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I have a brother who is two years younger than I am and I have a very clear memory of our early childhood -- I was 5 and he was 3. Whenever we were asked to pick up our toys because company was coming, including visiting small children, he would gather all his toys up and hide them under his bed. I remember protesting loudly (and tearfully) to my mother that this behavior was "… selfish and mean "and how could she let him do that?" I am sad to say this attitude toward his toys has not changed in the last 60 years but we don't discuss it anymore. Our parents are gone now so I have no-one to complain to about it.
I think of this story every time I read about a group of immigrants receiving their citizenship. I get a small thrill as I read about what these people have been through to reach this point. The tiny openings in a system of quotas and rules they have had to fight, scratch and crawl through to become one of us. Most of us are totally ignorant of this system's realities and few care.
I have listened to the immigration rhetoric far too long to sit idly and not comment. This country, which I love and respect, has never "welcomed" immigrant populations. Inevitably, the typical 3- year-old's "dog in the manger" attitudes kick in. We started by trying to kick out the folks who were here first, with only partial success, (this was fairly easy because most of the "originals" had no guns.) Then we moved on to the East-European settlers, the Jews, the Italians, the Irish, (Catholics) the Chinese, on and on. With each ethnic wave there was a counter-wave of resistance from the "owners" of the country and new laws passed to prevent or inhibit new waves. In spite of all this we maintained our image as an unprecedented refuge for the tired and persecuted victims of less-enlightened countries. We are the only country in the world where few of its citizens want to go somewhere else to live and work. There are very good reasons for this. We have a great country! We are comfortable, we have more and bigger toys per-capita than anyone anywhere, (Have you seen the size of the kitchen appliances in European countries?) and we can say anything we want to except "Fire?" in a crowded theater. We are blessed, beyond any historic imagining, with the resources to bring the Christian mandate "Love one another" to life for all of us.
So what is the problem?
I think the problem is we are a very spoiled and lazy country and we DO NOT want to share our good stuff, even indirectly, by giving thankless, dirty, grueling low-wage jobs we refuse to do, to visitors who will do anything to better the lives of their families. We even choose to build walls to keep these desperate people out. It was Ronald Reagan who famously said "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down That Wall!" after all. I even heard a person who shall remain anonymous, but he knows who he is, say, in a public place: "If this country was really serious about curbing illegal immigration we would plant land mines along the border. It is radical but it would definitely solve the problem."
The same folks who demonized Communism's Iron Curtain and its nasty habit of shooting those trying to get in or out (illegally) now think a wall is a fine idea. The hypocrisy of this anti-life belief system is as horrifying to me as the 3-year old's greedy possessiveness of 60 years ago. I think what we need to do to address this is what I do with my greedy great grand-son when he refuses to share his toys: I give him a choice: Share nicely or I will put the toy away. Maybe forever. Period.
Maybe then when he grows up he will be a loving, giving, generous grown-up and people might even like him. Unlike my brother.
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Bold wire saw project with SpeedCut
Bohus Bergsprängning has created a 22-meter deep shaft and a 7-meter long cross tunnel in Röda Sten in Gothenburg. The shaft was made entirely without blasting, instead using a wire saw from Atlas Copco.
January 29, 2016
With metal prices lower than for many years, the mining industry is facing major challenges. The Pilbara region is no exception where the miners are turning to service solutions as a way to combat the downtrend. The Pilbara region in the North of Western Australia is a showcase of modern mining. This vast and remote corner of the world, covering an astonishing 500 000 km2 has been fielding its minerals – notably iron, gold and copper – on a large scale since the 1960s.
Some of the giants of the industry are well established here, among them Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, which, together with local mining companies and contractors, contribute much to the Australian economy using some of the industry's most sophisticated equipment and methods.
These days, however, like many other mining regions around the world, the normally hot and dry Pilbara is feeling the cold pinch of lower metal prices and weaker global demand. The challenges in adjusting to this new market situation are considerable, and here, as practically everywhere, the focus is on cost reduction. One of the ways that companies are tackling this is to minimize the time that mining equipment is out of action. In this respect, one of the major suppliers to the companies of the Pilbara, Atlas Copco, is playing a key role with proactive service solutions for the many different types of Atlas Copco rigs at work in the region.
One example of this is a service exchange package which involves a Component Repair Menu that allows customers to continue mining with minimal downtime. Tailored to suit the needs of today's tight operational demands, customers are able to choose from the following options:
In addition to this, Atlas Copco uses advanced software to track the life cycle of all key components and parts enabling it to predict when replacement parts will be needed. Parts that need to be replaced more often, and essential parts critical to operations, are held at Atlas Copco branches throughout Australia, while those replaced less often are held at distribution centers in Perth and Sydney. Another key aspect of the program is Custom Engineered Solutions, through the plug and play principle. This is designed to reduce the cost of parts in maintaining a machine and the labor needed.
Dale Waters, National Marketing Manager for Atlas Copco in Australia, explains that a pre-assembled component is cheaper and more efficient to supply and install than trying to buy the individual parts for assembling and fitting on site.
Read the full story at Mining & Construction online.
Epiroc operated under the trademark "Atlas Copco" prior to January 1, 2018.
Mining and Rock Excavation Service division Surface drill rigs surface-mining-quarrying Open pit mining Rotary blasthole drilling rigs Parts Customer story Service 2016 International

subset: commoncrawl


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Jill Fox: Screen time and what it means for children
By BY JILL ENGLEBRIGHT FOX
Sept. 10, 2012 at 4:10 a.m.
Not long ago, I spent an extended weekend with two preschoolers. Over the course of three days, I taught the children to play Go Fish and Slap Jack while they taught me to play Angry Birds and to download free princess applications on my iPad.
Their mother warned me not to let them see me input my user name and password in any application, or my password protection would be null and void. To say that I was amazed at the comfort and ease with which these children maneuvered from application to application on my iPad and smart phone is an understatement. The experiences of that weekend have since made me pay closer attention to the interactions I see daily between children and technology. From the 10-month-old baby on the plane listening to animal sounds on her mother's iPhone to the 6-year-old watching Shrek 3 on a DVD player during a family dinner at Cracker Barrel, these interactions are not hard to spot.
I have always supported the use of technology with young children. As a public school kindergarten teacher back in the late 1980s, I wrote a grant to Apple computers and was the first teacher in the school to have a classroom computer for the children to use. Technology is very much a part of our lives in the here and now, and will be increasingly a part of our lives in the future. It is important that children learn to appropriately access and use technology. The key word here is appropriately. We want children to see technology as a tool for enriching their futures and we want them to use technology to their benefit, rather than for their detriment.
"Screen time" is the term used to describe the collective time children spend engaging with various technology devices, including TVs, computers, DVD players, smart phones and tablet devices. Current studies indicate that American children under the age of 2 have, on average, more than two hours every day of screen time and most preschoolers have even more. This is problematic. During the preschool years, the primary developmental task for children is to learn to interact positively with others by controlling their behaviors and emotions and by using language to communicate. Considering that children under the age of 2 sleep for 12-16 hours of every 24, two hours is a large chunk of their day. Playing Angry Birds and watching Shrek 3 does not contribute to their development in any way and, in fact, undermines it in some very real ways.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media have issued a position statement titled "Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age Eight." This statement recommends that for children younger than age two, screen time should be limited to that which will support and encourage the child's interactions with loving adults. Skyping with a parent deployed overseas, reading a story on Kindle with Grandma, identifying electronic photos of family members on the computer - these are examples of technology interactions that support the development of children under the age of two.
The position statement further encourages parents and teachers to ensure that technology interactions for children between the ages of 3 and 5 years are non-passive and supportive of social relationships and that daily screen time, including television viewing, is less than two hours. Draw and paint programs and word-processing programs that encourage children to think originally are strongly recommended for preschoolers, while video games are strongly discouraged. Indeed, the research on video games for young children is alarming, identifying negative effects on relationships with peers, parents, and teachers.
Children are a blessing, but, as any parent knows, they are also a responsibility. As parents and teachers, it is important that we make informed decisions about the ways in which our children interact with technology. I encourage you to read the position statement at NAEYC.org and to carefully consider your child's screen time. Make sure that technology is supporting your child's future and not just occupying time in the present.
Jill Englebright Fox, Ph.D., is a professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of Houston-Victoria School of Education and Human Development.


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Filed Under (Ural) by admin on 02-11-2010
1. First you must adjust the idle. It is acceptable per the manual to adjust the idle by using the idle adjust screws (11). This usually involves screwing them then backing out 1 to 1.5 turns. Or you can adjust looking at the sliders 2. If installing the carburetors: a. Remove the cover (2) b. Reomve the slider (3) c. Place the throttle cable through the guide (18) with the spring (4) on the cable. d. Route the cable through the slide catch (6) e. Insert the slide assembly into the chamber and make sure it easily slides up and down. Direct the needle (8) into the opening of the diffuser (angled side visible). f. Screw assembly together and verify via throttle movement that slide moves freely. Attach fuel delivery lines to (12). 3. Using the idle set screw (11) raise the slider so the lower edge is 1-2 mm. 4. Assemble to engine using the proper gaskets (paper – felt – paper). 5. Using the locknut (26) adjust the free play of the throttle cable (2-3 mm) 6. Adjust the idle mixture screw – turn in completely then out 1 to 1.5 turns 1. Remove one of the spark plug caps, and with the cap shorted, adjust (11) to decrease RPM's to a point of being minimally steady. 2. Adjust the mixture (15) out until RPM's decrease. Turn in until RPM's increase slightly. Then turn in screws ¼ to 1/3 revoultion. 3. Do the same for the second carburetor with the first spark plug cap shorted. 4. With both cylinders, adjust each idle (11) on each carburetor the same amount each until it's at a steady, minimal RPM. Use small changes. (at this point you can use your airflow tool to check). 5. Sharply increase, then decrease throttle. Then engine must return to low RPMs smoothly. If the engine goes below limits, readjust (11) from step 4. Synchronization of the K68 Note: Rather than using the opposite cylinder shorted to test the pull of the live cylinder carburetor, you can use something like a Twinmax connected to the test ports (27 Fig 1). Or, if you have a model without these ports, use a Synchrometer (Appendix 2) held against the face of the carburetor. These tools merely show airflow passing through each carburetor (which is dependent on the position and wear on the slide). If using these tools, it's not necessary to do the following steps. You wil want to use a throttle guide (Appendix 1), to show airflow at various throttle settings. Using the flow meter of your choice make sure each carburetor is the same at the various throttle settings. 1. Place the motorcycle on the center stand ensuring the rear wheel is suspended 2. Make sure you have large area to work with (safety issues here) 3. Shift into the highest gear with the engine running 4. Short one spark plug cap to the cylinder (using a nail or something in the fins) 5. Increase the speed to 40-50 km/hr 6. Fix the throttle using the throttle (maybe using a throttle stop screw under the throttle housing). 7. Reconnect other cylinder and using the opposite carburetor determine the speed which should be the same as the first. 8. Adjust the position of this slide to achieve the referenced speed using the locknut at the top of the carburetor.
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Americans average 80 to 100 minutes a day driving, researchers at New York's Stony Brook University estimate. That much time is enough for harmful sun rays to seep into exposed, unprotected skin, creating "a considerable health risk," they found. And car windows won't fully protect you.
Americans average 80 to 100 minutes a day driving, researchers at New York�s Stony Brook University estimate. That much time is enough for harmful sun rays to seep into exposed, unprotected skin, creating �a considerable health risk,� they found. And car windows won�t fully protect you.That�s why Dr. Stephanie Cotell, who works at Northeast Dermatology in Columbus, says you should be wearing sunscreen every day. Yes, even in the dead of winter.
That�s particularly true of men, who statistically drive more than women and typically do not wear makeup with built-in sun protection.
Car windows block some ultraviolet light, such as UVB rays, which are responsible for sunburns and blisters. But they don�t block UVA rays � the kind that penetrate deep into the skin and cause aging.
�Both types of rays � cause skin cancer, and the UVA rays specifically cause the leathery appearance, the brown spots (and) the rough texture,� Cotell said.
Not convinced?
�It�s not insignificant,� said Dr. Amy Derick, a Barrington, Ill., dermatologist. �We always see people aged more on the left than the right.�
That�s because the left side of the body is exposed to the sun while driving.
A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology noted that skin cancer in the United States occurs on the left side of the body 53 percent of the time. That percentage holds true almost identically for the right side of people in Europe and Australia, where the driver�s seat is on the right side of the car.
Everyday sunscreen should be SPF 30 and say �broad spectrum� on the container, said Dr. Shannon Trotter, a dermatologist at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital.
Sunscreens are available as lotions, sprays, sticks and powders.
Another precaution is a UV-blocking film on the car�s windows. Tinted windows, however, do not provide any skin protection, Trotter said.
Clement Hearey, 58, who lives in Shaker Heights in northeastern Ohio, has had a precancerous spot removed from the left side of his nose and survived melanoma on his back.
His treatments ended in 2008, but he still has regular checkups and wears long sleeves and hats in addition to sunscreen when he is outdoors.
�It�s like I tell my children, �Always take precautions,�??� Hearey said.


text: Rachel Geer is interested in the relationship between texts, manuscripts, and late medieval devotional practice, especially the ways in which this relationship informs the literary aesthetics of writers such as Machaut, Froissart, and Christine de Pizan. She is also interested in exploring how devotional reading practices influence early print practices. She is currently working on her dissertation, entitled "The Text in Practice: Devotional Inflections in Late Medieval French Literature and Manuscripts."


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You are Here:
/ TR-55 DOS version
Technical Release 55 (TR-55) presents simplified procedures to calculate storm runoff volume, peak rate of discharge, hydrographs, and storage volumes required for floodwater reservoirs. These procedures are applicable in small watersheds, especially urbanizing watersheds, in the United States. Limits: NRCS type distributions, 24-hour duration rainfall, 10 subwatersheds, minimum 0.1 hour and maximum 10-hour time of concentration.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service used government funds to develop the Technical Release 55 (TR55) computer program. It may be downloaded for use and copying at no additional expense or license requirements.
DOS version of the TR-55 Program (Vers 2.1) (320 kb)
TR-55 Documentation (requires Adobe Acrobat.)
< Back to H & H Tools and Models
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Policy and Links| Non-Discrimination Statement | Information Quality | USA.gov | WhiteHouse.gov


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Pioneer Settlement
Your child will enjoy hours of playtime with this wonderful pioneer settlement!
Now your child can experience the life of the early settlers with this lifelike homestead. Built for hands-on play, all 47 pieces are stitched on various sizes of plastic canvas. This was previously published by Annie's, some of the materials may not be available.
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Pioneer Settlement
Jere H
March 7, 2014
March 7, 2014
My great grandchildren enjoy playing with this set. I have had to reinforce most of the items because they are using only one layer of canvas. For the house two layers of the 5 count canvas should be used. The wagon should be made of the stuff or ultra stiff 7 count. Otherwise it is an excellent toy for several ages of children.
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And as our Windicator pages show, this quarter's Feelgood Factor on wind is showing a slight upturn. This is based on the achievements of wind in 2012 in relation to the cost of shale gas and solar power and, with overall gas prices rising even in the US, that upturn could hold for some time to come.
Despite the industry suffering from overcapacity and falling subsidies, well-established wind businesses are showing that their efforts to retrench have made some difference - a snapshot of key company shares elicited more recommendations from analysts to buy than to sell.
Having streamlined its business, the balance sheet of Spanish manufacturer Gamesa is showing a company better placed to handle the challenges of the industry. The uncomfortable tasks of closing offices and cutting jobs may be starting to deliver benefits. Vestas, with a very difficult year behind it, showed a turnaround in the direction of share prices - but still a long way from two years ago. Nordex, one European company that managed to avoid the major headlines of falling profits last year, starts the new financial year with revenues up, income up and strong business in Europe and Middle East and Africa. Even Indian firm Suzlon, with a major liquidity problem, has a healthy order book.
The efforts that have been made over the past 12 months to dig down and survive are clear and the industry is looking fitter and better prepared - slightly - for this year.
Looking at a wider, five-year growth rate, our analysis suggests that if the industry continues on the same path, installed capacity would grow from 270GW at the end of 2012 to 350GW globally by the end of 2013.
Growth in China is expected to pick up again, with the government planning to connect 18GW to the grid this year. China's aggressive pursuit of wind will help to address the country's need to slash pollution from coal and diversify its energy sources to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers of natural gas. But the government has also tightened regulations to prevent swathes of capacity from being left off the grid, forcing domestic suppliers out of their home market. This is demonstrated by Goldwind's plans to look outside its home country for growth.
Looking to new regions is, of course, a growing trend. Countries that started 2012 with less than 1GW of wind-power capacity have collectively added 4.6GW since then, demonstrating an ability to compensate for a drop-off in future new capacity from traditional powerhouse US.
Eastern Europe is one of the biggest areas of potential growth, and, as we report on page 35, finance options are proving changeable, as these regions face a new learning curve. Experience from the established markets will be sought.
All this experience confirms that the wind-power sector is no longer a fledgling industry. And to celebrate the achievements of the industry, Windpower Monthly is introducing the Windpower Monthly Awards. This is our chance to honour the companies that have made and are continuing to make the industry great. Look out for details on page 63 in this issue on how to enter.
Jacki Buist is editor of Windpower Monthly


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The Commerce Clause refers to Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which gives Congress the power "to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes."
The Constitution enumerates certain powers for the federal government; the Tenth Amendment provides that any powers that are not enumerated in the Constitution are reserved for the states. Congress has often used the Commerce Clause to justify exercising legislative power over the activities of states and their citizens, leading to significant and ongoing controversy regarding the balance of power between the federal government and the states.
The Commerce Clause has historically been viewed as both a grant of congressional authority and as a restriction on states' powers to regulate. The "dormant" Commerce Clause refers to the prohibition, implied in the Commerce Clause, against states passing legislation that discriminates against or excessively burdens interstate commerce. The meaning of the word "commerce" is a source of much of the controversy. The Constitution does not explicitly define the word. Some argue that it refers simply to trade or exchange, while others claim that the founders intended to describe more broadly commercial and social intercourse between citizens of different states. Thus, the interpretation of "commerce" affects the appropriate dividing line between federal and state power.
The Commerce Clause has been used to justify the use of federal laws in matters that do not on their face implicate interstate trade or exchange. Early on, the Supreme Court ruled that the power to regulate interstate commerce encompassed the power to regulate interstate navigation. Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. 1 (1824). In 1905, the Court used the Commerce Clause to halt price fixing in the Chicago meat industry, when it ruled that Congress had authority to regulate the local meat market under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. It found that business done even at a purely local level could become part of a continuous "current" of commerce that involved the interstate movement of goods and services. Swift and Company v. United States, 196 U.S. 375 (1905). Despite these decisions, the Commerce Clause could still effectively be used to limit the federal government's power, as the early years of the New Deal demonstrated.
With the advent of the New Deal, the powers of the federal government expanded into realms—such as regulation of in-state industrial production and worker hours and wages—that would not necessarily be considered "commerce" under the definitions set forth in Gibbons and Swift. As a result, prior to 1937, the Court exercised its power to strike down New Deal legislation as applied to certain plaintiffs. It found in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. US that the National Industrial Recovery Act was unconstitutional as applied to a poultry seller who bought and sold chicken only within the state of New York. 295 U.S. 495 (1935). The Court also found the Bituminous Coal Conservation Act unconstitutional. Carter v. Carter Coal Corp., 298 U.S. 238 (1936). Following his reelection, President Roosevelt responded to these attacks on his legislation by proposing what is known as the "Court-packing plan," which would have expanded the size of the Supreme Court from nine to up to fifteen justices. Although the plan was defeated and the composition of the Court soon changed, the proposal was credited with changing the Court's view on New Deal legislation. Beginning with the landmark case of NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp., the Court recognized broader grounds upon which the Commerce Clause could be used to regulate state activity—most importantly, that activity was commerce if it had a "substantial economic effect" on interstate commerce or if the "cumulative effect" of one act could have an effect on such commerce. 301 U.S. 1 (1937).
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed segregation and prohibited discrimination against African-Americans, was passed under the Commerce Clause in order to allow the federal government to charge non-state actors with Equal Protection violations, which it had been unable to do up to that point because of the Fourteenth Amendment's limited application to state actors. The Supreme Court found that Congress had the authority to regulate a business that served mostly interstate travelers in Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States. 379 U.S. 241 (1964). It also ruled that the federal civil rights legislation could be used to regulate a restaurant, Ollie's Barbeque, a family-owned restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama because, although most of Ollie's customers were local, the restaurant served food which had previously crossed state lines. Katzenbach v. McClung, 379 U.S. 274 (1964).
In 1995, the Rehnquist Court again restricted the interpretation of the Commerce Clause in Lopez v. United States. 514 U.S. 549 (1995). The defendant in this case was charged with carrying a handgun to school in violation of the federal Gun Free School Zones Act of 1990. The defendant argued that the federal government had no authority to regulate firearms in local schools, while the government claimed that this fell under the Commerce Clause since possession of a firearm in a school zone would lead to violent crime, thereby affecting general economic conditions. The Chief Justice rejected this argument, and held that Congress only has the power to regulate the channels of commerce, the instrumentalities of commerce, and action that substantially affects interstate commerce. He declined to further expand the Commerce Clause, writing that "[t]o do so would require us to conclude that the Constitution's enumeration of powers does not presuppose something not enumerated, and that there never will be a distinction between what is truly national and what is truly local. This we are unwilling to do."
The federal government's power was further restricted in the landmark case of Morrison v. United States, which overturned the Violence Against Women Act for its reliance on the Commerce Clause in making domestic violence against women a federal crime. 529 U.S. 598 (2000). Taken together, Lopez and Morrison have made clear that while the Court is still willing to recognize a broad interpretation of the Commerce Clause, if it does not find activity substantial enough to constitute interstate commerce it will not accept Congress's stated reason for federal regulation.


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Are you cheering cause a guy got hurt??Todd Bersnoozi wrote:Wooot, +1. Hopefully he's out like a month or come back around the deadline, so we might be able to move him.
Hockey Widow wrote:Well he is injured now so it may be moot.
As Chris rock said, " that's just mean"
Oh and you're quoting wrong...


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Tue, 12/18/2012 - 12:05
EKT has just learned that onetime presidential contender and leader of the emerging Islamist Baltageya Association (IBA), Hazem Abu Ismail, previously worked as Santa Clause at a mall in California.
The image to the right shows two children sitting on his lap right after they found out that this Santa was, in fact, a salafi.
Abu Ismail admitted to EKT that he had sent his minions to besiege Cairo's Media Production City last week in order to pressure journalists not to disclose his terrible secret. This private admission only came after EKT agreed to boycott PEPSI (an alleged acronym for Pay Every Penny to Save Israel) and instead drink Abu Ismail's own brand of soda called BEBSS (or Bay Every Benny to Save Saudi).
The revelation is not expected to diminish his popularity amongst his supporters, with various members of IBA expressing solidarity for his past role as Santa Clause by donning a Christmas hat while engaging in jihad against the rest of the infidel population.
Nevertheless, the news is likely to further hurt Abu Ismail's reputation among non-sword-weilding denizens, particularly after his continued denial of his mother's US citizenship. However, EKT can now confirm that Abu Ismail's mother was not actually a US citizen. A DNA test that our publication has conducted using a beard hair he left behind at our offices has revealed that Abu Ismail is actually the love child of Jabba the Hut and Saruman the White.


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Farmers are accustomed to making incremental yield gains from year to year. But company officials at Monsanto say its newest acquisition, The Climate Corporation, could use "data science" to drive an eventual 30-50 bu. yield boost in many customer fields as farmers begin to capture and use multiple layers of information to make the better-informed decisions.
"Farmers around the world already gather a tremendous amount of information," says Kerry Preete, Monsanto executive vice president of global strategy. "They're gathering more data all the time. They're making about 40 decisions or so on every field every year, so data management is vital to farm function."
Preete says that aggregating small improvements in each of those 40 decisions is how Monsanto expects to deliver those big yield gains.
Climate Corp brings three major competencies to the table, says company CEO David Friedberg – hyper-local weather monitoring, weather simulation and unique agronomic modeling. This expertise will be used to optimize Monsanto's FieldScripts product, which uses its own wealth of data to deliver hybrid matches and a variable rate planting prescription to customers.
Ted Crosbie, Monsanto's Integrated Farming Systems lead, says FieldScripts was developed assuming the field would receive average rainfall and heat accumulation. However, current climate trends indicate more volatile weather is the new norm.
"Clearly, that's not the way to optimize FieldScripts, but that's the best we could do," Crosbie says. "That's one of the reasons we're so excited to partner with Climate Corp."
Monsanto hopes to create weather-adjusted FieldScripts, Crosbie says. Customers will use regular scripts in 2014 but can expect something more comprehensive in 2015. Pricing for this service will remain the same in 2014 and based on the expected value it will bring farmers in 2015 and beyond.
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of Monsanto's 2014 fiscal year. Following the acquisition, The Climate Corporation will operate its business to retain its distinct brand identity and customer experience. The company's headquarters will remain in Silicon Valley, and all of its employees will be offered continued employment.
Best Harvest 2013 Photos from Instagram: Week of September 29
Brazil Plans to Widen its 'Soybean Highway'


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Camping in the Catlins – Newhaven & the sea lions of Surat Bay
The Catlins is a truly magical corner of New Zealand where many amazing natural wonders lie just off the highway.
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One of New Zealand's best-kept secrets, the Catlins is a sleepy corner in the very deep south. At least it might look sleepy from the road, for despite being largely agricultural, sparsely populated and spartan in the services department, the Catlins is a bright and lively region boasting a surprising array of natural wonders. If you fancy virgin forest, hidden waterfalls, spectacular coastal scenery and abundant wildlife, the Catlins might just be your ticket.
A driving tour can be made via the Southern Scenic Route which links Dunedin, Invercargill and Queenstown. At least a couple of days will be needed to knock off the big sights along the largely coastal Catlins section.
Our favourite place to stop is Surat Bay near the tiny town Owaka, about an hour's drive south of Dunedin. Named after the migrant ship Surat wrecked here in 1874, the splendid setting affords one of New Zealand's best short beach walks to the smaller Cannibal Bay. It's also home to the unforgettable New Zealand sea lion.
Not to be confused with the svelte and pointy-nosed fur seal, this creature – also known as Hooker's sea lion – is super-sized, with the big boys topping the scales at almost half a tonne. Hunted close to extinction before being protected in 1893, they started breeding again on the mainland in the 1990s. Several dozen now reside around the Catlins Coast.
Surat Bay is next to a fascinating estuary where the Owaka and Catlins rivers meet. A couple of tiny settlements overlook the swirly, glistening waters. Pounawea, on the western edge of the estuary, is home to a clutch of holiday homes and a nature reserve. Over the bridge on the eastern side, Newhaven – with its permanent population of around 12, sits prettily alongside the Surat Bay trailhead.
Newhaven Holiday Park is a small but sweet spot with well equipped facilities, utterly quiet save for the sound of the foamy white breakers crashing over the bar. Owners Lyndon and Jacqui Clark took over the park from Lyndon's father, who established it in 2005.
'It's the best thing we ever did', says Lyndon, who proudly explains to us that the children keep active and busy, helping out with camp duties such as lawn mowing, gardening, cleaning and office work.
The heart of the holiday park is a cluster of five board-and-batten cottages: three self-contained units and two cabins. Nestled alongside them is a communal amenities block with a comfortable lounge and kitchen. A short stride away towards the estuary's edge are nine powered sites and space for tents, most of which enjoy views.
As well as Surat Bay, there is plenty to do within easy reach of Newhaven. Five minute's drive away, Pounawea Scenic Reserve boasts several short walks through virgin bush and out to the salt marsh where you may spot herons or spoonbills noodling around.
One of New Zealand's most spectacular headlands – The Nuggets – is around twenty minutes' drive to the north. An easy walk leads to the lighthouse and the grandstand view out to the rocky islets dressed in thick, rubbery kelp and adorned with fur seals and the occasional sea lion or elephant seal. Another short walk from the Nuggets car park leads to Roaring Bay where rare yellow-eyed penguins may be seen, and the nearby settlement of Kaka Point has cafes and a surfy vibe.
Fifteen minutes drive to the south of Owaka is the thunderous 550-metre chasm known as Jack's Blowhole. The story goes that it was discovered in 1875 by a farmer looking for stock – he's lucky he didn't fall in! View it at high tide on a good blowy day to hear it bellow at its mighty best.
The Catlins has many picturesque waterfalls, such as those at Purakaunui, 20 minutes' drive of Owaka and reached by a pleasant 10-minute walk through a beech forest reserve. Cascading 20 metres over three distinct tiers into their slippery pool, they are all the more impressive after (or during!) rain. Other notable cascades along the Scenic Route are McLean Falls and Matai Falls.
Another coastal spectacle is Cathedral Caves, reached via a 30-minute walk through Waipati Beach Scenic Reserve 45 minutes south of Owaka (access is gained through private land; a small charge applies; gates open two hours either side of low tide). Formed by pounding waves, this series of sea caves has ceilings up to 30 metres high and magnificent acoustics.
A good hours' drive south to Invercargill, Captain Brian of Catlins Marine Encounters offers a rare opportunity to get out on the waves. His excellent small-boat tours take in the rich history of Waikawa Harbour and zip across to nearby Porpoise Bay where critically endangered Hector's dolphins may occasionally be seen frolicking in the waves. Fishing trips and tours along the coast are also on offer.
Just around the corner and accessible by car, Curio Bay is justifiably famous for its 160-million-year-old fossilised forest, which lies fallen at the shoreline, exposed by the erosion of wave action, and revealed to us at low tide. We find the incredible swirling kelp around it just as curious!
Of all the scenic routes we've travelled in New Zealand, none can touch the Catlins for the number of diverse natural wonders found so close to the highway. This is one drive you will want to take as slowly as your itinerary will allow.


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Rugby World Cup 2011
Deans tips Cooper to bounce back
ESPNscrum Staff
October 17, 2011
Wallabies boss Robbie Deans is hoping that his players learn from their defeat by the All Blacks © Getty Images
Wallabies head coach Robbie Deans believes that the criticism levelled at fly-half Quade Cooper in the wake of Sunday's Rugby World Cup semi-final defeat by the All Blacks has been over the top.
Deans has been particularly incensed by how much significance has been attributed to the fact that Cooper, public enemy No.1 in New Zealand because he was born in Waikato and yet plays for Australia, lofted his kick-off in Auckland straight into touch.
"There has been a lot made of something that's pretty small, really, when you look at it in the light of the whole game," the former Crusaders boss said. "And that's tough for a young man. Whether he's warranted all that is a bit of a moot point, really.
"The key thing for Quade is moving on. There's two ways he can go. You can absorb it, accept it, for what it is, but maintain your focus on the things that are important and keep going. Or you can let it get the better of you and turn your toes up. I'd like to think he won't be doing the latter.
"I've been very impressed actually with the way he's carried himself because clearly a lot of the dialogue has been unwarranted. It's easy for people who really have no knowledge of the man to take a pot-shot. I think the way he's carried himself has been impressive under the circumstances."
Indeed, Deans rubbished the suggestion the vitriol that Cooper has been subjected throughout the tournament has had a negative impact on his performances.
"It's easy to suggest that some of that comment has produced certain outcomes, for example, but it's just not that straightforward," he said. "I don't think it affected his performances at all, to be honest. The whole playing group has been under pressure, the whole playing group has made errors, but it's just the fact that his errors are attributed to a sideshow."
Meanwhile, Deans admitted that he is considering making wholesale changes to his starting line-up for Friday's third-place play-off with Wales.
"It's very likely there will be change, quite simply off the back of the burden that the core group have had. And there are some pretty battered bodies," he said.
As for Sunday's final between New Zealand and France, Deans believes that Les Bleus have little chance of denying the hosts a first World Cup success since 1987.
"What the All Blacks have is a group who have suffered on many occasions," he said. "The core of their group, the nucleus of their group, this is their third attempt and they've got that burning desire, that fire in the belly for that reason. And they've also got that mental resilience. We don't have that as yet, to the same extent. I can't see anyone stopping the All Blacks now."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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"Turkey" as defined by the fourth edition of the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language is: "A large North American bird that has brownish plumage and a bare, wattled head and neck and is widely domesticated for food."
The slang definition for turkey from the same dictionary is: "A person considered inept or undesirable." For the ninth year in a row, I deviate from the traditional Community & Clubs column format to present the Turkey Award as well as the Eagle Award.
Let's review some Turkey history. Past recipients of the award included the confused Newport Beach political consultant David Ellis (2002); Armando Ruiz, the double-dipping Coast Community College District trustee (2004); Nativo Lopez, a member of the Santa Ana Unified school board and Costa Mesa City Council disrupter (2006); and lawsuit-happy Allan Beek (2008).
This year's Turkey of the Year nominations include a previous winner: the Grocery Store Workers Union, who yelled for months on end that the sky was falling and called for a strike because the grocery stores wanted to charge new workers $8 for an individual's health insurance and $16 for a family — which is what they settled for!
Then there is a previous honoree back in the news again: Orange County Fair Board member Dave Ellis, who tried to get Tel Phil Enterprises' OC swap meet contract with the county fairgrounds canceled. Fortunately, the board majority did not agree with him.
But the 2011 Turkey of the Year goes to the Orange County Employees Assn. General Manager Nick Berardino. He has tried almost everything in the union bible to attack and discredit the Costa Mesa City Council as it attempts to rein in employee pay and pension costs. Berardino has kept the Daily Pilot pages full of news and charges as he has tried organize the "progressives of Costa Mesa" to save the city from the bad guys on the council.
The Eagle award was suggested by Geoff West in 2003 when he nominated Eric Bever, then a candidate for the Costa Mesa City Council.
Here are some other past winners: The 2004 award went to the men and women of our armed forces serving in Iraq and Afghanistan; the 2005 award went to Donna and John Crean for their support of the Newport Beach library at Mariners Park; in 2008, the award went to Gordon Bowley and the leaders of Costa Mesa United for their leadership for the new football stadium at Estancia High School and new pool at Costa Mesa High School.
The 2011 Eagle of the Year Award goes to Bob and Nancy Johnston of Our Lady Queen of Angels for their dedicated leadership in the annual Interfaith Hunger Walk held in October, which raised over $18,000 and involved 18 different faith communities.
For most of the 23 years of the Hunger Walk, they have organized volunteers, recruited walkers, visited congregations, and attended and led dozens of Hunger Walk planning meetings. The Johnstons are Golden Eagles as they soar as unsung volunteers.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
COMMUNITY & CLUBS is occasionally published on Wednesdays. Send your service club's meeting information by fax to (714) 921-8655 or by email to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Private funeral for Dutch Prince Friso
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Flags around the Netherlands hung at half-staff on Friday as the Dutch royal family gathered to bury Prince Johan Friso, who died this week at the age of 44 of complications from a skiing accident last year.
Friso, the younger brother of King Willem-Alexander and the second of three sons of former Queen Beatrix, suffered severe brain damage after being buried in an avalanche in Lech, Austria, on Feb. 17, 2012. He was resuscitated, but his brain was gravely injured and he never regained more than minimal consciousness. He died on Monday and is survived by his wife, Princess Mabel, and their two young daughters.
Because Friso gave up his place in the line of succession in 2004 in order to marry Mabel, Friday's funeral was not a state affair. It took place in Lage Vuursche, a small town on the outskirts of Utrecht, near the castle where he grew up — and where Beatrix plans to spend her retirement.
The House of Orange, which jealously guards its privacy, asked the public to stay away from the funeral ceremony, and police closed roads near the church where it took place. They also put up fences to prevent sightseers. Police allowed two Dutch news agencies to photograph and film the ceremony for distribution to media afterward.
Church minister Carel ter Linden addressed Friso's daughters, Luana, 8, and Zaria, 7, reminding them of how their father enjoyed their company, and the games they played together, such as treasure hunts.
National broadcaster NOS reported that Friso's two brothers — King Willem-Alexander and Prince Constantijn — along with four of his childhood friends, carried Friso's casket to his grave.
The guests included King Harald of Norway, Friso's godfather. Although Friso's death did not come as a surprise after the accident, tens of thousands of Dutch have paid tribute to the prince on social media or via online condolence registers over the past week.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Friso's death was painful because he was "in the prime of his life" when the accident took place.
Before the dramatic incidents in Lech, Friso had sometimes been known as "Prince Brilliant." He studied at the University of California, Berkeley, the Technical University of Delft, and Erasmus University at Rotterdam, graduating from the Dutch universities cum laude with degrees in engineering and economics. He later earned an MBA at France's prestigious INSEAD school of business.
He worked for the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. and the investment bank Goldman Sachs, among other positions.
The pivotal event of his life as a royal came in 2004, when he gave up his claim to the throne in order to marry Dutchwoman Mabel Wisse Smit, in a wedding not sanctioned by the government.
The pair got engaged in 2003. Wisse Smit worked for George Soros' Open Society Institute and was seen by the queen as an ideal daughter-in-law. But during her vetting to join the royal house, she and Friso decided not to disclose the full extent of a friendship she had when she was a college student, with a man she later learned was a drug baron.
Parliament never gave the approval for their marriage needed to sanction it under the country's constitutional monarchy. They married anyway in 2004, an act that meant their exclusion from the Royal House.
The couple remained part of the royal family and retained the honorific titles of prince and princess.
Friso rarely sought the limelight, and after the marriage he moved to England with his family. He said he would always remain available to support his mother and older brother.
In a prerecorded interview published on state broadcaster NOS Friday, Friso's friend Adam Anders eulogized him as a caring father and careful listener, with a playful sense of humor.
"I observed Friso in a similar way with his family as he was with his friends. He was the listener, with a short statement near the end, that would make everyone listen and potentially change their view," Anders said. "But often with that twist that it also makes you laugh."


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Please see Wikipedia:Introduction for a great introduction to and short tutorial about Wikipedia, the foundation by which this website functions as a MediaWiki.
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"House of Cards" tells the story of an amoral Democratic congressman from Gaffney as he seeks to satisfy his lust for power in the nation's capital. Think "The West Wing" as told by Machiavelli.
The orbit of House Majority Whip Francis Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey, includes an ambitious reporter, a Lady Macbeth-esque wife and a drug and alcohol binge-disposed Pennsylvania pol.
The show is based on a 1990 BBC TV series of the same name, which itself was based on a novel.
The entire first season of the Netflix-exclusive series, 13 episodes, went live last month, allowing subscribers to set their own viewing pace. Some observers believe the quality of the political drama and it's innovative model has the potential to change how we watch shows.
While the first season was shot in Maryland, it featured one episode set in Gaffney and another in a fictional version of Charleston. In the Lowcountry-centered episode, Underwood visits his military college Alma mater, "The Sentinel."
Developer and lead show writer Beau Willimon took a break from work on planning the second season of "House of Cards" to speak with The Post and Courier. Willimon, a playwright and screenwriter, is a 35-year-old former Democratic campaign staffer. His family owns a goat farm outside Greenville.
P&C: The world of "House of Cards" is a really dark place. How much of this based on some of your own experience on campaigns and how much of it just dramatic license?
Willimon: "Well we certainly take an extreme view. When you tell a story, it's all about how you focus the lens. And our lens is a dark one. In terms of what I drew from in order to create our version of "House of Cards," I certainly drew from my campaign experiences. I have a lot of friends that work in politics, so I relied on those relationships, and a lot of roll-up-the-sleeves research in order to create a degree of authenticity which we hope exceeds that of any other political drama to date.
There are times when you have to reduce or simplify or take a dramatic license but in terms of the thematic thrust of the show, which is power, any time you put a large amount of power in anyone's hands it has the potential to corrupt. And we're focusing on a hero or antihero, whichever you want to call him, that desires power for power's sake. That's gonna be a dark world."
P&C: The fact that the lead character is from our state has gotten a lot of attention here. What went into the decision to have the character be from South Carolina?
Willimon: "It started from a very simple place which was there's a catchphrase from the BBC version...where Ian Richardson says numerous times 'You may well might think that I couldn't possibly comment.' It's something I wanted to keep a couple instances of as an homage to the BBC version.
But that particular phrase isn't idiomatic to the American vernacular, typically. And then I thought about it for a moment and I thought, well, a lot of my family, all of my family on my dad's side is from South Carolina, I've spent a good deal of time down there myself. And if you took a South Carolinian Upcountry accent, and I'm going to do a bad version for you right now (Willimon switches over to a Southern drawl): 'You may well not think that I couldn't' possibly comment.' It rolls off the tongue and it works.
So I made the initially arbitrary choice to make him from South Carolina in order to make that catchphrase work, but that opened up a whole world of possibilities to me. In the BBC version, Francis Urquhart is from Scottish origin. He is a man of privilege, a modern-day aristocrat. And the American mythology of 'anyone can be president' seems more in tune with our show. The idea that Francis could come from a small town the same way say a Bill Clinton did or a Harry Truman did, and assume higher office was the thinking to me.
I talked to my dad for a little while who grew up in Greenville, and I said 'Greenville is a little too big. I want something, a town, that's a little smaller. The sort of place that you might drive past on the interstate and not think of stopping, but that has a lot of texture and history and dimension to it.' And he named a few places, but the first one out of his lips was Gaffney. And I asked him a little bit about Gaffney. He had spent some time there when he was a kid. And I did a little research on Gaffney, and it seemed just like the sort of place.
I subsequently did a research trip where I travelled out to Gaffney and met with folks there and spent a couple days in the town. It seemed right in line with the story we wanted to tell, which is someone who came from a small town and rose to prominence."
P&C: I think also you've made the Peachoid (a striking, peach-shaped water tower that sits near the interstate in Gaffney is featured in an episode of the show) kind of like a celebrity now.
Willimon: The Peachoid was a celebrity in its own right before 'House of Cards' ever came along. I believe it's been — I don't know the exact examples — I think if you look it up on Wikipedia there's been a couple instances where it's appeared in movies or TV shows a couple times. I don't think we're the first, but we may be the first to devote an entire episode to it."
P&C: How did that come about, just the thought of "OK, we're going to take this (the Peachoid) and run with it for an entire episode?"
Willimon: "Well we're really interested in dramatizing sort of 'small-ball' politics for at least an episode. We had a lot of high-stakes political gamesmanship going on in the show, but at the end of the day, Francis was still a congressman, he represents a district. It's a real place with real people. And we thought it was important to show his constituents and the sort of things that congressmen often have to deal with that might distract them from some of the quote unquote 'bigger things' that they're working on in Washington.
And you have the issues that are important back home are just as important to those residents as any national issue that their representative might be working on in Washington. So in thinking about different things that could be going on in Gaffney, well certainly the Peachoid is front and center whenever one is talking about Gaffney, and it just was too delicious, no pun intended, to not incorporate it. And I guess our thought was if we're going to go for it, let's go for it 100 percent."
P&C: Do you have any personal opinion about what it looks like?
Willimon: "All of my personal opinions, which are completely irrelevant, I think are named ad infinitum in the episode itself. (Later in the interview, Willimon returned to the topic) A lot of people were surprised that it was real. It's one of those cases where truth is stranger than fiction. I'm a big fan of the Peachoid because to me it's a public works example of imagination. I know it's been controversial to a degree in Gaffney over the years, but if the show hasn't made it evident already we're fans of controversy."
P&C: One of the other interesting South Carolina-themed plot lines was when Frank goes back to "The Sentinel" military college in Charleston. Did you change the name of the school for legal reasons?
Willimon: "It is a fictional school in our show, so it's not meant to be a parallel or sort of placeholder for The Citadel per se. The school certainly is inspired by military colleges across the nation, of which The Citadel is one. My dad spent 31 years in the military, retired as a captain in the Navy. I grew up on naval bases.
Military life is a very particular way of life, and one that — you know I deeply value the time I spent living on naval bases and living amongst folks serving the country. There's a particular sort of code and ethics and discipline and commitment that people who serve share.
I was interested in investigating that as part of who Francis is. Seeing how it may have informed who he has become. And at the same time revealing a bit more about where he came from. And so, I think those were all the things that went into creating a fictional military college. Certainly 'The Sentinel' sounds a lot like The Citadel.
People who want to draw comparison, that's their prerogative. But the main reason to create a fictional place, the same way we create 'The Washington Herald' (a fictional newspaper on the show), was to give us absolute liberty to tell the story we wanted to tell. When you name a real place or a real institution, for those people who care about facts — and we do — that can be limiting and we didn't want to be limited in that way."
P&C: So I believe I read that the scenes that were represented as Gaffney in the show were shot up north?
Willimon: "They were shot in Maryland in a town called Havre de Grace. We would love to have shot in Gaffney itself but unfortunately that's cost prohibitive to move an entire production down to Gaffney. We talked about it at one point. We looked at what that would cost because we really wanted to. But it was just a bit too far away.
Our production was based just outside of Baltimore. And to get the crew assembled down in South Carolina, move out 20-plus trucks down there would have eaten up too much time and cost too much money. So we did our best to create the sense and feeling of Gaffney in what was a little closer to home in Havre de Grace, a town that's on the Chesapeake, but has that small-town feel and a deep and textured history of its own was a pretty good way to do that, we thought."
P&C: Do you plan to film most of season two around the Baltimore area as well?
Willimon: "Yeah. We have stages built in Edgewood, Maryland. And so all of the stuff that we shoot on the stages in gonna be there. And because that's our home base, our locations tend to be nearby, either in Baltimore city or in the surrounding counties, places like Havre de Grace. On occasion when we can, we try to shoot in D.C. itself. Is it conceivable that we could get a little farther away into another state, another place? Anything's possible but there's a lot of factors that go into deciding where you shoot, and logistical and financial efficiency is high among them."
P&C: So back onto the show itself and the themes of the show, one of the things that seems to be a big takeaway is Frank is obviously a Democrat but ideology doesn't seem to matter much in the way that the characters interact and the way that the show plays out. Was that done intentionally?
Willimon: "Absolutely. Unapologetically and intentionally. Francis Underwood adheres to no ideology other than self interest and one of the questions that I hope this year poses is what the value of ideology is? We see a Congress currently paralyzed by gridlock. We see a White House that constantly struggles to push its agenda forward. Often times that's because you have people entrenched in ideologies from which they're not willing to compromise from.
The nature of good government is compromise, even though that's become an evil word to people over the last few years. What is at the heart of it? People with disparate views coming together somewhere in the middle and agreeing to move forward. Not everyone is 100 percent happy, but at least some form of progress is made.
And so Francis takes that to the extreme. He goes to himself, 'Well, I won't allow myself to be entrenched in any ideology, and that gives me the most flexibility to get things done.' And he does get things done. And I think that's attractive to some people. He poses the question: do the ends justify the means? And in some cases, the answer might be yes. Does it matter that he's doing it for personal self interest if progress is made? Well that's for the viewer to decide.
P&C: What do you want people to take away from watching the show, if anything?
Willimon: "We don't have a particular agenda or political point of view. Our goal is not to have a have a takeaway, a point to the show. It's really more meant to be a complex investigation of power. And what you take away from it will partly be due to what you bring to the table as a viewer. Our hope is that people have a lot of different thoughts about the show. It's great if those views contradict one another because that will catalyze discussion. And discussion is a lot more interesting, to me at least, than everyone taking the same thing away."


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ARLINGTON, Texas — Well everyone had it wrong — you, me, the postman and the NCAA selection committee.
All that teeth-gnashing over tournament seeding has produced an NCAA championship game between a No. 7 and No. 8.
Let's hear it for a collective No. 15!
Monday night, though, Connecticut and Kentucky will be playing for the only number that counts No.1.
No. 8 Kentucky dramatically capped Saturday night with a 74-73 victory over No. 2 Wisconsin in the second NCAA semifinal game before a Final Four record crowd of 79,444 fans at AT&T Stadium.
After you combined that with No. 7 Connecticut's much less dramatic 63-53 win over top-seeded Florida, the Final Four became the Final Two.
The Kentucky kid, Aaron Harrison, did it again.
A week after the freshman guard sent Kentucky to the Final Four with his three-pointer to beat Michigan, Harrison put the dagger in Wisconsin when he sank the game-winning three against Wisconsin.
Harrison's shot came with 5.7 seconds left on his only three-point attempt of the night.
Wisconsin players said afterward Aaron had the "clutch gene."
Kentucky Coach John Calipari described him as a basketball assassin.
"Guys who make game winners are not afraid to miss," Calipari said. "He's not afraid to miss."
Harrison shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal.
"I don't know about the 'clutch gene' thing," he said. "I was happy because they [his teammates] were so excited."
Only seconds before Harrison's shot, it looked like Wisconsin would get its first shot at a national title since winning in 1941.
The game was tied 71-71 with 16 seconds left when Traevon Jackson pump faked Andrew Harrison, Aaron's twin brother, into a foul beyond the three-point line.
Wisconsin had made all 17 of its foul shots when Jackson stepped to the line for his first attempt — which, on cue, he missed.
Jackson made his next two shots, setting up the chance Kentucky could take the lead with a three-pointer.
Guess what?
Jackson got one last chance to win it but missed a shot at the buzzer.
"Trey has hit shots like that his whole career," Wisconsin center Frank Kaminsky said of Jackson, "and we would not have had anyone else taking it."
Blame Connecticut's clamp-down defense for putting everyone, including Florida, to sleep in the opener.
Wisconsin and Kentucky, however, grabbed everyone's attention.
Wisconsin controlled the first half, but Kentucky came out fast in the second, going from six points down to six points ahead in a matter of minutes.
The Badgers, though, answered with secret weapon Duje Dukan, averaging 2.7 points a game, who came off the bench to score eight points to give the lead back to Wisconsin. The first game saw Florida's 30-game winning streak come to a season-ending halt.
Connecticut became the first No. 7-seeded team to reach the title game since the NCAA started seeding schools 36 years ago.
The Huskies have a habit of winning in Texas, claiming previous national titles in San Antonio (2004) and Houston (2011).
Connecticut's reaching the title game this year, though, seemed preposterous after the Huskies were banned from last year's postseason for failure to meet NCAA academic standards.
It seemed preposterous when they lost at Louisville by 33 points a month ago and preposterous when they trailed St. Joseph's by three, with less than a minute left, in their first game of the NCAA tournament.
It didn't even seem likely Saturday when Florida raced to a 16-4 first half lead.
The Huskies, though, didn't want to go home.
"It's just going through the dark days believing," second-year Coach Kevin Ollie said. "No matter if they're down, no matter if they're banned, no matter if they can't play in the NCAA tournament."
The tenor of Saturday's game seemed to turn when DeAndre Daniels made a three pointer to cut the lead to 16-7.
It was like turning on the Huskies' pilot light. They went on an 11-0 run, with Daniels hitting another three to cut the lead to 16-15.
Connecticut's guards, Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright, suddenly started to clamp down on Florida's guards, turning Scottie Wilbekin, Michael Frazier and Kasey Hill into lamp posts.
Frazier scored Florida first points on a three-pointer and the team did not make another. The Gators finished one for 10.
Frazier took only two other shots in the game and Wilbekin was held to four points on two-for-nine-shooting.
Boatright said the game plan was to "disturb and make Scottie Wilbekin as uncomfortable as we can."
Wilbekin ended up 0 for 3 from beyond the arc and had three turnovers.
Florida finished with only three assists while its two point guards, Wilbekin and Hill, had seven of the team's 11 turnovers.
Florida trailed by three at the half, but many thought the Gators' strength and experience would wear Connecticut down.
Florida did pull to within 41-38.
"When we cut it down to three, I thought we were there," Gators center Patric Young said.
Connecticut, though, shifted into its finishing gear and pushed the lead back to as many as 12.
Napier, the story went, was going to have to carry this team the way Kemba Walker did to the 2011 title.
Napier, though, didn't have to do it all Saturday. He controlled the game despite scoring only seven points. He did have six assists and four steals.
Three other Huskies scored in double figures, led by Daniels' 20. Boatright had 13 and Niels Giffey added 11
"We have been saying all year we are a complete team," Boatright said.
Connecticut shot 55.8% (24 for 43) and held Florida to 38.8% (19 for 49).
You could say the Huskies pitched a complete game.


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Colonel Kenneth D. Johnson
KENNETH D. JOHNSON is a colonel in the United States Army, currently assigned as the C/J2X (CI/HUMINT staff officer) for Multi-National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I) in Baghdad, Iraq. He has 27 years of service in uniform, including over 20 years in overseas intelligence assignments from the tactical to the strategic level, with most of his experience in Asia. Colonel Johnson's assignments include multiple tours in Korea, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom (UK), Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Iraq. Some of Colonel Johnson's previous assignments included Tactical Intelligence Officer serving with both the 2nd Battalion, 72nd Armor and 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry at Camp Casey, Korea; commander of Headquarters Company, 102nd Military Intelligence (MI) Battalion, Camp Hovey, Korea; commander of 3 Company (UK), Allied MI Battalion, Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Assistant U.S. Army Attaché to the United Kingdom, U.S. Embassy London; intelligence staff officer for United States Army Japan; commander of a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) combined U.S. and Republic of Korea operations detachment in Seoul, Korea; and commander of a DIA detachment in Iraq. His last operational assignment prior to attending the U.S. Army War College was as commander of DIA's Field Operating Base-Korea (FOB-K), responsible for the planning and execution of overt and sensitive intelligence operations that answered priority intelligence requirements levied by United States Forces Korea (USFK), Pacific Command (PACOM), the Department of Defense, and other national level consumers. Colonel Johnson holds a B.A. degree in political science from California State University-Northridge, a Master of Public Administration, and a Masters of Strategic Studies. Colonel Johnson is a member of the U.S. Army War College Class of 2009.
*The above information may not be current. It was current at the time when the individual worked for SSI or was published by SSI.
SSI books and monographs by Colonel Kenneth D. Johnson
China's Strategic Culture: A Perspective for the United States
June 17, 2009
Authored by Colonel Kenneth D. Johnson.
With much of the American public accepting the "China Threat" theory, it is critical that the United States recognize the role of strategic culture in shaping China's domestic and external policies.


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Samuel Henry "Errie" Ball, the humble man from Wales whose professional golf career was sparked by legendary Bobby Jones, achieved a new milestone Nov. 14, by celebrating his 100th birthday.
The clubhouse at Willoughby Golf Club in Stuart, Fla., where the PGA Life Member has given lessons since 1989, hosted 270 guests. Many of them waited in line to greet the second longest serving PGA Professional and the last of the original 1934 Masters field.
Eighteen PGA Professionals joined in the festivities, including PGA Honorary President Jim Remy and District 5 Director Bruce Patterson of Oak Brook, Ill., who once served under Ball at Butler National Golf Club.
Ball arrived at his party with his wife of 73 years, Maxie, whom he met while on a cruise back to America. Born Nov. 14, 1910, in Bangor, Wales, Ball became the youngest to compete in the Open Championship at age 16, and became friends with Jones, who later invited him to compete in the inaugural Masters.
Ball wore a royal blue blazer, a hearing aid, glasses and used a cane after a fall suffered in his home during the summer hospitalized him for over a month caused issues with his equilibrium. He continues to teach while seated in a golf car.
"I'm anxious to get back to work this week," he smiled. "Anybody got my lesson book?"
According to Willoughby Golf Club Director of Golf Gerry Knebels, an assistant in the 1980s when Ball was nearing the end of his career at Butler National, Errie was apologetic recently for having to be driven to Willoughby to give lessons.
"I want to go back and renew my driver's license," Ball said to Knebels.
"All I could say at the moment was, 'Well, you do your best, Errie,' " said Knebels. "He is incredible."
Ball's indefatigable spirit of independence and commitment to the game carried him from his first day of PGA of America membership, June 20, 1931. He applied while an apprentice at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. His uncle, Frank, was head professional at the club and witness to Errie's application. The initial fee was five dollars.
"Frank took half of that," joked Ball.
The PGA of America presented Ball with a framed gift, containing a copy of his membership application that was surrounded by images of his teaching career.
"Errie, you have been an inspiration to so many young professionals and thousands of amateur golfers whom you have guided over the years," said Remy. "The PGA of America and the game of golf salute you."
Remy preceded the presentation by reading a roll call of the professionals in attendance, many of whom had been under Ball's wing. When Ball took the microphone, he deftly disguised his nervousness by mixing in his only return trip to the Masters in 1957, and his love for his home club.
"I feel that I have been called to the first tee at the National," he said, "I hear my name called, 'Errie Ball, Willoughby Golf Club, Stuart, Florida. Play away.' "
When Ball arrived for a group photo with his disciples, the pitch in his voice rose.
"There's all my boys," he said.
One of Ball's "boys," PGA Life Member Bill Erfurth, an assistant to Ball at Oak Park in 1955 and 1956 and the longtime professional at Skokie (Ill.) Country Club, told a story to the audience.
He recalled the time Ball and friend Chuck Gamble went to a local driving range and Ball signed up for a lesson. Ball dribbled the first few shots like a hacker, then obeyed the professional's instruction. The tips took. He hit the ball a little better. In the brief span of a 30-minute lesson, Ball suddenly started smacking drives like the professional he is.
"This young pro was beside himself," Erfurth said. "He thought he'd performed a miracle."
Ball left without giving away their secret.


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"Colombiana" — A brawny B-action picture with a gorgeous, graceful woman wreaking havoc at its center: Yup, this is a Luc Besson movie. The director of "La Femme Nikita" and "The Fifth Element" serves as co-writer and producer here, but this is very much a spinoff of his brand, a continuation of the kind of stereotype- and gravity-defying characters he's made his name on. "Colombiana" feels more hammy and muscular, though — but knowingly so, and that's what makes it solid, late-summer escapist fun. Zoe Saldana stars as Cataleya, who saw her parents killed in front of her when she was a 9-year-old schoolgirl living in the slums of Bogota. Fifteen years later, with the help of her Uncle Emilio (Cliff Curtis), she's transformed herself into a highly efficient professional assassin in the United States, but she still seeks revenge against her parents' killers. Over-the-top bad guys spew generically menacing lines and hot women parade around in bikinis and lingerie: It's all big and silly. But Saldana manages to earn our sympathy, as the script (which Besson wrote with frequent collaborator Robert Mark Kamen) allows her to convey a surprising amount of emotion and inner conflict. PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, intense sequences of action, sexuality and brief strong language. 108 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" — Size shouldn't matter when it comes to scary creatures. After all, plenty of people are terrified of rats and spiders. Yet savage and ugly as the tiny monsters are in this remake of a 1973 TV horror movie, they're not as frightening as the filmmakers would have you believe. These wee beasties are not all that interesting, either, and frankly, neither is the movie. Producer and co-writer Guillermo del Toro and director Troy Nixey manage a lot of creepy atmosphere in their story of a couple (Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes) and a young girl (Bailee Madison) menaced by nasty little things that swarm up from beneath the mansion they're restoring. With the girl at the heart of the tale and del Toro's name the big selling point, the filmmakers want you thinking of the movie as a cousin to his masterful "Pan's Labyrinth," another story of a girl caught up in a world of fantastical terror. This is an awfully tame cousin, though, the creatures uninvolving and their antics more irritating than petrifying. R for violence and terror. 100 minutes. Two stars out of four.
"Higher Ground" — Vera Farmiga has done something miraculous in her directing debut. She's managed to make a movie about religion that's neither preachy nor mocking, and she treats her characters with great decency and respect. She extends that courtesy to herself as its star, and her character, Corinne — like the movie itself — seems to be seeking answers with an open heart. Based on the memoir "This Dark World" by Carolyn S. Briggs (who co-wrote the script with Tim Metcalfe), "Higher Ground" traces Corinne's evolution, from the time she was a little girl and thought she was saved at vacation bible school through her adulthood as a still-questioning wife and mother of three. Farmiga's naturalistic approach both in front of and behind the camera draws us in and makes Corinne's journey feel immediate and relatable, regardless of where any of us might stand in terms of our own spirituality. The excellent supporting cast includes John Hawkes and Donna Murphy as Corinne's parents, Joshua Leonard as her husband and Dagmara Dominczyk as the one free spirit in Corinne's insular, evangelical Christian community. But it's Farmiga's younger sister, Taissa, who plays the character as a pregnant newlywed teen, who really stands out. R for some language and sexual content. 109 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.
"Our Idiot Brother" — Paul Rudd hops from one sofa to another to another as the title character, and that's sort of what the film itself does, too. Rudd stars as an amiable, ambling dude named Ned who has no real goals in life; what he does have is a guilelessness that consistently gets him into trouble, both with his family and with the law. He has a knack for always saying or doing the wrong thing, even though he always means well. Director Jesse Peretz, working from a script written by his sister, Evgenia Peretz, and her husband, David Schisgall, follows him as he bumbles his way from one situation to the next with no great momentum or sense of character evolution. Ned grows increasingly irritating to his hippie farmer ex-girlfriend (Kathryn Hahn), the three sisters he mooches off of (Emily Mortimer, Elizabeth Banks and Zooey Deschanel) and to us. But then supposedly once they've all shunned him for causing so much inadvertent damage, they take him back because they realize what a positive influence he is in their lives. It makes no sense — there's a gap of logic and emotion that's hard to overcome. R for sexual content including nudity, and for language throughout. 90 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.
"Brighton Rock" — Graham Greene's crime novel previously was made into a 1947 film famously starring Richard Attenborough with a script Greene co-wrote; this version shifts the setting from the late 1930s to 1964 as the Mods and Rockers were battling it out on Britain's south shore. You half expect to hear songs from "Quadrophenia" pop up here and there but alas, no such luck. But the feature directing debut from screenwriter Rowan Joffe ("28 Weeks Later," ''The American") does maintain the dark tone and stylish visuals of its noir origins, with dramatic shadows and camera angles that almost fetishize the genre. It's rapturous to look at, but the film as a whole often feels like an exercise in style over substance, especially as it becomes clear just how many times we've seen these kinds of characters in this kind of story. Still, Sam Riley and Andrea Riseborough are watchable in a pulpy way as mismatched teenagers awkwardly caught in a mob war. "I'm bad. You're good. We're made for each other," Riley's ambitious gangster Pinkie says to Riseborough's innocent waitress Rose. And even though she buys the line, nothing is that simple. Helen Mirren and John Hurt are among the strong supporting cast. Unrated but contains pervasive language, violence and smoking. 111 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.


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Ruling on Accessibility and the ADA
The United States District Court in Massachusetts ruled June 19 on a motion to dismiss a suit brought against Netflix by the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and others. The suit is about Netflix not providing enough captions for videos delivered via the "Watch Instantly" site, but the ruling addresses the applicability of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for electronic accessibility in general, not just limited to access issues for users who are deaf or hard of hearing. The dispute on the applicability of the ADA to the internet and electronic media has been brewing for several years, with cases against the Metropolitan Atlanta Transportation Authority, Southwest Airlines, and Target all part of the long-term debate. While the charge of judicial activism has been leveled against this decision, supporting precedents seem to exist which support the judge's ruling, and the Department of Justice's statement of interest provides a clear view of the DOJ's position in support of this decision. The implications of this ruling are significant, but also fit well within the context of additional policy work in the US and abroad.
A key issue which is core to the debate is whether a web site or any other internet-delivered service can be regarded as "a place of public accommodation". In the Netflix case, the judge ruled that the website delivering movies to the customer qualifies as a public accommodation. Specifically, the judge indicated:
Netflix, which operates its website and Watch Instantly service through computer servers and the Internet, is a public accommodation subject to title III of the ADA, even if it has no physical structure where customers come to access its services.
Establishing electronic resources as a place of public accommodation means more than a requirement for captioning, it also means that other users with disabilities need to have access to the information and services provided. Electronic content can readily be made accessible to users with disabilities, whether the user is deaf, blind, unable to use their hands, or has a variety of other disabilities or combinations thereof.
A growing policy emphasis on accessibility
This ruling comes at a time when there is greater evidence of expanding support for accessibility globally as well as within the United States.
The court made reference to a Department of Justice effort to release policy guidance to clarify that the ADA does apply to electronic services such as the web – the DOJ issued an advance notice of a ruling on the 20th anniversary of the signing of the ADA. This update to the ADA proposed to apply the W3C WCAG 2.0 specification as the standard for accessibility, which includes requirements for video accessibility such as captioning. The court writes:
Contrary to Defendant's unsupported assertions, the Department's ongoing regulatory developments support that Netflix is a public accommodation subject to title III of the ADA. The Department is currently developing regulations specifically addressing the accessibility of goods and services offered via the web by entities covered by the ADA. The fact that the regulatory process is not yet complete in no way indicates that web services are not already covered by title III.
In addition to the DOJ effort, President Obama signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and last month sent the Convention to the Senate to be ratified. In doing so, the US would be committing to "take appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems" (UNCRPD, Article 9). Separate from the UNCRPD, the United States Access Board is preparing to release updated standards for section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act which will likely also align with WCAG 2.0 criteria, and the FCC recently published regulations for access to broadcast video (not including non-broadcast video, user-generated video, or theatrical movies), including regulations which address access to the video when delivered via the internet after or concurrent with the broadcast delivery.
Outside of the United States, 152 other countries have signed (and 115 have ratified) the UNCRPD, and efforts to expand existing and develop new policies are well underway.
Why do we care about accessibility?
It isn't hard to find opposition to this ruling (1, 2), but the most important point remains – that people with disabilities deserve equal access to information and services, whether provided via the internet or in a physical location. Access equals opportunity and self-reliance, whether for a person seeking accessible educational materials to help prepare for employment, accessible video for entertainment and social connections with others, or access to necessary goods and services without needing to depend on the help of others to arrange or obtain them. Access leads to employment, and active participation in society. Accessibility has costs, although less when considered early in any process and less at scale, but whatever the costs of providing access, the cost of not providing it is in the long run greater for society.
No major web sites, applications, or mobile apps are perfectly accessible, including Adobe's. But Adobe and many others are making continual improvements and pushing toward greater access. We've worked on not only our own products but on accessibility standards and policies in the United States and around the world, and continue to seek ways to enable our customers to support accessibility with greater ease and effectiveness on their part. There is more work to do, but we know why we're doing it and are committed to continue working for equal access for all
Note: I am not a lawyer, so anything in this post that sounds like a legal interpretation should not be construed as actual legal advice, just as the considered opinion of an interested party.


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Dan Edmunds, the Director of Vehicle Testing for the automotive resource site Edmunds, is test driving the Tesla Model S.
It is not going well.
According to Edmunds' Twitter feed, the car's 17-inch touchscreen, which controls just about everything in the Model S (including door locks, windows, lighting, temperature, and volume) has gone black:
A bigger deal than the NYT range dust-up? The all-important touchscreen in our new #Tesla Model S just went dark. twitter.com/Edmunds_Test/s…— Dan Edmunds (@Edmunds_Test) February 25, 2013
The car is still drivable, but without the use of the radio, navigation, or phone functions. A few minutes later, he tweeted:
#Tesla Model S error message: "Waiting for touchsceen to power on." Key reboot and scroll wheel reset (press both at once) are ineffective. — Dan Edmunds (@Edmunds_Test) February 25, 2013
Last September, Edmunds wrote an overall positive review of the Model S, and liked the touchscreen:
But the star of the interior is the massive touchscreen that dominates the center stack. Correction: It is the center stack. Looking for all the world like a double-size iPad, every single function that isn't on the steering stalks and door switches is found here. And it behaves like an iPad, too.
A flick of your finger makes it a back-up camera, a navigation screen and a 3G Web browser. This is where you go to pair phones, tune the stereo, adjust the climate control, tweak the suspension and steering settings, open the sunroof, peruse the trip computer and monitor battery status. It's all here, and as far as we can tell it all continues to work when the car is moving.
However the rest of the test goes, this is bad news for Tesla. Last week, CEO Elon Musk finally asked to "bury the hatchet" with the New York Times over a controversial review of the electric Model S.
The Times piece centered on the range of the electric car, which reviewer John Broder claimed fell far short of what Tesla promised. But limited range (especially in winter) is part of the tradeoff with an electric car.
Controls that do not work are not.
Update: Apparently, Edmunds is still having trouble getting the screen working:
@grahamperks 1) Tried that reboot (and key cycle.) Nada. Do we really want cars that feel the need to fit a control-alt-delete procedure? — Dan Edmunds (@Edmunds_Test) February 25, 2013
Get the latest Tesla stock price here.


text: WiFi Available Patients and visitors can access the internet from various places within our Boston facility with their portable WiFi-enabled devices. Places that we have enabled this functionality are in common areas such as conference rooms, hallways, the cafeteria, waiting rooms and the library. Here is a list of some of the locations: Lobby level: Radiology and Emergency Room waiting areas 1st floor patient waiting areas 2nd floor patient waiting areas 3rd floor outside the Howe Library 3rd floor Sloane Teaching Room and Meltzer Auditorium 7th floor cafeteria 9th floor patient waiting area 11th floor patient waiting area 12th floor patient waiting area Contact Us Today! 617-523-7900


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Northwest cuts flight cancellations way back
Towards the end of June and July, Northwest had some days when it cancelled up to 16 percent of its flights. That's according to FlightStats, a firm that tracks airline performance. Northwest has charged FlightStats counts were high. But the airline admits it cancelled about 12 percent of its flights some days. So far this week, though, Northwest hasn't had a day in which it cancelled more than one percent of its flights, In fact, Northwest reports it had two days during which not a single flight was cancelled.
Jeff Skaret of Minnetonka is among the travelers glad to see that Northwest has apparently ended its end-of-month spikes in flight cancellations.
"I've had flights that have been hours delayed because of cancellations," he says. "I had one flight that actually got me home at 2:30 in the morning. And I was supposed to get home at 10:30 the previous evening."
Skaret says it's important for Northwest to keep flight cancellations at their normal rate of one to two percent a day.
"Northwest has us a little bit by the throat here," he says. "We don't have a lot of other flying options because they control so many gates . So, it's very important they resolve it because there just aren't enough options out of Minneapolis as I would like to see."
Earlier this month, Northwest Airlines and the pilots' union reached an agreement aimed at ending the spikes in flight cancellations.
For the month of August, the recent changes that Northwest has implemented are working.
The deal provides time-and-a-half pay if a pilot flies more than 80 hours in a month. The agreement also provided some incentives for flight instructors, with the goal of speeding up Northwest's ability to add pilots. Northwest also enacted a plan to reward all employees for improved attendance.
Northwest spokesman Roman Blahoski says the moves have paid off.
"For the month of August, the recent changes that Northwest has implemented are working," he says. "And the airline does not foresee any issues related to its flight operations as the end of the month approaches."
Industry analysts are at least somewhat optimistic that Northwest has ended the cancellation spikes.
"So, it looks like they've done it," says Minneapolis-based travel expert Terry Trippler. "Looks like they made it. In August. Does that mean in September they will? Don't know."
Trippler says the pilot pay hikes and relaxed work rules were critical to reducing flight cancellations, at least for now.
"There is no incentive like money," he says. "And they've adjusted the work rules for these pilots. That was one of the main things why the pilots were fatigued and tired. They were gone for so long to get their hours. So, they adjusted some of those work rules and made it a lot easier."
Northwest also trimmed its domestic schedule, helping the airline stretch its supply of pilots. And one Wall Street analyst notes pilots don't seem to be calling in sick as often as they did toward the end of June and July. Northwest says a jump in pilots calling in sick also contributed to flight cancellations.
The pilots union says pilots who called in sick were truly sick, exhausted from tough flying schedules.
Meanwhile, the pilots union isn't ready to declare Northwest has resolved the flight cancellation issue. Union spokesman Monty Montgomery says a permanent fix depends on Northwest carrying out its plan to hire hundreds of pilots--and getting enough of them ready to fly before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday travel rushes.
"We're still understaffed for pilots," says Montgomery. "We do not have enough pilots. As we get to the increased holiday season flying, we're hoping they have more pilots hired and ready to fly at that time. Or I think we will have problems again."
Northwest has said it plans to hire 250 to 350 new pilots in the next year or so -- in addition to the nearly 400 furloughed pilots it has recalled. More than 14-hundred pilots have applied for jobs at Northwest Airlines since the company began a hiring push in late July.


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Tokyo, Japan, December 4, 2013 – SATO, a leader in barcode printing, labeling, and EPC/RFID solutions, announced today the appointment of Mr. Kōji Higashinaka to the position of Chief Human Resource Officer (CHO).
In this new role, Mr. Higashinaka will be responsible for the Group's overall HR strategy worldwide, including recruitment, training, organizational development and talent management. One of his primary aims will be to nurture and groom globally-minded employees into next-generation leaders so as to better meet the needs of SATO's customers worldwide.
"At SATO, our long-term strategy is to pursue the globalization of our business and the maximization of customer value, and so cultivating highly-skilled, internationally-oriented leaders is essential for us," said Kaz Matsuyama, President & CEO of SATO Holdings Corporation. "I look forward to Mr. Higashinaka taking the lead in helping us achieve these goals with his expertise and track record of success."
Mr. Higashinaka brings a wealth of experience to this role, having worked in a variety of high-level HR and labor management positions at multinational organizations including Kureha Corporation and Johnson & Johnson. Prior to joining SATO, Mr. Higashinaka was head of HR and an executive officer at AIU Insurance Company Ltd.
Commenting on his new role, Mr. Higashinaka said, "I am very excited to be joining SATO Group as Chief Human Resource Officer. I will endeavor to do my utmost in contributing towards the building of a corporate culture and organization dedicated to pursuing Ceaseless Creativity to establish a strong foundation for sustainable company growth and development."
About SATO
SATO is a pioneer and leading global provider of integrated Automatic Identification and Data Collection solutions that leverage barcode and RFID technologies. SATO manufactures innovative, reliable auto-identification systems and offers complete solutions to businesses by integrating hardware, software, consumables and maintenance services. SATO's solutions enable businesses to realize precision, labor and resource savings that help preserve the environment and deliver peace of mind to consumers. All of which contribute to the development of a sustainable world.
Founded in 1940, SATO is publicly listed on the first section of Tokyo Stock Exchange in Japan. It has sales and support offices in over 20 countries and is represented globally through a world-class network of partners. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013, it reported revenues of JPY 87,256 million (US$ 1.0524 billion). More information about SATO can be found at www.satoworldwide.com
*Conversion is based on an average exchange rate of 1 US Dollar = 82.91 Japanese Yen.
For Media Enquiries:
Colin Young
Public Relations Office
SATO Holdings Corporation
Tel: +81 (0)3-6665-0637