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{addthis off} ChurnSoon™
Retention is a key challenge in player management. You need to maximize the return on player acquisition costs by increasing the player value.
For freemium games, this means keeping free players around long enough to convert them, and retaining paying players. For free games with upgrade packs, this means ensuring players return to the game at least weekly until they upgrade to a paid version. For subscription games, this mean preventing subscription cancellations.
ChurnSoon identifies the top 5-10% of players that are going to churn or become inactive players. You can then act on these players with retention tactics.


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Super Tuesday Prediction Time: Vote Early, Vote Often
What a day!
Twenty-four states hold primaries, caucuses or (in one case) a convention today. On the Democratic side there are contests in 22 states with 1,681 delegates at stake; for Republicans it's 21 states and 1,038 delegates.
Put simply, it is the single-largest primary day in modern political history. And with Sens. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) seriously contesting nearly every state on the Democratic side, and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) trying to close out former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination, it promises to be a very exciting night.
And you know what that means -- it's time for another round of Fix predictions.
The rules of the game have changed somewhat to account for the HUGE numbers of states voting today. Instead of picking the top three candidates (as we have asked in the past), we want your predictions on which states each of the candidates will win and how many delegates they will wind up with after today's voting. We also want your overarching storyline for the night's festivities.
To qualify, the prediction must account for winners in all 22 states (for Democrats) or 21 states (for Republicans) as well as the 1,681 delegates (for Democrats) and 1,038 delegates (for Republicans). Just list the candidate name, the states he (or she will win) and the total delegates they will pick up today. (Note: We DON'T want the TOTAL delegate count, just where the delegates up for grabs today go.) Don't forget to throw your storyline in there too!
Although the rules have changed, the prize remains the same. Winners will receive an official Fix t-shirt to be worn proudly -- and regularly -- in the winner's home town. The t-shirt will almost certainly improve your social life and boost your IQ several points. Or not.
Predict away!
(Editor's P.S.: Sign-up for Super Tuesday wireless alerts -- election results sent directly to your mobile device tonight. And starting at 6 p.m. ET, tune into Inside Super Tuesday -- our live video show providing election coverage and analysis.)
Chris Cillizza
February 5, 2008; 6:00 AM ET
Categories: Eye on 2008
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Next: Super Tuesday Viewer's Guide
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subset: commoncrawl


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Three-day Gustav Tune in for The Weather Channel Brought More Viewers for the All-weather Network Than Any Other Cable News, Information or Entertainment Network
ATLANTA - September 4, 2008 -- Across the three-day coverage of Hurricane Gustav last Saturday through Monday, The Weather Channel reached 65 million unduplicated viewers, achieving the highest cume of any cable TV network according to Nielsen research.*
The new findings, just released on Wednesday, reveal that TWC had the #1 cume not only among cable news networks but for all networks across the cable landscape, even the high-rated entertainment and sports networks.
For the three-day period, TWC even surpassed ESPN which came in #2 with a 62 million cume and TBS with a 60 million cume. CNN had a 60 million cume; Fox News was #9 among all cable networks with a 49 million cume. The figures are based on one-minute qualifiers for tune-in. In analysis of reach for 3-minute and 6-minute qualifiers, The Weather Channel was #1 among all cable networks as well.
"We are proud of this achievement, especially when you consider the political activity being covered by the news networks last weekend and that the sports networks were featuring the opening of the college football season. The progression of Gustav was rightfully on the top of people's minds, and we are pleased that viewers overwhelmingly trusted The Weather Channel for the updates they needed," said Ray Ban, executive vice president of programming and meteorology.
On Monday, Sept. 1 - the day that Hurricane Gustav made landfall on the Louisiana coast - The Weather Channel had a total day (6 a.m.-6 a.m.) rating of 1.1, representing 1.1 million households. The peak quarter-hour was 9:30-9:45 a.m. with a 2.5 rating representing 2.5 million homes.
On Sunday, Aug. 31, The Weather Channel had a total day (6 a.m.-6 a.m.) household rating of 1.0, delivering an average 971,000 homes. TWC ratings peaked on Sunday during the 10 a.m. quarter hour with a household rating of 1.8 (representing 1.7 million homes.) On Saturday, Aug. 30, The Weather Channel achieved total household rating of 0.8 representing an average of 805,000 homes. On both Saturday and Sunday, The Weather Channel was #1 among news networks in ratings for the 25-54 demographic.
More information about the strong performance of The Weather Channel was provided through a survey conducted September 2nd by SURVEYUSA. The independently conducted national survey compared consumer response to the value and content of all types of media sources during the coverage of Gustav. The survey included the responses of 1500 participants from throughout the country. The highest percentage of respondents named The Weather Channel as their first choice when asked the following questions: who did the best job of reporting on Hurricane Gustav? Where do you typically go for information about severe weather? Where did you turn for more information once you became aware of Gustav?
*Source: Nielsen Media Research/NPower. Live, 6a6a Time Period Reach, 8/30/08 - 9/01/08, P2+, 1 min qualifier.
About The Weather Channel Companies
The Weather Channel companies (TWCC) are made up of The Weather Channel® television network, The Weather Channel digital properties, and WSI. The Weather Channel is based in Atlanta and is seen in more than 100 million U.S. households. TWCC also operates Weatherscan®, a 24-hour all-local weather network; The Weather Channel Radio Network; and The Weather Channel HD. The most popular source of weather news and information, TWCC properties reach 60 million monthly Web consumers (weather.com and Desktop) and 32 million monthly mobile users (mobile Web and applications) and offers the second most popular mobile app on all smartphones. WSI, headquartered in Andover, MA, primarily provides business-to-business weather services, particularly for the media, aviation, marine and energy sectors. TWCC is owned by a consortium made up of NBC Universal and the private equity firms The Blackstone Group and Bain Capital. For more information, visit www.weather.com/press.


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There are multiple reasons for this, but in short: we've reached a lot of the goals that we've wanted to and feel now that it's time for others to pick up on this track. Our goal has always been to help the community think of interaction design on a more strategic level, helping each other understand where we belong and how we can make a difference. We've tried to bring the community together and to bridge the gap between disciplines and fields, and I believe we have succeeded… Over 150 people wrote for Johnny and together we published almost 600 articles, resulting in great discussions and often new insights. We reported live at many interesting events (resulting in late nights and missed parties), published beautiful Radio Johnny podcasts (thanks Jeff) and had a very interesting Johnny TV channel (thanks Martin). I personally learned a lot from all the people I had a chance to work with and had a lot of fun working with the editors and especially Vicky, who helped out from the start.
But to all good things come an end. Johnny is doing a good job and we could go on like this for some more years, but for Johnny that simply isn't good enough. We want to make a difference, an impact in the community. Not just be 'another source.' So for now we will step aside until we've found a way to make a difference again.
I want to thank everybody who contributed to Johnny, by writing, editing or commenting. I have a learned a lot from you.
So long, and thanks for all the fish…


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Product 16/32
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Indicator Lights Monitor Equipment Status
Banner Engineering Corp. introduces EZ-Light Audible and Segmented Indicator Lights for operator guidance and indication of equipment status. Rugged EZ-Light Audible and Segmented Indicators feature multi-colored, long-lasting LEDs, deliver a convenient solution for displaying the status of remote and inaccessible sensors and minimize the need for costly and inconvenient bulb replacements, according to Banner.
Models consist of a single compact and unobtrusive unit that can replace post and stack lights. Additionally, EZ-Light Audible and Segmented Indicators are available in multiple low-profile design options for easy installation and are compatible with PLC or other logic-level control outputs.
For applications where sound indication is beneficial, EZ-Light Audible Indicators offer two decibel levels with steady or pulsed tones. In addition, Audible Indicators provide standard green/red/yellow lights and are available in two housing styles.
EZ-Light Segmented Indicators provide a one-, two-, three- or four-color display with individual segments lighted separately or in combination to display multiple status configurations simultaneously. These multi-color, point-of-use indicators offer transmission of non-lingual messages to an operator or to monitor multiple locations and allow operator guidance, even for those with limited color recognition ability. Plus, optional labels are available for enhanced segment identification.


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Shonta's Blog Topics
Baby Momma/ Baby Daddy vs Mother and Father of a Child
Disciplining Kids in Public
By Shonta
Miley Cyrus
By Shonta
Account Passwords in Relationships
By Shonta
Social Network Drama Posters
Mommy Looks Well, Child Looks Like Hell
By Shonta
Do you know God or Know about God?
Motivational Sayings
Church Folks Have to be Perfect Right?
The Reality of being Single
By Shonta
Shonta was born and raised in Middletown, Ohio. As soon as she was old enough to move she relocated to Chicago, IL then to Fayetteville, NC where she opened up her first business DX Magazine at age 21 in March 2008. During that same time Shonta worked as a Corrections Officer at Morrison Correctional Institute supervising medium custody inmates. During her journey as CEO of DX Magazine she worked with a number of models and companies and planned and carried out a number of events. DX Magazine later became DX Magazine & Promotions. Through out her career with DX Magazine & Promotions she has directed music videos & commercials, had a commercial on VH1, BET, & Oxygen, hosted fashion show events, promoted clubs and products, and more. Shonta is a now 27 and a single mother of three beautiful children. You can share her opinions and life experiences here on her blog!


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July 10th, 2014
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Fool's Assassin - Robin Hobb
FitzChivalry -- royal bastard and former king's assassin -- has left his life of intrigue behind. As far as the rest of the world knows, FitzChivalry Farseer is dead and buried. Masquerading as Tom Badgerlock and married to his childhood sweetheart, Molly, Fitz now leads the quiet life of a country squire.
Still, he remains haunted by the disappearance of the Fool, who did so much to shape Fitz into the man he has become. But such private hurts are put aside in the business of daily life -- until the appearance of menacing, pale-skinned strangers casts a sinister shadow over Fitz's past...and his future.
Now, to protect his new life, the former assassin must once again take up his old one...
Robin Hobb introduced us to FitzChivalry Farseer and the Fool nearly 20 years ago and they've been through a lot since then. If you haven't read the Farseer trilogy, where we first meet Fitz and the Fool, or the Tawny Man trilogy where their journey continues, you MAY start with this book; there is enough recap to bring you up to speed. If you have read any or all of the earlier 6 books, you are nostalgic for books read long ago and maybe a little grateful for the review since it has been so long.
I read the Farseer trilogy years ago and enjoyed the story and its characters. I have not yet read the Tawny Man trilogy, though I own it and plan to read it. Of another Hobb series, I made it through two books of her Rainwilds Chronicles. I neither enjoyed the story nor the characters. I commented after book 2 of that series that Robin Hobb is capable of so much more than this. And now she has proved me right.
Unabashedly, I loved this book. In nearly 700 pages, not much happens here, but I savored every word Ms. Hobb wrote. The details were subtle and deliberate and the book was beautifully written.
The elephant in the room is how obvious the book's big plot twist was to the readers, yet Fitz, uncharacteristically, was blind to it. It earned an emphatic, "Well, duh!" from me, but did not disrupt my overall enjoyment of the book.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review of it. I am under no obligation to provide a favorable review and any praise is deserved. I am honest in all of my reviews and will not compromise myself for a free product.
April 16th, 2013
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The Kill Room
The Kill Room by Jeffery Deaver
Robert Moreno, an American citizen living in South America, is shot in the Bahamas by a sniper. The killing was commissioned by the U.S. government, who received a tip-off that Moreno was planning a terrorist attack on a U.S. oil company headquarters. But this intelligence was fatally incorrect: anti-American Moreno ordered a protest at the oil company, not an attack.
Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are drafted in to investigate. While Sachs traces Moreno's steps in New York, Rhyme travels to the scene of the crime in Nassau, where he finds himself on a dangerous path trailed by the sniper himself. As details of the case start to emerge, the pair discover that not all is what it seemed. Can they achieve justice and escape with their lives intact?
This book will be available on June 4, 2013.
April 11th, 2013
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Brisingr - Christoper Paolini
Oaths sworn . . . loyalties tested . . . forces collide.
It's been only months since Eragon first uttered "brisingr," the ancient language term for fire. Since then, he's not only learned to create magic with words-he's been challenged to his very core. Following the colossal battle against the Empire's warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still, there is more adventure at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep.
First is Eragon's oath to his cousin, Roran: to help rescue Roran's beloved from King Galbatorix's clutches. But Eragon owes his loyalty to others, too. The Varden are in desperate need of his talents and strength-as are the elves and dwarves. When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices-choices that will take him across the Empire and beyond, choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice.
Eragon is the greatest hope to rid the land of tyranny. Can this once simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and defeat the king?
Pressure is mounting. The Varden can only advance so far into enemy territory before war is declared. They can only hope that as each day passes Murtagh and Thorn will not attack. Eragon and Saphira are sufficient defense when they are around, but they cannot me everywhere at once and they are needed elsewhere.
Let's get this out of the way. This series should have been over in three books. There is plenty of superfluous story line that could be edited out of this book. I will concede that Paolini did a decent job keeping most of the boring parts from becoming the last part I read before giving up. I will even suggest what to cut out...Roran. To this point, Eragon's cousin hasn't brought any value to these books. He is a wild card and a cowboy and he is contrary to all of the values Paolini has tried to instill in Eragon.
With that out of the way, I am still entertained with the path that Eragon walks. I am intrigued. I want to know what happens. I am more than willing to read another book to see how this plays out. But I'm glad there is only one more book because I am ready for closure.
April 4th, 2013
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The King's Deception
The King's Deception by Steve Berry
Cotton Malone and his fifteen-year-old son, Gary, are headed to Europe. As a favor to his old boss at the Justice Department, Malone agrees to escort a teenage fugitive back to England. After a gunpoint greeting in London in which both the fugitive and Gary disappear, Malone learns that he's stumbled into a high-stakes diplomatic showdown-an international incident fueled by geopolitical gamesmanship and shocking Tudor secrets.
At its heart is the Libyan terrorist convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103, who is set to be released by Scottish authorities for 'humanitarian reasons.' An outraged American government wants that stopped, but nothing can persuade the British to intervene.
Except, perhaps, Operation King's Deception.
Run by the CIA, the operation aims to solve a centuries-old mystery, one that could rock Great Britain to its royal foundations.
CIA Operative Blake Antrim, in charge of King's Deception, is hunting for the spark that could rekindle a most dangerous fire: the one thing that every Irish national has sought for centuries-a legal reason why the English must leave Northern Ireland. The answer is a long-buried secret that calls into question the legitimacy of the entire 45 year reign of Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch, who completed the conquest of Ireland and seized much of its land. But Antrim also has a more personal agenda, a twisted game of revenge in which Gary is a pawn. With assassins, traitors, spies, and dangerous disciples of a secret society closing in, Malone is caught in a lethal bind. To save Gary he must play one treacherous player against another-and only by uncovering the incredible truth can he hope to stop the shattering consequences of the King's Deception.
This book will be available on June 11, 2013.
April 2nd, 2013
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The Sleeping Doll - Jeffery Deaver
When Special Agent Kathryn Dance -- a brilliant interrogator and kinesics expert with the California Bureau of Investigation -- is sent to question the convicted killer Daniel "Son of Manson" Pell as a suspect in a newly unearthed crime, she feels both trepidation and electrifying intrigue. Pell is serving a life sentence for the brutal murders of the wealthy Croyton family in Carmel years earlier -- a crime mirroring those perpetrated by Charles Manson in the 1960s. But Pell and his cult members were sloppy: Not only were they apprehended, they even left behind a survivor -- the youngest of the Croyton daughters, who, because she was in bed hidden by her toys that terrible night, was dubbed the Sleeping Doll.
But the girl never spoke about that night, nor did the crime's mastermind. Indeed, Pell has long been both reticent and unrepentant about the crime. And so with the murderer transported from the Capitola superprison to an interrogation room in the Monterey County Courthouse, Dance sees an opportunity to pry a confession from him for the recent murder -- and to learn more about the depraved mind of this career criminal who considers himself a master of control, a dark Svengali, forcing people to do what they otherwise would never conceive of doing. In an electrifying psychological jousting match, Dance calls up all her skills as an interrogator and kinesics -- body language -- expert to get to the truth behind Daniel Pell.
But when Dance's plan goes terribly wrong and Pell escapes, leaving behind a trail of dead and injured, she finds herself in charge of her first-ever manhunt. But far from simply fleeing, Pell turns on his pursuers -- and other innocents -- for reasons Dance and her colleagues can't discern. As the idyllic Monterey Peninsula is paralyzed by the elusive killer, Dance turns to the past to find the truth about what Daniel Pell is really up to. She tracks down the now teenage Sleeping Doll to learn what really happened that night, and she arranges a reunion of three women who were in his cult at the time of the killings. The lies of the past and the evasions of the present boil up under the relentless probing of Kathryn Dance, but will the truth about Daniel Pell emerge in time to stop him from killing again?
Kathryn Dance is good at reading people. She worked as a jury consultant then moved into public service earning her living from the California Bureau of Investigation. She is primarily an interrogator, but has to step in and step up as lead investigator in the search for a dangerous man named Daniel Pell, who has escaped from prison. Dance is the expert in kinesics, using her skill to discern the truth when people lie. Pell is the expert in manipulation, using his skill to coerce people to bend to his will. He is dangerous and she needs to put him back behind bars.
The Sleeping Doll is CLASSIC Jeffery Deaver. Some of his more recent works have surely disappointed (avoid The Bodies Left Behind), but he is back to true form with this one. This book is wonderfully reminiscent of Peter Kincaid in Deaver's The Devil's Teardrop where Kincaid's expert knowledge in forensic document examination is needed in the search for a man they call the Digger.
Jeffery Deaver teaches, fascinates and intrigues as he writes. The way he weaves the artful science of kinesics (reading body language) into this story is impressive. I have always touted the depth of Mr. Deaver's research as his biggest strength. "The devil is in the detail," as they say, and Deaver goes the extra mile for his readers.
What a great book.


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This is my own personal opinion that what we do in the temple does not define us as who we are but rather what we do outside the temple that matters.
How we treat other humans and animals should be the measurement of our "religious" and "spiritual" growth and height not how many mantras and holy books we have remembered and which faith we were born into or follow.
If one cannot put his/her belief, faith, religion and its teaching in his REAL PRACTICAL LIFE and still pretend to be righteous then he/she should GIVE UP that faith and go for something that he can LIVE BY!


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copyright: P. Mauro
Highly distinctive with multicolored plumage. Male has black gorget, greenish-blue underparts, scapulars and rump flaxen. Long uppertail coverts the same green as tail, latter with streamers. Primaries and their coverts and tertials green to green-blue, but rest of upperwing mahogany. Iris red-crimson, mouth flesh-pink. Female tends to have scapulars and lower back greener, lees flaxen, than male, lesser wing coverts less intensely green.
Sunny hillsides, meadows, pasture and cultivated land with shelter-belts and scattered trees, plains, dissected steppe, broad river valleys, shrubby riverbanks in semi desert, and practically any open and well-timbered country, and Mediterranean macchia scrub.
Merops apiaster is a widespread summer visitor to southern and eastern Europe, which accounts for less than half of its global breeding range. Its European breeding population is large (>480,000 pairs), but underwent a moderate decline between 1970- 1990. Although the species increased overall during 1990-2000-with increasing or stable trends across most of its European range-its population probably has not yet recovered to the level that preceded its decline.
Diet relies largely on bumblebees and honeybees, mainly in Europe, wasps of many families and stingless bees in Africa, but takes most other orders of insects as opportune. In fact, probably eats all day-flying insects. Nestling are fed larger insects than those consumed by adults, particularly if latter are foraging more than a few hundred meters from nest. Forages from vantage point on tree, fence or telephone wire, making lengthy forays after a passing insect, seizing it after short dashing chase, and bringing it back to the perch to beat its head, killing the prey.
This species has a large range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 1,000,000-10,000,000 km². It has a large global population, including an estimated 950,000-2,000,000 individuals in Europe (BirdLife International in prep.). Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern. [conservation status from birdlife.org]
The European Bee-eater is a colonially breeding migratory species. The birds arrive in the breeding colony in early May and have departed again by the end of August. The interval from the first egg being laid until the start of hatching (which is highly asynchronous, is about 28 days, and from hatching to the completion of fledging about 32 days. Clutches consist of 4-7 eggs laid at 2 day intervals in a nest burrow. The nest chamber is at the end of a tunnel a meter or more in length, built in a sand or earth bank or in level ground. Some nest burrows are re-used in consecutive years, but the majority of pairs excavate burrow anew each year. About a fifth of the nests with chicks have helpers. The majority of these have a single helper, some have two helpers, and occasionally nests may have three or four helpers. Helpers contribute to provisioning the brood, but unlike in White-fronted Bee-eaters, they do not help with incubation. They may start helping at any stage during the nestling period, and continue to provision chicks after they have fledged.
Migratory; exclusively a summer visitor to breeding range. Winters almost entirely within Africa in 2 distinct segments: West Africa and Sénégal to Ghana, marginally to Nigeria, and eastern and southern Africa, mainly south of Equator and Congo basin forests. Passages broad-front overland, with unbroken overflying of Sahara and Arabian deserts. Migrant flocks favour thermal conditions; hence some tendency to concentrate at narrows for Mediterranean crossing: Straits of Gibraltar, Sicilian Channel, and Cyprus/Levant. Sicilian Channel passage much more pronounced in spring, in line with more conspicuous spring (than autumn) passage through North Africa generally. Family parties begin congregating in second half of July, and main exodus from Europe spans mid-August to early October. Present in African winter quarters from mid-September (early October in South Africa); return movement begins March in south, continuing through April; European spring passage mid-April to late May. Spring migrants often overshoot in anticyclonic weather, regularly reaching north-west Europe and exceptionally nesting.