text:
HPCwire Announces the 2012 Readers' Choice Awards Winners
Recognized as the Most Prestigious Awards Given by the HPC Community to its Own
News Release: Tabor Communications
SALT LAKE CITY, UT. – November 12, 2012 – HPCwire, the leading publication for news and information from the high performance computing industry today announced the winners of the2012 HPCwire Readers' and Editors' Choice Awards during the 24th annual Supercomputing Conference (SC12) taking place this week in Salt Lake City, Utah. Jeff Hyman, President and Group Publisher of Tabor Communications Inc., parent company of HPCwire, revealed the list of winners from the HPCwire booth during the opening gala reception on Monday evening.
"The awards have come to represent the highest level of honor and recognition given to the thought leaders in the HPC community by their own during the most important supercomputing event of the year," said Jeff Hyman, President and Group Publisher of Tabor Communications Inc. "This year showed a distinct trend towards collaborative efforts, with allies and competitors united in working towards common goals in developing new technologies that will ultimately benefit mankind. Thank you to each and every one of you for your hard work and dedication, and heartfelt congratulations to those honored with receiving an award this year."
HPCwire has designated two categories of Awards: (1) Readers' Choice, where winners have been determined through election by HPCwire readers, and (2) Editors' Choice, where winners have been selected by a panel of editorial and executive staff, recognized HPC luminaries, and contributing editors from industry. These awards are widely recognized as the most prestigious recognition given by the HPC community to its own each year.
The 2012 HPCwire Readers' and Editor's Choice Award Recipients
Best use of HPC application in manufacturing
Readers' Choice: NVIDIA Quadro and Tesla GPUs with Dassault Systemes SIMULIA Abaqus Finite Element Analysis
Editor's Choice: Airbus using HPC-as-a-service provided by Hewlett Packard
Best use of HPC in life sciences
Readers' Choice: Julich Supercomputing Center using NVIDIA Tesla GPUs to uncover causes of/treatments for autism, Alzheimer's, other neurological diseases
Editor's Choice: IBM Watson expert system for WellPoint Inc.
Best use of HPC in automotive
Readers' Choice: NVIDIA Tesla GPUs and Dassault Systemes SIMULIA Abaqus Finite Element Analysis solution
Editor's Choice: Caterham F1 Racing using Dell systems for Formula 1 racing design
Best use of HPC in financial services
Readers' Choice: Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC) on NVIDIA Fermi GPUs using CUDA
Editor's Choice: (two winners)
– NYSE Technologies "Community Cloud" in collaboration with EMC, Intel, and VMware
– Xcelerit for Quant Toolkit, SDK
Best use of HPC in the oil and gas industry
Readers' Choice: Petrobas Reverse Time Migration (RTM)
Editor's Choice: Schlumberger WesternGeco
Best use of HPC in the entertainment industry
Readers' Choice: Dreamworks Animation SKG and the US Council on Competitiveness for "Dreamworks Presents the Power of Supercomputing"
Editor's Choice: Dreamworks Animation SKG and the US Council on Competitiveness for "Dreamworks Presents the Power of Supercomputing"
Best use of HPC in "edge HPC" application
Readers' Choice: CURIE (powered by bullx) supercomputer, owned by GENCI for the first full universe simulation, Observatoire de Paris
Editor's Choice: Kalev H. Leetaru, University of Illinois Fellow, Graduate School of Library and Information Science with contributions from SGI and SGI UV 2000 for the historical mapping and exploration of Wikipedia
Best use of HPC in the cloud
Readers' Choice: Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2)
Editor's Choice: Schrődinger and Cycle Computing on Amazon EC2 cluster for drug discovery
Best application of "green computing" in HPC
Readers' Choice: Oak Ridge National Laboratories' Titan supercomputer, powered by Cray XK6
Editor's Choice: IBM Blue Gene/Q
Best application of Big Data in HPC
Readers' Choice: The Apache Software Foundation for Apache Hadoop
Editor's Choice: DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) for its XDATA Program
Best HPC server product or technology
Readers' Choice: Cray XE6 supercomputer
Editor's Choice: Intel "Sandy Bridge" Xeon CPUs
Best HPC storage product or technology
Readers' Choice: DataDirect Networks SFA 12K
Editor's Choice: The San Diego Supercomputer Center Data Oasis Storage System with contributions from Appro, Aeon Computing, Arista Networks, Globus Online, and Intel Whamcloud
Best HPC software product or technology
Readers' Choice: Adaptive Computing Moab HPC Suite 7.2
Editor's Choice: NVIDIA CUDA Toolkit 5.0
Best HPC visualization product or technology
Readers' Choice: Adaptive Computing Moab HPC Suite and NICE Desktop Cloud Visualization (NICE DCV)
Editor's Choice: Kitware ParaView
Best HPC interconnect product or technology
Readers' Choice: Mellanox FDR Infiniband Solution and Connect-IB FDR Infiniband Adapter
Editor's Choice: Mellanox FDR Infiniband Solution and Connect-IB FDR Infiniband Adapter
Best HPC cluster solution or technology
Readers' Choice: DataDirect Networks SFA 12K
Editor's Choice: Appro Xtreme-X Supercomputer
Top supercomputing achievement
Readers' Choice: NASA Ames Pleiades supercomputer for the NASA Kepler Mission discovery of new planets in the Milky Way (with contributions from Intel and SGI)
Editor's Choice: The deployment of IBM Blue Gene/Q Sequoia supercomputer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Best HPC collaboration between government and industry
Readers' Choice: Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL) Titan supercomputer in collaboration with the US Department of Energy, Cray, AMD, and NVIDIA
Editor's Choice: The National Digital Engineering and Manufacturing Consortium (NDMEC) in collaboration with the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, (NCMS) National Center for Supercomputer Applications, (NCSA) NASA, and the National Science Foundation, (NSF) US Department of Commerce, Departments of Defense and Energy, (DOD & DOE) US Council on Competitiveness, (COC) Ohio Supercomputer Center, Purdue University, Lockheed Martin, General Electric, John Deere, Rosenboom, and Procter & Gamble
Top 5 new products or technologies to watch
Readers' Choice:
2. Intel
3. Mellanox
4. Cray
5. DataDirect Networks
Editor's Choice:
2. Intel
3. pNFS
4. OpenACC Directives (NVIDIA, Cray, PGI, CAPS enterprise)
5. Solid-state Drives/Flash memory
Top 5 vendors to watch
Readers' Choice:
2. Intel
3. Mellanox
5. Cray
Editor's Choice:
2. Intel
4. Cray
5. Mellanox
About HPCwire
HPCwire is the #1 news and information portal covering the fastest computers in the world and the people who run them. With a legacy dating back to 1986, HPCwire continues to be the publication of choice globally by business and technology professionals from academia, government, science, and industry who are interested in high performance and computationally intensive computing. For topics ranging from the latest developments in systems, software, tools and applications, to middleware, networking and storage technologies, HPCwire delivers it all and remains the HPC communities' most reliable and trusted resource.
About Tabor Communications, Inc.
Tabor Communications, Inc. is a leading international media, advertising, and communications company that provides solutions, news and information to the high performance computing (HPC), cloud, big data, green IT, and digital manufacturing communities. Publisher of a complete advanced computing portfolio that includes HPCwire, Datanami, Green Computing Report, Digital Manufacturing Report, and HPC in the Cloud, other Tabor Communications companies include Tabor Advertising and Tabor Publications & Events. View the corporate presentation at: http://tinyurl.com/tci-video.
About the International Conference for High Performance Computing (SC12)
For 24 years, SC has been at the forefront in gathering the best and brightest minds in supercomputing together, with our unparalleled technical papers, tutorials, posters and speakers. SC12 will take a major step forward not only in supercomputing, but in super-conferencing, with everything designed to make the 2012 conference the most 'you' friendly conference in the world. We're streamlining conference information and moving to a virtually real-time method of determining technical program thrusts. No more pre-determined technical themes picked far in advance. Through social media, data mining, and active polling, we'll see which technical interests and issues emerge throughout the year, and focus on the ones that interest you the most.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
CEDAR RAPIDS– Solon's Lady Spartans couldn't quite get it together in their first game back on the hardwood after winter break.
Solon fell to Clear Creek Amana (CCA) Saturday night, 54-47, in a game held at Cornell College as part of Rivalry Saturday.
Solon trailed early, but fought back to take a 1-point lead going into the fourth quarter, erasing a 6-point halftime margin.
"We struggled with intensity and energy until the third quarter," said head coach Tony Nicol. "In the third we played like a team with a mission and then for whatever reason we lost momentum."
TIFFIN– With the Clear Creek Amana (CCA) and Spartan varsity girls moving their match-up to Cornell College and "Rivalry Saturday," Friday night's junior varsity (JV) game became the marquee contest. The home crowd wasn't disappointed, as PJ Sweeney and company pulled off a 60-49 win powered by sophomore Lexi Kinnaird's 22-point effort including one 3-pointer.
SOLON– The Spartans came out to play in the third quarter.
After building and losing a first-half lead, Solon's varsity basketball squad held Clear Creek Amana (CCA) to 10 points in the second half and waltzed away with a 71-43 win Friday night.
"I thought it was our best overall second half of basketball we've played," Solon head coach Brad Randall said. "Although we need to be ready to play defense a little earlier."
Solon held a 6-point advantage at the end of the first quarter, but CCA came back in second quarter to tie and even take a 29-28 lead with three minutes before halftime.
Book notes
(featured new arrivals)
"And Then You Dye" by Monica Ferris (Book 16 in the Needlecraft Mystery series).
"Cross Roads" by William Paul Young (Author of the popular novel, "The Shack").
"Private London" by James Patterson.
"Threat Vector" by Tom Clancy (A Jack Ryan novel).
New Year's resolutions? The library can help
SOLON– Dick Sjolund and Wilderness Studio assistant Emilee McNeal were delivering gifts a bit ahead of Santa at the Solon Nursing Care Center in December.
Sjolund surprised residents with framed photos (printed at his studio in rural Solon) and little fanfare. Sjolund has been taking portraits of the care center staff at his Wilderness Studio. He decided against a holiday sale of his pictures in favor of gifting his photos, many of which were taken and exhibited around the world.
SOLON– The season of giving is over.
It's time for taking back.
The City of Solon will absorb what amounts to a $10,000 hit in its general fund for the upcoming fiscal year because of a change in the valuation of undeveloped property.
Budget discussions began in earnest for the Solon City Council during a regular meeting last week where city administrator Cassandra Lippincott announced the news.
Undeveloped commercial and multifamily residential lots in the Fox Ridge subdivision have been reassessed by Johnson County as a result of a legislative change, she said.
SOLON– This week, the Solon Food Pantry is seeking donations of canned tuna or chicken, juice, pancake mix, toilet paper and cereal. Any donations would be appreciated.
SOLON– The Solon Knights of Columbus will hold its first annual community winter card party Saturday, Jan. 19, at 6 p.m. (after 5 p.m. Mass) at St. Mary Catholic Church hall. Euchre will be played and there will also be card games for the children. Please bring a dish or dessert. Juice for the kids will be provided. You may bring your own adult beverage. The public is welcome.
SOLON– The Mercy Women's Center mobile mammography van will be in Solon on Jan. 16. The van will be located at the Solon Family Practice Clinic. The mobile mammography unit has been providing convenient access to breast screening services for eastern Iowa women for 26 years.
Anyone wishing to participate needs to contact their local healthcare provider for appropriate paperwork and scheduling. Please call 319-861-7778 if you have questions regarding procedures or services provided by the mobile mammography unit.


text:
Ok yeah it is totally not fair that I have not blogged in forever. Even though I am cooking, I cook the same stuff over and over again. So there is really nothing new to blog about. Besides, now that I am just a little over a month away from my due date, cooking is not my #1 priority. Partly because of backaches... I can't even chop an onion without feeling the strain :( I must say that I did make an amazing Lasagna last night, but we devoured it without any pictures. The urge to cook is always there. The urge to bake however is not... I wish it were because all I am craving is something sweet this entire pregnancy.
My best friend got together and threw me a Brunch where all my beautiful girlfriends showed up. There was laughter, love, joy and a lot of togetherness. It was really something special. To top it off, I had a cake! Which was from Whole Foods, a Chocolate Ganache Cake with a ganache filling. It was ABSOLUTELY TO DIE FOR!!!!!
So what I am going to do here, is post some pictures, and drool a little remembering this cake.. and make you drool a little while you view it too. Below is a picture of the delicious French Toast that I ordered.
I will be back with bigger and better recipes.. but unfortunately it will probably be in a few months. I do however intend to update from time to time with pictures of the random sweet things that I eat to keep you all entertained. :)


text:
Video arcade centres have never looked cooler than in Bentley's Hackpack. This cheerful PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita game gives you a sneaky peek at what the Cooper Gang and their enemies get up to when they're not on daring adventures. Rather than relaxing at home, they like nothing more than a blast on the hottest video games and now you can get in on the action.
Bentley's Hackpack is full of addictive, bite-sized gameplay which is perfect for a quick blast on PS3 or when you're on the move with your PS Vita - and thanks to Cross-Buy, you'll only have to pay once to receive both versions. Make good use of the handy tips during the loading screens and climb your way up the online leader boards to become an arcade legend, just like Bentley himself...
Bentley's Arcade is home to the flashing lights and bouncy sounds of our turtle-shaped hero's favourite button bashers. Three mini-games await your skills: Spark Runner, Alter Ego and System Cracker. Each possesses a classic retro style, exploding into life with sparkling special effects as you guide Bentley's in-game character around glowing neon mazes. Colourful, sharp and lively, these visuals make you feel like you're inside a video game, where only fast reactions and quick thinking can keep you alive.
Fans of The Sly Trilogy are in for a treat as some familiar faces from the series join you in the joystick-waggling fun. Characters such as Carmelita, Murray and Sly Cooper all add extra spark to Bentley's Hackpack. Can you spot all the cameos in the game? Look out also for the dozens of rewards to unlock, such as masks, treasure chests and artefacts from the series.
Welcome to Bentley's Arcade, a place which puts video game classics at your fingertips - and you don't even need a bag of coins jangling in your pocket to play. Bentley's Hackpack features three great mini-games to fire up your imagination and test your reflexes.
The first mini-game is Spark Runner. Use the motion-sensing features of your PS Vita system or the wireless controller on PlayStation 3 to guide Bentley's character through a tricky circuit board style maze. Don't touch the electrified railings, collect as many sparks as you can and beat the clock to maximise your score.
Next up is System Cracker, where you climb aboard your Shell Code tank and blast your way to the end of a labyrinth filled with rival vehicles, deadly turrets and other pitfalls. Be sure to switch into other tanks, such as the powerful Panzer Code, to destroy any firewalls in your path.
Then there's the shoot-'em-up styled Alter Ego, which challenges you to fly through a deadly maze to bypass lethal security systems. Collect as many Ion Bits as you can to level up Bentley's alter ego and don't get caught in tight spaces as not even a superpowered Bentley can survive being crushed against a wall.
Each mini-game features 24 stages of increasing difficulty, and a variety of challenges to complete, such as finishing the stage with maximum health, collecting all of the hidden Sly masks during a level and scoring a number of points. Success earns you coins which you can spend at the in-game prizes booth.


text:
COVID-19 updates
Quality CareFind out why Mayo Clinic is the right place for your health care. Make an appointment.
Meet the StaffFind a directory of doctors and departments at all Mayo Clinic campuses. Visit now.
Research and Clinical TrialsSee how Mayo Clinic research and clinical trials advance the science of medicine and improve patient care. Explore now.
Visit Our SchoolsEducators at Mayo Clinic train tomorrow's leaders to deliver compassionate, high-value, safe patient care. Choose a degree.
Professional ServicesExplore Mayo Clinic's many resources and see jobs available for medical professionals. Get updates.
Philanthropy at Mayo ClinicYour support accelerates powerful innovations in patient care, research and education. Give today.
Mayo Clinic offers appointments in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota and at Mayo Clinic Health System locations.
Subscribe to Housecall
Our general interest e-newsletter keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics.
The pace and challenges of modern life make stress management necessary for everyone.
To monitor your stress, first identify your triggers. What makes you feel angry, tense, worried or irritable? Do you often get headaches or an upset stomach with no medical cause?
Some stressors, such as job pressures, relationship problems or financial concerns, are easy to identify. But daily hassles and demands, such as waiting in a long line or being late to a meeting, also contribute to your stress level.
Even essentially positive events, such as getting married or buying a house, can be stressful. Any change to your life can cause stress.
Once you've identified your stress triggers, think about strategies for dealing with them. Identifying what you can control is a good starting point. For example, if stress keeps you up at night, the solution may be as easy as removing the TV and computer from your bedroom and letting your mind wind down before bed.
Other times, such as when stress is based on high demands at work or a loved one's illness, you might be able to change only your reaction.
Don't feel like you have to figure it out on your own. Seek help and support from family and friends, whether you need someone to listen to you, help with child care or a ride to work when your car's in the shop.
Many people benefit from practices such as deep breathing, tai chi, yoga, meditation or being in nature. Set aside time for yourself. Get a massage, soak in a bubble bath, dance, listen to music, watch a comedy — whatever helps you relax.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle will help you manage stress. Eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and get enough sleep. Make a conscious effort to spend less time in front of a screen — television, tablet, computer and phone — and more time relaxing.
Stress won't disappear from your life. And stress management needs to be ongoing. But by paying attention to what causes your stress and practicing ways to relax, you can counter some of the bad effects of stress and increase your ability to cope with challenges.
Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.
Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic.
Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below.
A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.org," "Mayo Clinic Healthy Living," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.


text:
Toki Underground Chef's New Southeast Asian Tasting Menus in Washington, DC
Chef Erik Bruner-Yang of Toki Underground fame has a new project in the works, but it's not slated to touch down on H St. until later this year. Development of Maketto, Bruner-Yang's send-up to Southeast Asian street food, is humming along; in the meantime, the chef has installed his team at Hanoi House on 14th St. for a three-month residency.
For the rest of the summer, Bruner-Yang and Chef de Cuisine James Wozniuk will be serving six-course, family-style dinners Monday through Saturday for $30 per person in order to try out different flavor combinations and techniques for Maketto. Bruner-Yang describes the residency as "a time of practice and creativity," an opportunity to "test dishes that the chefs love to eat—foods that they grew up on and dishes that they fell in love with during their travels throughout Asia and more."
The team will be switching up the menu on a weekly basis, if not more frequently. They'll also be circulating dim sum carts with items like Steamed Pork Buns and Pickled Pineapple, ranging in price from $2 to $10. With heavy influences from countries like Cambodia and Taiwan, dinners will feature dishes like Wagyu Lok Lak and Crispy Fried Prawn Heads. Considering Toki Underground's diminutive kitchen, Bruner-Yang is relishing the opportunity to cook on a broader scale. "There's a lot of resourcefulness and hard work that goes into Toki," he says, "It's absolutely a great foundation for Maketto."
Check out the slideshow for a look at the first meal on offer »
Maketto at Hanoi House
2005 14th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009 (map) 202-747-2377; hanoihousedc.com
Reservations are required through OpenTable (and they're going fast).
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


text:
Zikula is a content management system (CMS) and application framework. It is secure and stable, and is a good choice for sites with a large volume of traffic.
With Zikula:
Enjoy using Zikula!
The Zikula team
Note: Zikula is Free Open Source Software (FOSS) licensed under the GNU General Public License.
The log-in option you chose is not available at the moment. Please contact the site administrator for assistance.


text:
The Adjustment Bureau is a romantic thriller with a sci-fi/fantasy premise. The world is directed by an organization of bureaucratic nerds in small brim fedoras who keep things going "on plan." It's for our own good – when they step back, things like WWII and the Cuban Missile Crisis happen.
Matt Damon plays Norris, a politician on the fast track to the White House whose path through life needs a bit of adjustment now and then – he's too impulsive. If he stays on track, he can save the world, maybe. He meets Elise (Emily Blunt) another impulsive type and they fall for one another – that's not in the plan…or is it?
In the original short story by Phillip Dick, Damon's character was a real estate salesman, but this is Hollywood. That would have fit better with the satirical edge to the premise, the black humor inherent in learning that our 'free will', all our strivings, are guided by dull men (all men) in charcoal grey suits who look like they missed the 7:20 from Long Island, c. 1964. If it weren't for Ms. Blunt, the movie would fall flat: she's wonderfully sexy, and she and Damon make a great pair of romantic seekers in the world that isn't what it seems.
A lot of the effects are clever, I love the emphasis on hats – they are an essential element in the Adjusters' uniform – and many scenes are in grand NYC office spaces that I've always found a bit ominous and oppressive – glad to know it isn't just me and my paranoia! Terrence Stamp is marvelous as Satan figure known as "The Hammer." He's a bit unsubtle in his adjustments.
Which brings up the Big Questions: God, predestination, fate, free will, etc. These are just mentioned, but a lot of reviewers seem to feel that this is what the movie is about – I think it's just the device that gets it all going, nothing more. The entire idea of the story is preposterous on the character level. After being informed of The Truth, and warned that if he tells anyone, his brain will be "reset," i.e. erased, Norris goes on with his life. No depression, no strange changes in behavior, no suicidal thoughts? It's the equivalent of being abducted by aliens, and he just accepts it and carries on. Not likely. Nor does he ask much – never inquires, "Just what is the plan?"
The director said that "The film asks questions – that's what art is supposed to do." Leaving aside the fact that for most of human history, asking questions is pretty much the last thing art was supposed to do, the characters in this film ask remarkably few.
Anyway, it was a lot of fun to watch.


text:
I ran across what I believe to be a bug in Prototype last week. It has to do with the Ajax.Request.success() method which indicates if a given ajax request was successful or not, based on the http status code. I'm currently developing against v22.214.171.124 and in that version of Prototype the success function looks like […]
WelcomeWelcome to whalespine.org. My name is Tim. I'm a freelance software/web developer living in Cochrane, Alberta (just NW of Calgary for those of you not from around here).


text:
It was obvious from first week of the Local Local Challenge that I needed some help. Throughout my time in Beijing I have been lucky enough to come across a variety of foreigners who have really immersed themselves in the local culture, so I called upon a few "expat experts" to enhance my participation in the challenge.
On November 9th I popped in my Pimsleur Chinese lesson and biked over to Jie GuLou #147 for tea at Zheng Yun Cha She with local artist, Helen Couchman, and tour guide Jeffery Schwab. Jeffrey had been friends with the owners of the shop for some time, and although the boss was away on travel, his employee treated us to a traditional Chinese tea ceremony complete with Pu'er tea served from a 5,000RMB yixing clay pot! He also explained that one of their tea table adornments was a bull because its representative of the hardworking and obedient nature of the employees at the tea shop. I got the chance to teach my local experts a few things about Chinese tea before they broadened my horizons around the city.
Helen has been living and making art in Beijing for six years (www.helencouchman.com), and lives in a hutong off Guolou Dajie. She agreed to introduce me to her favorite Sichuan restaurant, and go easy on the spiciness. The two of us headed over to the corner of Gulou Dong Da Jie and BeiLuoGuXian on my bike (Helen pedaling, me holding on for dear life) and feasted on some of Helen's favorite dishes. (I also brought my re-usable, eco-friendly chopsticks, courtesy of The Hutong http://www.thehutong.com.) We ate lazi ji, a spicy fried chicken dish loaded with hot peppers, ma jiang feng wei (fresh greens and sesame sauce) and san san hua dan dou huar, a salty soup with egg, tofu, mushrooms, tomato, carrots and peas.
Needing to get a bit of work done, I headed to Café Zarah and sipped more Chinese tea. (Perhaps this establishment is considered one of the gems of the expat community, but it's locally run and I only ordered tea.) For dinner I headed to Sanlitun, but had a tang hu lu while waiting for a friend and then dined outdoors at the Han Zhou Xiao Chi restaurant. I ordered a standard xi hong shi jidan gai fan and tudou jiding, which I had never tried before and loved the flavor.
On November 10th my roommate helped me eat local by making an egg sandwich with bread from a local street vendor, and I managed to get a seat with fellow challenger Jessica Greene, at Noodle Bar in Sanlitun. That place was packed and rightfully so, as the flavors of the noodle dishes were excellent. Jessica and I talked a bit about the challenge, which had prompted her to cook a lot more at home and generally focus her Local Local efforts on not being so wasteful. Quite reflective of our experience Noodle Bar, she commented that even eating locally wasn't necessarily a waste-free or inexpensive option, and we chatted about how the concept of "local" culture is constantly changing and quite hard to authentically capture no matter where you are.
On November 11th I shopped at Jinkelong for lunch and went to a traditional Chinese medicine treatment. I always find these treatments to be quite intriguing from a physical and educational standpoint, and this time I got huge needles stuck right in the middle of my stomach! I then proceeded to eat a roast and cheese, and drink wine at a dinner party, but I figure it's only half as bad if I'm not paying…and I met the organizer for Monday Night Jiaozi nights, and planned to attend as part of my challenge!
I hate to say it, but by Saturday I was already getting sick of Chinese food. My school provides a ton of Chinese dishes for lunch, but thinking about eating all that oil before taking a run later in the afternoon was really not enticing. I had veggies (still doused in oil) and one of my favorite dishes, tangsu liji before purchasing some sunflower seeds and a red bean bun from Jinkelong. I was craving a western energy bar, but at least these snacks had a bit of protein. I also headed to a workout session that I won with fitness guru Tony Nicholson of 4 Point Fitness, who didn't exactly support my attempts to eat more Chinese food from a health standpoint. I'm pretty serious about fitness, so that made it additionally hard to stick to the challenge.
(*Before I get attacked here, I realize that Tony is a foreigner and that personal trainers are a luxury, but he has lived here over ten years, speaks fluent Chinese and trains lots of locals…so we chatted a bit about the culture of exercise in China. This brings us back to the issue of what is really considered "local"?)
To make up for past transgressions, I really upped my local game on Sunday, November 13th. I woke up early to meet back up with Jeffrey at The Hutong for his Prophets, Prostitutes and Spies tour, and spent most of the afternoon at the Xi Xian Zhai Teahouse in the hutongs behind the Lama Temple. A group of us sipped Wu Yuan Mingmei Jiangxi Cha (婺源茗眉江西茶), nibbled on suan jiao (funny translation: "acid horn") gummy candy, and ate a traditional vegetarian teahouse meal. and ate a traditional vegetarian teahouse meal. Next we headed north to Yuan Dynasty DaDu Park where Jeff amazed us with his skills as a Diablo master. For those of you that don't know, the Diablo is a spinning top that can be made to do a variety of tricks as it spins on strings. This experience is worth an article on its own, but Jeffrey has been coming to this park for years and has fully integrated into the talented Diablo community. Everyone was so happy to see this American lao wai spinning his Diablo magic, and I could tell they respected Jeffrey's ability and friendly nature. As Jeffrey puts it, "Playing diabolo replaces going to church…it's my spiritual solace." The masters graciously tried to teach me to get the top up and running, but I was almost a total failure.
To finish off the day, we walked around GuLou to visit some hot spots, such as the restaurant where Vice President Joe Biden recently dined. We then walked south to Man Fu Lu (满福楼) Xinjiang-style hot pot where we ordered an incredible feast of everything from mini jiaozi to pig heart…I think.
On a local high from my "Local Sunday," I headed out to an organic farm with my co-workers, only to have my wallet stolen on the subway. Instead of basking in the glory of organic foods, I rushed home to cancel my credit cards. On a positive note, China Citic froze my account when the thief entered the wrong pin three times, and my co-workers came home with a pumpkin half the size of my body!
This week I branched out from simply eating locally to participate in quite a few more local activities. I'm lucky to know people like Jeffrey, who are exceptional at integrating into Chinese culture, and are quite willing to share their interests with others. I think I did a better job of going local this week than last, but this was primarily due to a temporarily decreased workload. I'm quite worried about next week, when things really pick up again.
Editor's Version in The Beijinger.


text:
7 Tips for Giving Praise and Gold Stars
Oh, I'm a gold star junkie. I always want to see those gold stars stuck to the top of my homework. I crave praise, appreciation, recognition.
I've done a lot to combat my craving for gold stars1.
I also try hard to give other people the gold stars they deserve. As my mother once told me, "Most people probably don't get the appreciation they deserve." Like my own mother!
But it's not always easy to dole out those gold stars in an effective way. So here are 7 tips that may help you.
1. Be specific.
Vague praise doesn't make much of an impression.
2. Find a way to praise sincerely.
It's a rare situation where you can't identify something that you honestly find praiseworthy. "Striking" is one of my favorite fudge adjectives.
3. Never offer praise and ask for a favor in the same conversation.
It makes the praise seem like a set-up.
4. Praise process, not outcome.
This particularly relevant with children. It's more helpful to praise effort, diligence, persistence, and imagination than a grade or milestone.
5. Look for something less obvious to praise.
Such as a more obscure accomplishment or quality that a person hasn't heard praised many times before; help people identify strengths they didn't realize they had. Or praise a person for something that he or she does day after day, without recognition. Show that you appreciate the fact that the coffee's always made, that the report is never late. It's a sad fact of human nature: those who are the most reliable are the most easily taken for granted.
6. Don't hesitate to praise people who get a lot of praise already.
Perhaps counter-intuitively, even people who get constant praise — or perhaps especially people who get constant praise — crave praise. Is this because praiseworthy people are often insecure? Does getting praise lead to an addiction to more praise? Or – and this is my current hypothesis – does constant praise indicate constant evaluation, and constant evaluation leads to a craving for praise?
7. Praise people behind their backs.
The praised person usually hears about the praise, and behind-the-back praise seems more sincere than face-to-face praise. Also, always pass along the behind-the-back praise that you hear. This is one of my favorite things to do!
Also, because the way we feel is very much influenced by the way we act, by acting in a way that shows appreciation, discernment, and thoughtfulness, we make ourselves feel more appreciative, discerning, and thoughtful. And that boosts happiness.
Are you a gold-star junkie too?
Have you thought of any other good ways for giving people praise?
- Here are 5 tips for dealing with feeling unappreciated [↩]
Rubin, G. (2018). 7 Tips for Giving Praise and Gold Stars. Psych Central. Retrieved on November 30, 2020, from https://psychcentral.com/blog/7-tips-for-giving-gold-stars/
Last reviewed: By a member of our scientific advisory board on 8 Jul 2018
Published on Psych Central.com. All rights reserved.


text:
Young Bankers Apply Finance Experience to Charity Start-Ups – Philanthropy Today - Blogs - The Chronicle of Philanthropy: Young Bankers Apply Finance Experience to Charity Start-Ups
Finance professionals in their 20s and 30s are starting nonprofits, aiming to apply the language and lessons of capital markets to ai
This blog contains assorted news and commentary on the fundraising profession and philanthropy gathered by the AFP Fundraising Resource Center. Other Sites of Interest Section Disclaimer: AFP provides the following listing of hyperlinks to other Internet pages as a privilege to the user. AFP does not necessarily endorse, support or attest to the accuracy of information posted on those Internet pages. Some links may require registration to view and/or may only be available for a limited time.
Wednesday, February 05, 2014
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
We search the globe looking for individual farms that share our passion for doing things the right way, using traditional methods to cultivate what we think is the world's best Basmati rice.
Why? Because we like to know who we're working with, and we only work with smaller estates that cultivate the rice in the most natural way. So we can bring you the purest, tastiest Basmati rice knowing there's nothing nasty added, and no heavy machines have damaged the rice in the process.
We (people that is, not us personally) have been growing and harvesting food for 1000's of years, living healthy lives.
All these intolerances and food foibles have only appeared as natural farming has declined, and machines and chemicals have increased. We're fully behind the revolution in the world of food. Back to simple, natural farming and good food.
We love rice. We appreciate that not everyone will get as excited about it as us, but we're confident that when you taste it you'll be closer to understanding.
We're looking for people who appreciate good, natural, wholesome food to distribute our rice in the UK.
If that sounds like you, give us a call on +44 (0)207 754 0412, or email, and we'll be happy to talk.
Give us a call on
+44 (0)207 754 0412 or email us us to talk to us about stocking our nice rice.
Follow us on twitter at @therealbasmati


text:
Ken Griffey Jr. Biography
Once considered to be the man most likely to surpass Hank Aaron as baseball's all-time home run king, Ken Griffey Jr. suffered a series of debilitating injuries that all but ended his quest to establish a new home run record. Nevertheless, the extremely talented Griffey, who is also known as Kid and Junior, made his mark on the game as one of the greatest centerfielders in baseball history, and as one of the finest all-around players ever to perform at the major league level. The 13-time All-Star, 10-time Gold Glove winner, and one-time American League MVP is currently fifth on the all-time home run list, with 630 long balls to his credit. Junior also ranks among the all-time leaders in runs batted in (15th) and total bases (12th). Still, when he eventually retires from the game, we will undoubtedly be left to wonder "what if."
Born in Donora, Pennsylvania (also the birthplace of Stan Musial) on November 21, 1969, George Kenneth Griffey Jr. has spent his entire life around baseball. Many of his fondest childhood memories were created playing in the clubhouse of the Cincinnati Reds during the early 1970s – a period during which the team established itself as a National League dynasty. He was at his father's side when Ken Griffey Sr. celebrated Cincinnati's back-to-back World Series victories in 1975 and 1976 with his teammates. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Junior developed a love of the game of baseball at a very young age.
After moving with his family to Cincinnati, Ohio at age six, Griffey Jr. went on to star in both baseball and football at Archbishop Moeller High School. Subsequently selected by the Seattle Mariners with the first overall pick of the 1987 amateur draft, Junior seemed to have everything a young man could ask for. However, all was not well beneath the surface. A few months after being picked first by Seattle, the 17-year-old Griffey attempted to take his life by swallowing 277 aspirin. Citing repeated arguments with his father, depression, and anger as the reasons for his attempted suicide, Junior later revealed, "It seemed like everyone was yelling at me in baseball, then I came home and everyone was yelling at me there…I got depressed. I got angry. I didn't want to live."
Fortunately, the mother of Griffey's girlfriend saved his life by driving him to the hospital as soon as she discovered his condition. But, after being resuscitated in intensive care, Junior ripped the IV from his arm in order to stop an argument between him and his father. Both Griffeys have since stated that the incident permanently altered their relationship, creating a greater sense of understanding between them.
Feeling less burdened emotionally, Junior set about pursuing his dream of becoming a major league baseball player. After honing his skills in the minor leagues for two years, the 19-year-old Griffey impressed Seattle management to such an extent in spring training of 1989 that he began the year as the team's starting centerfielder. Displaying tremendous all-around ability, Griffey did a superb job, both in the outfield and at the plate, hitting 13 home runs, driving in 45 runs, and batting .287 during the season's first half. However, the Rookie of the Year candidate missed six weeks after he broke a bone in his left hand. Griffey struggled upon his return to the Mariners lineup, and he finished the year with only 16 home runs, 61 runs batted in, and a .264 batting average.
Healthy again in 1990, Junior quickly developed into Seattle's best all-around player,
hitting 22 home runs, knocking in 80 runs, scoring 91 others, batting .300, and winning his first of 10 consecutive Gold Gloves. He also was named to the All-Star Team for the first of 11 straight times.
Griffey established himself as one of the American League's top players the following year, when he hit 22 homers, drove in 100 runs, and finished near the top of the league rankings with a .327 batting average. Though still evolving as a player, Griffey displayed his vast array of skills for all to see. A five-tool player, he drove the ball with power to all fields while also hitting for a high batting average; he ran the bases well; and he did a superb job in the outfield, making several spectacular catches while also throwing out opposing baserunners who dared to challenge his arm.
Griffey's extraordinary all-around talent made him one of baseball's most popular and recognizable players. The amount of notoriety he received was also aided immeasurably by the tremendous enthusiasm he brought with him to the ballpark each day. Wearing a smile on his face and his cap turned backwards on his head during pre-game practice, Junior didn't seem to have a care in the world. He expressed that sentiment when he said, "As long as I have fun playing, the stats will take care of themselves."
Meanwhile, Hall of Fame outfielder Reggie Jackson theorized on Griffey's immense popularity by stating, "We love Ken Griffey Jr. because he is everything we would like to be. He's young, he's good-looking, he's got the best smile in the world, and he's a heroic athlete. He is a shot in the arm for baseball. He is what this game needs right now. He is creating excitement and making headlines just by his presence. There hasn't been anyone like that since…Reggie Jackson."
Griffey had another outstanding year in 1992, hitting 27 home runs, knocking in 103 runs, and batting .308. It was in 1993, though, that Junior developed into a truly dominant player. More physically mature at 22 years of age, the 6'2″, 230-pound centerfielder finished second in the American League with 45 home runs and a .617 slugging percentage, knocked in 109 runs, scored 113 others, batted .309, and topped the circuit with 359 total bases. Griffey's superb play earned him a fifth-place finish in the league MVP voting.
Although the 1994 campaign ended prematurely due to a players' strike, Griffey approached his previous career highs in numerous statistical categories, establishing himself in the process as the American League's best all-around player. He topped the circuit with 40 home runs, and he also placed among the leaders with 90 runs batted in, 94 runs scored, a .323 batting average, and a .674 slugging percentage. Junior finished second to Chicago's Frank Thomas in the league MVP balloting.
A broken wrist forced Griffey to miss more than half of the 1995 season, but he returned in time to join Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, and the rest of the young Mariners in their first pennant race. Junior hit 17 home runs in only 72 games, to help Seattle to the Western Division title. He then hit five home runs, batted .391, knocked in seven runs, and scored nine others, including the series clincher, during the Mariners' five-game victory over the Yankees in the ALDS. Although Seattle lost the ALCS to the Indians in six games, Griffey batted .333, with one homer and two RBIs.
Junior had his best season to-date the following year, beginning an extraordinary four-year run that saw him average 52 home runs, 142 runs batted in, and 123 runs scored. He batted .303 in 1996 and placed among the league leaders with 49 home runs, 140 runs batted in, 125 runs scored, and a .628 slugging percentage, to earn a fourth-place finish in the league MVP voting. Junior followed that up by capturing A.L. MVP honors in 1997 by batting .304 and topping the circuit with 56 home runs, 147 runs batted in, 125 runs scored, and a .646 slugging percentage. He also was named The Sporting News Major League Player of the Year.
Griffey had two more sensational years with the Mariners before his time with the team ended. He batted .284 in 1998, drove in 146 runs, scored 120 others, and led the league with 56 home runs. Junior topped the circuit in homers again the following year, hitting 48 long balls, while also knocking in 134 runs, scoring 123 times, and batting .285. At the end of that 1999 season, Griffey received the Players Choice Award as Major League Baseball's Player of the Decade.
The 1999 campaign turned out to be Griffey's last year in Seattle. With free agency looming for Junior at the end of 2000, the Mariners elected to trade their star centerfielder to the Cincinnati Reds for four players prior to the start of the season. Upon his return to Cincinnati, Griffey stated, "This is something I dreamed about as a little kid, being back in my hometown where I watched so many great players."
Griffey had one big year for the Reds before injuries significantly reduced both his playing time and his offensive productivity the next several seasons. After hitting 40 home runs, driving in 118 runs, scoring 100 others, and batting .271 for Cincinnati in 2000, Junior was limited to only 317 games and 63 homers the next four years, essentially ending his pursuit of the all-time career home run record. Griffey later put together another two or three solid seasons for the Reds, but he was traded to the Chicago White Sox on July 31, 2008 after batting only .245 for Cincinnati over the season's first four months. After becoming a free agent at the end of the year, Griffey returned to Seattle, where he said he hopes to end his career. Heading into 2010, Junior has 630 career home runs, 1,829 runs batted in, 1,656 runs scored, 2,763 hits, and a .285 lifetime batting average. He leads all current active players in home runs, runs batted in, and total bases, and he is second in both runs scored and base hits. Griffey has surpassed 40 homers seven times, 100 runs batted in eight times, and 100 runs scored on six separate occasions. Junior has also batted over .300 eight times. In addition to winning the Most Valuable Player Award once, he has finished in the top five in the voting four other times.
Griffey was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016, he received 437 of a possible 440 votes.


text:
6 Ways to Acquire New Customers via Social Media
We all know social media is an important tool for brand awareness and customer acquisition — but how exactly are you supposed to convert random Twitter and Facebook users into real-life customers? Well, that depends.
Different brands have different challenges when it comes to customer acquisition: "If you're our customer, you've signed up for a year-long service, unlike the Starbucks of the world, where you can be a customer by coming in for a cup of coffee one day," says Lisa D'Aromando, social media community manager at Equinox. Whether you're a clothing shop, a restaurant or a subscription service, you must tailor your strategy so that it makes sense for your brand. That said, there are a few universal ways to help your company attract new faces on the social web.
"I'm a big believer in creating and sharing meaningful content," says Danni Snyder, co-founder and creative director at jewelry brand Dannijo. "Over time, that is every brand's best bet for creating and sustaining a following that will grow their business."
But what does it all entail? Mashable spoke with some super-social brands about how they find new customers and lock in their existing ones they have as repeat buyers.
1. Get Your Search On
There are 340 million tweets sent per day — odds are that a few of them are referencing your brand, though you may not realize it. "Just because chatter on social media channels isn't mentioning your brand by handle or hashtag doesn't mean it isn't happening," says McKee Floyd, director of brand development at Sweetgreen.
The key is to be proactive. For the company's upcoming Sweetlife Festival, Floyd set up Twitter searches for "sweetlife" and "sweetlife festival" on TweetDeck, which pulls the tweets even if users didn't include the hashtag. "As groups of friends have conversations back and forth on Twitter about whether or not they should buy tickets, we monitor and chime in with helpful info, answering logistical questions about the festival and hopefully swaying them towards choosing to attend."
Geoff Alexander, managing partner at Chicago's Wow Bao, says his team also uses TweetDeck to search for certain keywords — such as "wow bao," "baomouth" and "hot Asian buns" — and they reply to any and all posts they find. Wow Bao initially got into social media because there wasn't a budget for advertising, so the brand opted to spread the word by giving away buns. "@BaoMouth searches the Internet for ways to reward people — giving away bao, full meals or mobile money [for the food truck]," says Alexander.
But the search tactic works for more than just food concepts. Danni Snyder says she monitor mentions of Dannijo religiously and also searches Twitter for "jewelry." Consuming social media buzz about jewelry — and not just Dannijo's wares — helps the brand be "aware of what people are talking about, what they like and don't like, etc." says Snyder, which can help Dannijo cultivate a new audience with their next collection.
One tip for finding new customers is to see who's engaging with your competitors — if someone just started following or tweeted at or checked in at another bakery in the neighborhood, you could tweet at the person to come check out your cupcakes. They customer will appreciate the shout-out and the fact that you handpicked them to be your customer. Get clever with searches that are relevant to your business and offerings to help you target potential customers — then reel them in by being charming and human, not salesy.
2. Use Images to Engage
Who would have thought Mr Dannijo would be back in such a good way?! #EVERYBODY #eyespy #MRDANNIJO @manrepeller @danielleasnyder @jodielynns #putaneyeonit
A picture is worth a thousand words — photos drive twice as much engagement as text posts do on Facebook. So if you're looking to attract some new fans, start snapping pics.
Snyder says Instagram is her favorite medium for connecting with fans. "You can subliminally market without annoying your customers because each post is capable of accomplishing a number of things," she says. "In one post, we can showcase a new design available at Dannijo.com, thus driving traffic to our ecommerce site; show how we'd style the jewelry; mention a tastemaker friend like Questlove or ManRepeller and promote them while they're wearing Dannijo; inspire discussion and engagement, gaining valuable customer feedback; and provide followers some visual inspiration and insight into your creative process."
But the pics need not be product-focused. Dannijo posts photos of food and musicians that embody the Dannijo vibe, and its 9,745 followers like and comment on every one of them. Similarly, Rent the Runway posts pictures of various style trends. "On Facebook, we try to use as much imagery as possible — not just promotional imagery of our dresses, but images that relate to pop-culture," says Jenny Fleiss, president and co-founder of Rent the Runway. For example, in anticipation of the upcoming Great Gatsby movie, the RTR blog posted about Gatsby-inspired fashion trends.
3. Host a Competition
Nothing gets customers going like some swag, so contests are a great way to boost your followers and engagement. But be strategic about what you're offering, or else you could attract the wrong followers.
ModCloth hosts monthly photo contests that garner hundreds of entries and thousands of votes. "Our most recent contest, Thrifted Treasures, asked our fans to share their favorite vintage finds, and our community could vote up their favorites," explains Natasha Khan, ModCloth's social media manager. "The social actions surrounding that event brought in thousands of new fans, which we otherwise would not have gained."
Khan says contests and offers have been the most high impact customer generation events for ModCloth. But if you're planning on hosting a contest, Khan has a few suggestions. First, build in actions that allow the fan to share to their social networks, as this will increase virality. Second, stay true to your brand. Third, tweak the contest to fit the platform on which you're running it — "On Facebook that means sharing photography, on Twitter it means wordplay hashtags, and for Polyvore it means styling outfits," says Khan.
"Quality is more important than quantity when it comes to Facebook fan growth. If your company product is clothing and your prize is free iPads, then you will gain followers that might not belong to your core demographic. Make sure the reward is something your customer will value, such as a gift card or grab bag of your products," says Khan.
4. Spice Up The Platforms
With so many platforms to manage, be sure to have a distinct M.O. on each channel — and cross-pollinate sparingly. If a customer sees the same information and pictures on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest, she need only follow you on one of these platforms. Also, be wary of overpromotion. Nothing is more of a turnoff than a constant sales messaging — people easily can unfollow, and they will. Interestingly, many of Wow Bao's posts have nothing to do with bao — @BaoMouth tweets during award shows and keeps a lively conversation going on a number of topics, winning people over with its spunky personality.
Of course, a big reason why you use various social media channels is to promote your product, so there are some things to keep in mind for the messaging when you are pushing your goods.
"Prove the value of being a Facebook fan. If you can find the same content and offers on other channels, there is no incentive to also follow the brand on Facebook," Khan says. "Exclusive Facebook-only offers and original content reinforces our investment in the channel." The same goes for every other social platform.
For Equinox, Facebook is for broadcasting of events and initiatives, like Cycle For Survival, Twitter is more conversation and geared toward responding to questions about membership, fitness routines and healthy eating, and Foursquare is the platform on which to find offers for Equinox's spa and shop, which are open to the public. "Every Monday in March, we posted a different Foursquare check-in special for The Shop at all of our locations," says D'Aromando. "Since you don't have to necessarily be a member to go to The Shop or The Spa, these specials are accessible to everyone," and can lure in potential customers into becoming Equinox members.
The company's Q blog is another digital project where you'll find awe-inspiring videos and original lifestyle content — a great way to add value for potential customers. "Q was launched to extend our brand and increase this word-of-mouth among our target audience. It gives people — members and nonmembers — topics and material from our Equinox experts to share with others," says D'Aromando. "In lieu of promos, we create a different sort of currency: highly produced, branded content on Q with exclusives for our social media communities."
5. Make It Personal
No one like a mass message — consumers like to feel as if they're the only ones being spoken to. You should know your customers and speak to them in personal ways to establish touchpoints that build relationships and create loyalty.
"I like to make it very personable — if someone tweets a question I make sure to answer immediately," says Steven Rojas, social media director at GrandLife Hotels. "Often I go as far as Googling that person to make sure I know as much as I can about them before reaching out. I want to humanize the brand so people don't feel like they are speaking to a computer but to an actual person who cares about what they are saying. My obsession for all things digital never sleeps, so I make sure everyone gets what they need, when they need it."
Live chats are another effective way to offer intimate interaction and engagement with fans. "It's about having a conversation with your community, so we often do live chats with our stylists on Facebook to answer any styling questions customers may have," says Fleiss. "These posts tend to elicit the most 'Likes' and comments."
While you're browsing sites for comments to respond to, don't ignore negative feedback — addressing the complaint is an opportunity to convert an unhappy customer into an impressed brand ambassador.
"We're very appreciative when someone takes the time to let us know about a bad experience or an issue because then we can help fix it," says Jenny Danzi, a Mountain Dew brand manager. "Reply to every complaint to turn those consumers into advocates — even if you can not offer an instant fix, people appreciate getting a human response," she adds. And don't forget that even the littlest gesture can make a big difference. "Sometimes for us it can be as simple as letting consumers know where they can find our products," says Danzi.
Wow Bao takes it to the next level, proactively finding ways to create touchpoints with consumers. "We comment on any and all posts mentioning people's birthdays and pop culture," says Alexander. "We even schedule posts for people's birthdays, when people post something like, 'My birthday is in 12 days'" — a very personalized tactic that can go a long way.
6. Let Your Customers Shine
Nothing makes a customer feel better than being acknowledged — or better yet, honored — by their favorite brand. Is there a way to offer kudos to your loyal fans? If so, make it happen.
Because women love to talk about what they're wearing — and often wear RTR to social events such as weddings and cocktail parties — Rent the Runway strives to move these conversations online. "We have weekly style award contests on our blog and Facebook Page, and a section of our site called RTR Moments where women can share photos of themselves in RTR dresses," says Fleiss.
For Mountain Dew, whose fan base is extremely young and active on social media, the "Diet Mountain Dew Supernova Spotter" is a great way to celebrate the return of the fan-chosen flavor in addition to highlighting the passion of the fans. "Dew drinkers can upload their photo of Diet Supernova, and on Friday we'll open the entries up to public voting. Fifteen winners will each get a Diet Dew hoodie, and everyone who enters can easily share their Diet Supernova passion with friends," Danzi says.
For Equinox, whose social media fan base is largely comprised of members, the goal isn't as much to incentivize people to join (they already have), but to make them feel special for being members. "We have a Facebook app where members can refer friends directly, and if the friend joins, the member gets a referral bonus," says D'Aromando. "We also just launched a program on Twitter where we're rewarding our advocates by offering them private group fitness classes for them and their friends. This gives us a way to say 'thanks' to those who always post about us, and it gives them something to talk about with their friends — online and off."
Brands, how does your company acquire new customers on social media? Consumers, what makes you want to become a customer? Let us know in the comments.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, akinbostanci


text: Bridal Necklaces to Make Your Pre-Wedding Tan Pop May 26, 2017 Natasha Blog (0) White can be a tough color to pull off; we all know that. Yet, with that freshly glowing spray tan and a whole lot of bridal glitz, you'll radiate with brilliance, keeping you center stage all day long. And best of all, it will all feel effortless. It'll be almost as if that white dress of yours can dance itself down the aisle! To create this show-stopping impact, your necklace must be carefully considered, knowing that there are a multitude of necklines for every bridal gown. Let's look at some options that really set the stage right. A Champagne Toast to Your Natural Bronze Shine This might be the statement piece of the year. Is your gown white? Ivory? Does it feature lace? Sequins? With this stunner here, you can't go wrong. And with that touch of glow to your skin, these two go hand in hand. The elegant simplicity of this pendant means it can be the cake topper to any dress' bodice. Plus, the hint of yellow in the stones will help accentuate the golden undertones in your tan-- winning! Let's Get Vintage On a hallmark day, a vintage statement piece seems more than appropriate. Whether you're boasting a gown with sequined detail or straight, simple lines, this piece is really going to be a standout. Look at the detail surrounding that small center diamond. Go ahead. Get ready to take on that wedding day dancefloor. Every move you make is going to sparkle, right alongside that sexy California tan of yours. In Case He Went with Color Sapphires, yellow diamonds, emeralds, rubies - they're all fair game. And, in case he got creative and chose a colored stone that he knew would have special meaning for you, there's one terrific way to say thank you. Compliment his choice with a piece that's going to be the centerpiece atop your bridal gown. This one was hard to stop looking at, so it was great to see that it also comes in emerald and ruby. Always Keeping It Simple Is he a man of few words? Do you like to keep life simple and sweet? Then this solitaire hugged by a halo of round diamonds is just for you. Featuring a 1/2ct center stone, it will give off just enough sparkle, but not enough to outshine your glowing tan. As a matter of fact, its silver beam might be the best contrast to your healthy-looking copper skin-- hello, gorgeous! And Like the Setting Sun... Like the setting sun, this elongated circle will give off a shine only your wedding day smile can compete with. Paired with your sun-kissed tan, this sparkler will bedazzle anyone who has a look. Its simple elegance will commemorate your special day, and you'll be glad to pull it back out for anniversary dinners and other hallmarks of your married life together. Once the dress is chosen, the shoes are selected, your hairstyle is perfected, start thinking about the second most important wedding day jewel, your statement piece necklace. Take a hint from these sparklers because each of them will enhance your skin tone in a way that those high-resolution cameras will be happy to capture and commemorate forever. Get ready to shine, ladies!


text:
LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- "It is the best drama on television, hands down. We believe in that. The viewers tell us that," CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler told reporters about its Sunday-bound drama "The Good Wife" following today's announcement of the network's 2011-12 season lineup (read the full release).
And With its new time period comes a new strategy. "A lot of what we talked about sort of before the upfronts this year was our marketing and how we can really be strategic and creative and how we can try some different ways to get out in front of it a little bit more," Tassler continued. "Usually there's a more traditional way of 'don't tell, don't give away secrets' but, you know, sometimes if you give people a little bit, you let them in on the secret a little bit that doesn't help them a little bit more. So we've been talking about that and especially... leading into the finale it was important for us to let people peek behind the certain a little bit more. So you're going to see a change in the marketing of the show next season and certainly with the time period you're going to see... a lot of promo weight behind it as well."
Other highlights from Tassler and CBS Primetime Senior Executive Vice President Kelly Kahl's press conference:
-- Tassler on if "Person of Interest," from executive producer J.J. Abrams, has too limited an appeal for CBS: "It was developed under J.J.'s banner. He is absolutely a part of the show. But Jonathan Nolan pitched the show, created the show, he developed the show and actually brought Greg Plageman on board kind of midway, towards the end of development. Greg ran 'Cold Case' for us for years so he is a proven established showrunner... This comes from Jonathan Nolan who is an inspired devotee of television... It's based on, I mean it's inspired by 'The Equalizer.' You've got kind of high tech meets street vigilante and they both are very vivid, real characters, very accessible. It's a strong franchise... It's got all of the bells and whistles of a [CBS] procedural but it's torqued a little bit so it's got some, a little bit of genre to it which is good. Just enough for our audience."
-- Kahl likewise on "Person of Interest": "This is a best of both worlds show. There's not a complicated mythology which would take a more traditional viewer and scare them off yet I think there are some cool things that J.J. Abrams does bring to the table that could bring maybe a younger and maybe more non-traditional CBS viewer to the table. So that's why it's [Thursdays at 9:00/8:00c] because we think it's a hugely broad appeal show."
-- Kahl on if they had a backup scheduling plan if they didn't sign Ashton Kutcher for "Two and a Half Men": "We kind of worked on the assumption that we would [have the show] because we simply thought if we tried to do two schedules we would just be talking all day and all night... If we didn't did we have backup plans? Yeah, we had ideas but we never really had to go there."
-- Tassler on if FOX's "The X Factor" will be the next "Death Star": "Who knows - I don't make predictions. I don't know what's in store. For us we feel, we're very excited about ['The Big Bang Theory'] and 'Gentleman' and think that they've, 'Big Bang' has a loyal following. So I don't know what it's going to do. We don't make predictions."
-- Kahl on moving "Rules of Engagement" to Saturdays: "It was that we had 13 episodes, we were going to order 13 episodes regardless. We liked the idea of bringing something new to Saturday night. Is the expectation sky high? No, it's Saturday night." Tassler adds that "Rules" actually has a 22-episode order. "Wherever you put 'Rules' on the schedule, people go. So having it there to help promote the new shows [encores of which will follow at 8:30/7:30c], it was a smart move."
-- Tassler on the "CSI" franchise: "What's important about all three of our 'CSI's - all three of the showrunners that have been there from the beginning with that show are there today. I mean that's really important. We support them, we support the show. They do well creatively for us. And because you've got those original showrunners there from the beginning, you know, it allows you to be a little more flexible creatively going season to season."
-- Tassler on how "Ringer" went to The CW: "I can only speak from my point of view. I don't how what happened behind the scenes at The CW but I know for us we were really excited about developing the show. It was a spec script that we got our hands on. We thought it was a very unique concept. We were really excited about Sarah Michelle Gellar. And it could have been on our schedule. I mean, like I said, we had no more time periods. And it tested well, it screened well, people really liked it... and Sarah Michelle Gellar is a force to be reckoned with. I mean she's got a huge fanbase. I kid you not, when we bought the script the e-mails started coming in: pick it up. I'm like, we just bought it."
-- Tassler on if they plan to order any midseason comedies: "We do have midseason comedies that we're going to be discussing in a couple of days. [We'll pick them up] probably in a couple of days. Soon, very soon. Maybe next week, [in] two weeks. Soon."


text:
40+ Ways To Access Your Computer Remotely
There are lots of reasons why you'd want to access your PC remotely, and luckily there are also plenty of ways to do so. Crossloop is one of the simplest (it's also free), but for those willing to venture further, you've got lots of options.
Excuse us while we get technical for a second. This list is divided into four main sections: VNC (Virtual Network Computing), NX, remote desktop and cross-protocol. If those terms mean nothing to you, you might want to skip to the "other" section for the most straightforward applications. That said, let's begin.
Ajax VNC - Clientless VNC solution in the web's favorite programming language.
Apple Remote Desktop - Apple's jumped on the remote desktop bandwagon with this great VNC server built right into OS X.
Chicken of the VNC - One of the most popular VNC clients for OS X under the GPL.
DirectVNC - UNIX client using the framebuffer device via DirectFB.
FVNC - Great VNC client written in Flash. That's right, Flash.
MetaVNC - This unique client/server package merges the host and remote desktops together into one Windows or Linux desktop.
.NET VNC Viewer - C# viewer that works with Windows and Windows Mobile/CE devices.
PowerVNC - Java-based client with support for SSH and SFTP.
RealVNC - Server/client from the original VNC developers.
sVNC - The perfect tool for offering remote assistance to Mac users, since there's barely any configuring required.
SymVNC - Symbian phone client for connecting to your PC.
TightVNC - Popular VNC server/client with nice Java applet.
TurboVNC - TightVNC spinoff with great support for 3D apps.
UltraVNC - Wildly popular client/server app with file transfer, video drivers, chat, and much more.
Vine Server - OS X server with clipboard sharing, port changing, and a universal binary.
VncViewer for 8086 - Got an old IBM running FreeDOS or DOS? Put it to work with this VNC client.
VNCViewer for PocketPC - Client for, you guessed it, PocketPC users.
x11vnc - Unlike most other VNC servers for UNIX and Linux, this server lets you share your current desktop session (instead of a separate session).
FreeNX - Open source server using the libraries from NoMachine.
NoMachine NX Client - Free client to connect to NX machines.
NoMachine NX Free Edition - NX server for UNIX/Linux.
NoMachine NX Enterprise Desktop - Server that includes everything that the free edition has, but with unlimited users (unlike the free version's two).
NoMachine NX Small Business Server - NX server targeting small businesses.
NoMachine NX Enterprise Server - NX Server with unlimited users and unlimited connections.
NoMachine NX Advanced Server Subscription - Everything that the Enterprise server has, plus multi-node capabilities.
Remote Desktop Protocol
CoRD - Remote desktop client for Mac OS X users.
grdestkop - Gnome wrapper for the rdesktop application.
krdesktop - rdesktop frontend written in KDE.
properJavaRDP - Cross-platform Java client based on rdesktop.
rdesktop - Extremely powerful command-line client for UNIX/Linux.
Remote Desktop - Microsoft's official server, for XP Pro and Vista.
xrdp - Serves an X window session to incoming Windows clients.
Connection Manager - VNC, RDP, and Telnet manager for UNIX/Linux distros.
KDE Desktop Sharing - The official KDE VNC server package.
KDE Remote Desktop Connection - The official KDE client for RDP and VNC.
Kurd - Great rdesktop/vncviewer frontend for KDE.
mRemote - Manage VNC and RDP connections on Windows with this handy app.
RDPMan - A little utility to manage RDP, VNC, and Telnet connections for Windows.
CrossLoop - Easy-to-use remote access utility with file sharing and a multilingual interface.
GoToMyPC - Extremely popular remote access program for ~$25/month.
LogMeIn - Remote access app with a free and a pro ($12.95/month) version with file transfer, remote printing, and more.
Unyte - Nice remote desktop server with a Java applet viewer and IM integration.
See also:
50 Great Widgets For Your Blog 40+ Tools For Google Calendar 15 Ways To Create Website Screenshots 50+ Google Reader Extensions and Scripts For Firefox WEB OS RUNDOWN: 45+ Web Operating Systems AMAZON TOOLBOX: 40+ Amazon Tools 30+ Language Tools For Firefox SKYPE TOOLBOX: 50+ Enhancements for Skype MOBILE PRODUCTIVITY TOOLBOX: 45+ Mobile Productivity Resources MORE THAN A BROWSER: 19 Alternative Ways to Use Firefox FORUMS GUIDE: 70+ Resources for Creating a Forum VOIP TOOLBOX: 30+ VoIP Services P2P TOOLBOX: 30+ Peer to Peer Services DIGG TOOLBOX: 50+ Digg Tools and Resources WORDPRESS GOD:300+ Tools for Running Your WordPress Blog GREEN LIVING TOOLBOX: 80+ Green Sites Travel Toolbox: 75+ Online Travel Resources ITUNES TOOLBOX: 30+ Tools For iTunes COLLEGE TOOLBOX: 60+ Tools For Back To School ONLINE PRESENTATIONS: 30+ Presentation & Slideshow Services GMAIL TOOLBOX: 60+ Tools For Gmail 30+ WordPress 2-Column Themes ONLINE BUSINESS TOOLBOX: 230+ Tools for Running a Business Online 30+ Tools to Turn Wordpress into a Personal Hub SHOPPING SPREE: 18 Sites for Social Shopping & Deals SOCIAL BOOKMARKING: 50+ Social Bookmarking Sites


text:
Aug 1, 2009
Recent Facebook Posts
The American Casino Guide has a monthly podcast hosted by the book's author, Steve Bourie, who talks about topics of interest to travelers who like to visit casinos.
Whether it's using the best gambling strategies or simply getting the best deals on travel to casinos, Steve can speak expertly on the subject. During each show, which all run about 30 minutes, Steve interviews a special guest from the world of casino travel or gambling.
Having trouble logging in?


text:
Huge Ruling: Court Rejects Medical Diagnostic Patent
from the a-step-forward deptWe've been covering the Prometheus Laboratories v. Mayo Labs case for a few years now, as it was a key case involving whether or not you could patent basic medial diagnostics -- i.e., can you patent basic science and limit doctors from doing such science without paying up. Tragically, in a series of decisions, the appeals court (CAFC) twice ruled that diagnostics are patentable, and we were particularly concerned that the oral hearings in the Supreme Court on this case seemed very narrowly focused. Of course, as we noted at the time, the oral hearings can be a red herring, as rulings often have little (if anything) to do with what is said during the oral hearings. This appears to be one such case.
Instead, it looks like we got a reasonably good (not great, but definitely pretty good) ruling from the Court effectively rejecting the concept of patenting basic medical diagnostics as laws of nature that are not patentable. It's always a good sign when Supreme Court IP case rulings are written by Justice Stephen Breyer -- as he remains the one Supreme Court Justice who seems to consistently, and instinctively, understand how excessive intellectual monopolies can cause much more harm than good. In this case, Breyer wrote the decision which, thankfully, was actually a unanimous decision, rejecting Prometheus' patents, and reiterating that laws of nature are not patentable.
In particular, the steps in the claimed processes (apart from the natural laws themselves) involve well-understood, routine, conventional activity previously engaged in by researchers in the field. At the same time, upholding the patents would risk disproportionately tying up the use of the underlying natural laws, inhibiting their use in the making of further discoveries.Breyer's opinion is pretty clear and easy to read and makes some important points:
If a law of nature is not patentable, then neither is a process reciting a law of nature, unless that process has additional features that provide practical assurance that the process is more than a drafting effort designed to monopolize the law of nature itself. A patent, for example, could not simply recite a law of nature and then add the instruction "apply the law." Einstein, we assume, could not have patented his famous law by claiming a process consisting of simply telling linear accelerator operators to refer to the law to determine how much energy an amount of mass has produced (or vice versa). Nor could Archimedes have secured a patent for his famous principle of flotation by claiming a process consisting of simply telling boat builders to refer to that principle in order to determine whether an object will float.One nice aside: the ruling also rejects the US government's own brief in the case, which effectively suggested that we get rid of the rule that laws of nature can't be patented, and instead just focus on whether or not the claims are new and non-obvious. As Breyer wrote, this "risks creating significantly greater legal uncertainty, while assuming that those sections can do work that they are not equipped to do."
Finally, at the end, Breyer highlights the costs and benefits of patents and how the arguments that more patents automatically lead to greater innovation is simply not the case:
Patent protection is, after all, a two-edged sword. On the one hand, the promise of exclusive rights provides monetary incentives that lead to creation, invention, and discovery. On the other hand, that very exclusivity can impede the flow of information that might permit, indeed spur, invention, by, for example, raising the price of using the patented ideas once created, requiring potential users to conduct costly and time-consuming searches of existing patents and pending patent applications, and requiring the negotiation of complex licensing arrangements. At the same time, patent law's general rules must govern inventive activity in many different fields of human endeavor, with the result that the practical effects of rules that reflect a general effort to balance these considerations may differ from one field to another....All in all this is a good ruling. It's a little limited in suggesting that you could patent diagnostics that go further rather than just "drafting" on a natural law, but this is definitely a big step in the right direction. And as Patently-O notes, it's likely that this ruling will mean that the appeals court will now also be told to go back and re-evaluate its awful decision saying genes are patentable in the Myriad Genetics case. Hopefully, this ruling is a clear statement that not only are diagnostics not patentable, but genes aren't patentable either. If that's true it will be a huge boost to research in the biotech field, which won't be held back by expensive restrictions and tollbooths.
In consequence, we must hesitate before departing from established general legal rules lest a new protective rule that seems to suit the needs of one field produce unforeseen results in another. And we must recognize the role of Congress in crafting more finely tailored rules where necessary.
Of course, that's not the story you hear from the patent maximalists, who are arguing that this is horrible for the biotech community because it will mean fewer patents. But that ignores all of the good this does in making it easier to do research, to share results and lead to more real innovations built on basic laws of nature and facts, rather than locking up that knowledge.
Filed Under: biotech, diagnostics, gene patents, laws of nature, medical, patents
Companies: mayo clinic, myriad genetics, prometheus