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Scientists Offer Advice On Preserving Fish Quality
NORWAY - Good access to tray-packed, fresh fish in the shops can increase consumption of seafood. But to succeed, first-class raw materials, low temperatures and good hygiene are necessary.
Photo: Frank Gregersen, Fiskeriforskning.
Tray-packed fish fillets are extra vulnerable to reduced shelf life, and the fishermen and industry are facing even stricter demands as concerns the quality of fish.
Only the best raw materials
First, it is important that the fishermen deliver raw materials of outstanding quality. The fish meat is sterile when the fish is alive, and fish that is going to be used for tray packing must therefore be alive when it is taken on board in the boat.
"It is extra important that the fish is slaughtered correctly and has time to properly bleed out. After that, it must be gutted, cleaned and quickly cooled down in a mixture of ice and water", explains Scientist Jens stli at Fiskeriforskning.
The fish must not receive bumps or blows anywhere other than to the head because this reduces both the quality and shelf life. Damages also have an adverse effect when the fish is lying in the cold counter, causing customers to quickly decide to choose other foods when they shop.
Refrigeration and hygiene are critical
Scientists at Fiskeriforskning have previously proven that fresh cod and salmon must be stored at zero degrees Celsius in order to preserve the quality - and thus the shelf life - as long as possible. This applies the whole way from the fishing ground until the customer takes the finished product to the checkout counter in the shop.
Photo: Jan Fredrik Frantzen, Fiskeriforskning.
It is also extra important that fish that is going to be tray-packed be handled under good hygienic conditions all the way until it is packed in the tray.
"Old fish remnants that remain in the production equipment can become "bacteria bombs". This can ruin the fish that is going to be used for tray-packed fillets", says stli in closing.
The instructions were prepared on assignment from the Norwegian Seafood Association (NSL).
Source: Fiskeriforskning - 7th August 2006


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So, while I am nowhere near to processing the wealth of information and emotional reactions I've accumulated on child abuse and cults these past few weeks, let me share a some of what drew me to the project in the first place.
∴ ∴ ∴
Her name is Atyr. She's a character in my story universe, and back in high school when we first "met", her hurt and fire resonated deeply. Before long her story became a catharsis, where I hid my own feelings and denied my experience as worthy of notice or comment. Until the triggers made it impossible to even write her story because I'd buried so much…
I didn't worry at the time. I had a lot of characters and a lot of stories to write after all. And conventional wisdom in the publishing world said I shouldn't trap myself to a single genre (or worse a single story or character). I knew I needed to "grow" as a writer, and figured I must have grown beyond writing Atyr.
Knowing I wouldn't have to face the feelings of shame, loss and soul-deep hurt that came when I touched Atyr's character deeply made me almost sigh with relief. And I quickly looked away to other possibilities.
But Atyr wouldn't let me go. And my other characters wouldn't let me let her go either. They kept revealing connections to her, stories, memories, affections and anger, confusion… but I couldn't connect those pieces without touching my psyche more directly.
So I tried a different tactic. I tried flash fiction pieces, I tried not-quite-personal posts that dealt with an instance of my life, but didn't deal with me too closely … I wrote poetry, took pictures… escaped into the world of performing the character I'd cast for myself. I wasn't a girl who'd never grown up, I wasn't lost in the world scared to look in the mirror or draw attention to myself… not me. I was traveled, experienced, creative, friendly, helpful, out-going… I was h….a…p..P.Y.
Thing is, masks come off, and I was taking mine off with the few people I was comfortable with (my husband, my best friend…) which added stress to those relationships. Stressed, unhappy and… afraid, I was no state to be a fair partner or friend (I still wonder how I deserve such wonderful people in my life, especially for putting up with me for so long).
Things came to a head when I let myself go for a NaNoWriMo. I let myself go, and Atyr took over. I plowed through 60,000 words in two weeks sitting in Panera, gesticulating, writing, spilling out feelings of abandonment, of emotional and physical pain, of confusion with outside expectations, image issues, of tears and blank stares, of self-mutilation… of invisibility and the being object of scorn and disgust. Of never being good enough….
Ever have one of those cries that leaves you feeling so drained you doubt you could shed another tear? A cry so exhausting that you can't move afterward? Tears that surround you in flood-waters washing away the world beneath your feet?
60,000 words of a character's story opened a floodgate within myself, and I'm still trying to find some stable, dry land.
It took me almost three years to look back at that notebook, because I put so much of myself in it. Not in words related to my experience…. and sometimes not in Atyr's as my truth escaped onto the page.
Since opening those pages, I've slowly explored the story within. I've read stories by others who've suffered abuse, emotional and physical, to learn how they face each day after accepting what they'd lived through. I've tried to understand how these things can happen in loving families with caring parents or in schools or communities or…
…how we can become the monsters we fear so easily.

subset: commoncrawl


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A Face Like Mine is Peter Bradley Adams sixth studio album. A quiet, reflective demeanor fills this album, even on the most driven songs on the album.
There's an enveloping nature to this album filled with soft edges and delving stories. While it takes several listens to feel the full extent of the songs on the album, when you pay attention, there are deep and surprisingly detailed stories to find.
This album is right on the dividing line for me. People who love Americana, or really like Peter Bradley Adams would be well advised to buy this album. It might take some time to grow on the rest of his possible audience. It's not that they album is inaccessible, but rather than it takes some reflection to really appreciate.
Recommendation: Buy It
Songs I have a Playlist For: Lorrain, A Face Like Mine, On Jordan's Stormy Banks
Songs I will Thumbsdown: None


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Freshman Lopini Katoa had 19 carries for 155 yards rushing and four touchdowns, all season highs, and the BYU defense forced six three-and-outs to help the Cougars beat New Mexico State 45-10 on Saturday night and become bowl eligible.
Katoa came in with 57 carries for 268 yards and four touchdowns in 10 career games. Matt Hadley added two rushing touchdowns, including a 40-yarder midway through the second quarter that gave BYU (6-5) the lead for good at 14-7.
Each team went three-and-out on its first possession and then Josh Adkins hit Drew Dan for a 17-yard touchdown to cap a 13-play, 85-yard drive and give New Mexico State (3-8) a 7-0 lead. The Aggies offense, however, began to sputter with four three-and-outs, two interceptions and a missed 47-yard field-goal attempt on its next seven possessions. Katoa scored on runs of 15 and 13 yards in the second quarter before Skyler Southam's 23-yard field goal as time expired made it 31-7 at halftime.
Adkins was 25-of-61 passing for 264 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
Source: The Associated Press


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However you may feel about the volume of litigation in the United States, if you're a business owner, you need insurance against the risk of your company being sued.
All companies, regardless of their size or industry, need liability coverage to protect themselves against allegations that employees did something (or failed to do something they should have) that caused property damage or injury to a third party.
Small business liability insurance, known as a commercial general liability (CGL) policy, is designed to protect your company and its assets against litigation that can be filed for any of a number of reasons, such as allegations of:
Liability insurance provides financial protection not only for the direct cost of an accident, such as any damages, and potentially more importantly, can help fund the cost of settling or defending the litigation.
Without insurance, the defense costs associated with a lawsuit that your company ultimately wins can create a financial hardship that could, in an extreme, endanger your company's ability to remain in business.
Liability insurance helps your business remain in business by paying for legal assessments including:
General liability insurance doesn't provide coverage for professional liability (which is written under industry-specific policies); auto liability, injuries to employees (covered under workers' compensation); or health or disability claims. These are all covered under specific forms of insurance that have to be purchased separately.
Commercial general liability coverage also protects your company against any liabilities resulting from damage to any real estate you're renting, such as an office or warehouse.
A variety of factors will help your company and insurance professional evaluate how much coverage your company may need. Some of the important considerations include your industry and any insurance requirements made by your company's lenders, landlords or customers.
For companies with relatively simple needs, general liability coverage may be purchased as part of a business owner's policy (BOP) that combines property and liability coverage into a package.
Companies in industries with specialized risks may need a dedicated commercial general liability policy from a carrier that specializes in their industry and risk exposures.


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We're continuing to work but with precautions.
Firstly, we would like to thank all our lovely customers for their patience during this pandemic.
We've been contacting all our customers to let them know we're available, if we've missed you please accept our apologies and let us know.
There are some differences in the service method to ensure the safety of both ourselves and our customers:
1. Customers will receive a phone call the day before their scheduled appointment to ensure the household is healthy, if you are shielding we can't visit for the following 12 week period.
2. If possible can customers please pay by BACS or PayPal to reduce unnecessary contact, if not please put correct change in a re-sealable bag with your name on it.
3. Can all customers please ensure they have face coverings for when we arrive at your home.
4. Please ensure we have hand washing facility for when we arrive at your property and again when we leave.
5. We will ensure we wear masks during the visit and that all equipment and our grooming tables will be fully sanitised.
6. Please keep a 2 meter distance away whenever possible.
We are really looking forward to seeing everyone again!!
If you wish to pay by PayPal, please let us know when we book the appointment & we'll supply the payment details.
We are Fluffies
As a mobile dog grooming service we cover most of Staffordshire and the city of Stoke on Trent.
Our groomers are fully trained to City & Guilds level and are experienced in all standard breed cuts.
Fluffies has been providing a personalised service to customer's homes since 2011.
Our unique dry cut method of dog grooming is less expensive than traditional grooming and provides a far better finish.
Why not give us a try?
See our services page and find out why Fluffies are different
Meet your Fluffies Dog Groomers
Say 'Hello' to Karen
Karen is more the country girl and looks after Staffordshire Moorlands and other more rural locations.
If you live in any of the following post codes and your pooch needs a cut, call Karen.
ST10, ST11, ST12 and ST14
Call Karen on 07884 151716
or send an email by clicking on the button below.
Say 'Hi' to Ruth
Ruth looks after most of the Stoke on Trent city post codes.
If you live in any of these post codes and your furry friend could do with a visit from Ruth, give her a call!!
ST1, ST2, ST3, ST4, ST5, ST6, ST7, ST8 and ST9
Call Ruth on 07808 186999
or send an email by clicking on the button below.


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Planning supervisor
Req ID: J2335652-IL
At Jabil we strive to make ANYTHING POSSIBLE and EVERYTHING BETTER. With over 260,000 diverse, talented and dedicated employees across 100 locations in 30 countries, our vision is to be the most technologically advanced and trusted manufacturing solutions provider. We combine an unmatched breadth and depth of end-market experience, technical and design capabilities, manufacturing know-how, supply chain insights and global product management expertise to enable success for the world's leading brands. We are driven by a common purpose to make a positive impact for each other, our communities, and the environment.
Job Description
Lead and administer the planning staff within the workcell, supports the development and implementation of planning strategies and systems and optimizes costs under supervision of the Planning Manager.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
Recruitment and Retention:
· Recruit, interview and hire planning personnel.
· Communicate criteria to recruiters for planning position candidates.
· Monitor team member turnover; identify key factors that can be improved; make improvements.
Employee and Team Development:
· Identify individual and team strengths and development needs on an ongoing basis.
· Create and/or validate training curriculum in area of responsibility.
Performance Management:
· Establish clear measurable goals and objectives by which to determine individual and team results (i.e. operational metrics, results against project timelines, training documentation, attendance records, knowledge of operational roles and responsibilities, personal development goals).
· Solicit ongoing feedback from Workcell members, Business Unit Manager (BUM), and Planning Manager on planning Manager's contribution to the team.
· Provide ongoing coaching and counseling to Planning Manager based on feedback.
· Express pride in staff and encourage them to feel good about their accomplishments.
· Perform team member evaluations professionally and on time.
· Drive individuals and the team to continuously improve in key operational metrics and the achievement of the organizational goals.
· Coordinate activities of large teams and keep them focused in times of crises.
· Ensure recognition and rewards are managed fairly and consistently in area of responsibility.
· Provide communication forum for the exchange of ideas and information with the department.
· Organize verbal and written ideas clearly and use an appropriate business style.
· Ask questions; encourage input from team members.
· Assess communication style of individual team members and adapt own communication style accordingly.
· Provide feedback and support development of Planning initiatives and strategies.
· Ensure workcell's execution to Planning strategies.
· Support customer's business needs using standard process where possible and customized solutions where necessary.
· Ensure that the Workcell is focused to drive down the overall cost of materials.
· Ensure 100% on-time delivery.
· Establish build readiness.
· Maintain efficiency of capacity and customer sizing.
· Maintain accurate revenue forecasting.
· Maintain material control and liability.
· Develop Master Production Schedule (MPS) and load into Jabil's ERP system, including Purchase Order (PO) coverage.
· Reconcile the MPS to customer PO coverage weekly to ensure that Jabil is not exposed over and above customer PO coverage or other authorized customer demand.
· Ensure the MPS is always 100% accurate and achievable.
· Achieve and maintain 95% MPS goal.
· Own production planning, BOM and document control with or without additional support.
· Analyze material and capacity requirements and communicate constraints to the Workcell and customer based on accurate customer demand.
· Maintain the workcell's capacity planning model; drive resolution on uneven capacity utilization that keeps Jabil focused on the customer but efficiently utilizing manufacturing resources.
· Meet daily with the Workcell and manufacturing team to assess production schedules, (adjust as necessary based on production results) optimize run quantities, and minimize changeovers to help achieve 100% on time delivery.
· Maintain the customers' latest contract on file at all times and be familiar with the terms and conditions of the contract regarding customer liability of material planning and production scheduling. This includes the liability window for Jabil material purchase order placement, purchase price for components, and liability for any in-house materials (purchased and manufactured).
· Be the workcell's "expert" on all planning activities by supporting the Production Planner goal of never starting to build product without having a valid PO, adequate material quantities, and accurate BOM and an accurate routing.
· Lead the Workcell on the creation of Bills of Material (BOMs) and routings that allows accurate tracking of WIP assemblies and accurate inventory movement transactions.
· End-of Life (EOL) management should include chairing a meeting 30 days prior to the last planned build date to create tactics to support the EOL strategy.
· Own the build schedule, corrections and resolution of MPS to customer demand, planned tactics on deadlines for assemblies out of the various work areas on the floor, deadline for last shipment, and support plan for potential RMAs.
· Manage Jabil purge process for internal Workcell purges.
· Adhere to all environmental, safety, and health rules and regulations associated with this position.
· Comply to and follow all procedures within the Jabil and JDAS security policy.
High School Diploma or equivalent required and two years of planning experience; Bachelor's degree preferred. APICS certification and Supervisor experience also preferred. Thorough knowledge of MRP, lead times for specific component types, internal run rates, test development lead times, machine programming lead times and complete understanding of the chronological sequence of events that must occur in order to build a product.
Jabil, including its subsidiaries, is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identify, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
BE AWARE OF FRAUD: When applying for a job at Jabil you will be contacted via correspondence through our official job portal with a jabil.com e-mail address; direct phone call from a member of the Jabil team; or direct e-mail with a jabil.com e-mail address. Jabil does not request payments for interviews or at any other point during the hiring process. Jabil will not ask for your personal identifying information such as a social security number, birth certificate, financial institution, driver's license number or passport information over the phone or via e-mail. If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, contact your local police department. Any scam job listings should be reported to whatever website it was posted in.
Accessibility Accommodation
If you are a qualified individual with a disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access Jabil.com/Careers site as a result of your disability. You can request a reasonable accommodation by sending an e-mail to email@example.com with the nature of your request and contact information. Please do not direct any other general employment related questions to this e-mail. Please note that only those inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this e-mail address.


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In this election year, worries over voter irregularities are popping up across the country. The Eastern Sierra does not appear to be immune. Questions of second homeowners changing registration to vote in June Lake and Mammoth have prompted an official response in Mono County. Now an investigation in Inyo County has been confirmed.
The State Attorney Generals Office has confirmed an investigation into the possibility of false signatures on petitions of a candidate for Inyo County Superior Court Judge. Spokespersons for the Attorney General declined to name which candidacy was involved in the investigation. She did say that the AG is looking at a volunteer petition circulator in relation to the allegation of false signatures.
Political candidates can gather petition signatures rather then pay the filing fees to run. The more signatures a candidate and their supporters can gather, the lower the filing fee.
These petitions in lieu of filing fees appear to be at the center of the investigation. Inyo County Clerk Mary Roper reports that the signatures in question were stricken from the signature count, but even without these signatures the candidate had enough to run and remains a legitimate candidate for judge on the November ballot.
The spokesperson for the State Attorney Generals Office did say that the investigation was being handled by States Attorney Jim Dutton. At this time, no charges have been filed. Again, this investigation has not affected either judicial candidate's position in the race, according to the County Clerk.


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Hot Wife Michelle – My name is Michael and my wife's name is Michelle. This story takes place last summer, and it can be best told by my wife.
Hello, my name is Michelle. Last summer my husband's nephew turned 18. To celebrate, his family rented out an extremely large house with a pool and a lot of people stayed there for the weekend. I had been swimming for several hours and wanted to relax, so I told Michael I was going down to where we were staying to shower and take a nap. I went into our bedroom that had an adjoining bathroom and began to undress. I didn't bother closing either door as the bathroom was around the corner and could not be seen from the hallway. We were also the only ones staying downstairs, and not a soul had come down the entire weekend, (two days so far). Once I had gotten my top off I sensed movement out of the corner of my eye and noticed my husband's nephew's friend had followed me downstairs and was watching me change.
He must have heard me tell my husband I was going to shower and had gotten curious. He was also 18 and had just turned it the month before my husband's nephew did. I am 24 years old, with perky b-cup breasts as you can see from the pictures. I had caught him checking me out while I was swimming. He didn't notice me notice him, so I made the effort to pretend like I hadn't seen him peering at me through the slightly opened bathroom door. It felt so vulnerable and exciting to be topless with this young man staring at me. I knew my husband was turned on by the idea of showing me off, and we would often fantasize about me being with another man, it made for very good sex. So, I decided to give him a show and undress very slowly for him. I took time to dry my hair and my breasts, he must have been dying because the cold air from the central air had made my nipples stand out and I had goosebumps all over my chest both from the excitement and from the coldness.
I knew I was going to have to take my bottoms off, since I was getting prepared to jump in the shower, and this sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach. I turned toward the door and slowly slid my bottoms down. I couldn't believe it, but I decided to place one leg on the counter while I dried off, it wasn't too high, and I wanted him to get a GOOD look at what I had, luckily I had shaved that morning. I made sure to take care rubbing my pussy, but tried to make it subtle. After a while I realized this wasn't very subtle at all and he was sure to know I knew he was there.
I looked down and saw that I was so wet it had begun to drip down my leg, the excitement was too much to bear.
I finally decided to give myself up, what's the worst that could happen? I looked up and made eye contact with him, smiled seductively and winked. He took this as an open invitation and entered the bathroom. We stood silently for a while before I asked him if he had ever seen a naked woman before. He said he hadn't ever in person, only in pictures and movies on the internet. We were silent for another long while as he stared at my naked body, my wetness had now made it's way almost to my knee. After a while of him staring, he quietly and politely asked if he could touch me. My initial thought was to say no, but he was so shy, quiet and polite that I couldn't. I told him he could touch my breasts, but nothing more. He took them gently in his hands and lightly caressed them. He already had a hard-on as his swimming trunks did not hide it very well. He massaged my breasts for a time before beginning to pinch and roll my nipples, I was getting wetter and wetter. He then asked if he could kiss them, again, very politely, I kindly declined, and he apologized and turned bright red. I told him it was okay, I wasn't mad, and it was natural to be curious and to want to do things like that.
I think he would have played with my breasts all day if I hadn't stopped him. I told him he'd better get back to the party, and he said he couldn't go back out there in his current condition, tilting his head down to his bulge. I told him he could close the door and "take care of his problem" in the bathroom. He pleaded with me to at least stay while he did it. I didn't know if anyone else would be coming down, and I thought it would be awkward if someone did and we both came out of the bathroom. I thought we had to get this done as fast as possible, and I knew the quickest way to do that. I undid the string on his swimming shorts and pulled them down to his knees. To my surprise, he let them slide the rest of the way down his legs and stepped out of them. He stood there naked with me in our bathroom. If anyone came down and saw I would have had some explaining to do.
I looked down at his unit which was entirely shaved, and was rather small and thin, only about five or six inches long, and not very thick at all. I took it in my hand and began rubbing him. He immediately grabbed onto my breasts again, this time a lot more rough than the first. He began pinching and twisting my nipples, which I LOVE! And I accidentally let out a slight moan as he twisted them. He took that as encouragement and twisted them harder. I was able to hold back more moaning, though just barely. I stroked him for about five minutes before I heard people coming into the house. I asked him if he was close to cumming and he breathlessly said, "yeah." I asked him how much longer and his response was, "five minutes." I knew I couldn't wait that long. It was only a matter of time before someone would come looking for him.
I silently walked across the room and closed and locked the bedroom door, then led him by the hand to the bed and had him sit on the edge of it. I dropped to my knees in front of him and the look on his face was priceless, full of gratitude and disbelief. I gently kissed and licked his shaft as it began to twitch. I licked his balls gently, then took them in my mouth one at a time and sucked them gently, I had to get him ready, I needed him to finish fast. I licked the tip of it gently and caressed it with my tongue. Finally I took him in my mouth and began sucking. He was quite small, and I could easily get his whole shaft in my mouth without much effort, which is something I could never do with my husband. At first I went fast, but I realized there was no need as it was pulsing and twitching in my mouth. I could tell he was trying to hold back, so I told him not to, and then continued more slowly and deliberately.
After only about another minute I could feel his penis tremble in my mouth and I prepared myself as he shot load after load into my mouth. It was so much that I had to swallow two mouthfuls, and there was still more. Some came out of my mouth landing on my chin, on his foot and onto the floor. I cleaned my chin off with my index finger and cleaned that off with my mouth, then I did the same with what was on his foot and finally the left overs on the floor.
I stroked him a couple more times to get the rest of the cum out and I cleaned that off with my tongue, he shuddered at the pleasure, and I did a few more deep up and downs with my mouth, just to see him squirm some more. When I was finished I licked him from base to tip and kissed the top of his penis before standing up.
I placed my hands on my hips and said, "now you can go back to party." He thanked me, put his shorts back on and quickly left the room. I quickly put shorts and a tank top on and went to find my husband, I needed sex ASAP! My legs were soaked from the events that took place. I found him, told him what happened and we immediately had the best sex we've EVER had.
There was still roughly 36 hours left of the weekend and I thought he would try to get me to give him head again, or maybe even more. But he was quiet and even more shy and awkward around me. It was cute! About a week later he friended me on Facebook and I accepted. He messages me every once in a while and is flirty and more bold online. I think he wants a repeat performance, or maybe even to fuck me. I'm not sure if that will ever happen, as this seemed to be only a one time thing. But the past is history, the future's a mystery and that's why they call it "the present." If anything more happens with him I'll be sure to let you know.
Michael again, so that's her story. I though it was extremely hot and I only wish I could have gotten pictures of it. Anyway, emails and comments are welcome, please send them to:
mmvoyeur @ yahoo.com


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Google, Microsoft, and Adobe's Acquisition Love Triangle
If someone's going on a shopping spree, who is it?
On Thursday, shares for Adobe Systems soared 17 percent following a New York Times article suggesting that Microsoft would acquire the software company. Soon afterward, however, Kara Swisher at All Things Digital deemed the deal "nonsense" citing "numerous sources at both companies." After throwing a wet rag on the Times article (and consequently lowering Adobe's shares), Swisher advanced the idea that Google was actually much more likely to acquire Adobe. The reportage from both publications has spurred a great deal of strategic musing over which tech giant would benefit most from an Adobe acquisition:
- A Microsoft Acquisition Makes Sense, writes Horace Dediu at Asymco: "Adobe is one of the last surviving desktop software companies. So is Microsoft. Consolidation happens when an industry matures and excess capacity and excess overhead can be squeezed out of the value chain, giving a temporary burst of earnings growth. So, in this way of thinking, recognizing that the sun is setting on desktop software, a merger of old schools of thought may make sense. Rather like Sun and Oracle or HP and Compaq."
- The Justice Department Would Probably Green Light It, writes Ed Hansberry at Information Week: "An acquisition by Microsoft would have been unthinkable a decade ago. Back then, the justice department was considering breaking up the software giant, something Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ordered but was reversed on appeal, being found guilty of misconduct. Today though, Microsoft isn't the giant it was in 2000... It is doubtful the US government would put up too much of a fuss if the two companies got together. If Microsoft did acquire Adobe, would it matter? While Flash is important, I don't see it being a deciding factor for too many people on what phone they buy, and with HTML5 on the horizon, Flash will have less importance in the coming years."
- A Microsoft Acquisition Is Not in the Works, writes Kara Swisher at All Things Digital:
It is kind of hard to do an acquisition when "Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, recently showed up with a small entourage of deputies at Adobe's offices to hold a secret meeting with Adobe's chief executive, Shantanu Narayen."
Memo to the Times: When there is an acquisition afoot–in my experience–it's all private airplanes and law offices and not a company HQ visit by the very loud and very noticeable Ballmer, the exact polar opposite of a shrinking violet.
- Still, Microsoft Would Have a Lot to Gain, writes Darrell Etherington at Gigaom:
A spurned Adobe is the perfect target for Microsoft's overtures. First, Apple's complete shutout of Flash from its wildly popular iOS mobile platform must mean that Adobe is missing out on an incredible amount of potential revenue...
In a worst-case scenario for Apple, Microsoft would buy Adobe, and though it probably wouldn't be able to make CS Windows platform-specific, it could hobble the software on OS X the same way it seems to have done with MS Office in the past. A slow erosion of Apple's creative user base could also undermine the reasons it became a success to begin with: "Think Different" is a slogan born of the Mac's appeal to the artistically minded, whether or not Apple is willing to admit it. Try to find a photography or design professional who doesn't use Adobe's Creative Suite in some capacity.
- I Can't See How This Helps Microsoft, writes Preston Gralla at Computer World: "It won't help fight Apple... After all, Flash runs on Android 2.2 phones, and Google didn't have to buy Adobe in order to make that happen... It won't help fight Google... Adobe has no special expertise in search, Web applications, or online ad delivery. Microsoft needs to be worried [about] Google Docs... but Adobe is no help there, either... It will be a major distraction. ... Combining two large companies with different cultures takes a major effort... Right now, Microsoft executives need to focus on competing against Google and Apple."
- Google Acquiring Adobe Is More Likely, writes Kara Swisher at All Things Digital: "In fact, it is Google that is more mentioned in Silicon Valley as the logical acquirer of Adobe, if there were to be a sale. Along with all its various assets, such as the Photoshop and Acrobat software that dominates online publishing, Adobe's Omniture unit is one of the more powerful and popular analytics companies on the Web, which is right in Google's wheelhouse. Personally, that's the one I would bet on, although that's entirely me speaking." Shira Ovide at The Wall Street Journal agrees.
- Grain of Salt Time, writes Steven Hodson at Silicon Angle: "As interesting as this idea may be, I think for the time being this reports belongs strictly in the rumor column."


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Visa (V -1.11%) reported fiscal first-quarter results on Feb. 2. The world's largest credit card network is enjoying strong revenue and earnings growth as it integrates its Visa Europe business.
Visa results: The raw numbers
|Year-Over-Year Change
|$4.461 billion
|$3.565 billion
|Net income
|$2.070 billion
|$1.941 billion
|Earnings per share
What happened with Visa this quarter?
Net operating revenue surged 25% year over year to $4.5 billion, as the payments giant completed its second full quarter with the recently acquired Visa Europe operations included in its results.
Service revenue, which is recognized based on payment volume in the prior quarter, rose 17% to $1.9 billion, as payments volume jumped 44% to $1.9 trillion on a constant dollar basis.
Data processing revenue increased 28% to $1.9 billion, with the number of transactions processed on Visa's network (including Visa Europe) climbing 44% to 27.3 billion. Total processed transactions -- adjusted to exclude the impact of Visa Europe -- grew 13% year over year.
International transaction revenue leapt 44% to $1.5 billion, with constant currency cross-border volume soaring 140% (12% when normalizing for Visa Europe).
Client incentives, which are a contra revenue item, were $1 billion. That figure represented 18.9% of gross revenue, compared with 18.1% in the prior-year period.
Total operating expenses increased 16% to $1.4 billion, mainly because of costs associated with the acquisition of Visa Europe and higher marketing expenses.
All told, net income -- adjusted to exclude non-recurring items related to the Visa Europe deal -- rose 23% to $2.1 billion, or $0.86 per share.
Looking forward
Visa affirmed its financial outlook for fiscal 2017, including:
- Net revenue growth of 16% to 18%.
- Operating margin in the "mid-60s".
- EPS growth in the low 30% range on a GAAP basis and "mid-teens" on an adjusted basis.
"Visa's fiscal 2017 is off to a terrific start, with a strong first quarter of revenue and earnings growth driven by accelerating growth in payments volume, cross-border commerce, and processed transactions in virtually all regions around the world," said CEO Alfred Kelly in a press release. "As we look ahead, we continue to see good momentum in the business driven by domestic and cross-border volumes, increasing consumer participation in electronic payments in developing markets, and the further acceleration of e-commerce in developed markets."


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Hollywood unions drew about 150 supporters to a lively protest over the Los Angeles Film School allegedly using llegal tactics to block efforts to organize the 125 faculty members.
The rally, held at mid-day Wednesday outside the Sunset Boulevard offices, drew support from AFTRA, the DGA, WGA, Actors Equity, the American Federation of Musicians and several locals of the Intl. Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. Several WGA members toted the familiar red-and-black picket signs from the 2007-08 strike.
The union supporters alleged the school had fired union supporter Brandii Grace and disciplined another supporter since the union began organizing on Feb. 2 to become part of the California Federation of Teachers. The school's also requiring faculty to attend anti-union meetings.
"The school has taken very extreme measures," said Peter Q. Nguyen, CFT field rep. "They have a First Amedment right to express their opposition, but they're prohibited from engaging in harassment and intimidation."
Nguyen said the union's filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board over the firing. He also said the CFT's also submitted authorization cards from 84 of the 125 school staffers to trigger an election on the question of unionizing but alleges that the school has used delaying tactics to prevent that vote from taking place.
Reps of the school had no comment on the allegations. Diana Derycz-Kessler, the school president and chief executive officer, issued a statement saying in part, "We value the direct working relationships we have always had with our faculty and look forward to working collaboratively to continue making the Los Angeles Film School and the Los Angeles Recording School best-in-class leaders in entertainment education."
WGA West board member Howard Rodman, a former chair of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, told the crowd that the Film School faculty is dedicated to its students.
"They would work for free," Rodman added. "Just because they would doesn't mean they should be forced to."
DGA member Larry Kostroff, who's on the faculty, spoke at the rally and Bryan Unger, western exec diretor of the DGA, issued a letter Wednesday to Derycz-Kessler that expressed "strong disappointment and dismay" at the tone and content of her recent communications.
"I am frankly quite surprised at the apparent anti-union bias which is being conveyed to employees," he added. "A quick review of your faculty reveals a number of strong union members and union supporters, and I find it highly unlikely that they support the anti-union nature of your correspondence and actions."


text:
Walmart Is the Most Common Craigslist Missed Connection Location in Texas
"Looking For Love (In All The Wrong Places)" is playing over and over in my mind as I read this report that claims Walmart is the most common place for Missed Connection listings on Craigslist.
The study into the most common missed connection listings posted to Craigslist originates from Psychology Today's Dorothy Gambrell (via Mental Floss), who broke it down state by state.
As one might expect, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri are also hotbeds for Walmart Missed Connections.
Here all along I would have thought that 'produce section at local grocer' would have been the top missed connection location ("Can you tell me if these melons are ripe?"). Perhaps due to the advent of the Walmart Supercenter, which includes a grocery and produce section, these 'WallyWorld' locations for missed connections have exploded.
Breaking it down further, the story shows that twentysomethings' missed connection locations are highest at ice cream shops, 30-year-olds miss connections at bars and the 40 and over crowd seems to have very dirty minds, as their missed connections tend to be at strip clubs or adult book stores.


text:
The strengths and weaknesses of a
young girl are revealed in a series of counseling sessions at
an Alliance
Watch all five R. Tam sessions at
Didja Know?
Though they take place before the episodes of the
Firefly TV series, "The R. Tam Sessions" were shot as
promotional webisodes for the Serenity film of
2005 (see the three PopApostle studies of the film beginning
Firefly/Serenity creator Joss Whedon also portrays the
interviewer in these sessions.
Didja Notice?
The background logo at the beginning of each session excerpt
is later seen
on the shimmering force field door of the records room at an
Alliance facility in
"Triggered", possibly, the logo of The Academy, which is revealed
in these sessions to be where young River was being held and
educated by the Alliance.
River's favorite class is Physics, of which she was already in
the graduate program.
River's fellow students at the Academy called her Little
River tells the interviewer that Simon has said she has the
"third eye". This is a term used to describe the intuition
or clairvoyance of certain people who seem to know things
about others without being told, or of knowing the future.
River explains to the interviewer that Simon is a trauma
surgeon in Capital City. This is the capital of Osiris, one
of the wealthy central worlds of the Alliance.
The interviewer remarks that Dr. Mathias is proud of River's
progress in the Academy. We don't see the doctor here, but
we later will witness his death (unnamed) at the hands of
the Operative in "Triggered".
River mentions the Pax. This is a shorthand name for G-23
Paxilon Hydrochlorate, a chemical compound that was tested by the Alliance
on the planet Miranda to pacify the citizens, effective on
99.9% of individuals (the other .1% become Reavers, as
revealed in "A Better World").
River makes a comment about finding a pea under 20
mattresses "and you wonder why I'm not sleeping?" This is a
reference to the fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea"
by Hans Christian Andersen about a princess whose royal
identity is proven when she feels an uncomfortable lump
while trying to sleep on a stack of 20 mattresses lying upon
a pea.
Memorable Dialog
they call me Little Mouse.wav
would I still be allowed to dance.wav
I can
see you.wav
Back to Firefly/Serenity
Episode Studies


text:
16-year-old Cape Town native Jaydon Lewis is ready to take 2018 by storm with his brand new release "Rise."
Out now on PRMD Music, the new single features stunning locals from Largo (fka Shotgun Fakes) and showcases his skillful and evolving sound. "Rise" offers clear pop influences while keeping his trap roots alive. A bouncy bassline paired with vocal chops makes for an ultra catchy track that proves Lewis is here to stay.
Having already racked up over 77 million streams in his short career, the highly anticipated single is here to please. "'Rise' is super special to me because it's the first step in finding my style as an artist and to show the world my capabilities," says Lewis of the new release.
Listen to "Rise" below and download/stream via PRMD Music here.
Connect with Jaydon Lewis: Facebook / Twitter / SoundCloud


text:
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Robert Zemeckis is set to direct a new adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Witches, taking over for previously attached director Guillermo del Toro—who is famously good at putting his name on projects that he never actually gets around to making. Del Toro will still be a producer on the film, but Zemeckis is going to be writing it now with his writing partner Jack Rapke. The original book is about a young boy who goes to live with his grandmother after his parents die, and he quickly learns that she's a retired witch hunter. Naturally, he then stumbles upon a massive witch conspiracy that involves turning children into mice, and in the process of stopping it, he gets turned into a mouse.
The book was previously made into a movie in 1990 with Anjelica Huston as the main witch, but Roald Dahl himself once called that adaptation "utterly appalling" (possibly due to its revised, happier ending) so it seems fair for Zemeckis to try his hand at a new version.


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IBM System/38
The System/38 was a minicomputer and midrange computer server platform manufactured and sold by the IBM Corporation. IBM announced the System/38 in 1978.[1] The System/38 had 48-bit addressing, which was unique for the time, and a novel integrated database system. It was oriented toward a multi-user system environment. The typical system handled from a dozen to several dozen terminals.
The System/38 was introduced on October 24, 1978 and delivered in 1980. Developed under the code-name "Pacific", it was made commercially available in August 1979. The system offered a number of innovative features, and was the brainchild of Frank Soltis and Glenn Henry. It had been developed over eight years by IBM's laboratory in Rochester, Minnesota.[2] The president of IBM's General Systems Division (GSD) said at the time: "The System/38 is the largest program we've ever introduced in GSD and it is one of the top three or four largest programs ever introduced in IBM."[3] The System/38 was nearly called the System/380, and the AS/400 was nearly called the System/40.
The system was designed as a follow-on for the System/3,[3] but it was not compatible with those computers. The predecessors to the System/38 were the System/3 (1969), System/32 (1975), and System/34 (1977). In 1983 the System/36 was released as a low-end business computer for users who found the System/38 too expensive for their needs. The System/38 was succeeded by the AS/400 midrange computer family in 1988. The AS/400 was designed for OS/400 (today's IBM i). Later, the AS/400 line switched from its earlier System/38-like processors to PowerPC-based processors. It subsequently merged with the IBM RS/6000 family, designed to run AIX, into a single family of server computers–the IBM Power Systems, capable of running either IBM i, AIX, or Linux.
Hardware characteristics
The IBM 5381 System Unit contained processor, main memory, disk storage, a diskette magazine drive, and a system console with keyboard and a display. 5381 was available in Model 100 and Model 200.
The IBM 5382 System Unit was physically identical to 5381, but had more powerful processors, more memory, and more disk storage. 5382 was available in Models 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700.
In hindsight, the System/38's architecture was probably too demanding of the hardware of the era. When first launched, it struggled under the overhead of the software and operating system, which consumed almost 60 MB on disk, a vast sum at the time, leading some wags to suggest that the pre-announce code name for the series, PACIFIC, was actually an acronym meaning "Performance Ain't Critical If Function Is Complete."
Processing unit
The system included a central processing unit with 512K, 768K, 1024K, 1280K, or 1536K bytes of main storage, It included a memory management unit supporting demand paging, used by the system software to implement a single-level store architecture.
System console keyboard/display
The System/38 console included a keyboard and a display screen with 16 lines of 64 characters, which was inconsistent with the locally attached 5250 terminals, which were either 12x40 or 24x80, depending on model. The keyboard was used by the system operator when entering Control Language commands.
Diskette magazine drive
The diskette magazine drive was standard on all models.
Control Program Facility
The operating system of the System/38 was called CPF, for "Control Program Facility". CPF is not related to SSP, the operating system of the IBM System/34 and System/36. CPF objects are files, programs, message queues, user profiles, and libraries.
The System/38 also has the distinction of being the first commercially available IBM Midrange computer to have a database management system (DBMS) integrated into the operating system.
The operational control language of the System/38 was called CL, for "Control Language". CL programs, similar in concept to shell scripts, could be compiled and executed natively.
The System/38 also had security built in as part of its architecture. Each object or library could have access controlled on a user-by-user basis. This has been continued and expanded throughout the AS/400 and iSeries computer lines.
Technology independence
The System/38 and its descendants are the only commercial computers ever to use a machine interface architecture to isolate the application software and most of the operating system from hardware dependencies, including such details as address size and register size.
Compilers for System/38 and its successors generate code in a high-level instruction set (originally called MI for "Machine Interface", and renamed TIMI for "Technology Independent Machine Interface" for AS/400). MI/TIMI is a virtual instruction set; it is not the instruction set of the underlying CPU.
Unlike some other virtual-machine architectures in which the virtual instructions are interpreted at runtime (see P-code machine), MI/TIMI instructions are never interpreted. They constitute an intermediate compile time step and are translated into the processor's instruction set as the final compilation step. The MI/TIMI instructions are stored within the final program object, in addition to the executable machine instructions. If a program is moved from a processor with one native instruction set to a processor with another native instruction set, the MI/TIMI instructions will be re-translated into the native instruction set of the new machine before the program is executed for the first time on the new machine.
As a result, it is possible for a program originally developed on a System/38 to run on current IBM i hardware without ever being recompiled. This capability allowed the AS/400 to migrate from CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer) to RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) in the 1990s. If the MI/TIMI instructions existed in a compiled program, a relatively simple re-translation created a new program native to the new hardware.
Distributed Data Management
In 1986, System/38 announced support for Distributed Data Management Architecture (DDM). Such a middleware in the context of a distributed system is the software layer that lies between the operating system and applications. Distributed Data Management Architecture defines an environment for sharing data. This enabled System/38 programs to create, manage, and access record-oriented files on remote System/36, System/38, and IBM mainframe systems running CICS. It also allowed programs on remote System/36 and System/38 computers to create, manage, and access files of a System/38.
Programming languages
Languages supported on the System/38 included RPG III, COBOL, BASIC, and PL/I.
Decades later, the same software, originally dismissed by some critics as a momentary aberration, runs better than ever on many thousands of modern iSeries and IBM/i systems within commercial and government enterprises of all types and sizes.
Successor system
The System/38 was superseded by the AS/400 (which also supported System/36 data & programs, to a fairly large extent, with some exceptions). The AS/400 was primarily a re-marketing of the System/38, with some updates to the operating system, including the luxurious non-trivial expansion of source and object names from 8 to a new 10 characters maximum. S/38 programs with 'observability' intact, that is source code embedded within the compiled binary executive at the expense of larger compiled object sizes, can still run on the AS/400 and successor systems as the restore option incorporates a recompile for the then back-version source. However, most proprietary vendor application libraries of objects were compiled without such 'observability' and required original vendor replacement and consequent expense when upgrading to an AS/400. Pricing at the time was tiered, the same exact software, but priced based upon the model, its speed and capacity, of the system to be installed upon.
IBM sold an estimated 20,000 System/38s within the first five years of availability, according to articles published in industry magazines NEWS 34/38 and Midrange Computing. Although billed as a minicomputer, the S/38 was much more expensive than IBM's established best-selling System/34, and its replacement, the System/36. Of equal importance was the difficulty of upgrading from, say, a System/34 to a S/38. Although the machines had some similarities, such as twinax peripherals and RPG programming languages, in reality they were very different. IBM tacitly acknowledged this by bringing out the System/36 – an upgraded System/34 – after the launch of the S/38.
In the marketplace, IBM thus found itself with three overlapping, but incompatible, ranges. The System/34/36, the System/38 and the mainframe /360 architecture (that the System/38 was originally designed to replace). Digital Equipment Corporation, at that time one of IBM's main competitors, was able to exploit this by offering a wide range of products based on a single architecture. IBM's counter to this, the 9370 or 'baby mainframe', was a commercial failure.
- "IBM Archives: 1970s, year 1978". IBM.
- "IBM Rochester @ 50" (PDF).
- "IBM System/38". IBM Archives.
Further reading
- Levy, Henry M. (1984). "The IBM System/38" (PDF). Capability-Based Computer Systems. Digital Press. ISBN 0-932376-22-3.
- Soltis, Frank G.; Hoffman, RL (Spring 1979). Design Considerations for the IBM System/38. Compcon. IEEE. pp. 132–37.
- IBM System/38 Technical Developments (PDF). IBM Product Design and Development, General Systems Division. 1980 [1978]. ISBN 0-933186-03-7. G580-0237-1.
- Henry, GG (1980) [1978]. "Introduction to IBM System/38 Architecture". IBM System/38 Technical Developments (PDF). IBM Product Design and Development, General Systems Division. pp. 3–6. ISBN 0-933186-03-7. G580-0237-1.
- Berglund, NC (1980) [1978]. "Processor Development in the LSI Environment". IBM System/38 Technical Developments (PDF). IBM Product Design and Development, General Systems Division. pp. 7–10. ISBN 0-933186-03-7. G580-0237-1.
- Curtis, HW (1980) [1978]. "Integrated circuit design, production, and packaging for System/38". IBM System/38 Technical Developments (PDF). IBM Product Design and Development, General Systems Division. pp. 11–15. ISBN 0-933186-03-7. G580-0237-1.
- Donofrio, MN; Flur, B; Schnadt, RT (1980) [1978]. "Memory design/technology for System/38". IBM System/38 Technical Developments (PDF). IBM Product Design and Development, General Systems Division. pp. 16–18. ISBN 0-933186-03-7. G580-0237-1.
- Hoffman, RL; Soltis, FG (1980) [1978]. "Hardware organization of the System/38". IBM System/38 Technical Developments (PDF). IBM Product Design and Development, General Systems Division. pp. 19–21. ISBN 0-933186-03-7. G580-0237-1.
- Houdek, ME; Mitchell, GR (1980) [1978]. "Translating a large virtual address". IBM System/38 Technical Developments (PDF). IBM Product Design and Development, General Systems Division. pp. 22–24. ISBN 0-933186-03-7. G580-0237-1.
- Lewis, DO; Reed, JW; Robinson, TS (1980) [1978]. "System/38 I/O structure". IBM System/38 Technical Developments (PDF). IBM Product Design and Development, General Systems Division. pp. 25–27. ISBN 0-933186-03-7. G580-0237-1.
- Dumstorff, EF (1980) [1978]. "Application of a microprocessor for I/O control". IBM System/38 Technical Developments (PDF). IBM Product Design and Development, General Systems Division. pp. 28–31. ISBN 0-933186-03-7. G580-0237-1.
- Roellinger, Jr, FX; Horn, DJ (1980) [1978]. "Microprocessor-based communications subsystem". IBM System/38 Technical Developments (PDF). IBM Product Design and Development, General Systems Division. pp. 32–35. ISBN 0-933186-03-7. G580-0237-1.
- Berstis, Viktors (May 6–8, 1980). Security and protection of data in the IBM System/38. 7th Annual symposium on Computer Architecture. La Baule, US: ACM. pp. 245–52. doi:10.1145/800053.801932.
- Sincoskie, W. David; Farber, David 'Dave' J. (July 1980). "SODS/OS: Distributed Operating System for the IBM Series/1". Operating Systems Review. 14 (3): 46–54. doi:10.1145/850697.850704.
- Houdek, Merle E.; Soltis, Frank G.; Hoffman, Roy L. (1981). IBM System/38 support for capability-based addressing. 8th annual symposium on Computer Architecture. Minneapolis, MN, US: IEEE Computer Society Press. pp. 341–48.
- Soltis, Frank G. (September 1981). "Design of a Small Business Data Processing System". Computer. IEEE. 14 (9): 77–93. doi:10.1109/c-m.1981.220610. ISSN 0018-9162.
- Phuc, Nguen Hoan; Becker, M; Sevray, P (1983). Dean, SM; Hammersley, P (eds.). Performance Comparison Between B*-Tree and Prefix Binary Tree Index Organizations. 2nd Int'l Conference on Databases. Churchill College, Cambridge: Wiley Heyden.
- Newman, M (1986), The Architecture of the IBM System/38. IBM Small and Medium Systems Infotech State of the Art Report, Oxford: Pergamon
External links
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to IBM System/38.


text:
How can we make it better?
March 9th, 2020
The web has completely changed since its birth, 25 years ago. It has changed from a small niche group of users to a global user base in just a few years. Out have sprung the giants of Tech and the tools to produce and manage ever more content online. Over that time the ecosphere of…
The New Joomla Shop is here!
June 6th, 2018
You have waited a long time for a place to buy a Joomla mug, t-shirt, cap, hoodies … to show the world your Joomla love! I couldn't make you wait anymore so, here it is, the new Joomla shop is online! The shop features 6 different designs with a wide range of colours. Browse the shop,…
A sad day for the Joomla Community
February 1st, 2018
When a longstanding friend leaves us, at first the pain is overwhelming and then speechlessness and shock fills the room. Today is a such a day. Thomas Kahl who worked with us all for Open Source and the community, since the days of Mambo, has left us. Way too early! Thomas was, for many, a…
Results and statistics of the first Joomla volunteer survey
January 2nd, 2018
The first round of Peakon surveys sent to the Joomla volunteers has finished. Over the last months more than 60% of our core volunteers participated and answered more than 40 different questions, anonymously, about how they feel with volunteering for Joomla and where Joomla should improve. The questions were categorised in different key areas, including…
Interview with Buddhima, GSoC Student
December 7th, 2017
Buddhima was a GSoC Student with Joomla community in 2013, and since then he has been mentor two times for the GSoC team. To celebrate Joomla's 10th Year participation in GSoC we thought on interviewing Buddhima and ask him about his experience of GSoC. Can you explain a bit on which project you worked for…
Joomla celebrates 10th anniversary with Google Summer of Code (GSoC)
November 28th, 2017
Joomla has a long history of participating at GSoC and are proud that 2017 is our 10th anniversary participating in this fantastic program. GSoC was started by Google 12 years ago in an effort to bring Open Source projects and students together. Joomla has participated in all but 2 of the editions, making the project…
Joomla! 3.8 Routing System: Interview of Hannes Papenberg
October 6th, 2017
Joomla 3.8 has introduced a brand new routing system. This feature which vastly improves Joomla's out of the box SEO capabilities, and has been long-awaited by users. In order to understand this feature in greater detail and its implications on existing and new websites as well as 3rd party extensions, the Marketing Team spoke to…
Joomla! 3.8 Release Candidate Now Available
September 5th, 2017
The Joomla! Project is pleased to announce the availability of the Joomla! 3.8 Release Candidate. Community members are asked to download and install the package in order to provide quality assurance for the forthcoming 3.8 release.
GitHub Organisation cleanup
September 1st, 2017
The Joomla! Project would like to share some changes we implemented recently in our GitHub organisation, as well as forthcoming changes that will be implemented in the near future.
Joomla! 3.8 Beta 4 Released for Testing
August 29th, 2017
The Joomla! Project is pleased to announce the availability of the fourth Joomla! 3.8 Beta release. Community members are asked to download and install the package in order to provide quality assurance for the forthcoming 3.8 release.


text:
One was a pretty big shoe brand back in the day, the other is a fairly well known automotive company. But back in 1990 in a move which I don't think any other automotive company have done since, they teamed up and created…the limited edition Nissan Pulsar Reebok Edition!
There were only 200 Nissan Pulsar Reebok's ever made and if you were wondering what the 2.5g's of extras it came with (at no extra cost mind you!), they included lots of Reebok logos and funky stickers, a 1.8 litre donk and sports seats. They didn't actually include a choice of colors though, I read somewhere that they were all white.
As a child of the 80's, I can confirm that Reebok shoes were pretty big (Reebok Pumps especially) and up there with the likes of Nike Air and Grosby Airwalkers (no wait..) but not to the point where people really felt the need to support their favorite brand of kicks outside of a t-shirt or tennis bag. Still, I recall seeing them around back in the early 90's and I remember them today so a point to you Nissan.
Hilariously while I couldn't find a current example of a Nissan Pulsar Reebok Edition for sale (at a guess it probably won't set you back much) I did stumble across a way to turn your bog standard non branded 1990 White Pulsar into shoe promoting spec – with an official Nissan Pulsar Reebok decal!
At the time of writing I'm sporting a pair of generic brand $20 shoes from K-Mart and they're starting to wear out in record time. Which means I'm really hoping a car brand doesn't read this, echo Nissan and create a limited edition 200 run model with whoever sew them together..


text:
My New Favorite Fondant Tool Set
When I first stumbled upon this tool set, my first thought was "why haven't I heard about this before?! Where has this been all my life?!" Yes, this tool is THAT amazing!!
Recently I was asked by a friend to create a teddy bear picnic cake for her best friend's baby shower. And the design she wanted included a blue and white checkered fondant quilt. Well, I took one look at it and thought, "how many hours would it take to hand cut these squares to a perfect uniform size?" Not long ago I was asked to create one of those dreaded Minecraft cakes. You know, the cakes with the millions upon millions of perfectly sized squares! Ugh, I still have nightmares about that cake ;). Anyway, I spent two days coloring fondant and cutting out each little 1 inch by 1 inch square by hand for a total of 305 hand cut pieces. My hands were so sore when it was all done and I swore that I would never do a cake like that again... that is until I discovered this handy little tool that would allow me to cut out hundreds of little squares in no time! Some of you may already have this tool - it is a tool set specifically created for cake decorating... I had just never heard of it before and I wanted to spread the word to you guys in hopes of saving you hours and aches in your hands. So, are you ready to see what it is?
TA-DA!!! The BEST cutter set in the whole world!! Yes, they are "Tappits" but if you know how to use them correctly, they will save you lots of late nights and lots of heartache ;). Look at those perfect shapes!! To the designers at FMM... you guys are geniuses!! I stumbled upon these cutters when I was looking for small square cutters with nice sharp pointy edges... you won't believe how hard it is to find square cutters with pointy edges! I was searching and searching in every online cake store and just couldn't seem to find what I was looking for... until I ended up on globalsugarart.com. I typed "square cutters" in the search bar, and the first set I found was a set of 3 small square plunger cutters. They were nice and I was all prepared to order them... until I decided to click through to the last page just before placing my order... and for the same price I found THESE!! So many shapes, so many sizes!! They're perfect!! For those of you who want to order them, they are called "Essential Shapes" by FMM! BEST. SET. EVER.
Note: if you have had trouble using tappits in the past, check out this little tutorial on how I use my Tappits...
How To Use Tappits
I'm going to demonstrate how easy it was to make the little quilt on the Bear Picnic Cake... First, I rolled out my fondant on a surface dusted with cornstarch. I rolled it really thin (to the point that it almost becomes see-through). Next, I lightly dusted the surface of the fondant with cornstarch to keep it from being sticky. Then I cut the rolled fondant into strips using a pizza cutter. I made sure my strips were slightly wider than the square cutter I was using.
For the quilt I will be using the largest square cutter.
Next, I placed the cutter over the fondant and pressed down on the cutter to ensure it cut all the way through the fondant. Then I lightly wiggled the cutter up and down and then side to side to loosen the cutter from the fondant. Notice how the fondant is rolled so thin that it does not squish out of the top of the cutter. In fact, there is a gap of space between the surface of the fondant and the top of the cutter! This is the key to using these cutters. If the fondant is too thick it will squish out of the top of the cutter and get stuck inside.
Hold one end of the cutter in one hand and gently lift away from the strip of fondant. Tap the opposite end of the cutter on your workspace until the cut pieces fall out. It should only take one or two taps. If you are having trouble with the fondant sticking, roll the fondant a little thinner and add a little more cornstarch to the surface of your fondant.
Look at all of these perfectly cut squares!! In just a couple of minutes you can have oodles of them!! I couldn't believe how easy and quick this was!! If only I had this tool for the Minecraft cake!
And look how they fit together seamlessly!!
And this awesome cutter set was used to make the little paw print on the left side, and the cute little plates!! FMM, I'm in love!! I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial! <3 God bless!!


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The topic of precision is often the main consideration for end users when purchasing a pressure transmitter. A variety of terminology relevant to accuracy is involved, which we have previously explained here. Accuracy, however, is only a partial aspect of another concept, total error, which also appears in the data sheets for pressure transmitters. In the following, we will explain how this designation is to be understood in data sheets and what role it should play in selection of the appropriate pressure sensor.
It can be firstly stated that accuracy does not provide information about the total error. This depends on various factors, such as under which conditions the pressure sensor is actually used. We can see in Figure 1 the three aspects of which total error consists: Adjustable errors, accuracy and thermal effects.
Figure 1: Origins of total error
As we see in the illustration above, the partial aspect of adjustable error consists of the zero point and span errors. The designation 'adjustable error' results from the fact that zero point and span errors can each be easily identified and adjusted. These are thus errors that users need not live with and indeed both have already been factory-corrected in pressure sensors of STS manufacture.
Long-term stability, also known as long-term error or long-term drift, is the cause of zero point and span errors during operation. This means that these two adjustable errors may reappear or even "worsen" after prolonged use of the sensor. By means of calibration and subsequent adjustment, this long-term drift can thus be corrected again. Read more about calibration and adjustment here.
The partial aspect of accuracy also appears in data sheets under the term 'characteristic curve deviation'. This lack of conceptual clarity comes down to the fact that the term "accuracy" itself is not subject to any statutorily defined standard.
The term encompasses the errors of non-linearity, hysteresis (pressure) and non-repeatability (see Figure 2). Non-repeatability describes those deviations observed when a pressure is applied several consecutive times. Hysteresis refers to the fact that the output signals can differ at the exact same pressure when this is approached from a "rising" and "falling" direction. Both of these factors, however, are very minor in piezoresistive pressure transducers.
The biggest influence on accuracy, and thus also on total error, comes down to non-linearity. This is the greatest positive or negative deviation of the characteristic curve from a reference line at increasing and decreasing pressure. Read more on the terminology here.
Figure 2: The greatest difference in the characteristic curve when the pressure to be measured is approached several times is termed non-linearity.
Thermal effects
Temperature fluctuations have an influence on the measured values of a pressure sensor. There is also an effect known as temperature hysteresis. In general, hysteresis describes the deviation of a system when the same measuring point is approached from opposing directions. In the case of temperature hysteresis, this hysteresis describes the difference (error) of the output signal at a certain temperature when that specific temperature is approached from a lower or from a higher temperature. At STS this is typically listed at 25 °C.
More on the thermal characteristics of piezoresistive pressure transducers can be found here.
Figure 3: The typical appearance of thermal effects in pressure transmitters.
Total error or accuracy?
The important question that arises from these various aspects, of course, is what users should pay the most attention to in sensor selection. This will vary on a case-by-case basis. Since the aspect of adjustable errors has already been corrected at the factory, this plays only a subordinate role. In this instance, the sensor should in general be recalibrated and adjusted after one year of use.
When purchasing a new sensor, the dual aspects of accuracy and thermal effects now become decisive. The key question in this context is, "Do I perform my pressure measurements under controlled conditions?" This means that when users carry out their measurements near the reference temperature during calibration (typically 25 ° C), the thermal effects can essentially be ignored. The total error designation, however, does become important when pressure measurement is performed over a wide range of temperatures.
Lastly, we will look at a data sheet on the ATM.1st piezoresistive pressure transmitter from STS (Figure 4):
Figure 4: Excerpt from a data sheet (ATM.1st)
The technical specifications for the ATM.1st display both accuracy and total error, where the accuracy entries are broken down into their respective pressure ranges. The given values are derived from non-linearity, hysteresis and non-repeatability at room temperature. Users wishing to perform measurements under controlled temperature conditions (room temperature) can therefore orient themselves toward these accuracy values specified.
The total error depicted in the data sheet, on the other hand, does include thermal effects. In addition, total error is supplemented with the entries of "typ." and "max.". The first of these describes the typical total error. Not all pressure sensors are absolutely identical and their accuracy can vary slightly. The precision of the sensors correspond to the Gaussian normal distribution. This means that 90% of the measured values over the entire pressure and temperature range of a sensor correspond to the value designated under typical total error. Those remaining measured values are then attributed with maximum total error.
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NYC Week Ends: "Shuffle Along" Has a Lot of Baggage, Geraldo's Dead Foot, A Manual for Philanthropy
This is all the other stuff that's been going on around town in the last week…
Broadway producer SCOTT RUDIN donated all of Friday night's proceeds from "Shuffle Along" to the Actors Fund, a fact that was announced at the performance's three-hour conclusion. Ticket prices were reduced from $375 (the very top premium) to $40 throughout the tiny Music Box Theater. "Shuffle Along" (revival? original?) stars Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell and Billy Porter, three Tony Award winners who are worth the price of admission (not the $40, the $185). "Shuffle Along" also may be known as the musical with the most baggage, as many old fashioned suitcases are used for percussion in a couple of very clever tap dance numbers (there are many clever tap dance numbers). "Shuffle Along" doesn't open until April 28th, which will give its creators a chance to add on an ending…
We sent GERALDO RIVERA— we being New York– to Hollywood, to compete in "Dancing with the Stars." Geraldo is in pretty good shape for his age (72), so it seemed like a good bet. Unfortunately, it turned out he had a "dead foot" (nerve injury), which is not good for dancing. Geraldo was dropped from the show after the second week, but at least he was game for it. His entry into the show was a bit of serendipity in the first place. His publicist, NORAH LAWLOR, whose Lawlor Media Group reps celebs, hotels, restaurants, and charities, had a chance encounter with a "Dancing with the Stars" producer back in February during Oscar week in Los Angeles. She suggested Geraldo, and the rest is history. Lawlor, meantime, is speaking on Monday at Bowling Green State University in Ohio on the subject of public relations.
Another of Lawlor's clients is JEAN SHAFIROFF, who's become an inveterate fundraiser and charity cheerleader all over New York. Now Shafiroff has published a book called "Successful Philanthropy – How to Make a Life by What You Give." The forward is written by GEORGINA BLOOMBERG, daughter of our ex mayor, the one who paved over Times Square.
At her book party at her Park Avenue apartment last week, there were plenty of media and society types including Mort Zuckerman, Rita Cosby, and George Gurley. Jean–who's next associated with A Taste of Hope on May 25th — gathered the attendees and made a short speech talking about her inspiration for writing the book. She said, "when you give, you get, and what you get is the reward of knowing that what you are doing is making the world a better place."
Jean also thanked representatives from many of the foundations she works with including: Robert Chaloner, President of the Southampton Hospital, Elise McCabe-Thompson, President of the NYC Mission Society, Valerie Steel, Head of The Couture Council, Steve Bernstein, President of Southampton Hospital Board, Anna Oliveira, President of NY Women's Foundation, Yaz Hernandez, President of Couture Council, Elizabeth Stribling, Chairman at French Heritage Society, and also the Southampton Animal Shelter.


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