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Today, 2,000 chief financial officers (CFOs) at corporations around the country will get a copy of an action guide that will help them deal with cyber attacks. Not chief security officers or chief information officers, but chief financial officers. There's a reason for that choice.
Despite the highly publicized losses due to a data breach at TJX, where 94 million records were compromised, plus several other breaches since, hackers keep on penetrating defenses at organizations.
That's because "organizations will only invest in and sustain appropriate cybersecurity measures when they believe it's in their best interest, and we believe it's in their best interest when they address it on an economic basis," Clinton said.
The booklet, unveiled at a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., contains 50 questions CFOs must ask and sample charts to help them calculate the probability and severity of financial losses from both risk actions and the actions taken to mitigate them.
The booklet is issued by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and ISA and is available for download free on the ANSI Website.
Go for the money
It also contains a list of standards and reference documents to help CFOs develop comprehensive risk management frameworks. Organizations "have to look at cybersecurity from a fully functioning enterprise basis," which means representatives from every department, including the legal, human resources and public affairs departments, should help develop a cybersecurity plan, Clinton said.
"We see many corporations are cutting their security budgets, and we don't think most organizations are organized well enough to truly appreciate the value of their information security systems," Clinton said.
The booklet was developed after a year of work involving four workshops and "numerous conference calls and exchanges of documents interspersed between the workshops," Clinton said.
This article was first published on InternetNews.com. To read the full article, click here.


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Search Results
Entries tagged with "
Dan Brown"
May 18, 201310:17 AM
Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #152 tagged "Dan Brown"
Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see? My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, Solve For Interesting, the author of Complete... Read more
March 9, 2010 1:57 PM
March Break tagged "Dan Brown"
Even the most ultimate road warrior and digital nomad needs a break every now and then. Sure, the latest tech can help you get down to work wherever you are. But time on the road (and in the air) is... Read more

subset: commoncrawl


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Ela Stone
Women's Metallic 'serpent' Chain Link Double Spiral Ring
Last seen for £80 at Lane Crawford.
Get notified when it's back…
We check over 450 retailers daily. Be the first to know when it comes back in stock.
Last seen for £80 at Lane Crawford.
See more Ela Stone Rings.
We check over 450 retailers daily. Be the first to know when it comes back in stock.
A novel design driven by mythical elements, this two-piece ring from Ela Stone is designed like two spiralling serpents interlinked with a connector chain. A dramatic design that demands attention, this piece will add kudos to your occasion get-up. Gold-tone plated brass hardware. Two serpent-shaped spiral rings, black oval stones, and chain interlink. Adjustable. Designer dust bag included. Made in France. 100% Brass. One size only. Product measures: Diameter 2cm(S) and 1.5cm(L). Color: metallic
Ela Stone items by category | All Ela Stone items | All Women's Rings


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How to Set-up your Facebook Page Timelines Checklist
How to set-up your Facebook Pages Timeline?
Facebook Page Timeline – New for Old
Some things in the new Timeline layout are revamped features of the old Page's Wall:-
The old profile image banner has been removed and a new "Cover" has been added across the top of your Page. This image should symbolise your business. An idea would be to upload a stunning, high-resolution image that will catch your target markets attention. A photo of you and your team or your product, as long as it's not breeching the conditions below. Upload an image that is 851 pixels wide x 315 pixels tall to feature at the top of your Page timeline.
Facebook Conditions: There are some conditions on the image that you load as your cover and basically these will tone down self-promoting that has been happening on Facebook Pages and make Facebook Pages more social. This image cannot display a call to action, or instructions like "click Like", it cannot be images or text about promotions, coupons, or advertisements, and it shouldn't be primarily text-based or infringe on anyone else's copyright.
Your "Thumbnail" is now displayed as part of your Timeline just under the Cover image.
Facebook Page Timeline – Just Relocated
Some features of the Facebook Page are just relocating. Here are a couple of them:-
"About" section is now below your thumbnail. Make sure you have a live link to your website here as well as a short sentence about your business.
A "App/Tab" thumbnail of your Page's photos now sits alongside links to 3 apps/tabs of your choice. Visitors to your page will need to click the dropdown to view all your apps/tabs.
The "admin panel" area is now included as a drop down on the timeline. There has been some changes to the admin area, but we will cover these in another article, once the dust settles.
Facebook Page Timeline – Removed Features
Some features have been removed altogether:-
The ability to set a default landing tab has been removed so it will be important to select the best tabs to display in the app/tab place holder. Customising a app/tab's icon will become important to entice visitors to click on your old 'Welcome' Tab.
Facebook Page Timeline – Features Not Changed
As far as I can tell the 'like-gate' feature still functions, however, as mentioned above, there is no ability to set a default landing tab so you will need to get non-fans to click on the tab link to go through the 'like-gate'.
Facebook Page Timeline – New Features
Fans and visitors to your page can now send you private "messages". You won't be able to send private messages directly to fans or visitors, but you will be able to respond to their messages privately. This will provide a private channel for fans and visitors to interact with you privately.
Normally, posts will display as left or right of the timeline, but you can "highlight" an important post to have it display across both the left and right sides. Fans and visitors will be able to filter on "hightlights". So, it might be a good idea to go back through all your posts and 'highlight' import ones as well as highlight fan posts that might act as testimonials.
Another filter option added is "Pinning" (no nothing to do with Pinterest, but I suspect they got the idea from them). You can 'pin' posts for seven days to the top of your timeline wall for more impact. This might be useful to use as the 'call to action' that we will be missing now that we can't have it on our cover.
You can now tag your important posts with "Milestones" for instance, when your Page reaches 1,000 Likes or when you business celebrates a success.
As an admin, you will be able to view an "Activity Log" of your Page's activities. This will help with controling what is displayed on your Page's Timeline.
Time to Tidy Up
Now that it will be easy for your fans and visitors to see all your posts, you should spend some time going through old posts and deleting ones that are not going to benefit your business. While you're there, don't forget to 'highlight' those important posts or those posts that could act as testimonials for your products or services.
Facebook Page Timeline Startup Checklist
Here my suggested steps you take to implement your Page's Timeline:-
1. Don't rush, we have until 30th March. You can work on your Timeline without "Publishing" it, so you have some time to tweak it before you make it live;
2. Upload a stunning image of you, your team and/or your product;
3. Select the 3 most important apps/tabs to display under your Cover;
4. Edit your "About" info and include a live link to your website;
5. Create a post with an image and a call to action ("Like" my page etc) and "Pin" it to the top of your Timeline;
6. Review the last few post on your wall and mark important ones with "Highlight";
7. When you are happy, click "Publish" to make your Page Timeline live….
We will post a video tutorial here in the next few days….
Want to do some research? Here are some brands that already have their Facebook Page Timelines up and running:-
Here are Pages not yet on Facebook Page Timelines, but will be interesting to see what they do:-
If you find any great looking Facebook Page Timeslines, post them in the comments below….
Businesses have until end of March before Facebook switches on compulsory brand timelines, so I wouldn't panic just yet. Plan your page's upgrade, research what other brands are doing and then implement. Good luck. Post post a link to your Facebook Page Timeline here so we can check out your handy work.
Townsville Social Media Marketing can provides customise and management services for businesses social media platforms. Contact us if you need help. 🙂 Tracy


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|Half Baths
|Property type
|Minimum Stay
|2 - 7 nights
This is a wonderful mountain retreat for any season! Enjoy the spacious back deck with surrounding pines as you experience the serenity of this Tahoe neighborhood. Contemporary mountain accents combined with polished wood exude the perfect combination of comfort and charm. You will appreciate all of the thoughtful extras this home provides including a Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker, Belgian Waffle Maker, Ping Pong Table, Dart Board, Bocce Ball and Horse Shoe sets! What a blast! Enjoy soaking under the stars in your private hot tub or a game of pool in the garage for your après ski entertainment. Upstairs the living area included full entertainment options with TV, a DVD player, Stereo with I-pod dock, and a separate table that's perfect for board games. Within minutes of Heavenly Ski Resort, area beaches and the casino district. VR Permit# 1097
**A high speed Internet connection with wireless access is available at this property - however we can neither guarantee service nor trouble shoot any problems.
Sleeping Arrangements
Master Bedroom: CA King bed with private bathroom, TV, VCR, DVD, Jacuzzi tub
Second Bedroom: Queen bed with shared bathroom
Third Bedroom: Bunk bed with Twin on Top and Full on Bottom with shared bathroom, TV, VCR
Livingroom: Queen Hide-a-bed with shared bathroom, TV, VCR, DVD
Den: Queen Hide-a-bed with shared bathroom, TV, VCR, DVD
Ski Lifts: 8 miles
Lake: 6 miles
Casinos: 9 miles
Because of the location of this property, a four wheel drive is recommended during the winter.


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Release Date: 2009 |
cool review, won't bother looking into this but hey
Album Rating: 3.5Someday I'll find something you'll like.
haha make it your mission ;)
Whereas Immolate Yourself's first three tracks stressed much more controlled atmospheres, "Helen of Troy" particularly the likes of "Stay Away From Being Maybe" and "Made a Tree on The Wold" conform to a more urgent, danceable styling.
Album Rating: 3.5I'd say you're right. Missed that, thanks.
can't believe it took 16 days for a good electronica album to come out this year
Album Rating: 3.5can't believe it took chan so long to post in one of my reviews
i know it seems like it's been forever
Good review. I've never heard these guys, but I'm guessing this won't make me want to follow up.
Digging: Adimiron - Et Liber Eris
Album Rating: 2.5I pretty much agree 100% with this review. Missed opportunity for awesomeness.
Sounds mediocre.
Album art is pretty coolol.
Album Rating: 2.5I agree with the review.
lunchforthesky - not liking shit since 2005
Album Rating: 2.5That joke doesn't work so good when everyone else doesn't like it either.
Album Rating: 2.0Willie hasn't heard Telefon?
That actually surprises me. They've done some great NIN remixes.
I hate this album. Electronic music has left me wanting for a few years now.
Album Rating: 5.0I like the album art
The album art seems like a ripoff of Younger Brother's Last Days of Gravity to me for some reason. :/
oh no i like this
This is hardly a crime.
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


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"The Bajur attack is more political than military," said former ISI chief Gul. "On one side it carried a message that they [the Americans] would play their game of 'war on terror' on their terms, and would destroy their enemies, even on Pakistani soil. The killing of Nek Mohammed, Hamza Rabia and the current incident of Bajur are examples.
"However, there is reverse swing [an unexpected angle] in this game," said Gul. "The Americans cannot get any concrete evidence on Iran's nuclear program [that it plans to build nuclear weapons], and without such evidence they will not take the matter to the [United Nations] Security Council. They have been pressing hard on Pakistan to hand over Dr A Q Khan for interrogation because they understand that this is the only way to get evidence on Iran's nuclear program. So apparently they are trying to put Pakistan in a serious quagmire by giving it the option to either bear constant air strikes in Pakistani territory or hand over Dr Khan," Gul maintained.
"At the same time, to further strangulate Musharraf, they are once again beating the drum of democracy. Now there are clear voices from Washington in favor of democracy in Pakistan. I recall a situation in which the late Pakistani premier, Mohammed Khan Junejo, visited the US [in 1986], and when he returned, his attitude towards the late [dictator] General Zia ul-Haq changed. To me, Shaukat Aziz' [present] US visit, given the current situation, is of significance and we will have to see what secret message he brings back with him," Gul said.
Notes from Howard's Sabbatical from Working. The name comes from a 1998 lunch conversation. Someone asked if everything man knew was on the web. I answered "no" and off the top of my head said "Fidel Castro's favorite color". About every 6-12 months I've searched for this. It doesn't show up in the first 50 Google results (this blog is finally first for that search), AskJeeves says it's: red.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Theories on Pakistan Attack
5 comments:
I have no idea if this speculation is close to the truth or not but this phrase seemed very ironic:
"At the same time, to further strangulate Musharraf, they [US] are once again beating the drum of democracy". Recently the "drum of democracy" produced Hamas in Palestine... Talking about strangulation... :)
- Tue Jan 31, 08:56:00 PM EST
- Howard said...
Exactly. The Hamas thing will be very interesting. I suspect it will be a disaster, but there's a chance that being in power and being responsible for the negotiates of all the aid the Palestinians get might temper them.
Then again, there are those that thought the close 2004 election might temper Bush.
- Tue Jan 31, 09:17:00 PM EST
Yeah... not mentioning that Israelis may have trouble adjusting to, potentially but unlikely, new and improved Hamas, the organization that yesterday blew up their buses and all... I can't imagine my government, for example, dealing with such a party. We will see what develops.
- Tue Jan 31, 09:52:00 PM EST
- Howard said...
Don't forget, the PLO and Arafat had a past.
- Tue Jan 31, 10:19:00 PM EST
Yup, perhaps one of the reasons why it took huge efforts to get Sharon and Arafat in the state of *sort-of* communicating... in those moments when Arafat was allowed out of his building. It is all complicated, of course. However, it was bad foundation to build upon... and not much was achieved at the end.
- Tue Jan 31, 10:44:00 PM EST


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|90' +4
|A. Jóhannsson has scored a goal for United States!
|90' +3
|G. Zusi has scored a goal for United States! Assist by B. Davis.
|USA!!! OH WOW!!! It's 2-2! Mexico back in... What is going on Tonight???
|Wow, that's crushing, Johannsson adds a third, and in stoppage time, Panama is out of the World Cup.
|90' +1
|Panama must hold on for three more minutes, and hope Mexico doesn't pull off another miracle.
|Dangerous living from Panama. Boyd just off getting a touch, and the USA isn't going to make this easy.
|So close now for Panama.
|Oh my oh my, this is getting crazy. Panama, as it stands, would be in the World Cup playoffs.
|L. Tejada gets yellow.
|OH MY GOODNESS!! Tejada, third time is the charm. It's Panama, a goal ahead. Mexico in real trouble.
|R. Torres gets yellow.
|L. Tejada has scored a goal for Panama!
|Oh my goodness. Tejada has had two good looks since coming on, this time with a head that he can't turn home.
|Panama living dangerously. A great dive to push a cross out and save a U.S. goal.
|L. Tejada enters the game and replaces M. Sánchez.
|Here comes Tejada! Panama's last toss of the dice.
|Panama with under a quarter of an hour left to find a goal, a goal and a chance at the World Cup. That's all that stands between Panama and a playoff place right now.
|T. Boyd enters the game and replaces J. Altidore.
|This is going to be an insane closing run in CONCACAF. Mexico down 2-1 but in. Panama level with the USA. The next goal in either match will be massive.
|R. Chen enters the game and replaces G. Gómez.
|J. Jiménez enters the game and replaces C. Rodríguez.
|Bedoya getting a stern test as a right back right now.
|Why Panama didn't keep this pace of attack up throughout is beyond me. Now trying to turn the screws again.
|The pace is back in this game. Guzan has to make a big save, Torres with the shot from a tough angle.
|Bedoya really should have given up a penalty there. Just barged in from behind on Quintero, and got away with it.
|Here's the kicker for Panama, Costa Rica has scored as well, so Mexico is back behind.
|M. Orozco has scored a goal for United States! Assist by B. Davis.
|GOAL!!! USA pulls back level. Orozco with the goal.
|That's a really good ball from Davis, floated in nicely for Altidore and a corner won from it.
|A. Jóhannsson enters the game and replaces M. Diskerud.
|Evans floats a cross over everybody from the left, Zusi picks it up and hits his cross short coming back the other way. Now Johannsson is on the pitch with Altidore.
|U.S. being very loose at the back tonight. Not a huge concern with the group that's out there, but could be much cleaner.
|Castillo with a little darting run out of the back, won a foul in the process.
|Brad Davis makes his way onto the pitch. Maybe some service from the flank now for the USA.
|B. Davis enters the game and replaces B. Evans.
|Evans is ghosted down the sideline there by Quintero, who very nearly set Perez up to make it 2-0. Saved off the line by Castillo.
|Evans this time throws a low ball across the face of goal but it's swallowed up.
|Evans returns the favor from the other side.
|Bedoya with a scuffed cross. Not his best night.
|Credit once again to Baloy, who has been in Altidore's hip pocket all night, there again.
|We're back and under way.
|Diskerud really let Bedoya down there. Had a chance and a good angle to play him in and left it on the back foot where Bedoya had trouble getting a shot off.
|Perez with a chance to make it 2-0 and just can't get the touch on the final ball.
|Diskerud tried to set Altidore up with a volley that was blocked away.
|The USA got out on the break, with Bedoya having the shot that was punched away, but it was one of the better attacking moves for Klinsmann's side.
|Since Panama's goal the pace has really slowed. This USA team has the ability to move the ball around, but no real driving force showing up yet.
|Diskerud tried to lay a ball off there, nice take to get some space, but probably had a better option from the pass. Either way, Panama gets it clear and the danger is gone.
|Panama has been caught offside twice now, but neither was well officiated. The home team is slipping in behind the USA back line pretty well.
|Mexico back level. Peralta with the goal.
|Panama still getting a good run in this game. The USA, after opening well, has slowed down and Panama is doing a good job of holding the ball.
|Costa Rica has now taken the lead over Mexico. Wow, the early going is all in Panama's favor.
|So Panama has the goal it needed to get things going. Mexico is still 0-0 with Costa Rica, a result that would be fine for El Tri, but give credit to the Panamanians for coming out with the attacking mindset.
|Castillo with a terrible pass that set up Panama's goal, and right behind the home side had another chance through Perez, but Guzan gets down to make the save on the second one.
|G. Torres has scored a goal for Panama! Assist by M. Sánchez.
|Panama GOAL!!! Torres, and that's what the fans were waiting for. Torres picks up a pass at the top of the box and bangs it home.
|Altidore with some really nice play but has his shot blocked. Nice move to beat the first couple defenders.
|Corner now for the USA. Evans has his cross blocked behind the line.
|Orozco has to clear one off the line for the USA. Panama making some chances through Sanchez and Quintero.
|A real chance for Panama but the bounce isn't read correctly and slips through to Guzan. Panama showing more attacking intent tonight that it did against Mexico, but of course this is a real must win game.
|So for tonight, to give you a bit of a rundown, a Panama win and a Mexico loss would jumble things up for the fourth spot in CONCACAF, where it would come down to goal difference. The USA has no worries and thus the experimental team.
|This USA midfield, with five central players on the pitch, looks sharp early on. Building things very well. But Panama has another corner coming after a break forward,
|Panama with a corner coming up. Plenty of threat from these.
|Nice little build from the USA ends with Bedoya, and then Zusi having hits. Neither trouble the keeper, but a good start.
|We're off and running.
|Welcome in to Goal's LIVE call of the USA's final 2014 World Cup qualifiers. We'll keep you up to date with all the latest happenings from the match, starting right now with Klinsmann's starting team. Guzan will be in goal, with Evans, Orozco, Goodson and Castillo in front of him. Bedoya, Beckerman, Zusi, Diskerud and Kljestan make up the midfield with tonight's captain, Jozy Altidore up top.
|Rainy night in Panama, but the teams are on the field.
|There's the end of the first half. 1-0 to Panama.
|That's it, the USA has won, giving Mexico new life. Wow what a night.


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Mbombela - Auditor-general Terrence Nombembe's office has declined to comment on the Mpumalanga provincial government's claims that three municipalities in the province received clean audits.MEC for co-operative governance and traditional affairs Madala Masuku on Wednesday released a statement in which he congratulated the Victor Khanye local municipality in Delmas, Steve Tshwete local municipality in Middelburg and Ehlanzeni district municipality in Mbombela, for reportedly being given the all clear in the AG's 2009/2010 municipal audit report."The Mpumalanga provincial government prides itself in that of the seven municipalities in the country that obtained clean audits ...three of them are from Mpumalanga," said Masuku's spokesperson Simphiwe Kunene. "This means 43% of the municipalities that have achieved clean audits in the country are in Mpumalanga.MEC Madala Masuku has already congratulated the three municipalities in the province for receiving the clean audits."However, Kunene could not say how Masuku came to know about the contents of the AG report.When contacted for comment, Nombembe's spokesperson Africa Boso declined to comment on the report."I cannot confirm or deny anything. The report will be tabled in June, so we will not be able to comment until then," said Boso.Democratic Alliance (DA) in Mpumalanga Anthony Benadie said the AG's report was hard to believe."I don't dispute that the three municipalities received clean reports."I disagree that only seven municipalities in the country received clean audits," said Benadie."Though I am not in a position to tell you how many municipalities are run by the DA in the country, but I can tell you that they are way more than seven and they all received clean audits."Special attentionMasuku said in the statement that the good performance indicated that the province was on course to meet the target of Operation Clean Audit 2014. The operation aims for every municipality to produce a clean audit report by 2014."Such good performance can be attributed to paying special attention to good financial management practices and addressing challenges raised by the AG in previous financial statements," said Masuku.He said the AG's report indicated that the municipalities spent public funds "as they were supposed to be spent". Masuku also attributed the success of the three municipalities to good working relations between the AG, the provincial treasury and the department in supporting municipalities."This support is starting to bear fruit. The province will be rolling out a programme to support those municipalities that have received disclaimers and qualified reports," Masuku said.
If these municipalities received clean audits, congratulations to them. Well done. But we wont know if this is electioneering or not until after the elections as the ANC wont publish the report - so I will reserve judgement on these 3 municipalities until then, but I will still not vote ANC, because the massive majority of their municipalities received bad reports, clearly indicating their incompetence, fraud, corruption and nepotism. If you want change, vote for a different party because the ANC will mostly (with very few exceptions) not give you what you think you are voting for.
Get reports from
LOL! The statistics sounds fantastic! 43% of audited municipalities found to be clean are from Mpumalanga!
The other hundreds of municipalities in our country failed. Can one honestly give praise in this matter? Give praise to the seven that passed (although they where doing what they are paid to do according to the rules) but how can one say that 43% is acceptable in this case?
See reports at
Clean means nothing if they are not delivering. We haven't stolen anything, but we have not delivered anything either. Sounds cool to me,
give them a round of applause. I would be impressed if they got off their butt's and put as much effort into their day to day activities as they do when it is election time. Clean audit sounds more like, over looked. Who audits the auditors?
yeah...you are right..if you do nothing, you cannot make mistakes.
See reports
Sounds like good news.
I work daily within the Mpumalanga provincial and municipal arenas and would be very surprised if these results are above scrutiny. For sure the AG in this province bows to political pressure and if the premier's office says "give this municipality a clean audit" or "qualify this municipality" their bidding is done. One very well-run municipality received a qualified audit because it dared to defy the premier on some issues.
See reports
Go to http://www.agsa.co.za/audit-reports/Provincial.aspx and get all the provincial reports there.
Download your municipality and go and query it!!!!!!!!!!!
Stop moaning and do something..........


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SHEA MOISTURE Shave Herbal Bump Preventer Aftershave Elixir - Tea Tree 4 Oz | Shea Moisture | CARE | NEW & HOT | SHEA MOISTURE | Sistawigs.com
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Michael Becker/FOX.
Michael Becker/FOX.
It finally happened!
Tonight on American Idol, the judges decided to step in and change the fate of the competition. We've waited and wondered to see which finalist would be worthy of the judges one save of the season—and now we finally know who it is!
Host Ryan Seacrest announced tonight that Malaya Watson, Sam Woolf and CJ Harris received the least amount of America's votes, and thus were named this week's bottom three. So which contestant was worthy of Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban's career-saving assistance?
Say congratulations to….
Sam Woolf!
The future teen heartthrob wowed the crowed with a flawless rendition of "Babylon" as his "Save Me" song, and it was clear that the judges were not ready to say goodbye to this talented singer.
Jennifer was the lucky lady who got to break the news to the world, and revealed that with a unanimous vote, the judges decided to use their one save of the season on Sam.
Confetti fell onto the elated audience, and the other Idol hopefuls rushed the stage to offer Sam their hugs of congratulations. The top eight will once again participate in next week's live performances and the theme is '80s hits!
Do you think Sam deserved to be saved? Who do you think will be the next winner of American Idol? Sing your thoughts in the comments below!
PHOTOS: American Idol's most dramatic style transformations through the years


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Phosphene : Boxkar : Another Black Hour : John Dutton : Fathom Blue
Saturday, Aug 03, 2013 9:00 PM CDT
(9:00 PM Doors)
- Sunday, Aug 04, 2013 3:00 AM CDT
Hard Rock Cafe - Chicago, Chicago, IL
18 years and over
Purchase Tickets
Additional Information
After the big music fest in Grant Park, keep the party going with a killer rock lineup. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Advance tickets are only available online until 5pm the day of the show, after that you may purchase at the door.
18+ show
Line up:
9:00pm - 9:45pm John Dutton
10:00pm - 10:45pm Phosphene
11:00pm - 11:45pm Boxkar (local winner of Hard Rock Rising!)
12:00am - 12:45am Another Black Hour
1:00am - 2:00am Fathom Blue


text:
Ricky Town reportedly had a strong workout at USC last week and in a few days the 2015 quarterback is supposed to call the coaches to see if he can add the Trojans to his offer list.
"On July 9 they want me to call back," Town said.
"I hope it comes. I'm really not sure though."
Article Continues Below
The Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure quarterback said he really liked working with the USC coaching staff especially position coach Clay Helton.
USC has shown a good deal of interest in Town and he's hopeful heading into his junior season he can add that offer to his impressive list.
So far, Town has received offers from Alabama, Arizona State, Florida State, Miami, Texas and UCLA. One more trip could also be in the works for later this month and that means another offer could be on the way.
"I love the coaching staff (at USC)," Town said. "Coach Helton is a really great guy so I enjoyed working with him and it was definitely a blast.
"That was probably my last trip but I might go to LSU in late July. Other than that I'm really focused on St. Bonaventure right now."
With so many big-time offers coming in so early, Town said he's not going to rush a decision. Many other schools could come in but for now the 2015 prospect is going to focus on his junior season and then be concerned with the decision-making process much later.
It's been a great summer - and Town hopes it isn't finished yet.
"It's exciting," Town said. "It went really well and so I'm going to keep focused on my team right now but everything went really well.
"I'm just trying to take my time with it and make the right decision. I'm probably going to wait."


text:
When Columbus tied Toronto FC earlier on Saturday afternoon, the Red Bulls knew that all they needed was a win against Philadelphia to lock down the Eastern Conference title. However, instead of coming out with wings, the Red Bulls looked flat and gave up two first-half goals en route to a 2-1 road loss to the Union.
With the result, the Red Bulls now hold a tenuous one-point lead on first place in the conference in the battle for homefield advantage throughout the playoffs with just Thursday's match remaining on their regular season schedule.
The Red Bulls had no offensive flow and no rhythm at all to their attack in the opening 45 minutes, failing to register a shot on goal during the first half. New York's offense had struggled coming into the match, having scored just once - and that against the run of play - in their last two outings.
Even with the return of Dane Richards on the right wing following international duty, the Red Bulls were unable to exploit a player who had scored four goals in his past five games heading into Saturday's match at PPL Park.
"We were kind of playing in Philadelphia's end too much. We weren't dangerous at all," assistant coach Richie Williams told MLSsoccer.com. "Our passing was short passing, it was all safe. We never put them under pressure much."
The 4-4-1-1 formation employed by head coach Hans Backe with some effect in September had little jolt against Philadelphia. Mehdi Ballouchy, who played the free roaming role behind striker Juan Pablo Angel in the first half, failed to make an impact. When he dropped deep into the midfield to retrieve the ball, Ballouchy would leave Angel alone up top and stranded without a strike partner. And when he stayed up top, the midfield seemingly lacked someone who had composure on the ball in the face of strong, high pressure from the Union.
It wasn't until the halftime insertion of forward Salou Ibrahim that the Red Bulls became a threat in attack. With Ballouchy dropping into the midfield, Angel had a partner to play off of and the Belgian's presence took away some of the pressure. Williams credits the 4-4-2 alignment with a better, more dynamic flow to the game.
New York began to register shots on goal and good scoring chances, including a late-match chance on a corner kick as Juan Agudelo's header was cleared off the line.
"We were able to play more direct in the second half," Williams said. "I think he [Ibrahim] played well. He held the ball well; he was a big physical presence. Even when he didn't have the ball he occupied their center backs."
With a win on Thursday night against New England, the Red Bulls would clinch their first Eastern Conference title since 2000.
"No game is easy in this league but we play at home now," Williams said. "We're confident we can go out there and win the Eastern Conference in this our last game."
Kristian R. Dyer can be reached for comment at email@example.com and followed at twitter.com/kdyer1012


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Artist description:
Seems like everyone's doing yin-yang drawings, but they're just so fun.
Flash Draw Created Feb 28, 2011 640 x 460px Unless noted Copyright 2011 Cherryblossom 7.
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they are so adorable :)
so adorable! i luf yin and yang kitties! nice shading 5h
i love it. it's so cute


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ELON � Maybe no skill player on offense, and certainly no unproven one, became more of a factor in Elon�s spring football game than Demetrius Oliver.
And yet, there�s a sense of incompleteness associated with the freshman receiver that new coach Rich Skrosky wants addressed and corrected.
�We�re going to keep the foot on the pedal and make sure we�re pushing him,� Skrosky said. �Our expectations can�t be higher than his own expectations, and right now that�s probably what it is. He doesn�t understand what the expectations are. So he�s got a ways to go.�
Oliver hauled in eight catches for 52 yards last weekend in the scrimmage comprised of three 10-minute quarters that served as Elon�s spring game.
His production led all of the team�s receivers that night and dwarfed the numbers turned in by established targets, such as Kierre Brown and Andre Davis, who combined for 92 catches and 908 yards last season.
�He has great athletic ability,� Brown said. �He�s still young, so he has to kind of learn how to channel certain things, like what�s right and what�s not right. But I think he�ll have a great career if he keeps working, keeps getting better.�
Growth, specifically the need for it, seems to be at the heart of the matter here. That Skrosky wouldn�t make Oliver available for interviews after the spring game created silence that spoke to that issue.
Skrosky said it was a wildly inconsistent session of spring practices for Oliver, the former Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas participant out of Gastonia Ashbrook High School.
He shined earlier in the spring, then hit something of a wall and had some underwhelming efforts. Even in the spring game, which felt like a capable performance, Skrosky said two plays designed to go in Oliver�s direction had to be rerouted because Oliver, operating near the sideline, wasn�t in bounds.
At 6-foot-1 and 203 pounds, Oliver, who took a redshirt season last year, appears to possess the frame and potential to develop into an impact playmaker on the outside.
And perhaps he�s a presence who can mature into a unifying force.
�He�s got an unbelievable personality,� Skrosky said. �His energy can do wonders in our locker room, as long as that energy�s always positive. I think he�s really, really talented. He�s got a ton of ability.�
But Skrosky has been left wanting much more.
�I don�t think he knows necessarily how to practice,� the coach said. �One of the key things to being an athlete is being able to focus on every play. And right now, Demetrius hasn�t shown he can do that. He doesn�t know how good he can be.�


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Surging Towards the Cemetery
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So everyone knows that Bush's plans to send more troops into Baghdad won't work, right?
The primary, horrific problem in Iraq right now is the violence that touches nearly everyone (aka "lack of security"). To quote journalist Nir Rosen:
I think people don't understand how terrible the violence is. It effects everybody in Iraq. Everybody is a target. You're a target for being a Sunni, a Shia, a Kurd, a Christian, secular, religious, a doctor, a businessman, for working in the former regime, working for the current regime. Nobody is safe in Iraq, death can come to anybody.
People are afraid to leave their homes, go to work, send their kids to school, etc. And this violence comes from three main sources: the Sunni-led insurgency, the Shia-Sunni civil war, and secular criminal violence.
The Sunni insurgency is aimed at both the American occupiers, the new Iraqi government (seen as illegitimate, for obvious reasons), and anyone who works for either the Americans or the Iraqi government.
The civil war is a battle of mutual ethnic cleansing. In areas with high concentrations of Sunni, Shia are being driven out. In areas of high Shia concentration, Sunnis are being driven out. And where there is a more even mix, there is a lot of killing.
And honestly, I don't know enough about the criminal violence to say much on it.
Of course, the Iraqi government, police force, and army, are predominantly Shia, and many are supporters of the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Some are even members of Sadr's Mahdi Army, and are carrying out executions, kidnappings and tortures of Sunnis while on duty. This sectarian allegiance means that when the US asks the Iraqi government to stop the insurgency, they are telling Shia to fight Sunni. And when they tell the government to stop the civil war, they are asking Shia to fight Shia (which doesn't happen) and Sunni. Which has made the ethnic cleansing of the Sunni the de facto US policy in Iraq.
I think the US is trying to change that. The "surge" of troops in Baghdad seems to be just a hit on Sadr, with the naive hope that killing him off will shift the balance of power to more moderate Shia, who will be willing to negotiate peace and power-sharing with the Sunni. As if murdering the leader of a group of radicals will make that group of radicals settle down and follow a new guy who's friendly with the murderers. Killing Sadr would make him a martyr and likely make the Sadrists even more militant.
Not that I think they'll actually get Sadr. Large segments of the Iraqi army and police unlikely to go after their hero, but Sadr is also drafting every able-bodied Iraqi male in Sadr City to join his Mahdi army. Sadr City has a population of about 2 million people. If his call is heeded, that gives him, what, another 100,000 soldiers? 500,000? To fight off the 20,000 extra American soldiers? On Sadr's turf, in a sympathetic neighborhood, where the Americans won't really know the lay of the land? Welcome to Stalingrad.
Bush also mentioned sending more troops to Al-Anbar province. The Sunni heartland, home of the insurgency. And we're going to send in an extra 4000 troops to solve the problem. Good luck with that.
Has anyone told Bush that counterinsurgencies rarely succeed? The insurgents have nowhere else to go, and the occupiers can never afford to stay indefinitely.
But it's much worse than all that. Iraq is not a civil war, it's become a regional war between Shia and Sunni. All nations in the region have an interest in this war ending up with either Shia or Sunni victorious, and they're supporting their boys. Let me quote Nir Rosen again:
This is only the beginning of the end. The civil war in Iraq will continue for many years to come. What's more frightening is that it's also going to involve the countries of the region. A good model might be the complex war in central Africa, which involves several countries—Congo, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi—they're all going to get involved. In this case: Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Turkey, and you'll have volunteers coming from elsewhere. The entire region is going to be sucked into this larger conflict, and the borders won't remain the same. You're going to have hundreds of thousands more dead, and millions more refugees. And eventually, I imagine, it will disrupt the economy so Americans might start caring, when their gas prices go up. But until then, I just don't think that Americans care anymore.
Check the map. Iran is supporting Iraq's Shia. Saudi Arabia and Syria are actively supporting the Sunni. Turkey wants to put down the Kurds. Most Middle East experts I listen to say that it's likely the government of Jordan is likely to fall, and that the governments of Syria and Saudi Arabia will also be at risk. Not that these are governments worth supporting, but their demise means that much more chaos and bloodshed.
But 20,000 exhausted American troops in Baghdad will stop the regional war. Right.
It's simply arrogant and insane to think that the US can control the situation here. The American government and military are extremely ignorant about the Middle East, and don't realize that everything is connected to everything else. The United States is trying to do delicate brain surgery by punching the patient in the side of the head.
There is even one scarier scenario than the one in front of us, and that involves a direct US war with Iran. I hear rumors about "America's exit strategy for Iraq being through Iran". This would mean provoking the Iranians in some way, giving the US an excuse to attack Iran, bomb its nuclear facilities from the air, and say "we've got to pull out troops out of Iraq because we need them to fight Iran." Yes, the president is that stupid, and invading Iran has been a neocon fantasy for decades. In his recent speech, Bush essentially threatened Iran and Syria, has moved aircraft carriers into the Persian Gulf, and apparently US soldiers stormed the Iranian Embassy in Iraq (which, if I'm not mistaken, counts as an invasian of Iranian territory under international law). He seems to truly think that he is leading the fight against Evil, and that willpower and grit will win the day. Not when you're single-handedly fighting wars with four different countries it won't.
Sadly, I can't think of any way that this broad Middle East crisis can be avoided. I think that the US can get out, and the invasian of Iran can be stopped, but it seems that that will only happen if a) Congress outright refuses to fund it, and/or b) the military stands up publicly and says that Bush's plans won't work. The American people don't want this war, the Iraqi people don't want this war, the US military don't want this war. The only people who want it are Bush and the American Enterprise Institute, who apparently have replaced Bush's National Security Council.
Blogger Arthur Silber found the absolute most ironic part of Bush's speech, and it's worth mentioning. Speaking about what will happen if we leave Iraq and the Islamic extremists "win" if we leave Iraq:
They would be in a better position to topple moderate governments, create chaos in the region, and use oil revenues to fund their ambitions.
Sound familiar?
2 Comments »
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Jake, very well written, thought out. 4 nations with near endless replacements.
This should be published somewhere more visible–IE NY Times
Comment by Brian D — January 12, 2007 @ 4:19 pm
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Bravo, very well written.
Its's shame all of what you said will come true very soon.
Canada's pop. will skyrocket!
Comment by Matt — January 15, 2007 @ 4:16 pm
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Everything is moving according to plan with the Rangers.
They've dispatched the Rays for the second straight year, needing just four games this time and earning themselves some well-deserved rest before trying to continue the push to a second straight World Series. The games weren't always easy and the series got off to a rocky start, but baseball is a results business at the end of the day.
That doesn't mean we can't take one last look at the series to see whose stock is up and whose is down as the Rangers turn their attention to either the Tigers or the Yankees. We'll start with the guy who put this team together.
UP: Jon Daniels didn't have to make many moves this offseason, but the two biggest ones he made involved bringing Mike Napoli and Adrian Beltre to town. Those moves paid off handsomely in this series as Napoli drove in two runs to help the team win Game Two and hit the home run that got them off the mat in Game Three. Beltre's three homers on Tuesday probably constituted the finest non-Cliff Lee playoff moment in franchise history.
DOWN: Daniels' in-season acquisitions didn't fare quite as well. Koji Uehara and Mike Adams both struggled against the Rays and turned the bullpen back into a concern after helping to quiet the worries after they arrived at the trade deadline.
UP: Full blown panic never developed, though, because the Rangers were able to welcome Alexi Ogando back to the land of the living. After making the All-Star team, Ogando became a forgotten man as fatigue left him a shell of himself by August but we saw what he was capable of with his return to his old role as Neftali Feliz's set-up man.
DOWN: Nelson Cruz still doesn't look like he's recovered his swing after his late-season trip to the disabled list. He hit .205 in September and managed just one hit in 15 at-bats against Tampa. There's nothing to do but keep writing his name in the lineup and hope that things turn around, but if he doesn't there won't be a ton of lineup cards left to fill out.
UP: The Rangers put their speed to good use on the basepaths during the series, reading pitchers well and coming up with timely steals that helped them grab Game Three. It's not a weapon that you immediately think of being a big part of the Rangers attack, but this is the time of year to use every bullet in the gun.
DOWN: Having said that, the Rangers also made two outs while looking to steal and the line between helping and hurting yourself on the bases is mighty thin. Pushing past that line and giving away outs can be the difference between winning and losing in a short series. Balancing the risk with the reward going forward will be a crucial part of Ron Washington's job.
UP: Entering the playoffs, there were varying levels of doubt about Derek Holland, Colby Lewis and Matt Harrison. All three of them put those fears to rest with strong performances in their starts and Holland even added a useful relief outing on Tuesday. Assuming C.J. Wilson won't be as bad as he was in Game One again this month, the rotation is looking pretty solid.
DOWN: The cameraman pictured above. Literally. It's even more amusing in video.


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This product is no longer available.
You can try these similar gifts instead.
The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy Porcelain Musical Egg
This heirloom musical egg reveals Clara holding her nutcracker. Crafted of lustrous, triple-fired porcelain decorated with 22K gold accents, 100 hand-set faux jewels & Swarovski crystals. Plays Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.


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Provisional data from stock exchanges showed FIIs net purchased $47.69 million worth of Indian equities in the cash segment on Friday, taking their weekly tally to about $205 million. This is far lower than the $969 million-worth of purchases in the previous week, and $821 million worth of buying in the week ended December 13.
Overall, FIIs have bought more than $20 billion this year third highest inflows by foreign funds into Indian equities. Last year, FIIs bought about $24.5 billion of Indian shares, while the amount stood at $29.3 billion in CY10.
Gaining for the second straight day, Sensex ended at a two-week high of 21,193.58, up 118.99 points or 0.56% from Thursday's close. Nifty ended 34.9 points or 0.56% higher at 6313.80. Gains remained steady at 0.54% and 0.63% for Sensex and Nifty, respectively, during the holiday week. The week saw the broader markets outperform the frontline stocks for the first time in more than a month. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices ended up 2.5% and 3.5%, respectively.
Software exporter Tata Consultancy Services was the biggest gainer on the Sensex. The country's largest lender by assets, State Bank of India rose to a two-week high. Cipla gained 1.8%, sending a gauge of drugmakers to a record.
Banks and shares of rate-sensitive sectors such as real estate, mining and metals, power, capital goods ended in the green. BSE Realty index by as much as 3.4%, followed by BSE Capital Goods index (2.4%), BSE Power index (1.8%), Bank Nifty (1.5%), and BSE Metal index (1.4%). BSE Auto, however, was the sole loser this week.
The mood in global markets was also positive, with the US equities rising to historic highs on Thursday after data showed home sales held near a five-year high and orders for durable goods rose more than forecast, indicating growing momentum in the worlds largest economy. A sharp decline in jobless claims also supported gains.
For the week, Dow Jones has gained 1.9%, whereas S&P 500 gained 1.7%. Other major Asian and European indices gained in the range of 1-5%. the list includes FTSE (3.9%), CAC (3.8%), DAX (5.2%), and Nikkei 225 Index (2.02%).
Remarkable performance from developed markets is testimony to the fact that global economy is coming out of the rut and growth is accelerating. If economic growth keeps up the pace, expect 2014 performance of emerging markets to be as spectacular as developed economies in 2013, said HDFC Securities in its research note.
Back home, market breadth was strong with 20 of 30 Sensex companies ending in the green. BHEL (up 4.65%) was the biggest gainer this week. ONGC (2.7%), Hindalco (2.5%), ITC (2.2%) and ICICI Bank (1.9%) completed the list of top five gainers.


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Madrid, Spain (SPX) Apr 28, 2011
Although the dune ecosystem is unusual, fragile and is protected by the "habitats" directive of the network Natura 2000, its conservation is very vulnerable to the proliferation of car parks, nearby buildings and inadequate boardwalks installed for protection or beach access.
Researchers at the University of Seville (UoS) have published a study in the Journal of Coastal Research of human impact on the natural dunes at two sites in the Gulf of Cadiz, specifically in the protected areas of La Flecha Litoral in El Rompido and Enebrales in Punta Umbria, both in Huelva province. The experts show that both dune systems are exposed to human pressure.
"This work tried to identify which factors influence the vulnerability of the dunes. On the one hand, these ecosystems are exposed to natural perturbations like storms, but also, we observe that human impact may have negative consequences even in zones which are difficult to access", explains Sara Munoz Valles, lead author of the study and researcher at the UoS, speaking to SINC.
The scientists studied two dune systems, one at La Flecha Litoral in El Rompido, a "tongue of sand" almost entirely separated from the mainland, and which has very few tourists (only two kilometres can be accessed directly, the remaining ten kilometres can only be reached by boat), and at Enebrales in Punta Umbria, all of which can be accessed directly and which supports a considerable number of tourists.
"We assessed the weakness of the dune system and we divided it into three zones. The first of these (mostly in the isolated part of La Flecha) showed a low vulnerability. However, the level of the other two zones was intermediate, a relatively high score considering that these are natural dunes", adds Munoz Valles.
According to their assessment, some of the most affected areas, both in La Flecha and in Enebrales, owe this instability to human impact.
"Specifically, car parks constructed within the dune area, poorly designed accesses and the laxity of control of tourists, as well as boardwalks installed at ground level which permit access to the beach over the first (seaward) line of dunes, but which interfere with their natural dynamics, have contributed to this vulnerability", indicates the researcher.
This fact explains that zones of La Flecha where there are no boardwalks and tourists have free access to the dune system show the same degree of fragility and of poor conservation as zones in Enebrales, where there are six boardwalks intended to protect the dunes from trampling.
"Based on these results, a programme of dune regeneration in the most affected zones has been put in place, some improvements have been made to the existing boardwalks, and better-designed accesses have also been built. But there is still a lot to do", the scientist points out.
For Munoz Valles, certain characteristics of the dune system, such as the lie of the coast or the incidence of the sea, "cannot be modified with soft management techniques". Nevertheless, human impact can be avoided by giving better information to tourists and appropriate infrastructure.
Dunes and natural disasters
"Aside from their beauty and biodiversity, the dynamics of dune formation are unusual and highly plastic, and they play a very important role in the protection of the interior. Studies of the passage of Hurricane Katrina have explained how well-conserved mangrove swamps mitigated the destruction and erosion caused by Katrina, while those in a poor state of conservation did not have that capacity. The case of dunes is similar as far as pounding by the sea is concerned", concludes the expert.
References: Sara Munoz Valles, Juan B Gallego Fernandez, Claudia M. Dellafiore, 'Dune Vulnerability in Relation to Tourism Pressure in Central Gulf of Cadiz (SW Spain), a Case study', JOURNAL OF COASTAL RESEARCH 27 (2): 243-251, marzo de 2011.
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Japan mulls safety certificate for seafood: report
Tokyo April 27, 2011
Japan is considering issuing safety certificates for its seafood exports, in a bid to ease foreign fears over radiation contamination, a report said Wednesday. Japan is working with its top trade partner China on the certificate in an effort to persuade Beijing to relax rules on Japanese seafood products, the Nikkei said. Some 35 countries and regions have imposed restrictions on Japanes ... read more
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I've been trying to get that warm analog sound from the various fairlight sample CDs i have. I have the Digital Domain and Cult Sampler fairlight samples and their pretty good. But, I'm doing some serious mastering work and feel i'm missing a lot of the analog warmth in these 16 bits samples, so I'm thinking about doing the following:
1. Converting original fairlight sample disks with 8 bit (unfiltered) samples to a modern format
2. Using something like Konkakt to build an instrurment using these samples
3. Using the mutronics mutator (with the SSM filter) to filter these samples to get the something close to the original analog sound
4. Recording the final in high res 24 bits.
If I can't find the original fairlight sample disks, I can try the Digital Sample or Cult Sampler samples but they have already been filtered.
Any thoughts?


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Great article Chris. Keep 'em coming!!!!!!!
Great Read Chris. I am also very sadden with what's going on along the Gulf Coast. To see these beautiful birds, animals and people suffer is so heartbreaking. Thanks for telling it like it Chris and for the laughs. Keep it up!!!!!
Well written as usual Chris. Keep them coming!!!! I also picked up you book when it first came out. and couldn't put it down. It was very moving yet sad.
As usual; another great piece of writing by Chris. Have a very Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!
Great read Chris and welcome back!!!!!!! We have missed reading your witty articles.Thanks gambit for allowing Chris to write for you!!!!


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More high jinx from the 80s now, and another slice of calcium-rich cow juice (cheese) from one of our all-time favourite movies - The Karate Kid.
'You're The Best' by Joe Esposito still makes the hairs on the back of our grizzled necks stand on end as the soundtrack to the All-Valley Karate Championships montage in the movie.
The song was originally written for Rocky III apparently. RIP Mr Miyagi.


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The Windows Starter Kit is a collection of some of the best and most essential freeware to get your new PC going. From browsers to productivity to utilities, we cover all the bases. If you're looking for the best in security freeware, check out our Security Starter Kit for all your antivirus needs. Essential utilities have earned their own kit, too: the Windows Utilities Starter Kit.
Web browsers
Competitive and diverse, this most essential of software categories has seen tremendous growth in the past year. Although we recommend Mozilla Firefox overall, check out why Opera and Chrome are strong alternatives.
Mozilla Firefox
- CNET editors' rating: 4.5 stars
Even the built-in pop-up blocker, antiphishing protections, and enhanced extension security aren't enough of a reason for using Firefox. Being one of the fastest browsers on the market? Aren't they all? But add together all those things under one roof, and you've got a full-featured, safe browsing experience with a nearly infinite level of customization.
Google Chrome
- CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars
Chrome is Google's attempt to make the Web browser disappear and to focus on the applications and pages users are viewing, rather than on the border with its tools. Some of Chrome's basic underpinnings are quite novel, but people will recognize other features, as they exist in other open-source Web browsers on the market today.
Chrome is blazingly fast and is easily the quickest browser available. Based on Webkit, the same open-source engine that powers Apple Safari, Google's Android mobile platform, and several other Web-browsing tools, Chrome's interface is a drastic departure from other browsers. Instead of the traditional toolbar, Chrome puts its tabs on top. Moreover, the tabs are detachable: "tabs" and "windows" are interchangeable here. Detached tabs can be dragged and dropped into the browser, and tabs can be rearranged at any time. By isolating each tab's processes, when one site crashes, the other tabs do not.
Chrome made some major improvements toward the end of 2009, and skins are now available. Extensions are limited to the developer's version, but they're expected soon, too. Only time and benchmarking tests will tell if they slow the browser down, but Chrome's rising popularity is undeniable.
- CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars
Although not as popular as Firefox or Chrome, Opera is nothing less than an excellent alternative. The program is known for striving to be the fastest, smallest, and most full-featured browser available. Even if sometimes it doesn't hit all of those marks, Opera has developed a dedicated following of both desktop and mobile users. Of course, Opera covers the basics with tabbed browsing, mouse-over previews, a customizable search bar, advanced bookmarking tools, and simple integration with e-mail and chat clients. Mouse-gesture support, keyboard shortcuts, and drag-and-drop functionality round out the essentials.
Out of the box, Opera has just about all you need, and its extras are equally strong. Integrated theme support, desktop widgets, the Wand autofill/saved password utility, torrent support, the new browser-server API platform called Unite, and anti-malware protection courtesy of Haute Secure make it a favorite. Throw in always-on access to your bookmarks and other personal settings via Opera Link, and Opera has what it takes to unseat even the biggest-name browsers. You just need to hear it sing.


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Item #11-3495R
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Refill for Ultimate Warp: Enought to perform over 24 times. Effect: Two Cards are shown, let's say the red Seven of hearts and the blue eight of hearts. The Red seven is folded in half and the blue eight is folded lengthwise. The seven is placed inside the eight and turned back inside-out. The eight is passed through the seven and magically changes into the seven! Now the eight is the red card folded in half and the seven is the blue card folded lengthwise. The eight is now placed inside the seven and turned inside-out. The seven is passed through the eight and flips inside-out. Now you see the back and the front of the seven at the same time. The card is left in this position and ripped in half. The half is turned over to reveal that the seven and eight have merged! trick w/instructions: 11-3495
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Draft Action Research Plan
Your three- to five-page Action Research Introduction paper needs to contain the following items:
- Area of focus statement
- Identify the purpose of your study by writing a statement that completes the following sentence, "The purpose of this study is to…" (two to three sentences).
- Explanation of the problem (one to two pages)
- Describe the observations that led to interest in this
action research project (e.g. student interactions, review of data,
- Provide a background or a history of the situation in your classroom or work place and within your school context, if relevant.
- Tell your reader what you have tried or what has been tried by others so far and why it hasn't worked
- Description and justification of participants (one to two pages)
- Describe each participant in detail
- Justify why you are working with the participants in this study
- Research question(s) (one to three sentences)
- Include definitions of key technical terms, if necessary
- Describe each participant in detail
- Describe the observations that led to interest in this action research project (e.g. student interactions, review of data, etc.).
Tutor Answer
Brown University
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text:
The Asus Fonepad was one of the weirdest funkiest gadgets to be introduced during this year's MWC, but that's not to say there's absolutely no interest surrounding the device. After all, the thing is a budget 7-inch tablet (though not as cheap as the Nexus 7). And it comes with voice calling functionality, which is a very useful feature… if you don't mind holding such a humongous "phone" next to your ear.
So, the thing is intriguing, right? Now all Asus has to do is price and release it. And the first stop in Fonepad's race to world domination is apparently Russia.
Only the 7-incher is not going to be too affordable there. Instead, it'll go for a full 10,590 rubles ($345 or €265). The rest of the old continent is still scheduled to get the thing for €219 though, which sounds a lot better.
How about ETAs? Well, we're yet to hear about an exact release date anywhere, but in Russia the Fonepad is to land "by the end of this month". Other European countries are surely to follow suit, but most of them will probably have to wait until April.
Via [Unwired View]


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Next up as I look in more detail at the Titans' draft picks (yes, I intentionally skipped Blidi Wreh-Wilson for now and am coming back to him) is fifth-round defensive end Lavar Edwards from LSU.
My initial reaction when the Titans selected Edwards in the fifth round, my initial reaction was he was a good fit for the tweener player Jerry Gray seems to like and didn't have last season with the departure of Jason Jones. For several reasons, I think that's why they drafted him. In Baton Rouge, he was not a starter but had experience playing both LDE and RDE, and also kicked inside on passing downs. At 6'4" and 277 pounds, he has good size for a defensive end. By comparison, Jones is listed at 6'5", 276 pounds, and Edwards' 35 1/2" arms make him longer than he is tall.
LSU had their defensive ends do a lot of mush rushing, concentrating less on sacking the quarterback (outside of obvious passing situations) and more on disrupting the quarterback run game. While perhaps a sensible strategy when it comes to winning, it makes watching their defensive ends unenjoyable for me. Watching Edwards reinforces what the scouting reports indicate, that he has excellent initial quickness that too often doesn't necessarily translate into what I think of necessarily as making plays. I'm pretty sure there's more than just the mush rush going on here, but actual technique flaws I'm not willing to pretend I can do anything other than repeat what I read about. This seems to be true of approximately every LSU defensive lineman. Tracy Rocker and Keith Millard, you have work to do.
Edwards was the third LSU defensive end off the board, behind Barkevious Mingo and Sam Montgomery, and he was third on the depth chart as well. His production would have been better if he played more, but I care very little, if at all, about college numbers. Being third on the depth chart is a concern, but sitting behind Mingo and Montgomery isn't like losing a quarterback competition to Tyler Palko (though of course Dave Wannstedt). At least some of his work at defensive tackle in sub package situations came as part of a three-man speed-oriented line.
What will he do for the Titans? It's hard to see him playing nearly as much as Jason Jones did two years ago. For one, Jones was a pretty good interior pass rusher. Second, even this defensive end depth chart is deeper than the one two years ago after Derrick Morgan blew out his knee. Third, what LSU asked of Edwards seemed to take advantage of his quickness. If the Titans really envision Edwards in that tweener role, that's not a role that privileges quickness so much, as we saw with the struggles Jones had. Rather, the Titans will probably ask him to anchor a lot. Can he do that? Tracy Rocker indicated at the press conference when they drafted him he thought he could. I'm sure Rocker's watch a ton more of him than I have, but that's something I'll have to see before I can trust. The defensive line shakeout is still a mystery to me. Pencil Edwards in somewhere in the top nine, though I'll have to see how he does with what they have him to do before I'll put him above ninth as a rookie.


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Lehman's New Street Smarts
It was late December, but the holidays were not on the mind of Lehman Brothers Inc. (LEH ) Chairman and Chief Executive Richard S. Fuld Jr. In 2003, Lehman had catapulted ahead of a slew of Wall Street rivals to become a serious investment-banking power, and Fuld was not letting up. On his desk, next to a tall Starbucks Mocha Frapuccino, was a list of hundreds of banking clients. He was determined to reach every person by New Year's Day. "When something is on my list," he says, "it will get done."
Well before the ball dropped at midnight a few blocks from his midtown Manhattan office, Fuld had reached almost everyone, just as the final results for 2003 were coming in. Lehman advised on $99 billion in U.S. mergers and acquisitions announced last year, raising its market share by an enormous 6.2 points, to 18.9%, according to Thomson Financial (TOC ). In the process, Lehman leapfrogged over Credit Suisse First Boston (CSR ), Merrill Lynch (MER ), and J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM ), and grabbed fourth place among major Wall Street firms, up from ninth in 2002. Last year, Lehman also raised $314 billion in debt and equity issues for companies, making it the No. 2 underwriter of securities in the U.S. -- behind only Citigroup (C ) -- up from No. 4 in 2002. "It's pretty rare now that we open the paper and there's a big transaction that we're surprised by," says Hugh E. "Skip" McGee, Lehman's head of investment banking.
That hasn't always been the case. The firm's recent successes are the result of years of effort to transform Lehman into more than just a bond house. Despite the three-year deal drought, Fuld stubbornly built the firm's banking capabilities. He poached seasoned bankers from rivals. He shook up Lehman's culture by melding its debt and equity underwriting businesses. And he started holding senior bankers more accountable for bringing in big deals.
The transformation is crucial. As the economy improves and equity issuance picks up, bond issuance is expected to soften. And more than many others firms on Wall Street during the bear market, Lehman benefited greatly from the debt-issuance boom. Fixed-income sales and trading accounted for $4.4 billion of the firm's $8.6 billion in revenue last year. But with Lehman's investment-banking operation running full tilt, a downturn in bonds may not even be noticed. Indeed, Moody's Investors Service (MCO ) raised Lehman's long-term credit rating to A1 from A2 in October to acknowledge the firm's efforts to broaden its business reach. "It is a much more diversified shop than it was five or six years ago, and it operates in an extremely disciplined fashion," says Blaine A. Frantz, a senior credit officer.
UP FROM TAKEOVER BAIT. Fuld, 57, is still charging ahead. To keep up with the firm's growth, he is naming four new members to the executive committee, bringing the total to 13. And he plans to continue adding troops to his current total of 16,000. These moves will give Lehman added heft in areas such as equity issuance, derivatives, convertibles, and merger advice, and help it maintain strength in debt issuance. Fuld's pitch is basic: He wants to advise clients on everything from mergers and raising capital to hedging risk and making debt payments.
Clients are noticing the difference. "When you need to count on them, they're there," says Henry R. Kravis, founding partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. "In today's Wall Street world, I can't say the same about every firm."
Lehman's success is all the more surprising given that for much of the '90s, it was considered takeover bait for one of the bigger and better-capitalized Wall Street houses. For years the firm suffered from internal warfare, ending up a not-so-happy unit of American Express Co. (AXP ). AmEx spun Lehman off in 1994, but that left the firm as merely a bond house -- the lowest form of creature in Wall Street's pecking order -- with virtually no retail or asset-management operations. Fuld, 57 now, who started at Lehman as a commercial-paper trader in 1969, became CEO -- and knew he faced long years of rebuilding.
Ironically, Lehman's investment-banking business began to gel as the bank faced its most severe crisis: the loss of its World Financial Center headquarters in downtown New York after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Setting up temporary quarters at a Sheraton Hotel in midtown, Chief Operating Officer Bradley H. Jack, then head of investment banking, grouped his bankers by the industry they focused on, not by what type of financing they specialized in, the industry's usual practice. So, for the first time, the bankers who underwrite debt and the ones who put together stock offerings were sitting together -- in the cocktail lounge on the fifth floor. When the firm moved to its new headquarters in 2002, Jack kept the industry groups together. Now, bankers specializing in everything from stocks to bonds to convertibles sit next to each other in rows known as "pods," each representing a different industry. The goal is simple: more communication among bankers working for the same clients, and perhaps more creative financing solutions. "Before the spin-off, success was measured more by what each individual accomplished," says Fuld. "Today, it's all about the team."
The strategy paid off big in the summer of 2002. Tulsa (Okla.) energy trader Williams Cos. (WMB ), which was teetering near bankruptcy, asked Lehman to help it raise $3.4 billion. McGee, then the head of Lehman's energy-banking group in Houston, raced against the clock with a swat team of 30 bankers, working from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. for days to figure out how to resuscitate the company even as lawyers prepared its bankruptcy filings. In just over a week, Lehman arranged the sale of billions of dollars of assets such as pipelines while organizing financing from Warren E. Buffett and banks secured by natural-gas reserves. Some Williams staffers were in tears; secretaries hugged bankers.
Last January, McGee moved to New York as head of investment banking, and preparations for the long-awaited upturn in investment banking gained momentum. Fuld put McGee in charge of equity and debt issuance as well as M&A. That paved the way for one of McGee's first major moves: rewarding bankers for solving clients' problems rather than selling specific products.
POACHING THE TALENT. McGee also urged his senior bankers to spend less time managing their teams and more time as road warriors, bringing in more deals. "We've had much more of an orientation toward execution rather than going out and getting business," says McGee. When they hit the road, they carry plastic cards listing golden rules for investment banking that McGee and a group of senior bankers drew up. (Rule No. 1: "Investment banking is a team sport -- use all resources.")
Lehman made another decision during the deal slump that left it well-positioned for better times. While other firms laid off as many as half their bankers, Lehman let go only about 15%. "As others were downsizing, we stayed the course, and that has benefited us," says McGee. Adds Sean Foley, treasurer of Cingular Wireless LLC, which selected Lehman as its adviser when it bought wireless licenses from Nextwave last year: "Lehman has been able to maintain continuity, and that helps."
McGee also made key hires. In April, the firm nabbed Mark G. Shafir from Thomas Weisel Partners LLC and made him head of M&A. In August, he hired Casey Safreno, one of Merrill's top bankers in health care. Safreno promptly helped Lehman land one side of the biggest M&A deal announced in the U.S. last year -- Wellpoint Health Networks' (WLP ) $16 billion sale to Anthem (ATH ).
The moves have boosted Lehman's stock price and profits. The shares rose 40% over the past 12 months, to $79, and net income soared 74% in 2003, to reach $1.7 billion. Analysts think the firm will do better still once the benefits of its effort to retool the investment-banking operation, plus the $2.6 billion purchase of asset manager Neuberger Berman LLC last year, kick in.
THE GUYS TO BEAT. Fuld isn't the only Wall Street chief who believes that being able to deliver more than just one product is critical to winning deals. Two other banks, Morgan Stanley (MWD ) and Goldman, Sachs & Co. (GS ), also used the last few years to better integrate their debt and equity divisions so they can offer chief financial officers a broader range of advice. In August, 2002, Morgan Stanley merged its debt and equity capital-markets businesses so that one banker can advise a corporate client on a suite of financing options. Goldman has taken a similar approach in Japan. In December, Morgan also freed 10 senior bankers, including dealmaking hotshot Joseph R. Perella, from management responsibilities to let them spend more time with clients. Morgan and Goldman happen to be two of the firms blocking Lehman's path to the top U.S. M&A ranking, along with Citigroup, which beat out Lehman for third place by $686 million last year.
For all of Lehman's success in the U.S., it's still an also-ran overseas. The firm did gain ground in debt and equity underwriting worldwide in 2003, but it slipped in the global rankings for announced mergers, from No. 8 to No. 9. Fuld hopes to strengthen the firm's overseas franchise in part by adding two top execs in Asia and Europe to the executive committee.
If these steps pay off, Fuld could be adding more international names to his long list of calls next December.
By Emily Thornton in New York


text:
As with Any Automotive Assembly Plant, Ford Motor Co. ZAO's facility in the small town of Vsevolozhsk, Russia, some 15 miles (24 km) east of St. Petersburg, has its share of problems.
Labor issues, supplier constraints and infrastructure troubles all are part of the job for Theo Streit, general director of Ford's lone Russian plant.
Streit formerly held top engineering positions in the auto maker's European operations. But despite the similarities to this as well as North American operations, the differences are profound, Streit tells Ward's during a recent plant tour.
Russia still is learning the ways of democracy and capitalism following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, he says. The business culture is a blend of Soviet-era traditions and established practices from Western nations, which presents Streit with a dizzying array of challenges.
"This society is changing fast, and they take learning and modify the law," he says. "It's a very interesting business, and it's challenging because of the different culture in Russia. The job is totally different than anything I've done before in Europe."
Particularly difficult for foreign OEMs in Russia is adapting to labor laws written by the region's strong labor unions five years ago. Some provisions are startling, illustrating that doing business in Russia's fast-developing market can be maddening.
Consider the study leave. It lets workers take an annual 3-month sabbatical with full pay to pursue their field of interest. "That's the labor code; it's actually law," Streit says.
"People show up (in my office) and, if they are nice, they tell us a few weeks in advance, 'I have to leave for three months to go to Siberia, because I'm studying forestry and have to do practices there.' And we have to pay the traveling expenses and their wages."
To accommodate study leaves, Streit has developed a head-count calculation that considers the number of people not available at a given time. That, plus some give-and-take with workers, has allowed the plant to maintain an adequate workforce.
Another perplexing union-scripted law is one that allows workers to demand their vacation pay in cash just days before they leave, says Hans-Joachim Voight, the plant's finance director.
"We have payroll twice a month already," he says. "To meet this requirement, you have to run certain people's payroll just before they go on vacation because they have a right to get their pay ahead (of time). With over 2,400 employees, it's difficult."
While Ford and other auto makers continue to lobby Russian law makers for changes in the labor code, they also do their best to accommodate workers, which are difficult to attract and retain in a country where the unemployment rate hovers at a scant 0.4% in urban areas.
Ford offers numerous incentives, including free transportation to the plant, free lunches and competitive wages. Still, the turnover rate is nearly 17%.
"We pay pretty well, but if somebody else offers the person 500 rubles ($20) more, they leave," Streit says. "And with some people who have up to an hour (commute), if someone offers the same amount of money for a job closer to their home, they leave."
A strong union militancy also makes it difficult to maintain a stable workforce. Last year, workers went on strike for several weeks, demanding higher wages. A compromise eventually was reached, but it cost the plant some 5,000 units in production.
The average age of the plant workers is 30.8 years, and the average monthly salary is RR21,000 to RR48,000 ($814 to $1,860), which Ford says is somewhat high for the region.
The education level is high, with 100% having finished secondary school; 39% possessing diplomas from vocational schools; 37% with degrees from technical colleges; and 24% with a higher university education.
Out of the 2,400-plus workers who operate on three 8-hour shifts a day, about 39% are women. However, Russian law prohibits women from working in the body shop due to the physical nature of the job. As such, female employees largely are relegated to the paint shop.
Ford, which launched operations in July 2002, says it was the first foreign auto maker to open its own assembly plant in Russia. The facility currently assembles the Ford Focus C-car in four body styles: 3-, 4- and 5-door models, plus a wagon, and is ramping up to add production of the Mondeo.
Capacity has been expanded several times and will reach 125,000 units annually in early 2009, up from the 25,000 when the plant opened. Ford says it sold 200,000 vehicles in Russia last year, including imports, with the Focus its best seller.
Maintaining operations for six years, while at the same time increasing capacity, has required a lot of give-and-take with government officials. Regulations change quickly in Russia, sometimes for no apparent reason.
Such was the case when the government seemingly overnight deemed a common auto part radioactive.
"Suddenly, there was a customs code indicating there was some radioactive material in a component," Voight says, declining to identify the part. "We imported this (component) into cars and vehicles for many years and never had a problem."
"But suddenly it must go to a central laboratory to be investigated to see if (there was) some radiation. It all takes time. But it never came to the point where we had to shut down."
Another regulatory snag occurred when the government decided the plant was not properly licensed to use automotive coolant. "They said we didn't have a license to import alcohol," Voight recalls, noting the situation was resolved without any work stoppage.
Owing to the difficulty of dealing with evolving regulations, it's important to develop close ties to regulators, OEMs doing business in Russia say. But boundaries must be set, as it's not uncommon for some officials to ask for monetary compensation in return for assistance in cutting through red tape.
"We haven't given anybody anything for being friendly to us," Voight says. "This is what is very much in people's minds, that in this part of the world you achieve a lot by paying people. But if you start this once, you will never get rid of it."
Due to the plant's remote location, there are few suppliers nearby. Most parts are imported from Western Europe, making it difficult to operate a just-in-time operation. The factory generally has about a 3-day supply on hand at any given time.
Additionally, poor roads leading to the facility make it an arduous task to transport parts and finished products. Plant officials have worked with the local government to improve infrastructure. But money for such projects is scarce, and with the region's harsh climate, road upgrades quickly deteriorate.
The plant's location does offer some advantages beyond access to the growing Russian market. For example, due to relatively low labor costs, compared with some other regions of the world, the facility is able to operate with less automation, thereby reducing costs.
Streit says the plant is the only Ford factory in the world able to build all variations of the Focus.
"We are seeing a slight ramp-up in automation. You can see it in our Mondeo body shop, where there are a few robots," he says.
Despite a heavy reliance on manual labor over automation, vehicles built here meet or exceed the level of Ford plants in Europe, Voight boasts.
"That demonstrates the ability of the employees," he says. "Many people like what they're doing and feel responsible for what they're doing."
Fiesta's Styling Will Win Over Frugal Russian Buyers, Ford Projects
Ford Boosts Russian Capacity; Adds Mondeo


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Credit Advice
Have a question? Have advice to share? The combined knowledge and experience of everyone in the Credit Karma community can help you. Enter your question or help others below to get started!
QuestionPosted in Credit Scores
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0 People Helped
I had several open accounts that have gone to collections, and have paid off 6 of them, only leaving 2 open (which I know will will still impact my score). How long will that take to reflect on my credit score, and how much will my score go up?
All Responses
17 People Helped
Not only does it take 30-60 days for a payment to show on a credit report, most "negative" items like collections can stay on your report for up to 7 years. Time is the key here. However, with improvements of making those other payments, and making payments on the ones that are remaining, it can still help it go up in the meantime.
From MyFico:
"It depends on the type of negative information. Here's the basic breakdown of how long different types of negative information will remain on your credit report:
- Late payments: 7 years
- Bankruptcies: 7 years for completed Chapter 13 bankruptcies and 10 years for Chapter 7 bankruptcies.
- Foreclosures: 7 years
- Collections: Generally, about 7 years, depending on the age of the debt being collected.
- Public Record: Generally 7 years, although unpaid tax liens can remain indefinitely"
2916 People Helped
It will probably take 30-60 days for the paid accounts to show up and impact your credit score. Sorry, but nobody can say how many points it will increase (or if it will increase, so many things go into calculating your credit score).
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text:
Grip assemblies feature simple installation design
The Molex Woodhead Max-Loc Plus Shielded Cord-Grip Assemblies aim to reduce EMI/RFI disruptions.
The Molex Woodhead Max-Loc Plus Shielded Cord-Grip Assemblies allow the original equipment manufacturer and end users to connect high-power electrical cables directly to an application through an exterior mounting enclosure, making for a simplified installation process of high-volume, cost-sensitive programs.
The assemblies provide excellent EMI and RFI shielding and sealing protection from liquids and dust. Max-Loc Plus Shielded Cord-Grip Assemblies use features found across numerous products into a one product.
Features and benefits:
Nickel-plated aluminum housing and shielding ring
Grip-body internal cut-away design
Tapered shielding ring
Internal wedge-shaped grommet
Two external mounting holes
Aluminum die-cast, nickel-plated threaded assembly
Compression nut
Sealed O-ring, IP67 and IP69K rated
Grip assembly accommodates 1 AWG, 1/0, 2/0 shielded cables with an expanded range to follow
Industrial (Automation)
Aerospace and Defense
Commercial Vehicle
Alternative Energy
HVAC variable-speed motors
- Edited by Jessica DuBois-Maahs, Associate Content Manager, CFE Media, Plant Engineering, Control Engineering
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Annual Salary Survey
Before the calendar turned, 2016 already had the makings of a pivotal year for manufacturing, and for the world.
There were the big events for the year, including the United States as Partner Country at Hannover Messe in April and the 2016 International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago in September. There's also the matter of the U.S. presidential elections in November, which promise to shape policy in manufacturing for years to come.
But the year started with global economic turmoil, as a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing triggered a worldwide stock hiccup that sent values plummeting. The continued plunge in world oil prices has resulted in a slowdown in exploration and, by extension, the manufacture of exploration equipment.
Read more: 2015 Salary Survey


text:
Letter: Sterner responds to criticisms
To the editor,
Many of you have written this paper to comment on my work as your representative. Thank you. It's a privilege to hear from so many about your vision for Minnesota. You've confirmed what I've always believed; people in Rosemount and Apple Valley don't care where good ideas come from -- you just want us to work together to get things done.
My opposition has decided that misleading, negative attacks are the way to win. Recent letters to this paper, direct mail and TV ads filled with out-of-context information and errors of omission make it clear they have chosen a negative route in which the first casualty has been the truth.
Don't be fooled. The truth is that I've worked day and night to make a positive difference. As a small business owner, I know only common sense and fiscal discipline can turn our economy around. As a father, I'm committed to improving our public schools -- because a great education is the key to opportunity for our children. As a neighbor, I want a secure retirement for my parents and neighborhoods that are safe places for our children to learn and play.
People are worried -- about jobs, about their health care and their security. I am too. That's why I made tough decisions to cut state spending by nearly $3 billion and balance our state budget without raising taxes. It's why I voted to hold the line on taxes, to protect tax credits for veterans, seniors and renters, and against bills that would have raised taxes on middle class households. It's why I worked across party lines to develop and pass new laws that are helping Minnesota small businesses grow and hire more workers I'm not a "career politician." I'm a lifelong resident of this district -- a dad, small business owner and volunteer who cares deeply about our community and our state's future. With your support, I'll keep working across party lines, with respect for every point of view, to create good jobs for our state, world class schools in our neighborhoods and a state where we all have a chance to achieve our dreams.
Phil Sterner,
State Representative, District 37A