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wBW Quick Look
by Bill P. for webBikeWorld.com
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See Also: Maxxeon WorkStar 20000 Technician's Floodlight Review
The Maxxeon WorkStar 320 is a slightly enlarged version of the excellent Maxxeon WorkStar 220 Pocket Floodlight (review).
The WorkStar 320 takes three easier-to-find AAA batteries, instead of the three AAAA batteries in the WorkStar 220.
Two years ago, Rick K. described the Maxxeon Pocket Floodlight 220 (review) as "a cool little LED flashlight that is very well made and puts out an amazing amount of light for its size."
And a host of readers agreed with him, too.
My WorkStar 220 Pocket Floodlight easily became my favorite flashlight.
It's rugged, beautifully machined and O-ring sealed, remarkably compact, and does indeed put out a lot of light.
However, what most sets it apart from other flashlights is the quality of that light, which Maxxeon touts as having "no rings, no shadows, no hot spots."
That aspect -- the clarity of its output -- is truly impressive and really has to be seen to be appreciated.
The purity and quantity of light make the 220 an outstanding flashlight.
The only fly in the ointment is that the 220 uses three AAAA batteries.
On the road, you're unlikely to find these quadruple-A batteries at the nearest Kwik-E-Mart; further, while most Radio Shack stores carry AAAAs, they're expensive.
Last, if, like me, you're fond of the Energizer lithium batteries, the smallest size those come in is AAA.
Enter the Maxxeon WorkStar 320 Pocket Floodlight. With only a very modest increase in size and weight, the WorkStar 320 uses three AAA batteries!
Maxxeon lists both the WorkStar 220 and the WorkStar 320 as using the Cree XP-E, Cool White, 3W bulb, with both flashlights having a run time (with alkaline batteries) of two to four hours, depending on use.
The brightness of both flashlights is also said to be the same...sort of: having "greater than 140 OTF (out-the-front)" lumens.
The increase in overall length for the WorkStar 320 is about 13 mm (1/2").
The WorkStar 220 is 162 mm (6-3/8") long, while the WorkStar 320 is 175 mm (6-11/16") in length.
The main barrel diameter of this pair of Pocket Floodlights is 11.0 mm for the 220 and a slightly thicker 12.5 mm for the 320.
And the increase in weight? On my digital scale, with their respective (included) batteries installed, the WorkStar 220 comes in at 47 grams (1.7 oz.), while the 320 weighs 60 grams (2.1 oz.).
Both Pocket Floodlights are made from T6 aluminum with black Type II anodizing. Also, the business end includes an anti-reflective coated glass cover over the reflector.
BUY YOUR Maxxeon Pocket Floodlight and Maxxeon Flashlights Here!
In addition to enlarging the barrel to allow the use of AAA batteries, the reflector on the WorkStar 320 has also been modified.
While Maxxeon describes both the 320 and 220 as having a "diameter ratio is about 1:1, meaning at 1 ft. from an object, the beam is about 1 ft. wide,"
I found that the WorkStar 320 Pocket Floodlight has a ratio of about 1:1.6, while the older WorkStar 220 ratio is approximately 1:1.4.
To put it another way, at a distance of 5 feet, the WorkStar 320 has a circle of illumination about 8 feet in diameter, while the circle of illumination from the "original" WorkStar 220 Pocket Floodlight is about 7 feet in diameter at the same distance.
If you define a "hotspot" as one or more bands of darkness or other light artifacts, the older 220 doesn't have any.
But the 320 has an even more uniform output.
The reflector in the 320 is a kind of two-tiered affair, while that in the 220 is deeper and has a single curve.
This gives the WorkStar 220 a more center-weighted brightness, which tapers off abruptly as you near its outer limits of illumination.
While the purity of the light output from both of these Pocket Floodlights is impressive, the WorkStar 220 is more of a spotlight to the 320's floodlight. This can be a good thing or not, depending on your usage.
And in case you were wondering -- no, you can't interchange the business ends of these flashlights, due to different thread diameters.
Want more "Professional" output? Check out the Maxxeon WorkStar 20000 Technician's Floodlight review.
The Maxxeon WorkStar 320 Pocket Floodlight can be difficult to find at retail. It is sold directly through Maxxeon itself and but the shipping cost for an individual unit is high.
However, shipping apparently remains constant regardless of the number of flashlights ordered, so my cost-effective suggestion it to chip on with some friends and buy a few at the same time.
The Maxxeon WorkStar 320 Pocket Floodlight produces an abundant amount of pure light in a small, high-quality, package and it is powered by readily-available AAA batteries.
Its output is even more uniform than that of the Maxxeon WorkStar 220 Pocket Floodlight.
With its reworked reflector, the 320 is the better flashlight for walking the dog at night, for instance, to see where the two of you are going.
But what about working on your bike, when you've just dropped a small bolt into what appears to be a newly discovered black hole in your bike's frame or bodywork?
Or finding the dropped washer that has to be on the garage floor, right around here... somewhere? Or when you're on the side of the road at night, trying to locate a nail in the back tire?
For those cases, when you need all the fire-power, er, candle-power you can muster, the older WorkStar 220 is still the flashlight of choice -- the paucity of stores stocking quadruple-A batteries notwithstanding
Mine's staying in my tool-wrap. I haven't decided whether the newer WorkStar 320 will join the WorkStar 220 on the bike for backup purposes or whether to put it in my car's glovebox. Or maybe get another 320, and do both...
BUY YOUR Maxxeon Pocket Floodlight and Maxxeon Flashlights Here!
|wBW Review: Maxxeon WorkStar 320 Pocket Floodlight
|Manufacturer: Maxxeon
|List Price (2013): $36.95 + $9.95 S/H
|Colors: Black
|Made In: China
|Warranty: One Year
|Review Date: August 2013
From "P.W." (August 2013): "Have built and owned a lot of LED lights and carry 4 on my RT.
FWIW, I don't carry lights using oddball batteries like the AAAA. And even AAAs can be hard to locate in some places even if you're willing to settle for alkalines.
The AA is the most commonly available battery in all types and is the one best carried.
An alternate if you buy them in bulk at reasonable price (about $1.50 each then) is the disposable 123 lithium.
It has higher energy density than the AA and supports long usage better. I just carry a couple spares in a baggie in my toolkit for those lights. In a real pinch they can be bought in drugstores as camera batteries but are way overpriced that way."
From "W.M." (August 2013): "Nice torch, but 3xAAA is silly. 2xAAA is plenty. The Pelican 1920 is a good option at $20.
I also found basically the same light as the 1920 at Home Depot (USA), but it doesn't have any branding and slightly different shaping to the end caps --it cost me like $10. Another option to consider.
Editor's Reply: Actually, there are many flashlights that use AAA batteries, but not many (or none) like the "Pocket Floodlight", which has a nearly perfect circle of light with no "hot spots" or other artifacts. This is what has made the Pocket Floodlight series so popular.
Also, the size and shape of the 320 Pocket Floodlight (Bic pen size) pretty much dictates the three AAA batteries.
The original Maxxeon WorkStar 220 Pocket Floodlight was a big hit but owners complained about the AAAA batteries, so Maxxeon came out with the 320.
But the 220 is still a good choice for a pocket-sized light, it's about the size of a Bic pen and the 320 isn't much larger.


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Transparent Images Using PNG's (Yes, Even in IE)
Gone are the days of attempting to hodge podge a transparent gif, in an attempt to match the "matte" of the gif in photoshop to the color of the background in your page. The only way to achieve transparency is with a PNG. You will see a dramatically higher level of clarity with png, allowing for near freedom; dropshadows, fonts, gradients are all handled fairly well with png.
What's the Problem?
The problem however is that IE 6 definitively does NOT support transparent images. I think Firefox has been supporting it since the ice ages, and probably earlier. So, I can't use transprent png's??
The Solution
Thanks to Twin Helix (Angus Turnbull)'s IE PNG Fix, we can now use transparent images wherever we want, AND it supports transparent background images! TO NOTE: There are other IE PNG Fixes, but we found them to be either: too obtrusive, or not supporting background images, (this also includes our old favorite sleight).
How to Use It
img, div { _behavior: url(scripts/iepngfix.php) }
** PLEASE NOTE: We found that the original script (which does not include an underscore), caused CSS Warnings in Firefox, so the addition of the underscore hides the declaration from Firefox and applies to IE Only.
In this case, we are applying the transparent png support to all images, and divs, you can use it for any elements you wish.
Known Issues
Being a bug fix, there are some known issues. For example:
- Child links of absolutely positioned elements cannot be clicked. There is a workaround for this, but not a full solution.
- z-index issues: when positioning dynamic elements (e.g. a dropdown navigation), images affected by the script will always appear in front of the absolutely positioned elements. Working on a solution..
I know it's pretty early for an update, as we just published this, but moving on…
Anyway, as this uses the CSS code above to implement the png fix, we would advise a specific class just for the fix which is applied on a case by case basis. That way you can apply the fix only when needed, speeding up load time and preventing any javascript or css confusion. For example:
.pngfix { _behavior: url(scripts/iepngfix.php) }
Alright have fun, and feel free to buy me a beer.
8 responses to "Transparent Images Using PNG's (Yes, Even in IE)"
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Some would say it's innovative.
Others would say the CFL is taking video review too far by including defensive pass interference as a reviewable infraction.
Slippery slope? Maybe.
Or it could be a trailblazing move that forces other football leagues — both professional and amateur — to quickly follow suit.
In town Friday to chat with the Calgary Stampeders coaching staff about a host of potential rule changes that will be voted on by the CFL board of governors next Thursday, newly-minted Vice-President of Officiating Glen Johnson maintains accuracy and the good of the game is the driving force.
And the proposal, which was announced in March, hasn't made it this far without hours upon hours of consultation and research.
Like or not, it's going to attract all sorts of football eyes this season.


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Song of the Day #774 (James Brown, RIP)
Song of the Day: I Got You (I Feel Good), words and music by James Brown, reworks a Brown song entitled "I Found You" (audio clip at that link), recorded by Yvonne Fair. This track is my personal Brown favorite; it was a mega-hit and a signature tune for the "Godfather of Soul," who passed away yesterday, on Christmas Day 2006. Brown was one of the most important artists of the past forty years, influencing everything from R&B to hip hop, and everyone from the Rolling Stones and Public Enemy to Prince and Michael Jackson (and check out a rare You Tube clip featuring Brown, Jackson, and Prince). Listen to an audio clip of this classic track here.


text:
Fixed PreparedStatement.setObject(int, Object,
int) doesn't respect scale of BigDecimals.
(Bug #19615)
ResultSet.wasNull() returns incorrect
value when extracting native string from server-side prepared
statement generated result set.
(Bug #19282)
Fixed invalid classname returned for
ResultSetMetaData.getColumnClassName() for
BIGINT type.
(Bug #19282)
Fixed case where driver wasn't reading server status correctly when fetching server-side prepared statement rows, which in some cases could cause warning counts to be off, or multiple result sets to not be read off the wire. (Bug #19282)
Fixed data truncation and
getWarnings() only
returns last warning in set.
(Bug #18740)
Fixed aliased column names where length of name > 251 are corrupted. (Bug #18554)
Improved performance of retrieving
Timestamp and
Date values
from server-side prepared statements by creating fewer
short-lived instances of
Strings when the
native type is not an exact match for the requested type.
(Bug #18496)
Added performance feature, re-writing of batched executes for
Statement.executeBatch() (for all DML
statements) and
PreparedStatement.executeBatch() (for INSERTs
with VALUE clauses only). Enable by using
"rewriteBatchedStatements=true" in your JDBC URL.
(Bug #18041)
Fixed issue where server-side prepared statements don't cause truncation exceptions to be thrown when truncation happens. (Bug #18041)
CallableStatement.registerOutParameter() not
working when some parameters pre-populated. Still waiting for
feedback from JDBC experts group to determine what correct
parameter count from
getMetaData() should be,
(Bug #17898)
Fixed calling
clearParameters() on a closed
prepared statement causes NPE.
(Bug #17587)
Map "latin1" on MySQL server to CP1252 for MySQL > 4.1.0. (Bug #17587)
Added additional accessor and mutator methods on ConnectionProperties so that DataSource users can use same naming as regular URL properties. (Bug #17587)
ResultSet.wasNull() not always reset
correctly for booleans when done using conversion for
server-side prepared statements.
(Bug #17450)
Statement.getGeneratedKeys() throws
NullPointerException when no query has been
(Bug #17099)
Fixed updatable result set doesn't return
AUTO_INCREMENT values for
insertRow() when multiple column primary keys
are used. (the driver was checking for the existence of
single-column primary keys and an autoincrement value > 0
instead of a straightforward
isAutoIncrement() check).
(Bug #16841)
DBMD.getColumns() returns wrong type for
(Bug #15854)
lib-nodist directory missing from package
breaks out-of-box build.
(Bug #15676)
Fixed issue with
incorrectly copying state, doesn't transfer connection context
correctly when transitioning between the same read-only states.
(Bug #15570)
No "dos" character set in MySQL > 4.1.0. (Bug #15544)
INOUT parameter does not store
IN value.
(Bug #15464)
PreparedStatement.setObject() serializes
BigInteger as object, rather than sending as
numeric value (and is thus not complementary to
.getObject() on an
LONG type).
(Bug #15383)
Fixed issue where driver was unable to initialize character set
mapping tables. Removed reliance on
.properties files to hold this information,
as it turns out to be too problematic to code around class
loader hierarchies that change depending on how an application
is deployed. Moved information back into the
CharsetMapping class.
(Bug #14938)
Exception thrown for new decimal type when using updatable result sets. (Bug #14609)
Driver now aware of fix for
type metadata that went into MySQL-5.0.21 for server not
reporting length consistently .
(Bug #13601)
Added support for Apache Commons logging, use "com.mysql.jdbc.log.CommonsLogger" as the value for the "logger" configuration property. (Bug #13469)
Fixed driver trying to call methods that don't exist on older and newer versions of Log4j. The fix is not trying to auto-detect presence of log4j, too many different incompatible versions out there in the wild to do this reliably.
If you relied on autodetection before, you will need to add "logger=com.mysql.jdbc.log.Log4JLogger" to your JDBC URL to enable Log4J usage, or alternatively use the new "CommonsLogger" class to take care of this. (Bug #13469)
LogFactory now prepends
com.mysql.jdbc.log to
the log class name if it cannot be found as specified. This
enables you to use "short names" for the built-in
log factories, for example,
logger=CommonsLogger instead of
(Bug #13469)
ResultSet.getShort() for
TINYINT returned wrong values.
(Bug #11874)


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One Susan was sure her baby boy would walk any day now. Just as she was sure he would crawl, talk, and take solid foods. Tomorrow, she thought, tomorrow he will cuddle into my breasts and want my milk. She knew her milk had long since dried up. Friends had begged her to get help for what they considered an "inconsolable case" of postpartum depression, but she knew it wasn't her. Anyone would feel like this if their baby screamed when they held him, could barely tolerate them holding his bottle, and never made a noise, unless it was a scream. At three months, baby Steven learned to hold his own bottle. Susan consulted all of the best baby books, and knew this was an advancement. At four months he had fine motor skills that rivaled a two year old. At five months, she watched him count his blocks and tested the theory by taking one away. At the end of his count, he went back to the beginning and through the ritual again, concluding with a scream until she brought forth the missing block. Two "Honey," Mrs. Smith yelled to her teenage son, "Could you please bring Steven to the park today while I'm at work. You know how much he loves to play in the giant sand box." "Sure mom." Replied Bryan. Steven sat quietly on the floor with all of his red square blocks surrounding him. The other blocks were neatly piled in their container, with the biggest on the bottom to the smallest on the top; all arranged by color, in the roy-g-biv fashion. His mother was obviously in a hurry to get to work on time, as Steven so often noticed. She seemed rushed, but stopped to take in the scene in front of her. "You really are something kid, so smart. I just wish you would say 'mama'." With a sight of obvious frustration, she leaned down to kiss her young son on the head, then rushed out the door. When Bryan walked in from the next room, he noticed his little brother frozen with a look of disdain on his face. Must be upset that mom is leaving him alone with me, Bryan hypothesized. He doesn't really seem to notice when mom is around though. Bryan started to pick up the blocks in preparation to head to the park. Steven began his high pitched scream, and Bryan realized he should have known not to touch the blocks; this always happened. "Sorry, Buddy, it's just you know how dad hates to come in and trip on your blocks. I was just trying to not get either of us in trouble, but you are only two, so you don't understand that yet. I am going to take you to the park. Would you like that?" Bryan waited for a reply he knew would never come. Steven had never spoken a word, not even the normal babble that adults swooned over, but mom insisted he would talk when he was ready. She said that he was just thinking. Steven picked the two blocks out of the bucket and set them back exactly as they had been before. He then proceeded to pick up and dump all of the blocks, laying them out in large circles around himself in size and color order. He knew his brother was mad by the way his face twisted. Steven attempted at a smile, he knew they all liked smiles. Bryan looked back at Steven, who just dumped all of the blocks out onto the floor. Steven was making a face that looked a mad dog bearing his teeth. Bryan shuttered, realizing that when his brother had put all the blocks back in his exact order, they could go. Bryan sat on the couch and turned on MTV, while he waited for Steven to put the blocks away. Bryan didn't mind taking his two year old brother to the park like most teenage boys would. Steven was the easiest kid in the world to deal with once at the park. He was not like the other two-year-olds he noticed there. They would babble incoherently about who knew what, steal toys from other little kids, say words like "mine" and "no" all the time. Worst of all, they would attempt to run away at any opportunity. Steven on the other hand, sat quietly in the sand running his fingers through it or attempting to bury himself beneath it. Bryan noticed that his little brothers time at the park was the only time he almost saw a smile on his brothers face, sometimes a small snicker would could out of his mouth. If Steven was having a good day, he would even allow his big brother to help bury him with sand. About twenty minutes later, Steven was sitting on the floor with no more blocks surrounding him. Bryan knew at this point, he had two choices. He could attempt at putting shoes on Steven, who would scream, bite, and flail; or he could get the slippers. Mom hated it when Bryan allowed Steven to wear his slippers outside because they got all grassy and muddy, but Bryan had long ago decided some things just weren't worth fighting over. He would rather have an extra chore than upset Steven more than necessary. Getting the slippers on was easy. Bryan grabbed them from the bedroom and Steven stuck his legs straight out, and Bryan slipped them on. Steven bared his teeth once more. The walk to the park was ok, as far as walks went. Bryan's father thought Steven should be able to walk the block to the park, but Bryan knew the stroller was the way to go. It didn't seem to matter as much on the way to the park, but on the way home it was a necessity. Steven never wanted to leave the sandbox and he definitely would not walk away from it, riding away from it seemed the only way to calm him down. Bryan always felt funny pushing a stroller; he thought it made him feel more parent-like. He was self conscious that people would think Steven was his child. Being seventeen, having a two year old was only remotely possible, but people would still have suspicions. Once they got to the park, Steven pushed the button and lifted the stroller tray away, undid his seat-belt, and walked on his toes to the sand. Bryan took his PSP out of his pocket, and once his little brother was firmly planted in the sand, he turned it on and began to play. Every minute or two, Bryan would look up to make sure Steven was ok, but never to his surprise, Steven was always simply sitting in the sand taking handfuls of tan grit and patting it on top of himself. After twenty minutes of continuously looking up from his game, Bryan noticed Steven's legs were completely covered and there were deep trenches on either side of him. This was Bryan's cue that he could concentrate more heavily on his game and would not have to worry about his little brother escaping. Steven reeled his head around to stare at his brother. He counted to twenty, twenty times, and knew that his big brother was stuck in the little box in his hands. He did this every time; he stopped looking at the progress. Steven was going back to the safe place, where he was hugged evenly, by the same amount of pressure on all sides. Next, he would lay himself down, and begin to cover his stomach and chest, and finally his head. If his big brother didn't see him, he would be lost forever, unable to escape. Steven screamed out in the crazed high pitch only he could scream, still staring at his brother. Bryan quickly looked up and noticed his little brother glaring at him. Man, Bryan thought, I hope he doesn't have to pee. He will never get out in time. Only seconds after Bryan looked, Steven whipped his head back around and slowly lowered himself into the prone position. He extended his arms to the sides and scooped handfuls of sand onto his stomach, then onto his chest; in the end, expect for a small opening for his mouth and nose and his arms, he was invisible. For the first time in the days since he had been to the park, he felt safe and secure. This feeling was not meant to last, since he was almost invisible and other two-year-olds were not as observant as he, it was only a matter of time. Steven had not counted to twenty but six times, when another child, a girl, stepped on his hand. The high pitched scream was first, followed by the slow rise of Steven's upper body, concluding with him bending his legs then standing up to his toes. His eyes were full of rage. She had ruined everything. He put his arms out straight as a zombie, reaching for her throat; he walked at a normal pace at her. The little girl, frightened by the initial scream had already run halfway back to her mother. Bryan looked up to an all too familiar scene, threw the PSP in the stroller, and ran to capture his little brother in the nick of time. "I'm so so so sorry." Bryan apologized to the mother of the scared little girl. "He . . . My little brother doesn't like to be disturbed when he's in the sand." The mother of the little girl understood all too easily, "Oh I understand, two-year-olds can be very possessive of their things, and over react. Don't worry about it. It's so nice that you brought your little brother to the park." Bryan mumbled thanks and walked back to stroller. He was thinking about what the lady had said, about all two-year-olds; he highly doubted they all were as calculating as his little brother. She must not have been watching him. Bryan knew from prior experience that when Steven was mad, he aimed for the throat. He seemed to know that would really hurt a person, not like a normal two year old who would bite or swing his arms and inevitably get a hit or two in. Steven was now clearly exhausted, and it was easy to get him in the stroller to go home. Bryan tucked his little brother under a blanket, and he fell asleep immediately. Steven decided this was the last time he was bringing Bryan to the park. When mom got home, he would go to the store and buy the supplies he needed to build his little brother his very own sandbox. Three Eleven, twelve, thirteen . . ." the children counted as the clown blew into the balloon. The small, freckled, blonde haired girl had asked how many blows it took to fill up one of the long hot dog balloons. It was an innocent question, much like age old adage, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a lollipop? To an adult, this question is obviously one that cannot be answered, but to a child anything is possible. Steven on the other hand saw the endeavor utterly pointless, and he was the youngest child in the bunch. At only four years old, he was quite possibly also the smartest. He knew that the answer depended on so many variables; there was no reason to even attempt to find it. He knew that it depended on the amount of air going into each blow. He knew that that a child had a smaller lung capacity and therefore it would take a child more blows to fill a balloon. He also knew that it would depend on how much the clown pulled on the rubber to stretch it before he began putting air in it. He also wondered if they were counting the last puff of air before the balloon popped, since that would be the final blow that would fill the balloon, or if they would use the pop itself as the definitive marker of the balloon being blown up. Since 'blown up' could have two meanings, the answer could differ by one and still be "correct". The biggest concern he had however was after it was all over, and the balloon popped, and all the brightly colored florescent confetti flew above their heads, and the children loved it, and wanted the clown to do it again, and he did; the number would come out differently. Steven could see the disappointment that would be in their faces, he could not let it happen, he would have to do something. "Thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven. . .POP!" The sparkly pink and orange fluorescent confetti flew everywhere and the kids giggled, screamed in giddy excitement and jumped up and down. It had been magic to them, but Steven knew that it would not be the same the second time, he had to act fast. "Do it again, do it again!" The small, freckled, blonde hair girl shouted and the clown reached into his pocket for another 'special party balloon' and again began his puffs. "One, two, three," the children began to count. Steven's brain spun quickly with ideas. His eyes searched around the room for something he could use to pop the balloon before it popped on the wrong number. "Eight, nine, ten." Over on the cake table. "Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen." Everyone, even the adults were watching the clown, a sort of elated look of wonder on their faces. "Nineteen, twenty, twenty-one." A girl, a little older than Steven, began to cover her ears in preparation for the puffs to extinguish the balloon." "Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight." Steven reached for the knife, that sat next to the cake, in a frenzy, turning around he lunged toward the clown. He had to do it now. All he knew was the children must not learn the imprecision of the clowns' game. "Thirty-one, thirty-POP!" The glistening confetti again ravaged the room, however this time, no one laughed, no one was giddy, no one asked for it to happen again. Steven was triumphant. He has saved the children from the lie. A shriek of terror came from one of the children behind the clown. Steven peered around to see what had caused the child's fear. Instead of seeing the confetti, all Steven could see was a splatter of red. The parent of the birthday child ran and grabbed Steven, practically tackling him to the ground, as all of the rest of the children stood wide eyed in horror. Steven did not understand why, but he was locked in the bedroom. While he sat there, he could hear sirens. He banged on the door as loud as he could. He loved fire trucks and thought it was cool they got one for this birthday party. He banged on the door louder. He could not understand why they would not let him out.
Each week authors will be given a new question to answer which will lend additional insight into their story and writing process. Do you have a question you'd like to see the authors answer? Tweet it to @aNextAuthor!


text:
How To Get Domain Name
Taking the time to do a
little research and gather knowledge on how to get domain name can ease
your domain registration process so that it will be smooth and hassle-free.
Understanding the necessary
components that make up a great domain name will help you coming up with and
buying a name that will give you the most mileage to help you meet your
specific online objectives. The basic characteristics of a good name are
relevant, catchy, easily remembered and able to self-promote. Choosing the
right name for your online objectives take time and much thought. Patience and
perseverance are the names of the game here. Because many great and popular
names may have already been taken up, it could be a challenge finding an ideal
name that is available.
Set aside some time to
allow yourself to brainstorm possible names for your web site. This is
important, as suitable names rarely come 'just like that'. Determine what you
intend to use your domain for – whether it's for business or personal purposes
– then come up with a list of relevant names that are short, sweet and catchy.
The name you eventually end up with should be easily remembered by as many
people as possible and have the ability to draw targeted visitors to your site.
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text:
Written on: 22/12/2011
I am a web designer and a fine artist and I have received several Jacquie Lawson cards since they started on biz. Yes, they are nice to watch, like a old fashioned printed card but animated, and you can see the details they add to make it very Victorian.
BUT in my opinion, they are sooo boring that I just jump to the end to read the message as soon as I get one. Probably the problem is the slow motion they add, in order to let viewers to enjoy all the artwork.
I know some fellows might like it but not me. On the other hand, Hallmarks e-cards are very imaginative and funny and it cost the same.


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Welcome to The World Federation of Parasitologists (WFP)
The World Federation of Parasitologists promotes and co-ordinates the exchange of knowledge, research and other activities relating to parasitology. The International Congress of Parasitology (ICOPA) takes place every 4 years. Members of The Federation consist of scientific organizations concerned with parasitism, mainly national societies related to parasitology or tropical medicine. The Federation was founded in Warsaw, Poland in 1960.
The International Journal Parasite Epidemiology and Control is published on behalf of the WFP. Professor Marcel Tanner is the editor in chief and Dale Seaton is Elseviers representative. Submissions have been strong and all information on the journal is available on: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/parasite-epidemiology-and-control.
President's Message
During the dynamic leadership of the past presidents David Rollinson and Alan Cowman and due to the efforts of Les Chappell, our former secretary, WFP has entered into a new phase with a more modern organisation and increasing activities. At the council meeting held during ICOPA XIII we elected a high number of new executive board members. All board members are presented on our home page.
WFP is close to launching our own journal in collaboration with Elsevier thus making us more visible and allowing us to contribute more to the science and practice of parasitology.
The highlight of 2014 was, needless to say, ICOPA XIII in Mexico City. Ana Flisser and her team had managed to gather an impressive number of high profile speakers and we had wonderful social gatherings, great food and a memorable gala dinner.
All the latest news and details can be seen in the WFP newsletter, a new initiative aimed at strengthening our communication. Please see WFP newsletter no. 2, 2015 under the News tab.
I would like to wish all parasitologists around the world a happy and successful New Year 2015. I look forward to the coming four years and to see you all in South Korea for ICOPA XIV if not before.
Jørgen Kurtzhals
President of World Federation of Parasitologists
WFP is pleased to announce that ICOPA XIV will be held in Daegu, South Korea, August 19-23, 2018. Further information can be found in the WFP newsletter (WFP newsletter no. 1, 2015) Further details will be posted as soon as they become available.
About Us
What is the World Federation of Parasitologists?
The World Federation of Parasitologists (WFP) exists to unite those engaged in the study of parasites and to present forums for international exchange of information and ideas. We bring together the National Societies of Parasitology worldwide and provide contacts and insights to benefit students, research scientists, national and international agencies, health control specialists and others keen to learn about Parasitology and its importance globally.
What is Parasitology and why are parasites important?
The parasitic mode of life is the most common on the planet with representatives from all major taxa. Parasites have evolved highly specialized adaptations that allow them to exploit host resources and to find a niche in every living organism. Negative consequences of parasitic infection result in the multitude of diseases affecting animals and humans including trypanosomiasis, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis, elephantiasis and ascariasis to name a few. These diseases are caused by a broad range of parasites from simple single celled forms to multi-cellular organisms such as lung, liver and gut flukes, tapeworms and roundworms. Hence, parasitology has broad applications to human and veterinary medicine, agriculture, fisheries, nutrition and biodiversity
Parasites steal resources from the infected host that would normally be utilized for growth and reproduction. It is becoming increasingly clear that variation in host resources can influence disease dynamics and parasite virulence thereby shaping the prevalence of disease within populations. Understanding the unique adaptations of parasites and the interactions between parasitic organisms and their hosts poses research questions that continue to fascinate biologists and scientists from many different disciplines.
One of the most devastating diseases caused by parasites is malaria for which there are 300 million acute cases annually, resulting in more than a million deaths, mostly in children under five years of age. Globally, there has been a strengthening of will to combat malaria with initiatives from the Roll Back Malaria Global Partnership, the Multilateral Initiative for Malaria of the WHO, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and many others. Indeed Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have voiced their commitment that Our long-term goal is to eradicate this deadly disease. This will be an enormous challenge but an important call to those developing novel treatments and controls against malaria. Currently, a vaccine against Plasmodium falciparum (RTS,S) is in Phase III human trials and a number of new drugs and combinations in advanced stages of development, providing hope that the tools for the prevention of malaria infection will be available in the near future. By harnessing global expertise and encouraging effective scientific networks, significant progress can be achieved across the multiple disciplines of parasitology.
What does the World Federation of Parasitologists do?
The WFP promotes the study of parasitology globally and provides a forum for international exchange by sponsoring of The International Congress of Parasitology (ICOPA) meeting every four years. The next Congress, ICOPA XIII, will be held in Mexico in 2014 and will provide a valuable opportunity to bring together the worlds parasitology experts to learn, network and develop ideas that will assist in understanding parasites of the world. WFP also provides forums for contacts and insights to benefit students, research scientists, national and international agencies, health control specialists and others keen to learn more about Parasitology in the broadest sense.
This website serves to provide a growing resource of information for anyone keen to learn more about Parasitology. News from all National Parasitology Societies and interested individuals is welcome and please do notify us of important and influential research papers that could be featured in our Highlighted Article" section. The Executive Board of WFP welcomes your comments and feedback.


text: Johannesburg - A "well-known" farming family from De Aar in the Northern Cape has been found shot dead in a bakkie on a gravel road, police say.Spokesperson Hendrik Swart said: "One of the employees on the farm came across the bakkie just after 06:00 this morning (on Monday) about 1km from the farm." He noticed that the farmer was sitting behind the wheel of the bakkie and that he was not responding."Swart said the farmer, 58, his wife, 39, and their two daughters, aged eight and six, had been shot dead.Their names were being withheld as they had not yet been formally identified."The employee went to the brother of the farmer on an adjacent farm and informed him," said Swart.The farmer's brother phoned the police in De Aar, who arrived at the scene a short while later.Police opened the bakkie to find "a lot of jackets" on the front seat, removed them and discovered the two girls.Both had "wounds" to the head.The farmer, who was in the driver's seat, also had a wound to the head and a .357 revolver was found on his lap.The body of the farmer's wife was found under a pile of clothes in the bakkie's loading bin. She too had a wound to the head."It is suspected that all four people had been killed with the revolver found in the bakkie," Swart said.Post mortems would take place in Kimberley this week.An earlier Sapa report had mistakenly said that animals were scavenging on the some of the victims.


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Search Results
Entries tagged with "
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February 18, 2009 9:53 PM
Mass Media Lazy tagged "News Readers"
Sometimes you don't want to leave any comments on a Blog, respond to a Twitter message, update your Facebook status or Digg a news item. Sometimes, you just want to consume. Just sit back and float through these new digital... Read more


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Yoga teacher loves her lentils
Megan Callahan has a new yoga business and a relatively new mouth to feed.
Yoga Parkside is the former; 8-month-old Pax is the latter, and Callahan – an actress who came to Buffalo six years ago to perform at the Irish Classical Theatre, and put down roots – is starting her son off early with the same kind of vegetarian diet she began at age 12.
"One of the personal codes in yoga is about doing no harm, so some people consider vegetarianism a cruelty-free diet. My eating philosophy is, as best as I can while living in this modern age, driven by food that has the least environmental impact and is the healthiest for my body," said Callahan, 32, who is teaching yoga in the nooks and crannies of Parkside Lutheran Church in North Buffalo. For more info, visit yogaparkside.com or the business Facebook Page.
What are the staples of your diet?
In our household, typically for breakfast I'll have some eggs with greens. I'm nursing, so I need to keep my protein and my iron up, so I eat a lot spinach. I'll make a batch of lentils for the week and I'll throw lentils in with a bunch of stuff. I'll throw lentils in with my breakfast stir fry or with dinner. Being a working mom, what works well is to have one or two days a week where I can cook up big pots of things that I can use along with other things that I can cook up more quickly.
– Scott Scanlon
On the Web: Read more about Megan Callahan and find her recipe for lentil sloppy joe's at blogs.buffalonews.com/refresh


text:
Year: 1995
Country: USA
Language: English
Director: Patrick Collins
Starring: Nikita Gross (as Nikita), Dina Pearl, Jacqueline Wild (as Jacqueline), Krisztina (as Kristina), Vicca (as Victoria Queen), Christoph Clark (as Christof Clark), Francesco Malcom (as Francesco Trulli), John Walton, Mike Foster, Nick Lang, Roscoe Bowltree, Attila Schuster (as Attilla Dori), Gianfranco Romagnoli (as Gianfranco Romagnol), Zoltan Krucsay
Description: Featuring a mostly European cast, and produced before Vicca and Nikita became bigger stars in the States, COMING features scenes of carnality and depravity which would make Anabolic blush (actually, that's not true...). The two girls are also joined by Dina Pearl, Kristina and Jacqueline, three natural beauties who engage in sex every bit as wild and as crazy as the featured performers.
Scene Breakdowns
* Scene 1. Nikita Gross, Vicca
* Scene 2. Dina Pearl, Roscoe Bowltree
* Scene 3. Jacqueline, John Walton
* Scene 4. Krisztina, Francesco Malcom
* Scene 5. Jacqueline, Vicca
* Scene 6. Nikita Gross, Francesco Malcom
* Scene 7. Vicca, John Walton, Nick Lang
* Scene 8. Dina Pearl, Christoph Clark, Mike Foster
* Scene 9. Nikita Gross, Christoph Clark
* Scene 10. Vicca, Francesco Malcom
Quality: DVDRip
Format: WMV
Audio: wmav2, 22050 Hz, stereo, 22 kb/s
Video: wmv2, yuv420p, 512x384, 972 kb/s, 30.00 fps(r)
Duration: 02:09:38
Size: 932.63 MiB
Download Link(s)


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FULTON, Miss. (WCBI)- Beth Graham is not afraid to admit her mistakes. She dropped out of school in the 9th grade and is serving time at the Itawamba County jail. But she's not letting that stop her from turning her life around.
"I came here on a DUI so basically I battled with drugs my whole life. I always wanted to go back to school, whenever I was younger, I left because I had my baby and this is an opportunity to further my education and make my parents proud," said Graham.
Beth is studying for the GED exam. So is Preston Sheffield.
"I am a recovering addict and when I came in here, it was just for minor stuff. But, I knew this was probably the best thing for me. Just because you're in stripes doesn't make you a bad person. You can always change. And people in here do have big hearts," said Sheffield.
Jail Administrator Vicky Russell and Itawamba County Sheriff Chris Dickinson started the GED Program last year. It gives inmates an opportunity to use their time for something positive.
"We got with Itawamba County Learning Center, Ms. Elizabeth and Pat Thorn over there and talked to them and they decided we will give it a try so it's been a real success," said Russell.
"It's allowing us to keep people from being repeat offenders for whatever reason they came in because it's giving them an extra opportunity. It's part of our mission to protect and serve and this is part of that serving that we're doing here," said Dickinson.
Pat Thorn tutors her students every week.
"It's fun to watch them transform. From when they come in, they're usually nervous and scared, thinking they can't do anything. By the time they leave, they are ready!!! They are ready to face the world and to take that test! And it's exciting to see," said Thorn.
Exciting and life changing. Both Beth and Preston want to use their story to educate and help others.
"I'm better than I think I am. I don't want to go out and do the stupid things I was doing. And I'd like to come help people here whenever I leave and be able to tell them my testimony and how I changed my life," said Graham.
"I want to go into criminal justice since I know so much about it! I know a lot of the laws and what you can and cannot do so that's pretty much what I want to go into," said Sheffield.
Students who pass the GED exam receive a scholarship to Itawamba Community College.
If you would like to help with funding for the courses you can contact Director Elizabeth Triplet at (662) 871-3273.


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DURING Children's Book Week from August 16 to 22 Orange Public School (OPS) will be introducing a new feature to their popular Book Yard book sale.
This book sale is an important fundraiser for the school with all the money going back into improving the literacy of children.
The theme of Book Week this year is Connect to Reading and at OPS student readers will connect with each other and with literature through a book swap, to be held during school hours on Friday, August 22.
In just four days since the project began at the school students have brought in 500 books and for each one a child donates, he or she receives a ticket that can be redeemed for a different title at the book swap.
The children will have plenty to choose from because their donations will be added to the more than 5000 books already on offer through The Book Yard which is a quarterly sale of pre-loved books held at the Heritage Hall of OPS.
On the book swap day infants students will be paired with older primary students who will be their buddy for the day.
Founder of Book Yard Sarah Ferguson said it is hoped this will encourage children of different ages to connect by sharing their experiences of favourite books and older children may recommend it to a younger buddy at the swap.
OPS librarian Liz Smith said putting new titles in children's hands will help them to read a wide range of books.
"Reading with your children helps expand their vocabulary and broadens their interests by reading diverse texts," she said.
Adults will have the opportunity to Connect to Reading at the next Book Yard the following day on Saturday, August 23.
At the Book Yard there will be an impressive selection of non-fiction books all collated under topics which include cooking, gardening, craft, computers, history and sport of all categories.
The Book Yard will be open to the public from 9am until 2pm on Saturday, August 23 at the OPS school Heritage Hall off Kite Street.
Entry is free and books cost one dollar per centimetre as measured across the spine.


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Shane Victorino still celebrating
NASHVILLE, Tenn — Here's new Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino (and his son, Kingston) wearing a Red Sox hat at his charity golf tournament in Hawaii.
Victorino, who seems to love posting on Twitter, wrote that he woke up "proud to be a Red Sox."
You can debate whether signing Victorino was a good move. But at least the guy has a personality and seems excited to be playing for the Sox. That's more than could be said for some of the players who took up space on the roster the last few years.


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Making music is more than simply an appearance on stage, a lot of fans and popularity, according to the members of The Reel, a band with local roots that recently won the "Say it with Skype" worldwide band competition.
"We're living out our purpose through out music," said Placerville native and lead singer Cameron Stymeist. "Through that, (we want to) inspire others to live out their purposes."
The Reel includes Stymeist (acoustic guitar, lead vocals), Kevin Balzer (electric guitar, background vocals), Curtis Van Winkle (electric guitar, background vocals), Christian Midthun (drums, cajon) and Jacob Ricketts (bass).
Stymeist entered the band in the competition on the last day of the deadline to enter.
"We saw a tweet from (the band) One Republic," said Stymeist. One Republic's Ryan Tedder, along with Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and Black Cards and Matt Pinfield of MTV were the celebrity judges for the competition, judging for vocal ability, screen presence and originality.
"Cameron frantically gathered the band before practice and said, 'We have to film this video!'" recalled Van Winkle.
The band recorded a video of themselves playing an acoustic version of "Made for You," a song Stymeist wrote for his wife, which also won the West Coast Songwriter's International Song Competition in 2011.
More than 1,000 bands worldwide entered the competition, so The Reel members said they were surprised to learn a few days after the submission that their entry had made it to the top five.
The judges soon announced The Reel as the "House Band for the Say it With Skype Competition," a honor that included an hour-long career mentoring session with the three celebrity judges.
The Reel also recorded their original, pop-infused version of "Happy Birthday" for the new "Say it with Skype" group video greeting app, which allows Skype users to personalize video greetings to send to friends or loved ones through the program.
As their popularity rises, The Reel continues to support non-profit organizations and play at benefit events. Recently, the group traveled to the American Embassy School in Delhi, India, where they encouraged children to "use their art for a cause," raising money to fight sex trafficking. They also played a concert for the prisoners at San Quentin Prison, and they continue to support Courage To Be You — the Sacramento based organization that runs a safe-house for women who have been rescued from sex trafficking. The band was able to talk with and share stories with some of the women at the Courage House.
"(We're) excited to see their futures," said Stymeist, who is also the worship director at Green Valley Community Church.
New music is in the future for this up-and-coming band. Stymeist continues to write songs and the band is preparing to record a new album. The band is also eager to continue to play for causes.
"A practical side of it is giving people an outlet to channel their passions," said Van Winkle. "Longterm, I hope we're making a difference, using our music for projects at events to raise money. We want to inspire people to reach out and do something greater than themselves."
He added, "We're very appreciative towards this community. People have been very receptive to what we do."
"It's hard to do what you do if you don't have people that believe in you," Stymeist agreed.
The Reel will host a "Help Find Linnea Lomax" concert on Aug. 5 at Cold Springs Community Church. More information about this event will be posted on the band's website wearethereel.com or facebook page at facebook.com/wearethereel. Their music is available on iTunes for download and can also be found on Youtube.
Megan - great job (as always) enjoyed reading your feature story on The Reel!Reply


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NFL Las Vegas Divisional Odds
(The Spread) - The NFL Divisional Round will take place this weekend as football fans will be treated to another four playoff games. Let's check out the point spreads in Vegas.
According to oddsmakers at the MGM Mirage in Las Vegas, the Denver Broncos are currently 8.5-point favorites over the Baltimore Ravens for Saturday's 4:30PM ET kickoff. The total, meanwhile, is sitting at 46 after opening at 45. Bettors may favor the over in this game with Peyton Manning, Joe Flacco and Ray Rice's ability to light up the scoreboard, although if Ray Lewis has anything to say about it, this game will be a another defensive struggle for Baltimore.
In the Saturday night game, the San Francisco 49ers remain 3-point favorites over the Green Bay Packers at 8:00PM ET. Despite the firepower that Aaron Rodgers and Colin Kaepernick may display, the total has dropped slightly from 45.5 to 44.5 in Las Vegas.
The 1:00PM ET kickoff on Sunday features Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons hosting Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and the Seattle Seahawks. After opening as a 2-point favorite the Falcons are now 2.5-point faves versus the Seahawks in Vegas. The total, meanwhile, has jumped from 44.5 up to 46.
The final game of the Divisional Round playoffs will pit the Houston Texans versus the New England Patriots at 4:30PM ET on Sunday. According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Patriots are 10-point favorites although the Vegas oddsmakers currently list the Broncos at +9.5.
2013 NFL Playoffs Divisional Round Las Vegas Odds
109 Baltimore Ravens +8.5 (46)
110 Denver Broncos -8.5
111 Green Bay Packers +3 (44.5)
112 San Francisco 49ers -3
113 Seattle Seahawks +2.5 (46)
114 Atlanta Falcons -2.5
115 Houston Texans +9.5 (48)
116 New England Patriots -9.5
Bet NFL Divisional Round Playoff Games
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text:
What a grump! Doesn't he know Christmas is right around the corner?
The Western World Is 'Finished Financially': CIO
Posted By: Antonya Allen | Assistant Editor, CNBC
| 30 Nov 2011 | 07:38 AM ET
The Western world has run out of ideas and is "finished financially" while emerging economies across the world will continue to grow, David Murrin, CIO at Emergent Asset Management told CNBC on the tenth anniversary of coining of the so-called BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China, by Goldman Sachs' Jim O'Neill.
"I still subscribe and I've spoken about it regularly on this show that this is the moment when the Western world realizes it is finished financially and the implications are huge, whereas the emerging BRIC countries are at the beginning of their continuation cycle," Murrin told CNBC.
Murrin added he believes the power shift from the West to emerging economies beyond Europe and the United States was "unstoppable" and he blamed a lack of ideas from Western leaders on how to stimulate growth together with contracted demographics and rising inflation as catalysts for Western decline.
"We suffer from no growth and we suffer from imported inflation… that means we have negative real growth and societies fracture when you have negative real growth and quite simply our society faces fractures for trying to stick Europe back together again is not going to work with that underlying paradigm, unless you can create five percent growth to overcome that imported inflation," Murrin explained.
Murrin said that the East was depending less on the West and the rise of a consumer society was the first step in the expansion of an economic empire.
"If you look at the cycle of an empire system from regionalization to expansion to empire, the first phases of that catalyst are when you have a self fuelled consumer society and so actually that process of building your consumer base which is really what's going on in China, day by day their consumer base increases and the dependence on the West decreases," he said.
Containing China
Murrin added that while China is by far the biggest emerging economy and would be at the center of a new economic order, other emerging nations were set to join the BRIC countries and new political orders and alliances would come about as a result.
"This isn't just a BRIC story, this is the end of the Christian Western Empire versus the rise of the whole emerging world led by China as the foremost and most powerful," Murrin told CNBC.
"I think it's going to be the whole world trying to contain China's growth and there's going to be completely new alliances that take place... between Australia, Japan and India and America and possibly Russia if the foreign policy is expansive enough, there's going to be a ring of containment trying to hold this bulging entity which is like no other nation we've ever seen coherently challenge for control of world commodities and resources," he added.
Intervention Not the Answer
Finally, Murrin stressed that Europe in particular was set to experience a rapid and deep decline and intervention by the European Union and its financial institutions was not a solution to stimulate growth.
"I think there's a real reality amongst investors and just taxi drivers, that without growth, the system's not sustainable, so intervention is just a drug and we all know that the more drugs you put into someone, the more the system becomes immune to their response and so I don't see this as a solution," he said.
Pointing to previous economic downturns, Murrin said the West was much less equipped than the emerging world to deal with its current decline.
"In all our examples of disastrous events, Argentina, Russia, the Asian crisis, they're not good references for us in the West because they take place in countries with good demographics, good commodity stories and essentially underlying tides which lift them away from their problems," he said.
"We in the West have none of those, we live in a world where resources are increasing in prices, where we're a consumer society, we're an old society, we're not innovative, we're not expansive, so we don't have any of those natural lifting qualities to actually pick us out of the mire which is what decline is really about," he added.
© 2011 CNBC.com
What a grump! Doesn't he know Christmas is right around the corner?
Hmm. Well, that's disconcerting.
Perhaps someone should forward this article to Obama in time for him to cancel his 3 idiotic fundraisers tonight before they turn New York City into Gridlock City.
this article came out 2 hours before the market opened, and the market is up 3% today.
While there could certainly be some tough times ahead, I do not buy all of the economic doom and gloom that has been dished out over the past few years. There is simply far too much wealth, resources, infrastructure, and shear number of consumers in the Western World for it to realistically become "financially finished."
lol, things are still peachy in this part of the Western World. Low unemployment, escaped the GFC, relatively free press, stable democracy, probably the best economy on the globe, lovely weather, lovely women and great people in general - can't get better here.


text:
ESL Job Feed is the most eclectic and broad source of ESL jobs and teaching positions available worldwide.?ESL Job Feed publishes links to ESL Job postings from a variety of sources including TESall, Total ESL, Yahoo!/Monster, Guardian Jobs, Chronicle of Higher Education, craigslist, TESOL Org, TEFL and many more. From conversation schools for beginners to university positions for teaching veterans,?ESL Job Feed is your source for English teaching positions worldwide.
Native English Language Instructors for Saudi Arabia
Date 2013-11-11 10:11:04 Location : Middle East
Package: Competitive salary paid in US Dollars. Suitable furnished accommodation/ or accommodation allowance, medical insurance, annual flight allowance plus mobilization/demobilization flights, baggage allowance. Company vehicle provided, or transport allowance payable according to eligibility.
Contract Status: Open / Single status.
Hours: Full time - 40 hours per week. 5 days per week Sat to Wed, although some flexibility may be required. Not rotational.
Start date: ASAP
TQ Education and Training is a leading UK education and training provider offering premium educational services to customers worldwide. TQ specialises in providing innovative solutions to the training and development needs of a diverse range of customers both in the UK and overseas.
TQ has been delivering training services at the Saudi Petroleum Services Polytechnic in Dammam, Saudi Arabia for the last 4 years. We deliver and assess English Language, Key Skills and Technical National Vocational Qualifications to NVQ Level 3 in the Petroleum Industry. The contract involves equipping and the setting up of the Polytechnic's workshops, providing curriculum and accreditation to international standards and recruiting teaching and support staff to deliver the training and assessment programs, both in the training centre and also to trainees in the field.
Due to the ongoing expansion of SPSP's programmes, we have an urgent requirements for highly qualified Teachers of English to join our team.
• BA English, or Masters TESOL/TEFL or Applied Linguistics
• CELTA or equivalent recognized TEFL teaching qualification
• Ability to achieve an IELTS Band 7 scored required for Bi-lingual instructors
• 5 years teaching experience
• Preferably experience of teaching Arab learners
• Preferably experience of teaching English within a technical context
NB This post is open to male candidates only.
Interested applicants should send the following documents attached IN FULL


text:
This script is Copyright (C) 2004-2016 Tenable Network Security, Inc.
Synopsis :
The remote Red Hat host is missing a security update.
Description :
Updated slocate packages are now available that fix vulnerabilities
allowing a local user to gain 'slocate' group privileges.
Slocate is a security-enhanced version of locate, designed to find
files on a system via a central database.
Patrik Hornik discovered a vulnerability in Slocate versions up to and
including 2.7 where a carefully crafted database could overflow a
heap-based buffer. A local user could exploit this vulnerability to
gain 'slocate' group privileges and then read the entire slocate
database. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project
(cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2003-0848 to this issue.
Users of Slocate should upgrade to these erratum packages, which
contain Slocate version 2.7 with the addition of a patch from Kevin
Lindsay that causes slocate to drop privileges before reading a
user-supplied database.
For Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 these packages also fix a buffer
overflow that affected unpatched versions of Slocate prior to 2.7.
This vulnerability could also allow a local user to gain 'slocate'
group privileges. The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures project
(cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2003-0056 to this issue.
See also :
Solution :
Update the affected slocate package.
Risk factor :
High / CVSS Base Score : 7.2
Family: Red Hat Local Security Checks
Nessus Plugin ID: 12457 ()
Get Nessus Professional to scan unlimited IPs, run compliance checks & moreBuy Nessus Professional Now


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People interested in the progress of engineering often refer to a principle that has been called "Amara's Law," usually stated: We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run. Examples of this rule in practice will occur to everyone.
We think that the cause of this is to be found in the unanticipated consequences of technical advances. The electric telegraph was exciting enough as a means of conquering distance and time; no one could foresee that the challenge of automating the reception of telegrams would lead, eventually, to the digital computer and the Internet.
Most technical advances are marked by an initial period of promise and confusion, when the "early adopters" figure out what the new thing can do immediately and locally. This is followed by a longer period of quiet development, during which an ever-larger number of users with more and more diverse interests and concerns become familiar with the technology, and apply it in diverse ways. Those applications, in turn, often change the behavior and expectations of greater and greater numbers of people surrounding the quiet innovators. The cumulative effect of all this almost always surpasses the expectations of those early adopters, and seldom (or never) could have been predicted.
For instance, the application of computers to management information systems for vending initially was driven by a desire for fast, accurate cash-to-inventory reconciliation. People who wanted this often were willing to give up a good deal of flexibility to get it. It was more straightforward, when setting up a new-fangled glassfront snack machine, to assign one price to everything in a particular package size than to burden the route driver with lengthy record-keeping tasks, and to incur the difficulty of checking machines in the field to see that their prices had been set correctly. What was good enough for a nine-column candy vender was good enough for a 36-select snack machine.
As the industry developed greater fluency, and new tools came along to reinforce the computer in the office, operators began to appreciate what the potential flexibility of the new equipment could do for their sales. It could be argued that traversing that learning curve, throughout most of the 1980s, made life a good deal easier for everyone when cold drink package sizes, categories and price points began to proliferate in the next decade.
We naturally look at advances in vending technology from the perspective of the seller's problems and opportunities. However, the large-scale, long-term impact of those advances is exerted by the customers - a group whose composition is continually changing, and which acts in an environment that is changing, too.
Full-line vending, thus, proved far superior to any other service method in meeting the need for refreshments around the clock. While it was doing that, it was familiarizing consumers with the convenience of packaged single portions of many products that, well into the 1960s, were regarded as grocery items purchased for final preparation and serving to a family. And, while all this was going on, the automobile and the telephone were evolving from their initial role as amenities into life-altering essentials.
Imaginative fiction is full of predictions about the World of the Future, and all of them have been wrong. This has been noticed, and has led to the recognition that straight-line extrapolation simply doesn't work in forecasting social change.
But it can be helpful to look back over the industry's "wish list" and to point out that many of the items on it now are realities, or can easily become so. It is entirely possible to obtain frequently-updated records of line-item sales, and to adjust machine menus by selectively discarding the slowest-moving items in favor of new ones that may prove more popular. By the same token, it is altogether feasible to develop accurate sales forecasts and to adjust load plans so that the service frequency can be increased with minimal risk of running out of a best-seller. It is entirely possible to "bundle" complementary products , for example, offering the purchaser of a package of crackers a discount on the purchase of a cold drink. All of these things have been recommended; they now can be done. The consequences of doing them are hard to quantify, but surely will be beneficial.
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Fw: Day-Long Courses announced and new deadline for Associated Session applications for the 2011 Global Microcredit Summit
YOUR INFO.....[below]
--- On Mon, 5/9/11, Microcredit Summit Secretariat <info@...> wrote:
From: Microcredit Summit Secretariat <info@...>
Subject: Day-Long Courses announced and new deadline for Associated Session applications for the 2011 Global Microcredit Summit
To: getanehg2002@...
Date: Monday, May 9, 2011, 1:03 PM
Having trouble viewing this email? Click hereDay-Long Courses announced and newdeadline for Associated Session applications for the 2011 Global Microcredit Summit 2011 Institutional Action Plans (IAP)
Download your 2011 IAP online. Click on the links below:
in developing or in industrialized countries; & Networks
in developing or in industrialized countries
Domestic Government Agencies
in developing or in industrialized countries
in developing or in industrialized countries
Banks & Commercial Finance Institutions
International Financial Institutions & Bilateral Donor AgenciesTo ensure that 175
million of the world's
poorest families,
especially women of
those families, are
receiving credit for
and other financial
and business services.To help 100 million
families rise above the
US $1.25 per day
threshold by 2015.
Day-Long Courses announced for the 2011 Global Microcredit Summit
We are delighted to announce the day-long courses to be presented at the 2011 Global Microcredit Summit to be held from November 14 to 17, 2011 in Valladolid, Spain.
One-day courses include:
Introductory Course on Social Performance Initiatives, Indicators and Tools
Led by Laura Foose, Social Performance Task Force, USA
Capacity: 75 participants
Two-day courses include:
Client Protection Principles Training
Led by SMART Campaign, USA
Capacity: 20 participants
Empowering Women through Microfinance: Current Innovations and Tools
Led by Linda Mayoux, Oxfam Novib's WEMAN Programme, The Netherlands
Capacity: 50 participants
Please remember to indicate whether you would like to attend a day long course when you register. Spaces are limited and courses are filling up. To see a complete list of Day-Long Courses, click here.
New deadline for Associated Sessions is May 30
The deadline to send your applications for Associated Sessions has been moved up to May 30. The Microcredit Summit Secretariat will begin announcing the selected sessions after that date. The Secretariat will continue accepting applications through August 1 but you are encouraged to submit your application early as spaces are limited.
Please click here for more information and to download an application to organize an Associated Session.
For more information and to register for the Global Microcredit Summit 2011 in Valladolid, Spain, visit:
Microcredit Summit Campaign Lead SponsorsThis email was sent to getanehg2002@... by info@... |Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy.Microcredit Summit Campaign | 750 First Street, NE, Suite 1040 | Washington | DC | 20002Your message has been successfully submitted and would be delivered to recipients shortly.


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Israel barred a group of 20 U.S. Muslims from entering the country Sunday, holding them under guard at the airport, before putting them on a flight back to the United States, police and a member of the group said.
Margaret Zaknoen, program organizer for the group, American Muslims for Jerusalem, said her delegation arrived in Israel at 4:15 p.m. for meetings with Israeli and Palestinian peace activists.
"We started to go through passport control and then they took us out," Zaknoen, of Washington D.C. said by cellphone from Ben Gurion airport, near Tel Aviv, as she and the others boarded a Continental Airlines flight to Newark, N.J.
Israel police spokesman said, according to AP the 20 were refused entry by the Interior Ministry staff and were being held at the airport for deportation.
Zaknoen said an immigration official told her the group was denied entry because of "serious security concerns".
"I told them we were not going to go to any demonstrations or anything, we were just going to be meeting Palestinian and Israeli groups, talking to people, learning about the situation," she said.
She said that on her return home she would complain to the State Department and members of Congress. (Albawaba.com)
[1] http://www.albawaba.com


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PRAYERS were read by the Lord Bishop of Hereford.
1. Leave of AbsenceLeave of absence was granted to the Lord Chancellor from Thursday 12th to Wednesday 18th October.
Judicial Business
2. Regina v. Leeds Crown Court (Respondents) ex parte Wardle (AP) (Appellant) (On Appeal from a Divisional Court of the Queens Bench Division)The appeal was set down for hearing and referred to an Appellate Committee.
3. Regina v. London Borough of Richmond (Petitioners) ex parte Watson (FC) (Respondent) and three other actionsThe certificates of public funding for Mary Watson and Christopher Armstrong were lodged.
4. Appeal CommitteeThe 68th Report from the Appeal Committee was made and ordered to be printed. (HL Paper 108).
5. Judicial Standing OrdersIt was moved by the Lord Chancellor that the following amendments be made to the Standing Orders regulating judicial business:
Standing Order V(2)
Standing Order IX
Standing Order XIII
6. Command PaperThe following paper was presented to the House by command of Her Majesty and ordered to lie on the Table:
7. Negative InstrumentsThe following instruments were laid before the House and ordered to lie on the Table:
Select Committee Report
8. Delegated Powers and DeregulationThe 30th Report from the Select Committee was made on the following bills:
Public Business
9. Wireless Telegraphy (Television Licence Fees) Bill [HL]The bill was read a third time and passed and sent to the Commons.
10. Political Parties, Elections and Referendums BillAfter debate, the House again resolved itself into a Committee upon the bill; amendments were moved and (by leave of the Committee) withdrawn; amendments were disagreed to (see division lists 1 and 2); amendments were agreed to; the question that a clause stand part of the bill was negatived; the House was resumed.
11. Dental sedationThe Baroness Gardner of Parkes asked Her Majestys Government what plans they have to increase the training of dentists and dental nurses in dental sedation following the abolition of the use of general anaesthetics by general dental practitioners; after debate, the question was answered by the Lord Hunt of Kings Heath.
12. Political Parties, Elections and Referendums BillThe House again resolved itself into a Committee upon the bill; amendments were agreed to; amendments were moved and (by leave of the Committee) withdrawn; an amendment was agreed to (see division list 3); the questions that certain clauses stand part of the bill were negatived; the House was resumed after the question that clause 31 stand part of the bill was negatived.
The House was adjourned at six minutes past midnight
in the morning of Wednesday 11th October
till later the same day, half-past two oclock in the afternoon.
Cler: Parliamentor:


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An off-duty Chicago police officer wounded a man Wednesday night who tried to run the officer over with his car, officials said.
A spokesperson for the Fraternal Order of Police said the officer was working a second job as a security guard at a Little Village restaurant when he threw out a group of three men who were acting rowdy.
When the officer went to the parking lot to make sure they had left the property, one of the men tried to run him down with a vehicle, eventually pinning him against a fence, police said.
Police said the officer managed to get loose and climb onto the hood of the car, firing two shots through the windshield, one of which grazed the driver in the head.
The men then tried to drive off but lost control of the vehicle on 31st Street, hitting an oncoming car a block west of Kedzie.
The driver was taken to a hospital for treatment and the two passengers were arrested. All three were in police custody Thursday morning.


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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1783.1/3158
Characterization of ultrathin II-VI semiconductor nanowires by transmission electron microscopy
|Cai, Yuan
|Issue Date
|Using the molecular-beam epitaxy technique, high-quality and ultra thin ZnSe and ZnS nanowires have been fabricated on different substrates based on the Au-catalytic vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) reaction. The nucleation, initial growth, growth rates, defects, interface structures and growth direction of the nanowires were systematically investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The possible mechanisms of nanowire formation were proposed by combining the classical VLS process with the surface diffusion theory. The electrical and optical properties were also characterized. Particularly, this study has focused on how the growth temperature and the size of the catalysts influence the morphology, structure and growth direction of these nanowires. The nanowires were grown on different substrates, e.g., GaAs (001), (110) and (111). The Au catalysts were prepared by depositing a thin layer of Au on the substrate at 150°C and annealing the substrate subsequently at 530°C for 10 min. Uniform Au-alloy droplets formed on the substrate surface by the annealing process. The sizes of Au droplets were mainly determined by the thickness of the Au thin layer. The Au droplets initially reacted with the substrate of GaAs to form AuGa2 phase and As evaporated. For the ZnSe substrates, Au-Zn alloy formed and Se evaporated. The nanowires were then grown at temperatures ranging from 390°C to 530°C, using a ZnSe or ZnS compound source. The morphology and structure of the ZnSe nanowires grown by MBE are in some way dependent on the growth conditions such as substrate temperature. The nanowires grown at high temperature (TS=520°C) exhibit smooth surfaces and uniform diameters. In contrast, the nanowires grown at a low temperature (TS=400°C) have a tapered shape and slightly sawtooth facets. In addition, the decrease of growth temperature greatly increases the density of defects. But the interfaces between the catalysts and nanowires are generally the lowest energy {111} planes, which is independent of the growth conditions and nanowire diameters. This study has focused on how growth temperatures and the sizes of the catalysts influence the growth direction of the ultrathin nanowires. TEM studies revealed that the structure and growth direction of ultra thin nanowires are highly sensitive to growth temperatures and nanowire diameters. At a low growth temperature (400°C) <111> direction was resulted in most nanowires. Planar defects (mainly stacking faults and twins) were found to extend throughout the nanowires. At a high growth temperature (520°C), structurally uniform <110> and <112> nanowires were typically found in nanowires with diameters around 10nm, while <111> nanowires were mainly found in nanowires with diameter larger than 20nm. The size-dependent and temperature-dependent growth directions of the nanowires were analyzed based on the estimation of the nanowire surface and interface energies. The relationship among the growth direction, temperature and the diameter were quantitatively elucidated. According to the classical VLS growth model, an important parameter, the critical thickness LC, was introduced for the first time which determined the transition of the growth directions of nanowires. In addition, the electrical transport through an individual nanowire was characterized via in-situ measurement by the STM-TEM equipment. The resistivity of the ultrathin ZnSe nanowires was measured to be about 1x102Ωcm. When applying a large current through a single crystalline ZnSe nanowire, we observed melting phenomena and structural changes.
|Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2007
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Don't Go, Atheists, We Need You!
Dear Atheists: Please don't go!
I know Pastor John Hagee recently encouraged you to "leave the country" if you don't like "Merry Christmas", its carols and trappings.
Please don't go, because you teach us much. Here are the first four of seven reasons why we need you to stay (the next three follow in Part 2):
1. The light is seen best against the backdrop of night.
Matthew Parris, atheist and journalist, "saw the light" pragmatically at least, in his former homeland.
After a 45-year absence, Parris visited Malawi (once Nyasaland) to observe and report on the work of British charities there. "Now a confirmed atheist," he wrote in The Times of London, "I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs (non-governmental organizations), government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good."
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/open-letter-to-atheists-from-a-megachurch-pastor-dont-go-part-1-111989/


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If you like photography, you know the red dot badge of a Leica camera commands a huge price tag even for the 'regular' models.
When a limited edition pops up, such as a special color, the price jumps higher. But if you pair Leica with a premium, high-end fashion brand like Hermes, then the exclusivity just skyrockets.
Watch this video and be astonished at how it is made and appreciate old-school craftsmanship blended with modern technology.
This limited edition is a celebration of the friendship and collaboration between Jean-Louis Dumas, the former president of Hermès, who died in May 2010, and Leica Camera AG.
The Making of the Leica M9-P »Edition Hermès« – Série Limitée Jean-Louis Dumas from Leica Camera on Vimeo.
And yes, it costs $50,000, in case you have some dough stashed aside.


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Tagged: title
Could you help me, please:
I want to have a bigger title but with the same fonts. How can I do please ?
my website is: http://www.innovation-mix.fr
in style.css search for following code and adjust the font size for the headings:
h1{clear:both; font-size:24px;}
h2{font-size:22px; clear:both;}
h3, legend{font-size:16px; clear:both;}
h4{font-size:12px; clear:both;}
h5{font-size:11px; clear:both;}
h6{font-size:10px; clear:both;}
Thanks a lot.
Since 2 year I have the same theme and i am very happy with.
I have just changed the name of my website: http://www.decrochez-job.fr
The topic 'bigger title' is closed to new replies.


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Headliners Terry Riley (piano/vocals), Krishna Bhatt (sitar), and George Brooks (tenor saxophone) present serenely beautiful ruminations that draw from Indian ragas, Western classical music, and myriad jazz traditions. Less self-consciously synthesized than the East-meets-West fusions Ravi Shankar famously pioneered three decades earlier, the trio's music blends disparate cultural motifs with ease. The meditative melodic and rhythmic arcs led by minimalist master Riley on the 88s repeat naturally in Bhatt's evocative ad-libs on the Indian lute and Brooks' oblique accents on the horn.
Opening act Maybe Monday -- Fred Frith (guitar), Miya Masaoka (koto/electronics), and Rova Saxophone Quartet's Larry Ochs -- approaches so-called world-jazz from a less dreamy space. In fact, sections of the group's 1999 CD debut Saturn's Finger border on the nightmarish. In an eclectic fusion of acoustic and electric sounds, the trio explores collective improvisation as an edgy union of melody and noise. The players constantly adjust the timbre of their respective instruments with deft moment-to-moment transmutations that are startling in their synchronicity and breadth. For example, Frith's detuned six-string can be flabby, rough, or strangely streamlined; Ochs' saxophone riffs chitter and wail, whisper and splash, pumping momentum into the mix like volcanic spray; and Masaoka steers her harplike Japanese zither from lovely iridescence to frightening cacophony. Focusing on such subtle shifts in tonal color, the players feed the organic development of the music, which journeys fearlessly into new worlds that know no bounds.


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Pat Kenny wants to do something 'creative and new' at new channel, UTV Ireland
Pat Kenny has joined the team at UTV Ireland and will begin broadcasting with the channel in early 2015.
In a statement issues this afternoon, Kenny stated he will continue to work in radio at Newstalk.
He said he has "thoroughly enjoyed adapting" to what was a fresh challenge in his career and is still "hugely enthused by it".
He added, "At that time, I made a commitment to bed in the radio show at Newstalk 106 in a very focused way and I'm happy that we're on track in that task.
"With that initial period under our belt, the timing is now really good to get back into television - a medium in which I grew up and for which I have a massive passion."
Of a return to TV he said, "Passion is very much at the centre of my rationale for teaming up with the new team at UTV Ireland – the passion and energy which they're demonstrating very much matches my own desire to get out there with something innovative, exciting and creative.
"I'm energised by what I've seen and the prospect of working with talented young people allied to some very experienced and wise colleagues. I'm very excited to be joining UTV Ireland and really looking forward to broadcasting again early in 2015.
"For me, this is new territory – interesting, challenging and fresh."
The former Late Late Show host revealed he has already had discussions with UTV on how to produce a suitable programme.
"During the next few months we'll take what is effectively a blank canvas with some initial strands and shape it to create the best television possible," he said.
"I know the output will reflect the passion, talent, creativity and the energy of the team at UTV Ireland and I'm delighted to be part of that team."
RTE recently admitted that two of the new challenges facing the state broadcaster included newcoming UTV Ireland and the growing popularity of internet TV and movie service Netflix.
The Newstalk presenter, who switched from RTE last year, now has 134,000 listeners to his morning chat show up from the 114,000 he had when the last Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) survey results were published in May.
The latest figures also showed that Kenny's rival Sean O'Rourke still has the most listeners in the weekday mid-morning talk show slot with 307,000 listeners.
UTV Ireland also announced their deal to transmit The. Graham Norton Show, Saturday Night Takeaway and Mr Selfridge.
The station also committed to 90 minutes of national news and current affairs on week nights.
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- RTE deny reports Ryan Tubridy is moving to Ronan Collins' slot on RTE Radio One


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BERKELEY — Following months of bad news on the classroom performance of its football team, Cal has released encouraging results on two academics fronts.
While the program's scores climbed for both the Graduation Success Rate and Academic Progress Rate, athletic director Sandy Barbour announced she is forming a task force to study key factors in the performance of Cal's student-athletes.
That group, including faculty, staff, students and alumni, will produce a report by June 2014.
The NCAA announced that Cal's GSR for football players who enrolled at the university in 2007 climbed to an estimated 65 percent. That's nearly a 50 percent increase on scores released in October that showed Cal players had the lowest graduation rate (44 percent) among 72 schools in the major fooball-playing conferences.
The October scores reflect an average graduation rate for football players admitted from 2003 to 2006 and given a six-year period to complete their studies. None of the student-athletes in that group are part of first-year coach Sonny Dykes' team.
The Bears also expect to fare better with the next APR results, which measure real-time academic performance and student-athlete retention. Cal scored a substandard 923 APR last spring, but the NCAA's latest estimate for this year's rate is 969, which is equivalent to a graduation rate of about 85 percent, according to the university.
The NCAA will release final, audited numbers in the spring.
"The football team's recent academic performance, as evidenced by the significant improvement in the NCAA metrics, is very encouraging, and shows that we're on the right track in making sure all of our student-athletes get the benefits of a UC Berkeley education," Barbour said in a statement.
"But we're still not satisfied and need to go further in order to sustain this progress and support continued academic achievement across our entire program. We want our student-athletes to understand that they're part of a high-performance culture that includes academic as well as athletic excellence."
The new task force is expected to begin its work in January.
The group will be asked to provide recommendations for changes in policies or practices that would help ensure success for all 850 student-athletes in 29 intercollegiate athletic programs.
The task force's final report will be delivered to Barbour and Faculty Athletics Representative Robert Jacobsen.
For more on Cal sports, see the Bear Talk blog at ibabuzz.com/beartalk. Follow Jeff Faraudo on Twitter at twitter.com/JeffFaraudo.


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Mark Johnson, State Superintendent
North Carolina State Superintendent Mark Johnson was elected to the post in 2016. His career in education began at West Charlotte High School where he taught through Teach for America before attending law school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Superintendent Johnson served as a member of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education for two years and was counsel at Inmar, an international technology company based in Winston-Salem. Having served as a teacher, an education leader, and as a father of a young daughter soon to start school, improving education in North Carolina is a personal mission for Johnson.
Maria Pitre-Martin, Deputy State Superintendent
Maria Pitre-Martin is the Deputy State Superintendent for NCDPI. Until March 2016 when she rejoined the Department as Chief Academic and Digital Learning Officer, she was the Superintendent of Schools for the Thomasville City School District. Before joining Thomasville City Schools, Pitre-Martin served as the director of K-12 Curriculum and Instruction for the Department of Public Instruction. She has held positions as the Chief Academic Officer for the School District of Philadelphia, and the Assistant Superintendent for the East Baton Rouge Parish School System in Louisiana. Pitre-Martin served as the director of Research and Staff Development for the Fort Bend Independent School District in Sugar Land, Texas and the principal of Oakwood Intermediate School in College Station, Texas. Pitre-Martin received a bachelor's degree in English and Speech in 1989 and a Master's in Organizational Communication in 1997, both from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, which is now the University of Louisian at Lafayette. She obtained a Doctorate of Philosophy in Educational Administration from Texas A&M University in 2000. In 2008 Pitre-Martin graduated from the Broad Superintendent Academy.
Vacant, Chief Academic and Digital Learning Officer
Adam Levinson, Chief Financial Officer
Adam Levinson is the Chief Financial Officer for NCDPI. A member of the NCDPI senior leadership team since 2007, Levinson has served in several roles, including Director of Policy and Strategic Planning, Director of the Race to the Top Program, Chief Performance Officer, Interim Director of the Office of Charter Schools, and Chief of Staff. Prior to joining NCDPI, Levinson served as a Fiscal Analyst at the NC General Assembly for seven years and provided early childhood intervention and family support services in Orange, Person, and Chatham counties for four years. Levinson holds a Bachelor's degree in Government and Psychology from Cornell University, a Master's degree in Early Intervention & Family Support from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master's degree in Public Affairs & Urban and Regional Planning from Princeton University, and a North Carolina teaching license in B-K Special Education.
Michael Nicolaides, Chief Information Officer
Michael Nicolaides is the Chief Information Officer for the NCDPI. Prior to joining the department in March 2014, he served as Virginia Beach City Public Schools' technology director where for the last decade he led a large team of IT professionals in maintaining, supporting and enhancing the entire IT infrastructure for the school district that served 87,000 users. In addition, he lead the implementation of enterprise application systems such as student information, instructional improvement, content and collaboration, and HR-Payroll systems. Prior to that he was vice president for Information Systems for Orbit Satellite Television and Radio Network in Cyprus and Rome, Italy. Nicolaides is a graduate of Old Dominion University and holds two bachelor of science degrees, one in Computer Science and one in Electrical Engineering, and a master's degree in Electrical Engineering.
Lindsey Wakely, Senior Policy Advisor & Chief Legal Counsel
Chloe Gossage, Senior Legislative Director & Chief Budget Advisor
Jeani Allen, Internal Auditor
Dave Machado, Director, Office of Charter Schools
Kevin Wilkinson, Policy Advisor
Lou Fabrizio, Director, Data, Research and Federal Policy
Drew Elliot, Director, Communication and Information Services
Claire Miller, Director, Human Resources
Sneha Shah-Coltrane, Director, Advanced Learning
Tom Tomberlin, Director, District LEA Human Resources Support
Nancy Barbour, Director, District and School Transformation
Robert Sox, Acting Director, Educator Effectiveness
Donna Brown, Director, Program Monitoring and Support Services
Tammy Howard, Director, Accountability Operations
Vacant, Director, K-3 Literacy Program
John Pruette, Director, Office of Early Learning
Susan Ruiz, Director, Licensure
Barbria Bacon, School Director/Superintendent, Governor Morehead School for the Blind
Carter Bearden, School Director, Eastern NC School for the Deaf
Audrey Garvin, School Director, NC School for the Deaf at Morganton
Christie Ebert Lynch, Interim Director, K-12 Standards, Curriculum and Instruction
Vacant, Director, Career and Technical Education
Eliz Colbert, Executive Director, North Carolina Virtual Public School
Verna Lalbeharie, Director, Digital Teaching and Learning
Bill Hussey, Director, Exceptional Children
Amy Jablonski, Director, Integrated Academic & Behavior Systems
Meera Phaltankar, Director, Financial Services
Alexis Schauss, Director, School Business Administration
Ben Matthews, Director, Safe and Healthy Schools Support
Donna Roch, Deputy CIO and Director, Business Technology
Julien Alhour, Director, Architecture, Integration, and Quality Assurance
Paul Gebhardt, Director, IT Infrastructure
KC Hunt, Information Security Officer