text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Aug 17, 2010
|Filing date
|Sep 26, 2007
|Priority date
|May 30, 2003
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Vicki Broman, Vernon Marshall, Seshasayee Bellamkonda, Marcel Leyva, Cynthia Hanson
|Original Assignee
|American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (42), Non-Patent Citations (2), Referenced by (24), Classifications (17), Legal Events (4)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/448,552 entitled "SPEAKER RECOGNITION IN A MULTI-SPEAKER ENVIRONMENT AND COMPARISON OF SEVERAL VOICE PRINTS TO MANY" filed on May 30, 2003, which application is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention generally relates to limiting fraud, and more particularly, relates to an apparatus and method for performing a one-to-many comparison of voice prints to determine if a particular caller voice print matches any one of many known voice prints in order to perform an action related to a financial transaction account. This invention also relates to method for identifying the tone of a caller's voice in order to improve the quality of customer service.
Preventing attempted fraud in telephonic or other transactions involving oral communications is typically important to many entities, particularly when the fraud involves financial transactions. For example, when a person loses a credit card and calls the credit card company to obtain a replacement, the credit card company often wants to ensure that the person calling is the true cardholder. If a person attempts to fraudulently obtain a replacement card of a different cardholder, then the person may use the replacement credit card to make fraudulent charges. The credit card company can often incur significant losses due to these fraudulent charges. Therefore, the credit card company typically desires to reduce or eliminate fraud.
In that regard, credit card companies often implement certain procedures and install technologies in an attempt to verify the identity of customers who call them. One such technology is the use of an Automatic Number Identification (ANI) service, which attempts to identify the telephone number of an incoming call. A credit card company can maintain a database of area codes from which it has historically received a high number of fraudulent callers. If the telephone number of the person calling is within one of those high fraud area codes, the credit card company can flag the call for additional procedures or investigation to verify the true identity of the caller.
However, the ANI service has certain limitations. For example, the ANI service does not easily permit one to pinpoint the exact geographic location of the caller. Also, it is possible that multiple persons can be associated with the same telephone number, which can make it difficult to identify which of those persons is the caller. Ultimately, the ANI service only provides a general indication of whether the caller is from an area known to be associated with a high number of fraudulent transactions. However, if the caller is not calling from one of those high fraud area codes, the ANI service provides no indication to provide additional screening, although the caller may actually be attempting to actually engage in fraud.
Aside from credit card companies, many other entities receive calls from customers and desire a way to verify the true identity of the callers. This verification can be useful, for example, in determining whether to execute a particular transaction requested by a caller. Accordingly, a need exists for a more reliable way to minimize fraud in telephonic transactions or other transactions involving oral communications, or to screen callers for other purposes during those transactions.
A method and apparatus consistent with the present invention provides for facilitating the analysis of a caller's voice to determine a potential match with known callers' voices. In the method and apparatus, an agent receives a communication from a caller, and an electronic representation is recorded of both the caller's and agent's voices from the real-time telephone call. The electronic representation of the caller's voice is segmented from the agent's voice to produce a caller voice print, and the caller voice print is compared with a plurality of known voice prints to determine if the caller voice print matches any of the known voice prints. An indication of the comparison is output or otherwise transmitted via a network and can be used for a variety of purposes.
The accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like elements, are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification and, together with the description, explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings,
The detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings and pictures, which show the exemplary embodiment by way of illustration and its best mode. While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical and mechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation. For example, the steps recited in any of the method or process descriptions may be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented.
Embodiments consistent with the present invention provide for one-to-few or one-to-many comparisons of callers' voice prints with known voice prints to identify any matches between them. A caller's voice print represents an electronic recording of a caller's voice, and the known voice prints represent electronic recordings of persons having a particular known characteristic. For example, the known voice prints can correspond with persons known to have engaged in attempted fraudulent transactions. Alternatively, the characteristic for the known voice prints may relate to other factors or criteria.
When a customer calls a particular entity, such as a customer service center, the system makes a recording of the real-time call including both the customer's and agent's voices. The system segments the recording to extract at least a portion of the customer's voice to create a customer voice print, typically in digital form for computer processing. The system also formats the segmented customer voice print for network transmission to a server. Although the processing may occur locally, in some embodiments it can occur at a remote server, requiring network transmission of the customer's voice print. Also, the term customer is used for exemplary purposes and is intended to include any type of caller (e.g., merchant, travel agent, cardholder, agent of cardholder, processor, administrator, and/or the like) and any type of communication (e.g., human or electronic voice).
The server compares the customer's voice print with multiple known voice prints to determine any substantial matches, meaning that the customer's voice print and one of the known voice prints are likely from the same person. The identification of any matches can be used for a variety of purposes, such as determining whether to authorize a transaction requested by the customer. For example, a cardholder may call a credit card institution to request replacement of a lost or stolen credit card. The credit card institution wants to ensure that the person calling is the true cardholder and not someone attempting to fraudulently obtain another person's credit card. By comparing the customer's voice print with the multiple known voice prints, associated with persons having attempted fraudulent transactions, the system can determine whether this customer is likely attempting to interact with another person's credit card account based upon any matches with the known voice prints.
As other examples, the system and method disclosed herein may be used to help minimize any fraud related to telephone communications, merchant communications, travel communications, cardholder communications, opening a transaction card account, closing a transaction card account, opening a related transaction account, changing demographic information related to the account and changing financial information related to the transaction card account.
An "account" or "account number", as used herein, may include any device, code, number, letter, symbol, digital certificate, smart chip, digital signal, analog signal, biometric or other identifier/indicia suitably configured to allow the consumer to interact or communicate with the system, such as, for example, authorization/access code, personal identification number (PIN), Internet code, other identification code, and/or the like which is optionally located on a rewards card, charge card, credit card, debit card, prepaid card, telephone card, smart card, magnetic stripe card, bar code card, transponder, radio frequency card and/or the like. The account number may be distributed and stored in any form of plastic, electronic, magnetic, radio frequency, wireless, audio and/or optical device capable of transmitting or downloading data from itself to a second device. A customer account number may be, for example, a sixteen-digit credit card number, although each credit provider has its own numbering system, such as the fifteen-digit numbering system used by American Express. Each company's credit card numbers comply with that company's standardized format such that the company using a sixteen-digit format will generally use four spaced sets of numbers, as represented by the number "0000 0000 0000 0000". The first five to seven digits are reserved for processing purposes and identify the issuing bank, card type and etc. In this example, the last sixteenth digit is used as a sum check for the sixteen-digit number. The intermediary eight-to-ten digits are used to uniquely identify the customer. A merchant account number may be, for example, any number or alpha-numeric characters that identifies a particular merchant for purposes of card acceptance, account reconciliation, reporting, or the like.
Network Environment
For the sake of brevity, conventional data networking, application development and other functional aspects of the systems (and components of the individual operating components of the systems) may not be described in detail herein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in a practical electronic transaction system.
The system may include a host server or other computing systems including a processor for processing digital data, a memory coupled to said processor for storing digital data, an input digitizer coupled to the processor for inputting digital data, an application program stored in said memory and accessible by said processor for directing processing of digital data by said processor, a display coupled to the processor and memory for displaying information derived from digital data processed by said processor and a plurality of databases, said databases including client data, merchant data, financial institution data and/or like data that could be used in association with the present invention. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, user computer will typically include an operating system (e.g., Windows NT, 95/98/2000, Linux, Solaris, etc.) as well as various conventional support software and drivers typically associated with computers. Customer computer can be in a home or business environment with access to a network. In an exemplary embodiment, access is through the Internet through a commercially-available web-browser software package.
Communication between the parties to the transaction and the system of the present invention may be accomplished through any suitable communication means, such as, for example, a telephone network, Intranet, Internet, point of interaction device (point of sale device, personal digital assistant, cellular phone, kiosk, etc.), online communications, off-line communications, wireless communications, transponder communications and/or the like. One skilled in the art will also appreciate that, for security reasons, any databases, systems, or components of the present invention may consist of any combination of databases or components at a single location or at multiple locations, wherein each database or system includes any of various suitable security features, such as firewalls, access codes, encryption, de-encryption, compression, decompression, and/or the like.
In use, a customer at customer telephone 24 calls a particular number which facilitates contacting agent telephone 20. For example, the number could include a customer service help line for a particular entity or institution. Although only one agent computer and telephone are shown, system 10 may include multiple agent computers and telephones, such as in a call center, for receiving calls from customers, and a particular customer's call from customer telephone 24 can be routed to an available agent via a switching device such as a private branch exchange (PBX). Upon reaching an agent, customer telephone 24 is in communication with agent telephone 20 via communications network 22. Communication network 22 can include any wireline or wireless network for telephone calls.
As an example, a voice print can be created from a call answered by a voice response or potentially a point of sale system. In this example, a call is answered by a live agent. Alternatively, the agent telephone can be controlled programmatically by the agent computer to record only the caller's voice without a live agent on the call.
During the telephone call, agent computer 18 records at least a portion of the telephone call. The recording, possibly after additional processing, is transmitted via network 16 to server computer 14 for processing of the customer's voice print, as explained below. Server computer 14 can access a database 12 to retrieve information for the processing. Upon completing the processing, server computer 14 can optionally transmit back to agent computer 18 the results of the processing. Network 16 can include any wireline or wireless network for data transmission such as, for example, a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network.
As described herein, the computing units may be connected with each other via a data communication network. The network may be a public network and assumed to be insecure and open to eavesdroppers. In the illustrated implementation, the network may be embodied as the internet. In this context, the computers may or may not be connected to the internet at all times. For instance, the customer computer may employ a modem to occasionally connect to the internet, whereas the bank computing center might maintain a permanent connection to the internet. Specific information related to the protocols, standards, and application software utilized in connection with the Internet may not be discussed herein. For further information regarding such details, see, for example, D
The systems may be suitably coupled to network via data links. A variety of conventional communications media and protocols may be used for data links. Such as, for example, a connection to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) over the local loop as is typically used in connection with standard modem communication, cable modem, Dish networks, ISDN, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or various wireless communication methods. Merchant system might also reside within a local area network (LAN) which interfaces to network via a leased line (T1, D3, etc.). Such communication methods are well known in the art, and are covered in a variety of standard texts. See, e.g., G
Agent telephone 20 can receive calls via communications network 22 from a variety of customer telephones. For example, the telephones discussed herein can include a conventional wireline telephone, a wireless or mobile telephone, a speaker phone, an Internet Protocol (IP) telephone, or a personal computer (PC) telephone. In addition, although shown separately in this example, agent telephone 20 and agent computer 18 can be implemented with the same or different physical devices. If agent telephone 20 is implemented with a PC telephone, in a particular embodiment, then that embodiment may not need agent computer 18, as the telephone would contain computing capabilities, and computer 18 may represent a switch in that embodiment to route calls to PC telephone 20.
Memory 32 may include random access memory (RAM) or similar types of memory, and it may store one or more applications 34 for execution by processor 42. Applications 34 can include a voice component, implemented in software for example, for recognition and processing of voice prints, as explained below. Applications 34 may also include software programs for tone/emotion recognition.
Secondary storage device 40 may include a hard disk drive, floppy disk drive, CD-ROM drive, or other types of non-volatile data storage. Processor 42 may execute applications or programs stored in memory 34 or secondary storage 40, or received from the Internet or other network 16. Although computer 30 is depicted with various components, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the server and agent computers can contain different components.
Display device 38 and output device 44, used in conjunction with applications 34, can be used to show the changing dynamic of a caller's tone. For example, the screen of display device 38 can be programmed to change its background from a neutral color to a more alerting color, perhaps red, to show increasing frustration or anger. Or, output device 44 can be programmed to print an alert message to indicate changes in tone.
Voice Print Comparison Methodology
The exemplary network described above can perform one-to-one, one-to-few or one-to-many comparisons of voice prints between callers and known voice prints. In one embodiment with one-to-many comparisons, the comparison can determine whether a caller's voice print matches any of the known voice prints in the database. The known voice prints can correspond with any particular criteria. For example, the known voice prints may correspond with individuals known to have attempted fraudulent transactions in the past. Therefore, by knowing if a caller's voice print matches any of the known voice prints, in this example, the system can provide an indication of whether this particular caller will likely attempt a fraudulent transaction.
In one embodiment, the processing for recording callers' voice prints and making the comparison typically occurs at both agent computer 18 and server computer 14. However, the processing may occur remotely at server computer 14, locally at agent computer 18, or divided among multiple computers.
The present invention may be described herein in terms of functional block components, screen shots, optional selections and various processing steps. It should be appreciated that such functional blocks may be realized by any number of hardware and/or software components configured to perform the specified functions. For example, the present invention may employ various integrated circuit components, e.g., memory elements, processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and the like, which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. Similarly, the software elements of the present invention may be implemented with any programming or scripting language such as C, C++, Java, COBOL, assembler, PERL, Visual Basic, SQL Stored Procedures, extensible markup language (XML), with the various algorithms being implemented with any combination of data structures, objects, processes, routines or other programming elements. Further, it should be noted that the present invention may employ any number of conventional techniques for data transmission, signaling, data processing, network control, and the like. Still further, the invention could be used to detect or prevent security issues with a client-side scripting language, such as JavaScript, VBScript or the like. For a basic introduction of cryptography and network security, the following may be helpful references: (1) "Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, And Source Code In C," by Bruce Schneier, published by John Wiley & Sons (second edition, 1996); (2) "Java Cryptography" by Jonathan Knudson, published by O'Reilly & Associates (1998); (3) "Cryptography & Network Security: Principles & Practice" by William Stalling, published by Prentice Hall; all of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
It will be appreciated, that many applications of the present invention could be formulated. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the network may include any system for exchanging data or transacting business, such as the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, WAN, LAN, satellite communications, and/or the like. It is noted that the network may be implemented as other types of networks, such as an interactive television (ITV) network. The users may interact with the system via any input device such as a keyboard, mouse, kiosk, personal digital assistant, handheld computer (e.g., Palm Pilot�)), cellular phone and/or the like. Similarly, the invention could be used in conjunction with any type of personal computer, network computer, workstation, minicomputer, mainframe, or the like running any operating system such as any version of Windows, Windows NT, Windows2000, Windows 98, Windows 95, MacOS, OS/2, BeOS, Linux, UNIX, Solaris or the like. Moreover, although the invention is frequently described herein as being implemented with TCP/IP communications protocols, it will be readily understood that the invention could also be implemented using IPX, Appletalk, IP-6, NetBIOS, OSI or any number of existing or future protocols.
In method 50, a customer call is received from customer telephone 24 via communications network 22 (step 52). As indicated above, this call can be received from a variety of types of telephones or other communications devices via any communications network. The customer call is routed to agent telephone 20 (step 54), such as via a PBX or other switching device in that system 10 typically includes many agent computers and telephones for processing customer calls.
During the telephone call, agent computer 18 records at least a portion of the call, including both the agent's and caller's (customer's) voice (step 56). Agent computer 18, via a connection with agent telephone 20, can receive an analog signal representing the real-time telephone call and can digitize and store it for processing. Agent computer 18 segments at least a portion of the caller's voice from the agent's voice (step 58). The segmentation refers to identifying within the recording at least a portion representing the caller's voice and extracting it from the recording. Therefore, the segmented recording includes an electronic representation of only the caller's voice, possibly with background noise. Algorithms are known in the art for performing this type of segmentation. Each person's voice has a unique voice print, due to for example the various combinations of frequencies within each person's voice, and thus one person's voice can be extracted from a recording containing multiple voice recordings.
The recording of the segmented caller's voice is formatted by agent computer 18 for transmission via network 16 (step 60). For example, it can be formatted into a wav file, known in the art and identified by a .wav extension. The use of a wav file, for example, provides for a standard format for network transmission to server computer 14. Alternatively, the recording can be formatted into any type of file that can be transmitted via a TCP/IP or other network.
Agent computer 18 transmits the file, having the recorded caller's voice print, to server computer 14 for processing (step 62), explained below. Agent computer 18 can optionally receive back from server computer 14 results of the processing (step 64). For example, an agent at agent computer 18 may want to receive the results while still engaged in a telephone call with a customer at customer telephone 24. The agent can potentially use those results during the telephone call to determine whether to authorize a transaction requested by the customer such as, for example, opening a transaction card account, closing a transaction card account, opening a related transaction account, changing demographic information related to an account and changing financial information related to a transaction card account.
The particular mode selected can be based upon any particular criteria. For example, server computer 14 may by default operate in the batch processing mode but could be switched to the real-time mode by an agent for a particular customer's voice print. Alternatively, server computer 14 can be programmed to operate in one or both the modes based upon a desired application.
Database 12 can store the known voice prints in any particular data structure and format. In addition, it can also associate other information with each of the voice prints, such as an identification of the person corresponding with each voice print and characteristics of the person. For example, the characteristics can include the types of fraudulent transactions attempted by the corresponding person. Any databases discussed herein may be any type of database, such as relational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or the like. Common database products that may be used to implement the databases include DB2 by IBM (White Plains, N.Y.), any of the database products available from Oracle Corporation (Redwood Shores, Calif.), Microsoft Access or MSSQL by Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, Wash.), or any other database product. Database may be organized in any suitable manner, including as data tables or lookup tables. Association of certain data may be accomplished through any data association technique known and practiced in the art. For example, the association may be accomplished either manually or automatically. Automatic association techniques may include, for example, a database search, a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL, and/or the like. The association step may be accomplished by a database merge function, for example, using a "key field" in each of the manufacturer and retailer data tables. A "key field" partitions the database according to the high-level class of objects defined by the key field. For example, a certain class may be designated as a key field in both the first data table and the second data table, and the two data tables may then be merged on the basis of the class data in the key field. In this embodiment, the data corresponding to the key field in each of the merged data tables is preferably the same. However, data tables having similar, though not identical, data in the key fields may also be merged by using AGREP, for example.
Table 1 illustrates an example of how database 12 can store the known voice prints.
Known Voice Prints
wav file for voice print #1
ID of voice print #1
characteristics for
voice print #1
wav file for voice print #2
ID of voice print #2
characteristics for
voice print #2
. . .
wav file for voice print #N
ID of voice print #N
characteristics for
voice print #N
In the real-time mode, server computer 14 compares the caller's voice print with the known voice prints in database 12 (step 76). For example, the comparison step 76 can include determining a match between the caller's voice print and one of the known voice prints based upon a probability, greater than a particular threshold, that the caller voice print and one of the known voice prints are from a voice of the same person. Therefore, the comparison seeks to determine whether the caller's voice print and any of the known voice prints are likely from the same person. Algorithms are known in the art for performing this type of comparison and can include, for example, statistical analysis between the voice prints. This comparison is typically performed sequentially between the caller's voice print and each of the known voice prints.
Server computer 14 records an indication of any matches found as a result of the comparison (step 78). Server computer 14 formats the results into a report (step 80) and transmits the report back to agent computer 18 via network 16 (step 82). Examples of reports are provided below. For step 82, the report may be transmitted back to the live agent handling the corresponding telephone call; alternatively, the report can be transmitted to other agents or entities for processing.
In the batch processing mode, server computer 14 saves the received file in a group of unprocessed files (step 84), possibly in database 12. Server computer 14 determines if it is time for batch processing of the group of unprocessed files (step 86). The batch processing can occur at a time based upon any particular parameters. For example, server computer 14 may be programmed to process, at a particular time each day, the group of files saved since the previous processing of files. Alternatively, server computer can process the group of unprocessed files at multiple times during each day or every multiple days. One advantage of this batch processing is that it can be performed at a time of day, for example, when server computer 14 typically has greater bandwidth.
When it is time for batch processing, server computer 14 retrieves a file from the group of unprocessed files (step 88) and compares the voice print in the file with the known voice prints in database 12 (step 90). The comparison can include the same processing described with respect to step 76. Server computer 14 records an indication of any matches from the comparison (step 92). If there are more files in the group to be processed (step 94), server computer 14 repeats steps 88, 90, and 92 for the next file. Once the group of unprocessed files have all been processed, server computer 14 formats the results into a report and saves them (step 96). Server computer 14 can optionally use the results of processing to determine whether to authorize particular transactions for customers relating to the recorded voice prints in the processed files (step 98). For example, it can automatically and programmatically deny the requested transaction if any matches are found for the caller voice print in question.
Table 2 illustrates a more detailed exemplary format for report 100 containing results of the processing. A caller's voice print might typically match only one of the known voice prints, as the known voice prints may be from different persons. However, it is possible that one person can have multiple voice prints in database 12 of known voice prints, making multiple matches with the caller's voice print a possibility. In addition, the system can be configured to provide a degree of reliability for each match, again providing for multiple matches based upon multiple degrees of reliability. For example, the system might discover a match having a 95% degree of reliability, meaning that statistically there is a 95% probability that the caller's voice print and the matched known voice print are from the same person. If configured in this manner, report 100 (and Table 2) can include a section to identify the degree of reliability for each of the matched known voice prints.
In Table 2, the IDs for the matches can include optional information for identifying a person corresponding with the matched voice print. The characteristics for the matches can include, for example, the types of fraudulent transactions attempted by the corresponding person, as shown in Table 1. Also, additional information can be associated with each report, if desired.
Report for Results Voice Print Comparisons
caller ID
time/date of call
transaction requested
Voice Print Matches
match #1
ID of match #1
characteristics for match
match #2
ID of match #2
characteristics for match
. . .
match #N
ID of match #N
characteristics for match
Report 100 can be represented in a variety of formats. It can be presented in any electronic form or, alternatively, in a hard copy or other format. For example, it can be a web page for transmission via network 16 and display on agent computer 20 or server computer 14 using a web browser. If represented electronically, report 100 can be e-mailed to the agent at agent computer 18 or any particular subscribers to it. If the processing occurs in the real-time mode, report 100 can be transmitted and displayed to the agent in, for example, a pop-up window on agent computer 18. Therefore, the agent can view results of the processing, most likely while still engaged in a telephone call with a customer, and use those results to determine whether to authorize a transaction requested by the customer.
The results of the processing can be used for a variety of purposes. For example, they can be used to determine whether to authorize a transaction or request, or verify the identity of the caller. As other examples, they can be used to help prevent any telephone fraud, merchant fraud, travel fraud, or cardholder fraud, possibly in step 82 of process method 70. In particular, if the caller's voice print matches any of the voice prints of persons known to have attempted to engage in fraudulent transactions, as determined by the processing explained above, the caller can be refused authorization to engage in any merchant, travel, or cardholder transaction.
The information in the reports from results of the processing can also be stored in database 12, or other location, and used for data mining purposes. For example, various types of processing can occur using the stored data to generate statistical analysis of it.
While the present invention has been described in connection with an exemplary embodiment, it will be understood that many modifications will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and this application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations thereof. For example, various types of caller phones, communications networks, and hardware and software implementations of the voice print comparisons and processing may be used without departing from the scope of the invention. This invention should be limited only by the claims and equivalents thereof.
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|Apr 8, 2002
|Oct 17, 2002
|Nec Corporation
|Electronic system, and method for identifying an authorized user and program therefor
|Jun 13, 2002
|Dec 26, 2002
|First Data Corporation
|Systems and methods for accessing and modifying usage parameters associated with a financial transaction account
|Mar 9, 2001
|Jan 30, 2003
|Chu Wesley A.
|System, Method and computer program product for presenting large lists over a voice user interface utilizing dynamic segmentation and drill down selection
|Aug 6, 2002
|Feb 20, 2003
|Chuck Buffum
|Dialog-based voiceprint security for business transactions
|Nov 21, 1997
|Mar 6, 2003
|Edward J. Devinney
|User validation for information system access and transaction processing
|May 24, 2002
|Nov 27, 2003
|Rolfe Andrew R.
|Use of public switched telephone network for authentication and authorization in on-line transactions
|Jul 9, 2002
|Jan 15, 2004
|Scott Coles
|Dynamic information retrieval system utilizing voice recognition
|Martin, et al., "Speaker Recognition in a Multi-Speaker Environment," Eurospeech, Sep. 2001, pp. 1-4.
|Rosenberg, Aaron E., et al., "Unsupervised Speaker Segmentation of Telephone Conversations," pp. 565-568.
|Citing Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Sep 2, 2005
|Oct 4, 2011
|Confinement Telephony Technology, Llc
|Telephony system and method with enhanced fraud control
|Jul 8, 2010
|Oct 11, 2011
|American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
|Speaker recognition in a multi-speaker environment and comparison of several voice prints to many
|Jul 30, 2008
|Dec 13, 2011
|At&T Intellectual Property, I, L.P.
|Transparent voice registration and verification method and system
|Nov 9, 2011
|Mar 26, 2013
|At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
|Transparent voice registration and verification method and system
|Nov 4, 2011
|Jul 29, 2014
|Verint Americas Inc.
|Systems, methods, and media for determining fraud patterns and creating fraud behavioral models
|Oct 29, 2013
|Nov 11, 2014
|Quisk, Inc.
|Hacker-resistant balance monitoring
|Mar 8, 2012
|Dec 2, 2014
|Verint Americas Inc.
|Systems, methods, and media for generating hierarchical fused risk scores
|Feb 14, 2013
|Dec 16, 2014
|At&T Intellectual Property, L.P.
|Transparent voice registration and verification method and system
|Jan 12, 2009
|Dec 30, 2014
|Verint Americas Inc.
|Building whitelists comprising voiceprints not associated with fraud and screening calls using a combination of a whitelist and blacklist
|Aug 13, 2010
|Jan 6, 2015
|Verint Americas Inc.
|Method and system for generating a fraud risk score using telephony channel based audio and non-audio data
|Sep 7, 2011
|Aug 18, 2015
|Iii Holdings 1, Llc
|Speaker recognition and denial of a transaction based on matching a known voice print
|May 29, 2012
|Aug 18, 2015
|Verint Americas Inc.
|Systems, methods, and media for disambiguating call data to determine fraud
|Oct 29, 2014
|Jun 14, 2016
|Interactions Llc
|Transparent voice registration and verification method and system
|Jun 30, 2014
|Oct 4, 2016
|Verint Systems Ltd.
|Blind diarization of recorded calls with arbitrary number of speakers
|Oct 29, 2015
|Nov 22, 2016
|Verint Americas Inc.
|Systems, methods, and media for determining fraud patterns and creating fraud behavioral models
|Apr 9, 2012
|Feb 14, 2017
|Verint Americas Inc.
|Enhanced diarization systems, media and methods of use
|Apr 14, 2006
|Nov 2, 2006
|Anthony Rajakumar
|Method and system to detect fraud using voice data
|Jan 12, 2009
|May 7, 2009
|Anthony Rajakumar
|Building whitelists comprising voiceprints not associated with fraud and screening calls using a combination of a whitelist and blacklist
|Jul 30, 2008
|Feb 4, 2010
|At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
|Transparent voice registration and verification method and system
|Jul 8, 2010
|Nov 4, 2010
|American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
|Speaker recognition in a multi-speaker environment and comparison of several voice prints to many
|Aug 13, 2010
|Dec 2, 2010
|Method and system for generating a fraud risk score using telephony channel based audio and non-audio data
|Aug 13, 2010
|Dec 2, 2010
|Speaker verification-based fraud system for combined automated risk score with agent review and associated user interface
|Feb 14, 2013
|Jun 20, 2013
|At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
|Transparent voice registration and verification method and system
|Nov 11, 2014
|Apr 30, 2015
|Quisk, Inc.
|Hacker-Resistant Balance Monitoring
|U.S. Classification
|704/246, 704/249, 704/250, 704/247
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Sep 26, 2007
Owner name: AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVEL RELATED SERVICES COMPANY,
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:MARSHALL, VERNON;BELLAMKONDA, SESHASAYEE;LEYVA, MARCEL;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:019886/0959;SIGNING DATES FROM 20030529 TO 20031031
Owner name: AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVEL RELATED SERVICES COMPANY,
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:MARSHALL, VERNON;BELLAMKONDA, SESHASAYEE;LEYVA, MARCEL;AND OTHERS;SIGNING DATES FROM 20030529 TO 20031031;REEL/FRAME:019886/0959
|Jan 23, 2014
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|Mar 4, 2014
Owner name: AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVEL RELATED SERVICES COMPANY,
Free format text: NUNC PRO TUNC ASSIGNMENT;ASSIGNOR:BROMAN, VICKI;REEL/FRAME:032343/0645
Effective date: 20140228
|Apr 21, 2014
Owner name: III HOLDINGS 1, LLC, DELAWARE
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVEL RELATED SERVICES COMPANY, INC.;REEL/FRAME:032722/0746
Effective date: 20140324


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Mike Holmgren already is making deals with his former team.
The Seattle Seahawks confirmed Monday that they had traded backup quarterback Seneca Wallace to Holmgren's Cleveland Browns in exchange for a undisclosed 2011 draft pick.
Wallace had spent his entire seven-year NFL career in Seattle, and he always was a favorite of Holmgren's when the now-Browns president was the Seahawks' coach.
"This will give Seneca a chance for a fresh start," Seahawks general manager John Schneider said in a statement released by the team. "The Browns front office's familiarity with his abilities will give him an opportunity to compete for playing time. We wish him nothing but the best."
Wallace will enter a fluid quarterback situation in Cleveland. His acquisition is the most decisive evidence that one of the Browns' incumbent QBs — Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson — will be let go sometime soon.
Holmgren has consistently stated he's still evaluating his quarterbacks, but he revealed at last week's NFL Scouting Combine that a decision must be made before Anderson's $2 million roster bonus is due, reportedly on March 19.
Wallace's best season was 2008 when he started eight games in Holmgren's last season and threw for 1,532 yards and 11 touchdowns. Wallace started two games last season while starter Matt Hasselbeck was injured.
The Seahawks selected Wallace in the fourth round of the 2003 draft. He played in 46 games for Seattle, including 14 starts at quarterback, and he threw 25 career touchdown passes with a rating of 83.2. He also was sometimes used as a wide receiver and returner, catching four passes for 76 yards and rushing 54 times for 214 yards.

subset: commoncrawl


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For those who march to a digital beat The electronic drum kit goes by many names; the digital drum set, electric drum kit and for those who are acoustic drum purists "not an acoustic", but whatever you call them – they're extremely useful and so versatile it's mind boggling. With more and more acoustic drummers deciding… Read More
Best Gear of 2014
A vintage year for non-vintage gear It's always fun looking back over the past year and revisiting some of the exciting nuggets of musical innovation we've been offered over the past 12 months. And there has been some great gear for musicians to get stuck into too. For guitarists, the drive has been to shrink… Read More
Replace Pots and Pans with a Digital Drum Kit This Christmas
If someone in your life is hitting the pots and pans in your house like this guy, why not give them a digital drum kit? There are many people who have argued the case for a having a digital drum kit in their life, and many who have demonstrated their 'natural ability' by hitting a… Read More


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No injuries reported in latest episodes of gun violence
Kinston police and city residents continue to react after gunmen targeted at least two residences within six hours.
Officers with the Kinston Department of Public Safety, assisted by Lenoir County Sheriff�s Office deputies, responded to the area of 1313 Morningside Drive around 6:25 p.m. Monday to a call of a drive-by shooting.
Witnesses told police four black males in a gray Mitsubishi Galant opened fire on the apartment building before fleeing the area. Although a scanner report indicated at least one person in the vicinity of the building returned fire, KDPS spokesman Woody Spencer said there�s no indication that ever happened.
KDPS investigators returned to the scene Tuesday afternoon and detained at least one subject.
�Officers made an arrest on the way,� Sgt. Chad Rouse said. �We were coming up here anyway to speak with some folks.�
Rouse said the man � whose identity wasn�t released as of press time � possessed a felonious amount of narcotics and stays in an apartment at the Morningside Drive building. However, the man was off the property � near the intersection of Morningside Drive and Woodlawn Drive � at the time of arrest.
A woman who lives nearby, but didn�t want her name to be used, said she heard the shooting and saw a gray Mitsubishi leaving the scene, but wasn�t happy with the police investigation up to that point.
She indicated neighbors found at least one shell casing nearby after police left the area.
�They didn�t do nothing � not one thing�,� She said. �Until somebody gets killed, they�re not going to do anything about it, coming around here.�
Officers responded to another shots-fired call almost exactly six hours later, at 1503 Perry Park Drive. Seven bullet holes were easily visible Tuesday afternoon in the front of the residence, including one through a window. All told, police found evidence of at least nine bullets fired at the house.
KDPS Director Bill Johnson said there�s no indication as of yet the two incidents are connected or confirmation either is gang-related.
�One of the residents there (at the Perry Park Drive residence) is a validated gang member,� Johnson said. �There�s no 100 percent proof, but that�s as much information has we have.�
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.


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All vehicles that park on campus must display a valid parking permit (Section 21113a CVC). For the Fall and Spring semesters, parking is suspended for two weeks, the week prior to the start of classes and during the first week of classes. Reserved, restricted, 30 minute visitor, and 30 minute loading/unloading areas will still be enforced. During summer sessions, a permit is required daily. The "R" permit is issued from the "A" or "X" building in housing. A "R" (Resident) permit is also required in Housing as well as a CSUDH parking permit.
Hours of permit enforcement are Monday, 7 a.m. thru Saturday, 6 p.m. (24 hours). Permit enforcement for housing lots 5a/5b is 24 hours, year-round. For further information, please contact the Parking Office at (310) 243-3725.
Visitor parking areas are located in front of the Small College Complex, Lot 3, outside of Welch Hall, and the Gymnasium Lot. No permit is required for 30 minutes or less.*
Motorcycles and scooters have special areas for parking. They are located at: southwest corner of Lot 2, southeast corner of Lot 3, northwest corner of Lot 4, and northeast corner of Lot 6. A separate parking permit is required if you drive a motorcycle and wish to park it on campus. This permit can be purchased from the cashier's office.
Loading zone areas are located adjacent to major campus buildings. No permit is required for 30 minutes or less.*
Daily parking permits must be displayed on the driver's side, on the dashboard of the vehicle in plain sight. Daily parking permits are purchased from the parking permit dispensing machines. Cash, credit card and debit cards are accepted.
|Parking Lot
|Permit Dispensers
|Lot 1
|Parking dispenser 1
|Extreme Southwest end of parking lot 1
|Lot 2
|Parking dispenser 1
|Extreme Northeast end of parking lot 2
|Parking dispenser 2
|Extreme Southwest portion of parking lot 2
|Lot 3
|Parking dispenser 1
|Northwest corner of parking lot 3
|Parking dispenser 2
|Southeast section of parking lot 3, on the sidewalk near the motorcycle stalls
|Upper Lot 4
|Parking dispenser 1
|Next to the "Information Kiosk"
|Lower Lot 4
|Parking dispenser 1
|South end of lower parking lot 4
|Lot 6
|Parking dispenser 1
|Northeast side of parking lot 6
|Parking dispenser 2
|South portion of parking lot 6, on the sidewalk
|Lot 7
|Parking dispenser 1 & 2
|Center of parking lot 7, on row 7D and rows 7E and 7F
Vehicles are to park "head-in," using marked stalls only. Do not park in any "Reserved Stalls," for example, "100 Area Stalls," "Handicapped," or "Carpool." Invited guests to the campus may be able to get "One Day" passes from the attendant at the Information Booths located on the island in the front of the campus and at the back of the campus, off University Drive inside Lot 4a, if prior arrangements/requests have been made via departmental memo sent to parking's fax at (310) 217-6802 including the guest's reason for being on campus, their name, date of arrival and time.
Request for guest permits must be made 72 hours in advance via memorandum sent to the parking office. Guest permits will not be issued to CSUDH faculty, staff, or students. If the Information Booth/Kiosks are closed, guest permits can be picked up from the Parking Department located in SCC 200 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and after hours, at the Police Department located in WH B-100. Guest permits requests indicating they will be mailed are the responsibility of the requester and will not be replaced if they are lost. Request can be faxed at (310) 217-6802.
Semester parking permits are displayed inside the front windshield on the driver's side (car covers are not recommended). Semester permits are purchased at the Cashier's Office, WH B270.
* Overtime parking permits may be obtained by calling the University Police at (310) 243-3639.
Those who receive parking citations and want to contest them must complete a Request for Administrative Review within 21 days of receiving the citation. The Administrative Review is processed by the issuing officer and his/her supervisor. A determination is returned via mail within ten (10) days.
Should an Administrative Review determination deem the citation valid, the cited party can escalate the Review to the next level. The cited party will then request an administrative hearing, which is held on campus monthly. The hearing officer will meet with the cited party to discuss the citation by appointment.
Should you elect to pursue an upheld parking violation after the hearing, you can request a Municipal Appeal via Compton Municipal Court at 200 West Compton Blvd., Compton, CA. This must be filed within 30 calendar days from the decision of the hearing.
Failure to resolve a parking citation will result in difficulty with renewing the vehicle's registration.
(Reference Sections 40207, 40215 $ 40230 CVC)


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News & Updates at Oh, the Books!
Thanks to everyone who followed our Oh, the Books! Facebook over the past few weeks! Our Face Book for Facebook giveaway is over, and the random number generator chose Becca @ Pivot Book Reviews. Which Face Book did she choose? Heist Society by Ally Carter!
In Case You Missed It
Here's all the stuff that we posted this week.
- Kelley shared the results of an experiment she's been doing to expand her empathy.
- Asti explored what would happen in books if she were one of the characters.
- Will Hill stopped by to discuss how characters can control his series.
- Kelley reviewed The Falconer by Elizabeth May.
- Jenn stopped by to share weird things she noticed when rereading the Harry Potter series.
- Day Six of The Bookish Games began!
Our Lives This Week
[stextbox id="asti2″ caption="Asti" collapsing="true"]Is it weird if I sit here on a Saturday morning and can't really remember my week? Sometimes life is a blur…
Most of my week was spent with The Orion Publishing Group working in the publicity department. I was there last week on Monday, and then agreed to come back this week since they still didn't have anyone to fill in for them and I was finally done with my assessments. It was a nice break seeing the publicity side of things, but I have to admit, I still prefer marketing.
Other than that, nothing too much happened. I did receive some amazing gifts for my upcoming birthday (the 25th). I ordered myself Into the Shadows for an upcoming Bookish Guides post. Kelley had a pen custom-made to say aBookishHeart, which is amazing! And Chiara ordered me Scarlet and Unhinged. Oh, I also got a lovely letter from Jenn, our guest poster for this week, which I've added to my bulletin board!
So yeah, it sort of felt like an uneventful week, but it was a good one with further work experience and love from my blogging friends. Can't complain![/stextbox]
[stextbox id="kelley2″ caption="Kelley" collapsing="true"]Continuing my general Life Theme these days, my past week was a blend of awesome and awful. The awesome: my husband and I have been playing Child of Light (co-op!!!) and it is the most beautiful video game EVER. (What are you doing still reading this post? GO PLAY IT.) (And then come back.) I also read some fantastic books this week. The awful? I got violently ill for a couple of days. Also my cat's health continues to be problematic, so it's back to the vet with her on Monday. :(
Other highlights? Hmmm…
Finally going to do one of my cosplay ideas for Comicpalooza in a few weeks! EPIC SAX GUY. O_O All I need is a saxophone…
— Oh, the Kelley! (@anovelread) May 4, 2014
Elsewhere in the blogosphere
Blogger of the Week
So this hasn't turned into a weekly feature, exactly, but I still love that I can highlight bloggers in our weekly recap posts, and this week I'm taking the opportunity! ~Kelley
[stextbox id="group3″ caption="Blogger of the Week: Tabitha @ Not Yet Read" collapsing="false" collapsed="false" image="null"]
This week I want to highlight Tabitha at Not Yet Read. You may know her from My Shelf Confessions, but now she's moved out into her own blog, complete with adorable, hand-drawn robot graphics! Not only is her blog design adorable (and my favorite colors), but every week she has a feature call Fan Art Up! where she shares bookish fan art she's made and highlight fan art other people have made! I love it when art and books come together, and Not Yet Read is a great blog to explore that! And as part of her grand opening, she's holding an e-reader mega giveaway, so don't forget to enter![/stextbox]
Tweets of the Week
During my commute, I saw a grown man reading Animorphs then bumped into a girl reading Howl's Moving Castle. Good morning to me!
— Margot Wood (@margotwood) May 5, 2014
starship doors won't open
— Riker Googling (@RikerGoogling) May 7, 2014
On Blogging and Book Reviewing
- Finley Jane talks about choosing which books to review.
- Shelly explains how she achieved 100% feedback to approval rating on NetGalley.
BLOGGING-related tips, tricks, and discussion
- Bec and Alise ask for help in choosing a new feature for their blog.
- Ashley explains what Google Analytics data to focus on.
- Yara tells us how to deal when your blog article is stolen.
- Laura wants to know your thoughts on daily vs. weekly emails.
- Aimee asks what are the most effective blogging styles?
- Stephanie explains how to customize the jetpack/feedburner email widget.
- April shares places to find free or low cost images.
- Sandra explains why she has no desire to go [dot] com.
- Bieke shares her ten favorite WordPress Plug-ins.
- Ana wonders about scheduling posts.
- Ashley answers: should you start a blog on Blogger or WordPress?
- Shannelle shares her thoughts on Bloggers vs. Free WordPress.
- Amanda provides some discussion ideas for discussion posts.
Social Media
- Liza talks about the social media revolution.
- Cee explains how she Goodreads.
- Alex tells us all we need to know about booklikes.
- Jamie muses about the influences of social media on her reading life.
a blogger's life
- Anya shares 7 of her blogging quirks.
- Charlotte talks about creating the environment you want.
- Rachel discusses the importance of keeping blogging stress-free.
- Annie shares the most important thing she has learned from blogging.
- Amanda wants you to stop putting yourself down.
- Jim talks about community and collaboration.
- Rebecca says don't forget the real world.
- Kelly wants to talk about unfollowing blogs.
- Kayla shares some popular search terms for her blog.
- Gaby shares what parks are the best to visit during BEA.
- Terri explains why she's not going to BEA.
- Chelly talks about transportation in NYC.
- Shae discusses BEA etiquette.
- Rachel provides a checklist for reader convention packing.
- Jamie shares her NYC Bucket List (for inspiration of things to do outside of BEA).
- Octavia talks about her mixed feelings when talking about going to BEA.
- Elena helps you satisfy your sweet tooth in NY.
On Writing
- JJ explains the importance of daydreaming.
- Courtney Summers offers some advice for when you're not enjoying your current manuscript.
- Jason Cantrell shares his arcane apocalyptic writing process.
- Drew Chial teaches us what to do with too much inspiration.
- Here's the reading list Junot Díaz assigns his MIT students.
- Biljana discusses writing fictional reality.
- Jessica Wisniewski stops by YA Highway to discuss writing like it's your job.
- Amber has created an author's guide to writing review requests.
- Jay Kristoff has 10 good reasons to co-author a book.
- Chuck Wendig says the novel is not dead.
- There's a Querypalooza happening at Pub(lishing) Crawl soon!
Things Bookworms Think About
- Brittany shares her guide to crossover books.
- Arianne and Liza share what their pick for best YA Contemporary.
- Laura has created a beginner's guide to shojo manga.
- Emma Pass stops by The Zoë-Trope to say: dystopia is dead!
- Stacey Nash explains the misconceptions of science fiction as a genre.
- Nafiza discusses when adults read children's literature.
- Dahlia has many thoughts about New Adult.
- Josephine talks about the ambiguity of genre.
- Kelly takes a look at YA horror in 2014,
Novellas, SERIEs, and Cliffhangers
- Miranda wants to know when and in what order you read novellas.
- Ruby discusses her feelings when a series ends.
- Ashley shares her thoughts on series vs. standalones.
- Francine talks about the grief of cliffhangers in series.
- Ashley discusses mid-series cover changes.
- GillyB says cliffhangers are bothering her recently.
- Pam talks about continuing series for the secondary characters because you don't like the protagonist.
love stories
- Becca shares her thoughts on love triangles.
- Kaitlin talks about being tricked by patterns within a romance.
- Tori discusses cliched love triangles.
All the Feels
- Natalie admits she likes it when books make her cry.
- Andye says talks about how crying is stupid.
- Stephanie shares what she's learned about book panic.
- Meagan Spooner says she makes no apologies for writing sad things.
Buying Books
- Kayla wants to know if you preorder books.
- Livvvy shares the many places where she buys her books.
- Cass talks about book buying bans.
Touchy subjects in ya books
- Ula admits she is a big supporter of violence and other nasty themes in books.
- Carrie shares her thoughts on violence in YA literature.
- Melanie talks about slut shaming in books.
- Megan responds to the Shailene Woodley feminism uproar.
- Rachel agrees we need diverse books, but wonders if change will actually happen.
- Jim talks about settings, Fangirl, and diversity in response to a review.
- Tara shares her reflection on LGBT April as an LGBT blogger.
- L. R. Giles offers some clarity on the We Need Diverse Books campaign.
- Jeann shares her recommendations for diversity in books.
- Emz talks about comparing and judging books by synopses.
- Kristiyln discusses the fine art of DNFing.
- Kelly wants to talk about the cover inside the cover.
- Bec has found dragon books.
- Mitchii discusses the art of rereading.
- Cait rewrites blurbs to make them honest.
- Leigh wonders if publishers affect your reading choices.
- Nikki's realized that reading challenges don't work for her.
- Anne wants to know what prose styles you like to read and write in.
- Foz Meadows wrote a great post about sympathetic vs. unlikeable characters (and more).
- Topaz asks: what got you started reading?
Bookish Fun
QUIZZES, CHarts, & LISTS
- Alexa pairs up celebrity outfits from the Met Gala 2014 with different characters from books.
- Here's the book nerd's guide to meeting boys.
- Jenn offers the bugs of literature: a flowchart.
- Victoria Schwab shares a few snippets from her latest WIPs!
- Just for Asti: a library of unreadable things.
- Kimberly did some fun cover math!
- Rinn has created a Game of Manicures!
- Anne shares 9 cool bookish tees she wants to own.
- Here's a cat's guide to bathrooms.
- Nika Harper has started a new project: Arcade Arms, where they'll be making weapons from video games and "smashing the crap out of things" with them!
- Here are 6 insane stereotypes you still see in every movie.
- Watch Jimmy Fallon do some science experiments with Kevin Delaney.
- What it would look like if Full House were a horror movie/show.
- Check out Ed Sheeran's new song for the TFiOS movie soundtrack!
- Max regales us with 5 surprising mythological tales.
- Ever wondered who has the largest vocabulary in hip hop? This chart is pretty enlightening.
- Erin and Laura debunk 7 big myths about libraries.
- 271 Years Before Pantone, an Artist Mixed Every Color Imaginable in an 800-Page Book!!!!!!!!(!!!)
- Mallory Ortberg uncovers some flaws only a protagonist could have.
- Neil Gaiman explains how to read Gene Wolfe (found via this homage to Gene Wolfe by Mordicia).
- Susan and Barry explain how not to say the wrong thing.
- Julianne explores what tabloid headlines would look like if they didn't treat women like sex objects.
- Red explains how to ask a tarot question.
- This mystery blackboard art is going to blow your mind!
Question of the Week
Sometimes we just don't have questions (crazy, I know), so this week we're going to open the floor like Asti used to do on A Bookish Heart…
Do YOU have any questions for US?
So, how was your week?


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Caesar Potato Salad
Eat this filling mix without an ounce of guilt.
Avoid overcooking the potatoes and you'll serve up a salad with just the right amount of bite.
Total Time:
Level: Easy
Serves: 4
- 12 oz. small red baby potatoes
- ½ tsp. coarse salt, plus a pinch
- 3 tbsp. plain 2% Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ tsp. anchovy paste (optional)
- ¼ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp. pepper
- 1 c. chopped romaine
- ½ c. chopped baby kale
- 2 tbsp. Chopped red onion
- Cover potatoes with cold water by 2 inches in a pot, and season with ½ tsp salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over medium heat until just tender, 15 to 18 min. Drain, and rinse under cold water until cool. Halve potatoes (or quarter if large).
- Whisk together yogurt, Parmesan, lemon juice, oil, garlic, anchovy paste (if using), Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and a pinch of salt in a big bowl. Add potatoes, romaine, kale, and onion, and toss to combine.
106 cal, 2 g fat (1 g saturated), 4 g protein, 18 g carb, 1 g sugar, 2 g fiber, 157 mg sodium, 3 mg cholesterol per serving
This recipe originally appeared in the September 2016 issue of Dr. Oz The Good Life.
More From Healthy Lunch Ideas


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Sharp Rise in Health Care Premiums; White House Responds to Criticism
Health insurance premiums jumped nine percent in 2011, nearly three times the rate of inflation, according to a report released Tuesday.
The study showed the average employer-sponsored family coverage was over 15,000 in 2011, a nine percent increase from last year.
Average health care premiums rose to $10,944 for employers and $4,129 for workers for a total of $15,073.
Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust released the report, which neglected to state whether the premiums would continue to rise.
However, it did note that the premiums have more than doubled since 2001.
"This year's 9 percent increase in premiums is especially painful for workers and employers struggling through a weak recovery," Kaiser President Drew Altman said in a statement.
In 2010, premiums were at three percent for families and five percent for singles. According to Kaiser, that number has risen a startling 113 percent over the last ten years.
"The survey found that insurance premiums rose just about the same amount for single people - 8 percent– as the 9 percent increase for families, which suggests that this change required by the health reform law may not have played much of a role in the rising costs of insurance," Leighton Ku, director of the Center for Health Policy Research at The George Washington University told ABC News.
Insurance companies have continued to receive pressure from employers and users to cut costs, especially after the promise of the Affordable Care Act, signed by Obama in 2010.
The Act was created to implement health care reform from 2010 to 2014. One of the main stipulations of the Act was to decrease the cost of health care, making it affordable to employees of all salaries.
Altman contends that this Act has had little effect on the increase in premiums, especially because the Act has until 2014 to produce results.
The White House released a statement Tuesday refuting claims that the rise in premiums was a direct result to the new health care regulations.
According to the statement, 2011 premiums were set in 2010 "when insurance companies thought medical costs would be significantly higher than they turned out to be."
"Insurance companies that want to raise premiums for 2012 by more than 10 percent will have to publicly justify their rate hikes, and a growing number of states have the power to reject unjustified premium hikes," read the statement.
"Additionally, insurers are required to spend at least 80 percent of your premium dollars on medical care, rather than advertising, overhead and bonuses for executives. If they fail to meet that standard, they will be required to provide a rebate to their customers."
The survey was conducted among large and small businesses that provided health coverage to employees – a pool including 150 million Americans.
The release of this report may serve as a hot topic of debate in the upcoming presidential election.


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Wants to Meet Up
- Last login about 20 hours ago
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About Me
Originally from Detroit, been livin' overseas for the past 8 years or so, currently *mostly* settled in Germany beginning my PhD in archaeology at Tübingen. And no, it's not like Indiana Jones. Even though he is awesome, does anyone else notice how he tends to like, DESTROY monuments? Or is it just me?
Why I'm on Couchsurfing
Couchsurfing is an exceptional venue to meet awesome like-minded people. It's nice to know that you have a home wherever you go.
I am an archaeologist by trade so naturally anything ancient or historical I LOVE. I also love learning about different cultures, obviously why I am traveling, I guess most people on this site do probably?
Other than that I love to cook, for myself as well as others, I like to drink, all sorts of beverages (including but not limited to: coffee, beer, tea), and I like to couple the previously mentioned things with some sort of social aspect.
Also: biking, hiking, yoga, gardening, moooovies, boating, riding on motorcyles, reading, talking, listening...
- culture
- dining
- cooking
- recipes
- beer
- coffee
- raw food
- yoga
- drinking
- gardening
- boating
- movies
- board games
- reading
- traveling
- blogging
- cycling
- hiking
- swimming
- archeology
- communications
- history
Music, Movies, and Books
have a particular fondness for old drunk men crooning to me; the likes of Tom Waits, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, John Denver, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, but mostly stuff from the 90's. and some electronic. and some folk. Pearl Jam tends to prevail.
i watch a lot of movies. then i like talking about them with people. if you like doing either of these things, we'll get along. i specifically like horror films, sci-fi, fantasy, cult, and thriller movies, though i'll watch anything! except fast and the furious. those just look predictable.
As far as authors go, Paul Thoreux is always good to read if you need a justification for riding on a 14hr 3rd class train. Also like Tom Robbins, Cormac McCarthy, Hubert Selby Jr., Stephen King, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Isaac Assimov!
And I LOVE board games so if you are into that you better stay on my couch so we can play.
One Amazing Thing I've Done
Seeing Stonehenge, by far. It's what made me want to become an archaeologist! Also working on an Iron Age excavation, seeing Angkor Wat, swimming in an underground cenote in Ek Balam, Mexico, working on a vineyard in Tasmania... also living in general is pretty amazing.
Teach, Learn, Share
As I said, I know a lot about history, and archaeology. So there's that. I have a ridiculous mental database of movies as well. I know a lot of card games and board games, always happy to share recipes for yummy dishes (mexican and polish recipes are my specialty! along with raw food deserts, check out my blog). I have a knack for gardening, and I can read your tarot cards!
Also, I am more than happy to share tourist knowledge about my awesome home town of Detroit. Many cities are unfortunately the victims of horrible media coverage. As a result, many people think Detroit is an awful place, when if fact it is full of life, history, and culture if you look in the right places.
What I Can Share with Hosts
I'm an awesome cook and enjoy fine wines. I consider smiles and laughter free exchanges ;)
Countries I've Visited
Albania, Austria, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kosovo, Laos, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom
Countries I've Lived In
Australia, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, United States


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Gruff stuff
Labels: Belle, Sophea Chamroeun
Cambodia - Temples, Books, Films and ruminations...by Andy Brouwer
Labels: Belle, Sophea Chamroeun
Luckily you didn't link to it, because it's absolutely awful. As is everything from Krom! Feel sorry for the poor girl who had to sing that ridiculous "chorus". "I love you like a monkey"... Oh dear...
I purposely didn't link to it for that reason. I can't believe anyone would like to listen to Mr Minko singing. He sounds like me when I sing in the shower. And I know no-one would want to listen to me. Krom will be releasing an album soon...so I take it you won't be rushing out to buy it? They call themselves a 'cult' band. Maybe its just one big joke; I'm really not sure. 'Semen stained floors' is not a line you normally find in a song. Actually the 'love you like a monkey' grew on me after a few plays...:-)
It seems to me to be one huge vanity project which isn't surprising if you've ever come across Minko. The joke will be on him when nobody either comes to his show or buys his album. The sad thing is that folks like Belle and Sophea are collaborating with him. Awful. Awful. Awful. Thanks for not linking Andy!
It seems that anonymous is someone with an ax to grind. Chris has done amazing work in Cambodia over the last couple of decades and i guess that attracts a certain amount of jealousy.If you don't like the music nobody is forcing you to listen, or click on any links. I liked his first single a lot myself, not so crazy about the others.
The chorus with the girl singing about monkey love is quite catchy.
That could be sampled by a DJ and turned into some kind of psychedelic techno hip hop song. With a bit of radio play it could even make the lower end of the top 40 in somewhere like Germany where even David Hasslehoff can get a number 1.
In terms of the bloke I think that Bangkok Tattoo was a better song for him but that was a really WEIRD video though.
Not sure where they are going with this but a lot of people dream of getting the chance of recording songs and videos, both Khmer and foreigners alike.
In Cambodia you can make your dreams come true, mainly because of low production costs rather than high demand...
This is the link and I think if people are going to call it awful then it is only fair to give your other readers a chance to have a listen and make up their own minds: http://www.youtube.com/user/themekongsessions
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All the Crazy Star Wars Episode VII Rumors in One Place!
It's only been a few days since the Disney/Lucasfilm deal and a new Star Wars trilogy were announced - and already the rumors are twirling like Darth Maul's lightsabers. Also, will Guillermo del Toro direct a movie about a magical version of the Justice League? The next Terminator movie could be coming after all. The…
The Neighbors is more inoffensive than television static
Certain shows lend themselves to television recaps. There are those programs that are replete with subtle themes and internal mythology that are ripe for the internet scrutinizing.
The Neighbors is Coneheads for people who never saw Coneheads
When I first heard that ABC was bringing a television program called The Neighbors to their autumn roster, I was beyond psyched. "Finally!" I expectorated wildly. "Tommy Wiseau's infinitely gestating apartment building comedy has found the studio capital it deserves!" But no, this was sadly not the case.
Every single new science fiction and fantasy show announced for next season!
Now that the week of television upfronts are coming to a close, it's time to take a look back at all the new TV we've been promised (and what we missed out on). Find out what happened to the mysterious Hunger Games show and get a better look at J.J. Abrams' latest attempt at a successful scifi series.
Wild trailers for ABC's new TV shows include evil Nazi babies and green aliens!
Earlier today ABC announced that it would be adding three new genre shows: 666 Park Avenue, Zero Hour, and The Neighbors to their line-up next year. And now we've got the sizzle reels for each show. We're completely blown away by the evil Nazi baby, and the look of the aliens in The Neighbors! Watch them all, right…
ABC's Fall Schedule: Wacky Aliens and a Magical Apartment Building
We'd been keeping our fingers crossed that ABC would pick up Jessica Jones, the noirish superhero show based on Brian Bendis' amazing comic. But ABC passed on Jessica, and instead we're getting Terry O' Quinn in 666 Park Avenue, a conspiracy theory drama, and a disconcerting comedy about alien neighbors.


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Armless Ping-Pong Player, Trust Fall Fail, and Line-Flubbing Older Couple — Daily Distraction
Here's another back-to-back-to-back dosage of Internet gems.
Here's another back-to-back-to-back dosage of Internet gems.
Ping pong has made a comeback in the past half decade or so with a bunch of table tennis 'bars' popping up around the country. But who said this is a young man's sport?
In America, we play ping pong, usually hunched over the table in some basement rec room. In the rest of the world, they play table tennis, sometimes in front of large, cheering crowds.
If you want to see an example of the difference between the two games, check out this mind-bending shot by Swedish professional Mattias Oversjo.
It's so amazing, you get to see it three times.


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Private tuition and home tuition is on the rise in the UK and is a great way to give children the best possible education. We aim to make it easy for tutors and tutees to get the best out of private tuition. We understand that finding the right tutor can be a daunting task, whether searching for: primary, GCSE, A'Level or an adult learner. Grade A Tutors aims to make is as simple as possible by listing all personal and private tutors closest to you with feedback and ratings, ensuring you get the right person for the job.
Searching for a local tutor is easy with Grade A Tutors. Simply enter your post code, subject and age range and away you go.
You will find a list of all the tutors in your area. You can then view the tutors profiles, subjects taught, hourly rate and to see if they are suitable for you.
Once you have found your ideal tutor, you'll want to get in touch with them to see if they are right for you.
Simply sign up for a free Grade A Tutors account and then send them a message. Your free account allows you to have unlimited communication with the tutor, so you can discuss fees and times.
Once you are satisfied that your chosen tutor is suitable, you can then go ahead and book your chosen tutor
My name is David Rugu Ngigi from kenya, I have a strong desire for tutoring because it is a great...
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I am a private tutor, based in the Brighton and Hove area. I am a qualified primary school teacher with a first class...
Grade A is by far the easiest tutoring web site i have used, I have registered with a number of other sites but got frustrated by the way they work.
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Tutor, Coach or Mentor?
Posted on Sunday April 16, 2017
The job of a tutor is a varied one, with so many styles, subjects, students and settings the variety of the job is what makes it so rewarding and enjoyable. While the variety is in the every day with the unpredictability of children, in recent years there has been a shift in the role. Rather …
Continue reading "Tutor, Coach or Mentor?"
The Homeschool Debate: Is Home-Schooling Best For Children With ADHD?
Posted on Tuesday April 11, 2017
The homeschool debate is one that will never go away, many are steadfast about the traditional school method, and others that have had the last straw with the education system are desperately looking for alternative educational methods. For children who have ADD, ADHD and anxiety issues parents are becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of …
Continue reading "The Homeschool Debate: Is Home-Schooling Best For Children With ADHD?"
Top Tips For New Tutors
Posted on Monday March 27, 2017
Tutoring is a fun and rewarding experience that will help you and your students learn and progress. Many tutors transition from a school environment into private tutoring and the experience and style is vastly different, what may have made you an excellent teacher, may not work for a one-to-one teaching session. If you're starting out …
Continue reading "Top Tips For New Tutors"
Tutoring and the long summer break
Posted on Thursday February 23, 2017
Every schoolboy and girl love the long summer holidays, and for that matter so do most teachers. After all, it is good to get away from that grind of education for a few weeks; at the very least it is a great opportunity to recharge your batteries so that you can start the Autumn …
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My fiance and I have decided to go to Italy for our Honeymoon and we need a some advice about flights. This is what we've decided on: fly out of Austin, TX on Sunday, April 18th flying into Zurich, Switzerland. On the return: fly out of Rome, Italy on Monday, May 3rd flying back to Austin.
Is it too soon to book flights? When is a good time to book flights? Besides Expedia or Orbitz, does anyone know of any websites that have great deals on international flights? Suggestions on which airlines to fly?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Matt and Liz
Recent ActivityView all Air Travel activity »
- 1 Very bad experience in AMS
- 2 Layover time in Los Angeles
- 3 LH bid for Premium Economy
- 5 Virgin Atlantic's "Virgin Redhead"!
- 6 JFK international terminal to domestic terminal - how much time?
- 7 $1500 to Europe economy in May- buy now or wait?
- 8 Changing Airlines at EWR
- 9 A horror story about Justfly
- 10 WOW bargain not so "wow"
- 11 AerLingus exit row
- 12 Global Entry application status question
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- 18 Scott's Cheap Flights
- 19 Connecting flight in heathrow--2 hours
- 20 United Mileage plus upgrade waitlist?
- 21 Narita or Haneda from LAX?
- 22 Round trip ticket - but skipping return flight
- 23 Flying to Montego Bay, need help with connecting flights?
- 24 Traveling with two passports, with different names.
- 25 Royal Air Moroc Reviews
HELP! When should we book flights to Europe??
My fiance and I have decided to go to Italy for our Honeymoon and we need a some advice about flights. This is what we've decided on: fly out of Austin, TX on Sunday, April 18th flying into Zurich, Switzerland. On the return: fly out of Rome, Italy on Monday, May 3rd flying back to Austin.
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I would start tracking fares on kayak and fare compare. They will send u alerts on fare changes or even daily emails on the fares u are tracking. That way u can get an idea of what fares are, they have a history chart also. Once u have an idea of the fares, as soon as u see a good one, grab it! There should be some air fare sales for the Spring out now or shortly.
No sure what your plans are but be aware that May 1 is a pretty big public holiday in Italy. Also April 25 is a holiday but not as much was closed. We have traveled the last 2 Springs to Italy and it's really crowded with Italians on holiday during the days between April 25-May 1 and weekend days adjacent to those 2 dates. So make sure u get your reservations in plenty of time.
Have a great honeymoon!
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You can take a look at this website to see a calendar of prices for flights each month.
If you can get to Houston pretty easily, Continental is having some good sales on flights to Europe.
The fare alerts from Kayak and Fare Compare are great - I agree on that one, for sure.
I will often go directly to the website of the airline. And I sometimes play around with different things - try checking on flights to Europe from all the East Coast cities - Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte, Dulles, and New York. I have found some good ticket prices from Newark. And then see if you can find a cheap deal to one of these cities. You might even want to spend the night as an addition to your vacation.
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On either the week before or the week after Liberation Day, tickets to major sites in Rome (such as the Coleseum, Roman Forum, etc.) are free. Make sure to check those out when you go.
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Most sites will have similar pricing, with the possible exception of some consolidators, but I never use them.
As for when to purchase... A lot of this depends upon how flexible you want to be. One problem that you are likely to encounter is that you have only 3 options for one-stop flights: Delta, via Atlanta; Continental, via Newark; and United, via Washington. As Continental and United cooperate, you are pretty much left with only two pricing options.
Right now, I see tickets at $928 on Delta (decent schedule, though). I think this is a decent baseline price, and I suspect that you will be able to get this price for at least the next couple of months. I would watch prices until at least the end of this month, jumping at anything in the $700-range. If you don't see much movement in price, then maybe consider booking in the low $900s sometime in late February.
Normally, Italy is probably the most expensive European destination, particularly if you want to fly directly from the US, so you may not be able to get a great deal.
Coach prices have been pretty high lately. I suspect that there may be a fair amount of irrational hope that the market will warrant those prices, but it could also be a knock-on from a lot of business travelers switching to coach.
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Im traveling to Italy this summer and the cheapest prices are on ATIflights.com. Take a look
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Congrats, Matt and Liz:
Drop by and say hello to my son, an instructor at the Austin School of Music.
For the past two years, I've used Cheapair.com and have been very satisfied. Their prices beat everyone else's; it was user friendly; you can choose your seats -- or change them -- and my trips were met with NO surprises. I was new to the world of on-line flight bookings and was as nervous as a tick the first time. But now, after my great experience with Cheapair.com, I keep going back to their site.
My most recent flight to Paris was booked in June, 2009, and I monitored the prices up until my September flight. They went down and then back up and then back down again, but the highest prices were posted around two weeks prior to my departure. So, I'm glad I booked when I did in June.
Your being in Austin, you will likely have connecting flights, so I would advise you to shop for connections out of Houston instead of DFW. They have more international choices, where DFW is primarily the American Airlines hub. Of course, depending on your first destination, AA and DFW might work best for you. Shop around.
David from Dallas
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Many people swear that going right to the air lines web-site is the best way to go, that certainly has been the case for most of us in my travel club. Just keep on checking their web-site.Plus you can get the routes that you want and not be subject to long layovers and going to many different airports to get where you are going.
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We've flown both in and out of Zurich and Rome going directly from Philadelphia, so you might consider that as an east coast departure point as well as the others listed.
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For flights to Barcelona and back from Paris last fall we booked 3-4 months in advance. A friend in the travel business said the best fares hit at two months in advance. I followed the prices and she was right. BUT, seats may go faster that time of year, so saving a few dollars may not be worth it. And fares can go up quickly as the dates approach and seats fill.
We've liked Continental's connections (direct from Newark) and prices but not necessarily the planes, often single-aisle 757s in off season. I always book directly with the airlines - with rare exceptions that's the best deal and choice of seating.
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We've flown both in and out of Zurich and Rome going directly from Philadelphia, so you might consider that as an east coast departure point as well as the others listed.
Unfortunately, once Southwest drops service in March, you can't fly from Austin to Philly, non-stop, so going through there would require a double-connection. Even were Southwest to continue flying there, it doesn't help you that much, as you would have to buy separate tickets and Southwest does not play nice in that regard (no interline agreements).
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I'm going in September to Tuscany and have started all my planning now and will make reservations. I love this site as I gain so much info. We want to do a "road trip" any advice out there for rental cars, etc.? Thelma and Louise are going to Tuscany! 9 months and counting down....
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any advice out there for rental cars, etc.
If you want to drive, then I have a few suggestions:
1) Get a GPS. Either buy a GPS or rent one from the agency; if you are going for an extended period, I would think that buying a relatively cheap GPS might be more cost effective than renting.
2) The smaller your car, the better. Roads and parking spaces can be tight in much of Europe and a smaller car fits better.
3) Be careful when comparing prices. Some of the European agencies exclude some costs that Avis and Hertz include, making them seem cheaper, even when they are not. If prices are similar, then I find Avis and Hertz to be much more professional than the European companies, like Sixt.
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Conservation Biology (3) The application of biological principles to issues in the conservation of biodiversity.
W F S (FOR) 430 Conservation Biology (3)
This course applies basic principles of ecology and genetics to issues regarding the conservation forested ecosystems and their associated fisheries and wildlife. The objective of this course is to provide a broad appreciation of the concepts in conservation biology that are important to solving contemporary natural resources problems. Students will be exposed to the history of conservation biology, values of biodiversity, definitions of species concepts, protecting the genetic structure of species, extinction as a natural process, vulnerability to extinction, biodiversity at the community, ecosystem, and landscape levels, habitat fragmentation, metapopulations, legal aspects of conservation, ecosystem management, exotic species, pollution, human population issues, measuring genetic diversity, attitudes towards nature, ex-situ conservation, and ecosystem restoration.
Note : Class size, frequency of offering, and evaluation methods will vary by location and instructor. For these details check the specific course syllabus.


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We have mentioned this rumor in the past a couple of times and it now looks as though the rumor could be on its way to becoming true. The rumor is that Rovio has been planning and developing an Angry Birds themed game but instead of focusing on the Birds story, this new game would tell the story from the pig's point of view.
Rovio has now launched both a Twitter account and Facebook page for what we are guessing is the pig-centric game they have been rumored to be developing called Bad Piggies, or as the world will most likely call it, Angry Piggies. Going to either the new Facebook or Twitter account won't yield you any news about this game, at least not yet, since both are brand new.
There is, however, a statement over of the Facebook page tells us the stance the pigs have on this whole Angry Birds situation: 'Pigs are awesome. Birds stink. We like eggs!' The pigs also seem to talk in the same style that the cute and funny kitten pictures tend to have, such as I Can Haz Cheezburgr.
Now that Rovio is teasing this new game, we can expect more details to start arriving at a steady pace soon.
Website Referenced: PocketGamer