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Exciting news in the world of home sous-vide cooking: Anova Culinary has just announced the launch of the Anova Precision Cooker, the first major upgrade to the sous-vide circulator they introduced last year. I visited their studio in San Francisco last week to get an exclusive look at the product, whose Kickstarter fundraising phase is starting today. I played around with it and chatted with its designer Jeff Wu for a few hours, and man, was I impressed.
I can confidently say that when it comes out in September, this will be the best, most cost-effective consumer-grade sous-vide solution on the market.
You may remember when I tested the original model against its closest competitors back in December. It was a favorite even then, with the sturdiest build, the tightest clamp, the best impeller features, the easiest-to-clean components, and perfectly accurate temperature controllers, all built by the company with the longest track record for building precision, long-lasting tools (Anova was well known as one of the two biggest suppliers of lab-grade equipment before launching their consumer-level culinary division).
The new Precision Cooker* puts all of that performance into a smaller, sleeker package, addresses the few issues I had with the first model, and adds some awesome new features (hello Bluetooth control and open-source software!), all at a lower price point. The first 1,000 will get theirs for $99 ($99 UNITS SOLD OUT), the following 1,000 Kickstarter backers will get it for $129, and the remaining backers will get it for $159 (the final retail price will be $169).
UPDATE: Anova has added 500 units each at $135, $139, $145, and $149 price points. They are also offering a "Hacker Special" at $229 which includes a prototype unit shipped in August along with a software development kick, in addition to a finalized unit shipped upon completion (that's two complete units).
The final retail price is a full $30 below their original model's (and the closest comparable competitor) pricing. And as a Serious Eats reader, you've got the story and access here before anywhere else!
*As the new model has been dubbed—I like it, it's a much more consumer-friendly nomenclature than "sous vide cooker" or "water bath controller" or "isothermal circulator.
There was a time when sous-vide cooking was limited to fancy restaurants and large food service operations. That time is past, as precision cooking has moved well into the realm of the home cook, both in terms of pricing, and in terms of increased understanding of how it works, along with plenty of recipes freely available online. With this new Anova cooker, there are really no excuses. It's cheaper than an all-clad skillet, and built to last.
For the record: I'm a strong proponent of modular circulators. That is, the type that you clip to the side of a pot or a cooler. They're smaller, easier to clean and fill, more cost effective, and far more versatile than fixed volume all-in-one units.
Here's a quick look at some of the upgrades on the new Anova precision cooker.
The Interface
The old Anova model featured a touchscreen interface that required a few button presses to turn on and off, and frankly, was more complicated than it needed to be. The new model takes the iPhone approach with streamlined, intuitive controls. It now features two buttons—a power button and a timer button—along with a mouse-style scroll wheel for making adjustments.
The LED display is bright and large, and—a key improvement over the previous model—stays lit all the time, allowing you to quickly glance at the unit from across the room to see what temperature you've set it at, and the current water temperature.
Programmable Bluetooth Control
While the streamlined physical interface is great, you may be wondering why they decided to remove the touchscreen and the programming potential it offered. Well, they very wisely realized that practically everybody has a fully functional, networked touchscreen controller in their pockets at all times: their smart phone.
That's right, the new cooker will be fully controllable from your smart phone.
One of the big issues with bringing sous-vide cooking to the general public has been one of education: people simply aren't used to cooking at sous-vide temperatures and times, and thus have no intuitive sense of the process. You wouldn't believe the number of emails and tweets I get asking what temperature and time guidelines to follow for cooking a chicken breast or a fish filet.
By building apps for your phone with all of these temperature and time settings already in place, those worries will be a thing of the past.
It's going to come bundled with an app that has presets for dozens of common foods—chicken breasts, salmon filets, or short ribs, for instance. All you have to do is bag the food you're cooking, drop it into the cooker, hit go on your phone, and the temperature and time will be automatically set for optimal end results.
Of course, this programmability also means that you'll be able to hold cooked food automatically. Say you drop in those chicken breasts to cook at 145°F for one hour. You can then program your Anova to drop the temperature down to 130°F and hold them there; It's a temperature that is hot enough to eat (and to prevent any bacterial spoilage), but cool enough to prevent further cooking. That chicken is ready to serve when you're ready to eat.
Anova is very wisely making the source code open source, which means that where this connectivity is really going to shine is with the custom apps that will undoubtedly be built for it, allowing you to share and follow recipes.
Imagine this: You see me rave and post a photo about a fantastic pork chop that I cooked in my precision cooker last night? Well now you'll be able to cook that exact same pork chop at home at the push of a button.
Is this the future yet? I think this is the future.
New Adjustable Clamp = No Minimum Water Height
Anyone who's tried cooking sous vide at home knows that one of the most annoying issues is that you have to use a fairly large pot with a fairly large volume of water, even if you're just cooking for one or two. The issue is that circulators have a minimum pot height and a minimum water height that is usually pretty high. In the case of the previous Anova model, your pot had to be at least 7 inches high, and the water had to be filled to at least three inches. This was pretty great by industry standards.
The new model does it one better with a clamp that not only tightens as securely as the previous one (you can flip your pot entirely upside down and the Anova will stay clamped in place), but is now fully adjustable in height, allowing you to use your precision cooker in any pot you have.
Not only that, but because the water intake and output has been redesigned, it will now work with just 2 1/2 inches of water (with the potential to be lowered before the release in September).
The all-metal base of the unit has also been replaced with a transparent polycarbonate cover which you can twist to adjust the direction of the water flow, making it easier to see just where your water is going. As with the previous model, this one operates nearly silently.
The Tech Specs
Wanna get real nerdy? Here are some of the other vital stats. The older model used a 1,000W heater to heat water, while this one has been downsized to an 800W heater. But better programming in its fuzzy logic means that it heats almost as quickly to a set temp as the older model. I timed it heating 1.5 gallons (5.5 liters) of water from a 77°F (25°C) tap to ready-to-cook 140°F (60°C) in just over 16 minutes. That ain't bad!
Its smaller heater also means that its maximum capacity has been reduced slightly from 22 liters to 19 liters (this can be improved with insulated containers like a cooler), while the pump pushes around 8 liters per minute for up to 99 hours at a go.
It's got total dimensions of 2.75- by 2.75- by 14.75-inches, weighing in at 2 1/2 pounds, making it a truly portable device (yeah, this is gonna go in my travel bag for weekend trips when it comes out).
It's been a curious and exciting journey watching home sous-vide cookers come out and evolve over the past few years, and frankly, it's all happened far faster than I ever anticipated. For a while, it wasn't obvious to me who would be the first to crack the home cooking code, but with this new model, with all its features and low price, Anova is pretty squarely in the lead. I predict a lot of these units under the tree this holiday season.
How to Order
Like I said, we managed to score an exclusive first look at this thing, which means that you, as Serious East readers, get first crack at nabbing one of the early pricing units. That's $99 for the first 1,000 orders, and $129 for the next 1,000 after that before it bumps up to the final retail price of $169! Orders are being taken through their Kickstarter campaign (free shipping is included with all orders) and shipping is expected some time in September.


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DataJack, Inc. Announces Preliminary Year-End Results
DALLAS, Feb. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- DataJack, Inc. (OTCQB: DJAK) today announced preliminary financial information relating to year ending December 31, 2012.
DALLAS, Feb. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- DataJack, Inc. (OTCQB: DJAK) today announced preliminary financial information relating to year ending December 31, 2012.
For the year ending December 31, 2012, revenue rose approximately 30%, to $2,515,055, an increase of $587,792, versus $1,927,263, for the comparable twelve month period of 2011. The increase in revenue was primarily attributable to revenue growth from our DataJack, Mobile broadband products.
Fourth quarter revenues were $625,421 versus $470,243 for the comparable period last year, an increase of $155,178.
Stuart Ehrlich, DataJack's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We believe our performance through the period has set the stage for future growth through increased online sales, wireless store distribution, affiliate network growth through strong product demand."
"Consumer demand for mobile broadband Internet access continues to expand. We have positioned our products to create demand based on a variety of low cost plan options. Our revenue growth reflects strong demand for our mobile broadband products," commented Peter Sperling, DataJack's Secretary. "We are pleased with our efforts and 2012 results and will implement strategic initiatives towards continued revenue growth, extending market share, and growing retail and online distribution channels, while focusing on sustainable profitability."
About: - DataJack, Inc., is a provider of mobile broadband Internet access offering data coverage to 280 million people. DataJack provides high-speed, affordable Internet on the go to consumers using a PC, MAC, or any WIFI enabled device such as an iPad, tablet, smartphone or netbook. Consumers can purchase a DataJack MIFI Mobile Hotspot which can connect up to 5 WiFi-enabled devices simultaneously. For more information http://www.DataJack.com.
Other broadband stocks to watch: Sprint Nextel Corp.: Sprint has seen fewer care calls, fewer returns and exchanges, and lower early life voluntary churn rates for iPhone customers next to comparable smart phone customers in its base. AT&T, Inc.: The nation's second-largest wireless carrier fired up their 4G LTE network in Northwest Georgia, covering the cities of Dalton and Calhoun.
DataJack(TM) has been reviewed on CNET Marketplace:http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33153_7-57409313-10391733/get-a-datajack-mifi-hotspot-for-$49.99/
Safe Harbor: Statements about the Company's future expectations and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts, are 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. The above information contains information relating to the Company that is based on the beliefs of the Company and/or its management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company or its management. When used in this document, the words 'anticipate,' 'estimate,' 'expect,' 'intend,' 'plans,' 'projects,' and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current view of the Company regarding future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including the risks and uncertainties noted. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated, expected, intended or projected. In each instance, forward-looking information should be considered in light of the accompanying meaningful cautionary statements herein. Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are not limited to, successful performance of internal plans, the impact of competitive services and pricing and general economic risks and uncertainties.
CONTACT: Peter email@example.com://www.DataJack.com

subset: commoncrawl


text: Bring the family for a day out and step behind the scenes of a Hollywood movie or bestselling novel in stunning Dorset. You can find your own Jurassic Park on beaches sprinkled with fossils and smuggler's caves or trace Thomas Hardy novels on open heaths and vales. The southwest county's dramatic coastline is an outdoor sculpture gallery with arches, stacks and coves carved by Mother Nature herself, a must-see attraction in Dorset. Casual amblers and serious ramblers alike can trek ridgeways between Bronze Age burial mounds and castle ruins. With so many incredible places to visit in Dorset you'll leave knowing exactly why this county is incredibly popular for vacations and staycations alike.


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For his first womenswear show in Paris, he played with contrasts.
Tim Hamilton has only been in the womenswear game for one season but he took a big step by showing his womenswear collection in Paris for the first time (as he did with the menswear in the summer). With CFDA and Swarovski backing though and a strong vision of a 70s / 80s Helmut Newton lady empowered by a steady balance between loose and fitted, covered and exposed. So there's a tension between comfort and restriction that playd out into lean dresses, assymetric jackets, loose tailoring and a killer black crystal enrusted swimsuit. Functionality was always the overriding theme that will win him customers craving real clothes.
Dazed Digital: How does it feel to have had your first womenswear show in Paris?
Tim Hamilton: I feel so strange! It kind of feels odd that as I was looking at all the clothes, though it's all mine and then the clothes on the models, it didn't feel like this was my show. It was like "Hold on a minute, it's a woman!"
DD: But your sensibilities as a menswear designer have defnitely transferred to your womsnwear righ?
Tim Hamilton: Absolutely. I pay a huge attention to fabrics in my menswear and I did the same thing with the womenswear looking at how things moved and how they contrasted with each other.
DD: Were there any pictorial references for the collection?
Tim Hamilton: Yeah, I was really thinkinga bout a 70s/80s Helmut Newton-type women. I was also thinking about Catherine Deneuve in the film The Hunger. Last season was more romantic and I was thinking about what my mother would want to wear and thinking about Venice but this season was about adding more street wear influences.
DD: How was working with Swarovski?
Tim Hamilton: They're brilliant, incredibly helpful. I didn't want to cover everything with crystals because they're so intricate to work with and you need a lot of time to just do one piece. In the end we went for four pieces including a really great swimsuit.
Photography by Clement Dauvent.
Here is the film Tim Hamilton made with photographer Collier Schorr for his S/S10 menswear collection entitled 'Climb'.
You need to have the Macromedia Flash plugin installed to be able to play this video.


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ATV Blitz - CLICK Here to Play the Game:
Gear up and select the best four wheel death machine to race in wild areas while performing extreme stunts! Use the arrow keys to drive, number keys for stunts, and dont forget to press the space bar to jump off ramps to gain massive air! Upgrade your ATV in the store to unlock crazy tricks and more!


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Workhorse motherboards aimed at embedded and commercial applications tend not to make fine fillies in the context of home PCs. With that in mind, what chance has the Sapphire IPC-AM3DD785G in the Mini-ITX motherboard stakes?
Despite being categorised as an industrial motherboard – the marketing bumpf speaks of information kiosks and digital signage, not games and movies – the Sapphire IPC-AM3DD785G does seem to tick all the boxes required for a compact home cinema system.
The AMD 785G chipset is certainly multimedia friendly and theoretically works with all the latest AMD CPUs including the top six-core Thuban chips. Sapphire has even found space for a pukka PCI-e x16 port on this vanishingly small Mini-ITX board.
A high performance AMD-based alternative to Mini-ITX boards such as Zotac's H55-ITX WiFi is therefore not out of the question. But the real story of the Sapphire IPC-AM3DD785G's suitability for home systems only begins when you fire it up.
Usability is where industrial PCs tend to fall flat. It's therefore not exactly shocking to find the Sapphire IPCAM3DD785G doesn't always make life easy for the end user. A good example of this is the BIOS updating routine.
DOS throwback
Nearly all consumer class motherboards now come with idiot-proof Windows applications for updating the BIOS. But not this little Mini-ITX board. Courtesy of some moderately baffling and garbled instructions, you must create a bootable USB stick and then resurrect your DOS prompt skills.
Our DOS talents obviously weren't good enough and the result was a thoroughly bricked board. Luckily, we had a spare to hand and discretion being the better part of valour, we left the BIOS well alone.
Unfortunately, however, without a BIOS update the IPC-AM3DD785G won't play ball with six-core Thuban chips. Another symptom of this board's overtly commercial remit is the utterly threadbare BIOS menu.
The demand for overclockable kiosks being, we imagine, pretty minimal Sapphire has omitted controls for the CPU multiplier, memory dividers, voltages and more. Only the main bus frequency can be tweaked and even then only in steps of 6-8MHz up to a maximum of 250MHz. As it happens, even that is optimistic as the board flakes out at just 230MHz.
Having said all that, performance with a Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition is actually quite impressive. That includes gaming performance with a discrete GPU where it beats AMD-based microATX boards, such as Asus's M4A785TD-M EVO and the Gigabyte 880GMA-UD2H.


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Basic Math | Basic-2 Math | Prealgebra | Workbooks | Glossary | Standards | Site Map | Help
More or Less: Comparing Products of MultiplicationLet's take a minute to look at the ideas of "less than", "greater than", and "equal to". Throughout math, you will be comparing two values. You will need to understand that one is greater, less, or equal to the other. A number is "less than" when it is smaller. A number is "greater than" when it is larger. Numbers are equal when they have the same values.
This activity compares the products of two multiplication problems. Your first step will be to solve the problems and then you need to compare the products. Here's an example:
14 x 2 = 28
13 x 3 = 39
When you compare the products you will see that twenty-eight (28) is less than thirty-nine (39). The final answer would be:
14 x 2 is less than 13 x 3 OR 14 x 2 < 13 x 3
Good luck and have fun.
DirectionsThis type of activity challenges you to compare two values. You will be asked which value is greater or smaller for each question. Compare the two choices and click one of the center buttons. Those buttons will offer you the options of "Less Than", Equal To", and "Greater Than." Just click on the button with the correct answer. The next screen will show you the right answer.
You get a happy face for every correct answer and a sad face for every wrong answer. The quiz is over after ten (10) questions. Take the quiz again and again because all of the questions are random. Chances are, you'll get a new quiz every time. It's good practice to learn these basic arithmetic comparisons.
* The custom search only looks at Rader's sites.
Basic Math | Basic-2 Math | Prealgebra
NumberNut Home | Workbooks | Glossary | Standards | Site Map | Site Help
Other Free Rader's Sites
Chem4Kids.com | Cosmos4Kids.com | Biology4Kids.com | Geography4Kids.com | Physics4Kids.com | Cosmos4Kids.com
Go for site help or a list of mathematics topics at the site map!
Since the site is new, please send us your comments or suggestions from our feedback page.
©copyright 2004-2013 Andrew Rader Studios, All rights reserved.
** Andrew Rader Studios does not monitor or review the content available at these web sites. They are paid advertisements and neither partners nor recommended web sites.


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Armchair Field Trip: The Ringling Museum
Ah, Sarasota -- home to dead fish, American Idol toothpaste, and, on the plus side, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. I'm currently visiting a friend who's working there, and yesterday she took me on a tour. The museum does have a circus component, but it also has a quite respectable set of paintings, as well as the odd sculpture, sketch, photograph, and antique harpsichord, and it appears that most of the collection is online. My personal favorite is "Time Discovering the Love of Venus and Mars" (shown above), but the most impressive part is probably the group of giant Peter Paul Rubens paintings, which were intended as studies for tapestries commissioned for a convent in Madrid. In the art world, these are referred to as "cartoons," but don't think Mickey Mouse -- they're extraordinary paintings in their own right. You can check out a few of them after the jump.
The Defenders of the Eucharist
The Four Evangelists


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The federal Clery Act was passed in 1990 and named after a Lehigh University student who was murdered in her dorm room in 1986. It is intended to protect students by forcing schools to be transparent about campus crime.
Under the act, college administrators must report all serious criminal allegations made to them "in good faith" – i.e., based on more than rumor – to a designated campus official. That official is then required to submit a tally of the allegations to the federal Department of Education. The department publishes statistics each year for every school in the country that receives federal financial aid – essentially all of them.
The act also requires schools to keep thorough crime records and to show them openly. It does not require administrators to report allegations to local police, although they must offer to help victims do so.
For much of the past two decades, some schools have either ignored the Clery Act or reported artificially low statistics. But violations related to recent high-profile crimes – such as last year's Penn State child-molestation case and the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre – have brought the act more prominence.
In the past seven years, the education department has stepped up enforcement. Typically, it has punished schools with fines of up to $27,500 per violation. In theory, schools can also lose access to federal financial aid, although no college has ever been punished that seriously.
Several Clery experts told the Globe that the list of potential Clery Act violations at Roxbury Community College is unusually long.


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Toledo Bend: A quick weekend getaway
TOLEDO BEND – The kids are settled back in school but there's still time for a quick get-away.
One option for those not wanting to venture too far from home is camping and fishing at Toledo Bend Reservoir. For the first time since 2007, the massive water body was higher than 171 feet mean sea level during the month of August, making it easier to navigate for recreational users and more enticing for fishermen. Prior to 2007, the last time the reservoir was this high was 1989.
Having a healthy lake level during the summer months is somewhat unusual in that Toledo Bend typically recedes from its shores because of a combination of summertime drought and hydro-electric power generation. That's not been the case this year.
The reservoir has steadily remained over 171 feet (172 feet is the top of the power pool) because of a mild summer, above average rainfall in areas that feed it and a change in the way Entergy and Cleco, the two companies benefiting from power generation, draw electricity from generation. Starting Oct. 1, however, generation will kick off again as the Sabine River Authority prepares to drop the reservoir to about 168 feet in preparation for the fall and winter rains.
In the meantime, two park sites — one each in DeSoto and Sabine parishes — offer different amenities for a weekend jaunt to celebrate the end of the season.
North Toledo Bend State Park, a 900-acre, state-run expanse along the reservoir's shores west of Zwolle, offers camping, picnicking, hiking, and relaxing. Campers can take advantage of the RV pads or camp sites, complete with water and electrical hookups, or rent cabins that can accommodate up to six people each.
"It's a peaceful and wonderful place. It is clean, and the workers and host are very nice. It is a well taken care RV park," said Cynthia Barnaby, of Mansfield. She and husband Paul have spent several weeks this year at North Toledo Bend State Park with other RV friends.
It's up the road in south DeSoto Parish at Oak Ridge Park where the greatest transformation has taken place along the banks of Toledo Bend. The 117-acre site primarily has offered a more primitive setting with limited camping opportunities.
In 2000, the Sabine River Authority constructed the first bathhouse and installed a sewer system. There were only 20 RV pads then.
But over the past four years, through a joint arrangement with the DeSoto Parish Police Jury, Oak Ridge Park has taken on a new life with double the RV pads and additional accommodations to suit overnight and extended stays.
The Police Jury committed $560,000 — broken down to $140,000 over four years — for the significant upgrades. A previously inaccessible forested area was carved out among a rolling hill and towering trees to add more concrete RV pads, bringing to 51 the total now available. All have water, electrical and sewer hookups. And asphalt roads replace dirt roads.
A pavilion with a laundry room, restrooms and showers was built nearby. It's already popular for family reunions, SRA Executive Director Jim Pratt said.
A second pavilion was constructed close to the reservoir's shore, and close by will be a children's playground that's still a work in progress. Also on the to-do list is construction of a fishing pier that will reach out into the reservoir. Oak Ridge is one of the few areas where visitors can easily fish along the shoreline.
Though the idea of a swimming beach has been tossed about, Pratt said it's not likely because the shallow shore is susceptible to floating debris and mats of giant salvinia coming from the north. He's mulling other opportunities for children's activities.
SRA crews contributed the manpower to make the Police Jury's money stretch even more. "We did most of the work in the winter months. ... It was a very good working relationship with the Police Jury," Pratt said.
The reaction from the public has been favorable for the once neglected area. "We couldn't get the asphalt laid before someone wanted to put in a trailer," Pratt said.
Because of the improvements, four jobs also have been created. Before, there was no need for attendants because most of the visitors were fishermen looking for a place to launch their boats or teens seeking a hangout.
Now, the site is secured and gated. The attendants, all DeSoto Parish residents, are available to direct visitors and see to any needs at the park. One also is a host camper, meaning she is available 24/7.
"It's a big difference from where it was. But it wouldn't have been possible without the generous support of the Police Jury," Pratt said.
If you go
North Toledo Bend State Park
2907 N. Toledo Park Road, Zwolle
Where to stay: Improved camp sites with water and electrical: $18 nightly, October to March; $22 nightly, April to September; Premium camp sites: $20/$28 during the same time frame; Cabins: 10 available; $120 nightly October to March; $150 nightly on Fridays and Saturdays, April to September.
Entry: $2 per person; children and veterans with state park ID, free.
Info: 645-4715 or 888-677-6400
Oak Ridge Park
316 Oak Ridge Road, Mansfield
Where to stay: Overnight RV spur, $20 nightly, without sewer, $15 nightly; monthly RV spur, $150 with sewer, $120 without sewer; primitive tent camping: $10 nightly per tent; pavilions: rates available upon request.
Entry: $2 per person; children and veterans with state park ID, free; Annual pass, $40.
Info: 697-1508 or 800-259-5253


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It is critical that we set realistic goals to hold schools accountable for providing the education students deserve while taking into consideration the unique challenges that must be overcome in the classroom. Our education system must support and revitalize our public schools instead of labeling them as failing when they are not.
I am pleased that in December 2015, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that replaces the flawed policies of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). I voted for S. 1177, the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) because reauthorizing the ESEA was the most important action Congress could take to fix the flawed NCLB law.
NCLB placed unreasonable standards on students, teachers, and administrators, and led to award-winning schools being labeled as failing. The consequences of NCLB have been felt directly in Washington state where, since the 2014 loss of a U.S. Department of Education waiver, 88 percent of schools have been deemed to be failing under NCLB standards, even when that is clearly not the case. The new ESSA law ends the need for waivers for states and replaces the one-size-fits-all approach of NCLB's federal accountability system by shifting authority for academic standards and school accountability back to states and local school districts.
The bipartisan ESSA conference agreement passed by the House included aspects that were important to our region, including federal dollars to support locally-tailored improvements in the highest-need schools. The bill also authorized the Student Support and Academic Enrichment grant program that allocates federal funds based on need, population, as well as school district identified opportunity gaps. These grants will support programs to keep students safe and healthy, promote well rounded education opportunities such as foreign language and STEM, and encourage the effective use of technology in schools. Further, this education legislation improves the Migrant Education Program to prioritize services for migrant students who have dropped out of school. ESSA is a much needed step towards promoting fair and equal access to quality public education.
Since it was first enacted in 1965, the ESEA has played a key role in providing equal access to quality public education and helping to reduce educational inequalities. Significant work still remains to ensure that all of our students, regardless of where they live, receive high-quality instruction, and I remain committed to working with my colleagues to support students throughout our country.
Access to higher education is also extremely important to the success of our children. Whether through grants or scholarships, making higher education affordable is critical for the future of millions of students. I strongly support Pell Grants and maintaining access to low interest rates on student loans.
Providing a quality education to students in our public schools has become even more important. With an unemployment rate around five percent, there are millions of jobs that can't be filled because our workforce does not have the skills needed to fill them. It is critical that we prepare our children for the competitive global economy and make sure they have the skills that directly apply to the type of employment opportunities available when they enter the workforce.
I am a strong advocate of investing in our education system through sound and effective policies that ensure a quality education is equally available to all children.
- College For All: Joined Representative Pramila Jayapal in supporting and working to advance the College for All Act, which is mirrored after Senator Bernie Sanders' bill and would provide states and tribes money to eliminate undergraduate tuition and fees at public colleges and universities as well as institutions of higher learning controlled by tribes for students from families making less than $125,000 a year. The bill would also provide free community college for all students.
- Extending STEM Education to the Underrepresented: Cosponsor of the 21st Century STEM for Girls and Underrepresented Minorities Act which would authorize funding to school districts to carry out activities designed to better engage girls and communities of color in STEM.
- Promoting Early Childhood Education: Joined colleagues in sending a letter to the House Committee on Appropriations and the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies asking they prioritize funding for the Head Start Program in their Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 appropriations bill.
- Encouraging Youth Job Training: Cosponsor of the Youth Access to American Jobs Act, introduced by Representative Rick Larsen. This bill would establish a pilot program to promote public-private partnerships among apprenticeships or other job training programs, local educational agencies, and community colleges.
- Defending Civil Rights: Joined colleagues in the House and Senate in sending numerous letters to the Department of Education expressing concern over the Administration's actions to curtail the role of the Office for Civil Rights at the Department.
- Career and Technical Education: Requested strong funding for the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act in the Fiscal Year 2018 Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill. I was pleased to see this program reauthorized from FY 2018-2023 with the passage of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act. I have also long been a strong supporter of apprenticeship training opportunities and have worked in Congress to promote and support apprenticeships and training.
- Ensuring Access: The TRiO Upward Bound program prepares students from disadvantaged backgrounds to excel in college. I support programs like TRiO because of their commitment to ensuring a quality education for all children, regardless of their family's incomes, race, or ethnic background.
- Supporting Individuals Receiving Education and Workforce Training: introduced the Empowering Individuals to Succeed Through Education and Workforce Training Act. This legislation would establish a new grant program under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), dedicated exclusively to providing support services for individuals receiving workforce training and education.
For more information on this issue, sign up to receive Congressman Smith's email updates.
More on Education
September 2022
|Rep. Smith Introduces Bill to Create Tuition-Free Community and Technical Schools Across the Country
August 2022
|Rep. Smith Statement on Student Debt Cancellation
November 2021
|Rep. Smith Statement on the Passage of the Build Back Better Act
|Rep. Smith Statement on the Passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the Build Back Better Act Rule
August 2021
|Rep. Smith Votes in Support of the Budget Resolution to Start Negotiations to Enact the Build Back Better Proposal
July 2021
|Rep. Smith Secures Over $8 Million For Community Projects in the 9th District
June 2021
|Rep. Smith Secures Funding for Meeker Complete Street/Safe Routes to School Project
May 2021
|Rep. Smith Statement on the President's Budget
April 2021
|Rep. Smith Submits Community Project Funding Request for the MLK Mixed Use Affordable Housing and Early Learning Center
|Rep. Smith Submits Community Project Funding Requests for 2022


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Prayer request from His Message for You Ministry for my ole friend, a Los Banos legend and inspiration to many, Coach Ernie Lugo who has successfully made it through heart bypass surgery.
We pray for Coach Lugo to recover fast and completely with all of our strength, passion, love and Hope!
Father, we have faith in your and that Your Will shall be done on earth as it is in Heaven. We believe, in the name of Jesus, that Coach Lugo is surrounded and covered by Your Holy Spirit. We know You have blessed him with Your Saving and Healing power, according to 1 Peter 2:24. Your Word explains that Jesus Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. Therefore, with great boldness and confidence we say on the authority of Your written Word that Ernie will be covered by Your Holy Spirit and that Your Love and Your Grace is upon him.
We have the assurance of Your Word that Your Holy Spirit encamps around us and by Your Plan delivers us from pain, sickness and injury. No evil shall befall us, no plague or calamity shall win over us. We confess Your Word abides in us and delivers to us perfect soundness of mind and wholeness in body and spirit from the deepest parts of our nature in our immortal spirit even to the joints and marrow of our bones. Your Word is medication and "" to our flesh for the law of the Spirit of Life operates in us and makes us free from the law of pain, illness, and injury.
Lord, we wear the armor of Your Word to protect us from all the fiery darts sent towards us. We praise You Jesus as the high Priest of our confession and we hold fast to our confession of faith in You and Your Word. We stand immovable and fixed in full assurance You will heal Coach Lugo. We know you will bless him and his family with the comfort and peace only Your Holy Spirit can provide during this storm.
Yes, we will…..
In Your name Lord and Christ Jesus we pray, Amen


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Are you there? Share your photos and videos from the scene on CNN's iReport.
(CNN) -- The Space Shuttle Discovery launched late Thursday afternoon from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the start of its 39th and final flight.
"This was a pretty successful day," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for space operations. "It was just an amazing event."
The six-member crew will deliver a storage module, a science rig and spare parts to the international space station during its 11-day mission.
Originally scheduled for November, Discovery's launch had been delayed in order to make repairs to the external tank's support beams.
And NASA halted its countdown on Thursday, at five minutes, because of a computer problem related to safety on the "eastern range." But after a confirmation that all was good to go, the countdown resumed, and the shuttle lifted off about three minutes behind its planned 4:50 p.m. ET launch.
Five minutes in, NASA's official blog reported "a good separation for solid rocket boosters," which separated from the main shuttle after pushing the shuttle through Earth's lower atmosphere. Shortly thereafter, the blog reported that the Discovery and its astronauts were "safely in orbit," having "performed flawlessly" on its launch.
Gerstenmaier noted, and video showed, four pieces of foam tearing apart from the shuttle about four minutes into launch. But the NASA administrator called these incidents "typical" and likely harmless, since they came off "after the area of concern" when the atmosphere was so thin to make its impact negligible.
The crew is headed by Steve Lindsey, and includes a late addition in Steve Bowen -- who became the first ever astronaut to fly consecutive missions after he was assigned to take the place of Tim Kopra, when Kopra was injured last month in a bicycle accident, according to NASA.
Prior to Thursday's launch, Discovery had spent 352 days in orbit, circling the Earth 5,628 times. It has also carried 246 crew members, more than any space vehicle in history.
"In a way, it's ... sad to see the last flight," said astronaut Steven Swanson. "It's such a wonderful vehicle."
The last scheduled launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour is set for April 19 and will be commanded by Mark Kelly, the husband of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who is recovering from being shot last month in Tucson, Arizona. Atlantis is tentatively scheduled to launch during the summer.
The 30-year shuttle program should have ended a long time ago, NASA's administrator told CNN on Wednesday.
"What is not acceptable is the fact that the most powerful nation in the world, the United States of America, finds itself in a situation that we didn't do the proper planning to have a vehicle in place to replace shuttle when it lands its last landing," Charles Bolden said.
Bolden hopes that at least two commercial space companies will emerge to transport astronauts to the International Space Station. This will allow NASA to concentrate on building a new heavy-lift rocket capable of leaving lower Earth orbit.


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After a well-publicized split with Chuck Lorre and the hit sitcom Two And A Half Men and a subsequent multimedia assault in the midst of what appeared to be a split with reality, Charlie Sheen returns to television with tonight's Anger Management on FX. Erik Adams and Todd VanDerWerff have seen the first two episodes. Here they talk over the series' good points and bad, and decide which outweighs the other.
Todd VanDerWerff: What's most surprising about Anger Management is that there's a competent sitcom hiding somewhere inside of it. Don't get me wrong: This show is largely awful. But that's for reasons that have almost nothing to do with the content of the scripts, which have some well-constructed jokes that made me smile a time or two. Where other shows might try to coast on star Charlie Sheen's "charm," creator Bruce Helford (a longtime sitcom vet, whose most famous creation is The Drew Carey Show) shows that he and this writing staff still know how to craft solid setups and punchlines. (In between all of the offensive storylines and Sheen hero-worship, at least.) I was able to admire the joke construction—though not exactly laugh out loud—while everything else was falling apart around it. Make no mistake: The biggest problem with this show is Sheen, but not for the reasons anyone would think.
The major complaint against Anger Management before a single frame had been filmed was that it starred Sheen, whose bad-boy image had escalated from drug abuse to serious domestic-violence allegations. The idea of trying to be cheeky about this, of making Sheen the star of a series about a therapist who leads anger-management sessions and has anger problems himself, was repugnant to many, myself included.
Yet as the episode got started, I was willing to go with this. The idea of a series set around an anger-management group is a good one, even if it's derivative, and the members of Sheen's group include some fine actors, including the great Barry Corbin. Giving Sheen a teenage daughter is a fairly predictable way totry to "soften" him, but it almost works in practice, as does casting Shawnee Smith as his ex-wife. She gives as good as she gets, and I briefly found myself fantasy-casting a2006 version of this show that starred Robert Downey Jr., with all of the other actors in the same role. (At the very least, this would guarantee Daniela Bobadilla, the actress playing the teenage daughter, wouldn't be a 19-year-old playing what appears to be 13.)
The problems with Sheen, however, extend from the fact that all involved are very much aware this is a comeback project for him and, worse, an image-rehabilitation project. The show never shakes the sense that it's a court-mandated sitcom, that some judge somewhere ordered Sheen to come up with a show where he could work out his issues live and on screen before viewers. There's a moment of real and dark despair in tonight's pilot, in which Sheen picks up a household object and threatens another man with it, and it fizzles out, simply because all involved seem aware that making Sheen an actual figure of menace would play too much into the image problems he's had. So the "angry" aspect of the character is mostly neutered, which leaves Sheen wandering around and being what counts for a fount of wisdom on TV. Since Sheen excels at playing over-the-top bad boys, it's a curious choice, and one that makes the show feel borderline somnambulant.
There's a gritty, incredibly dark little single-camera comedy hidden in this series. Yet the current version brightens everything (thanks to being filmed cheaply and quickly in multi-camera style), and it clashes with the central story of a man trying to get his demons under control. I'm usually a proponent of the multi-cam style, but it's just all wrong for this project, and it leaves the characters in a place where they can't express real emotion, lest things get too real, too quickly. The show also has far too much premise: Sheen's character (also named Charlie) has two anger-management groups to supervise, anger issues of his own, an ex-wife, a daughter, a best friend, a bartender he talks to, and a fellow therapist he's also sleeping with, all of whom seem to exist in entirely different series from one another. And that's before adding on the show's offensive elements, like the fact that all of its women are gross stereotypes (outside of, occasionally, Smith) or the way it treats two gay characters in Charlie's prison anger-management group.
Wait? Didn't I say there were some things I sort of grudgingly liked about this? I may have talked myself out of that. Erik, was I wrong?
Erik Adams: I don't think you're wrong to have glimpsed some potential, Todd. Watching the two episodes of Anger Management FX submitted to critics, it occurred to me that there's a lot of comedy to mine from the rage, frustration, and resentment presumably felt by the show's characters. We also agree on another count: No one on this show—Charlie's clients, his ex-wife, the bartender (played by Sheen's cohort in The Anti-Chuck Lorre League, Brett Butler), or even Charlie himself—really expresses the emotion alluded to in the title. Oh, sure, they talk about it, but that's the danger of setting a show around a therapy group: There's a lot of talking about the obstacles these characters face in day-to-day life, but precious little material where they actually encounter those obstacles. Anger Management is a series based around anger, not so much in it.
That makes the sitcom an odd fit for FX, which carved a Thursday-night niche for itself with the legitimately maladjusted characters of Louie, Archer, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, and Wilfred. In its early goings, Anger Management simply plays at that type of dysfunction: The pilot introduces Charlie's daughter, Sam, by way of her own personal anxiety, but it's done cheaply and coarsely and dropped much to quickly. And even with the pilot's tendency to tell rather than show, it's difficult to glean why Derek Richardson's timid, affable Nolan is a member of Charlie's main therapy group—aside from providing a target at which Noureen DeWulf can stare heavily mascaraed daggers.
But character problems and performance hiccups can be ironed out over the course of the show's potential 100-episode windfall. (Though I'm surprised to see you cite the Sheen-Smith dynamic as one Anger Management's bright spots, since to my eyes and ears, Smith's performance lacks the edge necessary to give their tête-à-tête life.) What will be harder for Helford and his writers to fix over the course of those additional 90 episodes—which are predicated on the success of the show's first 10 episodes—are the pacing and tonal issues of the pilot and "Charlie And The Slumpbuster," which both have a lumpy, draggy quality that makes their running time feel much longer than 22 minutes. It doesn't help that there's so much information packed into the première: A decent comedy pilot shouldn't be afraid to plunge viewers into the deep end, but the first episode of Anger Management plunges our heads underwater again and again and again.
Then again, those characteristics could be chalked up to the unorthodox manner in which Anger Management is being produced. Though there's a huge segment of the television audience awaiting Sheen's return to the air (out of sincerity and the rubbernecking impulse played up in FX's ad campaign for the show), the series is a tremendous gamble for the people bankrolling it. There's no time for Anger Management to find itself, which results in the frantic way the series lays out all of its cards in the first 22 minutes. This thing needs to be an immediate hit, so it immediately hits us with everything it has.
We've gone over some of that "everything," but haven't dug into what could prove to be Anger Management's most engaging element: Charlie's relationship with fellow therapist/no-strings-attached paramour Kate, as played by Selma Blair. These two have a lot of the spark-and-venom that goes missing from Charlie's scenes with Smith's character, and their arrangement is the source of the pilot's cleverest turns. Do you feel the same, Todd, or is this just more vaguely comedic water over the dam?
TV: I have to admit that I found the whole Kate storyline too predictable to really enjoy. There's a final twist in which everything returns to the status quo that had me groaning, and then she's utterly wasted in the second episode, which ends up not bothering with much of the supporting cast as established in the pilot (a very strange choice, likely driven by budgetary measures—but if that's the case, why have so many actors in the pilot to begin with?). I like what Selma Blair's trying to do with the character, I guess, but I'm more or less tired of the smart, acid-tongued woman who just can't wait to hop into bed with someone like Charlie. At the very least, Charlie's ex-wife has a certain world-weary irritation that's slightly charming. Kate doesn't even have that.
The glimmers of hope I saw here and there remain just that: glimmers. They're almost always stomped out by the show's desire to race on to something else. And, honestly, they might just be functions of the way the pilot needs to get all of its cards out on the table. The second episode, which hunkers down and focuses more on the core cast and their problems, is significantly worse than the pilot. There are still a handful of well-constructed jokes—though, again, jokes I didn't laugh at—but the story, about a formerly fat woman Charlie meets at a pie-eating contest then sleeps with in an attempt to break a slump he went through as a minor-league baseball player (yes, that's really in there), is plodding, lumpy, and horrifically off-point about the guest character.
I'd like to cut everybody involved with the show some slack, since they're working under insanely restrictive conditions, but every time the show tries to do something to save itself from its own awfulness, it carries a feeling of too little, too late. To return to the second episode, Charlie ends up in a fake relationship with the woman, using her for entirely different reasons than he used her to end his slump, but when the show tries to point out how awful this is and humanize the character, it's already loaded her up with every lonely-woman cliché it can think of, right down to the multiple cats. Anger Management has never met an easy joke about women or minorities it didn't like, and that makes it harder to swallow the moments where it wants to be sincere about anything.
Am I wrong to read the show as largely horrific when it comes to women? I'd say even the Kate character can't overcome the show's inability to write a semi-realistic female, but your mileage may vary, Erik.
EA: Oh, Kate's definitely the type of woman who exists only in the group mind of a sitcom writers' room: She melts at the protagonist's touch, reads his mind, doesn't balk at declarations like, "I promise I will never love you—forever," has no problem with him seeing other women, and ribs Charlie like she's "one of the guys." Come to think of it, maybe that's why Charlie and Kate's volleys come across like something approaching a success: She's written like a man, but played by a woman. She's the Secret Deodorant of sitcom characters.
Then again, of the other, similarly imaginary females populating these two episodes, she's the one whom I'd be most willing to visit on a weekly basis. What bugs me about Jennifer, Charlie's ex-wife, is how perpetually, drolly amused the character is with her former spouse. Television could certainly use a divorced couple that isn't trying to claw each other's eyes out at every turn, but it doesn't help to redeem Sheen's character to have her react with a wry "It's a living"-style smirk when revisiting her ex's infidelities. DeWulf's Lacey would be Charlie's date in the second episode if she weren't one of his anger-management clients; she's our requisite man-eater who's also here to fill the quota of "women be crazy" punchlines. The titular "slumpbuster" is a tremendous misuse of The State's Kerri Kenney-Silver, a funny actress visibly straining against thankless material.
Ultimately, Anger Management's biggest failure lies in its inability to extricate itself from the context of Sheen's Year Of The Tiger Blood. There's one explicit allusion to the star's turbulent 2011 in tonight's première, but the whole enterprise gives off the "Ain't I a stinker?" vibe that powered Sheen through his public implosion and rebirth as a chocolate-milk-swilling, "goddess"-worshipping, barnstorming folk hero. (Meanwhile, the flimsy female characterization coupled with Sheen's own troubled past with women leave a disturbing aftertaste.) Most egregiously, after all he went through to leave Two And A Half Men, these two episodes suggest that Sheen didn't even jump ship for a better program.
Anger Management isn't being forged under ideal conditions, but, were it not for its lead actor, it could put its premise, its ensemble, and one of the four or five individual sitcoms buried in the jumble of the pilot to better use. Instead, Sheen's public persona underlines the show's human ugliness and undermines its sentimental moments; meanwhile, it grants Charlie Sheen's bad behavior a free pass by painting Charlie Goodson's difficult recovery in broadly comedic strokes. In the therapy world, I think they'd call that "enabling."


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Welcome back. It's not often I complete two dios in a month but as you will see, this new one is a lot smaller than my usual work, and set in a completely new period which, I have to say, was inspired in part by our friend the tank man Mark Morin of whom most of you would know well for his amazing work. My other inspiration came from none other than Just Needs Varnish who has also done some very nice work on his tanks along with some great buildings. So if you are new to my site, do yourself a favour and have a look at their work.
When I started as a kid back in the 60's it was all Airfix planes and tanks. I loved them and kept modelling into my teens. Now we are living in good times with regard to the modelling material we have available to us, a far cry from those days of just plaster of Paris and garden twigs! It was when I started work at 17 that I was able to buy a camera, this prompted me to dig out my old models and make living dioramas in wooden boxes filled with soil. Into these I planted grasses and weeds from my parents' garden to make scenes for my tanks and various other armies, then photograph the scenes just as you are about to see. Having inspired uyou with a bit of nature, I can feel a lot of you running out to your gardens right now! Don't forget though my favourite weed for a great tree substitute was Petty Spurge, use that and you won't regret it!
Well, nearly fifty years later, I looked again at that 17 year old boy's work but this time I wanted to go large which created a small dilemma in that I thought I could be running out of space pretty quickly (even though the family allowed me the largest room in the house for my hobby!). Let me say here though that the original plan was that I was going to sell them, but what might be fun and exciting to me is another person's nightmare. I didn't stop to think about who would want a bloody great dust collector sitting on their side board, let alone the coffee table, just for a talking point for when the conversation faultered! Just imagine it (Well Syd, I can't help but notice that diorama that's blocking your hall, what's the wife think of your little investment? …) So yes it's time to be sensible and downsize to smaller jobs (the racks are all full!). However, no promises, I may break out again in the future!!
This one is just to show off my favourite tank the M3 Stuart Mk 1, and I have chosen the Pacific War so that I can use my the US Marines. Here I should like to thank Ross in Western Australia, which is on the other side of Australia to myself, for supplying not only mine, but adding some of his spares and paying the postage to me after they were accidentally posted to him with his order! Now I have enough to make fifty small ones! As it was a tiny job, I only needed a few Japanese and was lucky enough to pick up a single sprue of Strelets guys on eBay. As for the plants I was able to purchase most of these cheaply and paint them up to make them a bit more realistic. I have made my palm trees in the past but AUD10.00 for 15 trees was a bargain, and so was the bamboo which only needed a bit of a spray job to look ok for the job, along with some sawdust and wood shavings provided free, courtesy of my daughter who is building a Tiny House, the job was done.


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Robo-Advisors Vs. Financial Advisors: Which Is Better For Your Money?
It's the rise of the machines.
Robo-advisors, which have made headlines in recent years, are online investment management sites like Wealthfront and Betterment that manage your investments for you through unique algorithms.
The nickname "robo-advisor" might be more sensationalist than it is accurate.
"I think this whole robo-advisor terminology is a misnomer," says Phil Fragasso, who evaluates the effectiveness of financial advisors through his company Audit Your Financial Advisors. "They're not advisors. They're really more like a fund of funds, like a mutual fund company."
Semantics aside, they're now a viable option for investors looking to grow their wealth.
Below, we pit humans (whom we'll refer to as investment advisors) and robots head to head to see who wins when it comes to managing your investments.
This is where robo-advisors shine. There's no need to get into the weeds here, because both Wealthfront and Betterment devote considerable real estate to explaining their fairly straightforward and transparent pricing structures on their websites. Wealthfront requires a minimum investment of $5,000; Betterment does not have a minimum.
Investment advisors, on the other hand, sometimes require a minimum portfolio value, and they can be unclear about how exactly they're charging you. Those are both case by case, but when it comes down to the numbers, Wealthfront points out that investment advisors traditionally charge a 1.31% average fee, while the robotic alternative charges 0.25% in advisory fees after the first $10,000. Betterment charges a 0.15%-0.35% management fee. (Both companies also charge fees for the ETFs — about 0.15% per year.) SigFig, another player in the field, charges a flat $10 a month.
Winner: Robots.
Between email, Skype, and the trusty old cell phone, it's not like you have to trek to your investment advisor's office on the regular. In fact, working with an investment advisor doesn't even require that most people keep him or her on speed dial — it's more that they're there to check in with at regular intervals.
But once again, robo-advisors win the round. While he doesn't recommend robo-advisors, Fragasso admits that they're a viable choice for people who simply aren't going to take the time to learn about managing their money. It's a good fit, he says, "if you have a personality where you just don't want to deal with it — the type of person who starts a job at 24, set a 401(k) allocation, and never changes it. You set it and forget it."
Winner: Robots.
Money is never just money. It's your kid's college fund, your European vacation, your quiet house on a cul-de-sac. For that reason, setting and forgetting your investments may not be the most effective way to achieve your goals.
An investment advisor's strength lies in their ability to translate your dreams of an oceanfront beach house into a dollar figure, and to create a plan to get there. A robo-advisor takes only the information you give it and formulates a plan based on numbers — and your financial future is rarely focused on just the numbers. Plus, which is better able to motivate you to focus on your goals: an email statement, or a phone call from your advisor?
Winner: Humans.
Now, things are getting thorny. Because they're meant to suit a wide range of people, portfolios managed by robo-advisors tend to be heavily invested in conservative products like ETFs. While not particularly volatile, ETFs aren't known for their staggering returns. It's like every skydiver ever posted on his Instagram: No risk, no reward.
Lance Roberts of "StreetTalkLive" wrote this year that the investments made by robo-advisors are sound, but based on a longer time frame than most investors actually experience. His analysis is worth reading. The simple fact is that money invested conservatively will yield higher returns than money not invested at all — so if it comes down to using a robo-advisor or not investing at all, robo is usually the wiser choice.
Investment advisors, on the other hand, certainly aren't guaranteed to outperform their robotic friends, but they have the perspective and context to adjust investments to your needs. An advisor's perspective is particularly useful if you have a large portfolio or a complicated financial situation. If you're investing over $100,000, Fragasso cautions, you shouldn't be doing it with a robo-advisor.
Winner: Humans.
Use a robo-advisor if you …
- Want to set and forget your investments
- Feel more comfortable working online than with a person
- Aren't investing a large amount of money
Use an investment advisor if you …
- Want to be involved in your investments
- Are interested in strategic risk-taking
- Are investing a large amount of money
Remember that you don't have to use one to the exclusion of the other. First of all, humans and robots usually don't directly compete for the same clients (there's that minimum investment requirement, again). And as your investment needs change, so might your strategy — as well as the help you enlist.
Plus, no one is stopping you from managing your portfolio yourself. Even Wealthfront says right off the bat, "You are welcome to copy anything we do if you would rather do it yourself."
A previous version of this article misstated that Wealthfront does not have a minimum investment.
See Also:
- 6 Money Lessons You Should Have Learned Before College
- Robo-Advisors Vs. Financial Advisors: Which Is Better For Your Money?
- Here's The Difference Between Good And Bad Debt
SEE ALSO: There's A New Weapon In The Battle Against Robo-Advisors


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Nine out of ten violent deaths occur outside conflicts.
The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development strives to achieve measurable reductions in the global burden of armed violence by 2015.
More about the Geneva Declaration
The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development represented the fulfilment of one of the key goals of the Geneva Declaration. For this reason, the GD ceased to be an active political process at the end of 2015 [More...]. Nevertheless, the work continues on supporting the measurement and implementation of Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda 2030 under the knowledge and technical expertise of the Small Arms Survey.
This website displays the work which has been undertaken between 2006 and 2015 on armed violence for the Geneva Declaration. The information is still available although the website will not be further updated.
The latest edition of the Global Burden of Armed Violence 2015: Every Body Counts was launched in May 2015. The report examines how a comprehensive approach to violent deaths can serve to track progress towards a peace and security goal.
Within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Goal 16 focuses on peaceful and inclusive societies, access to justice, and accountable institutions. The work conducted on measuring armed violence for the GD is an asset for the implementation of Goal 16.


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What is interesting about this camera? Well, for starters it contains a brand new, full frame sensor that allegedly does what many have been calling for years---it promises bigger, lustier pixel wells for much better (lower noise) high ISO performance. Instead of 24 or 36 megapixels you can step up to 12 megapixels spread across a 24 by 36 mm sensor. The advertised high end of the ISO range is in line with the newly announced Nikon D4s at over 400,000. Yikes!
If you keep up with video production you probably have heard that a big issue with using traditional DSLRs like the Canon 5D3 and the Nikon D4s or D800 is having to get all of the information off the huge sensors and condense it down quickly into the much, much smaller video files. The cameras do this by binning and by using a line skipping scheme. The issue has always been the image processing pipeline which is optimized for the creation of huge image files with HD video as an afterthought. The problem with the current downsampling schemes is that the files generated don't have the detail they could and are no match for camera with smaller output sensors which are also optimized to be able to dump their entire frame of information without the processing to downsample.
In Canon's professional video line cameras like the C100, C300 and C500 use sensors that have limited the megapixel count to nearly the exact count of 4K HD. These cameras can write frames to memory without too much processing and with no downsampling which allows them to have faster frame rates and to do away with the image degradation of line skipping. Sony is following in their footsteps but for the first time introducing this strategy in a consumer camera. A camera that is affordable to many who want to stick a toe into 4K video with a relatively good assurance of high quality.
One of the benefits of the bigger pixel wells is something more important than high ISO performance, it's a much wider dynamic range. Rumor has it that this sensor will compete with some of Sony's professional cameras when it comes to dynamic range meaning that the camera will have up to 13.5 stops of usable range. The gap between consumer Sony and consumer Canon just got wider....
I was amazed to find that the camera will also come with film maker profiles and the ability to use S-Log curves that also protect highlight detail. In essence, aside from the lower resolution, this will be a noon time, bright sun, desert, swim pool in summer champion. Sounds good so far, right? So why would I say that Sony has their good ole Colt .45 loaded and aimed once again at their own big toe?
And what does this new competitor mean to all of us who've been waiting with bated breath for the Panasonic 4K camera? Will we now drop those Panny plans and rush back to the Sony camp?
Well, let's get logical and read into the specs with reckless abandon.
First off, the big one: Technically you can't use the stock camera to shoot 4K to the memory card in the Sony A7s camera. Wait, I don't get it. This is being touted as Sony's consumer foray into DSLR 4K video but the camera won't record 4K video? Nope. Yep. The camera will record 2K video in a 4:2:2 configuration which means wonderful 1080p files but to actually record 4K you'll need an outboard digital video recorder to make that work. You can pretty much plan on adding at least a thousand dollars and a lot more complexity (and weak, flex points) in production to get 4K from the camera. Hey, be careful because you'll have some wires sticking out and you'll need to attach that new digital recorder somewhere.... So, technically, yes the camera will record 4K video, just not to the internal card or any other inexpensive modality. Yikes! That's big news. The Panasonic has 4K directly to the memory card figured out and ready to go in its GH4.
But once you get that digital video recorder you're pretty much ready to go and put the GH4 to shame, right? Bigger sensor and all that. Right?
Well, no. Sony has chosen to further cripple their camera with their new consumer codec XAVC S which is actually a smaller frame (consumer 4K) versus the Panasonic's more professional and full frame codecs. The max camera to card output for the Sony is about 50 mps which is less than half the information being lovingly placed onto the internal memory card in the Panasonic.
Yes, the Sony will offer less depth of field than the GH4 but on most other technical video standards the equally priced Panasonic walks all over the Sony. Both cameras require outboard units for stuff like XLR microphone inputs but where the Panasonic unit also offers SDI output the Sony unit, at this junction is microphones only.
Then we get into issues of handling...both still and video. Sony is using the same NP-50 battery that we first met in the Nex-7. It's a decent trade off of size, weight and endurance for a small, mostly still-intended camera but it's a whole different compromise for a camera that's being aggressively pushed as a nearly "pro grade" video production tool. According to Sony specs the battery will give one a blustery 90 minutes of total run time. Now, I don't know if you've been on many shoots lately but that about enough power for set up, test and few dress rehearsals and maybe one or two takes. Better take along six of the batteries for a full shooting day.
The GH4 gives up about 3.5 hours of run time for a big, fat battery. I feel compfy with two batteries and a little charger (as a safety precaution) for a day of shooting.
The interesting thing to me will be the focusing. The A7 was one of the slowest to focus mirror-less system cameras I ever used (but in full disclosure I haven't retested since they did the big firmware update) while the Panasonic GH3 is one of the fastest mirror-free systems I have ever used.
I guess in the end the proof of the pudding is in the tasting. If you need full frame DOF you might be swayed in the direction of the Sony, and for the price you'll probably get better video performance than any of the other DSLR style cameras out there in the price range (or above it). You will get a nice EVF, a good LCD, and lots of software tools that might make the camera a wonderful imaging tool. Be advised that there's you'll loose fast frame rates on the Sony when you go to 4K....
On the other hand I think the GH4 product is much better thought out and a real "user" for people who like to work with small, efficient crews. And people who want fast fps. And more battery life.
Good points for the Sony (based on a close read of their specs):
1. A system approach to still and video imaging in the same form factor as their high res cameras.
2. A better codec then their previously pervasive ACVHD offerings (still on the camera and still 28 mps...).
3. A great viewfinder.
4. Nice body style and low weight, good handling.
5. Lots of video software tools like S-Log curves and cinematic profiles.
6. I presume they will include the really good focus peaking they've had in previous cameras.
7. The ability to use a wide range of lenses from many lens makers
8. *****The big one will be the quality of the sensor (I think it will be fantastic) and all the accompanying benefits: Dynamic Range, Color Accuracy, High ISO/Low Noise Performance.
We've already discussed the drawbacks above. To condense, be sure to get your out board digital video recorder and a pocket full of batteries.
All in all it's good to see Sony come into the market.
FYI, for all of you who think it will take a long time for 4K to flow into the consumer market please be aware that Sony is shoving something like 24 new consumer 4K TVs into the markets this Fall and Samsung, Panasonic and Toshiba are right there with them. When prices fall after the holiday season, and they will, I think you'll see affluent consumers all over the place upgrading at not much higher a price than they paid for a 2K LED screen only a year or so ago. The adaptation will be much more rapid than the original move to flat panel HDs. And the computer market, led by Dell's $600 24 inch 4K monitor is already heating up. It's a brave new world. Thanks a lot, Aldous Huxley.
edit note 4/7/2014: While I may not be an expert in video I believe that Michael Reichmann over at Luminous Landscape would qualify. Here's a very informative discussion thread on one of his forums about the intro of the A7S and a casual comparison to the Panasonic product. Please read it before pronouncing me "dumb as a stump." : http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=88774.0
edit note 4/7/2014 evening in Austin: Here is a very even handed comparison between the Sony and the Panasonic by Andrew Reid at EOSHD. Well worth reading: http://www.eoshd.com/content/12562/panasonic-gh4-vs-sony-a7s-compared-wins-4k-battle-paper


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It's a day to take a break from smartphones and Skype's adventures within Microsoft. While this past weekend has seen the launch of the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the first James Bond movie, this fall marks the 50th anniversary of the premiere of David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia, […]
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Lawrence of Arabia: An Epic Masterpiece for All Time
By Jim Courtney on November 11, 2012
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Detailed plot synopsis reviews of Killing a Unicorn
Chapter Analysis of Killing a Unicorn
Click on a plot link to find similar books!
Plot & ThemesComposition of Book descript. of violence and chases 10%Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives 40%Feelings, relationships, character bio/development 40%How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) 10% Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues Time/era of story: - 2000+ (Present) What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70% Misc. Murder Plotlets - "All in the family" murder Kind of investigator - police procedural, British Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? - feelings towards family/friends Crime Thriller - Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) - Yes
Main CharacterGender - Male Profession/status: - police/lawman Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race - British
SettingEurope - Yes European country: - England/UK
Writing StyleAccounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Books with storylines, themes & endings like Killing a Unicorn
|That Way Murder Lies by Ann Granger
|Mrs. Jeffries Stalks the Hunter by Emily Brightwell
|The Sting of Death by Rebecca Tope
|Reflections by Jo Bannister
|The Body of a Woman by Clare Curzon


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Film demystifies and destigmatizes dyslexia
- Director%3A Dyslexia is a learning difference that can become a disability
- As much as 20%25 of population may have dyslexia%2C organization says
- Educator urges multisensory instruction
Dyslexia does not spell doom. That's the message a new documentary is sending.
Dislecksia: The Movie highlights success stories of celebrities and business leaders who struggled with dyslexia. The movie also explores what dyslexia is and how students with it can be taught so that they don't fall behind. It will play in theaters across the nation Oct. 17 and beyond for Dyslexia Awareness Month.
Neuroscientists and educators in the movie call for creating teaching skills that can help all students, especially ones with dyslexia. They say dyslexia starts as a learning difference but can become a learning disability.
"All people learn differently," says director Harvey Hubbell V, who has dyslexia. "If you can't read by a certain age, it becomes a disability."
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines dyslexia as a brain-based learning disability that impairs a person's ability to read. People with dyslexia also have trouble with spelling despite having normal intelligence. It tends to run in families.
As much as 20% of the U.S. population may have symptoms of dyslexia, which ranges from mild to severe, according to the International Dyslexia Association. It affects people of different backgrounds, according to the not-for-profit organization based in Baltimore.
"Dyslexia has nothing to do with brightness," says Ben Shifrin, a spokesman for the association. "It has to do with the brain's inability to make the connections to read and write."
Adults with dyslexia may try to hide their reading and writing problems, but they can be very good at reading non-verbal behavior, he says.
Children with dyslexia can be highly verbal but may have difficulty remembering directions, he adds.
If parents are concerned that their child may have dyslexia, they should reach out to a local chapter of the association and check the group's website at interdys.org, Shifrin says. He also recommends asking the child's school for an assessment.
Shifrin agrees that dyslexia is a learning difference, not a disability. "Dyslexic students are able to learn," he says. "We have used the word 'disabled' to get services, but it does a disservice to a dyslexic person. Many dyslexic young adults suffer from low self-esteem."
Shifrin, head of Jemicy School in Owings Mills, Md. , says he hopes there will be more multisensory education, which is how students with dyslexia learn. For example, a multisensory lesson on the short vowel A would involve visual, audio and other components, such as playing with apples, he adds. "Dyslexic education is just good education."
In the documentary, Joe Pantoliano, an actor who appeared in the HBO show The Sopranos, talks about having dyslexia. "It's a learning style," says Pantoliano, who also appeared in the sci-fi movie The Matrix. "It's a different way the brain takes information."
Hubbell, who also wrote and directed the comic documentary Electronic Road Film, says he hopes the new movie will get people talking about dyslexia. "We hope that people with dyslexia will know that they are not alone and that they can take the information in the movie to their educators."
The movie suggests ways to make a difference, such as getting involved with local activist groups for people with dyslexia, supporting legislation for education reform, and spreading awareness.
For more information about the movie, such as additional dates for showtimes and theater locations, go to dislecksiathemovie.com.


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Will Campuzano continues to rebuild his career after an unsuccessful UFC run, and in the headliner of Friday's Legacy FC 16 event, he added a new belt to his collection.
As expected, Jimmy Flick (5-1) presented early problems with his smothering wrestling game, but Campuzano (11-4) landed a flush knee in the second round to set up his victory, which earned the organization's vacant flyweight championship.
The event took place at Allen Event Center in Allen, Texas, and the main card aired on AXS TV.
Flick scored an early trip-takedown after much effort and spent the first round in top position. However, Campuzano successfully kept his opponent out of mount position and largely avoided any damage with his defensive maneuvering.
Then, at the start of the second round, Campuzano shucked off a takedown attempt and tagged Flick with a big knee to the head. Campuzano followed him to the mat and unloaded additional punches until the referee awarded the TKO stoppage just 26 seconds into the round.
"I started to figure out his timing, and once I got his timing down, I knocked him out," said Campuzano, who received his belt from Legacy FC promoter Mick Maynard. "… He fights with a lot of aggressiveness, but I'm a vet."
Hobar, Skelly victorious in featured bouts
Matt Hobar avenged an earlier defeat to Steven Peterson that had been gnawing at him for the past four months.
The featherweights' August bout ended in a TKO win for Peterson after Hobar dislocated his arm while throwing a wild punch. Peterson won over few fans when he mocked his injured opponent with a crybaby routine, which led to plenty of trash talk leading into their co-headlining rematch.
Hobar (6-1) had a striking edge in the first two rounds, which included a knockdown of Peterson (8-3) in the second. But he also was aided by Peterson's one-point deduction for illegal upkicks in the third round, where Peterson mounted an ultimately unsuccessful rally. It resulted in a majority-decision win (via 29-27, 29-27 and 28-28 scores) for Hobar, who otherwise would have earned a split decision in the standup-heavy bout.
"I was coming off that bad injury, and the way he reacted to it wasn't the most sportsman-like deal," Hobar said. "But I wanted to show I could overcome that setback and win this fight."
In another featured bout, undefeated featherweight prospect and Bellator vet Chas Skelly (10-0) picked up a quality victory by scoring a late-fight stoppage of veteran Rey Trujillo (12-9).
While the Team Takedown fighter's wrestling skills have resulted in a string of submission victories, and though he often put Trujillo on the mat during the dominant and grinding performance, Skelly ultimately used a swam of punches from the mount position to pick up a TKO stoppage at the 4:53 mark of the third round.
Quick finishes kick off main card
Bantamweight Ryan Benoit (6-1) compounded the problems of Joseph Sandoval (6-4) and delivered the former UFC fighter his fourth consecutive loss after scoring a quick 62-second TKO stoppage. The muay Thai fighter set up the stoppage with a stiff right hand to the chin.
Derrick Krantz (14-6) took back-mount position early in his fight with welterweight Charles Byrd (4-3) and never let it go. He ultimately put his opponent to sleep via rear-naked choke at the 3:02 mark of the opening round.
Klayton Mai (4-0) kept his perfect record intact after using a standing guillotine choke to submit fellow bantamweight Alex Russ (4-2). The first-round stoppage came at the 3:31 mark.
In the TV curtain-jerker, NCAA Division I national wrestling champion Darrion Caldwell (1-0) made a successful pro debut in MMA as he scored a 60-second knockout of fellow featherweight and former bodybuilder Quaint Kempf (5-4).
The full Legacy FC 16 results included:
- Will Campuzano def. Jimmy Flick via TKO (knee and punches) – Round 2, 0:26 – wins vacant flyweight title
- Matt Hobar def. Steven Peterson via majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)
- Chas Skelly def. Rey Trujillo via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:53
- Ryan Benoit def. Joseph Sandoval via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:02
- Derrick Krantz def. Charles Byrd via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:02
- Klayton Mai def. Alex Russ via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 3:31
- Darrion Caldwell def. Quaint Kempf via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:00
- Eli Tamez def. Nathan Torres via TKO (injury) – Round 2
- Russell Brewer def. Aaron Culpepper via unanimous decision
- Evan Thompson def. Bobby Moore via TKO (punches) – Round 1
- Sidney Cawdrey def. Joseph Salas via unanimous decision
- Alfredo Leija def. Alex Madrid via TKO (punches) – Round 2
For more on Legacy FC 16, stay tuned to the MMA Events section of the site.
(Pictured: Will Campuzano)


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Throngs of people who packed streets in a St. Louis suburb Saturday night to protest the fatal shooting of a black teen largely dispersed in advance of a curfew imposed to try to keep the peace after nights of violent clashes between police and protesters.
The midnight to 5 a.m. curfew was ordered Saturday by Gov. Jay Nixon as he declared a state of emergency in Ferguson — the site where 18-year-old Michael Brown was killed by a white police officer.
As the curfew approached, New Black Panther Party leader Malik Shabazz roamed the street with a bullhorn, encouraging people to leave for their own safety. Many appeared to follow his suggestion.
Crowds that were in the hundreds dwindled significantly in the final hour, as police with riot gear stood guard.
Despite heavy rainfall and lightning, hundreds of protesters gathered Saturday night at a busy thoroughfare that has been the site of previous clashes with police. Scores of officers, a much more visible presence than the night before, stood watch — including some with shields.
Members of various black community groups were urging people to abide by the curfew, which runs from midnight to 5 a.m. Sunday. A woman from the New Black Panther Party walked the street with a bullhorn, telling the crowd: "Please, please be out of the area by 12 o'clock."
Some responded to her pleas by cursing at police, while others acknowledged they planned to leave before midnight.
But Keyon Watkins, a 26-year-old computer science worker from St. Louis, said that if many others stay in the street, he would join them.
"All of this is just building up — pent-up aggression by being mistreated on a daily basis," Watkins said.
In announcing the curfew, Nixon said that though many protesters were making themselves heard peacefully, the state would not allow looters to endanger the community where 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot in a street.
"I am committed to making sure the forces of peace and justice prevail," Nixon said during a press conference at a church that was interrupted repeatedly by people objecting to the curfew and demanding that the officer who shot Brown be charged with murder.
"We must first have and maintain peace. This is a test. The eyes of the world are watching," Nixon said. "We cannot allow the ill will of the few to undermine the good will of the many."
State statute gives the governor broad powers when he declares a state of emergency, but he hasn't indicated that he plans to do anything other than imposing the curfew and empowering the state highway patrol to enforce it.
Darrell Alexander, 57, a registered nurse from nearby Florissant, Missouri, worried Saturday night that the curfew might spur anger and more violence.
"I think it's an antagonistic decision to not allow people to express their freedom of speech. It's an overreaction," he said.
Nixon's curfew announcement came after tensions again flared in Ferguson late Friday night. Earlier that day, local police identified the officer who shot Brown as Darren Wilson and released documents and video footage alleging that Brown had robbed a convenience store just before he was shot. Police said Wilson was unaware Brown was a suspect when he encountered him walking in the street with a friend.
Nixon said the U.S. Department of Justice is beefing up its civil rights investigation of the shooting.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson, who is in charge of security in Ferguson, said 40 FBI agents were going door-to-door in the neighborhood starting Saturday, talking to people who might have seen or have information about the shooting.
Johnson assured those at the news conference that police would not enforce the curfew with armored trucks and tear gas but would communicate with protesters and give them ample opportunity to leave. Nixon and Johnson were flanked by numerous local elected officials, including U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr., who urged Johnson to be flexible with the midnight curfew.
But they were interrupted repeatedly.
"Why is the focus on security and not getting justice? Why is there not an arrest?" one women yelled.
Among the many people shouting questions was Malik Shabazz, the president of Black Lawyers for Justice, who said that members of his group and the New Black Panther Party and the Nation of Islam had been helping to maintain order and deter protesters from violence.
"It seems to be a tight curfew line that could be a prescription for confrontation," said Shabazz, who asked unsuccessfully that the curfew's start be delayed by an hour.
Brown's death had already ignited several days of clashes with furious protesters. Tensions eased Thursday after Nixon turned oversight of the protests over to the Missouri Highway Patrol. Gone were the police in riot gear and armored vehicles, replaced by the new patrol commander who personally walked through the streets with demonstrators. But Friday night marked a resurgence of unrest.
On Saturday, some residents said it appeared the violent acts were being committed by people who came from other suburbs or states.
"Who would burn down their own backyard?" asked Rebecca McCloud, a local who works with the Sonshine Baptist Church in St. Louis. "These people aren't from here. They came to burn down our city and leave."
Local officers faced strong criticism earlier in the week for their use of tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters. Johnson said one tear gas canister was deployed Friday night after the group of rioters became unruly and several officers got trapped and injured.
Wilson, the officer who shot Brown, is a six-year police veteran who had no previous complaints against him, the local police chief has said.
The Ferguson Police Department has refused to say anything about Wilson's whereabouts, and Associated Press reporters were unable to contact him at any addresses or phone numbers listed under that name in the St. Louis area.
Wilson has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting. St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch said it could be weeks before the investigation wraps up.
Follow David A. Lieb at: http://www.twitter.com/DavidALieb
Follow Nigel Duara at: https://www.twitter.com/nigelduara
Source: The AP


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Gardiner, Stephen
Gardiner, Stephen, 1493?–1555, English prelate. He was educated at Cambridge. He became secretary to Thomas (later Cardinal) Wolsey and later secured the favor of Henry VIII by a mission to Rome to further the king's plans for divorce from Katharine of Aragón. He was made bishop of Winchester (1531) and wrote De vera obedientia (1535), justifying the royal supremacy in ecclesiastical affairs. Thomas Cromwell's fall was in part due to him, and he was the probable author of the Six Articles (1539), which reaffirmed the king's adherence to medieval church doctrines as against those of the Reformation. After the accession of Edward VI he was deprived of his bishopric and put in the Tower of London for five years. When Mary I came to the throne, he was restored to his see and made lord high chancellor. Gardiner was condemned by Catholics for his support of royal supremacy and by Protestants for his opposition to Reformation doctrines.
See J. A. Muller, Stephen Gardiner and the Tudor Reaction (1926, repr. 1970).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: British and Irish History: Biographies


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Facebook underwent two massive shifts in 2011, the details of which are hidden in the company's S-1 filing.
Facebook underwent two massive shifts in 2011, the details of which are hidden in the company's S-1 filing.
At the beginning of the year, the fast-growing social network had most of its users in the U.S., Canada and Europe, the regions where it got its start.
By the end of the year, most Facebook users were elsewhere -- in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. What's more, that shift continues: Emerging markets grew three times faster than the U.S., Canada and Europe in 2011.
That wasn't all. At the beginning of the year, a third of Facebook's users accessed the service through a cell phone or another mobile device at least some of the time. By the end of the year, more than half did.
Many of the numbers come to light on page 44 of Facebook's S-1, where it charts the locations of its monthly active users. A Facebook executive told CNBC in late 2010 that a third of Facebook's user base accessed the site through mobile devices; the S1 notes that more than half of Facebook's 845 million users accessed it through a mobile device in December.
The significance of the changes? Facebook says its goal is to connect all of the world's Internet users, and increasingly those users are joining from outside of Facebook's original markets and on devices that are difficult to monetize. (Facebook's ads and apps don't run on phones the way they do on computers.) To reach a billion users, a mark Facebook might hit late this year or early next, Facebook will have to continue growing in emerging markets in particular. And to grow revenue, the company must figure out how to offer advertisements on mobile devices that don't annoy users.
Questions? Comments? email@example.com you can follow Jon Fortt on Twitter @jonfortt


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I was dinking around the northern coast of Kun-Lai the other day when I ran into this guy.
Whoa, a flying turtle! Green name and elite. Hmm … I ran straight for Wowhead.
Turns out he is a tribute to Lonesome George, who passed away this summer, and if you do an emote at him, he will follow you around for awhile. So he watched me get some crab meat for cooking.
A couple of days later I was in the area again fishing up some octopuses, so of course I couldn't resist giving him a hug. I didn't wait around for him to follow me though, I flew away to get to my dailies at the Temple of the White Tiger.
Ohai! I guess you want August Celestials rep too. Ok! Let's go take care of this bully.
That was as far as we got though. Someone had just beaten the first combatant in the tournament, so we had to wait for respawn, and he despawned during that time.
Still … so very super cool. If you're feeling lonely and want a buddy for awhile, head for the coast of Zouchin Province and find Guju. He's just looking for some company.
Tags: cool things, Kun-Lai Summit, Lon'li Guju, lonesome george, paladin, Screenshots, WoW