text:
We live blogged all the action in the stock market on Thursday. You can get a compact rundown of the day\'s action in Market Snapshot.
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- 9:39 am
- Mostly lower now
- by Victor Reklaitis
- Add a Comment
Good morning.
It's choppy in the early going after yesterday's record close for the Dow.
Dow -0.1%
Nasdaq +0.1%
- 9:44 am
- Wobbly, choppy
- by Victor Reklaitis
- Add a Comment
The main indexes all were positive in the first few minutes of trading, then dipped into the red, now have crept back into the green.
So a lot of wavering between small gains and losses at the outset here.
Traders might be holding off from huge bets somewhat, given that tomorrow will bring the monthly jobs report, always a big event for markets.
S&P 500 +0.1% at last check
Dow +0.1%
Nasdaq +0.2%
Photo credit: Bloomberg
- 9:50 am
- Yelp, T-Mobile
- by Victor Reklaitis
- Add a Comment
Yelp is one of today's big winners after its earnings report late Wednesday, last up 8.5%.
T-Mobile is gaining as well after its quarterly release, jumping 9.1%.
Read more in the Movers & Shakers column.
Photo credit: Bloomberg
- 9:55 am
- Claims miss
- by Victor Reklaitis
- Add a Comment
In case you missed the economic reports before the bell…
The number of people who applied for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose by 14,000 to a nine-week high of 344,000.
But consumer spending moved up by 0.9% in March, topping forecasts, while personal income increased by 0.5%, matching expectations.
Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images
- 10:07 am
- ISM, construction data
- by Victor Reklaitis
- Add a Comment
A couple more economic reports hit at 10 a.m., but the reaction by the main indexes isn't that big.
The three main indexes remain in narrowly mixed territory.
The ISM index came in at 54.9%, slightly above forecasts, while construction spending rose 0.2%, missing expectations.
Dow -0.1%
Nasdaq +0.1%
- 10:16 am
- S&P = toddler resisting a nap
- by Victor Reklaitis
- Add a Comment
Sam Stovall of S&P Capital IQ has a nice analogy in his latest note on the stock market.
"Like an over-tired toddler resisting a nap, the S&P 500 continues to fight rather than surrender to the exhaustive callings of an overdue correction," Stovall writes.
"Encouraged by a rebound in S&P 500 Q1 EPS growth expectations, now at 1.7% versus the earlier estimate of a 1.2% decline, combined with a stuttering stair-step ascent in economic growth, both the S&P 500 and DJIA are closing in on all-time highs."
Photo credit: Getty Images
Full disclosure: Getty's caption indicates this toddler is crying ahead of a vaccination, not necessarily because it's nap time.
- 10:18 am
- Fresh session lows
- by Victor Reklaitis
- Add a Comment
Stocks have slumped to new intraday lows in the last few minutes, although losses aren't huge.
Dow -0.3%
Nasdaq -0.1%
- 10:24 am
- More from Stovall
- by Victor Reklaitis
- Add a Comment
In that "over-tired toddler" note mentioned earlier, Stovall also provides his latest technical analysis.
"From a technical perspective, the S&P 500 index has regained its footing after holding above the 1850 level," writes Stovall, an equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ.
"This move higher was supported by the Dow, but not the Nasdaq or Russell 2000. While remaining above the 1834-1850 area, we think the '500′ will soon break to new all-time highs. However, we think upside gains in the S&P 500 may be muted, should the Nasdaq and Russell continue not participate."
- 10:37 am
- Chart: what Stovall's talking about
- by Victor Reklaitis
- Add a Comment
- 10:46 am
- MarketWatch Radio newscast
- by Anora Mahmudova
- Add a Comment
Consumer spending revs up, plus Ford Motor and the parent of Taco Bell and KFC are getting new leaders. MarketWatch's Ann Cates reports.
- 11:01 am
- GM car sales in April jump
- by Anora Mahmudova
- Add a Comment
General Motors shares are up 1.8% after April car sales came in above expectations. Its total U.S. car and light truck sales were up 7% last month, topping expectations of a 4.7% rise by analysts.
The carmaker's shares are down 14% since the start of the year.
For more on car sales, read: Fiat Chrysler, GM sales jump; Ford sales slip
- 11:17 am
- WSJ Live: Is the U.S. heading toward a deeper downturn?
- by Anora Mahmudova
- Add a Comment
The economy's leading indexes were pointing to a slowdown before bad weather hit earlier this year — but there is much more to the economy's weakness than weather. Co-Founder and COO of the Economic Cycle Research Institute Lakshman Achuthan discusses. Photo: Getty
- 11:29 am
- Solar stocks gain
- by Anora Mahmudova
- Add a Comment
Among today's winners are solar panel makers.
First Solar Inc /quotes/zigman/102025/delayed /quotes/nls/fslr FSLR +2.9%.
Sunedison Inc /quotes/zigman/17430636/delayed /quotes/nls/sune SUNE +6.7%
Canadial Solar Inc /quotes/zigman/103639/delayed /quotes/nls/csiq CSIQ +4.9%
SolarCity /quotes/zigman/13139813/delayed /quotes/nls/scty SCTY +6.5%
First Solar Inc. reports first-quarter earnings Tuesday, and some on Wall Street expect a mixed bag for the solar-energy developer and maker of photovoltaic cells, wrote Claudia Assis.
For more, read the full story here: First Solar's first-quarter results seen mixed
- 11:42 am
- S&P 500 take aim at new record
- by Anora Mahmudova
- Add a Comment
We've mentioned the S&P 500 being likened to an overtired toddler earlier in this space. Here is the full version of that story:
S&P will hit record soon, but it's a tired toddler, gains may be muted: Sam Stovall
All three main indexes are trading higher:
Dow +0.06%
Nasdaq +0.74%
- 11:58 am
- The Dow theory
- by Anora Mahmudova
- Add a Comment
The Dow Transportation average is up 0.9% and is trading near its record closing level, reached on April 22. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has been flirting with record territory, but is too wobbly to hang on to gains today.
Do you see where we are going with this? The Dow Theory – which states that when both the Industrials and Transports rally and reach highs in tandem, markets are poised for future rally.
We will be watching this carefully.
- 12:22 pm
- Stocks likely to remain volatile
- by Sue Chang
- Add a Comment
The stock market is likely to remain volatile with the S&P 500 index moving in a wide range, said Brian Belski, chief investment strategist at BMO Capital.
Slightly higher dividend estimates and a rebound in earnings revisions are providing some upside pressure. By contrast, macro conditions remain a slight drag, while slightly lower dividend payout expectations are providing some downward pressure.
Belski is projecting the S&P 500 to hit 1,900 this year. The large cap index is currently at 1,886 as of mid-day Thursday.
- 12:56 pm
- Moody's: Scotland has more to lose from referendum
- by Sue Chang
- Add a Comment
Scotland — the country that gave the world Scotch whiskey and the West Highland White terrier — may have more to lose than the U.K. if a national referendum on its independence garners enough support, according to Moody's Investors Service on Thursday.
While there are significant uncertainties associated with Scottish arrangements post-independence, an 'A' rating is perhaps the most likely at the outset, but with risks tilted to the downside.
On the other hand, the impact of Scotland's independence on U.K.'s rating is likely to be muted given its small economic size relative to the U.K. The vote to decide on the country's sovereignty is scheduled for Sept. 18.
- 1:16 pm
- MarketWatch Radio newscast
- by Anora Mahmudova
- Add a Comment
We talk to Kelley Blue Book's Karl Brauer about April auto sales and what Ford's new CEO has in common with GM's new CEO.
- 1:19 pm
- Dow, S&P 500 trade in narrow range beneath highs
- by Wallace Witkowski
- Add a Comment
Stocks traded within a narrow band Thursday following the Dow Jones Industrial Average's first closing high of the year Wednesday.
The Dow industrials were down nearly 12 points 16,568.96, about a dozen points shy of it's closing high of 16,580.84.
The S&P 500 Index was up 1.6 points, or 0.1%, at 1,885.63, just shy of its April 2 closing high of 1,890.90.
The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 20.68, or 0.5%, at 4,135.24, more than 5% of its 14-year closing high set on March 5.
- 1:42 pm
- Stock sentiment sours. Time to buy?
- by Wallace Witkowski
- Add a Comment
Strategists have steadily been recommending more exposure to stocks on average since 2012 but positive sentiment toward stocks has weakened recently, flashing a buy signal, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Sell Side Indicator.
Read the MarketWatch blog on The Tell here.
- 2:03 pm
- Internet stocks trade up ahead of earnings
- by Wallace Witkowski
- Add a Comment
Shares of LinkedIn Corp. and Expedia Inc. were trading up ahead of their non-Internet counterparts ahead of after-hours earnings reports.
LinkedIn shares rose 3.9%.
Expedia shares advanced 2.6%
Akamai Technologies Inc. shares rose 2.4%.
On the other hand, shares of Kraft Foods Group Inc. were down 0.4%.
Outerwall Inc. shares declined 2.2%.
Public Storage shares fell 0.5%.
Southwestern Energy Co. shares fell 1.4%.
Tempur Sealy International Inc. shares declined 0.5%
One exception was Western Union Co., with shares up 0.3%.
- 2:34 pm
- Jobs gained during recovery pay a lot less: Study
- by Wallace Witkowski
- Add a Comment
What many feared is being supported by a new report: Most of the jobs created during the recovery pay a lot less than the jobs lost during the recession.
MarketWatch's Greg Robb blogs about the report from the National Employment Law Project
- 2:39 pm
- Dow and S&P down, Nasdaq up
- by Kaitlyn Wells
- Add a Comment
The Dow and S&P 500 are in negative territory, while Nasdaq manages to stay in the green.
Dow -0.2%, at 15,550.65
S&P 500 -0.05%, at 1,883.04
Nasdaq +0.2%, at 4,123.72
- 2:53 pm
- Microsoft releases IE security update
- by Kaitlyn Wells
- Add a Comment
Microsoft Corp's /quotes/zigman/20493/delayed /quotes/nls/msft MSFT stock has been on a downward trend Thursday, currently at -1%, or $39.97. The company released a security update this morning to fix a bug in Internet Explorer. The security update has been available since 10 a.m. Pacific Time. On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security warned users to use alternative browsers.
- 3:07 pm
- Sell in May? Stocks mixed on first day
- by Anora Mahmudova
- Add a Comment
Stock benchmarks mixed on first day of new month. Big jobs news coming tomorrow. Adrienne Mitchell reports.
- 3:15 pm
- Faber says timing is everything
- by Kaitlyn Wells
- Add a Comment
Is it too late to buy U.S. stocks? Gloom-and-doom expert Marc Faber thinks so, reports Barbara Kollmeyer for The Tell.
"We've already had a big break in the market, but we haven't had yet the big break in the overall market.. As U.S. investors, you have to choose the time to buy. I believe it's too late to buy the U.S. stock market," he told CNBC on Wednesday. The editor and publisher of The Gloom, Boom and Doom Report blames investors for having "excessively optimistic expectations about their future returns."
Read more here.
Photo credit: Bloomberg
- 3:24 pm
- Does today's movement really matter?
- by Kaitlyn Wells
- Add a Comment
S&P may be acting like a tired toddler today, but with jobs data coming, at least one person says tomorrow's activity is of greater importance.
Today's action means nothing. Tomorrow we got Payroll data & test sentiment of people holding thru weekend on Ukraine. $SPX $VIX
— TurboResearch (@TurboResearch) May 1, 2014
- 3:37 pm
- Markets mixed
- by Kaitlyn Wells
- Add a Comment
With less than a half hour till the bell, markets remain mostly lower:
S&P 500 down 2.39 at 1,881.56
DJIA down 37.8 at 16,543.04
Nasdaq Composite up 3.83 at 4,118.39
- 3:51 pm
- BMO's Belski: Wide and volatile range trading ahead
- by William Watts
- Add a Comment
Brian Belski, strategist at BMO, sees no reason to alter his 1,900 price target for the S&P 500, but warns in a note that after a wild ride in April, volatile trading over a wide range is likely to remain the norm:
We expect volatility will remain a prevalent theme for a while and as a result, expect the market to trade in a wide range for the foreseeable future. To that end, we still see no reason to alter our current 2014 S&P 500 targets, particularly considering trends within our models, which continue to counterbalance each other. For instance, slightly higher dividend estimates and a rebound in earnings revisions are providing some upside pressure. By contrast, macro conditions remain a slight drag, while slightly lower dividend payout expectations are providing some downward pressure.
- 4:04 pm
- Mixed finish as Dow retreats from record
- by William Watts
- Add a Comment
It was a mixed finish, with the Dow ending marginally lower and edging back into negative territory for the year a day after posting a record close. The S&P 500 finished virtually flat. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 ended three-day win streaks. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, eked out a modest gain for the third straight session.
DJIA — down 21.97, or 0.1%, at 16,558.87
S&P 500 — down 0.27, or less than 0.1%, to 1,883.68
Nasdaq Composite — up 12.90, or 0.3%, to 4,127.45


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Watch 360 Degree Interview With One Direction
1D in 3D is one thing. But seeing One Direction via a panoramic, 360 degree angle? Oh yes! You can never have Harry Styles or Zayn Malik and their band brethren in enough dimensions, points of view or perspectives. In this quirky interview, filmed wth Dot by Kogeto, which is a 360-degree accessory for the iPhone 4, you can use your mouse to scroll and view the interview from any "direction" you'd like.
We have to admit the radio DJ conducting the interview is a bit annoying, chomping away while chatting with the 1D boys. All the boys in the band are eating pizza, too, and it turns out that noshing and gnawing on food is part of the interview, dubbed "a full-mouth interview." Gross, but sorta funny.
There are some fun parts, such as the boys playing the lottery with scratch-off tickets, which you must be 18 to do in the U.S.
The boys say they are not paying too much attention to the records that they are breaking. They are just doing their thing. But they certainly are aware of all the viral videos that are popping up and celebrating their music.
The DJ asks them to offer their best pickup line with a mouth full of food, too. One of the lines is as follows: "If you like pizza as much as I do, we're going to get along real well."
You hear that, Directioners?
Watch One Direction 360 Interview

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Plugin with a File Manager and Restricted Area
Бюджет R$90-750 BRL
We need to budget for a job. We work with wordpress sites, in php, and we need to create a restricted area with a login and password in which the registered users have access to a simple table informing about results of exams, with the download link of the exam itself, which Comes from our customer's system.
And that the results and information in this table would be easy to insert via export (from the system) and import (to the site bank).
The exams (pdf), would be saved in a specific folder, already with predefined names, so that there was the automatic link, without the need to indicate the file in the web environment.
The users (login and password) for each client may be pre-configured, but daily it would export data relative to some of those users to the site.
It is a veterinary laboratory, so each veterinarian (user) has his login and password and routinely requests exams. These exams are performed and in a daily routine they should be exported and imported to the site.
This export and import work should be practical enough that no work needs to be done within the wordpress platform.
USER: Access the site Public> create or access with login and password. > Access your personal panel, where you should have a table with 5 to 6 columns in which one of them is the download link of the exam> there must be filter methods or it is desirable that there is organization in the table by different criteria.
The user should only view and access the files related to his user
IMPORTATION: The user of the laboratory management system exports data related to the exams of the day. This export must contain the data necessary for visualization by the site, plus the unique veterinarian code, which is the access login to the system and from which it will be possible to separate the unique data of each veterinarian. User accesses the administrative area of the site and imports the data. User saves the pdf files with the exam results in specific folder, synchronized with the site ftp.
11 фрилансеров(-а) в среднем готовы выполнить эту работу за R$580
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text:
(603) 447-2177
The Premiere Saco River Outfitter in New Hampshire and Maine
Late April to mid October Saco Bound offers complete canoe,kayak, tube & SUP board rental programs, which include the highest quality products very affordable prices. With years of experience in river sports our staff is always happy to offer tips, advice & river info. We offer trip planning, shuttle service and private put-ins for those with their own canoes and kayaks.
Private Access, No-fee Parking, and Private Take-outs. One of the most convenient features of Saco Bound is that once you arrive at Saco Bound, you are at our private, well staffed, put-in on the Saco with free parking and no shuttles necessary to the river. You also get to use our private take-outs, which are run strictly for the convenience of our customers. Private campsites are also available. Saco Bound operates 6 private riverfront facilities for our customers' maximum convenience. Check out the deals in our canoe & kayak store. We have one of the largest selections of new, used & demo, canoes, kayaks, SUP boards and paddling accessories in the eastern US, at the absolute best prices. Visit our river-side base or one of our outposts, in North Conway and Errol, NH.
Bob T's Paddling Blog: Sep 19th, 2018
River trips in the fall are awesome! The colors are starting to change nicely right with several maple trees in a blaze of color.
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Ctr Conway, NH 03813
Reservations • Kayak & Canoe Store • Saco River Rentals • Youth Programs • Family Rafting • Pontoon Cruises
National Wildlife Refuge • Whitewater School • Lake Umbagog • Make a Payment • Directions
Old Town Canoes Sales - Buy Old Town Kayaks - North Conway Canoe Kayak Rentals - New Hampshire Canoe Trip - Fishing Kayaks
Web design, maintainance and hosting by CamberSoft, Inc. - www.cambersoft.com


text:
Ecclestone's F1 outburst makes no sense says Lauda
Niki Lauda has hit back at Bernie Ecclestone's attack on Mercedes and F1's new, greener and quieter era.
In an outburst last week against the sport he heads, F1 chief executive Ecclestone said the farcical events of the opening test at Jerez proved his fears about the energy recovery-powered V6 era were founded.
He even dismissed the argument that F1's new regulations save fuel, insisting: "Mercedes are taking 23 trucks with them everywhere. If they really wanted to save fuel they should stop that".
Former triple world champion Lauda, now the chairman of the Mercedes team, hit back at Ecclestone's comments in the German newspaper Bild.
"I don't understand what Bernie said," the great Austrian started.
"The decision to go with the new engines was taken jointly, by everybody, five years ago. To criticise now makes no sense," said Lauda.


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Ford picked the Frankfurt show to reveal the face of its future product and to tease with the launch of the Focus ST. The face of future Fords is seen in the Evos concept, a stunning car that features four full gull-wing doors. It's not exactly a concept that's ready for production, but if the front-end styling (proud grille and detail designed into the headlights), hunkered down side profile and tightly bustled tail come to fruition, it will put the company at the forefront of automotive design. J Mays, Ford's global design chief, hints strongly that the first cars to bear at least some of the Evos' next-generation "kinetic" styling language will be shown in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show.
The Focus ST (Sport Technologies) promises to be an absolute riot when it finally lands in North America. Aside from the mechanical massaging needed to keep it planted, it is the powertrain that transforms the good to the great. Beneath the hood sits a 2.0-litre EcoBoost four-cylinder engine (stay tuned for a report on the engine next week). The use of high-pressure direct injection and a turbocharger delivers an astounding 246 horsepower and 265 pound-feet of torque, which should up the ante in the small-sports car arena. In Canada, it looks like we will get the five-door derivative of the ST. The Europeans (lucky dogs) get a wagon version as well. Speedy agility combined with utility — talk about having your cake and eating it, too!
Ford showed a second concept in the form of the Fiesta ST Concept. It features a sport-tuned chassis, six-speed manual gearbox and a high-performance 1.6L EcoBoost engine that pushes 177 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque, which is enough to propel the Concept to 100 km/h in less than seven seconds.
Fiat unveiled three versions of the 500, one of which was accompanied by a taped message from Jennifer Lopez, who is set to become the face of Fiat in North America. The two hottest models were the highly anticipated Abarth editions — the 500 Cabrio Italia and 695 Competizione.
The Abarth 500C features a 1.4L engine that has been beefed up with the addition of a turbocharger. This ups the pony count from the rather pedestrian 101 hp so many have complained about to a much more robust 158 hp and — more important — 170 lb-ft of torque.
Fiat says the forced-air gusto cuts the car's run to 100 km/h from around 12 seconds for the regular version to a just 7.4 seconds for the Abarth. The Abarth 695 Competizione uses the same engine but, turning up the turbo's wick, bumps the power to 178 hp and 199 lb-ft of torque. This engine is teamed with a five-speed sequential gearbox.
The third model revealed was the 500C by Gucci, a cabriolet that's been heavily massaged by Fiat's design studio and Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini. The new convertible will be available in white with matte chrome-plated accents or a glossy black with shiny accents. In both cases, the soft-top is black, but it wears Gucci's signature green-red-green stripe length-wise over the soft-top.
On a continent that's ruled by small cars powered by fuel-efficient diesels, the launch of the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 stood in stark contrast. It's a big vehicle made all the bigger by the exaggerated front face, bolder side sills and a deeper rear apron that's cut around two oversized tailpipes. Of course, none of this really matters — it is what's under the hood that makes the statement. Here sits a 6.4L V8 that produces 461 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque. Power is put to the pavement through Jeep's Quadra-Trac active-on-demand all-wheel-drive system, a five-speed automatic and monstrous P295/45ZR20 tires. The on-demand AWD system, which drives the rear wheels and only engages the front wheels when slip is detected — or the throttle is hammered — also features a number of modes including a track setting. The latter hints at the SRT8's true potential. Inside, it's more of the same — carbon fibre accents playing off a leather-wrapped cockpit that includes an 825-watt harman/kardon sound system. It is a cool package that carries an equally cool price in Germany — the equivalent of $101,000.


text:
Noisy Parties
During party:
- Call 911. Be sure to give party address and state that the nature of your complaint is a "noisy party." In addition to getting the police out to break up the party, calls to 911 document the problem for future action. (See Rental Licensing Ordinance information.)
- It is best to be willing to give your name, address and phone number as complainant.
- The Noisy Assembly Ordinance (Minneapolis City Ordinance 389.65 Sub 1 (c) & 2 (c) is enforced 24 hours a day.
If problem persists:
- Get a group of neighbors together to plan a strategy to solve the problem. Strategies may include:
- All agree to call 911 if a noisy party starts.
- All call the property owner(s) when a party disturbs neighbors.
- Invite tenants/owner to a meeting or mediation session.
- Contact Housing & Fire Inspections if there are also problems with the upkeep of the property and grounds.
- Contact your Crime Prevention Specialists. The process generally used is:
- The RECAP is checked, the computer printout history of police calls to that specific address.
- The owner(s) of the property are contacted and advised of their responsibilities.
- Tenants are advised of the Noisy Assembly Ordinance and the consequences if they fail to stop.
- The Crime Prevention Specialist may also:
- Enforce the Noisy Party section of the Rental Licensing Ordinance when appropriate.
- Violation of the Noisy Assembly Ordinance could lead to fines of up to $1000 and/or 90 days in jail.
- Violation of the Rental Licensing Ordinance (Minneapolis City Ordinance 244.1800 through 244.2020) could lead to revocation of rental license and inability to rent unit
Last updated Sep 25, 2018


text:
SnapLogic demos 'Hadoop for humans'
It's a SnapReduce. Apparently
SnapLogic – an outfit that lets businesses connect various back-end applications – has demonstrated a tool that plugs its service into Hadoop, the open source distributed number-crunching platform based on Google's proprietary MapReduce technology.
Known as SnapReduce, the tool is designed to take "Big Data" from various sources and move it onto a Hadoop cluster for processing. It will soon be released as a private beta.
Akin to Dell's Boomi, SnapLogic lets you connect applications running in your own data centers as well as those sitting in the proverbial "cloud". The California-based outfit calls itself "the cloud connection company".
SnapLogic connects applications and other data resources using data containers it calls "Snaps". Speaking with The Register, SnapLogic CEO Gauray Dhillion compares these to shipping containers – real shipping containers – in that they provide a common means of moving things from place to place. "Just as you see standard shipping containers on boats, trains, and trucks has revolutionized transportation," he says, "we believe our container will revolutionize business integration."
Of course they do. Part of the pitch is that anyone can build a "Snap" for connecting SnapLogic to a new application, and these Snaps can be made available in the company's Snap Store. SnapLogic, you see, has a thing for snappy names. The store currently offer about 100 connectors.
On Monday, the company demonstrated an early version of SnapReduce, moving data from EMC's Greenplum analytics appliance to Greenplum's distro of Hadoop. In addition to offering SnapReduce, the company will provide a HDFS connector, which will let you move data into and out of the Hadoop Distributed File System.
SnapLogic director of research Greg Benson says that SnapReduce is different from an open source platform such as Hive in that it provides a visual means of moving data into and out of Hadoop. Originally developed by Facebook, Hive offers a SQL-like language for running Hadoop jobs. "We share some similarities with Hive," he says. "But unlike Hive, we provide a visual drag-and-drop interface for specifying the [the transformation of data for use by Hadoop]. It isn't a text-defined language".
Dhillion calls it "Hadoop for humans".
What's more, Benson says, SnapReduce also lets you move data between Hadoop and myriad business applications. "Through Snaps, we provide connectivity to a range of data sources, whether these are SaaS [software as a service) sources on the internet or traditional database sources like Oracle or MySQL."
The SnapReduce private beta will be available "very shortly," and it will be opened up as a public beta after that. A commercial product is scheduled for release in the second half of the year. ®
Sponsored: Becoming a Pragmatic Security Leader


text:
Raisin Tea Cake Recipe
Classic british dishes updated for the modern American cook.
Read more: British Bites: Raisin Tea Cake
- Yield:Makes 1 loaf
- Active time: 30 minutes
- Total time:2 hours
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 tea bag (I like PG Tips, but any strong English tea would work)
- 1/4 cup juice from 1 orange
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing loaf pan
- 1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (about 4 1/2 ounces) packed light brown sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons demerara sugar
Combine raisins, tea bag, and orange juice in a medium bowl. Add 1 cup of boiling water. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand 30 minutes. Remove and discard tea bag.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 375°F. Grease at 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with butter.
In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl cream together butter and brown sugar with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Add egg and continue to mix until the ingredients are evenly incorporated.
Mix the butter mixture into the flour mixture until there are no longer any lumps, then add tea and raisins and stir until just incorporated. Pour into loaf pan and sprinkle with demerara sugar, then bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer to a rack and allow to cool slightly. Serve warm.
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Flashpants needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 97 designs submitted by 36 freelance designers.
Challenging logo design. Only the best need apply.
Bio Juice "alternative fuel"
I'm looking for a logo design for the following company name. Bio Juice. The company produces Bio Diesel fuel and I would like a clean, modern design, something that gives a green environmentally clean look to it if that makes sense, but in a cool way. I'm open to ideas as to whether we tie in some kind of imagery so it's clear that we are a fuel producer or if we go down the clean and green route. Something combining the two would be great.
I would like to get in the alternative fuel strapline into the logo.
I want something that's unique and jumps out at you as an example of a great logo design. The logo comes with a strap "alternative fuel"
Vector format.
I'm not looking for logo's that look they were pulled off a template site.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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My candidate lost the presidential election last week. I supported Mitt Romney completely, and I know he would have led this nation well. His business acumen would've pulled us out of this craptastic economy that Obama has the nerve to call a recovery, and his leadership skills would have restored our role as the greatest country on the planet in the history of ever.
But he lost, so it's four more years of playing, "What did the White House cover up today?" Hey, at least we still have Joe Biden to keep us entertained.
Here are the five stages of grief that many Romney supporters are in the process of going through. It was a tough loss guys. It's going to take some time to get over it. Jay Carney won't help. Just saying.
Stage 1: Denial I was at the Boston Convention Center the night of November 6. There were TVs and Romney sons everywhere, and a whole lot of staffers running around asking if the numbers coming in from Florida and Virginia could possibly be true. I stuck my fingers in my ears and ordered more wine. This can't be happening, I thought to myself. We're still going to win.
Stage 2: Anger That night, I watched Romney's concession speech and I was mad at America. How could they vote for Liary-McLiar Pants instead of a principled, hard-working man that would put it all on the line for the good of the country? Please excuse my name-calling; I may still be a little miffed. Besides, if Obama doesn't like being called a liar, maybe he should, oh, I don't know … stop lying.
Stage 3: Bargaining I have a friend that said he feels like he's in the third level of Inception, where they're in the ice fortress place, and Eames turns to Cobb and says, "I really thought we had this one," and then Cobb says he has to go another level down to go get Saito. Where is our option to go another level and save the campaign? It can't be over -- just give us one more chance!
Stage 4: Depression So this is happening. Four. More. Years. Obamacare is here to stay. The most partisan president we've ever elected will nominate two to three new Supreme Court Justices. There are rumors that John "Swift Boat" Kerry may be our next Secretary of Defense. Companies aren't hiring because they can't afford to with all the restrictions and regulations Obama has imposed. What's not to be depressed about?
Stage 5: Acceptance This too shall pass. Besides, who doesn't like paying $5 a gallon for gasoline, or watching U.S. Ambassadors being murdered in Beghazi? Oh wait. I seem to be back to anger.
Fellow Republicans, take a deep breath and pass the wine. It's going to be a bumpy four years.
Image via cletch/Flickr


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General QuestionsTuesday, January 2nd, 2007
How is your company different than others that offer film/video lighting?
This company was started by Richard Andrewski with the vision of helping amateur filmmakers, photographers and videographers build their own video/film lighting that doesn't look like it was homemade. Along the way to realizing this vision, Richard found that Cool Lights can offer completely assembled solutions of very high quality at such an attractive price that it almost makes DIY a moot point–especially when you consider your time. The Cool Lights business model is what you would call "manufacturer direct". We have no dealer network or middle men and work to keep overhead low. We manufacture our designs through contract manufacturers and distribute them directly to end customers over the Internet through warehouse distribution in the USA. What this effectively means is that the price you pay is what a dealer would pay if Cool Lights went to a more traditional dealer/distributor model.
Why do you separate into "hard" and "soft" type lighting on your site?
To have a complete studio lighting offering, any video/film fixture manufacturer must offer both hard and soft light sources. We made the decision to mostly offer energy efficient, "cool lighting" sources for all our studio fixtures. For soft light, its fairly easy to accomplish that with fluorescent lighting which is a very mature technology and extremely reliable. For hard light, it is a bit more challenging to move away from tungsten, but we took up that challenge to bring cost effective, energy efficient and cool hard lighting options as well. Thus, our charter has been to search for technologies for both hard and soft lighting that are extremely efficient in both the actual energy they draw to put out light and also that they don't generate the heat which would need to be displaced by air conditioning (even further energy savings).
Soft light sources are in high demand today with high definition video becoming more prevalent. The soft and flattering light of fluorescent with its diffused and vague shadows has already been discovered by many and is well on its way to being the standard for cool, soft lighting. We now have both studio and location (portable) versions of our fluorescent softlights with dimmable models in both as well as the more economical "bank select" dimmable kinds too. But, fluorescent is always a broad and diffused soft source and can never be "hard".
Hard light sources, like tungsten or metal halide/HMI are useful when you DO want shadows, throw and projection (such as projecting a cucaloris ("cookie") on the wall). A hard light source is "hard" because it uses a single, tiny point light source to power it along with an efficient mirror and lens. A fresnel is a standard and common type of instrument used for delivering a hard light source. We carry both the traditional tungsten as well as the more efficient metal halide type of fresnels. Our metal halide models are divided up into two series: CDM (ceramic discharge metalhalide) or "cold restart" types and HMI or "hot restart" types. While we weren't the first to offer a CDM type cold start fixture, many have discovered it now through us because of our economical first versions–namely the CL-MF0150 or "CDM 150" as we often refer to it. The main drawback to this type is the cold restart requires that you wait about 5 minutes after extinguishing the fixture to relight–not considered a big drawback by many.
HMI is a registered trademark of Osram Corporation and only refers to their bulb (or a compatible one made by a competitor) that can be used in a particular fixture. HMI bulbs are metal halide technology. The term "HMI" is often used in slang however to refer to a fixture that uses those type bulbs. The traditional HMI type fixtures we offer are hot restart and have most all of the features you would expect from an "HMI" fixture. Hot restart simply means you can reignite immediately after extinguishing the fixture. We even offer a 1200w HMI par which is about the most efficient configuration for any point (hard) light source like an HMI bulb. There will be many more exciting CDM and HMI offerings in our metal halide hard light category of fixtures in the future.
What about LEDs?
LEDs are also an exciting new technology that fall midway between a hard and soft light. Kind of their own category that's not easily defined. Think of an LED light as a "digital light" of sorts just like a digital monitor display is composed of individual pixels, your digital LED light is composed of individual LEDs of one sort or another. Each LED, typically a 5mm round type, is a small point light source (hard) that's too weak to work on its own and produce any interesting effect. Once put into in a large array however, they all work together to produce either a fairly narrow spot (if the beam angle of the individual LEDs is about 45 degrees or below) or a wider "flood" if the beam angle of all the LEDs is about 50 degrees or above. Even the softer flood LED configuration will still have more throw and be a bit more harsh than a fluorescent source. Larger LEDs, such as 1w to 5w types can be more interesting in power output but still require multiple LEDs in an array to amount to much output. For most purposes, these arrays will not cause any issues but for close work (fixture close to subject) multiple shadows may be detected. As the fixture is backed away from the subject, the multiple shadow issue (or pixelated shadows as I call them) is not as noticeable.
Why are the prices of the big name manufacturers so high?
They all have dealer networks and quite a bit of overhead to support. This results in a dealer price as well as a manufacturer's suggested retail price to keep it all properly motivated. There is a confluence of several things happening at this particular point in time that will make it increasingly hard to charge higher prices for these fixtures.
(1) Many of these fixtures were manufactured in China or Mexico and have been marked up as much as one hundred times. Currently, many Chinese manufacturers (and U.S. manufacturers like Cool Lights that have Chinese operations) are getting into the act and establishing distribution in the United States. Given their smaller overhead and more efficient marketing models, they are able to sell their wares at a much lower price than many of these other established manufacturers. A manufacturer direct model, such as the one Cool Lights has adopted, only helps in this cause–thus cutting out middle men.
(2) Ballast manufacturers have moved much of their manufacturing operations to China. This has had the effect of disseminating the technology to many Chinese companies. There are no secrets left about making great ballasts in China! There are so many good, high quality, mature ballasts on the market now that the price has gone way down—but you'll still pay higher prices for a brand name and also for U.L. approval (both of which are mostly a perception thing anyway—for every brand name UL ballast, there are at least 50 more that are very suitable products and have the same quality level but not the same marketing muscle).
(3) Practically all of the fluorescent tubes in the world are made in China at this point. Most are manufacturing a very common tube which would be mostly useful in grocery stores or warehouses; but there will be more in the future which will manufacture a higher quality tube—like the one Cool Lights is selling. These will be available at much lower prices than those being charged for the high CRI products today.
(4) Prices were higher because the relatively small group of (media production) people using fluorescent (in proportion to those not using) just wasn't enough to fuel mass market production and lower prices.
(5) There are more and more amateur filmmakers, photographers and videographers who are demanding high quality, modern and efficient lighting but for less money. They simply cannot afford the prices that many companies charge today so this will also be a driving force behind change. The forces of mass market are slowly kicking in to serve this hungry market!
(6) Metal halide and LEDs will follow these trends as well to help bring their prices down.
Exactly how efficient is a fluorescent or metal halide source?
Perhaps the easiest and most accessible way to understand fluorescent efficiency is to take the general rule of "dividing by four" to get the "equivalent" wattage. What this means is that if you know you normally use a 500 watt incandescent (tungsten) light to light something, then you need a 125w fluorescent to give you the equivalent (500 divided by 4 = 125). Another way of thinking about this is that a 125w fluorescent puts out an equivalent of 500 watts for drawing only 125 watts of actual power. In addition, it only radiates 125 watts of heat so there is less heat to displace with air conditioning–even more energy savings. A more precise rule is that fluorescent puts out 40 to 60 lumens per watt used whereas incandescent puts out 10 lumens per watt. For comparison purposes, metal halide (HMI) can be even more efficient at 80 to 140 lumens per watt! It really is the best alternative for longer throws or "dramatic", hard light and casting shadows. The main drawback to metal halide though is the bulbs and ballasts are a bit more expensive but it is worth it to have an inherent daylight source that doesn't loose light through "gelling up" with CTB gel.
But I've heard there are many issues with fluorescent use for media production, if so many professionals are negative on it can it be very good?
In any pursuit, it's easy to get newcomers to accept change than it is to get people that have been in the pursuit for a while to break their momentum and change. In addition, there are early adopters and late adopters in any given technology. The early adopters in this case seem to be the newcomers since they don't have all these pre-conceived ideas and have been discovering the benefits of fluorescent for digital media production for quite some time. Many of the myths that come from the early use of fluorescent in media production (particularly where film was involved) such as the "green spike" issue or flickering are no longer issues with modern bulbs and ballasts. Thanks to electronic ballasts and the high frequency output drive (often greater than 40,000 hz) there is no flickering. And as for green spike issues, the higher the CRI of the bulb used, the less likely this will be with digital media and the ability to custom white balance.
Do you have any product manuals?
The CL-455 Studio Softlight manual can be found here.
The CL-255P/PMD Portable Softlight manual can be found here.
The CL-MF0070 CDM 70 Fresnel manual can be found here.
The CL-MF0150 CDM 150 Fresnel manual can be found here.
The CL-SFT1P Speed Softbox manual can be found here.
The CL-LED600 LED Panel manual can be found here.
The CL-LS1 Professional Rolling Light Stand manual can be found here (discontinued product).
I haven't written a product manual for the CL-255 or CL-655 yet but the CL-455 is close enough to the others to apply. Same for the CL-255P/PMD and the rest of the series. Will do a product manual for the CL-SFT1 in the near future but it's very simple!


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The LG G2 has just been officially announced, and given how many high end components LG is capable of producing, it's no wonder this thing, spec wise, seems not only top notch, but a real beauty. Here's what Phil Nickinson of Android Central had to say from the event floor:
Right off the bat, let's talk about that crazy-nice display. It measures up to a full 5.2 inches while maintaining the traditional 5-inch footprint, thanks to the super-slim bezel. It's nearly one millimeter thinner on the sides and three millimeters thinner up top than its main competitor, the Samsung Galaxy S4. That translates to a 75.9% effective display area, the largest on the market today. And thanks to its true full HD resolution and 400-nit brightness, we're seeing a display that can give just about every one of its competitors a run for their money.
And then he turns it on and we see the interface. Which, like Samsung, is where everything goes off the rails. Here, watch:
Now compare that to the first beta of iOS 7 shown off back in June:
Risky NDA breaker: it looks even better now. Apple users, go send Jony Ive some nice warm cookies.
Android users, go demand the LGs and Samsungs of this world start spending some of their millions and billions of dollars on a design team. Specs matter only so far as they need to deliver an experience. Done. Great job. Now make that experience as gorgeous in pixels as it is in atoms.
Seriously. That's the job. And it's where Apple is going to absolutely annihilate everyone else on the market come fall.
Source: Android Central


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Martin Thompson needed a new other design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 35 designs submitted by 8 freelance designers.
SAM Starter Kit
I am building a new publication for the ITAM Review, a specialist niche IT online magazine. see http://www.itassetmanagement.net
You can see an example of a previous publication here:
Readers of the ITAM Review work in IT. They are specialists. It is a b2b market.
The field 'ITAM' stands for IT Asset Management. It is where information technology meets finance - it is the field for those professionals who wish to manage the cost of IT equipment in large companies. What IT do we have? (hardware, software and peripherals), who is using it? how much does it cost? etc.
I have compiled a "SAM Starter Kit". SAM stands for Software Asset Management. The starter kit contains everything someone needs to get started with SAM. It includes a workbook, templates and educational video.
I need a good graphic to promote the starter kit on The ITAM Review. This is being sold as an ebook but will also be sold as a paperback in the future. I need a graphic that demonstrates that this is a book but also emphasises that it includes a lot more bonus items.
The SAM starter kit contains:
50 Page Software Asset Management Guide
Project Charter template
Return on investment calculator
Corporate Anti-Piracy Policy template
Employee Code of Ethics Template
Employee Home Use Sign-off Sheet Template
Employee Education video
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.


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For Parents: Gun Safety
For Parents: Gun Safety
The role of education
When should you give your child gun safety education? That's up to you. You may want to ask the local police department for advice. Knowledge about safe gun handling lowers the risk of accidents. It can also teach your child to be responsible about guns.
If you own a gun for sport or protection, your child should never have access to it. Keep all guns and ammunition out of reach. Store them separately in locked cases, with trigger locks on the guns. Even if you don't have a gun at home, talk to your child about gun safety. Your child's friends may have guns in their homes, or your child may come across a gun elsewhere. Make sure he or she knows what to do.
Setting the rules
Sit down with your child and set the rules in a family meeting. Answer all of your child's questions. If guns are not a mystery, his or her natural curiosity may decrease. Use a log book to record when you talk about, maintain, or purchase a gun.
Make sure your children understand that violence on TV and in the movies is not real. They need to be told—and probably reminded again and again—that in real life, children are badly hurt and killed by guns. Although the popular media often romanticize gun use, youngsters must learn that these weapons can be extremely dangerous.
What your child should do
Make sure your child knows what to do around guns. Discuss the following rules:
Never touch a gun! Leave it as you find it. Tell other kids not to touch it either.
Never keep knowledge of a gun a secret. Tell an adult if you see a gun, even if you are not sure it's a real gun.
If you see someone with a gun, go away. Then tell an adult immediately.
May 01, 2018
Firearm injuries in children: Prevention
Reviewed By:
Adler, Liora C., MD,Freeborn, Donna, PhD, CNM, FNP


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NL Central is a strongly built house of Cards
There's no perfect team. But try finding a major flaw on the team that the Pirates must beat if they want to build on last year's Wild Card season with a division title in the National League Central.
At the start of the 162-game season, there is probably no more daunting task than trying to run down the Cardinals, who look to be deeper and stronger than the team that went to the World Series last season.
There's no perfect team. But try finding a major flaw on the team that the Pirates must beat if they want to build on last year's Wild Card season with a division title in the National League Central.
At the start of the 162-game season, there is probably no more daunting task than trying to run down the Cardinals, who look to be deeper and stronger than the team that went to the World Series last season.
"They set the bar," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "You know they're built for the long haul. You know they're a force to be reckoned with."
Behind Yadier Molina, Matt Carpenter, a pitching staff loaded with starters who could each win 20 games and power arms in the bullpen, the Cardinals won 97 games in the regular season and nine more last October. That was two short of the number they needed for a third World Series championship since 2006, so they don't lack for motivation.
Owner Bill DeWitt Jr. oversees a tremendously well-run franchise, which this season will begin to reap benefits from Ballpark Village, the team-owned development beyond the left-field seats at Busch Stadium. Chicago fans won't be happy to see that it includes a replica of a Wrigley Field rooftop, and unlike with the Cubs, there's no argument about revenues and sightlines.
Under managers Tony La Russa and Mike Matheny, the Cardinals have gone to the playoffs 10 times in the past 14 seasons. It would be a shock if they didn't make it 11 of 15, but the Pirates, Reds and Brewers aren't exactly conceding.
Pittsburgh's 21-season sub-.500 streak ended not only with a 94-win season in 2013 but also an impressive leap into the postseason. The Bucs beat the Reds in an all-Central NL Wild Card Game -- the division was the only one with three 90-win teams -- and extended the Cards to five games in the NL Division Series before being taken down by Adam Wainwright.
Pittsburgh's young core behind Andrew McCutchen is impressive, but success will lie in replacing the work of relative old-timers like A.J. Burnett and Marlon Byrd. The Reds have lost Shin-Soo Choo from their lineup, but they still boast two of baseball's best in-their-prime players in Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. They have a talented pitching staff, although the gruesome Aroldis Chapman injury was part of a Spring Training in which starters Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos and Homer Bailey all missed time.
The Brewers expect to be much better after a wire-to-wire disappointment in 2013, which was capped by Ryan Braun's season-ending 65-game performance-enhancing drug suspension. They've added right-hander Matt Garza, who has changed teams three times since last delivering on his potential with Tampa Bay.
At no place is it farther to the top than at Wrigley, but the Cubs are approaching the time when they'll resume a serious pursuit of the Cardinals. This season should begin to bring the arrival of the top prospects that have been gathered by executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer, most notably power hitters Javier Baez and Kris Bryant.
The Cubs will need all the talent they've collected -- and lots more -- if they're going to catch the Cards.
St. Louis Cardinals
Strengths: No team in the Major Leagues is deeper, both in terms of the pitching staff and the lineup. While they led the NL in scoring last season, that had a lot to do with a non-sustainable .330 average with runners in scoring position. The core of the team was revealed in October, when Wainwright, Michael Wacha, Joe Kelly, Lance Lynn, Trevor Rosenthal, Carlos Martinez and others held opponents to a .208 batting average and an average of 3.2 runs in 17 postseason games. All of the pitchers are back, including Shelby Miller, a non-factor last October.
Weaknesses: There really aren't any. But defense could be an issue at times, especially at shortstop (Jhonny Peralta) and the outfield corners (Matt Holliday and Allen Craig). The one area where they might be most vulnerable is catching depth behind Molina, but that feels like nitpicking.
Spot to watch: First baseman Matt Adams opens the season playing against left-handers and right-handers, with Craig in right field. But once outfielder Oscar Taveras -- the team's No. 1-ranked prospect -- arrives, Matheny will have to figure out how to fit four players -- Adams, Craig, Holliday and Taveras -- into three spots. General manager John Mozeliak and the Cardinals' player-development pipeline has produced so much talent that playing time could become an issue.
Sign of trouble: There are a high number of young players in important spots. If guys like Wacha, Miller, Rosenthal, Martinez and rookie second baseman Kolten Wong struggle, the Cards could be a 90-win team instead of 100.
They'll be rolling if ...: Carpenter follows up his 2013 season by becoming one of baseball's top third basemen. He's moved across the infield to open a spot for Wong (with free agent Mark Ellis signed to provide insurance), which set up the trade of David Freese for center fielder Peter Bourjos. Along with Holliday, Craig, Molina and Peralta, Carpenter makes the Cardinals a team opposing pitchers don't want to face.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Strengths: While much is made about the defensive shifts that Hurdle employed last season, that's hardly the only reason the Bucs are a terrific fielding team. McCutchen, the 2013 NL Most Valuable Player Award winner, and Starling Marte gobble up fly balls from right-center to the left-field line, and catcher Russell Martin is a defensive difference-maker. That plays well for the pitching staff, especially a bullpen that can hold its own against the Cardinals, which says a lot. Jason Grilli , Mark Melancon, Tony Watson and Justin Wilson give up runs grudgingly.
Weaknesses: There was a lot of talk in the offseason that the lineup could use another bat. The Pirates don't have that big bopper at first base and might have to compensate again with midseason trades, as they did when they added Byrd and Justin Morneau last season. An injury to McCutchen or Pedro Alvarez could be devastating. Hurdle would like more aggressive baserunning, but there isn't much speed behind Marte and McCutchen.
Spot to watch: Can Wandy Rodriguez return from his second-half arm trouble in 2013 to solidify the starting rotation? He has done little since being acquired from Houston in a midseason trade in 2012, but he had a solid Spring Training. While there are big arms on hand in Gerrit Cole and in the Minors in Jameson Taillon and Nick Kingham, the rotation gets thin in a hurry if pitching coach Ray Searage can't get production from Rodriguez and free-agent acquisition Edinson Volquez.
Sign of trouble: If McCutchen, Alvarez or Neil Walker slow down, it will be bad news for a lineup that was ninth in the NL in scoring last year. The Pirates have an intriguing hitter in the wings in outfielder Gregory Polanco, but they would rather ease him into the lineup when things are clicking, as opposed to looking to him as a major piece.
They'll be rolling if...: The starting rotation reaches its potential. Cole looked like Justin Verlander at times last year, and Francisco Liriano unlocked his potential. Charlie Morton pitched well enough to earn a three-year contract.
Cincinnati Reds
Strengths: Rookie manager Bryan Price takes over a very balanced team, along the lines of the Cardinals. The Reds are built around three dependable run-producers in Votto, Bruce and Brandon Phillips. Cincinnati is always solid in the field, with Bruce being one of the best two-way players in the league and Votto and Phillips not being far behind. The starting rotation is a paper strength, but all three members of the 1-2-3 combination (Bailey, Cueto and Latos) missed some time in Spring Training.
Weaknesses: The bullpen seemed like a strength until Chapman was struck in the face by a Salvador Perez line drive last week. Chapman could be out until June, and you have to wonder if he'll rebound from that horrific incident to pitch well at any time this season. Jonathan Broxton and Sean Marshall could also open the season on the disabled list, leaving J.J. Hoover as the closer early in the season.
Spot to watch: Billy Hamilton, replacing Choo in center field, will be an electrifying force if he continues to hit like he did in Spring Training. His game-turning speed was neutralized by a .308 on-base percentage in Triple-A last season, so it's important that he gets off to a good start.
Sign of trouble: Cueto's lack of availability at key times has been a big issue the past two seasons. The health of the starting rotation is a huge key, with the reliable Bronson Arroyo allowed to leave as a free agent. Tony Cingrani and Mike Leake are important pieces, and the Reds could need a lot of starts from David Holmberg or someone else from the farm system.
They'll be rolling if ...: Votto, Bruce, Phillips, Todd Frazier and Ryan Ludwick all hit 25 or more home runs, as they are capable of doing. The Reds are going to have to score a lot of runs to support a pitching staff that is reeling on its way home from Arizona.
Milwaukee Brewers
Strengths: The Brewers are strong up the middle, with young, contractually controlled players in catcher Jonathan Lucroy, shortstop Jean Segura and center fielder Carlos Gomez. The hope is that second baseman Scooter Gennett and left fielder Khris Davis establish themselves as part of the core going forward.
Weaknesses: The bullpen could have trouble holding leads. Jim Henderson is being entrusted with the closer's job for the first time entering a season, and GM Doug Melvin made a good move by re-signing Francisco Rodriguez to provide some insurance. But getting to those guys will be a challenge for the group behind them. Left-hander Will Smith, acquired from Kansas City for Nori Aoki, could be the difference-maker who turns this group into a strength.
Spot to watch: Can Garza, signed to a four-year, $50 million contract, and Yovani Gallardo give Milwaukee a 1-2 combination to match up to the front of the NL Central's other starting rotations? Both have long intrigued scouts and executives with their potential, but they haven't delivered consistent results. Health has been Garza's question, and Gallardo is trying to bounce back from a subpar season. If they bounce back, they could join Kyle Lohse, Marco Estrada and Wily Peralta to give the Brewers a run at the top of the division.
Sign of trouble: Injuries to the position players could be a major problem as the farm system doesn't have Major League-ready replacements in the wings. First baseman Hunter Morris is the only top position-player prospect who played above Class A last season.
They'll be rolling if ...: Braun bounces back from his suspension and a persistent problem with his right thumb to put up numbers close to his NL MVP Award-winning totals from 2011. He's moving to right field so Davis can play left. The Brewers could have a good lineup if Braun and Aramis Ramirez do their parts.
Chicago Cubs
Strengths: Youthful enthusiasm, maybe? Heading into the third season of the Epstein regime, the Cubs have continued to focus their efforts on the 22-and-unders. The farm system is beginning to produce hitters on the verge of the Major Leagues, which could make the second half of the season fun. Barring a setback, power-hitting shortstop Baez should crash the lineup by midseason, with the only question being where he plays as the team remains invested in Starlin Castro. Third baseman Bryant and outfielders Jorge Soler and Albert Almora should follow, with yet another infielder, Arismendy Alcantara, an intriguing wild card.
Weaknesses: Having traded Alfonso Soriano to the Yankees last summer without replacing him, the Cubs could have a difficult time scoring runs. They outscored only the White Sox and Marlins last season and that was with Soriano as the leading run-producer. Michael Olt, acquired from Texas in the Garza trade, is a lottery ticket as part of a third-base platoon and there's hope that Castro ends his regression as a hitter. Anthony Rizzo hit 23 home runs, but he didn't approach his ceiling last season.
Spot to watch: The starting rotation is thin enough already, with no top prospects pushing for spots, yet Opening Day starter Jeff Samardzija remains a subject of constant trade speculation. He was watched closely by scouts in Spring Training, but the situation could change in a hurry. Another strong season could lead to a long-term extension, as no team in the Majors has more financial flexibility than the Cubs.
Sign of trouble: Epstein and Hoyer believe they've addressed their bullpen problems with the addition of Jose Veras to be the closer, Pedro Strop in a setup role and Wesley Wright to share some of the lefty load with James Russell. Arodys Vizcaino was throwing 98 mph in Spring Training and could become a major piece after getting some innings with Iowa. Nothing would unravel the team quicker than problems in the bullpen.
They'll be rolling if ...: First-year manager Rick Renteria helps Castro rediscover the game that prompted the Cubs to give him a seven-year, $60 million contract as a 22-year-old. He's led the NL in at-bats each of the past thee seasons, but his batting average dropped to .245 last year, during which he also regressed as a defender. Epstein and Hoyer remain committed to Castro as their shortstop, but they would love for him to re-establish his trade value.
Hitters on the Brewers and Cubs can tell you how underrated the NL Central is. They get heavy servings of the powerful arms of the Cardinals, Pirates and Reds on a regular basis, so they weren't surprised to see those three teams in the playoffs last year. That could happen again, but opinion is somewhat divided on Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. There's no question about the Cards, who join the Tigers as baseball's strongest division favorites. The only question with Matheny's team is whether it can win 100 games in the regular season, and whether it will win it all in October.
Favorite: Cardinals
Challengers: Pirates and Reds
Darkhorse: Brewers
Never say never: Cubs
Phil Rogers is a columnist for MLB.com.


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Green Hosting Guide
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"Green Hosting Guide"
GetLark: A Simple Platform and Good Pricing are the Key
Interview with Łukasz Gawior, CEO of GetLark
If Lukasz Gawior had to encapsulate GetLark in one word, he'd say 'simplicity.' We had an opportunity to learn more about this Polish hosting platform and discovered how they put this belief into practice while at the same time provide a feature-rich product for both web developers and a wider audience.
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"GetLark: A Simple Platform and Good Pricing are the Key"
LiveChat: Serving the Entire Customer Service Market
Interview with Daniel Zielinski, Partner Marketing Manager at LiveChat
From being listed on the Warsaw stock exchange to pivoting to a SaaS model in 2009, LiveChat has continued on an exciting and strong growth path. As a platform which serves both customer support and online sales, LiveChat strives to constantly offer new and robust features for its customers, including developers. We had the opportunity to chat with Partner Marketing Manager Daniel Zielinksi to understand more about how LiveChat and its outlook on the future of customer support in an increasingly automated world. Bonus: a special discount for HostAdvice readers.
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"LiveChat: Serving the Entire Customer Service Market"
Contabo: A Variety of Services, State-of-the-Art Hardware and Competitive Pricing
Markus Heimerl, Marketing Manager of Contabo
Founded in 2003 and formerly known as Giga-International, this company changed its name to Contabo, a shortened version of its vision of content across borders. In keeping with this vision, Contabo strives to deliver both private users as well as small to medium businesses state-of-the-art hardware at an affordable price. To learn more about this German company with customers from all over the world, we interviewed Contabo's marketing manager, Markus Heimerl.
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"Contabo: A Variety of Services, State-of-the-Art Hardware and Competitive Pricing"
PHPNET: Strong Relationships with Customers as Core Value
Interview with Thierry Tatin, Datacenter Director for PHPNET
A French company dedicated to serving its local customer base, PHPNET has a customer base of 15,000 with over 50,000 sites on their own servers and 30,000 hosted domains. It prides itself on developing a close relationship with its customers. We talked in-depth with their datacenter director, Thierry Tatin, to learn more about this web hosting company located in Grenoble, the capital of the French Alps.


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In honor of Encyclopedia Brown, for whom the end of school means it's time to open up his garage office and problem-solve for the children of Idaville, we hereby declare this the Summer of the Word Problem! Actually, summer's a lovely season for a good mystery (I happen to like fall, winter, and spring, as well), and this year offers a variety of new mystery stories sure to tempt 9- to 12-year-olds.
These aren't mysteries in the sense of the Hardy Boys or the Boxcar Children. Instead, they feature boys and girls trying to get to the bottom of questions that range from the deeply personal (Who am I and where did I come from?) to the humorous (What are those goofy people in the Revolutionary War costumes doing in the woods at night?) to the utterly baffling (Where did the giant statue go, and how do you hide something that weighs 1,000 pounds, anyway?)
For Sam MacKenzie, "summer" and "reading" go together about as well as a sardine and pickle sandwich. The "skinny but tough" kid at the center of Newbery Honor winner Patricia Reilly Giff's new novel Eleven (Random House, 165 pp., $15.99, ages 9-12) has a learning disability and has pretty much given up on the idea of reading.
"The lines moved like black spiders, stretching their legs and waving their feelers across the pages."
When searching the attic for his birthday present, Sam comes across a picture of himself as a toddler, with the headline "Missing." He can't read the accompanying newspaper article, and he's afraid to ask his beloved grandfather, Mack, if he's been kidnapped.
So, he turns to the new girl in school to help him figure out who he is and where he came from. "Eleven" might zip a little too fast through the plot, but there are elements to savor. Giff does a great job making Sam's reading disability part of the mystery without turning the novel into a "message" book. But the relationships truly make the book. The friendship between Sam and Caroline is excellently rendered, as is my favorite part: Sam's lovely extended family.
Family secrets are also at the heart of Tim Wynne-Jones's Rex Zero, King of Nothing (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux; 218 pp., $16.95, ages 9-12). Wynne-Jones, who won an Edgar Award for "The Boy in the Burning House," is a wonderful writer (we adore his "Zoom" books about an explorer feline), and his "Rex Zero" stories are warm, vivid reminiscences of what it was like to be 11 in 1960s Ottawa, Ontario. They are full of detail, and there's no false nostalgia. (I could have used a little: At one point, Rex's buddy finds his older brother's stash of centerfolds.) Rex and his friends are surrounded by what tend to be regarded as modern troubles: divorce, spousal abuse, and traumatic stress disorder. Lousy teachers have, alas, always been with us. To foil the dread Miss Garr, Rex and his friends come up with a truly old-fashioned solution: a letter-writing campaign.
Meanwhile, Rex finds an address book and, in trying to return it to its owner, meets a beautiful damsel in distress. But his nascent detective career causes him to miss the "Our Mistress Day" – excuse me, Armistice Day, ceremony – bitterly disappointing his father, a veteran still haunted by World War II. While the other books reviewed here are fine for younger children, parents will either want to be available to talk about the issues in "Rex Zero," or read it with anyone younger than a fifth grader.
Naturally, that's the book my 6-year-old chose for his bedtime story, so I distracted my art-loving first-grader with the mobiles of Alexander Calder (ooh, shiny!). Calder's whimsical-yet-sophisticated art is at the center of Blue Balliett's new puzzle novel, The Calder Game (Scholastic Press, 375 pp., $17.99, ages 9-12). Those unfamiliar with Balliett's work should start with her Edgar Award-winning "Chasing Vermeer," but fans of that book will be thrilled to join Calder Pillay and his friends Petra and Tommy on another adventure. This time around, Calder and his father have gone to Woodstock, England, where an Alexander Calder sculpture has just been donated to the 1,000-year-old village. The villagers are less than thrilled to have the modern art plunked down in the middle of all that quaintness, and Calder Pillay also feels less than welcome. Then, both boy and sculpture vanish overnight and Petra and Tommy rush to England to help Calder's father find him. Balliett's mixture of art, math, history, and philosophy is definitely a winning one, but the resolution to the mystery isn't quite as satisfying this time around. There are a few too many coincidences, and a sour character's overnight (off-screen) transformation strikes a false note. But to counterbalance that, Balliett fills the book with British guerrilla artist Banksy; a castle, complete with maze; and Pummie, a giant, one-eyed black cat. All that, and a coded message embedded in Brett Helquist's illustrations.
Younger readers will get a kick out of Morgy's Musical Summer, by Maggie Lewis (Houghton Mifflin 100 pp., $15, ages 9-12). Morgy MacDougal-MacDuff is off to music camp with his trumpet and his name carefully labeled on everything, including the soap. Sadly, the camp, run by Col. Hiram Profundo, is on shaky financial footing and is in danger of being turned into condos. And Morgy keeps seeing strange visions in the woods at night. Plus, being a "promising beginner" in a camp full of prodigies can be tough, and Morgy comes in for some bullying as he struggles to master his part in the Concerto Fabuloso. The plot is a touch crammed, but the Morgy books are good fun (and fun to read aloud). Readers heading off to summer camp for the first time will enjoy this outing.
Yvonne Zipp regularly reviews fiction for the Monitor.


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Looking to hit and practice. I am 4.5+ a little rusty. North County Carmel Valley area.
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Craig, you want to play today around 4pm? I have two courts where I live in the Del Mar Beach Club. Call me 858-353-7359.
Steve, I am out for a while with an injury, but thanks for the invite.
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Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing
with regard toabout the article published onin your magazine concerning the importance of keeping in touch with people. I would like to give my view on this article and state thatI believe that a good relationship with one's relatives is the main key to harmony in the humansanyone's life. More specifically I am going toI would like to share my opinion on some of the positive and negative factors of being away from your family, which in my case arose from moving to another country.
Firstly, last year I made a hard decision and chose to study abroad. Changes of environment in your life can cause painful moments. A lot of people experience a so called culture shock,
the momentwhen processes and communication seem sto be done in other way as use to beways different from what they are used to. [Note: this ends the sentence with a preposition, but rules are made to be broken sometimes] In these kinds ofcircumstances, the most important thing is to keep in touch with your family. It is hard to get accustomed to changes, therefore advice from your closest ones is needed. Talking can help you feel better and understand everything more clearly, or even see things from a different point of view.
peopleyou should not avoid contacts with theiryour new friends, as they are part of your new environment. Socializing is the trigger to an individuals happiness. Friends are a tool to change your understanding of the procedures around you. Moreover, this tool stabilizes your mentality, which makesmaking you a normal human being.
To conclude, my advice to the reader would be to turn more attention on communication
betweenwith your loved ones. Talking and socializing is oneare two of the most important interactions in life. Practising these twoskills will onlyhelp you to feel satisfied about yourself.
Kind regardsYours faithfully,
Student or Learner


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SCSU's Dowd Signs With Los Angeles Kings
St. Cloud State senior forward Nic Dowd signed a one year contract with the Los Angeles Kings Tuesday after completing his collegiate career in the Huskies' 4-0 loss to Minnesota Sunday night in the NCAA Tournament.
Dowd scored 40 points in 38 games this season and was equally effective on the defensive side of the ice. The Huntsville, Alabama native was named the National Collegiate Hocket Conference's Defensive Forward of the Year in 2013-14, as well as the conference's Student-Athlete of the Year.
Dowd scored 121 points in his four seasons at SCSU.


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Encarnacion, Blue Jays top Rays
Toronto, ON – Edwin Encarnacion's bases-clearing double in the seventh inning lifted the Toronto Blue Jays to a 7-5 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a three-game set.
R.A. Dickey (4-5) surrendered three runs -- two earned -- over his first three innings, but settled down and didn't allow another run over his last five frames. He struck out five in all and gave up four hits and four walks in the win.
"He was on a nice little roll," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "If you look at the way he's pitched, he usually gets a little stronger as the game goes on. He finds that groove."
Melky Cabrera added an RBI double among his two hits for Toronto, which has won five of its last seven tilts.
Evan Longoria tallied two hits, two RBI and a run scored, while Yunel Escobar smacked a two-run homer for the Rays, who had won nine of their last 11 contests.
Jake Odorizzi, who was acquired from the Kansas City in the deal that sent James Shields to the Royals, started in place of the injured David Price and fanned six, but allowed three runs on five hits and a walk over five innings.
"I saw the typical good composure, some nice stuff," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.
Maddon also said Odorizzi's curve ball was effective.
"It was really good. When you see good hitters take bad swings, you know how good the pitch is. I thought it was exceptional," Maddon said.
The game was tied 3-3 before the Blue Jays broke it open in the seventh.
Josh Lueke (0-1) replaced Jake McGee to start the frame and walked three of the first five hitters to load the bags for Encarnacion with two outs. Encarnacion laced an 0-1, belt-high splitter into the left field corner and Toronto took a 6-3 advantage.
The Blue Jays added an insurance run in the eighth on Kawasaki's RBI triple. Casey Janssen finished the contest off in the ninth despite allowing a two- run blast to Escobar.
Earlier, Sam Fuld's RBI groundout in the second got the Rays on the board before Toronto countered in the home half on Melky Cabrera's RBI double, which gave Toronto a 3-1 margin.
Tampa Bay pushed two across in the third on Longoria's two-out, two-run double.
Game Notes
Toronto was 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position, while Tampa Bay finished 2-for-10 with RISP ... Odorizzi was 4-0 with a 3.83 ERA in eight starts at Triple-A Durham this season.


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Well, it's all over. The suitcases are unpacked, the photos are loaded in Lightroom, the jet lag is easing. After taking some time to analyze what I saw, and go over my notes and photos in detail, I've assembled this list of Scrapbook Update's Top 10 Hot Picks from CHA Winter 2010:
1. BasicGrey
This pick may sound a bit redundant, because BasicGrey is such a force in the industry. But their last few show introductions have been somewhat underwhelming. One of my favorite companies was frankly, starting to edge toward getting stale. But with the introduction of Kioshi, Green At Heart, Capella, and Max & Whiskers, BasicGrey is starting to look more again like the company whose papers used to make a serious dent in my budget. I wasn't the only one excited, either – I heard the same sentiment from many others on the show floor.
Another fabulous showing from the company at CHA Winter was their Basics line. Available in 3 colors (white, cream and kraft), it is a line consisting completely of text and ledger-style paper designs that make great backgrounds for building on. Ledger paper is incredibly popular – a whole collection of it is a dream for many scrapbookers.
2. EK Success Slimline Punches
It's no secret that I'm a fan of the EK Success slimline punches. There will be plenty for everyone to love now, because despite the trend towards smaller product line introductions, EK Success is introducing 78 new designs of slimline punch.
A large number of the new punches are border punches, including some that create paper ribbon chains. For Halloween, EK was previewing a punch collection that included a new even larger size of border punch.Consumers are all about tools right now, and punches are used by scrapbookers and cardmakers. Expect the popular slimline punches to get even more popular with this huge introduction of options.
3. Melody Ross for GCD Studios
A few months after the news broke that the Ultra-Pro owned Chatterbox was defunct, founder Melody Ross is back in style with an amazing collection for GCD Studios. She's obviously thriving in her new professional home, as this is the best creative work that we've seen from Ross in quite some time. Ross, who revolutionized the industry a decade ago with her work at Chatterbox, reclaims her position as one of the leading creative minds in the industry with her CHA Winter lines for GCD Studios.
4. Staz-On Metallic
Stamping is hot. Metallic is hot. So StazOn, the ink that stamps on almost any surface, being introduced in new metallic shades seems like a made-to-order hit for manufacturer Tsukineko.
The metallic StazOn ink pads come in four metallic shades: gold, silver, copper and platinum. The pads work in a similar fashion to the Tsukineko glue pad, coming with a pad and a re-inker bottle from which the pad must be loaded and then more frequently refreshed than a regular ink pad.
5. The Girls Paperie
Margie Romney-Aslett has definitely moved on to a successful new chapter after being let go by Making Memories nearly a year ago. Her new line with Advantus, called The Girls Paperie, was all the buzz at CHA in Anaheim.
The designs are in the beautiful vintage style that Romney-Aslett is known for, and include both papers and embellishments. There are two lines. One is travel-themed, and one is a classic feminine floral grouping.
6. Tim Holtz for Sizzix
Sizzix generated a lot of excitement with the announcement that Tim Holtz would design a line of dies for them called Alterations, and the products unveiled at CHA did not disappoint Holtz's fans. Alterations is something of a departure style-wise for Sizzix, so it may attract a whole new group of customers for the machine.
One nice feature of many of Holtz's die designs is that they are divided into many pieces. For instance, pieces from the butterfly die can also be used to create a dragonfly or half butterfly design. The Alterations line also includes a group of embossing folders for the Sizzix machine.
7. Cricut Cake
While technically not exactly a scrapbook product, the Cricut Cake machine from Provo Craft is designed to extend a papercrafting product line to a new audience: bakers. This new version of the Cricut Expression machine is food safe and designed to cut sheets of sugar to use in decorating cakes and cookies. It will ship in May and retail for $399. Regular Cricut cartridges do work in the machine.
The machine can cut from two different thicknesses of decorating material. From the examples on display at the Provo Craft evening event in Anaheim, the Cake is capable of cutting quite detailed images. The images on the cake below come from a Cricut cartridge called A Child's Year. The Cricut Cake generated a lot of buzz at CHA, and is a great opportunity for Cricut to extend its market base beyond just papercrafters. According to a representative for Provo Craft who spoke to Scrapbook Update at CHA, the Cake is just the start of some major development in the Cricut line – the company has five new machines in the pipeline for the next few years.
8. Copic Markers
The rise of interest in stamping has brought along a rise in interest in mediums that are used with stamps. There's been a lot of buzz recently about Copic alcohol-based markers for use with stamps. Copic markers were hot sellers at the CHA Supershow in Anaheim (in fact, the booth with a great deal on them was the only one I waited in line at all day). There were examples on display in many stamping booths at the show that had been made with Copics, and Couture Cardstock was advertising its new bleed-proof Pure Silk blending papers designed especially for use with Copics.
9. Lily Bee Design
Lily Bee Design, a new exhibitor, has been attracting a lot of buzz with its vintage feminine designs. They've achieved something that usually seems to be difficult for a new company, by creating embellishment designs that are beautiful and noteworthy. Their chipboard flowers and 12×12 rub-on sheets are worthy accompaniments to the company's beautiful papers, giving Lily Bee's lines a depth that many new companies can't match. These lines' reasonable size and their quality means that a retailer doesn't need to cherry-pick them to carry them.
10. Eco Green Crafts
Also in the new exhibitor section, Eco Green Crafts is making a timely entrance to the market when interest is building in "green" products. Co-founder Julia Andrus is a cancer survivor, and all of the company's products in some way are designed to be environmentally friendly – from low VOC paints and inks to unmounted rubber stamps that save wood. The company's line of inks are vegetable-based. Eco Green Crafts offers an extensive selection of colors of inks and paints, recycled paper board books, and a catalog of unmounted rubber stamps that are "steampunk" styled, among other products.


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"Person to Person - Satisfaction and Service are Our Business"
It aint your teenagers
annoying chat program anymore!
SAN FRANCISCO -- Once a cool tool of the teen set, Instant Messaging has
been spotted lately sporting a brand new pair of wingtips. But even though
corporate usage of short messaging is skyrocketing, many firms are at a
crossroads, says
Michael Singer
One of the most annoying parts of using Instant Messaging (IM) is that
there are so many different choices from AOL to MSN to ICQ. Every time you make
an acquaintance professionally or personally you have to find a new program to
install to keep up with the new contacts.
Wouldnt it be nice to install one program and keep up with your business
associates, your teens and your personal acquaintances? Thanks to Trillian by
Cerulean Studios the word interoperability or one program that handles all
the IM platforms from Yahoo to ICQ, has become a reality.
I have personally been using Trillian for the past 3 months and would
recommend it to anyone who has to use more than one IM platform. I found it
easy to install and the inter-face is user friendly. A word of caution, be sure
you write down your name and password for each platform you use before you
configure Trillion. It will ask you for your user-id or number and your
password. That is easy to forget when you have the option to auto sign-in.
Trillian, which competes with
Odigo and
Jabber to provide IM interoperability platforms, has enjoyed heady growth
among consumers recently, according to research from Jupiter Media Metrix. The
research firm said Trillian appeared for the first time in February 2002 in the
Media Metrix Internet audience ratings with 344,000 unique users and has grown
77 percent to 610,000 as of April 2002, added
Ryan Naraine.
Trillion may be found at:
Timothy J. Kilkenny
Founder and CEO
Did you know about our
FullSpeed ISDN Circuits?
Anywhere in
An ISDN Circuit includes the 128K
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Be Kind To Your Email
Friends (Part III)
Last month we discussed the importance of "Protecting the Privacy of Your Email
Address" by using the BCC in sending email. This month we're going to discuss
the problems of junk email that is not SPAM. (Next month we'll talk about
Problem 3: Junk Email (not SPAM)
There is a fine line between what is "junk" email and what is SPAM email.
Examples of Junk Email are hoaxes (such as forwarding fake virus threats,
"Please help little Suzy", etc.), and chain letters. SPAM mail is any
unsolicited message of commercial intent.** It is safe to say that a vast
majority of the Internet community is fed up with both variants of trash,
including ISPs (Internet Service Providers). Trash email creates huge amounts
of network traffic that could be put to much better use, and often creates
slow-downs in service. Most competitive ISPs have powerful email servers and
sufficient bandwidth to support this to some extent, but the equipment is
expensive to maintain and bandwidth costs even more.
Solution: Don't Spread It!
This is a win-win situation for everyone, folks. Your ISP is happy that you
don't clutter the network, and your friends are saved from having to first
download then delete another nuisance from their mailbox already in the
hundreds. Here are some helpful links in sniffing out those virus hoaxes, email
fraud, and other junk messages:
· "Don't Spread That Hoax!"
· "Hoaxbusters" http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/
** "Unsolicited" is the operative word here as many SPAM companies claim that
their message was sent with your permission. Moral: Be careful what you click
"I Agree" for, you just might get it.
Stay tuned next month when we'll talk about real SPAM.
Randen Swartz
Customer Service


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http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-match-report/drudge-match-coach-sees--red-after-drab-performance-20120504-1y3z7.html (+ match stats) Richard Knowler May 7, 2012
Crusaders 15 Reds 11
UGLY, messy, sloppy - take your pick. The Crusaders got lucky against the Reds at AMI Stadium last night.
Have a look at it this way; whistle-happy referee Bryce Lawrence favoured the Crusaders 16-7 in the penalty count, the Reds scored the only try and if five-eighth Tom Taylor didn't prove he possesses the temperament of a brain surgeon by slotting five of his six penalties this result would have different.
One did not have to wonder why windows of the Crusaders coach's box were steamed up.
As he sat there writing his post-match notes, it was difficult to sight Todd Blackadder behind the misty glass. No doubt his papers highlighted several areas that require fixing before meeting the Rebels and that list is likely to be considerable in size.
A sports shrink could state that after impressive victories over the Waratahs, Hurricanes (the highlight so far this season) and Stormers, this was a timely reminder the Crusaders cannot get too carried away with themselves.
Blackadder wasn't prepared to put too much spin on the poor result and, not surprisingly, was measured in his post-match analysis.
"I try to look at it from what I would say if we had lost because I think if we approach it from that angle we will take some good lessons out of it,'' he said.
"I'm delighted with the win, but we are just disappointed [with the performance], I would suggest.''
The Crusaders had reason to feel miffed about several of Lawrence's decisions. After repeated scrum resets in the second half, when hot on attack, he determined the Reds were not at fault when the set-piece screwed wildly and a minute later yellow-carded Wyatt Crockett for a petty tackle offence.
In what was maybe an omen of things to follow, second-rower Tom Donnelly was forced out at late notice with a back complaint.
That required Sam Whitelock to be drafted in, not a bad replacement to be fair, and Ross Kennedy slotted in on the bench.
But things started badly when halfback Andy Ellis unwittingly contributed to the sole try. Reds centre Anthony Faingaa jolted the ball from Ellis's grasp following Mike Harris's kick-off, the scrum was won, the Queensland forwards surged and hooker James Hanson emerged from the in-goal pile-up a happy man.
Ironically, for a match booked in for a rare afternoon timeslot expected to produce a bundle of tries, the remaining 78 minutes produced absolutely none.
Periodically the Crusaders were surprised by the Reds' intensity in the rucks, where openside breakaway Liam Gill, 19, contributed to putting pressure on the ball, No.8 Scott Higginbotham also made precious metres with his ball running and halfback Will Genia kicked cleverly and worked the blindside well.
The Crusaders battled gamely but even one of their best in recent weeks, the blockbusting No.8 and skipper Kieran Read, was not immune to spilling the nut.
Blindside breakaway George Whitelock was typically no-nonsense in the tight exchanges and second-rower Luke Romano had one of his best performances this season.
One of the biggest cheers of the night for the Crusaders came on the stroke of half-time when their defensive scrum demolished their opponents and earned a penalty.
It was a rare highlight on a largely forgettable night.
CRUSADERS 15 (Tom Taylor 5 pens) bt QUEENSLAND REDS 11 (James Hanson try Michael Harris 2 pens) at Rugby League Park.
Referee: Bryce Lawrence.


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We'd like to thank everyone who attended and in particular those who took time to speak at the forum. We were privileged to have a stellar line up of speakers from New Zealand and Internationally who are all experts in their respective fields of sport performance innovation.
Please click on the link here like to view video footage of the day's sessions.
A selection of photos from the day can also be viewed here.
With forum partners HPSNZ, Callaghan Innovation and ATEED having all received very positive feedback from the day we are now planning for the Sport Performance Innovation Forum 2018. We look forward to continuing to work with the sector to accelerate innovation and grow our market share internationally in the sport performance area. To get in touch please contact Bridget Davey from ATEED on email@example.com or to receive updates on the 2018 Forum please click here.


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President Obama's speech regarding Syria on Tuesday is best viewed as an attempt at political damage control. Obama hoped to stem the growing (and correct) public perception that he blundered badly at one or more stages of this crisis. His target audience was the only cohort to which he might provide reassurance — those who haven't been paying close attention.
I thought that Obama had pulled off this limited feat, and that, absent a U.S. attack on Syria or the further use of chemical weapons by Assad, Obama would not suffer much additional political damage because of this matter.
Last night on Fox News, however, I happened to see the reaction of a Frank Luntz focus group to Obama's speech. The comments of the participants showed widespread dissatisfaction with both the speech and Obama's underlying behavior. The dissatisfaction crossed party lines.
Two caveats may be in order. First, it seemed that the focus group discussed the Syrian situation before viewing Obama's speech. By doing so, its members became a relatively high-information audience. Thus, their reactions to the speech were not necessarily the reactions of Obama's target audience — those who haven't been paying close attention.
Second, a group dynamic seems to have been at work in Luntz's group. The reaction of Democrats during the speech — as reflected in the moving line on a graph that's based on the use of dials in real time — was more positive than their post-hoc commentary. Most viewers at home presumably were not subject to a strong group dynamic immediately following the speech.
But a group dynamic may be at work nonetheless. Late night comedians — David Letterman included — are ridiculing Obama over Syria. I imagine they will want to move on in a day or two, but the impression they have left may well persist.
Moreover, the saga is not yet finished. Obama now will negotiate in some fashion with Putin and Assad. The negotiations will produce neither good optics nor good options. In essence Obama either will have to accept a patently phony, easily ridiculed deal or be thrown back into the same seemingly no-win situation (from a political standpoint) that prompted him to grasp at the straw of negotiations.
The media, I assume, will not harp on Syria, but neither will they avert their eyes completely. And the late night comedians will continue to enjoy a target rich environment when it comes to Syria.
Is the Obama presidency "collapsing" — "dissolv[ing] before our eyes" — as Pete Wehner argues? I'm not prepared to say that.
But Obama's credibility seems to be eroding, at last, in the public's mind. And may finally be starting to look small, and even a bit ridiculous, to many who have never viewed him that way.