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February 21, 2013 CONTACT: Morris Peters
The 30-day amendments to the Executive Budget will:
Implement teacher evaluation system in New York City. Under the Governor's leadership, the state passed a comprehensive teacher evaluation system for every district across New York State. Though 99 percent of districts were able to reach an agreement on a plan with their local teacher unions, submit it to the state, and have their plan approved by the State Education Department before their January deadline, New York City failed to so. As a result, it lost $240 million in state aid and is in danger of losing additional funds if an evaluation system is not in place this year.
In the event the City and its collective bargaining units fail to reach agreement on a teacher evaluation system by the end of May, an expedited arbitration process, led by the Commissioner of Education, will occur. Following hearings and a review of evidence, the Commissioner, by June 1st, will make a final, written determination on the structure of a teacher evaluation system for New York City schools. This legislation will ensure that New York City students and educators will not see another school year go by without the timely feedback, professional development, and accountability that a robust teacher evaluation plan will provide.
Simplify, Streamline and Reduce Costs of hunting, fishing licenses. New York is Open for Fishing and Hunting is a plan to streamline hunting and fishing licenses and reduce fees to support tourism opportunities and benefit sportsmen and sportswomen throughout the State. The proposal would reduce fees paid by hundreds of thousands of hunters, anglers and trappers while maintaining support for the State's fish and wildlife programs.
Assure gas stations have back-up power capacity. Superstorm Sandy uncovered deficiencies in our fuel distribution system, including the lack of emergency power at gas stations. This amendment would require stations in strategic locations to have a transfer switch and a plan to deploy and install a generator within 24 hours of losing power during an energy emergency. The state would provide $21 million for grants to cover all or a portion of the cost of the transfer switch installation.
Replace lost Federal revenue. This amendment authorizes actions to address the loss of federal revenue as a result of modifications to the current Medicaid financing system for developmental disability services. These actions generate $500 million of savings, including $180 million from accelerating Medicaid Redesign Team initiatives and delaying investments, leveraging $200 million in current-year under spending to generate 2013-14 savings, and $120 million from a 6 percent reduction to OPWDD Medicaid rates for not-for-profit providers.
Accelerate PILOT payments for the City of Albany. The PILOT payment made to the City of Albany is scheduled to decrease in 2013-14 by $8 million under the existing statutory schedule.
Expand availability of the Stable Pension option. The stable pension contribution rate for local governments and schools, submitted as part of the Executive Budget, will provide a new tool for local governments to access the long-term savings from Tier VI and have greater predictability in their fiscal planning. Given the positive response to this proposal from sectors who asked to take advantage of the program but were not initially included, the Governor would expand eligibility to include BOCES and three local public hospitals – Nassau University Medical Center, Westchester Medical Center, and Erie County Medical Center. The county sponsors of the three hospitals included in this amendment, as well as their taxpayers, have a direct interest in financial condition of these institutions and, therefore, the stable pension option is a viable approach to meeting local fiscal demands.
Provide for Salamanca's unpaid tribal compact payments. The City of Salamanca has not received payments from the Seneca Nation of Indians pursuant to the Tribal State Compact for over three years. These annual payments represent nearly 40 percent of the City's budget. Accordingly, this failure has resulted in a major fiscal crisis, leaving the City at risk of being unable to pay its bills. This amendment will provide $2.5 million from the General Fund to the Tribal State Compact account, representing the amount required by Salamanca for its 2012-13 fiscal year.
Increase SUNY Stony Brook capital appropriation. The amendment adds $30 million in capital appropriations for Stony Brook University in addition to appropriations already included in the Executive Budget, so that the certain projects can continue as necessary.
Provide economic development support of the 2014 Super Bowl. New York and New Jersey will co-host Super Bowl XLVIII in February 2014. This amendment provides $5 million to support activities in New York State to promote tourism and stimulate economic development opportunities associated with this premier event. This funding would be specifically delineated in the budget proposal and subject to legislative approval.
Limit liability for NY-TEXT messages. This amendment will provide immunity from liability for mobile carriers who issue emergency messages on behalf of the State. This protection is vital to ensuring that vendors will contract with the State to provide these services in New York.
Provide retraining funds for state employees. The Executive Budget included a $5 million appropriation to be used to retrain State employees impacted by 2012-13 and 2013-14 facility closures at OMH, OPWDD, DOCCS and OCFS. Funding would be available to retrain employees for which comparable State positions could not be found nearby their current work location. This amendment reduces the radius to 25 miles, allowing the funds to be used to help a larger number of impacted employees.
Reimburse the MTA for Rockaway Bridge toll suspension. The Executive Budget compensates the MTA for the suspension of tolls on the Rockaway Bridge during Sandy. This amendment revises the amount based on the actual costs reported by the MTA of $3.9 million.
Require bidders for casinos to negotiate peace agreement. Language would be added to the current casino siting bill that would require bidders to negotiate Labor Peace Agreements (LPAs) prior to submitting their bids.
Fund a pilot program to provide counsel to indigent persons at arraignment. The Executive Budget includes a $3 million "Miscellaneous - All State Departments and Agencies" appropriation from the Indigent Legal Services Fund to be used for creation of a pilot program to provide counsel to indigent persons when being arraigned in court.
Address Federal changes to the False Claims Act. This amendment is necessary for the State to continue to receive a 10 percent share of False Claims actions that were originally authorized as a Federal incentive to states to implement their own False Claims Act statutes.
Make a technical change to the FARM Highway Use Tax bill. Under current law, fuel used in farm vehicles is exempt from the highway use tax only if those vehicles are owned and operated by the farmer. This amendment would make a largely technical change that would exempt from taxation fuel used in vehicles operated not only by a farmer, but also by someone with a close family or business relationship to the farmer.
Streamline the highway diesel motor fuel tax. Current law requires NY fuel distributors to pay fuel taxes on all fuel up front and apply for a refund when they subsequently sell the product for an exempt purpose. Under this proposal, the tax on diesel fuel would not be collected up front -- but only at time of its ultimate sale if used for highway purposes. This will benefit fuel distributors, without increasing tax evasion.
Tighten Cell-Phone and Texting Laws. Current Article VII language increases the fines for violations of our cell phone and texting laws and provides for increased penalties for repeat violations within an 18-month period. This amendment increases the "look back" period from 18 months to five years to both strengthen the penalty provisions to encourage compliance and bring State provisions into line with recent federal regulations to promote highway safety.
Make a technical change to Indigent Care. This amendment is a technical change that would continue $24.5 million of existing payments to five academic medical centers. This proposal has no fiscal impact, as these payments were assumed in the Financial Plan.
Allow counties to keep audit recoveries. This amendment allows counties to retain 100 percent of audit recoveries when they audit preschool special education providers, up from the originally proposed 75 percent, to reduce waste, fraud and abuse and provide local fiscal relief.
Make technical changes to the proposal for DOH Public Health Program Consolidations. The Executive Budget consolidated 89 separate program appropriations into six competitive pools. These amendments would make two largely technical changes to ensure that certain costs of essential, high quality providers of HIV/AIDS services can continue to be eligible for funding within their pool, and surveillance activities such as soil, air, food and water testing can continue to be funded within the Chronic Disease Program pool.
The complete list of 30-day amendments is available at budget.ny.gov. The 2013-14 Executive Budget and Management Plan builds on two years of balanced, fiscally responsible budgeting and invests in economic development, education reform, rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy, provides support to local governments and school districts, and includes no new taxes or fees. The budget is required to be passed by April 1.


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Welcome to the Game Day Fire Drill, for this, Calgary's 32nd game of the season on Dec. 13, 2009.
The bad news is that Calgary's offense has obviously dried up.
Scoring eight goals in the last five games isn't exactly a recipe for anything resembling success and so it's a good thing the Flames are playing Colorado because they've allowed… four goals in their last four games? Oh hell.
As Jean pointed out the other day, things look really, really bleak up front. The power play sucks, is one problem. No goals yet in December and we're nearly halfway through it. And forget the lack of secondary scoring (something I feared in the offseason), there hasn't been even primary scoring.
And now they have to play the once-again-stingy Avalanche for temporary control of the Northwest division and hope they start conceding five goals a game again. The only hope, and I'm not exactly holding out for this to come true is that MAYBE Miikka Kiprusoff can steal one here. Colorado may not be as dire in attack as the Minnesota Wild, but they sure are capable of just not showing up for a night or two (they've scored once in their last two games, against Minnesota and Tampa, both in Denver).
Well that's just great.
The Calgary Flames (19-8-4 for 42 points. Tied for third in the West, first in the Northwest) and the Colorado Avalanche (18-10-6 for 42 points. Tied for third in the West, first in the Northwest).
6 p.m. Mountain time and 8 p.m. Eastern time. All other time zones should have a "pretty good time."
Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado.
Calgary is 11-3-3 on the road this year, but haven't beaten Colorado this season. The Avs are 8-3-2 at home, which nicely offsets their 10-7-4 road record.
What (to hate about the Avalanche)
Peter Budaj — Remember when this guy was really, really bad? Not so much now. Even after a dismal start, he's played so well of late that his stats have improved to a 2.37 GAA and a .920 save percentage. What is this world coming to when you can't even expect a decent offensive performance against Peter Budaj?
Paul Stastny — Like Adrian Aucoin before him, he is the leading name bandied about when the subject of the overall usefulness of wood sticks comes up. "ONLY THIRTY-SEVEN BUCKS" yeah we know.
Darcy Tucker — Oh like you need an explanation for this one.
Because this is going to end well. Enjoy the game and fight back tears in the comments section.

subset: commoncrawl


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My first question is this.........."I have an orchard filled with Black Cherries, Bing cherries, Bartlet pears and several types of apples.How will me starting these hives effect the amout of fruit my orchard will produce?" :?
My second question is....."I Know in a Langstroth hive a queen excluder can be used to keep the queen in the brood stores and out of the honey stores. How is the brood comb and the honey comb kept seperate in a TBH???" :?
My third question is....."In the event I would instert these packages, and I either lose the queen or the brood rejects the new queen and leaves her behind, in one if the new hives...What would be my next step?" :?
And my final question... :-D" I intend on capturing some ferral swarms later on...Is there a danger of infecting or introducing an illness to my other bees by moving in a hive of "wild" bees along side my packaged bees?" :?
When I introduce my new bees to my TBH's, Should I use a false back and gradually increase the area in the hive as the colony increases?Or should I just put them into the open hive and let the bees fill the bars in thier own time? :?


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The Land Stewardship Project believes that we can't have a healthy food and agricultural system in this nation without creating opportunities for all. Part of the Land Stewardship Project's mission is building healthy rural communities.
We believe in social justice for everyone—and that means even the newest members of our rural communities. And to attain a just society, we also need to explicitly talk about racial justice and racial equity. That certainly means helping long-established, conservation-minded, small- and mid-sized farms to survive and flourish. It means helping young farmers find land to rent or purchase. It means taking on the corporate powers that put profits ahead of the care of the land and the well-being of ordinary people. It also means ensuring that immigrant farmers and farmers of color have access to the same farming opportunities as white farmers, and that people of color and low-income people have access to fresh, local, healthy food.


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IMHO these extracts are the exact opposite of the Trudeau government position. 3. "A nation that is not prepared to win a war is a nation not capable of preventing a war".
Just needs a Thucydides reference for good measurehttps://twitter.com/joshjonsmith/status/980641684559085568
Strategies of AttainmentC. Lee SheaApril 1, 2018In this era of disruption, the accelerating pace of change is propelling the world towards a historic inflection point. The liberal international order is in crisis, as geopolitics has returned with a vengeance. Not since the end of the Cold War have we faced a more complex and daunting set of foreign policy challenges — including the resurgence of great power competition with Russia and China, a 30 Years War engulfing the Middle East, the rise of populist movements across the West, the persistence of the terrorist threat, and the economic and social challenges created by inequality and the uncertain future of globalization.Alarmingly, the United States today fundamentally lacks a comprehensive strategy to deal with the transformative forces surging across the globe. The approach taken across multiple administrations has been largely tactical and reactive, and focused on the urgent rather than the important. Simply put, our leaders can't see the forest for the trees. What is needed is a new, whole of government approach that bridges our partisan political divide and responds to the challenges of the moment. To do this, however, it is vital for America to draw from its own best traditions and rediscover the lost art of statecraft.Such an approach must begin with a critical appraisal both of today's global environment and the American response to it. Though the strategic imperative could scarcely be more pressing, too often the tyranny of the inbox crowds out the mindshare necessary for truly innovative thinking. Policymakers must change course. As a first step, we can begin by stepping back and asking ourselves: What problem are we trying to solve?The Middle East is a case in point. Still absorbing the reverberations from the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, the arbitrary Sykes-Picot borders are proving untenable in numerous corners of the region. While the full significance of the upheaval now taking place will take decades to be understood, some things are apparent. For starters, American leaders need to recognize that our power to dictate the internal evolution of foreign societies is limited. The truth is that democracy is about more than elections, and liberal institutions do not emerge overnight. At the same time, history teaches us that American inaction can have consequences that are as grave as U.S. action. In the meantime, the lack of a comprehensive strategy for the broader region that links means to ends is apparent from the deserts of Libya to the mountains of Afghanistan. While there is no military solution to the conflicts roiling this region and we must be careful not to repeat the mistakes of the past, it is past time for Washington to redouble our efforts to stabilize the Middle East. This, in turn, requires that we set priorities. All too often in this part of the world, it seems, we are playing checkers while our adversaries are playing chess.The same is true for Russia...C. Lee Shea served in senior strategic planning roles at the State Department, National Security Council and Pentagon, and is president of the Center for Advanced Strategic Policy Initiatives.https://warontherocks.com/2018/04/strategies-of-attainment/
Strategies of AttainmentC. Lee Shea
Someone tweeted about this piece: The start: MarkOttawa
Science proves communism makes nations poorer and less healthyBy Alain Tolhurst, The Sun April 11, 2018 | 11:54am | UpdatedLiving under communism makes countries poorer and less healthy for decades, according to a landmark new study.Researchers testing historical connections between cultures found that whether a country had been under communism was the biggest factor for those with lower health, income and educational levels.In the first undertaking of its kind, they analyzed the fortunes of 44 countries across Europe and Asia and looked at geography, religion, systems of government and a more intangible quality called "deep cultural ancestry."Writing in the journal Royal Society Open Science, they matched these factors against where they ranked on the United Nations Human Development Index, which measures per-capita income, life expectancy at birth and the number of years its citizens spend in education.Most of the issues they looked at appeared to have little or no effect on the disparities between the countries, except for Islamic countries scoring a little worse on education.Instead, the single strongest predictor for a country's health, and the second-strongest for its wealth, turned out to be whether its rulers had embraced communism.The study said that after World War II, economic growth in Communist Eastern Europe was slower than in the West, but despite the Soviet Union's collapse almost 30 years ago, the effects are still being felt.The study says that communism was also behind the stagnation of life expectancy behind the Iron Curtain during the 1970s and 1980s, which has set those countries back even today.The researchers say: "The proximate causes for this low life expectancy are complex, but high alcohol consumption, smoking and poor workplace safety, as well as low-quality diet and living conditions associated with lower income levels are implicated."
Communism destroys social trust — communist governments do this by design — and that does longterm damage.
Instead of realizing you can lean in similar directions on most subjects and still disagree..
Reagan has a number of good quotes. But maybe you would prefer a Canadian ? I don't read the newspapers, I don't watch the news. I figure, if something important happens, someone will tell me. Justin Trudeau
….as Prof Pan Wei of Peking University wrote (Harvard International Review), Under this poor leadership [provided by President Bush], a previously "benign hegemon" is becoming an oppressive tyrant that suffers opposition almost everywhere in the world. Prof. Pan worried that vis à vis China President Bush's foreign policy " will ultimately cause the decline of US power, and it may not succeed in precluding China's emergence from a new decade of political reform. Instead, belligerent confrontation will only lead to an escalation of tensions." It is, in my view, likely to do the same with India, Europe and much of the rest of the world, too.
America is divided because on the one hand we have progressives/socialists, then we have older more conservative folks. There is very little middle ground. The Democrats use a playbook that could have been used by either the communist party or communists. They are not the same party as JFK or LBJ. I could support that.
America is divided because on the one hand we have progressives/socialists, then we have older more conservative folks. There is very little middle ground. The Democrats use a playbook that could have been used by either the communist party or communists.
To my generation, he will always be the president who finished off the Soviets. And contrary to a certain current president who shall remain nameless, Reagan was NOT "all speech (140 characters of it at a time ) - no action".
The Democrats use a playbook that could have been used by either the communist party or communists.
Perhaps you could point out the exact communist playbook you are talking about?
I, for one, did not mean to quote president Reagan with a negative purpose. To my generation, he will always be the president who finished off the Soviets. And contrary to a certain current president who shall remain nameless, Reagan was NOT "all speech (140 characters of it at a time ) - no action".Reagan backed up his rhetoric against the "evil empire" with deeds: From actually funding "Star Wars", rebuilding the USAF, calling for and actually financing and building the "600 ship Navy", together with the Secretary of the Navy "I cannot envisage a situation with the Soviets where we would not put at least two carrier battle groups in the North Sea".Today's People may not remember this but the US, by the end of the Reagan mandates, had fifteen active aircraft carrier battle groups.The current president is all puffery on twitter and claims to have solved all sorts of problems (North Korea nukes, Iran, etc.) but in practice, flusters, then forgets about doing anything as soon as the news cycle is over, while in reality nothing has changed and the threats are still fully there.
The current president is all puffery on twitter and claims to have solved all sorts of problems (North Korea nukes, Iran, etc.) but in practice, flusters, then forgets about doing anything as soon as the news cycle is over, while in reality nothing has changed and the threats are still fully there.
Interesting ... in my mind it was President Harry S Truman, acting on George Kennan's "long telegram" who put the Soviet Union on the path to failure. He saw, quite clearly, that the US-led West would "win" by not fighting but, rather, by containing the USSR. The resulting Cold War was long but, again in my idiosyncratic opinion, it was "won" in 1959 ... at a trade fair in Moscow when then Vice-President Nixon confronted Nikita Kruschov at a display featuring a fairly typical middle-class US kitchen ... thousands of Russians saw that and they told millions that Eisenhower's adaptation of the Truman doctrine which said butter, not guns, was working for the American working class. The rest was just ~ in my opinion ~ the icing on the cake.


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No to higher lorry speeds
No to higher lorry speeds
The Government is proposing to increase the speed limit for lorries on rural single-carriageways to either 45 mph or 50 mph. The national speed limit for cars on these roads is 60 mph, but with a 40 mph limit for lorries.
The Government argues that this difference in speed limit results in queues forming behind slower-moving lorries, thus tempting drivers to overtake dangerously. It also states that 70% of lorries break the current limit, so believes that there would be little or no safety disbenefit from making it higher.
However, the consultation document does not propose any increased enforcement of the new limits - yet alone the existing limits - leading to concern that they could be as widely flouted as the current ones.
CTC has objected strongly to these proposals, arguing that lorries are already involved in 19% of cyclists' deaths despite accounting for just 5% of motor vehicle mileage on Britain's roads.
CTC also points out that about half of all cyclists' deaths from lorry collisions on non-built-up roads already occur on non-A-roads, and that these mainly involve the cyclist being hit from behind (n.b. unlike cyclists' lorry deaths on urban streets, those in rural areas generally do not occur at junctions). Motor traffic tends to concentrate on main roads, but 82% of cycle traffic is on minor roads, particularly in rural areas.
CTC has therefore urged the Government to support greater enforcement of existing speed limits instead, using area-wide camera systems to detect average speeds across networks of rural lanes.
CTC has also argued that the national speed limit for single carriageway rural roads could be lowered to 50 mph (n.b. we have also supported calls for 40 mph or lower limits on rural lanes). CTC thinks 60 mph limits should be permitted exceptionally, i.e. only on the rural single carriageways designed to the highest standards, including wide, smooth and well-surfaced parallel cycle tracks.
CTC's Senior Campaigner Chris Peck said:
"People often think that cycling on rural lanes is safe compared with riding in urban traffic. In fact, the risk of a cyclist fatality is nearly 3 times higher per mile cycled on rural minor roads than on urban ones."
If the Government is serious about enabling and encouraging more people to take up cycling both for transport and for leisure, it has to take steps to improve cyclists' safety, not do things that will make it worse."
Chris Peck
CTC Senior Campaigner
CTC has previously objected to Government plans to allow an increase in the maximum length of lorries permitted on UK roads, on a trial basis. The trial has gone ahead, but the Government halved the number of lorries permitted to take part. CTC pointed out at the time that the Government had failed to consider the trial's impact on safety for cyclists, despite Ministerial claims to the contrary.
CTC has calculated that there are 22 cyclist fatalities on minor rural roads per billion km cycled, compared with 8 per billion km cycled on minor urban roads.


text: casiodan 0 Posted June 12, 2013 Hi guys. Just received my Spider iv 120. I have updated the firmware to v2.00 When i switch channels using the mkii express FBV there is a noticable cut in sound. Also when I use the looper, if i record a clean sound on the loop then switch to another channel ready to overdub i get a bit of a dip in the sound.....not as much as when i just switch channels when im playing but surely it shouldnt affect the playback of the loop. So, just as an example, if i have the identical sound preset into channel 1 and channel 2 and switch between them there is a very noticable clip in the sound. Can anyone tell me if this happens to them. I watched a youtube video of a guy using the looper and it doesnt seem to do it on there. Im not overly worried about the looper as i will probably only use it for practicing solo's etc but it just seems to point more to there being a problem. Any advice would be great before i put a support ticket in. Thanks Dan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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*Disclosure: I was given a gift certificate to facilitate my review of the Gymboree clothing line.
Before I had kids, one of the things I looked forward to the most was dressing them up. I hoped I'd get at least one girl along the way so I could indulge in shopping for the adorable little dresses and outfits I'd been drooling over my whole life.
Before Katie was born, every baby shower that I shopped for increased my excitement, and nothing so much as the Gymboree girls' collection. Every time I went into the store or looked at the Gymboree website, there was inevitably some little girl outfit that had me melting into "aww!" and wishing for my own little lady.
Well…here I am 5 years later, with not one, but THREE little ladies, making the clothes shopping even more fun! One of my favorite things about the adorable Gymboree clothing line is that you can get outfits from the same collection in a wide variety of sizes. Gymboree makes it easy for me to have my 4-year-old, my 2-year-old, and my 1-year-old all in matching or coordinating outfits.
Along with their matching Rainbow Cabana sun dresses, I was able to get these sturdy white sandals for all three of them and matching hair clips all for a total of just over $100 by shopping the sales!
My girls love to feel pretty, and by shopping at Gymboree, I can dress them up with adorable quality clothing that will last well beyond when they outgrow it.
The curly hair clips are probably Victoria's favorite…she wants to wear them with all of her outfits!
Gymboree regularly has some kind of sale or promotion going on, and if you pay close attention, you can almost always find a good deal in store or online.
Right now, they have 30% off all collections for back-to-school, and an additional 20% off sale items, so now is a great time to go shopping!
I just discovered this "Sweetie Bird" collection this week, and I am dying to add it to Elanora's closet:
…and then, OHMYWORD:
I seriously could fill their closet with 100% Gymboree and hardly miss the other stuff.
Are you in love, too? Enter for a chance to add some quality Gymboree clothing for your little guy or gal with this $75 gift certificate giveaway!


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Interview: RIM CEO on Taking BlackBerry 10 to the Finish Line and the Work That Remains
After months of hard work, Research In Motion CEO Thorsten Heins said his company finally has the new crop of BlackBerry devices where they need to be.
"This platform really is over the finish line," Heins told AllThingsD in an interview on Thursday. "What we are doing now is polishing it."
The company made the tough decision earlier this year to delay the release until early 2013 even though it meant essentially sitting on the sidelines during the all-important holiday season.
RIM has scheduled a Jan. 30 launch event for the first BlackBerry 10 devices, with product availability to follow shortly.
The company will launch both a full touchscreen device and one with a keyboard, though availability of the keyboard-equipped model will follow shortly after the all-touch one.
RIM has previously said that it is in testing with 50 carriers. Heins said Thursday that number is now higher, but did not give a new number. Heins also wouldn't say if the company would have devices at all four major U.S. carriers at launch, noting that discussions are still taking place.
Heins praised the work his company and new executive team have done to get the first products finished even as 5,000 jobs were being cut. Although RIM is aiming for a device that pleases business customers, Heins said the company has created a device that individuals will want to choose as their smartphone just based on its consumer features.
However, he acknowledged, significant work remains.
"Now we need to get the product out," Heins said. "We need to prove ourselves."
Initially, RIM's devices will go after the high end of the smartphone market, but over time, Heins said, the company wants keyboard and all-touch BlackBerry 10 devices at the mid-tier and entry levels of the market as well. The keyboard-equipped market, in particular, is being underserved today by competitors, Heins said.
"We own the QWERTY market today and we want those guys to be happy," he said.
As for attracting developers, Heins didn't announce any new apps for BlackBerry 10, but said the company has a list of must-have apps along with several hundred programs it wants to have in each country, and it feels good about where things stand.
"I think we will be in good shape on the 30th of January," Heins said.
We'll have more on Friday from our conversation with Heins.


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Classroom Management: Suspension Prevention
Good management strategies can pre-empt suspensions, teachers say
When students file into Shira Fishman's geometry and Algebra 2 classes at McKinley Technology High in the District of Columbia, there's already a question written on the board, inviting students to get settled and get to work right away.
Whatever topics students may have been bantering about in the hallways must be traded for a discussion of the math problem, said Ms. Fishman, who is in her ninth year of teaching. "It can't be silent in the room, but they're not allowed to be gossiping and talking about parties."
The technique is simple but deliberate: By engaging students in an activity the minute they arrive, Ms. Fishman reasons, they will instead have an energizing experience that lasts for the rest of class and keeps them too occupied to trigger a bout of defiance or disruption that could result in a visit to the principal's office, or worse, suspension from school.
Improving or overhauling classroom-management training is one of many ways states, districts, and teacher education programs are attacking the problem of too many out-of-school suspensions and office referrals, actions that disproportionately affect African-American, Latino, and male students and those who have disabilities.
Insubordination, defiance, and disobedience—whatever those may mean to a particular school—are among the top reasons students are suspended from school.
"You can have a Ph.D. in math. If you don't know how to handle 9th graders, believe me that can be hard," said Richard M. Ingersoll, a professor of education and sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. He noted that teacher education programs require a range of in-the-classroom time.
"There are programs where the first time [graduates] teach a class is when they get a job," Mr. Ingersoll said. "The data clearly show that schools where there are more student-behavior problems have higher teacher turnover. That's somewhat of a no-brainer."
It's not the only working condition that matters, he added, but it's one of the most important.
Mentors in Hawaii
Last school year, Hawaii crafted new standards for supporting newly hired teachers, in part to retain teachers in a region where hiring can be difficult. The state recruited 500 experienced teachers to mentor 1,500 first- and second-year ones, said Sherri Sai, who is overseeing the initiative for the Hawaii education department.
Among its primary goals is to help new teachers develop a positive learning environment and learn strategies for managing student behavior.
In Louisiana, state Sen. Sharon Weston Broome, a Democrat, worked to pass legislation two years ago that requires districts to provide classroom-management training for teachers.
Training can cover positive-behavioral interventions and supports, conflict resolution, mediation, restorative practices, discipline, and adolescent development. In addition, administrators must look at discipline data to see what additional classroom-management training their teachers may need.
New teachers often see classroom management and lesson planning as two unrelated endeavors, said Keri Shimomoto, the director of the New Teacher Center Hawaii, which is working with the state to carry out its $10 million mentoring program.
"New teachers feel rushed. The focus is academic achievement," said Sherilyn Waters, a 24-year teaching veteran and now a mentor teacher. Teachers have pacing guides that tell them how much material they should cover in a day and fret over falling short, she said, but "to get there, we need to master our classroom first."
Each Hawaii mentor has as many as 15 mentees. The mentor meets with them at least weekly, face to face and one on one. Mentors go through training before taking on mentees and additional training after a year of work.
New teachers can discuss any issues of concern with mentors, but "classroom management, that is one of the things that comes up frequently," Ms. Waters said. Describing many new teachers, she said "they have a lot of theory, but then they're faced with those 20-something kids staring at them [and] it gets a little challenging."
Real-Time Coaching
For example, while observing Sasha Inouye, a first-year kindergarten teacher at Kalihi Elementary in Honolulu, Ms. Waters stepped in when she saw children about to get the green light to walk into class from the hallway, although students were fidgeting and playing around.
"I whispered in her ear, 'Wait until they're ready. Ask them to show you that they're ready,' " Ms. Waters said. She guides teachers to decide for themselves what their expectations are for students, communicate that clearly to them, and be consistent in those requests and expectations.
That vision is critical, said Ana Menezes, the vice president of new-teacher effectiveness for the New York City-based TNTP, formerly the New Teacher Project. Teachers must run through dozens of scenarios that may seem mundane.
"Pencils break, and they need to be sharpened. You can imagine a classroom if you haven't thought through what to do when pencils break," Ms. Menezes said. For example, she said, will a teacher let every student get up whenever they want to sharpen their writing utensils? Or have everyone line up and do it at once?
The TNTP has retooled its training for new and preservice teachers to zero in on those skills even at the expense of other skills, she said.
"The way it was for us was more through discussion or role play," Ms. Menezes said. "The honest truth was, it didn't translate when they were with their own kids."
Now, instead of describing warm-up exercises or "do now" activities that Ms. Fishman and other teachers use, trainees get examples and are asked to practice and use them with students.
Ms. Fishman is a former mechanical engineer who found the work unfulfilling. She turned to teaching and had one intensive summer of training from the TNTP before taking on a classroom.
"When I was a younger teacher, I worried more about delivering the content—but not in a way the kids would want to learn it. The kids were bored," she said.
She finds examples to give students about how the work might present itself in another class and in the real world.
"That doesn't mean every minute of every lesson is the most fun they'll have all day. They're going to be solving equations and graphing lines," Ms. Fishman said.
But "if you're trying to teach math and writing a ton of equations and have the kids sit silently," she said, "I'm pretty sure that's going to lead to some serious classroom-management issues."
Now in her classes students keep busy, though that doesn't mean students are working quietly and independently all the time. But in her class, nonacademic disruptions are not the norm. Developing that approach has taken time, she said.
Ms. Fishman must be doing something right: This year, the TNTP gave four other teachers a prize for superb classroom techniques named after her.
The 'Hardest Job'
Nine years into teaching, Ms. Fishman is excited that the TNTP is reworking its training to concentrate on a specific set of classroom-management techniques.
"First-year teachers still have the hardest job in the world," she said.
No teacher, however, will have a perfect day, every day, in which students are so enamored of their lessons they never misbehave, Penn's Mr. Ingersoll said.
"If you're totally boring as a teacher, of course there would be much more restlessness in the classroom," he said, but "it can be demoralizing to the really good teacher" to be blamed for a student's outburst.
Discipline and behavior have to be dealt with schoolwide, he said, not just at the classroom level.
In addition to its work in Hawaii, the Santa Cruz, Calif.-based New Teacher Center works in districts all over the country, said Cynthia Brunswick, the organization's vice president for induction programs. It pushes for the kind of two-year mentoring taking place in the Aloha State.
Classrooms are, in essence, filled with land mines of disruption and disciplinary episodes that teachers must be prepared to defuse. Preparing a classroom is key to snuffing out at least some of those potential explosions.
"A lot of teachers will learn this over time," Ms. Brunswick said, but getting training like from her organization "makes the learning a lot quicker."
"Every time you have to go to the overhead, you have to pull the screen down, you have to turn your back. The noise starts to grow," she said. If that translates to " 'I'm going to get frustrated; I'm not going to be able to teach,' take that trigger, start to plan for it."
Sending disruptive students out of the classroom may be a temporary solution, but if the students come right back, teachers may feel their principals don't support them, Ms. Brunswick said, even if "they know that suspension is not something you can do every time a student is sent out of the classroom."
Connecting With Students
In contrast, "if a student builds a respectful rapport with the teacher, most likely they're not going to start that stuff with that teacher," Ms. Brunswick said.
Those relationships are critical, said Lisa Stone, the director of design for the New York City-based Teach For America.
The TFA's training for teachers, which spans several weeks during the summer and continues as its members begin the school year, emphasizes building those connections.
"It's not just about the skill in the moment; it's how much you know your kids," Ms. Stone said.
"We saw a lot of teachers putting a lot of effort into getting to know their kids, eating lunch with them, eating breakfast with them, just to get to know them as people."
Then, she said, when a student is having an off day, a teacher can determine what may be needed to head off a discipline problem.
In that emphasis on relationships and in other ways, Teach For America, like the TNTP, has revamped its training, also homing in on classroom-management skills. One newer strategy: New teachers are fitted with earbuds; coaches with walkie-talkies look on, giving real-time feedback.
"They are coaching you in the moment. They might say, 'Restate the directions; those weren't clear. That student has his head down, ' " Ms. Stone said. The teacher, she said, might also hear " 'Look, you did it,' " the sort of comment that builds confidence.
"I can talk to you in theory. When you're new, that's really hard," she said. "We have found this is particularly effective."
Hooked Into Learning
At Smokey Road Middle School in Newnan, Ga., Principal Laurie Barron said she and her staff threw away first-day-of-school traditions that had dominated her nine years in charge. That and other shifts in teaching style have helped the school cut discipline referrals from an average of 120 a month to 20, she said.
Instead of droning on about rules and consequences when school began this year, teachers taught their most interactive lessons.
Students flew paper airplanes outdoors to learn about velocity, wind speed, and resistance. For a lesson on force vs. mass, they inflated helium balloons and learned how to keep them from rising.
"One of our teachers rapped, all day, about math and science," said Ms. Barron, the National Association of Secondary School Principals' 2013 Middle School Principal of the Year. "It was just an incredible day."
She and her staff wanted students to be excited about every class. The students received brief instruction on school rules, and then on the second day, Ms. Barron gathered groups of students by grade to go over details like requirements for promotion and the school grading system, whether students' opinions matter (yes), and who is available to help them if they need it (every adult in the building).
She hoped that engaging students on the first day would foster quick bonds with teachers powerful enough to keep students on track and in class—where missing an exciting class is the punishment.
Vol. 32, Issue 10, Pages 1, 16-17Published in Print: October 31, 2012, as Heading Off Trouble Before It Starts
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text:
Design Research Award 2013 by Designfakulteten (The Swedish Faculty for Design Research and Research Education). Read the jury's motivation.
Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial Design.
Historically, haptics—all different aspects of the sense of touch and its study—has developed around very technical and scientific inquiries. Despite considerable haptic research advances and the obviousness of haptics in everyday life, this modality remains mostly foreign and unfamiliar to designers. The guiding motif of this research relates to a desire to reverse the situation and have designers designing for and with the haptic sense, for human use and looking beyond technical advances. Consequently, this thesis aims to nurture the development of haptics from a designerly perspective, leading to a new field of activities labeled haptic interaction design. It advances that haptic attributes and characteristics are increasingly part of the qualities that make up the interactions and the experiences we have with objects and the interfaces that surround us, and that these considerations can and ought to be knowingly and explicitly designed by designers.
The book encompasses an annotated research through design exploration of the developing field of haptic interaction design, building on a considerable account of self-initiated individual design activities and empirical-style group activities with others. This extensive investigation of designing haptic interactions leads to the Simple Haptics proposition, an approach to ease the discovery and appropriation of haptics by designers. Simple Haptics consists in a simplistic, rustic approach to the design of haptic interactions, and advocates an effervescence of direct perceptual experiences in lieu of technical reverence. Simple Haptics boils down to three main traits: 1) a reliance on sketching in hardware to engage with haptics; 2) a fondness for basic, uncomplicated, and accessible tools and materials for the design of haptic interactions; and 3) a strong focus on experiential and directly experiencable perceptual qualities of haptics.
Ultimately, this thesis offers contributions related to the design of haptic interactions. The main knowledge contribution relates to the massification of haptics, i.e. the intentional realization and appropriation of haptics—with its dimensions and qualities—as a non-visual interaction design material. Methodologically, this work suggests a mixed longitudinal approach to haptics in a form of a well-grounded interplay between personal inquiries and external perspectives. The book also presents design contributions as ways to practically, physically and tangibly access, realize and explore haptic interactions. Globally these contributions help make haptics concrete, graspable, sensible and approachable for designers. The hope is to inspire design researchers, students and practitioners to discover and value haptics as a core component of any interaction design activities.
Umeå Institute of Design Research Publications, No. 001
Electronic version available at simplehaptics.se
Microsoft Research
Umeå Institute of Design
Bill Verplank looking at me presenting his sketch of Interaction Design. Slightly stressful to talk about somebody's work when the person is on stage with you.
15 minutes presentation of 5 years of PhD activities. It's not easy to distill it down so much.
The committee members are receiving a small collapsing giraffe toy, as a haptic thank you gift.
A truly clever and touching party prop from the students and staff of UID.


text:
Type of gas:
corrosive gas
Other characteristics:
Mobile gas scrubber: 10, 20, 50, 100 liter
Glass column: DN 50, 70, 100, 150, 200 (up to DN600)
Pressure: -1.0 (FV) to +0.5 bar
Temperature exhaust gas: -60 °C to +200 °C
Temperature scrubbing liquid: 0 °C to +80 °C
Material: Borosilicate glass 3.3 / PTFE / ETFE
Other setups are available.
Portable gas scrubbers are used to neutralize corrosive exhaust gas from reactors. They are also used for for scale-up studies by stripping the exhaust of the substance (often HCL) to be absorbed in the absorption column. Depending on the scrubbing liquid, they can be used for caustic or acidic vapors. Gas scrubbers are equipped with an ETFE lined, corrosion resistant magnetic coupled pump. The maximum flow rate can be controlled with the built in reducing valve. The scrubbing liquid temperature can be easily maintained in the optimal range through the spiral cooler.


text:
For convenience and reliability, we highly recommend that you apply this update directly from within Photoshop. To do so, choose Help > Updates in Photoshop CS6 and apply all of the updates listed under Adobe Photoshop CS6 in the Adobe Application Manager.
The Adobe Photoshop 13.0.1 update includes many critical fixes improving security, stability and performance while also addressing a number of high priority bugs with 3D, Crop, Type, Painting, Paths, and Shapes.
|File Name
|File Size
|Proceed to Download
This update is applicable to all language versions of Photoshop CS6.
Mac OS X v10.6 64-bit - 10.7 64-bit
To install the Photoshop 13.0.1 update:
1. Disable all virus protection software.
2. Ensure that the folder on your hard drive containing Photoshop is named "Adobe Photoshop CS6."
3. Double-click the "AdobePatchInstaller" application. If the updater reports that it cannot find the application to update, uninstall Photoshop CS6, and then reinstall the application (using the default folder name "Adobe Photoshop CS6"). To uninstall Photoshop, navigate to the "Applications/Utilites/Adobe Installers" folder and run "Add or Remove Adobe Photoshop CS6" to remove the original installation of Photoshop. Once the removal is complete, reinstall Photoshop, and then run the updater.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions.
This updater will update only the retail version of Adobe Photoshop CS6 and not any prerelease (beta) versions. To confirm that the updater has run successfully, launch Photoshop and verify that the version number on the splash screen shows 13.0.1 and not 13.0.0. If it does not show 13.0.1, you may not have a retail version of Photoshop CS6. Contact your local Adobe retailer or visit the Adobe website to purchase one.
License agreement
By using software of Adobe Systems Incorporated or its subsidiaries ("Adobe"); you agree to the following terms and conditions. If you do not agree with such terms and conditions; do not use the software. The terms of an end user license agreement accompanying a particular software file upon installation or download of the software shall supersede the terms presented below.
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If the software is designed for use with an application software product (the "Host Application") published by Adobe; Adobe grants you a non-exclusive license to use such software with the Host Application only; provided you possess a valid license from Adobe for the Host Application. Except as set forth below; such software is licensed to you subject to the terms and conditions of the End User License Agreement from Adobe governing your use of the Host Application.
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text: It's all change at London's Dover Street Market this month. The store closes beginning today for three days before unveiling its new season's collections July 19. Lines set for Rei Kawakubo's fast-changing, six-floor emporium include Salvatore Ferragamo Creations, a limited edition collection of shoes inspired by illustrations from the Ferragamo archives. The store will also carry an exclusive selection of pieces from Hussein Chalayan's fall collection, in a special area in the store designed by Chalayan. One of Dover Street's windows will be taken over by an installation designed by the punk artist Jamie Reid, who collaborated with Kawakubo on Comme des Garçons' fall Homme Plus collection. And the store has yet more collaborations in the works. British artist Katerina Jebb is set to create an installation in the store using pieces from Christian Lacroix's collections, while set designer Michael Howells will fashion a baroque area that will house looks from John Galliano. A project with Valentino to showcase Alessandra Facchinetti's pieces is in the pipeline for later in the season.


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Most of you have seen that we've been working on a number of ways to stretch and deepen the amazing #HITsm community. Check out the EMR and HIPAA YouTube channel for some post #HITsm video chats we've done. Plus, we do our weekly #HITsm Twitter Roundups (Every other week our #HITsm roundup is on EMR and EHR). At the core of all of this is the weekly #HITsm twitter chat. If you've never participated, it's an incredible community of people.
I've always wanted to do a blog post before the regularly scheduled #HITsm chat where I write some thoughts about the planned #HITsm topics. Leonard Kish (@leonardkish) got the topics for this week's chat up early, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity for me to write a post based on his topics. Hopefully some can read it before the chat and it will enhance their chat experience.
Topic 1: So how long will it be before office visits are no longer the norm? (via Mark Blatt, MD, CMIO Intel)
This is a bit of a hard question because it depends on how you define office visit. Is an e-visit with the doctor considered an office visit. What if the visit is in a HealthSpot like kiosk? Is that an office visit. I'll assume for the sake of this question that he means any visit where you didn't have to go into the office. This could be a telemedicine visit or some other electronic method of interacting with a care provider.
My prediction is that it will probably be 3 years before it's common for the early adopters to do an e-visit of some sort. It will probably be 6 years before someone like mom is doing an e-visit. Although, there's a subtle caveat to my answer. Many office visit types will be perfect for an e-visit and some office visit types will never be possible in an e-visit. So, I'm mostly making my prediction based on the former visit type.
Topic 2: What technologies will lead the way?
The Google Plus hangout simplicity has made very clear to me that a video connection between two people is easily possible today. Of course, I'm not suggesting Google Plus will be used for a healthcare office visit, but video and audio using the off the shelf and built in cameras and microphones that come on every laptop, smartphone, and tablet is going to be the preferred method.
As for software, the early adoption is going to be based on which companies the insurance companies choose to reimburse. The insurance companies I've talked to are more than happy to have doctors reimbursed for an electronic visit. However, they need some way to know if an e-visit was actually done by the doctor. Even a small space for corruption can cost an insurance company billions of dollars because of their scale. Their method to battle this will be to reimburse only a few telemedicine companies for whom they've created deep ties.
Let's also not count out secure text and secure email as a simple method to replace many unneeded visits.
Topic 3: How will these at-home and mobile technologies integrate with existing systems?
As Anne Zieger recently pointed out, Telemedicine is Not Connecting with EHRs. EHR vendors have so many interoperability challenges as is that integrating with Telemedicine is far down their list of priorities. Instead, I think we'll see the insurance companies take the lead on integrating Telemedicine into their platforms. We may also see some PHR and patient portals work out deals with the companies that are recognized for reimbursement by the insurance companies.
The other beautiful area for this technology is the cash pay patients. I see a whole new group of cash pay patients emerging. Many people and companies will be willing to pay cash for an e-visit versus making the trip to a doctor's office for a regular visit. The key question is how the company that provides these visits will get enough locally licensed doctors on board to make this happen, but someone will crack the nut.
Topic 4: Aetna's CarePass will track customer behavior. Will this become the norm, is it a good thing?
I believe that this will be the norm. In fact, they're already doing some of this customer behavior tracking already, but most people just don't know about it. Things like CarePass will just be a public way to do it. I think many will hop on board. I think that this will be a good thing for insurance companies, a good thing for healthcare, and a good thing for many patients. However, a few patients will get really hurt by it.
Topic 5: We'll need culture change to bring this massive about. what will it take to change culture?
1. Reimbursement 2. Medical Licensing Laws 3. Trusted Technology
If we figure out those 3 areas, we're going to see the culture change that will unbind healthcare. I personally think we're headed this direction already and I see nothing that will stop it. It's just a question of how quickly we can get there.


text:
During Open Enrollment, families with students enrolled in Seattle Public Schools may submit school choice applications for the following school year.
If there are more applications than seats available for a particular school and grade, then certain tiebreakers are used to determine assignment and waitlist status.
for available seats after assignment of attendance area students
Attendance Area Elementary and K-8 Schools
1. Sibling
2. Lottery
Attendance Area Middle Schools
1. Sibling
2. Feeder School
3. Lottery
Attendance Area High Schools
Option Schools (all grades)
Click here to download an information sheet about option school tiebreakers.
1. Sibling
2. Geographic Zone
3. Lottery
Elementary Schools
1. Attendance area
2. Sibling
3. Lottery
Elementary and K-8 Schools
1. Service area
2. Sibling
3. Lottery
Middle Schools
High Schools
Last updated: 08/21/2017


text:
It wasn't that long ago that Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, and Onkyo were locked in a fierce competition in the home theater in a box (HTIB) market. Every year I'd report about the latest advances in their systems in my CNET reviews. These days, fewer people want to deal with all of the wires and setup requirements of a five-speaker, subwoofer, receiver, and Blu-ray player based system. Skinny sound bars that sit under a TV are now more popular than HTIB systems. Most sound bars are 2.0- or 2.1-channel stereo systems, though some promise a "virtual" surround experience. Both types of sound bar systems have minimal setup and wiring hassles.
I've been a proponent of two-channel home theater for 15 years, but I'd concede this approach forfeits true surround envelopment. I never missed surround at home, and it now seems that aspect of home theater is losing mass appeal. Most home theater audio buyers gladly opt for two-channel home theaters because they want fewer wires and setup hassles, more than they want bona-fide 5.1 channel home theater sound, even when both types of systems are close to the same price.


text:
Now that speculation has become confirmed fact – Jimmy Fallon will replace Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" next spring – the question many are asking is: Why fix a show that isn't broke? After all, Mr. Leno has been routinely winning his time slot against longtime competitor David Letterman and holding his own against upstart Jimmy Kimmel on ABC.
Can Saturday Night Live alum Mr. Fallon do a better job?
In NBC's eyes, "Jimmy Fallon is a unique talent, and this is his time," NBC Universal CEO Steve Burke told the Hollywood Reporter, a trade publication. "We are purposefully making this change when Jay is No. 1, just as Jay replaced Johnny Carson when he was No. 1."
But media analysts say NBC is doing its best to find a balance between the disintegrating network television model that "The Tonight Show" dominated for decades and the new viewing patterns among young people, who are as likely to connect with "The Tonight Show" though Twitter as through a TV remote.
While NBC feels Fallon will have broad appeal, his strengths clearly lean toward the younger demographics, analysts say, and that could mean the network will pay a ratings price for its efforts to become more a part of the social media buzz.
"They have to plan for the future, but in order to do that they have to sacrifice the one thing that they have in place, which is a stable audience of older viewers," says Robert Thompson, founder of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University in New York.
The network needs to prepare for competition against younger hosts such as Mr. Kimmel, but in order to do that they will risk alienating an audience, he says, "that doesn't care about social media and couldn't care less about viral videos."
Fallon is largely unknown to the older demographic that is the bulk of Leno's audience base, agrees David Bartlett of Levick, a crisis management and strategic planning firm in Washington. "But that younger audience will be around a lot longer."
Some question the wisdom of such a long transition period. In the Hollywood Reporter article, NBC's Mr. Burke suggested that the network wanted to leverage promotion for Fallon with its coverage of the Winter Olympic Games from Sochi, Russia, next February. But that could backfire.
"NBC executive elites are now giving Leno a year notice to embarrass that company every night," says Doug Spero, associate professor of mass communications at Meredith College in Raleigh, N.C., via e-mail. Leno "is going to bash them for a year until he leaves, and he may not even make it the full year because it will get ugly."
Indeed, as the recent speculation about NBC's plans for the transition heated up, Leno joked that the snakes St. Patrick drove from Ireland had come to the US and become NBC executives.
The carping is reminiscent of the debacle that ensued the last time NBC tried to unseat Leno in favor of a younger replacement, Conan O'Brien, in 2009. Leno did not go quietly, and NBC gave him a nightly 10 p.m. talk show instead. When his ratings slumped, NBC reneged on its contract with Mr. O'Brien and reinstalled Leno, leaving a trail of nasty recriminations on all sides.
This is being handled somewhat better, because "frankly, the last time could not have been handled any worse," says Mr. Bartlett of Levick.
Fallon will do fine, says Jeff McCall, a professor of communication at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., by e-mail. "But I believe he will have a hard time matching Leno's numbers or Leno's staying power. Fallon is a clever comedian, but I think his style won't necessarily capture all of Leno's viewers."
In that way, the transition is further evidence of the evolution of mass media. As the next generation of talk-show hosts struggle for smaller and smaller audiences, they will increasingly redefine the nature of their programs, says Paul Levinson, a media professor at Fordham University in New York and author of "New New Media."
"In the not so distant future, there will only be fragmented audiences for any given show," he says, suggesting that the notion of broadcasting that reaches a wide swath of the American public will be a thing of the past.


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Up with the lark!
I know I will be sorry that I did it later on today but I stayed up until 1am to finish these two projects. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't do late nights, I am a lark - early to bed and early to rise. Unfortunately, the early to rise part still kicked in and I got up at 5:30. I can see me being sent to bed this afternoon because I will be tired and grumpy.
I started this page several weeks ago and every time I have tried to finish it (2 crops and an afternoon scrapping with a friend) I have left a vital component at home. On the first occasion I left the photograph at home. On the second attempt I had left the printed elements at home and yesterday I had forgotten my inks (which were sulking on the dining room table when I got home because they had been left behind and didn't make the trip to Karen's scrap palace - I promised them I would take then on my next visit).
This is yet another paper version of a digi page but with a different photo and journaling. I so love this kit and can see myself using it again and again. It is A Boy's Heart by Julie Itis from Plain Digital Wrapper.
Can you see the stamping along the bottom? I can't believe that I stamped onto a finished lo - I had to take several deep breaths first and then go for it and I am pleased that I did.
The second page is for the 4th prompt on the Something From Almost Nothing class that I am participating in at the moment. The prompt was to use up cardstock. I made this page entirely from bits from my card scraps box.
Don't you just love those little card roses? I read how to make them in Creating Keepsakes magazine and knew immediately that I had to make them as they are so cute. There is another challenge on the SFAN forum to make a page using metal, paper scraps, ribbon and card scraps - a little project for me later on this weekend I think. I already have the page drawn in my head, now I only have to find the time to get it out of my head and into reality!
Unfortunately, after seeing how beautifully tidy a house can look I have been shamed into committing to spend the morning sorting out our scrap heap of a house so I had better get to it .
Reasons to be cheerful:
1. I have just spent a blissful 3 hours on my own before the rest of the family get up (they aren't even awake yet).
2. The day looks like it will be a nice one - better than all the rain we had yesterday.
3. The prospect of a tidy and clean house is surprisingly gratifying!


text:
Sold Out
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All our products are covered under a 12 month manufacturer's warranty against any defects when the product has been used under normal conditions.
For more information please visit our FAQ Page.


text:
A California IT worker has been jailed for a year for stealing confidential data to make money by completing online health surveys.
Cam Giang, 31, a former worker at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center, used the names, birthdays and Social Security numbers of other hospital workers to complete online surveys, earning vouchers from Amazon worth $100 each time in the process.
Giang completed 382 surveys between January and April this year before the firm running the promotion, StayWell Health Management, received complaints from UCSF workers that were unable to apply for the promo, IDG reports.
Its investigation revealed that Giang had already completed surveys in the names of his co-workers. UCSF promptly fired Giang, a five-year veteran of its IT department. It also notified 486 workers that their information had been accessed without authorisation.
Defence lawyers argued that Giang never got around to cashing in the 218 vouchers (total value $21,800) that he made through the scheme. They also argued that the victims of the scam suffered damages only to the extent of failing to benefit from StayWell's marketing surveys. The personal data accessed by Giang was not applied to obtain loans under false pretences or for other more malign purposes.
Giang pleaded guilty to wire fraud and ID theft charges in July prior to his sentencing before Judge Jeremy Fogel of the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Thursday. ®


text:
Acestry.ca says the following -
"Canada did not have its own air force until late in the First World War, but 22,000 men from the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) were welcomed into the growing British Royal Air Force, which was formerly known as the Royal Flying Corps.
The British Air Ministry maintained these ledgers of CEF members who transferred to the Royal Air Force. The records were later transferred to the Department of National Defence.
The records include name, address, date of birth, next of kin, the officer's movements from unit to unit, appointments and promotions, decorations and honours, medical information, and civilian employment. Dates and notations on the ledger pages indicate records were filled out between 1918 and 1919. The activities and movements recorded in the ledgers took place between 1915 and 1919".
To get more information, you can go to the Ancestry.ca site at http://search.ancestry.ca/search/db.aspx?dbid=9148
To get more information on the Royal Flying Corps Canada


text:
Morel Mushroom Spaetzle
|Eggs, Vegetables
|Menu Part
Spätzle is a traditional German egg noodle. This version uses dried morel mushrooms to create a hearty and comforting dish.
8 oz. dried morel mushrooms
8 oz. hot water
1 cup milk
4 tsp. olive oil
8 whole eggs
4 egg yolks
2 tbsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper, ground
1/2 tsp. nutmeg, ground
5 cups all-purpose flour
3 gal. water
2 cups kosher salt
Butter, as needed
Kosher salt to taste
White pepper ground to taste
1. In coffee grinder, grind morel mushrooms into fine dust. Reconstitute morel dust in water for 5 mins. Mix morels, milk, olive oil, eggs and egg yolk in mixing bowl.
2. Combine 2 tbsp. salt, pepper, nutmeg and flour in another bowl. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients. Mix well. If dough appears too wet, add more flour slowly until proper consistency. Let rest.
3. Combine water and 2 cups salt, bring to rapid boil. Use spaetzle cutter to add batter to boiling water. Boil spaetzle for 2 mins. then strain and run under cold water to cool. Let drain well once cooled.
4. In large sauté pan, heat enough butter to generously coat bottom of pan. Add spaetzle and cook until lightly golden brown. Season with kosher salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe by Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Mich.


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A version of this post appeared on Africa in Transition. The views expressed are the author's own.
Amnesty International, the London-based non-governmental human rights organization, has issued a report, "Nigeria: More than 1,500 Killed in North-Eastern Nigeria in Early 2014."
Of particular interest is its dissection of what happened on March 14 at Giwa Barracks, the largest military facility in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The report finds that Boko Haram staged a successful break into the detention center and that it released all of those being held. Boko Haram gave those freed the option of joining them or going home. Most chose the home option. Boko Haram then withdrew.
Shortly thereafter the security forces reoccupied the facility.
With the help of the Civilian Joint Task Force, a locally based vigilante group, the security forces then hunted down all of those who had escaped and murdered most of them. Amnesty estimates that over 600 people were killed.
Amnesty's report, which is based on eye-witness accounts, also notes that many of the inmates were emaciated and without shoes. Many also had scars indicating abuse. All of the inmates were unarmed.
Earlier, I blogged that, according to the media, a senator from Maiduguri stated that 95 percent of those killed in the Giwa Barracks incident were "innocent," that they were not part of Boko Haram.
He also seemed to imply that the security services took advantage the of jail break to murder practically all of the remaining inmates. Amnesty's report seems to support this argument.
As Amnesty observes, the actions of the security forces are consistent with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
However, the Amnesty report is balanced. It also profiles the rampant human rights violations by Boko Haram.
From the perspective of the security forces, it is difficult to tell who is Boko Haram and who is not. Further, the security services appear to be poorly trained and likely are undisciplined and frightened. Nevertheless, government agencies are held to a higher standard than insurgencies.
The question now is: should a conversation begin about possible outsider intervention by an African multinational force into northeast Nigeria?


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| 14.1°C Belfast
Katie Price has refused to rule out reconciling with cheating husband Kieran Hayler, saying that "time is a healer".
Katie announced she was separating from Kieran last month, just days after sharing the news that the couple were to become parents for the second time.
Now the 36-year-old has told Fubar Radio: "Let's hope there could be a happy ending. I'm quite a tolerant, patient person.
"It's not just me, we've got children as well... It's early days. He's getting help. I'm dealing with the baby and we're moving on."
She said: "Time is a healer... I have to be adult about the situation... It is a serious matter. I've got children.
"I've done absolutely nothing wrong. He's been with my best friend ... All I can do is deal with this situation, get him help and who knows, he might end up being better than he was before."
She added: "Was it normal what he's done? No it b****y wasn't..."
Katie, who is seven months' pregnant with her fifth child, added: "Money doesn't bring happiness... You can give him (a man) everything. But If a man's going to cheat he's going to cheat."
Asked about the prospect of marrying again, she said: "At the moment I've been put off... I jump from one relationship to the other."
Kieran is Katie's third husband. She was previously married to singer Peter Andre and Celebrity Big Brother contestant and cage-fighter Alex Reid.
She and Kieran had their first child together, Jett, in August last year.
Katie, who is co-hosting a slot on the subscription radio station, said that what had happened was "a lot worse" than what was already in the public domain.
She said: "I never expected it, never. No-one did... It's disgusting what those two human beings have done to me. It's disgusting, it's cruel."


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Review and Pictures of Thakoon 2012 Fall New York Fashion Week Runway Show
2012 Fall New York Fashion Week:Thakoon
2012 Fall New York Fashion Week:Thakoon
With rouge lips and heels to echo his bold red leather and pink color pairings, Thakoon honed in on a dramatic palette and rich detail to deliver a feminine Fall '12. We expect Thakoon Panichgul to veer toward the ethnically themed; this time, he steered clear of more exotic references to focus on a re-imagining of ladylike charm. Demure silhouettes were manipulated in patent, colored leather, ruching, and covered in rich hues of Mongolian fur to ensure that every look fell outside the boundaries of "pretty" dressing. There's quirk and humor in every take — a playful pop of print on the collar of a camel coat or a fuchsia fuzzy to complete a sweetheart-take on colorblocking. But if you don't subscribe to the girly-girl look, Thakoon's Fall is not also without sexier side; whether it's an overt nod to sex appeal with a black patent dress or a subtler play in a slinky black halter, there's a sense of womanly dressing even in all his girlish references.
- Trends: Feminine dressing, colorblocking, colored fur, colored leather.
- Colours: Red, fuchsia, gray, camel, black.
- Key Piece: Ladylike silhouettes redone in slick red leather.
- Accessories: Red pumps, dramatic knee-high lace-up boots, crisscross pumps.
- Who Would Wear It: Women who like ladylike shapes, but not without a little intrigue.


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The IU East Center for Leadership Development
is sponsored by the IU East School of Business and Economics. The Center is focused on enhancing the managerial and leadership capacities within the IU East service region. A primary purpose of the Center is to link the academic resources of the IU East School of Business and Economics to the economic and leadership development needs of the region.


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Eyebeasts were a fearsome species - devastatingly powerful and viciously cunning, they were one of the greatest horrors to ever haunt this world. But they died out, so the stories go, from infighting and bold warriors trying their luck. The last was felled nearly a century ago, so the stories go. But the stories do not mention this - a mad scientist's greatest scheme, a secret laboratory hidden away in the deep recesses of a forest, and a monster, long thought lost, brought back through a combination of the darkest of arts and the most sophisticated of modern machinery…
❗ These are printed on a FDM printer and are not resin miniatures.
📐 Scale is typical of 28mm-32mm miniatures but does vary based on the designer. Some models may run large. Please refer to the product photos for reference. Products are shown on a 1-inch grid with a standard 20 sided die or 28mm miniature.
📦 Includes:
📅 Processing / Print time on this item is typically 1-3 days from order placed. Please note, all orders are subject to a 7-14 day processing time.
🚚 All orders are shipped via United States Post Office. PLA has a melting point starting at around 120 degrees F -- please do not allow your shipped items to sit in the hot sun for long periods of time. If you need special shipping arrangements, please contact us directly.
🎨 Custom print colors, paint jobs and scale adjustments may be available. Contact us directly for quotes on custom requests. Paint jobs start at $10/hour with a 2 hour minimum.
🔨 Some of our products may require assembly. If you need instructions, please contact us and we can send you pictures. We recommend Gorilla Gel glue, or epoxy glue.
🔍 Our 3D Printed items are printed with PLA filament or a photopolymer resin. PLA is recommended for indoor use only. Items may require sanding and priming prior to painting or use. Small imperfections and print lines maybe seen. We do our best to provide you with an accurate expectation with highly detailed and realistic pictures. If you are unsatisfied with your print job, please contact us directly.
🛑 Items are not intended for children. These items are used for tabletop miniature wargaming.
❌ All items that are used for scale are not included in this purchase. Items may include die, minis, terrain, tiles and copies of the original item but show in a variation of color. If you are unsure of what you are receiving for the purchase price, please contact us prior to ordering.
📜 Source Models are copyright EC3D / Heros Hoard, provided as an officially licensed seller. Please visit our Partners Page for links to all of our partners' library of designs. We are capable of printing nearly ALL of designs offered by EC3D / Heros Hoard, please contact us for requests of any of their files and we would be happy to add the product for you!


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Commercial (tufted)
Carpeting: Commercial (tufted)Tufted commercial carpet is produced on machines similar to sewing machines. Several hundred needles stitch hundreds of rows of pile yarn tufts through a backing fabric called the primary backing. The yarn is caught by loopers and held in place for loop-pile carpet or cut by blades for cut-pile carpet. Next, a secondary backing, usually polypropylene, is laminated with latex to the carpet.
Other alternatives are attached cushion backings that will add resilience, acoustical insulation, and comfort underfoot. Tufted patterns are now very elaborate and durable. Patterns that were once only achieved through weaving or printing are now achieved through advanced tufting technology.
Brand Overview
Mannington Commercial Carpet
Mannington is the only U.S. manufacturer of commercial flooring that offers a full range of flooring solutions from a single source—LVT, commercial broadloom and modular carpet, resilient heterogeneous and homogeneous sheet, premium rubber flooring, VCT, hardwood, porcelain tile, wall base and other accessories. We've been recognized as a leader in product innovation, styling, and design, as well as in operational excellence and environmental stewardship.


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A joint initiative between the American Immigration Council and AILA seeks to change the playing field for immigrants facing deportation.
AILA's Featured Issues pages provide a one-stop shop on current immigration-related issues that AILA is actively tracking. This includes government actions and resources, AILA's policy recommendations, and materials and talking points to engage with Congress and the press.Start Your Research
Need more help?
Contact firstname.lastname@example.com
American Immigration Lawyers Association
1331 G Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005
Copyright © 1993-2020
American Immigration Lawyers Association.


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Masdar City, the world's first carbon neutral city that's banned cars and skyscrapers from its streets, gives us a glimpse of what other parts of the world might look like in the future. Located in Abu Dhabi and financed by the city's ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (who has pumped between $15bn and $30bn into it already), the city spans six square kilometers and will house around 50,000 people.
The city staged its first open day on the weekend, giving locals and tourists a look at what they could be living in if they choose the Masdar way of life. You can see in the gallery below that they allow Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric cars in Masdar, and have driverless electric pod trains, but apart from that it's two legs all the way. [Green Prophet via Inhabitat]
Image credit: Tafline Laylin


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Clippers blast Kings for 8th win in 9 games
Blake Griffin had 27 points and 14 rebounds, Randy Foye scored 25 points while hitting seven 3-pointers, and the surging Los Angeles Clippers moved within a half-game of the Pacific Division lead with a 109-94 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.
Chris Paul had 19 points and 15 assists in the Clippers' eighth win in nine games overall and their second in three days over the Kings, sweeping the season series with their California rivals. The Clippers (34-22) are right behind the Lakers (35-22), who lost at Phoenix, for the division lead and the No. 3 playoff seed.
DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points and 20 rebounds after stoking a feud with pointedly critical comments about Griffin this week. Tyreke Evans and Travis Outlaw scored 14 points apiece and Francisco Garcia added 13 before leaving with an apparent head injury for the Kings, who have lost eight of 10.
Caron Butler scored 12 points for the Clippers, who never trailed after the opening minutes. While Paul and Griffin had their usual productive games, Foye had another spectacular perimeter performance after tying the franchise record with eight 3-pointers at Dallas last Monday.
After allowing their 14-point lead to dwindle to one late in the third quarter, the Clippers took control with a 20-7 run capped by back-to-back spectacular dunks. After Griffin reached well behind his head to grab an alley-oop pass from Eric Bledsoe for a one-handed slam, the 6-foot-1 Bledsoe added his own dunk on a pass off the backboard from Paul.
Bledsoe had eight points and nine assists for the Clippers, who scored 34 points in less than eight minutes in the fourth quarter.
Marcus Thornton, the Kings' leading scorer, missed his third straight game with a bruised left leg.
Griffin and Cousins exchanged a perfunctory pregame fist-bump and nothing else after their burgeoning rivalry commanded national headlines in recent days. Cousins was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Friday for criticizing officials - specifically for the way they call games featuring Griffin, the former No. 1 draft pick and electrifying dunker.
After struggling with foul trouble throughout Sacramento's home loss to the Clippers on Thursday night, Cousins said Griffin was an "actor" who should be at home in Hollywood, claiming referees treat the two-time All-Star differently.
Griffin, the NBA's 11th-leading scorer and sixth-leading rebounder, and Cousins declined to talk about the criticism before the game, while their coaches saw nothing unhealthy about a little rivalry between power forwards.
"It's just two big guys playing an aggressive style of play, and I'm glad that the officials allowed them to play," Sacramento coach Keith Smart said. "I saw young, big guys who are going to be going at it for years, and they didn't lose their composure. They stayed in the confines of the game, and hopefully that doesn't move to anything else."
Griffin made one of the most spectacular shots of his highlight-strewn career late in the third quarter when Donte Greene flagrantly fouled him to stop a breakaway chance. Griffin threw the ball backward over his opposite shoulder while spinning facedown to the floor and facing away from the hoop - and the shot went in, but didn't count when the officials huddled and ruled against continuation.
Garcia went to the locker room early in the fourth after staying down on the court for several minutes when Bobby Simmons accidentally clipped him in the head while fighting for a loose ball.
NOTES: The Clippers' only loss since March 22 was last Wednesday to the Lakers, who hold the head-to-head tiebreaker edge. ... Clippers G Mo Williams sat out his ninth straight game with a bruised toe. His return is expected imminently. ... Kings F Chuck Hayes sat out with an apparent case of food poisoning, and Evans jammed his right big toe late in the third quarter, but returned. ... Billy Crystal and Kings co-owners Phil and Adrienne Maloof attended the game.


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Extensive research information about communication is available in TUP – Technology User Profile.
It's been decades since Marvin Gaye "heard it through the grapevine," and there are more "grapevines" today than you can shake a stick at. It's important to know which one your target audience uses–social networking, email, texting? Do they grab their cellphone or type a text or email? How do they combine or trade off these modes of communication? TUP's research gives you demographic and market details that might easily be overlooked, and that can be the difference between having a well-defined market or missing out.
Below are a few examples of questions addressed in TUP related to communication. The full TUP service enables drilling down beyond the answers to these questions to identify which other technologies, services and behaviors are disruptive and to profile which market segments are and aren't adopting. TUP is much more than a one-dimensional market view or opinion piece, since it offers ready, solid answers to the following and many other key questions.
- Who is videoconferencing, and using which platform?
- What is the status of mobile phone transition, from basic feature phones to smartphones and non-users?
- How are smartphones challenging or complementing mobile PCs? Which market segments are coalescing around which platforms?
- What is the mix of communication products and services – landline, wireless, email, IM, etc. – by segment?
- How do the market segments of mobile phone platforms vary? How does compare to Tablets and other key devices?
- How are users communicating, given all their communication options?
- What makes a smartphone a smartphone in the consumer's eyes? How does usage compare to basic mobile phones? What are the user segments and usage profiles?
- How many screens do people view? Which market segments view more screens than other segments?
- How do Verizon's subscribers compare to AT&T's?
- Who are the true early adopters and laggards? How does this vary by actual usage of specific products and technologies?
- What do most people do with their mobile phone as compared to their PC? Which user segments align with which platforms?
- How are Facebook users different from users of other Social Networks? Beside demographics, what else distinguishes these from each other?
- How has the division of work vs. personal use of technology products continued to blur?
- Tech adoption cycles may not be as fast as the tech-focused think. How many and which users still use older tech products?
- Which segments are using which tech devices & carriers? For which activities?
- Which smartphone OS is leading, and with which market segments?
- What are the attitudes about texting and driving? Who is most supportive and who is mostly opposed?
- What is the impact on privacy concerns on use of social networking?
- Primacy – what is the center of the user's world? Their home PC, work PC, mobile phone? Is it one device or many?
- iPhone users – who are they really? How do they compare with Android and Blackberry users?
- Are PC users primarily accessing the Internet at home, in the workplace, using friends or neighbor's computers, or in public places such as libraries or cybercafés? Which users use other's PCs and which have many to choose from?
- What about the anti-social – those that aren't in an online social network? Who are they? In what other ways are they actively communicating and having fun? How does their spending profile compare?
- Entertainment primacy – what is the center of the user's home entertainment world? Is it one device or many? Which devices and services, and among which segments?
- Which market segments are dating online? What else do they frequently do online?
- Which market segments interact with their social network using their mobile phone, and which do not? What else stands out about these connected users?
- What do users sync or "store" in the cloud? How do users share images – social networking sites or photo-specific sites? Which users are the most active?
- Netbooks – are they replacing notebooks? Stalling smartphones? Withering?
- Most-mobile customers – where do they go and what do they do?
- How PC/Online & Mobile Phone activities compare? How is this different for Tablets or eBook Readers? Which segments use which device for the most activities?
- Do PC users behave differently as they gain more experience? Are Newbies or Vets mostly focusing on certain activities versus a broad mixture?
- Is social networking only for certain age groups?
- How much have PC users integrated PCs into their personal lives?
- Do mobile PC users print differently than desktop users? Do the more-mobile use more or fewer printers? Do the more-mobile print different content?
- Tracfone for oldsters? Who has the oldest segment by carrier?
- Who spends the most hours online?
- Which social networking sites are used most frequently by which segments?
- Have game-players been the first to adopt new products such as the Apple iPhone? Or, are they generally later adopters?
- Which segments are keeping their files, calendars, or other information synchronized or backed up online?
- Which combination of tech devices is the most popular today? How large is each segment? Who are in each segment? Which direction are they headed with their buying plans?
- Which market segments are blogging? How do they compare to social networkers?
- Who are the biggest tech spenders? Which segments spend the most and least for devices? How does spending for tech services differ?
- Are Apple's retail shoppers already the Apple-faithful or is Apple drawing in the unconverted? Who are these shoppers?
- Multitasking – who's using many devices for many activities, versus few devices for many activities? How do user segments vary by quadrant?
If solid answers to any of these questions would help your work in creating the future, please contact MetaFacts.
MetaFacts, Inc. helps technology marketers find and measure their best and future customers.
Current subscribers of Technology User Profile may obtain this information directly from MetaFacts, as well as additional customized drilling down into the full dataset.
For more information on the results delivered in TUP and about how to subscribe, please contact MetaFacts.


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These are trying times for politicians and for those being screwed by them. Crises are happening. Decisions MUST be made. Those of us not willing to have everything good and lovely stolen from us by powerful people who don't even know our names feel we must take a stand. We must take a POSITION.
And sometimes it seems like project management, but with less appalling jargon. We must make a series of decisions that will take us where we want to go. We must follow the decision tree. But without calling it such a wanky name. Should we vote? Y/N. Should we confront? Y/N
It seems obvious we have to take a position in politics, but there is a problem. As individuals our decisions are usually almost imperceptible, and to the degree that the world at large does notice them, they (people, organisations) will decode our decisions as they feel like. And politics should not be about being sure of our rightness in our own heads, it should be about relating well and getting good things to happen. Meanwhile our decisions being decoded by others may have – for all we know – been caused by someone asking us the wrong question, or phrasing the question in a way that created an artificial dichotomy.
Not making decisions one way or the other can cause tensions inside us, but the world is full of tensions anyway. Tensions between different positions will only be resolved by death, and if you're a Catholic, not even then.
In a way we do have to take a position in this world, or rather, we find ourselves in a position. I'm not sure it's our decisions that get us there. We are not as rational as we pretend. We choose sides according to…what we feel like. That's fine, and we can even dream up rationalisations for it if we are that way inclined, but that's no reason to go resolving all the tensions.
Should we vote or not vote?
Should we confront or nudge?
Should we work from inside or outside institutions?
Should we aim for revolution or reform?
Do both. Together. Consecutively. Alternately. Do whatever seems appropriate with those around you at that particular time. It may seem strange to choose a life with more tension, but it also means choosing a life less defined by the questions people choose to ask you and more defined by your relationships and making stuff happen.


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I recently had a party where I needed some sort of dessert. I didn't want to bake, and I didn't want something straight off the shelf.
While I was wandering Cost Plus World Market the day before the party, I saw this cool toothpicks with knotted bamboo at the decorative end. And it struck me (an idea - not the toothpick): I could do a dessert skewer!
Strawberries - cut into halves or quarters, depending on size
1 Sara Lee Pound Cake - cut into bit-sized cubes
Candy chocolate (or chocolate chips and a spoonful of Crisco)
1. Skewer alternating chunks of pound cake and strawberry
2. Melt chocolate in microwave - stirring often.
3. Drizzle chocolate over skewered food (skewers should be placed on wax paper or something similar for this step).