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Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Galactus, Aug 3, 2008.
Dude, what's with the freakin attitude? If I misread your original post, I apologize. Geez.
Agreed. While I definitely think some of these themes should have been explored a bit deeper, there's still a lot for Superman to deal with in this movie. And yeah, Lex's plan is a lot more than "just another real estate scheme" as people call it. Not only is it MUCH grander in scale, but it's a much more personal attack than we saw before; he's basically using Superman's own technology (and a piece of Krypton itself) to destroy the country this time.
Thor is meant to be the most powerful Marvel hero (Lee created him because the only thing he could think of more powerful than the Hulk would be a god); particularly in his current form, he could defeat Superman in the blink of an eye, since he's inherited the position of his father, Odin; even without that he'd have a shot. Particularly since Superman is vulnerable to magic.
Like I said I haven't read the new Thor, or much of comics lately but I thought Sentry was suppose to be the most powerful hero on Earth for Marvel now.
But just getting back to just Thor vs Superman. Are we talking about just fighting hand to hand? Which version of Superman are we talking? I don't think Asgardian powers are magic per se because Silver Surfer can duplicate them. I still don't get the whole vulnerable to magic thing. If the Hulk can clean Thor's clock I don't see why Superman couldn't as well.
Fighting with all their powers.
I was thinking of the modern version; baseline Thor would have a hard time beating the pre-Crisis one at his most ridiculous levels, but Odinforce Thor could do it.
He's a god; it's magic.
The Hulk can't clean Thor's clock, not when it's written properly.
"Dude," what is with YOUR 'freakin' attitude?
You misunderstood or misinterpreted something I said. I clarified it. I asked if you understood what my point was after I clarified.
That's central to what's called "discussion." It's OK to disagree, but it's not OK to misunderstand (and thus to disagree with something which isn't even what's being said in the first place).
I know that the internet is filled with people just aching to leap off the handle on these issues... looking to pick fights and flame and so forth. But that's not what this is about. I'm trying to have an actual civil conversation... which does NOT require people to just smile stupidly and agree with everything someone else says, but DOES require an honest effort to communicate clearly.
You didn't understand what I said. I clarified. And you seem to be upset that I clarified??? Sheesh...
Buffy and Angel never struck me as particularly trying to be realistic. Their worlds had a lot of the same forms as our world, but they just did that to play with them - to have nightclubs for demons and what not. Plus stylistically they were very self-conscious and spent a lot of time winking at the camera, which is drawing attention to the fact that they are fiction, and thus not realistic at all.
Wonder Woman is historical fantasy as well. LotR is all about a "mythical age", Wonder Woman operates as a kind of time warp - Greek mythology transported into a modern age. It seems to me what Jackson is talking about is committing to the fantasy. Committment, believing in the world you're creating, no matter how fantastic it is, creates a depth that allows for the audience to suspend their disbelief. I would say that Buffy and Angel committed to their worlds, all the way down to the self-conscious style. It's possible to commit to any fictional construct and achieve a sense of belief, even without it feeling like "the real world". Middle Earth felt like a real world, but not the real world.
So because Thor is a god, that automatically makes his power magic?
I can't think of a story where Thor has actually beat the Hulk in a fight, maybe I am getting old. I can think of at least one where the Hulk whipped Thor good. But then again they have Wolvie fighting the Hulk so go figure.
We definitely need to have a Superman vs thread one day.
That would be a fun topic, but I warn you that the Superman-Thor fight in the miniseries JLA/Avengers is still a sensitive subject for Thor fans. Mainly because their guy was KO'd.
Returning to the original topic, can another Superman film start filming in early 2009 and still make it onto the Summer 2010 schedule?
It's magic because it's always described as magic (what else would you call it?).
Iron Man has beaten the Hulk himself on occasion, so Thor can.
One example would be Jurgens' extended AU run, Thor conquered the world and killed the Hulk, along with a bunch of other guys (this, of course, was the current Odinforce version, ludicrously powerful (though not written as quite so ludicrously powerful as Odin was when he wielded it, since it's hard enough to write stories for Thor at his current level))..
In general, writing requirements affect the outcome; since whenever the Avengers fight the Hulk, Thor can't win all by himself or the rest of the group looks worthless.
Busiek's thoughts on Thor earned him no friends among Thor's fans.
Then the ball needs to get rolling. I don't see another Superman film making it to 2010 with Bryan Singer as director; he is knee-deep in post-production on Valkryie, and still re-shooting some scenes or having recently shot them.
The film isn't due until 2009 and I don't think Singer will want to primarily focus his efforts on another project like Superman until he is done with his current one.
2011 might be feasible.
I don't think 2010 is looking likely either. And Warners will presumably want to get the next Nolan/Bale Batman film out in the summer of 2011, and I don't see them releasing a Superman film in the same year (unless they gave it a Christmas release - although I don't think they'd do so). If Superman slips back to 2012 then I think they'll go with a new cast and director and start from scratch.
I can see Nolan waiting another year to do the next Batman, if he decides to do one. I don't know why, but I can see him waiting to either do more projects or just wait until the right story hits him.
Yeah I definitely think Nolan has earned the right now to make the next Batman in his own time and on his own terms. And considering how hard a followup to TDK will be, he'll probably NEED all that time.
Agreed. I'd rather have NO movie than have a poorly-conceived, poorly-executed one which is rushed out just because some MBA-types want to cash in...
If the guy making the film has a story he wants to tell... not just a "universe he wants to play in" but a real STORY... which would be compelling regardless of whether or not that was presented within that universe... that's when I want another movie. When the storytellers are excited about doing their job. That's when I want another one... and not before. If Nolan is burnt out on this stuff (not saying he is, but IF he is) then I don't want him to do another one (even though he's done an amazing job thus far!).
No movie is better than a bad movie... IMHO.
Agreed. Does anyone think that the Superman series is any better because of The Quest for Peace or that the Batman series is any the richer for Batman & Robin (etc, etc).
I've been thinking that is what is needed for the unlikely 2010 film that many kept insisting was going to happen. By a 2012 release date you'd think they would restart ala Hulk.
And on the other side of the dual coin I think its justifiable to allow a solid 3-4 years between the next, hopefully Nolan helmed, Batman film. It gives this one ample time to be absorbed on DVD while also being recent enough still to have the fanbase(general and rabid) eager for the follow-up.
Not so convinced anyone other than the rabid Supes fanbase wants a Returns themed sequel so soon.
Didn't Nolan make The Prestige before he started casting and production on The Dark Knight anyways? I'm sure that he would want at least a year break before going back at it.
No, actually, the most powerful hero on Earth, (and just about the entire universe) is Squirrel Girl.
Yes, he made The Prestige between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Another three-year break between Batman films should be sufficient for him to recharge, maybe make another non-Batman film in the meantime, and then deliver the next sequel. All things being equal, summer 2011 is highly likely to see next, and likely final, Nolan Batman film.
Separate names with a comma.


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Maundy Thursday or Skærtorsdag marks the beginning. Our vacation started with a race here in Næstved. It's the biggest race in the city all year and it's called Skærtorsdagsløb (løb meaning race). http://hgatm.dk/side/index.php/Skaertorsdagsloebet/View-category.html
It was a beautiful morning for a (mostly) trail run. I ran the 10.04k and SR ran the 5.14k. Judging from last year's times, I stood a much better chance of winning the 5.14k. But longer races are just more fun.
Perhaps stupidly, I ran the first 5k in 20 minutes (ahead of all the 5kers and just ahead of my biggest 10k competitor). Shortly thereafter, I started to burn out and my competitor passed me. I then slipped all over running up a steep mud hill and eventually dropped my ipod. But I ended up with a 17 second PR (41:58) and second place.
SR was disappointed with 4th place in the 5,14k, but still ran a great race, with a time of 17:42.
After the race, there was again a podium for the winners. My little 5 year old niece, Chewy, was so taken by the fact that I got to stand on number 2, that she found flowers for my hair and repeated "I love you Sealegs. I love you." in her adorable Danish accent.
Here is a picture of her with her dad (SR's brother).
I could go on and on about Chewy, but suffice it to say, she is absolutely wonderful. And she astounds me with her ability to switch between Danish and English at exactly the right time (and can translate words like telescope, etc.)... childrens' minds are amazing.
Hey and I got a 300 kr. (or $50 prize)!
After a lunch at our apartment in Næstved, we went up to the Danish summerland, where many Danish families have summerhouses. Our summerland is right on a bay of the North Atlantic called Kattegat. The views and beaches are gorgeous and peaceful.On Friday, we enjoyed a traditional Easter Lunch (Påskefrokost) with about 30 family memebers in the Danish spring sun. It was so nice to talk with two happy, working mothers who are able to balance a full-time job and motherhood. They were fascinated by the fact that many women in the US don't breastfeed. It seems it's a given here that virtually all mothers breastfeed for at least one year (and to be honest, I don't even know if it's possible to buy a breast pump here). When I say I would have had just 15 days paid maternity leave in the US, I have to repeat it at least once. "But then at least you would get unemployment, right?" Yeah, right. The US system seemingly doesn't believe in supporting mothers, children or the poor. It's simply more important that the rich don't pay high taxes. That's American feedom, afterall...
Here's SR's cousin (mom and biochemist) with the now-green-eyed Lorax.
Here are some pictures of us splitting firewood for the summerhouse
and crazy parents
God påske and Happy Easter!
Best song from the race: Disturbia by Rihanna

subset: commoncrawl


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Listen to Save Me, the new track by Essay Potna, which was dropped on Wednesday, June 26th, 2013. Essay Potna's odds keep getting better with each new leak, and Save Me will undoubtedly improve his chances of winning. It's a worthy addition to a respectable catalogue that has seen a lot of growth since Essay Potna debuted in this game. We're looking forward to the follow-up.
Check out Essay Potna on Naked. If you're down, make sure to visit Essay Potna's profile page for the newest info, news, songs, and mixtapes.
How does this compare to Essay Potna's previous work?


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KDE4 Demonstrates Choice Is Not A Usability Problem
A few days ago we found a nice blog post on the usability approach taken by the KDE community for the KDE 4 series. We have contacted the author to see if he was interested in doing a guest article for the dot expanding on his blog post. So without further ado, I present a writing by Daniel Memenode, web publisher and designer.
KDE always stood out as a desktop environment that doesn't shy away from giving you lots of options and features. It is no wonder that one of its flagship products, Konqueror, was often compared to a swiss army knife. It could be used as a file manager for both local and remote files, an image viewer and a fairly powerful web browser shifting from one role to the other as needed.
This however came with one downside in that it increased the perceived complexity of the desktop environment and increased the learning curve of a new user. KDE 4 was expected, among other things, to come with innovations which would possibly resolve this issue and I think it has already made some significant strides in that direction.
On face value KDE 4 didn't fundamentally change the typical layout of the desktop. There is still a main panel at the bottom with a K-Menu on one side of it, system tray on the other and task manager in between. The biggest visible change in defaults is that desktop icons now reside in a folder view widget and that the K-Menu is completely different. However behind the scenes everything changed and the nature of these basic desktop elements changed as well. They all became configurable plasma widgets thus actually providing the user even more flexibility than before.
This could mean that KDE 4 could be even more complex and come with an even greater learning curve than KDE 3, but that doesn't seem to have happened. Instead, in the experience of many including myself as someone who typically used GNOME exactly for its simplicity, KDE actually became at least a little simpler and more streamlined, and I think it is further evolving in that respect.
KDE 4 demonstrates the effort by the KDE community to make peace between these two seemingly mutually exclusive characters: power and flexibility (lots of options to choose from) versus simplicity and ease of use. The idea is to offer the user lots of choice and power over the way the desktop behaves without this feeling like a burden. It is to bring up the extra options when the user is actually looking for them and when they actually make sense - offering them in a way that doesn't add to the perceived complexity and doesn't ruin the usability of the default experience.
The context menu when dropping a text file on the desktop
One nice example of the way KDE did this even in KDE 3 is the contextual menu that appears when you drag and drop files or folders. It asks you if you want to move, copy, make a link or cancel the whole operation. In KDE 4.3 there are additional options added to this menu that depend on what kind of file you're dragging. For instance, if it's a picture and you're dragging it to the desktop, it lets you choose to make it into a desktop wallpaper. If it's a text file it offers the choice of making a sticky note widget from it. If you're dragging a folder it allows you to make an entire folder into a folder view widget.
This last example is especially interesting because this is where a whole new feature, one that new users may be unfamiliar with, is revealed to the user when it actually makes sense and may be quite useful. You're moving a folder and get the option to create a "folder view". Choose it and voila, folder view begins to make sense and you're that much closer to knowing what exactly a "folder view" option in a desktop settings dialog (available from a desktop right-click menu) does refer to. In fact, it may even become clear to the more tech savvy and experienced among us that this is what all desktops with icons including Windows, Mac OS and GNOME actually are; nothing but views of content of specific folders (like /home/user/Desktop).
Another example is a dialog for configuring toolbars in many KDE4 applications (Dolphin, Kate, Konqueror, Dragon Player etc.) which uses a relatively simple and logical interface that in one place allows the user to add from a pretty big list of possible toolbar buttons and position them wherever wanted by either dragging and dropping or using the arrows. It offers two methods for doing the same thing without one disrupting the other. All that's missing is the ability to drag and drop the buttons directly to the toolbar which on one hand would seem redundant, but on the other would provide the user a third choice without disrupting the existing two.
Editing toolbars like it works in any KDE application
This demonstrates that choice of ways of doing things doesn't have to come at the expense of usability. If an additional method can be added without making the other available methods any less effective and easy to use then there is no good reason not to, from the user experience perspective.
This also stands true in the example of "+" and "-" emblems on files and folders in KDE4 which allow selecting and deselecting them without holding ctrl or drawing a selection rectangle. This too actually adds another way of selecting files and folders without disrupting an existing one, thus serving people of both preferences at the same time. Furthermore, this particular feature actually aids usability, especially if the desktop is configured to use a convenient single-click launch for files and folders where single click to select would also launch the file or folder. "+" and "-" emblems get around that problem.
Select emblem on hover
There are other examples that illustrate the principle of offering flexibility without impairing ease of use. But perhaps most important ones involve the reinvention of primary desktop workspace elements as plasma widgets. This almost turns KDE4 users into designers of their own perfect desktop, should they want to be that. Everything is exchangeable and mobile. You don't need to have a typical bottom or top panel. You can mix and mash desktop elements in any way you like them. You can even have multiple arrangements at the same time by taking advantage of desktop activities.
Is this extra amount of choice really impairing the usability of those who may want to simply stick to the familiar defaults? No, because by making all workspace elements into a widget they have all been put on the same fundamental level where each can be manipulated in the same basic ways.
It's not like you have to go into some sort of an editor or a configuration dialog with a slew of options presented via textual descriptions you don't necessarily understand in order to completely transform your desktop (which actually reminds me of Compiz settings manager and even worse, gconf). Instead you literally take the elements by their handles and move them around. You manipulate them almost in the same manner you would arrange items on your real life desktop. And if you need finer tweaks you can open the relevant settings dialog right from what you're editing.
This is why I am beginning to appreciate the persistence of the KDE project at giving users great power and flexibility. I no longer believe that having lots of choice necessarily means a harder to use desktop. I think KDE 4 is well on its way to proving that point. In a sense it seems to show that good usability isn't necessarily about creating an interface that is "perfect" and "usable" for everyone with a single set of options and a single "mindset", but rather about providing a desktop that can do nearly everything anyone wants it to do, but do it only IF the user actually chooses so without impairing the experience of those who don't make that choice.
In other words, the desktop morphs to the subjective preferences and personality of its user rather than trying to assume what most users want. If usability is to some extent in the eyes of the beholder, as I think it is, then such a desktop adapts to that reality and becomes a perfectly usable desktop not by the definition of a particular group of experts, but by the definition of the user standing in front of it.
If that's the vision behind KDE 4, as it seems to be, then I think the potential is limitless. Of course, literal achievement of such a potential may be an unreachable ideal, at least with current technologies, but KDE 4 is making significant steps forward in that direction. Just proving that choice is not necessarily an usability problem is a big accomplishment in itself.
Daniel Memenode is an alias of a web publisher, designer and main content producer behind a FOSS community site Nuxified.org and other sites such as Libervis.com and DoublePlusHuman.com, projects which are typically made to promote a particular set of good ideas, from Free Software and responsible use of technology to individual and social evolution (namely, promotion of self improvement and voluntaryism).
Frying the big fish
This is a great article, thanks Daniel for the submission.
I'd just like to preemptively point out that the initial link is to a KDE vs. Gnome style article, which while not that controversial, is a topic that the KDE team wants to be clear about. KDE an Gnome are both exciting open source projects with our own design goals in mind. We live in the shadow of much larger competitors, who have over 95% of the desktop computing market share, and regardless of whether converts choose KDE or Gnome, we're happy, as it grows the open source desktop community. (Or LXDE, Xfce, E17...)
So while it's nice to be receiving third party feedback about positive design choices that KDE has made, keep in mind that we have some really big fish to fry, and there's a hell of a lot of work to be done, in both camps, before we can reel 'em in.
By Troy Unrau at Thu, 2009/10/22 - 3:58am
KDE4 Demonstrates Choice Is Not A Usability Problem
This is going to get modded to oblivion:
KDE4 Demonstrates Choice Is Not A Usability Problem Except For the Cashew on a Stock KDE Desktop Where It Is Indeed a Problem. :)
I love KDE, but...
By Shade at Thu, 2009/10/22 - 6:01am
So how are the Cashew and stock desktop a usability problem?
I have newer seen any explentation showing either to be a usability problem, so I'm rather curoius. Have seen lots of incoherent rants, but never a demostration of how they can be usability problems. Perhaps someone have outlined it an bugreport to the Plasma developers, so maybe they can enlighten the rest of us.
By Morty at Thu, 2009/10/22 - 7:21am
Bueller? Bueller?
Bueller? Bueller?
edit: maybe this was a reference that missed its mark... it was meant to note that despite amount of whining about the cashew that goes on, when the OP asks what the problem is, no one can come forward with anything.
For those who don't know the bueller reference, its from this film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091042/
By borker at Sun, 2009/10/25 - 3:18pm
A feature you don't use doesn't necessarily mean bad usability
I have a desk (one of those old wooden ones with an actual physical desktop) and a drawer underneath on one side.
It used to be my Dad's desk, the drawer was there, over on one side, and he quite liked it to store pens and bits of paper - he's not so much in to computers and still writes on paper quite a lot and that little drawer made some tools he wanted to use close at hand.
Then it became my desk. I use a PC more than pen and paper and the fact is I don't use that drawer, over under the side of my desktop, but it doesn't get in my way and I've never really felt the need to comment on it (until now).
Overall it's a pretty usable desk. It has one item over on one side that I don't use, but that doesn't stop me using the desk. And I appreciate that the part I don't use might be useful to someone else.
By Stuart Jarvis at Thu, 2009/10/22 - 11:17pm
you can remove the cashew
Just set the desktop setting a different view type and you are no longer bothered with the cashew
By whatever noticed at Sun, 2009/10/25 - 9:33pm
I don't know why the cashew
I don't know why the cashew should be a problem to anyone. I mean, it's in the corner up there, covered by open windows and if you don't click on it nothing happens.
By Bobby at Sat, 2009/10/31 - 11:00am
The entire article is nice retorics, but lets sum it up:
Konq was great, too great so it was confusing for noobs. Enters Dolphin. KDE4 is just like KDE3 only with folder views (20+ year old concept, innovative?), and usefull panels are replaced with simplistic plasma fluff. And there's now also context sensitive drag and drop. (another "novelty" - back in mid 90ies I could even add modifiers, drop image while pressing j - voila, jpeg).
There, done.
"Design your own desktop", well so far it cannot even mimic my KDE3 desktop in any practical way, let alone let me "design" a desktop that truly works how I want.
Oh, and the nutty thing is in the way, it's located where I useally press for switching to next desktop when using mouse. And those plasma "oparation bars" are really pissing me off, it doesnt help that they're huge and pop up on random side of plasma widgets, just because the mouse pointer accidently pass over them. And nepomuk - for people who dont know how to organize their files? How to kill off enterprise desktops with networked filesystems? Excellent. I could go on.
By kolla at Fri, 2009/10/23 - 1:26am
disable nepomuk
you can disable nepomuk in the systemsettings of kde.
By whatever noticed at Sun, 2009/10/25 - 9:39pm
Thank you for the laugh!
Was that article meant to be published on April 1st? Because, frankly, associating KDE and usability must be some king of joke, right ?
Let's just consider the examples one by one.
The same goes for the toolbar configuration dialog. The way it is presented to the user, it's painfully obvious that the developer sees the toolbar as a list of buttons and separators. The problem is that, as a user, I don't. I just see buttons side by side. With this dialog, I have to choose the buttons I want, apply, see if it's ok, change again if it's not, apply again... Being able to drag and drop buttons where I want them in the toolbar with a live preview of what the toolbar will look like when I'm finished is far simpler (and most of the time faster). Of course, it would be more difficult for the developer.
This article really illustrates how disconnected from the real-world kde developers are. I have no doubts that things like Nepomuk and Folder view can be useful. But if you cannot get basic things right nobody will put up with your software long enough to care about advanced features. The problem as I see it is that kde developers see everything as binary choices with simple answers instead of considering complex answers to real-worlds problems.
By Robert Cachou at Fri, 2009/10/23 - 9:35am
> How can you consider that
> How can you consider that bothering the user with a pop-up menu every single time he drags a file is a positive thing ?
Yes, this is a very positive thing ! For example, windows requires me to remember whether source and a destination are on the same filesystem. This is a purely technical thing and should be hidden from the user.
Moving a file is quite serious action which could lead to, for example, deleting a file believing it was only a copy. This action should never rely on me remembering some technical detail about filesystems.
By vld at Fri, 2009/10/23 - 10:26am
I agree with you. Windows has a very dirty habit of moving a file when you drag and drop it without asking what you want to do. KDE gives you the option to move, copy or link the file, which makes a lot of sense.
Have you ever marked all files in a particular directory in windows and then try to hold and move them all with the mouse but your hand slip? What does Windows do? Windows creates a copy of all those files in the same directory! Can you imagine having thousands of photos double in a given diectory?
By Bobby at Sat, 2009/10/31 - 9:45am
I've actually come to find this mechanism of "present a popupmenu on drop" very convenient: I know exactly what's going to happen, it's easy to cancel it, and the popup comes up very close to the mouse, so little I need to move.
I don't quite agree with your assessment of the simple choices. Especially in the case of hover interfaces, but also if you look at Plasma's configuration, you'll see that it's not actually the case.
Funny thing is, you complain about binary choices and in the next second paint the world as black and white as you possibly could, that doesn't quite match, IMO.
By Sebastian Kügler at Fri, 2009/10/23 - 10:55am
Quite the oposite
"This article really illustrates how disconnected from the real-world kde developers are."
It does actually show quite the oposite, it shows how the real-world appreciate the work and choices of the KDE developers.
Since you obviously missed it, this article was written by a real-world user not a KDE developer.
By Morty at Fri, 2009/10/23 - 12:24pm
I did not miss it. But since
I did not miss it. But since the article is reprinted here, it is endorsed by the KDE developers. And the fact that they're so proud of their developer-oriented UI which systematically tries to complicate users' life with useless choices shows that they are disconnected from the real-world.
I don't think kde sucks. It's great for control-freak geeks who like to customize every pixel of their screen. However, those people are a tiny minority and it seems to me that when they gathered and write a desktop environment that suits their needs, they forgot about the rest of the world.
By Robert Cachou at Fri, 2009/10/23 - 12:56pm
It may be "endorsed" because
It may be "endorsed" because the article expresses points that they wanted to convey. Since it was written by a non-developer, an end user who never even got into programming and who in recent years became quite lazy when it comes to tinkering with the inner workings of a system, I think it qualifies as an affirmation of the KDE4 approach as not merely dev-centric.
It's worth noting I've been using GNOME primarily for most of the last few years and up to recently. Ever since KDE4 came out however I've been more and more interested in it and waited for it to become more stable. I think KDE4.3 in Karmic might just do it.
And why have I used GNOME? Because it is simple, easy and feels very polished. I wouldn't switch to KDE4 if I didn't perceive significant improvements in those terms on it as well.
As for control freak customizers being a tiny minority, even if that's true the whole point I tried to convey in the article is that choice is added without complicating it for those who don't want to opt for certain options.
And as some have already said, KDE4 defaults are becoming more and more polished and reasonable for most people. In short, more choice is not a problem. It's not meant to complicate anything for anyone. That's the whole point. Even if KDE4 isn't quite there yet, that seems to be the destination.
In the end you might as well get GNOME level simplicity without losing the additional choice and power if you want it, but without hiding it in such a way to be accessible only to geeks willing to plow through cryptic gconf registry.
By Daniel Memenode at Fri, 2009/10/23 - 4:23pm
"the whole point I tried to
"the whole point I tried to convey in the article is that choice is added without complicating it for those who don't want to opt for certain options"
I see the point but your examples show exactly the opposite. Popping-up a menu to ask what I want to do every time I drag a file feels very invasive to me. Especially as there is no way to "teach" the file manager what I want to do so that it does not ask the next time.
On the other hand, in Windows, the menu pops-up only when you drag a file using the right mouse button. This way, power users have the options they want. And users who prefer simple things are not bothered by options they do not need.
By Robert Cachou at Sat, 2009/10/24 - 11:51am
That's a matter of what a
That's a matter of what a default set up is. I suppose it's decided that offering such a menu makes the default more usable. When it comes to defaults you simply can't please everyone. You may complain about that menu and someone else might complain if it wasn't there (such as me for instance) and see a predefined drag and drop behavior as intrusive in a similar sense.
The best you can do when it comes to defaults is offer something most people will like, something reasonable, but then allow deviations that can be made without the existence of such a choice ruining the default experience.
Though for this reason I would agree that an option to turn it off should probably exist somewhere. Perhaps it could be added as a tick box in the "Context Menu" tab of "General" section of the Dolphin preferences dialog. Maybe devs should consider it.
KDE4 is not perfect, but I think the approach taken and the direction are good. It's not yet at the destination however.
By Daniel Memenode at Sun, 2009/10/25 - 12:28am
> Especially as there is no
> Especially as there is no way to "teach" the file manager what I want to do so that it does not ask the next time.
Just hold down the ctrl-key while dragiing to force a copy without popup - or the alt-key to force symlinking.
By Arne Babenhauserheide at Sun, 2009/10/25 - 10:24am
you also cannot teach explorer what to do
On Windows, you also cannot teach explorer to always copy, move or link a file to the location you dragged it to.
By whatever noticed at Sun, 2009/10/25 - 9:52pm
I see the point but your
Check the screen-shot again. Every single pop-up tells you what to do to avoid it. You already know one of the answer from your experience with Mac, and this popup tells you the others.
By carewolf at Wed, 2009/11/04 - 3:51pm
other file managers don't guess
Other file managers like windows explorer, don't guess what the user wants, it simply makes a choice for you, based on where you are dragging the file to.
By whatever noticed at Sun, 2009/10/25 - 9:46pm
Folder View
I really like the folder view. I have two of them on my DeskTop. It would be nice if the configuration of them didn't change every time I started KDE, but that is a minor issue.
However, the author stated: 'You're moving a folder and get the option to create a "folder view"'. I have to admit that I have no idea what he is talking about.
By James Richard Tyrer at Sat, 2009/10/24 - 7:41am
If you drag a directory from,
If you drag a directory from, say, Dolphin, to the desktop, you get asked if you want an icon (shortcut) or a folder view.
By Luca Beltrame at Sat, 2009/10/24 - 9:27am
easy way to create folderviews
if you would like to add a third folderview, you don't need to add a new widget and configure it to show the desired directory, simply drag the directory to the desktop and select 'folder view' in the popup menu
By whatever noticed at Sun, 2009/10/25 - 9:55pm
I see, but don't
That sounds like a useful and logical feature.
Now what I need to figure out is why it doesn't work on my system. :-(
Thanks for the help.
By James Richard Tyrer at Tue, 2009/10/27 - 10:04am
you have to unlock the
you have to unlock the desktop first
By mkraus at Tue, 2009/10/27 - 10:43pm
Lock has some issues
Yes, that might be obvious, but it isn't to this user.
I think that the Lock/Unlock Widgets function needs some work. Perhaps two levels of locking would be an improvement.
By James Richard Tyrer at Thu, 2009/10/29 - 5:24am
Some ranting
KDE usability is not perfect but on the right path. Hands down: how many times do we receive emails with just a *lnk file attached cause windows users can not even see what they're doing when draggin' droppin files from the desktop to their email ;-)?
And now for some ranting: (hint: I did already file several bug-reports)
By thomas at Sun, 2009/10/25 - 12:48pm
I wouldn't call that ranting :-)
It's ok to make criticisms, particularly when you back them up and (I haven't checked but I'll believe you) make bug reports. I think most of what you say is pretty fair.
One thing - knetworkmananger (not the plasmoid, but the kde4 port of the kde3 application) does appear to be working now - at least it's operational in prereleases of Fedora 12. It still needs a bit of love and a plasmoid that can live on the desktop, panel, wherever is still the better option for the long term I think.
By Stuart Jarvis at Mon, 2009/10/26 - 2:26pm
KNetworkManager4 != KNetworkManager3
The only thing both apps share is the name. KNetworkManager4 is built on top of the same Network Management libraries used by the plasmoid.
By Will Stephenson at Tue, 2009/10/27 - 5:07pm
I stand corrected
Title says it all really :-) Either way - it's a KDE app for managing my networks, nicely integrated (KWallet etc) so I'm pretty happy.
By Stuart Jarvis at Wed, 2009/10/28 - 5:41pm
"Hands down: how many times
"Hands down: how many times do we receive emails with just a *lnk file attached cause windows users can not even see what they're doing when draggin' droppin files from the desktop to their email ;-)?"
By majewsky at Mon, 2009/10/26 - 6:37pm
> and there's no (working) webcam utility for kde either...
Does kdenlive work for you?
It isn't perfect for dv (I switched to using kino when I ran into errors), but it's great for video editing!
By Arne Babenhauserheide at Tue, 2009/10/27 - 2:18pm
Precisely Why I Am A KDE User Now
This is precisely why I am a KDE user now for the past year. While KDE3 users loved to be able to configure their desktop to the n'th degree, I personally found it overwhelming and took comfort in GNOME simplicity.
However, after I became familiar with GNOME, I found it frustrating that some simple changes were only accessible in gconf-editor or completely unavailable. KDE4 changed all of that, and I find it to be a perfect balance between simplicity and power and will have a hard time using anything else! Nepomuk is also exciting to me and can't wait to see how it evolves in KDE4.
By Anthony Simonelli at Sun, 2009/10/25 - 3:48pm
KDE4 Demonstrates Choice Is Not A Usability Problem
If an additional method can be added without making the other available methods any less effective and easy to use then there is no good reason not to, from the user experience perspective. This is a hugh problem because things that we had and worked far better have become a usability problem.Usability issue because they are gone . The only choice we have sucks and there are things we never get used to or want to . classic menu was removed the setting menu . Common sense should have been there to know it was ridiculous to remove them. Konq has had so may features removed but they are in the dophin and not all of us like dolphin. I like that swiss army knife. Tree has lost a lot of the functions it had in the right click , delete,rename... . gwenview instead of the html embedded . So drag drop is gone and you spend hrs trying to figure out how to get the better way back(html emmbedded) . Some new things are ok , But there are new ones that just aren't quick and efficient .But the old ones are, it just doesn't make any sence to remove things that work better . lets get rid of the wheel its old eh? Anyway there are lots of things that should be there for us that liked it and still giving us the chioce and not making things less effective. As far as the peanut(looked like a tear drop to me) its ok. But the right click function is far superior. takes less time and less hastles to move the icons,widgets and add apps to the kicker(now panel) than it does with the peanut. My 3 fav apps(there are more ) but the ones I use every day are still frustrating after using it for a while here. konsole , took me hrs to find out how to get rid of the ctrl+page up/down to use in mecedit . the konsole is supposed to be to use the apps like you would from console(cli). Always having to restart it to save anything . MC(midnight commander) is such a bright white when you first open it. I had some people in #kde check it out and agreed . thats still not fixed and its been like that for quite a few months. But the pretty blue around the tab was more important. Looks really have become the major part now over usablity.Lots of features that were there making konsole easy to use are gone too. anyway I'm really disappointing that great apps are just cut down so bad they are frustrating and not enjoyable to use now. Other than konq file manager mode is still better than dolphin. Even mc is better than dolphin.
By oneforall at Sun, 2009/11/01 - 3:39am
well I did lay out some of them there ,which is a small chunk.
By oneforall at Mon, 2009/11/02 - 1:04am
KDE 4.3 is what KDE should be
I have to admit, with my experiences with KDE 4.1 and 4.2, I was contemplating switching to GNOME. The bugs and quirks and visual problems were really painful. If I didn't have a hunch that the underlying technology was great, I wouldn't have stuck with it. It all came back to the last time I tried to write a GTK app... yuck! Qt is so much more developer friendly...
I'm so very happy, however, with KDE 4.3. It has a few rough edges that will no doubt be polished in the future, but it's really quite excellent. Folder view turned from something clunky to changing the way I work. Dolphin took a little getting used to, but I really, really like it now. It's certainly better in every measurable way to MacOS's Finder. I say it's about as good as Windows 7's explorer. KWin is finally up to snuff with its predecessors, and moreso.
The only thing I actually hate: the new K menu. I use the traditional one, but it seems old and clunky. The new one is unusable -- even with Windows Vista/7 start menu is better. The only feature from the new is the search -- if I could have traditional + search box with some modern skinning, it would be amazing.
By Aaron Traas at Sun, 2009/11/01 - 12:49pm
KDE 4.3 isn't what KDE should be
yeah the new k menu is really nice looking . But it is so slow and some thing you can and never want to get used too period:). The hover over of the classic is what makes it so much quicker to move a round in. and yeah I'd say the search and nice skin would be nice. But also the right click on an app and have it open the menu editor like kde3 would be agreat and I'm sure those that love the new one would like that too and really all the right click features are once again more important than new looks being addedto polish it off . Those can wait till kde4 -5 no :) . Use is always more important
By oneforall at Mon, 2009/11/02 - 1:22am
the only reason I stepped
the only reason I stepped into kde is cos konqueror - I aint found so far a more productive desktop experience that this - if I was KDE ceo I would buld all upon konqui and throw everithing else down the drain. only flaw is to not have a decent web browsing so I got to go with firefox - dolphins should be stay in the sea IMHO
By ivo at Wed, 2009/11/04 - 1:44pm


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Richardson, Jonathan (DNB00)
His portraits have little of genius or romance in them, but they are honest and trustworthy likenesses of the persons whom they represent. Sir Joshua Reynolds said that Richardson understood his art very well scientifically, but that his manner was cold and hard. There are good examples of Richardson's work in the National Portrait Gallery, including his own portrait, and those of Anne Oldfield, Lord-Chancellor Talbot, Pope, Prior, Steele, and Vertue the engraver. Richardson was on intimate terms of acquaintance with Pope (whose portrait he painted, etched ('amicitiæ causa'), or drew several times), Prior, Gay, and other conspicuous members of the literary world. At the College of Surgeons there is a portrait by Richardson of Dr. Cheselden, and one of Dr. Bradley at the Royal Society. Richardson drew a very large number of portrait heads in chalk, and during the latter part of his life drew many portraits in this way of himself, his son, and of Pope. There are good examples to be seen in the print-room at the British Museum, including portraits of Lawrence Eusden, poet laureate; Sir Isaac Newton, Milton, Sir J. Thornhill, his master, Riley, and Riley's wife, and others. He etched a few portraits, such as Lord Somers, Dr. Mead, and Milton. He had several pupils, notably Thomas Hudson (1709-1779) [q.v.], who married one of Richardson's daughters, and, as the master of Reynolds, carried down a good tradition of English painting from Riley onwards. Another pupil was George Knapton [q. v.]
Richardson also obtained some distinction as an author, and, according to Dr. Johnson, was better known by his books than his pictures. In 1715 he published an 'Essay on the Theory of Painting,' and in 1719 two others, 'An Essay on the whole Art of Criticism in Relation to Painting,' and 'An Argument in behalf of the Science of a Connoisseur.' These works went through more than one edition, and were eventually joined together and published in two volumes in 1726, and later, in 1773, in one volume, edited by his son; a still later edition, in 1792, was published as a supplement to Walpole's 'Anecdotes of Painting.' with a dedication to Sir Joshua Reynolds. The 'Theory of Painting' remained for many years a standard work upon the subject; and although the language is rather pompous and exaggerated, Richardson displays an appreciation of the works of the old masters, with a patriotic belief in the capability of the English race to produce works to rival them, a contention which had some remarkable effect in certain instances. Hogarth is said to have been stimulated by Richardson's treatise to paint his two great works on the staircase of St. Bartholomew's Hospital; and Sir Joshua Reynolds, as a boy, owed much of his early enthusiasm for art, and his desire to become a rival to Raphael, to the perusal of Richardson's work. In 1722 there was published 'An Account of the Statues and Bas-reliefs, Drawings and Pictures in Italy, France, &c., with Remarks,' &c. (2nd edit. 1754). This work was compiled from materials collected by the younger Jonathan Richardson during a tour on the continent, and edited by the father. It was the first English guide to works of art in Italy, and no less a person than Winckelmann (in the preface to his 'Geschichte der Kunst') declared that, in spite of its deficiencies, it was yet the best book to be had upon the subject.
Richardson was well known among his contemporaries for his piety and patriotism, and his views on these subjects and others connected with literature were familiar to the frequenters of such well-known resorts as Will's, Button's, and Slaughter's. Among the favourite topics inflicted on his friends by Richardson were the poems of Milton; he published, in 1734, 'Explanatory Notes and Remarks on "Paradise Lost,"' by J. Richardson, father and son, with a life of the author, and a portrait of Milton etched by Richardson himself. This work excited some derision, but was not by any means unworthy of respect. An unfortunate remark by Richardson with regard to the assistance given to him by his son led to a caricature by Hogarth. Richardson also devote much of his literary activity to verse, and published in 1745 a volume, 'Poems on several occasions.' In 1776, after the death of both father and son, a volume appeared entitled 'Morning Thoughts, or Poetical Meditations, Moral, Divine, and Miscellaneous, together with several Poems on various subjects by the late Jonathan Richardson, with Notes by his Son, lately deceased.' Of this volume Horace Walpole said that it was 'not much to the honour of his muse, but exceedingly so to that of his piety and amiable heart.'
Richardson had a valuable collection of drawings by the old masters, part of which he inherited from his master, Riley. His drawings were sold in 1747, after his death, the sale occupying eighteen days, and realising over 2,000l. Many were bought by Hudson, his son-in-law, and passed from his collection to that of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Sir Thomas Lawrence, and are now dispersed over the principal collections in Europe. The remainder of his collection, including hundreds of his own drawings, was sold in 1771, after his son's death.
Richardson died suddenly at his house in Queen Square, Bloomsbury, on 28 May 174). He left four daughters, one of whom married Thomas Hudson the painter.
His only son, Jonathan Richardson the younger (1694–1771), followed his father's profession as a portrait-painter, but was too near-sighted to meet with any success. Some drawings by him, including portraits of Prior, Sir Hans Sloane, and the elder Richardson, are in the British Museum. He is best known for his association with his father in his literary productions. After his death a volume was published, entitled 'Richardsoniana, or Occasional Reflections on the Moral Nature of Man, suggested by various Authors, ancient and modern, and exemplified from these Authors, with several Anecdotes interspersed, by the late Jonathan Richardson, jun., Esq.' (1770). He died in Queen Square, Bloomsbury, on 6 June 1771 , aged 77, and was buried near his father in the churchyard of St. George the Martyr, Bloomsbury.[Walpole's Anecd. of Painting, ed. Wornum; Leslie Taylor's Life and Times of Sir Joshua Reynolds; Redgrave's Dict. of Artists: Lowndes's Bibl. Man.; information from F. M. O'Donoghue, esq., F.S.A.; Richardson's own works.]


text:
The BVR-model avoids high beta bonds (long-bonds) and also intermediate duration bonds.
The Bond Value Ratio is shown in Fig 4. The BVR is near last week's level. According to the model, only when BVR turns upward after having been lower than the lower offset-line should one consider long bonds again. One can see from the upward sloping graph that long bonds have gained from January 2014 to end of January 2015. It would appear that BVR has peaked.
The Yield Curve:The yield curve model shows the declining trend from Jan-2014 of the 10-year and 2-year Treasuries yield spread. Figure 5 charts (i10 – i2)) and it would appear that the spread is in the process of forming a trough. FLAT and STPP are ETNs. STPP profits from a steepening yield curve and FLAT increases in value when the yield curve flattens. This model confirms the direction of the BVR.
Gold:The modified Coppock Gold indicator shown in Fig 6. and is now invested.
This indicator is described in Is it Time to Buy Gold Again? – Wait for the buy signal …….
Silver:The modified Coppock Silver indicator shown in Fig 7 and is currently invested.
This indicator is described in Silver – Better Than Gold: A Modified Coppock Indicator for Silver.


text:
A controversy of sorts has broken out among scholars of the American Civil War over the degree to which scholarly blogs on this topic should cover the myth of mass participation by African Americans as soldiers in the Confederate Army. Such prominent Civil War historians as Gary Gallagher of the University of Virginia and Peter Carmichael, Director of Gettysburg College's Civil War Institute, have criticized prominent scholarly bloggers like Kevin Levin, Brooks Simpson, Andy Hall and others, basically accusing them of inadvertently giving credibility to the black Confederate myth by spending so much effort in their blogs trying to debunk it.
I am not entirely unsympathetic to Gallagher and Carmichael's argument. Some scholarly Civil War bloggers have arguably written too much on black Confederates and related topics. Brooks Simpson, in particular, has in recent months energetically gone after the Confederate-sympathizing "Heritage" community on the web, with a particular enthusiasm reserved for Heritage activist, Connie Chastain. I can see the worry about how a distinguished Arizona State University professor and other history professionals devoting so much attention to such people, might unduly draw attention and credibility to their factually faulty ideas.
Nonetheless, today on his blog, Crossroads, Brooks Simpson makes a powerful argument for scholarly Civil War bloggers giving so much attention to black Confederate myth and its proponents. In a nutshell, he argues that serious scholars must address this faulty notion because: 1) of the increasing tendency of the public to utilize the World Wide Web as their information source of first resort; 2) the black Confederate myth mainly lives on the web where it is perpetuated by pro-Confederate Heritage activists. Simpson writes:
To my mind, bloggers correctly grasp how students and the general public come to engage in historical inquiry in cyberspace: that includes the rather facile use of the search engine and various websites and discussion groups. Books, magazines, and talks no longer enjoy the monopoly they once did: we now have television and the internet (note that is how we came to learn so quickly about what Peter had said). We also have various outlets where many people, regardless of training or qualification, discuss and dispense historical interpretations and hold forth on evidence. It's a far richer, more diverse, more democratic, and more confusing world out there when it comes to historical "knowledge," information, and interpretation.
For professional historians to ignore that is simply foolish. After all, we've had a cottage industry grow up in Civil War studies in the past several decades: the field of memory studies. That endeavor seeks to show how people in the past have reshaped and even distorted the historical narrative to serve various ends. The debate over black Confederate soldiers is simply a continuation of that exercise. Are we really to believe that professional historians think we should read what they say about this process in the past while heeding their admonition to refrain from entering that fray in the present? Is calling attention to a flawed interpretation to be decried because it draws more attention to it?
As a former instructor on traditional university campuses and now a full-time instructor of college-level history online, from where I sit Brooks Simpson is quite correct. College students increasingly cherry pick sources for their assignments off the web, ignoring the peer-reviewed and edited resources found in the library. While I resisted this tendency when I still taught at brick and mortar institutions, I have had to become more tolerant of it since I moved exclusively online. Most of my students are working adults raising children with precious little time to visit a physical library (although I'm impressed some still make the effort). I also teach a fair number of deployed military personnel with no access to a physical libraries at all. While I try to guide these adult learners toward the online library resources of the institutions I work for, and encourage them to use a physical library when they can, I also generally no longer object when they pull sources off the open web unless they are obviously non-credible. So I agree with Brooks Simpson when he argues that scholars need to be on the web to make sure better and more credible history can be found there, especially when a community of enthusiasts exists actively distorting the past. So while Brooks needs to diversify his subject matter more on Crossroads, as far as his post today goes all I can say in response is "amen."


text:
2 Responses
Hey Mike, a 3L from W&M Law here. Was thinking about coming up tonight after class for McDonald. Beginning to realize that might not be feasible. Would you mind letting us know when the line gets long enough so that we couldn't get in to see the whole argument? Thanks!
Third One @ One First. Doesn't have the same ring to it.


text:
) -- U.S. stock futures were flat Friday as President Obama prepared to meet with congressional leaders to discuss ways to avoid the looming fiscal cliff.
Expected to attend Friday's meeting with Obama are the top four leaders of Congress: House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
European stocks were relatively unchanged while Asian shares ended Friday's trading session mixed. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock index jumped 2.2% to close at 9,024.16.
The economic calendar in the U.S. Friday includes industrial production and capacity utilization for October at 9:15 a.m. EST.
on Thursday fell after the latest data on the employment picture and manufacturing activity disappointed investors. A poor outlook from retailing giant
Wal-Mart Stores
(WMT) - Get Report
also contributed to the negativity.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
fell more than 28 points, or 0.23%, to close at 12,542. The blue-chip index has declined in four straight sessions and in six of the past seven days.
(DELL) - Get Report
, the PC maker, came up short Thursday in its latest quarter and gave a lackluster outlook.
posted third-quarter non-GAAP profit of $679 million, or 39 cents a share, on revenue of $13.72 billion, below analysts' expectations of earnings of 40 cents a share on revenue of $13.89 billion.
Dell said it expects a "challenging macro-economic environment" to continue into the fourth quarter and forecast sequential revenue growth of 2%-5% for the January-ending period, implying revenue of $13.99 billion to $14.41 billion. Analysts forecast revenue of $14.48 billion in the quarter. For the full year, Dell stuck to its forecast for non-GAAP earnings of at least $1.70 a share, below the analysts' estimate of $1.73 a share.
Sears Holdings
, the department store operator, posted a quarterly loss Thursday of $498 million, or $4.70 a share, on revenue of $8.86 billion, wider than its year-earlier loss of $421 million, or $3.95 a share, on revenue of $9.41 billion.
Earnings are expected Friday from
Foot Locker
(FL) - Get Report
J.M. Smucker
(SJM) - Get Report
AnnTaylor Stores
Casual Male Retail Group
Hibbett Sports
(HIBB) - Get Report
Shipping giants
(FDX) - Get Report
(UPS) - Get Report
are targets of a criminal probe related to their dealings with online pharmacies at the center of an international crackdown on prescription drug abuse.
The companies made the disclosures in regulatory filings over the last several weeks. FedEx spokesman Patrick Fitzgerald confirmed the probe in a prepared statement and a phone interview with
The Associated Press
on Thursday.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is expected to serve
JPMorgan Chase
(JPM) - Get Report
with a formal action alleging weaknesses in the bank's antimoney-laundering systems,
The Wall Street Journal
reported, citing people close to the situation.
The cease-and-desist order from the OCC is part of a broader crackdown on the nation's largest banks, the people told the
(GOOG) - Get Report
has held talks with
Dish Network
(DISH) - Get Report
in recent weeks to partner on a new wireless service that would rival the networks of wireless carriers such as
Verizon Wireless
, according to people familiar with the discussions, the
-- Written by Joseph Woelfel
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From the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" Phaedra, Kenya, Kandi, and Cynthia are no strangers to drama, but this might be the first time they get into a catfight with a puppet. AND ITS FUNNY!
When watching the insult dog mocking both Kenya and Phaedra for their booty video's competition and mostly Kenya's "Gone With The Wind Fabulous" song that is so "Gone With The Wind Ghetto" performances, I was expecting a lot more banter and howling at each other but their restraint in laughing so hard to make a mockery of each other was interesting in the video. I expected a lot of high fives when each other was insulted but actually, I think Phaedra had the most constraint. SHOCKING!!!!
I do have to say that my favorite comment from the insult comic was when comparing Kenya's style to Drag Queen's inspiration.. hehehehe..
Excerpts via OkMagazine
What happens when the Real Housewives of Atlanta expect a visit from Conan O'Brien but Triumph the "Insult Comic Dog" shows up instead?
Hilarity ensues.
"It must be exciting to be almost as famous as pawn shop employees," Triumph tells reality stars Phaedra Parks, Kenya Moore, Kandi Burruss, and Cynthia Bailey.
But the demeaning dog has a soft spot for Cynthia. "You're the classiest of the Real Housewives, which is kind of like saying you're the smartest Kardashian," he gushes.
But Triumph and Kenya almost throw down when he continually gets her name wrong!
"You better get your hand out of my face!" Kenya commands as Triumph's paw starts waving around.
"That little thug dog Triumph though he was going to come in here and mess with the queen bee, but he got another thing coming because I am Gone with the Wind fabulous!" Kenya later snipes to the camera before standing up and storming off.
Triumph's response? He sniffs Kenya's vacated seat.


text:
At UPMC, we are committed to keeping our community safe and healthy as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds. As our team continues to provide Life Changing Medicine to our patients, our recruiters will continue to fill positions throughout this time. Interviews and other processes may be modified to protect the safety of our candidates and employees. Thank you for your patience.
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text:
English Dubbed May 7, 2017 20968
Use (Command + D) to Bookmark This!
You are currently watching Dragon Ball Super Episode 89 English Dubbed from the anime series Dragon Ball Super. You can watch more episodes of Dragon Ball Super English Dub or Sub here at Dubbed Anime for free!


text:
I just completed our first deal with Rabin. Everything was very professional would do business again with this company.
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text:
The Windows Node at Mimas
Worked to establish a node on the Windows Server 2008 machine and after some tweaking and self learning got through quite far installing the node.There were some issues on getting Nginx setup right though.
Then after some tweaking, Nginx goes smoothly on the Windows 2008 server after restarting the machine, but wasn't sure why the step to push the couchapps not working. I was trying to navigate to the config folder of the LR repository
cd C:\Python27\LearningRegRepository\config
and ran the command
python setup_node.py
and was getting the following error:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "setup_node.py", line 12, in
import couchdb
ImportError: No module named couchdb
Checked the python code, and couchdb folder is very much existing.. well I knew now is the time to "DEBUG" which I guess I love the most. Lou on the US Learning Registry team suggested to download version 1.1.1 from https://github.com/dch/couchdb/downloads
Damon Regan from the US Learning Registry team noticed the blog post and was happy about the work on Windows machine. He mentioned that Lou Wolford on the LR team has worked with getting the LR running on Windows. There is an active pickling error that they're working to resolve. He shared the discussion thread on that: https://github.com/LearningRegistry/LearningRegistry/pull/167 and discussions were happening on the Windows mods during the dev calls. He hoped that all issues get resolved and I can get it up and running soon.
Later on I managed to resolve as per Jim's suggestion for Ubuntu on https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/learningreg-dev/0sKsLb15fi8/hFFhObPk69IJ
cd ~/gitrepos/LearningRegistry/LR
pip install -e ./
That should install ALL LR dependencies outside of wsgi, then:
cd ~/gitrepos/config
python setup_node.py -d
I used the same version of couchDB as Lou suggested. The pickling error was still persisting and I was going through the discussion thread Damon mentioned in his comment.
Lou commented that they are looking into a solution that looks for what OS is running and switches between threads/processes to keep everything stable no matter what OS is being used. He promised to keep me updated and let me know ASAP when it is released. Damon mentioned that John Poyau from the LR team is working on a new factory model to allow windows platforms to use threads and linux and mac platforms to use process. Then in few days, John was able to fix the issue by switching to use Thread instead of Process in change_monitor to fix the pickling_error in Windows. Also he tweaked the way test files are declared to be Windows-friendly.
Damon mentioned that the fix is tested on Windows, Mac and linux. He also mentioned that the fix is not formally released yet. but is in their stable master. He recommended to update our experimental windows node at Mimas from the stable master to obtain the fix. He suggested following steps as well to upgrade the node to master
1. Pull the most recent tag from git
cd /LearningRegistry
git checkout master
git pull
2. Run the setup node python script
python setup_node.py -d
Then he mentioned that it is important to re-run the setup node python script as configuration changes take place during updates. The LR team hopes to have an update script soon that will preserve our node settings on update.
Now I have followed Damon's steps and do not see the pickling error anymore, and able to start the server on localhost. Watch this space for further development on the Windows environment.


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K780 Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard
One keyboard. Fully equipped. For computer, phone, and tablet.
K780 Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard
One keyboard. Fully equipped. For computer, phone, and tablet.
Free shipping on orders AUD80.00 and over.
Key Features
Type and switch between devices
Type a report on your computer, then type a message on your phone or tablet at the touch of an Easy-Switch button.
Compatible with Windows®, Mac, Android® and iOS (iPhone and iPad), this universal keyboard recognizes the type of device that's connected so that all the keys are exactly where you expect them to be.1
Full-size, fully-equipped quiet keyboard
Silent, smooth and familiar typing with Logitech PerfectStroke™ key system.
Solid build with large, carefully crafted, concave keys, a convenient numbers pad, and all your favorite shortcut keys.
Integrated rubber cradle holds mobile devices
Carefully holds a variety of devices from smartphones to 12" iPad Pro at a comfortable reading angle and within reach.
Keeps your desk space clean and clutter free.2
Reliable and hassle-free
Long battery life of 24 months from two pre-installed AAA batteries, with auto-sleep, on/off button and a battery status light.
Comes with two options for wireless connection: Logitech Unifying™ USB receiver or Bluetooth® Smart technology.3
- Height x Width x Depth:
- 158 mm x 380 mm x 8 mm at front, 22 mm at back
- Weight: 875 g
System Requirements
Windows® 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 or later
Android™ 5.0 or later
Mac OS X 10.10 or later
iOS 5 or later
Chrome OS™
USB connection: available USB port required.
Bluetooth connection: Bluetooth Smart ready device with keyboard support required (HID profile).
Computers, phones, and tablets that support external keyboards
Technical Specifications
Connection Type
Logitech Unifying protocol (2.4GHz)
Bluetooth Smart technology
Wireless Range: >33 ft / 10m wireless range
Software Support
Logitech Options for Mac (OS X 10.8 and above)
Logitech Options for Windows (Windows 7, Windows 8 and above)
Logitech Flow
Apps available (at release): Logitech Options 2.1
Indicator Lights (LED)
3 Bluetooth channel LEDs
Battery indicator light Logitech
Battery: 2 x AAA
Battery Life (not rechargeable): 24 months
Special Keys
- Hotkeys (e.g. Home, Search, Back, App-Switch and Contextual Manu), Easy-Switch
Connect/Power: On/Off Switch
Tablet Cover and Stand
- Supports most smartphones and tablets with thickness up to 11.3mm, in portrait or landscape mode. iPad Pro (12.9") in landscape mode only.
- Logitech Unifying protocol (2.4GHz)
Package Contents
2 AAA batteries (pre-installed)
USB receiver
User documentation
Warranty Information
1-Year Limited Hardware Warranty
Part Number
White: PN: 920-008028


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With Christmas swiftly approaching, I wanted to get a head start on a few holiday DIY's that I've been wanting to do. For starters, I've always loved the look of boxwood wreaths for the holidays. They're just so clean and simple. I decided to make one that would hopefully last me years and years, but if not that's fine because it didn't cost me much to make anyway;)
I started with some faux boxwood branches and a grapevine wreath from hobby lobby
After cutting the branches, I started placing them around the wreath just to see if I had enough and to get a good base so all I had to do was wire them to the wreath.
After that was done, I took out my wire and wire cutters and started wiring down each piece of the faux branches
Once I went around the entire wreath, I did have more branches left so I just stuffed them in the wreath. No wire or anything. I did that until I was out of branches and until I got the look I wanted. After that was done I tied a ribbon to it and tossed it on my sideboard next to my new chalkboard frame I made (more on that later!)
This wreath cost me less than $20 to make and I'm totally happy with it. I may need to make another one:-)
What have you made for the holidays so far?


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We learned a lot from Google I/O, including numbers that Google released during the three-day developers conference.
Here's a rundown on the numbers:
- 425 million use Gmail
- 5 million businesses use Google Apps
- 66 of the Top 100 universities in the country also use Google Apps
- 1 million near-field communications enabled Android devices are shipped each week
- 400 million Android devices now have NFC
- 10 million use Google Drive
So what does all that mean? It means that Google is schooling us all on its business acumen before its second quarter earnings call next month. This ain't no Facebook IPO, the numbers seem to say, we have lots of profits.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
That's accurate, especially since first quarter results showed the search titan almost $11 billion in the black with revenues rising 24 percent year-over-year.
But we should be paying attention to some of the numbers more than others, especially the NFC ones, because they seem to indicate the future of mobile is about your smartphone becoming your wallet. That's a lot of power for either Android or Apple to have.


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Classes are currently being taught online. All physical facilities are closed to the public at this time, and employees are working remotely.Please visit
dcccd.edu/coronavirus for additional information and to
find contact information for various departments.If you need additional assistance, please visit
My Community Services and our
Community Employment Resources.
Only 3% of foster care children graduate college. In May 2015
Krystal Holliday joined the lucky few.
"Statistically, I'm supposed to fail," Krystal said. "I'm going against all the odds. But I know that my story isn't finished."
graduate of North Lake College, Krystal's story is not glamorous. A native of West Dallas, Krystal grew up in the housing projects. She saw drugs, she knew prostitutes, and she believed that it all was part of normal life. That was until age 11, when the State of Texas placed Krystal in a group home through Buckner Family Services.
She would remain in the foster care system until age 18, constantly moving from group home to group home.
"I remember praying, a lot. I remember God being an anchor, still is. And that's when I first started writing."
Using writing as an outlet to journal and process what was going on around her, Krystal soon discovered writing could also be a vehicle for change. "I've discovered my writing and my story, it can help others. I want to turn my past into a positive thing."
In March 2015, Krystal published her second book of poetry, titled "Broken Butterflies." It is dedicated to her family, many of whom have turned misfortune into means of good, including Krystal's uncle, who turned away from drugs after addiction killed Krystal's mother. He is now serving his community as a church pastor.
Krystal credits the
TRiO program at North Lake College
for helping her complete her college degree.
TRiO provides support services to students who are traditionally under-represented in post-secondary education, including first generation college students and students with economic needs. Through
TRiO, Krystal received one-on-one academic advising and mentoring.
Krystal also credits finding affordable housing as an essential step in finishing her degree. When she first began classes at North Lake College, she was living in her car with her dog.
To help other students in need, Krystal
teamed up with ENACTUS. The student club is part of an international organization that works with local business leaders to mobilize students to make a difference in their communities. The North Lake ENACTUS team outreach project is working to provide affordable housing for low-income students.
Krystal plans to one day start her own group home for foster care youth. If you ask her when she hopes to open her doors, she will correct you with an air of confidence and enthusiasm.
"It's not I hope.
start a group home. After I finish my degrees."
received her Associate of Arts degree
from North Lake College
in May 2015. From there, she
transferred to UNT Denton to earn her
Bachelor of Arts
English Rhetoric and minor in Technological Writing. Her set
graduation date is May 2018, but she is taking summer classes in hopes of graduating by May 2017.


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Thoughts from the Surfing Horse — white
PONY LOVE : Peyton & her pony "Meatball"
Peyton may only be three but already knows her way around a barn and even a horse show arena. Recently her Aunt rescued a pony for her named "Meatball". Peyton along with the crew at Hunters Edge Farm in Las Vegas take excellent care of Meatball and it really shows. This is one loved pony, nice work Peyton :)


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How happy are they?!
Hope you had a nice Monday!
How happy are they?!
Hope you had a nice Monday!
I love the quilts you have made,with the cute and busy family you and your wife have it is even more impressive. I love your space fabric. Where did you find it? With my larger quilts I usually splurge and have them quilted by a professional or I tie some of them. Quilting in my area is a penny a square inch with a week or two waiting period. Thanks for the fun blog.ReplyDelete
Hi Kathy,
I can't seem to figure out a way to respond (no email address, no blog), so I hope you check back here!
I found the space fabric at an etsy shop called beesquarefabrics:
I think they also have it at Sew Mama Sew:
(although it appears that they're out of stock of some of the patterns right now).
Thanks for checking out my blog!


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The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is using innovative research from the University of Minnesota and the U.S. Forest Service to help determine the next steps against emerald ash borer (EAB).
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is using innovative research from the University of Minnesota and the U.S. Forest Service to help determine the next steps against emerald ash borer (EAB). The Forest Service is the first in the nation to study the insects' cold tolerance, and the University is leading the way in studying flight distance potential of EAB biological control agents.
MDA started EAB biological control in Minnesota in 2010. The strategy seeks to control EAB populations through introductions of EAB's natural enemies – stingless wasps that prey on the tree pests. Rob Venette, a biologist with the Forest Service's Northern Research Station in St. Paul, is leading studies of EAB cold hardiness as well as the hardiness of three species of stingless wasps to determine the insects' potential range.
"Collaboration among the University of Minnesota, the MDA and the Forest Service is benefitting our research," Venette said. "We are excited to be contributing to the MDA's work to control the spread of EAB."
Sam Fahrner is a U of M graduate student working with Assistant Professor Brian Aukema to study the distance stingless wasps can fly. Fahrner's research incorporates an unusual machine called a flight mill. The device allows an insect to fly while attached to a tiny wire. The flight mill is connected to a computer, which tracks the distance the stingless wasps can fly. The mill Fahrner uses can track up to 32 stingless wasps simultaneously.
These studies are funded by a grant from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). According to MDA Biological Control Coordinator Monika Chandler, the researchers' work will be important in helping direct biological control efforts against Minnesota's EAB infestations.
"We will use the cold tolerance information to determine where to release each stingless wasp species," Chandler said. "Knowing how far the stingless wasps can fly will help us decide how to allocate the stingless wasps among EAB infestations. Using this research to guide implementation is our best chance for success."
EAB is a destructive tree pest found in in 18 states, including Hennepin, Ramsey, Houston and Winona counties in Minnesota. EAB larvae kill ash trees by tunneling into the wood and disrupting the flow of nutrients. The metallic-green adult beetles are a half inch long, and are active from May to September. Signs of infestation include increased woodpecker activity, D-shaped exit holes in ash bark and serpentine tunnels under the bark.


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Today's question comes to us courtesy of commenter AdamSonar and it reads like this:
In line with the 'living in a van tips' post you had a while back and today's '$100k NY parking space' post [Ed Note: $250k parking space], I'd like to know:
If fallen upon by hard times or suddenly compelled to live a nomadic lifestyle, what vehicle would you choose for your modern day Conestoga wagon? A Westfalia? Bonneville ready caravan? An RS6 Avant with Airstream in tow? Pimped out Dodge Sprinter? Old 912 with overstuffed luggage rack? Some manner of 60s compact van? One off custom job? The mind wobbles.
Speak for your own mind, Mr. Sonar. We who exist in the form of Jalopnik are quite steady on this issue. We convert all of our worldly assets into the only material that will be worth anything after the apocalypse – gold bullion and crystal meth – and bury it in a school bus in the desert. And of course police and patrol our booty in a Lybian military-sepc LM002. No, seriously, Spinelli makes us conduct drills. Viva la Methlabham. You?
[Jalopnik's Question of the Day enjoys long walks on the beach. Have a question you need answered? Email suggestions to firstname.lastname@example.com with the subject line "QOTD"]


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Joel & Benji Madden, The Situation And Ronnie Dine At Sugar Factory
The sweetest spot on the Strip was packed with Hollywood's hottest stars as Nicole Richie, Benji and Joel Madden, MTV's "Jersey Shore" hunks Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, songstress Brandy Norwood and NBA legend Julius "Dr. J" Erving were all spotted dining at Sugar Factory American Brasserie at Paris Las Vegas on New Year's Eve 2012 weekend.
Mike 'The Situation' On The Red Carpet
Continue reading Joel & Benji Madden, The Situation And Ronnie Dine At Sugar Factory
PermalinkTags: nicole richie, joel madden, benji madden, jersey shore, the situation, mike sorrentino, ronnie magro, brandy norwood, dr j, julius erving, sugar factory las vegas, sugar factory american brasserie | EMail This Post | Print This Post | Comments


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White Chocolate-Raspberry Mousse Cheesecake
Befitting Christmas Day dessert, a New Year's celebration or even a holiday tea party, one thing's for sure: These flavors are a match made in heaven. —Crystal Morris, Alliance, Ohio
Total TimePrep: 50 min. Bake: 50 min. + chilling
Makes16 servings
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 cups white baking chips, divided
- 3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 package (12 ounces) frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk, beaten
- 1/4 cup raspberry liqueur
- 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped
- Fresh raspberries, white chocolate curls and mint leaves, optional
- Place a greased 10-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Securely wrap foil around pan.
- In a small bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, butter and sugar. Press onto the bottom of prepared pan.
- In a microwave, melt 1 cup white chips; stir until smooth. Set aside to cool. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the sour cream, flour and vanilla. Beat in melted chips. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Fold in remaining chips. Pour into crust.
- Place springform pan in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan. Bake at 325° until center is just set and top appears dull, 50-60 minutes. Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cold water and lemon juice; let stand for 1 minute. Place raspberries in a food processor. Cover and process until smooth. Strain; discard seeds.
- In a small heavy saucepan, heat sugar and 1/2 cup raspberry puree until bubbles form around sides of pan. Whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg mixture. Return all to the pan, whisking constantly. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches 160°. Remove from the heat.
- Whisk a small amount of hot liquid into gelatin mixture; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir in liqueur and remaining hot raspberry mixture. Stir in remaining raspberry puree. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Fold in whipped cream. Spread over cheesecake.
- Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan. Garnish with raspberries, white chocolate curls and mint leaves if desired.
Nutrition Facts1 slice: 569 calories, 39g fat (23g saturated fat), 164mg cholesterol, 278mg sodium, 46g carbohydrate (38g sugars, 1g fiber), 8g protein.
Recommended Video
Sep 18, 2014
Not the easier to make, but it is well worth it!
Mar 11, 2014
It's really really good. Everyone LOVE it. One of my favorite.


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German charity surprised by $1m Ecclestone payment
Officials of a German children's charity were completely surprised when it emerged Bernie Ecclestone would pay them $1 million.
The payment to the Deutsche Kinderhospizstiftung, a children's hospice foundation, is part of the F1 supremo's $100 million settlement reached with Munich prosecutors to end his high-profile corruption trial.
SID news agency said the payment is the largest in the charity's history.
"Three years ago, an individual donated 100,000 euros to us," board chief Margret Hartkopf told Tagesspiegel newspaper.
She said the foundation was "totally surprised" when the court announced that Ecclestone's settlement would involve the 83-year-old paying $99 million to Munich authorities and $1 million to the charity within one week.
While the payment will make Ecclestone a free man, however, that does not mean the Gerhard Gribkowsky corruption affair is over.
APA news agency reports that Ecclestone has also offered to compensate the Munich state bank to the tune of EUR 25 million, but first BayernLB must agree to the proposal by Friday.
The report said BayernLB, whose spokesman was not commenting on Wednesday, was earlier pushing for compensation in the realm of hundreds of millions of euros.
And DPA news agency reports that Ecclestone's $100m payment also does not include the settlement of related criminal proceedings against his former right-hand man, lawyer and F1 board member Stephen Mullens.
Prosecutors claim Mullens, who left F1 in 2011, helped Ecclestone to make the disputed millions in alleged bribe payments to the jailed Gribkowsky.


text: Hello everyone! I have a problem with cherokee web server, the service does not start, and test the service I returned the following errors: [email protected]:~# /usr/sbin/cherokee -t [27/05/2011 09:35:50.772] (error) plugin_loader.c:194 - Something just happened while opening a plug-in file [27/05/2011 09:35:50.772] (error) plugin_loader.c:362 - Could not open the 'rrd' module Test on /etc/cherokee/cherokee.conf: Failed PID 3815: exited re=1 you know give me a hand? Thank you very much André


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Choreography by: George Balanchine
Music by: Pierre Henry
Translated as Variations for a Door and a Sigh, this avant-garde work presents a black-caped woman in the role of the Door, an imposing barrier to the male soloist who portrays the Sigh in a work that is Balanchine at his most experimental.
At the suggestion of Nicholas Nabokov, the composer of Balanchine's Don Quixote, Balanchine heard Pierre Henry's work during a visit to Paris and decided then that someday he would like to do a ballet to it. The score makes use of the gamut of sounds associated with human sighing and the opening and closing of doors including creaking, slamming, and swinging on ungreased hinges. The ballet is a pas de deux comprised of 14 variations for a female "Door" and a male "Sigh." The dancers' movements are in precise accord with the separate sounds and vibrations that form the score.


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Partnerships don't happen overnight. Just ask Mike Alpert. He's been working on a partnership for eight years, and he is still refining and expanding the relationship.
Alpert, president and CEO of the Claremont Club in Claremont, CA, selected Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center as his partner in a three-phase vision for his community. The relationship has helped Alpert reach phase two of his vision (a 3,000-square-foot rehab and physical therapy center that the hospital leases from the club), and he hopes it will also lead him to phase three — a wellness campus with traditional care medicine, physical therapy, alternative care, prevention programs, community outreach and fitness.
"Fifteen years ago before managed health care came on the scene, the hospital people looked at us (clubs) with fear," says Alpert. "They saw [partnering with us] as losing patients and revenue. In the last few years, people are looking at it differently."
Christopher Breuleux, Ph.D., president of the Medical Wellness Association (MWA), sees more hospitals and commercial fitness facilities working together. Attendees at the association's conferences are asking for help in teaming with hospitals and physician groups, he says. Initially, hospitals partnered with Ys, city community centers and universities, but now more for-profit clubs are entering into these partnerships, says Breuleux, whose association promotes and integrates professional development of medical wellness programs, professionals, facilities and services.
"We see there's great potential within our industry," says Breuleux. "Hospitals can benefit from learning more about the membership and retail business that clubs provide. Clubs can benefit from developing more medical and wellness programs because it improves their brand and image in the community. We are going through a period where it is mutually beneficial for them to partner."
Alpert views a hospital as the foundation of a good community and sought out Pomona because it had been voted one of the top 100 hospitals in the country for several years and had a good reputation in the community, he says.
Sometimes the hospital seeks out the club. Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, MD, chose Lynne Brick's Women's Health and Fitness to help it with its Moving On program, which is for women dealing with the after-effects of breast cancer. After an initial evaluation and education by hospital staff, the program participants are referred to the Lynne Brick clubs where they receive a free month's membership and sessions with a specially trained personal trainer, who may also work with their physical therapist initially.
"Lynne Brick has been one of the biggest proponents for women's fitness in the Baltimore area," says Maureen McBeth, women's health program manager at the Center for Restorative Therapies at Mercy Medical Center. "Her clubs were voted the best place for women to work out, so she has the reputation [the hospital was looking for]."
Mercy Medical Center does not have its own wellness center, but McBeth says partnering with the health club was the best solution for her hospital.
"Instead of reinventing the wheel or competing against these other facilities that already have a great space and staff, I think the partnership was the way to go," McBeth said.
Some of the patients already know about Lynne Brick's Women's Health and Fitness. In fact, one of McBeth's patients belonged to the health club before. But when a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, things can move quickly, and a gym membership may be the last thing on their minds, she said.
At the beginning of this year, the Hatfield Athletic Club in Hatfield, PA, sold a corporate plan to an area hospital to allow its employees to use the fitness facility. The Grand View Hospital pays Hatfield a flat fee. That relationship means that thousands of the hospital employees are talking about the facility whether or not they use it, and many of the 300 hospital employees who have joined the facility have purchased other amenities on their own, says Dan Horan, owner of the Hatfield Athletic Club.
"It helps us grow our business," says Horan. "We like to align ourselves with all the better businesses and community affiliations. So if we align ourselves with the biggest and best hospitals and businesses, then it provides strength and solidarity. We are hoping this is the beginning of more things in the future."
It's About Image
In essence, good partnerships play off the image equity of one or both partners. Image equity consists of the message that an entity releases about itself, often hammering a market with all the good that it does for that market, which then builds an image of that business as responsible and caring, says Jeff Bensky, consultant and strategist in the health and fitness industry. The best part is, image equity is transferable through partnerships and cooperation. In other words, your good name can rub off on your partner and vice versa.
This idea of image equity has never been more important as the 55-plus market grows not only in the general population but also in the health club membership population. The over 55 population accounts for 17 percent of gym goers, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA). The numbers have grown from 4.9 million older club members in 1998 to 10.2 million in 2004.
MWA research shows that by having a hospital's name associated with a fitness facility, people who never belonged to a health club before have a higher propensity to join that facility than a facility not affiliated with a hospital.
"We call that the medical sponsorship factor," Breuleux says.
When a physician refers patients to a facility, participants are willing to travel further to that fitness facility — sometimes as far as 30 minutes to 60 minutes, Breuleux's group found.
"I believe that the 88 percent of the population that don't exercise regularly or belong to a club of any type has to be medically driven to our industry," says Alpert. "[The industry has] spent billions to market to the deconditioned, and we still don't have them."
All Is Not Smooth
Of course, nothing is easy.
"There are challenges when a for-profit partners with a not for profit," says Breuleux. "Hospitals tend to have unique cultures."
Hospitals often have a more corporate culture while fitness facilities are more retail-oriented and membership-driven, he says. Each group may have different goals and expectations for the facility, too.
The challenge for Alpert had been to put a not-for-profit hospital together with a group of investors who wanted to see a return on their money. However, they were able to successfully work out this issue, and he's moving forward with his 55,000- to 60,000-square-foot wellness campus.
Sometimes the partnerships don't turn out exactly as expected. One club owner contacted for this story recently began a partnership with a hospital, but while the club owner says his club has followed through on its part of the arrangement, he implied that the hospital had not yet reciprocated.
The issue may become a bit more complicated in December when the Medical Fitness Association introduces its facility standards and guidelines for medical fitness centers.
"Many of the guidelines for medical fitness centers may not be compatible for a commercial center because we suggest a medical advisory board and a medical director," says Cary Wing, Ed. D., executive director of the Medical Fitness Association, a professional membership organization that helps centers owned, sponsored or operated by hospitals and physician groups. However, she says that it's up to each hospital to decide what works best for its community.
Depending on the community and the entities involved, any challenges could be outweighed by the benefits.
"Clubs are looking for ways to expand market share," Alpert says. "The big carrot is the 90 percent [of the population] that don't belong [to clubs]. We believe a large portion of that population can be driven into this center. They need these programs. We believe a large percentage will transfer to the Claremont Club."
To help ensure that, the club management, personal trainers and massage therapists are working with the doctors and nurses at Pomona Valley Hospital as well as providing the leased space at the club for the hospital's physical therapists.
"There are all kinds of ways to blend together and make the transfer outside the hospital easier for patients," says Alpert.
Providing these services positions the club as a good corporate citizen with cutting edge programs that make it the facility of choice for the community, he says.
But partnering with a health club is also beneficial for a hospital, an entity the public perceives as playing a major role in the community, says Alpert. An increasing number of businesses, cities and schools are now looking to hospitals to lead the charge towards wellness and serve as a catalyst to keep a community healthy, he says.
"In the old days, the perception was that you went to the hospital when you were sick," he says. "The hospital now wants to be more of a well care provider today."
And fitness facilities are more than happy to help hospitals with that plan, in the process increasing their own reputation as wellness providers.