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What's Hot Today
RIZZOLI & ISLES "Rebel Without a Pause" Season 2 Episode 6 – Watch a preview and check out photos of the upcoming episode of RIZZOLI & ISLES which airs Monday August 15 at at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) on TNT. Episode Synopsis: RIZZOLI & ISLES "Rebel Without a Pause" Season 2 Episode 6 – A Revolutionary War re-enactment becomes the scene of a real killing when a soldier turns up dead. Maura's extensive knowledge of American history becomes important as she and Jane try to solve the case. And Maura's brilliant mother, Constance Isles (guest star Jacqueline Bisset – nip/tuck, Joan of Arc), comes to Boston for an art exhibit. Read More... //www.daemonstv.com/2011/08/15/rizzoli-isles-rebel-without-a-pause-season-2-episode-6/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+daemonstv+%28Daemon%27s+TV%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
RIZZOLI & ISLES "Don't Hate the Player" Season 2 Episode 5 – Watch a preview and check out photos of the upcoming episode of RIZZOLI & ISLES which airs Monday August 8 at at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) on TNT. Episode Synopsis: RIZZOLI & ISLES "Don't Hate the Player" Season 2 Episode 5 – Jane and Maura investigate after the coach of the Boston Pilgrims baseball team is found dead in the locker room. The death comes as a star player and the team owners battle for control of the team. Meanwhile, Jane's brother Tommy (guest star Colin Egglesfield – Something Borrowed, Melrose Place) returns home after being released from jail. Read More... //www.daemonstv.com/2011/08/08/rizzoli-isles-dont-hate-the-player-season-2-episode-5/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+daemonstv+%28Daemon%27s+TV%29
Yes, Liz Lemon, Rizzoli & Isles are friends in real life. Moreover, Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander will be spending even more time together next summer: TNT has picked up this series for a third season. "This summer, Rizzoli & Isles has proven that last year's record-breaking ratings were just the beginning of this show's remarkable track record," said Michael Wright, executive vice president and head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). "With a terrific cast, a top-notch production team and the kind of stories TNT fans crave, Rizzoli & Isles is poised to continue its success alongside blockbuster TNT series like The Closer and Falling Skies ." Read More... //www.tvfanatic.com/2011/08/rizzoli-and-isles-renewed-for-season-3/
Rizzoli & Isles aired an especially powerful episode this week. Read our review of "Brown Eyed Girl" NOW . Looking ahead to next Monday night, the ladies will both take the field and welcome Colin Egglesfield aboard. The case of the week focuses on a dead minor league baseball coach, while the actor appears as Jane's brother, Tommy. He's just out of jail, and he may have his eye on Maura. Check out the official promo now for "Don't Hate the Player." //www.tvfanatic.com/2011/08/rizzoli-and-isles-to-take-the-field-welcome-janes-brother/
Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles are going to enter the sport world when they get another case in the next episode of " Rizzoli & Isles ". The detective and the medical examiner will be sent to investigate the death of the coach of the Boston Pilgrims baseball team. His body was found in the locker room, while a baseball stick is alleged to be the killing weapon. The death itself comes as a star player and the team owners battle for control of the team. Read More... //www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00042569.html
Check out a first look of the upcoming episode of RIZZOLI & ISLES "Brown Eyed Girl" Season 2Episode 4 which airs Monday August 1 at at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) on TNT. Episode Synopsis: RIZZOLI & ISLES "Brown Eyed Girl" Season 2 Episode 4 – When the daughter ofa police officer is kidnapped in front of her younger brother, Jane and the team race to find the girl, fearing her abduction is connected to another case in which a young girl turned up dead only hours earlier. Annie Wersching (24) guest-stars. Read More... //www.daemonstv.com/2011/08/01/rizzoli-isles-brown-eyed-girl-season-2-episode-4/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+daemonstv+%28Daemon%27s+TV%29
Cute men in patriotic uniforms were featured on Rizzoli & Isles this week. Next Monday, though? The situation will be more dire and less attractive. The episode "Brown Eyed Girl" will center on the story of a kidnapped girl, but not any kidnapped girl: she's the daughter of a fellow police officer. As a result, Jane races to track her down. Annie Wersching guest stars, as previewed here: //www.tvfanatic.com/2011/07/rizzoli-and-isles-episode-teaser-a-key-kidnapping/
TNT's summer originals continued their robust performance last week, with The Closer and Rizzoli & Isles leading the charge as basic cable's top scripted shows for the week. Last Monday's episode of The Closer averaged 7.9 million viewers in Live + 3 delivery (6.5 million Live + Same Day), with 2.1 million adults 18-49 (1.4 million L+SD) and 2.8 million adults 25-54 (2 million L+SD). Rizzoli & Isles built on that success with a blockbuster 8.3 million viewers in Live + 3 (6.4 million L+SD), including more than 2.2 million adults 18-49 (1.6 million L+SD) and 3 million adults 25-54 (2.2 million L+SD). Read More.... //www.thefutoncritic.com/ratings/2011/07/26/the-closer-and-rizzoli-and-isles-lead-the-charge-as-basic-cables-top-scripted-shows-for-the-week-819112/20110726turner01/
Watch a sneak peek and check out photos of the upcoming episode of RIZZOLI & ISLES "Sailor Man" Season 2 Episode 3 which airs Monday July 25 at at 10 p.m. (ET/PT) on TNT. Episode Synopsis : RIZZOLI & ISLES "Sailor Man" Season 2 Episode 3 – Shortly after sailors invadethe streets of Boston for Fleet Week, a young woman is found dead. Frost's father (guest star Ernie Hudson – Oz, Ghostbusters), a Navy Admiral, comes to town, causing tension with his son. And, Maura goes on a date with Angela's mechanic (guest star Matthew Del Negro – United States of Tara , Parenthood ). Read More... //www.daemonstv.com/2011/07/25/rizzoli-isles-sailor-man-season-2-episode-3/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+daemonstv+%28Daemon%27s+TV%29
First, a mud bath. Next, Fleet Week. After having their spa day interrupted on the most recent episode of Rizzoli & Isles , Maura and Jane will get involved with a few hot men in uniform next week, as Fleet Week hits Boston. Unfortunately, so does the dead body of a young girl. Elsewhere, Ernie Hudson guest stars as Frost's dad, while Maura goes on a date with Angela's mechanic. //www.tvfanatic.com/2011/07/rizzoli-and-isles-sneak-preview-fleet-week/


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Communications technologies are in a constant state of change, and over time this should prove to be a good thing. However, the journey along the way is an ongoing challenge, and just when you think you've made the right investment or buying decision, something new comes along that calls this into question.
One of those areas is VoIP, and related to that is the rising interest in hosted services. I've written about both of these previously, but waves come and go, and each time around there's a different twist you need to know about.
Related: The Importance of CRM in your Contact Center
This post marks the start of a new series where I'm going to share various data points from a recently published market study on hosted services for SMBs. There is a lot to discuss, and over the next few posts I'll address 1-2 specific findings in each one, along with how they should factor into your thinking about adopting VoIP. Once this series runs its course, you will be armed with a solid set of market data from which you can validate the course of action that's right for your business.
To set the stage, I must first provide the back story. The market study is titled "State of the SMB market for IP communications and cloud services", and was conducted in April 2013, so the findings are very current. There are two companies behind this effort, with the first being GrowthMark, the research firm commissioned to execute the study.
Their role was to perform arms-length research for the sponsor, Metaswitch Networks, one of the industry's leading IP communications vendors – especially in serving the SMB market.
The scope of this research is fairly comprehensive, and that's a key reason why I'm writing about it now. Over 850 SMBS were surveyed, with all contacts being either owners or key decision makers. This was augmented with two different tracks of qualitative research to gain deeper insights around what the numbers were saying. Geographically, the focus was North America, so be careful if trying to project this to the global market. Adoption trends, market conditions and attitudes towards IP-based technologies vary considerably by region, so the research really should just be viewed in a domestic context.
I should also explain that the report is not publicly available, as the findings are being used primarily to support Metaswitch's internal marketing programs to support their customers. My role is to share selected findings that I believe will help our readers here right away; along with ensuring you know the source of the research. With that said, Metaswitch has prepared a Research Brief for public consumption, and you can access that on their MarketVisions portal. I will only be addressing a couple of those highlights during this upcoming series, so you may want to review that as a complement to my analysis.
In terms of what I'll be writing about, here's a sneak peek at some key findings:
Aren't these the things you want to know about before making these decisions? If you want to know what over 800 of your peers have to say about these things, you'll want to follow my series. I hope to see you back here soon.
About the Author
Jon Arnold is Principal of J Arnold & Associates, an independent telecom analyst and strategy consultancy based in Toronto, Ontario. The consultancy's primary focus is providing thought leadership and go-to-market counsel regarding IP communications and disruptive technologies. You follow Jon's everyday insights on his blog and on Twitter.

subset: commoncrawl


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Often, when thinking of warehouse automation, what comes to mind is a lights-out, fully-automated facility that accounts for every item in inventory and removes people from the operation. In reality, however, material handling automation can be applied incrementally, enhancing only the specific processes to maximize return on investment.
Automating your warehouse can actually be considered as having four levels of increasing complexity. At the lowest cost end of the spectrum are systems that improve conventional picking—such as warehouse management (WMS), radio-frequency (RF) or voice-directed picking systems—or mechanized solutions that automate the horizontal movement of products and reduce labor handling requirements (like conveyor, pick modules, stretch wrap applicators, label print-and-apply, and layer picking equipment).
The key to thinking small when considering a warehouse automation project is to first evaluate your entire operation, end-to-end, to identify bottlenecks that might be resolved with a minimal investment in a localized solution. Areas to consider include travel time and picking product requirements—as in pallets, cases or eaches.
With travel, look at how much time is spent by operators walking from point A to point B, as opposed to positioning them in one location: How much more throughput could be achieved by a small investment in warehouse automation to eliminate that travel time?
For example, an installation of 30 feet of powered roller conveyor can create a dramatic uptick in operator productivity by removing the walking time and distance a picker must cover multiple times a day to deliver picked items from the end of an aisle to their next destination. Such a solution also reduces worker fatigue and improves ergonomics, and also contributes to higher throughput.
When considering picking product requirements in operations that have shifted from picking pallets to cases, or cases to eaches, look at how pickers are interfacing with the items during picking and transport. Gravity feed conveyor for pick face replenishment might be an adequate, low-cost/high-impact mechanical automation investment. For operations with existing automated conveyor in place, length or side frame modifications might accommodate the change in handling format without a complete overhaul.
The ideal warehouse automation supplier will first audit your current handling processes and determine (or validate) handling and movement bottlenecks—areas you thought might be ideal candidates for automation might not actually be. If an investment in small-scale warehouse automation does make sense, the supplier will partner with your operation to develop plans to implement and expand automating your warehouse in an integrated, scalable way that accommodates future growth or changes in your business—while still respecting your budget.
Read how electronics manufacturer Phoenix Contact split inventory between conventional and automated handling equipment to maximize handling efficiencies and eliminate bottlenecks. Then, call us at 616.977.3950 to learn how a small warehouse automation project can deliver big returns for your operation.


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XCDRoast -- mixed drive types
I am not able to get scsi emulation to work on /dev/hdd
I have two scsi cdrom drives so I guess the bus is taken
the ide-scsi module is loaded, but the ide cdrom is linked to /dev/hdd
is the append="hdc=ide-scsi hdd=ide-scsi" intact?
Just wondering what else could it be, I had the problem with my cdrom which is on the same cable with cd-r/rw, I made scsi emmulation for cd-r/rw and cd-rom was left out, xcdroast won't recognize the cd-rom then, so I made an explicit ide-scsi emmulation for cd-rom as well, I just added it into append statement, and it works now.
Just another thought what is the output of
cdrecord -scanbus
it's working now in xcdroast
it was the append line.
I had /dev/hdd instead of hdd
lot of posts on google show it both ways, go figure
now I have the ide drive on scsi1 0 0 0
I rebooted into Redhat and it was the same problem, then I remembered syncing my lilo.conf with the LFS partition and knew it had to be lilo.
|All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:34 PM.


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Training Sales People
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Shirlaws Group
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Increase Your Social Reach
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HRUK Group
The HRUK Group is a Recruitment & Further Education Agency - Focusing on Jobs & Staff Training in the Healthcare, Engineering, Science, IT & Exec Recruitment Industries. We offer permanent, temporary and fixed term recruitment services as well as a full range of staff training solutions. With a range of products, a wealth of experience in recruitment and various advertising arenas we can create a targeted, direct and bespoke recruitment campaigns for all of our clients. Our experienced recruitment consultants can also advise on the latest hiring trends, including regional salary ranges and important changes within individual industries. This commercial information is key to any recruitment agency. It enables our staff to advise our clients correctly & attract the highest quality of candidates. We have worked with hundreds of companies since our conception and aided these clients in their growth & profits by lowering their CPH (cost per hire). We have done this in 2 main areas; one with our recruitment agency services that include both temp and perm staffing solutions & secondly our staff training services, ranging from fully government funded QCF Apprenticeships to our CPD accredited short and mandatory online E-Learning courses. We operate nationally & globally for some of our clients. We are staffed by consultants with a diverse range of expertise, specialising in commercial and technical employment across a range of sectors.
Simon Hale & Associates
We help small and medium sized companies grow, improve profits and reduce losses through the development and coaching of executives to realise their full potential. We have worked with companies in the retail, finance, professional services, hospitality, media and manufacturing sectors but can work in any sector where personal skills and motivation are valued. Typically our clients benefit from; •Increased growth, sales and profitability •Improved goal setting, planning and productivity •More effective business strategy •Increased personal motivation •Greater team development and empowerment We use LMI's (Leadership Management International)unique approach based on 60 years' experience in learning and development. The Total Leader programme provides executives with the tools, skills and mindset needed to succeed in business today.
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A look at the list of the Senate co-sponsors proves interesting.
House Vote: On Passage
PASSED on July 27, 2005.
1/2 required to pass
voted YES: 410 voted NO: 20
Senate by voice majority
What is this some kind of a joke? HR 22 was a bill to give a one year "repreave" of the postal service having to prefund future retirement benefits. HR 6407 was the PAEA.
HR 6407 the start of it all
According to Govtrack.us the law in question, H.R. 6407 the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act passed the House by a voice vote and unanimous consent in the Senate. Now not only did the GOP not have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, all 44 Democrats and the lone independent in the Senate consented to the bill:
Votes: Dec 8, 2006: This bill passed in the House of Representatives by voice vote. A record of each representative's position was not kept.
Dec 9, 2006: This bill passed in the Senate by Unanimous Consent. A record of each senator's position was not kept.
Additionally, two of the three cosponsors for this bill were Democrats and you just don't get more "liberal" than Henry Waxman (D-CA):
Danny Davis [D-IL7]
John McHugh [R-NY23]
Henry Waxman [D-CA30]
Still, the HR 22 bill that you embedded was to lower the amount to be paid yearly and not the PAEA bill itself. That was very disengenuous to try and step on Bernie's neck. I would bet that Bernie did not vote for the provision in the original bill that all the fuss is about.
Call out the other Democratic a-holes who sponsored the damn thing.
momma mia!


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the benefits of homeownership are undeniable, challenges to finding affordable homes abound in many real estate markets around the country. Real estate prices have appreciated dramatically in recent years, averaging $223,000 in April 2006. Interest rates are on the rise: The average mortgage rate is projected to reach 6.9% during the second half of 2006, according to the National Realtors Association. Add those numbers to the difficulties of improving a credit rating and finding down payment and closing cost assistance, and it's clear that buying a home has become more difficult, but it's still an attainable goal.
Donovan Martin and his wife Rena Rios-Martin entered last year's Own Your First Home Contest on July 22, 2005 — the day after BE began accepting entries. The three-bedroom Bronx, New York, apartment they had rented since the spring of 2002 was too cramped for their growing family. The couple had three young children, so they decided it was time to look into homeownership.
Donovan's credit score was a less-than-stellar 600, while Rena's was a respectable 650, but neither could qualify for a loan in the New York market on their own. Their salaries — Donovan's $70,000 as a network engineer for AT&T and Rena's $68,000 as a registered nurse at Montefiore Medical Center — gave them a good combined income, but improving their credit scores would give them the best opportunity to buy a home.
"Before I sa
t down and talked to anyone, I made sure that we cleaned up our credit reports," Donovan says.
The couple decided to live off of Donovan's paycheck, and used Rena's to save the down payment and to pay down the $25,000 credit card debt they had accumulated from 10 credit cards. In October 2003, they consolidated their credit card debt on the advice of a credit counseling company, making $400 monthly payments, but soon realized they could pay their debt off faster by making larger payments directly to each of the credit card companies.
As the Martins eliminated their debt, they also examined their finances to figure out how much house they could afford. They knew their mortgage payments would be far higher than the $800 a month Rena's uncle was charging them for their apartment. They visited Realtor.com to do mortgage calculations using different down payment amounts.
Searching for a home in early 2005, the couple found a 3,000-square-foot house being built in Meadow Winds, a new development in Newburgh, New York. The four-bedroom house had a purchase price of $425,900, which included about $25,000 in upgrades the Martins added during construction.
With better debt profiles, the Martins received financing from Chase Bank — a 30-year, 6.2% fixed-rate mortgage loan of $361,344 and a $67,000, 7.5% second mortgage. The Martins made a $34,185 down payment using $22,000 taken from Donovan's 401(k) plan and the rest from their savings.
"I look at this home as a starting point. It's an investment that will lead to other investments if we use it correctly," Donovan says. The house was completed in March and the family


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Encouraged in no small measure by the fact that Denver's cultural groups annually outdraw all local professional sports teams combined, several ambitious theater companies have recently elbowed their way onto the city's crowded stage. Rather than join forces with established organizations that operate their own spaces (and boast loyal followings), many of the new arrivals are choosing to go it alone: "Nail two pieces of wood together, summon your passion, and audiences will follow," seems to be their common refrain.
But whether they're dedicated to producing whole, eclectic seasons or sporadic, one-hit wonders, nearly all of Denver's small theaters are finding that spiraling commercial rents and the closure of oft-used spaces like the Shop are compromising their ability to call their own shots. This, in turn, makes it harder to produce the sort of bold, avant-garde fare that's the lifeblood of any theater community.
"I basically got sticker shock," says Kris Hipps, a transplanted Midwesterner who moved to town a year ago to found Paper Cat Theatre Company, which has since produced four shows in as many venues. Describing her experiences here as ranging from "great to appalling," Hipps reports that all of Denver's available theaters charge rental fees that are significantly higher than those in other cities.
"When I first moved here, I had a long list of spaces, and probably about a third of those have closed since then. Coming from Chicago, where there are a bazillion spaces -- most companies keep their prices lower because they're trying to get renters," she explains. "The last place I worked was Second City, and their black-box space went for $100 for a Friday or a Saturday night. Everything here is at least $200 for a weeknight. We're finding that it's hard to make a profit."
And even though she'd prefer to do more daring, experimental shows, she's had to put those plans on hold. "If you're paying $350 for a weekend night, you've got to do a show that brings in $350, plus extra to cover expenses. If you get a big grant, you can do something more exciting. But until you've got that safety net, it's hard. You almost have to put your money into a sure thing so that you can stay alive. As for paying the actors, forget it."
Worse, says Hipps, some theatrical landlords don't always provide safe, clean working environments, and even when they do, renters must often fend for themselves when dealing with temperamental lighting or sound equipment -- a situation that proves costly when landlords assess additional fees to hold technical rehearsals or tack on hourly charges for their (not always helpful) house personnel. "Theaters are too busy with their own projects, so no one takes care of the renters," says Hipps. As a result, she wonders, "Are they charging this much because they need to, or are they charging this much because they know they can get it?"
According to the artistic director of the Theatre Group, which operates Theatre on Broadway and the Phoenix Theatre, rental fees reflect both market forces and tangible expenses. "When we rent a space to another group, we're not making any money; we're paying rent [to our landlord]," says Nicholas Sugar, a director/choreographer/actor who's worked steadily around town ever since a three-month visit prompted him to give up his New York apartment and move to Denver. Not surprisingly, Sugar says that subletting his group's spaces is "a tradeoff financially. It brings a lot of people to our theaters that haven't really been there before. But it's also a risk because we're associated with some products that aren't up to a standard that we've tried to set."
Sugar admits that it's nice to have a responsible group mount a successful show and effectively pay his rent for a few months ("Since our staff is small, keeping two of our own shows going all the time is very difficult"). But he points out that it's equally unpleasant when companies don't understand basic business principles. "Finances don't always come through, and some groups pull out at the last minute. If they don't get ticket sales, if they don't have up-front money, then we don't have a product to mount in the space, which means that our rent doesn't get paid."
As far as Brian Freeland is concerned, Denver's space problems are symptomatic of what he terms "new urbanism." The artistic director of Denver's LIDA Project, which over the past few seasons has done more exploratory work -- with deservedly more positive results -- than any other local fringe group, Freeland notes that theater companies have been forced to look elsewhere for space ever since people started flocking back to the center of town. "We used to be able to find someplace hospitable but cheap enough for us to do some offbeat work," he says. "But when all of a sudden your environment becomes a market economy, you turn around and you can barely afford your warehouse theater. So it's no longer having the ability to go in and take a space because of its funky atmosphere, it's picking a space because it's affordable."
That shift in thinking, says Freeland, can have a more profound effect than simply limiting a company's choice of plays; it can also dull and soften one's overall approach. Freeland saw that occur firsthand when several companies approached him about renting the tiny South Cherokee mechanic's garage that LIDA called home for two years. "It was actually alarming to see the desperation, to see people putting a costume drama in a space where it didn't really fit. And watching a whole string of productions come through that would have been much better served by a traditional theater setup, and see their audience base come into a funky garage, and see what that did to ticket sales. Most of those companies didn't build themselves out to be experimental; when you start to see traditional theater pieces find their way, out of basic necessity, into environments that aren't really theatrical, it makes you question where we're going."
Before long, Freeland realized that his company was headed for a sea of red ink. So he decided to create a more stable workplace where he could focus and concentrate on his art. "When your largest problem isn't the work, but finding and maintaining a theater space so you can do your work, it really drains people out. It's the equivalent of saying 'You can be a doctor, but you have to build your hospital first.'" So after briefly taking up residence in a storefront on the city's northwest side, Freeland and LIDA closed up shop and went on hiatus last year.
"Contrary to a lot of models and opinions, experimental theater isn't necessarily theater that, by definition, happens anywhere, anytime for free," Freeland continues. "We've always tried to take the approach that the piece precipitates [one's choice of] environment and design elements. But if you really want to communicate that message -- and I think this is true for traditional and musical theater, as well -- you can't let your space become a stumbling block. When your audience can't get over the fact that there's only one unisex bathroom with raw plumbing, all of a sudden you're fighting against so many environmental things. Don't get me wrong: You can use that to your advantage, depending on the piece, but why would someone become a repeat patron at a space where they could barely enjoy the work? We want to present the work in a manner that's challenging to the theater in general, not to the audience's basic comfort level."
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To that end, Freeland and a handful of collaborators plan to resume operations within the next few months; they've set their sights on a downtown venue that they hope to tailor to the sensibilities of artist and audience alike. "Typically, people identify with environments and spaces, then they identify with a company, and then they identify with a particular actor or star. We're looking to do things that are somewhat counterintuitive to most theater people: We're going to start from scratch, scrap everything and then concentrate on building a space before the work -- a safe environment that suits everybody's needs."
Freeland's model should find support from newcomers such as Hipps, who maintains that Denver needs "more diversity, more risky theater. There are voices here that need to be heard, and could be heard, that aren't. There's definitely an audience for it, but they're not getting it because of the lack of spaces. When you hear of theater companies that were doing more unusual material in the 1970s and 1980s saying 'We need a name show,' that's kind of discouraging. I applaud any company that does anything out of the ordinary, but it would be great if just the average, new theater company could take that risk."
In order for that to happen, though, says Sugar, "You have to have a reality check on the product you're going to pick, and why you think the space might or might not work. It's not about 'I want to produce this show because this actor is going to be great in it.' There has to be the art of theater involved, not just theater arts. People coming into the city do want culture that deals with the more risqué, avant-garde, alternative issues. They're coming from other cities that have that, and so they're demanding it in Denver."
In the end, says Freeland, local artists will have to come to terms with the business aspects of theater without worrying about whether they're somehow selling out to moneyed interests. "The work is the most important thing, and right now I'm not able to do work because there's a space issue. The last three years have witnessed LIDA go through so many emotional changes. Watching people who are incredibly talented wasting their talents by saying, 'Okay, space number three, get the hammers and drywall.' If you can't do any work, that's pretty much the worst kind of sellout that you could become -- to give up. So I hope that we can build a space that won't say that we have to make a million dollars a year. It's hard, because when you pit theater against a market economy, it really becomes a supply-and-demand theater. It's a dangerous time when we put our theaters up against that mark -- because you're going to have repetitive, safe stories. You'll start imposing self-censorship, and that will be the final nail in the coffin. It's a larger issue than just a few theater companies. Where are our artists' living and working spaces?"


text: Can anyone recommend a good UK firm specialising in Oracle App server on Linux? It is really difficult to get these skills and we need to upgrade an existing system and move to new boxes Please PM me. -- Howard A. Latham Senior DBA RSMB TV RESEARCH -- Howard A. Latham Sent from my Nokia N97


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Anti-Bandwagon Propaganda is an ambling meander through a series of unrestrained topics and subjects. It's a leisurely stroll through the internet, on which I will casually call attention to a series of unusual and maddening aspects of our lives. It's a cultural commute in which you don't get stuck in traffic, you simply travel in comfort to your grand destination approximately 1000 words later.
The topics I cover range from piece to piece. I am an expert on nothing. All I can do is offer insightful, analogical expressions relating to the topics I have a vested interest in. Despite the erratic nature of the subject matter, I imbue each and every article with a recognisable signature tone, lying somewhere within the ven diagram of sarcasm, cynicism and satire.
It might not be for you. I've cornered a pretty specialist market here. Perhaps there's too many words. Perhaps there's not enough pictures. Perhaps you simply don't understand my cultural allusions. I pepper articles with quotes from movies you probably haven't seen. I reference Metal Gear Solid at least every other post. If you don't get these references, there's no shame in it. But it means you'll miss out on a large percentage of my jokes. But if you appreciate good writing, then you should find something here to enjoy.
Have a look around. Decipher the names of my categories and sift through the stuff to find something relevant to you. Then feel free to comment and tell me how much you disagree. Maybe we can be friends.


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YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif., Aug. 1 (UPI) -- A hiker from San Ramon, Calif., fell hundreds of feet to her death while descending Yosemite's Half Dome, officials say.
The emergency communications center at the park received a 911 call about noon PDT Sunday, informing them a climber slipped from the cables leading up to Half Dome, San Ramon Express News reported.
When National Park Rangers arrived on the scene, they found Hayley LaFlamme, 26, dead.
Yosemite Park Ranger Kari Cobb said it appeared LaFlamme fell while climbing down a 400-foot cable system that allows hikers to reach the top of Half Dome, a nearly 5,000-foot summit, without using personal rock-climbing gear. She then fell off a cliff, landing about 600 feet below.
Rangers were still investigating the fall, but noted there had been a severe thunderstorm earlier in the day, the newspaper said.
Wet weather can make trails in the park quite dangerous, particularly the granite slope along the cable route, Cobb said, adding there are numerous signs alerting visitors to this issue throughout the park and on the permit required for hikers to access Half Dome, which LaFlamme had.
LaFlamme is the 14th person to die within the park this year, nearly triple the average in recent years, KABC-TV, Los Angeles, reported.


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The Beckhams Asked to Join Reality TV Pantheon
David and Victoria Beckham may not be household names in the US (at least Posh hasn't been since her fabulous Spice Girls days), but all that may change if the couple signs on for a rumored The Osbournes-style reality television show. Fox has reportedly offered the Beckhams the chance to catapult into the stratosphere of American fame through the medium of having their life recorded on tape and edited into tidy half hour long segments. That or the awesome chance to publicly make fools of themselves and embarrass their three young children.
That being said, I would totally watch this Meet the Beckhams nonsense. Not only because David is smoking hot (albeit, mute) and Victoria actually seems pretty adorable and hilarious despite her constant scowl, but because maybe, just maybe, there would be a camera in the bedroom. Yowza.
For more of Posh at the Gaultier Couture show just


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Antawn Jamison Is Eager to See the Washington Wizards Rebound This Season
Monday, October 5, 2009
RICHMOND, Oct. 4 -- Antawn Jamison was especially animated on Sunday, unwilling to let his team lose in its scrimmage against the team led by Gilbert Arenas. Running the floor, Jamison was shouting incessantly on defense and showing off his arsenal on offense, complete with twisting shots off the wrong foot, unorthodox hook shots and spot-up jumpers.
His team was winning, his shots were falling, and Coach Flip Saunders had to wonder if Jamison was 33 or had turned the clock back to 23. "He was on fire," Saunders said. "I told him he was back to his 50-point days with the Warriors, the way he was going."
But Jamison has no desire going back to his days in Golden State, Dallas or even the past few years in Washington, where the two-time all-star put up impressive statistics on teams that were often vacationing before the second week of May. Jamison has reached the postseason only five times in 11 seasons and advanced to the second round just once.
Following a season in which the Wizards won 19 games -- "the worst season of my career," he said -- Jamison's role as one of the team leaders remains unchanged, but his attitude and focus are much different than before. "In the past, I was complacent," said Jamison, one of just two players to average at least 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds the past five seasons. "We got to have a new attitude. No hidden agendas. No 'I got to average this.' No 'I got to make the all-star team.' It's all about doing whatever it takes to be part of a successful team, a championship-caliber team. Once you look at it, I got a couple more years left before it's all said and done and there is only one thing I want to accomplish."
President Ernie Grunfeld shored up the Wizards' depth with the offseason acquisitions of Mike Miller, Randy Foye and Fabricio Oberto, which makes this team possibly the most talented one Jamison has been on since he was a sixth man in Dallas during the 2003-04 season. But even with the progression of 23-year-old Andray Blatche, the Wizards still lack a proven and reliable backup at power forward, making Jamison an even more invaluable piece.
"I'm not going to feel any more pressure than in the past," Jamison said, adding that he believes the Wizards have enough behind him to make it work.
Saunders has coached against Jamison for years, but has learned much more about him in the first week of camp. "Until you coach somebody, you're totally unaware of all that they bring to you," Saunders said. "I wasn't totally aware he was as much of a communicator on the floor. I thought he was more of a silent leader. He was a lot more vocal than I thought. Playing-wise, his ability to score is uncanny. He's got a great work ethic. Those things add to why he's important. No matter what position he plays, he's important."
Saunders said his goal this season is to reduce Jamison's minutes to the "low 30s" after Jamison averaged 38.2 minutes per game and finished fourth in total minutes played last season with 3,095. Jamison still averaged 22.2 points, his best since joining the Wizards, and 8.9 rebounds, third-best of his career. He played 81 games but missed the finale because of bone spurs in his right ankle, which required offseason surgery.
"Even though it was a tough season and the minutes I played, my body didn't wear down like I thought it would," Jamison said. "I guess because of all the things I do in the offseason. Doing the things I normally do with yoga, and with the trainer I work with in Charlotte. You'll have your bumps and bruises over the course of the season but I try to stay in shape and try not to get too bad out of shape. I'm always conscious about making sure I don't get two or three pounds over playing weight, else I get paranoid."
Jamison has averaged fewer than 36 minutes a game just twice in his career -- his rookie year and when he won sixth man of the year in Dallas. And while he hates spending any time on the bench, Jamison is willing to let Saunders take advantage of his deep roster. "It's not about having an ego with some of the big guys like Caron [Butler] and Gilbert," Jamison said. "We really want to make some noise and that's going to take maybe the minutes going down a little bit and these other guys getting the opportunity to help us out. That's one of the differences between the great teams and the teams that just make it through it."
Wizards Notes: Owners Abe and Irene Pollin and their son, Jim, visited the team in Richmond on Sunday and spoke with players. Abe Pollin "talked to most of the guys individually, the biggest thing was appreciating their hard work," Saunders said. "He was impressed with their camaraderie, their enthusiasm and how hard they played and the spirit of how they were playing." . . . Oberto was again limited with a left hamstring injury. Saunders was asked if Oberto would be available for the Wizards' first preseason game against Memphis on Tuesday. "At this point, I'll say probably not," Saunders said.


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Conservative Republicans press Trump to run for governor
A group of conservative Republicans from across the state is slated to meet with Donald Trump at his Manhattan office today in an effort to persuade the developer/television personality to challenge Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo next November.
Political operative Michael R. Caputo, who served as spokesman for 2010 GOP nominee Carl P. Paladino, said Trump agreed to meet at his Manhattan office with him and five state legislators to discuss a gubernatorial candidacy that he has already publicly discouraged.
But Caputo said Assemblymen William Nojay of suburban Rochester and David J. DiPietro of East Aurora are spearheading the effort that also includes one other Republican senator and three members of the Assembly, as well as several GOP consultants. Caputo, also a political consultant, said the fact that Trump accepted the group's request for a meeting to talk about running is significant.
"Everyone hopes he will change his mind because he's the only one with a clear path to win," he said. "Basically, no Republican – actually no human – out there has what Donald Trump has."
Caputo said the group will present Trump, who in 2012 toyed with the idea of running for president, with a plan containing a detailed strategy and financial plan. He said he believes Trump can win a healthy percentage of overwhelmingly Democratic New York City and present a serious challenge to Cuomo.
"Donald Trump comes to the table with numbers already," he said, "and he will have better numbers in upstate New York than anyone."
Nojay originally floated the Trump candidacy notion several weeks ago, but Trump seemed to have dismissed the idea. But with Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino exploring a Republican candidacy, and Paladino threatening to reprise his 2010 effort on the Conservative line should the GOP field a non-competitive candidate, Nojay and DiPietro are seeking to revive the Trump talk.
"It's not that we don't like Astorino or Carl, it's just that the Republicans need to cast a wide net," Caputo said.
Paladino has issued stronger and stronger hints in recent weeks that he will run on the Conservative line if the GOP nominates someone with no name recognition, money or commitment to conservative principles. The group believes Trump would fulfill all those criteria.
Today's meeting follows a major fund raising event staged Tuesday evening by the Cuomo campaign that was expected to significantly add to the governor's $28 million campaign treasury.
email: email@example.com


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Can't get enough Scandal? Join the club—really. Tune into H&H for weekly recaps from Kwana Minatee-Jackson and Nicole Leapheart. Need to catch up? Don't miss recaps of 3x07, 3x08, 3x09, 3x10, 3x11, 3x12, 3x13, 3x14, and 3x15. And now, let's dive into H&H's recap of Season 3, episode 17, "Flesh and Blood."
NOTE: This post may contain spoilers for all aired episodes of Scandal. Enjoy!
Howdy, Gladiators, welcome back! Last time, Liv had pulled the plug (literally) on B613 at exactly the wrong time, giving Maya just enough time to slip away unseen with a bomb that she plans to use to take out Fitz. Cut to Jake going practically postal and storming into OPA, putting Liv in a very "I know you didn't just put your hands on me" choke hold.
Alrighty then. You got that one, Jake. That one. This week, we open with Liv out of her up-against-the-wall hold and she's now in the main OPA conference room arguing with Jake about her poor timing and treason over taking out B613 when suddenly Fitz chimes in for them to hush it up with Cyrus by his side. Hmm, I'd like to know who called Fitz and how that hold would go over now? But I digress. These are scenes we are not privy to, so back to the matters at hand and Fitz is mad because Liv didn't talk to him about her plans and Liv replies that she made the call because it was what he said he wanted. Then salty Jake jumped on in and doesn't miss his shot to toss across the table that Liv slept with him the night before to put a tracker on his phone. Did you hear that, Fitz, yet another man sleeping with your other woman? And Boom.
Jake then pulls out his last pics of Maya along with an unidentified man, but Fitz knows the man and feels it's time to call in reinforcements. With the Gladiators looking on from the kiddy table in the back we get the cool strut walk on of Rowan, aka Papa Pope. Jake gets mad because gosh darn it HE IS IN COMMAND. Fitz doesn't care. When Papa was running things it didn't take a zipper tug to take the whole operation down...or did it?
Papa takes on look at the pic of the man and IDs it as Dominic Bell, Maya's handler, bad guy for hire, and Papa's mortal enemy. He must now work with the team to find Dom Bell. Fitz goes to leave, saying he has to be in Defiance (will that place ever just fade away?!?) first thing in the morning to campaign since there are only six days left to the race. Liv tells Fitz he can't go since there is a bomb with his name on it.
It's the next day and we see the odd couple of Quinn and Charlie having breakfast while Charlie listens to static and numbers on the radio. Charlie is still on edge about Quinn and her allegiance and she's still busy trying to stroke his ego and convince him she's loyal to him and not OPA, aka Huck and his face licking.
Back at OPA, Daddy is running point while Jake pouts and then in walks Quinn and Charlie. Good, the family reunion can officially begin. Somebody get out the potato salad. Jake makes subtle digs at Papa Pope getting on his antiquated methods totally coming at him with ageism so Rowan forces Liv to make a choice as to who stays and who goes. Silly Jake didn't the memo about family being forever and is shocked when he's not picked.
Liv goes after him as he storms off, to try to placate him, only to get a speech from him about how brutal her father really is. He tells Liv her dad is just playing a part and when his mask comes off she'd better run.
We cut to Leo trolling the Lacrosse fields of the private school where the Grant kids go. He makes a deal with a young girl named Mackenzie who has her sights set on Harvard. After the deal is made, he gets a call from Sally breaking the news that a Senator Hightower had died and she wants in on the eulogy.
We cut back to the White House, where Fitz is watching the news and Cyrus is also trying to figure out how Fitz can capitalize on the Senator's death during these last campaign days. We get a glimpse of Mellie sitting beside them and we see that she can barely sit up straight. She's clutching her coffee cup like a lifeline and it's quickly apparent that it's not coffee in that cup. She snorts out a small chuckle when Fitz tells Cy that he can't go to the funeral, "because somebody out there wants him dead." Mellie adds to her snort "you think it's just out there," before she walks away. I do enjoy drunk Mellie.
Cyrus whispers to Fitz something about how he will win, otherwise this all (meaning the death of James) would have been in vain. Let's stick a pin in that one here.
We then get a glimpse of Maya being handed the flip phone trigger for the bomb while a very exuberant terrorist packages the bomb to get it ready for transport. Maya doesn't have any time for his anti-America ramblings. She just wants to handle her business all the while doing in it fabulous dove grey leather gloves.
Back at OPA, the world's most uncomfortable love triangle of Huck, Quinn and Charlie are arguing over how to find Dominic. Huck decides to go it alone.
Fitz calls Liv to try and convince her that he should do the Hightower eulogy because Sally is out there getting votes. Even the NAACP. Liv tells him the NAACP is not voting for Sally Langston. She knows because she's black. So funny.
We're back in the White House and Liv had brought the campaign to Fitz where he's doing lots of remote interviews and it's all hands on deck with Mellie, Andrew and Cy manning the phone bank.
Over at OPA, Harrison has a moment with Rowan where he calls him Papa Pope. Rowan doesn't like the moniker and just gives Harrison the stink eye. Quinn and Charlie can't find Dominic, so they tell Liv and Papa Pope. All turn in shock when Huck comes off the elevator dragging a body. He's got Dominic.
Back at the private school: that girl that Leo propositioned is up in Lil Jerry s room and she's about to do special ops to get DNA from Lil Jerry. Silly boy, always control the condom.
At OPA, Liv and crew question Dom who is giving up nothing except how Liv has grown since he's last seen her. Rowan tells Huck to continue the interrogation, but Liv being all Liv warns Huck and everyone to question Dominic, but be nice about it. Obviously she didn't get the memo on this crew.
Rowan gets a call from Leo who spills it that Mellie asked about a paternity test of Lil Jerry and now he's holding the evidence, so to speak. In an attempt to win Liv's trust, Rowan tell Liv about the test and Leo's plans.
Liv runs to drunk Mellie and corners her about the paternity test. She asks Mel which kid or are both of them Andrew's? Mellie is horrified and being drunk and all, starts to spill her beverage. Almost. She's overwhelmed and mad and can't deal with Liv coming down on her and having the nerve to imply that she was being a reckless idiot. But Liv backtracks and says Mellie is not an idiot and never reckless so she knows something more is up with the test now. Mellie, straight-faced as all get out, tells Liv, "I want his head in the fire and I want to see him burn." Well, okay then. We know where you're coming from, drunk Mel. The liquor doesn't lie. She wanted to give him a piece of news that would destroy him and watch his face when it happens. She talks of living a lie for fifteen years. And being destroyed and tired of carrying the cross. But in a true reckless moment Mellie mutters, "Big Jerry isn't something I want to be nailed to anymore." Stop. The. Presses. Did she just say that out loud to Liv? Mel sobers up right quick and runs to Liv telling she will clean this mess up and not utter a word to Fitz. She tells Liv that she owes her everything. Good point there, Mel. Whew, that one scene could have been the show for me.
Back at OPA, there is some banter between Harrison, Abby and Quinn, who is so feeling herself in her B613 leather jacket. The sibling look Harrison and Abby give each other when Quinn makes a comment about them making their own coffee now is priceless. When Quinn comes back I'm sure she will be paying for that one.
Next we see David walking into his office and almost soiling himself when he spots Jake in his chair. I guess since Jake couldn't find anyone to push around at OPA he had to go elsewhere. David is an easy mark and after some light threats he tells him he'll need him to do some secret spying to get a lead on Maya.
We then see the bomb being put in place under some basement pipes by the terrorists. They joke about who's going to clean up the mess of the dead janitor that they have.
Over at OPA, Harrison gets a lead and he runs off while Huck has gotten nowhere with questioning Dominic.
Papa asks for Huck's gun and Olivia protests his methods. She questions who Dominic really is and Rowan tells her that Dominic Bell is the only man Maya ever really loved. He takes the gun and plays a game of Russian Roulette with Dominic, trying to get him to call Maya. Papa wastes no time pulling the trigger and Dominic blinks, calling Maya. Rowan tells her he will kill Dominic and she just tells Dominic goodbye and hangs up before Huck can trace the call. Rowan is left with no trace and Dominic still alive. He tells everyone to leave; Liv tries to tell him to stop and not to kill Dominic, but smart Huck knows Dom's life is over. He pulls Liv out of the room and Rowan pulls the trigger and kills Dom.
Next we see David doing a check in call with Abby as he does a facial computer search for Maya and Abby does body clean up to get a hair sample off of Dom along with Huck. At the same time. David whines about Jake possibly killing him. Abby gives sage advice when she tells Jake to just stay useful and he'll stay alive. But she gives the bullet to Papa Pope and it seems all that sense goes out the window when she calls him despicable. Um, Abby girl, didn't you just hear him shoot that man? There is plenty of plastic sheeting to go around on this show. We then see Abby paying off the DNA lab dude to say whatever the test it's a match. Sally gets the results and is Sadly, disappointed. Bummer Sal.
Liv is back home and sad on her couch. She decides to call Jake to whine. Jake being Jake drops that he's COMMAND a few hundred more times and somehow equates this to his smexy power in bed. Feeling ourselves much, Jake? But once again Liv gives him the old heave ho saying that sleeping with him felt like a betrayal to Fitz and she's really in love with Fitz. Jake's left hanging out in the park on that beach once again with nothing. But no, he's not seeing it, poor dear.
It's now five days before the elections and Sally has slipped ahead by four points. Fitz is getting antsy. Why he's even losing in that blasted Ohio? It's off to Defiance he goes.
Its early morning at OPA and Papa Pope is already there when Liv gets in. He tells her how he's sorry/not sorry he killed Dom. But mostly he's sorry. Sorry for disappointing Liv but more than that not sorry since Dom pretty much ruined their lives. Liv tells him it was not Dominic but her mother since she didn't love him and because she doesn't love anyone.
We get a cut to the awkward tri of Quinn and her men and they are in the garage fighting of how and where to dispose of Dominic. While Huck and Charlie bicker, Quinn takes things into her own hands so to speak and drives off with the body to get rid of it herself.
Liv calls Cyrus to give him an update she heard the chopper in the background finding out that they are going off to Ohio. Rowan tells her that if she goes with Fitz she may save him since it's not true that Maya does love one other person. Her. Can she trust her father? Should she go to be by Fitz's side?
Cut to Harrison finding the spot tied to Adnan's last transactions. He's getting all the goods and about to spill the beans when Adnan pull a gun on him stopping him. I'm totally disappointed with Harrison's lack of Spideysense when it comes to women.
Liv has made it to the ever famous Defiance High School in time to join Fitz and Drunk Mellie front and center on the stage so Maya can see her clearly on TV. Fitz starts his speech and while he's talking Liv whispers to Mel that the paternity tests have been taken care of with Leo and if she still wanted tests of her own she'll handle it for her. I have to admit, it was a good wife mistress moment right there.
Now we cut to Huck back in the garage waiting for Quinn to return. She does and they have words about her running off with the Dom's body along. The words quickly turn onto a kiss and slap fest with Quinn demanding that Huck admit that he wants her before he lifts her on the hood of the car, rips off her panties, and has his way with her. Or at this point I think it's Quinn that's having her way and really did Charlie just go out for ice cream? And lastly do you all not see that lady walking right by you? No. Too busy getting busy I guess.
Hey, wait! That's not a lady, it's Maya Pope! Security!!! Here comes Maya strolling into OPA and rolling up on Rowan like she doesn't have a care in the world. Dang it, when are they going to get guard for those doors. At least an intercom system. A lock maybe? What is going on!
Maya looks at Rowan and says, "Bring my baby home." He promptly calls Liv and tells her that Maya is there and the bomb is set to go off. Liv whispers to Fitz as he's making his speech and he makes up a lie about the basement sprinklers and everyone having to leave. Everyone gets to getting.
We next see David and Jake. Jake has found out though his computer digging what's Maya been up to while she was in town.
Liv is back from Ohio because it's just the quickest flight ever from Ohio to Washington and when she gets into her office she's all, 'Oh to the NO,' as she finds Rowan on the floor and bleeding out. Dang you, Maya Pope! In walks Huck and Quinn who I can't believe have been at it in the garage in the time it takes to fly from Ohio to Washington, but there you have it. They jump to try and help Liv with Rowan and once again I ask, where the heck did Charlie go?
Cut to Harrison caught once again and he's sitting and watching the Defiance situation unfold on TV. He tells Adnan that she's lost but Adnan pretty much laughs that off telling him the bomb was never at the school.
Cut back to Jake and David and Jack is frantically trying to call Liv but she's not picking up. He can't get anyone but Cyrus. He tell him he's found out that Maya Pope killed Senator Hightower, which means the bomb is at his funeral. The same funeral that every big dignitary including Fitz and Sally plan to attend. This funeral is the place to be in Washington that day. Jake tells Cyrus not to let the president go and Cyrus promises the president will be staying at the White House where it's safe. He says he's alerted the FBI and the Secret service to have the church cleared immediately. Cyrus hangs up on Jake and is about to make the next call to get the church cleared when he pauses and calls in his assistant and asks him if Sally Langston already left for Senator Hightower's funeral. When his assistant says yes she did Cyrus hangs up the phone making no call to stop the bomb in the church. Cut to the church and Sally and Leo walking in. Next they are shaking hands with Andrew. It's a full house of folks that if they were gone would make Cyrus's life easier.
Cut to Mellie getting an envelope with DNA results and looking visibly shaken.
Cut to Maya walking down the street cool and easy as she flips out her borrowed phone and starts the countdown on the bomb.
Swing back to Cyrus walking down the White House hallway, s satisfied smile on his face as he makes his way to the Oval Office where he lies to Fitz about there being a delay and so instead of going to the church now they can run through the eulogy one more time. Oh Cyrus, you are a very very bad man. And now that your conscience named James is gone. I just don't know what we're going to do with you.
I do know next week it's all going with the season finale as the bomb will go off and I'm sure we'll all be left with our jaws dropping. Will Maya Pope be stopped? Will Rowan live? Will Sally make it out alive? Is Lil Gerry Fitz's biological child? Will Jake stay in COMMAND? Where the heck did Charlie go? So many questions and so few answers. Let's hope we get them all or at least most next week.
Kwana Jackson—aka K.M. Jackson—is a writer of women's fiction and contemporary romance. Her debut novel Through the Lens is on sale now. She can be found on most days at her blog kwana.com and at any moment on Twitter talking about everything and nothing at all under the handle @kwanawrites.


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Grégory Moreau
Grégory Moreau was born in Paris, France, in 1974. He received the Ph.D. degree from the University of Paris VII in 2000. After a Teaching Assistant position in Marseille/France and postdoctoral positions in Bonn/Germany, Bruxelles/Belgium and Lisbon/Portugal, he became Maître de Conférences (permanent position) in 2006 at the University of Paris XI in Orsay/France. His research activity concerns the phenomenology of scenarios beyond the standard model of particle physics, with a focus on the search for the Higgs boson(s), supersymmetry, and extra dimensions at high-energy colliders as well as on the models of fermion flavors, including the neutrino mass scale.
Biography Updated on 4 September 2011


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My Nonprofit Reviews
Review for CFES, Essex, NY, USA
I have the privilege of serving as the Chairman of the Board for College For Every Student (CFES). I have been involved with CFES for the past 14 years and it has been an honor to be associated with the pre-eminent organization of its kind, raising the academic aspirations and performance of underserved youth. The essence of CFES is the engagement of each Scholar in three high-impact Core practices of Leadership Through Service, Mentoring, and Pathways to College. These three practices help student scholars gain college access and success-which is more important than ever in the 21st century. The excellent results of CFES Scholars demonstrates the value of these three practices. CFES is also blessed with outstanding 21st century leadership in its Staff Members, Program Directors, Board Members, TASK Force Members, and particularly the CFES President & CEO Dr. Rick Dalton. It is through Rick Dalton's vision, stewardship, and leadership that CFES continues its prominence and sustainability in working with underserved youth across the nation.
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click photo to enlarge
AN UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER, one of some 200 U.S. soldiers who arrived from Iraq early Wednesday, still holds his M16 as he sleeps at the Turkish air base in Incirlik, a sprawling air base in southern Turkey on their way home. Some 130,000 soldiers are slated to return to the United States, another 110,000 will replace them, in one of the largest troop rotations in history.
AP Photo INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey -- For U.S. Army Spc. Britiany Vanbuskirk, going home means marrying the soldier she fell in love with in the Iraqi desert, occasionally braving mortar fire together.
For artilleryman Spc. Dellis Morris, the trip is tinged with sadness.
One of Morris' Army buddies was shot dead while searching cars at a checkpoint and Morris is bringing back photographs of the two of them in Iraq for the slain soldier's wife.
Vanbuskirk, Morris and some 200 other American soldiers left Iraq on Wednesday after 10 months in the country, passing through Incirlik air base in southern Turkey on their way home.
They are part of one of the largest troop rotations in history. Some 130,000 soldiers are returning to the United States; 110,000 will replace them. Most will leave through Kuwait, but since January some 4,000 have traveled through Turkey.
The deployment is sensitive in Turkey, which refused a U.S. request to allow in some 60,000 U.S. troops to open a northern front during the Iraq war.
"Thank God we're alive," Morris said after he touched down following a 90-minute flight from Iraq. In front of him, dozens of soldiers napped on green cots as they waited for a flight to Fort Carson, Colo., where their 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment is based.
Morris said he plans first to visit his mother and sister in New York City and then go to Jamaica where the rest of his family lives.
On a nearby cot, Vanbuskirk cuddled with her fiance, Spc. Justin Paris.
"I am happy I went to Iraq," she said. "I didn't expect to fall in love."
Vanbuskirk and Paris served in the same Army intelligence unit, and didn't get along at first.
"He's a higher rank and was always telling us what to do," said Vanbuskirk, who was only a private when the two met. "But we ended up on the same shift and started talking and found out we liked each other."
Work was difficult and dangerous in Iraq, with insurgents firing mortars almost every day at their base in Anbar province near the Syrian border.
"The first night I was really afraid," Vanbuskirk said.
But "when we were getting mortared he was with me," she said, hugging Paris.
Work in Iraq was hectic, and the two tried to see each other as much as possible. They had breakfast and lunch together and also ran together for exercise.
Late last year, Paris designed a wedding ring for Vanbuskirk and ordered it from an Internet company, which shipped it to his mother in Lanark, Ill., who mailed it to Iraq.
At the end of a shift change in November, the commanding officer asked if anyone had any questions.
"He said, 'yes, me,' and got on his knees and proposed," Vanbuskirk recalled. "I was shocked and gave him a big hug and thought, 'where did he get that ring?' "
A few days later, on Nov. 2, Vanbuskirk left for two weeks' leave to visit her family in Culpeper, Va., and picked out a dress for their planned June 13 wedding.
In contrast, Iraq was lonely for Morris, who trained Iraqi police and sometimes manned a checkpoint in Anbar, an Iraqi province that includes hotspots like Ramadi and Fallujah.
One day Morris and a friend, Sgt. Michael Dooley, were searching cars at a checkpoint.
Dooley went over to a car with three men inside. One of them pulled out a gun and shot and killed Dooley.
"We were talking and having fun. He wanted to go with his family to Jamaica and the next moment he was gone," said Morris, who was born in Kingston, Jamaica.
"You have anger and no one is there to talk to you," he said.
Morris refused to speak further about the attack, saying only that he won a Bronze Star for the incident, in which soldiers at the post shot two of the insurgents and arrested a third.
He said he told his family little about Dooley's death.
"My Mom has high blood pressure," he said. "I don't want her to pass away from too much worry."
Dooley left behind a wife who was pregnant with twins and Morris said will visit her at Fort Carson to show her pictures of her husband in Iraq.
"The award I got is really dedicated to Dooley and his wife," he said.
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Italian Talenti Sacco Outdoor Seats - Sunbrella Fabric
This Italian Talenti Sacco Outdoor Seats - Sunbrella Fabric is a delightful way to enjoy the outdoors without worrying about damaging your furniture. Crafted with a sturdy aluminium frame, the seats are covered in luxurious sunbrella fabric which provides beautiful comfort when the material is used.
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The week before county Manager Merrett Stierheim left office, he picked up the phone in an effort to right a wrong that has festered for nearly three years. He called Lee Martin, who in April 1998, following a scandalous controversy, was suspended without pay from his post as Miami-Dade County's top building official. Even though Martin eventually was cleared of any wrongdoing, he remained suspended without pay, which impelled him to sue the county. Stierheim had hoped to find a way to settle the lawsuit. "I called Lee voluntarily out of compassion," says the ex-manager. "If a settlement could be worked out, I would be supportive."
While the two sides are scheduled to meet this Monday, March 12, it is unlikely any agreement could repair the damage done to Martin's reputation or return him to the position he once held. Tried and convicted in the court of public opinion by the State Attorney's Office, Martin was denounced as a symbol of government corruption and abuse of power; he even faced jail time for his role in the troubled construction of Dadeland Station, a shopping center on county land leased to a private developer. Simultaneously Martin was forced to do battle with state regulators who wanted to strip him of his professional license in an unrelated matter involving construction at the county seaport. In December 1998 an administrative-law judge exonerated him in the seaport matter, but it would take another year for the SAO to drop the criminal charge stemming from Dadeland Station. When the county didn't promptly lift Martin's suspension, he sued.
Martin's lawyer, Gary Goldman, is a builder himself, and that helped him understand the intricacies of both cases, which involved esoteric details of construction and regulations spelled out in the South Florida Building Code. Goldman, who says prosecutors "hung a Boy Scout" when they went after Martin, dismisses the Dadeland Station charge as "sophomoric."
Lee Martin's troubles began in 1996. He had come to the county three years earlier as permit-control division chief in the former Department of Building and Zoning. (It since has been divided into two departments: the Building Department and the Department of Planning and Zoning.) When Martin took the job, residents still were struggling to obtain permits for home repairs in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. "It was quite a shock to get out of the elevators on the tenth floor of county hall and see that it was wall-to-wall people penned in like cattle," he recalls.
An architect by trade, Martin had public-administration experience from previous jobs with Palm Beach County and in his native Ohio. He was hired by Miami-Dade to speed up plan processing and to standardize inspections. The building department had long been criticized by homeowners and the construction industry for being a slow-moving bureaucratic morass. Yet the construction flaws revealed in the hurricane's devastation led to a renewed emphasis on safety and accountability. The tension between these two roles -- policeman and facilitator -- haunts the building department to this day, and Martin's efforts to walk the line between them would contribute to his downfall.
In January 1996 Martin was promoted to the county's chief building official, which made him responsible for overseeing all inspectors and plan reviewers. He also inherited major trouble. His predecessor, Carlos Bonzon, had reached an agreement with seaport director Carmen Lunetta to fast-track construction of two cruise-ship terminals at the port, and so the work proceeded without proper permits, a violation of the South Florida Building Code.
Martin says he assumed all appropriate permits were in order because Bonzon had authorized construction. When he discovered that wasn't true, he could have shut down the job. Instead he expedited inspections so the permits could be issued, a move that later was criticized. State regulators investigated and charged him with eleven counts of misconduct and negligence. Bonzon, also charged, forfeited his professional license to settle his case, but Martin, certain he had done nothing wrong, decided to fight. His case finally was resolved in December 1998, when administrative-law Judge Linda Rigot emphatically declared Martin's innocence. She found that most of the alleged wrongdoing had occurred when Martin had neither authority over nor responsibility for the project. Furthermore, she noted, the terminals presented no threat to the public. By that time, however, Martin had bigger worries than the seaport: He already had lost his job and was facing the prospect of jail after being charged in the Dadeland Station case.
This was another project Martin had inherited when he became the county's top building official. Developer Jeffrey Berkowitz had won county approval to build a multilevel shopping center on public land adjacent to the South Dadeland Metrorail station at Kendall Drive and South Dixie Highway. By the time Martin took over, structural plans had been approved, and the complex was under construction.
In the fall of 1996, a county plan reviewer named Mohammed Partovi, while examining Dadeland Station's technical drawings, spotted serious problems with the joists, which already had been installed. Based on his inspection, additional supports were added to the building. Three structural engineers approved the repairs. Pending Partovi's final review, Martin issued a temporary certificate of occupancy for the first floor of Dadeland Station. This would be his alleged crime. By December, with Partovi's blessing, the rest of the retail complex opened to the public.
Shortly thereafter, at Partovi's suggestion, Berkowitz hired an outside engineer to review plans for the entire project. The engineer, Lawrence Brill, discovered what he believed were serious deficiencies. On July 17 Brill sent a letter to Martin explaining his findings. The building chief immediately assigned a county structural engineer to work exclusively on Dadeland Station. In a later affidavit the engineer stated that 80 hours of review had led him to conclude there was no likelihood that death or great personal injury would result from the county's temporary certificate of occupancy. Still, Berkowitz agreed to shore up the building even more. Because county experts deemed the structure safe, Martin saw no reason to shut it down, especially after Berkowitz undertook repairs. "Nobody was going to be in there during a hurricane anyway," Martin says.
During this time police investigators and the State Attorney's Office also had been busy. In late June and early July 1997, county employee Larry Gay met with police several times to discuss problems at the building department. In his statements, which Gay gave under immunity, he portrayed Martin as a building official who ignored warnings in his haste to open Dadeland Station.
Attorney Goldman believes the SAO -- armed with Partovi's joist review, the Brill letter, and Gay's testimony -- thought there was sufficient evidence to charge Martin with culpable negligence. "It was a tapestry of unrelated facts they wove together," Goldman asserts.
Throughout the fall and into the spring, two grand juries looked into the county building department. On April 1, 1998, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle held a press conference to announce indictments in the Dadeland Station case: Lee Martin, structural engineer Richard Klein, and the county's assistant director for permitting and zoning. Martin's charge, a second-degree misdemeanor, was punishable by up to 60 days in jail. "The use and abuse of power and influence in government fosters a deep cynicism in the mind of the citizenry," Rundle declared at her press conference. "The actions of the people indicted have fed that cynicism."
Martin was dumbstruck. "It was not lost on me this was April Fool's Day," he says. "All I could think about was that I was going to jail, and my family was going to live under a bridge." The next day Merrett Stierheim suspended him without pay. A week later the manager sent a letter to commissioners stating that the indictments were "an embarrassment to all of us." He also announced he would reorganize the department and seek to replace Martin permanently.
Martin struggled to find work. He says he lost one lucrative job in the Bahamas because of his indictment. (He currently is employed as a contract consultant by a prominent local firm whose identity he asked not be revealed.) The strain of the ordeal also took a toll on his family. "It was much harder on my wife than it was on me," he admits.
Martin's torment did not end with his suspension and replacement. In April 1999, a year after his suspension began, he received a memo from Charlie Danger, the veteran county administrator who had been hired to fill his position. The memo stated that all building department employees who took outside work needed Danger's approval. Goldman responded that the rule didn't apply to Martin. Danger countered that Martin still was considered a full-time employee, though an unpaid one. "Failure to comply with this directive will jeopardize his continued employment with Miami-Dade County," Danger wrote. Goldman returned fire, insisting that Danger had misread the rule, and the matter died. "He had to ask permission to support himself?" marvels Goldman. "That's pretty nasty."
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On November 5, 1999, the SAO dropped the charge against Martin, saying only that conflicting evidence had arisen, creating a reasonable doubt that Martin was guilty. (The original prosecuting attorney had left for a new job, but his successor commissioned another study to determine if Dadeland Station had ever presented a danger to construction workers or the public. When the consultants returned with a negative verdict, the SAO dropped the case.)
Developer Berkowitz never blamed Martin for the problems at Dadeland Station. "What did he do wrong?" he asks. "A reasonable man would have done the same thing." He faults the original engineer, who lost his license because of the fiasco. Berkowitz also blames the county's initial reviews of the plans, which did not catch the problems.
When the county did not quickly reinstate him, Martin filed suit. He did so on November 30, 1999, his wedding anniversary, as a tribute to his wife. The suit asked for damages based on the county having made false and stigmatizing statements against him, and never allowing him an opportunity to clear his name. A judge dismissed the suit in April 2000, ruling that the stigmatizing statements were made by the State Attorney's Office, not the county government. Attorney Goldman argues that the State Attorney and the county were one and the same. An appeal hearing has been scheduled for this May.
The county's initial settlement offer consisted of back pay (minus the amount Martin earned in outside work) up to the date Martin filed his lawsuit. Goldman and Martin rejected it. "What's reasonable?" asks Goldman. "Some kind of acknowledgment in writing from the county that the combination of his indictment, the dropping of charges, and his suspension and replacement were not the fairest of events, [an admission] that he was a true public servant, and a settlement in the six figures somewhere."


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Perhaps the most revealing and underreported exchange during
Judge Samuel Alito's confirmation hearings began when Sen. Dianne
Feinstein (D.-Calif.) tried to pin Alito down on whether Roe v.
Wade is so powerful as to be a permanent fixture in our
constitutional jurisprudence.
Alito noted that the precedent in Roe, while important, "is not an inexorable command." Feinstein's sophisticated Roe radar went off. Former Chief Justice William Rehnquist, you see, once used this exact phrase in arguing for Roe's reversal. Feinstein concluded that Alito had sent a subtle signal that he would vote to overturn the constitutional underpinning to abortion.
Feinstein later summarized the political arguments on behalf of Roe. Roe, she insisted, has withstood 38 challenges over 33 years, enjoys the support of a majority of Americans, and is now "settled" law. Or, she asked Alito, is it?
While acknowledging a "general presumption" that precedents will be jettisoned only when a "special justification" exists for doing so, Alito reiterated his view that precedents aren't "inexorable commands." If they were, he explained, we would be stuck with constitutional abominations such as Plessy v. Ferguson (where the court first espoused the "separate but equal" doctrine).
"When an issue is one that could realistically come up, the people who would be making the arguments on both sides of the issue have a right to a judiciary of people with open minds."
In one sentence, Alito deftly shifted the discussion from a political one probing his adherence to abortion rights to terrain where he controlled the moral high ground. The real issue he continued, is whether judges should carry out their duties with "open minds" and consider all the arguments in cases properly brought before the court-or be, well, intolerant and unwilling to consider alternative perspectives.
"If I am confirmed as a justice on the Supreme Court," Alito explained, "it would be wrong for me to say to anybody who might be bringing any case before my court, ... 'I'm not even going to listen to your argument. I'm not going to discuss the issue with my colleagues. Go away. I've made up my mind.'" That, he concluded, "is the antithesis of what courts are supposed to do."
And pressuring judicial nominees to be close-minded on important issues that could come before the high court, Alito might have added, is the antithesis of how senators are supposed to carry out their "advise and consent" responsibilities.
Decision: Alito, by a knockout.
One lesson we've learned from the Index of Economic Freedom, a comprehensive annual survey of 157 countries compiled by experts at the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, is that nations prosper when they enforce private property and contractual rights, keep taxes low and the regulatory burden light, and allow goods and services to flow freely across national borders. Indeed, the higher a country scores on the Index, the higher its rate of economic growth.
But some insightful analysis by my Heritage colleague Anthony Kim has uncovered another interesting relationship. Kim juxtaposed the UN voting records of all the countries from 2000 to 2004 with their Index scores and found that countries ranked "free" or "mostly free" were much more likely to support the U.S. position than were countries ranked "mostly unfree" or "repressed."
The 18 nations classified as "free"-including United Kingdom, Australia, Estonia, Chile and (surprise!) Sweden-aligned with the U.S. position almost half of the time. By contrast, economic misfits such as North Korea, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Iran and Libya opposed the U.S. position at least 80% of the time.
Kim's analysis reinforces the wisdom of a quixotic effort by freshman Rep. Louie Gohmert (R.-Tex.). Gohmert offered an amendment to last year's UN reform bill proposing a ban on all financial assistance to nations that oppose the U.S. position in the United Nations more than 50% of the time. He argued that we must "stop the flow of American tax dollars to countries that claim to be our allies" but then use that money "to spew anti-American venom."
The chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Henry Hyde (R.-Ill.), reluctantly opposed Gohmert, arguing that some foreign assistance can be justified when it serves our national security interests. Fair enough. But Gohmert's instinct is correct and certainly applies to the billions in non-military, economic development assistance we currently send to overt enemies of the United States.
The time is long overdue for Congress to demand something in return for our foreign aid.
Mike Franc, who has held a number of positions on Capitol Hill, is vice president of Government Relations at The Heritage Foundation.
First appeared in Human Events