text:
I have had to take a couple of days to reflect on this experience. It was an emotional roller coaster. From the moment we arrived at Nationals Stadium, one thing was clear ~ this is an important, life altering event. We, meaning my Team ~ Tara, Pam, honorary member Johanna, me, Holly, and Miona, were enveloped by people all there for one common purpose ~ to find a cure for breast cancer. There were breast cancer survivors, family members, friends, concerned people from all walks of life were there for one thing.
There was the 'message' board where people wrote who they were there for ~ loved ones that survived, were trying to survive, or those taken by this disease. The opening ceremony was moving.
Banners were carried conveying all things that people deserved to have ~ hopes, dreams, beliefs…. Survivors took the stage bonded with hands held high displaying stamina and promoting hope. The master of ceremony at one point asked the crowd members to shout out who they were there for. Many shouted out names. One stood out ~ a little girl shouted "For Mommy!" It was difficult for me to maintain composure but another thing was clear as day ~ if one felt moved to tears then cry 'because if we cannot cry here together, where else can we?' So I did, many times.
Then it was time to start the walk. As we made our way through the bottleneck, high fives were everywhere from supportive strangers encouraging and thanking the walkers.
And we walked and walked and walked… in the rain. We walked all over DC. We walked through gorgeous neighbors where we admired the architecture. We took pictures. We walked by many Starbucks and took refuge in a few to grab something warm or dry off even for a few minutes. The Komen folks are organized. There were planned breaks every couple of miles or so with snacks, hydration, and medical attention if needed. All of those planned breaks were outside, in the rain.
Lunch was outside, in the rain. We laughed as how our lunch bags were disintegrating and our sandwiches were soggy. There we took refuge in a port-o-potty. Yes, a port-o-potty. Sound strange? Well yes but it was a bit of warmth and bit of dryness. Then we trekked on. It's funny how you get to know people in a different way when walking and talking. Discussions ran deep. All along we never lost site of why we were there ~ to find a cure. We met so many people affected by this disease. Marshall stands out. He was a member of the crew. He is VERY involved with the Komen Organization. He was everywhere. Marshall lost three sisters to breast cancer ~ THREE.
There were women of all ages and the most masculine men wearing pink tutus all along the way. That was the crew outfit. There were crowds cheering wearing customs of pink and balloon breasts. There was a little girl with a cowboy hat doing the hula hoop. She kept popping up at different places on the walk. Just supporting the whole thing?? I don't want to imagine why… her mom, her sister……???
We all made it. We were drenched to the bone. We could all squeeze water from of gym gear designed to dry quickly… under normal circumstances. We reached our final destination for the day and climbed onto the warm, dry bus with comfortable cushions seats. I think I feel asleep for a few minutes. We pulled into camp.
Camp was a series of stations ~ port-o-potties, shower trucks, the 'mall', the food tent, the medical tent, and a sea of luggage to claim and boxes of hot pick tents. We gathered our water logged luggage, was given a tent, and a spot to call home ~ temporarily. That was interesting ~ setting up tent in the rain, trying to keep the inside as dry as possible to place the gear so we could go eat a good meal. The food was good. I ate more than usual but then I probably used more calories that day then I had in a long time. How could you not shower first you ask?? The Komen folks know their stuff. They drilled into us eat first, shower second. Why? Didn't want anyone to pass out in the hot shower. After we made the commitment to stay in camp (versus go home and sleep or to a hotel), we took our showers and started to peruse the mall. We could shop, get a foot and back massage via a chair, or just hang out. I can tell you that after a full day of rain, mud was a hurdle to overcome just like the distance we walked that day. Next came sleep.
I didn't sleep well. Luckily the rain had stopped. Still, too many sounds, too hot, too cold…. I didn't sleep. At 5:16 AM I decided to get up and get ready for the next day of walking.
This was a different day on many levels. The rain had stopped and the predicted rain wasn't going to happen ~ YAY! The path that day took us up and down long hills and angled driveways. My feet were really beginning to hurt particularly my left foot. Still we trekked on. There were signs for me when I should have raised and crossed my arms above my head ~ the signal that you needed a ride or help ~ but I didn't. I wanted to continue. It mattered so much.
We walked down a particularly long angled hill. I made it down and thought I can do anything if I can do that. We walked a little further to lunch. Another hill to walk down. By now my foot was aching. Another small steep hill to get down. Pain. Sharp pain. I knew this feeling. I had had it before. I told myself 'I'll just get my lunch, sit down, rest as long as I can and get up and walk the remaining seven miles for the day. Only seven miles, surely I can do that.' I sat down with my Team on the ground. Pain. I took out my sunglasses and out them on. It was out of place. It wasn't sunny. No one else had sunglasses on. My teammate even joked about it and snapped a picture "Hey look at Tom Cruise Top Gun." I laughed. It was funny. My sunglasses were to hide my tears and probably my shame.
I knew I wasn't going to be able to walk anymore. I had touched the top of my foot and bit my lips. A stress fracture. I was quiet throughout lunch. It was the most surreal experience I have ever had ~ listening to the conversation, looking around, trying to not let on. Why? I am on a Team. A Team all tired but full of drive and anticipation to get to the finish line that day. It was the longest walk of the three days and I was not going to derail them. I noticed one of my folks looking behind me so I turned to see what they were looking at. They were looking at an amputee trying to get up with his fiancee helping him. How awesome is he?!! I felt small.
At the end of lunch, I smiled and told me Team I needed to go back to camp. That if I walked the rest of today, I wouldn't be able to walk tomorrow. I already knew I wasn't going to be able to walk tomorrow. I cheered them on. Said good-bye and walked slowly to the bus as they continued their journey.
Back at camp I sat for a long while thinking about things ~ looking all around me and seeing the Remembrance Tent off in the distance ~ all the pain and hope that brings people together for a common goal. I wanted to be part of that. To walk the walk.
Then I thought about my daughter, my glorious daughter, and how I needed to stay healthy. I called my husband. "You need to come get me," I said. Not one word of judgment, just "I'll be there as soon as I can honey." He was caring for not only our daughter but two other daughters of Team members as their husbands were off on the Cub Scout camping trip with their sons. Jim and I only have Lauren. Jim gave up the Club Golf Championship Tournament to care for all the girls overnight.
When Pam, out Team Captain, first asked me to do this, I said, "Absolutely!" Jim said, "What about your foot honey?" I said, "I can do it!" "Ok," he said. You see, if you don't already know, I have a bum foot. I, like millions of others, was born with flat feet. Not that big of a deal. When I was about 10, I had an accident where I basically ripped everything apart that holds the foot together. At that time, in the dark ages, they didn't set or cast injuries like that. So it didn't heal properly. Over the course of life, everything weakened and the bones are not where they are supposed to be making it predisposed to injury similar to degenerative bone disease. It sucks, no doubt, but nothing, NOTHING compared to the amputee. My Teammate, Holly, researched the couple. He ended up in the hospital on Saturday with an infection and she walked alone on Sunday carrying his prosthetic leg. Amazing! They met on the first day of the Komen Walk last year. They got engaged the first day of this Komen Walk. Spectacular!
Jim came and picked me up with all the girls in tow. We found their moms on the walk and tears of joy were had all around. That was the first time they knew I was going home. At least they had a little joy with seeing their daughters. When I got home, I lost it. I cried uncontrollably while Jim and Lauren held me and told me how proud they were.
I showered, braced my foot, and took medicine.
The next day I explained to all the girls just what happened as they were confused. I worked with the girls to make signs to hold up as their moms came close to the finish line. My husband had washed my Belmont Babes Team shirt so I could wear it to walk across the finish line with my Team. I did that with my Teammate Tara (who called in a friend to help her walk the last six miles), her son (who is on crutches), my daughter (who has a cast on her arm), and me with my big brace on the ankle and foot. We were a sight to see. The crowds cheered for us.
In the end, I didn't walk the full 60 miles but my Team and I raised close to $14,000 for help find a cure. We experienced the camaraderie of a lifetime for a cause like no other. It was amazing. BFF ~ 'Breast Friends Forever' was the statement coined by Holly for her Teammates. Cleverly perfect.
Would I ever do the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure again ~ you betcha!!! ~ as a member of the crew. I already researched where to get a stunning pink tutu.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
The Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure ~ An Experience of a Lifetime
Posted by Paula Grace Designs at 12:02 PM 2 comments Links to this post
Labels: Koman Walk
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
September Newsletter Hot Off the Presses!
Here's the lastest news on Paula Grace Designs, Inc. at work and at home.
Posted by Paula Grace Designs at 8:56 PM 1 comments Links to this post
Labels: newsletter
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
In a recent paper, Alaka Holla and Michael Kremer appear to resolve this controversial issue by surveying findings of a series of randomized evaluations. They conclude that user fees in health and education do reduce access. On page 33 of their 45-page paper, they mention that they have not looked at the impact of user fees on provider incentives. Yet this may be the crux of the debate. Everyone would be in favor of lowering or eliminating user fees if we could be sure that poor people would receive the services. But for various reasons having to do with government failures, the subsidies needed to ensure that these services are provided either don't arrive or don't provide sufficient incentives for providers to even show up for work. Poor people, desperate to get their children educated or treated in clinics, pay user fees out of necessity. We should be working on overcoming these government failures so that lowering user fees will, in fact, lead to better access and quality services.
Do user fees increase or decrease access to basic services?
We publish a business newspaper in Nigeria, Business Hallmark... I have followed your blog with interest. Your article, "A fiscal stimulus for Africa in particular made an interesting reading. We will appreciate it if you could write for us as a colunmist weekly. We would willingly pay an honorarium for your service. And more importantly millions of Nigerian readers will be enriched by your experience.
It is true "user fees decrease access to basic services". We all understand that about 90% of Africans live on less than $1 a day and it is common knowledge that the same population rely on substance farming. It is also well documented that 88% of most African GDP rely on agriculture and needless to say most of the people who can pay most of these services are unemployed or those who are employed their income can not support them to access such services. For example a study conducted by Americans in Uganda in the last half of 2007 found that 75% of Ugandans dont have access to appropriate health care and there was a high percentage of pupil drop out in schools which requested to contribute towards their primary education. With all these it is common knolwedge that user fees have impact on the access of basic services for people in Africa. Therefore there is a need to investigate other ways of improving access to services or in other words investigate ways of putting money in peoples pockets to enable them pay for such services.
I got a bit confused by your entry on user fees and access to basic services. If user fees have been found to reduce access, why go along with them? The basic idea of user fees, if I am not mistaken, was actually to increase the incentives for users to hold service providers accountable. The decrease in access means the strategy is not working. I haven't read the paper you base your comments on, but it seems you argue for user fees as the only feasible strategy even though this strategy leads to a worse outcome for the poor than having free access. Why have user fees if they tax the poor AND decrease access to basic services? It seems you place more emphasis on a theoretical modelling of democratic accountability than on access to health and education.
Hello. In my honest opinion user fees are very important in any field of service including education and health care. People working in the social sector should be funded not exclusively from the state budget. Also, this can condition (but not guarantee) the quality of services. As for the poor, they should be subsidized by the state and have the benefits, up to providing basic services to them for free.
Education is very important This is why I got my degree and i made sure if everything is honest and truthful The population is getting sick people are dying in silance without any care on the responsibility of Health Education

subset: commoncrawl


text:
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — Performing monkeys are a common feature of life in many Pakistani cities where they can be seen doing tricks and entertaining people while dressed up in sparkly outfits and clothes.
For Pakistanis who raise and train the monkeys they are an important source of income in an impoverished country, and they form a strong bond with the animals. The monkeys are usually captured in the wild when they are babies and then trained. A trained monkey can fetch 20,000 to 30,000 rupees ($190 to $285).
One such trainer Ataullah Niazi, 46, owns three monkeys that he says he loves like they are his own children. His monkey can make around 500 rupees (about $5) a day, which helps him feed his family of eight. He's been doing this type of work since he was 11 years old.
It takes at least three months to train a monkey to dance, salute, shake hands and perform the other tricks needed, Niazi said. Usually the owners go to the northwestern Swat Valley or the town of Murree, outside of Islamabad, to find the babies.
But animal rights activists criticize the practice of training monkeys to perform.
"This is a sheer violation of wildlife laws," said Atif Yaqub, an official at the Pakistan Wildlife Foundation. He said the monkeys are often abused by trainers who beat them with a stick during their training and put a rope around their neck so they don't run away.
Here is a selection of photos of trained monkeys by Associated Press photographer Muhammed Muheisen.
Follow AP photographers and photo editors on Twitter: http://apne.ws/15Oo6jo.
Follow Muhammed Muheisen on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Muheisen81.


text:
Search terms
Wired notebook mouse
The elegant curves of this notebook mouse make it easy to clean. The accuracy is equally impressive, with 800DPI and a high definition precision optical sensor guaranteeing you smooth, pinpoint tracking without any maintenance ever. See all benefits
Unfortunately this product is no longer available
Philips optical technology ensures extra accuracy and responsiveness. You can work with it on most surfaces, including wood, plastic or paper.
With 800DPI, this mouse provides accurate reactions. The cursor will move exactly where you want it. It's all thanks to the high-definition optical sensor that registers even the smallest movements. Giving you complete cursor control.
This mouse features a high gloss surface which can be wiped clean much more easily than normal mice. While the smooth design does not collect dirt, so you can enjoy the touch of it even more.


text:
Mar 25, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Cool ride, but wheres the sound clip?
Feb 8, 2008 at 8:46 am
I still think your nuts for getting rid of the SLPs but hey if you are going to do anything more to the exhaust they can get kinda loud. Well, louder.
Feb 3, 2008 at 5:41 pm
great ride


text:
Ribery will take some beating imo
Ribery will take some beating imo
Needs to grow a chin, among other things. I know, he can have some of Bastian's
Hehe @ Ronaldo. It's funny to see a supposed "star" with acne.
How could anyone overlook Tevez
CWXI Regular - Member of CW Black
Blacks ftw
Greatest monobrow since Maggie's enemy baby off the Simpsons.
Tevez came to mind straight away...
How could we forget Ronaldinho?
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson = Greatest Ever Manager
"One from ten leaves zero." - Eric Williams, former T&T PM
Member of Cricket Web Green
Member of Northside Power
R.I.P Fardin Qayyumi
Im with Xavier, this guys has that much money why are his teeth so bad....Originally Posted by roseboy64
Agreed.Originally Posted by Xuhaib
Rooney, Ribery and Tevez were both involved in horrific accidents as children, Rooney's excuse?
Ronaldo wouldn't be a contender for best looking footballer.
Unfortunatly he seems to get into the sack with some very nice looking women
He puts Shane Warne to shame.
And is multi-lingul.
Ronaldo >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Shane Warne
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)


text:
When applicants successfully fulfill the requirements for any of the identified categories, they become eligible for an Emerald Award Certificate. Emerald Award Certificate recipients have their names and addresses placed on the Emerald Award website and receive beneficial advertisement recognizing their achievements. See past certificate winners
At the end of each calendar year, all Emerald Award Certificate recipients' applications are reviewed, and the recipients that excel in each category are selected for an Emerald Award Trophy. The Emerald Award Trophy winners are invited to attend an award ceremony and reception. At the Emerald Award Trophy Ceremony, an Environmental Business of the Year Emerald Award is issued to the one recipient who has excelled in efforts to protect the environment.
Environmental Business of the Year
Environmental Business of the Year for 2009
Hamilton Sundstrand Worldwide Repair Miramar
Categories affecting climate change GHG Emission Goals Actual GHG Emissions Non-GHG Emissions - Priority 12,295 pounds 0 Non-GHG Air Emissions - Other 3,285 pounds 1,292 pounds GHG Emissions of Carbon Dioxide Equivalance(from electricity) 1,873 tonnes e CO2 1,368 tonnes eCO2
Environmental Business of the Year for 2008
For more information contact:Diana Dobin, Senior Vice PresidentValley Forge Fabrics, Inc.2981 Gateway Dr.Pompano Beach, FL 33069954 971-1776
Email: email@example.com Web Site: www.valleyforge.com
Environmental Business of the Year, Valley Forge Fabrics, Inc. representatives accept the trophy from Mayor Stacy Ritter, District 3. From left: Ken Koeck, Public Relations Manager; Judy Dobin, Executive Vice President; Diana Dobin, Senior Vice President; and Daniel Dobin, President
Business Size: LargeNature of Business: Valley Forge Fabrics, founded in 1977 is a privately held; family owned and operated company in Pompano Beach. They are the largest producer of decorative fabrics for the hospitality industry. They have offices in Dubai, Italy, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Australia. All fabrics sold by Valley Forge are designed for use in the hospitality and commercial industry. Each textile exceeds ACT (Association of Contract Textiles) standards for their specific end uses.
As part of their sustainability initiative, they created a line of fabrics called FRESH - Fabrics Redefining Environmental Standards for Hospitality. FRESH products are made from 100% post-consumer recycled polyester - from PET plastic beverage bottles. Due to the company's strict adherence to their own performance standards (which are substantially higher than the industry expectations as well as ACT requirements), the fabrics will perform at their premium for longer than the expected 5-7 years for upholstery and 18-24 months for bedding. Longevity is a major tenant of sustainability and an important part of the life cycle view. Virgin polyester which has been the fiber of choice for the hospitality industry, for its performance qualities, is derived from petroleum. Recycle symbol 1 plastic/ PET/plastic bottles are also derived from petroleum. The decision to make polyester for FRESH bedding from used plastic bottles saves precious natural resources. Just as vital, Valley Forge finds a home (not a landfill) for plastic bottles that are discarded by consumers. Due to the amount of product Valley Forge manufactures - millions of yards annually - the savings of petroleum is very substantial.
In addition, there is substantial resource savings in the manufacturing process itself when compared to more traditional non-recycled polyester products. The yarn costs for recycled fibers are more expensive than non-recycled material. Valley Forge is committed to taking very small margins to keep the price points competitive and further the use of these products through its worldwide distribution. Other products in the FRESH line include an innovative award-winning fiber from Eucalyptus blended with Cotton bedding product. The environmental story for the Valley Forge LIVING FRESH Eucalyptus product is magnified by the fabulous hand and high end appeal. Valley Forge also is the only textile company to date with and established reclamation program for their customers to use to recycle the fabrics at the end of their use. Until the FRESH program, hotels never had a way to recycle fabric. By recycling FRESH fabrics, Valley Forge will literally save millions of pounds of waste from entering landfills each year. The USGBC's LEED certification green building program is recognized as the paramount guideline of environmental building protocol in the USA. FRESH products may contribute towards LEED points under various LEED systems. As sustainable technology continues to improve, Valley Forge is working with engineers and chemists to continue to innovate in the area of textile sustainability
Other ways that Valley Forge Fabrics is showing environmental responsibility:
For more information contact:Wilson McQueen, VP MarketingCyclone Power Technologies, Inc.601 NE 26 CourtPompano Beach, FL 33064954-943-8721Web Site: www.cyclonepower.comEmail: firstname.lastname@example.com Size: Small
Nature of Business: Cyclone Power Technologies, Inc. is a research and development company with more than 68 patents, including patents for the development of the Green Revolution Engine and the Waste Heat Engine.
Cyclone Technologies' environmental achievements include:
Cyclone is in late stage development for the 3 hp engine that will go into push lawn mowers, to be consumer ready by 2010.
Cyclone engines can run on any liquid or gaseous fuel, including ethanol, bio-diesel, and propane (same engine with no changes). In fact, Cyclone has successfully tested its engine on fuels made from the peels of Florida-grown oranges.
Cyclone is in late stage development of the three horsepower (hp) engine that will go into push lawn mowers, and expects to be ready for consumer use by 2010.
Back to top
Cylinder Head ExchangeFor more information, contact:Frank Bencivenga, President/Owner2881 W. Prospect RoadFt Lauderdale, FL 33309Phone: 954-733-7766Fax: 954-733-9992Email: email@example.com
From left: District 9, Mayor Josephus Eggelletion, Jr., Kay Sommers (BC EPD), Frank Bencivenga (President/Owner of Cylinder Head Exchange), and District 7 Commissioner John E. Rodstrom, Jr
Environmental Accomplishments:
Imperial Point Medical Center
For more information, contact:Steve Fredrickson6401 N. Federal HighwayFt Lauderdale, FL 33308Phone: 954-776-8690Fax: 954-776-8848Email: email@example.com
Web Site: http://www.browardhealth.org/
Business Size: Large
Nature of Business: Acute Care Hospital
City of Deerfield Beach Public Works
For additional information contact:Cheryl Miller, Recycling Specialist210 Goolsby Blvd.Deerfield Beach, FL 33442954-480-4454Fax: 954-480-4393
Nature of business:City Recycling Division
Uniweld Products Inc.
- Large Business (16 or more employees)David S. Pearl, II, Executive Vice President
For additional information, contact:Janet Beets, Director, Human Resources2850 Ravenswood RoadFt Lauderdale, FL 33312-4994954-584-2000Fax: email@example.com
Nature of Business: Manufacturer of U.S. made welding apparatus, refrigeration tools, accessories, pressure gauges and alloys.
Sea Stone Group - Small Business(15 or less employees)Barbara Zigann, President521 NW 1 AvenueFt Lauderdale, FL 33301954-522-7866Fax: email@example.com
Nature of business: Exterior and Interior Flooring Manufacturer
ABB AutomationGail Gonnam, Human Resources Manager4300 Coral Ridge DriveCoral Springs, FL 33065954-752-6700Fax: email@example.com
Nature of Business: Manufacturer of Protective Relays
Download an Emerald Award Application Click here (PDF 110 KB) for Emerald Award application.
Download a NatureScape Broward Application Click here (PDF 126 KB) for NatureScape Broward application.
Required Plug-ins: Adobe® Reader®


text:
Shop-built Disc Sander
Keep your lathe from loafing between jobs with this easy-to-make, inexpensive disc sander.
By Ernie Conover
Pages: 44- 47
From the December 2011 issue #194
Buy the issue now
Disc sanders are invaluable for anyone working with small parts, such as toymakers, instrument builders, model makers and turners doing segmented work. In fact, any shop will find the machine well worth having.
Your wood lathe provides an ideal platform for a shop-built disc sander that won't cost you more than $50 and a few hours of shop time. Your lathe's bed provides a rock-solid platform for the table, and the headstock and spindle powers the rotary action. An added benefit is variable speed, a feature that dedicated machines don't offer. You can adapt the sander size and capacity to the swing of your lathe. Even a mini-lathe will allow a 10″-diameter sanding disc.
VIDEO: Watch Ernie as he works on the details of the disc sander.
WEB SITE: Read about Conover Workshops, Ernie's school.
TO BUY: Ernie's latest book, "The Frugal Woodworker" (Fox Chapel) from which this story is excerpted. Available in mid-2012.
IN OUR STORE: Want to learn the fundamentals of turning? Get our video "Turning Basics for Furniture Makers.
From the December 2011 issue #194
Buy the issue now


text: A series of supersize flight cases locked up at night and re-opened the next morning to reveal notebooks, journals, bags, pens, digital device accessories and cases. All around flight announcements, suitcases being wheeled around and the jingle of leftover currency create a symphony of sounds that soundtrack our thoughts. This is how the Moleskine Store at Heathrow Terminal 4 is constructed.


text:
Maybe it is time to upgrade the forum?
I also vote for a forum upgrade!
Two possible forums are currently being tested.Mowcius
There is no convertor for YaBB 2.1 to phpBB.
It's coming soon
I assumed that you was involved due to the comments you made in this thread, sorry about that.According to the following thread (ID 7) in Google Code the new Forum as i read it should have launched about the 1. of December http://code.google.com/p/arduino-web/issues


text:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The World Bank has set a goal of eliminating extreme poverty around the world over the next 17 years.
The World Bank's policy committee on Saturday approved a proposal to establish the goal of eliminating extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $1.25 per day, by 2030. The World Bank estimates that there are still 1.2 billion people living in extreme poverty with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for more than one-third of the world's extreme poor.
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim told reporters at a closing news conference that setting a goal of eliminating extreme poverty was, in his words, "an historic moment" for the world.
Kim says a world without poverty is no longer a dream and that they have set an expiration date.


text:
The Summer Comedy Boom
From apocalyptic demons to raunchy cops and Google interns, a new wave of comedies is rewriting the rules of Hollywood's high season.
This summer, Superman will save the world from the machinations of evil Kryptonian overlord General Zod. But first, Seth Rogen—playing himself—will smoke weed, renounce gluten and run from a smoldering CGI demon resembling a naked man.
"We could potentially make our whole [$30 million] budget back before 'Superman' even opens," says Mr. Rogen, whose comedy, called "This Is the End" (June 12), opens two days before the DC Comics hero storms the multiplex. "We have a much smaller target."...


text:
garylisk wrote:Here's the only things I ask of you all -
Secrecy - Don't tell people what you are doing. Let's keep it a surprise so it's fresh when it gets released.
Beta Deadline - I need to at least see a beta of your video by November 11th.
Final Deadline - The final deadline, when you need to have your videos into me by, is November 25th.
I lie.
Something has been brought to my attention by a beta being sent to me in a particular video format.
OK, so, you can send me your betas in whatever format ya want, but your final versions of your videos MUST be in one of the following formats...
Registered PICVideo Lossless MJPEG
Quant1 XviD
That list is also more or less the order of preference, Lagarith being most preferred.
How would you get such large video files to me?
Easy. Just put them in a sectioned rar and use YouSendIt.com.
ALternately, you could mail the files to me via the postal service on CD or DVD.
Lastly, if neither of those options work for you, I can arrange for you to access an FTP and upload to it, but this is the absolute last thing we would try.


text:
The Name Of Jesus - Part 4 - Apostle Fred Price Sr. - Audio Download
Although every Christian has been made a new creation in Christ and has been taken out of the authority of Satan's kingdom, still live in a world that is dominated and controlled by him. Consequently, we need to have a way of circumventing the negative influence in the earth realm as a result of Satan's dominion over the systems of the earth.
In the teaching Dr. Price illustrates why we need the name of Jesus and the weight it carries.
The name of Jesus is the entrance to a secure area where believers can live the overcoming victorious life.
James 1:2 says, "count it all joy when you fall into various trials..." It is faith in the name of Jesus that gains the believer victory through every trial, test or temptation that Satan brings.
Jesus has delegated to the church the same authority He had in the earth realm (Matthew 28:18).


text:
Dec 31, 2012
For those who are all about swords, and magic spells cast from swords, then Spellsword, Everplay and Fire Fruit Forge's arena-based action-RPG brought to Android by Miniclip, is worth seeing.
Spellsword takes a bit of a different spin on the traditional Super Crate Box formula – which really needs to arrive on Android proper at some point, not just via PlayStation Mobile – by making magic cards the item to be constantly picking up. These cards all have different effects, like summoning fireballs, poisoning enemies, or shooting out ice shards. They're also far more powerful than the plain vanilla sword is, so collecting them is key. Success is defined by more than just card collection though, as there are plenty of enemies to take down. They drop rupees, which can be spent on upgrades to make the cards better, and items for increasing health or modifying stats. There's a secondary dragon coin currency that also appears periodically which is used to buy certain other items.
The game's two-pronged structure works well for it. Mission mode does well to introduce players to new elements, as well as providing short bursts of challenge to tackle. Meanwhile, endless mode serves as the culmination of those efforts: a chance to put one's skills to the test in the three arenas, with three difficulties each. The two modes also inform each other: endless mode hands out a lot more rupees, but the best way to unlock new cards and content is by progressing through mission mode, so balancing out the two is necessary. The pixel art is very colorful, and character armor can be viewed on the characters themselves when equipped. The soundtrack is particularly memorable as well; the songs are basic but I found them sticking in my head long after playing.
Spellsword is not most the intricately-assembled game ever. There's a lot of slowdown on newer devices. The game doesn't really inform the player of when they have taken damage. The Nexus 7 controls are a bit too big perhaps to be comfortable for most; I felt like they were usable but I would prefer less thumb stretching.
For those looking for a great pick-up-and-play arena brawler with enough RPG elements to satisfy long-term desire, then Soellsword is a must-have free download.


text:
Event Timetable
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
|Enterprise Architecture Driven Business Innovation
|Registration and Networking
|Plenary Session: Enterprise Architecture Driven Business Innovation
Enterprise Transformation and the Role of Open StandardsAllen Brown, President & CEO, The Open Group
Allen Brown is President and CEO of The Open Group – a global consortium that enables the achievement of business objectives through IT standards. He is also President of the Association of Enterprise Architects (AEA).
For over 10 years Allen has been responsible for driving The Open Group's strategic plan and day-to-day operations, including extending its reach into new global markets, such as China, the Middle East, South Africa and India. In addition, he was instrumental in the creation of the AEA, which was formed to increase job opportunities for all of its members and elevate their market value by advancing professional excellence.
Prior to joining The Open Group, Allen Brown held a range of senior financial and general management roles both within his own consulting firm, which he founded in 1987, and other multi-national organizations.
Allen is TOGAF® 9 certified, an MBA alumnus of the London Business School and a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
e-Bharath 2020: Proposed Future National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) of Action (2013 - 2020)Chivukula Sree Rama Prabhu, Deputy Director General, National Informatics Centre (NIC),
e-Bharath 2020: Proposed Future National e-Governance Plan (NeGP 2.0) of Action (2013 - 2020)
Chivukula Sree Rama Prabhu, Deputy Director General, National Informatics Centre (NIC), Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, New Delhi
The central theme of future NeGP 2.0. will be Process Reform and Reengineering of Govt. After major Process Reform, SOA based Web Services can be identified for life cycle events of citizens which can then be implemented as the future e-governance grid and cloud of India, deploying the Enterprise Architecture for all major initiatives.
The proposed new NeGP 2.0 gives a Vision as eBharath 2020 comprising important steps as Needs Analysis, based on Surveys, followed by large scale project planning for m-governance and m-services, all based on the ubiquitous mobile phones in all service sectors and commerce such as m-Health, m-Education, Rural e-Commerce as m-Gram Bazaar (linking rural producers with urban consumers).
Chivukula Sree Rama Prabhu is Deputy Director General (Scientist "G"), National Informatics Centre (NIC), New Delhi (Ministry of Communications and Information Technology) obtained his Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering with specialization in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in 1978 after a Bachelors Degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad in 1976. He has worked in various capacities at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), CMC, TES and TELCO (now Tata Motors) before joining NIC.
Current Assignments:
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, New Delhi
Improving the Measurement and Communication of Information Security RiskJim Hietala, VP Security, The Open Group
Improving the Measurement and Communication of Information Security Risk
Jim Hietala, VP Security, The Open Group
Risk analysis has grown to be a critical function in enterprises. As organizations are confronted with a confusing array of threats, gaining a more precise understanding of which risks are the most serious ones to address is important. This talk will explore common challenges in risk analysis, including measurement of risk, cognitive biases that inhibit effective analysis of risk and communication on risk with senior executives. It will also discuss popular risk management frameworks and how they deal with these topics.
The Open Group published our Risk Taxonomy Standard, based upon FAIR (Factor Analysis for Information Risk) several years ago to address the need for a standardized taxonomy in risk analysis. We have also now published a companion Risk Analysis Standard, and have launched a new risk analyst certification program. The talk will provide an overview of these standards, and how they address the issues of risk measurement and communication.
Jim Hietala is Vice President, Security for The Open Group, where he manages all security and risk management programs and standards activities. He holds several security and risk certifications including CISSP, GSEC, and Open FAIR Foundation. Jim is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, and he recently authored a comprehensive course on IT risk management. He participates in the SANS Analyst/Expert program, having written several research whitepapers and participated in several webcasts for SANS. He has also published numerous articles on information security, risk management, and compliance topics in publications including The ISSA Journal, Bank Accounting & Finance, Risk Factor, SC Magazine, and others. A security & risk industry veteran, he has held leadership roles at security vendors including ControlPath, Avail Networks, Alternative Technologies, eSoft, Qwest, Concentric Network, and Digital Pathways. He holds a B.S. in Marketing from Southern Illinois University.
Put EA in the Driver Seat to Deliver Value and Innovate: Now or Never!Raman Johar, Director of EA, Enterprise Strategy & Architecture COE, Microsoft, US
Put EA in the Driver Seat to Deliver Value and Innovate: Now or Never!
Raman Johar, Director of EA, Enterprise Strategy & Architecture COE, Microsoft, US
Enterprise Architecture teams often struggle to deliver value let alone drive business innovation. Often EA teams get caught up in setting technology standards and policing ongoing initiatives. EA teams find it hard to balance between tactical and strategic focus and many times fail to become relevant to IT and business.
In this session we look at how EA teams can lead from the front to establish focus on innovation and drive tangible business results. We use a backdrop of current business and technology trends to make a case for change by using language that business can understand. We review a set of proactive activities that EA teams need to do now to enable technology driven innovation and provide competitive advantage to their business. We discuss real life case studies and lessons learned so that attendees and their EA
Key takeaways:
• Put EA in the driver's seat to focus on business innovation - play a leadership role in enabling and driving change
Mr. Raman Johar is Director of EA, Enterprise Strategy & Architecture COE, Consulting Services Business at Microsoft. Mr. Johar has over 23 years of IT consulting & Enterprise Architecture experience with proven ability to develop and implement IT strategy and roadmaps and establish EA function by working closely with business and IT executives at multiple US and global clients.
|Panel Discussion
|13.15 - 14.00
|Open Platform 3.0
|Enterprise Architecture
Platform 3.0 in the light of Enterprise ArchitectureGautam Bhat, Chief Architect, IBM India Pvt Ltd
Platform 3.0 in the light of Enterprise Architecture
Gautam Bhat, Chief Architect, IBM India Pvt Ltd
UNIX provided a standard platform for applications on a single computer Servers, PCs. Internet provided a second platform for web applications and services. For the present Enterprise Architecture, the need of the hour is a third platform to support applications and services that use cloud, social, mobile computing, big data, and the Internet of Things.
With the advent of strategic changes in business initiatives, the Enterprise Architecture is expected to undergo a drastic transformation. The change in customer base requires architecting across multiple systems and exploring the platform capability through multiple workloads. IDC predicts that worldwide IT spending will exceed $2.1 trillion in 2013, up 5.7% from 2012. Smart mobile devices will generate more than 50% of this growth from 2013 through 2020, a combination of social cloud, mobile, and big data technologies will drive around 90% of all the growth in the IT market (the "third platform"). These technologies cannot be deployed in standard products and services using today's technology platforms.
Each of the themes - Big Data, Social, Mobile and Cloud has to finally fall into the scope of a single overall Enterprise Architecture. Enterprises should be able to create, evolve, adopt and use solutions based on current and future emerging technologies to achieve business value. These solutions must Enable Boundary less Information Flow, allow users to mix and match technologyproducts and services, support the business innovations that enterprises want to make, including changes in the style of business operations. The best way to achieve this is by uniting/merging all these 4 independent facets into one and Platform 3.0 is just that.
This presentation will provide business cases and its applicability to Platform 3.0 and what do the clients feel and think about it. Finally we conclude by summarizing the discussion and touching upon Platform 3.0's fitment into new era of Enterprise Architecture.
Key takeaways:
-- Assists technologists and business people in understanding Platform 3.0 vision of Boundaryless Information Flow by helping enterprises to use Cloud, Social, and Mobile Computing, and Big Data.
-- Enables organizations to identify a set of new platform capabilities and architecting and standardizing an IT platform by which enterprises can reap their business benefits.
Gautam K Bhat is an Open Group Distinguished IT Specialist and is the Professions Lead for India. Gautam is a Chief Architect for GTS contract in IBM and has trained and coached three MQ batches of Middleware Center of Excellence (CoE) for GTS-SD in India in the appointed role of Global SME. Gautam also provides Subject Matter Expertize support for various USA and EMEA clients. Gautam has several product certifications to his credit namely SCJP, SCWCD, SCBCD, WMQ Administration, WMB Administration and SOA Associate and is an active member of Open Group projects - SOA Certification and Platform 3.0
Role of Enterprise Architecture in creating a Globally Integrated EnterpriseRajiv Phougat, Americas Architect Profession Leader - S&D and Client Technical Advisor, IBM
Role of Enterprise Architecture in creating a Globally Integrated Enterprise
Rajiv Phougat, Americas Architect Profession Leader - S&D and Client Technical Advisor, IBM
A globally integrated enterprise operates with one set of processes, shared services and broadly distributed decision making, carried out by a highly skilled global workforce managed by a common set of values. My presentation will focus on what is the role of Enterprise Architecture and creating a globally integrated enterprise. I will be sharing the best practices for IT organizations on how to enable such a transformation using EA. I will focus on the following key areas:
Multiple cases studies including one for IBM will be used as examples of best practices/success patterns & anti-patterns
Key takeaways:
Rajiv Phougat is a Technology Executive at IBM, USA, who is charged with creating and maintaining trusted relationships with Technical and Business decision makers for a strategic transformational account. Rajiv helps drive technology and operational innovation across the account and oversees strategic partnership; technical solution proposals; the integration of various IBM capabilities; deliver integrated and persuasive architectural thought leadership; and the alignment of account strategy with client's business/IT strategy. Rajiv is also Americas Architect Profession Leader for IBM's Sales & Distribution business unit and in this role he helps cultivate the world-class architects & technical leaders.
Analysis of Evolving Needs of Business Intelligence and its Role in Enterprise ArchitectureShobhna Bansal, Analytics, Big Data and Information Management Center of Excellence, HiTech ISU, TCS, India
Analysis of Evolving Needs of Business Intelligence and its Role in Enterprise Architecture
Shobhna Bansal, Analytics, Big Data and Information Management Center of Excellence, HiTech ISU, TCS, India
A Business Intelligence system is indispensable for enterprises. It has matured from being an application in the Enterprise Architecture, which provides insights from enterprise applications & data, to a more significant role of being the backbone of the enterprise to drive new business, solve business problems with agility thus engaging the customers. The enterprise are continuously trying to devise new means to transform their customers experience with their product and services thus wanting to create a competitive differentiator for themselves. Today's customer is connected and the data generated on internet carries an invaluable wealth of information for an organization. The maturity of mobile devices, adoption of social supported by enabler such as cloud and big data makes it compulsory for enterprises to give thought to BI architecture design for important considerations like unified integration architecture and data governance. Without a well-planned BI architecture, enterprises tend to fall into the trap of building silos of inconsistent data hosted on fragmented architectures which results in uninformed decisions leading to lost opportunities. An enterprise approach to BI can help in fully leveraging internal and extended enterprise information, enhances with social data and delivers superior insights to decision makers.
The aim of this paper is to analyse needs of new age BI, its architecture and its importance in enterprise architecture definition in the digital enterprise of today.
Key takeaways:
-- The growing importance of BI in today's digital enterprise,
Shobhna Bansal has been associated with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for more than 14 years. During the course of her term with TCS, she has worked on various BI projects spanning data integration, architecture, modeling and analysis. She is currently working as a solution architect with enterprise solutions group in TCS and has been involved in consulting and solution development for various industry verticals.Shobhna holds a Bachelors degree in Technology (B.Tech.) in Electrical Engineering from NIT, Kurukshetra.
EA in the Developing Economies of AsiaVish Viswanathan, Managing Principal, C C and C Solutions, Australia
EA in the Developing Economies of Asia
Vish Viswanathan, Managing Principal, C C and C Solutions, Australia
EA has several challenges and very different drivers in the developing economies of Asia, as against advance economies where the baggage of legacy systems and processes are the greatest concerns. This presentation will outline real life EA experiences in Mongolia and Brunei with EA powered by TOGAF. It will draw parallels between India and other developing economies in Asia leading to a SWOT analysis .
Vish Viswanathan is an internationally reputed EA consultant, trainer, advisor and implementation program manager. He is result oriented and well known for his strategic and analytical abilities. With a broad and extensive experience in IT services, strategy, new business set up and new technology solutions and products, he is a well rounded and complete Enterprise Architecture professional, bringing all of his 35 years of IT experience into the EA practice focusing on delivering excellent business value to several Fortune 500 customers globally. Prior to CC&C, Vish held senior executive positions with IBM and Fujitsu in India, Australia, Japan and Singapore.
Enterprise Gamification - An approach for Social Business TransformationJitendra Maan, Tata Consultancy Services Limited, India
Enterprise Gamification - An approach for Social Business Transformation
Jitendra Maan, Tata Consultancy Services Limited, India
Being an emerging business practice, enterprise gamification is going to the mainstream to enable and transform social business initiatives across enterprises. With the consis-tent focus on customer behavior and experience, there is a paradigm shift in thinking about how Gamification and Social business initiatives together help to increase the engagement level of knowledge worker, yielding better business results. Business scenarios for gamification are wide spread ranging from customer service and support to communities and collaboration. The Paper discusses the characteristics & mechanism to learn from games that are important for businesses to understand and apply. It also gives insights on gamification trends, real-world business challenges and also describes on how game thinking can revolutionize the business and create an engaging experience.
Key takeaways:
a. Enterprise Gamification - Key trends,real-world business challenges
Jitendra Maan, a versatile IT professional with 17+ years of wide spectrum of experience across various domains in IT Industry and he is currently working in a leading role to drive Social Computing Center of Excellence in HiTech ISU with a focus to position Social Computing Solutions and Offerings to address customer needs. Jitendra practices technology consulting, enterprise architecture and evangelizes Social initiatives within TCS and has successfully delivered technology solutions for globally distributed clientele.
Jitendra has shared thought leadership as a speaker in various international conferences/forums including WiMoA/ ICCSEA, NeCoM and others. Jitendra has also published paper in various international AIRCC (Academy and Industrial Research Collaboration Center) journals and he is also a member to professional bodies like PMA (Project Management Associates), IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,Computer Society of India (CSI) Delhi Chapter, AEA Community.
Jitendra is also certified in Project Management (CIPM) by the Project Management Associates (PMA), India and he has successfully achieved the standards of TOGAF 8 Certification program.
Architecting Agility: End to EndSuresh Done, President, SNA Technologies, US
Architecting Agility: End to End
Suresh Done, President, SNA Technologies, US
In today's dynamic business environment, change is perpetual. Projects can be complex with uncertain outcomes and goals can change over time. Success of any business depends largely on its ability to adapt quickly to changing market scenario. No wonder, more and more organizations are trying to be agile, but that agility is only limited to some areas like implementation. For any organization to be really agile - end-to-end, agility has to be incorporated in planning, implementation and operations. In this presentation, Suresh will demonstrate why agility is so important and how enterprises can be architected to adopt agility in productive and cost effective ways right from planning to execution and operation. Suresh will also demonstrate how different frameworks like TOGAF, COBIT, ITIL and Program/Project Management can be customized to make the organizations agile 'end-to-end'.
Suresh Done has more than 23 years of experience in IT and Engineering. Suresh is a TOGAF® 9 certified Enterprise Architect, TOGAF Evangelist and practitioner. Suresh is a registered TOGAF certification trainer. Suresh had provided TOGAF training and certified several Enterprise Architects and IT professionals across the world. He has provided Enterprise Architecture consulting services to major companies in Automotive, Health and Retail Industries. Suresh had done research on Agility, Innovation and complexity.
Suresh Done is the Co-Founder of AOGEA Michigan Chapter (http://aogea-michigan.org) and Chairman since its inception. He led the chapter to a great success with his vision and leadership skills. AOGEA Michigan chapter very soon became the largest chapter of all the AOGEA chapters.
|IT Security | Risk Management
|Enterprise Architecture
Overview of Open FAIR Certification for Risk AnalystsJim Hietala, VP Security, The Open Group
Overview of Open FAIR Certification for Risk Analysts
Jim Hietala, VP Security, The Open Group
This talk will describe the new Open Group FAIR Certification for People Program. Information will be provided to allow risk analysts, and the organizations employing them, to understand the value of this certification program. Details on the body of knowledge will be provided, as well as an overview of how to apply for and test for certification. In addition, the opportunity for information security training organizations to become accredited trainers for the Open FAIR program will be discussed as well.
Jim Hietala is Vice President, Security for The Open Group, where he manages all security and risk management programs and standards activities. He holds several security and risk certifications including CISSP, GSEC, and Open FAIR Foundation. Jim is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, and he recently authored a comprehensive course on IT risk management. He participates in the SANS Analyst/Expert program, having written several research whitepapers and participated in several webcasts for SANS. He has also published numerous articles on information security, risk management, and compliance topics in publications including The ISSA Journal, Bank Accounting & Finance, Risk Factor, SC Magazine, and others. A security & risk industry veteran, he has held leadership roles at security vendors including ControlPath, Avail Networks, Alternative Technologies, eSoft, Qwest, Concentric Network, and Digital Pathways. He holds a B.S. in Marketing from Southern Illinois University.
Adopting TOGAF® to develop Winning ProposalsNagendra Vijaya Kumar Khaderabad, Lead Architect, Tata Consultancy Services, India
Adopting TOGAF® to develop Winning Proposals
Nagendra Vijaya Kumar Khaderabad, Lead Architect, Tata Consultancy Services, India
In general, several architects use TOGAF® to create the architecture during the full cycle of project implementation. However, companies are required to provide business centric solutions for large complex transformational deals during the proposal development stage. The overall architecture needs to be articulated as part of the proposal response and also to be presented to the customer during the evaluation phase.
This presentation brings unique experiences of how TOGAF can be applied during the proposal development stages and the advantages it brings through defining a suitable architecture. The presenter brings the best practices in adopting TOGAF ADM during the bid development for large nationwide, transformational programs in the Government sector. Using TOGAF helps in creating architecture, meeting various stakeholders objectives and can bring unique selling proposition to the proposals. TOGAF helps in creating value to the customers and helps in articulating how the architecture will enable the value creation.
Leveraging TOGAF ADM, one can address how architecture enables the customer to achieve their vision and goals in the proposal. Using Phase B, the architects can present the business architecture covering business processes, services and functions and how they deliver the business goals and objectives. Leveraging the Phase C, the architects can identify the common applications and prepare a high level data architecture during the proposal development. In Phase D: Technology Architecture, the architects can detail the software architecture, hardware architecture, network architecture, security architecture etc. ADM also helps in explaining how the non-functional requirements such as availability, scalability, response time etc. can be articulated in the proposal response. ADM also helps the architects in making decisions such as build vs. buy, re-using blocks from the architecture continuum, technology section, reducing the total cost of operations etc. The check point reviews embedded into the proposal reviews.
Architecture definition through TOGAF can become enabler in winning the sale.
Key takeaways:
1. TOGAF ADM as enabler for sale
2. Establish TOGAF as standard architecture development method during the proposal development stage.
Nagendra Vijaya Kumar Khaderabad (Vijaya) brings 23 years of experiences in the IT industry in software development, architecture, account management, sales & business development and bid management.
Vijaya has played the role of Lead Architect for some of the important projects in TCS. Vijaya has been practicing the architecture profession in projects as well as during the proposal development stage for the last 8 years. Vijaya holds TOGAF 8 certification, Master Certified IT Architect (Open CA Level 2) and architecture practitioner.
He holds the Master of Management Studies degree from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India.
Building Critical Capabilities for Key Cyber Security TasksVinayak Godse, Director, Data Protection, Data Security Council of India (DSCI)
Building Critical Capabilities for Key Cyber Security Tasks
Vinayak Godse, Director, Data Protection, Data Security Council of India (DSCI)
Vinayak Godse is managing DSCI programs, which include 'Security and Privacy Education & Awareness', 'Policy Advocacy is engaging Governments and International Bodies', 'Content Research and Studies', 'Building Network of Security Professionals', and 'Cyber Lab Initiative for Capacity Building of Police Officers'. He is principal author of DSCI Security Framework (DSF) and DSCI Privacy Framework (DPF). He is closely working with the Government of India on ICT policy issues and cyber security initiatives. He represents India industry in the bilateral and multilateral initiatives of the Government of India in the area of cyber security and privacy. He is engaged with industry, regulatory bodies, and international institutions on the matters related to cyber security policy, international cooperation and capacity building.
Mr. Vinayak has total 19 years of experience in the areas of telecom switching, intelligence network, Internet infrastructure, mobile telephony, information security and privacy. Prior joining to DSCI, he was working with Tata Consulting Services (TCS) in its Global Consulting Practice, which advises global organizations on the matters related security and privacy. Mr. Vinayak holds a bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering. He is a Certified Information Security Manger (CISM), a certification offered by ISACA.
EA as an Agile ProgramTajinder S Sahdev, Independent Consultant, India; and Suresh Done, President, SNA Technologies, US
EA as an Agile Program
Tajinder S Sahdev, Independent Consultant, India; and Suresh Done, President, SNA Technologies, US
Enterprise architecture (EA) is a discipline for proactively and holistically leading enterprise responses to disruptive forces by identifying and analyzing the execution of change toward desired business vision and outcomes. EA delivers value by presenting business and IT leaders with signature-ready recommendations for adjusting policies and projects to achieve target business outcomes.
To run EA in an Agile manner it is very important to have agile Program Management Office. In this presentation, Tajinder and Suresh would like to share their methodology on how the Program Management framework can be customized to run the program in an agile manner. Tajinder and Suresh will also demonstrate how the strategic objectives can be achieved through the programs and how the program life cycle can be aligned to make the organizations more agile. They will also discuss how the governance has to accommodate the change and how the right decisions can be made to achieve the strategic business objectives.
Tajinder S Sahdev has 14 plus years of global professional expertise in the field of Project/Program Management, Service & Solutions delivery, Enterprise Architecture, Business Development, Client Engagement Management. He has worked in esteemed organizations like Cisco, IBM, UTStarcom & Hughes. Tajinder has MBA (Strategy & Marketing) from Indian Institute of Technology, and Bachelor in Engineering ( Electronics & Communication). He holds industry most respected Certifications like PMP, TOGAF® 9 certified Enterprise Architect TOGAF®, ITIL, IBM Accredited Advisory Project Manager.
Suresh Done has more than 23 years of experience in IT and Engineering. Suresh is a TOGAF® 9 certified Enterprise Architect, TOGAF® Evangelist and practitioner. Suresh is a registered TOGAF® certification trainer. Suresh had provided TOGAF training and certified several Enterprise Architects and IT professionals across the world. He has provided Enterprise Architecture consulting services to major companies in Automotive, Health and Retail Industries. Suresh had done research on Agility, Innovation and complexity. Suresh Done is the Co-Founder of AOGEA Michigan Chapter ( http://aogea-michigan.org) and Chairman since its inception. He led the chapter to a great success with his vision and leadership skills. AOGEA Michigan chapter very soon became the largest chapter of all the AOGEA chapters.


text:
rats19 wrote:Likely...but still let's get some speed and youth upHockey Widow wrote:Partly due to the expectation of a Kassian suspension.rats19 wrote:Jensen called up from Utica...more please
Agree 100%. We have 17 games to find out what some of these kids can do, an audition for next year. Bring up Fox too. Bring up anyone you can up front and throw them to the wolves. Ask Hank if he needs to be shut down
Great opportunity for the brass to see what they have and get a better handle on what they need when they move out some core. Might even inspire me to watch another game this year.


text:
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A lawyer for former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky says his client has gotten his fighting spirit back after his child abuse conviction and sentencing.
Attorney Karl Rominger (RAH'-mihn-jur) says Sandusky hopes prison officials will find a way to house him under less restrictive conditions.
Rominger met with Sandusky for several hours Friday at Greene State Prison in southwestern Pennsylvania. He says his client's outlook has improved since he was sentenced two months ago to decades behind bars even though he's alone in his cell for at least 23 hours a day.
He says Sandusky's "fight is 100 percent back" and he's working on an upcoming hearing and planning appeals.
Sandusky was convicted of abusing 10 boys in a scandal that rocked Penn State. He maintains he's innocent.


text:
International News
Southern Africa: AIDS Scientists Call for Month of Sex Abstinence -- Campaign "Could Cut New Transmissions by 45 Percent"
July 7, 2010
Adapted from:
A month-long period of sexual abstinence could be a viable cultural approach to stopping new HIV infections, two epidemiologists suggest. During that month, new HIV transmissions could be cut by up to 45 percent in countries such as Swaziland, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, according to Alan Whiteside, of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Justin Parkhurst, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The researchers noted that a newly infected person can most readily spread HIV in the first month after acquiring the virus.
Low HIV prevalence in predominantly Muslim nations has previously been credited to universal male circumcision. However, Whiteside also observed that the practices of some religious groups are protective. Muslim men, for instance, are taught to abstain from alcohol, male-to-male sex, and extramarital sex. In Zimbabwe, the Marange Apostolic sect bans sex during Passover and has a lower infection rate than surrounding communities.
"We have this idea that we are going to put everyone on treatment. That is actually pretty fanciful," said Whiteside. "A month of abstinence or condom use is far less difficult to achieve."
"This kind of initiative could provide hyper-endemic countries with a one-off, short-term adaptation that is cost-effective, easy to monitor, and does not create additional stigma," Whiteside said. "The main thing is to agree on a bounded period in which the entire population would live by the same rule."
"We see this kind of initiative as a way of breaking the cycle," said Derek von Wissell, director of Swaziland's National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS. "We think a good month to do it would be during the southern African spring, in October or November."
The Guardian (London)
07.05.2010; Alex Duval
This article was provided by CDC National Prevention Information Network. It is a part of the publication CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update.
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.)


text:
WASHINGTON (AP) — As the military looks to bring women into combat jobs closer to the front lines, including commando units, senior leaders are reviewing the physical and mental requirements that troops must meet in order to qualify for certain positions.
There are many different requirements, standards and tests for the wide variety of Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine and commando units — ranging from infantry and combat engineer to pararescue and special forces.
For example to qualify to be an Army Ranger, which soon could be open to women, soldiers must meet minimum standards.
The minimum scores for the first phase of the fitness test:
— Pushups in two minutes: 49.
— Situps in two minutes: 59.
— Pullups: 6.
— 2-mile buddy run: less than 20 minutes.
— 5-mile run: 40 minutes.
— 12-mile hike with 45 pound pack: 3 hours.
— 15-meter swim with gear/log walk/rope drop/suspension traverse: pass/fail.
— Land navigation course locating five of six points over varying terrain for 5,000-6,000 meters (3.1-3.7 miles): 4 hours.
Ranger school also includes an obstacle course, a phase that includes 20 days and nights in the mountains and a third phase that covers small boat operations and abilities needed to survive in a jungle and swamp environment. The 58-day Ranger course includes long marches with up to 120 pounds of gear, sleep deprivation, one to two meals-ready-to-eat a day as total food consumption, and continual evaluation of leadership, patrol and other skills. A typical soldier may lose 20-30 pounds during the course.


text:
Map showing Low Top Farm 1875
Map from 1910
Aerial view of Low Top Farm circa 1970's
Modern map showing Low Top Farm
Map showing the site of St Pauls Gee Cross 1870's
St Pauls became Holy Trinity Church after part of the township of Werneth was transferred to the district of Gee Cross. Is this the church you mean ? See links below for more information.
St Pauls Werneth Holy Trinity Gee Cross
Many Thanks, Geoff and Merrilyn. I hope we can find out a little more information for you through the blog :)


text:
CEP Now Accepting Nominations for William K. Reilly Awards for Environmental Leadership
The Center for Environmental Policy at American University's School of Public Affairs is seeking nominations for the William K. Reilly Awards for Environmental Leadership.
The third annual Reilly Awards, named in honor of one of the most respected leaders in U.S. environmental policy, will be given at a ceremony in March at American University in Washington, D.C.
"The Center for Environmental Policy is focused on improving environmental governance in the United States and finding innovative approaches to the most pressing environmental challenges," said executive director Dan Fiorino. "We want to recognize people who are making a difference to improve environmental outcomes."
Nominations for the awards can be submitted here by January 31, 2015.
The Reilly Awards recognize the accomplishments of outstanding environmental leaders who have demonstrated innovation and effective problem-solving while engaging diverse interests and encouraging future environmental leaders.
Two Reilly Awards will be given—one for an individual in government (local, state, tribal or federal) and the other for an individual in the non-profit or business sectors. The nominations will be evaluated against the following criteria:
- Provided effective leadership over a sustained period of time in environmental, energy, or sustainability issues in the United States;
- Contributed to innovations in environmental solutions or new approaches to environmental, natural resources or energy policy;
- Demonstrated the ability to engage and inspire others in achieving significant results;
- Worked across the public, private, and non-profit sectors to solve problems in an inclusive and bi-partisan manner; and
- Inspired or mentored early-career professionals.
Reilly was Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George H. W. Bush. In 2010, he was appointed by President Barack Obama as co-chair of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling to investigate the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Decisions about the awards will be made by a subcommittee of the Program Advisory Board of the Center for Environmental Policy.


text:
Manage Reservations
Need to make changes to your reservation? You've come to the right place!
Already an IHG® Rewards Club Member? Sign in to view reservations.
Driving Directions
Basin Ekspress Yolu No 2 Halkali
Istanbul, 34303
Check In: 2:00 PM
Check Out: 12:00 PM
Check-in Age: 18
Accessible Hotel Areas
Provided by Hotel


text:
Tom Brokaw on His Cancer Diagnosis: 'I Remain the Luckiest Guy I Know'
Tom Brokaw has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of cancer that affects the plasma cells and bone marrow.
NBC released a statement announcing the former television news anchor's diagnosis. Brokaw, 74, began treatment for the form of cancer over the summer, and doctors are said to be optimistic.
In a statement released by NBCNews.com, Brokaw said, "I remain the luckiest guy I know."
"With the exceptional support of my family, medical team and friends, I am very optimistic about the future and look forward to continuing my life, my work and adventures still to come," he continued.
"I am very grateful for the interest in my condition but I also hope everyone understands I wish to keep this a private matter."
Brokaw retired from "NBC Nightly News" in 2004. He was replaced by Brian Williams. Following his diagnosis in August, Brokaw has continued to work on news projects for NBC.
According to the National Library of Medicine, "Multiple myeloma is a cancer that begins in plasma cells, a type of white blood cell. These cells are part of your immune system, which helps protect the body from germs and other harmful substances. In time, myeloma cells collect in the bone marrow and in the solid parts of bones."


text:
August 28, 2013
TO: Members of the Albion College Community
FROM: Mark Newell, Trustee
Chair, Presidential Search Committee
SUBJECT: Search Update
We are happy to report that the search for the next Albion president is progressing very well and remains on schedule. The closing date for applications has now passed and we are moving forward. The search committee met on Tuesday, August 27, and began to select for further discussion candidates whose backgrounds and experiences seem especially consistent with the qualifications established for the Albion presidency. The committee will meet again on September 24 to extend our evaluation and to select a small number of candidates who will be invited to confidential preliminary interviews with the search committee in mid-October. On completion of that round of interviews, the committee will select candidates to participate in more extensive interviews with representatives of all campus constituencies. We will notify you of the specific methods, dates, and times for this final phase of the search, as soon as they are determined.
We are extremely pleased with the quality of the candidate pool and, as a result, continue to be mindful of the need for complete confidentiality. All of our remaining candidates are engaged in other assignments with very significant responsibilities. To prematurely disclose publicly their interest in Albion's presidency would likely result in their withdrawing from our search. We will move forward with an effort to strike the appropriate balance between maintaining confidentiality with enabling adequate exposure between the final candidates and Albion's people and programs. If you have any questions, please let us know.
Thank you for your continued interest and support.


text:
Property Investing is a game of finance. Learn how to play and you're far more likely to win! In this FREE E-book, discover the finance secrets to double your borrowing power and grow a more successful investment portfolio.
Gst & Margin scheme
Discussion in 'Accounting & Tax' started by Macca74, 12th Jan, 2018.


text:
By Yeganeh Torbati
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran and world powers announced new talks on Tehran's nuclear program on February 26, but hopes of progress after Tuesday's announcement were tempered when an Iranian official said the West's goal in talking was to undermine the Islamic republic.
First word of the meeting, to be held in Kazakhstan, came in comments from Iran's Supreme National Security Council to state news agency IRNA. Later, a spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she hoped to make progress in allaying concerns about a program Iran denies has a military purpose.
Both sides said the widely expected appointment to meet was made on Tuesday by Iran's deputy nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri and European Union counterpart Helga Schmid. However, there were immediate signs from Iran, which holds a presidential election in June, that powerful figures were skeptical of their worth.
Western powers say Iran may be close to having the capacity to build a nuclear weapon, though Tehran insists it is seeking only electricity. The United States and its allies, which have imposed tough economic sanctions, are keen to show progress on an overall agreement for curbing and monitoring Iran's nuclear activities - not least because Israel, seeing itself especially threatened, has warned it could mount a pre-emptive attack.
"I hope that Iran is coming to these talks with a real sense of 'we want to make progress.' In every round I start from this principle, that the purpose of the meeting is to engage and I hope we will see that this time," Ashton told reporters in Brussels.
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters: "Our view is it's time for Iran to discuss substance." She declined provide details of what proposals the major powers will bring to the talks.
"What we want, though, is ... to see Iran take advantage of this opportunity and allay the international community's concerns (about its nuclear program)," she said.
But comments by Abdollah Haj-Sadeghi, a representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), indicated continued differences of opinion in Tehran; those may limit the prospect of narrowing the dispute with the West at the talks in Almaty, the first of their kind since negotiators met in Moscow in June.
"They will never want real dialogue and negotiations," Haj-Sadeghi was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency, addressing religious students in the theological center of Qom.
"Their goal is to inhibit the Islamic revolution. If they can't eliminate the Islamic revolution, they want to weaken and inhibit this revolution," he said. "A revolution with a religious nature cannot reconcile itself with arrogance."
Iranian officials often use "arrogant" to denote Western nations. It was not immediately clear whether he was referring to the continuing process of negotiation with the six world powers, known as the P5+1, or to the prospect of direct negotiations with the United States, Iran's main adversary.
Haj-Sadeghi's remarks contrasted with those of Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, who said in Berlin on Monday that he was "optimistic" regarding what he saw as a new approach from the United States regarding Iran.
Shashank Joshi, a senior fellow and Middle East specialist at the Royal United Services Institute, said the mixed messages reflected Iran's "fragmented" political system, in which power is divided between elected and unelected bodies.
"Haj-Sadeghi's comments are consistent with a widely held Iranian view: That sanctions are less about the nuclear issue and more about regime change," Joshi said.
"He may therefore have been repeating a standard line rather than responding to Salehi."
Many Iranian leaders may be wary of entering talks which quickly collapse, Joshi said.
"Some of this rhetoric is therefore a way of managing expectations, and pushing responsibility for failure back on to the West," he said.
(Additional reporting by Fredrik Dahl; Writing by Marcus George; Editing by William Maclean, Alastair Macdonald and Cynthia Osterman)


text:
Booktopia is so excited to be in an exclusive partnership with New South Books to present the debut novel of Arjun Basu.
If you're a fan of twitter, chances are you're a fan of Arjun Basu. Arjun has over 142,000 followers on twitter, where his 140-word short stories have drawn a huge following and a mountain of imitators.
We caught up with Arjun to chat about his new book, writing career, and spiffy tracksuits.
Waiting for the Man by Arjun Basu
Q: Where did the idea for Waiting for the Man come from?
A: This is a long long story. So sit down. Throw another shrimp on the barbie (oh dear, I am so so so so sorry about that, I promise I won't go down the sordid and silly road of national stereotypes again…). Waiting for the Man starts with images: a man on his steps. A man lying in tall grass. A road trip pit stop. And then these varied images started to coalesce. The first part of the book I ever wrote, a long time ago, is what we read at the end of the book. The last few pages. It was a snippet of a short story that I liked and filed away. And somehow the image within it kept coming back. And then one day I realized these disparate elements were all part of the same story. Did I answer the question? Are we still on speaking terms? I truly am sorry for the shrimp on the barbie thing. I think I had to get it out of my system. At least I didn't say "g'day" right?
Q: What was it like to translate that idea into a full novel?
A: It is a long and drawn out process and involves quite a bit of drinking. And pacing. And the judicious use of hammocks.
Q: Waiting for the Man tackles some big issues about happiness, media, and celebrity culture. Would you say this novel offers some life advice?
A: I am not offering advice to anyone. Really. I don't even take my own advice. This is not a self help book and I'm not a life coach. I can't ever be a life coach because I look silly in a track suit.
Q: What would you do if you encountered the Man?
A: I would run in the opposite direction and I would never stop running. Unless I owned a really spiffy tracksuit.
Q: You already have thousands of fans on Twitter that love your "Twisters." Can they expect to find the same wit and humour in your novel?
A: I hope so. Though let's admit that we're speaking of two very different mediums that are only connected by the use of words and punctuation. I like to think I'm funny, but that's not really for me to judge. There is no bigger boor than the loud guy who laughs at his own (unfunny) jokes.
Q: Did you find it difficult to continue writing your Twisters while writing Waiting for the Man?
A: No. The Twisters are kind of mental therapy. Gymnastics even. They use a different part of the brain. Or I should say adjacent. The parts of the brain used for Twisters and for novel writing are like those hotel rooms with those locked doors that you hope are permanently locked but are probably opened up for large families, raucous bachelor parties and sales conventions.
Q: Waiting for the Man is set in New York, yet you're in Canada. What about this novel makes it able to resonate across borders?
A: First, the story was originally going to be set in Montreal. I think any Montrealer will recognize the idea of a guy sitting on his front steps as a very Montreal thing. The front stoop is a part of Montreal's architectural vernacular. But then the story took over and it demanded to be set in New York. On one level, this novel is very American. But on a deeper level, it is a universal exploration of something very human, and very basic.
Grab a copy of Waiting for the Man here – exclusive to Booktopia
Q: Food is featured a lot in your novel, from mundane pieces of pizza, to home-cooked lunches, to saucy ribs. Does food have a special significance for the story?
A: Food does feature in the story. But quite a lot of human things are featured. I mean, the novel is populated with humans! Eating. Sleeping. Bodily functions of all sorts. The little things that make us what we are. I might be more food obsessed than a lot of people but I think our culture is pretty food obsessed right now. And has been for a while. I mean, for the longest time I thought the best magazines in the world were the food magazines coming out of Australia.
Q: What's next for you?
A: I'm writing. Another novel. I can't believe I'm diving into this again, so soon, but I have this idea that I can't let go so I'm going to see where it takes me. Interestingly, the main character is someone who came out of my Twisters. It's grown to become more complex, naturally, but this novel, which is threatening to be quite a big one (much longer than Waiting for the Man) got its start in 140 characters. The door between the adjoining rooms must have been open. Perhaps for a raucous bachelor party.
Grab a copy of Waiting for the Man here
About the Contributor
Andrew Cattanach
Andrew Cattanach is a regular contributor to The Booktopia Blog. He has been shortlisted for The Age Short Story Prize and was named a finalist for the 2015 Young Bookseller of the Year Award. He enjoys reading, writing and sleeping, though finds it difficult to do them all at once.
Follow Andrew: Twitter


text:
David Tennant Will Star in American Broadchurch
With an American accent.
Fox announced in August that it was developing an American version of the British crime series Broadchurch, and now it seems star David Tennant will be reprising his role as one of the lead detectives investigating a child's death in a tiny coastal town. According to TV Guide, Tennant will use an American accent for the part, which seems kind of sacrilegious. American Broadchurch (Broadmegachurch? Just spit-balling … ) is set to go into production in January with the hopes of landing on Fox's schedule for the 2014–15 season. In the meantime, behold David Tennant's super-ratty ponytail.


text:
Barrington brings out the best
Welcome to Barrington, Mid-Suburban League competitors.
You were guests one of the finest boys swimming teams in the history of the conference, and more supporting evidence came forth Saturday.
The host Broncos finished with 273 points to win the MSL championships in workmanlike fashion. Barrington answered challenges to win all three relays, but beyond that their only victory came from Kyle Ujiye in the 100-yard butterfly (50.46).
That oddity is simply due to the overall balance of top-level swimmers in the conference, though. And no one else could come close to matching the completeness of Barrington's lineup.
"With the team we have, our focus this year really has to be on swimming our best at state," said Barrington senior Jack Strauss, who was second in the 200 free and 100 free and anchored the Broncos' freestyle relays. "Our goal for this meet was mainly to be consisent with our times across the board, and I think we pretty much did that."
The most prominent contributors for Barrington were Ujiye and Strauss. Key efforts also came from Sebastian Piekarski, who placed second in the 50 free (22.00) and had legs on all the relays; Chris Vega, who had top-six finishes in the 200 IM and 100 free and a leg on the 400 relay and Sam Miseyka (fourth in the 50 free, third in the 100 breast plus two relay legs). Brother Sean and James Rodney finished 2-3 in the 500 free and each had top-six finishes in other races.
"For us, today was about being mentally strong," said Barrington coach John Valentine. "We were concerned about doing things the right way -- safe relay exchanges, paying attention to detail."
Barrington's collective dominance was complemented by great performances from just about every team in the league.
Fremd senior Andrew King led a terrific day for the Vikings by winning the 50 free in 21.97. Fremd finished second in the team standings at 195, just ahead of third-place Conant (187). Wheeling finished fourth in the 400 free relay to pull out a fourth-place finish ahead of Buffalo Grove (119) and Hersey (115).
"I have to say, I think we surpassed the expectation we had for ourselves at the start of the season," said Fremd coach Kristen Newby. "Everywhere in our lineup today, people were dropping times and really competing."
Senior Dennis Kostidis placed third in the 200 IM and 100 fly, King contributed a fourth-place effort in the 100 free and Fremd's freestyle relays both finished second.
Efforts like Austin Yurasek's in the 100 breaststroke might have made the difference for the Vikes -- he lopped off almost seven seconds from his previous best to finish sixth in 1:04.94.
"That," said Newby, "is a mega-drop."
Conant's top trio of Jonathon Burke, Alex Shozda and Martin Pozniak also excelled. Burke won the 200 and 500 frees, Shozda won the 100 free and 100 back and Pozniak was second in the 200 IM and fourth in the 100 fly.
Burke surprised even himself in the 500, where previous races had yielded disappointing times, probably due to a bout with pneumonia that denied him some early season conditioning. You'd never have guessed on Saturday, as the senior broke the pool record by finishing in 4:33.60.
"Honestly, I'm surprised," said Burke, who finaled in the event in the state meet last season. "It felt easy -- and then at the end, it just felt good to sprint."
"He's just a couple seconds of his lifetime best from last year," said Conant coach Brian Drenth. "I'd say that's a pretty good place to be right now."
Shozda won the 100 free in 47.28 and the 100 back in 52.81, and Burke won the 200 free comfortably in 1:43.13.
Other performances of note on a great day of swimming:
• Buffalo Grove senior Matt Schulstad won the 200 IM in 1:57.80, about 3.5 seconds better than his best this season. He also placed second in the 100 fly in 51.97, breaking the program record. BG coach Jamie Klotz noted season-best times across the board for his team, with just a couple of exceptions.
• Wheeling had bunches of terrific results, notably Jake Noel placing second in the 100 back (54.32) and fourth in the 200 IM (2:01.62), Bryce Maczko making the top six in the 50 and 100 frees and Lukasz Szczepaniec placing fourth in the 500 free with an 8-plus second time drop.
• Prospect junior Nathanael Ginnodo edged Hoffman Estates senior Sang Han to win the 100 breaststroke, 1:01.42 to 1:01.44. Ginnodo was also sixth in the 200 IM (2:05.60).
• Hoffman Estates' Nick Jessee was third in the 100 and 200 frees, and Han was third in the 50 free.
• Jamey Hill placed fifth in the 200 free (1:50.76) and sixth in the 100 back to pace Hersey's effort.
• Palatine had senior Robert Hank crack the top six in the 100 back (5th, 57.45), and freshman Jordan Kalina placed sixth in the 500 free (5:11.86).
• Elk Grove's top effort came from sophomore Colin Williams, who was sixth in the 100 fly (55.42).
• Rolling Meadows sophomore Jake Barson turned in a lifetime-best 1:03.06 to place fourth in the 100 breast. That's faster than his freshman effort at the same meet by more than four seconds. "I think it's a combination of a lot of things," he said. "I think I've improved my stroke a little bit, I'm a little bit stronger . . . I just feel like it's all starting to come together now."
Get articles sent to your inbox.
- This article filed under:
- Sports
- Arlington Heights
- Barrington
- Barrington Hills
- Buffalo Grove
- Carpentersville
- Deer Park
- Des Plaines
- Elk Grove Village
- Fox River Grove
- Hoffman Estates
- Inverness
- Lake Barrington
- Mount Prospect
- North Barrington
- Palatine
- Port Barrington
- Prospect Heights
- Rolling Meadows
- Roselle
- Schaumburg
- South Barrington
- Tower Lakes
- Wheeling
- Barrington High School
- Buffalo Grove High School
- Elk Grove High School
- James B. Conant High School
- John Hersey High School
- Palatine High School
- Rolling Meadows High School
- Wheeling High School
- William Fremd High School
- Swimming
- Prep Boys


text:
- Home
- News
- Sports
- Opinion
- Obituaries
- Features
- Special Sections
- Classifieds
- Public Notices
What are the most important lessons we can take from the BP oil spill 48 miles into the Gulf off the Louisiana coast?
The first group is a batch of slogans. These varied morsels make up the bulk of the news. Examples are:
• Stop offshore drilling.
• The government is made of incompetent liars.
• Rich corporations are greedy sharks headed by phony numbskulls.
• Ignore experts. They get money from some interest or other.
A further look finds more involved and coherent aspects to apply to this and other issues, such as:
Henchmen point fingers. A look at the Gulf's dirty goo teaches that time spent pointing fingers does nothing to solve the problem or slow the spread of damage from it. People get riled when they see BP and its cohorts turn to finger-pointing.
Yet just as many people think pointing fingers is proudly productive when it gushes in the news year after year. I refer, of course, to the many straw bosses in our two leading parties — the henchmen who think finger-pointing is the best of political art and science.
Pointing fingers does nothing for oil leaks, BP, political parties, the nation or any other problem. That point is clear when we look at BP's oil in the Gulf.
Meanwhile years pass and tar balls of finger-pointing keep coming from the two parties to blacken the public beach.
The environment is part of the economy. The old bumper sticker rasps: "Environmental Rules Wreck the Economy." Now the Gulf oil spill spawns grim reports of economic wreckage. The mounting economic losses are hitting shrimp fishers and sellers, sport fishing guides, resort workers, hotel and restaurant workers.
Then we have the BP shareholders' losses.
We see the dollar loss that comes from a wrecked environment.
On the up side, count the products that companies create and sell to guard the environment. Products range from all types of air and water pollution control systems to large safety shutoff valves and oil-grabbing booms for skimming oil out of water.
The profits and jobs in environmental safeguards add to the nation's economy the same as any other business.
The economy is part of the environment. There is no doubt that too much economic weight was the chief cause of the Gulf disaster. By any measure, the balance of interests was off the mark. The economic part outweighed the environment part by so much that they sunk each other. Both suffered huge losses.
Yet the resources of ships, robots, engineers and money used on the oil leak and aftereffects are themselves products of a diverse economy.
In clearer form, consider a frequent disaster in which the economic focus does not initiate the environmental ruin, such as earthquakes. Think back to Haiti. The resources employed to cut nature's losses are fossil-fueled ships and shovels, food supplies, medical aid, engineers and money. Again we apply the products of a diverse economy.
The economy is a tool that is vital to the environment.
Selecting only the grimmest footage adds to the damage. The news media select newsworthy footage of damage to show 24/7. An often-run shot shows the greasy muck moving into marshland. Also popular in the news are tar balls on desolate beaches and shots of oil-coated pelicans. These selected snapshots are all tragic, vital and true.
Equally tragic, vital and true are snapshots that are not selected for showing. These are the shots of tourist spots on the Gulf coast that have no greasy muck, tar balls or oil-soaked birds.
The result of telling only the grimmest parts is that places without environmental damage suffer the same economic loss as the places worst hit. Lacking the whole story, travelers stay away all along the coast.
Reporters compete to show the worst, devoid of context. The bad news contest worsens the total damage to the region's economy.
The hard lessons to be taken from the Gulf oil spill have real value.
So do the weightier lessons found in the muck.
Add new comment
Read and share your thoughts on this story


text:
Poll Shows US Split On Legal Pot, Against Online Bets
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A new poll finds that Americans are split over whether marijuana should be legalized for recreational use. But the poll finds them solidly opposed to online gambling.
A Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll released today finds 50 percent of Americans favor legalizing marijuana use, while 27 percent support legalizing Internet gambling in the 47 states that don't allow it.
Only New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware currently allow Internet gambling, but at least 10 other states are or recently considered legalizing it.
Democrats and younger people showed the strongest support for legalizing pot.
The nationwide poll of 1,151 adults 18 and older was conducted by telephone with both landline and cellphones from April 21-27. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.