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"From the cradle to the grave." In Korea this famous slogan of a welfare state befits the business practice of large general hospitals. Not a few Koreans are born in these hospitals, are treated there for all kinds of diseases they may have in various stages of life, and upon death, lie in their funeral homes.
What sets large Korean hospitals apart from their foreign counterparts is they also provide funeral services.
Koreans hold funerals for their beloved ones in one of the three places, in descending order of frequency - hospital funeral home, other specialized funeral home or private home.
For long, Koreans had made it a rule to hold funeral services at their private residences, even bringing home the bodies of their beloved ones who end up dead in the streets. That changed a few decades ago. Now people take the deceased to one of these large hospitals to hold the final ceremony, for the sake of convenience and other reasons.
Usually, Korean funerals last two nights and three days. They begin immediately after the patient passes away, presumably at one of those large hospitals. One can find a list of hospitals, their facilities, and fees by searching Naver, the largest Internet portal site here.
|A typical funeral home includes these facilities, as seen in Seoul Asan HospitalSource: Seoul Asan Hospital homepage
Hospital funeral homes have a reception room, a main room for paying respects and a dining room with a kitchen, which operates day and night. Because families often sleep at the funeral home, there is also a room for some sleep and rest.
Hospital funeral homes are essentially a one-stop service. They offer a wide range of equipment and supplies, food choices according to Korean customs, and funeral directors. All this saves the hassle of finding a separate funeral home, funeral service providers, and funeral service equipment. Large hospitals also provide ample parking space, which is difficult to find in Korea.
Funeral guests pay respects, dine, and grieve at the funeral hall at all hours. Typically the closer one is to the deceased or the bereaved family, the longer one stays. Some guests stay all night, or even for a couple of days.
Considering the amount of work, employees and services associated with funeral services, foreigners might as well wonder why hospitals provide funeral services in the first place, thinking they could be busy just treating the sick.
Much of this has to do with the nation's unique health insurance system. The national health insurance keeps the level of medical fees at a low level compared with most other industrial countries, forcing hospitals to try to make up for the losses by running related businesses. Funeral home operations serve as one of the biggest revenue streams for big-name hospitals. According to Edaily, a local online media outlet, 14 university hospitals earned a combined total of than 100 billion won ($87 million) over the past six years.
Most Koreans know that the bigger the hospital, the nicer the facilities at funeral homes, and the higher the price. The expense of funeral homes differs by hospital, room, and services provided.
So how much do Koreans pay for a hospital funeral home on average? According to a study conducted by Korean Consumer Agency, the average cost of hospital funeral room and services is 9.38 million won ($8,220). An additional 2 million to 5 million won is incurred for burial and cremation services – bringing the total amount to the tune of 10 million to 15 million won.
Even though Korean funerals are expensive, these costs are often covered by cash gifts from mourners. Each guest brings 50,000 to 100,000 won in an envelope with their names on it. The family of the deceased makes note of the amount and name, to give back the similar amount if the giver faces similar circumstances.
Overall, hospital funeral homes facilitate the funeral process, providing comprehensive all-in-one service.
<© Korea Biomedical Review, All rights reserved.>


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Hollywood Brown Derby: A Kid's Perspective
The Hollywood Brown Derby at Disney's Hollywood Studios consistently receives some of the highest reviews for a theme park restaurant. However, it is an expensive, upscale restaurant, and leaves people wondering whether it is a suitable, enjoyable place for kids. Of course, any restaurant within a Disney theme park will welcome and accommodate families, but whether you and your children enjoy and value the experience is something different. My two daughters and I went to check it out and get the kid's perspective of the Hollywood Brown Derby. My two reporters are Evie (age 8 ) and Maggie (age 11), and they will share their impression of the evening. So read on…
Our advanced dining reservation (ADR) was 4:45 pm. We were running a little late because I was, well… by myself with two kids, and one of them needed to try the hairdryer in the bathroom – but I digress. We arrived at the reservation podium at 5:10 pm, the host said being late was not a problem, and we'd be seated in 5-10 minutes. While we waited, I asked the girls their impression of the restaurant's atmosphere. Maggie loved the "old-timey-ness" of the Brown Derby. Evie was taken with details such as couches in the lobby, a book celebrities sign after eating, and all the charactertures lining the wall of actors from Hollywood's Golden Age.
Before too long we were seated at one of the large, deep booths lining the perimeter of the dining room. Evie quickly scarfed up her menu to report on the kid's picks. I asked how the menu appealed to her taste. She was disappointed chicken strips were not on the menu. [As if there weren't enough places in Walt Disney World to get chicken strips, but, remember, this is the kid's, not my, perspective.] Evie said nothing appealed to her on the kid's picks menu, and decided to look at the appetizers on the adult menu to see if any of those would satisfy her dinner craving. Maggie, however, thought the kid's menu looked pretty good, and decided quickly what to order. She decided on the meaty macaroni made of macaroni, ground turkey, marinara, and mozzarella with a side of broccoli. She said it sounded "really yummy". Now even though Maggie's 11, and could order off the adult menu, she preferred the kid's menu. Maggie thought the adult meals were too big and the offerings on the kid's picks were more kid friendly. We ordered our drinks and the Cobb salad to share.
Unfortunately, Evie struck out on the menu. It was one of those days where nothing appealed to her taste (any other parents have this problem?). We asked our waiter if she could get a child sized portion of steak – "No, only one size steak." OK, fair enough… but I was concerned a 12 oz New York strip steak was too much for an 8 year old. I asked to order off the lunch menu, but our waiter shot that idea down too. Evie resolved her dilemma by ordering the adult steak dinner, but prepared more for a kid's palate. Instead of a 12 oz steak with herb roasted red potatoes, cremini mushrooms, onions, and Cabernet syrup, Evie got a plain steak with FRENCH FRIES!!! Oh joy, french fries… wait, I need to remember, kid's perspective. For me, it was also the 12 oz New York Strip steak with all the fancy adult toppings.
We waited for our meal and nibbled on lovely, warm dinner rolls. In fact, Maggie thought the rolls were so good she wanted to eat the crumbs off her plate (maybe nibbling wasn't quite the right word). The first course arrived – the famous Brown Derby Cobb Salad. The salad had delicate, fresh greens – no cold, crunchy iceberg lettuce in sight. There was bacon, gorgonzola cheese, avocado, hard-boiled egg, and tomatoes, but Evie wanted all the readers to know that secretly hidden among the greens was – SPINACH! I asked the girls how they liked the salad. BLEEEEEEEEECH!!!!!! was the instant response from Evie. As soon as Evie tried the salad it was immediately spat back out on her plate (aaaaahhhh, fine dining with children). However, Maggie, with the more mature palate, thought the salad was OK, not bleech, but I noticed she did not eat anymore of it.
Our entrees arrived. I had the steak with the Cabernet sauce, and thought the taste was excellent. Maggie described her dinner as not the best in the world, but not the worst in the world either – she quickly added the worst dinner in the world was the Rainforest Café. So in the opinion of one 11 year old, the Hollywood Brown Derby was a step up from the Rainforest Café. Eight year old Evie received a steak approximately the size of her head, didn't eat much of it, and filled up on French fries. A highlight was the salt the server brought out for the fries. The waiter brought out a tray that contained three different types of salt, and you spooned the salt on the fries- very cool. I asked Evie to share a little more of her opinion of the dinner experience. Evie said the steak was too big. Uuuugh, $36 for a steak barely touched, definitely a parenting error on that one. Next, I asked the girls what they thought of the service. Evie said it was slow. The server was nice, but never came at the right moment. The total bill for the three of us (1 adult, 1 child – age 11, and 1 child – age 8 ) was $122; not an inexpensive evening by any stretch; especially for a meal the girls were lukewarm about.
I asked Maggie her overall rating of the Hollywood Brown Derby as a restaurant for kids. She felt comfortable in the restaurant, but thought it was better suited for adults. She thought the restaurant was too boring for younger kids (not her mind you, kids younger than 11). Evie thought the restaurant was OK, but they had a lot of fancy things on the menu. Overall, she gave it a 6 on a 1-10 scale (10 being high) as a restaurant suited for kids. When asked about how the restaurant would be for parents and adults to use for date night with the kids staying at a kids club Maggie said, "the Hollywood Brown Derby would be perfect for a date night. It's romantic, they have good food, and it's slow so you can relax and just talk."
To sum up the kids' opinions, if you're looking for a romantic, date night evening for the adults, then this may be a good place to go. Check the kids into one of the kids' clubs. [Note: Maggie and Evie highly recommend the Neverland Club at the Polynesian Resort.] Mom and Dad go out for an adult evening, and everyone will be happy. Have you taken kids to the Brown Derby or other high end Disney restaurants? What was your experience? I'd love to read your comments below.
Category: Dining, Disney World

subset: commoncrawl


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Toontrack has announced the release of two new drum MIDI titles: Post-Rock Grooves and the High-Octane MIDI 6 Pack.
Post-Rock Grooves is a separate collection of MIDI not included in Toontrack's recent Post-Rock EZX. The bundle includes this pack as well as five other individual titles. These products add to the widely popular and close to 50 titles strong line of Toontrack drum MIDI.
A post-rock song is all about dynamics, about starting from from an open soundscape and adding layer by layer until the track explodes into a violent crescendo. It's about thinking outside the box, about raw emotion and unadulterated creativity. And that is exactly how Icelandic drummer Arnar Gíslason approached the recording of this drum MIDI.
He started with the most stripped down groove imaginable and then let each variation take its own natural course towards an absolute peak – from the most subtle, nuanced patterns to violently forcing every element of the kit to fit in probably some of the most energetic and creative drum beats ever recorded. This collection of true off-kilter rhythmic ideas will undoubtedly put a new, interesting spin on your next track. Expect the unexpected.
Post-Rock Grooves features
- Drum MIDI inspired by post-rock music.
- Close to 400 individually played MIDI files.
- Performed by Arnar Gíslason.
- Material in straight and/or swing 3/4, 4/4 and 6/8.
- Categorized in build-up, breakdown and fills sections.
Post-Rock Grooves is available for purchase for 25 EUR.
The High-Octane MIDI 6 Pack is a collection of drum MIDI that gathers all of the four titles in the highly praised series of Monster MIDI Packs, the Post-Rock Grooves and the Metal Foundry MIDI.
Together, these six collections of drum grooves form a high-octane mix of creative fuel for any writer into rock, progressive, fusion and metal.
The Monster MIDI Packs cover a versatile mix of rock and odd meter fusion grooves perfectly executed by session drummer Peter Tisell. The Post-Rock Grooves pack presents a true exploration in dynamics – off-kilter rhythmic ideas that will undoubtedly put a new, interesting spin on your next track. Lastly, the Metal Foundry MIDI paints a comprehensive picture of drums covering anything from basic hard rock to extreme metal performed by three drummers: Gene Hoglan, Dirk Verbeuren and Peter Tisell.
Combined, this bundle of grooves gives you a truly unique blend of high-energy drumming at its very finest.
High-Octane MIDI 6 Pack features
- Six (6) individual drum MIDI titles.
- A comprehensive collection of grooves covering rock, fusion, progressive, post-rock, hard rock and metal inspired drum grooves.
- 3/4, 4/4, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8, 9/8, 11/8 in swing and/or straight feel.
- More than 3,700 individually played MIDI files.
The High-Octane MIDI 6 Pack is available for 79 EUR.
More information: Toontrack


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Charlize Theron is an actress from South Africa who lives in Los Angeles and is currently filming a shitty-looking Kristen Stewart movie set in England, so naturally she's the best choice for this week's episode of Top Chef: Texas. This show continues to make less and less sense the more it wears on. I could've been drunk this whole season, and it wouldn't have mattered. It's like the inevitable crazy-train third season of a Ryan Murphy show at this point.
This week's episode picks up right where the last one left off, at the end of a stressful Restaurant Wars battle wherein the exhausted contestants are still sniping at one another. O joy. Everyone on the ladies' team is pissed that Beverly won over Lindsay, but I tend to think that it's more that Grayson and Sarah are upset they themselves didn't win and are jumping on the "poor, overlooked Lindsay" bandwagon because it makes them look an iota better. It's not working on me.
Back in San Antonio, some dumb Quickfire Challenge is happening involving a dish made with three ingredients picked off a conveyor belt that's a bit like a half-assed version of Chopped, complete with one of the contestants -- Beverley -- running out of time and leaving one of her three ingredients off the final plating.
Some chefs -- like Ed -- are quick off the mark to grab whatever strikes them first from the conveyor belt. Others, like Sarah and Ugly Chris, are trying to wait for the choicest things to float by -- not a good strategy when you've only got 20 minutes on the clock to cook. I do get a kick, however, at the Lucille Ball-ish way Ugly Chris keeps trying and failing to grab a pot of live lobsters off the conveyor belt.
Beverley continues proving that she deserved last week's prize when the judges declare that hers would have been their favorite dish had she gotten her curried Rice Krispies on the plate. But it's Lindsay -- in a move that makes up for last week's "snub" -- who wins the challenge and immunity. No time to dally on that, though, as Charlize Theron's legs have just entered the room. (Her head and torso join the party roughly five minutes later.)
Theron tries to sell us on her hideous-sounding movie by telling us that she's playing another serial killer ("REMEMBER GUYS I WON AN OSCAR THE LAST TIME I DID THIS!") and the contestants are tasked with creating an evil fairytale-themed dinner to further pimp the movie which I still refuse to name because I'm tired of Hollywood remaking every old movie, novel, comic book, etc. to death including the upcoming rape of childhood classic The Lorax that removes all mention of Dr. Seuss's original environmental message in favor of a saccharine "love story" between the voices of Zac Efron and Taylor Swift.
And also because THIS STILL HAS NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH TEXAS. NONE OF IT. NOT THE QUICKFIRE CHALLENGE, NOT THE MAIN COMPETITION, NOT THE GUEST JUDGES, NOT THE INGREDIENTS. NOTHING. NADA.
Paul continues to win my eternal affections, however, by being the sole chef to really show consistent respect for his fellow contestants. They shouldn't underestimate Beverly, he says, because she's the one left out of the seven who has the most cooking experience. Also -- unlike Paul -- she's smart enough to not try and cram 14 ingredients onto one plate and is instead sticking with a simple dish of forbidden rice and halibut.
Meanwhile at the judges' table, Padma's mouth toasts Charlize, but not the rest of her face. And certainly not her eyes, which glint coldly as she regards one of the few women on earth who can make her look like a lumpy bag of softball equipment. (The terrible satin pantsuit she's wearing is partly to blame too. I can't wait for this latest jumpsuit trend to die.) It's a beautiful moment.
Paul has really stepped up his creativity by making a dish that represents a forbidden forest filled with delicacies and treats, curved away on one side of the plate from a giant bloody handprint that's meant to represent evil's reach. The judges love it, I love it, the viewers will love it...and Paul keeps my flame of hope alive that he'll reach the very end.
Grayson and Ugly Chris both really step up the game, however, when they present dishes that have taken the whole "wicked, evil food" challenge to new levels. Grayson's plate looks as if a chicken was slaughtered on it -- complete with a poached quail egg to represent the dead baby chicken inside (gruesome, y'all; I like it) -- and Ugly Chris has used his liquid nitrogen skillz to create a "poison apple" that melts apart with a touch to reveal a "rotten" core with "maggots." Love, love, love it. So do the judges, once again, which makes me think that some of the more standard dishes -- like Sarah's rather boring if solidly-cooked risotto -- are doomed.
The winner of the challenge ends up being Paul, bloody handprint and all. And for a guy who had so many ingredients on his plate to cook in such a short amount of time, that's pretty impressive. It's a big ol' love fest at the judges' table, as none of them really have anything all that terrible to say. "I'm nitpicking because I have to," says Colicchio as the judges haggle over tiny things later on when the bottom three contestants are announced: Sarah, Grayson and Beverly.
All the female contestants should be happy now, because Beverly is sent home. Colicchio drops a few points in my estimation by allowing the producers to make him say some hideously cheesy line about "the Queen having her head." And the preview for next week doesn't give me much more hope that the season will do anything at all to bolster the state's tourism image -- nothing in the next episode suggests "Texas" at all. Just keep that in mind when you remember how much of the state's ill-spent taxpayer money went to luring Bravo here.
Quotes of the Night:
"My God. I am making bouillabaisse for Eric Ripert, and he is gonna rip it apart." - Lindsay, who I like when she's being fun and plucky like this.
"I don't think a lot of people like bitter melon." - Paul, while making the saddest puppy dog face ever.
"Beverly should have just cheated..." - Ed. Who else.
See our previous Top Chef recaps here:
- Restaurant Wars: Episode 10
- Barbecue and Big Books of Modernist Cuisine: Episode 9
- Twitter and Tales from Childhood: Episode 8
- Tim Love and Tequila: Episode 7
- Mediocrity Is Served at the South Fork Ranch: Episode 6
- Dallas Is a Damn Fool: Episode 5
- Chiles and Chili: Episode 4
- Rattlesnakes and Quinceañeras: Episode 3
- Bloodsport and Oxtopus: Episode 2
- Neck Tattoos and Nonsense: Episode 1
Follow Eating Our Words on Facebook and on Twitter @EatingOurWords


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Arriving at Gatwick laden with luggage, they look like any other tourists setting off on a fortnight's holiday to Turkey.
In reality, the smiling Britons captured on CCTV were heading to Syria to fight their so-called 'holy war'.
Muhammad Hamidur Rahman, 25, Mashadur Choudhury, 31, Assad Uzzaman, 25, Mehdi Hassan, 19, and Mamunur Roshid had booked cheap tickets on a Thomas Cook flight to the Turkish resort of Antalya on October 8.
Calling themselves the Britani Brigade Bangladeshi Bad Boys, the fanatics, all from Portsmouth, had been seduced by glamorous tales of martyrdom to join Islamic State – formerly Isis – establishing a Muslim caliphate in the Middle East.
Today Rahman, a shop assistant at Primark until he was sacked, is reportedly dead, killed in a gun battle last month.
Meanwhile, Choudhury, a one-time council official turned swindler who enjoyed using £200-a-night prostitutes, is languishing in a British jail.
He failed the selection process to join Isis and was thrown out of its training camp in disgrace.
On his return, he was arrested and became the first Briton to be found guilty of travelling to Syria to fight in the civil war.
The whereabouts of the other three are unclear, but they are still thought to be fighting with IS.
The ease with which they were able to slip over Turkey's porous border with Syria has caused alarm in the West and prompted calls to Ankara to make sure it is closed.
Up to 30 radicalised Britons a month are now travelling to Syria and Iraq across the frontier – dubbed the Jihad Express – that has become a gateway to IS.
The number has increased markedly in the last ten weeks as the profile of the group has been raised by its well-run propaganda machine and catalogue of barbaric crimes.
Monitoring and electronic surveillance has shown that far from putting would-be recruits off, the beheadings and other atrocities are drawing more people to join IS.
Intelligence agencies fear the number of Britons and other Europeans going to fight could increase further if IS extremists succeed in securing a stretch of the Turkish border with north-western Syria as a safe area through which recruits can safely travel.
Disturbingly, a large force of extremists is reported to be moving towards the border in convoys of armoured trucks captured from Iraqi military forces.
Their goal is to provide a guaranteed gateway through which new fighters can pass safely.
The 130-mile frontier has so far been key to allowing recruits into Syria, as well as smuggled oil and weapons.
Much of the border area is difficult to patrol or to police, a mixture of rugged mountain passes and plains over which an estimated 800 to 1,000 Britons have travelled. It is also the route used by most of the 250 Britons whom officials say have returned to the UK.
A British jihadist feared to be one of the militants behind US journalist James Foley's killing boasted of how simple it was to sneak unseen into Syria.
Abu Abdullah al-Britani was asked by a reporter posing as a potential fighter whether he faced problems if he flew from Britain to Turkey before illegally crossing the border. The jihadist replied: 'Na, it's pretty easy.'
IS's UK recruits are told how to leave Britain – always travelling to Turkey via two other countries to avoid suspicion.
They are also told who to contact in Turkey and which hotels and safe houses to use. Some travel as tourists but many end up at Hatay airport, ten miles from the border with Syria.
Once safely in accommodation they make contact using a telephone number or email address. Within 48 hours they are usually picked up by motorcycle or taxi and taken across the border to IS training camps.
Unofficial operations are on-going to track the militants in the border area. Intelligence services are monitoring Britons and other foreign fighters but Turkey has been reluctant to stop anyone from crossing.
For months it has allowed weapons and supplies destined for recognised Syrian opposition groups to cross. European governments have been frustrated that little appears to have been done.
Dr Hisham al-Hashimi, an Iraqi expert on IS, said: 'The Turkish border is the only way to smuggle oil, weapons and foreign fighters in.
'If it is closed, it will cut three things: funding, an entrance for the foreign fighters and links to Europe which they are trying to open.'
Via SyndiGate.info
© Associated Newspapers Ltd.


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Optimum Energy Wants Buildings to Use More Software, Waste Less Power
If you work in a commercial building, you're probably familiar with the vagaries of large-scale heating and cooling systems. Hear that whir click on and cold air suddenly gusting through the vents? That's the sound of your building hemorrhaging money and energy.
Seattle cleantech software company Optimum Energy wants to stanch the energy drain of the U.S. commercial sector, one building at a time—and soon, hundreds of buildings at a time—by slowing down the motors that power those buildings' heating and cooling systems.
I traveled down to Optimum's Georgetown office, which houses 22 of the three-year-old company's 30 employees, to find out from founder and CEO Nathan Rothman how Optimum plans to save companies hundreds of thousands of dollars every year with a simple software program.
The company's software products have the potential to halve the heating and cooling bills of about 110,000 large buildings in the U.S., Rothman said. That's no small potatoes, when you consider that commercial buildings use 18 to 20 percent of the country's energy, and that in hot climates like California or Texas, air conditioning accounts for more than half of their energy bill.
"If we implemented our technology just in Manhattan, we'd save enough electricity to light the other four boroughs all the time," Rothman said. "And that doesn't include the CO2 and greenhouse gases you're saving."
Large buildings maintain temperature control (or HVAC, for heating, ventilating, and air conditioning) using a massive network of cold water that courses through the building, absorbing heat and venting it through steam. That cold water is generally kept at a chilly 44 degrees Fahrenheit by a large machine aptly dubbed the "chiller." High-powered motors and pumps drive the water around the building.
So what happens when a hot building cools down to, say, 70 degrees? The motors shut off, but then power back on the second it bumps up to 71—an incredibly inefficient process, Rothman said, as powering down and up uses a lot of energy.
That process starts to sound even more inefficient when you take into account … Next Page »
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One response to "Optimum Energy Wants Buildings to Use More Software, Waste Less Power"
a certain physical property of hydraulic pumps called an affinity law, where slowing the motors in the HVAC system by a certain amount results in triple that amount of energy saved. So if you reduce how hard the chiller runs from 100 percent to 70 percent of its full capacity—using a special piece of equipment that feeds electricity to the motors and other equipment in short bursts so as to run them at slower speeds—you'd only be using a third of the original energy, Rothman said. But nobody took this property into account in the days when modern HVAC systems were designed and energy was dirt cheap.


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septomarginal trabecula(redirected from Reil band)
sep·to·mar·gi·nal tra·bec·u·la[TA]
one of the trabeculae carneae in the right ventricle of the heart; it carries part of the right branch of the AV bundle from the septum to the anterior papillary muscle on the opposite wall of the ventricle.
Synonym(s): trabecula septomarginalis [TA], moderator band, Reil band (1)
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
Reil,Johann C., German physician, neurologist, and histologist, 1759-1813.
circular sulcus of Reil - a semicircular fissure. Synonym(s): circular sulcus of insula; limiting sulcus of Reil
island of Reil - an oval region of the cerebral cortex overlying the extreme capsule, lateral to the lenticular nucleus, buried in the depth of the fissura lateralis cerebri (sylvian fissure). Synonym(s): insula; insular area; insular cortex
limiting sulcus of Reil - Synonym(s): circular sulcus of Reil
Reil ansa - a complex fiber bundle. Synonym(s): ansa peduncularis
Reil band - Synonym(s): medial lemniscus; septomarginal trabecula
Reil ribbon - Synonym(s): medial lemniscus
Reil triangle - Synonym(s): lemniscal trigone
Medical Eponyms © Farlex 2012


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SAP® TechEd® conference, Barcelona
Datavard, a data management specialist and SAP partner, announced its participation in the SAP® TechEd® conference being held Nov. 8-10 in Barcelona. Showcases and use cases will focus on end-to-end solutions for customers planning to move to the SAP HANA® platform. Datavard specialists Attila Laczay and Frank Gundlich are conducting speaking sessions on "Data Volume Analysis & System Management Strategy For SAP ECC – Out Of The Box" and "The CIO/CDO Who Sees Around the Corner." At the accompanying exhibition in booth P.31, Hall 8, Datavard will be presenting solutions for user behavior and data analytics, Hadoop integration, SAP HANA migrations and database reduction.
The SAP TechEd conference is the premier technology event for learning, networking, training and education on the SAP HANA platform and technologies.
Datavard will be presenting its Gartner-awarded analysis tool Datavard ERP Fitness Test™. In his speaking session on Tuesday, Attila Laczay will show how system administrators can get a closer look at their SAP ERP application. Beyond an intelligent, in-depth system analysis, Datavard ERP Fitness Test™ is an out-of-the-box solution which offers strategic practices for all major areas of system administration of SAP ERP Central Component (SAP ECC) and successfully supports the build of a customized System and Data Management Strategy.
Another hot topic is Datavard HeatMap™, Datavard"s solution to build operations intelligence from insights into system and data usage. Using predefined collectors, HeatMap™ helps customers to continuously improve their SAP systems. The tool is detecting inefficiencies and improvement opportunities in system performance, ITIL/operations reporting, applications retirement, testing, template rollouts and capacity management as well as compliance and security. In his speaking session on Wednesday, Datavard"s BI Expert Frank Gundlich will share valuable insights about opportunities with user behavior analytics for SAP systems.
Speaking Sessions:
Attila Laczay: Tuesday, 2:00-2:30 p.m., Lounge 1, Showfloor
"Data Volume Analysis & System Management Strategy For SAP ECC – Out Of The Box"
Frank Gundlich: Wednesday, 11:00-11:30 a.m., Lounge 1, Showfloor
"The CIO/CDO Who Sees Around the Corner"


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Come one, come ALL to our second film screening of the year!
The documentary Grown in Detroit, directed by Mascha and Manfred Poppenk, is an award winning documentary featuring urban organic farming efforts. Detroit was the home for mass producing automobiles, however, due to the decline of the auto industry one of the nation's wealthiest cities has become one of the poorest. Nature in all its glory has taken over the empty lots and the city has started "greening" from within. Taking this opportunity into consideration the residents of the city have opted to use the land and its resources for their necessity.
The documentary is one hour in length and it follows students at the Ferguson Academy for Young Women, which is a high school for pregnant teens. They work in the school's urban garden and learn how to grow nutritious food for their children. As one can imagine these teens aren't able to cope in the beginning and they dislike farm work. However, as time goes by they see the fruits of their labor growing and then being sold for profit, which changes their attitudes completely. I think the insight into the lives of these teens can be an eye opener for the rest of us. We can learn from them valuable lessons about facing your struggles head on and coming out the victor. As well as, necessity being the mother of invention and how, when given resources, people will come together to reap the benefits.
Flatbush Food Film Forum presents GROWN IN DETROIT
sponsored by Sustainable Flatbush, Flatbush Food Co-op, and Ditmas Park West Neighborhood Association
WHEN: Wednesday, May 26th at 7pm
WHERE: Prospect Park Temple Isaac, 1419 Dorchester Road (entrance on Marlborough)
Free popcorn provided by Flatbush Food Co-op! Kosher snacks available for purchase


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- Press Release
- Sep 27, 2022
Athena Observatory helps to solve mysteries of the universe
The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected the Athena X-ray Observatory as its second 'Large-class' science mission in the 21st Century, which will help to answer vital questions about the universe.
Combining a large X-ray telescope with state-of-the-art scientific instruments, Athena will study the hot and energetic universe to address key questions in astrophysics, such as how and why ordinary matter assemble into the galaxies and galactic clusters that we see today and how black holes grow and influence their surroundings.
Professors Watson, Willingale, O'Brien, Tanvir and Osborne along with other members of the X-ray and Observational Astronomy Group (XROA) in the University of Leicester's Department of Physics and Astronomy contributed to the formulation of the science case and the scientific specification for Athena and are members of the world-wide consortium which developed and proposed it.
Professor Dick Willingale from the University of Leicester's Department of Physics and Astronomy said: "We are all thrilled with ESA's decision and look forward to participating in building this great telescope and eventually helping to analyse the extraordinary data it promises to provide. Athena will give the University of Leicester a pivotal role in the future of high energy astrophysics research in the next two decades."
Professor Willingale and co-workers will help ESA to design, build and test the X-ray mirror for the observatory. X-ray detector specialists working at the University's Space Research Centre are members of the European consortium which will build the imaging detectors for the focal plane of the telescope.
Athena will be the largest X-ray telescope ever built, combining a 3m diameter X-ray mirror with state of the art scientific instruments.
It will observe the X-ray emission from material swallowed by black holes just before it disappears, providing vital information about the extreme gravitational environment around the black hole and the spin of the block hole itself. This will allow for a greater understanding of how black holes grow and the vital role they play in the formation and evolution of the universe.
Ken Pounds, Emeritus Professor of Space Physics at Leicester, said: "The launch of a small satellite, Ariel 5, 40 years ago allowed UK astronomers our first detailed observations of X-rays from outer space, carrying the unique signatures of black holes and other exotic objects across the Galaxy and beyond. UK university researchers have remained at the forefront of X-ray Astronomy from those early days, contributing in both cutting-edge technology and science exploitation.
"The European Space Agency's selection of the Athena X-ray Observatory now ensures continuing access for the international community to one of the most exciting areas of astrophysics, with capabilities matching those of NASA's James Webb Telescope and major ground-based facilities. "
The Athena Observatory will be launched in 2028 to study the hot and energetic Universe as part of ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-25 plan.
Activities of the X-ray and Observational Astronomy group in the Department of Physics and Astronomy can be found at: http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/physics/research/xroa/x-ray-observational-astronomy-group
An artist's impression of the observatory can be found at: http://sen.com/news/athena-x-ray-observatory-to-study-the-hot-and-energetic-universe
Further details about Athena science and instrumentation will be published in the Friday 4 July 2014 issue of the magazine Science and can be viewed on You-Tube:http://youtu.be/1DtzdbFfk14


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Three years ago, Erica Bianchini, now 27, found herself with an economics degree from McGill and zero interest in working at a bank. Then, through friends, she met Yoan Gehant, also 27 ("handsome, French, impeccable") and fresh from Tahiti with a harvest of stunning black pearls. "These small local farms have 100-percent renewable pearls," says Bianchini. "They don't dive with oxygen because it tampers with the water—some of the cleanest in the world."
A few weeks post–Tahitian pearls, when shopping for a gift, Bianchini was stunned at luxury jewellery's patriarchal stodginess. "No one could explain anything to me. You'd walk into a store and feel as though a piece had been there for decades." Propelled by a long-held fascination with the mysterious Paris-based gem magician JAR and an obsessive drawing habit, she went back to Gehant and proposed what is now Ecksand Joaillerie.
The two money brains inked an air-tight plan and won "a bunch of entrepreneur competitions in Montreal," she says, enough to get the capital-intensive business off the ground. Within six months they had attracted master jewellers from Europe with their nuanced vision. "We knew our goal was to change the status quo—the way jewellery is crafted and sold."
It wasn't an easy industry to crack, especially for Bianchini. She and her two sisters are sometimes likened to the Kardashians because of their long hair and high-wattage glamour. "All men," she says of the older industry. "A 24-year-old woman walks in and says, 'I need 100 grams of this and 200 grams of that, and I need you to cast it by next week,' and they laugh: 'OK, honey bun, go home.'"
Nonplussed, Bianchini and Gehant relied on their instincts and business acumen. They sussed out modern techniques that would both create a piece "a truck could run over" and be competitive (prices range from $250 to over $1 million). "For instance, we don't do soldering. We do laser welding," she says. "It keeps costs down; it's better for the environment. Everything we do, we do for a reason." If hiring a team of engineers from California to come and educate their jewellers in laser welding seems incredibly savvy for someone with no background in the field, Bianchini admits, "I didn't sleep for a year."
Ecksand divides itself between a 600-square-foot atelier with hardwood floors in an old building in Montreal's diamond district, flooded with natural light ("the only kind for jewellery"), and a micro-boutique nearby. At first, Bianchini, who has her hand in design, marketing and individual client service, was unsure of where to be. "I had running shoes at the boutique and would go between the two, and to our diamond cutter." She now spends her mornings at the atelier and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the boutique. "I work seven days a week," she says. She's designing, team building and meeting clients, which sometimes sends her to Europe. When she can, she hits green space with her Bernese mountain dog, Benson, which she credits for inspiring her nature-centric designs.
When she's super stressed (mishaps in her job come with enormous price tags; think metal contamination), Bianchini has two very sweet vices. "The best way of coping is to see that there is a happy ending. Did you know that Richard Branson supposedly presented his business plan 400 times? And Edison made over 10,000 prototypes before he got the one that worked?" Her other go-to is old music. "I'm talking Motown and Aretha Franklin's 'Respect.' I love Brigitte Bardot, Rita Hayworth; I'm in the wrong era!"
Like the millennials who are a huge part of Ecksand's clientele, Bianchini and Gehant are fixated on the origin of their jewels. "Everything is proudly made in North America." Their diamonds are clean and sourced from Australia and Canada, and they don't use many semi-precious stones, mainly because it's nearly impossible to find them conflict-free. Their continually changing collections are slotted for sale in high-end department stores and boutiques across Canada, the focus being magnifying glass–like service. "I make the man bring in a picture of his wife. Within two seconds I ask, 'What kind of shoes does she wear?' A woman who plays with her kids isn't going to want what a woman who wears heels every day and goes to restaurants does."
Not only is Bianchini dazzling us with micropavé hidden-heart rings and honeycomb earrings (now entered in the American Gem Trade Association's prestigious Spectrum Awards), she's making high-end jewellery history as one of the industry's few women. Girls are really a diamond's best friend.