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We don't run corporate ads. We don't shake our readers down for money every month or every quarter like some other sites out there. We provide our site for free to all, but the bandwidth we pay to do so doesn't come cheap. A generous donor is matching all donations of $100 or more! So please donate now to double your punch!
Richard Perle Flies the Coop
Richard Perle's resignation Thursday as chairman of the Defense Policy Board, a Pentagon advisory group, is long overdue. Perle quit the board because he was hired to help bankrupt telecommunications firm Global Crossing win approval from the Department of Defense to sell the company to a Hong Kong billionaire and lawmakers questioned whether Perle's dual roles was a conflict-of-interest.
Presumably, Global Crossing hired Perle, who served as assistant secretary of defense under former President Ronald Reagan, as a lobbyist because he wields an enormous amount of power around the Pentagon and would likely get the job done. Perle is a key adviser to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and a leading architect in the Bush administration's policies toward Iraq.
The Pentagon and the Federal Bureau of Investigation objected to Global Crossing's sale to Asian investors last year because the government uses Global Crossing's fiber optics networks and a sale would put the networks under control of the Chinese government. Global Crossing said it would pay Perle $125,000 and an additional $600,000 if the deal went through.
Perle denied Thursday that his unpaid advisory role on the policy board would have interfered with his lobbying on behalf of Global Crossing, which is mired in shareholder lawsuits as a result of its questionable accounting practices. But Perle has a long history of using his influential role as a government adviser to line his pockets.
"Richard Perle…has made a lucrative career out of some bald conflicts of interest," wrote Mark Crispin Miller, a New York University media professor, in the Free Press in 2000. "As an Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security under Ronald Reagan, he got in some slight trouble when he wrote a memorandum urging the department to consider buying equipment from a company that had paid him a $50,000 consulting fee (as the the New York Times noted back in 1984). As chairman and CEO of Hollinger Digital (owned by media titan Conrad Black), Perle maintains his close connections with the military industries. For example, as a non-executive director of Morgan Crucible, PLC (UK), which has done business with the Pentagon…"
Moreover, Perle was also a director of Memorex Corp., a defense contractor, in the 1990s while he was advising then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney as a member of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee during the first Bush administration. At the same time, Perle also was a paid consultant to a Turkish-hired lobbying firm in Washington and has been both an adviser to FMC Corp. and a director of an FMC-Turkish joint venture building military equipment. It should be noted that during Perle's tenure in the Reagan administration he was a fierce proponent of aid to Turkey's military.
In 1987, the Pentagon's Office of General Counsel opened an inquiry into whether Perle's attempts to write a fictional novel based on classified intelligence information were a conflict-of-interest. At the time, Perle was offered a $300,000 advance for the novel, titled "Memoranda."
The proposal for the novel described an inside look at the bureaucracy and promised a plot that seemed a thinly veiled account of Perle's long-running internecine struggle with former assistant secretary of state Richard R. Burt. It promised "an array of bureaucratic maneuvers recounted in the context of actual events altered only enough to make them publishable, to preserve the fiction in "Memoranda."
In April of 1987, Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), the former ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote an angry letter to Reagan suggesting that Perle's book "creates a climate encouraging disrespect for the protection of classified information" and might have "a chilling effect on the candor of {officials'} policy analysis and recommendations." Nunn also raised questions about the propriety of the sale of the book during Perle's tenure in office.
In response to the inquiries, Perle resigned his post as assistant secretary of defense in April 1987 to write the book. The title was later changed to "Hard Line."
JASON LEOPOLD is a regular contributor to CounterPunch. He broke one the Iraq war's biggest stories for us, the insidious role of the Project for a New American Century in relentless pushing for an invasion of Iraq. This story has now been picked up the LA Times, New York Times, Newsweek and Nightline–though you'll search in vain for any credit. He can be reached at: firstname.lastname@example.com
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Classic Cat- Mouse squabbles result in a Mouse knockout. Bam! KO!
However, The Age of the Mouse has begun and the tables have turned. The killswitch has been passed on to mighty Mr. Mouse. The game just got better! Bringing you the live commentary is Cat-Mouse TV.
Andy: Mr. Cat and Mr. Mouse have entered the arena. Mr. Cat arrives today on the back of a string of victories. Mr. Mouse however has a new- found vigor and promises to fight to death, making today a most historical date in Cat- Mouse history where one mighty warrior will fall.
Martin: Indeed it is a historical date we are living. The stadium is packed, everyone is on their toes, cheering or jeering the two greatest warriors in recent times. Never since 1278 A.D. when Cathotle beat Mousar to win the Millennium Crown, has so much hype been generated for one single duel.
Andy: The atmosphere is tense, the warriors are ready, the referee has entered the arena, the klaxon has sounded, and the warriors now proceed to execute the customary pre- match embrace.
Referee: Warriors, ready? (Both opponents nod in agreement)
Audience, ready? (Audience roars in agreement)
Let the duel begin!
Martin: And the match has begun. Both warriors look a little rusty as this is their first fight in a long time.
Andy: Where did that right jab from Mr. Mouse come from?! Absolute precision and it sent Mr. Cat reeling back several feet.
Martin: This match is already showing signs of a huge upset for the champion, isn't it Andy?
Andy: The first few moments have certainly indicated that way, but we can see Mr. Cat getting to his bearings as the match wears off.
Martin: Look at that, just when we thought an upset was on the cards, Mr. Cat came back strongly with a strong right hook on Mr. Mouse's jaw which I'm certain, has been dislocated.
Andy: Nonetheless, Mr. Mouse, although seemingly in pain, looks certain to continue.
Martin: The match is heating up, Mr. Cat is dominating now and Mr. Mouse is having a hard time dodging his blows.
Andy: Sweet Mother of God! Where on earth did that jumpkick from Mr. Mouse come from?!
Martin: Shocking! Considering his physical state at the moment, I would never have dreamed of Mr. Mouse going to such dangerous extents.
Andy: But look at the damage it has done to both the warriors.
Martin: The has impact sent them both sprawling to the ground. There seem to be no signs of either of them stirring.
Andy: This can be dangerous Martin, medical help is being called now.
Martin: Oh look! Mr. Mouse is slowly getting to his feet.
Andy: And so is Mr. Cat!
Martin: The opponents are back on their feet and slowly advancing towards each other, menacing looks on both their faces!
Andy: Look at that! Mr. Mouse just ran towards Mr. Cat and executed a perfect spear!
Martin: Mr. Mouse has Mr. Cat pinned to the ground! This could do it! This could end the hierarchy of the Cat world in the world of fighting!
Andy: But no! Mr. Cat manages to recover and gets up on the second count! The match is back on!
Martin: Mr. Mouse looks exasperated, but he gets on with it anyway.
Andy: A powerful roundpaw punch by Mr. Cat, but look at the agility shown by Mr. Mouse there. He dodges and instead pulls Mr. Cat's tail!
Martin: Mr. Mouse is in control now! He lifts Mr. Cat off the ground with his tail as leverage and throws him powerfully towards the other end of the ring!
Andy: Mr. Mouse goes for the pin!
(The referee begins the countdown…)
The Crowd: One, two, three!
Martin: History has been made! Mr. Mouse has won the match! Mice Club has asserted its dominance over the Furry Paw Club!
Andy: Indeed a day to reckon with! But such brilliance in the win Martin! Hats off to both the warriors for valiantly fighting till the end and congratulations to Mr. Mouse!
Martin: So guys, this was it for today! See you next time with another epic fight! Its goodbye for now from me and my dear friend Andy!
Andy: Goodbye, take care everyone and have fun always!

subset: commoncrawl


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GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — Authorities in northern Montana say a vehicle struck three pedestrians near a bar in the tiny town of Sunburst, killing one and injuring two others.
Officials in Toole County tell the Great Falls Tribune (http://gftrib.com/152Ysbx ) that 25-year-old Charles Geoffrey Santoro of Kevin (KEE'-vin) was arrested on suspicion of negligent homicide and negligent vehicular assault.
The crash happened at 12:50 a.m. Monday, near the Sunburst Vets Club bar.
The sheriff's office says one pedestrian died at the scene and two others were hurt and taken to the hospital in Shelby, about 30 miles away. The victims' names and ages were not immediately released.
Sunburst is near the Canadian border and has a population of about 400.
Information from: Great Falls Tribune, http://www.greatfallstribune.com


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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Members of Arizona's delegation to the Democratic National Convention are hoping to return home better positioned to inspire stronger Latino voter participation in November.
Their goals include drawing on the rapidly growing youth population by capitalizing on frustrations over anti-immigrant legislation in Arizona. They also are buoyed by President Barack Obama's two-year deferral program for undocumented youths and the promise of a party platform that includes support for comprehensive immigration reform.
"Truly the next president of the United States will be elected because of the Latino vote," state Rep. Anna Tovar, D-Tolleson, the House Minority Whip, said Monday outside of the National Hispanic Caucus.
As the convention continues through Thursday, Tovar said, the Arizona delegation will share strategies with Hispanic leaders from different states.
She said the state Democratic Party aims to register 80,000 new Latino voters for this election but is only halfway there.
"As leaders from Arizona we need to make sure we educate our constituents on the importance of keeping President Obama in office," she said.
Frank Camacho, spokesman for the Arizona Democratic Party, said the Arizona Democrats will ramp up the vote by making sure Latinos register and turn out. Delegates will take back a "greater sense of urgency" to get young Latinos to vote when they return to Arizona, he said.
Democrats plan to go door to door and engage voters directly.
Latinos, who make up 30 percent of Arizona's population, could account for half of all Arizonans by 2050, according to a report by Arizona State University's Morrison Institute for Public Policy. As thousands of Latinos reach voting age every month, both Democrats and Republicans are looking for new ways to attract this increasingly powerful voting bloc.
"Another 15 to 20 years from now is when Latino voters will really come into fruition," said Joe Garcia, director of the Morrison Institute's Latino Public Policy Center.
But members of the Arizona Democratic delegation say the time for the Latino vote is now.
"This is the year that we are going to get the Latino vote," said Rosie Lopez, a delegate and longtime Phoenix immigrant rights activist. "The mean-spirited legislation that the Arizona State Legislature passed has really energized our people."
Garcia said strict anti-immigration laws like SB 1070 could help mobilize Latinos to vote Democratic this fall, as could fiery rhetoric from state Republican officials over Obama's recent executive order allowing some undocumented youth to work in the U.S.
"People vote through awareness and they vote through emotion," Garcia said. "Those hit both of those spots."
State Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix, said organizing in the Latino community over the past two years helped elect Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and Phoenix Councilman Daniel Valenzuela.
Gallego said most of that increase has been due to DREAM Act-eligible students with family members who are citizens and able to vote.
But registering voters isn't enough, Gallego said.
"Just because we registered the Latino vote doesn't mean they'll vote our way," he said. "We still have to treat the population like you would any other population, address the issues that matter to them."
Tovar said the Latino community has middle class priorities: jobs, education, health care.
"Those are the issues for Latino families," she said.
Garcia said Democrats can take advantage of unpopular Republican policies but that Latinos generally line up with Republican ideals on faith and family values.
"If (Arizona Republicans) were more moderate, they could get a bigger pull," Garcia said.
Arizona GOP spokesman Tim Sifert said Republicans will point to Latinos' high unemployment rate in Arizona, 11 percent compared to the states' overall rate of 8.2 percent.
"Hispanics in Arizona are doing disproportionately poorly under the Obama administration," he said in a telephone interview.


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Barynya, Russian dance, music, and song ensemblehome | news | dancing videos | music videos | costumes | photo | recommendations | schedule of performances | program | press | Barynya on FaceBook | contact
watch this video on www.youtube.com website
Contact information: email@example.com, +1-201-981-2497 (cell, text).
"Superstars of Dance" global dance competition, NBC
Barynya dancers pictured on TV GUIDE website during SUPERSTARS OF DANCE international competition led by famous producers Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller (American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance). Barynya performed acrobatic Cosssack dance routine in this competition hosted by Michael Flatley ("Lord of the Dance") and Susie Castillo, a former Miss USA. Artistic Director of Barynya was one of eight judges to decide which country will take home the coveted Trophy.
watch this video on www.youtube.com website
Barynya dancers @ "World On Stage" festival, Stamford, CT, May 2009
watch this video on www.youtube.com website
Video from concert in Morristown, New Jersey, February, 2009
watch this video on www.youtube.com website
Ensemble Barynya photos
View ensemble Barynya photo gallery
view all pictures
STORY: Russian folk dance and music trio Barynya was founded in November 1991 by Russian accordion player Mikhail Smirnov, dancer Sasha Anchutin, and Russian folk singer Natasha Demidova. The first show took place at the Russian restaurant "Fyodoroff" in Carle Place, New York. Program of the Barynya ensemble always started with fast Russian traditional dance Barynya which later has become the name of the group.
REVIEWS: "...'Barynya', world-acclaimed musicians, singers and dancers...", said journalist KEITH J. O'CONNOR in his article "Russia's taste goes beyond the palate" in the Massachusetts' "Republican"
RECOMMENDATIONS: "...Beautiful performance helped make the Global Festival such a memorable evening... I could not be more impressed. I was up and out of my seat, dancing alone with them for just about every dance..." more recomendations
CLIENTS: Top cultural venues of the United States, US corporations, Russian Nobility, American educational organizations, best event and party planners, Russian tycoons and oligarchs choose Brooklyn based ensemble "Barynya", when they need top quality Russian entertainment - dancers, virtuoso musicians, singers and performers.
Mikhail Gorbachev's Liberty Medal Award Gala at the National Constitution Center, Philadelphia, PA
Ensemble Barynya performed during Diner Gala after the Liberty Medal 2008 was presented to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev by President George H.W. Bush. Official ceremony took place on Thursday, September 18, 2008 at The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. letter of recommendation.
Barynya dance ensemble celebrates 20 years.Article in New Jersey's newspaper www.northjersey.com by Tara Driggs
Contact information: firstname.lastname@example.com, +1-201-981-2497 (cell, text).
Thesis Geek - thesis writing service.


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Broadway show producers often increase ticket prices to their shows to match growing demand. It now appears that theater owners want to get in on the action.
Many Broadway theaters have just increased their facility fee charges to $2.00, making that the new standard amount for facility fees on Broadway in addition to the base ticket price, the convenience charge, and the per-order handling fee.
The facility fee (sometimes called the theater restoration fee, or the 3rd surcharge) is the only surcharge that you have to pay even if buying your tickets directly at the Broadway theater box office — unlike other Broadway ticket surcharges, this one comes from the theater itself, not the ticket agent.
In a way, it sounds like a classy sort of fee. After all, everyone wants those beautiful Broadway theaters to continue looking nice, and $2.00 doesn't sound like that much when you just threw down $155 for a ticket. But when you really consider it, that fee is rather odd. You don't pay any other industry an extra fee to simply maintain their place of business, do you? People wouldn't normally pay a facility fee when they dine at a restaurant or shop at a store. If the Broadway theaters need money for upkeep, you would anticipate that they would factor this into the rent that they charge their tenants, the Broadway shows themselves.
The switch that many theaters made over the years from calling the fee a 'restoration fee' to calling it a 'facility fee' is also telling, since the truth is that none of them are actually guaranteeing that the money is going directly to theater restoration projects. The fact is, that little charge can add up to tens of millions of dollars annually for Broadway theater owners, making it an excellent source of extra revenue. It is unclear why they don't just charge the producers of the show more rent, who will in turn increase the prices of tickets to their show.
In an article that Cara Joy David wrote for the New York Times in 2007 on ticket fees and surcharges, veteran Broadway producer Emanuel Azenberg was quoted as saying of the fees, "I think all of these things cumulatively are insane … Someone must have men in the back room making up names, euphemisms for profit."
The facility fees have not always been uniform, and different theaters have charged different amounts over the years. Ten years ago, most facility fees were around $1.00 or $1.25, and $1.50 was typical for a very long time. But now $2.00 has emerged as the most common amount for the facility fee. (A few exceptions exist, such as Disney's New Amsterdam Theater and Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater, which have no facility fee at all; and the Gershwin Theatre, home of Wicked, which charges $1.25.) Somehow the American theater managed to thrive for decades before fees were introduced in the '90s, so these charges really do seem unnecessary.
Part of the reason the facility fee doesn't get that much attention from Broadway ticket buyers is because they are already used to paying much higher surcharges directly to Ticketmaster and Telecharge. The popularity of phone ordering (much easier than traveling down to the box office in person, especially for tourists and out-of-towners) and the advent of online ordering provided an excuse for the "convenience charge," which usually breaks down into two types of fees: the per-order handling fee (currently $2.75 on Telecharge, after recently being raised from $2.50) and the per-ticket service charge ($7.50 on Telecharge). There also may be additional charges depending on what delivery method you choose.
Broadway ticket buyers can continue to avoid the larger surcharges by making the trip to the Broadway theater district and buying their tickets directly at the box office, rather than dealing with the middle man that is Ticketmaster and Telecharge. But no matter how you purchase your Broadway tickets, that $2.00 facility fee will still be going from your pocket to the theater owners, at least hold the door open for me.
Carly White
Latest posts by Carly White (see all)
- Bette Midler and Donna Murphy Back in "Hello, Dolly!" - June 3, 2018
- "Children of a Lesser God" Concludes Its Run - May 27, 2018
- "The Iceman Cometh" Opens to Positive Reviews - May 3, 2018
- Bernard Shaw's "Saint Joan" Opens to Mixed Reviews - April 29, 2018
- "My Fair Lady" Opens to Generally Positive Reviews - April 22, 2018


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The new issue of the Weekly Standard makes the Libby case its cover story and the article by Stephen Hayes its centerpiece: "A spooked White House." Key paragraph:
[I]n one very important sense, the critics are right to assert a connection between the case for war in Iraq and the Fitzgerald inquiry. It is this: For the better part of two years, as the case grew from a routine Justice Department inquiry to an independent investigation conducted by a no-nonsense special prosecutor, the Bush administration gradually ceded the debate over the Iraq war to its harshest critics. These two developments are not coincidental.
The administration long ago gave up making the factual case to support the proposition of Iraq's centrality to the war on terroristm. Steve details the fruits of his own efforts as a frustrated researcher trying to get at the underlying story that Joseph Wilson and his media friends have done so much to obscure:
There are other documents from Iraq that would help the American public understand the nature of the former Iraqi regime and why a serious war on terror required its removal. Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) documents currently stored in a warehouse in Doha, Qatar, as part of the Defense Intelligence Agency's document exploitation project are a case in point. Many of these documents, listed in a database known as HARMONY, have rather provocative titles:
Money Transfers from Iraq to Afghanistan
Secret Meeting with Taliban Group Member and Iraqi Government (Nov. 2000)
Iraqi Effort to Cooperate with Saudi Opposition Groups and Individuals
Order from Saddam to present $25,000 to Palestinian Suicide Bombers' Families
IIS Reports from Embassy in Paris: Plan to Influence French Stance in UN Security Council
IIS Report on How French Campaigns are Financed
Improvised Explosive Devices Plan
Ricin research and improvement
There are thousands of similar documents. Many have already been authenticated and most are unclassified. That's worth repeating: Most are unclassified.
Of course, nothing is more important than winning on the ground in Iraq. Demonstrating that we are killing terrorists and making steady progress on the political front will do much to blunt the criticism of the war. But if the White House refuses to challenge its critics, and refuses to explain in detail why Iraq is the central front in the war on terror, and refuses to discuss the flawed intelligence on Iraqi WMD, and refuses to use its tremendous power to remind Americans that Saddam Hussein was, in fact, a threat, then it risks losing the support of those Americans who continue to believe that the Iraq war, despite all of its many costs in blood and money, was worth it.
Among the appropriate companion pieces to Steve's article in the new issue are Steve's own "The incredibles" (on Joseph Wilson) and "The White House, the CIA and the Wilsons" (on the chain of events that gave rise to the grand jury leak investigation). Before the underlying story is lost down the memory hole, take the opportunity to review the relevant history in Steve's important article on the impact of the investigation on the administration.


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Cloud Architects are Choosing Flash for Industry's Largest Clouds
The Cloud Service Provider landscape – Hyperscale, Consumer Cloud, B2B, Telco, and Private Cloud – continues to evolve towards innovating services for elastic infrastructure, SaaS & business-critical applications, and consumer-oriented services. For cloud services to prosper, the appropriate storage infrastructure building blocks must be leveraged to enable high-performing and differentiated offerings. Cloud service providers can leverage the broad SanDisk® portfolio of flash storage solutions for infrastructure scalability and performance, along with the ability to control CAPEX and OPEX.
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) for dynamic provisioning and better cloud economics
Operating IaaS at scale and efficiency places high demand on storage infrastructure to accommodate the highest level of tiers of services. SanDisk flash solutions accelerate automated IaaS provisioning and affords better cloud economics through access density.
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) for innovating, next-generation applications
PaaS and its ecosystem of microservices, containers, and DevOps stands to gain when flash technology can be leveraged to address elasticity of services demand. SanDisk maintains a purpose-built portfolio of flash storage solutions to address the random I/O of PaaS within compute cluster management systems.
Analytics-as-a-Service for pay-as-you-go Hadoop batch job services and NoSQL-based event driven architectures
Analytics-as-a-Service enables attractive "pay-as-you-go" hourly services for enterprise customers to leverage big data analytics instead of on-premises CAPEX investments. SanDisk flash storage, with its inherent ability to process batch job processing for large data sets, can allow for cost-effective infrastructure through operational efficiency and reduced server footprint. Pay-as-you-go Hadoop batch jobs and NoSQL-based applications can leverage shared SanDisk flash storage pools enabling services offerings based on performance and capacity tiers that can scale independently.
Infinite unstructured data for primary storage use cases
Object storage for primary storage use cases has its challenges to address latency performance, replication eventual consistency, erasure coding, timely access to custom metadata, and operational efficiency.
Omni-channel e-commerce spans the shopping experience across B2C customer touch points, including online, mobile, social, and in-store to B2B application integration
Cloud-based commerce solutions for B2C and B2B for omni-channel require the delivery of static catalog content, transaction processing, and customer segmentation analytics. To achieve e-commerce at high levels of brand satisfaction and excellent customer shopping experiences, SanDisk provides a portfolio that ranges from static catalog content to the low latency requirements of transaction processing and real-time analytics.
Data Lake-as-a-Service: Big Data Processing and Analytics in the Cloud
From raw data to actionable insight through analytics, cloud service providers that offer enterprises Data Lake-as-a-Service provide an infrastructure for massive capacity to process very large volumes of data through Hadoop. The SanDisk portfolio for Data Lake-as-a-Service enables better data throughput capabilities beyond traditional, on-premises storage for faster ingest/write speeds at high-volume, high-velocity raw data.
Simplified relational database and NoSQL setup and time saving in the cloud
Database-as-a-Service is only as good as its low latency for structured transactions to performance and scale for eventual consistency of NoSQL. The SanDisk portfolio ranges from specific offerings for 99.9% QoS to multi-petabyte scalability for server-side storage solutions.
Excellent VoD or audio-on-demand customer experiences with reliable, high-performance media streaming to any screen
Media Streaming at scale depends on sustained throughput from storage and cloud economics. Monetization of streaming services is made easier with SanDisk purpose-built flash solutions that range from SATA devices to disaggregated storage.
Internet of Things (IoT) back-end operations – NoSQL, event-driven architectures, and Hadoop – for descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics
IoT sensor and other data that is sent and filtered through IoT gateways to data centers for descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics will leverage SanDisk flash storage for NoSQL persistent data stores and accelerated Hadoop map reduce jobs to transform many industries.
Better online gaming customer engagement through analytics for customer insights and object storage performance
Identification of high-value customers and execution of contextual marketing while delivering excellent customer gaming experiences through scalable and high-performing object storage are key to online gaming monetization. Analytics accelerated by SanDisk flash storage enables cross-selling opportunities while flash-based object storage performance enables critical gaming functions, e.g., up-to-date leader boards.
Mobile devices are the hub of brand experience, commerce, and personal productivity
Consistent application performance and data throughput at massive scale are the basis for flash storage performance on which today's mobile apps for banking, commerce, and personal productivity depend. Because apps range from shopping to the viewing of static content, no single approach to storage can address all possible workloads. Adding the need for customer analytics, flash storage to accelerate contextual marketing is imperative for today's top brands.
Content Delivery Network (CDN) for continuous delivery in the digital era
Today's content releases happen many times a day to meet demand for application and website delivery cadences for digital business. Reliance on yesterday's technology that was originally designed to cache static content affects customer experiences and time-to-revenue goals. For today's DevOps and WebOps release paces, along with security/DDoS monitoring and real-time analytics, SanDisk for flash-based CDN enables providers to match storage I/O demand with available network bandwidth.
Telco Over-the-Top (OTT) digital ecosystems and the era of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV)
Telco OTT next-generation platforms to deliver and monetize digital content is key to enterprise digital business transformation. Along with OTT, through SDN and NFV, providers are able to leverage SanDisk flash storage to reduce latency and to maximize server utilization at wire speed.
Private and Hybrid Cloud for business agility, on-demand computing and data & application portability
Implementing private and/or hybrid cloud is a services-oriented endeavor that affects storage I/O patterns that are vastly different from traditional IT.
Though in-house IT organizations may not have to build on the scale of public cloud offerings, nonetheless, expectations for the ability to respond with agile compute resources on demand is similar to public cloud.
IT organizations embarking on on-premises cloud projects are able to leverage the same SanDisk flash storage portfolio used by leading public cloud service providers. SanDisk data center products can enable cloud-like infrastructure for operational efficiency for a services breadth that may also include data and application portability via hybrid cloud.
Software-Defined Storage (SDS) for business agility and on-demand computing
Flash storage, as the underlying storage of SDS, is instrumental in application response time, replication efficiency, and node density. Without flash, more nodes may be required to achieve system-level performance and an increase in operational requirements to troubleshoot latency issues.
SanDisk maintains a diverse ecosystem of software-defined storage partners to enable cloud architects to have the flexibility of a SDS strategy.
Whether you're a Fortune 500 or five person startup, SanDisk has solutions that will help you get the most out of your infrastructure.
Whether you'd like to ask a few initial questions or are ready to discuss a SanDisk solution tailored to your organizations's needs, the SanDisk sales team is standing by to help.
We're happy to answer your questions, so please fill out the form below so we can get started.
Thank you. We have received your request.


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Award-Winning, Cutting-Edge Leader in Education
Types: Male
Bio Info
Dr. Peter Gamwell has been described as one of the most knowledgeable and thought-provoking presenters on organizational learning, leadership and creativity in Canada and beyond. He is a widely respected and sought after as a speaker, presenter and moderator, and has gained a reputation for his vibrant and humorous approach
The Wonder Wall – Fostering Creative Organizations: Making the Extraordinary Happen in an Age of "Inbetweenity"
Best-Selling Author, Innovator, Educator, World renowned expert in Change, Leadership & Human Potential
Bio Info
Cited by Sir Ken Robinson as the very embodiment of his high-thinking on unleashing creativity and human potential, Richard Gerver's transformative approach to leading change and innovation has been embraced by business and educational organizations all over the world.
Director of the Social Intelligence Lab at the University of Maryland, College Park
Types: Author, Female, TED, University Professor
Bio Info
As a world leader in social media research and communication, Dr. Jennifer Golbeck shares with audiences ways to best leverage and the vast array of social data both in their personal and professional lives.
Topics: Big Data, Branding, Business Growth/Strategy/Trends, Change: Managing/Leading It, Communication Skills, Consumer Trends, Corporate Culture, Corporate Governance, Creativity, Customer Relationships/Loyalty, Cyber Security, Human Resource Issues, Information Technology, Innovation, Leadership, Marketing, Peak Performance, Social Media/New Media
Bio Info
Dan Goods weaves his personal story of passion, inventiveness and risk-taking with his unconventional artwork that will leave audiences with a moment of awe about the universe we live in.
Topics: Big Data, Creativity, Design, Innovation, Motivation, Personal Growth
Organizational psychologist, The Wharton School of Business; Author, Give and Take, Originals, Option B; Host: WorkLife, a TED original podcast
Types: Author, Male, TED, University Professor
Bio Info
Named one of the world's 10 most influential management thinkers and one of the Fortune's 40 under 40, Adam Grant is a leading expert on promoting generosity, originality, and resilience.
Legendary Academy Award- and Emmy Award-Winning Producer; New York Times Best-Selling Author; Founder and Chairman, Imagine Entertainment
Bio Info
One of the most prolific and acclaimed producers of our time, Brian Grazer inspires audiences to unleash their curiosity by revealing the secrets of his extraordinary success behind some of Hollywood's most famed movies and television shows, and importantly, how anyone can exercise their own curiosity to create a more fulfilling life and career.
Educator and Founder, Freedom Writers Foundation
Bio Info
Erin Gruwell has earned an award-winning reputation for her steadfast commitment to the future of education. Her ability to relate her experiences to a wide range of audiences has made her a popular speaker. She inspires audiences to achieve a higher purpose in their lives.


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True stories, epic adventures and showy performances fill the movie bill as 2015 ends. The final months feature probable Oscar contenders, but the most closely watched entry, the next "Star Wars," will be judged by how it pleases fans. Keep in mind that opening dates can change, even at the last minute.
'Black Mass'
Release date: Sept. 18
Premise: The film explores the "unholy alliance" between the FBI and gangster Whitey Bulger (Johnny Depp), who worked as an informant.
What to expect: Depp seems to have the old razzle-dazzle in a flashy role. Director Scott Cooper ("Crazy...


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PORT JERVIS — A month after Superstorm Sandy, Jack Trentacosta still is getting up at 3 a.m. to drive the extra 15 minutes to the Metro-North station in Beacon.
PORT JERVIS — A month after Superstorm Sandy, Jack Trentacosta still is getting up at 3 a.m. to drive the extra 15 minutes to the Metro-North station in Beacon.
"The Port line is useless to me without Hoboken PATH," said Trentacosta, of Pine Bush, who normally takes the train from Middletown.
The majority of Metro-North's 1,600 rush-hour customers in Orange County appear to agree.
Train service returned swiftly to the Port Jervis line post-Sandy, and schedules have improved steadily, but parking lots at train stations remain largely empty — even after NJ Transit bolstered ferry and bus connections in Hoboken and resumed transfers to Pennsylvania Station at Secaucus and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail in Hoboken.
PATH's Hoboken station is the only one of its 13 outposts that isn't back in operation yet, and now the Port Authority estimates the 28,650 people who use it on the average weekday will have to wait "several" more weeks for repairs to advance to the point that limited service will be possible.
The station, which provides the equivalent of subway service to the World Trade Center and to 33rd Street, was submerged in the same 9 feet of Hudson River flood water that filled NJ Transit's Hoboken Terminal and covered its tracks, yards, shops and operations center.
PATH's tunnels, signals, switches, control rooms, platforms, stairways, turnstiles and ticket machines were rendered useless and left smothered in mud — and a few dead rats — when the water receded or was pumped out.
Repairs to the system are projected to reach $300 million and are still an around-the-clock job for 1,000 people.
"I have never seen this kind of devastation in my 35-year career," said Mike Marino, PATH's superintendent of way and structures.
In the interim, Jeff Storey of Goshen is going to stay on Short Line, along with about 300 other Port Jervis refugees.
"I haven't seen any drift back (to the train)," Storey said. "The bus has been good "� after Irene, the train people were like deer in the headlights at the Port Authority. They didn't know what was going on. Now, they're all very blas�."
Joann Behan of Salisbury Mills went back to the train, but to Secaucus, the destination of only one-third of Port Jervis commuters, after finding the ferry expensive and the bus slow between Hoboken and the city.
"Most civilized way to commute is by train to Penn Station," Behan said. "I may not even go back to Hoboken (when PATH reopens)."
Maggie Bergara of Rock Tavern won't abandon the bus until the still-modified train schedule returns to normal, meaning fewer stops in New Jersey and shorter running times.
NJ Transit, which operates Metro-North's trains in Orange and Rockland counties, can't say how soon that will happen.
"We've got limited capacity into Hoboken because we're still using backup power," said spokeswoman Nancy Snyder.
On Monday, trains ran on the Gladstone Branch in central New Jersey for the first time since the storm, pushing NJ Transit's recovery to the 98 percent mark.
The storm snapped 5 miles worth of custom supports that carry the catenary wires that supply electricity to trains.
The storm also damaged one-third of NJ Transit's fleet, but Snyder said this will not affect the return to pre-Sandy service levels. All of the equipment can be repaired, and much of it is already back in service.
"If PATH is not on line, I will buy (Hudson line) weeklies, even if they change the Port schedule back to 'normal,'" Trentacosta said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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MIAMI SHORES, Fla.—Replacing a school's wins leader is never easy, but Barry University has a great candidate to try in Butch Estes who takes over the helm of the Buccaneer men's basketball program.
"I want to thank athletic director Mike Covone and the administration for giving me the opportunity to lead the men's basketball program at Barry University," Estes said. "I also want to acknowledge and express my appreciation to coach Cesar Odio for his dedication and commitment to this program. It was under his guidance that the team rose to national recognition and prominence. My staff and I look forward to working hard to continue this tradition."
Estes brings over 30 years of coaching experience, though this will be his first foray into NCAA Division II. He comes to Barry after an extremely successful stint at Palm Beach State College. He led the Panthers to an 80-14 mark in three seasons, including a 29-3 run last year, the best mark in school history.
Estes graduated from the University of North Carolina, where he played freshman basketball and was a student assistant coach under the legendary coach, Dean Smith. He was a graduate assistant coach while he earned his master's degree in administrative education at The Citadel.
After completing his degree in 1973, Estes took assistant coaching positions at East Carolina and Rice universities and moved into head coaching positions at Presbyterian College and Furman University.
In the mid 1990s, Estes left the court for five years to work for Fox Sport Net as a basketball analyst, eventually taking head coaching jobs at Guilford College and Miami-Dade Community College. He did a brief tenure at the University of Miami as assistant coach in 2006, and in 2007, he moved to the Seattle area to support his wife's career and accepted an assistant coach position at Seattle University. He took over a struggling program at Shoreline College in 2008 and led them from worst to first in his two years in control.
Estes holds a 443-309 record as a head coach, 270-243 at the four-year level, and has been named Coach of the Year nine times in his career, including at least once at every stop. Estes takes over at Barry for Cesar Odio who guided the Bucs to a 281-234 record over 18 seasons, including the 2006-07 Sunshine State Conference title, and three trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament, before moving into athletic administration this year.


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The hundreds of vendors on the floor at Comic-Con International in San Diego are hawking all manner of fantasy, sci-fi and comic-book paraphernalia.
There are back issues of G.I. Joe, "Star Wars" speeder-bike action sets and T-shirts for Batman, Captain America and even the Uglydolls. Squeezed among the many merchants is Jay Weisman, who is looking to sell something very different: a feature film.
Shot in a Harwich, Mass., sand pit, Weisman's "Shockwave, Darkside" is an independently financed space thriller set about 100 years in the future. "It's like 'Saving Private Ryan' on the moon," Weisman said of his 3-D production, his first feature. "It follows five soldiers trapped behind enemy lines." The soldiers are in a bind "and running out of air."
Movies come to the annual fanboy fest looking for distribution deals every now and then, but they typically showcase themselves in the cavernous Hall H (where Rainn Wilson and Liv Tyler's "Super" made its sales pitch on Friday) or in oversized conference rooms upstairs (as was the case that same day with "Ironclad," which stars Paul Giamatti and Brian Cox).
Weisman's Comic-Con setup was far more modest (as was the film's budget, which he wouldn't disclose). He was showing a trailer for his film in the booth for Keenspot Comics, which will publish a Web-based comic prequel to "Shockwave, Darkside" in the coming weeks. The trailer Weisman was showing on a large monitor in the Keenspot booth was in 2-D, but he also was able to show a 3-D version on his Apple notebook. (He will screen a 3-D version of the trailer on a real screen as part of Keenspot's presentation Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.)
Weisman, who had directed some commercials, industrial films and 2003's short film "Surveillance," wasn't really expecting Lionsgate Films or some such outfit to walk up and buy the movie on the spot. But the Comic-Con newcomer is hopeful he can leave the convention on Sunday having created at least some momentum for his film, which stars Mei Melancon ("X-Men: The Last Stand") and Bill Sage ("American Psycho").
"This is kind of evolving as we go," Weisman said of his sales strategy. "It's been interesting to hear people's response that it is totally different. Someone else said there is such a studio presence here that it's great to see something that's independent. People are really into the spirit of it."
If all goes well, Weisman may be back at Comic-Con in the not-too-distant future with a similar feature. "Realistically, I want to do another film — this is a trilogy. So I'd like to do a sequel, maybe set on Mars."
As for the unusual sales strategy, Weisman smiled. "I'm having a blast."
— John Horn
PHOTO GALLERY: Scenes from Comic-Con 2010
Stallone, locked and loaded in "old school way"
Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren see "RED"
"Scott Pilgrim" in San Diego…with jet-packs
Jeff Bridges, old and new, plugs in "Tron: Legacy"
Bruce Campbell and "Burn Notice" will go back in time
"Battle: Los Angeles" and how to swear like a marine


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About Delicious Living's Beauty & Body Awards
In its fourth year, Delicious Living's Beauty & Body Awards will highlight exemplary natural beauty products and companies in 17 categories.
With a focus on fresh, innovative companies and products, the awards will also recognize industry longevity and influence. As always, our editorial team will assess each product and ingredient for safety, purity, and efficacy.
In order to be considered, the products/companies must be exhibitors at Natural Products Expo West, Natural Products Association Marketplace, or Natural Products Expo East.
Submit your nominations here by September 26, 2012.
Best New Product: This innovative product must have launched at Natural Products Expo West, Natural Products Association Marketplace or Natural Products Expo East in 2012.
Industry Influencer: We will choose one company leading the way with certifications, social advocacy, industry involvement, sustainability efforts, and more.
Breakthrough Company: This new company must be a first-time exhibitor at Natural Products Expo West, Natural Products Association Marketplace, or Natural Products Expo East in 2012.
Best Value: This product must be at a price point of $10 dollars or less.
Best Splurge: At a higher price point ($25 dollars or more), this is the item we would spend bigger dollars on. We'll be looking for science-backed ingredients in efficacious quantities.
Best Bathroom Staple: Soap, shaving cream, hair combs—this category is open to simple products that we use daily.
Best Eco Packaging: This product or company must use eco materials and sustainable practices that lower the environmental footprint of the product, while maintaining quality and freshness of the ingredients. We will be looking for innovation and use of green chemistry.
Outstanding Classic Product: This longevity award will go to a product that has been in the naturals industry for at least ten years.
Best Skin Care: This can include antiaging, moisturizing, exfoliant, and body and facial wash products. These products will also be eligible for other categories.
Best Hair Care: Shampoo, conditioner, hair dye, styling products.
Best Nail Care: Nail polish, nail polish remover
Best Makeup: Lipstick, lipgloss, foundation, powder, eye shadow, eye liner
Best Oral Care: Toothpaste, mouthwash, misc. (toothpicks)
Best Kids Body Care: Bath products, body care, oral care
Best Beauty Supplement: Any supplement (including capsules, foods, and beverages) aimed at promoting health of skin, hair, and nails.
Best Men's Product: Shaving cream, soap, skin care.
- Best Sun Care: Sunscreen, post-sun products.
If you have additional questions, contact Delicious Living Beauty Editor Jessica Rubino at [email protected]. The subject line should read Delicious Living 2013 Beauty Awards.


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Make Pocono a first-class township
Editor, the Record
We've read in the Record about ongoing difficulties and conflicts in Pocono Township. Currently, Pocono is a second-class township. A small nonpartisan group of Pocono Township voters formed Pocono First Initiative to explore the feasibility of a first-class township as an alternative form of governance. We have collected signatures of voters who support having the following question placed on the ballot in November to let the voters decide: Shall the township of Pocono become a township of the first class?
The major differences between the two classes of governance are: a five member board of commissioners; these commissioners will be prohibited from being employees of the township; terms will be four years rather than the current six years; and the upper limit of general purpose taxes for a the first-class township is 34.1 mils, compared to 38.5 mils under the second-class township code.
Opponents to the change have spread rumors about our property taxes increasing under a first-class township. This is simply not true. The form of governance (first v. second class) does not lead to an increase in taxes; rather, it is both the demand for services and the ability of township officials to hold the line on spending that affects taxation.
Supporters for the change are now working to educate voters. Prior to the November election, we will be holding educational forums to assist voters in their decision-making on this very important vote. Posters and advertisements will notify interested persons of the locations and times for these forums. For important information on the two classes of townships, visit poconofirst.org, or call 570-213-9171 to speak to one of our members.
It is time for a change in Pocono Township. I support this right change to a first-class township and a bright future for the residents of Pocono Township.


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WICHITA — The National Drought Mitigation Center says the snowstorms hitting Kansas this month have eased dry conditions but have not ended the drought.
Climatologist Mark Svoboda says it takes roughly a foot of snow to make an inch of water. That means Kansas would need two to four feet of snow just to erase soil moisture deficits since October.
Svoboda says that doesn't count the deficits from a drought that has lasted almost two years in Kansas and one year in the northern Great Plains states. Kansas needs 12 to 16 inches of water to fully recover.
The effects will linger well after the so-called "climatological drought" ends. It takes months or years for pastures and rangelands to recover to the point where there is good forage for livestock.


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Authorities have returned to a Texas home linked to the investigation into ricin-tainted letters sent to New York City's mayor and President Barack Obama.
FBI agents wearing hazardous material suits were seen going in and out of the house in New Boston Wednesday. The house also was searched last Friday.
A law enforcement official has told The Associated Press that the search was initiated after the resident's spouse contacted the FBI. The official wasn't authorized to disclose information and spoke to the AP Saturday on condition of anonymity.
Davilyn Walston, the spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in the eastern district of Texas, confirmed Wednesday that a ricin investigation is ongoing in the district but declined to provide details.
New Boston is near the Oklahoma and Arkansas borders.


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UPDATED: Gas tax passes House, goes to governor for her signatureBy GARRY RAYNO
State House Bureau
April 23. 2014 1:23PM
CONCORD— Motorists will pay an additional 4.2 cents in gas and diesel tax beginning July 1.
The House approved the increase Wednesday on a 193-141 vote and sent it to Gov. Maggie Hassan, who said she would sign it.
"I look forward to signing this bipartisan legislation into law so we can keep New Hampshire's economy moving forward by advancing critical road and bridge projects and finishing the long overdue expansion of I-93," Hassan said.
The gas and diesel tax was last increased in 1991.
"It is time to fix our roads and bridges," House Public Works and Highways Committee Chairman Rep. David Campbell, D-Nashua, said. "If not 4.2 cents, what amount? If not today, when?"
But opponents said there would be no need to increase the gas tax if the money earmarked for the highway fund went to roads and bridges instead of being diverted to the departments of safety and justice.
"In the last two budgets alone, $38 million has been diverted from the highway fund in excess of the allowable amount in RSA 9:9-b," House Minority Leader Gene Chandler, R-Bartlett, said. "SB367 may state that the new revenue can only be used for specific purposes, but if the Legislature can't even follow a reasonable standing law regarding highway funds, how can we say that the provision in SB 367 won't be disregarded or suspended for future budget years?"
Merrimack tolls to stay
The most controversial aspect of the bill in the House was the provision eliminating the Exit 12 ramp toll on the F.E. Everett Turnpike, a pet project of former state Senate President Peter Bragdon, R-Milford, that was added in the Senate.
Some Republicans first tried to eliminate the Exit 11 toll ramp and then all three Merrimack tolls, but were unsuccessful.
Pot amendment nixed
Rep. Adam Schroadter, R-Newmarket, tried to add to the gas bill House Bill 1625, which would make the penalty for possessing an ounce or less of marijuana the same as a traffic ticket. Schroadter was the prime sponsor of HB 1625.
Last week, the Senate refused to accept the bill, saying it was too similar to a bill senators had rejected last session.
Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, R-Manchester, said adding the decriminalization bill, which the House passed by a greater than two-to-one majority, would "add a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down" to the gas tax increase.
Campbell urged the House to defeat the amendment, saying it was the wrong time and place.
"With all due respect," he said, "this bill is about potholes, not about pot."
The House voted 260-73 to kill the amendment.
22.2 cents a gallon
Senate Bill 367 raises the tax from 18 to 22.2 cents per gallon and will produce an estimated $32 million a year in additional revenue or about $588 million over the next 20 years.
The Interstate 93 expansion from Salem to Manchester will consume a little less than half of the additional revenue. Under the plan, $8 million would go back to cities and towns as highway block grants over the next two years, $20 million would go for highway rehabilitation, $26 million for resurfacing and nearly $30 million over the next four years to fix red-listed bridges.
Under the bill, the state would issue $200 million in bonds, and once the bonds are paid, the gas tax increase would be eliminated.
Business Energy Environment Labor Tourism Politics General News Breaking News Transportation


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Customer Reviews
All reviews are from people who have redeemed deals with this merchant.
What You'll Get
"Losing weight" and "feeling great" have rhymed ever since Congress ordered them to with the Make Life More Perfect Act of 1927. Everything fits with this Groupon.
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The research staff at 7E Fit Spa—a medical-aesthetic company that prides itself on skincare innovations—designs noninvasive treatments that combat the effects of aging and bolster all-over wellness. Once staff members have perfected a solution, they share the fruits of their labors with clients at 7E Fit Spa. One of these many fruits is the 7E Myolift facial, a noninvasive microcurrent face-lift that tightens visages while evening out skin tone, reducing puffiness, and increasing circulation. The Torc Plus is an FDA-approved body-contouring machine that works to deplete inches and bulk up muscles through electrical stimulation, and saunas detoxify the body and relax clients with infrared heat shoplifted from the equator.


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NCSA staff who would like to submit an item for the calendar can email email@example.com.
Live webcast URL option #1 (non-interactive; requires Quicktime): http://mediapointe.ncsa.illinois.edu:8080/live.sdp
Live webcast URL option #2 (interactive to support Q&A; no password required): https://ncsatraining.webex.com/ncsatraining/onstage/g.php?d=804511006&t=a
Abstract: State estimation plays an essential role in modern SCADA Energy Management Systems (EMS), as many EMS applications like contingency analysis and optimal power flow rely on a correct state estimate. Hence, the security of the state estimator is crucial for the proper operation of the power system. In this talk we address the security of state estimation against false data injection attacks in single-area and in multi-area systems. For the single-area system we define security metrics to quantify the vulnerability of state estimation to attacks performed against components of the communication infrastructure used to deliver the measurement data from the substations to the control center. We discuss an efficient algorithm to calculate the metrics, and describe an algorithm that uses these metrics to incrementally decrease the vulnerability of the system to cyber-attacks. For the multi-area system we consider false data injection attacks on the convergence of distributed state estimation. We discuss the potential impact of these attacks and an algorithm to detect convergence problems. We show numerical results based on the IEEE 118 and the IEEE 300 bus benchmark power systems.
Biography: György Dán is an associate professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. He received the M.Sc. degree in computer engineering from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary in 1999, the M.Sc. degree in business administration from the Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary in 2003 and the Ph.D. in Telecommunications from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in 2006. He was a visiting researcher at the Swedish Institute of Computer Science in 2008 and currently he is a Fulbright visiting researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests include the design and the performance modeling of networked systems based on queuing theory and game theory, and cyber-physical models of power system information security.
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Prices found within past 7 days. Prices and availability subject to change. Additional terms may apply.
Looking for cheap flights from DUB to SYD? Using ebookers will make it easy to pin down the perfect route for your preferred travel schedule. By selecting Dublin-Sydney flights for the date and time you'd like to depart, you'll be instantly presented with the relevant airlines and fares on offer. These are constantly updated, so you can be sure of nabbing the best rates, and – for added convenience – you can also choose to search for specific carriers, to see if they have flights available.
If you want to bag a bargain, it always pays to do a bit of research online ahead of time, and compare the various options available on ebookers. It can also make a big difference if you're able to be slightly flexible about when you leave, as prices can change a fair bit depending on what day, and what time of day, you opt to fly. To make the most of ebookers, and get even bigger savings on your trip, you can opt to book your Sydney hotel while arranging your flight to SYD from DUB. The advantage here is you can get up to 15% off the total price, while our hotel descriptions – which come with photos of your potential pads – make it simple to decide on where to choose.
By using ebookers, you don't just have easy access to the best Dublin to Sydney flights. You can also get some ideas on how to really make the most of your jaunt. Take a look at our Things to Do tool and you'll see some of the best attractions and landmarks close to where you're staying. And if you're hungry to see the wider region, why not check out our car hire deals? Using public transport is one thing, but having your own car can really give you the freedom to roam and have adventures in a way that suits you.
Fare, taxes & fees: Fares were found on ebookers.com and are updated daily. They include all taxes and fees, except baggage fees.
Refunds/changes/cancellations: Itinerary changes, if permitted for the fare, will have a £10.00 / 45.00 Euro service fee charged by ebookers, plus any airline fare and tax increase that may be applicable.
Other conditions: Schedules, fares and rules are subject to change without notice. Seats are limited and may not be available on all flights/dates or in all markets. Fares will not be honored retroactively or in exchange for any wholly/partially unused ticket. Tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable. Fare rules are provided for the selected itinerary before booking.


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Breasts... They Need Your Support!
With National Breast Cancer Month (October) upon us (http://www.nbcam.org/), we want to throw our support behind some great organizations that are helping those patients, survivors, families and others that have been affected by this disease.
This Shoot Out photo contest is intended, mirroring the goal of NBCAM, to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure.
Enter your images that promote breast cancer awareness and/or celebrate the beauty, strength, spirit and nurture threatened by the disease. Enter your images that tell a story of inspiration, of strength, of survival. Enter your images that are touching, humorous, sensual, perceptive... real.
We want to really make a splash. We've got lofty goals for this contest and would love to see the total raised get OVER $100,000. To do this, WE NEED YOUR HELP! We need everyone to get the word out... share this on Facebook, Twitter, via email. Tell your friends, your neighbors, your clients, your kids' friends... everyone.
The 'starting pot' will be $100 in total, but we want to see a truly inspiring number here. So help us get these numbers growing! Help us demonstrate the power of images to help raise awareness and money to make a difference!
We'll be updating the prizing as the entries come in, so check back... and enter as often as you can! You're supporting a great cause!
Remember, a portion of the proceeds from your entry fees will be donated to these fine charities to help in the ongoing battle against this disease:
Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Breastcancer.org, and Standup2cancer (su2c) - you can also visit these links directly to learn more and/or donate.
Once the contest has closed and winners have been announced, the cash prizes will be awarded and the donations paid to the 3 charities.
Enter now~!
P.S. To do more to advance the discussion, awareness and overall message of breast cancer awareness, prevention, detection, treatment and support check out:
Our younger generation is spreading the word via
The Keep A Breast Foundation
Check them out. Be aware.
To help spread the word on your site or blog, check out these slogan buttons (and others from Blogaholicdesigns):
This contest is closed
1st: $75.00, 2nd: $55.00, 3rd: $35.00, 4th: $15.00
This contest benefits these worthy causes:
The LOVE Project by Lucia De Giovanni
mom by Reema Al-Zaben
Slash, Burn and Poison by Nancy Borowick


text: Job Discussion Forums :: View topic - TESOL Arabia aftermath & experiences Get TEFL Certified & Start Your Adventure Today! Job Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in TESOL Arabia aftermath & experiences Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Saudi Arabia View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message titanicmanJoined: 17 Feb 2003Posts: 71Location: Qatar Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2004 12:05 pm Post subject: TESOL Arabia aftermath & experiences Who went? Share your good (and bad) experiences. Which presentation did others like? Did anyone find any hot job leads and get lucky? As for me, I went to several. My most memorable was "Teacher perceptions of Arab learners". He tried to explain-away some perceptions that he felt were ill-fitting. Examples: critical thinking vs. rote learning, teacher-centred vs. student-centred, emotional vs. rational, etc. I did one presentation "Using video in the classroom" Did anyone here attend? Back to top Truth HurtsJoined: 05 Jul 2003Posts: 115Location: Truthville Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2004 2:11 pm Post subject: Titanic I went to that session too. It was by far the most interesting. I don't think he was trying to explain away anything. His point I think was that TESOL is full of meaningless cliches about 'other' learners. TH Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Saudi Arabia All times are GMT Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Where to Begin----------------General DiscussionNewbie ForumCurrent Events ForumTechnology ForumOnline Teaching Forum Africa Forums----------------General Africa Forum Asia Forums----------------CambodiaChina (Job-related Posts Only)China (Off-Topic)Hong KongIndiaIndonesiaJapanMalaysiaPhilippinesSingaporeTaiwanThailandGeneral Asia ForumVietnam Caribbean Forums----------------General Caribbean Forum Europe Forums----------------Czech RepublicFranceGermanyGreeceItalyMacedonia and the BalkansPolandRomaniaRussia & C.I.S.SpainTurkeyUkraineUnited KingdomGeneral Europe Forum Latin America Forums----------------ArgentinaBrazilChileColombiaCosta RicaMexicoMexico (off-topic)PeruGeneral Latin America Forum The Middle East Forums----------------BahrainEgyptIsraelKuwaitOmanQatarSaudi ArabiaUnited Arab EmiratesGeneral Middle East Forum North America Forums----------------General North America Forum Oceania----------------Australia/New Zealand You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Contact Dave's ESL Cafe Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved. Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group Teaching Jobs in China


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Vestibular syndrome: What's causing the head tilt and other neurologic signs?
Jul 01, 2012
Based on neurologic examination findings, a vestibular lesion can be localized to the peripheral or central vestibular system.1 This distinction is important since the differential diagnoses, work-up, treatment, and prognosis in patients with peripheral vestibular dysfunction are different from those in patients with central vestibular dysfunction.
Here's how to first determine whether a vestibular problem stems from the inner ear or the brain and then how to pinpoint the underlying cause and administer appropriate treatment.PERIPHERAL VS. CENTRAL VESTIBULAR ANATOMY
The vestibular system maintains balance and coordinates the position of the head, eyes, neck, and limbs in space.
The central vestibular system comprises eight vestibular nuclei in the brainstem (four on each side), two caudal cerebellar peduncles, and the flocculonodular lobe of the cerebellum (Figure 2).1
Although rare, puppies may have a congenital peripheral or central vestibular disorder.3,4 Vestibular dysfunction due to neoplasia is more common in older dogs, although a primitive neuroectodermal tumor may cause vestibular signs in a young dog.
Vestibular signs are often acute in onset regardless of the lesion's location. Metronidazole toxicosis as a cause of vestibular signs may be supported by a history of metronidazole treatment. Dosages as low as 67.3 mg/kg/day in a dog and 58 mg/kg/day in a cat have been documented to cause vestibular signs.5,6 I have diagnosed metronidazole toxicosis in a dog that received 40 mg/kg/day. A recent ear infection may precede peripheral vestibular dysfunction. A systemic disease such as hypothyroidism or hyperadrenocorticism—possibly uncovered through a physical examination and laboratory testing—may cause peripheral or central vestibular dysfunction.


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Burlap bags used to store just about anything and up until now, were hard to find. These 6"W x10"L bags, made of 100% jute plant burlap, are in stock in our warehouse. These bags are biodegradable, recyclable, contain no foreign matter and feature a drawstring for quick and easy closure. Can be used to store mechanical parts, feed and a variety of edible products. Fabric weight 10-oz. Pkg. of 25.
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2018 Reference Guide: Page 435


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BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Now the real fun begins.
Eagles training camp continued today with the full team here Friday after the rest of the veterans reported a day earlier. There was one late arrival, however. Rookie defensive end Brandon Graham landed at Lehigh today and dotted the 'i's and crossed the 't's on his contract in time to make this afternoon's practice. He will meet with the media after practice.
The team convened first this morning for a light practice closed to fans and media. This afternoon's session -- a no-pads practice closed to fans -- is open to the media. In essense, it was our first look at how the Eagles' depth chart looks at the beginning of camp.
During the first set of 11 on 11s I managed to write down how the teams were aligned. The following recap in no way reflects how the team may look tomorrow, let alone when the first preseason game is played in two weeks. I also may have missed a substitute or two. Nevertheless, here it is:
First team — Second team — Third team
WR: Jeremy Maclin — Jason Avant — Chad Hall/Jared Perry
LT: Jason Peters — Austin Howard —
LG: Max Jean-Gilles* — Fenuki Tupou — Zipp Duncan
C: Nick Cole — Mike McGlynn — A.Q. Shipley
RG: Stacy Andrews — Dallas Reynolds — Greg Isdaner
RT: Winston Justice — King Dunlap — Jeraill McCuller
TE: Brent Celek — Cornelius Ingram/Clay Harbor — Martin Rucker
QB: Kevin Kolb — Michael Vick — Mike Kafka
RB: LeSean McCoy — Mike Bell — Charles Scott/Eldra Buckley/Martell Mallett
FB: Leonard Weaver — Dwayne Wright
WR: DeSean Jackson — Hank Baskett/Riley Cooper — Jordan Norwood/Dobson Collins
First team — Second team — Third team
RDE: Trent Cole — Darryl Tapp — Daniel Te'o-Nesheim
DT: Brodrick Bunkley — Antonio Dixon — Jeff Owens
DT: Mike Patterson — Trevor Laws — Boo Robinson
LDE: Juqua Parker — Brandon Graham — Ricky Sapp/Eric Moncur
SAM: Moise Fokou — Keenan Clayton — Jamar Chaney
MLB: Stewart Bradley — Omar Gaither — Joe Mays
WIL: Ernie Sims — Akeem Jordan — Simoni Lawrence
RCB: Ellis Hobbs — Macho Harris/Trevard Lindley — David Pender
LCB: Asante Samuel — Jose Hanson/Dimitri Patterson — Trevard Lindley/Geoff Pope
SS: Quintin Mikell — Quintin Demps — Ryan Hamilton
FS: Nate Allen — Kurt Coleman — Antoine Harris
*For the injured Todd Herremans.
DE Victor Abiamiri and C Jamaal Jackson are on PUP. DB Marlin Jacksin is on IR.


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Patton Village mayor convicted of misusing city money
A Montgomery County judge ordered the mayor of Patton Village removed from office on Friday after she was found guilty of using city funds for personal reasons.
After a week-long trial, a jury convicted Pamela Munoz on two counts of abuse of official capacity and two counts of misapplication of fiduciary property, Montgomery County prosecutors said.
"I'm very pleased with the jury's verdict," said Tyler Dunman, chief prosecutor in the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office public integrity division.
Munoz was accused of misusing more than $20,000 from the city's sewer operations and paying more than $80,000 to a relative for alleged "construction services" on city buildings, prosecutors said.
The jury also convicted her of taking $3,000 from the city's bank account and calling it a personal loan.
"We want to hold our public officials accountable for their jobs," Dunman said. "If they're not following the law, then they will be prosecuted."
Not first time stealing
A grand jury indicted Munoz in February 2012 after former Patton Village employees came forward with their corruption concerns.
"We were able to verify enough of their allegations to get a search warrant," Munoz said.
Investigators raided Munoz's office and left with a large number of documents that were later analyzed and used in the case against her.
During the investigation, officials uncovered information that Munoz was a convicted felon when she became the mayor.
She was sentenced to four years probation in December 1979 after pleading guilty to stealing from a Jack in the Box restaurant where she worked.
But, on the application form to run for Patton Village mayor, Munoz said she had never been convicted of a felony.
That was enough in August 2012 for Montgomery County prosecutors to charge her for tampering with government records.
"That case is still pending. It was not resolved in this trial today," Dunman said.
Up to 10 years in prison
After Friday's conviction, Judge Lisa Michalk signed an order removing Munoz from office.
She will remain in custody until her May 10 sentencing.
Munoz is facing up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine on each count, officials said.


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The Henry County Middle School boys' soccer team played Carroll County on April 8.
In the first half Carroll County took a 1-0 lead, then D.J. Aneszko tied the game. Carroll scored again to lead 2-1 at the half.
In the second half Carroll added another goal to make it 3-1 before Devon Shaw scored to bring it to 3-2.
Henry County had several shots on goal but could not get another goal.
With seven minutes remaining, Carroll scored the final goal to end the game 4-2. Defensive leaders were Luke Yantz and Jeff Cox.
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I get a lot of gift cards, and I bet you do, too.
I get a lot of gift cards, and I bet you do, too.
Since it's often hard to buy for people, our friends and family have resorted to giving us these cards. Once seen as the lazy person's go-to present, gift cards have become a practical and acceptable way to give.
This holiday season, eight in 10 consumers said they would be buying gift cards, according to an annual survey by the National Retail Federation. Shoppers are expected to spend an average of $163.16 on gift cards, the highest amount in the survey's 11-year history. The gift card market is estimated to top $130 billion in sales by 2015, according to research by CEB TowerGroup.
Since 2010, gift certificates, store gift cards and general use prepaid cards come with some pretty good protections, thanks to the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, also known as the Credit CARD Act.
So as you begin your holiday shopping, here are some tips if you plan on giving a gift card:
I hate to admit it, but I've lost the value of gift cards often because of fees. However, many fees are limited because of the CARD Act.
Generally, fees can be charged if you haven't used your card for at least one year. Restrictions apply to maintenance fees, inactivity fees for not using your card, usage fees, or fees for adding money to your card.
Often, general purpose gift cards will charge a monthly fee after 12 months of inactivity.
Most gift cards issued in California cannot, by law, have expiration dates or service fees, including those for dormancy.
Any gift certificate sold in California is redeemable in cash or subject to replacement with a new gift certificate at no cost to the holder, according to the state Department of Consumer Affairs.
Gift cards issued by banks, malls and credit card companies are more likely to have activation, maintenance and transaction fees.
If you get a gift card, be careful that you don't overspend when you redeem it. A survey last year from the TowerGroup found that 30 percent of gift card recipients spend $25 more than the value of the card.
Oh, and I love this tip from Card Hub: If you have an old gift card that's looking a bit worn, check to see if you can trade it in for a new card. Re-gift the card if you're looking for a gift for someone. But make sure it has the full value displayed on the front of the card.
Why would someone re-gift a gift card?
Perhaps the card is from a store the first recipient doesn't patronize. As long as the gift card is for a service or store the re-gifting receiver would like, I don't see the problem. Think of it as recycling.
Besides, I won't tell, and neither should you.
Contact Michelle Singletary, a financial columnist at The Washington Post, at email@example.com.


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NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partners. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Friday, March 20, 2015
Surgical steel
I suspect that I have austenitic surgical steel screws in my foot. Does this alloy, which I now know contains iron, create complications in people with hemochromatosis (or at least who are experiencing symptoms as a "carrier" of the disease)?
Thank you for your question. To our knowledge, there have never been any reports of iron overload resulting from surgical implants of any type.
Mark Wurster, MD
Former Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
College of Medicine
The Ohio State University


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Once we decided on the strategy of embedding an existing programming language, we had to pick one.
- It had to be licensable on acceptable terms, preferably open source.
- It had to be well suited to the functionality we wanted to provide.
- It had to be easy to learn but not limiting.
- It had to meet various technical requirements for embedding.
- It had to be available on all our target platforms - both client and server.
- It should be reasonably familiar to the SPSS audience or in the domain of statistical analysis.
So we picked -- R. As it turned out, though, R didn't really meet the first three criteria. Licensing was a problem (overcome in 16 when we integrated it in an architecturally different way). It was well suited for statistical calculation, but it wasn't a good fit for interacting with and controlling SPSS, and it certainly wasn't easy to learn.
Python, though, met allof the criteria except familiarity. There is an index of popularity of programming languages called the TIOBE index. It tracks the top 100(!) languages, and Python is currently number 7 on the list. If you restrict the choices to scripting languages, it is number 3 and is classified in the A group. Furthermore, Python has been gaining popularity in the scientific and statistical computing community. There is a large open source support community around it, and there are many third-party libraries in a wide range of domains.
The other obvious choice would have been Visual Basic. VB is second among scripting languages on the TIOBE index, and it is familiar to many SPSS users through the SaxBasic scripting facility, but it isn't very cross platform, and, frankly, it just isn't a great language. But we did decide to add .NET support on Windows, particularly for Visual Studio developers, and that enables VB.NET.
My personal opinion is that Python is a truly great language. It's easy to learn, very flexible, coherent, and very expressive. It has a coherence and generality rare in languages due to its control by one very gifted language designer working with an active and mature open source community. It has been around for almost 20 years. And there are excellent IDEs both commercial and free.
The downside is that Python is very different from traditional SPSS syntax. They come from different motivations and purposes, and it can be jarring to go back and forth between them. I've done consulting and training, though, with many users and organizations by now, and those who have been willing to invest some effort in mastering this technology have been very successful and satisfied. By opening SPSS, the product, up in this way, users can control and extend it in a way never before possible.
Many in the SPSS user community, though, have yet to make this investment. Python is a programming language, and SPSS users tend not to be programmers. For non-programmers and those who want a single application language, we created the extension command mechanism. Next time I will write about that.
When we started, SPSS was a little ahead of the curve for once, but we think that Python has passed the tipping point and has become widely accepted.


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WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden went on a Costco shopping spree Thursday and called for Congress to extend middle-class tax cuts as part of a deal to avoid the looming "fiscal cliff."
Biden, who flashed a store membership card as he entered the city's first Costco on its opening day, said consumer confidence is growing — as demonstrated by the huge crowd at the gleaming new store in Northeast Washington.
"The last thing we need to do is dash that" confidence by imposing a tax increase of about $2,200 for a typical middle-class family, Biden said. Bush-era tax cuts are scheduled to expire Jan. 1, the same time as across-the-board spending cuts are scheduled to take effect. The combination of tax hikes and spending cuts could spike unemployment and bring on a new recession.
Biden and President Barack Obama have pressed Congress to extend middle-class tax cuts while raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans, while congressional Republicans have pushed to extend cuts for all taxpayers.
Biden said Congress should act on the middle-class tax cuts before Christmas to spur consumer confidence and then fight later over tax cuts for families earning more than $250,000 a year.
"We have a lot we have to settle, but there's one thing we should all agree on and that's the middle-class tax cut should be made permanent. I think it's important Congress acts now, I mean right now," Biden said at an impromptu news conference at the store, where he was surrounded by shoppers and employees eager to shake hands, take photos and even hug the vice president.
"I'm looking for pies," Biden announced as he began shopping, helped by Costco employee Ivey Stewart, who was steering his shopping cart around the store.
Biden bought an apple pie, along with a stack of children's books, a 32-inch Panasonic TV, fire logs and other items. He said the books were intended for a Delaware charity supported by his wife, Jill.
Biden said he was optimistic about reaching a deal to avoid the fiscal crisis and said, "all these folks in this store, man, it's going to make a difference. Take $2,200 out of their pockets next year, you have a big problem."
Biden was joined at the store by Costco CEO Craig Jelinek and co-founder Jim Sinegal, who were at the grand opening ceremony earlier in the day.
Sinegal said he also was optimistic a deal would be reached with Congress.
"I think they're going to solve it," said Sinegal, an Obama supporter who spoke at the Democratic National Convention in September. "It appears everybody is motivated to do it and I hope they do. It's so important for the nation."
Costco said Wednesday it will spend $3 billion to pay a special dividend of $7 per share next month ahead of higher tax rates that may kick in come January, if Congress and the president can't reach a compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff.
Costco is opening at least three stores in the Washington area, and Sinegal said the company was "looking forward to a reasonably good Christmas," noting that sales were up 7 percent over last year in stores that had been open for a year.
At the end of his 45-minute visit, Biden thanked reporters for shopping with him.
Then, looking down at his overstuffed cart, he joked, "now you know why my wife doesn't let me shop alone."
Reach Matthew Daly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC


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|40 Bembridge
|Activity Type:
|8.774 mi (14.12 km)
|40 Bembridge and Culver Down
Walk 40 from Walk! the Isle of Wight (2nd edition) guide book by Martin Simons, published by Discovery Walking Guides Ltd.
Ratings: Exertion Rating 3 of 5, Time 3 hours, Distance 8.8miles/14.2kilometres, Ascents 200 metres, Descents 200 metres, Vertigo Risk, Refreshments 3 rating. Circular walking route
Copyright Discovery Walking Guides Ltd. All rights reserved. We have taken all reasonable steps to ensure these walks are safe and correctly described. However things do change and all outdoor activities involve a degree of risk. The publishers accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions or for any injuries or accidents that occur whilst following this walk.
|On Foot:
TrailZilla helps you find FREE WALKING MAPS and walking trails by location, activity and features, you can then print these walking maps or download a walking route planner to your GPS. Why not join the TrailZilla community to rate and share your favourite walking routes and walking guides. You can create walking, climbing and scrambling trails online using Google, Ordnance Survey or IGN maps or upload from your PC, mobile or GPS. TrailZilla is a fantastic resource to find walking routes as well as maps for hiking, climbing and scrambling.
|Create trails online using Google terrain maps or upload from Memory-Map or your GPS
|Join the TrailZilla community to rate and share your favourite trails or search for trails and events anywhere
|Find trails by location, activity and features then print maps or download to your GPS


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The Grammy Awards may be "music's biggest night," to quote the Recording Academy's dogged branding effort, but they no longer represent its center.
You got a firm sense of how haphazard the awards can seem, particularly as the record industry continues to fragment, during the cobbled-together concert that surrounded the announcement of this year's Grammy nominations Friday night at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.
Hosted by LL Cool J, "The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!" aimed to drive public attention to an often-baffling list of nominations that include an album of the year nomination for Sara Bareilles' tepid piano pop, Led Zeppelin's nomination for best rock performance and Ed Sheeran's spot in the best new artist category — despite the fact his tune "The A Team" was nominated previously for song of the year.
FULL COVERAGE: Grammy nominations 2014
But the hourlong concert, broadcast on CBS, made its own claim on incoherence.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, the hit-making Seattle rap duo, opened the show with "Thrift Shop," their self-congratulatory renunciation of hip-hop opulence.
But then Taylor Swift, beamed in from Australia, followed "Thrift Shop" with an excerpt from the lush-life pageant that is her current arena show.
Neither act — both up for album of the year — persuasively argued its position.
Nor did Katy Perry, really, who appeared on video from Canada to perform "Roar," her smash-hit testimonial about picking oneself up after experiencing a hardship. ("Roar" was nominated for song of the year.)
COMPLETE LIST: 2014 Grammy Awards nominees
On the radio, where it's been blasted more or less nonstop since the summer, the tune's durable production gives Perry's message real power.
Yet here she did it as a kind of semi-acoustic campfire ditty; it felt small, dangerously diminished.
Per long-standing Grammy tradition, Friday's concert featured a perfunctory tribute to a late cultural hero (in this case, Nelson Mandela), as well as bizarre pairings of artists young and old.
Country star Keith Urban and L.A.-based soul singer Miguel joined not-exactly-simpatico forces for a rather yowly rendition of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine."
PHOTOS: Grammys 2014 top nominees
What did it mean? There was no telling. (Perhaps the two men were simply using a well-worn classic to distract viewers from the fact that Drake, who had been scheduled to perform, dropped off the show at the last minute Friday morning.)
Robin Thicke, enlisting members of Earth, Wind & Fire for the former's slick soul-funk jam "Blurred Lines" — nominated for record of the year — made more sense, at least on paper. But at the Nokia, the song felt queasy and tense, as though you could hear Thicke trying to hang on to the perch he established for himself over the summer.
And then, like a ray of focused energy from an entirely different show, there was Lorde, the 17-year-old New Zealander whose song "Royals" is one of the biggest — and most unlikely — pop hits of the year.
PHOTOS: Grammys 2014 concert highlights
Thematically similar to (but distinct in tone from) "Thrift Shop," it's about not being able to relate to the pleasures of conspicuous consumption.
But where Macklemore seemed to be trying to persuade us to join him in that experience — not unlike the ratings-hungry Grammys themselves — Lorde couldn't appear to have cared less about our approval, an exciting provocation on a glitzy awards show.
She sang her lyrics over a strenuously stripped-down beat, glaring into the camera like a young Kate Bush, challenging us to accept her seriousness. And then she stormed offstage, her job completed.
"Royals" earned a nomination for both record and song of the year Friday, which felt like a bit of course correction for the head-scratching inspired elsewhere.
But in typical Grammy fashion, Lorde was passed over for a best new artist nomination.
Don't try to figure that one out — you'll only grow more confused.
VOTE: Grammys 2014 Play-at-home ballot
FULL COVERAGE: Grammy nominations 2014
TIMELINE: Grammy Awards through the years
PHOTOS: Show highlights PHOTOS: Top nominees & winners PHOTOS: Red carpet arrivals
PHOTOS: Show highlights
PHOTOS: Top nominees & winners
PHOTOS: Red carpet arrivals


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Under the Texas accountability system Northside was rated "Met Standard" as were all of the 105 campuses eligible for ratings. Campuses that achieve the rating of Met Standard can also earn distinction designations in seven areas:
- Academic Achievement in Reading/English Language Arts
- Academic Achievement in Mathematics
- Academic Achievement in Science
- Academic Achievement in Social Studies
- Student Progress
- Closing the Gap
- Post Secondary Readiness
All NISD campuses Met Standard and many received Distinction Designations.
- 5 campuses received Distinction Designations in all areas in which they were eligible
- 67 campuses received a Distinction Designation in one or more area
Additional Facts
Texas Consolidated School Rating Report
- Accountability rating
- Distinction designations
- Fiscal rating
- Community and student engagement


text:
This chapter provides an overview of Sun Directory Server Enterprise Edition, and describes at a high level the deployment planning process.
This chapter covers the following topics:
Deployment planning is a critical step in the successful implementation of a Directory Server Enterprise Edition solution. Each enterprise has its own set of goals, requirements, and priorities to consider. Successful planning starts with analyzing the goals of an enterprise and determining the business requirements to meet those goals. The business requirements must then be converted into technical requirements. The technical requirements can be used as a basis for designing and implementing a system that meets the goals of the enterprise.
Successful deployment planning is the result of careful preparation, analysis, and design. Errors and missteps that occur anywhere during the planning process can result in a system that can be problematic in many ways. Significant problems can arise from a poorly planned system. For example, the system could under perform or be difficult to maintain, expensive to operate, or unable to scale.
The principles of deployment planning are discussed in depth in the Sun Java Enterprise System Deployment Planning Guide. This guide refers to the solution life cycle, which addresses deployment planning in clearly defined steps.
The combination of Directory Server Enterprise Edition components that you deploy depends on the requirements of your organization. The following figure shows a typical deployment scenario using the components described previously.
The solution life cycle shown in the following figure depicts the steps in the planning, design, and implementation of an enterprise software solution based on Java Enterprise System. The life cycle is a useful tool for keeping a deployment project on track. The solution life cycle is described in detail in the Sun Java Enterprise System Deployment Planning Guide.


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The day started out like this... Stef had to be in Brunswick for some envirohugatree conference at 8am today, so I figured that it would be a good opourtunity for me to grab some caches down that way. So I drop stef off and head out on my way. By about noon I had 5 finds and was just heading out from "The Brunswick Commons" cache, I got in the Jeep and started down the road... which was soon followed by a crunch chunk grumble grind rumble sensation... I pulled over and popped the hood to find that my idler pulley was now laying idle, and pulled apart... being in unfamiliar territory I decided to make the most of the situation and rig up what was left of the pulley hub to apply enough tension to my belt so that I could limp it to an auto parts store. After making the repairs and giving it a lil startup test I started packing up my things to head off (the nearest auto parts store I knew of was in topsham) But lo and behold a kind stranger stopped by to lend a hand. He (His name's Joe) explained that he never went this way to the airbase (he's retired navy) and that he just felt he should take the back way. (dont'ya love the way things work out) Joe said he would lead me to the nearest autoparts store about 2 miles away (which was great because I was doubtful that I would make it 10) So Joe leads me to VIP and we're standing in line chatting and who decides to jump into the story... RobT!! He was at VIP getting an oil change. And just when you think the story couldn't get any more coinceidental, Rob knew Joe and Joe knew Rob! (small world) So they both assisted in putting things back together and while we were doin so Rob and I were filling Joe's head full of knowledge about geocaching, and he was so intrigued by geocaching that we took him to Rob's "Almond Joy" cache (which was missing in action but still a nice little adventure)
So the way I look at it is this... Joe needed geocaching to be brought into his life so my Jeep took one for the team and broke down so that Joe would stop to help take me to VIP where we run into Rob and give Joe a crash course in geocaching to get him hooked into caching!!!
Soooo, It's days like this that I'm thankful for kind strangers, caching friends, and well stocked auto parts stores.