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could be important to compete?
Thanks, I needed a laugh this morning.
Microsoft has scored two own goals by getting into the hardware game with Surface, the software giant's design for a laptop that thinks it's a tablet: long-standing PC manufacturers are alienated, and there is growing disquiet in the channel over Redmond's decision to sell the lap slab direct. The Pegatron-built Surface slate …
Thanks, I needed a laugh this morning.
Will this mean Linux will finally come of age when all the manufacturers dump windows in a temper tantrum?
Yes MS, please keep this policy up! It is the best new in years. Hopefully by screwing your OEM partners over they will start to offer hardware with an OS that isn't Windows.
Then we might actually get to see some competition in the PC market!
I really dislike this attitude. I like the idea of more choice from OEM's there's no problem with that, but loads of people seem to have this ridiculous notion that Microsoft should look after their OEM's first when actually they should be looking after their customers first.
Companies aren't there to look after distributors, they're supposed to be looking after their customers. Occasionally that means a revolution resulting in pain for some businesses to the benefit of the consumer.
I sometimes wonder if the same people bitching about Microsoft not looking after it's distributors are also the people who praise Apple for being in control of the whole process.
Incorrect. A company such as MS should be looking after the shareholders; looking after the customers would mean having a vibrant marketplace with open competition to drive innovation and keep prices in check, something MS has managed to long resist.
I really don't care what MS does with/against it's customers, I just hope the "riot" which ensues will see some break away from MSs vice-like grip and offer alternatives.
You know, a choice.
Something that would benefit the customer.
Before accusing Microsoft, think of how many Android Tablets Acer has released over past 12 months. The fact is OEM will support whatever sells. If Win8 gains market acceptance, there is no worry. I bet Acer will be happy to sell iconiaMac if Apple allows it.
Apple also have a fraction of the market share. I don't their investors will be happy with MS wanting to be exactly like apple with fewer options to sell.
And they are a monopoly, quite rightly governments won't be happy about them changing their model after the fact and creating even more unemployed people just so MS can retain their monopoly which hasn't offered us anything of value anyway.
But from Microsoft's position the OEM is the customer. The rest of us are users.
OEMs are probably the largest type of customer for MS .
Who cares what the OEMs think. All I want to tknow is when can I preorder one???
Governments caring about monopolies creating unemployment ? I wonder where did you get such nonsense!
The choice in the market is between lots of really ugly plasticy laptops with a million Intel, Made for Windows stickers all over them (which often take the paint off when removed).
The laptops that do stand out are from Sony or from vendors cloning the look of Macbook Pros (HP and others).
Microsoft can actually design things that look pretty good when they put their mind to it. It's a shame the OEMs can't. They'll just rip off Microsoft's design as "cloning" is their speciality.
"Incorrect. A company such as MS should be looking after the shareholders"
Well theoretically looking after the customers means they want to buy your product and then the shareholders are happy.
@Dave 142 "Well theoretically looking after the customers means they want to buy your product and then the shareholders are happy."
Indeed - now who are MS's customers? OEMs? Service Providers? Enterprise? The great unwashed (i.e. consumers)?
I put it to you that it's the first two, with "enterprise" some way behind and "the great unwashed" barely registering. Simply because consumers do not rush out and by "a Windows". They buy "an Acer/Sony/Toshiba/ASUS" that happens to run Windows. MS do advertise to consumers, but only to drive customers to towards OEMs.
By selling their own hardware, MS are basically shoving two-fingers up to their biggest customers and playing a dangerous game as they are already a convicted monopolist. And before the fanbois start; I have a fairly dim view of Apple, although that is "less bad" as they are not a monopoly and have never had OEMs (beyond cloners whom they crushed).
My genuine hope is that enough OEMs take umbrage at this and start to release some of their devices with a different OS. Not because I am a bleeding-heart penguin-ista, but because there is no competition within the consumer space and thus very little innovation. Apple stuck the cat amongst the pigeons simply because it was not MS/Windows and could do things in a new way.
A further advantage beyond innovation is interoperability. If there are enough users of alternatives, all players get forced to interoperate (i.e. conform to standards) and this massively increases customer choice as well as improve longevity. And by "standards" I mean "publicly available and patent/copyright free"
At the moment we are stuck in a world of false choice. We can change the badge on the car, but the chassis and engines are all the same.
"If Win8 gains market acceptance,"
oh sugar... you owe me one new keyboard... just snorted my coffee out my nose all over it...
Or it will force the makers of cheap and tacky hardware to take notice and actually produce some decent kit for a change...
Oh - that's right, there aren't any OEMS already offering Linux on their PC's. Yeah I forgot.
Acer were big supporters of the tablet form factor a decade ago, and good partners to Microsoft.
As a *customer*, I must say that they're completely hopeless at backing their tablets once they've got your cash. if you want to talk about alienation, I'm quite happy to put up my hand.
Products like Surface and Nexus are a good way for a software company to keep the hardware manufacturers (and telcos) in line, ensuring they don't stray too far from how the product is supposed to work.
"Products like Surface and Nexus are a good way for a software company to keep the hardware manufacturers (and telcos) in line"
Products like Android, Linux and other alternatives are a good way for an OEM Company to get a declining software company in line.
The following quote from Acer made me laugh: "It is not something you are good at, so please think twice"
Acer wouldn't object if the Surface was a worse product than their own. They're more concerned about it being better. Statements from MS about "we might sell a few million" and that they'll only be selling them directly, not through the "channel" begin to point more strongly toward the Surface being a tool to make manufacturers up their game, rather than an actual plan to enter the hardware market in a large capacity. I'm well in favour of that - if MS can get the others to up their game, that's a great thing, imo.
It seems counterproductive to offer a product that a) competes with your OEM partners.who are your customers and pay you $90 a device, b) is claimed to be superior to anything your partners offer and c) is going to be pricey and not widely available.
The end result might result in end customers just going elsewhere.
No it's rather a tool to bring back OEMs in line, they've been acting too independently in the last years.
The surface is based on the same OS as WinPhone. Why are they panicking? No one is going to buy the thing anyway.
Surface is either WinRT (Windows on ARM) or full Windows 8, depending upon the tablet you get. So it's only the same OS on a WP8, if you are talking about the Kernel.
Speak for yourself. I want one, and they will be massive in the corporate space.
"The surface is based on the same OS as WinPhone. Why are they panicking? No one is going to buy the thing anyway."
I'm not so sure, given the excruciating embarrassment of its worldwide launch, when it locked up completely... after all, given the increasing unpredictability of the weather, millions of people will need something to wedge their doors open with in a high wind...
He's talking about this junk UI called Metro* that everyone hates so far...
*or whatever its name right now - seeing the horrible reception of this broken crap no wonder Microsoft is trying to change the name...
OEMs are only worried because the surface looks good. Of course at the moment we know nothing about price or any real specs but if MS sells a tablet that is better than yours for less money why wouldn't you worry.
MS should do the same thing with laptops, turn out something with a decent resolution so the OEMs have an idea of what a laptop made in 2012 should look like (hint, it should probably have better resolution than ones sold in 2002)
I agree. It takes someone like Apple to design something like the MacBook Air, then someone like Intel to do R&D and produce and promote reference designs, before the Acers et al can produce something comparable. Left to their own devices, all they'll come up with is endless mediocre me-too products, while cutting as many corners as possible to maintain their margins.
Perhaps Microsoft should license the Surface design to OEMs, or let them produce clones (with very strict rules to make sure they don't f*#k up the design). The current plan seems to be to hope that the OEMs will take a lead from the Surface and come up with good designs of their own to compete, but I'm not entirely convinced that that will happen.
"Left to their own devices, all they'll come up with is endless mediocre me-too products, while cutting as many corners as possible to maintain their margins."
Exactly. The Surface could be exactly the kick in the rear that companies like Acer, HP etc so desperately need. Hey maybe it will even be free of cr@pware.
Anyone think Balmer may secretly be working for apple or linux? I mean, the sabotage of the windows interface, the alienation of their hardware partners. He must be working for one of those companies.
Unless another fourth entity is working on its own OS which will be revealed around 2013.
lol.. Given how much they have royally screwed the interface, I wouldn't completely discount it. Either that or he's got a hidden grudge against Bill :)
You speak as if "Linux" was a company, you know, a commercial entity in its own right.
It'd be like working for "Windows", "iOS" or "Ubuntu" as opposed to working for Microsoft, Apple or Canonical.
I don't think Ballmer's type would be tolerated on LKML however. ;-)
Dear God Almighty. A multi-billion dollar corporate CEO actually dares to come out with a statement like that? Can you ever imagine Gates, Jobs or anyone else saying such a crass thing?
In the UK it is really easy - you give the man a peerage, a non-executive directorship and an electric golf cart. What's the alternative to dealing with Ballmer in the US?
Become a politician - and no, I really don't want to see that.
"Dear God Almighty. A multi-billion dollar corporate CEO actually dares to come out with a statement like that? Can you ever imagine Gates, Jobs or anyone else saying such a crass thing?"
Sounds pretty much perfect as a threat, to be honest. If the other manufacturers don't start producing better quality products, they'll just order another million. And they'll keep doing it until better quality hardware for Win8 appears. In this scenario you don't want to give a hard number, you want to keep it open ended as all good threats should be.
" What's the alternative to dealing with Ballmer in the US?"
I once overheard something about taking him to the backyard and putting him to sleep. Think it was in an episode of 'Family guy'.
..........we are their customers. If MS are at last waking up to that (for whatever reason), so much the better. The OEMs are simply the middlemen. When they finally have absorbed that message the better for all of us.
No, microsft sell to OEMs so the OEM is their customer and one that still earns them a ton of money and they pissing them off. If the OEMs decided right now not to sell windows then MS is fucked, you aren't going to save them.
..............whether or not MS are wise to get into the hardware game in this area I cannot believe that I am the only one who thinks the "Acer" is one of the last OEMs who has any right to be the one leading the charge here.
Totally agree. I've experienced the "pleasure" of having to deal with the crap they nail into computer cases before. Just the once mind, it arrived faulty, it was sent back with a note with the fault fully described. It came back with the same fault, money was (eventually) refunded.
You are correct, Acer is a grownup company that should be able to survive without relying on Microsoft OS. If not, then they should quit the PC business.
Acer have the most to worry about. You don't see Toshiba or Lenovo getting all panicky about a new entrant to the market.
This sort of article pointing out the possible 'rift' between Microsoft and it's OEM partners is a little late to the party isn't it? Tech news and blog sites went over this again and again after the surface was announced. What purpose does it serve to cover it again ... unless of course, there is an agenda to push.
The reasons why Microsoft are doing this are obvious. Time and again Microsoft released products that had a huge amount of potential, only for OEM partners to release hardware that was lukewarm at best, and failed to deliver the promise that was absolutely possible.
This, therefore is no different from graphics chip vendors selling their own reference graphics cards, or Intel selling motherboards of it's own, whilst also simultaneously selling chipsets to third parties. It's not going to be the big 'problem' being suggested - all it will do is help ensure that there's at least one tablet out there that really shines, and if OEMs rise to the challenge, there will be plenty of alternative choices that shine too. Let's wait and see.
>or Intel selling motherboards of it's own whilst also simultaneously selling chipsets to third parties
AMD actually goes one better and only does a reference chipset to get the ball rolling to allow 3rd parties to make their own chipsets unlike Intel who use the courts to prevent this.
> Time and again Microsoft released products that had a huge amount of potential, only for OEM partners to release hardware that was lukewarm at best, and failed to deliver the promise that was absolutely possible.
OEMs make a range of hardware from cheap PCs to expensive top of the range. If you want 'absolutely possible' then pay the price of that it _is_ available.
But then you probably want Ferrari machines for Yugo prices and wind up disappointed.
OEMs do have an issue with Microsoft, they have to send much of their revenue to them for Windows and Office on PCs. For tablets they will have to send $80 or so for the privilege of making these, yet MS will probably have to subsidize Surface to have it sell, or at least not charge themselves the $80.


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HARTFORD — A year ago, the Hartford Wolf Pack rebuilt their roster on the fly and made a frantic playoff push in the final stretch of the season.
But they were in too deep of a hole after starting the season with inexperienced players and fell short of the postseason, even after winning 18 of their final 25 games. It marked the second year in a row the franchise missed the playoffs and the third time in five years.
That's not what the decision-makers at Madison Square Garden want from their American Hockey League affiliate. And that's why Hartford's roster looked considerably different this season.
The Wolf Pack didn't just add veterans, they added players with a history...

subset: commoncrawl


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text: Hi, I was just worndering if their is a way to run a program from a vb.net program. Well I know you can I just dont know how, What I want to do is Have my vb.net program save all of its data it collects into a wordpad file and then I want to add a button on the program to open the file. Just in case any one is worndering its a password cracker and I want it to save the found password into a word file.


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I'm looking forward to photographing weddings at Swallowfield Park.
Swallowfield Park website
Real weddings at similar venues
View Main Portfolio
More wedding photographs are available to view in client galleries. Brides and grooms have the password details.
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For the last few years we have placed a free SketchUp model of nearly every project we've published in Popular Woodworking Magazine on Google's SketchUp's 3D Warehouse. We use SketchUp to plan our products, and as the root of the illustrations you see in the printed magazine. If you have SketchUp installed on your computer, you can download a model, view it from any angle, take it apart and modify it if you want. It makes life in the shop a lot easier because you can work through how a project goes together and adapt it to the way you work without cutting any wood. We try to get all the intricacies of construction across in the words, pictures and drawings you see in the magazine, but it's hard to beat having a three-dimensional view of a project that you can take apart and put back together. That's the closest way we know to actual building, and life in the shop is better when you thoroughly understand the construction of a project.
One of the articles in the February 2011 issue of Popular Woodworking Magazine, Roubo's Folding Bookstand, by Roy Underhill, was different from most project articles we publish. The "how-to" part was translated by Roy from the original instructions, written in French more than 200 years ago by Andre Roubo in L'Art du Menusier. The illustrations in the article were copies of what appeared in Roubo's book. Roubo was one of the first authors of woodworking instruction, and while all the information needed to make the bookrack is there, the form was unusual enough to leave some of our readers scratching their heads, sending letters and e-mails, and leaving comments on the Chris Schwarz Blog.
Reader Donna Hill sent us a SketchUp model of the bookstand, and it's the next best thing to traveling back to 18th century France to ask M. Roubo himself how to make the bookrack. I added the model to our 3D Warehouse Collection, and it's a perfect example of how to use SketchUp as a problem solving tool. The bookrack is deceptively simple, cut from a single piece of wood.
In SketchUp, you can save snapshots of a project at different stages of completion by setting up scenes. You can create multiple scenes quickly by copying parts of your model and you can control what you see in each scene by using layers. This model has several scenes, and when you download the model you can switch from one scene to another by clicking on the tabs at the top of the modeling window. Go to the Window menu in SketchUp and check "Scenes" and "Layers" and you can see how this model is organized. The scene named "Initial Layout" shows where to draw the lines for carving the hinge, and the one shown here, "Carving Layout" shows clearly which hunks of wood go away, and which hunks stay.
The next scene, titled "Pre-Split" shows what things look like after the carving and before sawing the board lengthwise in thickness to separate the hinges. Each scene can be printed individually so you can have a reference next to you on the bench, if you don't want to drag your laptop out into your shop. If you're making your own model, this process of creating a scene for each step of a project gets you to walk through the building process mentally. When you start in on the "real" bookrack, you have the experience of building it in SketchUp on your side.
You can also do things in SketchUp that you can't do in real life that help to understand construction, and what individual pieces of a project look like. The scene named "Leafs Separated" is an example of that, showing each piece of the bookrack as a separate entity. This makes it clear how the pieces are shaped, where they interlock and how they work together as a hinge. You can orbit and zoom to get a visual image of how it all works together.
SketchUp is fun to play around with, but I think it's one of the best ways to ensure that the time I spend in the shop is enjoyable and productive. The time I spend working out details in SketchUp always pays off in the shop. If you have a good story about how SketchUp has saved your bacon in a project, leave a comment or send an e-mail.
Click Here to download the model of the Roubo Bookstand
Click Here for More Blog Posts about Learning SketchUp
Click Here for Resources for Learning SketchUp from our Store


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My wife saw the image on the left going around facebook. It had over 300,000 shares.
Spread it / steal it / share it, whatever.
What was preventing god from stopping the shooter before he entered the school? What prevented god from interfering with the shooter's acquisition of weapons and ammunition?
Why didn't god stop the deadliest recorded school mass murder, even though god was 'allowed' in schools at the time?


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I have gardening in the bag. Now, don't think that means I have every gardening issue figured out, because I know that's an impossible dream. What I mean is that this year I've literally got my garden in a bag, or at least quite a few of my vegetables. It's a simple idea that makes growing tomatoes and beans a snap.
I'm using bags specifically made for growing vegetables. And while I wouldn't describe them as revolutionary, they're well constructed, made of a tough UV-resistant polymer and suitable for pretty much any type of vegetable - unless you've got your eye on an Atlantic giant pumpkin. I wouldn't put the bags in a beauty contest next to a glazed ceramic pot, but they can't be beat for simple but clever functionality.
Their main job is to provide a good environment for plant roots, which they accomplish quite nicely thanks to large brass grommets on the sides of the bags that provide excellent drainage. I have a couple of tomato bags that (to date) have produced plants equivalent to any I've grown in conventional pots. Plus, the fabric bags are a brilliant red that gives a '60s flower-power look that I can't help but like.
The bags also come with slots on the outside to accommodate wooden poles so that veggies such as peas, beans, cucumbers and tomatoes have strong support - a feature that makes growing vegetables a heck of a lot easier.
Another crop that does well in this type of container are potatoes. Yes, I know growing potatoes this way may seem strange to traditional gardeners - my dad would have had a good laugh over the spud bag - but if you are a potato-loving apartment dweller, it's a great way to enjoy your own fresh baby potatoes. Regardless of where you live, an advantage to growing potatoes in these bags is that you can harvest more than once from the same plant. That's because the potato bags have fabric windows secured with Velcro that can be opened to harvest the tubers. When you're done, simply close up the windows and wait until the next round of tubers are ready to eat.
If you need to move the plants around the deck, there are secure straps on the bags that make the job easy. And once the growing season is over, just fold up the bags and store them for next year. Try doing that with a ceramic pot.
Now, if you're thinking, "Great, why didn't you tell about these bags a month ago?" don't worry. You can get planted ones with nearly ready-to-eat vegetables at garden centres. Then, next year, if you plan on starting from scratch, the checklist is quite simple. Start with high quality seeds, transplants or tubers and some potting soil to fill the appropriate vegetable bag. Then place the bags in a sunny spot, keep the watering can handy, feed the plants and you're covered.
My bet is gardening in a bag is really going to grow in popularity because it's simple and almost everyone can find somewhere to put one. So, don't be surprised if a friend offers to bring over a salad for your next barbecue and shows up with a bag filled with a mixture of greens. In that context, picking up a bag of fresh lettuce takes on a whole new meaning.
To keep abreast of what's new in the gardening world, follow www.facebook.com/HolesGreenhouses.


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NHIAA Basketball: BG girls take care of LondonderryBy JIM FENNELL
New Hampshire Union Leader
January 08. 2013 10:29PM
NASHUA - There was no subtlety to the way the Bishop Guertin girls' basketball team approached Tuesday's game against Londonderry.
The Cardinals turned a rematch of last year's Division I championship game into a rout with stunning quickness and ease, rolling to a 78-32 that was all but decided three minutes after the opening jump.
It certainly didn't look like a game that featured two teams with matching 5-1 records going in.
The defending champions defended with tenacity and made seven of their first eight shots as they put the Lancers (5-2) in 17-2 hole they never recovered from. It was 22-7 after one quarter, 41-15 at the half and 58-18 after three stops.
This is one Londonderry coach John Fagula was probably glad he missed.
Londonderry assistant coach Nick Theos said the team learned about 20 minutes before getting onto the bus that their long-time coach was not going to make the trip. Theos said Fagula had missed the last two days of practice with the flu.
"It was a tough night, no excuses," Theos said. "We should have been better with or without John."
Bishop Guertin coach Scott Hazleton said he thought his team had been playing soft for most of the season, so he challenged his players before the game to show more toughness.
"I just wanted them to play hard," Hazleton said. "They answered the challenge."
No use in dissecting the numbers too much. It was ugly from the start, as Londonderry turned the ball over on six of its first eight possessions and was down 13-2 when Theos called a timeout with 4:41 left in the quarter.
The Cardinals (6-1) did a particularly good job stopping Londonderry's Aliza Simpson from finding her teammates for easy baskets off penetration.
"Against a good team like BG, you can't shoot the way we did, you can't turn the ball over the way we did," Theos said. "There weren't many things we did right."
Bishop Guertin's Nikki Hayner (12 points) set the tone, knocking down three of her first four 3-point attempts in the opening three minutes, while Meghan Green (14) scored three buckets underneath to bump the lead to 19-2.
Jamie Sherburne added 13, while Simpson led Londonderry with 6.


text:
Glitter Light Pink 12x10
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$ 2.75
In stock
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|Glitter Light Pink 12x10
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text:
If it is true, as the writer Samuel Johnson once said, that "patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel," then the dictionary must be the first.
Consider how readily our leaders, in justifying what cannot be justified, parse definitions down to microns of fineness or invent obfuscating euphemisms to hide behind. As in Bill Clinton's memorable attempt to deny he had misled the American people about his relationship with a White House intern. "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is," he said. Then, there was the Bush administration's attempt to make waterboarding, sleep deprivation, clothes deprivation, stress positions and other filthy instruments of torture sound as antiseptic as an operating room: "enhanced interrogation," they called it.


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With the exception of having to wear downright scary-looking nursing bras, I was thrilled that my experience breastfeeding my now 18-month-old daughter, Amelia, was a snap: She latched on easily an hour after birth, and my milk came in by the gallons about three days later.
Still, when I was ready for Amelia to try her first bottle at 2 1/2 weeks old, I was apprehensive -- would giving her an artificial nipple cause her tiny head to spin and forget how to nurse? Would she become, to put it in lactation terms, "nipple confused"? In the months before birth, I'd been barraged with breastfeeding materials, and nipple confusion was one of those triple-starred subjects: Don't give your baby a bottle in the first two months, or she'll reject the breast.
As popular parenting advice dictates, I left the house while my mother gave Amelia her first bottle of pumped milk. Strolling around my neighborhood, I was frantic: What if she wouldn't take it? That would be awful, since I was craving a night out with my husband -- not to mention, in a few months, I'd be going back to work. But what if she took it, then decided my breasts were less than adequate?
As I walked in the door, my mom reported Amelia emptied the bottle, no problem. "And it seems like she's still hungry," she said. So I put her on my breast and -- what a smart, smart baby! -- she nursed voraciously for another ten minutes. As she filled her belly, my head filled with all the luxuries I would be allowed, like a solo run to the grocery store, now that my intelligent infant could switch-hit between the bottle and my breast.
Dimity McDowell is a freelance writer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
What's the confusion?
My experience wasn't as singular as breastfeeding lore would have you believe. The decades-old term "nipple confusion" has been used to describe the threat that a breastfeeding baby who is offered a bottle too early will stop nursing because he prefers the bottle. In theory, the thinking seems sound: When nursing, a baby draws the nipple far back into his mouth and pumps milk out with his tongue. When taking a bottle, gravity lends a hand, so mouth position and tongue action aren't as vital. Simply put, drinking from a bottle is less work. Because of this, it's assumed that infants will find it hard to switch between the two.
But the reality is that most infants are much savvier than we give them credit for, especially when it comes to something as vital as nutrition. Anecdotally, plenty of moms and pediatricians will tell you that their babies can switch-hit fairly easily. In fact, a Babytalk poll found that 82 percent of breastfeeding babies were also able to drink from a bottle.
Infants who prefer the bottle to the breast probably aren't nursing well to begin with, says Marianne Neifert, M.D., a pediatrician based in Denver, Colorado, and the author of Dr. Mom's Guide to Breastfeeding. "These babies most likely aren't getting what they need from nursing: There may be a problem with latch-on or the mother's milk supply." Dr. Neifert suggests that the term "nipple preference" might be more accurate than "nipple confusion."
Still, like other seemingly sound, but ultimately unproven, parenting theories, nipple confusion continues to thrive in the minds of new parents. Over the years, the concept has gained such momentum that mothers who need to work, would love to go to a yoga class, or want to sleep for more than three hours at a stretch are terrified of giving their happily nursing child a bottle for fear she will never nurse again. The situation has become, to put it mildly, overblown. "People have become absolutely panicked about it," says Dr. Neifert.
The expert opinion
Panicked without much justification, it turns out. Because so many factors go into successful breastfeeding, such as the infant's muscle mechanics and the mother's anatomy to name just two, identifying nipple confusion is a difficult task and only a handful of scientific studies are relevant.
A comprehensive paper, published in Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews, examined all previous research and declared that the jury is still out whether the phenomenon of nipple confusion even exists. The authors advised health care providers to take "a more moderate position" on bottle-feeding a breastfed infant.
A recent study that looked at bottles and pacifiers -- another supposed "nipple-confusing" item that parents are told to avoid -- found that neither caused "early breastfeeding problems." What the study did find: Early bottles and pacifiers may shorten the overall length of time that a woman ends up breastfeeding, though it's not clear why. "The exact reason women stop breastfeeding sooner isn't known," says Dr. Neifert. "Women who are using bottles and pacifiers may be having trouble nursing already or may have a lower motivation to continue it." On the flip side, she adds, the flexibility of pumping and bottle-feeding can allow working moms to continue breastfeeding longer than they would have otherwise.
The breast advice
Of course, introducing a bottle will be different with every baby: Some will instantly accept it, others may be fussy, but most can learn to switch between breast and bottle. Here are some tips to ease the transition.
- Wait until nursing is well established, usually when a baby is two- to three-weeks old, before introducing a bottle. (Ideally, the same goes for a pacifier.) "You need to wait until breastfeeding is easy for both Mom and her baby," says Alan Greene, M.D., a pediatrician at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, and author of From First Kicks to First Steps. "By two to three weeks, neither will want to give up nursing; and it's before the big crying period, usually at four to six weeks, when introducing a bottle might be harder."
- Let someone else give the bottle, because your baby associates you (and your smell) with breastfeeding.
- Give expressed breast milk in the first bottle, if possible, since your baby is familiar with its smell and taste. If you use formula, remember that breast milk follows the law of supply and demand. Keep pumping if you want to maintain your supply.
- Choose the right time. Don't wait until your baby is starving before offering her a bottle for the first time -- aim for an hour or two after her last feeding.
- Try skin contact. If Dad is feeding, your baby may find it comforting to rest her head on his bare chest.
- Stay calm. Your baby can pick up on parental anxiety, so try to stay positive. "Don't force the bottle on your baby; try to give the impression that drinking from one is a pleasant experience," says Barbara Wilson-Clay, a lactation consultant in Austin, Texas. "If she only wants to take a few sips the first time, that's fine."
- Get help. If you find that your baby begins to prefer the bottle to the breast, seek help immediately from an understanding lactation consultant. "Your baby may be rejecting your breast because she's not getting what she needs from it and is hungry," says Wilson-Clay. Again, be sure to keep pumping to maintain your supply.
- Don't fret over your preemie's bottle. If a premature baby isn't able to nurse -- the sucking mechanism might not be fully developed -- he may end up being fed from a tube or bottle first. But this hardly means he'll never breastfeed, says Wilson-Clay. "Once premature babies reach their due date, they often turn into different babies. Just because all they've known is bottles doesn't mean it's all they'll ever know."
I smile now when I think of my walk around the neighborhood as Amelia drank her first bottle. I had sweaty palms and a heavy, guilty heart. It didn't take me long, however, to realize I wasn't compromising her health or our relationship; in fact, bottle-feeding gave her a chance to become even closer to her dad. The next day, he fed her a bottle, and the following day she took one from me -- and finished it like a pro. What a smart, smart baby.


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The Former Lives of our Hostels
Sometimes, a hostel is just a hostel. But when it comes to HI-USA's Northern California properties, sometimes a hostel is a trip back in time. From Marin to Montara, San Francisco to Sacramento, our hostels' walls have stories to tell.
HI San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf
HI San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf gives guests a history lesson before they even enter the building. The hostel's located in Fort Mason, a beautiful stretch of green along the San Francisco Bay that's served as everything from a Civil War defense outpost to a refugee camp for survivors of the city's 1906 earthquake. Fort Mason is now a public recreation area preserved by the National Park Service.
Much like Fort Mason, the building that now houses HI SF Fisherman's Wharf has been through several iterations over the years. The sprawling building was originally constructed in 1863 as barracks for Civil War soldiers. During later wars, building 240 was used as an Army hospital. Though the place is considerably warmer and more cheery these days, historic touches all over the hostel offer reminders of the important role the building has played in the country's wartime history. The long white hallways and checkered floors reminiscent of hospital corridors still remain, and a mural hanging over the hostel's entryway, painted in 1945 by artist Raymond McDonald, depicts white-coated doctors and nurses tending to patients.
HI USA repurposed (and livened up) the hospital's various rooms before turning it into a hostel in 1980, but each spot in the hostel – from the bedrooms to the common areas – still has its own past. The old surgery room is now a private guest room, the one-time physiotherapy room is now a dorm, and the former dispensary has been turned into a cozy guest lounge. To the right of the front desk, immediately as you walk in, be sure to check out the images inside a set of vintage wooden viewers. As you crank the handle on the side of each one, you'll see images of how the building used to look, as well as pictures from Fort Mason's past as a military and civic gathering point.
HI San Francisco City Center
When you see it from the street, the HI San Francisco City Center hostel doesn't look anything like your typical hostel: the brightly painted exterior, tall stone façade, and uptown awning scream "boutique hotel."
And in fact, the building started its life as the Hotel Atherton in the 1920s, founded by the same family that would later lend its name to what's now one of the Bay Area's wealthiest towns. The hotel became HI SF City Center in 2001, and while the lobby – and the rooms – have been updated with modern, retro-inspired décor, lots of the period touches from the '20s remain. Walk into the lobby and you'll still find the original marble floor; glance upwards and you'll see a mahogany-railed mezzanine overlooking the action downstairs.
But the hostel's coolest historic touch, without a doubt, is its speak-easy-era bar, Ivy's Place. Prohibition may be long gone, but you can still sneak off to the dimly lit, wood-paneled pub and put on your best 1920s gangster accent over a glass of local beer or wine. (Ivy's isn't the only old-school bar in the neighborhood, either: check out our article on the Gangway Bar, a hostel neighbor that's been slinging drinks for over 100 years and hosts a stop each week on our tri-hostel pub crawl).
HI Point Montara
The lighthouse on the grounds of HI Point Montara may be small, but it's got at least one big claim to fame: it's the only American lighthouse known to have beckoned seafarers on both coasts of the country.
The late-19th-century structure was originally built in a foundry near Boston, and then installed overlooking a Cape Cod beach. It remained there for nearly half a century, even spending 15 years under the care of the country's first known female lighthouse keeper. In 1925, the lighthouse was taken down and, everyone believed, destroyed for scrap metal. But about five years ago, researchers discovered the disappeared Cape Cod lighthouse had actually just been moved to the West Coast. The lighthouse went up at Point Montara in 1928, yet no one knows exactly how – or why – it made its cross-country journey.
The Point Montara hostel's other buildings have their own rich histories, starting long before the arrival of the cast-iron lighthouse. The United States government established a fog signal at Point Montara in 1875 in response to two high-profile crashes along the coast in the decade before. Initially, the site housed nothing but a 12-inch steam whistle, whose five-second blast could be heard from 15 miles away, and a two-story, Victorian-style innkeeper's dwelling that still stands on the hostel grounds.
In 1902, a one-story fog signal building was added; a secondary building used for storage went up around the same time. Today, the same fog signal building houses one of the hostel's private rooms, and a large common area is used for movie screenings and weekly meditation nights. The storage building has been modernized and outfitted with more private rooms and guest bathrooms. A third building, where today you'll find the hostel's kitchens, lounge, and most of its guest rooms, went up in the 1960s to house members of the U.S. coastguard.
HI-Point Montara General Manager Chris Bauman has done a particularly great job documenting the history of this amazing property. Be sure to check out a detailed history of the property online, or ask the friendly hostel staff for more information when you check in!
HI Sacramento
Before the gorgeous Victorian mansion at the corner of H and 10th Streets in Sacramento was a hostel, it was a private residence. And a funeral parlor. And a fancy-schmancy party spot. But we'll get to all of that.
The building itself was constructed in the 1880s by Llewellyn Williams, a Maine native who came to Sacramento at the height of the Gold Rush. While Williams didn't find his fortune in the fields, he did work his way up from store clerk to part-owner of the successful Pioneer Milling Company, making his name – and his wealth – as a prominent local businessman. Williams built a grand, Italianate Stick-style mansion for himself and his family on H Street, then known as Merchant's Row, in 1885.
After Llewellyn Williams's death in 1891, the home passed hands several times, serving as a private residence, a funeral parlor, and eventually a restaurant and events space. The building itself was also physically moved to several different lots during the century following Williams's death: workers chiseled the 350-ton building off of its foundation, propped it up on wooden beams, and pulled it, inch by inch, to three different locations on H Street over the years. But the mansion was returned to its original home at H and 10th Streets when HI transformed it into a hostel in 1994. (For a more detailed history of the building, check out HI Sacramento's website).
Visual reminders of the building's past still abound: this may be the only hostel in the world where you can eat your breakfast in a formal dining room complete with chandelier, or climb up to your room via a redwood staircase under a painted glass skylight. You can also see the building's original pressed-copper wallpaper in the entryway, its original stenciled ceiling in the parlor, and its original street number, 900, through the window over the front entryway.
If hearing these stories sparks your interest, come experience the history first-hand at HI SFFisherman's Wharf, HI SF City Center, HI Point Montara, or HI Sacramento!
And remember, our history doesn't end there: you can stay in former military officers' quarters overlooking trees and meadows at HI Marin Headlands, sleep at the foot of a still-functional 1872 lighthouse at HI Pigeon Point, or bunk down in former barns and ranch-hand houses on the site of an 1860s dairy at HI Point Reyes.


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The first 16 megapixel GF-series Lumix camera is also slightly larger than its predecessors and offers a versatile tilting screen, plus wifi and NFC.
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The first Panasonic Lumix Micro Four Thirds camera with a sensor-shift image stabiliser and the first system camera to have an integrated tilting electronic viewfinder.
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The ultra-compact and stylish magnesium bodied Lumix G Micro Four Thirds camera from Panasonic
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Ag appropriations bill has $3.6 billion in aid The Senate has passed and sent to President Clinton the fiscal 2001 agricultural appropriations bill that includes $3.6 billion in disaster aid for farmers and some relief on trade sanctions against Cuba.
Clinton was expected to sign the bill, which cleared the Senate by an 86-8 margin. Earlier, the House passed the legislation by a vote of 340 to 75, making it unlikely the president would attempt to veto it.
Proponents of lifting the 38-year-old economic sanctions against Cuba were giving the legislation mixed reviews. Some said sales would occur after the Cuban government gets through venting its displeasure over restrictions left in the bill. Others said it was unlikely any sales would result.
"Hopefully, it will be a step toward a broader opening," said Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark., who supported removing the Cuban embargo.
But Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., called it "one step forward, six or seven sideways and maybe one step backward" because of the legislation's bar on U.S. government or private bank financing of food sales and new restrictions on travel to Cuba.
Cuban President Fidel Castro led a demonstration of an estimated 800,000 persons to protest the restrictions in the legislation. "They have included a load of restrictions which are humiliating for the country and make it impossible in practice," Castro reportedly said.
Farm organizations were much more enthusiastic about the bill's disaster assistance provisions. The $3.6 billion, which is based on a Congressional Budget Office estimate of how much assistance farmers will require this year, includes $490 million for aid to livestock producers and $473 million for dairy assistance.
Rather than having to be pro-rated among eligible farmers, this year's assistance program should cover growers' losses at 100 percent. The bill also requires USDA to consider quality losses in its disaster assistance computations.
"We're not sure how long it might take for USDA to work out those details," said Mark Keenum, chief of staff to Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., who wrote much of the bill's language. "But, we gave them pretty explicit instructions on what we thought should be done."
Besides an estimated $2 billion-plus in aid for row crop producers, the bill also provides payments to honey producers, whose government price support program was eliminated several years ago.
Some observers thought the president could sign the bill as early as Oct. 25. That's the expiration date for the latest continuing resolution passed by Congress to keep the government operating.


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"Coach was yelling on the sideline, 'Foul him, foul him,"' Sloan said. "I made a couple and the confidence kind of went up, and I made a couple more."
Sloan scored nine of his career-high 21 points in the final 1:12, going 7-for-8 from the line, after Missouri had shaved the deficit to seven points. He's been using the shoetop inspiration since a five-overtime loss to Baylor last month, and Texas A&M has won five straight since then. The last three games, he's 15-for-16 at the line.
"People have a tendency to look down at the floor, and you can use that for motivation," Sloan said. "It can push you a little bit."
Bryan Davis had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Josh Carter added 14 points for the Aggies (20-4, 6-3 Big 12), who had a dominating 42-25 rebounding advantage and shot 56 percent in the second half. Texas A&M won for only the second time in seven tries at Missouri, capitalizing on a program still struggling in the wake of the disciplinary suspensions of five players late last month.
"We ain't really focused on it," sophomore guard Keon Lawrence said. "Whatever happened, happened, and we're trying to more forward."
Coach Mark Turgeon said his players might have been too concerned with Missouri's pressing style in the first half, so he apologized during the break and just asked them to be aggressive.
"We really didn't change much of the game plan," Turgeon said. "The first 15 minutes of the second half, we were as good as we've been."
The last five minutes, he wasn't so happy.
"We kind of turned it off and just quit concentrating," Turgeon said. "That's what this team does to me. But anytime you beat Missouri, it's a great win."
Stefhon Hannah, the team's leading scorer and the central figure in the nightclub altercation, was arrested for third-degree misdemeanor assault on Friday, his first trip to the campus since his jaw was broken. He was not on the bench as Missouri (13-11, 3-6) lost for the third time in four games since the incident.
Coach Mike Anderson said he spoke to Hannah's mother and expects Hannah to resume classes on Monday, although he wasn't sure if Hannah was in town. Hannah, who averages 14.7 points, remains suspended and his injury likely will sideline him for the rest of the season.
"At this point, the kid is hurting," Anderson said. "I would think he would be in school. I think the most important thing about Stefhon is him being healthy."
A second guard, Jason Horton, was arrested earlier on the same charge but was reinstated two games ago, although he lost his starting spot.
Leo Lyons, who served a one-game suspension, had a career-best 24 points off the bench for Missouri. Lyons scored 16 of his points in the last six minutes, helping the Tigers cut an 18-point deficit to seven in the final half-minute
Sloan was 6-for-8 from the field and 9-for-10 from the line overall, while Davis earned his second career double-double. Texas A&M was 3-for-5 from 3-point range in the second half, after going 1-for-10 in the first half.
Reserve Justin Safford added a career-best 10 points for the Tigers. J.T. Tiller, who averaged nearly 16 points the first three games after the suspensions, was held to five and got off only three shots.
Texas A&M shot only 39 percent in the first half and trailed 30-25 as Missouri shot 50 percent. The Aggies hit their stride after the break, hitting five of their first eight attempts in a 15-0 run for a 10-point cushion with about 15 minutes to go.
Missouri was outrebounded 10-1 during Texas A&M's opening salvo, while missing its first five shots and committing two turnovers. Missouri has been outrebounded 90-50 in its last two games.
"That's what's really killing us right now," Lawrence said. "Everybody is just throwing it up there and then getting second shots."
Missouri had a 17-3 run over a seven-minute span of the first half, taking advantage of Texas A&M's impatience in its half-court offense to go ahead 22-16 with 5:49 to go.
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Sophia Bush & Austin Nichols: On-Again Couple?
On-again, off-again couple Sophia Bush and Austin Nichols seem to be on-again as they arrive together at LaGuardia Airport in New York City on Sunday (August 17).
Sophia was seen lugging around a black Titan rolling suitcase, a Max Azria shopping bag and a gray quilted Chanel handbag.
The One Tree Hill costars have been busy in North Carolina shooting their upcoming CW series. Sophia, 27, and Austin, 29, reportedly started dating in early 2006.
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LONDON - Only one assistant coach is missing a headshot on the website that is devoted to staff working with the University of Vermont's women's basketball team. The assistant is also the only one without an email address or telephone number listed in the directory.
Her contact information is listed as: TBA.
Part of that is because the next opening in her schedule remains: TBD.
Courtnay Pilypaitis will begin her job as an assistant coach with her alma mater Aug. 20, but will remain preoccupied by the London Olympics for a minimum of two more games after helping Canada upset Brazil on Friday. She had 14 points in a 79-73 win that secured the Canadians an unlikely berth in the quarter-final round. The Brazilians are ranked No. 6 in the world; Canada, 11.
"It puts it into perspective, knowing that you're not going to be playing basketball for the whole year round," Pilypaitis said with a smile. "I kind of try to cherish it, and just play every game like it's my last."
Canada will close its preliminary round schedule against Australia on Sunday, and seem likely to face the top-ranked United States in the quarter-finals. Only one Canadian basketball team has won an Olympic medal - the men won silver in 1936 - and while the women remain long-shots this year, it does not diminish their accomplishment.
Not many predicted a top-eight finish in London.
"We didn't really set it as a goal - it was 'win the day' - but in our minds, that would be a really great achievement for us," Canadian coach Allison McNeill said. "And I think it is. I think our pool is unbelievably tough."
And so the Canadians stood, arm-in-arm through the national anthem before the game, all singing along. If they were going to face elimination, they were going to do it together - while the Brazilians instead stood in a line, unsmiling, un-singing, through their anthem.
Kim Smith drove in for a basket on Canada's first possession. Pilypaitis stole a ball at midcourt seconds later, racing down for an easy layup.
Canada led by 10 at the end of the first quarter (18-8) stretched that lead to 14 at halftime (39-25) thanks to superior shot selection and movement in the key. The Canadians hit an impressive 67 per cent from in close, compared with 36 per cent by Brazil.
But it eroded quickly in the third quarter. Brazil out-scored Canada 28-16 after halftime, and finally took the lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Canadians had already known heartbreak at the tournament. They lost their opener to Russia despite holding a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter and, after beating Britain, they fell by four to France.
In the Olympics, 12 tournament teams are split into two groups of six teams, with the top four in each group advancing to the knockout round. Canada, with two wins and two losses, secured the pass because Brazil (0-4) cannot get to two wins, and because they hold the tiebreaker over Britain.
"I don't think anyone here would have expected us to get to the eight," Pilypaitis said. "I think we're really happy that we can show Canada - and the world - what our basketball team is all about."
Pilypaitis, 24, will remain with the national team, but her full-time playing career will end when she begins her new job in Vermont. She will be responsible for developing the team's guards, and will also help in recruiting.


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BOSTON – Claims from this blog that the Bruins never execute in games what they practice are no longer valid.
After devoting a portion of their two days of rigorous practice to their power play – and specifically getting the defensemen to move up and put more heat on the penalty-killers – Boston tonight produced its first 5-on-4 goal in more than a month on a play the team actually rehearsed yesterday.
Zdeno Chara's goal after a backdoor cut through the left circle 8:17 into the second period proved to be the game-winner in a 4-1 victory over New Jersey at TD Garden.
Boston's movement was exceptional on the man-advantage all night. On the goal, Milan Lucic made a cross-ice pass while David Krejci cut from the bottom of the circle to the high slot to pull the defenders away from Chara. The captain then buried a shot before goaltender Martin Brodeur could slide over in time.
"That's what we have to do. We don't have just one play, we have more plays and we're going to be set, and go from there," said defenseman Tomas Kaberle, who like his power-play partner Chara was more active getting to the bottom of the circles and firing pucks toward the goal. "Keep practicing, it's not like if we scored today it's going to happen in the next game. We have to keep practicing on off days and get better every day."
Head coach Claude Julien and his power-play guru Geoff Ward have taken heat for the all the things they haven't had their pupils do during the club's recent 2-for-34 slump since Kaberle arrived Feb. 18. They've been trying everything under the sun, and devoting both practice and pre-practice time to ironing out the power play's problems for months.
Now those two guys and the entire staff deserve credit for the wrinkles they put in to get things going again.
Recognizing that the Bruins' forwards were still not creating enough odd-man chances down low and the point men were becoming stagnant and gun shy, the coaches forced everyone to rotate around and the defensemen wound up in positions where they couldn't do anything but shoot. Chara finished the night with four shots on net, Kaberle just one. But Kaberle also had four attempts blocked, as he did all he could to get the puck to the front.
A 1-for-5 night does not mean the Bruins are now a power-play juggernaut. However, 20 percent is what an average NHL power play should click at. And while the group with Chara, Kaberle, David Krejci, Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic scored the only power-play goal, the other quintet – Dennis Seidenberg and Patrice Bergeron on the points with Mark Recchi, Tyler Seguin and Michael Ryder up front – put some heat on the Devils as well.
"We try to not be standing still because it creates some 2-on-1 situations, 3-on-2s, something like that. But at that point, it didn't matter who was going to put it in the net. I was happy it finally went in and hopefully that's going to get us going," said Krejci, who managed just two shots on net but also uncharacteristically fired a shot wide from the blue line.
If Krejci and Kaberle can start making teams pay for sagging off and expecting them to pass, Boston might be able to climb back into the top half of the power-play rankings. It'll also help if Chara continues to make himself a nuisance from the blue line and closer to the goal, and if everyone digs for every loose puck and rebound. Seguin's vision and shot look like they could be threatening weapons for the man-advantage as much as Lucic and Horton's size and Seidenberg's "heavy" shot.
There's always been emphasis on movement and quick, confident passes from the coaching staff to the power-play performers. Now it looks like the Bruins might've found the right mix of plays and players to turn that activity into goals.
"It's nice when the power play is moving the puck and we see each other and there's no hesitation and obviously we got rewarded with a big goal," said Chara. "And it's one of those things that even before, we created some chances, we had good quality chances to score goals, but it didn't go our way. Today we finally got a goal, and again we probably could've got one or two more goals; we were just a little out of position on the rebounds. Hopefully it's a good start and it starts producing for us."
A balanced, streaky offense that has managed to rank in the top 10 in goals per game most of the season without a potent power play could become extremely dangerous for Bruins' opponents down the stretch if Chara's hopes continue to come true and the power play turns reliable.


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Al-Qaida chief blesses attacks on Egypt security
CAIRO (AP) — Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri has given his blessing to attacks of Egyptian jihadis on the police and army, but said they should avoid harming civilians.
In an audio interview with al-Qaida media arm as-Sahab posted early Saturday on a militant website, al-Zawahri advised jihadis that any armed confrontation should be popularly supported and that victory cannot be achieved without this support.
Al-Zawahri said the jihadis should choose their targets very carefully and explain the aims of each operation to the people.
He also harshly criticized Egypt's ultraconservative Islamist al-Nour Party, accusing it of deceit and deception by supporting the military backed interim government and secular constitution, which he considers void.
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text: It didn't take long for Immaculata to take the lead Friday night in its season opening match against Heritage Christian. Sophomore Mark Hernandez knocked one of his four goals in about three minutes into the match, and it led to a 5-1 win. Hernandez may only be a sophomore, but he has played more soccer than some of the other younger players on the team. "He has a lot of experience because he plays in club ball," said head coach Frank Mazetis. "It's very important." Some of the seniors contributed to the win as well. Goalkeeper Phillip Hernandez had 12 saves on the day. Jaxson Qualley had a penalty kick goal in the second half, and was able to clear the ball several times when Heritage Christian was threatening near the goal. Mazetis said he was pleased with the effort his seniors put into the game. That includes James Cha, who had several chances to score, but just couldn't get the ball past the goalie. "James just has to learn," Mazetis said. "He has to learn where to place the ball." Mark Hernandez did have four goals, but it could have easily been more. "He jumped on the weaknesses they had and took advantage of them, but he has to take a bit more patience in getting to the goal and scoring," Mazetis said. "He rushed some of his shots." Next up for the Raiders is a road match against Maur Hill-Mount Academy at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 4.


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PARIS (Reuters) - Medical journal The Lancet warned that Sanofi's experimental multiple sclerosis drug Lemtrada may be too costly for patients and health insurers once it gets approved by regulators.
The journal, which published the encouraging results of two late-stage Lemtrada tests on Thursday, also criticized the drugmaker's decision to withdraw leukemia therapy Campath, the same drug given at a different dosage, depriving MS patients who had been using it off-label.
In an editorial accompanying the test results, The Lancet voiced concerns that Lemtrada would be priced higher than current MS drugs on the market and said the discontinuation of Campath may mean patients who had used it for MS would not be able to continue their treatment.
The injectable drug, chemically known as alemtuzumab, was sold until September 2012 under the name Campath as treatment for leukemia and given more frequently at a higher dosage.
"There is concern that with a license for multiple sclerosis, the cost of alemtuzumab could rise and might become too expensive for many patients and health systems," the editorial said.
Although Campath remains available free of charge to leukemia patients, Sanofi's rare disease unit Genzyme pulled it off the market in September to prevent its unauthorized use as an MS drug.
Analysts said the move would allow the company to adjust the price to match that of rival MS drugs on the market.
A full course of Campath, which in 2011 had sales of $76 million, cost around $60,000 when given three times a week for up to 12 weeks, according to Genzyme.
Lemtrada, instead, is given at less than half the dose of Campath for 5 consecutive days and then again for 3 days a year later. Since the drug has yet to be approved, it remains unclear how much Sanofi will charge for it.
The drug, which works by resetting a person's immune system, has shown in late-stage trials to be an effective treatment for MS patients who have failed to respond to other therapies.
It has also shown to benefit people not previously treated for the disease, suggesting it could be used as a first-line MS therapy.
But patients need regular monitoring for serious side effects that can include infections and autoimmune diseases.
"It's important that the appropriate safety monitoring is in place for patients who are prescribed Lemtrada," Genzyme's head of MS, Bill Sibold, told Reuters, responding to questions about the Lancet editorial. "Until an approved risk-management program is established, we believe the use of Lemtrada should only occur in clinical trials."
Lemtrada remains available to patients who are taking part in clinical tests.
Sibold declined to discuss pricing plans for Lemtrada, but said Genzyme has set up programs to make its approved drugs available to patients who cannot afford them. "With Lemtrada it would be no different," he said.
But there are concerns that cash-strapped European governments may balk at funding the drug through their public healthcare systems.
Doug Brown, Head of Biomedical Research at U.K. charity MS Society said that while Lemtrada's results are great news for patients, the drug would only be useful to them if it were available through the country's publicly funded National Health Service.
"We urge Genzyme to price the treatment responsibly so that if it's licensed, it's deemed cost effective on the NHS," he said.
The U.K.'s cost-effectiveness body National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), whose opinions are also watched closely in other countries, initially rejected Novartis' MS pill Gilenya, only to make a U-turn after the company agreed to a discounted price.
Sanofi launched its MS pill Aubagio in the U.S. at a price of $45,000 for a year's treatment, making it cheaper than rivals.
Gilenya - the only other MS pill currently on the market - costs 28 percent more, while injectable treatments such as Biogen Idec Inc's Avonex and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd's Copaxone are 8 and 6.5 percent higher respectively.
Reporting by Elena Berton; Editing by Tim Dobbyn


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Bernie Kosar sees Alabama coach Nick Saban as a realistic target to replace fired Rob Chudzinski.
Nick Saban worked with Michael Lombardi in the 1990s. Together again?
Lombardi was the Browns' pro personnel director in 1991 when Saban was hired as defensive coordinator. Now Lombardi is a general manager in a firestorm in need of a move that might soothe angry fans.
Bernie Kosar, who was a Browns quarterback when Saban arrived in 1991, sees Saban as a realistic target to replace fired Rob Chudzinski.
Speaking on WTAM Monday morning, Kosar said Saban is the type to thirst for the challenge of "winning at the highest level ... before he's too old."
Saban, 62, has won three national championships as head coach at Alabama and barely missed reaching this year's national title game.
Kosar said the fact Saban recently "entertained the thought of going to Texas" suggests he is more open to leaving. Owner Jimmy Haslam, a staunch SEC fan, was intrigued last year, but Saban said he was not interested in leaving at that point.
It's a new year, and the Browns have a ton of draft picks. One likely to intrigue Saban is Johnny Manziel, who lit up Alabama as Texas A&M's quarterback.
Saban exudes a "my way or the highway" persona. Kosar said hiring Saban would not hinge on his convincing Haslam he could work with Lombardi.
"Nick will be the boss," Kosar said. "Nick has a certain way of doing things and it has been a successful way.
"The question has to be asked in reverse."
In other words, can Lombardi work with Saban?
Kosar is a long-time acquaintance of Chudzinski. Both played for the Miami Hurricanes. Kosar said Chudzinski will take his dismissal hard, but he also said hiring a replacement with Saban's clout would make the move understandable.
"I love Chud to death," Kosar said, "but if Nick Saban is looking ... I think everybody understands."
Phil Savage, a past and current Saban associate, also weighed in on the Chudzinski firing on the Monday after a season-ending loss at Pittsburgh.
Savage said the Browns' new regime is "making Randy Lerner look like a Rooney."
Savage took a different view than Kosar in terms of Saban's interest in the NFL, saying Saban has made it "fairly clear" he will stay at Alabama.
Savage said Saban recently became a grandfather and is more comfortable than he has ever been in terms of keeping his family in one place, namely Tuscaloosa.
Savage sees Bill O'Brien and Josh McDaniels as the top Browns candidates. He thinks the Browns "almost have a verbal agreement in place" with a target candidate.
Savage worked for Lerner as Browns general manager from 2005 through his firing the night of a season-ending loss at Pittsburgh in 2008.
Savage's current roles include radio analyst for Alabama football games. Saban, Lombardi and Savage all worked for Bill Belichick's Browns in the 1990s.
Savage said replacing Chudzinski "appears to be on a fast track."
He noted the Browns must adhere to "The Rooney Rule," which requires teams looking for a new head coach to interview at least one minority candidate.


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May 07. 2013 1:03PM
Police say man threatened neighbor with shotgun over loud music
MANCHESTER - A city man is under arrest, accused of threatening an upstairs neighbor with a shotgun in a dispute over loud music.
Joshua Calden, 29, of 33 Schuyler St., first floor, is facing a felony criminal-threatening charge as a result of the incident Tuesday at his home.
Police said they recovered a single-shot shotgun in a bedroom of his first-floor apartment. The gun was not loaded but police said there were shells for it in the room.
The upstairs neighbor, Bryan Farley, 26, called police about 1:30 a.m. after Calden threatened him with a shotgun, police said.
Farley told investigators he was playing music loudly when Calden knocked on his door and asked him to turn it down. He did, at first, but then turned it up again.
That brought a second knock at the door. Farley, concerned Calden was there to confront him again, armed himself with a stun gun before opening the door.
When he opened it, however, he kept the stun gun down by his side because it was Calden's wife, Samantha, 23, who was at the door.
Farley, however, told police then Calden suddenly appeared holding a shotgun and pointed it at Farley's head. He quickly went back inside his apartment and called police.


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Baruch College's Karen Gourgey Honored With Two Awards For Serving The Visually Impaired Community
NEW YORK, NY-- April 25, 2013 – Karen Gourgey, the Director of The Computer Center for Visually Impaired People (CCVIP) at Baruch College was recently honored with two awards for her dedication and service to the blind and visually impaired community throughout the city and state.
New York City Council Member Gale A. Brewer, a longtime friend of CCVIP, presented her with the Matthew P. Sapolin Visionary Award during the 6th Annual Employment & Visual Impairment Conference at Baruch College on April 19. Named after the late Commissioner for Mayor Bloomberg's Office for People with Disabilities, the Matthew P. Sapolin Visionary Award was given to Dr. Gourgey by members of CCVIP, the Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped, Helen Keller National Center and other organizations around the city.
"[Dr. Gourgey] has led the Baruch Computer Center for Visually Impaired People into a national model, and has been a tireless warrior for accessible pedestrian signals, computer applications for the visually impaired, and many other issues," said Council Member Brewer. "Dr. Gourgey is now one of the most highly-regarded experts on accessibility issues in the country, for the visually impaired and sighted alike."
During a conference in Albany on April 23, The New York State Association for Education & Rehabilitation (NYSAER) for the Blind & Visually Impaired also recognized Dr. Gourgey's achievements with the Nat Seaman Award, given in recognition of leadership and service to people with disabilities throughout the state. The award was for 30 years of advocacy for furthering the cause of people who are blind and visually impaired.
As director of CCVIP since 1983, Dr. Gourgey has enabled the training of hundreds of blind and visually impaired people to become competent computer users and has promoted assistive technology to help those around the world. As a founder and the chair of PASS (Pedestrians for Accessible and Safe Streets), a coalition of agencies and consumer groups, she was instrumental in getting the first law passed in New York City to install accessible pedestrian signals throughout the city. Dr. Gourgey has also spearheaded the creation of raised-line large print maps for blind and visually impaired subway and bus travelers, developed a "talking kiosk" in transit facilities, and co-invented the "Talking Tactile Tablet," for which she and co-inventor Steven Landau were jointly awarded the first annual Louis Braille Touch of Genius Award from National Braille Press. She has also served on the Governor's Executive Board of the New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped since 2007. Dr. Gourgey is a graduate of Teachers College, Columbia University, where she received an Ed.D.in special education.
About Baruch College:
Baruch College is a senior college in the City University of New York (CUNY) with a total enrollment of more than 17,000 students, who represent 160 countries and speak more than 100 languages. Ranked among the top 15% of U.S. colleges and the No. 5 public regional university, Baruch College is regularly recognized as among the most ethnically diverse colleges in the country. As a public institution with a tradition of academic excellence, Baruch College offers accessibility and opportunity for students from every corner of New York City and from around the world. For more about Baruch College, go to http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/.
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Editor of the Liverpool Echo on the branding benefits of distributing a £1m Regional Growth Fund
Alastair Machray, editor of the Liverpool Echo, applied to take on distribution of a Regional Growth Fund in the hope that it would improve the paper's brand and "place them at the heart of the community".
The RGF is a government fund designed to be help create jobs through small businesses; the Liverpool Echo applied to be a partner and received £1 million to distribute locally.
Speaking at the Society of Editors regional conference yesterday (Thursday, 10 May), Machray gave some pointers on the process, and outlined its pros and cons.
"Applying to partner with the RGF is not a simple process, and is not to be approached alone," Machray warned.
The 60-page application for the RGF is time consuming and technical. He advised considering whether the necessary time to complete the application properly could be afforded and building a team and electing a bid writer – someone that knows the buttons to press for government departments, a secretariat, and an investment company to manage the money.
When the Echo was successful in securing the £1m, they launched it in print, supported it online, and tried to pique interest using social media. Machray condensed the process:
- Ask for entries
- Get judges from the private sector
- Shortlist entries
- Award the winners, and then track the progress of these businesses
- Reap the rewards for the paper
The benefits of the fund have been numerous for the paper, with "great editorial coming out of it", Machray said, "but securing the fund was more about brand than selling papers or increasing web traffic".
Machray also highlighted that they were approached to apply for the fund, indicating that the government still recognises the value of local papers.
We have a place at the heart of government; our brands resonate, and this is a good place to be.
Machray warned about dealing with trolls throughout the RGF process, and said to be prepared for criticism: "People were convinced we were trying to milk the wad".
A rumour circulated that the the Echo was taking a 60 per cent cut of the million pounds, when in actuality the paper did nit even take back the £4,000 it cost to put the bid together, he said.
Machray also warned against involving third parties, such as businesses that offer "application stimulation".
When questioned if he would repeat the process, Machray said that while the move had been beneficial for the paper, he would want to see the outcome of the RGF on local businesses before investing time into it again.Tags: branding, Liverpool Echo, Regional Growth Fund
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- Northern Echo invests £10,000 in bid to 'save' Darlington Football Club


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Oskar Almazan's curator insight, February 18, 2017 8:10 PM
Using technology in class should always be motivated by a real need to optimize students' learning and to enhance your teaching. Every time you want to digitize a teaching task ask yourself the following questions: what are the added advantages of integrating technology in this task? And what are the alternative plans if things did not go as planned? The purpose is to make sure your use of technology is pedagogically sound and that it aligns with your own teaching goals.
callooh's curator insight, February 11, 2017 8:42 AM
The learning professional is at heart a generalist when it comes to skill sets (aka a jack/jill of all competencies)
Weichao (Vera) Chen's curator insight, January 31, 2017 2:18 PM
Fun to read about the development of new technologies and their applications to education!


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Picture of the Day: Jennifer in camo
Gotta love girls in camo. Here's Jennifer in her camo bikini.
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Brace yourself for a shocking surprise at "The Greazy Lagoon" as proprietor Manny Wicke throws his first annual GOLDEN VOICE KARAOKE COMPETITION. With a $100,000 recording contract up for grabs it's sure to be a cut-throat competition.
Competing tonight will be beer truck driver Kirk Wheeler, would-be movie star Trudy Jewel, former housewife turned steamy songstress Carmen SanDiego, and the Golden Boy himself - Davey Nantucket.
Don't let the unusual staff at "The Greazy Lagoon" bother you - it's nothing personal, they treat everyone that way. Or as they like to say "It's you, not me".
Sing along with all the HITs and cheer on your favourite competitor, but be careful! There's a killer at large and a body is bound to drop when you least expect it.
From the same producers who brought you the hit show The CodFather. Click here to check out our 5-STAR REVIEWS on TripAdvisor - awarded the 2017 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellent for outstanding reviews!
Cash-only bar (ATM on-site). Complimentary popcorn is the only food served during the show so arrive early and grab dinner before the show at The Prescott. Don't be late... Doors to the Parlour Room open at 7:30, show starts at 8pm SHARP. Street parking and large lot right across the street.
Don't forget to get your mugshot! This Killer comedy is rated PG, gun play but no bad language. Tickets are non-refundable and are not transferable to different show dates. For more show details visit www.MurderMysteryOttawa.com. Shows often sell-out so get your tickets now.
Voucher holders must enter their voucher code in the PROMOTIONAL CODE field in order to receive their tickets. Voucher and tickets must be presented for admission.


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Phil Kerby, former editor of the Los Angeles Times, once quipped that censorship is the strongest drive in human nature; sex is a weak second.
This impulse remains formidable.
Since the 30th annual Banned Books Week kicked off Saturday, Durangoans have been reminded that in 20th century America, authors were regularly prosecuted under the Comstock Laws, their novels publicly condemned and legally suppressed, including D.H. Lawrences minor masterwork Lady Chatterlys Lover.
Just weeks after an American-made movie that defames Islam incited riots in the Middle East, Banned Books Weeks rollicking defense of free speech an argument that has been locally amplified by illustrious guest speakers, defiant readings, supportive newspaper editorials, suitably erudite panel discussions and events at all the usual intelligentsia haunts, from Marias Bookshop to the Fort Lewis College has never been more urgent. Yet in an age when grandmothers are reading Fifty Shades of Grey in Starbucks, to many Durangoans, book-banning seems quaint.
Mark Esper, editor of The Silverton Standard, said, We keep looking for books to ban, to no avail. Ive done a lot of historical research about this town, and Ive never heard of it here.
Andy White, director of the Durango Public Library, said, Weve had some people express concerns over a book usually about its age appropriateness, but no ones ever come in and said, I dont want that book in this library.
Librarians in Ignacio and Bayfield agreed that the bathetic civic zeal that led Victorian communities to ban books is all but dead in Southwest Colorado.
Peter Schertz, co-owner of Marias Bookshop, said he thought many people didnt take book-banning seriously.
The issue is meaningful especially at bookstores because books contain ideas. Distributing those ideas is the heart of freedom. When people have the feeling that certain books should be banned, theyre disrupting that freedom.
Banned Books
Despite Durangoans consensus that book banning is bad, a neurosis of a bygone, unenlightened and sexually hung-up America, books continue to be banned in public libraries across America particularly in schools.
Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Freedom of Expression, who traveled from New York City to speak Saturday on a panel at Durango Public Library, said, Its a long struggle over the way people want kids to perceive the world they live in, over how to educate them, what are the values that we want to instill and its a battle thats unlikely to end at any point. In a society as diverse as ours in which there are so many diametrically opposed opinions, thats free speech, you should disagree.
According to the American Library Association, more than 11,000 books were challenged between 1990 and 2010, with best-sellers such as The Hunger Games, the Harry Potter series and the Twilight series attracting disproportionate ire.
Parents lodged more than 6,000 complaints. The most frequent complaints were that a book was sexually explicit (3,169), contained offensive language (2,658), was unsuited for an age group (2,232), contained violence (1,310,) or promoted the occult (1,051), according to the association.
Even books of evident literary quality remain vulnerable to attack. The Office for Intellectual Freedom reports at least 46 of the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century have been targets of bans, including Beloved by Nobel Prize Winner Toni Morrison and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Easy to mock
When the Concord Public Library banned Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1885, Twain wrote to his friend Charles Webster that the librarys committee have expelled Huck from their library as trash and suitable only for the slums. That will sell 25,000 copies for us sure.
In many instances, the modern censorious impulse appears as easy to mock. According to the ALA, in the 1990s, the first book in the Wheres Waldo series by Martin Handford was one of the most banned in the country. Keen-eyed detractors complained that in one characteristically crowded beach scene, the illustrator vaguely alludes to the existence of a womans nipple.
Despite the fall of the Berlin Wall and the ease of Internet research, in 2010, the Texas Board of Education banned the beloved picture book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Did You See, mistaking its author, Bill Martin Jr., for an obscure Marxist theorist of the same name.
In 2010, a Virginia school purged The Diary of Anne Frank from its shelves, attempting to protect children from its sexually explicit and homosexual themes. The Washington Post reported that it was also banned in Alabama in 1998, with four members of the Alabama State Textbook Committee calling it (spoiler alert) a real downer.
Even the dictionary has been banned in various schools. In 2010, a California elementary school banned Merriam-Websters dictionary, scandalized by its definition of oral sex. In 1987, the Anchorage School Board banned American Heritage Dictionary for its objectionable entries, including bed, knocker and balls.
Recently banned
Though residents of San Juan and La Plata counties have taken a permissive approach to the literature our children are exposed to, many Colorado communities including our neighbors have not. In 2007, Phillip Pullmans theological polemic The Golden Compass was removed from the Ortega Middle School Library in Alamosa for being anti-Christianity.
In 2008, Carolyn Macklers The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things was ejected from Colorado Springs Middle School Library, while in Castle Rock, Sarah Brannens Uncle Bobbys Wedding was challenged at the Douglas County Libraries, because it featured two gay guinea pigs.
Calling book bans obviously absurd, Ted Holteen, Arts & Entertainment Editor of The Durango Herald, said, everything we read in high school was banned at some point. But its still something you have to keep an eye on. Any psycho out there who thinks they have the right to control anything that published for someones voluntary consumption if you don t like it, I mean, shut up, dont read it.


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I've thought for quite a while that we have al Qaeda on the run, but this clinches it: Osama bin Laden has retreated to the last refuge of a scoundrel, environmentalism:
Osama bin Laden criticised relief efforts in Pakistan and called for action against climate change in what appeared to be a new audio tape from the al Qaeda leader issued on Friday in an Islamist forum. …
Bin Laden also touches on global warming, the second time he is believed to have made climate change a prominent theme of one of his statements.
"The huge climate change is affecting our (Islamic) nation and is causing great catastrophes throughout the Islamic world," he says in the tape.
Who knows, maybe someday bin Laden could win a Nobel Peace Prize, like Al Gore. Don't laugh–after all, bin Laden must have the smallest carbon footprint of any political leader. An unheated cave, a few goats–talk about sustainability! He makes Gore look like a rank hypocrite. Well, to be fair, pretty much anyone does.


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What a newly divorced 40 something man screws. She is between the ages of 23-27, not super bright and works as a waitress or bartendar at the bar he frequents, because he has no real friends or social skills. He hits on her because 1) he thinks he's cool because someone 20 years younger is attracted to him (ie: his money) and 2) because she is the only female he sees on a regular basis. He can "stalk" her and she doesn't even know it because he is a permanant fixture at that bar.
Hey is that John's daughter?" "No..just the server pussy he's been tapping.
by crazybutnotdumb October 27, 2010
The 23-27 yr old women who work as waitresses and bartenders that every 40 something, newly divorced man tries to screw at the local bar he hangs out at because he has no real social skills or friends. He tries to hook up with them because 1) he thinks he looks cool if a girl 20 years younger then him is interested in him (his money) 2) He is CONVINCED that he is hot and wants to prove it to the world and 3) she is the only women he sees on a frequent basis, because he is always at the same bar night after night. Eventually, she dumps him for a man younger then him and this man dies alone and wishes he had dated a woman his own age.
"That creepy old guy at the end of the bar is always here. He's trying to get himself some server pussy."
"Hey, is that (______)'s daughter?" "No, its the server pussy he's been trying to tap since his divorce."
"Hey, is that (______)'s daughter?" "No, its the server pussy he's been trying to tap since his divorce."
by askjoe422 October 27, 2010