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Is there a way to get my internet browser to open quicker?
Sure, you can hit the Stop button or start typing the web address (usually to have it overwritten during said typing). Another option is to set your browser to start with a blank page, but then you kiss your regular homepage goodbye. That's no good.
A better way is to make a blank web page that sits on your desktop . When you click your blank page, your default browser will launch and load the page. Since the page has nothing on it, there is no waiting involved – it loads almost instantly. From your blank page, you can go to the site you *really* needed by selecting it from your Favorites menu or typing in the URL .
So, how do you set this up? Easy:
1. First, you need to make a blank page. The best way to do this is to open Windows Notepad (Start button, Programs, Accessories, Notepad).
You can download a blank page I made. Right-click the link below and select Save Target As from the resulting menu. When prompted, save the page to your Desktop. If you just click it with your left mouse button, you'll end up going to a blank page, but it won't get downloaded. If you decide to download this page, skip to step 3.
Download the blank page – Right-click here [1]
2. Next, click the File menu, Save as . Navigate to your C:\Windows\Desktop and save the file as " blank.htm " (no quotes). To get to your Desktop folder quickly, click the little desktop icon on the Save As dialog box.
3. That's it. The file should now be on your desktop. Anytime you want to bypass your regular homepage and just get the browser running, click it. In fact, I've even dragged it to my quick-launch toolbar for easier access.
Oh, here's a bonus idea for our more advanced users who know how to program in HTML or have access to some kind of web page creation software. If that's you, try making a page similar to the one above, but with links to your most frequently accessed sites.
A page with 20 or so of your favorite links won't make this page load that much slower (we're talking 10ths of a second), but it will make getting to your favorite sites much easier.
~ Steve


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1. Karis Community Church recently hosted New Testament scholar Tom Schreiner for a series of lectures on Jesus. Check out this link to listen to the talks. They sound quite interesting and personally profitable. Dr. Schreiner is a man of great gifting and great humility. It's rare to find those qualities mutually existing in one [Read More…]
The Week-est Link, February 15, 2008
February 15, 2008 by 1 Comment

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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How-to stain or paint the interior of your Pella wood windows and patio doors.
Picking your paintThe most important thing to look for when choosing your paint is good blocking resistance — the ability of a paint to resist sticking. Failure to use a high-quality paint with good blocking resistance may result in a window or door that sticks shut — even after the paint has dried. Ask a qualified paint professional or a nearby extension office to help you find a paint with good blocking resistance. Don't simply rely on a paint's price or brand name in making your selection — an expensive paint may not necessarily offer good blocking resistance.
After finishing with paint, stain or clear coat, allow the windows and doors to cure completely — per the manufacturer's directions — before closing them or reinstalling patio door panels.
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Saab future: Next year's 9-3 will feature elements of the platform and design of the Phoenix concept car (left).
5 May 2011
By RON HAMMERTON
SAAB'S next-generation 9-3 is set to become the Swedish car-maker's first model to be built in China by the company's planned joint-venture with new part-owner Hawtai Motor Group from 2013, about a year after the European debut of the all-new Phoenix platform-based 9-3.
The Chinese version, to be sold under Saab badges by Hawtai, is likely to be followed into production by the proposed baby of the range, the 9-2, which Saab wants to develop on a separate new platform shared with another car-maker.
However, the current Saab 9-5 flagship and Australia's upcoming 9-4X SUV are unlikely to roll down Chinese production lines any time soon, as former Saab owner General Motors owns the intellectual property rights to the platforms under both vehicles.
None of the Chinese-made Saab vehicles are destined for Australia, with all local stock continuing to come from Europe or, in the case of the 9-4X due to arrive here by December or January, from GM's Mexico plant.
Beijing-based Hawtai, a small privately owned car, SUV and bus manufacturer with a big investment in diesel engine and transmission manufacturing, has committed a total of €150 million ($A207m) to the deal that is set to steady the shaky Swedish company.
Saab Cars Australia managing director Stephen Nicholls told GoAuto that Saab's strategic alliance with Hawtai would be a help to his company, which took over the Saab distribution franchise from Holden's GM Premium Brands in January.
"There are a number of people who have held off making the final step (to buy a Saab), based on what finally happens with the corporation as a whole, and what we are seeing now is quite a positive response to this," he said.
From top: Saab Cars Australia managing director Stephen Nicholls, Saab 9-5, Saab 9-4X.Mr Nicholls, whose local operation is wholly owned by Saab parent company Spyker Cars NV, said Saab staff had been delighted with the Hawtai agreement, in which the Chinese company plans to buy up to 29.9 per cent of Spyker and lend Saab €30 million ($A40.7m) as a convertible loan in return for Saab distribution and manufacturing rights in China.
He said the loan from Hawtai and another of similar size from finance company Gemini should pave the way for a resumption of production at Saab's Trollhattan plant in Sweden as early as next week and, longer term – as long as the new ownership structure was approved – a secure future for the brand.
"We are really very, very pleased with the outcome," he said. "If people sign all the things that they are supposed to sign and approve everything – and we believe that is going to happen – then we have a very stable position and good future prospects," he said.
"Whereas we have always been believers in the brand, we have been tested over the last few weeks, so I think so it is looking very positive indeed."
The Hawtai deal still has to be approved by the Chinese and Swedish governments and the European Investment Bank (EIB) – a process that Mr Nicholls said would likely "take weeks, not days".
Mr Nicholls said Saab chairman Victor Muller – who is also CEO of Spyker – had expressed "a fair degree of frustration" at the delays in processing Saab paperwork to date – delays that had resulted in a shortfall of cash to pay parts suppliers, forcing the temporary closure of the Saab factory.
He said that despite this, the messages coming from headquarters about the road ahead had continued to be positive as Mr Muller and his team worked in the background on the new ownership and financial arrangements that could ultimately involve former major shareholder of Spyker, Vladimir Antonov.
Mr Nicholls said the ownership share arrangements still had to be worked through, but all the major stakeholders – including Hawtai and Mr Muller – had "a gentlemen's agreement" not to exceed 30 per cent ownership as, under Dutch law, they would have to bid for the entire company.
"Depending on how it all works out, it could be like a 30-30-30 ownership with the various parties, and something like 10 per cent in public shares," he said.
"It is one of those things where we will just have to see where the bouncing ball ends. I think it is a bit fluid, and but I don't think any individual party is going to go above that 29.9 per cent.
"What Victor Muller said yesterday was that it is a shame we can't have 150 per cent of the company because everyone wants more than they can really have."
Mr Nicholls said Mr Muller had strongly rejected a suggestion that Saab was exporting jobs from Sweden to China via the Hawtai alliance.
"He said the Chinese factory will be building Saabs for the Chinese market only," he said.
"It only makes sense to do that with a new product, and the next new product we have is the next-generation 9-3, which will be starting production in September or October next year, and that's the car that would then be built in China.
"But the local (Chinese) homologation and rules process takes quite a bit of time there, so it is probably not going to start in 2012, and so it would be 2013 before it goes on sale."
Mr Nicholls said the cars made and sold in China would be Saab products, with Saab badges.
"Hawtai is only a shareholder or a partner in that sense," he said. "They are not the Saab brand, so it is still a Saab product produced in a Saab factory."
Mr Nicholls cast doubt on the chances of Chinese production of the 9-5 and 9-4X, at least until next-generation vehicles move off GM bases and on to Saab's Phoenix platform, which was shown beneath a sleek new concept of the same name at Geneva in March.
"I think if we are going to look at producing a current model like the 9-5 or indeed the 9-4X in China, we would have to have some pretty serious discussions with GM, and frankly I think it is unlikely that we would be able to make that work," he said.
Learn more about the Mazda MX-5
Chinese car-maker Hawtai rides to the rescue as Saab strives to resume production
Sweden's Saab might turn to would-be company owners for '92' baby car partnership
New 9-5 tasked with getting Saab off to a solid start for new Aussie distributor
Test Drive a Mazda MX-5 today
Get the best price from a Saab dealer
Why you should upgrade your headlight globes (Advertisement)
GoAutoNews is Australia's number one automotive industry journal covering the latest news, future and new model releases, market trends, industry personnel movements, and international events.
A complete list of Saab models. Past, present and future models as well as concept vehicles.
Select from this list of mainstream companies; the latest news, a list of models and recent car reviews (scroll down for more brands)
Select from other worldwide brands as well as some niche companies
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Fla. Senators to Discuss Medicaid Expansion
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - A Florida Senate committee will discuss Medicaid expansion under the federal health overhaul to offer insurance to an estimated 900,000 low-income residents.
Georgetown University Health Policy Institute Research Associate Professor Joan Alker says if Florida does not expand Medicaid, it will create a coverage gap for those who earn too little to qualify for tax credits to buy insurance from the online exchange but too much to qualify for Medicaid coverage under the state's low income guidelines.
She also noted a decision not to expand Medicaid will have a substantial indirect impact on the state's health care providers, hospitals and overall economy.
She is expected to testify before the committee in Tallahassee on Monday.
Gov. Rick Scott has expressed concerns about the high cost of Medicaid expansion to Florida taxpayers.
Related Stories
- Fla. Senate Panel Rejects Medicaid Expansion
- Feds: Fla. Owes Millions in Medicaid Overpayments
- Fla. Senate Revises 'Parent Trigger' Proposal
- Fla. Senate Passes Flood Insurance Bill
- Fla. Senate Passes "Right to Speak" Bill
- Florida Governor Approves 3-Year Medicaid Expansion
- Docs, Nurses Push Lawmakers for Medicaid Expansion
- Medicaid Expansion, Looking to the Future
- Fla Senate Advance Negron's Health Care Bill
- States Have Many Questions on Medicaid Expansion


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STP Arts Photographer
Stephen ThornePhotographer Male Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
My Website: frequent updates at thornefoto.com!My MM URL: http://www.modelmayhem.com/stparts
Mayhem # 277819
About Me
The heart and the mind are the true lenses of the camera. ~ Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002)
Stephen! Put that camera away and do your homework! ~ Edith Thorne (1914-2008)
Passion is in all great searches and is necessary to all creative endeavors. ~ W. Eugene Smith, Father of the Photoessay (1918-1978)
Express yourself. ~ Charles Wright (1940-)
Photography for me is not looking, it's feeling. If you can't feel what you're looking at, then you're never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures. ~ Don McCullin (1935-)
If the photographer is interested in the people in front of his lens, and if he is compassionate, it's already a lot. The instrument is not the camera but the photographer. ~ Eve Arnold (1912-)
Saturate yourself with your subject and the camera will all but take you by the hand. ~ Margaret Bourke-White (1904-1971)
I get on well with ordinary people. We talk. We start with the weather, and little by little we get to the important things. When I photograph them it is not as if I were examining them with a magnifying glass, like a cold and scientific observer. It's very brotherly. And it's better, isn't it, to shed some light on those people who are never in the limelight? ~ Robert Doisneau (1912-1994)
What do I want to capture most in my photographs? Human emotion and the essence of human being. I am less interested in forcing my subjects into a visually interesting form or putting them against an unusual background. ~ Philippe Halsman (1906-1979)
That's me -- a journalist of 32 years seeking art and tenderness in pictures for a change. After 20 years covering disasters and war, I want to contribute to the beauty of life. I hope to link with creative models who like my work and believe they can benefit from it, while bringing something new and fresh to my portfolio.
You become things, you become an atmosphere, and if you become it, which means you incorporate it within you, you can also give it back. You can put this feeling into a picture. A painter can do it. And a musician can do it and I think a photographer can do that too, and that I would call dreaming with open eyes. ~ Ernst Haas (1921-1986)
First and foremost, I do this because I love pictures and have loved them passionately for more than 40 years. To the degree that it is practically possible, the art will always come before all else with me. I am happy to help select models build their portfolios and achieve their goals but, as a rule, I do not do basic portfolio work. That said, I am always open to collaborating with creative, resourceful, enthusiastic and open-minded people. If I want to do nudes with you, I will explore that option with you before the shoot. While nudes are not a prerequisite to working with me, I do prefer versatility, flexibility and a love for art (as opposed to fashion, per se) in a model. I do not pay models unless I am being paid by a third party, in which case the model will be informed, permissions obtained and fair compensation negotiated. I require models to credit anything used online or elsewhere. As a rule, I do not distribute high-res files, unedited images or disks of entire shoots. And take note: I will not tolerate pretentious people and I have no time for divas. So leave the attitude at the door and let's make art!
If a day goes by without my doing something related to photography, it's as though I've neglected something essential to my existence, as though I had forgotten to wake up. ~ Richard Avedon (1923-2004)
I am all about the light. But the limelight always belongs to the models. I share in an Ottawa studio and I am equally comfortable working with natural or artificial light. My ideal shoot affords the opportunity to work with both. And while I love softness, romance and elegance in a photograph, I am always looking to add a little thoughtful edginess and social commentary to my work. I encourage and appreciate ideas, suggestions and critiques. Bring it on, girls!
I never cared for fashion much, amusing little seams and witty little pleats. It was the girls I liked. ~ David Bailey (1938-)
I am principally a journalist, photojournalist and documentarian of the human condition. I do this stuff out of a lifelong love for photography, a profound appreciation of the 'feminine mystique' and a quest for personal and artistic growth. This is a welcome and decided change from what I have done for most of my career. I want to develop as a photographer and a person, and to express my vision and ambition to find beauty, serenity and peace in this lifetime. I enjoy meeting new people and I deeply appreciate the female sensibility. This adventure in pursuit of beautiful images, a clear vision and refined technical skills is a balm to the sores wrought by tragedy, war, torment and heartbreak. It soothes and feeds the soul. And that, my friends, is that.
Spiritually driven work constitutes the core of a photographer's contribution to culture. ~ William Albert Allard (1937-)
I realize more and more what it takes to be a really good photographer. You go in over your head, not just up to your neck. ~ Dorothea Lange (1895-1965)
About the images: The wartime and buzkashi (BOO-skeh-shee) pictures were shot for Canada's national wire service during three writing, broadcast and photographic assignments to Afghanistan totaling a year in-country; the Wailing Wall and the Palestinian boy with the toy gun are in Jerusalem; the cowboy shots are part of a project I'm doing in southwestern Alberta; the double rainbow and the buck were photographed near Longview, Alberta. Art and fashion were shot in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, London, Detroit and Cleveland.
Visit my website thornefoto.com. Have a look at the expanded portfolios, including samples of my work in fashion, beauty and art nudes as well as updated and refined portfolios on Afghanistan, the world of bikes and bikers and the Canadian West. There are new sections including my latest tearsheets and links to some of my favourite photographers such as James Nachtwey, Sebastaio Salgado, Patrick Demarchelier and many more. The site is updated on a semi-regular basis, so keep coming back to check out what's new! This newest, completely redesigned version of thornefoto.com was built by Orchis Design. I want to thank my brilliant son, John, who designed and built my original website, which served me so well for so many years. Alas, my ever-expanding portfolio outgrew it -- and he outgrew me!
Profile article & portfolio essay in Canadian Cowboy Country Magazine
Afghanistan: A Glimpse of War, featuring work by writer/photographer Stephen J. Thorne and video by filmmaker Garth Pritchard, is in the midst of a extended cross-country tour. It ran at The Rooms in St. John's, Nfld. in 2009, after a record-setting stint at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, where it drew almost 190,000 visitors in 14 months. It showed in 2011 in Calgary and is expected to show in Victoria. Other venues are also under consideration. The original, cutting-edge show exceeded all predictions, drawing 189,853 visitors between February 2007 and April 2008. Attendance surpassed the show's one-year projection after only seven months. Throughout its inaugural run, Afghanistan: A Glimpse of War was the No. 1 draw in the entire Canadian Museum of Civilization Corp. and outdrew all shows in all national museums. Due to its overwhelming success, the original exhibition was extended four months. You may view the online version of the exhibition here.
The strong desire to take pictures is important. It borders on a need, based on a habit: the habit of seeing. Whether working or not, photographers are looking, seeing, and thinking about what they see, a habit that is both a pleasure and a problem, for we seldom capture in a single photograph the full expression of what we see and feel. It is the hope that we might express ourselves fully -- and the evidence that other photographers have done so -- that keep us taking pictures. ~ Sam Abell (1945-)
I don't believe you can see what's beyond the edge unless you put your head over it; I've many times been right up to the precipice, not even a foot or an inch away. That's the only place to be if you're going to see and show what suffering really means. ~ Don McCullin
You can help kids like these at the UNICEF Afghanistan website. You can save a life. They need your help.
A summary of my journalistic and photographic resume:
-- 42 years as a photographer; 32 years an editor, lecturer and award-winning reporter.
-- Recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, given "to honour significant contributions and achievements by Canadians."
-- Only reporter with 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, throughout their March 2002 assault on the Whale's Back in eastern Afghanistan, Canada's first wartime assault in 50 years. Reported from the frontlines on numerous combat operations during a year in Afghanistan and six weeks in Kosovo, in 1999.
-- Covered combat operations with all Canadian regiments, combat engineers and armoured units as well as the U.S. Special Forces and the 82nd Airborne, 101st Airborne and 10th Mountain Divisions.
-- Three National Newspaper Awards; 2002 Ross Munro Media Award for defence reporting; four RTNDA national radio awards; two-time winner of The Canadian Press Story of the Year; 14 Canadian Press Stories of the Month; 10 Canadian Press Livewire Awards, along with many other national and regional journalism awards; two-time Grand Prize winner for Best in Show, Western Photo Gallery, Calgary Stampede Art Show and Sale.
-- Editor of The CWCA Newsletter, the Canadian War Correspondents Association journal.
-- Multiple appearances on CBC-TV, CBC Newsworld, CBC Radio, CTV, CTV NewsNet, Global TV, CPAC, Fox Television, AP Radio, ABC Radio, WarNews Radio, U.S. National Public Radio, as well as private and syndicated radio across Canada and the United States.
-- Pictures in Time, Maclean's (including one cover), Weekly World News, Legion Magazine, International Journal (two covers), Action Press Annual, Stars & Stripes, Army News, Canadian Cowboy Country Magazine, and daily newspapers worldwide.
-- Exhibition through April 28, 2008, at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa on Afghanistan -- a journalist's stories, pictures and artifacts, along with video from documentary filmmaker Garth Pritchard.
-- Other exhibitions of various works are still in the planning stages and will be announced as details are confirmed. See Exhibitions and News (above).
There are two kinds of photographers: those who compose pictures and those who take them. The former work in studios. For the latter, the studio is the world. . . . For them, the ordinary doesn't exist: every thing in life is a source of nourishment. ~ Ernst Haas
The trouble with photographing beautiful women is that you never get into the dark room until after they've gone. ~ Yousuf Karsh
Have you worked with Stephen Thorne? Add Credits for Stephen Thorne! >>
Credit Notes
Eight-time winner of Model Mayhem's 18+ Pic o' the Day (click for pix):
I am a proud member of
a select group of MM photographers dedicated to mentoring and helping new models get off on the right foot, giving them a sense of what to expect in the world of freelance modeling and offering them exposure to our community and the world at large. Several of my nominees have been honored in competitions sponsored by The List:
Copyright (C) 1980-2012 Stephen J. Thorne
Carrie Lagrue (2279254); Amber Sheikh (2339151); IDle Images (750875); MUA Ioulia K (479934); MUA Nathalie Lessard (www.makiageetkoiffure.com); MUA DIA Mak (MM #875488); MUA Andrea Coe O'Donnell (516886); MUA Melanie St-Hillaire (768581); MUA Shecoya (537971); MUA Melissa Donald; MUA Ellie; MUA Lili Camaj 596951); MUA Francie Paull (625084); MUA Yelena Perunov, Makeup by Yelena (346617); MUA Sommer Mbonu, Sommer Mbonu Pro Makeup (131493); MUA Kerry Price, Bombshell Beauty (99974).
Poised Boutique of Ottawa; Sodalicious (MM #349436); Rania Abdullah (540254); Aleece Camille (609985); Femelia Street Couture (564093); Paradigm Styling (692807); Jana Hanzel (713235); Inna Morata.
Stylist Fabio, Wella Canada; stylist ilonKa B (MM #508446); stylist Katie McBride; stylist Kelley DeCoste (531908); stylist DIA Mak (875488).
1. EllaModella (MM #136110); 2. Chantal Melissa (19068); 3. Iris Dassault (122520); 4. Aida Alves (88290); 5. Susannah Marie (313244); 6. MandyK (156097); 7. Angel Dust (149239); 8. Jessica Leech; 9. Santiana Josepha; KeenaQc (70734); 10. Anchalie Miles (356889); 11. ErinB (184044); 12. Vanessa Brown (321326); 13. Angie (362912); 14. Gabriela (325422); 15. Christelle (356929); 16. Isabella Reneaux (365519); 17. Valerie Whitaker (5028); 18. Katrina (218723); 19. Kristen B (179082); 20. Christine Ford (2631601); 21. Vassanta (209943); 22. Lethal Lisa (2323); 23. Samantha (3188); 24. JJ Plush (102993); 25. Alina Lapteva (244824); 26. Anastasia Marinina (417209); 27. Melibea (416588); 28. Rhiana (424153); 29. Alyssa Christina (462622); 30. Sandra-Ann (444323); 31. Rona E (357758); 32. Constance (211146); 33. Ada A (368656); 34. Niki Yampolsky (476316); 35. Sarah Vjestica (305453); 36. Josee (334230); 37. Cathrine (424153); 38. Coco (212780); 39. Narin (500107); 40. Miranda Boire (518634); 41. Denna Ashleigh (520435); 42. Neha G (395461); 43. Viva Aviva (453636); 44. Fara Khawaja; 45. Abby Bassin; 46. Natasha Maria (421256); 47. Alli B (2814); 48. Nataliya K (371388); 49. Camilai (589378); 50. NatashaG (633152, 868923); 51. Emily Warren (614296); 52. Angela Lauren (549231); 53. Jasmin (538821); 54. Brooke Bayless (493418); 55. Xaina (252968); 56. Reven (186843); 57. Malinda Renee (644392); 58. RJ Berry (537092); 59. Milena May (503964); 60. Kate Parkhouse (604374); 62. Mila Benavente (693918); 63. Cindy Trang (412906); 64. Asiavalentina (122697); 65. Chantal Louise (690762); 66. Arianaisha (318080); 67. Rebecca Pauline (734157); 68. Veronique Basket (695609); 69. Sabra K Lee (76988); 70. Sofi (732821); 71. Elizabeth Davidson (572673); 72. Jen (803846); 73. Fleur de Guerre (484564); 74. Mandy Swan (512920, 1083552); 75. Kayt Webster-Brown (517884); 76. Vertical Lines (745847); 77. Roswell Ivory (232489); 78. Zubeida (843386); 79. Oleksandra (827845); 80. Ifrah (831623); 81. Inna Morata (812216); 82. Shabay (486599); 83. Shanna Armogan (459091); 84. Kristina Kottova (710315), 85. Betty-Boo (634455); 86. Mia Lynn Rebate (814195); 87. Gabriella (803327); 88. Adriana (780460); 89. Mia B; 90. Jasmine (373732); 91. Ange (405000); 92. Elina; 93. Liane; 94. Karla; 95. YulaK (716202); 96. Brandi Tweed (646794); 97. Adele Danika (504674); 98. Nathalie Borduas; 99. Amante (135446); 100. Araina Nespiak (630212); 101. Stefania H (1012771); 102. Paploma; 103. Meaghan Ferguson (1166312); 104. Sissi Raoel (1521531), 105. Natalya T (1095914), 106. Mai T (1237969); 107. Nini Tran (1242362); 108. Caitlin Cooke (1327353); 109. Kassandra T (1237807); 110. Blaze Macnemara (1194713); 111. Sammi; 112. KymberlieD (1373499); 113. Kathleen Osland (847322); 114. Jezsica Reilly (873360), 115. Raman; 116. Dani (1367870); 117. Charlene Chartrand (132192); 118. Roxx Anne (1271995); 119. Lilly Tran (1395782); 120. Kimber Johnson (1416470); 121. Sophie Froment (1439654); 122. Vanessa Marshall (1332698); 123. Nadia Netchaeva (1003277); 124. Jenne Hicks (1529103); 125. Lindsay Joiner (775390); 126. Solange Tuyishime (1212268); 127. Becky Yuen (308167); 128. Jessica Ray (793920); 129. Brennababy (633441); 130. Dee Elizabeth (1604756); 131. ShaNayNay (1246342); 132. Dane Halo (1393247); 133. Adrea Bosworth (866326); 134. Amanda MW (1468957); 135. Raliat (706191); 136. Winter Raine (1490710); 137. Marta Wozniak (1557030); 138. Sarah K. Barton (1694929); 139. Tiana Hunter (9675); 140. Zohra S (1785065); 141. Lisha DeJonge (1596331), 142. Karine (1672062); 143. Nikki Foks (1857410); 144. Bailey Chase (1788226); 145. Kaitlyn Nuttall (1944247); 146. Jennifer K. Rose (770428); 147. Alinavina (1446844); 148. GarnetGem (1921538); 149. JackieH (1089216); 150. Claudine Koch (1986697); 151. Farrah Ferguson (800673); 152. Kristina (214082); 153. Shiraz (1390844); 154. Jen Lo B (2176529); 155. Deho (2158796); 156. Redde (2179600); 157. Caitelyn (2291190); 158. Ashley Woloschuk (1421701); 159. Rika L (2325530); 160. Muna (1187494); 161. Elizabeth Erin (34909); 162. Nikita (834942); 163. Gen Fauteux (2290777); 164. Caitlin Clemmens (2265702); 16 5. Tammy Lim (2005111); 166. Banana Anna (1753960); 167. Caitlin Sutter (713212); 168. Ana J (381089); 169. Sweetbee (2390770); 170. Kimberlin Mae (1435879); 171. Maygan W (2599952); 172. Krystaal Ann (1131029); 173. Angelina TC (2102028); 174. EllaRose (2366233); 175. SabChaa (2542260); 176. Daniela M (2586822); 177. Lala Gawjuss; 178. Lada Semakova (2565851); 179. Africanmodel (1524329); 180. Corail Tourangeau; 181. Jihyeun Fox Chiang.
All images on Model Mayhem pages 277819 and 581606 will remain COPYRIGHT STEPHEN J. THORNE and may not be used or reproduced in any way without written permission of STEPHEN J. THORNE.
All of the photographs contained within these web pages are provided strictly for your viewing purposes, exclusive to these web pages. None of the photographs contained within these web pages may be reproduced, copied, transmitted, altered or projected in any way alone, or with other images, by use of computer or other electronic means, without a prior written and signed licensing contract between you and STEPHEN J. THORNE.
Among the models I photograph for the fashion magazines, I recognize immediately the ones that have studied dance. They know how to carry their heads, they have a certain way of sitting and a natural elegance that the mastery of their bodies has shaped forever. ~ Jeanloup Sieff (1933-2000)
In the United States, violating copyright law is punishable by fines of up to $100,000.00 US, plus all associated court & attorneys' fees.
In Canada, the Copyright Act prohibits any person from knowingly selling, distributing or exhibiting in public (ie. online) any infringing copy of any copyrighted work. Violators are liable on summary conviction to fines of up to $25,000 Cdn, as much as six-months' imprisonment, or both. On conviction on indictment, violators may be fined up to $1 million Cdn, receive as much as five-years' imprisonment, or both. In addition to criminal proceedings, violators of Canadian copyright law are subject to civil proceedings through which monetary penalties can be assessed at the judge's discretion.
I am generous with my jpegs. Don't abuse it. These laws apply internationally.
Yes'm, it's been some kind of journey from there. . . . to here. I shake my head at the wonder of it all.
Four wheels move the body; two wheels move the soul, baby. . . . And those two wheels are mine.
And I to my motorcycle
Parked like the soul of the junkyard
Restored, a bicycle fleshed
With power, and tore off
Up Highway 106 continually
Drunk on the wind in my mouth
Wringing the handlebar for speed
Wild to be wreckage forever
~ James Dickey, Cherrylog Road
Don't fence me in ~ Robert Fletcher and Cole Porter
Never have I found the limits of the photographic potential. Every horizon, upon being reached, reveals another beckoning in the distance. Always, I am on the threshold. ~ Gene Smith
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text:
Lansing pushing for no-fault insurance reform
SIDNEY — Michigan stands alone as the only state to provide the benefit of unlimited personal injury protection coverage, but a resurgent effort to overhaul the current no-fault auto insurance system and implement a cap is beginning to gain ground in Lansing.
Last Thursday, Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, announced a proposal that, among other things, would create a cap on Michigan's unlimited personal injury protection coverage at $10 million.
A similar proposal in April of 2013, which recommended a cap of $1 million, eventually died in the house after strong opposition from democrats and a lack of faith in the plan from some republicans.
According to Bolger, the cost of insurance premiums has reached a point where changes need to be made systematically.
"Michigan has the best auto insurance coverage in the nation, far and away, but we are also among the most expensive auto insurance in the country," Bolger said Thursday in Lansing. "That escalation in auto premiums has continued to strangle our families. Our families are struggling to pay their auto insurance bills and as a result we are seeing a growing number of people who are driving uninsured."
Michigan's unlimited no-fault system is by far the most generous in the nation, with the next closest being New York, which implements a cap at $50,000.
The system is funded through the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Administration, which manages the lifetime benefits for people injured in car accidents.
Bolger said the mission is to revamp the system to create lower rates, but still leave a system in place that can be considered one of the best in the nation.
"Our goal … is to maintain the best coverage in the country but make it more affordable," he said.
Bolger's proposal would also create a mandatory two-year, 10 percent rate reduction, reduce reimbursement rates for auto-related injuries, create an authority to combat insurance fraud and open up the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) to more transparency.
The proposal is opposed by the Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault (CPAN) and most health care providers, who claim it would negatively affect accident survivors and move costs onto health insurers and taxpayers, a result they claim could see hospitals having to spend millions of dollars.
During Monday's Legislative Update meeting at Montcalm Community College, Rep. Rick Outman, R-Six Lakes, spoke at length on the proposal.
Similar to last year when a no-fault proposal was issued, Outman said he hasn't reached a decision on whether to support the current proposal or not.
"This is very preliminary, I'm hesitant to even talk about it, because it's going to change," he said. "(Auto insurance reform) keeps rearing its head, and perhaps rightfully so."
While outman said he is still waiting for more concrete details on the proposal, he did agree that changes to the no-fault system must occur in the future.
"Is it perfect? I don't know," he said. "What I do know is we pay higher rates than anyone else. I hear it from people that move back to Michigan from other states. They are amazed. We have to do something."
Outman said he still has questions that need answering, such as issues he has regarding a new "fix-it ticket" process being discussed for those who are caught driving without insurance.
Under the proposal, instead of motorists who are caught driving without insurance being issued a fine, they instead would be issued a "fix-it ticket." Under that process, motorists would have the opportunity to then acquire insurance and, in return, have their fine waived.
But Outman said he believes that system would be abused, with motorists simply waiting to purchase auto insurance until they are caught without it.
"Sometimes it's cheaper to wait for the ticket and then go fix it," he said. "I understand the idea behind it, but what will be the motivation for people to get insured if they can just wait?"
Outman said he agrees with the majority of the proposal, mainly because of cost saving measures that are intended to be included.
"It will add efficiencies, payouts will be quicker, it will save everybody money," he said.
Outman added that he believes it's very important that the MCCA is viewed with more transparency.
"We have an inefficient claims process and the biggest thing that we see as a detriment to this, that we haven't been able to get our hands on, is the MCCA," he said. "We don't think that they are transparent enough."
Outman said the MCCA has admitted the system is unsustainable, but "refuses to open up their books" to the government.
Legislation of the proposal is expected to be drafted this week in Lansing.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.


text:
Gary Schwartz keynotes on the history of digital duct tape and how it is connecting things (IoT) on the new physical WEB.
25 min keynote in Abu Dhabi at the St Regis Hotel. WSA Mobile Global Congress, 2015
New York City 2014: The Science House (45 minute keynote)
When Cisco's CEO, John Chambers, took the stage at CES in Vegas this year and announced that there was a difference between The Internet of Things (IOT) and the Internet of Everything (IOE), many cried "semantics". But there is a difference and one that ripped across the US to the National Retailer Federation (NRF) Big Show at the Javits Centre in New York.
IOT, according to Chambers, is made up of billions of connected objects; however, IOE are the smart networks that are required to support all the data these objects generate and transmit. What will help move the IOT into the IOE and drive what Chambers predicts to be a $19 trillion in new revenue by 2020?
IOE requires a universal solution to tie the billions of sensor data into an intelligent device and system agnostic solution.
To our detriment, we are so focused on the idea of a hardware (IOT) solving all our problems that we neglected that simple insight that all these hardware solutions require a method of managing the people and service behind them.
The industry needs a wireless domain (DNS) naming solution that can provide profile, tools and privacy controls to enterprise and the consumer.
When I was invited to sit on a panel at the launch of the new wireless registry (www.wirelessregistry.com) at the NRF show and I realized that this registry could be the silver-bullet platform.
50 Billion Things
When Cisco, Qualcomm, IBM and other set up shop at NRF to talk retail, the IOT verse IOE discussion continued. Brand agencies such as Ogilvy were pitching a solution using Qualcomm's wireless Gimbel platform to solve retail engagement in the store. Qualcomm's Gimbel platform is essentially an IOE riding on Apple's IOT's iBeacons? Mobile Location Analytics (MLAs) companies that collect consumer behavioural analytics, are a big data IOE play riding on the IOT emitting from the phone and anchored to its MAC address
There are a proliferation of IOE solutions using different technology that require different CAPEX and resources.
Presently there are an estimated 10 billion sensors globally. This is predicted to grow to 50 billion sensors by 2020. Imagine the wireless noise we can anticipate as we move from city to city, street to street, aisle to aisle.
There are barriers everywhere:
How will the consumer navigate this noise? How will the retailer, brand, entertainment provider select from the exploding list of vendors selling various solutions using LTE identification, WiFi MAC identification, Bluetooth MAC, IMEI, etc.
My Wireless Name
The phone in 2014 is becoming less of a Cracker Jack container that acts as a repository of millions of sundry apps, and more of an intelligent device that performs as a server that can manage our world through smart profiling and APIs.
Think about it. We have been hoodwinked by the OEMs to believe that an application store tethered to a phone can deliver any service, entertainment, widget. The app store was a marketplace to the world: clocks, measuring tapes, cash registers, coupon dispensers, shopping lists, ad infinitum.
Google's acquisition of Nest is good example of the changing landscape where the app will live in the IOT and the device will simply be the profile and the auto-controller. The 94Fifty smart basketball, the Sensible Baby smart sensor monitor, the remote Vibeasy vibrator: all use the phone as the remote control manager.
A service such as The Wireless Registry can offer a naming protocol that can work agnostically with all the in-market sensor solutions and offer a central repository for a retailer, brand, and entertainment provider's identity. Any existing wireless signal (SSID) that a coffee shop or a big-box retail transmits can now have a name (Starbucks, GAP, Walmart) with an accompanying sophisticated profile. A consumer that has a phone, tablet and PC can now attach a personal name and wireless profile to their MAC addresses.
When the retail and consumer wireless signals bump in the proximal world, the consumer profile can do a simple look up can see what offers, services, commerce is available to them based on their specific identity. The consumer can also block unwanted solicitation answering Jules Polonetsky and the Privacy Commission's concerns around "do-not-track".
Now the consumer is in full control of their identity and the phone becomes an intelligent server interacting with the world of wireless signals based on that consumer preferences.
While this solution can interface with existing apps on the phone, ultimately the profile and preferences can be baked into the OS as part of the devices DNA.
Until later. Yours truly from my MAC address aka "MOBILEGUY"
Part II: Wild Turkeys (continuing from the Nov 26th post)
Here are three tips on identifying elusive innovation and finding a black swan. I had just returned knobbly kneed from a trip through South Asia and Russia. I attended three conferences and was just decompressing on Thanksgiving and felt obligated to continue the turkey analogy from the previous post.
1. Bottling Innovation
On the road at various industry events, the keynote always seems to start with innovation. The word has been peppered into panels and keynotes as in the place of the term "technology." It is as if by magically by using the word "innovation" it will prime the techno-entrepreneur's pump.
This is not a bad thing. It certainly gets the attention of the patriarchs. The Moscow Open Innovation Forum was keynoted by Dmitry Medvedev, prime minister of Russia, accompanied by the prime ministers of France and Finland. The World Summit Awards in Colombo, Sri Lanka, was opened by the country's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Innovation is associated with fresh ideas and out-with-the-old. At each event, the youth innovators are marched out bushy-tailed and bright-eyed. Mr. Medvedev and Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson posed smiling with the winning youth delegates.
The challenge is that while we all want to celebrate innovation, it is a difficult to bottle it. We find it hard to present it as a formula. Disruptive innovation is central for businesses that want to survive and stay competitive.
Incumbent players such as the wireless carrier want to appear light-footed and on the next wave, but the discussion generally gravitates to bemoaning the OTT competitors – that are never in the room – and proposing that the ecosystem is not sustainable.
There is unquestionably innovation, creativity and energy in the room, but we tend to present "wow," and not the ingredients to cook up the same "wow" at home.
We chase mobile ideas to improve our retail business when, in fact, the sexiest thing about innovation is the resulting customers, sales and EBITDA.
2. Digital Inequality
Clearly, innovation is fueled by connectivity. I met with the Nikolai Nikiforov, Russian minister of communications and mass media and the youngest person in that country's history to take over a ministerial position at the tender age of 29.
We talked about "digital inequality" in Russia and as well as other nations and how this is one of the biggest inhibitors of innovation. How can Russia future-proof its mobile network infrastructure to allow for universal access to high-speed Internet for the data-dependent business, education, health and entertainment services that will appear over the next decade?
"Electromagnetic spectrum is the crude oil of last-mile connectivity." Mr. Nikiforov wants high-speed fiber with wireless relay into every community of 500 and above. The challenge is finding the funds and partnership.
When Peter Diamandis, the charismatic cofounder of Singularity University, took the stage, connectivity became a firebrand. "We have not started." In ten years distance will mean nothing.
"Where you live and where you work do not need to be the same," Mr. Diamandis said.
3. Crowd-Sourcing Innovation
So, for those of us that cannot cook up innovation, we know there is abundant creativity out there that we can tap into and global access and connectivity is making this possible.
Apple has shown us that by creating a marketplace for ideas, developers have risen to the challenge. The app store is a case study in innovation: The smarts of Steve Jobs to provide an SDK and audience and the smarts of app shops globally in designing for every possible user need.
So there is much talk about how to best crowd-source innovation globally. After all the discussion of innovation and digital access, we can focus on harvesting business ideas that work.
Mr. Diamandis showed how his first X-Prize challenge of $10 million to build a reusable rocket to take humans into orbit generated more than $100 million in R&D.
This ability to link innovation with connectivity allows entrepreneurs such as Sascha Haselmayer, CEO of CityMart, to build a crowd-sourcing engine for more than 80 cities globally. His engine allows for ideas to be vetted and adopted all through a remote online process. Sascha's engine is a blueprint for crowd sourcing retail innovation.
So innovation has a retail formula and it is:
Black Swan innovation = connectivity for all + a readily accessible global market place
Part I: Tame Turkeys
On the return flight home for Thanksgiving this week, I read Nassim Taleb's book The Black Swan and decided that tis the season to draw profound parallels between innovation and poultry.
And so while busy stuffing the family turkey I thought about how this all applied to my world of consumer engagement, retail sales and payment.
Here are my insights:
Moving your retail business from a step-by-step evolutionary growth to revolutionary, black swan transformation is not easy. In fact, it may be impossible. Corporations find it difficult to reinvent from within. However, to be aware of the nature of outliers and revolutionary innovation is a good first step.
You can rename your CIO: Chief Innovation Office, your CTO: Chief Transformation Officer and your CDO: Chief Disruption Officer. However this is all for nought if they cannot identify swans or at least the turkeys.
Look to social media. There is a succession of ever faster black-swan innovations starting with email and ending in SnapChat's self-destructing messaging. Microsoft did not anticipate Google search, Google did not anticipate Facebook communities; Facebook did not anticipate Twitter micro-blogging; the same holds true for Instagram's social picture publishing or SnapChat's peek-a-boo messaging. The same applies to retail as well as broadcast, payments, health, advertising to name a few rudely disrupted verticals.
Retail payments is a classic chase-the-tail solution mashup. But payment vendors have been more astute. The FIs ran a two-sided business to establish MasterCard and VISA credit services. The FIs have fought to be a part of any POS and prepaid activity in retail. With the emergence of digital payment, payment incumbents have aggressively invested and acquired companies in the mobile POS space (VISA/Square) and as well as in the cloud (VISA/Playspan).
VISA's purchase of PlaySpan was particularly forward thinking. PlaySpan allowed gamers to buy virtual swords and pumpkin seeds for their virtual battle grounds and farms without leaving the game. Frictionless commerce engineering: meet VISA's present day V.me.
But even leviathans like VISA and MasterCard have been sidelined to commodity commerce rails.While they make nice transactional revenue, Amazon, iTunes, PayPal and Playstore and other consumer commerce portals have made the card credentials second fiddle. They discount the interchange and grab the CRM and big data.
Shopper marketing, Shopper engagement all follow similar twists. But not always evolutionary:
SMS was the black swan technology revolutionizing communication for the unsuspecting (but delighted) wireless carriers. We all thought QR codes, mobile apps and NFC would supplant this messaging channel. WhatApp, Skype and Viber all have eaten away at the peer-to-peer traffic; however, for brands, SMS, and for some successful apps, the notification channel, remains the main opt-in and content delivery channel of choice.
Black swan on the horizon? iBeacons, WiFi Direct or LTE Direct? Maybe.
Proximity engagement is essential for a brand or retailer to drive path into purchase. Shopkick and Beacons are valuable but are ultimately broadcast solutions. Future solutions such as LTE Direct promise to extend the retail network and add more intelligence and peer to peer interactivity to this engagement.
However, in all the above cases it is difficult, if not impossible, to identify one strategy, vendor, agency that will bring revolutionary black swan ideas.
When attending events whether speaking or listening, it all seems so easy. Innovate they say. . .
Well so my friends, the innovator's dilemma maybe just to avoid becoming the turkey.
Happy Thanksgiving!
BNN 5 minutes: The Business News : October 4, 2013 : Challenges Facing Twitter's Business Model and its Upcoming IPO [10-04-13 12:20 AM]
Gary Schwartz (16 September, 2013)
Of all the widgets and long-forgotten apps on your phone the one with most mobile mindshare is your map app. We have become a mobile society, and in the 2010s, map apps personify our wanderlust. When we open our mobile map, we have intent, direction and purpose. It is vitamin "M": the ultimate upper and highly addictive.
And map real estate is hot: Apple buys Locationary, Embark and HopStop; Google buys Waze; Bing is rumored to be in talks with FourSquare; Zillow, the map real estate tycoon, buys EasyStreet, and indoor mapping app company, Aisle411 raises a hefty seed round in the valley. As OEMs beef up their services, we are entering a new phase of map building. Location has always been a data grab. Now, the industry is starting to focus on monetising subway stops, street corners and highways across the world.
The principal challenge is that maps are a new and unique advertising paradigm, and the incumbent search business models, mostly designed for the web's previous era as a stationary, desktop experience may need to be adjusted.
Galileo to Google
Google Maps, the grand daddy of digital mapping, was born in 2004 as a skunk works project by two Danish brothers in Australia.
First designed as a heavy client app, in 2004 the software came full circle as Lars Rasmussen and his brother were acquired by Google after making a web-based pitch. The same year, Google acquired Keyhole, Inc. and proceeded to use Keyhole's mark-up language to launch Google Earth in 2005.
During the next five years, Google started to revolutionize digital maps. It is quite possibly the most exciting innovation effort by the company. Not since map mavericks Ptolomy, Copernicus and Galileo has mapping accelerated so profoundly. Within a few short years Google has redefined the way we see the world around us.
Google Maps rolled out road directions in North America in 2006 and their PC-based maps became the pre-GPS automotive assistant. However convenient and customizable, Google maps for the desktop were a print-on-demand version of London's A-Z pocket maps. In many ways, a Google map printed out before a trip was no different from John Ogilby's 1675 Britannia detailed strip maps that travels bought to find their way from Norfolk to Newmarket with inns, stables and other points-of-interest as well as clear directions and distances clearly marked. They balanced behind the horse on the coach seat as our laser-printed version would sit on our car dashboard.
But the small screen was the true game changer. The capacitive screen touch invented by Andrew Hsu, combined with the pinch-and-zoom mobile interface developed by Apple made complex map navigation simple, user friendly and, most importantly, mobile.
With multiscreen map adoption, Google Maps expanded. The company launched in Latin America and Asia, and started the subterranean mapping of subways in 2007. In 2008, a view from space; in 2009, a POV from the street and 3D rendering. And more. Google mapped canals and bike paths, endangered forests and the ocean floors, the moon and Mars and the ultimate conquest, Macy's in-store experience.
This was phase one: Build a dominant innovative platform with simple APIs, establish market stickiness and trust by the point-A-to-point-B public.
Now add metadata
Google+ Local launched in 2012, allowing users to post reviews and images into pages hosted by third party sites. This year maps are becoming more customized, providing location-specific information on points-of-interest. While Google has maintained a focus on road navigation with its 2013 acquisition of the crowd sourcing road-warrior Waze software, the operative term on the new Google map is "explore." Explore photos, recommendations, and restaurants.
Maps plus Google Glass makes the possibility of on-the-go exploration more immersive. Using the Google Mirror API developers can feed real-time GPS info and pre-rendered map images into the eye window of Glass wearers for "dexterous" driving, cycling or walking to the local mall. Glass becomes "a Segway for your head." And taking maps to the edge of utility: Google Sky (which maps the stars based on your GPS location and vision angle) can be integration with Google Glass to show the outlines of constellations through a transparent filter to view the night sky.
And then at the end of this epic journey, Google announces local advertising. Google Maps now allows short sections of advertisements to be placed directly onto the map itself. Local advertising is one of Google's core business and Google Maps ad purchases are made through the same Google AdWords auction that buyers are already very familiar.
For Google this is simply a terrestrial version of browser-based search. When a consumer enters "Starbucks" in her browser, she finds links to buy "Starbucks Instant Coffee Bundle" on Amazon.com. When a consumer enters Starbucks in Google Maps, she finds local Starbucks to get the real deal (or if Tim Hortons is bidding, an ad for a competitively located Timmy's coffee store.) Both these use cases involve path to purchase. One is virtual, the other is proximal.
Google hopes Map-based ads will follow the same digital success that Google has had with its search-based ads. Instead of auctioning AdWords at point-of-search, Google auctions ads at point-of-navigation.
Ptolemy what? There has to be more than just that. We're just not fully there yet.
Don't forget the Big Apple
Apple recognized the value of maps and knew that they had a Trojan Horse lurking in their mobile operating system in Google Maps. Google's map app had become the dominant phonetop service with the most unique visitors of any app in-market. When Apple launched and preloaded its own proprietary map app in August 2012, Google's traffic dropped making Facebook the winning app for unique impressions as well as time spend.
(After a few geographical faux pas) Apple started to establish its own relationship with the map consumer. But Google Mappers are loyal. When Google launched its new map app for iOS 6 in December there was a 30 per cent rush of Apple folk upgrading to the new operating system (MoPub.com). Affinity to a map app had influenced these consumers' mobile behaviour. Quite remarkable.
However, Apple is committed to build a map following. While the company no longer needed to pay licensing to Google, which was good, the key reason for ousting Google Maps was that maps had become a data pillar. By replacing Google, Apple had direct access to a wealth of consumer data and potential advertising revenue.
Yahoo! Maps, Bing Maps, Nokia Maps, and MapQuest all use the NAVTEQ electronic map feed (best known for its automotive navigation services), and like Apple now, they own their own consumer data layer, which is crucial for generating advertising and marketing revenue on maps.
Bing is the major map contender. In September, the company added 13 million square kilometers (316TB) of aircraft and satellite photography to its service. Microsoft's large investment in Facebook in 2007 ($240 million) led to the 2013 decision adopt Bing as FaceBook's mapping and search provider. To do this effectively, and compete with the market-leader, Google, Bing needs to beef up and differentiate its map offerings. Bing has already rolled out "Local Scout" which helps consumers find food and fun across all its screens. Rumors of a FourSquare acquisition (or possibly financing) may be part of this grand strategy.
(Microsoft acquisition of Nokia did not come with their HERE maps assets. Nokia's HERE maps include road networks, traffic patterns and urban landscapes and as licensed by major properties such as Garmin, Oracle and Amazon.com. Will Nokia take the lead as the premier mapping and location services across different screens? Will they just sell off the asset to Apple after the Microsoft acquisition is complete?)
And the open-source mapping movement is also growing. Washington D.C.-based startup, MapBox, provides more custom navigation and interesting APIs built on top of Open Street Maps. Open is good and allows developers greater flexibility and affordability; Foursquare uses MapBox's services to display its users' check-in histories. However MapBox is not preloaded on your Android or Apple phone and while they have an iOS mapping SDK they have no Android footprint. MapBox will certainly play a roll as an embedded technology in sites all over the web; however, it is unlikely that they will be a standalone consumer utility on top of your phone and tablet.
With the proliferation of WiFi networks in retail, vendors such as Cisco drive mobile mapping solutions for shoppers that join the free network. The maps allows for hyper-local, custom mapping that includes restroom as well as promotional information on retail stores.
All of these digital map offerings are entering the mainstream at a time when advertisers are questioning consumer engagement on mobile, and trying to understand how best to follow their consumer in a contextual and relevant manner. Brands and retailers are re-evaluating the way we sell and, more importantly, engage across multiple screens. Their assumptions on path-to-purchase, built during the era of the desktop web, are no longer fully valid and reliable. The classic consumer narrative of home-to-store has changed and retailers and brand can no longer simply hire a Director of Shopper Insights and hope for the best.
Advertising and marketing is about providing a consistent message at aisle, and checkout, wherever the shopper finds the retailer. If the advertisers wants to get back in the game, possibly the most exciting place to be right now is on the map. When the consumer and shopper opens their map app when they have intent to meet someone, go somewhere or buy something. All this drives commerce. Maps provide unadulterated path-to-purchase.
Narrative: Going beyond advertising
So what is the new advertising paradigm for maps? Maps have layered functionality: terrain, roads, satellite, traffic, public transport and images. Then there is the exploration layer: recommendations and general points-of-interest. And now Google has provided an additional local advertising layer.
However, the adding an advertising layer may not prove to be effective in a map environment. There is more value to the exploration layer. Yes, maps help us move in a utilitarian fashion from Point-A to Point-B and that is why Waze and other transit acquisitions have been so important. But maps also have a very non-utilitarian function.
Maps help the consumer simply "explore" and is what will ultimately connect map users to brands and content owners. Maps tell stories because precisely they have a beginning and an end, and are defined by intent and clear purpose.
Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook already situate the user's photos and comments at a latitude and longitude: a country, a city, a bar. However these social graphs are not map applications and location is an important but secondary metatag.
The opportunity is to build a new bespoke map layer for brands and content owners. Think map first.
Startups such as Findery and CityMaps have map based UGC (user-generated content) engines. Where is the content input engine for brands? How can brands visualize content and actively map this data across all their customers' screens?
One company called Mapiary, based out of Singapore, is developing the tools to allow brands and retailers to layer rich navigation onto the map. How can Unilever's Becel margarine be more relevant to power walkers globally? Or how can Heineken weave narrative into a city pub crawl? Diageo, can map a DJ tour for Smirnoff. The NYTimes can map their 36-Hour travel series in a rich contextual manner. This is new digital cartouche and as important as the underlying map.
Where is the new vision of brand advertising? After all the innovation that Lars Rasmussen (Google Maps) and John Hanke (Google Earth) brought to maps we surely need to go beyond paid search models and allow owned content to become a rich and valuable layer in the 2014 map.
BNN Interview on the "Battle to Monetize Maps" discussing the positioning of Apple, Google & Microsoft. http://t.co/M1Pa0Qcijd
Gary Schwartz is the CEO of Impact Mobile. Having been at the frontlines of the mobile industry for over a decade, Gary is the author of two books, "The Impulse Economy: Understanding Mobile Shoppers" and "Fast Shopper. Slow Store: A Guide to Courting and Capturing the Mobile Consumers," both of which highlight the current state of the mobile commerce space and chronicle the significant impact that mobile is having on consumers, retailers and brands. Gary is also a chair emeritus for the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the Mobile Entertainment Forum NA and global director of the Location Based Marketing Association.
by Gary Schwartz (14/08/2013)
Jumptap may be the last man standing of the incumbent mobile ad networks to have their exit. The acquisition by Millennial Media, its erstwhile competitor, in a predominantly stock transaction, may not be the glory finish that many had hoped. What does consolidation mean to the mobile ad world?
Good things . . . in the long term.
Grooming a network
George Bell came on as the new Jumptap CEO in 2010 to ostensibly position the company for an exit. Bell was the ideal candidate coming from General Catalyst and being an accomplish network deal maker. Back in 1996, Bell took Excite network public. Apart from a few digital faux pas such as turning down the then two-year-old startup Google offer of $750,000 for their search engine, the Excite network continued to grow with impressive revenues through 1998.
Over the past two years, under Bell's leadership Jumptap has grown its position in the crowded media market establishing global partnership into markets in Asia and vied for the budgets of digital agencies, direct response and brand advertisers and the inventory of publishers globally. And mobile budgets have grown for all mobile ad network stakeholders.
In Jumptap's M&A prep this year, the company took in a $27.5 raise from WPP, Keating Capital and General Catalyst topping their raise to date at $121.5 million. A significant number. Key was Jumptap's decision to bring on board John Hadl a mobile media veteran and rainmaker who advised Millennial Media, Admob and Quattro Wireless.
2013 was its make or break year.
Patents alone
On patents alone, Jumptap should hold significant market value. After the first patent was issued in June 2009, Jumptap has received 52 patents; at an impressive IP quota of one monthly. It has many more published patent applications in the pipe.
George Bell, has advocated from day one for IP differentiation and has continually stated that patents underscore the company's commitment to ad targeting and smart ad solutions. The company holds a good spread of patents from ad targeting, coupon selection, bid optimization (realtime bidding) and the management of third-party data.
Augme Technology's (a mobile media company) lawsuit against Millennial Media over ad targeting last year, patent mud-slinging seemed to be the first indication of a mobile ad war.
The Millennial Media acquisition may not vindicate the hard work and positioning on patents and network growth and may speak more to the general mobile ad market ennui.
Ups and Downs
The mega valuations that Admob and Quattro Wireless commanded from Google and Apple respectively four years ago soon rang hollow after Apple shelved Quattro's platform and mobile ad sales showed halting growth. It seemed that the online leviathans were just building a mobile ad network and waiting. Mobile buying remained challenging – there was not the scale and simplicity that is required to attract media dollars.
Then last year the market began to heat up with cool results: InMobi received strategic investment from Softbank, Opera purchased AdMarvel and Millennial Media, after trying for a Quattro-like exit, opted for an IPO which was surprisingly successful.
Markets results remained challenging. Velti and Augme, both of which had transitioned their business to mobile advertising away from their traditional higher margin mobile marketing business, showed slowing growth.
Of the ad networks, Millennial Media was the closest to turning a profit and generating consistent positive operating cash flow. Now with its expanded holdings what should the network focus on to grow?
"Cross Screen"
There is an oft-quoted line in technology that many are over optimistic in the short term and overly pessimistic about the long term.
In the short term mobile revenues will grow slowly and organically as budgets move into digital. However, in the long-term there is tremendous opportunity to accelerate these budgets if we can manage to simplify the mobile buy across all digital touch points.
Jumptap's Unified Audience Exchange and their previous partnership with 24/7 (which has credibility on the PC side) was a sign of a multiscreen ad strategy. Networks like Jumptap and TapAd had begun touting the importance of a cross-channel ad buy. Paul Palmieri, Millennial Media's founder and CEO mentioned Jumptap's expertise in cross-screen media a key asset to their network.
Brands want to follow their consumer across their many interactive screens. Google, Facebook and Pandora have made their mobile offering increasingly advertiser-friendly. Larry Page on his quarter call last month said that Google wants " to make advertising super simple for customers. Online advertising had developed in very device specific ways with separate campaigns for desktop and mobile. This made arduous work for advertisers and agencies, and meant mobile opportunities often got missed."
Digital consumer engagement has become a top priority for advertisers and publishers. There is a trend to make mobile advertising easier to buy. Online, mobile and offline media need to be seamlessly connected. Targeting across multiple screens (not just mobile) is essential for brands drive conversion and path-to-purchase.
Millennial will need to navigate through a rash of nimble new start ups in the space (App Nexus, Adelphic, Native, Nextage, Media Math). Consolidation, simplification and cross-screen budgets will help Millennial but it will be difficult for this public company to pivot.
by Gary Schwartz (23/07/2013)
I recently returned from speaking in Singapore at the regional CommunicAsia conference and Rasia.com event in Moscow. Innovation was a central theme.
In Singapore I was in a discussion with Google, SingTel and Microsoft. I asked Doug Farber, managing director for Google in Asia-Pacific, if mobile innovation is stifled when there are only a few power brokers that control the mobile ecosystem.
Google has always had a "healthy disregard for the impossible," Mr. Farber said. Agreed. However, while Google has a healthy internal innovation culture, is it allowing the ecosystem to do the same?
I recall Richard Kramer from Arete Research's jab that in mobile O-P-E-N is a four-letter word.
There are only a few powers that are trying to lock the mobile ecosystem: Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Du. And while Apple and carrier networks are unabashedly closed fiefdoms, Google's Android empire may not be truly open.
"But," Mr. Farber said, "I am the open guy."
"Open only on the front end," responded Bill Chang, CEO of group enterprise at SingTel.
Outside of a few global plenipotentiaries, mobile developers have had to pick from the crumbs at the table.
Twenty-five applications command 50 percent of the app store revenue. The billions in revenue do not feed many mouths. The average developer lives on $5,000 per month, which is a bread-and-water diet of $60,000 per year, said Richard Kramer. "Where are the developer's yachts?"
Hardware innovation has flat-lined and power is exclusively in the hands of Apple and Samsung.
The yearly CES announcements have underwhelmed and recently left the Las Vegas melee altogether. Another handset release with faster "mega" screens does not excite the crowds. With $75 smartphones entering emerging markets, smart has become a commodity.
SingTel's Mr. Chang said in a market where companies are "cost-cut to death, it is difficult to drive innovation forward. Mobile-first is a challenge."
Mr. Chang talked about the importance of the CIO is this process. He plays the initialism game that we all do at public events: "The CTO is now the chief transformation officer and the CIO the chief innovation officer."
But what does that really mean to companies trying to navigate the mobile marketplace?
The CIO never had power, said Michael Thatcher, chief technology officer of Asia for Microsoft. "It is only when something is broken they have power. How can we advance this and stop being tech centric? Stop being reactive. Follow the money."
But is there money in mobile innovation?
Outside of the big six ecosystem players, there are few that command significant market share. We live in an "app store economy" where we all need to play the piper 30 percent and never own the customer. To make money on Apple's SDKs or Google's, dominant big data position is difficult.
The social leviathans are also closed.
Facebook has built a business on connecting people. With its post-IPO revenue focus, it has worked hard to create a media buying tollgate on the impressions and big data that it owns.
In social portals there is little big data sharing and little opportunity to make money as an outside developer. It is a bigger issue for the entire social ecosystem.
The more that these social portals try to leverage these assets to generate revenue, the less socially authentic they become to the consumer. Our social spaces have become more like driving down the public highway.
Social portals such as Tumblr and Instagram have generated such value in the market because they remain authentic – pre-revenue and pre-commercial, of course.
Everything is disintermediated. App stores and social portals are all controlled by Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Google, and somewhere we all have to pay the piper.
Telecommunications is the history of open and then closed systems, from RCA closing down FM Radio and early television.
It is the same recent history of Apple disintermediating the wireless carriers with an "Internet device" and then turning around and using the same iPhone to shut down the mobile Web with a closed App Store.
Are we entering another closed loop where innovation becomes stifled? What does this mean for business?
Google sponsors the ship, "Unreasonable at Sea," to sail around the world evangelizing entrepreneurism and innovation. How can we make the power brokers more unreasonable at home?
In Dubai talking to agencies and brands about "digital velcro". How linking content seamlessly between one screen plus other consumer screen equals a multiple of value for a brand. 20 mins – view here.


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Brain Waves Surge Moments Before Death
Irene Klotz, Discovery News
Oct. 6, 2009 -- A study of seven terminally ill patients found identical surges in brain activity moments before death, providing what may be physiological evidence of "out of body" experiences reported by people who survive near-death ordeals. Doctors at George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates recorded brain activity of people dying from critical illnesses, such as cancer or heart attacks. Moments before death, the patients experienced a burst in brain wave activity, with the spikes occurring at the same time before death and at comparable intensity and duration.
Writing in the October issue of the Journal of Palliative Medicine, the doctors theorize that the brain surges may be tied to widely reported near-death experiences which typically involve spiritual or religious attributes.
At first, doctors thought the electrical surges picked up by electroencephalographs were caused by other machines or cell phones in the rooms of dying patients, lead author Lakhmir Chawla told Discovery News. The EECs were being used to monitor patients' level of consciousness as doctors and families wrestle with end-of-life issues. "We did it when patients want to withdraw life support, to make sure patients are comfortable, as we withdraw care," Chawla said. The medical staff kept seeing spikes in patients' brain waves just before death.
"We thought 'Hey, that was odd. What was that?'" Chawla said. "We thought there was a cell phone or a machine on in the room that created this anomaly. But then we started removing things, turning off cell phones and machines, and we saw it was still happening." The doctors believe they are seeing the brain's neurons discharge as they lose oxygen from lack of blood pressure. "All the neurons are connected together and when they lose oxygen, their ability to maintain electrical potential goes away," Chawla said. "I think when people lose all their blood flow, their neurons all fire in very close proximity and you get a big domino effect. We think this could explain the spike."
It's possible a cutoff of oxygen would trigger a similar but recoverable event that becomes seared into memory. "Not everyone reports this light sort of business. What you hear most often reported (in near-death experiences) is just a vivid memory," Chawla said. Brain researcher Kevin Nelson at the University of Kentucky, who studies near-death experiences, said it's well known that when the brain is abruptly deprived of blood flow it gives off a burst of high voltage energy. "It's unlikely with conventional brain wave recordings during death that they're going to see something that hasn't been seen already," Nelson said.
Chawla and colleagues would like to follow up their case study with a larger pool of patients outfitted with more sophisticated brain activity sensors.
This really has me curious - So, my question(s) is........1) Is this finally confirmation that the shallow breathing we often find
ourselves doing during the day is causing potential long term damage to the neurons in our entire bodies…..and confirms meditation does indeed enhance our
ability to maintain an electrical charge ….. to enhance our ability to get online because our batteries are able to hold a charge better.... 2) Is this, in
fact, another explanation why bad memories linger in our brains while good memories are harder to retrieve? Any thoughts?


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After all Dell has done recently to try and improve its reputation in the public eye, it's a shame to see today's slightly more negative reports. Following an internal investigation which started way back in August 2006 and involved the checking of over five million documents (sounds like my daily job) Dell executives have had to admit that financial reports were regularly "tweaked" in order to achieve targets.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation is still ongoing and it is as yet unknown has to whether any legal action will be taken against Dell. Certainly many shareholders may feel the need, (this is America we're talking about after all) while federal prosecution representatives have subpoenaed financial reports going back as far as 2002.
The net result (pun intended) is that Dell will have to restate its earnings for 2003 through 2006 by between $50 and $150 million. Of course for a multi-billion turnover company the actual amount is going to do a whole lot less damage that the negative publicity surrounding the news. Dell does insist that all those involved who had knowledge of what happened are no longer with the company and insists more stringent checks are now in place to prevent a repeat offence.


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Protect your childs teeth from sports injury
By PAUL RODEGHERO
Article published on
Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012
Unfortunately, kids plus sports occasionally equals injuries. Whether on the ball field, basketball court, skateboarding or biking, each year thousands of youths get injured while participating in sports. The last thing your child thinks about when stepping out to play is protecting their teeth. Blows and accidents to the face can result in injured teeth, lips, cheeks or tongue.
A properly fitted mouth guard should be part of your childs uniform so as to protect their teeth and smile. There are three types of mouth guards: A stock, ready-made guard, a boil and bite mouth guard or a dentist can custom make a guard. They all provide some protection but vary in comfort, cost and amount of protection.
An effective mouth guard should be durable and easy to clean. It should fit comfortably and not inhibit breathing in any way. Usually a mouth guard covers only the upper teeth but the dentist may suggest also using a lower guard.
Here are some points for taking care of a mouth guard:
Before and after use, rinse it with cold water or a mouth rinse. It also can be cleaned with a toothbrush and toothpaste.
When not in use store the mouth guard in a container that permits air to circulate and prevents the mouth guard from being damaged or eaten by the dog or cat.
Avoid leaving it in high temperatures because the heat can distort the mouth guard so that it doesnt fit properly.
Bring the mouth guard to your regular check-up with the dentist so he/she can make sure it is still in good condition and fitting properly.
Ensure that your child keeps that beautiful smile for their lifetime get them a sports mouth guard!
Dr. Paul Rodeghero, a 1983 graduate of Ohio State University Dental School, practices at Clearwater Family Dental, 706 S. Fort Harrison Ave., Clearwater.
Article published on
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Trojans Blast Bruins 12-10 In NCAA Semifinal
May 12, 2012
SAN DIEGO, CALIF - The USC women's water polo team avenged a set of rough losses to its crosstown rival at the exact perfect time, serving up a resounding 12-10 win over UCLA in today's NCAA Semifinals in San Diego, Calif. The win - in which the Trojans led by as much as four goals - punches USC's ticket to the 2012 NCAA Championship match, where USC gets to seek revenge over top-seeded Stanford at 5:15 p.m. tomorrow (May 13) at the Aztec Aquaplex. It's the same matchup and same site of the Trojans' last national championship run. In 2010, USC topped the Cardinal in the final to win the program's third national championship. The 2012 Trojans improve to 23-5 overall with today's big semifinal win.
The first 11 minutes of today's USC-UCLA clash was neck-and-neck. By the three-minute mark of the second frame, USC already had the writing on the wall that this matchup with the Bruins would be different than the last. Two weeks earlier, UCLA had edged out the Trojans 4-3 in the MPSF Semifinals in a defensive battle. Today, the Trojans got offensive in a major way, led by four-goal efforts by both Monica Vavic and Patricia Jancso.
Early on, Kaleigh Gilchrist's efforts at the two-meter spot had combined with two blasts from Vavic, and then after UCLA evened things up 4-4 on a 6-on-5 in the second, USC set the tone with a rocket launched by Patricia Jancso to make it 5-4. The Trojan defense gave up no ground on the other end, forcing the Bruins to dump the ball, and USC made the most of the give-back. Up on a 6-on-5, Kaleigh Gilchrist sailed a cross pass to Monica Vavic, who zipped in some padding for the Trojans to make it 6-4. That strike notched a hat trick for freshman Vavic, and although UCLA finished off a power play in the final minute of the half to cut it to one, the Trojans came back in the second half with full-on vengeance on the agenda.
After trading scores in the first minute and a half - with Vavic tacking up her fourth of the day with a bar-in blast from distance - the Trojans would mount a push to leave the Bruins out of reach. First, up on another power play, USC's Jancso hit Chelsea Silvers for a nearside skipper and an 8-6 USC advantage. Jancso delivered another searing blast just over a minute later for a 6-on-5 strike and a three-goal Trojan lead. That advantage would hold through two more UCLA power play, thanks in part to a strong save from Flora Bolonyai.
That three-goal USC lead would balloon to four on two occasions in the final frame. Colleen O'Donnell delivered the long-range bullet off a foul to get it to 10-6 Trojans with 6:51 on the clock. UCLA snapped the three-goal scoring run 20 seconds later, but Jancso proved she was far from done making noise in this one. Impressive back-to-back scores from Jancso bulked up the Trojan lead to 12-8 with 4:53 remaining. Down the stretch, UCLA was able to manage two goals to make it respectable, but the Women of Troy had a decisive win in-hand and were well on their way to the national championship game.
USC will be making its fourth appearance in an NCAA title match in five years tomorrow. The Trojans will be looking to replicate the championship effort they displayed in 2010 in a 10-9 win over top-seeded Stanford. USC's three previous national championships have come in 1999, 2004 and 2010.
2012 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS (Aztec Aquaplex - San Diego, Calif.
SAVES: Flora Bolonyai (USC) 9, Morgan Vickers (USC) 0, Caitlin Dement (UCLA) 7.


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Christ's Ancestors, in 12th-Century Glass
Six life-sized stained glass windows from Great Britain's Canterbury Cathedral are making an appearance at the Cloisters Museum.
It's the first time the windows, depicting the ancestors of Jesus Christ, have left the Cathedral since their creation in the late 12th century.
Stephen Murray, professor of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University, said the seated figures are depicted in bright, vibrant colors, and appear almost alive.
"The figures are animated, they're sculptural, they're three-dimensional, they're seated, but they seem, some of them, almost to want to leap up and get out of their seat," he said, adding that their arrangement in the Cathedral tells a story.
"The Canterbury figures that we are looking at formed a part of a great sweep that ran in a clockwise direction around the clerestory of the choir, into the east end and back again, beginning with the creation of Adam, and ending with the Incarnation of Christ," he said.
The windows will be on display at the Cloisters through mid-May.
(Images from the Ancestors of Christ Windows, Canterbury Cathedral, England, 1178-80 by Robert Greshoff Photography, courtesy Dean and Chapter of Canterbury.)


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How To Play 0.7.1 Multiplayer – Minecraft Pocket Edition
So "realms" have not yet be released to the wider public. According to mojang… on a selected few people are testing it. But when realms come out they will cost you $10-$15/month to run if you own one, but you to join one for free, or through in app purchases I think.
MinecraftPECheats.Com will make its own server once realms are out and we will invite people to join it!
You can read more about realms here: http://help.mojang.com/customer/portal/articles/1018151
Besides realms not being out for this moment as they should come out in the next couple of weeks, you can still play multiplayer over wifi…
We have found a really good video showing you how to do exactly this.
To watch the video, have a look below:
As you can see, playing over wifi I still as it is. You can still do it. Updates on Minecraft Pocket Edition realms will come shortly!
Thanks for reading this post, if you have any questions or comments please post them below!


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Running speaker wire through bottom floor ceiling?
I am looking to run speaker wire through my 1st floor den ceiling. What is the best way to do this?
I have four recessed can lights, should I use those to get the wire in the ceiling?
The best way to do it is cut drywall and patch. Are you going parallel to the joists? If so, you can cut some rectangles and route the wire that way. If you are going parallel to the joists, then you have to drill through each joist, which means taking down a long section of drywall.
You can't do anything with recessed lights.
If you happen to have remodeling style recessed lights that means you can remove the fixture, let it dangle from cords and have existing holes you can reach up through. If they are new construction cans your best bet is the cut and patch route.
If you hire a really good professional wiring guru he will have a drill setup capable of cutting with a long flexible drill bit shafts and can minimize the number of holes required.
All of our recommendations are without knowledge of the nature of your room or it's original construction.
Good point about the remodeling type of recessed lights, Big. I never think about those. Another possibility is to add crown molding and run the wires there or remove trim and run the wires there. But these all depend on what the room looks like and where you're trying to go with the wiring.
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Chair, Instruction and Student Affairs Policy Committee
Michael Kaufman
Professor, Physics
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Campus Phone: 45265
Ph.D. in Astrophysics, 1995, The Johns Hopkins University
M.A. in Physics, 1989, The Johns Hopkins University
BA in Physics, 1987, Middlebury College
Chairs of Senate Policy Committees, (1) as members of the Executive Committee, shall
maintain liaison between their respective committees and the Executive Committee,
and shall consult the Executive Committee regarding policy proposals, policy review,
and other matters in the area of their committee's responsibility which may be brought
before the Senate; (2) as chairs of their respective committees, they shall preside
at meetings, shall review existing policies in the area of their committee's responsibility
and suggest appropriate revisions, shall take care that operating committees reporting
to their committee meet and conduct business, and shall direct committee operations,
seeing that minutes are taken and filed with the Senate office, agendas sent, policies.
Instruction and Student Affairs Committee—Responsible for instruction and to student affairs, including recruitment, admission, retention, academic status, educational equity, rights and responsibilities.


text:
Powerball luck strikes three times in two states
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — At least three people in two states have beaten astronomical odds to become the nation's latest Powerball millionaires.
Sue Dooley, senior drawing manager production coordinator for the Multi-State Lottery Association, said late Wednesday night that three tickets matched the winning numbers and will split the lottery's latest massive jackpot: $448 million.
The winning numbers drawn Wednesday night were: 05, 25, 30, 58, 59 and Powerball 32.
The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger reported early today that a spokeswoman for the New Jersey Lottery said that one of the multimillion-dollar tickets was purchased at a supermarket in South Brunswick, N.J., and the other ticket was sold in Little Egg Harbor, N.J.
Information on a winning ticket in Minnesota was not available early today.


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Seventeen's One Direction Contest Winner Meets 1D!
Out of more than 85,000 people who entered Seventeen's Bring Me To 1D contest, Seventeen reader Danielle from Ohio was the lucky girl who won! Danielle, who just turned 16 a few days ago, won the trip of a lifetime: an all-expense paid trip to New York City, tickets to One Direction's sold out show at Madison Square Garden, and her own personal time with all five guys! Oh, and she was able to bring a friend.
Other countries all over the world held similar contests and for the past two days, the contest winners all met up to experience everything together during an incredible One Direction global event. Even though they didn't all spreak the same language and came from totally different backgrounds, they bonded over the same shared passion—One Direction!
Check out Seventeen.com next week to see exclusive photos from Danielle's trip and to see what she says about what it was like to meet Harry, Louis, Niall, Zayn, and Liam!


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Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 155
Monday, January 28, 2013 at 04:10PM
I am intrigued by this product again I had set it aside since the last time I used it (and got the "greasy hay" hair), but this Saturday I had nowhere to go and decided to try again. I only used the tiniest bit at a time, basically just enough to make a light coating on the palms of my hands, and then scrunched into soaking wet hair. My guess is I used about a nickel total (my hair is short, above shoulder-length). Plopped for ten minutes or so, then diffused to about 70% dry. Holy curls!! Like big, almost 3a ringlets on my normally 2b/2c hair. And in really low dews!! I was also impressed because I then proceeded to watch TV and rest my head on the couch for a couple of hours, which usually makes the back of my head totally flat but not this time! Still had really defined curls.
My hair didn't get the dry/tangly/greasy feel that happened last time, so I think the key is just using much, much less than I do for some other products. It also didn't increase my drying time at all.
I got really excited and picked up some of the coconut & hibiscus shine and hold mist to use with it, because my only complaint is my hair was a little dull. This morning I did the same thing--scrunched in the tiniest bit of the souffle on soaking wet hair, plopped 10 minutes, then diffused. At 50% dry, I sprayed in some of the mist, and then diffused to about 80% dry. !!!! I'm loving the results! Bouncy, defined curls and waves. Plus my hair is shiny and so so soft (I think that's from the mist). Big bonus: I walked out of the house into a really wet snow this morning, soaked my hair a little before caving in and putting a heavy hood on. 10 minutes later, my hair was not flattened or frizzy at all.
Ok, sorry I wrote a mini novel here... I'm just excited! If my hair lasts through the day, I'll update with a pic later!