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Kraus Karate Academy - Kraus Karate Academy4407 Sylon Blvd.
Hainesport , New Jersey 08036
E: firstname.lastname@example.com
Mr. Kraus and the Crew at Kraus Karate Academy of Hainesport are top notch. The dedication to my son's 4-5 year old class is 1st class. The children respect them and they understand what is being asked if them and in turnthey follow the instructions perfectly. My wife and I couldn't be happier with the progress our son Evan has made over the last 1.5 years! His focus and listening skills have increased substantially. Thank you!
My son loves it. Everyone helped mold him into the wonderful young man he is today. He trained here for 7 years and earned his black belt. Now he helps Master Kraus, and passes along the dedication to being the best one can be!
My son trained under Mr. Kraus and his crew for years and I decided to join. It has been a wonderful journey for me.


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For a while now I have been controlling my Windows Media Center HTPC with a remote control app on my Android phone. Recently I have been playing with…er reviewing…a DirecTV remote control on the same phone. I control my FreeNAS home server from that phone. I could also control Windows Home Server, a TiVo, a Comcast DVR, and probably many other set-top boxes as well. All of this got me to thinking….will smartphones make things like the Harmony remote control a thing of the past?
For years now, Harmony has reined supreme as THE device to have for home theater geeks, and has even edged it's way into the mainstream. Sure, there are other "universal" remotes, some of them are even higher-end than Harmony, like Crestron. Yes, Crestron can do a LOT more than the average universal remote, like control home security and lighting. But now there are smartphone apps for those things too.
What can Harmony do that my Android can't? Well, there are a few things. Some are due to the limitations of my hardware and some are due to the limitation of the apps. For one, my A/V receiver isn't networked and neither is my LCD TV, so they can't be controlled from my phone. For another, the "one-app-to-rule-them-all" isn't there yet. By that, I mean that Harmony can turn on my receiver, TV, and DirecTV HD DVR with a push of one button, even setting the receiver to the proper output and the set-top box to a particular channel. By contrast, my phone requires me to open each app separately to do these things.
So, can Android, iOS, and the others replace these universal remotes? Yes, but not quite yet. The hardware exits already. Virtually every home theater device available today can be found with network capability. If a device can be networked then you can be sure that an app will exist for it. What is stalling things right now is the "one-app-to-rule-them-all" part. Nobody, as far as I know, has come close to creating an app that can control multiple devices, like my HTPC and DVR. Until that happens, and I am positive it will, then Harmony and the others will continue to be survivors.

subset: commoncrawl


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MG Siegler Just Became the Most Blessed Shill in The Entire World
Apple shopper, ever-conflicted TechCrunch blogger and venture capitalist MG Siegler just took on a third job: partner at Google Ventures. But don't worry, he says, everything is going to stay just the way it was: blogging about the industry he bankrolls, not a scruple in sight.
"It was almost exactly 19 months ago that I laid down the proverbial writer's pen," Siegler opines like a senior on the last day of high school, "and picked up the less proverbial pen for writing checks." Thanks to Google's "resources," those checks will be larger than ever. Siegler actually links the word "resources" to this Google post about how much money Google Ventures has, in case you were confused about what he meant by resources. He means money, that he'll spend on Google's behalf. Immense amounts of money upon which he can prop his feet, flip open his MacBook Air™, and start typing as if he were just another guy.
But he's not just another guy. Despite saying that his "writer's pen" was put down 19 months ago, he's been blogging regularly. Blogging hard. In fact, he's already written 15 posts for TechCrunch this year—and we're only five months in! TechCrunch, a site ostensibly about covering Siegler's industry with even a shred of impartiality. A shred of a shred, if we're lucky. His posts have notably covered Apple—his favorite barrette-festooned pony—as well as Google, his new (second) boss and former employer of his latest girlfriend, VC Megan Quinn. He'll also "continue to work closely with CrunchFund to help with the investments we've made." Every facet of Siegler's life is bleeding into the next, all lines blurred, all bases covered. A self-described Apple fan is going to work for Google, to spend Google's money on things that will inevitably compete with Apple, all the while writing about both mega-companies and their myriad competitors for a giant website owned by AOL. Follow that? "Don't worry, I'm bringing my iPhone with me," Siegler winks.
So this isn't a shift. It's not a move. There's neither zig nor zag—just a barreling push down the conflict continuum, where one man is able to wield both enormous influence as a "writer" and an investor, an observer and the observed, as a means of getting rich. The next step for MG will be to literally become a piece of silicon which Siegler can then dump seed money into and cover in a newsletter.
In one of the most noxious things you can find online, Siegler once said that he was restless—"I just haven't found that next game in blogging to win yet. Yet." Well he did it. Now he has won, a terrifying mixture of flak meets Voltron, a vertically integrated tech guy who both writes and cashes the checks. His colleagues are already rushing to congratulate him. Why wouldn't they?
MG's gain is the realization of a shared dream in tech, of an industry without friction. There won't be reporters, or publicists, or investors—in the Crunchy utopia favored by Siegler and his ilk, everyone can do a little of each. The wolf watches the lamb, the Apple apologist invests for the Google, and if you work hard enough, you too can be a flak of all trades. Don't give up. Write harder. Think less. Spend resources. Just win, baby.
Photo: Charles Eshelman/Getty


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Today we learned that one of the last of the major GOP presidential candidates will soon be leaving the race. This ought to send a signal to us. If we're not already awake it's time for us to join. We have a candidate who will likely be our nominee. As citizens of the United States we will not allow Obama to be reelected. We are free and equal and will not allow leader of any kind to take away our freedoms.
Join or Die: this is a motto that has historical significance. Our founders were faced with the likelihood that if they did not unite the consequences could very well be fatal. The thirteen colonies did unite and we are here because of that decision. Today we face decisions that are also important. The past four years have brought changes, the economic viewpoint alone is devastating, but this administration has assaulted nearly every front that our founders stood for. Our freedom of speech, religious liberty and state sovereignty to name a few things. Those who have worked to defend the Constitution have been silenced or pushed aside. Matters that should have never been considered to be an issue have been challenged.
The President's healthcare plan alone demonstrates his determination. Statistics show that the majority of Americans object to this law. Why would he force it upon us? It will cost far more than had been originally estimated and will lead to an even greater deficit which our children inherit, yet the administration continues to say that we 'need' it. Without the restraints of a coming reelection where would the president take us?
This year is about strategy. We all have our different opinions of how this should move forward, but the primary issue is that we are together on the goal– defeat Obama. We should not rest until we have done our part to the greatest extent to see that Barack Obama will not be reelected. The only way that can happen is by getting behind the Republican nominee completely. There is no perfect presidential candidate, and when the numbers add up there is no other way to win.
We're on the battlefront. We have the choice to unite and fight…or run and see how fast the enemy can catch us. The time is now, the war is here.
Join…or freedom dies.


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(visited by Joseph Kerski and Brian Lehmkuhle)
23-Jan-2010 -- As Brian and I had been friends for many a decade, and as we had long shared an affinity for geography, and as we were together for only 36 hours, a confluence visit seemed like the perfect choice. Earlier on this day, we trekked to 31 North 98 West atop a beautiful hill in central Texas. We decided to make it an even better day by striking out immediately for 31 North 97 West. This was partly done to double Brian's total number of confluence visits (from 2 to 4), and bring me closer to a long-sought-after goal of 200.
The beginning of our journey took us from 31 North 98 through one of my favorite types of roads--one along a river bottomland, this time, along the north bank of the Lampasas. The road then climbed out onto the hilltops around Fort Hood, where some unmarked sharp turns puzzled us, but we kept striking for the north and east, eventually finding our way out. Soon we were on a long commercial strip, all the way from Killeen to Temple, Texas. Texas is remarkable for its miles and miles of commercial strips along major freeways. We were planning to stop for lunch in Temple but after skirting around the city on the loop (US 190), we found ourselves once more in a rural area. Instead of being hilly like the terrain around 31 North 98 West, we were now at the beginnings of the broad and flat plain of alluvium that stretched all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.
Thoroughly enjoying the terrain, and discussing All Things Geography and Life, we then drove southeast along State Highway 53 through the tiniest of towns. But now I noticed that Brian was showing signs of getting a bit too sleepy for our collective well being, and thus I suggested we strike out for the town of Rosebud before hiking to the confluence. The town afforded many photographic opportunities of long-abandoned drive-in restaurants, but we made a beeline for the local Dairy Queen. As is typical of Texas towns, it was a hive of activity, with a sports team lined up inside and a bus outside, so after making an oval in the parking lot, opted for the local convenience store down the block instead.
Still without lunch but now armed with coffee, we headed out of town, south on US Highway 77. We came to the next town of Burlington but missed our turn. The reason was that we totally missed the "town". The town really wasn't more than a few houses, agricultural depopulation having taken its toll. We turned north on Farm-to-Market Road 1963 and passed an abandoned feed mill, then jogged north still more, turning west on County Road 354. We opted to turn around a short time later, when the road became nothing more than a four-wheel drive trail, and Brian was driving a very nice Prius. We drove back to Burlington, and then noticed the dirt road to the west that we were seeking. This was County Road 133. We passed another photographic opportunity of a magnificent old farmhouse with a large Texas star on the front and laundry hanging on the side, but kept moving. Anticipation rose as we turned south on County Road 134, with the road still in a passable state, and what's more, no fences on the east side. I was puzzled not to see the line of trees that I thought would mark the field edge as I had seen in the ground photographs and satellite images, but then we saw the line of trees that had been uprooted since the last visit. Always something changing on the Earth's surface, even way out here.
We gathered supplies and set off to the northeast, along the former field edge. A single line of an electric fence was there as well, but we did not know if it was operational and declined to test it. The ground was very soft and it was a bit windy. The cloud ceiling had dropped again but the hike was easy. In fact, it provied to be the easiest of the four confluences we have done together and in the easiest 10% of the ones I have done in terms of difficulty. We saw no animals or birds. After less than 15 minutes, we found the confluence on the south edge of the field on the left, or north. The temperature stood at a mild 65 F (18 C) under cloudy skies.
The confluence therefore lies on level ground, on the south end of the field that stretched out before us to the north. The most prominent features in the view from the confluence were the broken windmill in the next field to the south, about 300 meters away, and about 1500 meters further to the south, a radio tower. To the north and northeast were a large stand of junipers, which looked like they had been planted by homesteaders long since departed. We could hear US Highway 77's traffic off to the east, but a line of trees blocked its view. We could have approached from the highway, but there was nowhere to pull over, and a fence blocked this approach. The view in all directions from the confluence was about the same in terms of distance, no more than 5 km, due to the flatness of the terrain and the gray sky. The closest house lay off to the north about 800 meters away. It was not quite as scenic as the hilly 31 North 98 West upon which we had stood a few hours before, but we thoroughly enjoyed this one nonetheless.


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In addition to the alternate ways of accessing formerly free NY Times content pointed out by Carrie Macfarlane in a previous blog post, I'd like to provide a bit of additional information about this popular resource.
Currently, the NYTimes does not have a group plan in place that covers institutions such as libraries. This was mentioned in a brief comment at the end of an article on Mar. 23, 2011 in the Talk To The Times section discussing the new digital subscription. Apparently, such plans are in the works, however, and LIS will continue to monitor developments in this area. Hopefully, at some point, we will be able to subscribe to the Times online as an institution.
Until then, please do be aware that Middlebury College community members who wish to purchase individual subscriptions may be eligible for a discount. Please see this page for details and this page to sign up. You must be registered with the Times with a valid middlebury.edu email address in order to qualify, so you'll need to change your default email address to your Midd address if it isn't already set up that way.
When the NYTimes announces their institutional subscription plan, LIS will investigate pricing and make a decision about subscribing. Much depends on pricing, of course — our budget for library resources has remained flat or even decreased over the last 5 years, even as journal prices continue to increase and the number of quality online resources has exploded. If we do subscribe, we will be sure to shout it from the proverbial rooftops, so stay tuned.
TerryTerry Simpkins (tsimpkin) Director of Research and Collection Services/Interim Collection Development Librarian x5045


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There's been quite a bit of recent speculation about potential upcoming Apple products: TVs, watches, less-expensive iPhones, Retina iPad minis, Retina MacBook Airs, new full-size iPads … almost every Apple product line is apparently being updated, and a number of new products are supposedly on the way.
But the poor Mac Pro—the one product that hasn't seen a significant update in years—hasn't really received its fair share of rumor mongering. It's almost as if we've given up on the old fella. (Sometimes it seems as though Apple has, too: The Mac Pro still doesn't have Thunderbolt—a feature that's been on the Mac mini since 2011—or USB 3.0. A 2012 update to the Mac Pro offered only minor speed and memory changes.)
What's surprising about this is that we actually have fodder for Mac Pro gossip: Back in June 2012, Tim Cook himself all but confirmed that we'll be seeing a new Mac Pro in 2013. Yet the only Mac Pro speculation I've seen recently is that the next Mac Pro might be assembled in the U.S..
Well, I'm here to say, "Let's talk about the new Mac Pro that we know nothing about." Because it's been far too long since we've aired our pipe dreams and unreasonable expectations for what was once Apple's flagship machine.
Except that instead of talking about an updated version of the massive Mac Pro we have today, I'm going to make a case—no pun intended—for a smaller version.
Exercises in compromises
When it comes to non-portable computing, I've long been a tower guy. Prior to my current Mac, my desk—or, more specifically, the floor under my desk—hosted a string of Mac towers: a Power Mac 8100, a series of Power Mac G3 and G4 models, a Power Mac G5, and then a Mac Pro. I liked that I could easily add (a lot of) RAM, that I could swap out the video card for a better one, and that I could install another hard drive—or, in the case of my old Mac Pro, three extra hard drives and a second optical drive. (Yes, I really did that.) I could even add functionality through expansion cards.
At the same time, as a power user but not a true professional user, a good amount of those towers' expandability went unused. I upgraded my video card only a couple times over the years, and only once did I ever install an expansion card in a PCI slot.
And such expandability didn't come without compromises. By the time of the Power Mac G5 and Mac Pro, Apple's tower computers were huge, hot, and power hungry: With the Mac Pro, I literally didn't need to heat my office in the winter, and our monthly electric bill jumped noticeably.
To be fair, I kept my computer on 24/7 because it also served as the household media server and performed other late-night tasks. But I do the same today with an iMac and Mac mini, and together they use much less electricity, and produce much less heat, than the Mac Pro did. And I remember well the noise that thing made once its fans kicked in.
So when it came time to upgrade my desktop Mac a few years back, I opted for a 27-inch Core i7 iMac with 12GB of RAM. To make up for the lost drive bays, I purchased a couple OWC Mercury Elite Pro dual-drive enclosures for my Mac Pro's drives and connected the enclosures via FireWire 800.
My iMac setup has worked pretty well for me, but I still miss the Mac Pro's performance and expandability. For example, while my iMac's processor is plenty fast, its drive performance (I/O) can be frustratingly slow, and I don't like having a bunch of external drive enclosures on my desk. (The performance of those external drives is also noticeably slower than if they were internal.)
Wishing for more by hoping for less
But what other option did I have? Apple has long had a gaping hole in its product lineup between the Mac mini and the Mac Pro. There's also a price gap: The Mac mini is $599 or $799, while the Mac Pro starts at $2499. Sure, the iMac, with base prices ranging from $1299 to $1999, fits in that price gap, but the iMac is in many ways just a Mac mini with a built-in display—it's not really filling that hole in terms of expandability and flexibility, and its all-in-one design isn't an option for everyone.
Which is why I'm not the only person who continues to wish Apple made a desktop computer somewhere between the iMac and the current Mac Pro—an idea I've been advocating for the better part of a decade. I first wrote about such a Mac back in 2006, dubbing it the Mythical Midrange Mac Minitower, but I've wished for it since long before that article.
The gist of the idea is that there are a good number of people for whom neither the Mac Pro nor the Mac mini is the right fit: They don't need all the bays, slots, and other geek-wish-list features of the Mac Pro, but the Mac mini doesn't offer enough storage or internal expandability. Similarly, some people won't buy an all-in-one computer like the iMac because a problem with the screen means the computer is useless, and vice versa; plus, if you need a new computer, you must buy a new display, as well. (Not to mention that the latest iMacs offer essentially no internal expandability.)
What I've long wished for is a screenless desktop that offers power-user performance and moderate expandability. Here's how I described such a computer six years ago:
What I'd like to see is a minitower design with—and this is just one possible configuration that would fulfill my wish—a reasonably powerful processor (perhaps a higher-end Core 2 Duo or a single Xeon); a good graphics card in an upgradeable slot; a decent amount of RAM and hard-drive space; a single free PCI Express slot; and room for one additional hard drive. The ability to swap out the optical drive would be a nice touch…And in my ongoing daydream, the MMMM would sell for a relatively reasonable $1499 to $1599.
The 2013 version of that wish list would be something like this: a smaller-than-a-Mac-Pro enclosure with the latest high-end desktop CPU (or maybe even just a high-end Core i7); 8GB of RAM, upgradeable to at least 16GB; two drive bays that could accept either traditional hard drives or SSDs; and an upgradeable graphics card. It might also have a free expansion-card slot, but I'm not sure that's as vital these days (more on that in a moment). If this fantasy Mac was priced somewhere between, say, $1199 and $1799, I think it would be quite popular.
My argument for why such a computer would be good for both me and Apple hasn't changed much since that 2006 article. The short version: The potential market—current Mac owners looking for more power (but not $2500+ worth of it), current pro customers who would purchase multiple minitowers, and new Mac converts who currently don't see the computer they want in Apple's lineup—is big enough to make this computer worth making.
Not just a Mac Pro, but the Mac Pro?
Of course, I've been hoping for this computer for many years, and I've been disappointed every time. However, there are a number of reasons why I think this year we really, truly—finally—may see a smaller, but still performance-focused, Mac tower.
But before I get to those reasons, here's something else to think about. What if that Mac minitower isn't just a new Mac Pro, but the new Mac Pro? It sounds crazy, but thanks to both technological advances and shifts in the pro market, Apple could conceivably offer a "pro" minitower and drop the full-size Mac Pro completely. I wouldn't bet my paycheck on such a move, but for the first time, the technology is there—and Apple has a penchant for making bold, "We know better than you, trust us" moves.
Won't high-end pro users abandon the Mac platform without a "true" Mac Pro? Some will, there's no doubt. But many already have, arguing that it's Apple that has been slowly abandoning the high-end market over the past half decade. (There's some evidence for this position: token updates to the Mac Pro, dropping the Xserve and Xserve RAID, major updates to pro apps that make them seem more consumer- than pro-focused, and so on.) And other pro users may find that they no longer need a monster tower as much as they think they do. Which leads me to …
Making the case (smaller)
In the past, one of the biggest challenges that Apple would have had in designing a Mac minitower was making it powerful enough to satisfy power-user consumers and those pros who would be the most interested in such a computer—and, at the same time, keeping it reasonably priced. But technology has evolved to the point where a Mac minitower could handle all but the most-demanding pro workload. Consider:
Expansion cards A big hurdle for pro users trying to cope with non-pro Macs (and even Pro laptops) is the lack of PCI-expansion-card slots. PCI cards can be used for faster RAID performance and transcoding of video, high-end networking, complex audio/video connections, and many other things the average consumer will never need. And, of course, for high-end video cards. The lack of a PCI-card slot—or, for some people, multiple slots—has long been a deal killer for everything but the Mac Pro. And that will remain the case for some people. But many folks who in the past required PCI slots can these days make due with other solutions, thanks in no small part to …
Thunderbolt Apple's high-speed peripheral interface hasn't yet taken the pro market by storm, but I'd argue that one big reason for that is the shameful lack of Thunderbolt in the Mac Pro line. (Chicken? Egg?) Now that Thunderbolt has been around for a few years, and has long come standard on many Macs, high-end Thunderbolt peripherals are finally becoming widely available. For example, you can get super-fast RAID drives with Thunderbolt connections. And if you need specific PCI cards, a Thunderbolt PCI chassis will let you use many kinds of PCI cards (other than video cards) over a Thunderbolt connection. Any new Mac Pro will obviously have multiple Thunderbolt ports.
Processor speed It used to be that the small, efficient, cool-running processors used in laptops and consumer-level desktop computers just weren't very powerful. If you wanted real performance, you needed a big tower with a huge, power-hungry processor that required a heat sink or other cooling system that was itself bigger than some laptops. But that's not the case any more: Today's best consumer-level processors, such as the Intel Core i7, are small, efficient, and cool enough to fit inside a MacBook Pro or Mac mini while outperforming the current Mac Pro for many tasks. (Noteworthy: Many of the "pros" I know are using Apple laptops, not desktops.) And Intel and other vendors are working on making higher-end workstation processors use less power and run cooler. In other words, a Mac minitower could be plenty fast enough for many users.
Storage For some pro users, the biggest appeal of the Mac Pro's enclosure is that it can accommodate multiple drives. After all, many people using Mac Pros need lots of space to store huge video, audio, and image files, or other large data sets—and they want fast access to that data. But those who need the most storage and the fastest performance often end up using external solutions, such as fibre-channel storage, anyway. And the performance of Thunderbolt means you can add multiple external drives without the same performance hit you took with FireWire. (There are even Thunderbolt-fibre-channel adapters.) So it's not hard to imagine Apple making a smaller Mac Pro and suggesting that those who need more storage instead take advantage of Thunderbolt. And thanks to Apple's Fusion Drive technology, outfitting this theoretical Mac with an SSD and a large-capacity internal hard drive will mean better I/O performance for many tasks, right out of the box, than with the current Mac Pro.
Put all this together—Apple's relentless efforts over the past few years to make everything smaller, cooler, and less power-hungry; the fact that you don't need massive components to get good performance; and an apparent trend towards conceding the highest-end market—and it seems like a Mac minitower is a logical next step for the Mac Pro line.
Why not?
A common argument against a reasonably priced Mac minitower was always that it would cannibalize the iMac. I addressed those concerns in my 2006 article, but I also think the iMac's current design is different enough from a minitower—and appealing enough to the typical consumer—that the iMac's status as the best-selling desktop Mac would be safe. And nowadays, few would opt for a Mac minitower over an iMac solely for performance reasons: The current iMac has more than enough power for many people. (Keep in mind that Apple's best-selling computer is rumored to be the MacBook Air, with its relatively slow processor but speedy storage.)
Today, the few people talking about this topic seem to be worried that a Mac minitower would instead cannibalize the Mac Pro. While that position might have had some merit in the mid–2000s, that's now a harder sell than the current base-configuration Mac Pro. Yes, Apple might sell fewer Mac Pros, but is that really a huge deal? The proportion of Apple's revenue that comes from the Mac Pro line has been steadily declining as iOS devices and MacBook sales have surged, and as the iMac has become one of the most popular desktop computers on the market. If anything, I think the number of additional Macs that would be sold would more than make up for any reduction in Mac Pro sales. (And, of course, if a minitower Mac Pro is the only Mac Pro, then the whole issue of cannibalization is moot.)
Hoping against hope?
I concede that this theoretical minitower wouldn't satisfy all pro users—particularly the ones who need the absolute best performance and the most expandability (and, it should be said, who were once Apple's bread and butter). Maybe Apple simply abandons these people, letting them go to specialized workstations from other vendors. Or maybe the Mac Pro lives on in a new model (or two), further relegated to an ultimate-performance niche. In any case, I'd argue that the market for my mythical minitower is big enough that it's worth doing, and the technology is there to make it doable.
Think of it this way: Steve Jobs once said that traditional computers are becoming the equivalent of trucks, while most people will eventually need only a car. He was equating the latter with the iPad and other "post-PC" devices, but the analogy works just as well when talking about traditional computers on their own: A MacBook or iMac is a car, with the Mac Pro akin to a Ford F–350 or Dodge RAM 3500. Like many families, our family needs more space and utility than a car, but we don't need a huge, trailer-towing, gas-guzzling truck. A midsize SUV or crossover is a near-perfect compromise—it's plenty of "truck" for us. I'm hoping that this is the year Apple finally makes a midsize SUV.
Updated 3/4/2012, 8:45am, to change "Tim Cook specifically confirmed" to "Tim Cook all but confirmed," to more accurately portray his wording. Corrected Xsan to be Xserve RAID.


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God, technology, and unquenchable fire
Rapture for the Geeks: When AI Outsmarts IQ
Author: Richard Dooling
Publisher: Harmony
Price: $22.00 (Amazon.com)
Literary Jack-of-all-trades Richard Dooling once told me that he begins "every novel with the vow that I will not write about technology, Catholicism, or hell," but it never sticks. "I end up writing about all three." It's true for his book-length essays as well; Dooling's first work of nonfiction, Blue Streak, ended with a memorable passage articulating what one can only describe as a theology of swearing.
The last chapter of Dooling's new work, Rapture for the Geeks: When AI Outsmarts IQ, considers what will happen to religious belief in the coming age of Higher Tech. It includes the opening chapters of the book of Genesis as if they had been rewritten by Microsoft contract lawyers ("The Source Code of Good and Evil you shall NOT view, for the day you view it you will surely die"), then tweaked by our coming open-source friendly robot overlords ("The one true God runs the universe in UNIX"). Dooling also takes issue with noted scientists who are trying to popularize atheism as a necessary part of technological progress.??
The author calls Richard Dawkins's bestselling book The God Delusion "a collection of arguments that most liberal-arts students encounter before their junior year" and are bored of by graduation. He confesses that he read the polemic "out of curiosity, same way I'd read a book by Mother Teresa if she had suddenly decided to write one called The Math Delusion"—a subject she would have been utterly unqualified to weigh in on.
Dooling quips, "Many scientists smarter than Dawkins, like Einstein, for instance," believe in a God. He insists that Dawkins is a disingenuous wuss for allowing that "Einsteinian religion" is okay while calling for the abolition of those old time religions, because it amounts to special pleading by a new religious minority. "Dawkins can't declare Einstein's God somehow not God," he writes, "and thereby free himself from calling the greatest physicist of the twentieth century deluded for believing in him."
And that's just a single chapter.
I mock, therefore I am
The pointed challenge to Dawkins is not an outlier. Dooling doesn't just use the book to criticize the people, trends, or businesses he dislikes—he also ridicules them for fun and profit. Microsoft comes in for repeated (mostly deserved; often hilarious) mockery. Not even permanent disability can shield someone from Dooling's rapier wit.
David Gelernter, the Yale computer scientist who lost an eye and most of a hand to the Unabomber, takes a drubbing for his theorizing about machine consciousness. ("Anyone who asks you to explain [consciousness] is changing the subject or cheating.") And Dooling has a run at Cambridge's current wheelchair-bound Lucasian professor of mathematics, Stephen Hawking, for good measure.
"It's fashionable these days to laugh at creationists and intelligent design kooks," he writes, "but come on: is the notion of a big bang really any more plausible? Hawking and other cosmo-megalomaniac astrophysicists 'know' that the big bang happened at least fifteen billion years ago." How do they know that? Through their measurements of something called "cosmic microwave background radiation."
Dooling calls Hawking "a smart fellow with a lot of equations [who's] used them to make a nice story about how the universe began."
In Dooling's telling, the mathematician's theorizing only raises the same concern that the "great physicist and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla complained of." Tesla complained that "today's scientists... wander off through equation after equation and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality."
For good measure, Dooling likens Hawking et al to those "medieval astronomers" who had "elaborate equations, postulates, and theorems" that "made their numbers work to prove that the sun revolved around the earth."
Unfair? Probably. But it's at least a brazen and entertaining debater's trick. Disagree with Dooling? Hey, go right ahead, but his friends Einstein and Tesla might ask you to step outside. Big bang? That's a good one, buddy. Bet you bought into heliocentrism, too.
But cut out all the jagged pirouettes and Dooling really is onto something here. Science fictioneers used to imagine a future in which technological progress had moved us beyond the need for religion and spirituality, but they've learned a thing or two.
Now, sci-fi storytellers are starting to incorporate into their yarns the notion, backed up by some scientific observation, that the religious impulse cannot be stripped out of humanity. In fact, it might affect us more deeply as Tech marches on, and not necessarily in a good way. Which brings us to the Cylons.


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via When Are We Going to Grow Up? The Juvenilization of American Christianity | Christianity Today.
The house lights go down. Spinning, multicolored lights sweep the auditorium. A rock band launches into a rousing opening song. "Ignore everyone else, this time is just about you and Jesus," proclaims the lead singer. The music changes to a slow dance tune, and the people sing about falling in love with Jesus. A guitarist sporting skinny jeans and a soul patch closes the worship set with a prayer, beginning, "Hey God …" The spotlight then falls on the speaker, who tells entertaining stories, cracks a few jokes, and assures everyone that "God is not mad at you. He loves you unconditionally."
After worship, some members of the church sign up for the next mission trip, while others decide to join a small group where they can receive support on their faith journey. If you ask the people here why they go to church or what they value about their faith, they'll say something like, "Having faith helps me deal with my problems."
Fifty or sixty years ago, these now-commonplace elements of American church life were regularly found in youth groups but rarely in worship services and adult activities. What happened? Beginning in the 1930s and '40s, Christian teenagers and youth leaders staged a quiet revolution in American church life that led to what can properly be called the juvenilization of American Christianity. Juvenilization is the process by which the religious beliefs, practices, and developmental characteristics of adolescents become accepted as appropriate for adults. It began with the praiseworthy goal of adapting the faith to appeal to the young, which in fact revitalized American Christianity. But it has sometimes ended with both youth and adults embracing immature versions of the faith. In any case, white evangelicals led the way.


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Story by
Josh Ong
Josh Ong is the US Editor at The Next Web. He previously worked as TNW's China Editor and LA Reporter. Follow him on Twitter or email him a Josh Ong is the US Editor at The Next Web. He previously worked as TNW's China Editor and LA Reporter. Follow him on Twitter or email him at [email protected].
Zite has upgraded magazine app for iOS from personalized to "intelligent" with version 2.0, giving it Facebook integration, a new Explore page for finding content, and 40,000 categories to choose from. Previously, Zite had 2,500 categories available, so it's a big jump up in terms of content.
"In Zite 2.0 we've focused on making Zite smarter than ever, introducing discovery at every turn, and designing Zite to be both beautiful and smart," the company said in a blog post announcing the launch.
The new app also gets a fresh logo – an owl, which is meant to represent Zite's qualities of being curious, approachable and intelligent. Zite also says it plans to bring the 2.0 features and design to non-iOS platforms in 2013.
Zite's new Explore page is an attempt to better help curious readers find interesting content. It offers personalized topic suggestions from Twitter, Facebook, Pocket and Google Reader. As mentioned before, the Facebook integration is new, and it should make a difference, considering the amount of data we send to the social network. The "Your Top Stories" section has also been reworked to include Headline News, Feature Topics and Popular Stories in Zite.
Navigation in Zite 2.0 has been changed as well. Now users can jump to topics from anywhere in Zite and rate stories from the iPad by simply swiping up or down.
AllThingsD's Katherine Boehret spent a couple weeks with the new Zite and said she likes some of the upgrades, but found that it "tries to do too much without enough focus". Boehret also took issue with the layout, noting that sometimes the accompanying photo for an article wasn't always relevant. Zite CEO Mark Johnson said the company plans to fix the issue in an update next month.
The original Zite iPad app arrived in March 2011 before coming to the iPhone about a year ago.
CNN acquired Zite last August with plans to allow it to operate as an independent business. The two announced their first technology integration back in October.
Zite was one of the first to release a smart digital magazine product, but the space has become increasingly crowded, competing with the likes of Flipboard, Circa, Pocket, Summly and MSGBoy.
➤ Zite 2.0: App Store
Image Credit: Adrian Dennis / Getty Images
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Hi bookish friends and Happy Friday! Hope you're all having a great day so far. It's been a while since I've done a book tag and I have a LONGGGGGG LIST to go through. I spent some time looking at them and tried to schedule them so we'll see how it goes.
Anywayyyyyy…. I saw this tag over at Hammock of Books. I wasn't tagged but that has never stopped me before. Plus, this one seemed easy enough and looked fun so why not.
If you're not following Kay over at Hammock of Books, then go visit and follow her now. Her blog is one of my faves and she's also such a sweetheart!
NOPE. ending: A book ending that made you go NOPE either in denial, rage or simply because the ending was crappy. This book had potential and I really did want to like it, but it just didn't work for me. The ending was seriously such a let down. It felt rushed and unfinished. I thought there was an epilogue or something, but nope. It just ended and it was seriously so frustrating. REVIEW
NOPE. protagonist: A main character you dislike and drives you crazy. I had to go through my READ section in Goodreads because there aren't many protagonists that I dislike. I almost wanted to skip this one, but I found someone. Emmy from Kiss Me, Kill You by Larissa C. Hardesty. I honestly, don't remember specifically what bothered me about her, but based on my review, Emmy was dense and flat and I couldn't relate to her at all and felt no emotional connection. I guess that answers why I can't remember. REVIEW
NOPE. series: A series that turned out to be a huge pile of nope after you've invested all of that time and energy on it. I haven't found one yet and I hope I never do. I don't read anything I know I won't like and I don't force myself to read if I'm not in the mood, so I hope I never come across a series that eventually would be a huge pile of nope.
NOPE. pairing: A "ship" you don't support. Bella and Jacob and Renesmee and Jacob. I love Jacob, I really do, but not with Bella or Renesmee. It was just a little creepy with Renesmee and just a big NOPE with Bella.
NOPE. plot twist: A twist you didn't see coming and didn't like. The plot twists in these two books seriously ripped my heart out. They were really good plot twists, but I definitely didn't like them cause they were really horrible for the characters. Shocking and Heartbreaking.
NOPE. genre: A genre you will never read. Nonfiction, Self-Help, and anything religious or spiritual. I read for fun and to de-stress.
NOPE. book format: A book format you hate and avoid buying until it comes out in a different edition. Uhmm I prefer physical copies whether it's hardcover or paperbacks. I don't mind ebooks, but I definitely try not to buy them unless I really have to.
NOPE. trope: A trope that makes you go NOPE.
Damsel in Distress who needs saving all the time. I'm just so tired of them… I won't necessarily avoid books with them in it, because the story could be really amazing, but it's not my favorite… at all.
I also don't like Love Triangles that much just cause I can never be sure how I'd feel about them. Sometimes, they work and I find closure for both love interests, but most of the time I'm either choosing one or I can't make up my mind.
NOPE. recommendation: A book recommendation that is constantly pushed at you, that you simply refuse to read. It's not that I refuse to read it, but I just haven't been in the mood and kind of lost interest. I've gotten a few people tell me it's really good and since I love romance they say I'd enjoy this… and I do have the book, but just don't want to read it.
NOPE. cliché: A cliché or writing pet peeve that always makes you roll your eyes. I'm probably having brain fart right now cause I'm sure there are more, but I can only think of these two – overly mean girls that all the guys love or smart nerdy girls falling over the popular jock guy who doesn't even notice her.
NOPE. love interest: A love interest that's not worthy of being one. The "Darcy" in Bookish Boyfriends by Tiffany Schmidt. Honestly, he just didn't work for me. There were some cute moments here and there and he said some swoony things, but at the end of the day, he just didn't win my heart. REVIEW
NOPE. book: A book that shouldn't have existed. I'm definitely being too judgmental here because I've never read this and maybe it's really good.. IDK. BUT SERIOUSLY… If you've read it, let me know if it's good or not cause there's also a sequel.
NOPE. villain: A villain you would hate to cross. Queen Levana from the Lunar Chronicles.
NOPE. death: A character death that still haunts you. Sorry if I spoil this for anyone, but how can I really answer this question if I didn't reveal the character's name… There's just no way, so stop now if you don't want any spoilers to Marie Lu's The Young Elites series.
Cause I'll always be really sad about
Adelina's death. The ending was bittersweet and actually quite perfect for the series… but I just wish she didn't have to die.
NOPE. author: An author you had a bad experience reading and have decided to quit. Do I have to answer this?!?! I feel like one bad experience shouldn't mean the end of everything. I don't think I purposely choose to quit reading books by a specific author, but it just happens because I'm more interested in other books. BUT… if I have to pick, it would be these two. Just didn't really enjoy the writing.
If you've already done this, then just leave the link your post so I can check it out. Otherwise, have fun loves!! Feel free to do this even if you weren't tagged!
As always, thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!!


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Laptop - Netbook - Ultra Portable
Nvidia Shield Tablet Preview
Nvidia today announced the Nvidia Shield Tablet, an 8 inches Tablet empowered by a Tegra SoC. basically this what the Nvidia shield launch should have been in the first place, instead of a hand-held a nice tablet that oozes functionality and features.Read article
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III review
We review the Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III, Under the motto 'three times is a charm' Samsung releases their Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone. The screen of the S3 is a McDonald's super sized 4.8" Big Mac that tops even the HTC Titan II, yes, the display screen is massive. Will this Ice Cream Sandwich powered device be all we want it to be?Read article
ASUS Transformer Prime Review
Ever since the first Android tablets arrived a year or two ago things have been developing fast. ODMs and chip designers jumped onto the bandwagon fast as PC sales are declining, and much like the initial netbook market, the tablet market is on the rise. We test the The quad-core Tegra 3 based Eee Pad Transformer Prime, an unbelievable product. Fast, thin and huge in specs, but sure... very expensive.Read article
Point of View Protab 2 XXL Tablet review
Today a review on the ProTAB 2 XXL 10" tablet from Point of View from their Mobi range. With a price of only 169,- EUR the specs are decent enough alright. Interesting enough for graphics, the ProTab2XXL also comes with an additional MALI-400 3D graphics chip. Now we never heard of it before tbh, and very little can found about it on the web. But we can certainly measure it's performance and it does allow for FullHD playback. The Mali graphics chip even allows to drive a mini HDMI v1.4 port.Read article
Alienware M11x UltraPortable review
We test and review the Alienware M11x UltraPortable. Recently Alienware released the M11x UltraPortable laptop which you can configure with Core i3/i5/i7 and next to that it received the royal NVIDIA Optimus treatment. Basically you have two graphics processors inside the laptop. One embedded Intel IGP for the regular 2D stuff and the minute you start up games, an NVIDIA chip will take over and manage your accelerated gaming experience.Read article


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Tag / rosemary
Tasty greens! The best herbs to grow indoors
Think delicious flavours in your food is the only benefit to growing herbs? Well, ok, that is a pretty major perk. But did you know that growing any kind of plants can…April 29, 2014
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The Logic of Unintended Consequences: The 'Mess in Mali'
The intentional misreading of UN security council resolution 1973 resulted in Nato's predictably violent Operation Odyssey in Libya last year.
Not only did the action cost many thousands of lives and untold destruction, it also paved the way for perpetual conflict - not only in Libya but throughout north Africa.
Mali was the first major victim of Nato's Libyan intervention. It is now a staple in world news and headlines such as "The mess in Mali" serve as a mere reminder of a bigger "African mess."
On March 17 last year resolution 1973 resolved to establish a no-fly zone over Libya.
On March 19, Nato's bombers began scorching Libyan land, supposedly to prevent a massacre of civilians.
The next day, an ad-hoc high-level African Union panel on Libya met in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, and made one last desperate call to bring Nato's war to an immediate halt.
It stated: "Our desire is that Libya's unity and territorial integrity be respected as well as the rejection of any kind of foreign military intervention."
The African Union (AU) is seldom considered a viable political player by the UN, Nato or any interventionist Western power.
But AU members were fully aware that Nato was unconcerned with human rights or the well-being of African nations.
They also knew that instability in one African country can lead to major instabilities throughout the region.
Various north African countries are glued together by a delicate balance - due to the messy colonial legacy inherited from colonial powers - and Mali is no exception.
It is perhaps too early to talk about winners and losers in the Mali fiasco, which was triggered on March 22 by a military coup led by army captain Amadou Sanogo.
The coup created political space for the Tuaregs' National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) to declare independence in the north merely two weeks later.
The declaration was the culmination of quick military victories by MNLA and its militant allies, which led to the capture of Gao and other major towns.
These successive developments further emboldened Islamic and other militant groups to seize cities across the country and hold them hostage to their ideological and other agendas.
Ansar al-Din, for example, had reportedly worked in tandem with the MNLA, but declared a war "against independence" and "for Islam" as soon as it secured its control over Timbuktu.
More groups and more arms are now pouring through the ever-porous borders with Mauritania, Algeria and Niger.
Al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad, along with al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) are now making their moves across Mali.
New alliances are being formed and new emirates are being declared, making Mali a potential stage for numerous permanent conflicts.
Speaking to the Guardian, former UN regional envoy Robert Fowler railed against Nato.
"Whatever the motivation of the principal Nato belligerents [in ousting Gadaffi], the law of unintended consequences is exacting a heavy toll in Mali today and will continue to do so throughout the Sahel as the vast store of Libyan weapons spreads across this, one of the most unstable regions of the world."
Considering that the inevitability of post-Libya destabilisation was obvious to so many from the start, why the insistence on referencing a "law of unintended consequences"?
Even "chaos" has its own logic. For several years, and especially since the establishment of the United States Africa Command (Africom) in 2008, much meddling has taken place in various parts of Africa.
Writing in Foreign Policy magazine, Gregory Mann tried to undermine the fact that Sanogo "had American military training, and briefly affected a US Marine Corps lapel pin."
He said that these details "are surely less important than the stunning fact that a decade of American investment in special forces training, co-operation between Sahalien armies and the United States and counter-terrorism programmes of all sorts run by both the State Department and the Pentagon has, at best, failed to prevent a new disaster in the desert and, at worst, sowed its seeds."
The details are hardly "less important," considering that Sanogo called for international military intervention against the newly declared Tuareg republic, referencing Afghanistan as a model.
True, regional African countries and international institutions have strongly objected to both the military coup in the capital Bamako and the declaration of independence by the Tuaregs in the north, but that may prove irrelevant after all.
The Azawad succession appears permanent and the US, although it suspended part of the aid to Mali following the junta's takeover, has not severed all ties with Sanogo.
After all, he too claims to be fighting al-Qaida and its allies.
It is difficult to believe that despite years of US-French involvement in Mali and surrounding region, the bedlam wasn't predictable.
The US position regarding the coup was precarious.
"The Obama administration has not yet made a formal decision as to whether a military coup has taken place in Mali," wrote John Glaster in AntiWar.com.
According to US military definitions, this is still a "mutiny, not a 'coup'" and US army personnel - referred to as "advisory troops" - were in fact dispatched to Bamako after March 22, according to Africom spokeswoman Nicole Dalrymple.
What is clear is that the "mess in Mali" might be an opportunity for another intervention, which mainstream media sources are already rationalising.
A Washington Post editorial on April 5 counselled: "Nato partners should perceive a moral obligation, as well as a tangible national security interest, in restoring Mali's previous order. The West should not allow its intervention in Libya to lead to the destruction of democracy - and entrenchment of Islamic militants - in a neighbouring state."
Unintended consequences? Hardly.
Ramzy Baroud (www.ramzybaroud.net) is an internationally-syndicated columnist and the editor of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is "My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story" (Pluto Press, London), now available on Amazon.com.
Topics: Conflicts And War, Libya, Mali, Nato Channel: Opinion
Views: 3774
Related Suggestions
Is Mali an outgrowth of Libya? I don't know; everybody is imagining it to be so. Problem is that there are too many laptop bombardiers in the world, and too many conspiracy theorists; hard to figure out anything. Let us stop shedding tears. After de-colonization, none of African governments have been responsible governments; all they can do is to sign contracts with western companies for extraction of their wealth; no benefits to people.
How was the rule of Africans before the coming colonialism? May be present rule of the Africans is a mirror image of their pre-colonial rule. And they have learnt nothing from Colonialsts either; just look at misrule in Algeria; need I say anything.


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The Star-Touched Queen Interview
Having absolutely adored The Star-Touched Queen (see my review HERE), I was extremely excited when Miss Chokshi agreed to do this interview. It's one of my favorite 2016 releases.
Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you're only seventeen?
Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only
the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…
But Akaran has its own secrets—thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most…including herself.
Hi, Miss Chokshi! Thank you for agreeing to do this interview! I hope you enjoy answering the questions.
Please tell us a little about yourself. Who are you when you're not writing?
When I'm not writing, I'm trying to find new things to write about! Sometimes that makes me a little bit of an explorer. I love to travel, and most recently got back from the Philippines! Sometimes that makes me a little bit of an oneironaut. Someone who goes places in their dreams (i.e.—I sit around and stare out the window…). And sometimes that just means forcing myself to wake up early and go out there and live. Make friends, listen to them, try new things and always be ready for an adventure J
Where did you learn to write so beautifully and lyrically?
Thank you! I'm glad you like my writing! I learned by reading and imitating. I love the
works of Angela Carter, Catherynne Valente, Vladimir Nabokov and Laini Taylor. My writing style has always been a bit flowery and purple, but I wanted my writing to be more than just a pompous exercise in vocabulary. Imitating my favourite authors until I stumbled on my own voice was invaluable.
What does your writing space look like?
Like Sherlock Holmes conjured a wind demon and the two decided to play tag.
My house is filled with strange knickknacks. My desk is a lovely antique cherry wood thing, with lots of tiny cabinets that hold stationary, letter openers that look like knives, knives that look like letter openers, glass flowers, magnifying glasses, boxes with beetle shells when my brother went through an entomology phase, buttons and stamps. However, all of these things are constantly spilling onto my workspace. Hence. Wind demon.
Do you have any favourite authors or books?
This list would take up pages, but here are some of the works that influenced me the most:
Deathless by Catherynne Valente
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt
Wildwood Dancing by Juliette Marillier
How do you feel about the cover? I find it stunning! Is it what you've always imagined it would look like?
I LOVE the cover! I think it perfectly fits the mood of The Star-Touched Queen.
What inspired the creation of the Night Bazaar, which is a salient location of the story?
The Night Bazaar was inspired by my experiences traveling through India and Istanbul
and visiting the bazaars. It's a very magical and bewildering experience. So much glittering beauty (silks unraveling from the ceiling, sumptuous carpets unrolled in front of you every second, lights in the walls, food everywhere) and there are so many people. You're constantly being jostled. Heaven help you when you actually want to buy something. You haggle and wheedle, shout and simper, and in the end you may not even get anything.
In the story, what scene is your absolute favorite?
I loved writing the scene with Maya and Amar in the constellation room.
Why choose to write a standalone fantasy instead of a series?
Around the time I wrote The Star-Touched Queen, I didn't possess the patience to write a series. And I didn't want to try and split the book up because I worried that it would become sloppy. Plus, I miss reading stories that are wholly contained.
What character was a challenge for you to write?
Mother Dhina. I dislike villainous characers who are villainous without reason, and crafting how she felt was emotionally difficult at times.
The Star-Touched Queen in three words?
Make your fate.
Thank you!
Interview by Hit or Miss Books.
Book Depository | Youtube | Twitter | Instagram | Google+ | Goodreads | Bloglovin'


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Wyoming Plan To Preempt Federal Gun Ban Clears First Hurdle
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Proposed federal restrictions on the assault weapons and high-capacity magazines would be unenforceable in Wyoming under a bill that has cleared its first state legislative committee hearing.
The House Judiciary Committee voted 8-to-1 Tuesday to advance the bill, which would impose felony penalties on federal officials who attempted to enforce federal weapons bans. The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.
The same committee earlier Tuesday endorsed a separate bill that would allow Wyoming citizens who hold concealed carry permits to carry guns on public school and college campuses.
President Barack Obama has called for reinstituting the federal ban on assault weapons in the aftermath of last month's mass killing of school children at a Connecticut elementary school.


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SBU Project Planning and Control
Managing a project carries complex concerns, not always found in traditional management. The Project Planning and Control workshop enables participants to learn and practice the tools and techniques needed in the Project Manager/Leader roles. The Best Practices for negotiation; communication; risk management; change management; and coordination between the Project and Management, Clients/Users, Team Members and Support Groups are covered in great detail. Upon completion, participants involved with PMI® and the Project Management Institute's Project Management Professional (PMP) program, are awarded 24 PDUs or "Contact Hours".
Register online by clicking here.
Course Outline
- Introduction and Course Objectives
- Project Management Concepts
- Project Planning
- Scope Management Project
- Project Organizing and Managing the Team – Schedule and Resource Management
- Project Execution and Control
- Conclusion
Instructional methods for this course are lecture, discussion, detailed case study workshops and presentations.
The Program
Upon completion of this Project Planning and Control course, each participant will be able to:
- Develop Project and Phase Plans.
- Estimate resources and schedules.
- Effectively negotiate.
- Understand management issues and techniques.
- Apply the concepts of Quality and Six Sigma.
- Implement a Change Management and reporting plan.
- Track and Report the status of the project and deliverables for early problem identification and resolution.
- Identify and Plan to mitigate Project and Product Risk factors.
- Understand and Employ Product Scope and Quality Management.
- Understand the use of project software tools
Total Systems Education is renowned for working closely with clients, all over the world, to design and deliver training that exactly fits their specific needs. They don't believe in "cookie-cutter" training! Their philosophy is that training must be current and real-world; delivering a skill-set that encompasses world-class best practices but is also immediately transferrable to client's workplace. Total Systems Education is proud to be a PMI Global Registered Education Provider. They were named the 2010 PMI "Best of the Best" Continuing Education Provider of the Year. For Business Analysts, Total Systems is also an EEP, Endorsed Education Provider, of the IIBA. These endorsements and certifications allow us to have our courses reviewed by the IIBA and PMI for relevancy, quality and adherence to the best practices supported by both of these prestigious global organizations. These certifications also allow us to award PDUs and CDUs to participants involved in the professional credentialing processes for PMP, CAPM, CBAP and the newly developed CCBA.
February 24th, 2016 6:00 PM through February 25th, 2016 9:00 PM
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The State of Arkansas law no longer requires home school students to take a nationally recognized norm-referenced achievement test.
Home school students may be tested to determine academic eligibility, if voluntarily participating in extracurricular activities at a local public school under Arkansas' "Tim Tebow Law." Students may also be tested to determine grade-level if enrolling or re-enrolling in a public school.
Some home school families may wish to have their students voluntarily take a norm-referenced or other nationally-recognized test for various reasons. If you would like assistance picking a test or finding a test facilitator, please contact our office at (501) 978-5503.


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14 New Homecoming Hairstyles
We're here to make this school dance the most memorable night of your (hair's) life
Celebrities are THE fashion icons for beauty, makeup — and of course, hairstyles. Ashley Greene is no exception. That's why we've got Ashley Greene photo galleries, pictures, and general beauty news on this celeb. Her style is totally inspiring and worth checking out. So if you're searching for some beauty tips, hairstyle options, and fashion advice, turn to Ashley Greene. She'll bring your fashion to a whole new place.
We're here to make this school dance the most memorable night of your (hair's) life
Missed the 2011 Teen Choice Awards? No worries. Here are the prettiest makeup and hairstyles — and how to get 'em.
We found ourselves gawking at some of this year's hottest looks and "OMG what was she thinking" costume choices
Forget the '80s and the '90s, this decade had some seriously gorgeous hairstyles
See our picks for the best hair, makeup and fashion at this year's award show
These young movie characters are total fashion icons with their forget-me-not styles
We challenged ourselves to copy celebrity styles using only bargain products. You won't believe how it turned out
From center parts to floral accessories, these celebrities know how to rock the hottest looks for summer


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CBS' newest "How I Met Your Mother" episode was supposed to serve as the latest and greatest installment in the series' ongoing gag about soundly, if humorously, slapping around a good friend.
Only thing is, some in the Asian-American community saw it as a slap in the face.
The sitcom's Monday show generated buzz on social media, but not for the reasons its creators intended. Instead, some reacted angrily to the decision to recast lead character actors -- all of them white -- in yellowface and to dress them in stereotypical Asian attire.
'DWTS' cohorts defend Julianne Hough's blackface costume
"Yellowface? Orientalism? Fu Manchu? What?" tweeted one person, referencing the term "oriental" that many Asian-Americans find offensive. "Not okay @cbs."
On Wednesday, the creators of "How I Met Your Mother," which is in its final season, acknowledged the controversy and that some people had been offended by the portrayals in the show. Carter Bays tweeted that the episode aimed to be a "silly and unabashedly immature homage to Kung Fu movies." But Bays added that some didn't see it as funny at all, and for that, "We're deeply sorry."
"We try to make a show that's universal, that anyone can watch and enjoy," Bays said, in remarks seconded by the show's co-creator, Craig Thomas. "We fell short of that this week, and feel terrible about it."
The episode was titled "Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment in Slapmarra," continuing a tradition on the series about solitary, powerful, ritual slaps among friends.
This one starts with the main characters sitting in their favorite bar, with Marshall Eriksen (played by Jason Segel) explaining how he had sought out "special training" to deliver Barney Stinson (played by Neil Patrick Harris) an especially epic slap.
Lawmaker apologizes for blackface costume
A kung fu master spurned his first attempt at instruction, explaining, "Kung fu is an ancient and honorable martial art. It must be learned with great devotion and respect." Then a young boy in the studio comes out of nowhere and tells Marshall how he can master "the slap of a million exploding suns."
Despite Barney's disbelief, Marshall explains his yearlong journey to Shanghai and Cleveland getting schooled by three masters who teach him speed, strength and accuracy.
Each of these masters are played not by Asian actors, but other actors on the series adorned in Asian garb, yellowface and, in one case, a Fu Manchu mustache.
The episode climaxes 17 hours before the wedding of Barney, who receives a mighty slap that literally leaves him red in the face. Out of nowhere, the group Boyz II Men then comes out and signs about the "so awesome" slap.
Some viewers reacted angrily to the episode the next day, including several who used the #HowIMetYourRacism hashtag.
There were a number of people who rallied to the show's defense, saying people were overreacting. But others didn't think anything about the ordeal was funny, with some jabbing the program for its lack of minorities and playing up Asian stereotypes.
"Incredibly easy for white people to say 'that wasn't racist,'" one person tweeted. "Not so easy for PoC" -- shorthand for people of color -- "to be marginalized their entire life."


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Freedom New Mexico: Jared Tucker Gov. Bill Richardson visited Eastern New Mexico University on Thursday afternoon to award $125,000 to the college's digital cinema arts program.
Kevin Wilson
Gov. Bill Richardson believes New Mexico always needs to be ready to defend itself for a Base Realignment and Closure round, but Cannon Air Force Base is in good shape.
Richardson visited Eastern New Mexico University on Thursday afternoon to award $125,000 to the college's digital cinema arts program, but mixed in his resume of accomplishments and a warning of tough financial times ahead.
The outgoing governor, who made numerous "lame-duck" jokes at his expense, elaborated on some of his speech and answered other questions during a brief question-and-answer session with local media.
Regarding Cannon Air Force Base, he thought the transition to Air Force Special Operations Command will serve the base well when an inevitable BRAC round comes.
"There will be another BRAC round," said Richardson, who took part in the state-wide effort to save Cannon from a 2005 closure recommendation. "I believe Cannon Air Force Base is really strong. It's increasing jobs in the area, it's going to have more functions, it's growing. I would say the Air Force and the military will recommend it not be shut down. We have four bases in New Mexico, so we have to remain vigilant."
He said vigilance has already been shown on the Ute Water Project, with the local entities demonstrating the willingness to move forward and the state has helped the supervising authority transition into a utility authority. Now, he said, it's time for the federal government to step up for the project approved in 2009.
"It has to be a combination of state, federal cooperation," Richardson said. "I think it will happen. When? Hopefully in the next few years. But this is a viable project. I believe it's going to happen. It's now up to the feds, I think. The state has stepped forward. We have a strong delegation, and I hope it will be sometime soon."
Against the backdrop of the university, he said one idea he's changed course on is the consolidation of university regent boards.
"When I first came into office, I thought that was good," Richardson said. "But as I've served and as I've appointed regents … I worry that having one board of regents instead of locals who know the community will not be a good step."


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WK Organics shop including Stevia sweetener tablets & Organic hand, hair & body wash gel
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Welcome to the NYC Rooftop Farm Initiative. Our goal is to transform New York City's thousands of unused rooftops into a decentralized not-for-profit organic urban farm that will one day have the capacity to feed, educate and unite communities across our City.
Please check back for more updates as the project gets underway!


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WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans controlling the House have passed a bill to extend tax cuts due to expire Dec. 31, officially laying down their marker in an election-year showdown with President Barack Obama and his Democratic allies over whether to raise taxes on wealthier earners and people who inherit million dollar-plus estates.
The GOP plan passed Wednesday would renew a full package of Bush-era tax cuts when they expire at the end of the year, but Obama has promised to veto the measure. The president insists on letting the cuts expire on income after the first $200,000 earned by individuals and the first $250,000 made by couples.
The vote was 256-171.
Congress is expected to address the impasse after the November elections.


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Mystical Blaze
Welcome to Mystical Blaze!
The purpose of this site is to examine and explain the facts and fiction of paranormal phenomena and provide resources for experimentation and individual research.
In our scientifically-oriented society, many tend to dismiss the strange and often spiritual phenomena that occur virtually every day somewhere on the planet. Admittedly, the unknown can be quite frightening, but dismissing it outright definitely does not make it disappear. The fact remains that we are spiritual beings, and nobody can dispute the assertion that there are ways to come by knowledge and experience without the rigors of scientific research. Meditation is a classic example, to name just one. Unexplainable things also happen every day to normal, intelligent people - they see things, hear things, feel presences, observe phenomenon, move objects without touching them, and even sometimes become aware of what the future holds. None of these things can be explained scientifically, but there is a huge amount of anecdotal evidence that suggests that there is indeed some basis of truth to many of the stories, even some that are quite bizarre at first glance.
Having said that, these pages will cover some very intriguing subjects, from monsters to ghosts, to the power of the mind, so get comfortable, as you are in for a fascinating journey into the strange, unusual, and bizarre. This is an ongoing project, so please excuse our "Under Construction" pages and be sure to Bookmark, as we add new material almost daily.
Lastly, and especially with topics here related to the mind and controlling your environment, consider the implications and your own motives before attempting to take on such responsibilities. Most of us are in the middle and do not extend auras 25 feet or control the actions of others.
Email Blaze


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Andrew Weaver in an article here says of the SPM: "This isn't a smoking gun; climate is a batallion of intergalactic smoking missiles." Wow. Even better than Space Invaders. There was a big front page preview of the SPM in the Toronto Globe and Mail today here all of which is worth reading, but for now I draw your attention to the 2nd paragraph of the article:
Humans have already caused so much damage to the atmosphere that the effects of global warming will last for more than 1,000 years, according to a summary of a climate-change report being prepared by the world's leading scientists.
The draft, seen by The Globe and Mail yesterday, also says evidence the world is heating up is now so strong it is "unequivocal" and predicts more frequent heat waves, droughts and rain storms, as well as more violent typhoons and hurricanes. It concludes the higher temperatures observed during the past 50 years are so dramatically different from anything in the climate record that the last half-century period was likely the hottest in at least the past 1,300 years.
I wasn't sure that the Hockey Team would even make the SPM this time, but here there are in the 2nd paragraph. The Team stayed in the spotlight.
Not just in the spotlight – but maybe they're what Weaver meant by a "battallion of intergalactic missiles"? "Look, up in the sky, It's a bird, It's a plane, It's the Team." Who would have guessed? Do they get spandex suits? It puts Mann's instruction to Rutherford – "Beam me up, Scottie" – in an entirely new light.
In case you are wondering how they knew that this was the hottest in 1300 years, the "battallion of intergalactic missiles" is a new spaghetti graph (although I doubt that the spaghetti graph will itself will make the cut this time), more or less as emulated below (although this lacks the instrumental splice). Readers of this blog will be familiar with all of these reconstructions, though not necessarily the nomenclature. See caption.
Figure 1. Spaghetti graph of reconstructions (without temperature splice and short glacier and borehole series). JBB98 – Jones et al 1998; MBH99 – duh; BOS01 – Briffa et al 2001; CED04 – Cook's rescaling of Esper et al 2002; B2000 – Briffa 2000; MJ2003 – Mann and Jones 2003; RMO05 – Beam me up, Scotty 2005; MSH – Moberg et al 2005; DWJ06; D'Arrigo et al 2006; HCA06 – Hegerl etl 2006
In addition to a spaghetti graph, the WG1 repot itself includes an interesting "Fiery Hockey Stick" diagram. For each of the reconstructions, they calculated 2-sigma "confidence intervals" – ignoring the NAS Panel view that confidence intervals could not be assigned in the early portion – from which they made a type of density graphic using fire colors (their Figure 6.10c). Graphically, it's done in an interesting way. The calculations appear to have been done using calibration period residuals – again contrary to NAS panel recommendations.
Readers of this blog are obviously familiar with problems with hockey stick manufacture and I won't re-visit them in this note. My most recent visit to this topic was in my Dec 2006 presentation at AGU, where I observed that the NAS Panel had stated that bristlecones should be "avoided" in temperature reconstructions; that many of the "independent" reconstructions used bristlecones, including the studies used in the NAS panel illustration and without bristlecones, the medieval-modern relationship was reversed.


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Ammon News - By Associated Press Ramadi Large, noisy demonstrations against Iraq's government flared for the third time in less than a week Wednesday in Iraq's western Anbar province, raising the prospect of a fresh bout of unrest in a onetime al-Qaeda stronghold on Syria's doorstep. The rallies find echoes in the Arab Spring. Protesters chanted "the people want the downfall of the regime," a slogan that has rippled across the region and was fulfilled in Tunisia and Egypt. Other rallying cries blasted Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government as illegitimate and warned that protesters "will cut off any hand that touches us." While the demonstrators' tenacious of force could signal the start of a more populist Sunni opposition movement, it risks widening the deep and increasingly bitter rifts with the Shiite-led government in Baghdad. If left unresolved, those disputes could lead to a new eruption of sectarian violence. The car bombings and other indiscriminate attacks that still plague Iraq are primarily the work of Sunni extremists. Vast Anbar province was once the heart of the deadly Sunni insurgency that emerged after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and later the birthplace of a Sunni militia that helped American and Iraqi forces fight al-Qaida. Today, al-Qaeda is believed to be rebuilding in pockets of Anbar, and militants linked to it are thought to be helping Sunni rebels try to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad. The demonstrations follow the arrest last week of 10 bodyguards assigned to Finance Minister Rafia al-Issawi, who comes from Anbar and is one of the central government's most senior Sunni officials. He appeared before Wednesday's rally and was held aloft by the crowds. Al-Issawi's case is exacerbating tensions between the Shiite-dominated government that rose to power following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and Iraq's Sunnis, who see the detentions as politically motivated. "The danger is that the revolution in Syria is perpetuating Sunni opportunism and overconfidence in Iraq," said Ramzy Mardini, an analyst at the Beirut-based Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies. "Al-Maliki may have sparked a Sunni tribal movement that will attempt to harness and capitalize on the revolutionary spirit," he said. Protesters turned out Wednesday near the provincial capital Ramadi, 115 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad. The city and nearby Fallujah were the scenes of some of the deadliest fighting between U.S. troops and Iraqi insurgents. Demonstrators blocked the main highway linking Baghdad with neighboring Jordan and Syria, just as they did at another protest Sunday. Wednesday's protesters held banners demanding that Sunni rights be respected and calling for the release of Sunni prisoners in Iraqi jails. "We warn the government not to draw the country into sectarian conflict," read one. Another declared: "We are not a minority." Al-Issawi, the finance minister, addressed the rally after arriving in a long convoy of black SUVs protected by heavily armed bodyguards. He condemned last week's raid on his office and rattled off a list of grievances aimed at al-Maliki's government. "Injustice, marginalization, discrimination and double standards, as well as the politicization of the judiciary system and a lack of respect for partnership, the law and the constitution ... have all turned our neighborhoods in Baghdad into huge prisons surrounded by concrete blocks," he declared. Large numbers of protesters also took to the streets in Samarra, a Sunni-dominated town 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of Baghdad, according to Salahuddin provincial spokesman Mohammed al-Asi. Many Sunnis see the arrest of the finance minister's guards as the latest in a series of moves by the Shiite prime minister against their sect and other perceived political opponents. Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, another top-ranking Sunni politician, is now living in exile in Turkey after being handed multiple death sentences for allegedly running death squads - a charge he dismisses as politically motivated. Al-Maliki has defended the arrests of the finance minister's guards as legal and based on warrants issued by judicial authorities. He also recently warned against a return to sectarian strife in criticizing the responses of prominent Sunni officials to the detentions. In a recent statement, the prime minister dismissed the rhetoric as political posturing ahead of provincial elections scheduled for April and warned his opponents not to forget the dark days of sectarian fighting "when we used to collect bodies and chopped heads from the streets." Al-Maliki's spokesman, Ali al-Moussawi, criticized al-Issawi's participation in the protest Wednesday. "He can't be in the government and use the street against it at the same time. If he can't shoulder his responsibilities then he has to step down so that another person can take over," he said. The political tensions are rising at a sensitive time. Iraq's ailing President Jalal Talabani is incapacitated following a serious stroke last week and is being treated in a German hospital. The 79-year-old president, an ethnic Kurd, is widely seen as a unifying figure with the clout to mediate among the country's ethnic and sectarian groups. Also Wednesday, the United Nations mission to Iraq said its monitors have determined that a hospital that treated a member of an Iranian exile group who died this week at a refugee camp near Baghdad did not consider his health condition serious enough to warrant hospitalization when he arrived for treatment in November. An organization representing the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq exile group on Monday accused Iraqi authorities of preventing 56-year-old Behrooz Rahimian from being hospitalized, and alleged that the U.N. failed to take sufficient steps to intervene. Iraq considers the MEK a terrorist group and wants its members out of the country. The U.N. mission in Baghdad said in a statement Wednesday that it "does not have any indication so far that treatment was obstructed by the Iraqi authorities." It noted that representatives for the refugee residents told U.N. monitors that Rahimian "appeared to be in good condition until the time of his death."
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Sounds like a great idea to begin integrating solar energy into viable power production.
From the link:
The first ever hybrid solar-coal power plant is now operating at Unit 2 of the Cameo Generating Station near Palisade in Colorado. The demonstration project was built by Xcel Energy as part of its new Innovative Clean Technology (ICT) Program, and is designed to decrease the use of coal, increase the plant's efficiency, lower carbon dioxide emissions, and test the commercial viability of combining the two technologies.
The project was developed by Xcel Energy in conjunction with Abengoa Solar, which developed the solar parabolic trough technology that concentrates solar energy to produce heat. The demonstration project is expected to cut the use of coal at the power plant by around two or three percent, and could be scaled up to cut it by 10 percent.


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Mac users that have jealously watched their PC-using friends put their recorded episodes of The Office or Lost on their laptops get a late Christmas gift this year: TiVoToGo for Mac is here.
Just in time for MacWorld and CES, the product will be released by Roxio on Monday, Jan. 8.
The Mac version of TiVoToGo will sell for $99 and have all the same capability as the PC version, but it's all in one box this time, said Jim Denney, TiVo's VP of marketing. Automatic transfers of shows to a Mac, PSP, iPod, or burned to a DVD or Blu-ray disc are all included.
The software will be available as a download beginning Monday, and is included with Toast 8, Roxio's latest Mac-compatible disc-burning software. If you happen to be in San Francisco on that day, there will be demos and boxed versions for sale at MacWorld and at the Market Street Apple Store.
But note that this is only for standalone TiVo Series 2 systems, not DirecTV TiVos or the latest Series 3 HD versions.


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For over 25 years, The Merrick Group has built a reputation as one of the most expert power plant service companies in New Hill. Our trained specialists provide "The Merrick Group Advantage"
- Reliability
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The Merrick Group provides the following industrial and nuclear power plant services:
- New Hill industrial cleaning
- Nuclear Power Plant Inspections in NC
- Local Industrial Sanitizing near New Hill
Industrial Decontamination in New Hill
The Merrick Group offers several types of Industrial Decontamination services near New Hill
- Industrial Manual Scrubbing Services
- Strippable Coatings
- High-Pressure Washing
- Hydrolazing
Learn more about our Industrial Decontamination advantages.
Hydro-Excavation in New Hill
The Merrick Group offers hydro-excavation services near New Hill, NC. Hydro-excavation is the most precise, efficient, and safest way for the location of underground pipes and utilities. The process involves using high-pressure water to dig up the ground while vacuuming the soil and dirt.
To learn more about our industrial hydro-excavation services, please contact The Merrick Group at 570-455-0600.
Industrial Pipe Cleaning in New Hill
The Merrick Group constantly strives to use the best technology in the industry. As the leading industrial pipe cleaning service provider near New Hill, we have the ability to clean lines from one to thirty-six inches with minimal entry points.
Our Industrial Pipe Cleaning Services Include:
- Retro Jetting of Industrial Pipe Systems
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- Rotary Hose Device & Pipe Cleaning
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Vacuum Truck Services in New Hill
The Merrick Group provides a range of vacuum truck services near New Hill, NC. These industrial vacuuming services include:
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See why The Merrick Group exceeds client expectations around the world!
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The Merrick Group has been applying industrial coatings for our clients for over 25 years. Our New Hill industrial coating services provide assurance that all applications and inspections will be performed safely and correctly.
An industrial protective coating is a complex combination of materials that must be mixed, applied to a prepared substrate, dried, and cured correctly to perform to their maximum capability. To learn more and schedule your New Hill coating service, contact us to get started.
Not Located in New Hill, NC? The Merrick Group Can Still Help!
The Merrick Group is one of the most experienced industrial and power plant service companies near North Carolina. Our global nuclear plant services and global industrial services exceed client expectations around the world!
We have served clients in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia. If you are located in any of these areas, choose The Merrick Group as your next local industrial or power plant service company.


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Don't make love = don't make war
The gangsta molls of Pereira, Colombia, have apparently decided to stage a real-life version of Lysistrata, the play by Aristophanes in which the women of Sparta, Boeotia, and Corinth withhold sex in order to end the Peloponnesian War:
In what is being called a "strike of crossed legs", supported by the Pereira mayor's office, the wives and girlfriends of gang members have said they will not have sex with their partners until they vow to give up violence. ... The women yesterday launched a rap song that will become the strike's anthem. "As women we are worth a lot. We don't want to fall for violent men because with them we lose too much," Ms Bayer sang down the telephone to the Guardian. She said the men had laughed about the strike but would soon see it was serious. The women were not worried that frustration would lead to violence against them by their partners. "They wouldn't do that to us," Ms Bayer said.
I'm not sure what amuses me most here: the idea of using sex for a good cause, the blithe innocence with which the women trust their ultraviolent partners, or the idea of a rap song about not having sex. Anyone got an MP3 of this?


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Enter your question in sentence form (e.g., How do I contact Simplii Financial?).
Don't include any confidential information, such as card or account numbers.
There are no set-up or annual fees for a personal line of credit. For a secured line of credit, you pay a $150 one-time set-up fee for processing, appraisal and registration of the security.