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Welcome to our website! As we have the ability to list over one million items on our website (our selection changes all of the time), it is not feasible for a company our size to record and playback the descriptions on every item on our website. However, if you have a disability we are here to help you. Please call our disability services phone line at 843.666.4000 during regular business hours and one of our kind and friendly personal shoppers will help you navigate through our website, help conduct advanced searches, help you choose the item you are looking for with the specifications you are seeking, read you the specifications of any item and consult with you about the products themselves. There is no charge for the help of this personal shopper for anyone with a disability. Finally, your personal shopper will explain our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, and help you place an order if you so desire.
Carolina Mattress and Furniture carries a wide selection of products.
So, if you are looking for products in Mount Pleasant, Charleston, Columbia, Irmo, Chapin, Cayce, West Columbia, Isle of Palms, Summerville, Kiawah Island and Forest Acres, South Carolina, or if you have any questions about products, please feel free to call us at 843.666.4000 or simply stop by Carolina Mattress and Furniture at any time and we would be glad to help you.


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Children�s activities, food and fun will be happening at the Lenoir County Fairgrounds on Saturday.
Children�s activities, food and fun will be happening at the Lenoir County Fairgrounds on Saturday.
The Kidz Swap will be sponsoring Family Fun Day with a Sandy Bottom fire truck, K-9 unit, the Chick-fil-A cow, Chitlin the Pig, Galaxy of Sports characters, face painting by the P.E.A.C.E. foundation, Jackson Heights Baptist Church food fundraiser, the Lenoir County Parks and Recreation game trailer and a bounce house.
�Everything�s free except for the food,� Stephanie Walker, owner of The Kidz Swap, said.
The game trailer will be bringing in a few games, such as bean bag toss, sack racing and a variety of balls, Walker said.
The Fun Day, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., is a first for The Kidz Swap, a local business that has been selling mainly gently-used children�s toys, books, games, strollers, cribs, clothes (newborn to junior) and shoes on consignment for five years. The events are held in April and October at the fairgrounds.
The consignment sale starts today and runs through Saturday. Besides children�s items, there are furniture and household goods. The Mommy Mart features maternity clothes and, new this year, women�s clothing and shoes.
�It�s a great way for parents to get rid of stuff that they no longer use,� Walker said.
There are generally 60 to 80 vendors. However, they do not sell their own items. Participants register before the sale, pay a $10 fee and The Kidz Swap does the selling. Vendors receive two-thirds of the selling price and can take part in a presale event.
The Fun Day was added this year to the swap to provide a fun activity day for children as their parents shop.
�Families can actually have fun while they�re shopping,� Walker said.
The consignment event is 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Some items on Sunday will be sold at half price, starting at 3 p.m.
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.
Check it out:
What: Family Fun Day
When: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday
Where: Lenoir County Fairgrounds, 401 Fairgrounds Road, off N.C. 11/55 South
Cost: Free
For information: thekidzswap.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Excommunicated: AOL blocks Pope mail
When Charlottesville resident Keith Rosenfeld forwarded a link to a humorous article titled "Pope on a Pogo Stick" to a friend of his, he figured his buddy would get a good laugh. Instead, Rosenfeld got an automated response from AOL that has him hopping mad.
"The following recipient(s) could not be reached..." read the error response Rosenfeld received. "...The URL contained in your email to AOL members has generated a high volume of complaints...."
Rosenfeld says he was baffled.
The URL was for a legitimate news story– posted on the Reuters site– about a planned UK cartoon show called Popetown, in which the Pope is presented as a "puerile preacher on a pogo stick."
The article cites the uproar the show has generated abroad, including 6,000 letters written to the BBC, which planned to air the show, and an anti-show petition bearing 28,000 signatures. Still, Rosenfeld doesn't understand what business an Internet provider has deciding what's too controversial.
After the first bounce-back, Rosenfeld– believing the AOL server was just picking up the URL copied into the message field and treating the mailing as spamre-sent the email, this time with just the text of the pogo stick article copied.
Again, the message came bouncing back.
"It shows they're actually scanning the text of every message," says Rosenfeld.
AOL representatives did not return The Hook's repeated calls, and Rosenfeld wonders how many other messages have been returned to senders because AOL deemed them unsuitable.
A September 2003 press release states that AOL recently increased its spam filtering options, allowing customers to voluntarily increase the threshold for spam screening. As many as 2.4 billion pieces of junk email are screened out each day, according the release. Nowhere in the release– or elsewhere on the corporate website– does AOL state that it screens messages for content, as Rosenfeld fears.
Wallace Gibson, owner of Gibson Management Group, says she's used AOL for years and has been totally satisfied with the service. In fact, she says the company's vigorous screening of spam is one of the best perks.
"I don't get any more Viagra or penis advertisements," says Gibson. "I love it. And I had to block it only one time."
Gibson says she believes the Pope email was blocked because AOL is so vigilant about spam.
"They'd rather err on the side of caution," she explains, saying other companies have similar policies. They're all getting jiggy about this kind of stuff."
Indeed, Mary Youngblood, spokesperson for Internet provider Earthlink, says her company has had to "take drastic measures" to fight the "huge increase" in spam over the last several years.
Those measures include a new optional product, spamBlocker, which allows Earthlink subscribers to decide what level of spam filtering they require. Those who choose a medium or high level of spam protection can have any mail from unknown sources directed into a special folder so that their inboxes don't get clogged.
But, says Youngblood, she can't imagine a circumstance where a news story sent by one person to another would ever be blocked– even if the content were objectionable.
"Our filters don't look at content," she says. Instead, they examine IP addresses, which show where an email was generated. Mail from IP addresses that have been determined to be spam-producers is routinely blocked, Youngblood says.
If a customer had a situation like Rosenfeld's, in which a personal email was bounced back, "We would take it very seriously," she adds.
Michael Burton-Prateley, the intended recipient of Rosenfeld's Pope email, and CEO of an Internet-based logistics company, says he wasn't devastated by not receiving that particular papal mailing. But the idea that other emails might not reach him is frightening.
"If clients are trying to contact me to open an account with me or fix a problem," he says, "I need to know about that."
Fortunately, Burton-Prateley explains, he has a series of checks that allow emails coming to any of his websites to be forwarded to several different accounts.
If AOL was his only source of Internet service, he says, he'd be looking elsewhere. "I wouldn't say I'm happy with it," he says.
As for getting an answer from AOL about why the Pope on a Pogo Stick email bounced back, Burton-Prateley says he wouldn't count on it.
"I wonder," he asks, "if they really care?"
Keith Rosenfeld sent an email that came bouncing back.


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The justices set new standards for hiring and promotion tests that could have a broad impact on employment law.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that white firefighters in New Haven were subjected to race discrimination when the city threw out a promotional examination on which they had done well and black firefighters poorly.
"The city rejected the test results solely because the higher scoring candidates were white," Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the majority, adding that the possibility of a lawsuit from minority firefighters was not a lawful justification for the city's action.
"Fear of litigation alone," Justice Kennedy wrote, "cannot justify an employer's reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions."
The 5-to-4 ruling, which reversed an appeals court decision joined by Judge Sonia Sotomayor, now a Supreme Court nominee, will have broad impact, lawyers specializing in employment discrimination law said.
"This decision will change the landscape of civil rights law," said Sheila Foster, a law professor at Fordham.
The new standards announced by the court will make it much harder for employers to discard the results of hiring and promotion tests once they are administered, even if they have a disproportionately negative impact on members of a given racial group.
Public employers that use civil service examinations and similar tests will be most directly affected, but the principle announced by the court applies to all employers and all sorts of procedures used to rank and sort potential and current employees.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, reading a dissenting statement from the bench, said the majority had undermined a crucial civil rights law. "Congress endeavored to promote equal opportunity in fact, and not simply in form," she said. "The damage today's decision does to that objective is untold."
The New Haven case had drawn wide interest, in part because of Judge Sotomayor's role in it.
Supporters of her Supreme Court nomination said Monday's decision changed the law and thus did not reflect negatively on the decision she participated in. Critics asserted that the appeals court's approach had not been fully endorsed by any justice.
Justice Kennedy, writing for himself and the four members of the court's conservative wing, said the case required the court to try to reconcile two aspects of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits race discrimination in employment.
The "original, foundational" core of Title VII, Justice Kennedy wrote, prohibits intentional discrimination against individuals on the basis of race — "disparate treatment," in the legal jargon. But the law also prohibits some seemingly neutral practices that have a "disparate impact" on members of racial groups.
Many of the plaintiffs in the case — 18 white firefighters, one of them Hispanic — studied intensively for the test, giving up second jobs and missing family celebrations. The lead plaintiff, Frank Ricci, who is dyslexic, said he studied for 8 to 13 hours a day, hiring an acquaintance to tape-record the study materials.
New Haven argued that it had acted in good faith in throwing out the exam results, fearing a disparate-impact suit from minority firefighters.
That was not enough, Justice Kennedy wrote. Indeed, allowing "employers to discard the results of lawful and beneficial promotional exams even when there is little if any evidence of disparate-impact discrimination," he wrote, "would amount to a de facto quota system."
But the majority did not rule out consideration of disparate impact altogether. Employers may consider potential racial impact "during the test-design stage," Justice Kennedy wrote.
And, in "certain, narrow circumstances" after tests are given, he continued, employers may discard the results if they can demonstrate "a strong basis in evidence" that using the results would cause them to lose a disparate-impact suit.
That heightened standard, Justice Kennedy wrote, requires employers to show that the tests were not relevant to the jobs at issue or that other "equally valid and less discriminatory tests were available."
In the case before the court, Ricci v. DeStefano, No. 07-1428, the majority said there was no evidence, let alone strong evidence, of either a problem with the tests or of the availability of better alternatives. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs outright rather than returning the case to the lower courts for application of the new "strong basis in evidence" standard.
Because it ruled on statutory grounds, the court did not consider the plaintiffs' separate claim that New Haven had violated the firefighters' rights under the Constitution's equal protection clause.
Justice Kennedy was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr.
In a concurrence, Justice Scalia predicted that the court would soon have to reach the larger constitutional question. "The war between disparate impact and equal protection will be waged sooner or later," he wrote, "and it behooves us to begin thinking about how — and on what terms — to make peace between them."
Justice Ginsburg, writing for herself and Justices John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter and Stephen G. Breyer, said the majority had underestimated the legitimate fear New Haven had of losing a disparate-impact suit. "Like the chess player who tries to win by sweeping the opponent's pieces off the table," she wrote of the majority opinion, "the court simply shuts from its sight the formidable obstacles New Haven would have faced."
None of the justices were directly critical of the unsigned appeals court decision in which Judge Sotomayor participated. Justice Kennedy did write that the decision, issued "after full briefing and argument by the parties," consisted of a single paragraph adopting the district court's decision.
Justice Alito, in a concurrence for himself and Justices Scalia and Thomas, noted that the federal government had not fully endorsed the appeals court's decision in the supporting brief it filed in the Supreme Court, suggesting instead that the case be returned to the lower courts for more work.
The four dissenters in places seemed to endorse the approach suggested by the federal government; in others, they indicated they would have ruled for New Haven outright.
Justice Ginsburg wrote that there was a long history of race discrimination in firefighting. She added that people good at taking tests were not necessarily the best leaders in public safety emergencies.
In her statement from the bench, Justice Ginsburg said the firefighters who sued "understandably attract the court's empathy." (In her written dissent, she said the plaintiffs "attract this court's sympathy.")
Justice Alito, in his dissent, said that was not enough.
" 'Sympathy' is not what petitioners have a right to demand," Justice Alito wrote. "What they have a right to demand is evenhanded enforcement of the law — of Title VII's prohibition against discrimination based on race. And that is what, until today's decision, has been denied them."


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It was a night to rock the ages. Alice Cooper, Ace Frehley "banded" together with fellow rock giants at Berklee Performance Center Sunday to benefit Right Turn, Inc., an Arlington-based center for outpatient treatment of substance abuse.
It was a night to rock the ages. Alice Cooper, Ace Frehley "banded" together with fellow rock giants at Berklee Performance Center Sunday to benefit Right Turn, Inc., an Arlington-based center for outpatient treatment of substance abuse.
The event was the second annual Super Group show, with concert and auction of rock memorabilia, to raise funds for the treatment center.
For some performers, including Cooper and Frehley -- the former KISS guitarist enjoying renewed appreciation as a solo artist -- it was a chance to give public testimony about their own victories over addiction and excess.
For audience and band a like, it was a time to celebrate life free of drugs and alcohol abuse, and to revel in favorite songs.
"If you don't remember this one…then, you'll have to stand in the corner," teased Simon Kirke, drummer and vocalist of Free and later, Bad Company, who led renditions of anthems "All Right Now" and "Can't Get Enough of Your Love."
This year's concert drummer Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Boston-based band Eddie and The Automatics – with alumni of the band, Boston – along with Ricky Byrd of Joan Jett and The Blackhearts; Teddy "Zig Zag" Andreadis of Guns 'n Roses;celebrated blues harmonica and vocalist, James Montgomery; singer Kate Taylor and many others.
Also in on the act was Right Turn founder Woody Giessmann, former drummer of The Del Fuegos, who played percussion for the show and came out to the microphone to express gratitude for those working on and offstage to make the benefit possible.
The concert resounded with many archetypal rock moments, the kind that for decades have thrilled rock audiences -- the "buddy jam" of guitarist and vocalist, and the flourish of hypersonic drum finales.
Many of the performers have shared rock's glories and its hardships and even tragedies, enduring to win new generations of fans.
Never was this more evident than when a group rushed up with a pint-sized Alice Cooper fan, decked out in Cooper's signature eye makeup and top hat.
When band members hoisted her on stage, she held her hands out in a grand gesture of showmanship even Cooper seemed to admire, winning assurances that rock will go out with a bang, not a whimper.
They love rock and roll
There were some incongruous moments – a whole front row sitting politely and clapping. Cooper -- who, like Frehley, was bereft of makeup but not lacking in on stage finesse -- gestured for them to stand and remember how a rock concert should be enjoyed – on one's feet.
And, there were poignant moments – a cake for Frehley, who Cooper and band members serenaded with a revved up version of "Happy Birthday."
The evening was, by all accounts, uneven.
Some were disappointed by comedian and Charlestown native Steve Sweeney, whose routine included jokes about Boston Mayor Tom Menino's speech patterns and immigrants conspiring to take over Dunkin' Donuts.
But for the fans, the music was the message.
Dave Antonuccio, 51, of Wakefield, attended with son Willie, 17. Father and son frequently go to concerts together, reveling in veteran acts such as Cooper, and latter day ones such as The Offspring.
"We'll go to any Alice Cooper concerts in a 20-mile radius," Antonuccio said. "I love Bad Company and I love the Red Hot Chili Peppers."
Ashley Hannah, of Boston, went with Ed Lanzillo. Hannah was amazed to see Alice Cooper without makeup, adding that even without the shtick, his act was superb.
For Lanzillo, the message of a responsible attitude toward drugs and alcohol was resonant. "I own a bar in Boston," said Lanzillo, proprietor of Galway House. "I want to make a living, but I don't want to see anyone get killed."
To learn more about Right Turn, visit www.right-turn.org.
Margaret Smith is Arts and Calendar editor at GateHouse Media New England's Northwest Unit. E-mail her at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Twitter etc.
I've found that I much prefer Twitter-ing to blogging... I don't tend to be one for yapping a whole lot (unless I have an audience), so 140 characters or less works great for me to share cool stuff. If you want to follow my daily - shall we say - insights, my twitter name is rcurious (since relatively was wayyy too long evidently. But I suppose I'll continue to rant a bit here now and then, just in case anyone is listening...
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RBC.com | Français | | Contact Us
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About RBC > Media Newsroom > Speeches > Address to Shareholders
Gordon Nixon
President & Chief Executive Officer
Royal Bank of Canada
137th Annual Meeting of Royal Bank of Canada
March 3, 2006
Toronto, Ontario
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to your Annual Meeting. It is a privilege for me to report on our 2005 performance as well as our plans for 2006 and beyond.
I'd like to begin by telling you how proud I am of what we have achieved over the past year in transforming our company and advancing our corporate vision of "Always earning the right to be our clients' first choice."
This transformation began in 2004, a year in which we fell short of some financial objectives despite record performances from four of our five businesses. In order to improve our performance, two issues in particular had to be addressed. The first involved the operations of our U.S. banking business, and I will address our progress on this front later. The second issue involved the amount of bureaucracy, process and territorial issues that were getting in the way of what our employees do best — serving clients.
The impact of these issues was that revenue growth was slowing while our cost base was not and, therefore, our operating leverage was not where we wanted it to be. As an organization we had to re-invigorate and sharpen our focus on providing the highest quality products and service to our customers if we were to maintain the strong returns our shareholders have come to expect. We acknowledged that to build on our strengths we had to better align all parts of the organization, streamline processes, reduce bureaucracy and find new ways to grow.
As a result, we made significant management, cultural and structural changes across RBC, and launched the "Client First Initiative." The most critical elements of "Client First" include a broad series of revenue, expense management, and client service initiatives.
At the beginning of 2005 we re-organized our five business segments into three to better align our products and services around the customer. In addition, we centralized all the activities supporting these businesses, such as finance, treasury, audit and law, into a single global functions group, and we consolidated our technology and operations capabilities at the enterprise level.
By streamlining our processes, we have been able to eliminate approximately 2,000 positions and reinvest in our front-line capacity where we have added resources and expanded our distribution channels. We have enhanced our product offerings, divested non-strategic operations, and made significant changes to our senior management. And we have become more focused on delivering better solutions and quality service to our clients.
All of these initiatives contributed to RBC's strong financial performance last year.
In fiscal 2005, our employees delivered record net income of nearly 3.4 billion dollars, an increase of 21 per cent from the previous year. This solid earnings growth reflects the strong performance turned in by each of our three business segments.
In RBC Canadian Personal and Business, net income was up 261 million dollars or 13 per cent, due to strong revenue growth in all business lines. In RBC U.S. and International Personal and Business, net income was up 176 million dollars or 78 per cent, reflecting strong earnings growth in our banking and wealth management operations. Reported earnings in RBC Capital Markets were down; but if we exclude the after-tax charge of 326 million dollars established as a reserve for our Enron litigation — which was unrelated to last year's activities — net income would have exceeded 1 billion dollars for the first time, a substantial increase over a year ago.
In summary, each of our business segments had strong underlying performance in 2005 and made solid contributions to net income. We generated strong revenue growth, delivered good expense control and benefited from the diversity of our businesses. As a matter of interest, excluding the aforementioned reserve, we generated close to 1 billion dollars of net income after tax from our continuing operations outside of Canada last year, roughly split between the U.S. and international operations. And finally, we met or exceeded most of our performance objectives, which Barb Stymiest, our Chief Operating Officer, will address following my remarks.
In terms of shareholder value, our common share price increased by 31 per cent and we raised dividends three times in 2005, resulting in a total shareholder return in excess of 35 per cent. As this slide shows, over the past 5 and 10 years, our returns have significantly outperformed the top U.S. and international banks.
So as shareholders, you have done well; but that is history, and our responsibility as management relates to future performance.
So, I'd now like to spend a few minutes talking about the strategies and goals we have in place to capitalize on the solid momentum we have created over the past year.
In 2006, we plan to build on our three strategic goals established last year.
With respect to our first strategic goal of leadership in Canada, we strengthened our positions and increased our market shares in most personal and business products during 2005. We also had a strong year in our Capital Markets business, where we earned the "Dealmaker of the Year" title from the Financial Post, and the Canadian Debt and Equity House of the Year award from Euromoney's Awards of Excellence.
In terms of our second strategic goal of building on our strengths in the United States, we divested two non-strategic assets in Liberty Insurance Services and RBC Mortgage Company, to focus on our core businesses of banking, wealth management and capital markets. As I said earlier, we experienced operational issues and disappointing earnings at RBC Centura in 2004. A significant part of that was in the mortgage business that we exited, and we are now more focused on high-growth client segments such as businesses, business owners, professionals and commercial clients. This has resulted in strong growth of both consumer and commercial loans and deposits, and has contributed to a significant improvement in RBC Centura's financial performance.
On the brokerage front, RBC Dain Rauscher grew its fee-based assets by 24 per cent, and in partnership with Global Private Banking, introduced the RBC Premier Line of Credit to meet the complex needs of its high net worth clients. By fiscal year-end, we had approved over 470 million dollars in credit lines with this product.
At RBC Capital Markets, we made considerable progress in building a mid-market client base in the U.S., particularly in energy and real estate. We were co-lead manager and joint bookrunner for the largest equity financing of any U.S. independent oil company, and ranked 6th in senior managed transactions in the U.S. municipal league tables.
With respect to our third strategic goal of being a premier provider of selected global financial services, we achieved a number of significant milestones. We merged the fixed-income business of Dain Rauscher with that of RBC Capital Markets, which raised our visibility among clients as a bank with significant global fixed income capabilities. We also announced a joint venture of our custody business with Dexia Bank International to form RBC Dexia Investor Services. This transaction closed in January of this year, and the combined company ranks among the world's top 10 global custodians.
In Global Private Banking, we opened representative offices in Brazil, California and Texas, and acquired Abacus Financial Services in the Channel Islands. This acquisition increased assets under administration in Global Private Banking by 48 billion dollars. The combination also brought together two organizations with a strong focus on customer service, with Abacus and RBC ranking first and second in a recent Euromoney survey of the best providers of trust services in the United Kingdom.
In addition, a few days ago we opened our Beijing branch where we can now provide a wider range of banking activities, including correspondent banking and trade finance. We can also help Chinese citizens immigrating to Canada arrange their personal financial affairs before they get here. This branch is a good example of how we are collaborating across the enterprise to better meet the needs of our clients.
Going forward, we have established a number of strategic priorities to underpin our enterprise goals and help us improve client loyalty. And we have identified a number of revenue, expense and service initiatives to support them.
In our Canadian Personal and Business segment, we have set three priorities:
We currently serve more than 13 million clients in Canada through a network of branches, call centres, electronic channels, our own sales forces and third-party agents. We are managing this network with a view to maintaining our leadership position while maximizing the productivity of each channel and continually improving the client experience. To accomplish this goal, we have expanded our relationship management sales force, opened new insurance and bank branches and augmented our online sales and service capability. We have also put more emphasis locally on client loyalty and breadth of relationship with RBC, and have removed a layer of sales management to bring senior leaders closer to clients.
In order to make it easier for clients to do business with us, we have a number of new initiatives in place and in the pipeline. For example, we have streamlined applications for business account opening, introduced an option so that clients can select electronic versions of their statements, enhanced our travel insurance options for seniors, and improved our credit card program for businesses.
In the high-growth area of wealth management, we are building on the strong performance of RBC Dominion Securities as well as RBC Asset Management, which has led the mutual fund industry in net sales of long-term funds for nine consecutive quarters.
In our U.S. and International businesses, we have three priorities for 2006:
At RBC Centura, we are growing our business by developing value-added products for our target client segments such as our new streamlined suite of personal and business accounts. In the Caribbean, we continue to grow organically by deepening relationships with existing clients, and by offering a superior full-service banking experience. At RBC Dain Rauscher, we are developing enhanced wealth management solutions for our clients, and building a stronger network of financial consultants through our retention and recruitment efforts. And in Global Private Banking, we are deepening our relationships with clients by offering a broader range of products and services.
In RBC Capital Markets, we have four priorities for 2006:
With these priorities in mind, we are building on several strengths in our capital markets business, including global debt markets, foreign exchange, and our leading investment banking capabilities in technology, energy, and mining and metals, to name a few. In addition, we continue to expand our global platform through the development of new capabilities such as the recently established U.S. treasury trading team in New York, and a new base metals team in London. The latter further strengthens our metals and mining franchise, where we achieved a global top ranking for mergers and acquisitions in the gold mining sector last year.
RBC is a large and complex organization with numerous businesses operating in more than 30 countries. Each of our businesses must invest and grow at a rate exceeding their industry average if we are to achieve top-tier performance collectively. Every member of our management team has taken on senior accountability for planning and executing the strategies to ensure we meet the aggressive targets that each business has established.
We take this accountability seriously, and have developed a robust and comprehensive performance management system to track and monitor our progress. This system provides us with a holistic view of RBC's activities, and with a clear line of sight into our future performance.
I am confident that all of our employees have a clear focus on our strategy in 2006, which is supported by the fact that we are off to a pretty good start. While Barb Stymiest will provide a detailed review of our first quarter results that were released earlier this morning, I am pleased to report that we announced record earnings for the first quarter with net income from continuing operations of 1.17 billion dollars, up 20 per cent from a year ago. In addition we announced a dividend increase of 8 cents or 12.5 per cent, and a stock split by way of stock dividends.
Annual meetings tend to be a time for CEOs to celebrate past achievements or justify past performance. Believe me, I would rather do the former. But as we celebrate a good year, I must also acknowledge the challenges that lie ahead and the fact that we can and must do better.
As you know, we operate in an intensively competitive business in which Canadian banks "duke it out" daily with each other, as well as foreign banks, credit unions, mutual fund companies, insurance companies and many others. It's this daily battle for customers and market share that has made Canada one of the most competitive, efficient and low-cost banking markets in the world. This fact has been supported by several international studies, but is not, particularly well understood by most Canadians.
The success of our financial system has been good for our country's economic development. As things stand, our industry makes the largest contribution to Canada's gross domestic product. The six large banks alone employ approximately 250,000 people - more than half of whom work right here in Ontario. Together, we invest in research and development, spending more than 4 billion dollars on technology annually. We pay approximately 8 billion dollars in taxes each year, which does not include the many billions paid by our employees in personal income tax. We spend 11 billion dollars a year to purchase local goods and services. And we help to make Canada's economy more productive at a time when a nation's success in global markets is measured by how cost effectively it can compete.
But our success in large part has come from our ability to adapt to shifts in the marketplace and to the changing demands of our customers. In the past, timely regulatory changes have enabled us to meet the evolving needs of our clients for services like mortgages, mutual funds, brokerage and investment banking, all products that we were prohibited from selling just a few decades ago. So it is important that regulations continue to evolve and change for the benefit of all Canadians. I'd like to comment on one of those areas of potential change, which is insurance.
Canada is the only developed country in the world that prohibits consumers and small business owners from buying insurance products, or even getting information about insurance from their bank. The absurdity of this is highlighted by the fact that stores like Loblaws and Costco can provide this financial service, but banks that are in the business of providing financial advice, cannot. This simply does not make any sense to us, nor to our customers, who would benefit from the increased competition, greater access, broader choice and better pricing that bank distribution of insurance would provide.
While bank branches are prohibited from selling insurance, similar restrictions on bank products do not apply to the insurance industry. For example, Manulife, which is now larger than five of the six big banks, can sell mortgages and savings accounts to their clients. The network of insurance brokers that owns Alberta-based Bank West can conveniently offer their clients a full range of financial products including insurance, investments and banking. And credit unions in Quebec, which are large and direct competitors of banks, have been able to sell insurance since 1987.
Greater competition for insurance leads to better pricing and more availability, particularly for low-income consumers. For example, in Quebec where credit unions can sell insurance through their branch network, a greater proportion of households with incomes under 30 thousand dollars have life insurance than anywhere else in the country. This is because the high cost of selling insurance through traditional insurance channels such as agents and brokers means low-income consumers often get ignored.
History has also shown that when new competitors enter a market, they actually increase the size of the market for all competitors. For example, when banks began selling mutual funds, access went up, fees went down, and the size of the market increased significantly. Bank entry into the mortgage market also led to greater availability of mortgages across the country as well as more competitive rates. And, in other countries that have opened their insurance markets, not only have consumers benefited, but market expansion has meant that good insurance brokers have thrived — as they do, incidentally, in the Province of Quebec.
Ironically, one of the excuses used by the insurance industry in arguing against allowing banks to compete for insurance business is their concerns about information privacy and tied selling. Yet, the banks are the only financial providers in Canada that are governed by a consistent set of strong, national regulations on both these issues.
There are also a number of important technical amendments that need to be addressed in this year's review of the Bank Act, such as streamlining rules for foreign banks; making changes to the bank holding company structure; and updating regulations governing electronic cheque imaging. But in my view, in a world where financial products are rapidly converging, insurance is a critical issue for those of us in the business of providing financial services, and for those who consume them.
In a globally competitive business like financial services, these types of regulatory and legislative advances are important to the future health of our Canadian industry, and to the contribution we can make to the prosperity of our nation. Yes, banks must do their part by investing in new technologies, more innovative products, better service, and most importantly, people. But governments must also ensure the right economic conditions and industry regulations are in place for growth. Government should support and defend its key industries through good policies, rather than what sometimes makes for good politics.
This point is particularly relevant right now as we expect the Government of Canada will soon be issuing a White Paper on its plans for renewal of the Bank Act - a process that occurs just once every five years. In a world where new technologies and competitors can dramatically change an industry's business model in just a few months, it is important that banks and other financial service providers have the flexibility to compete and deliver innovation to customers.
I would like to conclude with a comment on the ultimate performance driver, client loyalty, which brings us back to our corporate vision of "Always earning the right to be our clients' first choice."
We believe we can grow our business by focusing everything we do around our clients and by helping them succeed. We want to be their first choice for financial services, and we hope our clients are noticing a positive difference in the way we are trying to earn their business.
This "Client First" mission starts with our employees, whose commitment is key to earning the loyalty of our clients. To support that commitment, we are creating a more collaborative, transparent and accountable culture where everyone, no matter where they work or what they do, feel they can create a superior client experience. And we are re-engineering our processes and approach so that employees have the tools to do a better job for their clients.
The behaviour that supports this vision is underpinned by our core values of service, teamwork, responsibility, diversity and integrity. And it is supported by a brand that is trusted by Canadians, and has been rated as the most valuable in the country for the past two years.
We believe that corporate responsibility and good governance are also important to our vision. We are proud of our record, but we understand that no organization - including RBC — is perfect. We have had issues and unfortunately always will; however, we will be judged not only by the mistakes we make, but also by how we respond in dealing with them.
We have dedicated a great deal of management time promoting a culture of integrity. At RBC, it is mandatory for all of our employees to pass a test demonstrating their understanding of our Code of Conduct. We have made major investments in our corporate governance, and our compliance capabilities. And we continue to enhance our policies and processes in response to the needs of our clients, as well as market and regulatory developments.
A company's reputation is paramount and we are pleased that our programs and initiatives continued to earn recognition during 2005.
Once again, Canadian Business magazine and the Globe and Mail newspaper ranked our governance among the best in Canada.
And for the fourth year in a row, RBC was named Canada's Most Respected Corporation in a survey conducted by Ipsos Reid. The same survey ranked RBC first in 6 of 9 sub-categories, including human resources, corporate governance, long-term investment value and social responsibility. We were also ranked highest among all Canadian financial institutions for customer service, an indication that our Client First Initiative is beginning to take root.
The various accomplishments I have mentioned this morning are a reflection of an organization made up of outstanding people. That our people are a competitive advantage may be a well-worn expression, but it is also an important acknowledgement of the driving force behind our corporate vision. If I have learned one thing in my five years as CEO, it is that our most valuable assets enter and leave our buildings every day.
On behalf of our Board of Directors and my colleagues on Group Executive, I would like to thank all of our employees worldwide for their hard work in 2005, and for their ongoing passion for our organization and our clients. I would also like to thank our board of directors for their support and guidance and my management team for their commitment as well as their individual and collective achievements. And I would like to thank our 14 million clients for giving us their business and placing their trust in our people.
Ladies and gentlemen, our 70,000 employees around the world are working hard to transform RBC into an even more client-focused organization. We have aligned our goals and initiatives with our corporate vision. We are developing new products and services that better meet our clients' needs. We are enhancing our processes so that it's easier for clients to do business with us. And we are empowering our people to do more for their clients.
I have no doubt that we have the commitment and the will to succeed.
Thank you.


text:
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4528 West 1700 South, Syracuse, UT, United States
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Explore over 500 miles of trails in Davis County. Get your FREE trail map today at any city offi...
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Offers white sand beaches, showers, Visitor Center, and wildlife.
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No.of Holes/Par: 18/72 Total Yards: 7065 yards This links-style course is reminiscent of Scotland...
300 North 3500 West, West Point, UT 84015 2.24 mi
No. of Holes/Par: 18/72 Total Yards: 6853 yards Located near the entrance to Antelope Island and ...
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Offers: Bowling, Mini golf, Laser Tag, Batting Cage, Nerf Blaster, Go Karts
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Close to WalMart, restaurants and other shopping.
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I watched the end of the Cowboys-Lions game on Sunday. It was ugly. The Lions would have won if Paris Lenon, former Packer and Andy man-crushee, would have fallen on a Tony Romo fumble with less than two minutes left. Instead, he wanted to be the hero, so he scooped it up and then dropped it, when a Cowboy lineman fell on it. Dallas scored the game-winning touchdown.I have an eerie feeling that play could be the difference between the NFC Championship at Lambeau Field or at that "pretty" Dallas Stadium. The Cowboys still have to play the Redskins in Washington at a time the Skins could be playing for their playoff lives. (The Cowboys also have the Eagles.) The game in Washington won't be as tough as it might have been — with a healthy Jason Campbell and Sean Taylor in the lineup. But it won't be a cakewalk, either.More to the point, the Cowboys simply aren't the dominant team their 12-1 record suggests. They're above average, at best. They should have lost to both the Lions and the Bills and got outplayed several other times this year. Yeah, yeah — good teams find a way to win. And it's true that the Packers could have lost to the Redskins. But I like our chances if we go back to Dallas.The bigger problem could be our first-round game. Although it will almost certainly be at home, we will likely play the NFC's 3rd place team, right now the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks are playing very well, running a spread offense not unlike the one the Packers are running. And they will probably have DJ Hackett back come playoff time — he's an explosive downfield receiver and a bigger scoring threat than Deion Branch. The Seahawks' defense has been outstanding in recent weeks, too.If we survive, though, I like our chances in Dallas.UPDATE: Chris at "The Wisconsin Sports Bar," has more. He writes:
Believe it or not but right now the after Dallas and Green Bay I would put the Vikings as the team I would not want to play in the playoffs. Ever since the Pack took them to the wood shed the Vikings are 4-0 now three of the teams they have beat were the Raiders Lions and Niners not stellar competition but they did destroy the Giants. But the nice thing is if Minnesota is the second wild card Green Bay would not see them till the NFC Championship game and that game would be in Lambeau.
Tags: Dallas Cowboys, football, Green Bay Packers, NFL, Seattle Seahawks


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It was only about 10 years ago that taking online courses from a high school sounded ridiculous to many administrators. The idea high school students could be taught in an online environment, without direct supervision, was laughable, says Liz Pape, CEO of Virtual High School.
It was only about 10 years ago that taking online courses from a high school sounded ridiculous to many administrators. The idea high school students could be taught in an online environment, without direct supervision, was laughable, says Liz Pape, CEO of Virtual High School.
But things have changed. VHS, a non-profit, has almost 11,000 students enrolled. These students come from schools in 29 states and 23 countries all over the world.
And teachers and administrators are really seeing the difference. Not only are test scores of VHS students are competitive with those of brick and mortar schools, but students are also able to expand their choices, to take classes that wouldn't be available at their own high school.
What's more, students are learning 21st century skills: how to communicate effectively online, how to use legitimate Web sites and how to use new and current technology.
Virtual High School began with Pape, when she started off working as a grant administrator/technology director for a grant held by the Concord Consortium in the early to mid-1990s. The grant allowed the consortium to begin the framework of what is now VHS.
In October 2001, VHS moved from the consortium and became a non-profit.
Pape was recently selected as a national finalist for the 2008 Cable's Leaders in Learning Awards, which honors teachers, administrators and community leaders who demonstrate examples of innovative and interactive learning.
She recently spoke to The Beacon-Villager about her duties as CEO and the future of online education. The company is headquartered at Clock Tower Place and Maynard High is a member of VHS.Q: How did you end up at Virtual High School?
Pape: I ended up as the CEO of VHS because I had previously been working since the [late 1980s] in schools as a technology specialist. In those positions, I was responsible for bringing the Internet into schools. This was during the days of "net day," when schools were asking for parents to volunteer to help pull wires in school buildings and build network closets, so that kids could have access to the Internet.Q: Where was this?
Pape: I was working in Sterling and then in Shrewsbury. It was in Shrewsbury… at the middle school, when we did all of those net day activities. Previously, the computers were just simply used as standalones. I found myself saying to the kids, "Well, don't go to that site," or "Don't download that," because there was a lot of non-educational material out there, which was not appropriate. I thought, this is really wonderful that they have access to the Internet, but it's not really maximizing its use for us, because I'm spending more time saying, "No!" I was thinking, I really wish there were more resources available out there that were being pushed into the schools.
Q: As CEO, what do you do? What's the day-to-day aspect of it like?
Pape: So, as CEO, I'm really responsible for developing the strategic plan for Virtual High School, and then executing on that, on not only an annual basis, where we set our annual goals, but also on a day-to-day operational basis…. I'm also responsible for communicating the VHS vision of online education out there, and that's why I speak at a lot of national conferences. I speak at regional conferences and I also do a lot of writing. I just completed a book chapter, a couple of articles… a lot of writing that goes on.
I also have, as part of the day-to-day operational thing, all of the materials that are out there, about VHS, like the marketing materials, the newsletter that comes out twice a year… I pretty much totally am responsible for. Those are the pieces that really try to get other people to understand what VHS is about and also to get them to have an understanding of how they know we're a quality educational service to schools.
Q: Do you think people see online learning as inferior, or sub-par?
Pape: Not anymore. But certainly, when I first started – I'll never forget. My first conference was back in 1998, at the Model Schools Conference, and wow, were administrators resistant to the concept of online courses… They couldn't understand how you could teach kids online without a teacher lecturing, nor could they comprehend how it would be a quality product for kids. I think VHS has done an admirable job in answering both of those questions… So for example, when someone says, "How do I know your courses are any good?" I can show them our Advanced Placement courses, where kids have to take the same exam that other kids take, and I can show them the test scores, which are as good or better than other kids.
And they say, "Well, how do I know that if I free up my high school classroom teacher one period a day to teach this online course, that it doesn't become a free period for them where they can do whatever they want?" and so, we've got indicators that will show to them that these people are working. They're just not working the way [the administrators] are used to seeing them work – working on the white board or in the science lab. But they're teaching kids. They're responding to kids and they're giving kids feedback, and they're guiding kids when they run into roadblocks around their learning.
Q: How is teaching online different from teaching in a classroom?
Pape: For us, what it requires is for teachers to re-think their approach to education… We're not looking for somebody to take a lecture model of teaching and translate that into an iPod, podcast or a lot of written text on a screen… The power of online to really enable teachers to focus on students individually in a way that is really tough to do in a classroom when they're all sitting there in front of you. I think that's the most important thing is that – and teachers have told us this – they feel it is purer teaching from the perspective of working with students, one-on-one, to guide them through their learning process. So it turns things upside down a little bit, in that it's no longer about… it's more about the teacher working in partnership with the kid, or the students, as they take ownership of their learning.
Q: Do you think this prepares kids better for the working world, because more and more of our communication is online these days?
Pape: Yes, I think immediately, it better prepares them for college, to work more independently and it teaches them better to manage their time, their assignments, their workload. Freshmen year is a killer, in that respect.
Q: I wonder, does taking an online course also show students the proper way to conduct discourse online? I know it's a common complaint, because many teenagers don't understand Netiquette or realize how unprofessional it looks to respond back to a teacher or professor with poor grammar and spelling, like "text speak."
Pape: We have policies around Netiquette. We have clearly stated expectations in every course, where we go over that, again and again, around Netiquette… As part of the grading rubric, it will state, it must be in proper grammar. We teach them the difference between formal and informal communication.
Q: Do you think that something like VHS will be a model for teaching in the future? I sometimes hear people saying we should move away from the current model we have. Students aren't farmers' kids anymore, for example.
Pape: Right, why do we still do a summer break? It has been documented that kids lose skills [over the summer].Q: Unless you have a mom who makes you do workbooks all summer.
Pape: [laughs] Hey, I'm with your mom, so don't complain. You're right, we're still using an agricultural model. Going back to your question, around does this prepare kids, in terms of workforce, I think it also does a really good job of preparing kids… Any college graduate who thinks they've graduated with their bachelor's, [thinking] that they're done, is sorely mistaken. They need to recognize the fact that, as citizens, they need to keep up their skill set. They don't have any other options but become effective, life-long learners. This is a very effective way to do that.
Reporter Meghan B. Kelly can be reached at 978-371-5758 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Effective Business Communication for Small Businesses does not include SLANG
Effective business communication is essential for a small business to be successful. It doesn't matter whether you are communicating with your oldest friend, the neighbor from down the street, another small business owner, or the multi-millionaire that you meet at a business luncheon. It doesn't matter whether you are in an informal setting, at a networking event, on an elevator, or sending an email to a client or a prospective business partner, how you deliver your message can matter more than the message itself.
Have you noticed that news anchors tend to talk in a universal language? No matter where you go they all look and sound the same. Why is that? Simple, it's because what they have to say is important and they want you to understand what they are saying. This is what communication is, one person delivers a message and the other person receives and understands the message.
Here are a couple of tips for better business communication.
Use proper grammar
- Remember that slang has its time and place and, in a formal setting, should be avoided at all costs. Remember that first impressions are everything. No matter how talented or experienced you may be, when you use slang in a formal setting, you aren't taken seriously. Slang is not universal language and different slang words can be perceived differently depending on your geographical location. Most importantly, remember that just because someone looks like you does not mean that they understand the same slang lingo as you.
Minimize Buzzwords
- Buzzwords are used for one thing, to impress. Although, they can be used in a setting with your peers, who understand the same terminology, refrain from using buzzwords with clients. Your clients need to understand what you are saying. Using buzzwords to impress can quickly turn your clients away simply because they don't understand the jargon that you are speaking.
Send Clear and Concise Emails
- Emails have become the most used form of business communication. Some send hundreds of emails daily. When contacting someone by email, remember that this is still a formal form of communication. The following information should be clearly stated in your email
Who you are
- The most important information in any form of communication is stating who you are. You should do this at the beginning of the email and at the end in an email signature.
What do you do
- This is information that validates who you are.
What you want
- This should be clearly stated. Refrain from using industry specific terms and buzzwords. If your email is not understood, it could end up in the trash.
Action Item
- An action item should be included. Tell the reader what you want them to do. Don't assume that they already know.
Thanks You
- Thank the reader for taking time to read your email. This is just a common courtesy that is missing from many business communications.
What advice do you have in regards to effective business communication?
Published in
Business Tips
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Adding new layers of complexity within a digital service without sacrificing user experience is a difficult endeavor. Especially for platforms that accept online payments and subscription formats, maintaining support for an increasing number of payment methods is deceptively complex.
Users don't want to think too much about the payment process. Read more


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The domain-name registrars at Go Daddy have signed on to help fund Danica's Motorola-marqueed Andretti-Green car for next season. They find her "edgy, innovative and fun!" according to some guy named Bob who helms the company. H sker D was edgy, innovative and fun. Danica is not H sker D . Meanwhile, in more interesting news, Bumbeck began the initial stages of a Jet-Valvectomy on his Starion up at the place we like to refer to as "Robin Masters' Compound East." Boss pic, non? Danica? Potential. Starion? SUPER POTENTIAL! [Thanks to Haller for the tip.]
Go Daddy Press Release On the Dealy. Only click if you want another useless PDF cluttering your machine. Trust us, we gave you the best bits. We gave you Starion! [Go Daddy]
WaPo Co. Slipping? Recruiting Subpar Writers? Danica in Newsweek [Internal]


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Because Mojito is built with YUI, which has an internationalization utility, localizing Mojito applications is fairly straightforward and easy. In this module, we're just going to localize the title of our dashboard to show you how you would localize your own applications. In a nutshell, you provide localized strings, Mojito determines the language environment of the client, and you apply the correct localized string with an addon from your controller.
15 minutes
We're going to cover how to store localized strings and how to use the addon to access those localized strings for a given language environment. We'll also discuss the ways that Mojito detects the language environment of the client.
In the screenshot, you can see that our dashboard has three localized pages: English, simplified Chinese, and Spanish. Our application only localizes the title of the page, but more importantly, you'll learn how to localize your own applications in the future.
In the last module, we discussed how to create custom templates, Handlebars partials, and Handlebars helpers in Mojito. We also looked at how to configure Mojito to select templates based on the context. In short, we looked at these topics:
$ cp -r 09_hb_templates 10_localization
Mojito lets you localize applications by detecting the language environment of the client environment and then using the the YUI Internationalization utility to dynamically retrieve localized strings. Although Mojito does the work of detecting the language environment of the client, your application still needs resource bundles that contain localized strings and the Intl addon, which uses the YUI Internalization utility to fetch the correct localized string. The YUI Internationalization utility uses the Intl.lookupBestLang method to determine the best language based on an application's request and a module's language support.
We're going to first look at the resource bundle files and then show how to use the Intl addon to access the localized strings in those files.
The resource bundle is simply a JavaScript file containing a YUI module that registers a new module and maps a BCP language tag to key-value pairs. BCP 47 language tags are the identifiers for languages used on the Internet. BCP stands for IETF Best Current Practice, and BCP 47 is currently the combination of RFC 5646 and RFC 4647.
These resource bundles are placed in the lang directory of the mojit. For example, we'll be using resource bundles for the PageLayout mojit, so the resource bundles should be in the following directory: mojits/PageLayout/lang
For Mojito to find the the correct resource bundle file for a language, the files should use the following naming convention:
{mojit_name}_{BCP 47 tag}.js
The language resource files, as we've said, are YUI modules. You register the module name with YUI.add. Thus, for the PageLayout mojit, the resource bundle file will be PageLayout_zh-Hans.js.
The YUI module name of your language bundle is registered like other modules with YUI.add. For example, the resource bundle for simplified Chinese in our PageLayout, would use the following to register the module:
YUI.add('lang/PageLayout_zh-Hans.js'), function(Y) {
}, "3.1.0", {requires: ['intl']});
The resource bundle is registered with the mojit name and the BCP 47 name tag. Using the same resource bundle file, we register the resource bundle using the following:
"PageLayout", // associated module
"zh-Hans", // BCP 47 language tag
// key-value pairs for this module and language
YUITitle: "Trib - YUI 开发人员仪表板",
MojitoTitle: "Trib - Mojito 开发人员仪表板"
For those who don't read simplified Chinese, the localized strings that we registered are simply the translations of "Trib - YUI Dashboard" and "Trib - Mojito Dashboard".
We saw that the resource bundle was registered with Y.Intl.add. To use the intl module, you need to require it as shown below:
}, "3.1.0", {requires: ['intl']});
Let's look at the completed version of the resource bundle FrameMojit_zh-Hans.js:
YUI.add("lang/FrameMojit_zh-Hans", function (Y) {
"FrameMojit", // associated module
"zh-Hans", // BCP 47 language tag
// key-value pairs for this module and language
YUITitle: "Trib - YUI 开发人员仪表板",
MojitoTitle: "Trib - Mojito 开发人员仪表板"
}, "3.1.0", {requires: ['intl']});
The controller accesses the YUI intl module through the Intl addon, which is required like other addons. The Intl addon has methods to get localized strings from the resource bundles and to format dates. In the controller.server.js file below, ac.intl.lang gets the localized string from resource bundles.
index: function (ac) {
var view_type = ac.params.getFromRoute('view_type') || "yui";
if (view_type === "yui") {
title: ac.intl.lang("YUITitle"),
button_text: "See Mojito Dashboard",
other: "/mojito"
} else if (view_type === "mojito") {
title: ac.intl.lang("MojitoTitle"),
button_text: "See YUI Dashboard",
other: "/"
When running on the client side, YUI can detect the browser settings to select the default translation and date format. On the server, the preferred language and date format is determined by HTTP header from the client and the order of languages listed in the mojit controller.
Fortunately, Mojito lets you configure applications to run on either the server or client side. Because this code example illustrates how to localize your application, we want to configure Mojito to run the application on the client to improve the chances of serving content in the user's preferred language and date format.
After you have copied the application that you made in the last module (see Setting Up), change into the application 10_localization.
First let's add the lang directory to the PageLayout mojit.
In the lang directory, create the language resource bundle files PageLayout_en-US.js, PageLayout_es-419.js, and PageLayout_zh-Hans.js with the content below. Notice that the YUI registered name is the same as the directory and file, the inclusion of the intl module, and the registration of the language bundle with Y.Intl.add.
YUI.add("lang/PageLayout_en-US", function (Y) {
"PageLayout", // associated module
"en-US", // BCP 47 language tag
// key-value pairs for this module and language
YUITitle: "Trib - YUI Developer Dashboard",
MojitoTitle: "Trib - Mojito Developer Dashboard"
}, "3.1.0", {requires: ['intl']});
YUI.add("lang/PageLayout_es-419", function (Y) {
"PageLayout", // associated module
"es-419", // BCP 47 language tag
// key-value pairs for this module and language
YUITitle: "Trib - YUI Panel para desarrolladores",
MojitoTitle: "Trib - Mojito Panel para desarrolladores"
}, "3.1.0", {requires: ['intl']});
YUI.add("lang/PageLayout_zh-Hans", function (Y) {
"PageLayout", // associated module
"zh-Hans", // BCP 47 language tag
// key-value pairs for this module and language
YUITitle: "Trib - YUI 开发人员仪表板",
MojitoTitle: "Trib - Mojito 开发人员仪表板"
}, "3.1.0", {requires: ['intl']});
The controller of the PageLayout mojit will use the Intl addon to access the values of the registered language bundlers. Update the index method of the controller with the following:
index: function(ac) {
// Register helper for use in template
ac.helpers.expose('linker', createLink);
var view_type = ac.params.getFromRoute('view_type') || "yui";
if (view_type === "yui") {
title: ac.intl.lang("YUITitle"),
button_text: "See Mojito Dashboard",
other: "/mojito"
} else if (view_type === "mojito") {
title: ac.intl.lang("MojitoTitle"),
button_text: "See YUI Dashboard",
other: "/"
Also, require the Intl addon by adding the string mojito-intl-addon to the requires array.
Since this is our final application, let's put a little polish on the presentation with background images, favicons, and CSS. Copy the following images to the specified location:
We're going to update the CSS for some mojits as well so that the images and styles are used. Add the code to the file /mojits/Blog/assets/index.css:
#blog h3 strong {
background-image: url(/static/Blog/assets/favicon-blog.png);
For the following CSS files, just replace the content with the code below:
#calendar h3 strong {
background-image: url(/static/Calendar/assets/favicon-calendar.png);
#calendar .inner li {
white-space: nowrap;
text-overflow: ellipsis;
overflow: hidden;
#calendar .inner li span {
padding-right: 4px;
font-size: .8em;
display: inline-block;
width: 106px;
max-width: 7.6 em;
overflow: hidden;
#gallery h3 strong {
background-image: url(/static/Gallery/assets/favicon-blog.png);
#github h3 strong {
background-image: url(/static/Github/assets/favicon-github.png);
#twitter h3 strong {
background-image: url(/static/Twitter/assets/favicon-twitter.png);
Launch your application to see the application in its more finished form.
To view the localized title in Chinese for the dashboard, add the query string parameter ?lang=zh-Hans to the URL and refresh the page. You can see the title in Spanish as well with the query string parameter ?lang=es-419.
Let's add a functional test to test for a localized title as well. Create the test file arrow_tests/test_zh-Hans_title.js with the following content:
useConsoleOutput: true,
useBrowserConsole: true,
logInclude: { TestRunner: true }
}).use('node', 'node-event-simulate', 'test', 'console', function (Y) {
'use strict';
var suite = new Y.Test.Suite("TribApp: Localization Test"),
url = window.location.protocol + "//" + window.location.host + "/";
suite.add(new Y.Test.Case({
"test localized title": function () {
Y.Assert.areEqual("Trib - YUI 开发人员仪表板", Y.one('body h1').get('innerHTML'));
Add the test scenario below after the first scenario specified in the scenario array in the test descriptor as well.
Go ahead and run the functional tests again. You should see an additional test case passing.
Congratulations, you have completed all of the modules in this tutorial. There is still more to learn about Mojito, but you should have a strong grasp of the basics that you can build on. If you haven't already, be sure to read the documentation and work through the code examples.
Our topic was a bit more focused in this module. We added localization support for three languages for the application heading using the Intl addon and resource bundles. To do this we had to learn the following:
Make sure that in the resource bundle file, the BCP 47 language tag has been passed to Y.Intl.add and that the language tag matches the tag appended to the module and file name. For example, the file PageLayout_zh-Hans.js should register the module "lang/PageLayout_zh-Hans", and the language tag "zh-Hans" should be passed to Y.Intl.add.
This error may look familiar. The lang namespace is undefined because you have not required the Intl addon by adding the string mojito-intl-addon to the requires array.
Can you create a global resource bundle that all mojits can use?
No, the resource bundle has to be associated with a YUI module. Each mojit is registered as a YUI module that can then be associated with a resource bundle.
Can the Intl addon format dates for a given language environment?
Yes, although we didn't use it in our application, the Intl addon has the method formatData that will format dates for you. Again, Mojito is relying on YUI (the YUI module datatype-date) to do this for you.


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Our "Palm webOS Night @ Pivotal Labs" was well attended two weeks ago. Mitch Allen, of Palm introduced talks by Palm's Jesse Donaldson & yours truly. Jesse walked through an overview of how to write a Mojo (the name for Palm's framework) application and I shared our experiences, including how test-driven development can work on the platform. After working with Palm's new operating system for several months it was great finally to be able to share our experiences, talk up agile practices, and answer questions.
But don't take my word for it – go see and/or listen for yourself, or just go read Jesse's slides or my slides.
The following week the San Francisco webOS Meetup was at Palm headquarters on July 28th. The organizers asked we give the same talks. We had a larger crowd but had similar questions about platform direction and experiences. While this event at Palm wasn't recorded, the content was largely the same and it was just as great to hear enthusiasm in the community.
This excitement carries over to this Saturday. August 8th is PreDevCamp, a worldwide, self-organizing event where developers will be hacking together to teach & learn how to write applications for webOS.
I'll be at the San Francisco event, which is going to be at Palm in Sunnyvale (not exactly SF), talkin' agile, helping out and of course, hacking a bit. If you're in the Bay Area, come say, "Hi." If you're not, then register for your local PreDevCamp and go code up some apps.
About the Author


text:
They love the missal, they love it not: Two decidedly different reactions to the new translation
Georgetown's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) has some interesting data on their blog today about the reactions of Catholics to the new Roman Missal one year after it was implemented in U.S. parishes. Survey says: The vast majority really like it. Seventy percent agree with the statement, "Overall, I think the new translation of the Mass is a good thing," 20 percent of whom strongly agree.
The approval rating is even higher among Catholics who are weekly Massgoers, of whom 84 percent say the new translation is a good thing. And based on a comparison between 2012 and 2011 polling data, there's no evidence that Mass attendance has greatly dropped off. In other words, those who attend Mass regularly aren't just praising the missal because they're the only ones who haven't left over it--whether they like the missal or not, most Catholics have continued their usual Mass-going habits.
If you've read our December 2012 issue, you know these findings don't quite match our own Reader Survey on what Catholics have to say about the new missal. Among our readers, 49 percent say they dislike the new translation and are unhappy about having to put up with it for the foreseeable future. The sample sizes for the two polls were about the same: We had just over 1,200 readers take our survey while CARA had more than 1,000 responses to theirs.
Of course, there are a lot of reasons why CARA might come up with different results than we did. For one thing, they are top notch researchers who conduct scientific studies. Our poll, on the other hand, is never meant to be scientific--we allow any and all visitors to our website to complete the survey, only weeding out spam and duplicate responses. You can say our surveys are "for entertainment purposes only" in that we ask sometimes offbeat questions and look for interesting comments to print in our magazine, rather than getting true polling data.
Still, I wouldn't completely dismiss what our readers had to say. Having read through many of the responses (and those we received in our similar survey of what priests think of the new missal) I was a little surprised that the comments were so heavily negative. But more than being negative, the thing that was most clear in those comments, and in the feedback we received since the surveys were published, is that people had a very strong, emotional response to the changes in the Mass.
Those who took the time to complete our survey and write out thoughtful commentaries on the new missal were deeply affected by the change and, in many cases, just needed an opportunity to vent. It often seems easier to get people to offer feedback when they're unhappy about a topic than when they are pleased. (How many people do you think call the number on those "How's my driving?" signs to report on how much they appreciate the driver of the truck in front of them?)
So then, which survey is more accurate? I'd tend to believe CARA's finding that most Catholics are doing fine with the new translation after having used it for a year. But those who dislike it (and were thus more likely to volunteer their opinions to us) are clearly very passionate about the matter. We--including the church's leaders--should continue listening to folks on both sides of the aisle to learn more about what's behind each group's feelings. I'm sure this conversation is far from over, and I don't think that's a bad thing.
Flickr photo cc by gbcarmelite


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text:
'U2-3' was the first single released by U2, originally appearing in both the 7" and 12" formats - the latter highly sought after by collectors. Only 1,000 copies were pressed and were individually hand-numbered by Jackie Hayden, formerly Marketing Manager at CBS Records in Ireland and later General Manager at Hot Press magazine. This collectible had all four band members' names scratched into both sides of the vinyl and the word 'Ireland' appeared on the label. The original 7" version had UKTM No.B81 8091 written on the label after the copyright.
Three songs were in contention to be the a-side for the single so DJ Dave Fanning was asked to poll listeners on his radio show to vote which song should be the a-side. The three songs were Out of Control, Boy/Girl and Stories For Boys. Fanning's listeners chose Out Of Control, a song that Bono wrote on his 18th birthday. Both Out Of Control and Stories For Boys appeared on the Boy album. Boy/Girl was only released as a single.
On January 15, 1980, U2 performed Stories For Boys on the Late Late Show. Out Of Control can be found on the Irish A-Z Of Rock compilation. Stories For Boys can be found on the Just For Kicks compilation of Dublin bands, with sleeve notes by Dave Fanning. A live version of Stories For Boys was released as a b-side on the Sweetest Thing single. This version was a different mix than the one on Just For Kicks and a slightly longer version than the one on Boy. A live version of Boy/Girl was also released as a b-side on the 7" I Will Follow single.
Producer Chas deWhalley/U2
'Out of Control is about waking up on your eighteenth birthday and realising that youre 18 years old and that the two most important decisions in your life have nothing to do with you - being born and dying.'
Bono in Hot Press, October 1979
They used to say about U2 that we had an anti-dance stance, music to fall over to - which I thought was funny. I remember in an American club on an early tour, Bono, after a few bevvies was persuaded to go on the floor and the DJ put on Out of Control and not only did everybody leave the floor but he couldn't dance to it either.'
Edge in 1987.
02 June, 2017
U2 ThreeIn September 2015 I traveled home to Ireland from Australia. I stayed at my parents house in Ballincollig. One day my sister Maire told me that there was a box of my old vinyl upstairs. We went upstairs to see. The first record that I pulled out of the box was U2's first commercial recording it was an EP called U2 Three! The record has sat quietly and undisturbed in that box for 36 years... A lifetime.


text:
Throwback Clip Of The Week: Lil Kim on Howard Stern Back In 2002!
Lil Kim Says: Me being interviewed by Howard Stern talking about sex with Biggie, my past selling drugs, my first time having sex, rumors, my boobs popping out and MUCH MORE!
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The Arizona Ironman in November was a great success for FCA Endurance. Many FCA-E teammates raced—some competing in their very first full ironman event—and those who didn't race were able to cheer on and support the athletes on the course. While the Ironman race itself was a great way for FCA-E to show a Christ-centered presence to athletes and fans alike, the expo and Ironprayer provided an incredible platform for Christ to impact the lives of those who attended.
The Phoenix huddle took charge of the event, setting up an FCA-E booth at the expo and helping with Ironprayer as well. Phoenix huddle leaders John and Debbie Foster were thrilled with the opportunity they had at the expo to share Christ with others. "We had great conversations at the booth and got God's Word into a lot of people's hands," Debbie said, and the Phoenix huddle met one man whose story confirmed the importance of doing just that.
Gary Vermette, a triathlete from Canada, traveled to Arizona to compete in the event. After meeting the Phoenix huddle at the expo and beginning conversations with other FCA-E teammates, Gary decided to attend Ironprayer. "The speakers at Ironprayer were eloquent and inspiring," Gary said, "and the praise and worship team was great." Gary also appreciated the presence of FCA-E on the race course. "FCA-E teammates encouraged us all the way." Gary could not deny the impact that FCA Endurance had on his life while he was in Arizona. "I want to thank the FCA Endurance organization for helping me reconnect with Christ. Without them, who knows how long I would've been a lost soul."
It's incredible how much Gary learned—how much his relationship with Christ changed—after interacting with FCA-E teammates for one weekend. The support, love, and grace extended by the Phoenix huddle proved to Gary that life was about a lot more than racing triathlons, and because of that Gary turned toward Christ and began seeking Him. We never know how our presence as FCA Endurance teammates is influencing those around us, and we cannot take that lightly. For Gary, FCA-E was the starting point of a new relationship with Christ, and he will never forget the way his life was changed. "This weekend will go down as one of the most spiritual journeys I have ever experienced." May we constantly strive to be Christ in order to impact people like Gary.
"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." – 2 Corinthians 5: 14-15
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It was just a couple months ago when Portfolio.com did an interesting feature about the post-NFL career of quarterback Ryan Leaf, detailing his remarkable success as football and golf coach at West Texas A & M and, most surprising, the fact that he's still a multi-millionaire thanks to past endorsement money. But there may be some trouble in Leaf's post-NFL oasis, as ESPN.com is reporting that Leaf has taken a leave of absence from his assistant coaching position at West Texas A &M for "personal" reasons. ESPN also dropped this little nugget of info in the story:
A person briefed on the situation said that Leaf acknowledged he had asked a player for a pill to help him deal with pain in his wrist dating to his NFL playing days.
The West Texas A & M athletic department hasn't had an official comment yet, but they also said they weren't sure if Leaf would still coach at the university after this gets sorted out. Leaf placed on leave of absence [ESPN]