text:
Although there are many sometimes confusing and contradictory statistics around search engine marketing and especially SEO, the AOL data provides a rare chance to see accurate statistics from a major engine fed by Google.
The results should be analysed by anyone interested in SEM…
During the week of August 6, the enlightened souls at AOL's research division released a database of about 658,000 users and the searches each made from March to May, 2006. The searches amounted to 20 million web queries.
These results were supposed to be anonymised but at least one person has already been tracked down by the New York Times, see 'A Face Is Exposed for AOL Searcher No. 4417749'. The 'gaffe' has since been analysed by everyone from the digerati to local newspaper columnists.
The data is statistically relevant because it was a relatively big sample and was based on three months of search data.
Importantly, and given that AOL's search queries are returned from Google's index, the data also gives us some insight into Google, one of the most secretive search engines.
Some of the findings are pretty interesting…
47% of searches result in no clicks on any of the returned results. This supports the evidence that many users, rather than clicking through search result pages, prefer to refine their search query and search again.
Hey presto, we also find that 90% of user clicks are on the first page and a mere 4% of user clicks are on the second page. It has never been more important to be on the first page of search results.
Looking at exactly how the clicks were distributed throughout the first page of results it is even more alarming for sites that do not list highly:
- 42% of clicks are on the 1st placed result.
- 12% of clicks are on the 2nd placed result.
- 8% of clicks are on the 3rd placed result.
- 6% of clicks are on the 4th placed result.
- 5% of clicks are on the 5th placed result.
So the first five results attract a whopping three quarters of the total clicks.
For a more detailed analysis of the data go to
Although 'blackhat' SEO is not for the fainthearted there's a little tool on seoblackhat which allows you to put in a keyword's search volume and it utilises what the AOL data tells us to predict clicks by search engine and rank.
Given the functional and interface experience similarity between all the algorithmic search engines I think that the AOL data is a fascinating insight into search clickstream, and a good source of SEO information, made more important because of its relationship to Google usage.
The data confirms what we experience every day – the race for search supremacy against your competitors has never been so fierce. Do your keyword research thoroughly and exploit the gaps that your competition misses, and focus on what will deliver those top five positions, the rest is vanity.
Oh, and be careful what you search for, your clickstream maybe in the New York Times before you can say 'how can I grow pot'…
Arjo Ghosh is CEO of
, a search engine marketing agency.


text:
Hearing aids have improved the quality of many people's lives, but most users have learned they are less than ideal in noisy environments.
Going to the airport, store or doctor's office can be frustrating, said Dr. Frank R. Lin, a Johns Hopkins Hospital otologist and epidemiologist. For the hospital clinic, the Listening Center, he sought a special system that can cut out audio clutter and transmit a speaker's voice directly to a person's hearing aid or cochlear implant.
In addition to helping the estimated 5,000 patients who pass through the clinic each year, he's hoping to spark interest from other hospitals and public facilities in such a system, called a hearing loop, for their buildings.
"Hearing aids are great one-on-on in a quiet room," he said. "But once there's overhead noise it's a problem. Church is a good example. People don't go because they can't hear anymore. But with a loop the difference is dramatic."
One recent day, patient Pam McKee got a demonstration. She approached the check-in desk at the Hopkins clinic. The exchange normally is a chore that her husband helps her with. But this day she heard every word.
Hopkins placed the system at the Listening Center's eight check-in stations and also in the waiting area so patients can hear their numbers called over the public loudspeakers or tune into the televisions.
The 59-year-old Baltimore woman's cochlear implant was installed just over a year ago and she said it's been helpful but not all the time. She'd lost hearing in her left ear as a child after a case of the mumps. She lost much of her hearing in her right ear after suffering from the H1N1 flu and other medical problems.
"I can hardly believe how well I can hear," she said of the loop system. "The airport, the bank, it can be really difficult to hear clearly. … Now that I know about the loops I'm surprised they haven't been installed more places."
McKee's husband, a church pastor, is looking into an installation to help her and others in the congregation with hearing aids and implants.
The technology is decades old but rarely used. To function, a copper wire is installed around the room and hooked into any existing speaker and television sound systems.
Also called induction loops, the systems pick up audio frequencies with microphones and transmit them wirelessly to any listening device equipped with its own copper telecoil wire. Like the bulk of hearing aids and cochlear implants, McKee's implant has a telecoil.
Hopkins wired its waiting area and check-in stations for $10,000.
Sue Tanea, a sales manager at Hearing Technologies LLC, said the Hopkins loop is the only permanent one she's installed in Baltimore. She did note a temporary loop installed in March at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, which inspired Lin to seek out a system at Hopkins.
That temporary installation was in collaboration with the advocacy group Hearing Loss Association of America, which has begun a more extensive lobbying campaign for the loops.
Washington, New York and Michigan have more extensive systems, in airports, subways, churches and other public venues, said Tanea and Lin. The doctor believes in each case, a few vocal advocates pushed public officials to install the systems.
Locally, they knew of no other loops. But the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation recently announced that it had installed a new system in its main gathering areas after a congregant who also is an audiologist spearheaded the project. The facility had installed a loop system 25 years ago that had fallen into disrepair. Those without telecoils in their devices also can borrow portable receivers.
Lin and McKee believe the systems will make people with hearing loss more independent.
Nearly 6.7 million Americans age 50 and older have some hearing loss, according to Lin's past research. Only a small percentage use hearing aids because their insurance doesn't cover them, he said, or they don't think they need them or perceive that they do not work well.
That may be something the loops could help with, he said. And that could be important because other research by Lin shows a connection between hearing loss and risk of isolation and physical and mental debilitation.
Hearing loss statistics
1 out of 5 people who need a hearing aid wears one.
Roughly 41,500 adults and 25,500 children in the U.S. have received cochlear implants.
Approximately 26 million Americans between ages 20 and 69 have high-frequency hearing loss due to loud sounds or noise at work or in leisure activities.
Source: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Tall Grid-Tufted Headboard
- Contract Grade
- Overview
Our Tall Grid-Tufted Headboard gets its shape from geometric detailing rather than traditional buttons, for a tufted look that's comfortable to lean on at any angle. This tall version is a full two rows of tufting higher than the original.
- This contract-grade item is manufactured to meet the demands of commercial use in addition to residential. See more.
- Solid wood frame; fully upholstered to the floor.
- Back of headboard covered in muslin.
- Slotted holes for added flexibility in mounting to frame.
- Coordinates with our Simple, Tall Simple, Box Frame and Narrow Leg Bed Frames (sold separately).
- Imported.
- Select sizes are online/catalog only.
- Details + Dimensions
- Twin: 40"w x 6.5"d x 56"h.
- Full: 56"w x 6.5"d x 56"h.
- Queen: 62.4"w x 6.5"d x 56"h.
- King: 78"w x 6.5"d x 56"h.
- Slotted holes distance from floor (2): 5.5"h; 8"h.
- Make sure it fits! See our guide on measuring for delivery.
Assembled upon delivery via White Glove Service. View assembly instructions.
Spot clean with a damp cloth. Hardware may loosen over time. Periodically, check that all connections are tight.
- Shipping + Returns
Please note that special order items require 8 – 10 weeks delivery and are non-refundable; Quick Ship colors and fabrics receive delivery in 2 – 4 weeks.
- Shipped via standard ground service
- Items marked as White Glove are delivered with our In-Home Delivery
- In-Home Delivery is by appointment (Mon-Sat) depending on area
- Our delivery service will call to schedule within a 4-hour window
- Item is delivered in the manufacturer's packaging to your room of choice
- Includes unpacking, assembly and packaging removal
- Available in the 48 contiguous states only
- For our guide to measuring for delivery click here
The shipping rate varies depending on your order total and shipping options.
Please note, some furniture, rugs and other large items that are bulky or heavy items have a delivery surcharge listed in parentheses ($) after the item price. These delivery surcharges are in addition to the standard delivery shipping charges. View Shipping Rates and Options
We happily accept returns on stocked items within the time frames listed below. Products designated as special order (SPO) cannot be canceled or returned. All items on our website and in-store are considered 'stocked' unless expressly identified as 'special order' instead. Prior purchases are not eligible for price adjustments. Please familiarize yourself with our returns policy before placing your order.
Stocked Items: If you are dissatisfied with your purchase of a stocked item, you must exchange or return it within the following time frames for a full refund of the merchandise cost (delivery fees are non-refundable). Outside these time frames, we will replace or refund your purchase against manufacturer's defects ONLY. Please note that we cannot accept returns on gift cards or items damaged through normal wear and tear. We also cannot accept returns of final-sale items, which are identified by a price ending in .99 or .97.
- Quick Ship upholstery items must be returned within 7 days of the order receipt date.
- All other stocked products must be returned within 30 days of the order receipt date.
Special Order Items (SPO): Because they're custom made to your specifications, special order items may not be canceled or returned and are exchangeable against manufacturer's defects ONLY. SPO includes special order upholstery items, monogrammed/personalized items, special order rugs, one-of-a kind rugs and any products being shipped directly from a third-party vendor. Any special order items will be flagged as 'special order' in your shopping cart. NEW JERSEY CUSTOMERS: Special-order upholstered furniture returns are subject to applicable state law and are non-returnable after 24 hours of delivery.
For further assistance please call our customer service department at 1.888.922.4119 or send an email to firstname.lastname@example.com
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what makes west elm different?
born in brooklyn + lives on with you
Original Designs
In our studios, we design 90% of the products we sell—allowing us to create exclusive designs and source the best materials at a great value.
Doing Good
We prioritize using Sustainably Sourced Woods and Organic Cotton, and work with Fair Trade factories that protect workers and improve lives.
Design Services
Our FREE on-staff Design Crew at every west elm store is here to help you create a space you love, from creating room plans to choosing fabrics.


text:
Home She Was Scorned For Her Strange Skin Tone However Now She's Killing It As A Model She-Was-Scorned-For-Her-Strange-Skin-Tone-However-Now-Shes-Killing-It-As-A-Model
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29 Indian States And Their Dress Codes!
India is an diverse country with so many states and all of them have different cultures. Habits like food clothing language everything changes with the borders. There can be so many colors seen in our country when it comes to culture.


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Host your servers in our facility. 24/7 live monitoring, power backup, redundant connections and more.See more
Register, manage or renew your domain.
.com .net .org .ca .co.uk
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Put our expertise to work for your fixed-wireless or wireline ISP business. Custom solutions, expert advice and moreSee more
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Tera-Byte Dot Com Inc is a privately held Corporation in the city of Edmonton in the province of Alberta, Canada. Our main office and datacenter is located in the CN Tower in Edmonton Alberta.
Tera-Byte Dot Com Inc. is committed to "excellence in customer satisfaction" through quality in product design, support and service whilst continuously researching and implementing new features.
Tera-Byte's management is committed to build on its industry leadership by providing total quality in customer satisfaction. Our mission is to provide our clients with exceptional uptime, stability and support, which continuously meet or exceed their performance requirements.


text:
In her most recent start, the Stanley Gold trainee was beaten just over a length when fourth in the $75,000 Distaff Turf Stakes at Tampa, and three starts ago was five lengths behind subsequent Grade 3 Hillsborough Stakes Old Tune in the Grade 3 Endeavour.
Awesome Belle has been assigned post two for the Mairzy Doates, which attracted an overflow field of 13, and will be ridden by Fernando Jara.
Drawn directly to the outside of Awesome Belle in post three is Lewis Schaffel, Jim Collins, and Joel Schwartz's Team, most recently second in a top-shelf turf allowance a Gulfstream Park where she was beaten less than a length by the rapidly-developing Suroof, and was a neck clear of graded-stakes winner Heavenly Landing.
Prior to that performance, the daughter of Empire Maker had prevailed in three of four starts, including a maiden win at Calder last April, with her only defeat during that span coming in the Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial at Delaware Park where she was 4 ½ lengths shy of victory when fourth.
Stride Rite Racing Stable, Inc.'s Frolic's Revenge, a three-time stakes winner at Calder last year, with two of those victories, the $100,000 Calder Oaks and the $55,000 Sweettrickydancer, coming over the local lawn, will try to add to her Calder successes when starting from post four under jockey Paco Lopez in the Mairzy Doates.
The Milt Wolfson-trained daughter of Vindication boasts an impressive three-for-five record on the Calder turf course, although both of her grassy defeats were sizable ones that came at the sword of fellow Mairzy Doates combatant Awesome Belle.
Other notable entrants in the Mairzy Doates include Brinkerhill Farm, LLC's Millennia, fourth in this year's Sunshine Millions Sprint in mid-January; RJM Stables, LLC's Sweet Little Lion, most recently third in the Distaff Turf; and Frank C. Calabrese's Celestial Kitten, a Grade 2-placed daughter of Kitten's Joy last seen dominating a local allowance.
Completing the field is Miller Racing, LLC's Canadian Mistress, Kathleen Amaya and Raffaele Centofanti's Topazio, Chasing Tails Stables, LLC's Lexington Pearl, Continental Racers, Inc.'s El Bendinat, Lone Stable, LLC's Parranda, and Silverton Hill, LLC's Bahia Beach. John Buckley, Jr. and Ralph Durante's Sonja's Angel is also-eligible for the race and was entered main track only.
The Mairzy Doates is scheduled as the ninth race on a 12-race Saturday program with an approximate post time of 4:40 p.m. First race post time at Calder is 12:50 p.m.


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For Santa Barbara City College, alumni are one of our greatest assets. If you would
like to become involved in our forthcoming Alumni Association, please send us your contact information.
The Alumni Association will provide opportunities for networking, community involvement, career development, volunteering, mentoring, and philanthropy.
We invite you to stay connected with your former classmates as well as generations of SBCC students.


text:
Say you're a Doc, working out of NYU Hospital on 1st and 34th, and on October 29 you park your car in the lot next door. Sandy rolls in, and the next morning your car is 20 feet underwater. You've got insurance, so a week later, check in hand, you look at new cars and narrow it down to two. A decked out Lexus LS460 and very nice Audi A8. The walk out price on both cars comes to 8o grand. Which one do you choose?
That was just three months ago. At that time the relative value of these cars was equal. If you assume that 80% of the cost of the car was the imported value, then you were "paying" 50,394 Euros for the Audi and 512,000 Yen for the Lexus. At the exchange rates in early November, the Euro component of the Audi was $64,000 (80,000 X 80% X EURUSD 1.27). The Yen cost was also $64,000 (80,000 X 80% /80.00). The EURJPY exchange rate was 102.
Today the EURJPY FX rate is 1.2650. The dollar cost of those Euros and Yen have changed substantially. $68,900 is now the Euro component of the Audi (+3,900). The dollar cost of the imported Lexus has fallen to $55, 350 (-$8,649). Looking at just the FX rate changes, the cost of the Lexus is down to $71,350, the Audi is up to $84,910. In three months there is a $13,560 price gap. Now which one do you choose?
I bring this up to make the point about how very rapidly the terms of trade have turned against Germany (all of the EU) and in favor of Japan. What is striking, is how quickly the adjustment has been. Consider this 15 year chart of the EURJPY:
What jumps out in the chart is the huge drop in the FX rate that occurred staring from July of 2008, and ending in February 2009. I discount that period of extreme volatility as it was marked by global instability. During those same months the S&P fell 50%. Everything was going wild.
If you exclude (or diminish) the 2008-09 experience, then you could could say that the movement in the EURJPY over the past six months is the most violent (vertical lines) in recent history.
The period from 1999 to 2004 is notable as an "up" period for EURJPY. The trend for that period was driven by steady currency intervention by the Bank of Japan. So the spikes higher for the EURJPY are quite different than what we are witnessing today. The Yen is not weakening because of a forceful Central Bank. If anything, the BOJ has "disappointed" on what it has promised to do.
What we are witnessing is Yen weakness (yes, coupled with Euro strength vs the $). The rate of change has been very substantial, arguably, this is the most volatile period in FX over the past 15 years.
Compare the prior periods of FX upheaval to today. In many ways, what has happened of late with the Yen versus the major currencies is unique to history. What is also amazing (to me) is that this FX violence is happening at a time when equity markets are soaring.
From 1999 - 2003 NASDAQ fell 70%, the S&P got clipped for 40%. 2008 - 2009 was a horror show. Today, the equity markets are thriving on the FX instability.
Are in we in one of those "New Paradigm" things with markets again? A financial world that can go through a very turbulent period in FX, while there is no fallout anywhere else?
For what it is worth, I didn't believe in the New Paradigm in 2000, I don't believe in it today.


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Product Reference: LT51GB
- Personalised Laser Engraving (12 font choices)
The Micra is the most popular mini tool amongst all kinds of hobbyists. With 10 useful tools packed into this tiny, lightweight Leatherman, it's proof that good things come in small packages. For a perfect gift they'll use daily, look no further than the Micra.
10 Tools -
- 420HC clip point knife
- Extra small screwdriver
- Medium screwdriver
- Flat Phillips screwdriver
- Spring action scissors
- Nail file/cleaner
- Bottle opener
- Ruler
- Tweezers
Features -
- Stainless steel with anodised aluminium handle scales
- Stainless steel body
- Keyring attachment
Size; Weight -
- Knife blade length: 1.6" | 4.06cm
- Closed length: 2.5" | 6.5cm
- Weight: 1.8oz | 51g
Order now for same day dispatch
Orders received by 2pm during weekdays will usually be dispatched the same day, orders received from 2pm onwards the following working day. Orders with personalised laser engraving do not impact on these same day dispatch timings.
Personalised Engraving
We are so confident that you will be delighted with the quality of the engraving that if for any reason you are not completely satisfied we still offer our no quibble returns service.
Guaranteed Delivery
UK Deliveries:
Standard (FREE over £30): 3-5 working days.
Express (£3.99): 1-3 working days.
Special Delivery - Excluding Sundays: Next Day before 1pm.
Should you not be present for a signed delivery Royal Mail will leave a form to arrange redelivery or pick up at your local depot.
International orders will be dispatched using BPost International Tracked. Please note larger orders outside of the EU may be subject to import taxes. Once you have selected your delivery country in the basket you will be given a delivery window and local UK tax will be subtracted from your total.
Free Returns
You can return any products purchased from us - including personalised products -for a no quibble refund using our free returns service within 60 days of receiving the item. Returns from outside the UK will need to pay return postage.
Multi-tool-store has in house, state-of-the-art laser engraving machinery, operated by skilled and experienced staff to ensure that your product is engraved with a perfect, striking and everlasting finish.
We are so confident that you will be delighted with the quality of the engraving that if for any reason you are not completely satisfied we still offer our no quibble returns service.
To order engraving please check the box "Personalised Laser Engraving'.
1. Select position of engraving
2. Choose your font
3. Enter your message.
For logos, corporate orders or special requests please call 0844 5678 365.
The LeathermanMicra Multi Tool (Green) is supplied with a 25 year warranty.


text: All: I had the above member contact me and needing to sell some of his memorabilia. He gave me a sob story about needing money so he had to sell his stuff. Sent me pics etc. I am generally a good hearted guy and wanted to help a fellow member out. So I sent him money. Well guess what? Never got the stuff. I have exchanged communications and got the run around...I am asking people to send it...I will send it next week...blah blah...now he has disappeared and stopped communicating. I have now turned it over for prosecution. I am not going to rest until the dirt bag pays. SO....beware this guy if he contacts you about buying stuff. He is a loser lying jerkwad thief. And he will rip you off like the scumbag he is. -Matt Owner FinHeaven PS And people why there arent nice people in the world and why people dont help each other. Its because idiots like this.


text:
Louis Vuitton Virginia Monogram VernisCategories:Louis Vuitton
Anything that's not proud to own is not worth the risk and everything that's not made from the top of the top, the crème de la crème, does not deserve you to swipe the 'card', save the energy.
A famous historical quote reads: 'a touch of gold' – the man that can change any object into gold just by touching it. Now I love gold, but I do not want to be blessed with such a great talent. I rather eat my Macarons in strawberry taste than gold.
But the Monogram Vernis has almost 'identical' power, every time Louis Vuitton says: 'Let's add some Monogram Vernis', the bag, wallet and accessories instantly change into a beautiful swan – so pure that you'd admire, so good-looking that you want to flaunt and so damn attractive that you will want to kidnap it.
The Louis Vuitton Virginia in Monogram Vernis has more in store than its pretty face, starting with the sophisticated shape, making it suitable as an ideal day-to-day bag or day-to-evening bag. Finished with shiny golden brass including a chain strap and eyelets, engraved with Louis Vuiton closing hook. You can find a zipped pocket and 2 flat pocket in the interior, it comes in two different sizes; the PM and the MM for the city living.
Louis Vuitton Virginia Monogram Vernis PM
Size: 9.1' x 7.5' x 2.4' inches (W x H x D)
Price: €1.820 / £1,560 GBP
Louis Vuitton Virginia Monogram Vernis MM
Size: 11.0' x 9.1' x 4.3' inches (W x H x D)
Price: $3,300 USD / €2.180 / £1,870 GBP
Tags: Louis Vuitton Monogram Vernis Virginia
comnum(0) tbcount(0) tbcount(560)
Newly Virginia Louis Vuitton Monogram Vernis Size & PriceCategories:Louis Vuitton
Monogram Vernis Louis Vuitton handbag is a famous and iconic material which popular and hot for a long time. And the Virginia edition LV Bags 2014 Sale is created for those mature, self-confidence, the pursuit of high-quality life, leading the fashion trend of urban Ladies. LV Virginia bag positioning in the high-end fashion, simple style and glamor. The sophisticated and versatile shape make those Virginia Louis Vuitton bag an perfect day-to evening bag.
Look at the pics, newly LV Virginia Monogram Vernis bags come out in shiny golden brass metallic parts such as belts of 122cm, and clip for opening and closing the bag. They are available two size which including PM and MM. Take a view and tell us will you cop them at our site for lower price?
Virginia LV Monogram Vernis' Size &Price
Louis Vuitton Virginia Monogram Vernis PM
Size: 9.1′x 7.5′x 2.4′inches (W x H x D)
Price: €1.820 / £1,560 GBP
Louis Vuitton Virginia Monogram Vernis MM
Size: 11.0′ x 9.1′ x 4.3′ inches (W x H x D)
Price: $3,300 USD / €2.180 / £1,870 GBP
Tags: LV bags Monogram Vernis Virginia


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The third edition of the annual Beat Herder festival takes places on the Dockber Farm near Sawley, a fairly isolated place in the Ribble Valley in the northern Pennines. As we arrive here late on the Friday night, the festival is already in full swing, with around 4,500 revellers in the fields, surrounded on all sides by high hills and the most dramatic skies you can imagine.
There are several tents and stages at the festival, including a sizable, open-air main stage which attracts the larger acts but, as it is already well into night time, we head straight for the Toil Soundsystem, a dance, well, area, located within the centre of large copse of pine trees.
Above us, there's a deep red sky which beats any laser and light show you've ever seen, though the rest of the set up is straight out of a superclub. There is a genuinely massive soundsystem, a large DJ booth and plenty of room to dance upon the leaves and admire the drama and silliness of a rave in a forest. The numerous DJs don't spare the beats either, with Toni Jarvis and Utah Saints being in particular class, and the tracks are a good mix of crowd pleasers and cutting-edge stuff.
Beer sales end early, but at this point the situation feeds upon itself. A man in a cloak dances on a tree stump, herds of cow/human hybrids run through the forest, and with all normal boundaries and conventions removed, people are happy to be themselves or something else entirely. The party is hard, but there is a general light and fun atmosphere in the air. Nothing is better though than the simple fact that you are dancing underneath the sky, watching it change from one shade to another 'til it slowly turns to dawn. Finally leaving the forest in the morning as the fire starts to die, there's a sunrise coming over the horizon, bringing to mind the experiences some of the earliest ravers must have felt.
With a few hours of sleep gained, it is now time to explore this well-formed festival in further detail. This mission is only hampered by the truly schizophrenic weather, which your nature-numbskull reporter may think is something to do with how high up we are in the hills. Driving rain is followed ten minutes later by blistering sunshine, and the dramatically deep blue or ominous, doom-laden black clouds that bring this can both be seen constantly approaching from the distance, one after the other, which at least allows time for running between tents.
At some point we give up trying to second-guess the weather and head to the main stage. This is a good thing as we catch what we reckon is undoubtedly the best act of the festival. Laboratory Noise are strong and tight players. Their mixture of sounds is expansive but edgy and quite beautiful on all levels. Alternately fuzzy and jangly, they are a well-rounded band that we'll watch out for in the future.
On our first entry into the tent known as the Beat Herder and District Working Men's Social Club, we're treated to a bald club singer, Dewsbury's finest apparently, and not only can the man sing, but he looks good in that monkey suit. We sample excellent versions of 'Sway' and a few Sinatra numbers and leave just as a beefy photographer in a nurse's suit really starts to get his groove on. Outside on the main stage we have Guessmen. Fronted by a man wearing a pork pie hat and holding a megaphone, they make noises something like Tom Waits crossed with Modest Mouse, though not nearly as good as that sounds on paper.
Perhaps the best part of this festival, if not all festivals, is just chilling on the grass and watching the punters go by. Beat Herder is not short of its fancy dress enthusiasts, with the best we've seen probably being the man dressed in a huge costume that looks something like a cross between a Mexican, a fish and an owl. After a while, the line between men and women, human and animal, begins to blur.
One of the highlights of Saturday is a great, long set by the Lancashire Hot Pots. For those of you who live under a rock, or don't have the benefit of BBC North West Tonight, the Lancashire Hot Pots (MySpace) wear traditional Lancashire working class dress, and do traditional Lancashire working-class folk music. Well, something of an updated version thereof. With songs like 'He's Turned Emo', 'Chippy Tea', and 'Shopmobility Scooter', it may be one joke, but it is a funny one, at least to most people born north of Watford who don't have a rod shoved up their arse. They play all the standards and mid-set we get the romantic moment of the festival as a man dressed a woman proposes to a woman dressed as a woman.
- - -
We head back to the Working Men's Club where a man in his mid '30s is doing '70s-style bluesy keyboard wig-outs. As he does his thing, we think about how this festival really has come out of the local community, like the clubs that this tent is named in mocking honour of, as a way of coming together to celebrate and have fun. The growing phenomenon of local festivals organised by local people out of the desire to put on a good show for their peers, rather than any desire make cash, seems to tap into something ancient, reaching back almost to carnivals and shows organised by ancient guilds. Perhaps that's reading too much into things, but looking back at the sort of festivals beloved by the pagans, aside from the electronics, Beat Herder doesn't seem too far removed.
Walking around the fields, there isn't a Carling, 02 or even Oxfam logo to be seen, and there's only a light security presence. But there's also is the biggest mix of people we've ever seen at a festival and amongst the most jovial of atmospheres. You get the impression that any knob-headedness would be stamped out immediately by the punters without the smiling guards having to dive in. There's also easily the least amount of litter, as people seem to make a real effort to pick up their shit. Maybe that's down to our increasing environmental concerns, but I reckon, like with the lack of kick-offs, it's more down to respect. There's no corporate hand behind this event, however benevolent, and it shows in people's behaviour. Punters know that lot of people have put a lot of work into the festival so they can have a good time, and it's paid back in kind.
The festival also manages to pull of the hard trick of being family friendly without being sterile. There are tents where kids can make art and music, and most wander about quite happily with even the hardest ravers checking their behaviour a little in their presence. That said, with some of the early experiences of these kids being so intense as this, you get the impression that by the time some of them have reached the rebellious teenage stage they'll go straight into injecting coke into their eyeballs.
Beat Herder is also the most heart-on-sleeve northern festival we've been too. Not 'poor us' or even 'fuck you' northern, but: 'Yeah, we're northern, crazy, proud, and we know how to have a good time. And we know how to dress as a woman and still look hard as fuck. Beat that.' As some local rock kids Metallica it up on their day in the sun, a trackied-up scall leads some crusties and hippy mums in a merry jig and we decide to move on.
After another wandering between the stages and tents we realise that we've just been in what is likely going to be one of the few situations in life when you're faced with an entertainment choice within just a few feet of a large brass band, a row of girls doing the can-can, some old men in cowboy hats playing Van Morrison covers, and a tent-load of serious drum and bass.
- - -
Saturday night sees X Press 2 on the main stage, which generates some pure old-school rave action amongst the crowd, but it's in the trees that it's really kicking off. We arrive to a great set from Andrew Weatherall, the man behind Primal Scream's 'Loaded' and perhaps the most famous act on at the festival. It's a stellar set and afterwards Mr Weatherall stands at the side of the stage beaming like a Cheshire Cat at the situation as Domski takes over DJ duties. At this point we stumble across a tunnel, the size of a ventilation shaft, which, after some complex negotiation, we find leads us into a well populated living room. There's nothing on the telly, so we head back to the rave.
On Sunday morning, after trying to second-guess the whether for too long, we head back into the trees and get some really class hard house from a DJ called Nick, of 'Nick and Gaz' apparently, and despite having an inch of mud rather than a sprung dance floor, pull-off some decent afternoon moves. We're watched curiously by some nearby children and we try to work out whether we're being a good example or a gentle warning.
Back on the main stage, we learn to avoid Daniel Orlick and the Diplomats in the future. Mr Orlick is cretinous Yank with crap lyrics to crap songs, made much worse by his continually whiny-voiced bluster about how he doesn't care what we think. Despite this posturing, you still get the impression that after the set he's going to go home and bang his head repeatedly against the mirror 'til he passes out.
At this point we decide that we're not muddy enough not to care anymore, but too muddy to be comfortable; time for a swift exit.
It seems as if 2008 is the year that Glastonbury lost its shine amongst the underground. The festival, famous all over the world, now gets just too much mainstream media coverage and too many nice middle-class people attending it. Possibly a load of rubbish, but that's the consensus.
It was the inception of that festival in 1970 though, that seemed to re-awaken something deep in the British consciousness; a need for a collective celebration, silliness and the breaking of the ever-increasing drudgery of everyday existence. Since then Glastonbury, along with the legacy of the illegal rave scene, has helped make Britain the festival capital of Europe and spawned a hundred other events around the country. Beat Herder is one of these, organised locally, being as much about the visitors as the bands, non-corporate, inclusive and above all a good laugh. It's a worthy northern successor to Glastonbury and we'll gladly look forward to another year of sheep and beats.
Find the official Beat Herder website here


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Let's face it, employees are spending more time these days working than enjoying life itself. That's why Glassdoor has just released its annual top 25 companies for work-life balance.
Flexibility, work culture and innovation were noted as key attributes for gaining balance by the winners for 2013. The top 25 companies were selected based on thousands of company reviews and ratings shared by employees.
Related Topics : A Big Market for Big Data Jobs, Midmarket CIO, IT Management Automation, SharePoint, Technology Markets
The gig economy is clearly disrupting the tech industry, both in positive and negative ways. ... More >>
Is fake news a security issue? Some say yes, as it can be used as a social engineering tool to spread disinformation and conceivably to get unsuspecting users to click on malicious links. ... More >>
Executives at several top tech firms outline the skills they need now and in the near future, including IaaS and IoT security expertise. Other skills listed may surprise you. ... More >>


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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) Kenny Boynton and Mike Rosario scored 15 points apiece and No. 4 Florida dominated another Southeastern Conference opponent, drubbing South Carolina 75-36 Wednesday night.
The Gators, who won their ninth game in a row, led 33-10 at halftime and made their first five shots after the break. They opened a 31-point lead that seemingly couldn't get any more lopsided.
Then it did.
Florida (17-2, 7-0 SEC) pulled ahead 55-15 on Scottie Wilbekin's floater in the lane with 12:32 remaining, sending the happy home crowd to the exits even earlier than usual this season.
The Gamecocks (12-8, 2-5), meanwhile, seemed dazed on the floor and the bench.
Michael Carrera led South Carolina with 13 points and nine rebounds. None of his teammates reached double figures.
The Gators have enjoyed seven blowouts in as many conference games. They won the first six by an average of 26.5 points. This one made those seem like nail-biters.
Florida overwhelmed South Carolina from the opening tip, doing just about everything right.
It had to ease coach Billy Donovan's mind some. After all, the Gators came into the game with their highest ranking since the 2006-07 season, and Donovan expressed concern earlier in this week when he talked about his players needing to ``drive our car with two hands on the wheel inside the lane and looking at what's in front.''
The Gators had no issues staying focused.
In fact, they probably could have been stopped for speeding.
Florida led 11-2 in the first 6 minutes of the game, pulled ahead 21-4 at the halfway point of the first half and probably could have named their score after that.
The Gamecocks had three baskets, two assists and 11 turnovers at the break. Guards Bruce Ellington and Eric Smith had four points between them, combining to go 1 for 9 from the field. They also combined for seven turnovers and no assists.
About the only things that went wrong for Florida were free throws.
The Gators missed nine of 16 shots from the charity stripe in the first half, five of them by Pat Young.
Still, it was a minor bump in a blowout.
Florida shot 53 percent from the field, made 12 of 21 shots from 3-point range and dominated on the glass.
Young, Wilbekin and Erik Murphy had eight points apiece for the Gators. Michael Frazier chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Frazier made all four of his shots from beyond the arc. Even forward Casey Prather, who was not expected to play while recovering from a high ankle sprain, got in the game.
South Carolina shot 31 percent from the field, went 2 of 14 from 3-point range and finished with 17 turnovers. The Gamecocks were outrebounded 38-24 and lost for the fifth time in their last seven games.


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St Edward's Christian Brothers' College
I wanted to explore the difficulty in creating art when there is no experience to influence it. Just being an average high school student I have very little that I wanted to communicate – I have not suffered because of terrorism or any life-changing disease, so I wished to explore the absence of any negative influence on my artmaking practice. I also attempted to explore visual ways of communicating the relationship between each component of the conceptual framework (artist, artwork, audience, world) and different animation techniques: I used Macromedia Flash to animate, as well as hand-drawing some frames.


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The Church and Capitalism: What Subsidiarity Tells Us
by BENJAMIN WIKER Wednesday, September 26, 2012 8:51 PM Comments (11)
As I noted in a previous post, there are some who take the Church's rejection of socialism, collectivism, and communism, as if it were a blanket affirmation of pure capitalism. That is as misleading as thinking that the Church's preferential option for the poor entails full political support of the welfare state.
Neither are correct, and both violate the Catholic principle of subsidiarity, which again states that "a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should support it in case of need and help to co-ordinate its activity with the activities of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good" (Catechism, 1883).
The first problem with capitalism, one that is too little noticed, is that it's something so loosely-defined that either crying it up or decrying it is impossible (at least for the clear-thinking, deep-thinking Church). In order to judge capitalism, we've got to be much clearer about it. We'll find that the principle of subsidiarity will help us gain the needed clarity.
Does capitalism mean the enshrining of the vice of avarice as if it were a virtue? The Church categorically rejects the use of an evil means to achieve an alleged good (economic development), and avarice is one of the seven deadly or "capital" sins (Catechism, 1866).
The Church cannot affirm an understanding of capitalism as fueled primarily by a capital sin (and that goes for the other six capital sins, pride, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony and sloth). As noted in Part 2 of this series, "Subsidiarity Defined," the principle of subsidiarity protects the "moral space" of individuals and their families from governmental intervention, and the worst kind of ruin such a government could inflict would be to support an economic view that would be the ruin of morality itself.
But the Church does affirm private property as a good associated with capitalism. . It not only rejects communism and collectivism, but asserts, "The appropriation of property is legitimate for guaranteeing the freedom and dignity of persons and for helping each of them to meet his basic needs and the needs of those in his charge" (Catechism, 2402).
Private property helps fathers and mothers to fulfill their moral obligation of providing for their families.
Does capitalism mean championing the belief that the sole aim of government is the protection of private property, and that each person has an absolute right to do whatever he wants with his own property? The Church says No to both.
To the first, the Church declares that the "human person," not the protection of private property and the promotion of its increase, "is and ought to be the principle, the subject and the end of all social institutions" (Catechism, 1881; see also 2426). To put it another way, state power is limited by human nature.
We are not homo economicus but homo sapiens, the creature defined by the love of wisdom, and hence ultimately the love of God the source of all wisdom. Society must be defined by what is truly definitive in human nature, our God-like capacity to know and love the truth.
Economic activity is important, but subordinate to what truly defines us. The principle of subsidiarity protects persons from being turned into consumers. Therefore, "Any system in which social relationships are determined entirely by economic factors is contrary to the nature of the human person and his acts" (Catechism, 2423).
To the second error, the notion that we have an absolute right to property, the Church maintains that "the ownership of any property makes its holder a steward of Providence, with the task of making it fruitful and communicating its benefits to others, first of all his family" (Catechism, 2404).
That does not mean that it is the government's job to take his property and make it benefit others. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the moral burden of using property for the benefit of others — and consequently, the moral punishment for failing to do so — both fall primarily on that individual's shoulders.
That brings real seriousness to the question of what we do with our property. Jesus does not threaten those who fail to feed the hungry and clothe the naked with higher taxes, but with hell. So, while a modest use of the powers of taxation are proper to government, the redistribution of wealth is not. Furthermore, government intervention for those in need should supplement, not supplant, what can be done by families, local governments, private organizations, and the Church.
Does capitalism mean minimizing governmental interference in economic activity? "The principle of subsidiarity is opposed to all forms of collectivism. It sets limits for state intervention" (Catechism, 1885).
Again, providing for our families and showing charity toward our communities is our moral duty, and as the principle of subsidiarity states, the higher order should not deprive the lower order of its proper functions, including its proper economic functions. As many have found out, you can't function very well if you're bound, hand and foot, by an endless skein of government regulations, and on top of that, hobbled by excessive taxes.
But that doesn't mean an affirmation of the "free market," if by "free" one means either entirely freed of any and all oversight, or "free" of any moral concerns. This is a truth available even on the natural level.
As the great 20th-century economist Friedrich Hayek made clear, state oversight is often necessary to keep the marketplace free of corruption, price-fixing, crony capitalism and monopoly so that there actually is real competition in the marketplace, real freedom of individuals to engage in economic activity. But state oversight is different from heavy-handed, centralized economic planning.
The Church agrees, and declares that "Regulating the economy solely by centralized planning perverts the basis of social bonds," but also that "regulating it solely by the law of the marketplace fails social justice." Therefore the Church affirms "Reasonable regulation of the marketplace and economic initiatives." (Catechism, 2425).
So, does the Church affirm capitalism? No, the Church affirms the principle of subsidiarity, and uses it to judge among the various meanings of capitalism put forth in the "marketplace of ideas."


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RANCHO CUCAMONGA – Mother Nature supplied the spectacular lightning in the distant San Gabriel Mountains but it was Alta Loma Little League and Upland Foothill reliever Tommy Pincin who supplied the thunder.
Alta Loma advanced into the winner's bracket of the Section 8 Tournament Saturday with a 13-0 win over Apple Valley American in a game that lasted just four innings. Upland Foothill also advanced as Pincin struck out a pair of batters with the bases loaded to save a 5-3 decision over Colton Ken Hubbs.
In a elimination game Monday evening at Red Hill Park, Apple Valley (7-2) and Ken Hubbs (4-1) will vie for survival in the double-elimination tourney at 5 p.m. Alta Loma and Upland Foothill will square off at 8 p.m., with the winner moving on to Wednesday's finals.
Nursing a two-run lead, Pincin surrendered two hits following a leadoff walk in the sixth inning. However, with lightning flashes to the north and a 85-pitch limit looming, Pincin fanned the brothers Ayala – Joe and Jake – to end the game.
"That was one well-played game against a very good team," said Upland Foothill manager John Pincin. "We brought in Tommy (in the second inning) because they looked to be a fastball hitting team and he would throw more changes and curves.
"And it allowed us to save (starter Grant Hockin)."
Home runs by Robert Rivas and Ralph Martinez in the first inning prompted the switch to Pincin, who allowed one run and three hits in five innings.
"We were on (Hockin)," said Ken Hubbs manager Carlos Contreras. "(Pincin) had more velocity and he kept us off balance with a good curve. We hit the ball hard, but right at somebody. But that's baseball."
Upland Foothill, District 23 titlist, took a 4-1 lead with a three-run rally off Ken Hubs starter Carlos Contreras in the second inning. Garrett Lee singled in one run while a fielder's choice and wild pitch scored the others. Matt Donley homered in the third for the insurance run.
Lee and and Pincin had two hits for Upland while David Robles had two singles for Ken Hubbs, District 21 champions.
"We didn't make any errors, and that was very important," said the elder Pincin. "Plus, our substitutes really contributed, starting with Donley."
The District 71 champions once again flexed their muscles, slamming three homers that accounted for 10 runs in the shortened contest against the District 49 entry.
Uncharacteristically, Apple Valley committed six errors which accounted for eight unearned runs.
"Those errors just killed us," said Apple Valley manager Rick Cummins, whose team will be back in familiar territory. The desert team (7-2) has played five of its last six games under the threat of elimination.
The Alta Loma shortstop sandwiched a third inning strikeout with a pair of home runs. His three-run blast in the first inning put Alta Loma out front and a grand slam in the fourth put the game game on ice.
Winning pitcher Brenton Arriaga, who needed just 59 pitches in the five-inning game, also slugged a three-run homer off A.V. starter Lane Griffin, which put Alta Loma ahead 6-0.
"It's not quite what I expected," said Alta Loma manager Roger Wallace. "We have good power, we had hit 12 homers in the six games getting to this level. We were feeling pretty after the first homer with Brendon on the mound and comfortable after the second one.
"He's a good pitcher and he gets better as the game goes on."


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Owen Dell, landscape architect in Santa Barbara and author of Sustainable Landscaping for Dummies, recently wrote a blog post he refers to as an exposé of rain barrels. Basically, his conclusion is that the current popular status rain barrels have attained is misplaced, and rain barrels don't make sense.
I disagree.
I currently have eleven 55-gallon rain barrels around my Los Angeles property, and probably will acquire more. At first I bought a few of these for my then-preteen-age-son, who had outgrown Legos and needed a larger scale project. But soon after I got them, I began to glimpse the wide range of functionality.
[note: This post is written from the viewpoint of the arid Southwest]
Dell criticizes rain barrels primarily with the idea that barrels might assuage the conscience of the consumerist gardener and enable that gardener to continue to pursue a climate-inappropriate garden. Yes, that is a possibility. Yet within the circles where I teach organic gardening classes in Los Angeles, I offer a very different outlook.
1. Rain barrels raise awareness. When we use hose water, we think nothing of the waste. We think nothing of dropping the hose to run and get the phone, or hosing off that patio chair, whatever. When we haul water we begin to think differently. We start to notice where every single drop goes, because we had to save it and haul it in order to use it. Rain barrels are a terrific low-tech simple tool to get people thinking about water in a radical, root level, different way. I've had rain barrel newbies come to me and exclaim how quickly the barrel fills in a single storm (i.e. within minutes). Then they return and express their amazement and dismay at how far the water didn't go as they used it, thus how they began using it so much more carefully. Rain barrels are an excellent way to "dip your toe in the water" of beginning water awareness.
2. Rain barrels capture rain. Have you ever noticed how much better your plants grow after a rain -- far better than with hose water? Here in Los Angeles, much of our irrigation water is alkaline. Rain water isn't salty and isn't alkaline. I heard somewhere that rain captures nitrogen from the atmosphere. By saving rain for later use, you've extended the "rainy season" so that your plants get just a bit more of the really good stuff. Ever notice that white crusty junk around the edges of the soil of your potted plants? That's accumulated salts, and rainwater won't do that. I use saved rainwater primarily to give a great growth boost to my seedling starts and container plants. Your plants will reward you for it.
3. Rain awareness. Our encultured habit is to look out the window on a winter's day and whine "awww, it's raining." When you have rain barrels you to shift to an excited "YEAH! It's raining!" (followed by a sprint outdoors to watch the water pour into your tanks). Rain barrels are yet another way to connect us to the seasons of life, the great outdoors, the natural world around us, in ways that -- cooped up in climate-controlled buildings -- we've forgotten how. Rain barrels aren't meant to replace 100% of your water meter use. The wise way to use rain barrels is to use up the contents between the storms, so that the same container storage capacity is available again for the next storm. Thus you begin watching the weather, and racing the rain. It's a new, future-oriented kind of game.
4. Food first. Mr. Dell recommends California natives and xeriscaping, but from my point of view those purely ornamental landscapes are "so 80's," very much a part of a terribly outdated paradigm. Our society is entering into a new age, which demands not just water wisdom, but local food, in ways we have never seen it in the lifetimes of people alive today. Thus as you change your plant palette and transform your garden, include food. Learn about drought-tolerant food plants, herbs, and functional plants. Learn water-wise food growing techniques. Invest once in the garden makeover, and go straight to food.
5. Emergency preparedness, short and long term. Here in earthquake country, rain barrels can be another part of the panorama of backup water storage. Recent photos from Japan remind us that even in a highly sophisticated country, after an emergency people desperately need water. Yes, there is the toilet tank and the hot water tank and the drinking water you stored if you followed the fire department recommendations. No, you cannot drink rain barrel water without specialized filtration, but you and your neighbors will need water for fires and washing and other uses too. Rain barrels are part of the water portfolio for the Long Emergency, too -- for a post-petroleum future which probably won't have all the reliable city services to which we have become so accustomed in recent decades. By the way, the barrels in Dell's photo by Eric Schmuttenmaer are precariously balanced; to survive even a mild quake he needs to turn those cinderblocks onto their broad, flat side.
6. Reduce first, then go green. Get wise first: unhook from the opulent consumption lifestyle (which our planet can no longer afford anyhow). I tell people this with respect to solar panels and it applies to rain barrels too. With respect to solar panels, powerdown your habits and your lifestyle first, then only buy solar for the remainder. You'll save a lot of money! With respect to rain barrels, change to water efficient habits, hydrozones, swales/berms, deep mulch, climate-appropriate food plants, first. Then add barrels (mine are made from repurposed food container barrels) for those special remaining needs. I'm not just spouting theory: My 9,000 sq ft Los Angeles city lot and active family of four (includes teenagers) used only 52.6% of our tier 1 water ration last June/July and 29.6% of our tier 1 water ration last December/January. It can be done.
7. Use a combination of approaches. I say it in my organic gardening classes with respect to pest control, and it also applies to water wisdom: A single-pronged approach won't do it; you need to attack the problem from all sides. Reduce your consumption. Increase your awareness. Use berms/swales/mulch. Use infiltration as well as storage techniques. Build healthy soil. Change your plant palette. Bucket in the shower. Greywater-plumb your laundry (and consider guerilla greywater too). Use found materials as shade devices. And use rain barrels. Do all of the above in combination, and move into the gardens of the future.
Joanne Poyourow is a blogger at Transition United States. She is part of the core team of the Transition Los Angeles city hub, guiding local communities from oil dependency toward local resilience. Joanne's resource list on Water Wisdom and Greywater (including greywater soaps and shampoos) is online here.


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With the release of Version 8 of its IntelliJ IDE, JetBrains has added support for SQL, enabling editing of database scripts and running queries right in the IDE, with a range of coding assistance features for several SQL dialects. Release 8 also include new refactoring tools for Java, new code inspections tools, and tools for working with unit tests.
"Although IntelliJ IDEA has grown a lot during the recent years and added support for many frameworks and languages, at the heart it remains a code-centric IDE. This has always been our main focus, and this is what we believe to be a natural approach to developing even complex applications with pleasure," said Max Shafirov, IntelliJ IDEA project lead.
Other release highlights include:
- UML-like class diagrams for exploring the code structure visually
- Support for the new Seam framework from JBoss
- Built-in debuggers for JavaScript and Flex
- Improved Maven support, with repository browser and archetypes support
- FreeMarker and Velocity template languages, with full coding assistance in embedded HTML and CSS code
- Extended support for Spring frameworks, with Spring 2.5, Spring Web Flow, Spring MVC and Spring Dynamic Modules
- Support for Struts 2 and GWT 1.5 frameworks
- RESTful WebServices support
Additionally, JetBrains says it will release stand-alone Ruby and Python IDEs in the coming months.


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2 Chainz Clarifies G.O.O.D Music Tweet By Kanye West
The Twitter-verse was atwitter on Friday night (May 11) when Kanye West tweeted, "2 Chainz is charging 100k for a verse now cause he's G.O.O.D!!!!!!" It's no secret that 2 Chainz and Yeezy have been working closely together but does it mean that the Atlanta rapper is an official member of the G.O.O.D. Music family?
During an interview with Hot 97.5 radio DJ Bootleg Kev, 2 Chainz was sort of vague about West's possible announcement that he's now part of the G.O.O.D. Music team. "I don't think it is," he says. "He's just saying like I'm good, like, I'm ill."
The 'No Lie' rapper further explains that he often does free verses for other artists as a favor to them (what he calls the "homeboy special"), but now it's time to start charging fees. "I think [Kanye] felt like we should just put that out there, that we ain't doing no more of that. You too good, for that," says 2 Chainz.
We have to agree. Within the past year, 2 Chainz has become one of the biggest rappers in the game. He has appeared on several hit songs already including Nicki Minaj's 'Beez In the Trap' and the G.O.O.D. Music's posse track 'Mercy.' His latest single, 'No Lie' with Drake, is currently heating up on radio. So it's about time he starts collecting fat checks for his rhymes.
When asked if the G.O.O.D. Music label will be stamped on the back of his upcoming CD 'Based on a T.R.U. Story' (due Aug. 14), he simply coughed.
"If you know anything about my campaign, you know I love the element of surprise," he adds. "That's one thing that drew me to hip-hop."
Listen to Bootleg Kev's Exclusive Interview with 2 Chainz


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Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Gyminee Sucks; Usability Is Why
Posted by Giles Bowkett at 11:18 AM
2 comments:
Giles, I suggest you check out the paleo diet. It's the easiest diet of all. No calorie counting, no food deprivation - you just resign from eating shit and eat real food instead.ReplyDelete
So far I'm losing weight like crazy, but I've heard good things about the paleo diet, so I'm going to look into it.ReplyDelete
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The construction project for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been delivered by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) on time and on budget.
The ODA set itself and the project's supply chain challenging targets and milestones, most well above industry standards and benchmarks. The majority of these have now been achieved and, in some cases, exceeded: The project has a strong health and safety record, achieved high sustainability outcomes and challenged some of the historic and long-standing inequalities within the UK construction sector.
Learning Legacy's aim is to share the knowledge and lessons learned from the London 2012 construction project to raise the bar within the construction sector and to act as a showcase for UK plc. The ODA has worked closely with contractors, industry partners, government bodies and academia to capture the lessons learned and document best-practice examples and innovations for the benefit of future projects.
Sustainability is still a relatively new concept for the events sector. The London 2012 Games has provided an unrivalled platform to show leadership in this area, transferring knowledge and raising awareness of sustainability issues.
Like the ODA, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) held itself against a demanding set of standards – in some cases creating a standard where none had previously existed. LOCOG has captured its lessons learned to share as part of the Learning Legacy for the benefit of the events sector, wider industry and sustainability practitioners more generally. Topics range from carbon footprint and temporary materials to delivering the London 2012 Food Vision, waste management and sustainable sourcing.
This website categorises Learning Legacy reports and related information from the ODA, LOCOG and some of their partners and suppliers into 10 themes. Within each theme there are short reports, tools and templates, case studies and research summaries that document how this area of work was approached and the lessons that have been learned and the successes that could benefit others.
As an industry a great deal has been learned about how to plan, build and operate a transport network able to meet the unprecedented logistical challenge the Games presented. There are many tangible legacy benefits – from the infrastructure itself to the enhanced service operations, collaborative working, volunteering, freight and logistics, new ways of working and communication to customers.
The transport learning legacy has been produced by the ODA with the support of the main transport delivery partners. It documents the overall picture of how transport for the Games was achieved, what was learned on the way and the transport legacy provided.
Read more about the Learning Legacy project.


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The SA 3100 is a bench top BET surface area and pore size analyzer, which uses the static dosing method. This reference method uses helium to measure the sample tube free-space for highly accurate data. The unit has three vacuum out-gassing stations and one analysis port. It provides single and multipoint surface area analysis, multigas capability for surface area and full adsorption capability. User control is by an innovative touch screen. An optional SA-PREP™ Surface Area Outgas Station is designed for customers who need extra capacity.
The SA 3100 with automated dewar lift is a complete system with integrated outgassing stations and vacuum pump and is highly accurate. It features continuous saturation pressure measurement, has a minimum manifold volume to enhance sensitivity, and performs a multipoint helium free space measurement, to improve repeatability and accuracy.
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Faculty invited to Fulbright information session
Fulbright Ambassador Charles A. Johnson, senior vice president for research at Texas A&M University, will visit Mississippi State on Feb. 14 to support the university's growing Fulbright faculty program.
After meeting with senior administration in the morning, Johnson will open an afternoon session for faculty interested in learning more about the Fulbright program. Following his remarks, MSU International Institute staff will facilitate a "nuts and bolts" orientation, featuring a Q & A period and materials detailing Fulbright teaching and research opportunities.
The afternoon session will be held in Colvard Student Union, Room 324 from 2-3:30 p.m.
"Due to teaching schedules and other obligations, faculty are welcome to come anytime during the session," said Stephen Cottrell, assistant director of the International Institute and Fulbright campus representative.
For additional information, please contact Cottrell at 662-325-8460 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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OAKLAND — Despite earlier promises, Bay Area transportation leaders are unlikely to hear a definitive "go" or "no go" for a Sept. 3 opening date of the new Bay Bridge during a briefing set for Wednesday afternoon, the fifth in a series of updates following the catastrophic snapping of steel anchor rods on the $6.4 billion span in March.
The bridge engineering and construction team last week started retrofitting the key seismic stabilizers where 32 out of 96 high-strength bolts became brittle and broke.
However, additional tests designed to show whether others among the 2,306 steel fasteners used on the bridge are susceptible to fracturing aren't finished yet, the repair schedule on the broken bolts is still tentative, and the Federal Highway Administration's review of the proposed repairs and testing protocols isn't complete.
A delayed announcement doesn't mean the bridge won't open to traffic Sept. 3. It does mean that commuters and opening celebration planning organizations must wait before they can ink the date on their calendars.
"Right now, the opening is scheduled for Labor Day weekend," Bay Area Toll Authority spokesman Randy Rentschler said Tuesday. "But we need three pieces of information back (test results, repair schedule and highway administration review) to determine if Labor Day can be met or not. The date will move if it needs to move, but we also know for sure that the bridge we are driving on today is not safe."
Caltrans, California Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Toll Authority — the three agencies overseeing the construction — chose Labor Day weekend because they need four days to connect the traffic lanes to the new span at Yerba Buena Island and Oakland. Traffic volume typically drops during long holiday weekends, and the Bay Bridge motorists use today will be closed to all traffic during the switch.
Called a "seismic opening," it is the date the agencies also considered the earliest the new span could safely open to traffic and move motorists off the 1936 cantilevered truss bridge, which engineers have determined is highly likely to collapse in the next big earthquake.
Metropolitan Transportation Commission Executive Director Steve Heminger said the decision will ultimately be up to Gov. Jerry Brown.
The opening date suspense is just one of many thorns stemming from embarrassing fractures in the large but relatively common steel bolts.
State legislators, local officials and the public are clamoring for answers about who is to blame and who will pay for what could be as much as a $10 million repair job on a bridge that hasn't even opened yet.
California Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, wants a peer panel convened by the Legislative Analyst's Office to examine the failed bolts.
On the other side of the aisle, the rod manufacturer, Dyson Corp. of Ohio, recently spoke publicly for the first time when its president said the company delivered fasteners built precisely to Caltrans' standards.
Gerdau Long Steel North America, which produced in Minnesota the steel used to make the anchor rods, has also said it met all the specifications, according to a story in the American Metal Market or amm.com.
In the meantime, a retired Alameda metallurgist who submitted an unsolicited bolt analysis two months ago that proved highly accurate is raising more questions around why the steel broke.
Yun Chung agreed in a 17-page letter to Toll Bridge Program Manager Tony Anziano that hydrogen was the culprit, but he said the metallurgists failed to address the extraordinarily high odds that all 32 bolts snapped at the first thread in the bottoms of their casings — he put the chances at 1 in 5 billion. The ends of the rods sat in water for five years — a source of hydrogen — before they were tightened.
Unless Caltrans determines precisely why fasteners in key seismic components broke, the state cannot assure the public that the other high-strength steel pieces on the bridge exposed to a marine environment will be safe, Chung wrote.
Led by Salim Brahimi, a Canadian metallurgist who leads an international standards committee on fasteners, the team hired by Caltrans blamed the broken rods on a well-known phenomenon in which hydrogen atoms infiltrate the spaces between the grains in high-strength steel components and leave them vulnerable to fracture. The stronger the steel and the higher the load, the more susceptible the fastener is to hydrogen embrittlement.
The team concluded that hydrogen likely was trapped inside the steel during the hot-dipped galvanizing process, and that triggered embrittlement when contractors tightened the nuts on the rods.
Insufficient data exists to reach that conclusion, Chung wrote.
He offered to conduct an independent laboratory evaluation at a metallurgical material testing laboratory in Hayward at no cost to the state, then deliver his findings within three weeks. As of Tuesday, he had not received a response.
Staff writer Matthias Gafni contributed to this report. Contact Lisa Vorderbrueggen at 925-945-4773, politicswithlisav.blogspot.com or Twitter.com/lvorderbrueggen.
The Bay Area Toll Authority will hold a special meeting to hear an update on the status of the new Bay Bridge:
When: 1 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter, Lawrence D. Dahms Auditorium, 101 8th St., first floor, Oakland
Online: Listen to a live audio feed at www.mtc.ca.gov/meetings/schedule/index.htm.


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We are a registered charity in Brazil struggling to save street dogs. Told by Emmy a German Shepherd Dog. Emmy died on the 29th May 2012 and is now on temporary leave from the Bridge to coach Joey to blog. To contact us please e mail firstname.lastname@example.com
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Thursday, December 30, 2010
Adventures from 2010
9 comments:
Happy New Year Terri! I love the pillow A LOT! And you've got a great quilt going there!ReplyDelete
haha!!! is it wrong that two of your picture were for me??!! i didn't think so either! XOReplyDelete
Happy New Year my FRIEND!!!!!
Love that pillow Terri!! You make such fabulous stuff!! Craft on!ReplyDelete
Love your pillow! And the quilt is fanastic; great color/fabric choices.ReplyDelete
Nice pillow, but I really love the collage of all those projects! What a productive year! That's some really nice stuff you made there!ReplyDelete
Happy New Year to you too...I'm ready to get my craft on for 2011!
Great stuff! I love the pillow you made for Round 4!ReplyDelete
everything is so pretty! I just love your pillow and new quilt top. happy new year!ReplyDelete
Whoa! What a year of fabulous sewing! Bring on 2011!ReplyDelete
The pillow is so pretty, and really nice finishes on the projects!ReplyDelete
Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate that you took a minute to read my post.
Please share what you thought about it with a comment.


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Zack MacPhee Named Pac-10 Player of the Year
June 3, 2010
TEMPE, Ariz. - Arizona State University sophomore second baseman Zack MacPhee has been named the Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year, it was announced today. It is the fourth straight season that an ASU player has been named the conference's top player, after Brett Wallace won in both 2007 and 2008 and Jason Kipnis received the honor in 2009. This marks the first time in Pac-10 history the Player of the Year has come from one school four straight seasons.
MacPhee (Phoenix, Ariz.) is hitting .381 on the season, and he leads the team with a .490 on base percentage and a .686 slugging percentage. He set a new school record with 14 triples this season, breaking the previous mark of 13 set by Alan Bannister in 1971. MacPhee also leads the team with 59 RBI and 62 runs scored, and he has eight home runs, seven doubles, and 18 stolen bases on the season.
He was also recently named one of 30 semifinalists for the 2010 Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the top player in college baseball.
MacPhee is the 15th Sun Devil to be named Pac-10 Player of the Year, joining former ASU greats such as Kipnis, Wallace, Casey Myers (2000 and 2001), Willie Bloomquist (1999), Paul LoDuca (1993), Oddibe McDowell (1984) and Alvin Davis (1982).
Airing on:
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Inside Pac-12 Basketball: NBA Draft SpecialThu 6/20 | 9:00pm PTLive
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Where I Hit the Wall
At long last I've reached my great-great-great grandfather Joshua Perry (1805-1866) & his wife Louvicia Anne Wade Perry (1806-1884), my brick wall. 60 years before my grandfather was born, on the 1850 US census, I found his grandfather William Preston Perry (1805-1863) living with his father and mother Joshua and Lavisa A. Perry in Early County, Georgia. Now the wall looms near.
Since I know where Joshua and Louvicia were living, I turn to my trusty FindAGrave.com website and look for their tombstones. Right away I was able to locate them. Louvicia's is unremarkable, providing her name as "Mrs. L. A. Perry" and her birth and death dates. Joshua's though gives us additional information and a clue as to where to go next. "Joshua Perry, Born in Warren Co. Ga. Dec. 6th 1805, Died in Calhoun Co. Ga. March 29th, 1863, Aged 57 Years, 3 months, 23 days". Warren County is 200 miles to the northeast of Calhoun County, on the other side of the state. Time to expand the search.
There are many indexes, databases and resources on Ancestry.com other than just census records. One of these is a group of marriage indexes, several of which are for Georgia. I've mentioned these before, and they come in useful again here. Remember these aren't proof of a marriage, but are valuable pointers to marriage books and other records, and can be useful in locating spouses and the date and location of a marriage. In this case Joshua and Louvicia are easily found. This is a screenshot of the results from the Georgia Marriages to 1850 database. Joshua Perry married Louvicia Ann Wade on 2 October 1832 in Screven County, Georgia. Screven County is on the Savannah River, across from South Carolina, and about 80 miles southeast of Warren County.
This information prompted another search of the digitized microfilm images of the Georgia county marriage books available at the Georgia's Virtual Vault web site from the Georgia Archives and the Georgia Secretary of State's office. Unfortunately, the earliest marriage records available online for Screven County date from 1837. But there is another source to check. The LDS helped to microfilm the records of thousands of courthouses across the US last century. And they have copies of all those microfilms available through your local Family History Center (or Family Search Center as they are soon to be called). You can search for films online at the Family Search site. Just click on the Library Catalog link, make sure Place-names is selected in the Search box, then type in the state and county in the For box, separated by a comma (for example, Georgia, Screven) and click on the Search button. Ordinarily you will find marriage books under the Vital Records link, but in some cases early records may also be found under the Probate link. This is because the Courts of Ordinary (or the Inferior Courts in some cases) handled the issuance of marriage licenses in addition to handling wills and probate as well as deeds and many other civil matters.
In this case, I find that there is a film containing "Vol. A Returns 1821-1832 Marriages 1817-1832 Vol. D Returns 1833-1851 Marriages 1832-1837." When you look through your results make sure you are looking for the actual court records and not the books of extracts or indexes. These can be very useful in searching for documents about which you have little or no detailed information as to their location or even existence. But the goal is always to obtain a copy of the original document whenever possible. So I ordered the film for a nominal fee ($5.75) and waited a couple of weeks. Be patient, it can sometimes take longer if someone else has the only loan copy of a rarely-requested microfilm, or if you are ordering a popular volume that many people want. Another film I ordered at the same time took over four weeks to arrive.
Reading microfilms of these old records can be challenging. The online services such as Ancestry.com and Footnote.com really do add value by cleaning up the microfilmed images when they digitize them. In this case I had to use a lot of tricks to clean up the image myself, and it's still not great. Of course, that was after several hours of scanning the pages of the microfilm and trying to find the marriage record. I missed it the first time through. Finally, there is was on page 261, I think. The page numbers aren't legible in this book, the top corners being almost black. And there is no index of marriage licenses here. There is however an index of estates and some of the administrators. So I looked at several records of estates on either side of the marriage record, located those in the index (some of those index pages are illegible, too, so I couldn't find all of them), and then counted up and down to figure out the probably page number. Maybe someday I'll be able to look at the book itself at the courthouse in Sylvania and confirm that.
And here the trail ends for Joshua Perry. I know I've probably made this sound easier that it was. And I didn't just go straight back; I jumped around in my research. It's not the recommended procedure, but it was my first line of research and I was trying to document a family tree I received from family, not pursuing an unknown. But with Joshua I can't get any farther back. So far I have no wills or deeds which mention Joshua earlier than 1832 or which refer to his parents. There isn't a Joshua Perry listed on the 1830 census in Georgia who could have been the right age to be my Joshua Perry. The 1820 and 1810 censuses don't exist for Georgia. There are bits and scraps of other information from a few newspaper clippings, but I have confirmed only a small part of it. Louvicia was the niece of a famous Baptist preacher, the Rev. Dr. Henry Holcombe of Savannah and Philadelphia, and Joshua may have been for a short time clerk of the Inferior Court and postmaster. There is family tradition and a majority of the family trees on Ancestry.com, Rootsweb and elsewhere that says that Joshua's father was Willis Perry, who was one of the so-call Seven Perry Brothers of North Carolina. There is some circumstantial evidence for the idea, but so far I haven't seen one scrap of documentary evidence leading conclusively to that conclusion.
So here I sit at the foot of my Joshua Tree, knowing there is much to be discovered if I can ever break through this wall, but also knowing that I'll not give up. I have a few avenues of research I'm still pursuing on this, but next time I'll move on to another topic in this blog. I'm sure most of you have heard all you ever wanted to hear about Joshua! I'll keep you informed if there's a breakthrough.
Here's your summary:
- FindAGrave.com is an excellent resource online, not only for locating the place of burial, but particularly for obtaining pictures of your dearly departed. It's all done by volunteers, so if you make extensive use of the pictures, please consider volunteering in your own area to take cemetery pictures for others. And always give credit for any pictures you use in your research.
- Ancestry.com has more than just census records. They also have valuable indexes of birth, marriage and death records.
- The Family History Center, the Family History Library and Family Search, a closely related set of resources from LDS, are invaluable. You should find your local Center, and get to know both the individual search and the library search. The volunteers at your local Center will be glad to help you.
- Don't forget to Google your ancestors' names. Yes, you'll get a lot of chaff, but if you learn to use Advanced Search, and add keywords and place restrictions, you'll be surprised at what you can find. Remember, even if you can't use an index as a primary source it's still a valuable pointer to the sources themselves. That's how I found the information about the Seven Perry Brothers of North Carolina on Granny Peach's Perry Page.
Later y'all,


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William Lee Scott
Daily Forecast for June 15th 2019
William Lee Scott is a male celebrity.
He was born on Friday July 6th 1973, in Hudson, New York, USA,.
June 15th 2019 is a day of progress and receiving support from other people.
William Lee Scott sensed and project self-confidence that calls for successful handling of money matters.
However, Bodo might also be characterized today as hard-headed and stubborn - traits that might lead to domestic squabbles and broken commitments.
While studying the color and flavor of the day, it is a good practice to keep in mind the greater meaning of June and the master plan of 2019 in Bodo's life.
You and Bodo
About Bodo's Numerological Forecast & Personal Day Cycle
Just as William Lee Scott evolves through a nine-year cycle and experiences the nine-month cycle, he is also subjected to nine-day cycles, even though their impact is subtle compared to the Personal Year and even Personal Month cycles. The Personal Day cycles proceed according to the same pattern - 1 through 9 - that the Personal Year and Personal Month cycles do. The numbers within the daily cycles have a similar impact on Bodo to the yearly and monthly cycles - though less pronounced.
Read more about our numerological daily forecast for


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CINCINNATI (AP) -- A southwest Ohio judge is ready to rule on whether a Cincinnati area village should refund speeding tickets from traffic cameras he has called a scam.
Motorists want Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman (ROOHL'-muhn) to order Elmwood Place to pay back fines and fees totaling some $1.8 million. The village says there shouldn't be refunds for speeding violations and has appealed the judge's earlier rulings against cameras.
The judge has said he will rule sometime Thursday.
Ruehlman last year ordered the village to halt camera use, and he has approved class-action status for thousands of ticketed drivers. The village is appealing.
Several other lawsuits are pending in Ohio. Supporters say cameras stretch police resources and make communities safer. Foes say they are revenue-raisers that violate drivers' rights.


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Since the release of her debut album in 2000, Jamie O'Neal has been impacting country music with her soulful voice and the immense amount of passion behind every word she sings. O'Neal became a household name with her single, "There Is No Arizona," which set her path to stardom on fire with multiple No. 1 hits and many career accolades to follow, including four Grammy nominations. As she enters into another year in her illustrious career, O'Neal finds herself venturing into new territory as she launches her new independent record label, Momentum Label Group. While O'Neal will serve as the label head, she will also produce music for some of the label's roster. She has a strong team surrounding her, including her father – veteran music industry great Jimmy Murphy, who has been hands on with his daughter from age eight when she began singing with her family.
"My dad has been talking to me about starting our own label because there's so much undiscovered talent out there, and the major labels in town are getting smaller and smaller," notes O'Neal. "Today, there are more advantages to what a small independent label can do for the artist, like allowing them to have more creative input and to retain ownership of their recordings, unlike the majors, where you just sign everything over. This is a real partnership for us. We're all involved as a team."
While she humbly says she is learning as she goes, O'Neal leans on her own career and businesswoman expertise to guide her along in this new chapter. "Things have changed so much since I moved back to Nashville in '96 and got my record deal," says the singer-songwriter who has called Music City her home since she was a child. "It's so easy now to discover new music and new artists on the web. That's exciting because you can build a real fan base and connect with your fans so much easier now, not just based on whether radio plays you or not."
The label's flagship artist, Rachele Lynae, will release her debut single this spring, with O'Neal serving as producer on all the new tunes. O'Neal has plans to expand her roster at Momentum Label Group in the future and also has intentions of releasing new music of her own in the coming months.
"It's inspiring to see other artists like Usher and Toby Keith who are very much involved with playing music and writing their own songs and recording, but they're also working with other artists to further their careers and dreams," says O'Neal, who literally grew up with a microphone in her hand, singing in her family's band.
"From a young age, I had a bird's eye view as entertainers like Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson and Crystal Gayle performed," she says. "I watched from the side of the stage at the way they connected with a crowd, and that's what made me want to be a performer."
Soon after she realized her heart would forever be in music, the young girl from Sydney, Australia, stumbled into the world of songwriting, which only made her thirsty for more. "I kept writing the songs I wanted to write about – who I was, and what I wanted to talk about," O'Neal explains, who has had her songs cut by LeAnn Rimes, Martina McBride, Reba, CeCe Winans, Lari White and Kristy Lee Cook. "Performing was so exciting for me, but ultimately I knew as an artist that if I didn't write and record my own music, I would regret it, and I didn't want to have any regrets."
And Nashville certainly had no regrets when O'Neal came to town with her powerhouse vocals and unique flare for the craft of songwriting, which opened many doors and created countless contacts. After crossing paths with Keith Stegall (Alan Jackson, Clay Walker), the famed producer helped the young rising star land her first record deal with Mercury Nashville. O'Neal released her critically acclaimed debut album titled Shiver in 2000, that spawned her hits "There Is No Arizona" (No. 1), "When I Think About Angels" (No. 1), and "Shiver" (No. 18). She released her sophomore album in 2005 with Capitol Nashville and scored more hits on country radio with "Trying to Find Atlantis" (No. 15), and her anthem for mothers everywhere, "Somebody's Hero," that went all the way to No. 3 on the charts.
O'Neal went on to earn the title of the ACM's Top New Female Vocalist award and was named the Top New Country Artist by Billboard. Two of her four Grammy nominations came as a songwriter, for Best Country Song for "There Is No Arizona" and its chart-topping follow-up, "When I Think About Angels."
She has toured with Reba McEntire, Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, Alan Jackson and Toby Keith, and has landed songs on the soundtracks of Bridget Jones' Diary and When We Were Soldiers, as well as on the ABC smash Desperate Housewives.
It is a measure of the respect she has earned that after Celine Dion was unable to sing "All By Myself" for Bridget Jones, the producers searched country music for its most powerful vocalist and chose O'Neal. When Carrie Underwood won American Idol, a search for a top-flight duet partner led once again to O'Neal.
O'Neal has appeared on numerous national television programs, including multiple appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and many others.
With the beginnings of this new chapter in her career, O'Neal looks forward to continuing to make an impact on the world of country music through many musical facets.
"I love touring and playing my shows where I get to reach the fans," says O'Neal. "Being on stage is one of my main passions with what I do in my career. With the new label, I know there may be challenges ahead, but I think anything worth having requires hard work. Nothing in life comes easy. It does take a long time, and we're just getting started to build 'momentum.'"


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Jonah Sterling is a group creative director for IdentityMine.
With the launch of Windows Phone 7 (WP7), Microsoft extends its supportive and user-friendly development environment into the mobile application space. Developers who have been active with Silverlight (or other .NET technologies) for the past several years will find developing for WP7 to be a continuation of what they already know on a new platform. Microsoft's Expression Studio tools make design and design integration (Expression Blend) very efficient; and Visual Studio 2010 makes development even easier. This article covers my experience so far with the Windows Phone 7 platform.
Taking Applications to WP7 from Other Platforms
For the legions of people who work with Microsoft technologies like Silverlight and .NET, Windows Phone 7 provides a means of easily creating iPhone and Android applications for WP7.
Rather than create replicated applications that look and function exactly the same on both platforms, many developers will create platform-specific versions of the applications that take advantage of each platform's unique features. The good thing is that this is not the long-haul challenge for WP7 that it may have been when creating apps from iPhone to Android:
- If you are taking an application from WP7 to another platform: WP7 uses the Silverlight runtime, so any project developed for WP7 can easily be adapted to run on the regular browser/desktop version of Silverlight, and it can be mostly re-used on the WPF or Surface platforms as well. You may also be able to re-use the majority of the business logic and entity layer codebase when re-purposing the application to iOS for the iPhone/iPad and Android with the help of Mono-Touch and an extension framework.
- If you are taking an application from another platform to WP7: Taking the SBB application from the iPhone to the Windows Phone 7 is a good occasion to improve the user experience. I found that having a hardware "Back" button on the WP7 devices is something that allows for a much smoother workflow than on the iPhone, where fingers have to move much more.
What Developers Can Expect from WP7
Developers can expect a phone that is simple to use and has an easily configurable UI with WP7. The user interface for the Windows Phone is called "Metro." Metro focuses on simplicity and a consistent use of type treatments. The Metro UI guidelines are detailed enough that developers can create a consistent aesthetic to their applications, without limiting branding potential.
Metro is new so some clients may not fully understand it yet, meaning developers may need to make compromises between a full Metro experience and a full client-branded experience.
The WP7 User Experience
The WP7 user experience is not limited to the Metro style. The WP7 also introduces Panorama and Pivot features. The 'Back' button and 'Windows' on the phone also simplify the user experience. For example if you want to use an application while you compose an email, you press the 'Windows' key and open the desired application and two "back" button clicks will return you to the email compose screen.
WP7 development also has a 4th dimension to it because of tombstoning. Typically, an application has a predefined workflow that begins with starting the application in a specific way every time. Because WP7 supports tombstoning, apps must be designed so that they can "re-hydrate" from any page or from any state of the application. This is a significant challenge that developers should take seriously before coding starts.
Developing Around the Glitches
While the platform has some amazing features, there are still some technical issues to be resolved. For example, there is no rich text support for email due to limitations on the TextBlock control. There has also already been some feedback about the lack of cut and paste with the first generation of Windows Phones. (Microsoft is developing cut and paste functionality for future releases.) And at some point, Microsoft should provide tools to the developer community like Transition templates, ListPicker controls, and a Toolkit.
In most cases, developers will be able to work around the limitations while Microsoft addresses these issues. The emulator has been helpful, but development would be easier with better support for sensors.
There are a few things that will make the application development process go more smoothly:
- Take time to design the ViewModel perfectly
- Use background threads to download and show images
- Use simple visuals in the UI
Emulators are a fantastic way to work through the user experience of your application while you wait to get your hands on an actual device. The emulator allow most interactions with the application, especially when run on a multi-touch monitor. But for special hard-wired features, such as acceleration and location-based services, the actual device is a necessity. Also, in order to test performance and memory issues with your application, you need to see it on the actual device: Because an emulator uses all available resource, the application won't crash no matter how much memory it uses — this is not an accurate representation of how the application will perform in the real world.<
Tools and Resources
Anyone who has been active with .NET and Silverlight technology will find it pretty easy developing for Windows Phone 7. The best way to stay connected with advancements in development for the platform is to engage with the developer community, and developers are encouraged to embrace the Metro style, explore new ways to improve application performance (and share their results with their colleagues).
The MVVM Light toolkit is a great help for starting out with WP7, and it can speed development, especially in relation to Expression Blend.
Because WP7 is so new, finding information online is a little difficult, but visiting the forums where Silverlight developers hang out is usually a very good idea. The community is very helpful.


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Dream spoil Fever's ring night
Indianapolis, IN – Angel McCoughtry tallied 29 points and nine rebounds in the Atlanta Dream's 86-77 win over the Indiana Fever.
Jasmine Thomas had 15 points and Sancho Lyttle added 11 points and 11 boards for the 2-0 Dream.
Tamika Catchings registered 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Katie Douglas netted 17 points for the defending-champion Fever, who received their championship rings prior to the contest.
Atlanta went on a 10-0 run to close the third quarter to take a 71-61 advantage into the final frame, where the Dream never trailed.
Indiana had a slim 47-46 edge at the break.


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Cameras also caught Drake, Weezy's protégé, visiting Wayne last night as well.
As TMZ first reported, Wayne was hospitalized twice this week for seizures. His situation was dire last night, but his condition eventually stabilized. According to our sources, Wayne went on a Sizzurp binge between his hospital visits and doctors had to pump his stomach three times to flush the drugs from his system.
I'm good everybody. Thx for the prayers and love.— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) March 16, 2013