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Committed to Integrity, Outstanding Client Service, & the Ability to Listen to Your Concerns.
Looking for a sophisticated law firm to represent you in complex litigation or need the guidance of an attorney? We are here to help.
Experienced Lawyers to Represent You
A full-service law office, stocked with superior talent that works using a team approach, can increase your chances of finding creative, timely, and cost-effective solutions to your legal problems. The St. Louis attorneys at Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal, P.C. are committed to solving the problems of our clients, whether through negotiated or litigated methods. Our firm has office locations in both Clayton and O'Fallon, Missouri.
Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal lawyers bring a team approach to your problems that is designed to use all of our resources. Our goal is to obtain consistent and efficient results for your legal matters. You will quickly grow to appreciate our dedication to professionalism, personal service, and determination to bring about positive outcomes, while using the latest technology. Those qualities have served us well for many years and these are the reasons many of our clients keep coming back, and recommend us to others.
Our legal leadership extends to practice areas as varied as immigration, business law, real estate, estate planning, family law and many more.
Need Legal Consultation?
For quality legal representation from skilled professionals who will always listen to you, contact Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal for an initial consultation. We look forward to meeting you and working with you. To speak with an attorney directly about your legal concern, please call us at 314-727-2266 and we'll connect you to one of our two St. Louis area offices. Evening and weekend meeting appointments are available.
Just a Few of the Ways PCB Can Help
We are a full service firm, able to help you with a variety of legal problems. Visit our practice areas page to get a full listing of all the ways that we can help you. From arbitration and mediation to complex litigation, we are here to find creative solutions for problems involving:
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Including entity selection & business formation, contract drafting & review, business purchase and sale, mergers and acquisitions, complex business litigation, tax planning, computer & e-commerce law.
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SD-WAN Market Share
Unveiling the application terrain of SD-WAN market: escalating demand from the manufacturing sector to drive the industry landscape over 2019-2025
The SD-WAN market has lately been growing at a significant pace, characterized by the robust adoption of these solutions across a spate of industry verticals, given their ability to help organizations regarding their legacy infrastructure maintenance. The traditional infrastructure of WAN is known to rely extensively on costly hardware appliances for providing connectivity in remote locations. However, organizations have now been able to reduce those expenses by deploying SD-WAN solutions. Moreover, the solutions also assist enterprises in directly connecting remote users and devices to the cloud and ensuring secure connections.
North America SD-WAN Market Revenue, By Application, 2018 & 2025 (USD Million)
SD-WAN solutions also provide the companies with improved network visibility, and help in reducing network complexities of managing dynamic workloads. By utilizing SD-WAN solutions, organizations can benefit from cost reduction and secure connections, which in turn will propel the commercialization landscape of SD-WAN market in the years to come.
The penetration of smart IoT devices in varied industry verticals, including retail and consumer goods, telecom, manufacturing, and healthcare has substantially increased security risks and network complexities. SD-WAN solutions play a vital role in this context, given that they help improve network visibility for the management of connected devices for reducing security risks, and address the complexities of the IoT infrastructure. The prevailing AI-enabled SD-WAN solutions would also boost the demand for SD-WAN as machine learning algorithms are broadly utilized for WAN optimization. This would further enable network administrators to analyze WAN traffic and re-route the same, automatically, for the selected connection. The capability of SD-WAN has thus proved useful across a spate of verticals, expanding the application scope of the global SD-WAN industry, a gist of which is given below:
In the recent times, some of the biggest banks across the global industrial cosmos have cropped up as leading financial organizations which provide a wide range of services to international markets, and control billions of dollars in assets and cash. Financial service firms have been relentlessly working to capture new market opportunities, implement innovative strategies, develop customized services, and identify new business niches.
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This sector, in the years to come, is anticipated will become even more complex with further diversification, deregulation, consolidation and globalization of the financial industry. Irrefutably, this complexity in the BSFI industry can be effectively addressed only by deploying SD-WAN solutions, which will augment the SD-WAN market share from BFSI applications in the coming years. Of late, the modern banking industry is also remnant of extensive diversification, as is observed by the penetration of some select banks in the domains of core investments, security underwriting, insurance, and portfolio management. With banks and other financial institutions widening their service portfolios, working to evolve as vital entities in the global business landscape, SD-WAN industry size from BFSI applications is expected to surge massively, given the humongous demand for these solutions to reduce complexity and costs.
The manufacturing sector is anticipated to emerge as one of the most profitable application avenues for the global SD-WAN market. Undeniably, this growth can be credited to the surging popularity of IoT platforms deployed in manufacturing industries. With more and more smart devices and sensors being incorporated in manufacturing facilities, companies are, quite overtly, demanding accurate solutions that are able to deliver exceptional network visibility for end-point management.
Driven by the fact that SD-WAN solutions help manufacturers prioritize network traffic and simplify network management, in a bid to make sure that crucial applications obtain access to the required connection, the manufacturing sector is touted to majorly contribute toward the expansion of SD-WAN industry. As the deployment of more and more communication technologies and IoT devices in the manufacturing industry increases, the demand for SD-WAN solutions will naturally depict an upsurge, propelling SD-WAN industry size from manufacturing applications. As a matter of fact, Global market Insights, Inc., claims that software-defined wide area network market share from manufacturing applications will depict the highest CAGR of more than 60% over 2019-2025.
Retail and Consumer Goods
Retail enterprises using SD-WAN are naturally equipped with the capability to supplement and expand their backbone connectivity, with more options available in a particular location, ranging from broadband to LTE. Along with making the process of adding bandwidth in a site easier, SD-WAN manages conditioning and prioritization of traffic, for improving application performance even further – a major parameter of concern in the retail industry that has been undergoing an extensive digital transformation of sorts.
In the 2017 Cloud and Network Benchmark of Nemertes Research, which involved 625 organizations, it was stated that over 50% of more successful retailers have started deploying SD-WAN, in contrast to the 10% among the less successful ones. As retailers intend to eliminate unnecessary capacity and functionality expenditure, they have been demanding WAN solutions that can accurately leverage NFV and SDN to run on generic hardware and deal with flexible deployment of capacity and functionality. This would substantially augment the requirement of SD-WAN solutions in the retail sector, that secures service continuity via myriad techniques – right from traffic replication spanning multiple paths to sub-second traffic cutover from a failing to a healthy link, thereby propelling SD-WAN marker share from the retail and consumer goods sector.
Endorsed by a mammoth application terrain, the global SD-WAN market is expected to traverse alongside a highly lucrative remuneration graph in the ensuing years. As per estimates, the valuation of the overall SD-WAN market would cross a colossal US$17 billion by 2025.
Author Name : Saurav Kumar

subset: commoncrawl


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Zillertal Ewige Jagdgründe
Imagine a beautiful green narrow valley with pasturing cows and snow-capped peaks. A stream gushes happily through it, and a small road winds upwards, past the occasional farm, through the odd hamlet. Now imagine that littered within this valley there are dozens of granite boulders of all shapes and sizes. Some are gigantic, while others are tiny, dwarfed by the dark cliffs high up above. If you look carefully you'll notice those telltale white chalk marks, and even closer inspection reveals that there are literally hundreds of sports routes to choose from. Delicate quartz slabs, deep granite cracks, steep crimpy overhangs… a dream come true? Well, stop imagining and welcome to the Zillertal, Austria's granite eldorado!
The Zillertal has long been the breeding ground for some of Austria's foremost climbers, with the likes of Gerhard Hörhager and Markus Schwaiger setting standards and pushing them ever upwards over the last 20 years. But this valley is by no means resereved exclusively for the best: there are over hundreds routes to chose from, of which the majority are mid-grades. And if you want a rest from the single pitch sports climbing, consider some of the multi-pitches which loom above, or the massive bouldering opportunities dotted throught the in the valley and the nearby Zillergrund.
One of the main crags in the Zillertal is without a doubt the Ewige Jagdgründe, a collection of 7 massive boulders with some of the best and most varied climbing in the area. We recommend you head here first, then discover the other crags.
The Zillertal is located 70 km SE of Innsbruck. Take the A12 motorway east, exit at Wiesing then travel S along the B169 to Mayrhofen. After Mayrhofen turn left off the main road, keeping on the B169 to Ginzling. Continue through this small village on up to the Ewige Jagdgründe - the enormous free standing boulders on the left. Park next to theboulders, circa 500m before reaching Gasthaus Breitlahner and the toll road.
All types of granite climbing: cracks, slopers, slabs, steep crimpy overhangs.
Please note: the boulders on the opposite side of the stream (Wig, Wam and Mocassin) are officialy closed to climbing. For up-to-date information check out www.stonemonkeys.com
Camping Mayrhofenwww.tiscover.at/camping-mayrhofen
|News Zillertal
Zillertal, Klettern & Bouldern - Markus Schwaiger


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Job Listings: What They Really Mean
7 want-ad terms you need to know to get that dream offer
En español | Can you deliver "sustainable disruptive value?" Are you an "active external learner who is comfortable influencing at all levels?"
See also: 5 businesses you can start.
Job seekers often encounter inscrutable phrases like those in help-wanted ads. It's almost as if recruiters are using a code that they believe attracts applications only from people who understand it.
The truth is, many companies are simply very bad at writing job descriptions, says Kathy Simmons, CEO of Netshare, a San Francisco-area online career services company for senior executives. The descriptions are often crafted by committee, with the hiring manager, human resource chief and line workers all adding favorite words and phrases to what becomes a mixing bowl of hiring buzzwords.
Still, if you're looking for a job, it pays to know what recruiters are trying to get at with their opaque language. Below is a list of seven terms found in actual job listings, decoded and explained.
1. "Required skills" and "preferred skills"
Required skills are what you must have, the price of admission. If you don't have these, don't bother to apply. Preferred skills are extras that companies have traditionally used as the tiebreaker to decide between two comparable candidates.
In the current market, there is so often such a huge oversupply of applicants for each job that many companies feel "they can look for someone who walks on water," Simmons says. So they bulk up the list of preferred skills.
Her favorite one recently asked for people with 10 years of experience in advertising on mobile devices — even though that market didn't exist 10 years ago.
2. "Must be willing to work flexible hours"
This phrase can have different meanings. It may signal that you shouldn't count on working 40 hours a week, or that you should be willing to work some overtime.
Or it could mean that some of the regular work hours will fall outside a normal 9-5 schedule. Many jobs in hotels and hospitals have these kinds of hours to accommodate different schedules, says Michele St.Laurent, recruiting practice manager at Insight Performance Inc., a human resources consulting firm in the Boston area.
3. "Entrepreneurial spirit"
This is a favorite in today's hiring world. It's an indication that the company is looking for someone who doesn't wait around for instructions, is comfortable with a high level of risk and is eager for hands-on work, even without a support staff. Definitely not a corporate type.
This might also imply a greater time commitment. "An entrepreneurial company probably works long hours," says Bill Peppler, managing partner at Kavaliro, a national staffing agency. "It's more of a lifestyle, not just a job. You're always on the clock, you never know when you'll meet opportunity."
4. "Effective at influencing at all levels"
This could mean you'll need to be good at winning over people who outrank you in the organization and people who are below you. Expect that office politics will be a big part of this job.
HR people sometimes use another bit of favorite jargon to define this one, "manage up" and "manage down."
5. "An active external learner"
"External" tends to mean outside the specific duties of the job and workplace, such as at seminars, trade shows or a local college. It can be particularly important for job hunters age 50 and over to demonstrate that they're "active learners," able to acquire new skills and not just continue to do things the old way.
6. "Deliver sustainable disruptive value"
Many companies like to describe their technology as disruptive — it's so new and innovative that it disrupts the market, the established way of doing things. So they're of course looking for people who like to overturn the old ways. "Sustainable," another favorite word in HR circles, means that the "value" will stick around.
7. "5 years progressive experience in a significant leadership position"
"Progressive" in this context has nothing to do with political views, but implies a career that's been smoothly trending upward.
Notice that the seniority of the advertised position is not specified. Simmons interprets it as meaning someone at a level to have profit-and-loss responsibility for a department. Leslie Hawkins, human resources director at Realty in Motion, a company in Bellevue, Wash., suggests that the company is looking for someone who's been a vice president or who has run a division, as opposed to a small team of five people.
For better or worse, you need to understand these terms and take them seriously when you apply. Lots of reputable companies use them.
Then there's job posting language that companies might have been better off leaving out, because they send up red flags for applicants: stay away.
Take the phrase 'Must be comfortable with ambiguity,'" Simmons says. "It can suggest the company really doesn't know what it's doing."
You may also like: 6 responses to use if you sense discrimination.


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France 1789 CE
What is happening in France in 1789CE
After Cardinal Mazarin's death in 1661, the young king Louis XIV took personal control of the government. He oversaw a mass of military and administrative reforms to give him a higher degree of control over the state than any of his predecessors. He built the great palace at Versailles, where his huge court could be housed in appropriate splendour.
Louis removed a potential source of resistance to his rule by revoking the Edict of Nantes (1685), causing hundreds of thousands of French Protestants (Huguenots) to flee abroad.
Louis attempted to establish France's frontiers at the Rhine. In this he failed, but he positioned France as the leading nation in Europe. This was the case in culture as well as politics, and throughout the 18th century leading French intellectuals such as Voltaire (1694-1778), Diderot (1713-84) and Rousseau (1712-78), have greatly influenced European thinking on all sorts of subjects. Indeed the Age of Enlightenment (as this period would later be labelled) has profoundly shaped Western world views right up to the present day.
Louis XIV's successors have been less successful in maintaining France's dominant political position, particularly in relation to Britain, with which she has fought a series of expensive and unsuccessful wars. These have contributed to the chronic financial problems which have forced king Louis XVI to call the Estates-General. The French Revolution breaks out this year (1789), as a direct result of these developments. This will sweep away the Ancient Regime centred on the monarchy of Louis XIV and his family.
What is happening in France in 500BCE
The past few centuries in Western Europe (from around 800 BCE) have seen the spread of Celtic peoples across France and into Britain, Ireland and Spain. The Celts have brought with them an Iron Age culture, a society dominated by aristocratic warriors, and their characteristic hill forts around which large settlements cluster. Powerful chiefdoms have emerged in the region.
They have also brought with them a thirst for luxury goods. This demand is fed by imported goods from the Mediterranean as well as by domestic manufacture – the Celts make beautiful jewellery. This trade is enhanced by the presence of Greek and Carthaginian colonies on the southern coasts of France and Spain.
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Ancient European History 500 BCE
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What is happening in France in 200BCE
From around 450 BCE, Celts of the late Iron Age La Tene culture expanded outwards from their homeland in Switzerland and Austria; into France – where they became known to history as the Gauls – and on into Britain, Spain and northern Italy. A group of them raided as far as Rome in 390 BCE, sacking the city.
The La Tene Celts benefit from a wide network of trade, and their material culture has come under heavy influence from the Mediterranean civilizations, mainly Etruscan and Greek. Celtic craftsmen make elaborate jewellery, notably neck bracelets, called torcs. This period sees the growth of large settlements – called oppida (towns) by the Romans – built around stout forts.
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Ancient European History 200 BCE
The Roman Republic: Government and Society
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What is happening in France in 30BCE
By 120 BCE the Romans had conquered the Rhone valley and Mediterranean coast of Gaul, planting colonies there and introducing the Roman way of life to the inhabitants. The rest of Gaul remained divided amongst large and powerful Gallic tribes, and in the north east, by Belgic tribes of mixed Gallic-German origin.
The whole of Gaul was conquered by the Roman general Julius Caesar in a long drawn-out campaign between 58 and 50 BCE. Having pacified the region, Caesar formed the old Gallic tribes into self-governing communities, under their native aristocracies.
Augustus divided Gaul into four provinces. Of these, Narbonensis is well advanced in terms of Romanization, having been under Roman control for over one hundred years. Romanization is beginning to gather pace in the rest of Gaul. A network of roads has been builRomanizationt, and Italian merchants are busy integrating the region more closely into the Mediterranean trading system. Lugudunum (modern Lyons) is the leading city in the new provinces, and has a large number of Roman merchants settled there. Because of its historic status as a religious centre amongst the Gauls, it helps to radiate Roman influence over a wide area.
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What is happening in France in 200CE
The provinces of Gaul have experienced more than two centuries of almost unbroken peace under the Roman empire.
During that time, Romanization has penetrated deeply into the way of life of the inhabitants. Prosperous cities dot the land, and Roman citizenship is widely spread amongst the population. Indeed, the province of Narbonensis is regarded as a virtual extension of Italy, and several of its leading families can be found in the Roman senatorial order. In the rest of Gaul the old Gallic aristocracy continues to hold sway, but now as Romanized estate owners and urban magistrates.
What is happening in France in 500CE
Roman rule in Gaul has now completely collapsed, after a long decline. In the 5th century, German tribes invaded in force, and established kingdoms which, by the end of the century, covered almost the whole of Gaul. The one exception to this is the the north-west, where Britons, fleeing Anglo-Saxon invaders in their homeland, have settled.
The old Roman towns, aqueducts, villas and roads have experienced great damage, but much of Roman civilization remains. The new German rulers have taken over many government practices and laws from the Romans, and employ Gallo-Roman officials to help them rule.
By the time of the fall of the Roman empire, Christianity had become the official religion. The German invaders were also Christians, but followed a different form of Christianity, Arianism. The Gallo-Roman population, who are Catholic Christians acknowledging the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) as their spiritual leader, view this with suspicion. This religious divide prevents conquerors and conquered from settling down easily together in these kingdoms. The Franks, however, have converted to Catholicism, and this will greatly assist them in expanding their realm during the years to come.
What is happening in France in 750CE
One of the German tribes established in Gaul by the end of the fifth century, the Franks, expanded their realm greatly under Clovis and his successors, to cover most of modern-day France and much of western Germany. Internally, however, the realm was increasingly divided amongst different princes, whose rivalries sapped their power. Eventually, Clovis' descendants were reduced to being mere figureheads, dominated by powerful officials called the Mayors of the Palace.
One of these officials, Charles Martel (the Hammer), reunited the Frankish lands and repulsed a powerful Muslim raid from Spain in 732 at Tours. He died in 741, and his son, Pepin the Short, who has succeeded him as Mayor of the Palace, will depose the last of the old line of kings in 751 and have himself elected king by the Frankish nobles.
Since Clovis' day, the Franks have been loyal champions of the Catholic Church. The Church enjoys enthusiastic royal patronage, and the Frankish lands are covered by a well-established church organization, firmly loyal to the popes in Rome. Because it largely monopolizes literacy and learning, the Church is invaluable in helping administer the realm, and also in bringing stability and organization to newly conquered territories.
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What is happening in France in 979CE
Pepin the Short's son, Charles the Great – Charlemagne (768-814) – waged ceaseless campaigns against the peoples on his borders, and built up a large empire in Europe. He worked tirelessly to establish both sound administration and the firm establishment of the Christian Church (often the same thing, given that royal administrators were usually clerics) within his realm.
Since Charlemagne's death, his empire has been divided amongst his descendants, and the West Franks have come under a branch of Charlemagne's family. However, Viking invasion and civil war have led to a near total breakdown in law and order, and to a severe decline in royal authority. Regional counts now rule as virtually independent princes. They in their turn struggle to assert their authority over local lords, who are now dotting the land with their castles, both to protect themselves and their followers against Viking raids, and to defend their local power against the encroachments of neighbouring lords and regional princes. To build up their power and to re-establish some degree of law and order, greater and lesser lords are coming together in mutual agreements, of protection and obedience, underpinned by personal oaths. Thus are the foundations of that socio-political system known as "feudalism" being laid
What is happening in France in 1215CE
The line of Charlemagne died out in 987, and the nobles elected Hugh Capet, count of Paris, to the throne. Hugh's authority, however, was severely limited. In the chaos of the 10th century the regional counts had become virtually independent princes within their own territories.
For all their weakness, the position of the early French kings was recognised and sanctified by the Church, and in a religious age this gave them a prestige not enjoyed by any other prince or lord. This enabled Hugh and his successors to gradually build up their power within their kingdom.
Recent decades have been testing times for royal authority. One of the king of France's vassals, the count of Anjou, inherited a huge stretch of land in France, and in 1158 even became king of England (Henry II, reigned 1158-89). Fortunately for France, she has one of her most able kings sitting on the throne, Philip Augustus (1180-1223). Taking advantage of the mistakes of king John, Henry II's son, he has seized most of John's French possessions, and brought them under tight royal control. This has greatly strengthened royal power in relation to the regional princes in the rest of France, and the king's authority on the south is being further increased by a successful royal crusade being waged there against a heretical religious sect called the Albigensians (1208-13, 1223-6).
What is happening in France in 1453CE
Many unresolved claims and counter-claims between the French and English kings led to war between them lasting, on and off, for more than one hundred years. There were major English victories, at Sluys (1340), Crecy (1346) and Agincourt (1415), but recently the French have driven the English back, until by this date (1453), they only have Calais left to them. The most remarkable aspect of this French triumph is the leading part played by a young French peasant girl, Joan of Arc.
The struggle with the English was greatly complicated by the emergence of a new state on the French flank. The duchy of Burgundy started as a fief granted to a French prince, and has grown through inheritance and conquest to become a major player in European politics. It now controls most of the Netherlands and Flanders – amongst the wealthiest areas of Europe – as well as its original Burgundian territories.
Victory in the 100 Years War has greatly strengthened royal power within France. Another factor bolstering the French kings' authority has been their close relationship with the papacy. Indeed, between 1309 and 1377 a succession of popes actually based themselves in France because Rome had become too unruly for them. The popes lived in an enclave within France called the Venaissin, which was, and remains, papal territory.
What is happening in France in 1648CE
After the expulsion of the English from most of France, the country was united under a strong monarchy, and then greatly expanded its territory. The powerful duchy of Burgundy suddenly ceased to exist when it was shared between the French and Hapsburg monarchs after the death of its duke in 1477, and Provence was willed to the king of France in 1486. Brittany was added in 1491. France was then heavily involved in a long and bitter struggle with the Hapsburgs (1494-1559). The bulk of this fighting took place in Italy.
In the 16th century, Protestant teachings spread fast amongst all levels of French society. The Protestants were called Huguenots. France was racked by religious civil war during the second half of the 16th century, as the Huguenot and Catholic factions struggled for control. This was ended only when Henry, king of Navarre, succeeded as king of France in 1589, and, although leader of the Protestants, converted to Catholicism. He issued the Edict of Nantes in 1598, recognizing Huguenot religious freedom in the territory they already occupied.
Since then, ministers such as the duke de Sully and Cardinals Richelieu and Mazari have strengthened royal administration, and France has become the wealthiest and most populous nation in Europe. Her involvement in the 30 Years War (1618-48) has further increased her power. However, the highly oppressive taxation this has involved has led to a serious revolt, the Fronde, which has not been suppressed by this date (1648).
What is happening in France in 1837CE
The French Revolution
Once the forces of Revolution had been unleashed, in 1789, the situation rapidly deteriorated until a period of "Terror" followed (1793-4), as the Revolutionaries executed thousands of real and supposed enemies, including the king and queen. This aroused the hostility of the rest of Europe, and they found themselves at war with the other leading powers, Prussia, Austria and Britain.
Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars
The French, however, found in Napoleon Bonaparte one of the most brilliant generals in history, who won great victories and then, by means of a coup, gained the leadership of the French state. He transformed French institutions with an astonishing series of measures touching every aspect of public life and, in 1804, made himself Emperor.
Napoleon's wars lasted on and off until 1815, engulfing the entire continent. Brilliant generalship brought him great success, but gradually all the major powers of Europe allied themselves against him and he was finally and decisively defeated at the battle of Waterloo.
Bourbon Restoration
The victorious powers now set about trying to restore a European order based, as far as possible, on the situation before the French Revolution. The Bourbon monarchy again ruled France; however, it was not the same country as before. A measure of parliamentary democracy was maintained, the old nobility and the Church had lost their privileged place in society and state, and the land was now in the hands of the peasant farmers. Anger at efforts to restore absolutism under the last Bourbon king Charles X (1824-1830), led to the enthronement of the liberal Louis Philippe, the "Citizen King", who has governed the country since.
What is happening in France in 1871CE
King Louis Philippe's attempts to stem more liberal forces led to the Revolution of 1848. This resulted in the setting up of the Second Republic, under the presidency of Napoleon's nephew, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte. Following a similar pattern to the previous Revolutionary Republic, this also gave way to an Emperor Napoleon, Napoleon III (from 1851).
After years of mounting tension with Prussia, and fearing her growing power, Napoleon III declared war in 1870. There followed, for France, the disastrous military defeat at Sedan and the siege of Paris, which has finally ended in January of this year (1871). France has lost Alsace-Lorraine to the new German Empire, and the war has been followed immediately by the uprising of the Paris Commune, which is only crushed, by a French army, after bitter street fighting.
What is happening in France in 1914CE
Since 1871, France has been governed by the parliamentary democracy of the Third Republic. This has been characterized by a succession of weak, short-lived administrations, but it has presided over a period of unprecedented economic expansion and a brilliant cultural flowering. This can be seen most notably in the works of Impressionist painters and sculptors such as Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Rodin and a host of others.
Overseas, France has acquired a huge empire in West Africa, South East Asia and the Pacific Ocean.
What is happening in France in 1960CE
France sustained terrible losses in World War 1, but in victory she regained Alsace-Lorraine, and forced punitive reparations from Germany.
World War 2 saw France being occupied by Germany; but Free French forces, built up by Charles de Gaulle in the French overseas territories, played a notable part in her liberation. France then experienced strong economic growth under the Fourth Republic, but the credibility of the government was undermined by a series of weak, short-lived governments. France's place in the world was further damaged by a series of fierce colonial wars, above all in Indo-China and Algeria. As a result, in 1958 the Fourth Republic was replaced by the Fifth Republic. In order to avoid the weak governments of the past, this has given the President a central role with extensive powers. The first of these presidents is General de Gaulle. He actively seeks to find constructive solutions to France's colonial problems, which will result in her withdrawal from all her major overseas posessions.
France is a founder-member of NATO, and a founder-member of the European Common Market.
What is happening in France in 2005CE
France is now governed by the Fifth Republic. This has seen much greater political stability than previous regimes, and has also seen great economic expansion. France has withdrawn from most of her overseas empire, and has focussed on her role as a leading member of the EU.


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Published by Ballantine Books on November 29th 2016
Pages: 224
Genres: Memoir, Non-Fiction
Format: Hardcover
Source: Gifted
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Audible
In this collection of personal essays, the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and Parenthood reveals stories about life, love, and working as a woman in Hollywood—along with behind-the-scenes dispatches from the set of the new Gilmore Girls, where she plays the fast-talking Lorelai Gilmore once again.
In Talking as Fast as I Can, Lauren Graham hits pause for a moment and looks back on her life, sharing laugh-out-loud stories about growing up, starting out as an actress, and, years later, sitting in her trailer on the Parenthood set and asking herself, "Did you, um, make it?" She opens up about the challenges of being single in Hollywood ("Strangers were worried about me; that's how long I was single!"), the time she was asked to audition her butt for a role, and her experience being a judge on Project Runway ("It's like I had a fashion-induced blackout").
In "What It Was Like, Part One," Graham sits down for an epic Gilmore Girls marathon and reflects on being cast as the fast-talking Lorelai Gilmore. The essay "What It Was Like, Part Two" reveals how it felt to pick up the role again nine years later, and what doing so has meant to her.
Some more things you will learn about Lauren: She once tried to go vegan just to bond with Ellen DeGeneres, she's aware that meeting guys at awards shows has its pitfalls ("If you're meeting someone for the first time after three hours of hair, makeup, and styling, you've already set the bar too high"), and she's a card-carrying REI shopper ("My bungee cords now earn points!").
Including photos and excerpts from the diary Graham kept during the filming of the recent Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, this book is like a cozy night in, catching up with your best friend, laughing and swapping stories, and—of course—talking as fast as you can.
"Life doesn't often spell things out for you or give you what you want exactly when you want it, otherwise it wouldn't be called life, it would be called a vending machine."
My lovely friend got me this for Christmas but I waited to pick it up because I had heard that there were mild spoilers from the new season of Gilmore Girls. And then I finally watched the first episode. And I didn't like it.
BLASPHEMY. I know, I know. I'm just as distraught as you. There was just something terribly forced about Lorelai's sense of humor this go around and Rory's poor boyfriend Paul View Spoiler »that she cheats on « Hide Spoiler that she literally keeps overlooking (like when she leaves the diner completely forgetting that he had just gone to the bathroom real quick?) It's a running joke that she's been meaning to break up with him but she just keeps forgetting. Good grief, that's not funny, that's just wretched.
I understand this is supposed to be a review of the book, not the show, it's just my opinion of the show definitely tarnishes my thoughts on the book because this is all about her glorious reprisal to the role of Lorelai Gilmore. She discusses in depth just how wonderful it was to be back in Stars Hollow alongside everyone once again and I wanted to happily reminiscence with her but I'm still full of self-loathing that I couldn't love the new season.
Discussions related to Gilmore Girls took up the vast majority of this short book, but as indicated by the sub-title 'From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between' Graham included various other anecdotes about her childhood and other assorted roles that make up her career. The non-Gilmore Girls additions left the story feeling slightly uneven and I almost felt this would have been best left as a long recollection of all things Gilmore Girls. In retrospect, I also felt that her recollections from the original seasons were a bit sloppy. She didn't keep a journal of this time in her life, which is fine, but she describes how she sat down to actually watch the original seasons (for the first time ever) and took a bunch of notes when things jogged her memory. The more I discuss, the more it seems I didn't like anything about this book, but that's not exactly true because even if Lorelai didn't possess much in the way of humor, Graham's humor shines through even on page. And there's always the original seasons for me to fondly remember.
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
Narrator: Carrie Fisher, Billie Lourd
Published by Penguin Audio on November 22nd 2016
Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
Genres: Memoir, Non-Fiction
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Audible
The Princess Diarist is Carrie Fisher's intimate, hilarious and revealing recollection of what happened behind the scenes on one of the most famous film sets of all time, the first Star Wars movie. Named a PEOPLE Magazine Best Book of Fall 2016.
When Carrie Fisher recently discovered the journals she kept during the filming of the first Star Wars movie, she was astonished to see what they had preserved—plaintive love poems, unbridled musings with youthful naiveté, and a vulnerability that she barely recognized. Today, her fame as an author, actress, and pop-culture icon is indisputable, but in 1977, Carrie Fisher was just a teenager with an all-consuming crush on her costar, Harrison Ford.
With these excerpts from her handwritten notebooks, The Princess Diarist is Fisher's intimate and revealing recollection of what happened on one of the most famous film sets of all time—and what developed behind the scenes. And today, as she reprises her most iconic role for the latest Star Wars trilogy, Fisher also ponders the joys and insanity of celebrity, and the absurdity of a life spawned by Hollywood royalty, only to be surpassed by her own outer-space royalty. Laugh-out-loud hilarious and endlessly quotable, The Princess Diarist brims with the candor and introspection of a diary while offering shrewd insight into the type of stardom that few will ever experience.
"I liked being Princess Leia. Or Princess Leia's being me. Over time I thought that we'd melded into one. I don't think you could think of Leia without my lurking in that thought somewhere."
Carrie Fisher played the role of Princess Leia at just nineteen years old and it went on to define her entire life. The diary that she kept at this age is retold in snippets (narrated by her daughter, Billie Lourd) and showcases her delightful way with words. It feels invasive to be shown this time of her life, while her affair with Harrison Ford was going on, and it's effortless to understand the intense adolescent love that she had for him. The Princess Diarist even goes beyond the retold tales of Fisher's time on the Star Wars set and sets out to describe just how much playing Princess Leia came to be a part of her own personal identity. She describes how jarring stepping into the limelight was for her despite her belief that it was something she understood already, having grown up the daughter of Debbie Reynolds.
"The crew was mostly men. That's how it was and that's pretty much how it still is. It's a man's world & show business is a man's meal with women generously sprinkled through it like over-qualified spice."
Fisher was always outspoken about the mental health and addiction problems that she dealt with for most of her life but The Princess Diarist doesn't delve into that aspect of her as much. Nonetheless, this was an unexpectedly emotional read for me even though I was a fan of Fisher's. She would make occasional references to when she passes as well as a mention of how her obituary would look like (with a picture of her as Princess Leia complete with buns) and it was a bit of a punch to the gut. Her sardonic sense of humor lightened the heartbreak but it was clear that Fisher believed she still had a lot of life to live. Listening to her raspy voice tell her final story was a treat and I can only hope that she got to say all that she wanted in the time she was given.
Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres
Narrator: Ellen DeGeneres
Published by Hachette Audio on October 4th, 2011
Length: 3 hours and 7 minutes
Genres: Funny-ha-ha, Memoir, Non-Fiction
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Audible
I've experienced a whole lot the last few years and I have a lot to share. So I hope that you'll take a moment to sit back, relax and enjoy the words I've put together for you in this book. I think you'll find I've left no stone unturned, no door unopened, no window unbroken, no rug unvacuumed, no ivories untickled. What I'm saying is, let us begin, shall we?
"So be who you really are. Embrace who you are. Literally. Hug yourself. Accept who you are. Unless you're a serial killer."
I was having a pretty bad day when I started this. There was a lot of driving involved that I wasn't looking forward to and an unexpected blizzard to boot. I always like a good audiobook to keep me company I just didn't think anything was going to be able to get me out of the funk I was in — but I underestimated Ellen.
I'm Kidding…Seriously aims at being a light-hearted advice manual with the main goal of just making you smile. She takes digs at her fellow celebrities and their hilarious lifestyles but becomes quickly somber when discussing the importance of being true to yourself and accepting who you are as a person. This isn't your typical inspirational celebrity memoir on how to make it big in Hollywood but rather reads like an internal monologue with the author herself. If you're an audiobook lover, do yourself a favor and listen to this one because Ellen's tone and delivery make this all the more enjoyable an experience. If you're a fan of her stand-up comedy routines, you'll find much to laugh about in this. I know I did.
'I feel bad for people December birthdays […] It's not fair and I have a message for parents out there. Don't do that to your kids. Plan your love. I'm not great at baby math, so I'm just gonna say in the early part of the year, maybe January until March, stay away from each other. It's not gonna be easy. Those are winter months and you're going to want to stay warm. But unfortunately one of you is going to have to sleep in a tent in the backyard.'


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CARDIFF, Wales, May 21 (UPI) -- Backers of plans for a tidal energy "barrage" across Britain's River Severn estuary will meet with British Prime Minister David Cameron, its chief supporter says.
Welsh Member of Parliament Peter Hain told the Western Mail newspaper that Cameron has agreed to have a meeting him on the project -- a privately funded plan to construct an 11-mile-long concrete barrier stretching across the estuary from Cardiff, Wales, on the north to Weston-super-Mare, England, on the south.
The $47 billion idea, being floated by Corlan Hafren Ltd., aims to tap the immense tidal energy potential in the river estuary, which sees daily tidal ranges of 23 feet to 46 feet during spring tides.
After earlier Severn estuary proposals were rejected by Westminster as too costly to be feasible, the Corlan Hafren consortium's has become the first to merit the personal attention of a British prime minister, Hain said.
"During Prime Minister's Questions (May 16) I asked for a meeting with Mr. Cameron over the project," Hain told the newspaper. "He has since agreed and we are now fixing up a meeting, which could be next month, where I will take the consortium to see him."
Hain, an MP from Neath, Wales, last week resigned as Labor Party's shadow secretary for Wales partly to concentrate on the Severn barrage project.
He and other backers say it could generate as much as 5 percent of Britain's energy needs at a time when an expansion of nuclear power is in doubt. The Corlan Hafren proposal would feature more than 1,000 "state-of-the-art" turbines embedded in the concrete barrage and would use both ebb and flow tides to generate power.
The project will have the "biggest, most positive effect on Wales of anything in the next few years, short of government macro-economic policy," Hain told the newspaper.
"There will be tens of thousands of jobs created in the construction industry and potentially tens of thousands more in other sectors," he said.
Among its hoped-for spinoff benefits would be new road and rail transportation routes linking South Wales and southwestern England, creating a cohesive market of 2.2 million people living in and around Cardiff and Newport in Wales and Bristol in England.
Schemes to tap tidal flow in the estuary have been around for 20 years but none have been built due to the cost. A $54 billion publicly funded proposal was studied by the British Department of Energy and Climate Change for eight years but rejected as not worth the investment.
There are substantial environmental concerns for bird and fish populations of the estuary, as well as over its status as a surfer's haven and whether a massive concrete barrage spanning the channel is the best way to capture its tidal power.
"Looking at the range of renewable energy options available to U.K., the barrage seems to be a poor choice," Greenpeace Chief Scientist and Policy Director Douglas Parr told The Guardian.
"Previous feasibility studies have shown it is expensive, damaging to globally significant habitat and not scalable -- in other words, once you've done a barrage in the Severn, that's a lot of the resource used, whereas wind/solar/geothermal/tidal stream can be replicated in many places."


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I have a password protected MS-Word 2007 file that needs to stay private. How good is Word's protection? If it's not very good, can you suggest a better method for keeping the file protected?
EDIT: my goal is to send the protected file to a recipient (who knows the password). I assume this recipient knows nothing about encryption/decryption, but if I absolutely have to, I'll encrypt the file and painstakingly teach the recipient how to decrypt it.


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Apple's iPad rivals could dominate the tablet computer market in Europe, provided they cut prices fast, a research firm reported today.
Forrester Research reported that Apple's smaller European presence -- 52 Apple stores compared to 238 U.S. stores -- makes the market a much more balanced one, according to Reuters. The market is also wide open, with few Europeans owning a tablet computer. For instance, in France, only 2 percent of the population own such a device but 10 percent want to purchase one, according to The Next Web. From the Reuters report:
[Analyst Sarah Rotman Epps] said local content and good retail outlets, along with lower prices, were essential to succeed against Apple.
"A competitor to Apple would have to put together the right content, the right price and the right channel strategy. There isn't anyone that has all three," she said.
Apple still expects to sell 48 million units this year, with half sold in America, 30 percent in Europe, 15 percent in Asia and 5 percent in Latin America.
As we were reading this, we also thought, wouldn't this same strategy work in the United States? The HP TouchPad is doing the same thing Forrester is recommending -- cutting prices to compete with Apple. HP is dealing with a much more competitive field in this country and the Cult of Apple is a strong one, but Android and other competitors could learn from a successful European sales strategy.


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The phonebook on Ice Cream Sandwich has, for the most part, similar functionality to the one found on previous Gingerbread iterations. It has a tabbed interface, in which the central tab lists all contacts alphabetically. The LG Optimus G's phonebook tabs can be swiped left and right without the need to touch the specific tabs labels, which a step up from the Optimus 4X HD.
Contact images, where available, are displayed and there's a quick alphabet scroll on the right. There's also a regular search bar on top of the contacts list. The other tabs are Groups and Favs.
Filters keep the phonebook from getting messy - you can choose which groups are displayed and which are hidden (e.g. Family, email contacts, Twitter contacts and so on). The list can be sorted by first or last name and you can choose how contacts are displayed - First Name, Last Name or the opposite.
A tap on a contact photo brings up the quick contacts keys. You can use them to call the contact, send them a message or email or view their profile. A new addition is the option to initiate a video call, which was lacking on the LG Optimus 4X HD.
Contact display and sort setting • Viewing a single contact
Tapping on the name of a single contact brings up their details. From here, you can edit the contact's info by hitting the pencil icon in the upper right, while the star icon on the upper right will add them to your favorite contacts. Editing a contact is pretty straightforward; you can add or remove fields as needed, as well as specify the types of phone numbers, email addresses, ringtones, additional fields and even add notes.
The LG Optimus G had no trouble holding on to signal (even where signal was poor) and the in-call audio is consistently good and loud too.
The Dialer integrates the Call log, Contacts and Favorites, each within its own tab. Again, these tabs are side-swipe-able for convenience.
The Call log is clever and groups some of the calls, e.g. 3 missed calls from the same contact on the same day. A number next to the contact name shows the number of events. It's a great space saving feature.
Smart Dial is available and works for both numbers and names. Only one matching contact is displayed, but if you tap the down arrow button, the rest show up as well.
During a call you can pop-up the dialer should you need to dial another number. Also you can use the phone while on a call, just hit the menu key and a small green line replaces the notification area and acts like a shortcut back to the call.
Call notification • In-call screen
The LG Optimus G can handle all common message types: SMS, MMS and email. Email capability is excellent with support for Exchange available out of box, and social media buffs will be pleased with the level of SNS integration as well.
A press-and-hold on the text box gives you access to functions such as cut, copy and paste. You are free to paste the copied text across applications like email, notes, chats, etc.
Adding multimedia to a message is pretty straightforward - just hit the attach button next to the text field and select a number of available options, such as images, videos, voice recording, etc.
Editing a message • The attach dialog and contextual menu
The extended Gmail features include batch operations, which allow multiple emails to be archived, labeled or deleted, spam report and of course conversation-style email view mode.
The generic email client supports multiple accounts, and operates in much the same fashion as the Gmail one. If you add multiple accounts, then the Combined Inbox feature will come in handy, although there's no conversation-style view like in Gmail.
The LG Optimus G offers a standard QWERTY keyboard, which features both portrait and landscape typing. The keyboard fills up the screen nicely and offers great ergonomics with ample spacing between keys, still leaving enough room above the keyboard for you to see what you're actually typing.
The level of speed and accuracy are commendable in both portrait and landscape. There's a dedicated setting that enables keypress vibrations.
There is Swype-like input as well, though it's somewhat uncomfortably out of sight in the Input Language submenu. You need to enable Shape Writer instead of the standard QWERTY layout in the settings. Voice input is enabled too, as well as handwriting.


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December 15th, 2010
CDC: 1 in 6 Americans get food poisoning annually
About 48 million Americans get sick from foodborne illness each year according to the first new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 1999.
According to CDC's 2011 Estimates of Foodborne Disease, 1 in 6 Americans will get sick from known and unknown bacteria, viruses and microbes each year resulting in about 128,000 hospitalizations and about 3,000 deaths. This new data was released by the CDC online Wednesday (the two reports summarizing their results will be published in the CDC's Emerging Infectious Disease Journal in January, which is why the numbers are called "2011 estimates").
"Fewer people are getting sick from the foods that they eat" says Dr. Chris Braden, the CDC's Acting Director for the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases.
However, Braden emphasizes that the burden of people getting sick from foodborne illness is still substantial and more needs to be done to bring the illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths down. He notes that the cost associated with these illnesses is in the billions of dollars.
These two reports estimate that 31 different bugs are to blame for about 9.4 million people getting sick from the food they eat. Still, about 38.4 million Americans get sick from still unknown pathogens according to this new data.
Norovirus, which is often blamed for outbreaks on cruise ships and nursing homes for example, is said to cause about 60% of food poisoning related illnesses and salmonella is the leading cause of hospitalizations according to Braden.
The bacteria Campylobacter, Listeria, E. coli 0157, the parasite that causes Toxoplasmosis, and Clostridium perfringen, which according to the FDA is often nicknamed 'cafeteria germ" also are listed as the most common cause of food poisonings according to the CDC.
Braden says more needs to be done to reduce the foodborne illness numbers. "If we could reduce food borne illness by just 1%, we would keep about half a million people from getting sick from foods they eat."
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which, along with the Department of Agriculture, is responsible for keeping the food supply safe says the CDC reports emphasizes the magnitude of foodborne illness in this country and the need for more to be done. In statement the FDA says, "This [disease] burden falls most heavily on vulnerable populations that are growing in number–children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems."
The FDA also says it is working towards improving the prevention of this kind of illness and "moving down this path as quickly as possible under current authorities but eagerly await passage of new food safety legislation that would provide us with new and long overdue tools to further modernize our food safety program. "
The last time the CDC issued a report like this was in 1999. But the new statistics cannot be compared head-to-head to those from a decade ago because different research techniques were used. For example, the 1999 data was based on interviews with about 9,000 people. Braden says this time around the CDC is relying on about 5 times the amount of data having interviewed more than 48,000 people.
However, based on information not in this report but based on other research that tracks trends every year, Braden says there's been about a 20% decrease in foodborne illnesses in the past 10 years.
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Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.


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Day 29 of my new blog challenge –
Share Your Music! 30 Days 30 Songs!
Please feel free to join me anytime you want – casual players welcome!
(Just this one and then it's going to be the last song tomorrow!!!)
If you love Rock, then you love Bon Jovi – it's as simply as that, at least it is for me. 😉
So many wonderful songs again, and only one to choose!
So today's song is "Bells of Freedom" – one of those ballads I can listen to and sing along again and again and again! 😀
Care to join me? 😉


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The desktop computing model (and the client/server model) is in its dying days, with the exception of certain specialized applications, and a few holdout companies and industries that will stay with desktop computing for much longer than the mainstream. But for the most part, I feel that desktop computing is practically dead in the consumer space, where mobile and Web have become the norm. In the business space, I think most businesses have only one or two applications (other than Microsoft Office) which the bulk of their workers count on and that keep them tied to the desktop model.
I know of very few developers doing non-Web development for business applications at this point. I give the desktop model five years at best for mainstream business usage.


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Persons using assistive technology might not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please send e-mail to: firstname.lastname@example.com. Type 508 Accommodation and the title of the report in the subject line of e-mail.
Update on Overall Prevalence of Major Birth Defects --- Atlanta, Georgia, 1978--2005
Major structural or genetic birth defects affect approximately 3% of births in the United States, are a major contributor to infant mortality (1,2), and result in billions of dollars in costs for care (3). Although the causes of most major birth defects are unknown, concerns have been raised that certain factors, such as an increase in the prevalence of diabetes among women, might result in increased prevalence of birth defects over time (4). This report updates previously published data from the Metropolitan Atlanta Congenital Defects Program (MACDP), the oldest population-based birth defects surveillance system in the United States with active case ascertainment (5). For the period 1978--2005, CDC assessed the overall prevalence of major birth defects and their frequency relative to selected maternal and infant characteristics. The MACDP results indicated that the prevalence of major birth defects in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia, remained stable during 1978--2005 but varied by maternal age and race/ethnicity, birthweight, and gestational age. Tracking the overall prevalence of major birth defects can identify subgroups that are affected disproportionately; additional measures focused on these subgroups might improve preconception care and care during pregnancy to prevent birth defects.
State-based surveillance programs monitor the prevalence of certain birth defects through various methods, including passive hospital-based reporting and active medical-record abstraction (6). These data are used for prevention, education, policy, and health-care planning (7). However, most state-based surveillance programs were established in recent years and only monitor certain types of defects; therefore, population-based estimates of the overall prevalence of all defects and data on long-term trends are lacking in the United States. MACDP, established in 1967 by CDC, Emory University, and the Georgia Mental Health Institute, monitors the prevalence of all major structural or genetic defects at the time of delivery among live births, stillbirths, and pregnancies electively terminated after prenatal diagnosis of defects at >20 weeks' gestation in the five central counties of metropolitan Atlanta (5). MACDP defines major structural or genetic birth defects as conditions that 1) result from a malformation, deformation, or disruption in one or more parts of the body, a chromosomal abnormality, or a known clinical syndrome; 2) are present at birth; and 3) have a serious, adverse effect on health, development, or functional ability.
To collect data on birth defects, trained MACDP records abstractors visit birth and pediatric hospitals and genetic laboratories to review in-patient medical records of infants and fetuses of >20 weeks' gestation. Systematic case-finding by the abstractors at each hospital includes review of labor and delivery logs, nursery and intensive-care logs (including neonatal intensive-care logs), stillbirth and pathology logs, and disease indices. The medical records for each infant or fetus with a potential birth defect are then examined to identify those with defects that meet the MACDP case definition. Information about identified defects among live births is updated until age 6 years. However, the system might miss certain defects, including those that 1) occur among children whose families move away from the Atlanta area before diagnosis, 2) are managed on an outpatient basis only, 3) are unrecognized among stillbirths, or 4) are diagnosed prenatally among pregnancies subsequently terminated outside a hospital setting. Denominator data on the number of live births to residents of the five counties are obtained from vital records of the Georgia Department of Human Resources. Such data have included maternal Hispanic ethnicity only since 1990. Data on birthweight have been available since 1978 for the offspring of white mothers and black mothers and since 1997 for Hispanic mothers; data on gestational age have been available since 1988 for the offspring of white mothers and black mothers and since 1997 for Hispanic mothers.
For MACDP purposes, prevalence is defined as the number of infants and fetuses with a major birth defect that were delivered during a specified period divided by the number of live births during that period. For this report, the overall prevalence of major defects per 100 live births was estimated for each of three periods (1978--1987, 1988--1996, and 1997--2005) and by the following characteristics: maternal race/ethnicity (white, black, or Hispanic), maternal age (<35 years or >35 years), infant birthweight (<2,500 g or >2,500 g), gestational age (20--36 weeks or >37 weeks), and sex. The three periods were chosen because they corresponded to available denominator data for birthweight and gestational age and enabled comparisons of periods of approximately equal length. Data for 2005 are preliminary because abstractions for defects that were not diagnosed or did not require hospitalization until the child was several months of age might not yet have been processed. Data for racial/ethnic groups other than whites, blacks, and Hispanics were not included in this report because of small numbers. Prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Trend over time in overall prevalence was evaluated using the Mantel-Haenszel test for trend.
The overall prevalence of major defects was stable from 1978 (2.8 per 100 live births) to 2005 (3.0 per 100) (test for trend p = 0.19) (Figure). During this period, the number of births in the metropolitan Atlanta area more than doubled, from 24,396 in 1978 to 51,400 in 2005. Prevalence of defects generally was lower among births to black mothers (PR = 0.94, CI = 0.93--0.95) and Hispanic mothers (PR = 0.89, CI = 0.86--0.93) than to white mothers.
Births to women aged >35 years had a greater prevalence of defects than births to women aged <35 years (PR = 1.28, CI = 1.24--1.31), with this excess prevalence increasing over time (Table). During 1978--2005, the overall prevalence was greater among infants with birthweight <2,500 g (PR = 2.97, CI = 2.90--3.04) and among infants with gestational age of 20--36 weeks (PR = 2.53, CI = 2.47--2.59). Prevalence was greater among males than among females (PR = 1.17, CI = 1.16--1.18); however, the higher prevalence among males decreased when defects that occur almost exclusively in males (e.g., hypospadias) were excluded (PR = 1.04, CI = 1.02--1.05).
Reported by: L Rynn, J Cragan, MD, A Correa, MD, PhD, Div of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, CDC.
Editorial Note:
The findings in this report indicate that the overall prevalence of major birth defects in metropolitan Atlanta did not change significantly during 1978--2005. This finding suggests that, over time, no changes occurred in major risk factors that affect birth defects overall. This information can be useful in assessing the success of prevention interventions for defects overall.
However, although the overall prevalence did not change significantly, a greater prevalence of birth defects among infants of low birthweight and preterm gestation might signal a need for increased prenatal health care and planning for the extended-care requirements. The greater prevalence of defects among the offspring of women aged >35 years likely reflects an upward trend in maternal age distribution and the progressive association of certain defects as maternal age increases beyond 35 years (8,9). The lower prevalence of defects among black and Hispanic infants might reflect an actual lower prevalence among these groups; however, racial and ethnic variation in health-insurance coverage, diagnosis of nonsymptomatic defects through pediatric and subspecialty care, and ascertainment of these defects by MACDP's hospital-based methods also might affect differences in defect prevalence. Further evaluation of these differences is needed.
The stable overall prevalence of major birth defects in Atlanta is consistent with the trend observed for many individual defects (5). However, the prevalence of certain defects in Atlanta has changed over time. For example, a decline in the prevalence of anencephaly and spina bifida might reflect fortification of the U.S. grain supply with folic acid and increased consumption of folic acid vitamin supplements. Progressive declines in the prevalence of clubfoot not associated with spina bifida and of cleft lip (with or without cleft palate) also have been observed. In contrast, the prevalence of Down syndrome and other autosomal trisomies among the offspring of mothers aged >35 years has increased over time, likely reflecting the increase in age distribution of mothers aged >35 years in metropolitan Atlanta (CDC, unpublished data, 2007). The prevalence of ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect, and valvar pulmonic stenosis also have increased progressively, likely reflecting increased use of bedside echocardiography to diagnose heart defects among newborns (5).
The findings in this report are subject to at least four limitations. First, because childbearing women in Atlanta might differ from women in other areas of the United States with respect to characteristics that might be associated with the risk for birth defects, the observed prevalence of major birth defects in metropolitan Atlanta might not be generalizable to other populations. Second, the specific defect inclusion and exclusion criteria used by MACDP might differ from those used by other surveillance programs, resulting in differences in prevalence estimates (10). For example, the MACDP case definition does not include developmental, functional, or other types of congenital disorders (e.g., nonstructural or genetic disorders not detected in children aged <6 years). Third, data in this report do not include defects diagnosed prenatally among pregnancies electively terminated before 20 weeks' gestation or outside a hospital setting. Failure to ascertain these pregnancies might result in underestimation of the prevalence of major defects (9). Finally, data on age of mother and sex of offspring were available by maternal Hispanic ethnicity only since 1990, and data on birthweight and gestational age of offspring were available by maternal Hispanic ethnicity only since 1997.
Population-based data on the overall prevalence of major birth defects can be used to identify subgroups that are affected disproportionately, evaluate prevention measures (e.g., promotion of preconception health and health care use), and recommend additional health-care services and resources where needed. These Atlanta findings should encourage surveillance programs elsewhere to monitor the overall prevalence of major defects in their areas, assess their public health burden, and examine the variability of defects among specific populations.
This report is based, in part, on contributions by J Kucik, C Alverson, S Gilboa, D Gambrell, and MACDP abstractors and staff members, Div Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, CDC.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.
Disclaimer All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from ASCII text into HTML. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the electronic PDF version and/or the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables. An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800. Contact GPO for current prices.**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to email@example.com.
Date last reviewed: 1/10/2008


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Expert's Rating
- Extremely light, even for an Ultrabook
- Solid performance and benchmark scores
- Lots of connectivity options
- Chassis just doesn't feel durable
- Screen has terrible off-axis viewing angles
- Only one USB 3.0 port
- Typing and pointing are sub-optimal
Our Verdict
This extremely lightweight Ultrabook boasts solid overall performance, but poor usability.
Best Prices Today: Portege Z935-P300
Travel-weary businesspeople will appreciate Toshiba's latest Portégé model, the Portégé Z935 Ultrabook. Not only is this laptop business-ready, with features such as a VGA-out port (for hooking up to a projector) and WiDi (see next paragraph), it's one of the lightest 13-inch notebooks we've ever seen. It weighs just under 2.5 pounds, so it's a breeze to tote around to meetings and on business trips.
Our review model, which costs $900 at Best Buy, features a third-generation Intel Core i5-3317U processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, and a 128GB solid-state drive. It also sports built-in 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and Intel's WiDi technology, which allows you to connect wirelessly to compatible external displays. The Portégé Z935 runs a 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium.
The Z935 performs well for its category, scoring 158 (out of 100) on our WorldBench 7 benchmark tests. This means that the Portégé Z935 is 58 percent faster than our baseline model, which has a second-generation Intel Core i5 desktop processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 1TB hard drive.
The Portégé Z935 is particularly speedy in startup time, taking just 14.5 seconds, which is quick, even for an Ultrabook. By comparison, our top-rated ultraportable at the moment, the Vizio CT14-A2, starts up in 16.5 seconds.
The Portégé Z935 also does well in a couple of our other individual performance tests, including the storage performance test and the content creation test.
Like other Ultrabooks, the Portégé Z935 has no discrete graphics card. Instead, it relies entirely on Intel's integrated HD graphics chip, which means that graphics on the Portégé Z935 are just mediocre. In Crysis 2, the Portégé Z935 managed frame rates of between 12.1 frames per second (high-quality graphics, 1366-by-768-pixel resolution) and 25.6 fps (low-quality graphics, 800-by-600-pixel resolution). The Vizio CT14-A2 posted a similar performance, with frame rates of between 11.8 and 26.8 fps on the same tests. The business-oriented Dell Latitude E6330, which is an ultraportable but not an Ultrabook, has slightly better graphics performance.
Battery life on the Portégé Z935 is above average for the Ultrabook category. Intel's Ultrabook specifications require at least 5 hours of battery life, but we managed to eke 6 hours, 36 minutes out of the Z935 in our lab tests.
Design and usability
Toshiba touts the Portégé Z935 as its thinnest and lightest 13-inch laptop—ever. This appears to be an accurate description, though it should be noted that the company makes concessions to maintain the Portégé Z935's ultralight construction.
The Portégé Z935 is just 0.63 inches thick at its thickest, and weighs a mere 2.47 pounds sans accessories. By comparison, Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air is 0.68 inches thick at its thickest, and nearly a half-pound heavier at 2.96 pounds sans accessories.
Now, if you're thinking there's no such thing as a super sturdy yet ultralight laptop, you're right. The Portégé Z935 is housed in a light-gray magnesium-alloy chassis, which doesn't seem terribly durable. The lid, which features a brushed metal finish and a reflective Toshiba logo in the center, is extremely thin and flexible. It flexes quite a bit when the laptop is closed, and feels very flimsy and wobbly when open. Its bottom half feels sturdier, but the entire unit seems a little cheaply made.
The interior is simple, with a brushed metal finish and chromed accents. The keyboard and trackpad both need some work. The keyboard features black island-style soft-touch keys, which have a smooth, velvety finish. The keys themselves are a little too small—short, especially—so it's difficult to type quickly and accurately, and they aren't textured or indented, so your fingers will constantly be slipping every which way.
The trackpad is adequate, if a little small. It's the mouse buttons that are hard to use. The trackpad features two discrete mouse buttons that sit flush with the wrist rest and do not depress very much, so they're stiff and tough to press. The trackpad itself supports multitouch gestures and has smooth, accurate movement.
Most of the ports are on the back of the machine. The left side features a headphone jack, microphone jack, and SD card reader, and the right side has one USB 3.0 port and a Kensington lock slot. The remaining ports—a gigabit ethernet port, HDMI and VGA-out ports, and two USB 2.0 ports (one with Sleep-and-Charge)—are all on the back, where the laptop is thickest.
Screen and speakers
The Portégé Z935 sports a glossy 13.3-inch screen with a native resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels. This resolution is fine—it's the average resolution we see on Ultrabooks this size—but the display, in general, needs some work. The screen suffers from terrible off-axis viewing angles. In fact, there's only about a 5-degree vertical range in which the screen looks pretty good; otherwise, the display contrast looks too high or too washed-out.
Color fidelity is also a little off (whites look a little bluish), and colors appear washed out in bright scenes. The screen also shimmers slightly, though this is usually evident only when watching darker scenes.
Video playback is mediocre, which is what we expect from ultraportables with no discrete graphics card. The biggest issue is choppiness and artifacting, which appears in every scene—even ones that have very little movement.
Audio playback is not much better. The Portégé Z935's speakers are on the bottom of the machine, near the front. They get comfortably loud, but audio is tinny and thin-sounding at all volume levels.
Bottom line
The Toshiba Portégé Z935 Ultrabook gets a solid 2.5-star rating. For some business users, such as those who go to a lot of meetings and make basic presentations, it will be a pretty good laptop. After all, it's lightweight, is a solid overall performer, and has several nice hookup options, including VGA and HDMI, as well as WiDi and Bluetooth.
For other business users—those who travel often and want to get work done on the fly—the Portégé Z935 is a poor choice. The keyboard and trackpad definitely need some work, and the overall construction doesn't seem very sturdy. Plus, multimedia performance is pretty weak, even for the ultraportable category.


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WindRock Wealth Management
WindRock Wealth Management is an independent investment management firm founded on the belief that investment success in today's increasingly uncertain world requires a focus on the macroeconomic "big picture" combined with an entrepreneurial mindset to seize on unique investment opportunities. We serve as the trusted voice to a select group of high net worth individuals, family offices, foundations and retirement plans.
Today, in an attempt to offset continued economic weakness, governments are reacting with spending, debt issuance, and intervention in the economy on a scale without precedent in modern history. Although these policies may buy time, they cannot solve the underlying issues. Ultimately, governments will repay debt with their last remaining option – printing more money. As money floods the system, this will drive inflation higher despite continued weakness in the economy.
Under these circumstances, the current conventional model of a static bond and stock mix will fail. It will fail investors in realizing reasonable returns. It will fail investors in preserving their purchasing power after inflation. And it will fail investors in protecting their capital and securing their retirement.
The conventional experts do not foresee such risks. But these same experts missed the bubbles in technology, real estate, and equities. Today they are missing the bubble in government debt and the ramifications of unbridled money creation. WindRock understands these issues and positions clients to not only minimize their risk associated with these dangers, but to profit from them.


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You Have One Job Today: Get Dina Lohan on Dancing with the Stars
Yesterday, Lindsay Lohan's mom, Dina launched a grassroots campaign to jimmy her way onto the next season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars.
We've got to get her on that show.
Lohan launched her offensive during an interview with Mario Lopez for Extra, a program about leftovers. She told Lopez that she'd love to be featured on season 16 and has even already chosen her dancing coach (Maks — he's tough but she likes it!). Dina added that the reason paparazzi target her 26-year-old daughter is because Dina is a single mother and said that she wants Lindsay to get married and have kids so that she can babysitNOOOOOOOOOOOO.
The push comes just weeks after Dina's daughter (who really looks like she could be Dina's sister, don't you think? observes Dina aloud, to no one) reportedly turned down an offer of $550,000 to appear next season.
Dina's message to the producers: Lindsay's too good for reality TV but what about ME, DINA, I'M AVAILABLE.
Dina has a lot of experience claiming to have experience with dance; she famously lied/continues to lie through omission about having worked as a Rockette. While she was not technically a Rockette in the traditional sense of having been one, she certainly knows a bit about what it's like to have been a Rockette, because she spent so much of her life telling people she had been one.
After her Extra interview aired, Dina turned to her legion of Twitter followers for assistance, retweeting people and Lindsay Lohan fan accounts who were eager to watch her Dance with the Stars.
@arthurnikonf @dinalohan @dancingabc Alot of people would love to see Dina there. She has alot of fans.— maria(@mveigak) February 5, 2013
She also tried to make #DinaOnDWTS a #trendingtopic. Failed, but you gotta love that heart.
This is where you come in:
Write to your congressman and demand that Dina Lohan be added to the cast of Dancing with the Stars. Tweet @DancingABC and ask them to change their name to "Dancing with the Stars and Dina" or even just "Dina with the Stars," and then invite her on the show. Write "Dina NOT on Dancing with the Stars" on a piece of paper and then burn that paper (very spiritual) to erase the concept of a Dina-less Dancing with the Stars from your life. Call up the Make-A-Wish foundation and tell them you know one very special kid-at-heart who is DYING….to get on Dancing with the Stars.
Blow out your birthday candles and wish for Dina.
Just make it happen. (She tried a couple years ago and wasn't able to.)
[Images via Getty]


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If your water bottle travels with you everywhere, sip on this thought: Drinking water isn't the only way to stay hydrated.
You can get a lot of the liquid you need from the food and beverages you eat and drink every day.
Food can significantly affect your daily fluid needs. In fact, you can obtain much of the liquid you need from the food and beverages (other than water) you eat and drink every day.
What you really need
Water is an important nutrient that composes 50 to 60 percent of your body weight, and it also helps transport other nutrients within the body. Yet because the body doesn't store water, you have to replenish the supply. How much do you need? For years, we've been told to drink eight glasses of water a day for optimal health. But that one-size-fits-all prescription has given way to a more flexible approach. Health experts have found that fluid requirements vary from person to person, and for many of us, the best way to stay adequately hydrated is to use thirst as a guide. CookingLight.com: More Hydration Misconceptions Debunked
Several factors influence your need for water, including climate, muscle mass, physical activity, and diet. (People who have more muscle need more water -- that's why men generally have higher fluid requirements than women.)
Food, often overlooked as a water source, can be a rich supply of fluid. On average, it provides 20 percent of the fluid we need -- and far more if you choose water-rich fare. That translates to about two cups for the typical female and three cups for most men each day; most people require a total of roughly 11 to 15 cups of water daily, according to the Institute of Medicine. CookingLight.com: Get 11 ½ cups of water in a day
Food aids hydration in other ways, too. Since sipping a beverage helps moisten and wash down food, eating encourages us to drink more liquid. That's why we consume most of our beverages with meals. Food also provides minerals, like sodium and potassium, that help our bodies hold on to water, so the liquids we consume with -- or in the form of -- food are better retained than those we drink between meals. CookingLight.com: 5 recipes that boost your hydration with water-rich fare
In the kitchen
Obviously, cooking affects a food's moisture content.
"People don't think about water as such, but it really is a major ingredient," says food scientist Shirley Corriher, author of "CookWise: The Secrets of Cooking Revealed." "Water can be a vital part of a dish simply because it provides a medium for food to cook in without searing or burning."
Just think about water's critical role in preparing grains and starches such as pasta, couscous, rice, and hot cereals. When we cook these foods in boiling water, their starch granules soak up water, causing them to swell and soften (and become edible). This increases their fluid content as much as sixfold, transforming them from one of the driest foods to one of the wettest. CookingLight.com: Cook a side of rice to add moisture to your meal
Cooking can make other foods lose small amounts of fluid.
"Meat is packed with water, and that water is retained in a network of proteins," says Harold McGee, Ph.D., author of "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen." "But when you heat those proteins, they coagulate. That's the equivalent of squeezing a sponge, so you force moisture out of the food." Cooking meat causes it to release about 20 to 30 percent of its original water content.
But because foods like meat, poultry, and fish are inherently rich in water, they still contribute to our overall fluid needs, even when cooked. Consider a juicy sirloin steak. Raw, a four-ounce serving contains 2.5 ounces of water. After broiling, that steak supplies 2.2 ounces of water. Other foods are nearly immune to the effects of heat. For example, while vegetables often soften when cooked, they rarely loose a meaningful amount of water.
Caffeine considerations
You may have heard about the dehydrating effects of caffeine. But leading health authorities including the Institute of Medicine and the American College of Sports Medicine say that's a myth. While caffeine does signal our kidneys to rid our bodies of excess water, it does so for only a short time, so we still retain more fluid than we lose after sipping a caffeinated beverage.
The Institute of Medicine reports caffeinated beverages contribute to our daily water needs as much as noncaffeinated drinks. In a study published in 2007 in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, when researchers asked cyclists to bike for two-plus hours under hot, humid conditions, they found a caffeine-infused sports drink was as hydrating as a traditional sports drink. CookingLight.com: How much caffeine is fine for your health?
Thirst or dehydration?
You're thirsty. Does that mean you're dehydrated? Not necessarily.
"Thirst kicks in when a person is approximately 1 percent dehydrated," says Ann Grandjean, Ed.D., FACN, executive director of the Center for Human Nutrition in Omaha, Nebraska. "At two percent dehydration, thirst becomes more intense, and dry mouth occurs at three percent." CookingLight.com: The benefits of water and how much you really need
Certainly, dehydration can make you thirsty. But true dehydration doesn't occur until you've lost more than two percent of body weight. That's about three pounds for a 150-pound woman. Dehydration makes blood more concentrated, causing sensors in the brain to signal the body to drink more. As we drink, our blood becomes more diluted and these signals subside. The bottom line: Thirst doesn't always equal dehydration, but it does mean it's time to drink up.
For more tips on making healthy taste great, try Cooking Light - CLICK HERE
Copyright 2009 Cooking Light magazine. All rights reserved.


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Notes from the ASLH Meeting, Miami, 7 – 10 November.
At the annual meeting of the Society, the Board approved several grants to new initiatives as well as ongoing projects. The Committee on Projects and Proposals recommended several proposals to the Executive Committee and the Board, which meets annually on the Thursday evening before the start of the conference.
The Society is particularly interested in programs that promote the work of junior scholars. Examples of activities funded by the board this year include:
1. A pre-conference program for graduate students on Thursday before the 2014 conference (to be held in Denver, November 6 – 9), organized by John Wertheimer of Davidson College.
2. A two-day conference to be held at the University of Minnesota in June, 2014, on the Law of the Child, 1400-2000. The conference website and call for papers can be found here. The conference will be cosponsored by a consortium that includes the University of Minnesota Law School and History Department, University of Michigan Law School, University of Illinois Law School, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, University of Chicago Law School, and University of Pennsylvania Law School.
3. Financial support for graduate student/foreign scholar/independent scholar travel to the 2014 annual meeting.
4. Funding for a second "Workshop on 'Underexplored' Areas of Legal History before the 2014 Annual Meeting in Denver
5. Support for travel and other expenses related to a May, 2014 workshop to be held in Chicago where the editors of a new edition of Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England will hold an editorial conference.
6. The History of the Society Committee received support for filming and transcribing oral histories.
More information will be posted on the ASLH website shortly.
Members of the Society may apply for funding for future projects, which will be acted on at the November 2014 meeting. Applications should be submitted by September 1st. The application form will be available on the Society's website soon. If you need an application form immediately you may either contact the ASLH Treasurer, Craig Klafter or Rayman Solomon.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
New ASLH Initiatives To Support Early Career Scholars
At this past meeting of the American Society for Legal History, the Board approved a series of measures aimed at supporting early career scholars. Guest blogger Sally Gordon (of our occasional advice column Ms. Peppercorn Considers) has put together the following update, which includes information on how to apply for funding for future projects of this nature:
Posted by Karen Tani at 1:30 PM


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EU agrees an unprecedented package of sanctions on Iran.
Joint statement by Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany and David Cameron, Prime Minister of United Kingdom. (23.01.2012)
Today, the EU agreed an unprecedented package of sanctions on Iran, including a full ban on Iranian oil exports.
Our message is clear. We have no quarrel with the Iranian people. But the Iranian leadership has failed to restore international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear programme. We will not accept Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. Iran has so far had no regard for its international obligations and is already exporting and threatening violence around its region.
We call on Iran's leadership immediately to suspend its sensitive nuclear activities and abide fully by its international obligations. The door is open to Iran to engage in serious and meaningful negotiations about its nuclear programme. Until Iran comes to the table, we will be united behind strong measures to undermine the regime's ability to fund its nuclear programme, and to demonstrate the cost of a path that threatens the peace and security of us all.