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Morningstar this week named the best and worst 529 college savings plans for 2012 and granted gold, silver or bronze medals to the 27 plans that were most likely to outperform their peers. Only four of the 64 plans rated earned negative ratings.
This year, the 529 plans that earned medals are a diverse group of both direct-sold and advisor-sold plans, all with a strong menu of investment options, solid management and reasonable fees, wrote Laura Pavlenko Lutton, director of fund-of-funds research, in a comment for Morningstar.
What's striking this year is the big pool of winners, a reflection of the improvement in the 529 industry since it hit bottom in 2008—and seven of the 27 medalists are advisor-sold.
"The relatively large number of plans earning medals reflects meaningful improvements across the 529 industry in recent years," Lutton wrote. "Very few plans still include options that have performed poorly due to weak management or extremely high fees."
However, notes Morningstar mutual fund analyst David Falkof, 529 plans still have a long way to go in terms of transparency.
"A new Morningstar study of 529 plans' disclosure found that the typical 529 plan website and plan document provide only high-level descriptions of the investment options," writes Falkof in a "Fund Spy" comment. Basic information—including the name and tenure of the portfolio managers running the 529 investment options, and details about the most recent portfolios—isn't required disclosure for 529 plans, even though 529 plans collectively invest more than $162 billion of college savers' capital.
A total of 33 plans earned neutral ratings, while another 22 of the industry's smallest plans were not considered.
Read on to learn more about the gold, silver and bronze winners along with the plans that scored negative ratings:
(Read about Morningstar's 2011 ratings of the best and worst 529 plans at AdvisorOne.)
– Alaska's T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan
– Maryland's College Investment Plan
– Utah Educational Savings Plan
– Nevada's Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan
Both the Alaska and Maryland gold medal winners feature T. Rowe Price's "topnotch" investments, says Laura Pavlenko Lutton in her Morningstar comment. However, none of the gold medalists are advisor-sold.
"Morningstar has identified these plans as industry leaders for several years running because they offer high-quality active strategies at a reasonable price. The plans were largely unchanged in the past year, though each plan's single age-based track now features more international equity and real-assets exposure, which should further diversify the plan's returns," she writes.
The other two plans earning gold medals feature passive investments from Vanguard. "To be sure," Lutton notes, "indexing is increasingly common in direct-sold 529 plans like these, but fees vary dramatically from plan to plan."
– Arkansas iShares 529 Plan, with Upromise Investments Inc. as program manager
– Michigan Education Savings Program from TIAA Tuition Financing, Inc.
– CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan from the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority
– Virginia's CollegeAmerica from American Funds
Advisors take note: While none of the gold medal winners are advisor-sold, two of the 529 college savings plans that won Morningstar's silver medal included some that are advisor-sold.
"Virginia's CollegeAmerica, the nation's largest 529 plan at $33 billion of assets, is advisor-sold and managed by American Funds," Lutton writes.
Another inexpensive advisor-sold plan earned a silver: Arkansas' iShares 529 Plan, which includes only exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Morningstar's complete listing of 529 college plan winners numbers 19 bronze medalists, five of which are advisor-sold plans:
– Colorado's Scholars Choice – College Savings Program from Legg Mason Global Asset Allocation
– South Carolina's Future Scholar 529 (Advisor) from Columbia Management Investment Distributors Inc.
– Oregon's MFS 529 Savings Plan
– Indiana's CollegeChoice Advisor 529 Savings Plan from Upromise Investments Inc.
– Illinois' Bright Directions College Savings Program from Union Bank & Trust Co. of Lincoln, Neb.
All of the advisor-sold silver and bronze medalists are for both residents and non-residents.
Four 529 college savings plans were off the mark, earning negative ratings from Morningstar in 2012, and one of them was advisor-sold:
– Rhode Island's CollegeBoundfund (Advisor Sold), AllianceBernstein LP
– Rhode Island's CollegeBoundfund (Direct Sold), AllianceBernstein LP
– Kansas' Schwab 529 College Savings Plan from American Century Investment Management
– Minnesota College Savings Plan from TIAA Tuition Financing Inc.
"The two plans in Rhode Island's 529 program, CollegeBoundfund (Direct Sold) and CollegeBoundfund (Advisor Sold), have been in Morningstar's basement in the past," Lutton writes. "Both plans predominantly feature investments from AllianceBernstein, which has struggled on the performance side."
As for the Minnesota plan, high fees tarnished its rating.
"There's nothing wrong with the quality of this plan's indexed investments from TIAA-CREF—they just cost too much. The price tag is especially stinging in light of Minnesota's 2010 decision to withdraw a state grant for college savers," Lutton says.
The Schwab Kansas plan also has been hurt by high fees, with the expense ratios on the options "so high that they make it very unlikely that the plan will outperform over the long term," according to Lutton.
Read about Morningstar's 2011 ratings of the best and worst 529 plans at AdvisorOne.
Check out AdvisorOne's College Special Report 2012 home page.


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Americans see smaller paychecks
Higher taxes lead to smaller paychecks
Americans who get paid every other week will be seeing a little less money in their paychecks on Friday.
Earlier this month Congress raised taxes in an effort to prevent the nation from going over the fiscal cliff.
Americans will be seeing anywhere from a few dollars a week to a few thousand dollars a year taken out of their paychecks.
And those numbers add up.
"They're taking out $12 more this year than last year," says Paul Robinson of Fort Smith. "We have to cut back on the luxuries. I know $12 doesn't seem like a lot, but it adds up in the long run."
And with fewer people having extra money to spend, the city could take a big financial hit.
One city leader says it won't be until the quarterly financial reports are released in April that they will be able to determine where people are cutting back.
The city says if people cut back on spending money at restaurants, entertainment places and shopping centers, it could see a loss in sales tax revenue.

subset: commoncrawl


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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Eating more whole grain and fiber-rich food may lower the risk of pancreatic cancer by about 40 percent, study findings suggest.
Dr. June M. Chan, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues identified this reduced risk among adults who ate two or more servings of whole grains each day compared with those who ate less than one serving a day.
They also noted about a 35 percent reduction in risk among individuals who ate the highest amount of fiber (26.5 grams per day or more) compared with those who ate the least (15.6 grams per day or less).
"There is a possibility that diet can affect one's risk of pancreatic, as well as other cancers," Chan told Reuters Health, "and that eating a diet rich in a wide variety of grains is likely to not only help in the prevention of diabetes and heart disease, but also this very deadly cancer."
The researchers looked at grain intake among 532 people with pancreatic cancer and 1,701 people without pancreatic cancer among the San Francisco Bay area population.
The two groups were similar in age, gender, and body weight, and had a similar history of diabetes, but those with pancreatic cancer were more frequently current smokers, the investigators note in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Overall, the results of the study suggest that eating more whole grains may protect against pancreatic cancer.
On the other hand, eating two or more servings of doughnuts a week, compared with less than a serving a month, was found to raise the risk of pancreatic cancer. However, so did eating two or more servings a week of cooked breakfast cereals such as oatmeal, which the investigators suspect may be explained by their inability to distinguish between sweetened or 'instant' cereals and less refined cereals.
"The risk reductions associated with some whole grain foods and fiber provide general support for the hypothesis that whole grains are better than more refined and sweetened grains for pancreatic cancer prevention," Chan said. However, "further studies are needed to confirm this," Chan added.
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, November 15, 2007.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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i've developed a bad habit lately of not eating breakfast during the week so i can get an extra half hour sleep in the morning. coming across these pictures by tomo kohsaka reminded me of what a dumbass i am.
if you like these you will love simply breakfast
all photographs by tomo kohsaka


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Honda Civic Fog Lights, OEM, Halo, LED, Projector, Factory Style
Honda Civic Fog light Buyers Guide:
Deciding between OEM, Halo Projector, Clear, Yellow, and Smoke Civic Foglights
Honda Civic foglights are one of the first things people buy after coming home from the dealer with their brand new Civic. Foglights are SERIOUSLY overpriced when purchased as an OEM factory option, thus many smart buyers visit our website to buy and install their own Civic Fog Light Kits at a fraction of the cost. Also, here at Tunersdepot.com, we try to offer a wide selection of the newest and best styles of fog light kits for your Civic.
Our line of Honda Civic fog light carry thru 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 or 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12 models.
92-12 Honda Civic Fog Lights
Honda Civic OEM Style Foglight Kit Overview
The OEM fog light kit is designed to be a replica of the factory Civic fog lights. The lens and basic shape is the same. The only difference might be in lens color, which outside of the standard clear, may be offered in yellow or smoke (more on that later). If you have a set of stock Civic fog lights that are old or damaged, then a Civic OEM Fog Light kit is probably a good idea since they look roughly the same and install the exact same way as the originals.
Choosing the right color foglights for your Honda Civic
Once you have decided what style you want, the next choice is color. There are usually 3 choices available for Civic Fog Lights for both the OEM and Halo Projector styles: Clear, Smoke, and Yellow.
Clear Honda Civic Fog Lights: The standard choice
Clear is the color of lens that the dealer fog lights came in and for good reason. Clear Civic Fog Lights put out the most light of all the colors since colored fog lights have to add some material to the lens, blocking overall light. Also, Clear Foglights, both halo and OEM style kits, look great no matter what color your Civic is. Also, if you are planning to add colored bulbs of HID kits to your Civic fog lights, clear is the way to go if you want to maximize the effect of the new color.
The only downside to clear Civic Foglights is that their "clearness" can be a liability if your foglights start getting old and worn looking after a few years.
Smoke Honda Civic Fog Lights: A different take on a classic option
Unless you are going for that Japanese JDM look, Smoke Foglights are probably the nicest option available for your Civic. At the expense of a marginal loss of brightness, you get a slick looking light that looks perfect on white and most dark colored Civic. They are a perfect complement to tinted windows, especially on black Civic going for the full tinted Knight Rider-ish look.
Being the darkest foglight, they hide wear and tear the best, but that also makes them a less than desirable option if you are planning to add colored bulbs or HID kits to your Civic.
Yellow Honda Civic Fog Lights: Aggressive and functional
Yellow is the preferred color for drivers going after the Japanese "JDM" look. They look exceptionally nice on high contrast color Civic like black, white, or blue. Yellow Civic fog light kits might not be the best look for Civic with yellowish colors though (yellow, orange, some reds, etc.).
Another thing to consider with yellow Civic fog lights (both OEM style and Halo Projector versions) is that they actually do the best job in foggy or inclement weather. Due to the wavelength of the light spectrum of yellow light, they produce the least glare against fog, rain, puddles, etc. making them the SAFEST color of foglight to get…assuming you are really buying fog lights because you are planning on driving your Civic in the fog.
Winjet OEM And Halo Projector Fog Light Kits
Winjet is about as close as Civic Foglights get to having a "name brand." The quality is a bit better, and they usually install easier as well. Also, unlike X3 Civic Fog Light Kits, every Winjet Civic Fog Light Kit comes with wiring harness and fog light switch (universal style in some cases), even for models where the vehicle should already have them pre-installed. This makes Winjet a perfect choice for people looking to make a clean installation on their vehicle that have harnesses that might be missing or damaged.
TunersDepot Honda Civic Fog Lights (Vehicle Specific) Reviews & Ratings (2)
Our 2 Fog Lights (Vehicle Specific) Reviews have an average rating of 5.0 out of 5 stars. Every customer can leave a review about our service and the product that was purchased. In order to leave your review for the purchased product, please log into MY ACCOUNT after you receive your order. We encourage all of our customers to take the time to share their experiences with our website with everyone.
Posted on Jun 30, 2012 by tony171717 - (2001 - 2003 Honda Civic)
All ways on time very quick and great parts this website is the way to go
Posted on Jul 1, 2009 by paulms16 - (2004 - 2005 Honda Civic)


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This clip from next Tuesday's winter premiere of NBC's drama Parenthood is really only delivering the sort of common sense knowledge every parent already knows: If you turn off the game before your son or daughter completes the level, you're a total bitch.
I've never watched Parenthood myself, preferring to learn my latest trade the old-fashioned way (About.com), so I have no idea if Max calling his mother Monica a bitch is a common thing or simply the result of interrupting generic Xbox 360 game number five before the end of the level he'd been working on all week long. HE LOST EVERYTHING!
Man, I'm really feeling for the sexually ambiguous little tyke right now. How's he ever gonna find himself if he can't finish the level? Perhaps I need to tune in Tuesday night to see what happens.
'Parenthood' Preview: Max Calls Kristina the Unthinkable (Exclusive Video) [The Hollywood Reporter]


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Follow Us
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mlevier on 12/01/2009 08:03 PM wrote:
The Water Cycle rap video is very tuned in to the younger hip-hop generation which is slowly identifying with many secondary ed. students. I plan on using it and Watchknow for my classroom. Thank you so much Patsye Peebles.
LarrySanger on 12/01/2008 04:34 AM wrote:
Thanks for organizing these folders some more, Rod!
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This listing is for 49mm x 75mm Avery M Series Scale Labels which are produced on the best thermal paper material available and using a high quality adhesive.
5,000 Labels, supplied in quantities of 500 per roll. 10 rolls in total. Includes free delivery.
If unsure at all please call 01482 485005 for help and advice from any of our sales team.
Compatible with the following Avery Berkel scales printers:
Avery M Series
Avery Berkel Advantage
Avery Berkel Enterprise
Avery Berkel Packscan
Avery Berkel IX Series
Plus many more.
Call Label Metrics on 01482 485005 for friendly help and advice.


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Integral Science Data Centre to be presented to the press
ESA PR 20-2002. While ESA's Integral spacecraft prepares for launch in October 2002, the Integral Science Data Centre at Versoix (Switzerland) is getting ready for operations. On 11 April 2002, the doors of the centre - which will prepare and distribute the Integral data to the worldwide astronomical community - will be open to the European scientific community and to the press.
The task of Integral, the most sensitive gamma-ray observatory ever launched, will be to gather some of the most energetic radiation that comes from space.
It will pinpoint and study gamma-ray sources in unprecedented detail and will help to solve some of the biggest mysteries in astronomy: Integral will investigate the origin of enigmatic gamma-ray bursts, brief but extremely powerful releases of energy, and will bring much new information on stellar explosions and black holes.
Not only does Integral tell us about places where we could not live, it also tell us about the processes that made the Universe habitable, such as the formation of chemical elements.
The Integral Science Data Centre (ISDC), located near Geneva, represents the key element in the exploitation and analysis of the data that will come from Integral during the two years planned for in-orbit operations. In the centre, the data will be analysed, formatted and made accessible to the worldwide astronomical community.
Such fundamental work on Integral data guarantees that data can be exploited by a wide community of astronomers, including those who are not familiar with the instrumentation used for gamma-ray observations.
The ISDC is supported and funded by a dozen institutes in Europe and the United States (the ISDC consortium). The press conference on 11 April marks the end of the centre's development phase and the start of its operational phase.
The presence of the ISDC in Switzerland represents a particular opportunity for Swiss scientists, who will participate in a special way to the development of high-energy particle astrophysics, as a result of having privileged access to INTEGRAL data.
Speakers at the press conference will include Professor T. Courvoisier (Geneva Observatory, Principal Investigator of the INTEGRAL Science Data Centre), Doctor P. Creola, (Head of Swiss Space Office), and Professor D. Southwood (Director of Science at the European Space Agency).
More about Integral
Integral, ESA's International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, will be launched in October 2002 on a Proton rocket from Baikonour, Kazakhstan.
The spacecraft is currently subject to final testing at ESA's European Space Research & Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, while the ground segment facilities - from which Integral operations will be controlled - are preparing for final review in June.
The spacecraft will be shipped to the launch site in August 2002.
Media wishing to attend the press conference are requested to complete the reply form and return it via fax to:
ISDC (Integral Science Data Centre)
Fax: +41 22 950 91 33
Tel: +41 22 950 91 00
Event programme
Location: Integral Science Data Centre
16, Chemin d'Ecogia
The press conference will be held partly in French, partly in English.
10:30 - Introduction & Welcome,
by Prof. Thierry Courvoisier, Geneva Observatory, Principal Investigator of the ISDC (in French)
10:35 - Integral in the context of the ESA Scientific Programme, by Prof. David Southwood, ESA Director of Science (in English with support material in French)
10:45 - The Integral mission,
by Dr Kai Clausen, Integral Project Manager (in English with support material in French)
10:55 - The Integral instruments,
by Dr Arvind Parmar, acting Integral Project Scientist (in English with support material in French)
11:05 - Integral Science and the Integral Science Data Centre,
by Prof. Thierry Courvoiser, Geneva Observatory, Principal Investigator of the ISDC (in French)
11:20 - Switzerland & Space, by Dr P. Creola, ,Head of Swiss Space Office (in French)
11:30 - Conclusions, by Prof. Thierry Courvoiser (in French)


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When it comes to managing their finances amid thewild swings, instead of stashing cash under their mattresses investors are starting to think more like hedge fund managers.
A slew of "alternative" mutual fundshas cropped up, enabling individual investors to dabble in short, ultra-short, long-short, market-neutral and other strategies once reserved largely for hedge funds and other institutional investors.
The trend started taking off in 2006, but has gained momentum in the wake of the 2008 financial meltdown that followed the collapse ofLehman Brothers.
"What investors found out in 2008 was that in times of crisis, credit risk and equity risk are highly correlated," says Nadia Papagiannis, alternative investments strategist with mutual-fundresearcher Morningstar in Chicago. "They recognized the need for a different strategy to diversify outside of traditional stocks and bonds."
There are currently around 644 alternative-style funds — 251 mutual funds and 393 exchange-traded funds , which are mutual funds that trade like stocks, according to a Morningstar tally.
So far in 2011, there have been 249 ETFs , of which 90 (or 36 percent) were alternative and commodity ETFs and there have been 333 new mutual funds, of which 48 (or 14 percent) were alternative and commodity funds.
The most common funds are "long-short," which can buy stocks or go "short" (which is the practice of borrowing a stock and selling it in hopes of buying it back later at a cheaper price and pocketing the difference).
Also popular among the so-called hedge fund clones is "market-neutral" funds, which aim to make money under all conditions and give zero market risk by balancing long and short positions.
Investors can also dabble in merger or "arbitrage" funds, which bet on corporate takeovers, as well as on options,currenciesand commoditiesamong others.
Because of their low correlation in movements to traditional investments in stocks and bonds, alternative investments are viewed as a "hedge" to help protect portfolios during sideways or down markets.
"What we use alternative strategies for is mostly to smooth out peaks and valleys," says Louis P. Stanasolovich, a financial planner and president of Legend Financial Advisors in Pittsburgh. "Sometimes you can gain an edge, but for the most part it's for smoothing out whenever possible."
Indeed, investors shouldn't be hoping for outsized, hedge fund -like returns from their alternative mutual fund investments, many of which have been offering up poor returns over the past few years.
"They're doing well in terms of protecting the downside," says Morningstar's Papagiannis. "But some are not doing so well in capturing the upside. That's their biggest problem so far, on average."
A survey by Morningstar early this year found that of the 73 percent of financial advisors using alternative investment vehicles for their retail or high net worth clients, typically between 6 percent and 10 percent was allocated to such investments.
More than half of advisors surveyed expect to see those allocations increase by more than 10 percent a year over the next five years.
While a 10-percent allocation might be the norm now, some market observers think it wise to boost the portion devoted to alternative investments closer to 40 percent. That's long been a typical level for pension funds, university endowments and other institutional investors, which have the ability to take on illiquidity risk such as investing in private equity.
"I'm in the 40 percent camp," says Papagiannis, who is 33 and hasn't had much luck with stocks since getting into the market after the crash of 2002. "A lot of advisors tell me I should be in growth stocks at my age, but I don't think the market's going to go anywhere for a while. I don't want to lose money."


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e-Cycle Process
When it's time to sell or dispose of wireless mobile devices, organizations need a policy in place so they can protect their investments, their data and the environment. As your partner, e-Cycle will help you implement a simple, secure and profitable mobile phone buyback and recycling program so you can keep your focus on your business.
Simply ship your devices to e-Cycle using our prepaid shipping labels and we will handle the rest. The largest organizations in the world rely on e-Cycle and so can you.
e-Cycle recycles your end-of-life cell phones and accessories. We shred the devices on site to destroy remaining data and recycle the materials in an e-Stewards certified facility. e-Cycle stringently upholds a zero landfill policy for all commercial material.
e-Cycle will purchase your organizations' mobile phones that are on our monthly price list. Since 2005, we have put more than $15 million back into the telecom budgets of our clients. We provide fast payments and complete inventory reports.
Every mobile device purchased undergoes a rigorous, multi-step data wiping process conducted by e-Cycle's security team. Our quality assurance department retests each device to validate your sensitive information has been sanitized.


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With a wide range of styles, colors, and fits available, Russell's Men's Work Boots are infused with the signature Western edge that perfectly represents the brand. Whether you're looking for a sturdy and practical lace-up pair for day-to-day wear or a more traditional Western slip-on style to wear during a typical working day, we've got a pair of boots to suit every taste, preference, and budget.
Our boot collections are recognized for providing the very best when it comes to All-American quality, with durability, safety, style, and tradition infused into each and every one of our designs and at the forefront of what we stand for. Some of our boots are waterproof — perfect for wet and rainy conditions, and some are fitted with a steel toe to protect toes from strain or injury.
Whatever your daily schedule, our lovingly made boots can withstand a range of conditions, weather, and temperatures. We're proud to offer the top brands and the highest standards when it comes to American work boot safety, each design ensuring that you stay comfortable and protected while you work and look great at the same time.
Each pair of work boots available on our site is reasonably priced, and their top quality and effortless durability allows them to withstand a range of conditions and ultimately last for years. So, whether you're about to order your first pair or your 10th, Russell's is committed to keeping your feet safe, offering premium style, and, ultimately, putting a great big smile on that face o' yours.


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Sennheiser HD598
WHEN I FIRST SAW the Sennheiser HD598's beige-and-brown color scheme, woodgrain accents, and air-cushioned headband, images of all sorts of 1970s products fl ooded through my head: Kustom guitar amps with "tuck and roll" covering, lacquered driftwood furniture, waterbeds, Roger Dean posters. Surely the unique look of the HD598 will attract some and repel others, but kudos to Sennheiser for daring to be different.
Cosmetics excepted, the HD598 illustrates Sennheiser's decades of experience in building high-class headphones. The oval-shaped earcups easily accommodate almost anyone's ears. The pressure applied by the headband is fi rm enough to keep the earcups in place but light enough that you could wear the HD598 all day. No panelist voiced even the slightest complaint about the HD598's comfort. When a modestly priced model like this can achieve ergonomic perfection, I have to wonder why so many headphones are so uncomfortable.
The HD598's sonic performance is no less impressive. "Five out of fi ve on sound and comfort," Will raved, although he still ranked it second to the Beyerdynamic DT-990. I tied the HD598 for fi rst place with the Audio-Technica ATH-AD990, while Howard and Joe both ranked it second. We all felt the HD598's neutral tonal balance made it a great choice for any type of music. I found the sound incredibly lush and involving when I played audiophile stuff like the HDtracks.com 96/24 download of "Short and Sweet," from Esperanza Spalding's Chamber Music Society. Only Geoff put the HD598 in the middle of the pack, complaining that it lent a bit of sibilance to Radka Toneff's vocal on "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress," from Burmester's Art for the Ear demo CD.
The frequency response of the HD598 appears to be slightly low in the bass, but fairly well balanced overall. Impedance averages 60 ohms but increases to a very high 253 ohms at 97 Hz; this radical swing produces a larger-than-average bass bump of 3.3 dB at 97 Hz with a 75-ohm output impedance. Isolation is typical for an open-back headphone; ambient noise is cut by 3 to 16 dB above 2 kHz. Distortion is very low at 80 dB. At 100 dB, it's a little high below 200 Hz, but max THD of 15.6% at 20 Hz is about average. Average sensitivity from 300 Hz to 10 kHz with a 0.179-volt RMS signal is 102.2 dB.
The Sennheiser HD598 is another headphone that we can recommend to practically anyone, for practically any taste. At $249, it's a steal. With the HD598, a $100 D/A converter/ headphone amp, and your laptop computer, you can achieve incontestably great sound for less than the price of a good subwoofer.


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Articles in Shiraz
Cosmo Wines Yarra Valley Shiraz
New French oak gives spicy notes and fine tannins that complement the dark fruit cake aromas and flavours provided by the ripe fruit used to make this wine. Match with spicy and full flavoured meat dishes.... Read full article
2017 Tokar Estate Shiraz
2017 Tokar Estate Shiraz displays both volume and length, with a gentle lingering grip on the finish (fine, youthful tannins). The fruit is coated in spice with this wine as juicy raspberries intermingle with cedar, myrtle and anise.... Read full article
De Bortoli Yarra Valley Single Vineyard Section A8 Syrah
by De Bortoli Wines on
Our Yarra Valley Single Vineyard Syrah is as rich, sultry and tantalising as a Spanish flamenco dancer. Spicy, earthy aromas and a mouthful of juicy berries and meaty flavours make this a bold, elegant red that dances on the taste buds with spicy...... Read full article
2016 Punt Road Shiraz
by Punt Road on
Brambles, blackberry pie, star anise, crème de mûre, cocoa bean - Tim Shand ... Read full article
Payne's Rise 'Redlands' Shiraz 2013
by Payne's Rise on
True cool climate Shiraz, black & white pepper, spice and stalky whole bunch characters with brambly red fruits. The palate has strong fleshy fruit, ripe cherry & raspberry, plenty of spice and savoury flavours, clean acidity and silky tannins. ... Read full article
Fergusson 2013 Jeremy Shiraz Reserve
by Fergusson Winery and Restaurant on
This Shiraz is named after the younger of the Fergusson sons. Produced from very old, estate grown vines. This wine has a luscious array of blackberry, red and black cherry and plum fruits. The tannins are soft and round while the oak plays a support... Read full article
Fergusson 2015 Crimson Shiraz
by Fergusson Winery and Restaurant on
This hand picked early harvest wine is bright crimson with hints of cherry, strawberry and kirsch. Intense bright berry flavours give to a long sweet finish. Whole bunch carbonic maceration. ... Read full article
Fergusson 2008 Ruby Red Sparkling Shiraz
by Fergusson Winery and Restaurant on
Deep purple in colour, with an intense choc-berry nose. Light to medium bodied. The palate is rich with supple glace cherries, liquorice and confectionary flavours on the palate. An intense finish makes for a quality sparkling red.... Read full article
Fergusson 2016 BC Forte Shiraz
by Fergusson Winery and Restaurant on
This wine displays dark fruits, plum pudding, toffee and spice. An ideal after dinner companion, just like its namesake.... Read full article
Serrat Shiraz Viognier
by Serrat on
This wine is from the Shiraz block planted in 2003 with Viognier from the original 2001 plantings. There are two Shiraz clones in the block, Best's Old Block sourced from the original plantings at Best's Great Western in 1868 and clone 1654, a...... Read full article


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ApeRising Hate News: July 21, 2010;
]Japanese Discernmentalist Headquaters, Tokyo Division- Our Research Robot Monkeys have just embarked on a recent round the world Summer tour in order to educate the masses on the Biblical art of Discernmentalism. They plan to stay in Asia for the first of Summer and move on to Europe closer to early Fall.
Topics to be covered are:
- Why voting straight ticket Republican makes all the difference
- Discerning by slander
- Why Calvinist sectarianism is Absolute Biblical Truth
- Why Puritan mysticism is a'ok
- How to discern an evil place
- The art of waging a Truth War
- And other such "Apprising" topics…
Internet Pastor-Teacher of the True Remnant, Ken Silva awaits you with his Research Robot Monkeys of doom! Doooooooom! Doom and gloom bringing for free! Join him and his Research Robot Monkeys—coming soon to a city near you.


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museum-digital is a platform on which museums large and small publish information about their objects. It contains a large variety of objects that are linked with each other through many different links. It thus aims to present subjects in a most approachable way and provide ease in the finding of objects.
But museum-digital is more than that: it is an initiative, in which we work on finding ways and creating tools for an easy online publication of object information for all museums. We are developing a system which aims to be mostly free, time efficient and easy to use. A system that can be used by all museums, no matter the way the museum manages the information pertaining to its objects internally. For museums that do not yet use a dedicated program for inventarization, museum-digital offers the relevant functions. Information about the museum objects is further enriched at museum-digital and can subsequently be reformated and easily exported for embedding on relevant portals, such as europeana, Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek, etc. - if the museum wants that. Currently, you can find information on:
The origin of the development of museum-digital is the AG Digitalisierung (Task Force Digitization) of the Museumsverbandes Sachsen-Anhalt (Museum Association Saxony-Anhalt), whose work is aided by the Institute for Museum Research (SMB-PK). From the beginning, the experience of museums from Rhineland-Palatine and other regions were incorporated into the process. Because of its origin on a regional level, museum-digital has a number of regional instances besides the German nationwide one. By now, a number of international instances have also been created:


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A new study of low-income households by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas shows that seeking professional financial advice is positively correlated with beneficial financial outcomes, but few avail themselves of this important stepping stone to financial security.
The Dallas Fed surveyed residents of Fair Park, an economically lagging South Dallas neighborhood where nearly half the residents have incomes below $10,000 (compared with 7% nationally). The project's purpose was to empirically determine practices that relate positively to beneficial financial outcomes.
For example, financial training and education are often viewed as a pathway to saving and asset building, but Wenhua Di, Tammy Leonard and Emily Ryder, who conducted the research project, report that such programs offer no panacea for low-income communities. "Evaluations of these programs are scarce, and the existing few have shown limited and often ambiguous effectiveness in increasing financial stability," the authors write.
A more reliable "gateway" to the financial mainstream is ownership of basic transaction products and services such as a checking account. South Dallas residents with a checking account are "4.6 times as likely to have a savings account and 2.3 times as likely to have a mortgage or cash their paychecks through direct deposit or at a bank," the survey found.
Beyond these elementary gateway measures are higher-level "stepping stones" that lead to beneficial financial outcomes (measured by whether families save for financial emergencies and have a consistent savings plan). These stepping stones are higher level practices that promote asset building such as seeking the advice of a professional financial advisor, having a savings account or mortgage, and cashing paychecks through direct deposit or at a bank.
Most South Dallas survey participants, 69%, owned a checking account; 54% owned savings accounts; and 55% cashed paychecks through mainstream institutions. But just 17% seek professional financial advice and 17% have mortgages. As for outcomes, 38% save for emergencies. And while 76% of households save more generally, only 24% save with a set plan.
Savings patterns of poor residents of South Dallas are markedly different from the broader population. Nearly 60% are saving for the next few months, which is more than three times the level of short-horizon savers found in the public at large. Consumer finance surveys show that most savers have a long-term savings horizon—five to 10 years or longer. "This discrepancy may indicate a sense of urgency in the South Dallas community for fulfilling immediate needs that overrides long-term financial planning," the authors write.
The Dallas Fed report found that stepping stone measures are associated with positive outcomes. The authors write that "individuals who report that they would seek professional financial advice are more likely to save with a plan and also more likely to advise friends to invest in a financial institution."
Amid a marked increase in the poverty rate—15.1% in 2010, compared with 12.5% in 2007—the Dallas Fed study urges policymakers to "examine the pathways for American families to build sufficient savings to mitigate financial shocks" through financial mainstream products and services.


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Atlassian – Open Source, Community & Classroom
Since you have already qualified for an Open Source or Non-Profit/Community license, you can request licenses for any of our other products from the form below.
Our applications
Not sure what products might help you? Learn more about our growing range of apps:
Jira Software - project and issue tracking Learn | Download
Jira Core - manage your projects and keep your team organized Learn | Download
Jira Service Desk - an ITIL certified service desk for modern IT teams Learn | Download
Confluence - the enterprise wiki Learn | Download
Bamboo - the zen of continuous integration Learn | Download
Crowd - identity management simplified Learn | Download
Fisheye - source code repository insight Learn | Download
Crucible - efficient code review Learn | Download
Please note: The new license(s) can only be attached to the online Atlassian account which already has an OS or community license. If you have an OS project, your website and source repository must be publicly accessible. This application is not valid for our hosted offerings


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Stopping Smoking: The Valley Self Hypnosis MP3
Stephen Armstrong DHP; Faith Waude DHP Acc. Hyp.
- Length: 30:44
- Download: 59MB
Overcome your smoking addiction with this hypnosis MP3.*
How many times have you gone to bed and told yourself that you will never smoke again, only to awaken and habitually light up yet another cigarette?
Nicotine patches, sprays and gums don't seem to help because your body is still getting the nicotine; you either substitute one addiction for another or have the same withdrawal symptoms when you quit the patches or gum - and most of us have heard the horror stories about the other chemical alternative.
Having consciously made the decision to stop smoking, this powerful hypnotic recording will program new, positive thoughts into your subconscious mind - making it easy for you to quit the habit, once and for all.
You will feel better, healthier, and fitter; have more energy and vitality, become more socially acceptable, plus the added benefit of having more money to spend on the more worthwhile things in your life. Based on someone smoking a packet of 20 cigarettes a day, this MP3 will begin to save you money from the second day onwards.
Download MP3
Get this hypnosis download and start benefiting today for just $12.95
How do I listen to this MP3?
Once you have ordered an MP3, you will receive an email with a link where you can download the hypnosis recording as an MP3 file and listen to it whenever you wish. You can also 'burn' the MP3 onto a CD for your personal use - this will enable you to listen to the hypnosis MP3 at bed time, for example.
How long does the MP3 take to download?
This depends on the speed of your connection. For broadband users, it should take less than ten minutes to download the hypnosis MP3, while retaining the high quality of the recordings.
What software do I need to listen to the MP3?
Virtually all modern computers are capable of playing MP3s. Software such as Windows Media Player, iTunes, QuickTime or Real Player will enable you to listen to hypnosis MP3s with ease.
For more questions and answers, read the complete FAQ here
Hypnotic World's MP3 offerings are based on the highly popular scripts library that we have been building for many years and perfecting through experience and qualified expertise. The MP3s you download can be listened to from your computer, transferred to an MP3 player or even burned onto a CD for your listening, and you can use the MP3s as many times as you like as you see beneficial.
The Voices behind the Hypnosis
Founder of Hypnotic World, Faith has been practising hypnotherapy for over ten years in Yorkshire, England, and has treated many hundreds of clients for a vast range of addictions, phobias and other issues. Read more
Stephen records many of the hypnosis MP3s on Hypnotic World. In his own words
* Results may vary from person to person. For peace of mind, Hypnotic World offers a 100% money-back guarantee on self-hypnosis MP3s. If you are not entirely satisfied with this MP3, simply contact us for a full refund.


text: Shots - Health News Can Potatoes Give Your Health A Boost? A Chemist Thinks So August 31, 2011 Potatoes may lower blood pressure if they're cooked right, according to new research. Beneficial compounds in potatoes may survive microwaving better than deep-frying. And avoiding the extra fat may make the weight gain linked to potatoes in other studies less likely.


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Last fall, the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp. introduced its strategy to place our community more firmly on the map as a global business destination. Since then, the outreach campaign has been making progress as we continue to fill the pipeline of prospective business relocations and expansions.
Recent events and accolades also are evidence of traction in promoting the Bradenton-area brand.
In recent months, the EDC hosted an in-bound trade mission connecting local businesses with visitors from Spain; Port Manatee inked a new partnership with Brazil; downtown Bradenton earned a nod from a respected business development journal, and the EDC was accepted into an exclusive organization, connecting us to business location decision-makers.
Here are some details:
The EDC hosted its first-ever in-bound trade mission on June 14, giving local business leaders an opportunity to meet with representatives from Spanish companies seeking to do business in the United States.
The event grew out of a previous visit in April by officials from Matar�, Spain, who participated in a roundtable discussion at Port Manatee. Following that visit, which was initiated by port director Carlos Buqueras, the officials from Matar� identified companies eager to introduce their products or services to the U.S. and Latin American markets.
Based on the success of this initial effort, we believe that in-bound trade missions will be a useful tool in our outreach initiative to attract businesses and high-impact jobs to the Bradenton area.
Also this month, Port Manatee signed an International Sister Seaport Agreement with the Rio de Janeiro Port Authority -- a first for a Florida Gulf Coast seaport. The affiliation should open new foreign-trade opportunities between the U.S. and Brazil, which is Florida's largest trade partner. Port Manatee is a principal importer in the Southeastern U.S. of Brazilian orange juice and lumber.
In May, "Southern Business & Development" magazine named Bradenton as one of "Ten Wonderful Small Town Central Business Districts in the South." The article cites Bradenton's Riverwalk, the Manatee Players, and the city's "laid-back, coastal" charm. The magazine also describes Bradenton as a "bustling area with an eclectic mix of arts, culture and heritage."
The magazine's publisher, Michael Randle, visited this spring with the EDC on one of his research visits around the Southeast. An expert on the business-site- selection industry, Randle has conducted 2,000 community visits in his career. Randle is one of the key media relationships the EDC maintains by providing news on relocations and expansions in the Bradenton area.
In addition to strategies for making more international business connections and communicating the Bradenton area's assets through selected media, the EDC looks for ways to get in front of site-selection consultants, who are the gatekeepers to many corporate relocation and expansion projects.
Recently, the Bradenton Area EDC was accepted into an organization that gives us direct access to a veritable Who's Who of corporate real estate decision-makers.
The Industrial Asset Management Council is the leading association of industrial asset management and corporate real estate executives, their suppliers and service providers, and economic developers. The group maintains a strict ratio of member types, and it's no mean feat for an economic-development organization to be accepted into it.
Another key tool for reaching business-location decision-makers is a new website we are building and plan to launch soon. We haven't set the launch date yet, but work is proceeding on what will be a centerpiece of our outreach initiative.
In the meantime, our staff continues to work with Manatee County government and all of our partners in the region to help businesses locate here, expand their facilities and create new, high-impact jobs.
Stay tuned: More good news is on the horizon for the Bradenton area.
Sharon Hillstrom is president and chief executive officer of the private, non-profit Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp. She may be reached at email@example.com.
Bradenton area is jumping with economic development
Last fall, the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp. introduced its strategy to place our community more firmly on the map as a global business destination. Since then, the outreach campaign has been making progress as we continue to fill the pipeline of prospective business relocations and expansions.


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At Hight Chrysler Jeep Dodge's in Madison, ME, we believe that everyone should be treated like a VIP. This philosophy translates to exceptional service, money-saving specials and the latest new and pre-owned inventory selections. Come down today and experience preferential treatment.
Browse our new and used inventories in a friendly and calm atmosphere, and speak with our financial staff to learn about your financing options. Be sure to check out the latest specials for current promotions and incentives; your next new vehicle is right around the corner!
If you have any questions related to inventory, service, parts or financing, feel free to call us at (207) 474 - 7171 and speak with one of our friendly staff members. Someone is sure to have an answer for you!


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Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy applies to our video games Shakes & Fidget, SoccerStar (aka KickerStar), Bloodmoon, and Tiny Island (hereinafter "Games").
From May 25, 2018, new data protection and privacy regulations will apply in Europe: the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It establishes a uniform standard in Europe. In some countries, the new regulation will significantly increase the level of data protection. However, we have always taken protecting the personal data of all our players very seriously. This statement gives you an overview of how we use data. It shows which data is processed by us for what purpose and on what legal basis. We also explain what rights you have with regard to your data and how you can exercise them.
1. Personal Data
The new regulations apply to personal data. This refers to all information that can, with reasonable effort, be linked to the identity of an individual (Art. 4 No. 1 GDPR). The primary reason why we process the personal data of our players is so that they can use our Games comfortably. The legislative basis for this is Art. 6 Para. 1 b) GDPR.
When you create a user account for our Games, we assign it a unique number. We store the username and password you chose as well as your e-mail address unless you sign in via Facebook login (for third-party logins, see section 3 for more information). The provision of this data is a prerequisite for concluding a contract. We use a double opt-in procedure to verify whether the e-mail address you provide really belongs to you. Participation is not a prerequisite for using our Games but we recommend it because we can only use validated e-mail addresses to send you important messages such as login confirmations, password changes, or occasional information about the Games you play. The legislative basis for the latter direct advertising is Art. 6 f) GDPR. We may also use your hashed e-mail address to advertise our games via social networks so long as the hash method used does not allow for retroactive decryption.
We store the originating IP address and the time at which registration is made. We also store the originating IP address and the time when you validate your e-mail address. This is to comply with our burden of proof, to ward off attacks against our system, and to ensure compliance with the rules of the game.
When you use our Games, your device communicates with our servers. In that context, we record signing in and signing out times as well as any relevant IP addresses. This can be the IP address of your telecommunications connection or of your mobile device. We process this data in order to handle violations of our T&Cs and to comply with the requirements of law enforcement authorities.
You can also communicate with other users in our Games and may divulge personal information. In regards to this, we advise that you exercise caution. If you receive messages from other users, they will be saved to your user account. This allows you to view all the messages you have received in the Game. Deleting messages in the Game will also delete them from your user account.
If you participate in one of our sweepstakes, we store the data you provide (which can also be personal). We process this data to determine the winners, distribute the prizes, and to obtain statistical information about our players. We do not share the data with third parties.
When you send us an e-mail or a message via our support system, we will store this message in order to process your request. In the case of messages via the support system, we also store so-called metadata about your device, such as the browser and operating system, in order to better be able to help you with your problem.
2. Data Security and Disclosure of Personal Data
We process only a few categories of personal data, none of which are particularly sensitive. Nevertheless, we take extensive precautions and are constantly improving these in order to prevent unauthorized access to your personal data and to minimize the corresponding risks. We process personal data exclusively on servers located in Germany. All our employees who regularly handle personal data are obligated by data secrecy and data protection regulations and are instructed in this respect.
Not all processes connected to our Games are provided by us. Some services are provided on our behalf by third parties in accordance with Art. 28 GDPR ("Processor"). This in part concerns the processing of payments via external service providers, such as credit card companies, banks, PayPal etc. (for further information see section 5). We also sometimes employ the services of third parties in the context of statistics, advertising, and e-mail. In cases where we remain responsible for the processing, the external companies are obliged to treat your data confidentially and securely and may only process the data insofar as this is necessary to fulfil their task. Moreover, they may only process personal data in accordance with our instructions. To this end, we have concluded appropriate contracts and regularly verify whether the service providers comply with their contractual obligations.
In the context of the above-mentioned order processing, some data is sent to American companies within the framework of the EU-US Privacy Shield. In accordance with Art. 45 Par. 1 GDPR, this transmission of data does not require special approval. In sections 3 and 4, we provide detailed information on the circumstances and the companies to which we send the data.
Furthermore, we will only disclose your personal data if this is necessary to pursue our rights, to protect other users, to prevent endangerment to the state or public security, or to prosecute criminal offences, and only if it is permissible under the statutory data protection regulations or if you have given your express consent. Your interests worthy of protection will be taken into account in accordance with the legal data protection regulations.
3. Facebook Login/Steam/Apple Gamecenter Login/Signing in with Twitter/Google Play Games/Social Plug-ins
When creating a user account for our Games, you can either enter your information manually or use data already provided to a third party (see section 1 for details).
If you are using
Facebook Login
, Facebook (Facebook, Inc.) will send the information from your public Facebook profile and your e-mail address to us once you have consented to this data transfer. The public information transferred in such a manner consists of your id, name, first_name, last_name, link, gender, locale, time zone, updated_time, and verified. This is a one-time data transfer and the information will be used to create a new user account on the game world you selected Of the transferred data, we
only save the Facebook Token and the Facebook ID
since these are required for logging in to one of our Games. We do not obtain knowledge of your Facebook password. However, Facebook may save data about your use of our Games. Facebook is subject to the EU-US Privacy Shield; for this reason, the transmission of data does not require special approval in accordance with Art. 45, Par. 1 GDPR. For more information on Facebook and the GDPR, please visit
You can also create a user account for our Games on
(Steam is a product owned by Valve Corporation; for more information, please visit
). In this case, we do not receive any personal data.
If you use an Apple device, you can create a user account on our servers via the
Game Center login
. In this case, Apple (Apple, Inc.) will transfer your Apple ID, Game Center name, and e-mail address to us. For more information on Apple's privacy policy, please visit
Verification on Android devices works in a similar manner
("Google Play Games")
. In this case, game information will be sent to Google and linked to the user's Google+ identity. It will also be visible in a variety of Google products (
). For more information on Google's privacy policy, please visit
Google is subject to the EU-US Privacy Shield; for this reason, the transmission of data does not require special approval in accordance with Art. 45, Par. 1 GDPR.
You may also link your user account(s) with Facebook, Google Play Games, and Game Center at a later time. This allows you to import user accounts and use them on additional devices.
Such a retroactive linking can be done via the Facebook logo in the Games. Clicking on the Facebook logo in one of our Games will provide a link that forwards you to the official Facebook App page, a "Like" button, and the option to retroactively connect or disconnect your user account via Facebook Connect. The Twitter logo opens the service's official Twitter channel but without establishing a permanent connection.
The "
We store Push Tokens in order to be able to send
Push Messages
to your Android or Apple device. We may also use this technology for other platforms in the future. You can manage Push Messages under "Options" or "Settings" in the mobile app or in your device settings.
4. Tracking
If you are accessing our Games via a web browser, a script by
LLC may be called to allow the playback of YouTube videos on the website. For more information on YouTube's privacy policy, please visit
In order to identify through which advertising channel a user found one of our Games, we utilize unique codes ("
") that are transferred to us through media such as ad banners and videos. If this leads to the creation of a user account, the CID will be permanently linked to it.
For this, we use a technology called "
", which allows us to settle fairly with an advertising partner. Clicking on an advertising banner temporarily stores various openly accessible criteria such as browser type, version number, and operating system for comparison with information when registering on our game pages. All this data is fully deleted within a few minutes.
We also use
in several places. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer. They help us to create more user-friendly, efficient, and safe services. For example, some of your settings are stored so that you do not have to select them every time you visit our websites.
Google Analytics
, a web analysis service of Google Inc., also uses cookies. The information generated in this way may contain IP addresses and is transmitted to Google servers in the USA. Google processes this information on our behalf in order to evaluate the use of our websites and compile statistics about them. You can prevent the collection and transfer of data to Google by downloading and installing the following browser plugin:.
. You can specify how cookies are to be treated in general in the settings of your web browser. If you are using the Flash version of one of our Games, local
Flash data
will also be stored on your device.
Our apps for Android and iOS end devices include the
Google SDK
. We do not collect personal data with this SDK – we use it solely to collect general information in order to get an insight into user flows into and within our apps so that we may improve our advertising activities. Such information includes the language of the browser installed on your device, the region settings of the end device and the time zone. In the future, we may also collect additional general information, such as the duration of your stay and the number of clicks in the app. Determining your identity from such information is impossible, and the data is analyzed anonymously and solely for statistical purposes. For more information on Google Analytic's privacy policy, please visit
Furthermore, there are several tiny graphics ("
") from
on our websites and in the apps that are automatically loaded by your device. They allow us to anonymously track how many people visit our website or use the app for the first time. This is how we count the number of users of our games. It can also be used for retargeting and for Facebook advertising directed at lookalike audiences ("statistical twins"). For more information on how Facebook processes data and what options you have to protect your privacy, please visit
An SDK from
Ltd. is embedded in our apps in order to manage the above-mentioned pixel accesses. AppsFlyer is subject to the EU-US Privacy Shield; for this reason, the transmission of data does not require special approval in accordance with Art. 45, Par 1 GDPR. You can find out more about the features and privacy policy of AppsFlyer at
Most of our static game content (e.g. graphics) is stored with Akamai Technologies GmbH from where it is sent to your device whenever you play. Your IP address may be stored when you access game content from Akamai. Some of our websites display fonts from Adobe Systems Incorporated. These are accessed from servers in the United States and Adobe may determine that you have visited our website.
You may be able to turn off or reset the tracking of your mobile device – please refer to your end device's manual under the keywords "Ad Tracking" or "Google Advertising ID" to find out more.
5. Additional Content
Our Games are strictly free to play. However, we also offer additional services with costs. If you decide to purchase such services, the financial transaction will be carried out by the service provider you select, who will then be responsible for the technical side of processing the payment. In this event, we may transfer data to other service providers to the extent necessary to determine the price, for billing, and for payment collection. Specifically, this data includes your alias, the game world on which you created your user account, the language settings and your pre-selection (if any). Any personal data that you provide to the service provider, in particular your name, address and payment information, will not be forwarded to us.
After payment has been processed, we receive and store an acknowledgement from the respective service provider. This acknowledgement contains information that allows us to verify the status of the respective transaction. This is necessary in order to provide the agreed and paid for service and, if necessary, provide customer service.
6. User Rights
The processing of personal data generally occurs so that we can fulfil the user agreement pursuant to Art. 6 Par. 1 b) GDPR. However, the data may only be processed if the user is at least 16 years of age (13 years in some countries). For this reason, our games may only be played by individuals who have reached the age at which data processing is permitted in their country of origin. Children who currently have a user account must prove the consent of their legal guardian by May 25, 2018. Children who want to create a new user account must also first prove the consent of their legal guardian. If you or your legal guardian(s) have consented to the processing of your personal data, you have the
right to revoke
this consent at any time without reason, as pursuant to Art. 7 Par. 3 GDPR. You can use our support tool for this purpose.
You have the right to request confirmation as to whether we are processing personal data relating to you. If this is the case, you have a
right to information
about this personal data. The content of this right to information results from the provisions of Art. 15 GDPR. You can use our support tool to request such information. If you make an inquiry by e-mail, we are usually only able to provide information about data linked to the e-mail address from which the inquiry is made. For inquiries by fax or letter, please provide the game world, the player name, and the e-mail address with which you registered.
Pursuant to Art. 21 Par. 1 GDPR, you have the
right to object
to the processing of personal data concerning you in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 f at any time for reasons arising from your particular situation. In particular, this may affect direct advertising for our Games. You can object through our support tool or use the corresponding link in any promotional message you have received from us. Subsequently, the data will no longer be processed for direct mail. This also includes retargeting campaigns and the creation of Facebook Lookalike Audiences.
If there are changes to your personal data or if we have stored an incorrect date, you are entitled to have it corrected in accordance with Art. 16 GDPR. Please use our support tool.
Pursuant to the provisions of Art. 17 GDPR, you have the right to have your personal data
. This could be the case if you want to delete all your user accounts; the legal obligation to retain data ceases to exist; your data is no longer required for billing purposes; and for asserting, exercising or defending legal claims. In the event of a justified objection to the processing of your data, this data may have to be deleted. In the latter case, you can request the
of data processing. It is also possible that it relates to a child's data, which may not be processed. You can use our support tool to request the deletion of your data.
Generally, you have the right to request and receive from us the personal data that you have provided us with, or to have it
by us to another responsible person. We are not currently aware of any case in which this could have practical significance in relation to our games.
You have the
right to lodge a complaint
with a supervisory authority, in particular in the member state of your place of residence, your workplace, or the place of presumed infringement (Der Hamburgische Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit, Klosterwall 6 (Block C), 20095 Hamburg, Germnany, Tel.: 040/428 54 - 4040, Fax: 040/428 54 - 4000, E-mail: email@example.com) if you believe that the processing of your personal data violates the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
7. Storage Period of Personal Data
Personal data will be deleted immediately once the purpose for which it is processed has been achieved. All information mentioned in section 1 will therefore be stored by us for as long as the user agreement exists between you and us, since it is required for the fulfilment of our obligations under this Privacy Policy. Furthermore, such information is retained to the extent that the processing of personal data is necessary to exercise the right to freedom of expression and information, to fulfil a legal obligation, or to assert, exercise, or defend legal claims pursuant to Art. 17 Par. 3 GDPR. These can be, for example, billing purposes, combating abuse, and compliance with legal retention periods. The latter result in particular from the German Commercial Code and generally amount to six years to the end of the calendar year with regard to our user agreement and associated financial transactions. Contractual retention periods may also result from contracts with third parties (e.g. with holders of copyrights and ancillary copyrights). Data subject to a retention period will be blocked until the expiry of this period. Any data the app stored on your mobile device can remain there until you remove the app.
8. Validity and Amendments to this Policy
This Privacy Policy applies exclusively to our Games and websites. If you follow links provided by other users in messages or chat, you may access third party websites or offers. We have no control over such third party content and this Privacy Policy shall not apply to it.
Rapidly changing developments in the Internet and data privacy laws may require amendments to this Privacy Policy pursuant to new legal provisions or due to changes in technology or our Games. We will notify you promptly of any such change.
9. Further Information
Playing together requires trust in each other. For this reason, we are always available to answer any questions you may have regarding the use and processing of your personal data. Only a small number of our trustworthy employees are involved with the processing of personal information. Since we are a small company and the appointment of a data security officer ties up resources, we have not yet carried out a voluntary appointment of one. This frees up more time to work on our Games. If you have questions that this Privacy Policy cannot answer, if need further information regarding one of its provisions, or if you wish to provide comments, please contact the person in charge of our data protection:
Playa Games GmbH
Alstertor 9, 20095 Hamburg, Germany
Local district court Hamburg, commercial registry number 109725
Represented by Managing Director Thorsten Rohmann
Responsible pursuant to Art. 4 No. 7 GDPR: Hannes Beuck
firstname.lastname@example.com (not for game support!)
Link to support tool
May 2018, Playa Games GmbH


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Beat the Streak Report: Colbert Challenge, Day 1
Welcome to Day 1 of the Colbert Challenge, Streakers.
In case you haven't heard, @MLB will face off against Stephen Colbert in a Beat the Streak pick-off from today through Wednesday. If Colbert wins, he'll control the official Twitter of Major League Baseball for 24 hours.
With a trophy case that already includes the Miriam-Webster's 2006 Word of the Year, the 2010 Golden Tweet and naming rights to NASA's snazziest new treadmill, Mr. Colbert clearly has some experience in the contest-winning department. But does he know his baseball?
Check back over the next few days to find out. Or, better yet, make a few picks alongside the man who once ran a presidential campaign sponsored by Doritos.
Update: Colbert has chosen Andre Ethier for Day 1. @MLB has chosen Ichiro Suzuki.
Monday's picks:
(Make a BTS pick)
Oh, hello there …
Stephen Drew: .556 (10-for-18) since '06 vs. Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco
Carlos Beltran: .471 (8-for-17) since '06 vs. Pirates starter Paul Maholm
Andrew McCutchen: .500 (6-for-12) since '06 vs. Mets starter Mike Pelfrey
Carlos Lee: .409 (9-for-22) since '06 vs. Braves starter Derek Lowe
Grady Sizemore: .415 (5-for-12) since '06 vs. Yankees starter A.J. Burnett
Matt Kemp: .400 (8-for-20) since '06 vs. Reds starter Bronson Arroyo
Feeling kinda spicy?
Brendan Ryan: .385 (5-for-13) since '06 vs. Angels starter Dan Haren
You'll thank me later …
Corey Hart: .152 (5-for-33) since '06 vs. Cubs starter Ryan Dempster
Ryan Braun: .184 (7-for-38) since '06 vs. Cubs starter Ryan Dempster
Howard Kendrick: .190 (4-for-21) since '06 vs. Mariners starter Jason Vargas
Aramis Ramirez: .143 (2-for-14) since '06 vs. Brewers starter Randy Wolf
Leaderboard time!
Current leader CroFranjo survived the weekend unscathed, advancing to 30 games on Adrian Gonzalez's 2-for-4 effort yesterday. They're now just one correct pick short of a tie for the season lead and a scant 27 true selections from the $5.6 million grand prize. We wouldn't start popping champagne just yet, but feel free to raise a glass of sparkling cider to the big 3-0.
Top MLB streakers
Hunter Pence: 22 games
Paul Konerko: 13 games
Andrew McCutchen: 11 games
Jacoby Ellsbury: 10 games
Home Run Beat the Streak pick:
Matt Kemp: (20 HR this season) vs. Reds starter Bronson Arroyo
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LaV's List
Monday's Top Picks of the current Top2500,
96 Batters picked overall
Batter, Times Picked, Percentage
Matt Kemp 360 14.4 (2ND)
Jose Reyes 205 8.2 (1RST)(2ND)
Stephen Drew 205 8.2
Andrew McCutchn 175 7.0 (2ND) PH??
Joey Votto 156 6.24
Andre Ethier 142 5.68
Curtis Grndersn 109 4.36
Ryan Braun 104 4.16
Miguel Cabrera 102 4.08
Prince Fielder 96 3.84
No Selection 36 1.44
Highest "No Selection" 😛 pg# 9 with streak of 17 back to zero.
Yesterday's Top2500 Reset rate was % with reseting the most.
There was also % PPD due to players not playing. These streakers do not reset, but did not increase either.
Got Pinched OR 1 AB Wonders
TOP2500 saved or reset by PHA (going to include any pinch hitters and/or double switch, 1 AB or More)
Bloggers Group Top2500
UserName, Streak, Page#, Rank, Pick, (Times picked in top2500)
Bloggers Reset Yesterday
GL to all
FYI: stats for yesterday are in your inbox
Did you send to my gmail? I've been temp locked out of my hotmail, b/c someone hacked and spammed with it.
WOO!!! Drew singles to move me on.
WTH is McCutchen sitting with these numbers?
Per rotoworld: Simply a day off. As it's looking PIT doesn't need him. But if crunch time comes and up/down by just 1, you may see him PH for the pitcher.
With Maholm at 95 pitches and due up 3rd in bottom half of 8 we might see PH. Will it be McCutch?
And like that, he's in CF.
Check that. Maholm done for the evening. PH'r almost guaranteed now.(I don't think Veras even knows how to swing a bat.)
Like Polanco yesterday, McCutchen should see only 1 AB. Polanco 0-fered, start the drum roll….
Drats, McCutchen's single ensures 2 of the top 4 move on. The night could've potentially been a complete wipeout of the 4 leaders tonight.
^^ 1 of the top 4. For some reason I thought one of them had Braun, but has Kemp.
Wow! Reyes O-fer unless it gets tied in the 9th.
Jose Reyes sac fly on potentially last AB. I hate that when it happens to me, but not when it happens to the leader(s).
Staying with that game, Reyes just hit a sac fly in what might've been his last bat.
I picked McCutchen because of his .500 average against Pelfrey. What happens he gets put in late in the game after Pelfrey is gone and since he is due up 3rd, I can only pray for a miracle AB.
Well you got it.
McCutchen gets a DF hit! 1 AB wonder! 🙂
McCutchen gets a DS hit! 1 AB wonder! 🙂
My 2nd all time 1AB success!
McClutch gets me back to 3.
That sacrifice by Reyes looked like a hit after re-watching the play like 100 times. It definitely changed direction. The scorer needs to review it and change it.
Not gonna happen. It isn't the official scorer's call whether it is a hit or not. Because the umps called it an out, whether or not it was trapped, it an out. The sac is scored cause a run crossed the plate.
To rephrase a bit. In this case, it's out of the official scorer's hands. The scorer decides on if it is an error or not, not if it is an out or not.
It just sucks that the umps get paid to make bad calls. Happens way too often.
Agreed. Until instant replies includes trapped balls and missed calls on the bases, just part of the game.
Ugh, can't type worth a darn today. "instant replays", not "instant replies"


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Both schemes and manifolds are local ringed spaces which are locally isomorphic to spaces in some full subcategory of local ringed spaces (local models). Now, there is the inherent notion of the Zariski tangent space in a point (dual of maximal ideal modulo its square) which is the "right" definition for schemes and for $C^\infty$-manifolds (over $\mathbb{R}$ and $\mathbb{C}$). But for $C^r$-manifolds over $\mathbb{R}$ with $r<\infty$ this is not the correct definition. Here one has to take equivalence classes of $C^r$-curves through the point. Isn't there some general definition of tangent spaces which is always the right one?
I am also not completely sure what "right" means. So far, I think that one wants the dimension of the tangent space to be equal to the dimension of the point. This is for example the problem with the Zariski tangent spaces for $C^r$-manifolds. Can this failure be explained geometrically?


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Main: 503-823-4519
City/County Info: 503-823-4000
1221 SW 4th Ave, Suite 110, Portland, OR 97204
Main: 503-823-4519
City/County Info: 503-823-4000
1221 SW 4th Ave, Suite 110, Portland, OR 97204
The Office of Community & Civic Life (formerly Office of Neighborhood Involvement) developed the bureau mission statement, goals and values for the bureau through an extended process starting in 2008 and ending in April 2010. The process involved input from staff, the Bureau Advisory Committee (BAC), community partners and the general public.
The bureaus strategic planning effort was motivated by several factors. The Auditor's office conducted an audit of our performance measurement system and recommended a process to evaluate the mission and develop bureau goals. The last formal process was in 2000 and since that time the bureau has undergone changes in leadership (both Director and Commissioner-in-Charge) and an extensive community process through Community Connect (Bureau Innovation Project #8) resulting in a Five Year Plan to Increase Community Involvement.
Development Process
Bureau staff and the Civic Life BAC had multiple discussions to evaluate the current mission and brainstorm ideas. A subcommittee was formed from staff and BAC members that met several times to discuss the issues and develop draft language. The resulting mission proposal combined concepts from several draft mission statements to emphasize the key focus of the bureau. For goal development, the bureau used the work that came from the Community Connect effort as a starting point by using the 3 goals identified. The resulting goal proposals were an expansion upon those initial goals. For value development, a BAC subcommittee took all the ideas from prior discussions and distilled it down to four primary themes.
During September/October 2008, the bureau notified the public of the planning process using website and notices to staff, neighborhood directory contacts, Notification service, Public Involvement Advisory Council, gentrification dialogue participants, Diversity and Civic Leadership contacts, Portland Citizens' Disability Advisory Committee contacts, and the bureau diversity outreach lists. The feedback from this outreach was considered by the BAC. While operating under the working draft mission and goals, the Civic Life BAC developed the values section to complete the full proposal. That completed document was reviewed by the public for additional input in Winter 2009. The public comment period ended in January 2010 and the Bureau Advisory Committee made final edits and adopted the current guiding statements at the April 2010 BAC meeting.
The mission, goals and values are all important to provide guiding principles for us to refer to as we develop, implement, evaluate and refine programs. This is particularly important each year during our budget development and consideration of potential budget cuts or additions. These principles provide a focus to ensure that we maintain effective programs that support our mission and goals. We encourage feedback or recommendations at any time as these principles are critical for our work and can be revisited as needed.
If you have any feedback or questions, please contact Amy Archer at:
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Mail: 1221 SW 4th Ave, Room 110, Portland, OR 97204
Phone: 503-823-2294
Fax: 503-823-3050
We appreciate all the time everybody put in to developing these concepts. For more information about ONI or our budget process visit our budget site.


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text: The Bob Mackie Home Collection brings a fresh twist to traditional styling with its soft, antique bleached mahogany finish and truly unique veneer inlay. One example is a look utilizing mahogany, primavera and walnut in a braided pattern. The case faces and tops showcase matched crotched mahogany with a soft glow and antique charm. The collection also incorporates lavish tassel and rope carvings. An oval motif is emblazoned on an armoire and sideboard with the matched mahogany plumes creating a starburst effect.


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(Pocket-lint) - Out of the box, only a sliding front lens cover that also turns the camera on and off spoils the slim lines. The top plays host to one button, the shutter release while the back houses a nice, 2.5-inch, 230K-pixel colour screen, the easy to use zoom buttons a playback button and the ubiquitous four-way jog buttons. A menu and green mode button complete the ensemble.
As usual, the four-way buttons provide scrolling and navigation in playback and menus respectively but also double up for drive modes, such as the self timer (top segment), flash modes (right segment), the shooting mode (bottom segment) and finally (right hand segment) the focus modes AF, manual and macro for example.
On the base, we find the hatch that cover s the port for the SD/SDHC external storage and the hatch for the battery, a rechargeable 700mAh lithium-ion affair.
So far so ordinary. The camera's 8-megapixel sensor is a tiny, 1/2.5-inch CCD, so pixels are packed more tightly than the proverbial sardines, and, as we'll see later, this can have an adverse affect on picture quality. What is quite neat is the fact the 7x optical zoom is a non-protruding lens, it moves vertically, periscope fashion, inside the body of the camera.
But a camera with this vertical zoom design, with a long zoom ratio of the 35mm film equivalent of a 38-266mm lens, is going to be very prone to camera shake. The Z10 does have a Digital SR (Shake Reduction) mode, but this simply bumps the ISO up to its highest to bring faster shutter speeds into play. There' no "real" shake reduction at work at all.
The other issue is this SR mode also uses the top ISO 3200 mode and as discussed earlier, such small sensor can be prone to noise. But I'm getting ahead of myself once again. Other neat kit you do get is manual adjustments for sharpness, saturation and contrast, three very reliable metering modes of evaluative, centre-weighted and spot and dual AF modes including the new must have item on a digital camera Face Recognition AF/AE.
Here the Pentax system can recognise up to 15 faces in a shot and it works very quickly indeed; Pentax claims 0.03-seconds and on my tests that seems fair. It will only work when the camera is set to a relevant shooting mode (Kids or Portrait for example) and only works well when the cameras is directly facing peoples', um, faces!
Other nice touches include the flash, which for a camera of this ilk seems remarkably powerful with a frame coverage that does justice to the shot you're taking, particularly at the wide end of the lens. A video mode is included (of course, what camera would be without these days?) and it provides 640 x 480 (VGA) resolution movies at 30fps with mono sound, disappointingly however, you cannot zoom the lens during filming.
The Auto Picture mode is quite fun too as it will assess the scene you're about to shoot and pick the appropriate camera mode accordingly: landscape for landscape mode and so on. This is a great point and shoot feature and takes the headache out of point and shooting, if there was one of course.
Okay, so handling and features are combination of the ordinary and not so ordinary, what of the all important image quality? The new lens design had to be good to cope with this camera's pixel-packed and tiny sensor and to a large degree it copes well. Yes there is blue and purple fringing in some high contrast areas of some shots (it even bleeds into shadows on some of my shots, so perhaps, not quite so good), but at lower ISOs detail is good as can be seen in my shot of two old petrol pumps on a farm. Dials are clearly readable on the full resolution image.
Metering and focusing are good and while colours become muted, the higher the ISO goes they're on the natural side of vivid, so punchy without being artificial. But noise is the real problem. It's evident in all my shots, even those at lower ISOs (the sensitivity range, by the way, is a good one from ISO 64 to 3200) but it becomes very bad over ISO 400 and above ISO 800 horrible with ISO 3200 images (the so-called Shake Reduction setting) just about useless.
Another worry must be the lack of a proper anti shake feature given this camera's launch price of £170. Competitors including Casio's cheaper EX-V7 and Panasonic's TZ2 both come with a reasonably effective (mechanical) anti shake system, which puts this Pentax further onto its back foot.
This is nicely made point and shoot digital camera comes with a few extra bells and whistles ringing the changes for Pentax, but it is also one with a few bells and whistles missing, ones that really should have been there to ring out loud and clear.
Image quality is okay but hampered by noise, unless this camera is discounted quickly, it is hard to see how it can compete.


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- Business
- Small business
- Business IT
This was published 7 years ago
Online stores can be ideal testing grounds
"Omnichannel" has become perhaps the biggest buzzword in the retail industry during the past few years; omnichannel is what "multichannel" became when it grew up, when retailers moved beyond the simple concept of having a store and a website.
An omnichannel retailer is a multichannel retailer that has integrated its shopping channels – primarily physical stores, e-commerce and m-commerce sites – for purposes of fulfilment, service and branding.
This has fooled many into thinking that omnichannel retailing also means you have to sell the same merchandise online as you do in your stores, or your customers will get confused and irritated, and dump you.
Sure that can happen, particularly when a customer has already bought from your store and just wants to replenish the same item – having to revisit the store again because the retailer doesn't offer the product on its e-commerce site can be fatally alienating.
However, the same is not necessarily true in reverse – as a retailer, you don't have to sell in your physical store everything you sell online. There are times when it can be a good strategic move to use the online store as a showroom and laboratory for merchandise that the physical store doesn't offer – or doesn't offer yet.
If you are a small retailer with a store and an e-commerce site, you could find that one of the most valuable uses for your online channel is to try out products, brands or whole categories that may be too costly to commit to in stores in the first instance.
It's generally cheaper and carries lower inventory risk to do an online product launch rather than a store launch, and if it doesn't work out you can drop it without fanfare and also without the need to reset your physical store again.
The products that turn out to be successful online can then later be transplanted to your stores.
Those that get a negative reaction need never clutter up your valuable physical store space.
It's also possible that some products are just not going to work in your store at all even if they are successful online. This could apply to products that may appeal to a narrower or otherwise different target market than the one that typically traipses past your storefront.
Your test product may be taking aim at a particular demographic that you know is more inclined to shop online than in stores.
Online-only can also be a good way to go for testing a category that a retailer hasn't sold in the past. For example, a fashion clothing retailer might want to dip his toe in the water with a home or accessories line.
he products that turn out to be successful online can then later be transplanted to your stores.
Selling through the online channel first will also provide data on the geographic "sweet spots" for your products that may in time lead to a decision about opening a new physical store.
The sweet spots can be in the same metropolitan area or somewhere completely unexpected. This, after all, is the way that many global retailers have become global – reducing real estate risk in a foreign country by using e-commerce to test the waters first.
There are numerous examples of high-profile retailers using the online channel to try out new businesses. An excellent example is trendy US-based apparel and home retailer Urban Outfitters, which has stores in North America and Europe and does a robust e-commerce business internationally, including in Australia.
Urban Outfitters actively tests new lines on its e-commerce site, which has a separate listing for "online exclusives" under each of its women's, men's and apartment banners. The company had $2.5 billion in sales last year, of which more than 20 per cent came from e-commerce and catalogues.
While logistical or managerial inertia, rather than deliberate strategy, was often a reason retailers did not make all of their store inventory available online, there can be very good reasons for retailers not stocking all of their online wares in limited and precious physical store space.
For new product or category introductions, the financial and marketing logic for an online launch can be too compelling to ignore.
Michael Baker is principal of Baker Consulting and can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com and www.mbaker-retail.com.


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3.1 Motivation
Motivation is such an important element in student group work that it deserves specific attention. For example, Morgan (2002) reported that almost half the perceived problems of group work could be allocated to the 'poor motivation - general category'. We can identify types of motivation loss and concepts of students' motivation that should facilitate better design of task and process.
Initial motivation
A practical, generic strategy is to ensure that from the start the students' perceptions of what is required are realistic. Students should be given a breakdown of the marking standards that are applied to the group work and a clear explanation of performance expectations. Skok (2003) offers an example of an analogy presented to students to illustrate their various performance and standards options, together with a description of general marking standards that are given out to students at Kingston Business School.
Social loafing
Social loafing is a reduction in individual effort because of the presence of other people and is most likely to occur when students feel less likely to be identified. As such it is primarily task related. Tasks need to be designed so that students' contributions are more likely to be noticed. For example, divisible tasks will counter this problem more easily than unitary tasks. (In a divisible task, each student produces the answer to one question, while a unitary task could be a group decision on the appropriate answer.) This can also be related to size of groups, as the larger the group is, the less likely your reduced effort is to be noticed.
Free riding
While social loafing relates to not being noticed, free riding is the opportunity to get something for nothing. The group task is not seemingly affected by the student's reduced performance and/or the student does not suffer any penalty for this minimised effort. Can the group task be designed so that there are penalties for reduced involvement, and possibly rewards for above average participation? Students may be asked to rate the contribution that others have made to the group effort. Free riding and non-performance might be infringing certain norms or social rules - norms such as reciprocity and equity, where the ratios of effort to marks received should be fair between group members.
Inequity based motivation loss
If students see that a member of the group is free riding, they might try to avoid the 'sucker effect' by reducing their own input. This concept can be developed further by reference to the 'means rule'. Students are less likely to think of themselves as 'suckers' if they are covering for a member of the group who is not able to succeed. When assessing fairness with regard to inputs (effort) and outputs (marks), they take into account the abilities of their fellow students. It may be useful if the process is structured so that students get to know each other better. If students are able to make more accurate judgements about the abilities of fellow group members, this may reduce the free-rider 'sucker' effect.
Social dilemma
Students sometimes have the social dilemma of making a choice between behaviour that maximises their private benefit and behaviour that maximises social benefit to the group. For example, by attending all meetings or reading and responding to the minutes, students are giving up their own time. They are assisting in group activity, an action that could be classified as 'cooperation'. Alternatively, they could do the minimum necessary and keep most of the time for their own preferred activities. This action could be classified as 'defection'. If all group members choose 'defection' the total outcome will be inferior to the outcome where all group members choose 'co-operation'.
This is a classic game theory problem that could be addressed by increasing the pay-off when all members of a group choose a co-operative strategy. The Prisoner's Dilemma suggests that the imposition of a many-stage game, with its facility for a tit-for-tat strategy directs the selfinterested player to adopt a co-operative approach rather than maximise his or her initial selfinterest. A group task that is broken down into a number of stages could increase the likelihood of mutually beneficial behaviour and a better-performed task.
Motivations beyond Homo economicus - intrinsic motivation
Besides the motivational assumption about maximising our own self-interest, there are implications from the ideas about non-welfare-maximising motivations. Some concepts, such as sympathy, can be rationalised into self-interest models through the idea that by helping others we are making ourselves feel better. However, commitment-based behaviour, such as honesty and altruism, is demonstrably a different source of motivation. Some authors refer to the equivalent concepts of calculating and non-calculating motivations. Homo economicus will act in his or her own best interest in response to external incentives such as marks, while intrinsic motivation refers to examples such as:
- regard for others - we may do certain activities because we enjoy working as a team and value our relationship with others;
- desire to impress others, showing skill or pride;
- ethical values;
- acting in order to establish a form of identity, the action being a reflection of how we see ourselves;
- desire to fit in with the norms and social structures of the community.
These sources of motivation are more likely to be present when students have a long-term commitment to a group.
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Obama was reelected on a twofold promise. Part one was to make the wealthy pay their fair share. Part two: fix our debt crisis, which Obama himself has conceded is chiefly driven by entitlement spending. Right or wrong, he's done part one, according to the standards he laid out in the campaign (although he did want to raise taxes on incomes starting at $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples but settled for $400,000 and $450,000, respectively). The fiscal-cliff deal raises $41 in taxes for every dollar it cuts in spending — not just by raising rates on the wealthy, but also by raising payroll taxes on everyone. The revenues from making the rich pay their fair share will slow the sinking of America into an ocean of debt about as much as throwing all the swizzle sticks off the Titanic would have delayed the inevitable.
Heck, the deal actually increases spending and the national debt. So, clearly, promise number two remains unfulfilled.
Will Obama act on the second part of his mandate? It doesn't look good. He's now claiming he already cut $1 trillion in 2011, largely by "cutting" spending no one ever planned to spend. If I plan to build an orbital Death Star for $10 trillion and then think better of it, I've cut $10 trillion, according to Obama's math. His own White House Office of Management and Budget says spending went up $147 billion last year.