mayor Office is defined as an incredibly weaker position than a Council Member Office by Home Rule Charter. Understand, my family, my business commitments, my church and the Boy Scout Troop 184 where I volunteer have plenty to do, that is, quite frankly, more enjoyable and far more rewarding. My wife doesn't want me to be involved in this race. When I announced I would not seek re-election I received scores of calls and people who to my face said I needed to run again – either for that seat, or for Mayor. It is at the behest of many constituents who watch our meetings that I am running.
What am I passionate about?
People tell me that our meetings cause us to be the best comedy on cable. The Mayor is to run a meeting with dignity and encourage substantive debate. I will bring this to our meetings, something last seen when Jim Lomeo was Mayor.
We face numerous issues for the foreseeable future. We need to find ways to address the money we need without stripping wealth in order to hold to the commitments made to residents and Municipal employees. We need to find ways to more effectively create realistic expectations given the money we have in order to weather the changing economics of being a government. This must be done in a way that encourages business activity, wealth building and a great quality of life for a wide array of people who chose to become part of a unified community. Without a vote, I think I can influence and help develop this debate more effectively. This is the one thing the Charter provides for. The Mayor is to guide debate in a sensible, calm, collaborative manner even in the face of the most astounding controversies we may face.
All of the issues are not negative. We must deal with the opportunity for deep drilling that exists in our community for three reasons: we have land that can bring real revenue, land owners have land that can increase their wealth, and we are at a location in SWPA that puts us in a prime spot for ancillary services that can bring jobs to this community. We still have enormous budget issues and retirement commitments that we need to address. Only a Mayor that unifies members while encouraging debate can get these dealt with.
Look we either find ways to encourage new money coming here, find ways to address our budget concerns, and help create an atmosphere that allows our residents to grow their wealth, or we will need to strip the wealth of this community in order to maintain the status quo thus harming all residents. The status quo tends to favor a long standing cronyism establishment that is upset that things are changing. Ultimately, the council must establish guidelines and a policy agenda, while recognizing that they must get out of the building, and have the manager deliver that vision according to precepts of the Charter and to the benefits of the people not the elected or appointed officials.
My Background: I spent a number of years in service in my twenties. I have a BA from Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY in Political Economics and an MBA from PITT through the EMBA program. Most of my career was in sales and operations in the Computer Networking Industry. I was promoted to VP Operations and transferred to Pittsburgh in September 2001. The experiences give me a perspective dealing with change, financial challenges and pressure that is likely unique among candidates. I've served on the Planning Commission, including as Chair for two years. I have been a member of Monroeville council since 2010.
Current Employment: Currently in my day job, I work for the Commonwealth as a District Administrator in the Department of Revenue. I am also founding executive of a company, Sagamore Group, Inc. in RI (all three other founders are from Eastern sea board states) focused on healthcare and medical sales. We are a privately held company that currently in its fourth year has 12 employees and is growing.
Family: Married, Laura, 2 children, Sophia, college sophomore and Max, Eagle Scout
Birthdate: 4/17/64
Organizations: Cross Roads Presbyterian Church, Monroville Area Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scout Troop 184, Infragard; as a council member – Library Board Liason, Turtle Creek Valley Council of Governments, Monroeville Foundation
This I can do. No weight-loss/ -gain/ -stay-the-same, reading more, watching less/ better TV or other potentially failed resolutions. But we all need one right? I have one dilemma I need to fix this year, and I am resolved to get it done.
Blue, Grey or Olive Double Breasted Suits. Love 'em. Glenn Plaid Two or Three Piece. Ditto. Traditional Blue Blazer. Wouldn't think my wardrobe complete without it. The same goes for my traditional 120's tab collar double cuff (French) white shirts. I can't get by without having wing tips, cap toes, and I sure would love to include bluchers in the shoe set. White executive fold pocket squares are a daily mainstay. Certainly silk squares are great for the celebratory evening.And while they tend on the traditional side , the ties I sport and the braces I wear are heavily colored (braces from Brooks Brothers and Burberry's; ties mostly from Paul Frederick or Macy's).
Which altogether begs the question regarding accessories in general, more specifically socks.Why, why must socks be black, blue, brown or short? Maybe you've noticed it too. Maybe not. In a general sense we are captive to the overbearing regulation of the fashionistas and other experts who hawk clothing.
The socks pictured I received for a stocking stuffer.
They are mid calf. Okay. Most of my argyles are low calf and 40% of the time when I sit they show part of my leg. And no, my trousers aren't short, they are properly tailored with a heavy break when I stand. This year I am changing the game. All the socks I buy, except white ankle length, will be both long and funky. If I have to I will do as the sailors of yore – I will knit proper length over-calf knee highs.
This is certainly a resolution I can keep. What's yours?
So many services, so many commitments, so many costs. The only way to preserve the commitments that government has made locally, statewide, or federally is to increase tax takings. Well so the supporters of "continuance of service" would have us believe. They typically don't say things exactly that way. They say things that sound more benign and foreboding at the same time, "If we increase taxes we won't cut any services".
This fallacy is too fraught with problems to address adequately. But three points bear listing. First, it is not axiomatic that taking more from people means services remain. Insolvency is a growing option for many governments. SW PA is filled with communities that could be midwestern ghost towns, often due to ever-increasing taxes that produced destitution for residents who stayed. Second, it is not axiomatic that cutting costs reduces services. Third, it is not axiomatic that all government services are worth keeping by the government at least. Regarding the first point understand this – taxes are exercising of the power governments have to legally hold up their residents and citizens, and sometimes simply people who work in a location. Taxes are not voluntary.
The second and third points are somewhat related to each other. Too many times governments take on roles that have nothing to do with the scope of government. This contributes to untoward costs from commitments related mostly to retirement commitments governments make to employees (see earlier blog: Why Unions aren't the solution – Employees aren't the Problem). Private entities, whether for or non-profit, typically deliver offer expertise, efficiency, and economies of scale that governments often don't have otherwise. This stems from the first point – taxes are taken not voluntarily given. Third parties have the market to contend with – deliver value or get no donations or customers. Thus by taking strategic steps governments can cut costs and guarantee sustainable services, often better services than the government can provide alone.
Still wish to preserve every service?
Interestingly, Private Public Partnerships are mostly used for what they should be used for least, economic and real estate development or redevelopment, and often propounded by the keep-current-services crowd. Economic development is served by strong policies that support growth, at the lowest feasible tax rates. Austin's evidence is that services can be performed better by third parties and for less. It's time to make American style privatization and outsourcing the public norm as the way to improve, not preserve, the commitments made to citizens. Infrastructure projects to save the failing infrastructure of the USA governments is one key area that has proven more than successful.
San Bernardino has led the way showing ethics can be improved by eliminating nepotism. Maywood, CA outsourced in order to avoid the plight of Stockton, CA and forced outsourcing. Sandy Springs incorporated without incurring the infrastructure and costs of personnel. With the proper will, lots of effort, and clear direction, the evidence shows through these communities that vibrant important and even vital services can and must be outsourced if governments are going to deliver on the promises made.
We can and must improve services, and this points the way, but I ask again, still wish to preserve services?
For the Monroeville 2013 budget, on Tuesday I made a balanced budget amendment using recommendations from the manager which is also posted in excel 2007.
The budget was calculated based on a fiction of a tax millage increase that has not been voted on or approved. In order to effectively determine a spending level, the first thing that must be done is correct the expected tax receipts by reducing the total expected income from roughly 27m to roughly 24m. This presents a realistic view of what we are currently able to spend. It also presents opportunities for savings since it is quite a bit less. Like many communities Monroeville has committed itself to zero based budgeting. Yet every year we fail to operate zero based, instead we have run losses for 10 years running. We raise everything across the board and use deficit spending from reserves to keep on spending willy nilly. We make commitments to our employees and to the public, but never do the hard work of reducing a penny for every penny increased in spending. The other option is only to increase what is taken from those we are to represent and whose money once taken forcibly we are morally and legally obligated to protect.
My solution to the dilemma is based on the manager's recommendations – consolidate the dispatch to the county 911 center which is mandated by state law to run dispatch. Eliminate the ring down. Admit finally that ISO has rated the official 911 safer than our dispatch. 1.5 million People including our own residents are dependent on the county all day everyday anytime they are not in Monroeville.
The manager also recommended that the Local Services Tax and the Delinquent Earned Income Tax Collections be outsourced. Given that EIT flow has worked fine since Keystone was awarded the Eastern Area EIT collections, the additional savings are warranted.
Leave the library funded. Leave the Senior Center funded. Leave the pool. Leave refuse. With that we have adopted some of the manager's cuts and have saved money and improved service. The manager and his employees, many of whom have told me independently that there is anywhere from 5% to 20% savings that the elected officials can never find, are left with 8% to extract out as professionals.
Austin, TX has done the work and calculated the insourcing of services. Whether due to economies of scale, focus, or an interest in turning a profit, the private sector was demonstrated to be on average six times less, excluding infrastructure and equipment startup costs. To preserve the greatness of Monroeville there currently no other way.
How Much Does Punditry Matter? – The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan.
Ironically, the conclusion I find incorrect. Democrats are as authoritarian as most Republicans. In Fact, more so. Consider the current regulation of smoking (outdoors), transfats, sugars and a whole host of "vices". While many of the attacks have found an unfortunate champion in Mayor Bloomberg, nationally it is the Democrats who are the driving force in eliminating our freedoms.
Regardless of the rhetoric, it was originally the GOP that drove integration. It is the GOP that has and continues to support responsibility, self-determination and economic vitality through free markets.
The LGBT community has made headway throughout the political spectrum and will continue to do so, there will be continued opposition from elitist Republicans. The recent comments about Ann Romney not having worked a day in her life are not libertarian, they are elitist Democrat. Is a woman who works for free at home for 50 – 90 hours a week any less of a person than a woman who works 50 – 90 hours a week for 30, 50, 100, or 1,000K? I think not. Is a man who stays at home any less than a man that works for money? I think not. I couldn't do it personally whether married as I am now to my beautiful wife, who has stayed at home, gone to college and worked for pay, or as the husband of a husband who gets paid. That's the point. Republicans by and large support freedom to make these decisions as adults.
As a nation of incalculable rights for citizens, we must examine every new law in light of rights first, and the public good second. Yes, rights come before the public good. Otherwise rights will become enumerated and we will be a nation subject to the whims of our government. And this too is a reason that while in the short term it may be expedient for libertarians to align left, it is incomprehensible in the long-term since the left will relegate "the public good" above the rights of the individual.
Maybe it's that first generation thing. Maybe it's that my earliest memories of home are Germany. Maybe it's that in Miami I met so many people helped by the Gipper, and so many that still would be illegal. Maybe it's that until the 1900s borders were more fluid. Maybe it's that empirical evidence supports that innovation comes from those on the move. And maybe, just maybe it's because it's the right thing to do.
Those maybes point to a larger issue. Immigration isn't as simple as they versus we. If it were, we could put up a force field barrier like they had in the movie zardOz and get on with our lives. On my father's side my siblings and I were only 4 generations deep. On my mom's it was her then us. For me, the youngest of the Army brat's, for all practical intents and purposes, I am the immigrant. Come to think of it, my one brother, born in France, even had to make a citizenship decision at 18. It is interesting that he gave up his claim to be French in order to be a US Citizen, but I have a friend who can still claim to be a US Citizen even after becoming French.
It was the open borders of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries that shaped where we are today in the 21st. Those fluid borders are why anyone other than North American Indians is here. What enables the level of innovation in this country is that immigrants and their descendants are wired for it. Go to other countries built on immigration and you'll find a frenetic US like pace. Go to other countries with little immigration and you'll find a much more quiet pace. For economic vitality you need innovation.
We need a comprehensive solution, one that won't put us back in today's situation in twenty years. Kids born here and then raised here, are US. Even many kids who weren't born here, but were raised here, some who hardly speak their parents' language are for practical purposes US also. Right now isn't a time to rush through some program or fiat willy nilly, but the time has come to evaluate how to effectively open our borders for our prosperity and the protection of US.


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Dayne Dugas, who was in the bank parking lot, said he ran up to the car after watching the shooter drive away, and he helped get her four children out of the car. Stevens' 11-year-old daughter was hovering over her mother from the passenger side, while her sons were in the back seat.
"She really couldn't say much, but she was alive," Dugas said on the witness stand. He said he told her "the kids are OK...the babies are OK."
He said Stevens then looked at him and stopped breathing.
A jury in Mobile County Circuit Court today continues to hear testimony in the capital murder trial of Michael Berry, who shot and killed his estranged wife outside a bank at Schillinger and Cottage Hill roads on May 11, 2010.
Her four children -- ages 13, 11, 9 and 3 -- were in the car with her. Berry was the father of the two youngest children. The 3-year-old was strapped into a car seat.
The defense does not dispute the fact that Berry shot her, and they've asked a jury to consider a lesser charge of murder.
The jury today watched video recordings of the shooting from two bank security cameras.
One camera, lodged inside the ATM, captured the close-up images of Stevens waiting at the ATM. Her card was stuck in the machine and she attempted to call the bank from her cell phone. She struggled as she was shot, and her children panicked as they looked on.
An overhead camera recorded Berry, wearing an orange baseball cap and navy shirt, fire six shots around the front of the car, causing the windows to shatter.
Berry faces life in prison without parole or the death penalty, if convicted of capital murder.
If a jury finds Berry guilty, the trial would move to the punishment phase. Jurors would consider whether Berry should get life in prison or be sent to death row.


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HOLLIDAYSBURG - Blair County intends to close its solid waste department and furlough six employees as of Sept. 30, then turn over some department responsibilities to the Intermunicipal Relations Committee.
The county has been moving toward those goals since May, when commissioners said the reserve account supporting the department was running low on money.
The account used to receive revenue from landfill tipping fees, but that ended in February 2007 with a Commonwealth Court decision.
"This is not something that's easy to do, but the county no longer has the funds," Commissioner Diane Meling said Tuesday.
Meling told fellow commissioners Terry Tomassetti and Ted Beam Jr. that she and county Human Resources Director Katherine Swigart met with the department staff.
There is a chance, Meling said, that the IRC will hire two county employees who work at the department's yard waste, composting and recycling site north of Altoona.
The IRC plans to accept ownership and manage the site because it represents the four municipalities - Altoona, Logan Township, Hollidaysburg and Tyrone - required to offer those services to residents.
The other employees, Meling said, will have the chance to apply for any job openings within the county or to pursue unemployment compensation.
Solicitor Nathan Karn said that he is working on a proposed lease of the compost site that could be in effect if the deed transfer for the site is delayed while awaiting required approvals. Also, because the county created the solid waste department by ordinance, it must advertise its intention to close the department, Karn said.
Fall leaf collection is expected to continue without interruption.
Meanwhile, the future of the county's drop-off recycling program is up for discussion at a public meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. today at the Logan Township Municipal Building.
At least since 1997, the department has offered its drop-off recycling bins program in various locations including Freedom Township, Greenfield Township, Martinsburg, Snyder Township, Taylor Township, Woodbury Township and near Tyrone. The county also owns recycling drop-off bins in the parking lot of Sam's Club in Allegheny Township and at its yard waste facility.
The IRC is looking for a private hauler interested in picking up the materials left at those locations, Meling said, but it may be necessary for municipalities to help cover the expense.
Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.


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Gaitskill was born in Lexington, Kentucky. She has lived in New York City, Toronto, San Francisco and Marin County, CA, as well as attending the University of Michigan, where she earned her B.A. and won a Hopwood Award. She sold flowers in San Francisco as a teenage runaway. In a conversation with novelist and short story writer Matthew Sharpe for BOMB Magazine, Gaitskill said she chose to become a writer at age 18 because she was "indignant about things --- it was the typical teenage sense of 'things are wrong in the world and I must say something.'" Gaitskill has also recounted (in her essay "Revelation") becoming a born-again Christian at age 21 but lapsing after six months. She married the writer Peter Trachtenberg in 2001. They separated in 2010. Gaitskill lives in Rhinebeck, New York.
Gaitskill made her book debut in 1988 with the short-story collection BAD BEHAVIOR, having been trying to publish her work since the age of 23. Her fiction typically is about female characters dealing with their own inner conflicts, and her subject matter matter-of-factly includes many "taboo" subjects such as prostitution, addiction, and sado-masochism. Gaitskill says that she herself had worked as a stripper and call girl. She showed similar candor discussing her being raped in her essay "On Not Being a Victim" for Harper's.
The film Secretary (2002) is based on the short story of the same name in BAD BEHAVIOR, although the two have little in common. She characterized the film as "the Pretty Woman version, heavy on the charm (and a little too nice)," but observed that the "bottom line is that if [a film adaptation is] made you get some money and exposure, and people can make up their minds from there."
The novel TWO GIRLS, FAT AND THIN follows the childhood and adult lives of Justine Shade (thin) and Dorothy Never (fat). Justine works through her sadomasochistic issues while Dorothy works through her up-and-down commitment to the philosophy of "Definitism" and its founder "Anna Granite" (thinly-veiled satires of Objectivism and Ayn Rand). When journalist Justine interviews Dorothy for an exposé of Definitism, an unusual relationship begins between the two women. In an interview, Gaitskill discussed what she was trying to convey about Justine via her sadomasochistic impulses:
It's a kind of inward aggression. It seems like self-contempt, but it's really an inverted contempt for everything. That's what I was trying to describe in her. I would say it had to do with her childhood, not because she was sexually abused, but because the world that she was presented with was so inadequate in terms of giving her a full-spirited sense of herself. That inadequacy can make you implode with a lot of disgust. It can become the gestalt of who you are. So the masochism is like "I'm going to make myself into a debased object because that is what I think of you. This is what I think of your love. I don't want your love. Your love is shit. Your love is nothing.
Gaitskill's honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2002 and a PEN/Faulkner Award nomination for Because They Wanted To in 1998. Veronica (2005) was a National Book Award nominee, as well as a National Book Critics Circle finalist for that year. The book is centered on the narrator, a former fashion model and her friend Veronica who contracts AIDS. Gaitskill mentioned working on the novel in a 1994 interview, but that same year she put it aside until 2001. Writing of Veronica and Gaitskill's career in Harper's Magazine in March 2006, Wyatt Mason said:
Through four books over 18 years, Mary Gaitskill has been formulating her fiction around the immutable question of how we manage to live in a seemingly inscrutable world. In the past, she has described, with clarity and vision, the places in life where we sometimes get painfully caught. Until Veronica, however, she had never ventured to show fully how life could also be made a place where, despite all, we find meaningful release.
Gaitskill's favorite writers have changed over time, as she noted in a 2005 interview, but one constant is the author Vladimir Nabokov, whose LOLITA "will be on my ten favorites list until the end of my life." Another consistently-named influence is Flannery O'Connor. Despite her well-known S/M themes, Gaitskill does not appear to consider the Marquis de Sade himself an influence, or at least not a literary one: "I don't think much of Sade as a writer, although I enjoyed beating off to him as a child."
Mary Gaitskill