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I don't have a sister. I do have a cousin, Cat, who is like a sister. So I thought to myself last night, if Cat and I were invited somewhere to present together, would we do a sisterly matchy-matchy?
She would pick a dress she liked and I would pick something I liked and if it clashed, so f-cking be it. And besides, what actually clashes anymore anyway?
Then again, maybe I only feel this way because I don't have a "real" sister, and Cat and I didn't grow up with parents who sent us out on occasions in the same outfit, only sized differently. Why do parents do this? And when you grow up, do you still want to keep doing this?


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It's puzzling why some members of Congress are so keen to blot out AmeriCorps — the umbrella agency that helps to fund City Year, Teach for America, and other highly regarded programs. Vocal Republican critics, some of whom have tried to eliminate the program entirely, rightly demand quality, efficiency, and accountability. But that evidence is already right in front of them in the form of the thousands of graduates of highly competitive universities who opt to strengthen their communities and country through national service. Last year, 582,000 applicants of all ages competed for roughly 80,000 slots.
And national-service programs are increasingly providing desperately needed enrichment for schoolchildren, in Boston and elsewhere. At City Year, members of the national service team commit to an 11-hour workday at the nation's toughest schools for a $12,000 annual stipend. Currently, City Year members are operating in 21 city schools. The recruits aren't licensed educators, but they are contributing in major ways to the success of Boston students, especially in the schools designated by the state as in dire need of academic improvement.
Each morning, 265 City Year members in their signature red jackets offer enthusiastic greetings to students and staffers. But there is more than hoopla at play. If a student is absent, the City Year members immediately call his or her home with a reminder of the link between attendance and classroom success. Intensive tutoring by corps members has led to significant increases in the literacy skills of elementary school students, according to Boston school officials. And the reliable presence of City Year's so-called "near peers'' — young enough to relate to students' anxieties, but mature enough to offer solid advice — is especially useful for students whose social environments are often unpredictable or dangerous.
City Year's local operation benefitted enormously from a three-year pilot program funded by philanthropists Sherry and Alan Leventhal at the Neighborhood House Charter School in Dorchester. Corps members learned how to become useful practitioners at the hands of experienced administrators and teachers. Now those lessons are being passed on to more than 2,000 City Year members across the nation.
The struggle to extend the school day in Boston wasn't resolved in the latest teachers' contract. The city can't afford to pay teachers to work additional hours at the contractual rate. But City Year members, as well as those from other nonprofits, such as Citizen Schools, are showing they can fill the afterschool hours with quality instruction and programs at a fraction of the cost. This may be the best answer we have for extending school days in poor school districts.
AmeriCorps members provide important services at a tiny fraction of the cost of full-time workers. The overall national-service budget, which stands at just over $1 billion, has been slashed by 8.8 percent over the past two years, and is targeted again in various budget plans. Congress should look elsewhere for savings.

subset: commoncrawl


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Volume IX, No.1
We will return to our normal timing of publishing the newsletter at the end of the month with the March edition of the newsletter. Before then, we expect the priorities and application guidelines for the i3 Fund to be released. Watch for a special announcement for Innovator subscribers about this important development.
What's inside...
Open Innovation Portal: Promoting Collaboration in the Education Community
What's New
- From the U.S. Department of Education
- From the Office of Innovation and Improvement
- From the Institute of Education Sciences
- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
- American History
- Charter Schools
- Closing the Achievement Gap
- Early Childhood Education
- School Improvement
- Teacher Quality and Development
- Charters/Choice
- Leadership
- Raising Student Achievement
- School Improvement
- Teacher Quality and Development
- Technology in Education
Open Innovation Portal: Promoting Collaboration in the Education Community
In a word, America's schools need innovation. Educational innovation should not be confused with just generating more great ideas or unique inventions. Instead we need new solutions that improve outcomes – and that can, and will, be used to serve hundreds of thousands of teachers and millions of students.
--Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
The American education system is not what it could be. For far too many students across the country, it is not even what it needs to be. In cities and towns around the country, there are schools where students are as likely to leave high school with no credential as they are to leave with a diploma, to say nothing of the postsecondary education they increasingly will need to secure meaningful and lasting employment. Recognizing this, and tired of tolerating mediocre schools for thousands of the neediest and most at-risk students, President Obama and Secretary Duncan have made education a centerpiece of the Obama Administration's domestic policy agenda.
Such fundamental change in American education, from a global laggard to a global leader, will require acknowledgement of problems for which there are existing solutions and those that have remained stubbornly intractable. For the latter type of challenge, an education sector that embraces and supports educational innovation is essential. To meet the challenge, there needs to be commitment, vision, and creativity from stakeholders across the education sector – from experienced educators who work with students every day, from entrepreneurs who may have never worked in a classroom but may have the next great idea for education, and from education funders that have both contributed some of the most important reforms in education and undermined the scaling of effective innovations. Moreover, all of these stakeholders must be communicating and collaborating with each other.
The Department of Education is taking the lead in supporting such a collaborative environment by launching an online community, the Open Innovation Portal, where education stakeholders of all types can spotlight areas of need, propose and suggest improvements to solutions, and fund, implement, and improve these solutions in and outside of the classroom. Through this effort, the Department seeks to create an infrastructure that will support widespread, transformative innovations and focused, incremental improvements that will be required to ensure that every American child has the opportunities that a world-leading education system should provide.
In October 2009, Secretary Duncan announced the proposed priorities for the Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund, a $650 million grant program that will provide seed funding for promising new ideas, support the development of robust evidence for solutions that have shown significant early accomplishments, and scale-up proven solutions so that many more students across the country can benefit. Secretary Duncan called i3 "an unprecedented investment in cutting-edge ideas that will produce the next generation of school reforms," yet it is only the beginning of the Department of Education's efforts to create an innovation pipeline for education.
A New Approach to Innovation
The idea of opening the innovation process to a much wider group of contributors did not originate with the i3 program. A March 2006 Harvard Business Review (HBR) article by Larry Huston and Nabil Sakkab, "Connect and Develop: Inside Procter & Gamble's New Model for Innovation," describes Procter & Gamble's (P&G) movement beginning in 2000 to an open innovation model. P&G's then-CEO, A.G. Lafley, recognized that no matter how much P&G spent on internal research and development, the ideas of the several thousand P&G scientists would still only represent a sliver of the potential range of ideas. So Lafley set a bold goal: that while half of P&G's new products would come from within the company's labs in the traditional manner, fully half of the new products, in part or whole, would come from outside the company.
P&G faced a significant challenge to external innovation, and one that may be all too familiar to individuals involved in education R&D: resistance to innovations "not invented here." Scientists and researchers involved in P&G's innovation process may have been understandably skeptical and concerned for their place in the organization, but Lafley's objective was not to replace these employees. Rather, it was to better leverage their efforts by allowing inclusion of an innovation developed elsewhere in the development of a P&G product, valuing it as much as innovation developed wholly in-house.
For P&G, the validation of the new approach came in the form of results. In 2006, according to the HBR article, "more than 35% of [P&G's] new products in market have elements that originated from outside P&G, up from about 15% in 2000… [and P&G's] R&D productivity has increased by nearly 60%." By enlisting (potentially) the entire world to augment its scientists' efforts and knowledge, P&G has been able to dramatically improve its innovation process. In essence, P&G became more innovative by using an innovative new process, which aligns with the observations of numerous innovation experts that while product innovation receives most of the attention, process innovation can produce a much larger impact.
Open Innovation in Education
The i3 Fund represents the Department of Education's most substantial direct investment in innovation to date, yet the Department recognizes that creating and sustaining innovation in the field will require not only successful grant competitions, but also the reshaping and retooling of how innovation happens in the sector. The education sector is undoubtedly pre-open innovation Procter & Gamble. As Assistant Deputy Secretary Jim Shelton put it, "successful ideas fail to scale, and the education sector lacks effective venues where good ideas can be identified, refined, and scaled as part of an ongoing innovation cycle that both introduces new ideas and improves on the ones that already exist."
As a result, key innovation stakeholders – foundations, innovators, and practitioners (e.g., teachers, school administrators, and parents) – share these similar challenges in collaboration and communication: Foundations need a system for identifying new, grassroots ideas and sharing new knowledge; innovators need a process for identifying practitioner needs and for gaining greater access to investors; and practitioners require a venue to express their needs or access proven innovative ideas to strengthen education. All these stakeholders need mechanisms for quickly identifying practices and programs that are working and scaling them up to reach more students. There is also another, underutilized stakeholder in the education sector – the public, which is not traditionally viewed as a meaningful participant in the development of innovation, is often left out of conversations about needs and solutions.
With its role as both a convener and facilitator, the Department of Education can play a unique part in helping stakeholders to overcome these practical challenges. The Department intends to facilitate innovation by structuring a public "exchange," one in which practitioners define challenges in the field, innovators introduce and refine solutions, and funders support ideas from all parts of the education community.
The Open Innovation Portal, an online platform, will facilitate educational innovation by bridging the communication and coordination challenges in the education community. This is the first national forum within which entrepreneurs, education stakeholders of all types, and funders can partner to develop and fund innovative ideas in the education sector. Through this portal, the Department will serve as a facilitator of partnerships and a convener of like-minded individuals to accelerate the development, identification, and broad use of innovative products, practices, and processes to improve education in schools.
How the Open Innovation Community Works
The Open Innovation Web Portal is a Web 2.0 innovation ecosystem that combines features of both a community and a marketplace. As a community, the portal creates a social network that strengthens relationships, facilitates connections, and promotes collaboration. As a marketplace, the Portal creates an innovation process that taps the "wisdom of the community" to identify and resource the most promising ideas in education.
Portal users will register for the site and create online profiles with their background and basic contact information. All registered users, whether teachers, administrators, or members of the general public, are invited to be "innovators" and post their "solutions" on the Portal. Solutions are posted to categories of educational "challenges" of interest to the community, the Department, and potential funders. Initial challenges will be aligned with i3 priorities such as supporting effective teachers and school leaders, or serving schools in rural LEAs.
An online form captures detailed information about the "solution," including the nature of the problem, the merits of the approach, the scalability of the idea, and the resources required to succeed. Users can upload supporting materials including videos and web links. Once posted, members of the community collaborate and rate, rank, comment, ask questions, and offer resources to the proposed "Solutions." Through this collaborative process, the best ideas rise to the top and weaker ideas either improve or are filtered out.
Looking to the Future
There is immediacy around the development of this online community. The Department of Education wants it to be an asset for prospective applicants to i3, but the functionality of the community will improve over time in a process mirroring that of the ideas on the Web site. New features will be added in response to emerging needs of the community and improvements in technological capacity. More importantly, the power of an online community – particularly one driven by the collective creativity, knowledge, and experience of its users – increases as the number of users grows.
Moreover, the need for an online community of this type, and its relevance to education innovation, will continue beyond the first round of i3. In the proposed fiscal year 2011 budget for the Department of Education, President Obama and Secretary Duncan are requesting $500 million for a second innovation-focused competitive grant competition. Solutions that did not receive funding in the first i3 competition will have time to use the resources of the online community to improve, and new ideas will emerge in the interim (along with new needs).
This moment represents a unique opportunity to make radical and lasting change in American education. The Department of Education sees the need to bring together some of the nation's most successful and innovative leaders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to capitalize on this moment, while adding new voices from previously unrepresented stakeholders.
The development and management of the portal is itself a manifestation of the collaboration needed to move education innovation to a new level. The Office of Innovation and Improvement is partnering with Spencer Trask Collaborative Innovations (STCI), which is known for building innovation ecosystems for organizations. "The Department of Education understands the need to bring together some of the nation's most successful and innovative leaders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to capitalize on this moment," according to Michael J. Turillo, Vice-Chairman of STCI.
The Open Innovation Portal will be a significant step forward in the Department's commitment to become an engine of innovation for American education.
What's New
From the U.S. Department of Education
President Barack Obama, in his proposed Fiscal Year 2011 Budget, will make critical investments in education and is increasing funding for the Department of Education by $2.9 billion or 6.2 percent, the largest ever proposed request for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act programs, while reforming the Department to be more effective. In addition to a $1.35 billion request to make Race to the Top a permanent program, the proposed budget calls for $500 million to expand the Investing in Innovation Fund and $300 million in new grants to states to develop and implement curricula and improve teaching and learning in science and math. (January 2010)
President Obama, as part of his Educate to Innovate campaign, announced a number of new and innovative partnerships involving companies, universities, foundations, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies designed to improve the participation and performance of America's students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These public-private partnerships represent a combined $250 million in financial and in-kind support, adding to the $260 million in support announced in November 2009 at the launch of the campaign. At the same event, the President also honored more than 100 outstanding math and science teachers, winners of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching or the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. (January 2010)
The Department of Education has begun a new, expanded effort to produce video for television and the Web and, as a consequence, is discontinuing production of "Education News Parents Can Use." The December 2009 program, "Student Voices on Education: A National Town Hall Meeting with Arne Duncan," was the last in the series. Stay tuned throughout 2010 for announcements about new live events, quality videos about education in America, and new media products from the Department of Education. (January 2009)
Secretary Duncan, via a video conference, congratulated the three winners of the "I Am What I Learn Video Contest." More than 600 students submitted entries to the contest, hosted by the U.S. Department of Education and YouTube, between Sept. 21 and Nov. 9. The Department's Office of Communications and Outreach carefully reviewed each of the videos and narrowed the group down to 10 finalists, whose videos were posted on YouTube. The public voted on their favorites, casting a total of more than 28,000 votes. (December 2009)
From the Office of Innovation and Improvement
The Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII) is seeking peer reviewers for the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) grant competition. The Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) is a competitive grant program designed to encourage and reward local school districts, nonprofits, and consortia of schools that are developing fresh ideas, growing promising programs, and scaling what works in an effort to dramatically improve our nation's schools. Interested peer reviewers can obtain more information regarding this opportunity at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/peerreviewers.html. (February 2010)
From the Institute of Education Sciences
The Institute of Education Sciences January issue of "Education Research News" features an overview of IES American Recovery & Reinvestment Act evaluation activities, research highlights, an update on outreach to Regional Educational Laboratory customers, new teacher and early childhood surveys, and a link to the WWC Randomized Controlled Trials Registry. Other items include Director John Easton's goals for IES and an interview with the Director or the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Initiative. (Jan. 2010)
"Educational Technology in Public School Districts: Fall 2008," a report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), includes information on Internet capacity and networks, technology policies, district resources, teacher professional development, and district-level leadership. (Jan. 2010)
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
The Department of Education announced that 40 states and the District of Columbia submitted applications to be considered for Phase I of the Race to the Top competition. Race to the Top is the agency's $4.35 billion fund to dramatically reshape America's educational system to better engage and prepare students for success in the 21st century global economy and workplace. Winners of the first Race to the Top awards will be announced in April. A second round of applications from states will be due in June, with winners announced this September. States that apply, but do not win in Phase I, may reapply for Phase II. (January 2010)
President Obama announced his intention to propose in his Fiscal Year 2011 budget $1.35 billion to continue Race to the Top. He also announced his intention to expand the competition to include local school districts that are committed to reform. The announcement came during a visit with Secretary Duncan at Graham Road Elementary School in Falls Church, Va., one of the lowest-income yet highest-achieving schools in Fairfax County. (January 2010)
American History
The Preserve America History Teacher of the Year Award presents $10,000 to the best history teacher in America. The national winner is chosen from outstanding history teachers in each state, district, and U.S. territory. State winners receive $1,000 and an archive of books and other resources for their school. The award is co-sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute, Preserve America, and HISTORY™ (the History Channel). Nominations for the 2010 awards are due by March 15. (January 2010)
K-12 history, social studies, and English teachers are invited to apply to the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History 2010 Summer Seminars. Taught by renowned historians on college campuses in the US and the UK, these one-week seminars give educators the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of topics in American history, while gaining practical resources and strategies to take back to the their classrooms. (January 2010)
Charter Schools
A new report PDF-[205KB] from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, "How State Charter Laws Rank Against The New Model Public Charter School Law," assesses the strengths of each state's charter school law against the 20 essential components of a strong law contained in the new model public charter school law released by the Alliance in June 2009. Evaluating each state law against each component, the Alliance ranks each law from strongest to weakest. "These new rankings not only show which state laws are making the grade," according to National Alliance President and CEO Nelson Smith, "but also show how they do it: by paying attention to specific issues that are crucial to school and student success." (January 2010)
Closing the Achievement Gap
Despite recent high school reform efforts, the dropout problem in the United States remains daunting. To address this troubling issue that affects all states, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) announced it has selected six states to develop comprehensive state dropout prevention and recovery policies through the State Strategies to Achieve Graduation for All initiative. The initiative will help states clearly identify their dropout problem, assess the gaps in student supports for preventing students from dropping out of school and recovering the students that drop out, and create a dropout prevention and recovery action plan for implementation. (January 2010)
A new study from researchers at Villanova University finds that girls are just as capable of learning and achieving in mathematics as boys when given opportunity, encouragement, and women role models to emulate. The researchers used international data sets, including the 2003 "Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study," and the Programme for International Student Assessment," which estimated the magnitude of differences in mathematics achievement, attitudes, and affect across 69 nations. The closing of the stereotypical gender gap in math varies across nations, the study concludes, depending on a culture's level of human development and progress elevating the status and welfare of women. (January 2010)
Early Childhood Education
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced plans to strengthen the Head Start and Early Head Start programs as part of an Administration-wide effort to close achievement gaps and promote early learning through the first eight years of life for the nation's most vulnerable children. These quality improvements respond to growing evidence on what works in early learning policy and practice, and incorporates Congressional mandates from the 2007 reauthorization of the Head Start Act. A Congressionally-mandated study on the impact of the 2002-2003 Head Start program was submitted to Congress on January 13th. The study measured the cognitive and social/emotional development, health status, and behavior of approximately five thousand three- and four-year-olds who were randomly assigned to either a control group or a group that had access to a Head Start program. (January 2010)
A new report from the New America Foundation finds that New Jersey has made tremendous strides in improving children's access to quality early learning experiences, enabling some districts to nearly erase the achievement gap. But the report also exposes the fragility of these gains and urges state leaders to act now to sustain and build on early learning reforms to date-or risk undoing New Jersey's progress so far. According to the report, New Jersey has taken steps to link pre-K programs to the early elementary grades, enabling children to acquire a solid foundation of reading, math, and social skills by the end of third grade. The report is a project of New America's Early Education Initiative. (December 2009)
School Improvement
The nation received a C in the latest " Quality Counts" report PDF-[1.18MB] from "Education Week." The annual score card delivers grades by state and for the nation overall in six areas of policy and performance. In overall scores, Maryland topped the states with a B-plus; Massachusetts and New York each earned a B. The highest scores, both for the nation overall and for many states, were in policies related to standards, assessments, and accountability. (January 2010)
The After-School Corporation (TASC), in its latest report, "Room to Grow: Tapping the After-School Workforce Potential," calls for a professional development system and other improvements in the preparation and continuing education of the more than one million after-school workers in the U.S. TASC argues that even though workers in after-school programs are required to undergo informal, on-the-job training, their preparation does not include portable certification and is rarely linked to university-based degrees or certificates. (January 2010)
A new report by the National Center on Time and Learning finds that a growing number of U.S. schools (655 schools in 36 states serving over 300,000 students) have broken from the traditional school calendar and expanded learning time to improve educational outcomes. The report is based on a database developed by the organization—the first effort to catalogue schools operating substantially longer than the standard six-hour school day and, in many cases, the standard 180-day school year. On average, the schools offer 25% more time than the national norm, which translates, over the course of a school career, to three additional years in school for all participating students. (December 2009)
The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis-based non-profit supporting education innovation and entrepreneurship, announced PDF-[27KB] the selection of two new Education Entrepreneur Fellows today. The Fellowship acts as a national incubator for transformative education ventures. Two talented entrepreneurs were recently selected from an applicant pool of 405 people from 44 states and 20 countries. As Fellows, the entrepreneurs receive two years of salary ($90,000/year) with full benefits, a start-up stipend, and ongoing support from The Mind Trust Board and staff, enabling them to develop, build, and launch their initiatives in Indianapolis and nationwide. (December 2009)
Teacher Quality and Development
Teachers fare as well as or better than business owners in their sense of well-being, according to recent research by the Gallup Organization. Teachers who responded to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index between July 2008 and June 2009 score the highest or tied for highest among 12 professions on how they evaluate their lives, access to resources needed to lead a healthy life, emotional health, and their likelihood of engaging in healthy behaviors. One area, however, in which teachers did not fare as well as business owners on the Work Environment Index included such considerations as their treatment by supervisors and the extent to which the work environment is opening and trusting. (December 2009)
American educators are encouraged to apply now for 2010 summer study opportunities in the humanities. Each summer, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) supports national residential seminars, institutes, and workshops located in the U.S. and abroad. Program participants receive stipends to help defray travel and living expenses. The application deadline for 2010 summer programs is March 2, 2010. Educators may apply for up to three projects in any given year but may participate in only one. (December 2009)
Innovations in the News
Competition across district lines to attract students is going strong two decades after Minnesota became the first state to adopt a broad open-enrollment policy. This is particularly true in the greater Twin Cities area, where neighboring districts Eden Prairie and Minnetonka have both offered foreign language immersion programs, among other innovations, to attract students from beyond their own districts. In the Minnetonka schools, more students were leaving the district than coming into it in 2002. A self-assessment led to the district's Mandarin Chinese immersion program in 2007, and today Minnetonka attracts more students than it loses to other districts by a ratio of almost six to one. [More—Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.] (Jan.18)
A new study of New York City charter schools finds that charter elementary and middle schools made greater gains in reading and math than the regular public schools, including better performance by black and Hispanic students in charters. The study, conducted by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO), provided similar findings to those by researcher Caroline Hoxby, who studied achievement of students in NYC charter schools versus their counterparts who applied to the schools but were not accepted in their entrance lotteries [see "What's New" in Dec. 3, 2009 Innovator]. The presence of "…two different studies using two different methods and finding consistent results…(is) pretty strong evidence that something is going on in New York City," according to Robin Lake, associate director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington. [More—Education Week] (Jan. 6) (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org)
In Baltimore, a school choice approach to high schools is in its eighth year, providing middle-school students with choices from among nearly 50 high schools across the city as options to the comprehensive high schools in their neighborhoods. Because of declining enrollments, school leaders were able to quickly create new, smaller-enrollment schools in underused buildings, often with a special emphasis, such as Digital Harbor High, the second-most-popular choice among Baltimore eighth-graders. While more research is needed to determine the results of the move to high school choice, key indicators such as the city's graduation and dropout rates are moving in positive directions. [More—The Baltimore Sun] (Jan. 3)
With growing recognition that principals, right behind teachers, significantly affect student learning, researchers with Learning Point Associates reviewed available instruments for principal evaluations and concluded that one stood out above the others. The Vanderbilt Assessment of Leadership in Education, or VAL-ED, created in 2006, "comes closest to measuring the leadership attributes and behaviors that research finds to be associated with how well students perform." Developers of the VAL-ED were after an instrument that would measure what they considered the most important principal role: instructional leadership. Most school leaders, according the VAL-ED developers, are being evaluated on managing conflict and running a smooth operation. [More—Education Week] (Dec. 22) (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org)
Raising Student Achievement
Focused Instruction Process (FIS), an approach to turning around failing schools being used in Chicago by Strategic Learning Initiatives (SLI), should be considered by other districts, according to a recently released evaluation by the American Institutes for Research. SLI began work in 10 Chicago K-8 schools in 2006, when nine of them were slated for closing or restructuring. By 2007 and 2008, two of the schools led all the K-8 Chicago schools in gains on the state achievement test and test scores in half of the 10 schools were improving at a rate six times faster than before the SLI interventions. FIS has four key components (shared leadership, targeted professional development, continuous improvement, and parent engagement), and uses an eight-step process aimed at ensuring that students master needed skills. [More—Education Week] (Jan. 6) (premium article compliments of EdWeek.org)
The recent release of the 2009 Trial Urban District Assessment results in the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) has caused a "call to arms" for reading volunteers, resulting in creation of the DPS Reading Corps, which is at more than 2,000 volunteers. Detroit fourth- and eighth-graders turned in the worst math test scores in the nation on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Recognizing that reading problems contributed to the high failure rates on the math test, DPS officials wanted the public to have a "sense of outrage" as well as urgency over the NAEP results. The scores, according to Robert Bobb, emergency financial manager for DPS, constitute "a reading emergency," and DPS Reading Corps is responding to the crisis. [More— The Detroit Free Press] (Dec. 31)
School Improvement
Two Georgia districts are experimenting with flexibility from the state under its recent Investing in Educational Excellence, or IE2, law and both like the freedom and results so far. IE2, which allows for flexibility from rules pertaining to such things as class size, teacher certification, teachers' pay, and graduation requirements, is being piloted in Gwinnett and Forsyth Counties. For the reduction in red tape and increased flexibility, IE2 districts agree to increased accountability for student achievement. In Forsyth County, parent involvement in the school-level decisions to apply for IE2 has been an emphasis and the district expects to save up to $15 million in a five-year period. [More—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution] (free registration) (Jan. 4)
Despite the many challenges and obstacles, the vision of state data systems that track individual student progress from kindergarten through college is moving toward a reality in a number of states, according to a recent survey by the Washington-based Data Quality Campaign. The good news is that 32 states have the ability to track student-level data in the K-12 and higher education arenas; the bad news is that most of them do not have systems in place that allow for communications between the separate databases, according to the survey's findings. Among the issues to be addressed as states work toward both complete student-level data and the ability to view it across the K-16 spectrum are individual privacy concerns and a general opposition from private colleges to reporting individual course completion and grade data. [More—Education Week and The Chronicle of Higher Education] (Dec. 21 and Jan. 3, respectively) (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org)
"Don't forget to pick up Johnny's test scores at the mall!" Aurora Public Schools in Colorado has placed two kiosks at the Town Center mall so parents can check on grades, homework assignments, and more. While this information is already available online for Aurora parents, school officials see the free kiosks as "a boon for parents who do not have a computer or Internet access at home." Parents just need to obtain a password from their child's school to access the "parental portal," a secure and confidential Web site. Each kiosk costs about $7,500. [More— The Denver Post] (Dec. 29)
Teacher Quality and Development
Harrison School District 2 in Colorado joined a growing number of districts to adopt a pay-for-performance system that will reward teachers based on student achievement gains, community leadership, continuous learning, contributions to their profession, and mentoring of colleagues. The expected $1 million implementation cost of new salary increases will be met in part through reductions in stipends for department chairpersons and teacher attendance incentives. [More— The Colorado Springs Gazette] (Jan. 11)
A national research project, "Measures of Effective Teaching," funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is underway in six districts. In Dallas, the focus will be on middle school teachers for the next two years. Video tapes of math, reading, and English language arts teachers will be scored by evaluators for the quality of instruction, and student evaluations will be used to provide feedback to teachers. In Hillsborough County, Fla., local officials are using a major communications effort to rally teacher support for its efforts, which include a corps of 200 peer evaluators and a new evaluation system for teachers and principals that will be the basis for a future performance-pay policy. [More—The Dallas Morning News and The St. Petersburg Times] (January 8 and 9, respectively)
Science teachers in Montgomery County, Md., thanks to support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, now have help "translating advanced research concepts into classroom-friendly lab activities that can be conducted within the confines of a bell schedule." As an example, science teachers practiced replicating their DNA at the school system's DNA Resource Center where lab activities they will do in their classrooms are recreated using equipment and kits supplied by the Center. This spring, the DNA Research Center, which has primarily served county high school teachers to date, will expand to middle schools. The Center provides valuable pedagogical and logistical support that is necessary for teacher training to be effective. [More— The Washington Post] (Jan. 6)
The National Council for Accreditation or Teacher Education (NCATE) convened its first Panel on Clinical Preparation, Partnerships, and Improved Student Learning, charging the group with "recommending scalable ways to improve in-the-classroom training and strengthen relationships between school districts and the colleges and universities that prepare their teachers." The panel, according to NCATE president James Cibulka, will "identify what the best practices are in strong clinical preparation and in preparing teachers to more effectively teacher diverse learners." A final report from the panel is expected in May. [More—Inside Higher Ed] (Jan. 5)
Technology in Education
Video games will be an increasing part of efforts to prepare eighth-graders in the Austin Independent School District (AISD) for the Texas Assessment on Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) in seven middle schools and 15 charter schools. Last summer, the district piloted a remedial course for eighth-graders who repeatedly failed the TAKS math section. The students spent 30 minutes of each of the four-hour-long class days playing specially designed video games. The results were amazing, according to Austin officials. "Our students were not only succeeding," according to AISD mathematics supervisor Norma Jost, "but truly becoming interested in learning mathematics again." [More—T.H.E. Journal] (Jan. 20)
Fifth-graders and their teachers in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., are piloting the use of hand-held cellular computers, essentially smart phones with Internet access, to "use, find, store, and share information," in their science, math, English language arts and social studies classes. Following a science lesson on the properties of light, students drew examples of translucent, transparent, and opaque objects on the cellular computers, and then uploaded their work to the teacher's computer for her review. The year-long experiment has the students keeping journals about their experiences and participating in an end-of-year survey. [More—The Saratogian (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)] (Jan. 8)
More than three-quarters of K-12 educators use digital media for instruction, and 80 percent of them report being regular or frequent users, according to a new survey by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). For the first time since 2002, the annual survey included pre-K educators. K-12 teachers are increasingly accessing video online and a majority of both pre-K and K-12 teachers "strongly agreed that TV and video content are more effective when it is integrated with other instructional resources in the classroom." The survey also found that PBS is the top Web site choice of pre-K teachers. [More—eSchool News] (Jan. 6)
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"Everyone was raving, but Peavy was happy, but he wasn't raving to me," pitching coach Don Cooper said Friday. "We text each other back and forth, and he's happy with what he did, he's starting to feel better, but it's starting to look like he's going to need at least two more [starts] no matter how you shake it out. It's par for the course for him to feel so good because he hasn't been on the mound on a regular basis."
Peavy, who was acquired from San Diego at the trade deadline, informed the club that he wants to return to the big-league level when he knows he is capable of pitching a complete game.
"He's got a lot of pride," one Sox official said. "I wouldn't be surprised if it's more like Sept. 3."
August 14, 2009
Jake Peavy's return pushed back to September 3?
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H&M check shirt
So, Anyway. I ended up going for a walk late this afternoon and then went for dinner with a friend of mine at our favourite haunt - Hawksmoor. He said to me "we should go for the express menu at Hawksmoor" to which I replied "I was thinking the exact same thing!" Great minds. The best kind of friend. It's £23 for two courses including their excellent started of potted beef and Yorkshire and then a good sized bit of steak. I then did a little bit of shopping with some of my Christmas vouchers before heading home to have a post new years pamper. My outfit was just a pretty standard check shirt, jumper, gilet to layer up affair. I'm going through a "I hate all my clothes" type thing at the moment, so I just begrudgingly decided to pop on whatever was on top of my floordrobe!


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- 4 ways not speaking up derails women in the workplace looks at how your silence can hurt you.
- Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai's hummingbird fable, one of our Famous Speech Friday posts, appeared the week she won her prize. Watch the video on this one!
- The all-in-one on workplace speaking: 13 resources & tips will help with the most common types of public speaking, from conference calls and Skype to in-person meetings.
- 3 little leadership words every executive speaker should learn may surprise you, but these three are an essential tool.
- Famous Speech Friday: Ann Richards's 1988 Democratic Convention keynote celebrates her iconic speech delivery skills. This is one where the video is a must-watch.
- Reader question: What to do when the audience buzz distracts you offers solutions for managing the audience so you can speak.
- From the vault: Stay civil, but disagree with your audience helps speakers manage one of the tougher aspects of speaking on contentious issues and handling questions from a frustrated audience.
- Famous Speech Friday: Anita Hill's Senate testimony about Clarence Thomas put the issue of workplace sexual harrassment out in the open 20 years ago, with a real impact on women.
- What's holding you back from more or better public speaking? See what other readers had to say and add your own viewpoint to the list.
- What Prohibition did for women and public speaking introduces you to some of the women speakers featured in the recent Ken Burns film on Prohibition--all of them were frequent speakers, even though women were otherwise not accepted as public speakers in that time.
Inspiration, ideas and information to help women build public speaking content, confidence and credibility. Denise Graveline is a Washington, DC-based speaker coach who has coached nearly 200 TEDMED and TEDx speakers--including one of 2016's most popular TED talks. She also has prepared speakers for presentations, testimony, and keynotes. She offers 1:1 coaching and group workshops in public speaking, presentation and media interview skills to both men and women.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
October's top 10 #publicspeaking tips & issues
Just like you used to save your favorite candies from your Halloween trick-or-treat stash, readers have their favorites posts on the blog. Check out our stash of the most-read posts last month--call them October's treats:
Use the Evernote clip button, above, to save this post in an Evernote notebook or start an Evernote account. Go here to subscribe to Step Up Your Speaking, my free email newsletter that looks at a different speaking topic in depth each month...then become a fan of The Eloquent Woman on Facebook and join the conversation with thousands of other women (and men) about public speaking skills and confidence.
Posted by Unknown at Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Labels: famous speeches


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What is a "location?"
A "location" is a set of network preferences.
Network preferences has a Location menu that you can use for changing or creating locations. Users of portable computers frequently connect to the Internet or networks in different ways in different places, so "location" reminds you that Mac OS X has the ability to store different sets of network preferences, which you may name for the location in which you use them.
The "Automatic" location
By default, Mac OS X has one location named Automatic, and all available ports are set to active status. A port (or "network interface") may be a modem, Ethernet, AirPort card, or other device used to connect to the Internet. The name Automatic is to remind you that Mac OS X automatically searches all active network ports for your connection to the Internet. For example: You use a dial-up account at home but have Ethernet at work. If you set up both of these ports then travel between work and home, Mac OS X automatically detects which port is connected to the Internet.
Adjusting port priority
Mac OS X searches the ports in the order that they are listed in the Port Configurations list in the Network Port Configurations pane. You can drag a port configuration up or down the list to change its priority.
To access the Port Configurations list:
- Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu.
- Choose Network from the View menu.
- Choose Network Port Configurations from the Show menu (see Note).
The names of these preference items have changed over time. In Mac OS X versions 10.0 to 10.0.4, the Show menu is named "Configure," and the Network Port Configurations pane was named "Advanced." In Mac OS X 10.1 to 10.1.5, the Network Port Configurations pane was named "Active Network Ports."
Making new locations
However, you can create different "locations" in which different ports are active. A "Mobile" location could make only your AirPort card active, and a "Desk" location could make only your Ethernet port active.
Follow these steps to make a new location:
- Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu.
- Choose Network from the View menu.
- Choose New Location from the Location menu.
- Type a name for your new location, such as Mobile, then click OK. The name of your new location appears in the Location menu. Any changes you make to the Network pane now apply to this location. The previous location ("Automatic" by default) will remain as you left it.
- Choose Network Port Configurations from the Show menu to select the ports that should be active at this location. In Mac OS X versions 10.0 to 10.0.4, the Show menu is named "Configure." The Network Port Configurations pane (Mac OS X 10.2 or later) was named "Active Network Ports" in Mac OS X 10.1 to 10.1.5. In Mac OS X 10.0 to 10.0.4, this pane is named "Advanced."
- Use the Show menu to select the port(s) you made active, then set them up as desired. Each port is set up as its own Internet connection. If you need any help setting up for the Internet, see these technical documents.
"Mac OS X: How to Connect to the Internet via Cable, DSL, or Local Area Network (LAN)"
"Mac OS X: How to Connect to the Internet With PPPoE"
"Mac OS X: How to Connect to the Internet via PPP (Dial-Up Access)"
- When finished, click Apply Now.
- Quit System Preferences.
Switching between locations
Once you have created locations, you may quickly switch between them by using the Location submenu of the Apple menu. Or you can change the Location menu in the Network pane of System Preferences and then clicking Apply Now.
Setting up the same interface for two networks
The default Automatic location does not accommodate having two configurations for using the same network interface in two different locations. For example, if you used your Ethernet port configured manually at work but via DHCP at home, the Automatic location will not let you avoid switching locations in its default state -- you would need to switch locations. You can avoid switching locations by adding a new port configuration to your preferred location. Depending on your network topology, you may only be able to use AppleTalk on one network interface at a time.


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When a 5-year-old boy moves from the farm into town, albeit a small farm town, he learns a lot of new things. Things like if you go to the drug store with the owner's kid you can get a free soda. And if you go to the produce with the manager's kid, you can watch the men load boxes of eggs onto a truck and, if you behave, they'll put you in a box and roll you down the conveyor, too. Great fun!
In that vein, I learned something new when I was 5-years-old and had lived in town for a few months – there's a way to get free candy!
I remember this in some detail. My family of Mom, Dad and two little brothers and I had visited my maternal grandparents in Grundy County that day. On the way home, we drove through Eldora where I saw lots of boys and girls dressed up in costumes walking on the city's sidewalks.
"What are those kids doing?" I recall asking my parents. Mom explained that it was Halloween and the children were trick or treating. They go to houses and say "trick or treat" and the people give them candy, I was told. I knew nothing of this when I lived on a farm.
When we arrived at our home nearly 30 miles later my mother took my brothers and me across the street to visit an older couple. We did not wear costumes but that wasn't a problem. The very sweet older folks eagerly gave us each some candy. I was an instant trick or treat fan.
We never had fancy Halloween costumes in my family. My brothers and I usually put on some older clothes and went door-to-door dressed as hoboes. All went well until the fall I was 8 or 9-years-old (I can't remember which) and the community decided that the children would trick or treat for UNICEF. Instead of asking for candy, we were told to ask for money for the United Nations' Children's Fund. Then the community threw a big party for us at the school gym.
Now I realize this was a nice thing to do but at that tender age the philanthropic part of my brain had not yet developed. I was not pleased. The party fell far short of a grocery sack filled with candy.
I don't recall that the community tried that again. Maybe there was talk of a child revolt or something, but the next year we were back to large volumes of candy.
My last year of trick or treating was traumatic. I went door-to-door with my brothers and a couple of cousins and at several houses the adults muttered, "Aren't you a little old to be trick or treating?"
"I'm only 12," I responded truthfully but the adults saw a kid nearly as large as many 16-year-olds. Life isn't easy when you're large.
That was the year I retired from the sweet endeavor called Trick or Treat.
A couple of years later I put my nerd skills to use and placed a loudspeaker inside a jack-o-lantern on our front porch. I hid in the living room and watched the little ghosts and goblins come to our door from a living room window. As they neared the jack-o-lantern I spoke into a microphone to make it appear that the pumpkin was talking. In a small town you know most of the kids so when I recognized someone I called him or her by name.
Some of the smaller children cried when the pumpkin talked to them. This was not my intention; I thought kids would enjoy a talking jack-o-lantern. I was a nerd but I wasn't a jerk so the talking pumpkin quit talking.
It was the next year, I recall, that I got more heavily involved in the Halloween shenanigans in our community, but there's no need to go into detail.
Years later in Sioux City our neighbor, John, and his three kids and my two kids and I went up and down several blocks of our street and the next street north or us. The kids brought home great volumes of candy which I taught them was to be shared with their parents who loved them dearly. It worked some of the time.
Nowadays I enjoy having the little ones come to my door for treats. And if some bigger kids ring my doorbell, I give them candy; no questions asked. They're probably only 12 years old.


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Target of Opportunity Procedures
This page describes the procedures to be followed in the preparation, activation, and data retrieval of Target of Opportunity (ToO) programmes both at the VLT and the La Silla telescopes. Please note that further details on policies and procedures are given in the Observatory's webpages.
- Phase 2 submission
- Follow-up observations of ToO targets
- List of approved activators
- Activating ToO observations
- Time Accounting
- Post-execution process
Phase 2 Submission
The Phase 2 process for ToO programmes follows similar procedures as those of other, regular programmes as described in the Instructions for Phase 2 preparation of Service Mode runs. In particular, the following information must be submitted before the Phase 2 deadline:
- A set of Observation Blocks (OBs) that completely describes the required observations. The target coordinates should be set to RA=00:00:00.0, Dec=00:00:00. Note that it is not necessary to submit OBs to fill up the entire allocated time: only one complete set of OBs is required. Should a ToO event require the execution of an OB identical to another that was already used for a past observation of the same program, the same OB will be used.
Note that this is a unique exception in Service Mode procedures applicable exclusively to ToO programmes! OBs belonging to any other class of programmes are executed only once.
Users can also submit multiple sets of OBs to cover different situations (e.g. faint and bright events). In this situation, the submitted OBs can over-subscribe the time allocated to the programme, which will be terminated once the actually executed time equals the allocate time. Again, this is another unique exception in Service mode procedures applicable exclusively to ToO programmes. The set of OBs submitted for any other class of programmes must always keep within the allocated execution time.
ToO OBs should not be organized in scheduling containers, but rather be loose OBs. In the spirit of ToO observations the same OB can be triggered more than once, and this will not be possible if they are inside a scheduling container.
The time-critical nature of ToO observations supersedes the conditions specified in the Constraint Set: this means that, once triggered and started, a ToO observation will be considered to have been successfully executed independently of the prevailing seeing and sky transparency. The Constraint Set of the OB must therefore request only the least stringent constraints possible.
Finally, please be reminded that, as explained in the OB naming conventions, all ToO OBs must have names starting with the prefix TOO_
- A complete README file. Please pay special attention to the ToO Information section, where any particular instructions for the execution must be clearly explained.
The submission of finding charts is obviously not required, since the targets are not known in advance.
Follow-up observations of ToO targets
This note applies to programs proposing first to discover a given target and then to follow-up the newly discovered target(s) with a specific observing cadence in order to properly characterize it/them. In principle, while the discovering part needs for ToO triggers, the follow-up part does not require ToO triggers, as reported also in the Call for Proposal. Ideally, at Phase-1 and Phase-2 the ToO and non-ToO parts shall be split into separate runs. The non-ToO part shall be a normal A-class Service Mode run and therefore eligible for carry-over. If instead all the observations will be included in a single ToO run please be aware that the standard carryover policy for Target of Opportunity programmes will be applied, which foresees the termination of incomplete ToO runs at the end of the Period.
List of Approved Activators
For security reasons, only the programme Principal Investigator (PI) and people authorized by the PI will be allowed to activate the programme during the course of the Period.
The PI of the ToO programme must include in the corresponding section of the README file a list of people who are authorized to activate their programme, once the Phase 2 submission is completed. This list must contain the following information:
- Name and e-mail address of the PI
- List of names and e-mail addresses of all persons the PI grants permission to activate the programme.
Activating ToO Observations
To activate a ToO programme, users should use a dedicated Web-based form. Two such forms exist:
Please make sure that you are using the correct form corresponding to the Observatory where the observations must be performed. This form is designed to make sure that the Observatory receives the complete information package needed to perform the observations. Alerting the Observatory via this Web entry is the first contact, and guarantees a direct line to the support astronomer. The Observatory may contact the activator for further iterations, and will keep the activator up-to-date during the progress of his/her request. In case of submission or network problems, an e-mail message should be sent to either Paranal Science Operations (email@example.com) or La Silla Science Operations (firstname.lastname@example.com).The activation e-mail message must contain:
- ESO Programme ID
- List of available OBs
- Target coordinates
- Exposure times (if necessary)
- A few words about the target and any special requirement (e.g. timing) as well as any other information which is felt to be important for a successful execution of the observations.
- The name, e-mail, and phone number of a contact person who is prepared to discuss this ToO programme and make decisions about its execution. This person should be available via telephone.
- One or more finding charts should also be provided, in PostScript format, attached to the activation email. Finding charts should be prepared following the conventions indicated in the instructions for the preparation of Finding Charts for Service Mode Programmes, although in this case they must be submitted separately as PostScript files rather than as a part of the OB.
Note for observations using instrument-specific preparation software: Time-critical observations requiring supplementary files from instrument-specific preparation software (FIMS, VMMPS, NAOS PS, FPOSS) should be a very rare occurrence. In such cases, the relevant configuration files (e.g. .p_targ, .p_focf for FIMS, .aocfg files for NACO...) should sent as a single file attachment (tar file that will also include finding charts in addition to configuration files) through the above linked webform. Alternatively an email attachment by email to Paranal Science Operations (email@example.com) can also be used. A list of which configuration files should be associated to which OBs should be described in the e-mail. Users should keep in mind that a longer response time from Paranal is to be expected in the case of execution of ToO OBs containing instrument configuration files.
Time accounting
Unlike for normal programmes, the time accounting for ToO programmes is made on the basis of the actual time invested in executing the observation, taking into account all operational overheads, which may include the change of focal station of the telescope. For all other classes of programmes, the overheads charged are those published in the Call for Proposals and the instrument manuals, and computed by P2PP.
Based on this accounting, once a program has used up all its hours, irrespective of the number of triggers executed, no more triggers will be accepted.
Post-execution Process
After ToO OBs have been executed, ToO data will be made available immediately to the PIs and their data delegates through the ESO archive via the User Portal. ToO data delivery via dedicated FTP accounts is discontinued starting from Period 90 (October 1, 2012).
Instrument selector
This page is valid for all instruments


text: 501-1 By Jeremy S Cook, 10/07/2014 @ 5:41 pm= | Full size is 640 × 427 pixels Date Taken: 03-Oct-2013 22:51:49Camera: Canon EOS REBEL T2iFocal Length: 18mmAperture: f/9ISO: 800 Jeremy S CookJeremy is an engineer with 10 years experience at his full-time profession, and has a BSME from Clemson University. Outside of work he's an avid maker and experimenter, building anything that comes into his mind! Jeremy Cook on Twitter


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Men's Victorinox Swiss Army INOX Pro Diver Titanium Black Dial 45mm Watch 241812
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Excluded from warranty coverage is any damage to the band, crystal (glass), battery or any other part of the watch not expressly warranted herein, as well as damage caused by abnormal or unreasonable use. All watches that meet our warranty requirements, including battery changes, must be repaired by a Victorinox Swiss Army Authorized Service Center. The warranty becomes null and void if the case back is opened by anyone other than an Authorized Service Center. This warranty gives you specific legal rights. Additional rights may be available under the laws of your State or Province.
For more information, please refer to the Basic Instructions and Warranty and Chronograph Instructions and Warranty documents, which can be found on the User Manuals page.
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‡Monthly payment shown is equal to the purchase price (excluding [taxes and delivery]) divided by the number of months in the promo period, rounded to the next highest Whole dollar, and only applies to the selected financing option shown. If you make your payments by the due date each month, the monthly payment shown should allow you to pay off this purchase within the promo period if this balance is the only balance on your account during the promo period. If you have other balances on your account, this monthly payment will be added to the minimum payment applicable to those balances.
Education is key when making a purchase that will last a lifetime. All of the items that we offer have many characteristics and we want to make sure that you are familiar with all of them. Below we have provided a glossary on the details of this item to aid you in your purchase decision. If for some reason we didn't cover everything, please visit our Education Library for additional information.


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Alpha Wire's FIT® Wrappable Sleeving Installation Tool is perfect for our GRP-130 and GRP-130NF Wrappable Sleeving products.
Installation tool demonstration:
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This picture is representative only and may not match the specific configuration of the product listed on this page. Please refer to the product specifications for more information on this part number and its exact configuration.


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First off, if you only click one link in this blog post make it this one, a 16-picture gallery by readers of English newspaper The Guardian illustrating the Landon Donovan-David Beckham soap opera. Some hilarious stuff in there.
Donovan was still addressing the issue Friday in Kansas City before today's nationally televised game (live at 6 p.m. on ESPN2).
Three points separate the Galaxy and the chasing Kansas City Wizards in the Western Conference standings.
Here's more on the game from a local perspective and here's even more from Donovan including the apparently increasing likelihood he will head to Europe to play. (BTW, shouldn't he be updating that pic on his Web site?)
Those who like their soccer live should know that Premier Development League teams the Hollywood United Hitmen and Ventura County Fusion clash at 3 p.m. today at Pacific Palisades High School's Stadium by the Sea in the Southwest Divisional Final.
Time constraints prevented much blogging this year about the PDL. but the Hitmen are in their first season in the league, having replaced the San Fernando Valley Quakes just weeks before the season started.
Their roster includes San Pedro's Peter Hazdovac (last seen playing professional football in the lower divisions in Croatia) and the San Fernando Valley's Willie Simms. The Fusion have former Chivas USA forward Anthony Hamilton on their squad.


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I asked David for help, making up the rules for the annual Adrift Comnpetition, and he came up with these.
Since they are pretty very much like the ones I had, I've decided to go with them.
You have until April 1st (and it's not a joke to come up with objections (which will be overheard ) or suggestions (which will be considered )
Seriously speaking, we need your input. so don't delay, do it today!
Annual Adrift Comp 2013
So these are the rules.
Rules of engagement:
1. Game must be an original work.
2. Must be written with ADRIFT V4 or V5
3. A walkthrough must be included for the organiser to verify the game can be completed, but this doesn't need to be made available to players.
4. Authors must sign up by (date to be determined) and have their game submitted by (date to be determined).
5. Authors can enter as many games as they like.
6. Judging will last a month (or shorter if we only get a few games, or longer if we get loads.
7. Authors are allowed to vote in the comp , but not for their own games.
8. Voting is on a 1 - 10 scale.
9. No updates to games are allowed during the comp, unless the update is to fix an issue with a new version of ADRIFT that is out of the author's control.
10. It's recommended authors have their games beta-tested, and beta-testers are allowed to vote on all entries.
11. Games can be password protected or not. It's up to the author.
12. Voting will be anonymous, but voters are encouraged to state why they voted the way they did and write reviews
13. Voters aren't required to play all the games in the comp but it's recommended that they play as many as possible.


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May 20, 2017 – Former drug addict, William Houck, made a miraculous recovery followed by the launch of his innovative wellness beverage: Crossroads. The product was introduced to the mainstream pharmacies, local markets and communal meetups recently, it did, however, receive warm welcome from former opiate addicts for its amazing results.
The Crossroads brand, in association with Upinya Beverages™, is undergoing several development and marketing plans – Followed by which it will be made available throughout the U.S. as a go-to solution to addicts who want to recover without hitting severe withdrawal effects.
More information and Crossroads order process details available at: http://Crossroads2Freedom.com
Crossroads Beverage is a result of William's personal struggle with opiate and medicated drugs abuse. At the time of his birth, William was a very large baby – so much so that the doctors had to surgically tear the muscles in his left bicep to assist with the birthing process. However, the incident left William and his family with repercussions of the uncalled-for medical procedure that caused pain and long term paralysis in his left arm.
As a toddler, William Houck had to consume pain killers to suppress chronic pain in his arm. It eventually turned into drug addiction, and further lead him down a dark path. Followed by 3 month incarceration at a County Jail and a few run-ins with the law, William Houck eventually decided to create a product, or a service, to help fellow drug addicts in making recovery without the risk of hitting relapse again.
The road to recovery is lined up with bumps and obstacles that are quite demanding. An addict is not only facing willpower issues, but he/she is also struggling to endure pain, withdrawal effects such as insomnia, stomach issues, anxiety and vice versa. In William's experience, Crossroads beverage could not have come at a better time. The wellness beverage is a result of periodic analysis and various naturally occurring ingredients that reportedly help in reducing withdrawal symptoms to a bearable or minimum state.
Online customers and early opt-in users who had the distinct pleasure of trying Crossroads, reportedly appreciate the positive results. Since all the major ingredients are organic, they induce no side effects on the consumer. More so, the inclusion of passion flower has been known to help Crossroads users with sleep, stress and mental anxiety issues.
William Houck wishes to thank his family, friends and associates who lent a contributing hand into creating Crossroads Wellness Beverage. The product is expected to reach across various nationwide States, hence rendering a helping hand to those who have been struggling to get rid of drug addiction once and for all.
For more details, user testimonials and future updates, log on to official Crossroads Beverage website at http://Crossroads2Freedom.com at the earliest.
About Crossroads:
Crossroads is a wellness beverage aimed at supporting recovering drug addicts against severe or chronic withdrawal effects. The product is a combination of clinically tested naturally occurring organic ingredients that have no known side effect unlike their allopathic counterpart.
Crossroads creator, William Houck, is a former drug addict who has already made a miraculous recovery towards a healthy lifestyle with the help of this innovative drink. He hopes to help fellow community members and recovering opiate addicts into making a clean comeback without the possibility of hitting relapse phase ever again.
Media Contact
Company Name: Upinya Beverages
Contact Person: William Houck
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 888-408-4479
Address:22 Centennial Dr
City: Fairfield
State: PA 17320
Country: United States
Website: http://Crossroads2Freedom.com


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How can words possibly describe the state of just sitting? And, what use are they in doing so?
Should we not use words instead to laugh, to chat, to ask for something?
How can words possibly describe the state of just sitting? And, what use are they in doing so?
Should we not use words instead to laugh, to chat, to ask for something?
Good questions, I think words will always come short.
Hi Will,
Ah ... Zazen is the universe. The universe, and our experience of the universe (including of 'being the universe') via Zazen is ...
Jello (both the universe and our experience of it ... which, by the way, ARE ONE AND THE SAME THING!) can take almost infinite forms. But one must guide the form, help shape the form, before the jello becomes firm and set in its ways (or else, one must throw out the jello and start again).
We are born, we are taught things, our jello sets.
Our Zazen process is making a new batch of jello, one that experiences the universe (and 'is the universe') in a very different way.
In order to do that, one must discard the old bowl of jello and start a new one ... our Zen practice does so to our very 'jello-like' brains.
Then, with the help of the guiding words of writings and teachers, and our own experience, we follow a new jello recipe. The WORDS are both the recipe and 'THE MOLD' for the new batch of jello, guiding the jello into a new shape. Otherwise, the jello will be formless and not hold together, or a hard or mushy mess ... It will be useless to us in this world.
But the point is not merely to make the jello, and what is important is not the recipe for the jello, but 'to be' ... 'TO TASTE' and experience the new jello for ourselves. At that point the molding shape of words are removed, and the jello stands on its own.
So, words are necessary, but they are never the jello. An old Zen saying is that, 'Do not mistake the finger pointing at the moon shaped jello with the moon shaped jello itself'.
Anyway, that is why words are necessary ...
... but trying to say so is like nailing jello to the wall.
Gassho, Jundo
Jundo:lol:... but trying to say why is like trying to nail jello to the wall.
I think I see what your trying to say. I'll have to read it a few more times.
Beloved Brother Will,Originally Posted by will
I also feel that words often fall short of being able to capture the expeience of being present. That often a smile or a look is better to convey it. But alas I can not do that online.
I find that more and more I turn to poetry to hint at that which can not be well expressed in prose.
Here are some poems by Hafiz:
"A Still Cup
For God to make love,
For the divine alchemy to work,
The pitcher needs a still cup.
Why ask Hafiz
To say anything more
About your most vital requirement."
"Dropping Keys
The small man
Builds cages for everyone
He knows.
While the sage,
Who has to duck his head
When the moon is low,
Keeps dropping keys all night long
For the beautiful rowdy prisoners."
and finally my favorite:
"This Talking Rag
It was all so clear
This morning.
My mind and heart had never felt
More convinced:
There is only God,
A great wild God.
But somehow
I got yanked from that
Annihilating realization
And can now appear again
As this wine-stained
Talking rag."
Namaste brother...Gassho...
Urug 8)
Hi everyone:
F@#$ing brilliant -- "There's always room for Jell-O" as an expression of totality. Jundo, I'm so glad I joined Treeleaf, thank you for your gelatinous teaching.Originally Posted by Jundo
"No, I'm not being sarcastic."
Thank you, Urug.
There is much in Sufi poetry that is quieting and exciting.
Which added together is...exiting?
My view is that words are only a problem if we forget their limitations. If we see them as a tool to point our minds in the right direction, they are helpful. If we see them as expressing the complete truth of something, they are an obstacle. In other words (no pun intended), we always have to read between the lines.


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Afghan Forces Conduct Over 100 Special Operations Missions in May
Afghan forces, with support from coalition troops, conducted more than 100 special operations in May, resulting in the capture or elimination of dozens of high-level al-Qaida, Taliban and insurgent leaders.
The majority of these operations were conducted by the Afghan Special Operations Unit, the Afghan equivalent of United States special operations forces. The unit is comprised of highly-qualified Afghan soldiers from other security forces throughout the country, including the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police.
"We are very impressed with the continuing success of our Afghan forces," said the commander of the Afghan Special Operations Unit. "We are working every day to defeat the insurgency and bring peace and security to the people of Afghanistan."
Since December 2011, when the Afghan Special Operations Unit began taking part in all special operations, enemy-initiated attacks have dropped more than sixteen percent across Afghanistan compared to the same period a year ago.
All special operations are approved by the Afghan Operational Coordination Group (OCG) and conducted in accordance with Afghan laws, as defined in the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding.
Of note are the following operations:
On May 3, the Afghan Special Operations Unit, with coalition support, captured Abdullah, an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) leader, during an operation in Imam Sahib district, Kunduz province.
Abdullah was planning simultaneous suicide operations across several provinces as part of an imminent high-profile attack.
Abduallah was also responsible for attempting to form an insurgent cell in the Imam Sahib district and acquiring weapons for future attacks. In addition, he was involved in an assassination plot to kill a senior Afghan government official.
Following the previous detention of other high-level IMU commanders, Abdullah was relied upon by the senior IMU leader in Afghanistan to execute critical orders and provide information about IMU's operational plans.
Abdullah's capture occurred days before his expected departure to Pakistan.
On May 23, Afghan and coalition forces conducted a precision airstrike killing Jamil ur Rahman, the Taliban deputy shadow governor for Nuristan province, in Waygal district, Nuristan. One additional Taliban commander was also killed in the strike.
Jamil ur Rahman provided leadership and support to al-Qaida and Taliban forces throughout Nuristan and Kunar. He also housed Arab al-Qaida members operating in eastern Afghanistan and coordinated insurgent activities including the January 2012 kidnapping of an Afghan peace council official.
Jamil ur Rahman organized and hosted a number of meetings with senior Taliban and al-Qaida commanders in attempts to execute suicide and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks throughout the region.
The Nuristan Taliban shadow governor relied heavily upon Jamil ur Rahman to provide support and sanctuary to al-Qaida fighters operating in the area.
The operation was one of two that resulted in the deaths of two senior al-Qaida supporters within a week. The other was Saudi al-Qaida commander Sakhr al-Taifi, the second highest al-Qaida leader in Afghanistan. Sakhr al-Taifi was killed following an Afghan and coalition airstrike on May 27.
On May 31, the Afghan Special Operations Unit, with support from coalition forces, captured the Taliban commander for Panjwa'i district, Kandahar province.
The commander had just returned to Panjwa'i from Pakistan with approximately 30 insurgent fighters for the Taliban's spring offensive.
As a senior district commander, he was the primary deputy for the Taliban commander of Kandahar province. He oversaw Taliban commanders for other districts and commanded a number of insurgents and suicide bombers for attacks throughout the region.
In addition, he was a renowned explosives expert and directed roadside bombings, suicide attacks and other operations against Afghan and coalition forces throughout Kandahar.
(c) ISAF


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In Germany every fifth spear of asparagus is grown in the asparagus-growing state of Lower Saxony. The 750 km Lower Saxony Asparagus Route takes visitors on a gourmet tour through the asparagus growing regions of Braunschweig, Hannover and Umland, Lüneburg Heath, the Mittelweser and Oldenburg Münsterland. The signposted route starts and ends in Burgdorf and runs parallel to the Asparagus Cycling Trail.
Motorways are practical; they generally get us from A to B pretty fast. Shame then that they often also cause us to miss out on local gems. Sometimes, it's worth making the time to stop and stare: when you pass through asparagus country, step off the beaten track and plunge right into the green heart of Lower Saxony. The Lower Saxony Asparagus Route tells the tale of a real culinary success story!
Asparagus as far as the eye can see
The asparagus fields are a dominant feature of the region's landscape from as early as March, with the spears themselves being harvested from the end of April to the end of June (Midsummer's Day), depending on the weather. Once the harvest is over, the green plants and red berries mean the asparagus fields are still easily recognisable well into the autumn. The harvest season, when the asparagus is cut, sold and served in a variety of different ways in local restaurants, is a particularly interesting time for visitors.
So much to do and see even once asparagus season is over
For over ten years, the Lower Saxony Asparagus Route has been synonymous with high-quality asparagus, charming countryside and idyllic heathlands, wild fens, interesting attractions, magnificent festivals, markets and special events. In fact, there's so much to see and do here, it's even worth visiting when asparagus season is over.
Useful and delicious
Asparagus is one of the oldest plant crops and was even known to the Ancient Egyptians. Its history can be traced back from the Romans and right up to the present day. What's more, its medicinal properties have always been highly-prized. Growing asparagus is a lengthy, painstaking process, however, enjoying it couldn't be easier: asparagus goes well with any number of side dishes, sauces and even on its own.
Length: approximately 750 km
Theme: the culture and nature of the Lower Saxony asparagus regions
Ahnsbeck: village chapel, bakehouse
Bruchhausen-Vilsen: heritage railway (Museums-Eisenbahn)
Burgdorf: medieval asparagus town, the Asparagus Collection (Spargelsammlung)
Cloppenburg: open-air museum
Hoya: State Riding School
Nienburg: Asparagus Museum (Spargelmuseum), Asparagus Queen Pageant
Landesbergen: the Radler-Scheune barn, trains for wedding ceremonies
Rehden: sheep farm, Western-style ranch (Westernreithof)
Uetze: Erse theme park, trestle windmill
Kaks kasulikku klahvikombinatsiooni brauseris suumimiseks:
Suurendamine: +
Vähendamine: +
Täpsemat teavet saate, kui klõpsate brauseri pakkuja ikoonile:


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I was recently staying at a well known chain of hotels for work experience. After I arrived, I discovered that the high speed internet access that was being offered was being charged at $20 a day, which I thought was quite ridiculous. When I got to my room, I had a play around with the wireless in the room I discovered that it was vulnerable to a simple SQL Injection.
My question is, should I let the company know about the simple, yet effective way of circumventing their charge for internet access. On one hand, it is a ludicrous sum that they are asking; however on the other, it is still a service that they are providing and thus they set the prices.
If I do decide to disclose, I was thinking a simple anonymous email to tip them off. What do all you guys think?


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Can Open Hardware Transform the Data Center?
Written by admin No Comments
Last Updated: October 31, 2011
1sockchuck writes "Is the data center industry on the verge of a revolution in which open source hardware designs transform the process of designing and building these facilities? This week the Open Compute Project gained momentum and structure, forming a foundation as it touted participation from IT heavyweights Intel, Dell, Amazon, Facebook, Red Hat and Rackspace. That turnout is not an isolated event, but reflects a growing focus on collaborative projects to reduce cost, timelines and inefficiency in data center construction and operation. The Open Compute project is just one of a handful of initiatives to bring standards and repeatable designs to IT infrastructure."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.


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By now you've probably heard today's announcement regarding the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics. Three U.S. scientists — Saul Perlmutter, Adam Riess, and Brian Schmidt (picture left to right up top) — were honored for their 1998 discovery that our universe is expanding at an accelerating rate.
But what does that mean exactly — "the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate?" Why is it an important discovery? How did it change the field of cosmology forever? And if the universe is expanding, then what the hell is it expanding into?
I could try to answer these questions, but why do that when the Nobel Laureates themselves have already gone and done it for me? Scientific American has a couple of excellent pieces where today's Nobel Prize recipients do just that.
The first feature is a Q&A session with Perlmutter about the discovery of accelerating universal expansion, originally published in 2008.
The second an in-depth feature, written by Adam Riess and Michael Turner in 2004, on the use of supernovae to study the expansion of the universe. Both articles are exceptionally well put together, and they both definitely warrant a read.
[Via Scientific American: "Discovering a Dark Universe: A Q&A with Saul Perlmutter" by David Appell + "The Expanding Universe: From Slowdown to Speed up" by Drs. Adam Riess and Michael S. Turner]
Images via Nobelprize.org