text:
Millésime Bio 2012: Organic Wines in France
During a short stint from January 23rd to 25th, I had the opportunity to once again attend Millésime Bio, an annual organic wine exposition in Montpellier, France. It not only proved to be an exciting and challenging experience with my struggling French but offered me a closer view into the diverse world of wine. A wide range of regions, traditions, styles and levels of quality were represented at the show. My goal this year was to further develop an appreciation for these differences and find language to capture them for my colleagues and our customers. For example, organic, biodynamic, and even no-sulfur added wines can be made quite conventionally through machine harvesting and high yields, with poor terroir, additives and invasive cellar techniques. For me, it is an ongoing effort to understand and be able to explain the differences between industrial, conventional, artisanal, natural, and heirloom even within the categories of organic, biodynamic and no-sulfur added wine. It takes tasting, re-tasting, traveling, and speaking directly with producers to be able to speak to these qualitative differences and really comprehend who is doing the work to make great wines. With this mission in mind, I reconnected with many of my favorite growers – and discovered new ones too. Here are some of the highlights!
Many Formaggio Kitchen customers will be familiar with Az. Agr. Lo Spaventapasseri for their unique and delicious biodynamic tomato sauce, "Cugnà" grape must preserves and/or Mostarda d'Albiccoca that we have carried for the past few years. Soon we will have Simone's wine as well! I look forward to their characteristic yet simple reds made from Barbera and Fresia grapes that they farm organically. They are meant to be fruity and easy to drink alongside pizzas, pastas and young, fresh goat robiole. I love them for their freshness, acidity, and drinkability as well as their trueness to their beautiful, remote, hilly Piedmonese terroir just outside of Asti.
I also had the opportunity to taste with Jo Landron, devoted Muscadet specialist who makes a number of wines that range from his young, perky Amphibolite, a wine that retains a bright, frisky palate of refreshing citrus fruit, to his more serious cru bottlings that involve old vines, elevation in foudres and longer aging – giving Muscadet a surprisingly more substantive presence on the palate. For me, his '10 Clos du Hermine really stood out as it is cultivated on argillaceous soil and enjoys extended lees contact, allowing an almost Burgundy-like richness to emerge.
As usual, it was a pleasure to taste with Julien Guillot of Domaine Vigne du Maynes, France's first certified organic farm in 1964. Each time I taste with Julien, I understand a little more about why his table is always a throng of people trying to sample his wines. To me, he and his wines represent the top 1% of the growers at Millésime Bio. Hardcore Burgundians may dismiss his more southern terroir located in the Mâconnaise but, make no mistake, these wines are serious. First established in 1910 by the monks of Cluny, wine growing isn't new to his tiny, six-hectare domaine that has been in the Guillot family for six generations. Though his Chardonnay and Gamay admittedly produce more interesting wines than his small, conscientiously-farmed plot of Pinot Noir, the small quantity of red Burgundy that he does produce is nevertheless noteworthy, especially for its simplicity and authenticity. His Mâcon Cruzille Blanc "Aragonite" is made from 28-65 year old vines that are low-yielding from the top of his domaine's clos. This wine is pressed as gently as possible – for six hours! – in their historic press that dates back to the late 19th century. This heirloom wine is round, rich, detailed and persistent in flavor, not to mention that a top quality white Burgundy like this couldn't have a more humble, dedicated individual to whom its purity and deliciousness can be credited. Many of our customers may also be familiar with his Mâcon Rouge, "Manganite," that he only makes in good vintages. This is another rare wine. It comes from vines with yields of scarcely more than nine hectoliters per hectare – meaning each vine makes a miniscule one and a half bottles
Each day at the show I would taste and re-taste with Jean-François Deu of Domaine du Traginer, a small, biodynamic producer in Collioure and Banyuls that I visited in 2010. Describing his operation as a "one mule farm" is no joke. He does all of the vineyard work himself and let's just say that plowing with a mule at 50 gradient steepness is no easy task. His wines, like Guillot's, are mind-blowing. Flavors move between ripe, dark fruit, leather, smoke, game, flowers and tobacco – a level of complexity that is only possible from low-yields, privileged terroir and a very thoughtful grower. Available in limited quantity are a few magnums of his '07 Collioure Rouge but I hope to have more of his wines in the coming months. (*Look for his '05 Collioure Rouge Ottobre!) There is no one more capable and dedicated than Deu and I'm almost positive that when this founder of Millésime Bio retires, there is no one to continue his rather thankless, almost hero-like efforts in those extreme vineyards.
Around the shop, Formaggio Kitchen customers have astutely noticed the wine signs with green borders, indicating a sustainably/organically farmed wine, not to mention the wine signs with ladybugs – those that are made without any added sulfites. The conversation, however, goes beyond green borders and ladybugs. It is really about authenticity and humility and the extent to which a wine – or any product – can express these notions. Every department at Formaggio Kitchen prides itself on bringing in products of distinction and quality at every price level and the wine program is no exception. The excitement for me lies not only in discovering unique wines that have a logic of their own, but also wines of quality and value for everyday consumption. Millésime Bio this year will slowly offer its fruits in the coming months, hopefully giving you more options at these various levels and undoubtedly some interesting wines to look forward to as well!
Gemma Iannoni is the wine buyer and a cheesemonger at Formaggio Kitchen Cambridge.


text:
Adolescent Medicine
Adolescent Medicine ProgramThe specialty of Adolescent Medicine was created to improve the scope and quality of health-related services for adolescents. Priorities in health care from the teenager?s viewpoint include sexuality issues, self-esteem and body image concerns, peer pressure and experimentation with alcohol or other drugs. Parents often worry about their kids? performance in school, whether they are hanging out with the wrong crowd, drinking and driving, or engaging in other risky behaviors that could jeopardize their health. All of these issues can make the teenage years complex and challenging. As specialists in Adolescent Medicine, we pride ourselves upon setting aside sufficient time for an office visit so that these issues, and any others, can be adequately addressed in an atmosphere of trust, privacy and confidentiality.
Confidentiality is provided and protected in accordance with New York State law.
Contact Information
University Health Care Center (UHCC) Maps and Directions
Address: UPAC, 90 Presidential Plaza, Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: 315 464-5831
Fax: 315 464-2030
Website: Adolescent Medicine Program
Insurance Info: Pediatric Service Group, LLP
Address: UPAC, 90 Presidential Plaza, Syracuse, NY 13202
Phone: 315 464-5831
Fax: 315 464-2030
Website: Adolescent Medicine Program
Insurance Info: Pediatric Service Group, LLP
Conditions Treated
- Anxiety [uneasiness, fear, worry]
- Chronic abdominal pain [stomach]
- Depression
- Eating disorders
- Fatigue
- Gynecologic problems
- Headaches and migraine variants
- Menstrual disorders [irregular periods]
- Physical abuse
- Reproductive health problems
- Self-esteem and body image concerns
- Sexual abuse
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Skin conditions [acne, dermatitis, eczema]
- Stress disorders
- Vaginal infections
- Weight problems
Clinical Services Provided
- Behavioral evaluation and counseling
- Comprehensive physicals and preventive exams
- Contraception
- Gynecologic exams
- Immunizations
- Pregnancy testing and counseling
- Risk-reduction assessment and counseling
- Sports physicals as part of a comprehensive examination
- Substance abuse evaluation and referral
Healthcare Providers
- Wendy L Broton, FNP, Case Manager
- Davia G Moss, RN
- Karen Teelin, MD, MSEd
- Robert M Cavanaugh, MD, Director

subset: commoncrawl


text:
A Thanksgiving Cheese Platter: Italy, France and Belgium
A couple of days ago, we checked in with Kurt, lead cheese buyer at our Cambridge shop, to find out what he was recommending for these chilly autumn days and, more specifically, for Thanksgiving. Always a tough question for a lover of cheese (how to choose?), we managed to eke out the following recommendations.
Like France, Italy has a long cheese-making history. Because of this, many regions of the country have a rich variety of cheese, encompassing different milk types, textures and styles. When we chatted with him, Kurt highlighted cheeses that come to us from the Piedmont region. There, a small, family-run shop selects and sends us cheeses from farmhouse producers, including cheeses such as Robiola Roccaverano DOP, Tronchetto di Capra, Piramide di Capra, and Strach'in.
Robiola Roccaverano DOP is made with milk from the rare Roccaverano goat. A longstanding tradition of making this cheese in Italy means the DOP designation comes as no surprise. The Tronchetto and Piramide di Capra are also goat milk cheeses – "capra" translates to "goat" in English – the first comes in a log shape and the latter is a small pyramid. Both are fresh with a muted acidity and a hint of the farm. In contrast, Strach'in is made with cows' milk and is akin to Gorgonzola Dolce. Expected in later this week, we are excited to have it joining the blue cheese line-up. On the milder side, it is very approachable and very more-ish.
Along with these Italian cheeses, Kurt also singled out a selection we import from Belgium. While not as famous for cheese as France or Italy, we have been consistently wowed by the cheeses, both young and old, coming to us from this part of the world. Among these are Chevrin and Charmoix. Chevrin is 100% goat milk and is made in the style of bloomy-rinded cheeses like Camembert – a rich, silky cheese. Charmoix is a washed-rind, cows' milk cheese from the Wallonia region of the country. Milky with hints of nuts and occasionally onions, it adds excellent variety to a cheese platter.
From France, Kurt brought attention to a cheese we only started carrying this past year: Brebis du Haut-Bearn, a raw sheep milk cheese. Ihsan, Valerie and Julie of our South End store discovered the affineur (ager) of this cheese on a trip to the Pyrenées. This particular affineur works on a traditional trading system, referred to as the dîme ("dîme" is translated into English as "tithe"). In this system, the affineurs keep one cheese out of every 12 that they age for a particular farmer and no money is exchanged. The cave owners or affineurs get to choose which cheese they keep and, after that, sometimes they make offers on other cheeses in the batch if they think the quality is very high. We then import the cheese directly from the affineur. Brebis du Haut-Bearn is a delicious, rich cheese with a mild but complex flavor. Hints of nuts means it pairs well with traditional black cherry jams of the region.
In September, Kurt, along with the lead cheese buyer from our South End store, David, visited the Jura and the biennial Slow Food cheese festival in Bra, Italy (known to people in the industry, simply as "Cheese"). On that trip, they reconnected with the folks at Fromageries Marcel Petite (where we source our Comté) and they discovered several new cheeses for the shop. We just got in our annual allocation of Comté Grand Cru and Comté Extra Grand Cru. In the next few weeks, some of the new cheeses they discovered will also be arriving. Stay tuned for further details on the cheese front!


text:
Student editors face legal exposure
WHITEWATER—Andrea Behling was in the midst of final exams last spring when she received notice she was being sued.
The suit named her, as editor of the UW-Whitewater student newspaper, as being responsible for articles published two years earlier.
Behling then found out the university would not represent her in court.
The story reveals the largely unrecognized legal liability that college journalists face and the strange relationships between colleges and their student newspapers.
The relationships put student journalists in danger of being sued, and that threat could have chilling effects on their journalistic efforts—as it has in this case.
The story begins in 2011 when the UW-W student paper, The Royal Purple, published articles about university faculty member Zhengnan "Charles" Shi.
The articles repeated allegations made in court documents, which alleged Shi had made threatening comments to colleagues. Those allegations and others led to Shi being banned from campus for much of 2011, according to court documents.
Court documents indicate Shi had difficulties with colleagues and superiors, and the statements he was accused of making apparently reflected his frustrations with that situation. The allegations were later found to be without merit, and the ban was lifted in December 2011.
Shi subsequently was fired in 2012 for what Chancellor Richard Telfer told him was poor teaching. Shi appealed his firing, and that lawsuit is now before the state District 4 Court of Appeals.
Shi, representing himself, filed a separate lawsuit against Behling in May 2013, alleging the Royal Purple's inaccurate articles harmed him in 2011.
Behling was not editor when the articles were published, but she is editor now, and that is why Shi sued her.
"I have to name the current top officer as the entity for my litigation," Shi said in an email, and Behling happened to be the editor at the time he filed his suit.
Shi said in an email that he tried to resolve the matter before taking it to court.
Behling said Shi had approached her in summer 2012 and asked her to publish a follow-up article. He apparently wanted it known that the 2011 allegations had been found to be without merit.
Behling said the UW-W administration would not comment, so she decided not to publish a story that did not have the administration's side of the story and could not verify Shi's side.
Shi kept asking what was going on with the article, and the newspaper's adviser at the time, a faculty member, advised her not to respond, saying Shi would go away, Behling said.
Shi's last message to Behling was "I'll see you in court," Behling said. That day, she took the old articles off the newspaper's website.
Months later, Behling received the court summons.
She went to UW-Whitewater Communication Department Chairman Kim Hixson, who said he would refer the matter to higher authorities.
"I thought this was something the university would deal with," Behling said.
She called the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, which advised her to talk to the university. She also called the Student Press Law Center, which offered to help her get a lawyer if the university did nothing.
Behling turned to UW-W Vice Chancellor Jeff Arnold, who told her UW-W could not represent her but could offer legal advice.
"Jeff Arnold said, 'I'm really sorry you're in this situation, but we can't help you because our attorney is not allowed to represent newspapers,'" Behling recalled.
Behling was feeling desperate. It didn't help that this came the same week as final exams.
"There were a lot of tears," she said.
Behling said she went to the chancellor's office unannounced and told them, "You guys need to help me."
Arnold and Chancellor Richard Telfer talked to her and called Godfrey & Kahn, a Wisconsin law firm that specializes in media law. One of the firm's attorneys, Sherry Coley, agreed to represent Behling for free.
In the paper's last edition that spring, Behling published a retraction, just to be safe, she said.
Coley, meanwhile, bargained with Shi, offering him publication of a letter to the editor in the fall. Shi did not agree, but he asked for financial statements from Behling, the Royal Purple and Behling's parents, Behling said.
The suit went to a July 22 hearing in Walworth County Court, where Coley successfully argued that Shi had not met the requirements of the state defamation statute. Coley argued that Shi had failed to meet most of the law's requirements for requesting a retraction and showing exactly what the untrue statements might have been, and the judge agreed.
The judge dismissed the case, but Shi appealed, and the appeal is pending.
Coley agreed to represent Behling for the appeal only if she paid a fee and if the Royal Purple would buy libel insurance, Behling said.
Hixson told her the Royal Purple could pay the $1,000 toward her lawyer fee. The paper's new adviser is working on buying the insurance.
University officials would not comment on the events surrounding the suit against Behling, on advice of the UW System's legal counsel.
The university provides offices and pays utilities for the paper. It provides an adviser, covers the paper's printing costs and handles the paper's accounts, officials said.
But the university is not the paper's publisher. It doesn't exercise editorial control, said university spokeswoman Sara Kuhl.
The UW System's general counsel's office says student organizations are not directly a part of the system, so the system cannot represent them, Arnold told The Gazette.
The relationship between the paper and university is odd but not unusual, said Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center.
A university cannot be a student newspaper's publisher because that would take away the paper's editorial independence, LoMonte said.
When lawsuits against universities get to court, the judge always throws them out because the universities can't be held responsible for the newspapers' content, LoMonte said. Then the people bringing lawsuits see the papers have no money, and the cases are dropped.
Except in this case.
LoMonte said it's unheard of for an editor to be sued for something that didn't happen on her watch.
"At end of the day, I think that she'll quite clearly be able to escape personal liability because she had no connection to the defamatory statements," LoMonte said. "… But, unfortunately, she's going to have to go through the motions of fighting it in court to prove that."
Looking back, Behling thinks it was irresponsible for the paper not to have libel insurance, but LoMonte said many student papers don't have it.
The problem with insurance is that it could make the paper a target because the insurance could pay where the paper could not, LoMonte said.
The Royal Purple faculty adviser, Carol Terracina-Hartman, said she is working on a form that student editors would sign, advising them that they and their parents could be sued for something in the paper.
"I guarantee you they are not aware of that structure, and that's something they need to be aware of," Terracina-Hartman said.
Staff reporters who work for the paper as part of a university class have some legal protection from the university, but editors do not, said Terracina-Hartman, who has been associated with several student publications at universities.
Behling, meanwhile, is still the editor, and she said this experience has made her careful about choosing news article topics.
She said she asked her staff to talk to her if they're not comfortable about putting something in the paper. She's nervous about editorials, too.
"We're almost trying to avoid any possible situation that would have an outcome that would anger someone," she said.
This story was revised Nov. 21, 2013, to reflect the following correction:
An earlier version of this story did not accurately report the circumstances that led to UW-Whitewater professor Zhengnan "Charles" Shi being banned from campus in 2011 and fired in 2012.
According to court documents and Shi, this is the proper series of events:
-- In 2010, Shi was accused of making threatening statements and was investigated by local and federal law enforcement officials, who found no reason to arrest him.
-- In February or March 2011, Shi was banned from campus, apparently in connection with the same allegations involving threatening statements. These statements were later found to be without merit. The ban was lifted in December 2011.
-- In 2012, UW-Whitewater fired Shi. Chancellor Richard Telfer cited poor teaching as the reason for Shi's dismissal. Shi rejects that characterization of his teaching and is contesting his firing in court. The case has not been resolved.


text:
From Me to You: Tips on Dealing With an HIV/AIDS Diagnosis
HIV-Positive People Share Their Experiences and Offer Advice
This article was provided by TheBody.com.
Add Your Comment:
(Please note: Your name and comment will be public, and may even show up in
Internet search results. Be careful when providing personal information! Before
adding your comment, please read TheBody.com's Comment Policy.)
The content on this page is free of advertiser influence and was produced by our editorial team. See our advertising policy.
Most Viewed Articles
Most Emailed Articles


text:
Receive alerts from our resorts.
Receive snow alerts, and check out quickly and easily.
If you own a PEAKS card or Season Pass, you're already in our system.
Please wait a moment while we load your cart.
There was an error with your request.Please refresh the page and try again.curr =snow
To get the best possible experience using our websites we recommend that you upgrade to a newer browser. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Click on an icon to go to the download page.


text:
Public Record for Jan. 3, 2014
Gazette Staff
Friday, January 3, 2014
--DAMARIO JARRELL GRAHAM, 22, 1117 Wheeler St., Janesville, at 5:06 p.m. Dec. 23 at North Chatham and Court streets, Janesville, for armed robbery.
Intoxicated driving arrests
--PHILLIP D. WALHOVD, 27, 113 Jonathon Drive, Janesville, at 5:59 a.m. Thursday at Morse Street and Milton Avenue, Janesville.
--HOPE L. FINDLAY, 34, Janesville, at 3:15 a.m. Wednesday at 6219 S. Highway 51, Janesville.
--MARLON J. CRUZ-PORTILLO, 17, Janesville, at 2:34 a.m. Wednesday at South County J and East County 0, Janesville, after a sheriff's deputy found Portillo's vehicle stuck on the side of the road with several people trying to push it out. Also cited for driving too fast for conditions.���


text:
ReportSee more
Arrow keys not working in Excel [Solved/Closed]
Ask a question DaisyE - Last answered on Nov 22, 2017 at 10:11 AM by Manoj
Member requests are more likely to be responded to.
Members can monitor the statuses of their requests from their account pages.
A CCM membership gives you access to additional options.


text:
Glen Loyd Videos: Now playing, Mark Twain's "Pompeii"
Glen Loyd
Friday, February 28, 2014
Hollywood's version of "Pompeii" is getting disastrous reviews. Fortunately, there's another version playing in Janesville, and this one was written 150 years ago.
Glen Loyd lives on the Rock River in Janesville 15 days a month. He is a former public information officer for Wisconsin Consumer Protection, publishes a weekly consumer protection blog. Glen is a community blogger and is not a part of The Gazette staff. His opinion is not necessarily that of the The Gazette staff or management.


text:
Rosemary King, Janesville, WI (1931-2013)
February 22, 1931 - December 13, 2013
Rosemary King, age 82, of Janesville, died Friday, Dec. 13, 2013, at St. Mary's Hospital in Janesville. She was born on Feb. 22, 1931, in Vernon County, WI, the daughter of John and Martha (Wopat) Sinkule. Rosemary married Francis N. King on May 17, 1955, in Vernon County. She was a member of St. William Catholic Church, where she was very active in the Catholic Women's Club, the Sunday Choir, was the coordinator for the Ministers of Care, which visited the sick of the parish. Rosemary was also the coordinator of the St. William Prayer Chain and was a Eucharistic Minister. Rosemary did in-home child care for many years, which she greatly enjoyed.
Rosemary is survived by her husband, Francis; four children: James (Anne) King of San Antonio, TX, Debra Somerville of Janesville, Patrick (Denise) King of Los Angeles, CA, and Denise (Nancy) King of Madison; five grandchildren: Matthew, Anna and Emily King, Angie (Chris) Brown and Andrew Somerville; two great-grandchildren, Stella and Lydia Brown; one brother, Jim (Nancy) Sinkule; many nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends, including nieces and nephew: Linda, Sue, Frank, Lisa and Diane who, after the death of their parents, were always a source of love and support to Rosemary and Francis. She was preceded in death by her parents; son-in-law, John Somerville; two sisters, Josephine Scheide and Joan Jordan; two brothers, John and Frank Sinkule. Rosemary will be remembered for her strong faith, a great pride in her marriage and love of Francis, her unconditional love and support of her children and their families and for the love and care she extended to her friends and neighbors over many years.
The family would like to offer a special thanks to the ICU Nursing staff at St Mary's Hospital and to Dr. Mark McDade whose superb care and compassion were especially appreciated during her recent hospitalization.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21st, 2013, at ST. WILLIAM CATHOLIC CHURCH, with Fr John Auby presiding. Entombment will be in Mt. Olivet Mausoleum. Friends may call on Saturday, Dec. 21st, 2013 from 9:30 a.m. until the hour of Mass at the CHURCH. Memorials may be made to St. William Catholic Church or St. Jude's Children's Hospital. SCHNEIDER APFEL SCHNEIDER & SCHNEIDER FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATORY is assisting the family. For online obituary and registry: www.schneiderfuneraldirectors.com


text:
Madeline Frazier, Janesville, WI (1929-2014)
November 12, 1929 - March 23, 2014
Madeline Frazier, age 84, passed Sunday, March 23, 2014, after a long courageous battle with cancer. Madeline was born in Coon Valley, WI, on Nov. 12, 1929, the daughter of Bert and Grace (Fazel) Sheperd. She married Wilborn Frazier on Aug. 14, 1948. Madeline and her husband lived in Blue River, WI, until they moved to Milton, in 1956. Madeline enjoyed baking, especially her cinnamon rolls and pies, crocheting dollies, dancing, playing cards and camping with friends. She also liked family get-togethers.
Madeline is survived by her husband of 65 years; three children: Judy (Don) Lund of Milton, Mike (Nancy) Frazier and Rick Frazier, both of Janesville; seven grandchildren: Ricky Frazier, Jr., Jeff (Janet) Lund, Scott Lund, Julie Lund, Brett (Jody) Frazier, Valerie (Adam) Bucane and Mark Frazier; many great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews; four brothers and one sister. She was preceded in death by her parents, four sisters and six brothers.
A Memorial Service will be held on Wednesday, April 2, 2014, at 2 p.m. at SCHNEIDER APFEL SCHNEIDER & SCHNEIDER FUNERAL & CREMATORY. For online obituary: www.schneiderfuneraldirectors.com


text:
Your Views: "Local" newspaper should hold Paul Ryan accountable
I just renewed my subscription, mostly because I agree with Editor Scott Angus' argument that if we lose local papers, we lose government accountability. However, it's becoming harder for me to accept his other oft-cited explanation that the paper's conservative editorial slant has nothing to do with news.
Our "local" congressman, Paul Ryan, has made some staggering, derogatory comments in recent days about poverty. But I've had to learn about those stories concerning our "local" representative every place but the paper that touts its strength as being "local coverage." I'm sorry that The Gazette owners support Ryan's ideology. But if you want your claim that news and editorial divisions are indeed separate to have any credibility, then I shouldn't have to look to other media sources to find out the remarkably insensitive comments our local Rep. Ryan has reportedly been making.
If the "local" paper won't hold the "local" representative accountable for those comments, doesn't it defeat your argument that local papers are necessary to hold government accountable? I'll stay a subscriber because of the other fine work you do; but in this area, you could do better.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This letter was submitted before The Gazette's Saturday story on Ryan's statements.


text:
I-Nex gathers information for hardware components available on your system and displays it using an user interface similar to the popular Windows tool CPU-Z. It can display information for CPU, GPU, Motherboard, Sound, Hard disks, RAM, Network, and USB, as well as some system information like the hostname, Linux distribution and version, Xorg, GCC, and GLX versions, and Linux Kernel. It can also generate a report on which you can select what to include and optionally send the report to a service such as Pastebin (and others). It also features an option to take a screenshot of the I-Nex window directly from the application.
fpgasm creates bare-metal FPGA designs without Verilog or VHDL. Traditionally, FPGAs are built using proprietary Verilog or VHDL language implementations provided by the vendor. fpgasm is to Verilog and VHDL as assembly language is to C++. It takes you all the way to the netlist, and is not just a translator to Verilog. Because of that, the total "make" time to a working fpga is seconds, not minutes. With fewer than ten reserved words, fpgasm syntax can be mastered in a few minutes. With FPGA assembler, you can focus on understanding the FPGA substrate and how your design should map onto it (instead of figuring out large and complicated tools).
rgbproc-repository is intended for use with Xilinx EDK tools. It consists of many units written in VHDL that can be used to build a design for image/video processing. The backbone is the data bus (called simply RGB) that is used to pass data (typically) from VGA input to VGA/DVI output.
System# is a .NET library intended for the description of real-time embedded systems. It comes with a built-in simulator kernel and a code transformation engine that converts a design into synthesizable VHDL. The main focus is currently the development of FPGA designs. System# not only supports register-transfer-level (RTL) descriptions whose translation to VHDL is straightforward, but is also capable of converting clocked threads with wait statements to a synthesizable VHDL state machine. Furthermore, System# introduces synthesizable transaction-level modeling features. From a technological point of view, it uses reflection and assembly code (CIL) decompilation to reconstruct an abstract syntax tree (AST) from the system design. The AST conforms to SysDOM, a document object model for describing component-based reactive systems. An unparsing stage converts the AST to VHDL. The decompilation process can be instrumented in various ways by attribute-based programming. Furthermore, transformations of the AST itself are possible. This enables implementation of advanced features such as converting clocked threads to finite state machines.
parkverbot is a daemon that prevents hard disk head parking in rotational media. Modern rotational hard disks have a misfeature involving the regular automatic unloading of the heads, measurable by the SMART attribute "Load_Cycle_Count". This causes latency on wake-up amongst other issues (and it cannot always be turned off). The parkverbot daemon will periodically issue small read requests in order to keep the hardware from going to its head-unloaded idle state.
A photo gallery system.
A modern replacement for make and autoconf.


text:
Watch These Primates Kissing Things — Daily Distraction
[onescreen item="5017506″]
Monkeys and apes—sometimes they look so much like us that it's almost like we're all somehow related.
Whether they're throwing summer pool parties, stealing people's things or, in this case, kissing stuff, it's nice to see that primates have a good sense of fun. As long as they're not flinging their poop at us, of course.
The Daily Distraction is your Internet break from reality. Whether you're eating lunch at your desk or avoiding high school exes on Facebook, you might just laugh, say "aaahhh" or not believe what you just watched.


text:
Ronald L. Danks, Janesville, WI (1930-2013)
December 31, 1930 - December 15, 2013
Ronald L. Danks, 82, of Janesville passed away Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013, surrounded by his loving family at St. Mary's Hospital, Madison. He was born in Janesville, on Dec. 31, 1930, the son of Percy and Lillian (Lee) Danks. He graduated from Janesville High School, Class of 1949. Ron enlisted in the U. S. Navy and served for four years during the Korean War aboard the USS Antietam CV-36 aircraft carrier. He married Patricia E. Baldwin on Nov. 20, 1957. He was a member of the Janesville Fire Department for 24 years, retiring as a lieutenant in 1984. Ron was a member of St. Mark Lutheran Church.
Ron is survived by his wife of 56 years, Patricia; one son, Jerry (Tara); one daughter, Darcy (Barry); three grandchildren: Ethan, Calliane and Hayden; one brother, Wayne (Betty); and numerous cousins.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at ST. MARK LUTHERAN CHURCH, 2921 Mt. Zion Avenue, Janesville, with Rev. Paul Speerbrecker officiating. Visitation will be at the CHURCH from 10 until 11 a.m. Wednesday. Entombment will be in Milton Lawns Memorial Park Mausoleum with military rites by Kienow-Hilt V.F.W. Post # 1621. The Danks family is being assisted by HENKE-CLARSON FUNERAL HOME.


text:
Mature cock lovers 0:30
Not a week goes by that we don't... 2:27
Horny housewife squirting all over... 1:30
Horny mature toilet slut pissing and... 1:20
Big tit MILF rubbing a hard cock ???
Mature ladies unwinding and getting... 1:20
4 cocks 1 granny ???
Mai Hanano 5:13
Its a party when mature sluts lick... 1:20
Kinky blonde mama getting fisted by a... 1:20
Hot girl next door stripping just for... 0:35
Holly Kiss - A lady, all in black! 1:00
Miho Wakabayashi 4:57
This dude is partying with three... 1:20
How nasty can you get on a public toilet 1:20
hot latina lady loves to show her hot... 1:34
Sexy girl next door getting a piercing 0:35
We know exactly how to take care of... 0:32
Asuka 5:05
This anal loving mature slut gets a... 1:20
Mellanie Monroe is the perfect blonde... 0:59
This dude loves fucking three mature... 1:20
Cheating Wife 3:43
This mature slut gets a fist in her... 1:20
Big Amelia loves sucking and fucking... 1:20
Booty shaking blonde MILF 3:06
All you have to do is look at that... 1:00
Hot girl next door gets dirty in the... ???
Charlotte - Nylon wife on heat! 1:59
Three mature sluts party with one... 1:20
Deep throat cock sucking on a public... 1:20
Yuuki Motomiya 5:08
This hot blonde teen loves a senior... 1:20
This horny mature mama loves to get... 1:20
She licks ass, fucks and sucks on a... 1:20
Yuna Hirose 4:57
Three mature lesbians have some... 2:16
Kinky teen fisting a horny mature slut 1:20
Horny mature slut caught on a public... 1:20
This mature nympho goes at it solo 1:20
Watch these women unload and relax naked 1:20
Holly Kiss - Striptease seductress! 1:00
MILF with hairy pussy pleasing a guy 1:00
Tigerr Benson - Deal or no deal? 1:03
Misty Vonage is a seasoned Milf 3:08
Take a look at MILF Cheyenne Hunter.... 1:48
A hot and kinky mature threesome 1:20
Holly Kiss - No clothes, just my hose! 1:00
Emiri Mizusawa 5:05
Kinky big titted mama gets foot fisted 1:20
Kinky mature Kim needs an orgasm 1:20
The camera zooms in on a pair of... 1:00
This horny housewife loves playing in... 1:20
Red - Straining nylon! 1:00
Sofia Matthews - I like it WET! 1:00


text:
When savvy consumers find a great credit card that allows them to accumulate points or earn cash back from their issuer, they look for every reasonable opportunity to get the most out of this benefit—at the grocery store, at the gas station, at restaurants, and wherever they shop. Some people are even more creative, using their cards to pay for home renovations, college tuition, or even a tax bill from the IRS. When you are being rewarded for using your credit card, every dollar counts.
Many corporate credit cards offer similar incentives for their customers. They may provide reward points, cash back, or even discounts with specific merchants—which raises an important question: Why aren't more smart, well-run companies taking a proactive approach to maximizing these benefits from their corporate cards?
Middle-market companies (those with annual revenues below $500 million) spend an estimated $7.8 trillion on business-to-business expenditures each year (Dun & Bradstreet, 2012). According to MasterCard, nearly $1.8 billion of these payments could be made with corporate cards, but on average companies use cards for less than 5 percent of their payments. In an increasingly digital world, where most middle-market companies have adopted corporate cards, more than 50 percent of business-to-business payments today are still made by check.
MasterCard's research also shows that compared with the cost of paying by check, corporate cards deliver a savings of nearly 63 percent. Corporate cards reduce the time and resources involved in administering and tracking invoices and moving checks through the accounts payable (A/P) process. When a company uses a check, the payment must be created and approved, and then the check must be printed and sent via mail to the appropriate vendor. Paying with a corporate card significantly streamlines this process.
Corporate Card Efficiencies
Today, corporate cards represent an enormous opportunity for treasurers and A/P departments that are focused on maximizing the efficiency of their payments. Many banks are offering extended payment terms and are actively working to identify other opportunities to make their cards work well for small and middle-market companies. As a result, more and more businesses are beginning to view the corporate card as much more than a tool for paying travel and entertainment (T&E) expenses.
Every company, regardless of industry or size, has regularly occurring expenses, and many of these expenses could be paid for with a commercial credit card. These routine expenses range from the basics, such as office supplies, IT equipment, and leases, to spending on services, such as shipping, telecommunications, utilities, and health insurance. Organizations may also want to consider using a corporate card for larger transactions, such as lease payments on key pieces of equipment, technology upgrades and other infrastructure build-outs, advertising, or marketing and legal services.
Organizations that understand the value proposition of streamlining their A/P function are working with suppliers that do not currently accept card payments, encouraging them to change that policy. They are emphasizing that wise use of a commercial card can accelerate their payment cycle with suppliers, while at the same time generating additional float—up to 60 days, in some cases—and earning rewards or discounts.
Extensive use of corporate cards is a more natural fit in some organizations than in others. Small businesses with more easily manageable revenues and work forces—and manufacturing and technology firms that work with an unusually large number of vendors—may find that the benefits of beefing up a corporate card program are well worth the costs. In addition, companies that work in professional and business services, health care, property management, and IT software solutions tend to use corporate cards more extensively than do other businesses.
5 Steps to Expand Corporate Card Usage
Given the highly competitive nature of the commercial credit card space, an organization must be well-prepared and thinking strategically before it makes any adjustments to its payments approach. Before working to expand the proportion of vendor payments that it uses a corporate card to make, a company should take the following five steps:
1. Benchmark against your peers. Compare your corporate card program with those of comparable businesses and with your industry at large. Information on your peers and industry are available through Commercial Payments International; from the NAPCP, the commercial card industry association; or by speaking with your banker. Also, talk to your business partners to take advantage of their industry knowledge. Understanding the benchmarks for comparable card programs will help you define the size and scope of the opportunity for your company. Once you've collected and carefully analyzed this information, your company will be positioned to make a smart decision.
2. Quantify the opportunity. Determine which of the vendors that your company is currently paying via check could instead be paid by corporate card. A good place to start is with any regularly recurring monthly expenses—whether large or small—that are part of the day-to-day operation of your business.
3. Develop a plan for converting these vendors. Consider your strategy for converting vendors that could more efficiently be paid via corporate card. Be prepared to clearly explain the benefits and efficiencies that card payments can generate for both parties. Work with your accounts payable department to determine where to focus first. Some companies start by focusing efforts on their top 10 vendors in terms of transaction volume; others focus on transaction size; and still others consider both factors. For small businesses, this decision is usually a matter of personal preference. Larger companies that process a high volume of payments each month might make it a priority to convert as many vendors as possible, as soon as possible. Close collaboration between finance and the A/P department will help you develop the right approach for your organization.
4. Measure your progress. Keep accurate records of vendors, spending levels, card usage, and monthly progress on payment conversions. Smaller companies may want to track these data points using a simple spreadsheet, but companies with more complex A/P processes might require a more formalized approach to tracking the conversions. As with any initiative, communication is critical. You need to provide regular updates on your progress—and the value you are creating—to all partners in the project, as well as executive leadership.
5. Review payment policies and terms. As a company is evaluating its payment methods with different vendors, it may also take advantage of the opportunity to scrutinize its payment policies, perhaps identifying small adjustments that could lead to big efficiencies. For example, should your business expand transaction limits? What recurring, routine payments could your company by paying automatically? Should the organization broaden or shrink the number of employees who have corporate cards? Talk with your A/P and procurement teams to bring to light any opportunities within their cycles.
Shifting business-to-business payments from paper checks to a corporate card represents an enormous opportunity for companies to reduce costs and increase cash flow. By focusing on recurring expenses and identifying vendors that can be paid in this more efficient manner, you may help your company come to see its commercial card as a critically important business tool.
Jim Gifas is executive vice president and head of treasury solutions for RBS Citizens. Jim is an expert in a variety of banking and business areas, including sales, introducing innovation, and adjusting to changes in the economic climate. Prior to his role at RBS Citizens, Jim spent 13 years at Citibank and four years at Deutsche Bank.


text:
John D. Long, Walworth (1934-2013)
December 5, 1934 - November 29, 2013
John Delbert (Delby) Long, 78, of Walworth, WI, stepped into glory to meet his Savior on Friday morning, Nov. 29, 2013, at his home. He was surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren at the time. He passed peacefully, amidst the celebration of all that his life on earth had meant, and the assurance of the reunion with his son, John Delbert, Jr. (J.D). Del was born on Dec. 5, 1934, in Elkhorn, WI. He was the son of late William and Helen Long. Del graduated from Walworth High School in 1953, and married the love of his life Mary Knapp on March 1, 1957. After returning to Walworth, from serving in the army (Korea), Del worked at Big Foot High School, Fontana Grade School, and most recently served as a crossing guard for the Walworth Grade School. His life involved activity with students of all ages which brought him great joy. He was also a member of the Walworth Fire/Rescue. Del was a devoted father to six sons.
Those left to cherish his memory include his wife of nearly 57 years, Mary; and his children: Michael (Lori) of Walworth, James (Teri) of Walworth, Andrew (Laura) of Walworth, Matthew (Cathy) of Walworth, and Daniel (Natalie) of Walworth. He is further survived by his 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchild: Brandon and Adam Basso, Faith, Mackenzie, Monique, Megan, Tim, Matthew, Rachel, Victoria, Christopher, A.J, Abigal, and Takiyah. He is also survived by his sister, Lucy Sandy. Del was preceded in death by his son, J.D (Amy), grandson, baby Michael; parents, William and Helen; brother, William; and sister, Thelma.
A Celebration of Life will be held Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013, at 11 a.m. with a viewing at 10 a.m. from CALVARY COMMUNITY CHURCH in Williams Bay. Visitation will be held Monday, Dec. 2, 2013, from 4 until 8 p.m. at TOYTON FUNERAL HOME in Walworth. Burial will take place at Walworth Cemetery.


text:
Talent is a hot topic in finance and treasury circles these days as executives fret about how to attract and retain the employees they need.
The buzz about talent reflects the changing set of skills that are required as finance and treasury seek to become more strategic, and as the economy's recovery leads finance teams to think about hiring, even as it may encourage employees to look for other opportunities.
Lynne Schneider, senior research director at the Hackett Group, a business and technology consulting company, noted that in recent years, finance budgets have been cut repeatedly or at best have remained flat. "Finance departments didn't have money for raises, they didn't have money for learning and development," Schneider said.
With the economy picking up, finance departments are eager to add workers with the analytical, planning, and budgeting skills they're looking for, she said. But given the budget constraints of the last few years, they're worried about their ability to retain their current employees and attract new ones.
"We just hear so much from our clients about sourcing those rare skills, and fears around retention are big," Schneider said.
Focus on Training and Retention
A recent Hackett survey shows that many finance departments are addressing those concerns by making changes in their talent management programs and putting more emphasis on training and development and retention.
Forty-five percent of the companies Hackett surveyed plan to make changes this year in finance career paths and in training and development programs, while 42% plan changes in their strategic workforce planning.
"The look at strategic workforce planning is new and different—making a plan that's not about six months from now, but one that looks more broadly at the workforce over a three- to five-year time period," Schneider said.
The career paths that are seeing the most change are a little lower on the totem pole. Sixteen percent of surveyed companies offer a path from an individual's first finance management position to middle management, and another 33% plan to do so in the future. Just 5% offer a career path from entry-level finance positions to a first management position, but another 36% plan to do so.
"Some of the outsourcing or offshoring did get rid of some of the entry-level positions," Schneider said. "It sets up more of a talent battle for those five- to 10-year experienced people."
The topic of talent has become "a huge point of discussion" at treasurers meetings over the last year and a half, said Craig Martin, executive director of the Association for Financial Professionals' Corporate Treasurers Council (CTC). In fact, the council put out a guide entitled "Leadership in Treasury: Attracting and Retaining Talent" earlier this month.
Martin noted that treasury teams are small, and much of the necessary knowledge has to be acquired on the job. "As a treasurer, you need to know your basic finance, but when it comes to managing cash, global investments, treasury technologies, hedging—that stuff's not really taught in college."
But once treasury groups find promising employees and train them, the small size of most treasury departments may make it hard to provide promotions and retain valued employees, he said.
According to the CTC report, career paths are a major challenge for finance departments, but also the best way for them to retain valued employees. An AFP survey shows 33% of treasury departments cited career paths as their biggest challenge in staff development, followed by cross training, which was cited by 16%.
The survey shows companies use a range of approaches to motivate finance employees, with 57% providing financial support for continuing education and certifications, 50% offering flexible work arrangements, and 45% providing employees with individual development plans.
Bruce Lynn, a managing partner at the Financial Executives Consulting Group, argued that a rotation program that moves executives between treasury and operating units not only helps retain employees, but provides them with valuable information about the company.
"A successful treasury department is one in which people rotate in from the operating function of a company, stay in treasury for a while, and then rotate back out to another part of the company," Lynn said.
Spending time in treasury teaches employees "where the cash comes from and where it goes," Lynn added. "Operating cash flow is the lifeblood of a company. People who come out of an operating area understand that, and now they get a little more of a strategic view" of cash as a result of the time they spend in treasury.
Given that treasury departments are usually small, rotation programs also give companies a way to enhance the career of an employee who has nowhere to go within the treasury function, he said. "Some kind of rotation program is very valuable in retaining high-quality people."
Lynn cites the hypothetical case of an assistant treasurer who hopes to advance but is working for a treasurer who's just 40 years old and not planning to go anywhere. "How do you retain someone like that?" Lynn said. "The only way I can think of is to say: 'We value you. Why don't you go off and run this part of the company, and then come back?' If you don't do that, the guy will have to leave. From a career standpoint, he's just blocked."
The Hackett survey showed a fair number of companies already rotate finance employees and more plan to start rotation programs. Among the companies surveyed, 35% rotate employees within finance and 24% plan to do so in the future. Thirty-two percent of the companies rotate finance employees to finance assignments in operating units and 17% plan to do so in the future.
Talent Challenges Not Limited to Finance
In a survey of CFOs by Robert Half, a professional staffing firm, 16% said it is very challenging to fill professional-level positions in general, not just finance positions, while 47% said it is somewhat challenging to fill professional positions.
Brett Good, a senior district president at Robert Half, said the U.S. has a dual job market, with the unemployment rates for college-educated professionals running at about half the general unemployment rate.
But Good also cited the growing need for compliance staffers and for employees who can deal with such finance-related technologies as ERP systems. Those jobs are competing for the new college graduates who might traditionally have joined finance departments, he said.
And as the economy picks up, concerns about attracting skilled employees are only likely to grow. Good says Robert Half is seeing "broad-based demand across the board." While hiring isn't at the levels seen in 1999 to 2000 or 2005 to 2006, "it's certainly a much improved environment than it has been in the last four or five years," he said.


text:
BlackRock Inc. and Western Asset Management Co. are offering a new twist on traditional money-market funds as regulators are set to impose sweeping changes on the $2.58 trillion industry.
BlackRock, the world's biggest money manager, and Legg Mason Inc.'s Western Asset unit have started bond funds designed to work much like money funds, with a key difference. The new "ultra-short" funds have share prices that fluctuate along with the value of their holdings, rather than a fixed net asset value, or NAV, a distinguishing feature of money funds. They also have shorter maturities than similar ultra-short bond funds that ran into trouble when credit markets froze in 2008.
The firms are preparing for what could be a seismic reallocation of assets by institutional investors and corporate treasurers if regulators overhaul money funds for a second time in three years in a bid to make them safer after the 2008 collapse of the Reserve Primary Fund. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission plans to order a floating NAV on institutional prime money-market funds, or those that invest in corporate debt, overriding opposition from the industry.
"We would expect to see more corporations use more vehicles than are used today once we get to a floating NAV for prime money-market funds," said Richard Hoerner, head of New York-based BlackRock's global cash-management business. "The fund is designed for short-term investors seeking to outperform money-market funds, with potential returns that exceed those of prime money-market funds under normal market conditions."
Mary Athridge, a spokeswoman for Baltimore-based Legg Mason, declined to comment on the Western Asset Ultra Short Obligations Fund, which the firm filed to register on May 8. BlackRock opened the BlackRock Ultra-Short Obligations Fund in November, and it has about $25 million of assets.
The new funds are different from existing U.S. ultra-short bond funds, which had $280.1 billion of assets at the end of last year, according to iMoneyNet, a Westborough, Massachusetts-based provider of money-market research and analysis. The funds, run by companies ranging from Pittsburgh-based Federated Investors Inc. to Boston-based Fidelity Investment, generally hold investment-grade debt that matures in one to two years, according to a review of regulatory filings.
The BlackRock and Western Asset funds have shorter maturities and can only invest in high-quality debt. Some short-term bond funds that were touted as higher-yielding alternatives to money funds faced severe losses in 2008 as they held debt tied to mortgages. State Street Corp.'s SSgA Yield Plus Fund fell 19 percent in the first five months of 2008 before being liquidated. Charles Schwab Corp.'s YieldPlus fund fell to $1.8 billion in assets in 2008 from a peak of $13.5 billion in 2007, after it invested more than 25 percent of fund assets in private issuer mortgage-backed securities.
The BlackRock and Western Asset ultra-short bond funds have both pledged to limit the average maturity of their portfolios to no more than 90 days. That was the legal threshold for money-market funds until 2010, when the SEC lowered the ceiling to 60 days as part of an earlier effort designed to reduce systemic risk. As with money funds, the BlackRock and Western products will primarily hold debt securities that mature in 397 days or less.
'Reshaping' Industry
Money-market funds are allowed to use an accounting method that produces a stable net asset value of $1 a share under Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Investment earnings, rather than lifting the share price, are distributed in cash or new shares. This feature has made money-market funds a favorite among individuals, institutional investors, and corporations who want a place to park their cash that will provide a higher return than those typically paid on bank deposits.
Federal regulators have been searching for ways to prevent a replay of September 2008, when the $62.5 billion Reserve Primary Fund "broke the buck," or fell below the $1 NAV. The collapse triggered a wider run on money funds that contributed to a freeze in the global credit markets. In 2010, the SEC tightened rules on credit quality, shortened the maximum average maturity for funds and introduced minimum liquidity levels. Mary Schapiro, then the SEC's chairman, called that a first step toward making money funds more stable and pushed a plan to make funds abandon their $1 share price or build capital reserves.
The industry, led by providers including Fidelity Investments and Federated Investors, fought back against proposals and sought to limit the scope of changes. The SEC is now planning a narrower proposal that requires the use of floating net asset values by institutional money-market funds that invest in corporate debt, a person familiar with the matter said last week. Such a change would apply to funds managing $950 billion, or about 37 percent of U.S. money-fund assets, according to iMoneyNet.
The regulatory changes could lead to a "reshaping" of the money-market industry, including changes to the "overall liquidity product landscape," Moody's Investors Service said in a May 13 report. One possible consequence would be growth in alternative cash products, including short-duration bond funds, developed by large money-market fund managers to offset the "expected loss" of assets in prime funds hit by the new rule, the report said.
A lot of the innovation "has been held in abeyance waiting for the SEC," Geoff Bobroff, a mutual-fund consultant in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, said in an interview. "People are starting to gear up" now that the SEC appears ready to act, Bobroff said.
Credit Quality
The BlackRock and Western Asset funds expect to invest at least 25 percent of their assets in securities issued by companies in the financial services sector, such as banks and brokerages.
In terms of credit quality, BlackRock and Western will only invest in fixed-income securities that have either the top or second-best short-term debt rating from credit-raters such as Moody's or Standard & Poor's. While the BlackRock fund can have any amount of assets in the second-highest category, the Western Asset fund must invest at least 95 percent of its assets in debt with the top-tiered rating, the prior standard for money-market funds until the SEC raised it by two percentage points to 97 percent in 2010.
"It sounds like a turbo-charged money-market fund," said Steven Shachat, a senior portfolio manager at Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC in Purchase, New York. "It appears as if we might be heading in the direction of a floating NAV anyway, so they are just heading this off at the pass."
BlackRock's Hoerner said the new ultra-short fund is "clearly" not a money-market fund, though at first glance it may "look similar" to one. In addition to the floating net asset value, Hoerner cited several other differences, such as the 2010 revisions to Rule 2a-7 require money-market funds to keep 30 percent of their assets in securities that mature within seven days. Neither the Western Asset nor the BlackRock ultra- short fund have such a provision.
The stable $1 value is one of the main appeals of money funds as investors seek the preservation of their capital amid record-low interest rates. Corporate money-market clients would be reluctant to give up the benefits of a stable net asset value for a slightly higher yield, said Shachat at Alpine Woods. "A lot of the major corporations are just so risk-averse," Shachat said. "That is why you see Treasury funds with hundreds of billions of dollars basically earning zero."


text:
Experimental evidence for evolution
Discussion of everything related to the Theory of Evolution.
Moderator: BioTeam
Re: Experimental evidence for evolution
I asked a simple question "what do you think?
You raise an interesting scenario.
May I refer you to Richard Ellisin's book AquaGenesis where he puts it this way on page 158
"Although the fossil record is too sparse to make any definitive statements (always dangerous in paleontology anway), many paleontologists have done exactly that. After two groups of scientists examined fossil snakes from the same area, two scenerios emerged. Scanlon, Lee, and Caldwell have proposed that snakes are derived from water-dwelling lizards (mosasaurs), and emerged from the water to become the terrestrial species that we know today. "
"the other group of scientists, Tchernov et al. (2000), believe that modern snakes are the descendants of small, burrowing, terrestrial lizards.
. . . As for the legs, which Scanlon et. al. cited to demonstrate that snakes are descended from lizards, all they mean to Tchernov's group is that ancestral lizards lost their legs, became snakes, evolved into snakes with legs, and as of now have become (mostly) snakes without legs. They acknowledge that this is a less parsimonious explanation, but it nevertheless "remains a possibility, given the incompleteness of the fossil record of snakes and the recognition of multiple loss of limbs among squamates in general."
This excerpt simply highlights the different views.
Notice that with the "land hypothesis", the originators Tchernov et.al. acknowledge that their explanation is "a less parsimonious" one, the hypothesis that you appear to be supporting.
Excerpts from Page 155
. . . None of this discussion addresses what to many is the fundamental question about snake evolution in the first place: Why should an animal with legs evolve into one without them? Legs seem to be quite a useful bit of equipment; every other terrestrial vertebrae has them. Only the fishes are legless; the whales, to adapt to the fishes watery environment, have lost their hind limbs completely and their forelimbs have evolved into paddles. Perhaps the sea snakes are a more advanced form of snake, for only in aquatic animals does leglessness confer an advantage -- or at least, it does not handicap the animal. . .
You will notice that my question is a direct lift from Ellisin's book. So it is Ellisin who does not see the advantage of loss of limbs. In fact he goes further and states that "only in aquatic animals does leglessness confer an advantage -- or at least, it does not handicap the animal. . .
My guess is he knows more about this subject than you or I and it could even include Geokinkladze
You suggest I use Occams razor and I am very happy to apply that principle.
Here is the principle http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/occamraz.html
"The principle states that one should not make more assumptions than the minimum needed. This principle is often called the principle of parsimony. It underlies all scientific modelling and theory building. It admonishes us to choose from a set of otherwise equivalent models of a given phenomenon the simplest one. In any given model, Occam's razor helps us to "shave off" those concepts, variables or constructs that are not really needed to explain the phenomenon. By doing that, developing the model will become much easier, and there is less chance of introducing inconsistencies, ambiguities and redundancies."
So which idea do I apply Occams razor to
The aquatic hypothesis
The land hypothesis
Or the "someone removed the legs intentionally" hypothesis.
Well since I have played "devil advocate" by introducing the creation or "someone removed the legs intentionally" hypothesis I will apply occam's razor to it.
Remember one should not make more assumptions than the minimum needed.
We know that during the late 50' and early 60's thousands of women took the drug Thalidomide to combat morning sickness. This resulted in the terrible tragedy of thousand's children being born with deformed or missing limbs.
So it proved that direct intervention (whether intentional or not) during the embryo stage of development can produce loss of limbs.
The only assumption that therefore needs to be made is that the cell mechanism can be directly altered to make this change heritable.
Therefore just one assumption is required.
Less than one could make it a fact.
How many assumptions are needed for the "land hypothesis" ?
How many for the "aquatic hypothesis" ? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1626205/
Please read just the Conclusion of the paper and count the number of assumptions. Also remember that the land hypothesis is less parsimonious than the aquatic hypothesis.
Now I am only playing "devils advocate" here, but the creation hypothesis wins, simply on the basis of the occams razor principle which you have introduced into this discussion.
I have studied Gould's essay on the Panda's thumb and I would ask you to count the number of assumptions he has had to make before he arrived at where he wished to go.
We are dealing here with belief systems not with the scientific method.
The boundary between belief and science is being blurred to the point that beliefs are being presented as fact and that, I strongly argue, is not good science.
Re: Experimental evidence for evolution
I would not call a "top of my head hypothesis" a support for any hypothesis. I have absolutely no clue about what made the loss of limb useful to be honest. I was just trying to point out that the fact that you (or anyone else for that matter) do not see the advantage does not mean that there are none.
Actually you were the first one to bring it in, and I will once again repeat what I told you: the implicit complexity of the creator is much higher than any hypothesis that we could do based on that event happened randomly, and that one, and that other... because if you take the thalidomide example to get there you needed the full evolution of human, the development of a civilization and of a chemical industry etc to get to that molecule. So one little pill/step with a lot more hidden complexity than a series of mutations by mechanisms that are known and do not require external forces.
This is in this hidden complexity that you have consistently refused to acknowledged that lies the opposition to any external creator in modern science.
Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without
any proof. (Ashley Montague)
Re: Experimental evidence for evolution
Ok give me YOUR universally accepted definition of a species. In other words YOUR definition of a species, that is also universally accepted as THE definition of species. Now I'm not interested in your definition that is accepted by the people who read the same books as you, I'm talking about THE universally accepted definition. I could be asking the impossible, maybe miracles happen?
Firstly I think you're a creationist. Now that's not meant as an insult so please don't take it as one. I guess that's just my opinion. The only reason I say it is that you say you're not, but it's become fairly obvious to me that you are.
Secondly, with regard to the snake: Limbs have a resource cost that requires maintenance. Limbs would adversely affect digestion. Limbs would snag on twigs and branches. They would provide an easier target for predators and prey. In return what advantages would they provide? I guess that as random mutation and natural selection have led to them disappearing then the advantages must have been outweighed by the disadvantages.
Re: Experimental evidence for evolution
I am just now joining this long and interesting thread, so please forgive me if I'm repeating information others have already covered.
jevg says "the Darwinian mechanism does not explain speciation." This statement is true if by "Darwinian" jevg means the theory as explicated in Darwin's On the Origin of Species in 1859. Darwin did a good job of explaining adaptation, but despite his ambitious title, he didn't provide much insight into the process of speciation.
But current evolutionary theory -- called the "modern synthesis" because it integrates Darwin's theory with Mendelian genetics -- explains speciation quite well. And evolutionary biologists have amassed considerable evidence to support this view.
For an excellent review of this evidence I refer you to Chapter 7 of Why Evolution Is True by Jerry A. Coyne. Because speciation generally takes millions of years, it cannot be observed directly. But the fossil record, embryology, and genetic analysis show that species diverged from common ancestors.
The most common type of speciation involves geographic isolation. The theory of geographic speciation predicts that species on either side of a geographic barrier will be more closely related to each other than to species on the same side of the barrier. This is exactly what evolutionary biologists have found. Coyne writes:
Evolutionary theory also predicts that after a period of geographic isolation, diverging species will become reproductively isolated. This reproductive isolation has been shown many times in nature. And using flies, which have short generation times, scientists have been able to produce reproductively isolated populations in the lab.
Coyne also describes another type of speciation that can be studied directly. Polyploidy, or the production of extra copies of chromosomes, can cause speciation in as little as two generations. This type of speciation happens often in plants and occasionally in animals. In some plants, biologists have been able to reproduce these speciation events in the lab, to the extent that the lab varieties can mate successfully with the species that evolved in nature.
Thus Darwinian theory, as it is currently understood by evolutionary biologists, is extremely well supported by scientific evdience.
Re: Experimental evidence for evolution
Your honesty is very refreshing, and this is in no way a patronising comment.
I agree that because I don't see an advantage does not mean there is none.
What I disagree with is the a priori position that speciation is a product of some Darwinian mechanism and that position is a scientific fact. If it were a fact then the evidence would point to it.
I have been consistent in pointing out that the experimental evidence does not point in that direction. In fact it contradicts that position.
Now nobody has managed to refute that evidence and with good cause because this controversy is not about science but about two opposing belief systems.
Neither of these belief systems can be supported by science.
Science by it's very nature, must operate within the realms of natural law, and natural law does not and indeed cannot explain the arrival of the cell or life or species.
This is the situation whether we like it or not.
Let me explain ( Please think about this)
All known life depends upon genetic instructions. No hint of metabolism has ever been observed independent of an oversight and management information/instruction system.
We use the term "bioengineering" with good reason.
Genes are literal programs. They are sent from a source by a transmitter through a channel within the context of a viable cell. They are decoded by a receiver and arrive eventually at a final destination.
At this destination, these messages catalyze the needed biochemical reactions.
The cell is in fact a biochemical communication system.
Genes have undeniable "meaning" which is shared between source and destination. (Fact)
Noise pollution of this "meaning" is greatly minimized in the cell by ideally optimized redundancy coding and impressive biological repair mechanisms. (Fact)
A noisy channel is one that produces a high corruption rate of the source's signal.
Now signal integrity is greatly compromised during transport by randomizing influences. (Fact)
In molecular biology, various kinds of mutations introduce the equivalent of noise pollution of the original instructive message. (Fact)
Communication theory goes to extraordinary lengths to prevent noise pollution of signals of all kinds. (Fact)
So given this longstanding struggle against noise contamination of meaningful algorithmic messages, does it not seem curious to you that the central dogma of biology today attributes genomic messages themselves solely to "noise."?
Without algorithmic programming to control options, the number of possible paths in sequence space for each needed biopolymer is truly enormous.
But when multiple biopolymers must all converge at the same place at the same time to collectively interact in a controlled biochemically cooperative manner, I argue that faith in this "self-organization" becomes "blind belief."
No empirical data exists for such a metaphysical leap.
Darwinism (in all its forms) and Creationism (in all its forms) are both belief systems, trying to explain this arrival with both claiming theirs is truly scientific. The fact is that neither of them is.
Isn't it about time a start is made to at least acknowledge this.
Re: Experimental evidence for evolution
You are half right, it's certainly long. It's been fun while it lasted but unfortunately I shall have to take my leave and do other things. I'll hope to check back now and again to see if there's an answer to the question: why are leaves green? see: http://www.biology-online.org/biology-forum/about675-48.html which is originally what brought me here.
Hopefully if anything comes of this thread then it will be that viewers will realise it's better to prevent your religious views from clouding your rational ones. Science is attempting to answer the big questions via a series of small incremental steps, sometimes there are periods of stasis, other times there are periods of rapid discovery, quite a lot of theories become extinct (sound familiar anyone?)
Stephen Hawkings is currently doing the rounds with his new book, he says that God isn't necessary to explain the creation of the universe. I agree wholeheartedly with that one. Anyone who tries to prove or disprove the existence of God by scientific means should be treated with caution.
Re: Experimental evidence for evolution
I agree with regard to creationism. It is not falsifiable and thus not scientific.
Darwinism, on the other hand, is scientific, and your own posts prove as much. You claim to have presented experimental evidence that cotradicts Darwinian theory. I disagree that the studies you cite contradict Darwinism, but the fact you can articulate such an argument proves that Darwinism is falsifiable.
The fact that Darwinists are unconvinced by your arguments does not in itself render their views to be blind faith. As long as they can make predictions that can potentially be proven false, their views are scientific.
The theory of evolution as we know it is scientific as it lays hypothesis on how it work, makes predictions and allow verification of them, or falsifications. Creationism is based on faith only. That is the main difference.
Now in light of your analysis of facts, I hope you won't mind if I ask whether you are an engineer. For curiosity's sake...
Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without
any proof. (Ashley Montague)
Re: Experimental evidence for evolution
Sorry for the delay but have been otherwise occupied. Life outside this forum you know
I am a Radio/Radar Engineer (now retired).
I agree with your last comment. Creationism is based on faith and cannot be subjected to scientific enquiry. Where I would add to your comment is that Darwinism which was and could have been regarded as null hypothesis originally has now, in my view, taken on the mantra of a faith based system.
Darwin tried to explain the origin of Species scientifically and indeed put forward a plausible hypothesis while honestly recognising it's flaws. Those flaws have in the light of evidence turned out to be quite profound and that is why I argue the way I do.
Re: Experimental evidence for evolution
I hope my response to canolan explains more my position.
My whole point is that Darwinism is falsifiable and the evidence is showing it to be so. Since it is being falsified with evidence, and at the same time still being regarded as a scientific theory (indeed as fact) this is what has turned this hypothesis into a belief system.
You referred me to Jerry Coyne's book.
I have read a lot of it though not all and would be very happy to discus it further. This book actually proves my point and I will be quite happy to demonstrate it.
Re: Experimental evidence for evolution
I would be pleased to read your thoughts on why you believe the theory of evolution has been falsified.
you're saying, that darwinism/theory of evolution was disproved, but these are not equal. The theory of evolution was here even before Darwin, he just came up with the mechanism.
Cis or trans? That's what matters.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest
© Biology-Online.org. All Rights Reserved. Register | Login | About Us | Contact Us | Link to Us | Privacy Policy |


text:
Relationship between structure and function of glucoes
Discussion of all aspects of biological molecules, biochemical processes and laboratory procedures in the field.
Moderator: BioTeam
Relationship between structure and function of glucoes
Ok what is the relationship between the structure and function of glucose? i have read so far that the hydrogens found in glucose are removed and used to regenerate ATP from ADP + P. Im not so certain about that anyone care to help?
Go through the glycolysis. If you through the carbohydrate metabolism then you will understand the structural functions of each monosaccharide.
Saumyadip Sarkar
Student of M.Sc. Microbiology,
GITAM Institute of Science,
GITAM University, AP, India
e-mail: [email protected]
Article Writer
Ok i went through glycolysis however for the record is it biologically correct to say that due to its structure glucose it can be easily oxidized to pyruvate in comparison to other monosaccharids which is used to produce energy via conversion of adp to atp
however one question thoughwhat aspect of the structural formual would attribute to itbeing easily converted to pyruvate
Is there a possibility that the enzymes are specialized only for utilizing α-D-glucose and not its epimers like mannose,etc.?
Is the reason for us being composed of L-amino acids similar to the reason for α-D-glucose to form glycogen and not cellulose (ie because of it's ability to link and cross-link due to the -OH)? I mean the reason for only L-amino acids should be their way of linking. Am I correct?
where did you get, that D-glc doesn't form cellulose?
If you studied the glycolysis, you should know the specifities of respective enzymes. Anyway, they are usually speciallied with the exception of hexose kinase. The other monosacharides must be first converted to Glc or Fru
Cis or trans? That's what matters.
Re: Relationship between structure and function of glucoes
OK, I need to review a bit to get back in the carbohydrate saddle (oh wait, it's a chair). The α- in α-D-glucose is only really defined when the D-glucose is bound into a larger molecule. The bond out of glucose is in the α form in glucose and the β form in starch, but as a monomer bulk D-glucose in aqueous solution is not firmly in either α or β form (though one molecule, at one instant, if bound in a ring, will be in either α or β form). As a monomer, glucose is in equilibrium with a free aldehyde form. When the aldehyde reacts intramolecularly to form a closed ring, the resulting ring will be in α or β form depending on which face the carbonyl carbon (C1) forms the ring-closing bond. However, free D-glucose is a mixture of α and β forms and they are dynamically interconverting though the free aldehyde form. When the glucose is bound into a polymer, this locks the position of the ring-closing bond into either the α or β form. Galactose is pure 1-4 α-bound glucose while starch is a polymer of the pure 1-4 β form (though they may also have 1-6 linkages). Now I can look at your question again, Adz.
The α and β forms of poly-D-glucose have different mechanical properties and adopt different confirmations, with poly-α-D-glucose forming curving fibers and poly-β-D-glucose forming linear fibers (as you wrote, Adz, due to different hydrogen-bonding geometries). I don't think there is a similar logic to the L- vs. D- amino acids. I'm now speculating: I think that a simple protein composed entirely of D amino acids would be a mirror image of the same protein composed entirely of L amino acids and would have identical mechanical properties (except for properties like optical rotation), unlike the case for α versus β poly-D-glucose. Therefore the "choice" of L amino acids is not due to a property of their linking or the structures they form, but is an apparently arbitrary characteristic of terrestrial amino acids, perhaps an ancient accident of chance. Can anyone confirm or refute that?
Oh yes! What a confusion I caused!
The difference in L-, D- properties would, in no way, originate from linking patterns (like in the case of α vs. β D-glucose). It would have to, as Jonmoulton speculated, originate from the fact that they are mirror images of each other. The reason for differences in α vs. β D-glucose is entirely different. It is because of the way the carbonyl carbon is bonded to the oxygen of the sixth carbon.
I apologize for causing this needless confusion.
I think I have one more question, Jonmoulton.
Starch is a poly-α-D-glucose. Cellulose is a poly-β-D-glucose. Am I correct?
I am do not understand why you said that "starch is a polymer of pure 1-4 β form". I understand that you mean the 1-4 glycosidic linkages are formed from the β form of glucose, but isn't that the α form?
And thanks a lot for answering me!
Re: Relationship between structure and function of glucoes
Hi Adz,
You get me to review some carbohydrate chemistry, which I enjoyed (that's not the area I work in now). However, I made some errors (noted below).
Both starch and cellulose are primarily linked though 1-4 bonds. The difference is whether the bond to carbon 1 goes "up" or "down" relative to the ring. If there are any 1-6 bonds these cause branching -- these branches are common in starch.
I wrote "Galactose is pure 1-4 α-bound glucose while starch is a polymer of the pure 1-4 β form" Oops. That should have been:
Starch is pure 1-4 α-bound glucose while cellulose is a polymer of the pure 1-4 β form.
Sorry about that. Like I said, this isn't what I've been doing lately, but that's pretty darn sloppy on my part.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest
© Biology-Online.org. All Rights Reserved. Register | Login | About Us | Contact Us | Link to Us | Privacy Policy |


text:
Once upon a time, completing a business trip meant sitting down with a pile of receipts, filling out an expense report and doing some copying, and then submitting a pile of papers for approval. But travel and entertainment expense management solutions, which allow data from credit cards to flow automatically into online expense reports, have eliminated that drudgery for business travelers.
Now companies are making an effort to get what they need on the travel and entertainment (T&E) front: data they can analyze to get a better understanding of that spending and use to bargain for better deals with airlines, hotels, and other vendors.
A study by the Aberdeen Group, a Boston-based information technology research firm, found visibility into T&E spending was cited as the top challenge by 51% of companies.
"Visibility is really the cornerstone of an effective spend management program," said Louis Berard, senior research analyst in the global supply chain management practice at Aberdeen Group, noting that understanding T&E spending plays into companies' ability to forecast and budget such spending.
The amounts involved are considerable. Aberdeen estimates T&E comprises 10% of corporate spending.
Kevin Phalen, head of global card and comprehensive payables and head of public sector banking treasury sales at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said T&E can make up an even higher portion of spending at professional services firms like consulting companies or law firms. And companies view travel as one of the easiest expenses to control, along with head count, he said.
Phalen said companies want two views of their T&E data: "Tell me what's happening with my key suppliers—airlines, hotels, restaurants," he said. "On the flip side, tell me what's going on with my travelers—what's in compliance, what's out of compliance, what are we spending on, what are the add-ons from airlines. With this data, companies can ensure adherence to their compliance policies and also look at how they should change those policies over time."
Bank of America Merrill Lynch has launched a tool, called Dashboard Analytics, that gathers all of the information on transactions occurring on a company's corporate cards, Phalen said. "Wherever those cards are being utilized, we're getting that data on a daily basis and sharing it with our clients," he said.
The company gets the data on card transactions within 24 to 48 hours, he said, which could well be in advance of employees' submitting their expense reports. "This helps the buyer to get the information about their suppliers," said Phalen, pictured at left.
The information helps companies spot trends in T&E spending and compliance with T&E policies, he added. B of A can break down the data for companies by division or subsidiary, or at a country or regional level. "It gives them local data, but also brings it together globally in the event they organize their operations on a global basis, which is becoming more and more common," Phalen said.
Aberdeen's study suggests that integrating the T&E expense management solution with a company's ERP system can give the organization a better view of its T&E data. According to the study, companies with better visibility achieve other benefits, including cutting their costs for processing T&E expense reports: They spend just $12.51 to process each expense report, 39% less than the average cost of $20.65.
Greater visibility could also help companies figure out the return on investment they're getting on their T&E spending, Berard said. "The largest problem that organizations have had is to understand their ROI."
He cautioned, though, that companies can't just gather data; they have to make use of it. "You can gain as much visibility as you want, but people need to be looking at and analyzing the data," he said.
Another approach to increasing companies' data on T&E spending is combining the T&E reporting solution with the online travel booking tool a company uses. Berard said Aberdeen's survey found 90% of best-in-class companies use such an "end-to-end" solution versus 66% of other companies.
"What that does is solidify the link between travel management and expense management," Berard said. "That's giving you that superior visibility into how employees travel." Companies that use online travel booking have the ability to spot trends and negotiate better contracts with suppliers such as hotel chains and airlines, he added.
A.G. Lambert, vice president of product management and strategy at Concur, whose T&E expense management software is used by 1,800 companies, said he's seeing "broad adoption" of the practice of combining travel booking with the T&E expense management solution.
Now Concur is working to gather still more data for its corporate customers by capturing information about travel plans that aren't arranged through its online travel booking tool, perhaps because the employee booked a room through a conference website or a hotel website. "If you book at the hotel site, you can forward the confirmation and we will process that," said Lambert, pictured at right. "It's really extending the reach of how much travel data we're capturing so we can do better analysis of your travel spend."
Giving business travelers access to T&E reporting through mobile apps is another trend. "The expectation is that all of this information needs to be mobile-enabled," BofA's Phalen said. "When you think about the T&E space, it's all about making it easier for the traveler."
Mobile applications can also help companies get more accurate information, Lambert said. "People stuff receipts in their wallet or purse, bring them back, try to sort them out and make mistakes. In some cases, they don't have a receipt."
Concur is working with American Express on a tool that lets employees know, as soon as a credit card transaction is processed, whether they need a receipt. If they do need a receipt—for example, for a hotel room or a transaction that's over a certain dollar amount—travelers get a buzz on their phone alerting them to snap a photo. Concur then processes the photo and uses it to fill in the relevant fields for that transaction.
"Really taking out the human factor is an important way you can increase the accuracy of the process," Lambert said.
Read the September Special Report on Liquidity.
Know Thy Banking Partners
Should Companies Care About Bond Market Liquidity?
Rewriting the Rules: How New Financial Regulations are Expected to Impact Corporate Liquidity Management
The Next Evolution of the US Payments System