text:
NEW YORK, July 7 (UPI) -- Pop star Rihanna has sued her former accountants, charging New York-based Berdon LLP used dubious practices to siphon profits from her concert tours.
In the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Rihanna, known in civilian life as Robyn Rihanna Fenty, blames Berdon for tax troubles, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. She said Berdon's mistakes on her income tax returns have led to a continuous audit by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Rihanna said Berdon paid itself a percentage of the gross revenue from each tour. She said that while her "Last Girl on Earth" tour in 2009 had a net loss, Berdon got 22 percent of the revenues and paid her only 6 percent.
After she fired Berdon, her "Loud" tour last year returned 40 percent of the gross revenues as profit, Rihanna said.
A Berdon spokeswoman declined to comment on the suit.
Rihanna, 24, moved to the United States from Barbados when she was 16.


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The idea of pacing within a game is not new and certainly not unique to one genre or another. Action, adventure, role-playing, and even puzzle games all require a consideration of pacing. How the player progresses, how the action moves, and how layers of challenge are added are all pacing concepts within game design. The idea of pacing in lesson planning and classroom instruction is not new either, pacing set by teachers, students, or combinations of both are all applied. Education literature has witnessed pendulum swings back and forth between rapid teacher-directed classroom pacing and student-directed variable pacing. Two separate math classrooms found different results in pacing. Sangster (2007) found a quicker paced classroom was beneficial. Vaughan (2005) found that students were more successful when they were able to set their own pacing of a unit before beginning.
Tomb Raider: Anniversary's challenge in pacing stems its' heritage and its' isolated atmosphere. The game throws a large and seemingly open area to explore. The player can explore every gap, cave, and reachable outcropping trying to find artifacts, ammo, and other hidden items. Or the player can seek out the most direct and efficient route out of the room puzzle, progressing forward to the larger goal. This initially creates the feeling of a large area to explore, but quickly the player learns there is typically one, and only one, way to get past the puzzles. There are frequent dead ends for players exploring the area seeking out additional health, ammo, or "lost artifacts."
The level design does give the player the ability to set their own pace, exploring the open areas for every item or seeking out the solution to the next area. Unfortunately, the level design often creates conflicting pacing. Those looking for the direct route end up exploring because the solution is not immediately clear. And those seeking out each item may stumble upon the exit only to have to return for missed exploration. Over the course of the first half of the game, I've experienced both situations.
I believe the game is designed with a slower, methodical pace. A pace that encourages exploration. A pace that reminds the player of how isolated the explorer/robber Lara is. And a pace that was born during an area of game design when there were not clear (or even often stated) objectives, tutorials were not common place, and the rise of game walkthroughs (and sites like gamefaqs.com) were only beginning.
The result of this perceived exploratory freedom is my frequent frustration about where to go and frequent restarts due to missed jumps. The ideas here of pacing tie directly into the directions (and lack of) given to the player. The game asks the player to explore the surroundings and enjoy the journey. While I enjoyed the journey in the first area, by the second area I was focused on the outcome rather than the journey's exploration. I was just trying to get to the next area and goal.
The recent Destrutoid rant on exploration and my classes this week shifted my experience and expectations with Tomb Raider's pacing. The Destrutoid rant talked about exploration in games as a means to either power up and add abilities or as simply as a means to explore and discover. The contrast of exploring to discover and exploring to achieve a goal are at odds with their pacing. When a player's goal is finishing the level or gaining the new ability a tighter, faster pacing keeps the game moving forward and the player engaged in progressing. When the goal is exploration the pacing can be more open and set by the player. These two paces echo Sangster (2007) and Vaughan (2005) from above. The challenge for Tomb Raider: Anniversary is meeting the players' expectation of pacing. When my goal shifted from enjoying the journey to reaching the next area and objective, I was at odds with the game.
Being at odds with the game's exploration pacing, paralleled one instruction experience this week. An undergraduate art history course was looking specifically for articles and resources on their paints and were struggling to find more than a few exact matches. Their goal was to get the required sources and move on to the next assignment and area of their work. The project required them to find tangential sources exploring themes and imagery. The students expectations of classroom pacing were not to search and expand their knowledge and understanding, they were searching to complete the assignment. This difference in research goals effected their expectations on exploration of resources.
In tightly focused research session, the student is able to quickly and efficiently find resources needed. Unfortunately, this can often be interpreted by students as doing a search and finding the closest articles within the first page or two of results. This is not a new concern or expectation by students. Librarians often struggle to help students dig deeper than the top results or to refine a search beyond the "good enough" articles. But when the exploration goal is a quickly paced task to the next assignment, their expectations are at odds with the frequent messy reality of a research journey.
We must also realize that our expectations can be at odds with the students as well. Just as I was frustrated with Tomb Raider slow exploratory pacing, our students get frustrated with libraries with vast resource options to explore. They just want clear directions through the assignment to reach their goal. Not every class can enjoy the journey as much as a Master's of Education class I worked with this week. After three hours of research exploration, and two reams of paper later, they were still enjoying the exploration of every resource and treasure hunt for each new piece of research.
That is the pacing and joy of exploration Tomb Raider: Anniversary expects of its' players. But I was the undergraduate student who just wanted to find my way out of this research cave and out into the daylight of the next assignment. This is a lesson in pacing and exploration that I can take with me into each classroom setting. While I can attempt to inspire the joys of exploration in students, I can also help them understand which path out of their research is the most effective. Just as Tomb Raider's series of jumps, climbs, and ledges may not always feel like the fastest way out of an area, it is often the most effective. In research, sometimes the required information is direct and accessing it is quickly paced. But there are other times when we can help students through the most effective path, which often includes jumps from one database and source to another.
But unlike Tomb Raider's isolated environment, we can help our students understand why this winding research path is important to achieving their desired goal. Unlike Tomb Raider, where the Sherpa died in the opening scene, the individual student is not alone on this exploration. Librarians are there to help pace the exploration, providing both a growing understanding of the journey as a process and effective routes through the deep caverns of research projects.
Sangster, Margaret. 2007. "REFLECTING ON PACE." MT: Mathematics Teaching no. 204: 34-36.
Vaughan, Angela L. 2005. "The Self-Paced Student." Educational Leadership 62, no. 7: 69-73.
images from TombRaiders.net
Just Keep Climbing & Jumping: Tomb Raider's Pacing & Exploration as a Research Journey
The idea of pacing within a game is not new and certainly not unique to one genre or another. Action, adventure, role-playing, and even puzzle games all require a consideration of pacing. How the player progresses, how the action moves, and how layers of challenge are added are all pacing concepts within game design. The idea of pacing in lesson planning and classroom instruction is not new either, pacing set by teachers, students, or combinations of both are all applied. Education literature has witnessed pendulum swings back and forth between rapid teacher-directed classroom pacing and student-directed variable pacing. Two separate math classrooms found different results in pacing. Sangster (2007) found a quicker paced classroom was beneficial. Vaughan (2005) found that students were more successful when they were able to set their own pacing of a unit before beginning.
9:41 PM | Tags: assumptions, gameanalogies, games, instruction | 10 Comments
Not Hot for Teacher: Lara Croft & Tomb Raider as Educator
Jansz, Jeroen, and Raynel G. Martis. 2007. "The Lara Phenomenon: Powerful Female Characters in Video Games." Sex Roles 56, no. 3/4: 141-148.But as an educational tool and analogy, well, teaching is not often the focus of discussion. Last spring Nicholas over at information.games wrote about his recent Tomb Raider experiences. I respect Nicholas Schiller's approach to gaming as educational pedagogy and his discussion of the game made me wonder about potential educational parallels. So recently Chad from Library Voice and I started playing through Tomb Raider: Anniversary, a remake/re-imaging of the original Tomb Raider for the Playstation.
Over the last two weeks I've been inching my way forward in Anniversary, one puzzle room at a time. And now, at about the half-way mark, there are some instructional parallels that are worth spending a little time on:
- User interface settings
- Individualized pacing
- Clear directions
- Staging assignments
Each of these gameplay experiences has a direct connection to what we teach and how patrons use our services.
User Interface:
Early in the first few stages of TR:Anniversary the player is introduced to the concept of "Advance Toggle" for attacking enemies. The default controls allow the player to auto-lock and draw their weapons automatically. "Advance Toggle" manually draws the weapon. When the control option is introduced it in via a quick pop-up window suggesting the control scheme if you are having trouble. The reality was, I was not having trouble defeating the few wild animals around the levels. Since attacking was not an issue, I dismissed the suggestion and continued through the game.
Unfortunately, not using this option made the first boss battle overly difficult. The first real test of gameplay skill comes in the form of a T-Rex. Using the default interface, which was able to get me through the first three levels only resulted in frustration, lots of frustration and dozens of attempts. When I switched to the "advance" interface I was able to defeat the dino in two attempts.
There is a discussion to have about the practice vs. performance aspect of this boss, going from a suggestion to a requirement of a skill needed to progress does not allow the player much room to develop the ability. Part of the problem with the lack of practice is the ease of the default interface. It is easy enough to run around letting the game AI auto target, but it suddenly becomes much more efficient when using the "advanced" controls.
There is a discussion to have about the practice vs. performance aspect of this boss, going from a suggestion to a requirement of a skill needed to progress does not allow the player much room to develop the ability. Part of the problem with the lack of practice is the ease of the default interface. It is easy enough to run around letting the game AI auto target, but it suddenly becomes much more efficient when using the "advanced" controls.
This is the same situation that librarians have discussed with students for years. In most cases, the advanced search boxes in EBSCO, Proquest, FirstSearch, Jstor, and others all result in more effective and efficient searches than the basic search. Last year when EBSCO switched their interface to the Googlized one line, students were please with the ease of use and access to results. Unfortunately, when students begin with more detailed and specific searches they often came up with the red line reading: Note: Your initial search query did not yield any results. But because EBSCO is so nice, the students still have 100,000s of hits based on some of their search terms. EBSCO often allows students to go through their search finding "close enough" articles. Or the research equivalent of running around and shooting until the player hits something.
This is the same situation that librarians have discussed with students for years. In most cases, the advanced search boxes in EBSCO, Proquest, FirstSearch, Jstor, and others all result in more effective and efficient searches than the basic search. Last year when EBSCO switched their interface to the Googlized one line, students were please with the ease of use and access to results. Unfortunately, when students begin with more detailed and specific searches they often came up with the red line reading: Note: Your initial search query did not yield any results. But because EBSCO is so nice, the students still have 100,000s of hits based on some of their search terms. EBSCO often allows students to go through their search finding "close enough" articles. Or the research equivalent of running around and shooting until the player hits something.
This fall in my instruction sessions, I've made an effort to have students search both under the default interface and under the "advanced." Even the students that found results under the default interface's single search line, had more effective searches (relevance & retrieval) using the advance method. By helping the students see the difference and understand how to use the advanced search, they continued to use the advanced interface throughout the session and in future sessions as well.
Just like TR:Anniversary, EBSCO allows the user to get by with the default interface. But to really be effective in both the game and in research users need to dig deeper into the interfaces and find the advanced feature that will improve their quest for information and artifacts.
12:43 PM | Tags: games, instruction, methods | 8 Comments
Fall Research: Games as Analogy for Information Literacy
Description of Projects Involved: The Research Fellow, in collaboration with the project leader, will research and create tutorials that will be used by students to help teach information evaluation skills. These tutorials will include three distinct mediums for student interaction; powerpoint, web-based games, and commercial video games. In order to accomplish this, the Fellow will be responsible for researching critical thinking, information literacy, and game based learning. The Fellow will review gaming projects from other libraries and experiment with online Flash and commercial video games. The project will include four distinct phases: research, creation, application, and evaluation. The first year of the project will focus on research, creation, and piloting of the three tutorials. The second year will include applying these tutorials in workshop or classroom settings and evaluating the results.
5:12 PM | Tags: gameanalogies, research, St. Norbert College | 2 Comments
It's Football Season: Fantasy Sports & Information Literacy
With today's opening weekend kickoff to the new NFL season, it's worthwhile to review some of the information literacy skills millions of fantasy football players will be engaged in over the next few months. This past summer I was one of the many guest videos (guest speakers) in Scott Nicholson's Gaming in Libraries online course. The brief video walks through much of what I've written and spoken about in regards to information literacy and fantasy football.
2:11 PM | Tags: fantasy sports | 4 Comments
For Whom the Bell Tolls... I'm Not Dead Yet
After 6 months of no activity on this blog, the growing assumption is a slow quiet internet death.
But I'm hear to say that it is not the case. I'm not dead, yet. There are still people finding the site and emailing about posts, articles, and classroom ideas. In the words of my colleague, I was on a blogcation. There are plenty of others who took planned and unplanned leaves from their writing. And we all have reasons.
Mine... the sudden death of my father. He died a few days after my last post. I am thankful to have had an open relationship with my father and we never hesitated to say "I love you." That being said, rarely a day goes by that I do not think of him in some fashion or another. In addition to this emotional tramua, as the Spring Semester wore on, the entire library began the preparation for a moving our existing collection and staff to a new library building. All in all, I was not in a mental or physical mindset to write.
I did continue to research and present. And I am back to needing a place organize, share, and shape my thoughts and ideas. Thus, I am back writing again. Over the next few posts, I will catch things up and talk more about my renewed energy and focus for video games and information literacy.
Starting up with where I stopped 6 months ago is a good jumping off point. My post on the state of video games, learning, and academic libraries was responded to by Christy Sich over at Bibliographic Games. Christy had one of the earlier articles about video games and information literacy and her experience and insight are appreicated. She ended her post with:
It's important to imbed information literacy into the curriculum - so a game-based information literacy approach should also be embedded.Our campus is in the process of revising it's general education requirements and information literacy is currently included at the same level with writing and speaking/communication across the curriculum. Working on a draft of information literacy objectives, outcomes, course requirements has taken time away from video game research, but it has also allowed me to begin looking for games that fit these outcomes. Over the course of this academic year, I will write more about how I'm incorporating games and gaming strategies into the structure information literacy objectives and hopefully curriculum.
But for now, I'll catch myself and anyone else up on the last few months. There are also some new projects that I will be writing about, researching, and reflecting on.
Hello again to anyone who hasn't updated their RSS feeds in a while. And hello to anyone new out there reading.
image from Pythonline
10:07 PM | Tags: instruction, personal | 2 Comments
State of Academic Library Gaming & Learning
The following is an email I sent out to various academic librarians working on gaming and learning in libraries, with a focus on information literacy. I hope that by posting it here and as others post their responses on their own sites this discussion will grow. Please join in this conversation. Nicholas Schiller has already added his thoughts to the dialog.
I hope this email finds each of your semesters going well. I want to ask each of you to consider taking part in a dialog about the current position of games for learning within higher education libraries. Recently, I was asked what the most innovative application of gaming in academic libraries was in 2008 year. While I turned to the work of many of you, I was struck by how fewer projects there were compared to 2006 and 2007. This perception played out through many of conferences during 2008 and was something that struck me during GLLS in November.While more and more libraries are getting involved with gaming through events and even collections, are we seeing the same growth and adoption with gaming and instruction? Has gaming and learning hit a wall within higher education? If so why? If not, where is it evolving?Each of you has had some part over the last few years researching, producing, and presenting instructional games and applying gaming strategies in academic libraries. Creating gaming nights is a straightforward process. Creating learning games and lessons with gaming strategies on the other hand, is an involved (and sometimes time consuming and/or expensive) creative process. But many of you are doing it on a variety of levels. My question is if our work is spreading or are we just talking to ourselves?Now is the time to ask questions, discuss, and look to the future. Nick and Mary both have gaming presentations/posters at ACRL at the end of the month. But these are the only two gaming sessions in Seattle. According to the early program for this year's LOEX conference, there are no sessions on gaming and instruction. There are a number of gaming sessions at ALA Annual, but most are focused on public libraries. Where do we fit?Discussion Questions:1) What is the current state of games and learning in academic libraries?2) What are some of the factors to that current state?3) Based on your experience and research, what are the next steps?4) What are the factors supporting or preventing those "next steps?"5) What do the finical and economic situations at many institutions mean for instructional gaming in libraries?6) What other issues/questions should we be considering?Thank you all for taking the time to consider taking part in this discussion. I know that there is much work to still be done in our field, but I am hopeful that through collaborations like these we can continue to move forward.Thank you,Paul Waelchli
3:35 PM | Tags: applications | 16 Comments
Goodbye EGM
I spent the night glued to twitter feeds and message boards last night reading about the UGO buy out of 1up and the cancelation of EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly). The writers there consistently spoke with a unique voice in video game journalism and I'm sorry to see many of them go. Their writings, shows, and podcasts were a part of my routine. Three of their podcasts filled my MP3 player every week for the last two years. Over that time, people came and went. Relationships were cultivated. Trust was built. I've told many people that I spend more time writing and reading about video games than I do playing. The 1up.com staff was a large part of my gaming experience. They will be missed.
EGM was a video game institution. It was about to enter it's 20th year with its final issue. I remember seeing the very first issue of EGM on newsstands as a kid, but it wasn't until issue number 4 that I became a regular reader. Even as a middle school kid, I was reading about games from numerous magazines (Nintendo Power, GamePro, EGM, Computer and Video Games, Computer Gaming World). One perspective was not good enough even back then… it's no wonder I'm teaching information literacy. But EGM stood out above the rest. Nintendo Power was for the fan in me, Gamepro had a fun kid friendly style with reviews, but EGM felt honest, harsh even at times. Video games got poor ratings. And who didn't wonder who Sushi-X and Quatermann were?
EGM is a part of my gaming history as it is for many video game players. While the death of EGM and print video game magazines was written on the wall for a while now… the loss is not softened.
Thank you to all the EGM writers and editors over the years. Your work has helped video game players question sources, look for additional perspectives, and see their hobby and passion as something more than the electronic "toy" it was back at the start of your run in 1989.
12:11 PM | Tags: gamemedia, personal | 0 Comments
"Multiple Literacies in 2008 Holiday Games"
The January epsoide of Games in Libraries podcast was released today. The podcast itself is filled with a number of good interviews including one with the Video Game Librarian. The final segment of the podcast includes a discussion about the multiple literacies being put into practice by some of the bigger games of the holiday 2008 season. I talk about the traditional, media, visual, and information literacies at work within the following games:
- Little Big Planet
- Banjo-Kazooie
- Prince of Persia
- Mirror's Edge
- Left 4 Dead
- Call of Duty: World at War
- Animal Crossing: City Folk
- Fallout 3
- Fable II
- The World of Goo
- Braid
- Valkyria Chronicles
(info links provided by CrispyGamer, if you haven't read some of their freelance content now is the chance
I had initially hoped to get something posted here discussing of number of these games during the holiday season, but time got away from me. My segment on the podcast is a condensed version of the possible discussion about the literacies at work within these games. And that's a discussion I'd like to come back to during this month.
I had initially hoped to get something posted here discussing of number of these games during the holiday season, but time got away from me. My segment on the podcast is a condensed version of the possible discussion about the literacies at work within these games. And that's a discussion I'd like to come back to during this month.
But until then… enjoy the podcast and please give me any thoughts or feedback on the connection between the video games discussed and literacy. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
8:53 PM | Tags: games, literacy | 1 Comments
"Welcome Back… Your Dreams are Your Ticket Out"
Over a month and a half since my last post. I'd like to have some wonderful story to go along with my absence, but the end of a semester at a new institution brought a number of unexpected surprises. But the end my first semester came with a number of good results too.
A 100% increase in the number of instruction sessions taught from Fall 07 to Fall 08. Granted we started with a tiny number compared to what I was doing at the University of Dubuque. UD's 450 plus sessions for a student body of 1200 is an amazing number. But still I managed some good growth and have hopefully laid down a foundation for future semesters
An initial campus assessment of some information literacy skills was conducted during the semester. 888 students from across all four grade levels (an easy 222 class average) answered a series of questions dealing with evaluating sources, identifying keywords, and plagiarism. The results we mixed, good in some areas and identifying areas of need in others. This initial round of data gives me numbers to work into conversations with faculty about their students and the benefits of information literacy.
I organized and ran a student study break on the Sunday before finals week. There were snacks and sodas for the students along with board games and Mario Kart Wii. We had a very successful night and ran out of soda within the first 20 minutes. I hoped for about 100 students and ended up with 192. Hopeful the good buzz generated by this event will lead to good things this coming semester.
My one disappointment with this semester was the lack of involvement with the general education committee. They are changing the curriculum and the chair was vocal with me and the library about supporting information literacy. While I may be disappointed in the progress, it is a committee working toward change – change moves slowly.
My goal and dream for this semester is not only to continue to build on the success of the fall and to push myself and the library with the changes in the general education. Therein lies my dream. My ticket out of hit or miss one shot instruction. A curriculum where information literacy is tied into it.
We'll see. But until then… welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.
11:48 PM | Tags: St. Norbert College | 1 Comments

subset: commoncrawl


text: Go Shopping Mall. Congratulations!! Shopping Card holders only pay S&H Home My Account Cart Help Products Catalog As Seen On TV (11) Automotive (14) Apparel » Electronics » Electronics (17) Kitchen/Cooking/Home » Jewelry/Watches » Luggage/Purses/Bags » Personal & Misc. » Music/Movies/Games » Nascar Collectibles » Outdoor/Sports/Fitness » More Info F.A.Q. Help Terms & Conditions Contact Us Home | Electronics Electronics Electronics If you are a card holder You only pay Shipping & Handling. Card # Pin Cart Contents Your Cart is empty Featured Mini MP3 Shuffle Player [More Featured Items] GoShoppingMall.com ©2011 Great Gifts @ Great Prices Home|Account|FAQ|Help|Terms|Contact


text:
In order to secure a repository item descriptor, create a property that stores the ACL for that item. In order to define an owner for an item type, also create a property that stores the owner's name. For example:
<item-descriptor name="cheese">
<property name="country" data-type="string" />
<property name="runniness" data-type="int" />
<property name="ACL" data-type="string" />
<property name="cheeseOwner" component-type="user" />
The properties that you add to the underlying repository are identified in the secured repository definition file by these two tags:
<owner-property name="
<acl-property name="
For example, given the previous example, you update the secured repository's
item-descriptor definition as follows:
<acl-property name="ACL" /> <owner-property name="cheeseOwner" />
ACL property length constraints
The length of an ACL is limited by the amount of space available in the ACL property that is defined in the unsecure (underlying) repository. An overlong ACL generates a repository exception when it is set. This problem can occur when you use the
create-group-acl-template in the secured repository definition to define an ACL for the owner's group, and the owner belongs to many groups.
To avoid this problem, define the ACL property as an array of strings, so the ACL is concatenated from the stored substrings. For example:
<item-descriptor name="cheese"> ... <table name="test_items_acls" type="multi" id-column-names="id" multi-column-name="index"> <property name="ACL" column-names="acl" data-type="array" component-data-type="string"> <attribute name="maxFragmentSize" value="254"/> </property> </table> </item-descriptor>
maxFragmentSize attribute sets the maximum length of a string in any array index. The default value is 254. Set
maxFragmentSize to the size of the database string column. For many databases, 254 is the appropriate value for a VARCHAR of unspecified length.


text:
Export 14 results:Title Type [ Year]
Filters: Author is Donald Sofge [Clear All Filters]
"Carbon monoxide plume detection with nanowire-based sensors mounted on an unmanned ground vehicle", IMCS 2016 - The 16th International Meeting on Chemical Sensors. Jeju Island, Korea, 2016. Download PDF (182.57 KB),
"Downwash Detection and Avoidance with Small Quadrotor Helicopters", Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, AIAA, pp. 1-20, 2016. Download PDF (1.93 MB),
"Distributed Information-Theoretic Target Detection Using Physics-Inspired Motion Coordination", 8th International Symposium on Resilient Control Systems. Philadelphia, PA, 2015. Download PDF (502.02 KB),
"Onboard Flow Sensing For Downwash Detection and Avoidance with a Small Quadrotor Helicopter", Proceedings AIAA Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference, vol. AIAA 2015-1769. Orlando, FL, pp. 1-11, 2015. Download PDF (1.12 MB),
"Stabilizing task-based omnidirectional quadruped locomotion with Virtual Model Control", IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation 2015 (ICRA2015). Seattle, WA, 2015. Download PDF (180.26 KB),
"Application of grazing-inspired guidance laws to autonomous information gathering", Proceedings of the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. IEEE Press, Chicago, IL, pp. 3828-3833, 2014. Download PDF (532.45 KB),
"Physics-Aware Informative Coverage Planning for Autonomous Vehicles", Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. IEEE Press, Hong Kong, 2014. Download PDF (1.65 MB),
"Tactile Sensor System Processing Based On K-means Clustering", in 10th International Conference on Machine Learning & Applications, Honolulu Hawaii, 2011. Download PDF (667.91 KB),
"Long-range near-optimal path planning for gliders in complex high-energy environments", Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. IEEE/OES, 2010. Download PDF (749.84 KB),
"A Generalized Graph-Based Method for Engineering Swarm Solutions to Multiagent Problems", Parallel Problem Solving from Nature-PPSN IX. Springer, Reykjavik, 2006. Download PDF (189.68 KB),
"Toward a framework for quantum evolutionary computation", IEEE Conference on Cybernetics and Intelligent Systems. IEEE, Bangkok, 2006. Download PDF (442.14 KB),
"Collaborating with Humanoid Robots in Space", International Journal of Humanoid Robotics, vol. 02, no. 02, pp. 181-201, 2005. Download PDF (732.08 KB),
"Human-Robot Collaboration and Cognition with an Autonomous Mobile Robot", in In Proceedings of the 8th Conference on Intelligent Autonomous Systems (IAS-8, Amsterdam, The Nederlands, 2004. Download PDF (267.89 KB),
"Toward Multimodal Human-Robot Cooperation and Collaboration", AIAA 1st Intelligent Systems Technical Conference. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Chicago, IL, 2004. Download PDF (283.05 KB),


text:
Maryland officials have announced a $300,000 investment in two start-up companies through the state's InvestMaryland initiative.
The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development said Thursday that Plasmonix will receive $100,000. Bambeco, which received $400,000 in InvestMaryland funds last month, will receive $200,000.
InvestMaryland was created last year to help innovative companies get started in the state. Maryland has raised $84 million for the venture capital initiative through an online auction of tax credits to Maryland insurance companies.
Plasmonix, which is based at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, has developed technology used in cell detection for medical research.
Bambeco is a Baltimore-based online retailer whose catalogue includes solar-powered tea lanterns, recycled scrap steel trash bins and briefcases made from recycled truck tires with seatbelt shoulder straps.


text:
Dear Vengeful Shade, how I loathe thee. Let me count the ways!
If you guessed that I've started working on Hard Mode Lady Deathwhisper, you'd be right! We spent about 3 hours on Wednesday night with the fine lady, and another 2.5 last night with her. It was a learning experience, for what is proving to be our biggest challenge in Ice Crown Citadel (outside of the Lich King) to date.
Our first night of attempts was largely spent working through actually getting to phase 2, which required a fair amount of tweaking to our strategy, and by the end of the night we were getting there fairly regularly. But we were rough on the transition from phase 1 to phase 2. Even so we still saw roughly 60% on our first night. We had 37 vengeful shade explosions.
In our second night of attempts we were fairly successful in making it to phase two, and by the end of the night had smoothed out the phase 1 to phase 2 transition. We saw somewhere around 55% in our best attempt. We had 69 vengeful shade explosions. However, it should be noted that we made it into phase 2 significantly more than the prior evening.
Now, you may think that is no big deal…because in normal mode, it really isn't. But the fine lady, in her heroic iteration, has her takes out her vengeance not only on the player that the shade hits, but on everyone within 20 yards of that player. And that vengeance is to the toon of 20k damage!
Just because I need a sounding board and need to think through my thoughts, let me walk through what's working for us, what's not and what changes I think we are going to make next week with her. I do think with just a little more tweaking we will be set for a kill.
How to Ascertain Who Has Been Hit by a Vengeful Shade
These little purple buggers are the bane of this encounter. The fight will ultimately be won and lost based on how your raid handles them. Determining who is getting hit by them is tricky to do because when someone gets hit they cause a lot of damage to people around them, so unlike in normal you cannot judge who was hit by merely looking to who took a "vengeful blast". However, there is a trick! When a vengeful shade actually hits you it gets in a melee swing that does ~300 damage (armor and whatnot do affect the damage received from the melee swing). As such, you can poke through your logs to see who let a vengeful shade get in a melee hit on them.
One other thing to note is that it seems that if you are in melee range of a shade, and it's original target has properly fled, it will turn and smack you. So not only the person that the shade is targeting needs to flee, everyone needs to make sure they steer clear of the ghosts.
I have come to the conclusion that it is likely impossible to have 100% avoidance on the ghosts, but that it is imperative that no more than one detonate per round. Her lovely snaring frostbolt volley does not help matters either.
Phase 1 – What's Working
I feel pretty confident that we now have a good grasp on phase 1. We are seeing the phase 2 transition with regularity; however it did require us to change up our strategy on the fight a bit. We are also being a bit unorthodox in using 3 tanks and 7 healers (although I think I may back us down to 6 healers next week, because if phase 2 is cleaned up I don't feel that the 7th healer is warranted, and the spot would be better served by an additional DPS but I'm not 100% sure on that yet). I like the 3 tank set up that we have right now, and DPS isn't an issue, so I don't think we will change that. Honestly though, without the 15% buff we probably would have to adjust this down to 2 tanks and 6 healers, but with the buff I'm not overly concerned about her enrage timer as based on our current work with the encounter, as long as we can keep people alive we will not hit her enrage. We are entering phase 2 with ~6 minutes and often more on the timer.
We are utilizing what I believe to be "the" strategy for managing the adds in this phase. That is, everyone goes up onto the stage behind her and you pile the adds on top of her and AE. Hell, we managed one pull where we got her into phase 2 in something like 2.5 minutes. There were two challenges we had with this strategy: killing the MC folks and getting the adds into her.
We worked (successfully) through killing the MC folks (there are 3 of them now) by calling for AE to stop 5 seconds before the MC was cast. Now mind you…AE didn't really stop until about 1 second before the MCs went out, but people wound up their AE when the call went out. When AE stopped, DPS single targeted the remaining adds down quickly. We told the entire raid "if you have an ability to CC, you use it when the MCs hit". For the most part, we pretty successfully handled MCs in this phase. And we didn't have a lot of deaths to MC'd people once we got it worked out. This worked out well for us.
Getting all of the adds into her was another struggle entirely. We have a tank assigned to each pillar/side and the third tank grabs the add that comes in from the back and picks up Deathwhisper when she comes loose. An added benefit to that third tank is that should a tank bite it to a squid it isn't going to completely fall apart due to the cross tanking we have going on. Still, the casters are tricky to get into her so that the AE can deal with them. We worked it out by using some very creative line of sight tactics with those pillars right by her and some exceptional hunter maneuvers. Basically a hunter on each side would distracting shot a caster, and then draw it into the fray by line of sighting the adds via the pillars and the tanks picked it up from there (I think the hunters may have MD'd them once they were in as well, but I'm not 100% positive). It worked really well. By the second night, getting the adds into position was a moot point.
One thing that we did take notice of is that the fewer adds you let become empowered, the faster the phase will progress. This is as the result of having to spend less time focusing on the adds and more time focusing on getting her mana shield down.
All in all, I have a pretty good comfort level with our execution on this phase. I feel that we have largely "mastered" this aspect of the encounter.
Phase 1 -> Phase 2 Transition – What's Working
This took a little bit of tweaking. You cannot bring her down with a fresh set of adds up, at all, and the transition is smoothest when you have zero adds to deal with going into phase 2. I think that we finally worked out a good strategy for this last night. With roughly 3-5% of her mana shield left, we call for everyone to get off of her and clean up the adds or take on the next pack of adds. Once those are dead, or near dead if we are pushing close to the next set, we push her into phase 2.
As she transitions, the only people that move up with her at that juncture are her interrupters, the tank and the tank healers. Everyone else finishes any of the adds that we may have transitioned over with. We then move into our phase 2 positions. This actually worked really well for us once we worked through how it needed to transition.
After last night's raid, I have a pretty good comfort level with this transition.
Phase 2 – What's Working and What's Not
Now, we are making it a good ways into this phase, but not without our casualties. And these casualties, as you may have guessed, are largely due to the vengeful shades! Right now I think some of our ghost issues are due to our positioning. And I think I want to make some adjustments to that.
Currently we have her tanked in the center of the room. In the center with her are the tank (in 3 pieces of FrR gear) and two rogues whose jobs are to interrupt her frostbolt and tricks into the tank. The tanks threat is almost exclusively tricks at the time he has 5 stacks of insignificance on him. I think I'd like to keep this positioning, however our rogues are our most heavy ghost offenders when it comes to blowing vengeful shades up, and I'm not entirely certain how to solve that.
We have each of our other two tanks manning a side. Now, I know that it's common to just use one tank and have him run back and forth between the sides for the adds, but it's far less hectic with two tanks and I'm not overly concerned with her enrage timer. As such, we have the luxury of keeping it with three tanks. The rest of the melee is floating between the add spawns to kill them. We've been fairly melee light our last few raids with only 3-4 melee outside of the rogues. I like this strategy and think that we will stick with it.
Up to this point we have split the remaining members of the raid "left" and "right" and once we move into phase 2 have had them move on their respective sides towards the stairs. We have also had all ranged DPS the adds on their respective sides and then move back to deathwhisper. I do not think that either of these things are working for us.
The Adds
With regards to how ranged should assist on the adds I think having all ranged on each side switch to help with them is detrimental to damage on LDW, and overkill on the adds. I'm working through a couple of solutions for this. The original way that we are doing this is attractive because it forces off time for the DPS and as such forces a threat drop on LDW for them.
However, I wonder if we wouldn't be better served assigning specific members of the raid to switch to help with the adds on their respective sides and certain members staying on LDW full time switching to help with the adds only when their threat requires it. I'm honestly not sure which is the better route to take. I do not think that we are being overrun by adds in phase 2, until we fall apart, and currently our damage is on target for a kill, if we can keep everyone alive. We've made it to 55% with half of our raid dead fairly early into phase 2. So should I change it up?
I think I'm going to have to think about this a little bit more. I need to chat with our melee and see if they spend a good deal of time twiddling their thumbs waiting for adds to spawn or if they are running constantly trying to catch up. I also need to comb our parses to see which of our ranged are actually following directions and assisting with adds, and how many are just beating up LDW.
This one I do have a better idea on what I want to change. After the past two nights I think I've made a bit of a bad call on how to have us positioned in phase 2. I think as a whole we will be better served by utilizing more of the room in a more organized fashion. It is inevitable that people are going to get hit by ghosts, I have grudgingly accepted this fact. So now I think they key here is to mitigate what we can. I think that this can be done by approaching our positioning differently.
Currently we've just assigned "sides" and people are all willy nilly amongst their respective side. I think if we drilled into it a little bit more and assigned "quadrants" we could spread everyone in the raid out better, mitigating the impact of a ghost hit, reducing the chance of multiple ghosts in a single area causing a double blast and overall making it easier to spot the ghosts (by virtue of less clumping in a single area). Here is what I'm envisioning (disclaimer: I'm no Kae! Show pity to my poor stick men!):
While I really like the change, I do have two concerns: healing coverage and dealing with the MCs.
Dealing with the healing shouldn't be too bad, if I opt to say with 7 healers and placing one raid healer on each quadrant cross section there should be a good bit of overlap. If I drop down to 6 healers the question will be do I pull a tank healer or a raid healer, and will I miss somewhere with coverage for raid healers. The more I think about it, the more I think that this isn't going to be as big a problem as I'm making it out to be and that I'm over thinking it. Properly placed healers should be able to get a good chunk of the raid with enough coverage from others to help compensate.
The MCs worry me more. I'm worried about CC coverage with such a vast spreading of the raid. I think I can probably get two sources of CC in each quadrant, but I do worry about how cross quadrant MC coverage will work. However, on thinking on it some, I think it has the potential to smooth out dealing with the MCs in phase 2. By limiting each area, I think MCs may become less chaotic. Each quadrant will know to tend to their own MCs, and should their quadrant not have an MC they can check to see if their neighbors need help. This may actually work out better.
While these changes will not completely solve the vengeful shade problems in their entirety, and people will still have to be awake enough to deal with them, I do think that it will help smooth out our phase 2 and net us a kill on her next week. (We are out of raid time this week to continue with her, unfortunately). I also think that making one of the focuses "mitigation", which is something that I can control, should help immensely.
How are other people dealing with this encounter? Surely I am not the only one with their raid exploding themselves! Do you think the "mitigation" of overall damage route is the way to go in phase 2?


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News around the web!
- A Different Take On The Dodgers' Spending Spree. {FanGraphs}
- Hyun-Jin Ryu likely to opt out of WBC. {Korea Times}
- Zack Greinke on his pitching style. {True Blue L.A.}
- Greinke's contract with Dodgers could be worth $158 million. {Dylan Hernandez/L.A. Times}
- Dodgers Exploring TV Deal With Dick Clark Productions. {Forbes}
- JAWS and the 2013 Hall of Fame ballot: Mike Piazza. {Jay Jaffe/Sports Illustrated}
- Josh Hamilton or Matt Kemp? {Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness}
- Adrian Gonzalez, Luis Cruz and Fernando Valenzuela talk about the Dodgers' recent signings. {Video/Dodgers.com}


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What would insects and arachnids look like if you were the size of a pea? These videos by Ahmet Özkan offer a Lilliputian's eye view into the horribly brutal world of arthropod death matches. And this battle has a surprise ending!
You can see more of Özkan's frighteningly crisp arthropod videos and photography at Vimeo and Deviantart.
[Via Super Punch]
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219 North Rehoboth Blvd, Milford, DE 19963
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The Day of Archaeology 2012 started the way every other day this week did, in the lab. Unlike the past seven summers, the Nuvuk Archaeology Project is spending a good bit of the summer in the lab. We have been digging at a furious pace over those summers, because Nuvuk, site of a village occupied from Thule times through contact and up until the 20th century, the associated cemetery, and, it turns out, an Ipiutak occupation 500 km north of any previously known,is eroding at an average rate of 6 meters per year, up from an average of just over 3 meters per year around 1950. All that digging has resulted in quite a mountain of artifacts and faunal material. The individuals recovered from the burials are analyzed and reburied in the Barrow cemetery, but the other items remain.
We don't take a lot of weather days during the short summers, so lab work mostly happens on weekends during the school year. The Nuvuk crew is mostly made up of local high school students, augmented by undergraduate and grad students in summer, and they have full school days and often sports commitments as well. As a result, we haven't been able to process (clean, mark, catalog) everything before the next field season begins. I decided that we should use the remaining project funds to make sure that was done and done properly. Thus, lab work.
Our crew was fairly small today. One person who started the summer with us got a more or less permanent job, and another was offered 4 years of summer internships in the field she hopes to go into after college, and a third just got married on Tuesday!
We also have a volunteer working in the lab. Becca Connor is an intern with the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium. She's also interested in socio-natural systems, particularly the possible effects of environmental change on subsistence. She's in the process of pulling samples of faunal material from a midden at Pingusugruk, a bit down the coast from Barrow, that was excavated with very good provenience data for faunal material. I've picked a couple of units that seem to contain faunal material from the top of the midden to the bottom and don't seem to have anything usual happening, and she's going to ID that with my help and see if any changes are apparent. The house the midden was associated with was abandoned & reoccupied, so we're hopeful.
The morning passed with bags being opened, their information checked against the catalog, and the contents being sorted and cataloged. We are using archival paper labels that we adhere with an Arcyloid solution, so that happens as another step to reduce the exposure to acetone fumes. We do it under an extractor, so only 1-2 people can work on it, and it has to happen on the bench Becca is using. I don't allow materials from more than one site on a bench at a time. Less chance of confusion that way.
The afternoon was very different. The final nalukataq (whaling feast) of the year was being held in Barrow, so we took the afternoon off so everyone could attend. The 5 successful captains set up a windbreak on the nalukataq grounds, and anyone and everyone is welcome to come, get fed and take some home. The way the Iñupiat see it, the captains & crews don't catch the whales, the individual whales have chosen to give themselves to the individual captains, who are expected to take very good care of the whale and share as much as possible out of respect for the whale. Prayers of thanksgiving are said before every round of servings.
It starts with soup (usually with bread & such) around noon, then mikiaq (fermented meat, blubber, blood & so forth) around 3 PM. It's very tasty when made right, and no odder than moldy lumps of curdled milk with veins of mold running through it, AKA a nice ripe Stilton. Around 6PM there is quaq (frozen whale meat) and frozen muktuk (whale skin with some blubber attached, which is both delicious and incredibly warming on a cold day). There is almost always a sort of dried fruit stew, apples & oranges, and if the captains and/or their wives have been able to arrange it, often special treats like frozen fish or akutaq (AKA Eskimo ice cream).
I was a bit late because I got caught up in another issue, so I missed the first course, the goose soup. I did get there in time for mikiaq, and got 2 rounds. The first I had some of right there with the folks I was sitting with, and it was very tasty indeed. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera & had to use my phone, so the pictures aren't the best.
One thing I love about Nalukataqs is that there are always some little kids in pretty parkas playing in the sand & gravel between servings. They just get into their own little worlds there amid all the people.
With five crews hosting (and therefore 5 whales to share), there was a mountain of meat and muktuk. Crews bring it from the ice cellars just before it is served. Most of them brought in trucks, and one crew actually got a front end loader and stacked the boxes of whale in the bucket to bring them over.
Then it was shared with everyone… There were people from other villages, at least as far away as the Kotzebue region, and people who live in Anchorage and Fairbanks, and they will take their whale home and share it even farther.
That isn't all of the whale. Similar amounts will be shared by these captains at the Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts, they will share on special occasions. Of course, crew members and those who helped tow and butcher the whale already got shares when the whale was taken, and they will be sharing that throughout the year too.
Going to Nalukataq may not sound like archaeology, but whaling has been the organizing focus of this culture since before most of the sites I work on were formed. I really don't see how one can expect to interpret these sites without a pretty good understanding of what whaling actually entails.


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The benefits of investing in real estate at a young age are twofold: firstly, there is the advantage of independent living, and secondly, the potential for the property to generate future growth and income. Although the former is often the main driver for many people in their twenties as they seek to fly the parental nest, the latter is perhaps more compelling.
The length of time the average US property owner spends in their first family-style home is 13 years, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Although this is a considerable stretch, a person purchasing their first home at the age of 22 would only be 35 when considering their next move – so the concept of acquiring a 'home for life' is unlikely to be the principal driver for affluent younger buyers.
Property as an investment
As discussed, real estate can present a lucrative investment for young buyers. Like any investment, the key goal should be to recoup the funds invested and also to generate an eventual profit upon sale, or else a regular rental income. Generating at least a 'break-even' sum is crucial for those placing an initial step on the property ladder, particularly considering the large amount of up-front capital required to produce a deposit.
Although skewed by London house prices, the average deposit for first-time UK buyers is now £72,000. Although the average down payment on US properties is slighter lower at around $57,000 (£38,000), this is still a considerable sum – and particularly for younger, less experienced buyers.
Bearing this in mind, it's useful to view the first property purchase from a purely investment-focused perspective: buying property at a young age puts you on strong footing to climb further up the ladder. If younger buyers accept that their first property is unlikely to be their 'lifetime' home, they can treat it as a stepping stone – and focus on adding value to the property through improvements, renovations or additions, while keeping a watchful eye on the market.
How to invest shrewdly
To make that all-important profit on a first property, investing shrewdly is vital. Serial property investor Ben Dempster, who made his first investment purchase at 23 and now has a real estate portfolio worth over $1 million, recommends the following best practices:
- Put in place a long-term investment plan. Consider what the property may be worth in future (based on historical market trends), both from a rental and sale perspective, and how this will influence your future moves.
- Find out what other people learned when they made their first purchase. This will help you to get a realistic view of the financial journey and equip you with the nous to navigate the market effectively.
- Save smart. Lenders will favour those who can prove they are consistent savers – establish and maintain good saving habits to win confidence with financial institutions.
- Remember that an investment purchase is a rational decision, rather than a choice of the 'heart'. Do thorough research into the local area, considering factors that may bolster your profit potential, such as future development projects, transport links, local amenities and proximity to the best schools.
Contact Engel & Völkers to access an extensive portfolio of properties and benefit from expert advice on how to secure a profitable first-time investment.


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Top News:
New York Times:
Robert Stolarik, Times Photographer, Is Arrested While On Assignment in the Bronx — A freelance photographer for The New York Times was arrested on Saturday night while on assignment with two reporters who were conducting street interviews in the Bronx. — The photographer, Robert Stolarik …
Discussion: Guardian, The Awl, Capital New York, FishbowlNY, Poynter, New York Magazine, The Newspaper Guild and Gothamist
Joe Pompeo / Capital New York: Tension mounts between NYPD and press as a 'Times' photographer is arrested
Chris O'Shea / FishbowlNY: New York Times Photographer Says NYPD Assaulted Him
Andrew Beaujon / Poynter: New York Times photographer arrested while covering arrest
Brett Smiley / New York Magazine: Times Photographer on Assignment in Bronx Arrested After Altercation With Police
John Del Signore / Gothamist: NYPD Arrest Photographer On Assignment For NY Times In The Bronx
Joe Pompeo / Capital New York:
National Press Photographers Association urges NYPD to 'do the right thing' — Mickey H. Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association, has written a letter to New York City Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne about the arrest last night …
A.J. Daulerio / Gawker:
New York Times Photographer Claims He Received NYPD Beat Down Last Night While Doing His Job — Robert Stolarik, a freelance photographer for the New York Times, had this happen to him while "taking photographs of a brewing street fight at McClellan Street and Sheridan Avenue in the Concourse neighborhood," according to the Times:
Edmund Lee / Bloomberg:
Time Warner Said to Buy Bleacher Report for Under $200M — Time Warner Inc.'s Turner Broadcasting System division acquired the Bleacher Report website for under $200 million, bolstering its online sports coverage, a person familiar with the deal said. The acquisition of the sports website Bleacher Report …
Discussion: TechCrunch, VentureBeat and paidContent
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch: It's Done. Time Warner Buys Bleacher Report, Price Reportedly Under $200M
Sean Ludwig / VentureBeat: Time Warner buys Bleacher Report to bolster online sports presence (rumor)
Jeff John Roberts / paidContent: It's official: Time Warner acquires Bleacher Report
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
Turner Buys Bleacher Report — Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting unit has acquired sports site Bleacher Report, according to people familiar with the transaction. — I'm told the deal, which we told you about in June, closed Friday, and is scheduled to be announced today.
Discussion: Business Insider and AdAge
Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:
The New York Times Reports a Digital Success Story — The New York Times' paywall, long debated in and outside of the company, now looks like a bona fide success. — The company has more than 530,000 paying subscribers for its digital editions, and it credits the plan with a consistent increase in circulation dollars.
Discussion: Poynter, mediabistro.com, JIMROMENESKO.COM, Los Angeles Times and Guardian
Andrew Beaujon / Poynter: The Orange County Register's new owner bets on print, still wants Boston Globe
Amy Kaufman / Los Angeles Times: The Morning Fix: 'Dark Knight' still rising, Best Buy sale, Roseanne roasted
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Twitter's Succès De Scandale: Olympics Suspension Fiasco Drove Signups — There's no such thing as bad publicity. A source tells TechCrunch that mainstream news mentions of the temporary suspension of an NBC Olympics coverage tweeter / hater gave Twitter's signup rate a boost.
Discussion: CNET
Don Reisinger / CNET: Twitter's Olympics suspension kickstarts signups, report says
Erin Geiger Smith / Reuters: Analysis: Why Twitter apologized over NBC Olympics flap
Jim Romenesko:
NYU launches history of undercover reporting database — New York University's "Undercover Reporting" database chronicles undercover journalism dating back to the 1800s. "Much of this material has long been buried in microfilm in individual libraries and thus very difficult to retrieve," …
Paul Bradshaw / Online Journalism Blog:
A case study in online journalism: investigating the Olympic torch relay — For the last two months I've been involved in an investigation which has used almost every technique in the online journalism toolbox. From its beginnings in data journalism, through collaboration …
Discussion: Journalism.co.uk and NetNewsCheck Latest
Ari Fleischer / CNN:
How Washington officials bested the media — Editor's note: Ari Fleischer, a CNN contributor, was White House press secretary in the George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2003 and is the president of Ari Fleischer Sports Communications Inc. Follow him on Twitter: @AriFleischer
Discussion: National Review
Greg Pollowitz / National Review: 'How Washington Officials Bested the Media'
Tracie Powell / Poynter:
New Yahoo News editor-in-chief: 'I'm always looking for a great story' — Last month, Hillary Frey became the first ever editor-in-chief of Yahoo News. — In a telephone interview, Frey told Poynter her primary goal is to showcase original content produced by Yahoo's team of reporters …
Jake Smith / 9to5Google:
NASA's official Mars landing video got taken off YouTube after fictitious copyright claim from Scripps — NASA achieved a huge milestone very early this morning, as it landed the first rover on Mars after years of failed attempts. It was an awesome moment fueled by months of hard work and dedication.
Discussion: Gizmodo


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via KPattzloveGlamourUK- Robert Pattinson, number 1.
"So for the second time on the trot, R-Pattz is crowned your sexiest man on the planet. He's wrestled the top spot from his co-star and - votes combined - proves the love among the Twihards is still strong. And that's only set to intensify when Breaking Dawn hits cinema screens next month. Yes. you'll once again get to ogle Edward in all his brooding, marble-skinned glory! Oh and we finally get to see the big sex scene- Team Edward, prepare to lose your shiz!"
From GlamourUK, November 2011 issue. Amanda Seyfried on the cover.
Glamour's Sexiest Men of 2011 top 20: Robert Pattinson has been named the world's sexiest man.
The 'Twilight' hunk has topped Glamour's 50 Sexiest Men poll for the third year running, after fighting off stiff competition from his co-star Taylor Lautner who came second. Editor Jo Elvin said: "Over 40,000 Glamour readers cast their votes in the most hotly contested list of the year. source
1. Robert Pattinson 2. Taylor Lautner 3. Johnny Depp 4. David Beckham 5. Zac Efron 6. Gerard Butler 7. Alexander Skarsgard 8. Garrett Hedlund 9. Jared Followill 10. HRH Prince Harry 11. Bradley Cooper 12. Chace Crawford 13. Alex Pettyfer 14. James McAvoy 15. Henry Cavill 16. Orlando Bloom 17. Ryan Reynolds 18. Jake Gyllenhaal 19. Colin Farrell 20. Darren Criss.


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Simple, scalable, reliable solutions
Schedule Technology Review
Stakes are at an all-time high in today's rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape. With ransomware, malware, phishing and social engineering at every corner, foundational security tools are no longer enough.
Our preemptive cybersecurity protection offers 24x7x365 monitoring, threat detection and remediation against looming dangers from the
dark web. Our team monitors all inbound network traffic and data in real time, where we can isolate active threats and can minimize potential damage by quickly remediating or recovering from an attack.
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Many business owners call their IT professional when its too late or when
systems are already down. What if you could have prevented downtime
in the first place? What if you had someone monitoring your environment
24x7? Our Network Operations Center (NOC) monitors your servers
around the clock and helps them remain up-to-date and optimized for
performance. We also run scheduled maintenance on your desktops
including anti-virus and anti-spyware scans to help guard against typical malware.
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In a flash, a catastrophic system failure can erase billing records, inventory files and customer lists. Recreating this data would be expensive and time consuming; and it could takes days, weeks, or even months to resume normal business operations. How quickly could your business recover, if you lost your data today?
Our continuous data backup prevents the permanent loss of your information, and in the event of hardware failure, data corruption or a natural disaster, we can execute a disaster recovery plan to restore your data.
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In the world of IT, problems happen—computers crash, passwords are lost, email stops working and the list goes on. Without proper technical support in place, these problems can bring your business to an abrupt halt.
Help Desk expert assistance covers:
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Single-layered protection can only stop threats at one stage of an attack. Multi-layered protection prevents infections that come from email, browsing, files, URLs, ads, social media, and connected devices like USB drives, as well as other blended threats with the potential to deliver malicious payloads, protecting users and devices across all the stages of an attack.
15 Ways to Protect Your Business from a Cyberattack
Read More
Why Managed IT Services?
Maintaining a healthy IT infrastructure.
Ransomware: How to Shield Your Company from a Malicious Attack
Many computer networks that we analyze have undetected problems that may lead to unauthorized access and costly interruption of business.
Reach out to one of our technology specialists for an assessment of your technology vulnerabilities. The Technology Review analyzes hardware, software, configurations, accessibility, and security risks to provide an overview of the devices on your network along with a network Risk Score and analysis of each potential issue.


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Microsoft's Making More Money From Phones, but a Lot of That Is From Android Patent Payments
As part of its disappointing earnings report on Thursday, Microsoft noted that it is making more money from mobile phones.
However, that doesn't necessarily mean Windows Phone is raking in the bucks. The company chose to lump together its phone software revenue with the patent royalties it gets from makers of Android devices.
"Windows Phone revenue, reflecting patent licensing revenue and sales of Windows Phone licenses, increased $222 million for the quarter," Microsoft said in commentary accompanying its earnings statement.
Indeed, it seems likely that Microsoft's gains are coming largely on the back of Android, as the company has now signed per-unit royalty licenses with much of the industry, save for Motorola and Google itself.
Nokia, meanwhile, said it had its best-ever quarter for Windows Phones. But with total Lumia sales of 7.4 million units (along with a smaller number of phones sold by HTC, Samsung and others), the bulk of Microsoft's phone revenue appears to still be coming from Android.
Microsoft declined to comment further or provide any additional breakdown on the figures to AllThingsD.


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What happens to a business when the power goes out?
Losing power leads to instant anxiety: when will it return? Aside from the absence of everyday luxuries like turning on the TV or connecting to the Internet, you may worry about the food in the fridge spoiling, and wonder when you'll be able to take a hot shower. While these types of events present real problems for the average homeowner, business owners worry about when the cash register will start ringing again.
April 24, 2013 - 3:03 am
(BPT) – Losing power leads to instant anxiety: when will it return? Aside from the absence of everyday luxuries like turning on the TV or connecting to the Internet, you may worry about the food in the fridge spoiling, and wonder when you'll be able to take a hot shower. While these types of events present real problems for the average homeowner, business owners worry about when the cash register will start ringing again.
Storm Sandy devastated the east coast with heavy winds and storm surges that flooded major cities and shorelines while dumping record snow in West Virginia and knocking out power as far away as Ohio in October 2012. Among small businesses impacted by the storm, 71 percent lost power and with it, the ability to continue operating, according to The Hartford Small Business Pulse Survey: Storm Sandy.
Approximately three-fourths of impacted owners had to close their doors for a period of time, and it took them an average of seven days to reopen. While only 11 percent experienced structural property damage, 52 percent experienced loss of sales or revenue as a result of Storm Sandy.
When an event like this happens, businesses not only have to work feverishly to get everything back up and running, but also must somehow make up for the loss of revenue during the interruption. This is why many businesses feel it's important to include business interruption insurance as part of their business insurance protection.
Mueller, a suburban Chicago-based accounting firm, lost power for 30 hours due to a storm in July 2011 and was unable to continue normal operations. Like many accounting firms, Mueller bills by the hour, and had 80 employees unable to work.
Fortunately, Mueller was protected by The Hartford's Spectrum Business Owner's Policy, with optional coverage for Off-Premises Utility Services – Direct Damage and Business Income Extension For Off Premises Utility Services.
"Through The Hartford, we carry our business interruption insurance," says Mueller's Debora Galchick. "They understand our business. The whole process went very smoothly."
"Business interruption insurance is a critical coverage for business owners," says Ray Sprague, senior vice president of the small commercial insurance segment for The Hartford. "It helps provide reimbursement for a business's loss of income when it is not operational due to unexpected damage or events, so the business can continue to meet its financial obligations, such as rent and payroll."
Sprague says it's not only important for business owners to make sure their policy includes business interruption insurance, but to also ensure the interruption portion of the policy covers specific areas of need, along with appropriate levels of protection. The Hartford offers the following types of optional coverage choices:
* Coverage that offers reimbursement for lost income during a power outage caused by an off-premises utility failure. It's possible that a business wouldn't receive direct physical damage during a catastrophic event, but could lose power, causing them to lose income.
* Reimbursement of losses that occur as a result of spoilage or temperature change. This would be relevant for restaurants or any other industry that relies on regulating their stock environment.
* Coverage that extends after an incident if earnings continue to be lost as a result of an interruption even after business resumes. For example, once a business is open for business, it may take several weeks or months to bring customers back to the level they were before the interruption.
For many businesses, these types of coverages can mean the difference between resuming operations as usual once things return to normal and struggling to make up for the loss for weeks, months or even years to come.
"While the price can vary based on a number of factors, including the type of business, industry and amount of coverage needed, the cost of business interruption coverage is generally quite reasonable relative to the protection it provides, " says Sprague. "It's important for business owners to consult their insurance agent for guidance in determining the appropriate coverage based on their specific needs."
For more information on business interruption coverage, visit thehartford.com/businessincome.


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We at Red Acre Farm, in the pastoral Cedar Valley and the beautiful red dirt of southern Utah, are dedicated to promoting and modeling the small family farm by growing natural foods that sustain our land, our neighbors, and our souls.
For over 20 years we have cultivated at nature's pace—using natural organic methods— to grow our own produce with enough to share and sell to others. Inspired by the concept of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), we are now in our ninth year of accepting shareholders. We grow over 177 varieties of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. We use a variety of seeds: saved, heirloom, biodynamic, organic, certified organic, and open pollinated. We never use GMO (genetically modified) seeds.
As a small farm we have the advantage of growing produce for exceptional qualities of aroma, flavor, color and texture. Varieties of produce grown for supermarkets are selected for their bouncibility, shipping ability, and an extended shelf life.
We promote a healthy farm organism through composting, cover crops, crop rotation, and compost teas. We never use herbicides, pesticides, or commercial fertilizer. By utilizing these methods, we can produce food superior to those labeled as "Certified Organic" because of recent changes that allow a certain percentage of non-organic substances to be added in the process of growing certified organic food. With less confidence in food labeled "organic," consumers have even more responsibility to know where, when, and how their food was produced— a feat made much easier by personally knowing the grower!
When you eat our veggies you can taste the difference, and it's all due to good growing practices and a little love and attention from the grower. Our water is untreated well water from deep in the earth. We use a fraction of the water consumed by conventional farming methods. Using a drip-irrigation system that uses hoses to place just enough water directly at the plants roots. It also protects the plants from disease resulting from too much moisture.
Our chickens are happy! They free range and are fed a custom blend of whole and fresh-cracked 6-grain with no animal by-products. We never give them antibiotics or hormones. Their eggs are fertile, and they drink from untreated well water. This fresh, active diet is not only better for the chickens it's better for you. To learn more about how pasture-raised eggs are healthier for you, click here.
We would love for you to join with us in the adventures of farming!


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Topsham, Vermont
|This article is a stub. Help us to expand it by contributing your knowledge. For county and town page guidelines, visit U.S. County Page Content Suggestions.
Topsham is a town in Orange county, Vermont. It was formed in 1763 in N.H., though the following competing claims for its origins are N.Y. 1776. The probate district for Topsham is Bradford, while the court district is Orange. For more information, contact the town at P.O. Box 69, West Topsham 05086. On the attached map, Topsham is shown as 2 in Orange county.
For information about the state of Vermont see Vermont Family History Research.


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cFosSpeed 11.05 Build 2460 Beta
cFosSpeed is a network driver, which attaches itself to existing Internet connections. It then optimizes data transfer by means of Traffic Shaping. Traffic Shaping is a method for optimizing the Internet traffic. It allows maximum speed while ensuring minimal Ping. You can use cFosSpeed with a router and/or a DSL-modem or cable-modem. You can also use cFosSpeed with other types of Internet access, ie. whenever you already have an existing Internet connection. cFosSpeed supports a wide variety of connections, like DSL, cable, ISDN, UMTS, etc.
Thanks to Astron for the update.


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Join our live RV chat - click HERE
I intend to arrive at Gillette with empty black and grey tanks,, it's only four days so should be no problem,, especially with bathrooms available on site.. We can always dump at the next RV park we stop at en-route home.>>>Dan
I noted the paperworked talked about a honey truck being available for dumping. Does anyone know the cost? We have water and electric, but not sewer.
Dan Do your credentials mention how much the early arrival days cost? ie Sunday, Monday & Tuesday
Is your electricity on a single dedicated pole or on a "gang" arrangement??>>>D
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As the fall TV season starts to lurch to a halt, many of your favorite series are ramping up to a thunderous conclusion. The big mysteries on Fringe are thickening, and a new Walking Dead clip will just increase your apprehension about what's to come. Meanwhile, just how far will General Krell's troops go on Star Wars: The Clone Wars?
Meanwhile, Ben Edlund is writing Supernatural, and Peter David is writing Young Justice. And Batman: The Brave and the Bold's series finale features Bat-Mite and Ambush Bug! Check out a ton of clips and details below...
Cartoon Network has a new Johnny Test at 7 PM, "My Dinner With Johnny." Then at 8 PM, there's a new episode of Adventure Time, "No One Can Hear You."
Where are the citizens of Oo?
And then at 8:15, there's a new Regular Show, followed by a new Mad at 8:30. Check out a new Adventure Time clip at left.
Also at 8 PM: Nicktoons has a new episode of Iron Man: Armored Adventures, "All The Best People Are Mad."
There's an all-new Terra Nova on Fox at 8 PM, "Proof":
Maddy starts interning for the colony's greatest scientist (guest star Robert Coleby), and her life is put in danger when she discovers a terrible secret. Meanwhile, Josh makes a deal with the devil in order to solidify his plan to bring his girlfriend from the future.
Check out five clips from the episode:
And then at 9 PM, the frequently mad-science-y House is also on Fox.
And another episode of Death Valley airs at 11 PM on MTV.
At 8 PM, Nicktoons has a new episode of Speed Racer: The Next Generation, while Cartoon Network has a new Looney Tunes Show.
At 10 PM, H2 has another episode of The Universe, "The Moon."
The IFC Channel has another episode of Onion News Network at 10 PM.
Also at 10 PM, CBS has another episode of Unforgettable, "Golden Bird."
At 8 PM on Nicktoons, there's a new (to us) episode of Dragon Ball Z Kai.
And then at 9 PM, in most markets, PBS has a new Nova, "The Fabric of the Cosmos: Quantum Leap." Whose body will Sam be leaping into this week? Here's a clue: "Acclaimed physicist Brian Greene reveals a mind-boggling reality beneath the surface of our everyday world."
Then at 10 PM, Ridley Scott shares more secrets of science fiction on the Science Channel with Prophets of Science Fiction. This time: Philip K. Dick. Scott tells the Wall Street Journal:
I think Phil Dick was particularly interesting in that first of all, he was a very modern man and a very modern thinker, but I don't know what demons drove him... I think he was a little bit paranoid and you know how people become obsessive about deterioration or disintegration or growing older? I think he was very conscious of the way the world was going into an area of negativity as opposed to positivity.
Then at 10 PM, there's another new American Horror Story on FX, "Open House":
Moira persuades a prospective buyer to make an offer. Constance and Larry work against her efforts. Vivien and Luke grow closer.
Another option at 10 PM: a new episode of Psych on USA, "Shawn Interrupted."
A third option at 10 PM: the season finale of South Park.
At 10:30, National Geographic's Mad Scientists has the promising title, "Lawnmower Hovercraft."
There's no more Vampire Diaries until January, but as a consolation prize, The CW is airing a TV movie starring Stefan himself, Beneath The Blue:
PAUL WESLEY OF "THE VAMPIRE DIARIES" STARS ─ Dolphin experts confront the US Navy when its sonar program is suspected of causing the animals' deaths. Caitlin Wachs and David Keith also star.
At 8 PM, there's a new Community, "Documentary Film-Making: Redux."
Also at 8 PM: another new The Big Bang Theory on CBS, "The Flaming Spittoon Acquisition."
And meanwhile at 8 PM, there's also yet another new Dragon Ball Z Kai on Nicktoons, followed at 8:30 by a new Voltron Force.
At 9 PM, there's a new Person of Interest on CBS, "Foe":
When Reese and Finch discover that their latest POI has connections to Cold War Soviet espionage circles, they quickly learn how covert ops were handled in a world before The Machine.
And Lost's Alan Dale guest stars as the POI.
And then at 10 PM, there's another Burn Notice on USA, "Necessary Evil." There's also a new Beavis and Butthead on MTV, and that show has featured some insane science fictional scenarios lately.
Cartoon Network has a new Secret Mountain Fort Awesome at 5:30 and a new Generator Rex at 6 PM. Then there's a new Young Justice at 6:30, "Secrets":
It's Halloween. Artemis and Zatanna are in Manhattan for a girls' night out. There, they encounter the deadly Harm, who has a secret.
And this episode was written by the one and only Peter David!
Then at 7:00 PM, there's the series finale of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, "Mitefall." Did anyone realize the end of this series was coming so soon? This is not cool.
When Bat-Mite has grown weary of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, deeming its formula to be tired and repetitive, he concocts a scheme to make it so bad that the network will have to cancel the show to make way for a darker one. Can Ambush Bug thwart his plan before it's too late?
As usual, Cartoon Network is choosing to show this episode after it's already aired months earlier overseas. Check out a spoilery clip. That's followed at 7:30 by a new Ben 10: Ultimate Alien.
And then at 8 PM, there's another episode of Chuck, on NBC, "Chuck Vs. The Business Trip."
CHUCK AND SARAH MUST UNCOVER AN ASSASSIN AMONG THE EMPLOYEES OF A BUY MORE SALES CONVENTION — DAVID KOECHNER AND CATHERINE DENT GUEST STAR — Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) go undercover at a Buy More convention to hunt down an assassin whose mission is to take down the new Intersect. Meanwhile, Morgan (Joshua Gomez) must deal with the consequences of having the Intersect. At the Buy More, Jeff (Scott Krinsky) begins to show a very different side of himself.
At 8 PM, Cartoon Network also has a brand new Star Wars: The Clone Wars, "Carnage of Krell":
With two of his men facing execution for disobeying orders, Captain Rex must confront his overly aggressive commander, General Krell. Risking charges of mutiny, Rex must make a dark choice as the true face of the enemy emerges.
Also at 8 PM, CBS has another episode of A Gifted Man, "In Case of Missed Communication."
Meanwhile at 8, The CW has more of its frequently spy-fi show Nikita, "Fair Trade":
Nikita (Maggie Q) steals funds from Oversight, forcing them to host an emergency meeting. Nikita and Birkoff (Aaron Stanford) figure out how to spy on the meeting so Nikita can identify the other members of Oversight, but things go awry and Sean (Dillon Casey) captures Birkoff. Amanda (Melinda Clarke) demands to know where Nikita is hiding but Birkoff refuses to give up his friend so she tortures him. Meanwhile, Alex (Lyndsy Fonseca) sets her plan in motion to reclaim her father's empire. With a price on her head, Alex realizes the easiest way to get into Russia undetected is the same way she was smuggled out – through the illegal sex ring.
Or for another alternative at 8 PM, Disney Channel has a brand new Wizards of Waverly Place, followed at 8:30 by a new A.N.T. Farm.
Also, at 8:30 PM, Cartoon Network has a brand new Thundercats, "Into The Astral Plane."
At 9 PM, NBC has an all-new Grimm, "Lonelyhearts."
DEATH AND DISAPPEARANCE LEAD TO A LOCAL BUSINESS OWNER'S DISTURBING SECRET - After investigating a strange cluster of female deaths and disappearances, Nick (David Giuntoli) sends Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) undercover to get a whiff of a hypnotic suspect. In the meantime, a stranger shows up looking to avenge the death of his friend at the hands of a Grimm, but he'll have to get past Captain Renard (Sasha Roiz).
There's also the midseason finale of Fringe at 9 PM on Fox, "Wallflower":
When a man mysteriously dies by an invisible force, his body rapidly begins turning ghostly white. The Fringe team learns that this is not an isolated incident, and there's evidence that links the predator to someone who passed away with an unknown genetic disorder. Meanwhile, Olivia suffers from migraines.
Also at 9 PM, there's another new Supernatural on The CW, "How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters."
IT'S A JERSEY DEVIL OF A TIME - Sam (Jared Padalecki), Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Bobby (Jim Beaver) become actual hunters, in the true sense of the word, when they set up camp in a New Jersey state park to track a creature that has been attacking people in the woods. The townsfolk claim it is the real Jersey Devil. Meanwhile, Dean is beyond thrilled to find a Biggerson's restaurant in town, but is devastated when he discovers the restaurant's special sandwich seems to be making people crazy. Guy Bee directed the episode written by Ben Edlund.
After a couple weak episodes, the words "written by Ben Edlund" are enough to gladden one's heart.
Then at 10 PM, there's another episode of Sanctuary on Syfy, "Icebreaker".
And then at 11 PM on G4, there's a new episode of X-Men Anime.
The Hub is showing a new episode of R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: The Series at 5 PM.
The Hallmark Channel has a pair of truly horrendous-sounding Christmas TV movies. At 6 PM, there's A Christmas Tail, in which two dogs fall in love and they have to convince their owners to fall for each other too. Then at 8 PM, there's The Case for Christmas, in which Santa is in trouble because everybody's lost faith in him — and a wealthy businessman is suing Santa for ruining Christmas. It's up to an attorney played by Lois and Clark's Dean Cain to defend Santa and save Christmas! Urk.
At 9 PM, BBC America has another new Primeval.
And then at 11 PM, Disney XD has a new (to us Americans) episode of Naruto Shippuden,
Fox has its usual Sunday-night animation bloc starting at 8 PM with The Simpsons and continuing with Allen Gregory, Family Guy and American Dad.
And then at 9 PM, there's another episode of The Walking Dead, "Secrets." Check out a sneak peek at left.
Also at 9 PM, Discovery Channel has the season finale of Curiosity, "Your Body on Drugs," hosted by Robin Williams.
And finally, there's a new Robot Chicken at 11:30 PM on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim: "The Core, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover." Yes, it's a Peter Greenaway reference — brace yourselves!
Sources: Futon Critic, MSN TV, TV Guide, and various TV studio press releases.


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Dodge County woman ordered to stay away from her children
Secoy Koch-Miller faces neglect charges after kids found in filth
A woman charged with child neglect has been ordered by the court to stay away from her children.
A criminal complaint against 25-year-old Secoy Koch-Miller said she was living with her mother, her newborn and her 2-year-old son in a Town of Burnett home that was in deplorable condition. Medical reports stated the toddler was underweight, covered with bug bites, had a bruised eye and spiders in his hair.
Koch-Miller appeared in court Monday, where the judge ordered a $1,000 bond and said she is not to have any unsupervised contact with her children.
VIDEO: Dodge County mother makes court appearance
Sheriff's deputies and human services workers who went to the house in November said they found animal feces and urine, rotting food, maggots in the refrigerator and clogged toilets. The complaint said clutter throughout the home prevented authorities from opening doors.
Town Supervisor Jerry Beier spoke to WISN 12 News and explained how they found the 2-month-old under the mess.
"Here it was underneath a bunch of old clothing, that had to be washed, if there was a washer, which there wasn't. The cold water was working, but the hot water -- there was no hot water in the house at all. The toilets did not work. The matter was going in the basement," Beier said.
VIDEO: Mother charged with neglect after children found in filth
Investigators were alerted to the conditions when the baby's father sent a note from jail.
WISN 12 News spoke to one of his relatives Tuesday who said he's relieved the kids are in foster care.
Investigators said the home had the appearance of that of a "hoarder."
Koch-Miller faces one felony count of child neglect resulting in bodily harm, as well as a misdemeanor count of child neglect. She's scheduled to appear in court on May 1.


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First of all, thanks a lot about your quick response. I'm sorry I haven't had much time to either test it or come back to you on my tests.
I must confess I'm still not quite familiar with the parameters speed, ramp and flags, especially the last one, in servo_config(board,channel,speed,ramp,flags,trim_min,trim_max).
Speed and ramp must be specified how so?
As for the rest I'm assured the command lines are well designed.
Thanks a lot for your time.