text:
Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), today released a statement after the introduction in Congress of a bipartisan bill to create parity when it comes to Master Limited Partnerships, which are often used to create investment incentives in energy projects. The bill was introduced by Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), along with Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KA), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
"This bill is an important step toward leveling the playing field between clean, renewable energy and long-entrenched energy sources in America, by providing the solar industry with access to private capital in the same manner enjoyed by the oil and gas industry for almost 30 years," writes Resch." Today, the U.S. solar industry employs nearly 120,000 Americans, with solar deployment growing and consumer costs dropping.
"Senator Coons' MLP proposal would build on this success, and SEIA applauds him for putting forward an idea that has the potential to attract private sector investment for critically-important solar projects. This bill represents smart public policy, and solar represents a clean, safe, affordable and inexhaustible supply of energy for our nation. We look forward to working with Senator Coons and other stakeholders on this important issue."


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The Painful Details Courtesy Of Ryan Shealy
Over the last few years, you've probably heard the term "microfracture surgery." Jason Kidd, Reggie Bush, and Grady Sizemore are among the prominent athletes who have undergone the procedure.
But do you have any idea what microfracture surgery is? PawSox designated hitter Ryan Shealy can explain the operation, after having it performed on his left knee in May of last year.
"They puncture holes in the bone trying to promote new cartilage growth when you have a bone on bone situation," Shealy said. "It was a bad deal. I was on crutches for two months and I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but it's come back great. I had great doctors and great rehab people to help me through it.
"That's kind of been the story of my career, even dating back to college. I somehow managed to have Tommy John surgery as a first baseman which is really uncommon. I threw a ball to second base and ended up tearing a ligament. I had a couple of knee cleanups in the minor leagues and then last year, I had microfracture knee surgery and missed most of the season."
(photo courtesy of Louriann Mardo-Zayat)
Shealy became a minor league free agent and signed with the Tampa Bay organization. But after spending two-and-a-half months with Durham, he left the Bulls on June 15th and joined the PawSox.
"I had an out clause in my contract," Shealy said. "I liked the Red Sox growing up and I've always admired the way they've gone about their business as an organization. I almost signed with them in the off-season – it came down to Boston and Tampa. I chose Tampa and that organization has so many corner infielders that it was hard to get at-bats every day in Durham. It's nice to be here. This is a lot younger team, but hopefully I can help them grow as players and get myself going again too."
In his first week with Pawtucket, Shealy has been a force in the cleanup spot. In 7 games, he's batting .409/.552/.682 with 3 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, and 6 walks.
"I'm just starting to be the hitter that I can be," Ryan told me. "After missing all of last year, it was tough early to be honest with you. I wasn't able to go play winter ball, and in spring training I just got eaten up. I got off to a terrible start in the first month, but I'm starting to feel like I used to feel."
That bodes well for Pawtucket. Shealy is a former MVP of the Pioneer League and the Texas League, and had a monster month for the Kansas City Royals in September of 2008 when he belted 7 home runs and drove in 20 runs in 20 MLB games.
"That September I played about as good as I could in the big leagues," Shealy said. "Then last spring, I was the last guy sent down by Kansas City so that was tough and I took that hard. But talk about perspective – I went to Triple-A and blew out my knee and that was some real perspective because it's one thing to get sent down to Triple-A, but when you lose a whole season that is really tough. I'm just glad to be playing again and I'm really enjoying it."
* * * * *
At the start of the season, Mark Wagner and Dusty Brown were sharing catching duties for the PawSox.
Now they're both on the disabled list.
(photo courtesy of Kelly O'Connor)
Wagner remains out of action after breaking his hand in late April, and on Wednesday, Brown was placed on the D.L. with a strained left thumb. Dusty told me that x-rays were negative, but he will fly back to Boston to get an MRI.
"There's definitely some damage to the ligament," PawSox manager Torey Lovullo said. "We're not sure how extensive it is – we're going to get more information after he sees the doctors in Boston – but he's going to be on the D.L. for at least seven days. We won't put him in harm's way until we know for sure that he's able to go out there at 100%."
Gustavo Molina will be the primarily starter while Brown is out, and Juan Apodaca was promoted from Double-A Portland to be his backup.
* * * * *
Over the last couple of nights in Scranton, there's been a rather loud fan right below our broadcast booth that has some of the most unusual material I've ever heard.
On Tuesday, he blasted the home plate ump by yelling, 'That call was reprehensible!"
On Wednesday, he showed his support for #4 Eric Bruntlett by bellowing, "Let's go square root of 16!"
Now that he's shown off his vocabulary and math skills, I'm expecting the dude to delve into a little science in the final game of the series on Thursday. I'm thinking he'll praise the curve ball of Scranton/WB starter Tim Redding by screaming, "Now that's how you use Bernoulli's Principle!"
* * * * *
Philadelphia's Jamie Moyer surrendered his 505th career home run on Tuesday to tie the all-time major league record held by Hall of Famer Robin Roberts.
But the 47-year-old pitcher also earned his 266th career win to move into a tie for 36th in all-time wins with Bob Feller.
When informed of Moyer's achievement, Feller barked, 'Get those darn kids off my lawn.'
(Just kidding. "Rapid Robert" strikes me as something of a grouch.)
* * * * *
The PawSox will look to win three straight road games for the first time in 2010 when they face Scranton/WB on Thursday night at 7:05. I hope you'll join us for radio coverage beginning with the pre-game show at 6:50 on the PawSox radio network and pawsox.com.
I'd love to hear from you. Please take a moment to tell me who you are and where you're from in the comments section or you can e-mail me at email@example.com.
And if you Twitter, you can follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/Dan_Hoard

subset: commoncrawl


text: Naomi & Nicole shapewear provides comfortable, innovative and fashionable lingerie for women of every size. Introduced by Cupid Intimates in 2002, this shapewear is unlike any other. Naomi and Nicole have the patented technology of Wonderful Panel, Wonderful Edge and Wonderful Seam. Each creates an innovate technique to support unlike any other, keep panty lines away and comfort without seams. Naomi and Nicole products are produced with high-quality fabrics and edgy features. Panties are made of microfiber, modal cotton blends and Lycra spandex. Naomi and Nicole panties promise to give women choices and support. Naomi and Nicole knows size doesn't matter when it comes to shapewear. The bras, panties and other shapewear come in sizes up to a 3x and band sizes up to 40 helping give women more selection. Full-figured women want it to smooth curves and hide flaws while slender women want it to add modesty and smooth lines. Naomi and Nicole promise to give all women support and confidence when wearing any of their products. Women should not have to worry about their shapewear causing them discomfort or being a burden. Naomi and Nicole steps in to throw this usual thinking of shapewear out the window.


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CBS News Thursday aired a portion of the Michael Vick interview conducted by CBS Sports anchor James Brown that will air Sunday at 7 on "60 Minutes."
The preview aired during the "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric." According to the network's press release, Vick terms his systematic torture and killing of dogs as "wrong" and says he cried in his cell at night while in prison.
But from the portion of the interview that was shown, he also makes it sound as if he was not the one in charge of the torture and killing -- as if he committed a sin of omission by not stopping it, rather than a sin of commission by torturing and killing the animals himself as a judge said he did.
Click below to read the transcript. You be the judge and tell me what you think. Does he sound sincere, or is it the start of what one blogger called termed The Michael Vick Redemption Tour? Is he taking responsibility?
JAMES BROWN: And the operation, Michael, that you pleaded guilty to bankrolling, to being a part of, engaged in barbarous treatment of the animals-- beating them, shooting them, electrocuting them, drowning them-- horrific things, Michael-- what about the dogs? What about the dogs?
MICHAEL VICK: It's wrong, man…I feel, you know, some tremendous hurt behind what happened. And, you know, I should have took the initiative to stop it all…I didn't-- I didn't step up. I wasn't a leader.
JAMES BROWN: So for the cynics who will say, "You know what? I don't know. Michael Vick might be more concerned about the fact that his career was hurt than dogs were hurt."
MICHAEL VICK: I mean, football don't even matter.


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In this job it can be easy to insulate yourself, talking only to a few people and missing the big picture. That's why I enjoy hitting the road to be at winter meetings - whether it's the National Farm Machinery Show or a host of other events. And the best part of that is those one-on-one conversations I can have with readers about hot topics for their farm.
Since I joined the Farm Industry News team the questions about technology have just ramped up as well. At a recent conference for a sister publication, I had a great chat with a farmer looking at ways to get his information shared beyond his computer. We talk about cloud computing around here - and that conversation isn't going to end - as a way to get that done.
For this farmer, his plan is to build his own cloud. It's a great idea, provided you have a landlord who's a retired computer programmer with time on his hands (which he does). These are the kinds of conversations I'm having these days. You want information and you want to know more about how you can maximize your investment.
However, had another conversation with a farmer and we got into a conversation about broadband speeds. Turns out when he runs a speed test on his connection, his numbers are very low - like .75 meg down and .12 meg up. And yes, there are decimals in front of those numbers. This is NOT a business level of Internet access.
How bad is your connection? You can find out at any time, simply by visiting the website - speedtest.net - and just run a test. If you're upload speed is below 1 Mbps on their scale, it's time to talk to your provider about faster service.
You see the two are connected. If you're going to start accessing farm information stored in a common area - like a "cloud" system - you'll need the best Web access you can economically acquire. That may mean checking other resources, and figuring out ways to share the common connection you have.
We're always looking for tech-oriented story approaches here at Farm Industry News. Tell me about your experience online, or ways you want to boost computing power. Just make a comment below and I'll do my best to respond.
And if you see me at a winter meeting, pull me aside and let's talk. I would love to know what issues you're dealing with on your operation.
Like what you're reading? Subscribe to Farm Industry News Now e-newsletter to get the latest news and more straight to your inbox twice weekly.


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Winter canola can be a valuable alternative crop for many producers in Kansas. It would be even more valuable to some producers if they could utilize winter canola as a dual-purpose forage and grain crop, said Mike Stamm, K-State Research and Extension canola breeder.
Using canola as a dual-purpose crop is a new practice and more information is needed regarding the forage potential of canola and the effects of grazing on grain yields, he said.
"Simulated grazing studies of winter canola have been conducted near Manhattan by K-State agronomists over the past few growing seasons. Preliminary results show that canola makes high-quality, nutritious, and highly digestible forage.
However, ranchers who graze winter canola can expect a reduction in final grain yield," Stamm said.
In the tests, he observed varietal differences in grain yield after the forage was harvested.
"The yield of varieties with a prostrate growth habit, or those that produce rosettes that hug the ground was about the same as that of un-grazed checks," he said.
One such variety, Griffin, was released in 2011 by K-State Research and Extension, the first dual-purpose forage and grain variety. Seed of Griffin will be available for planting in fall 2013, Stamm said.
The availability and duration of canola forage is more weather dependent than it is for winter cereals, he says. Canola should not be grazed if the threat of too little fall growth for overwintering exists, which could be the case this year where emergence was delayed by dry weather.
The amount of forage produced by winter canola is variable, said Todd White, K-State Research and Extension forage agronomist.
"Above-ground wet biomass has ranged from 2 to 10 tons per acre, and dry weights have averaged about 0.4 to 2 tons per acre," White said.
This fall, canola will probably produce less forage than normal, Stamm added.
Ranchers report their animals develop a taste for canola after a few days of grazing it, and noticeably devour the crop before moving to different forages, Stamm said. Others have noticed cattle are not interested in the crop until after a hard freeze.
Some ranchers have seen daily gains greater than 3 pounds per day when grazing winter canola, White said.
"Preliminary grain yields show that simulated grazing of canola reduces grain yield by 50 percent in the fall, while grazing canola in the spring reduces grain yield by 70 percent," Stamm said.
For this reason, grazing is not recommended if the objective is to produce high grain yields, he added.
"Do not graze canola in the spring unless you intend to graze it out," he said.


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Striking nature landscape fine art photography poster prints, decorative canvas prints, acrylic wallart, metal art prints, corporate artwork and images for licensing by James "Bo" Insogna - 303-834-2524
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Striking Fine Art Photography for the home, office, restaurant, boardroom, waiting room, health clinic or almost any interior design.
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The search function works very well to find images that fit your needs, Search by subject, color or place.
Click on Images tab above to see new work.
If you are looking for large canvas wraps up to 32x48, please contact me for monthly special pricing with free shipping.
If you would like to license an image feel free to contact me.
For fast service Image licensing visit iGallery on Pixels to purchase digital downloads.
PLEASE NOTE: No Watermarks will appear on printed products. All images contained in this gallery are James Bo Insogna All rights reserved.
Buy these Fine Art Photography Prints, Stretched Canvas Print / Canvas Art, Metal Prints and Acrylic Prints to decorate your office walls, home walls, cafe, restaurant, boardroom, waiting room or almost any commercial space. Fast, Secure world wide shipping to your door. Wall prints are also a great gift idea. Just click on the image to custom order. Please feel free to browse our other fine art print galleries for more fantastic striking prints guaranteed to liven and class up any decor.
Fine Art America is one of the largest, most-respected giclee printing companies in the world with over 40 years of experience producing museum-quality prints. All of our prints are produced on state-of-the-art, professional-grade Epson printers.
We use acid-free papers and canvases with archival inks to guarantee that your prints last a lifetime without fading or loss of color. Paper prints include a 1" white border around the image to allow for future framing and matting. Canvas prints include a 2.5" white border to allow for future stretching on stretcher bars.
Prints ship within 2 - 3 business days in durable, 1/4" thick cardboard tubes.
All Images are also available for stock photography and non exclusive licensing at our iGallery on Pixels


text:
Quality Plus Manufacturing markets a seed treatment system for applying insecticides, fungicides and inoculants in a single process. This system allows growers to adjust treatments and total acres during planting and avoid the losses associated with leftover pretreated seed.
The 800 series system works with either bulk or bagged seed, easily holding 50 units of soybeans. A holding hopper permits pre-staging, and on-demand automation allows growers to treat up to 100 units without stopping, resulting in an hourly treatment rate of 1,000 units.
Priced at $11,700 and $14,000 for the most popular configurations, the 800 series can mean fresher seed treatment while saving growers 25% of the cost of commercial treatment. For more information, call Quality Plus Manufacturing at 319/636-2204, or visit www.QualityPlusMFG.com.


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A really good one.
Crunchy on the outside.
Perfectly chewy on the inside.
The problem is... they take so much time to make them! Now that I teach a class at 8am, I can't possibly make fresh bagels in the morning.
So, I decided to try something new -- making the dough and shaping the bagels the night before so that all that I need to do in the morning is boil them and bake 'em!
I was delighted to discover it worked.
Oh -- and these beauties.
Yes. They do taste good. Especially with honey. At only 180 calories and a trace of fat, these are healthy too!
{Print Recipe}
2/3 C warm water (70-80 degrees F)
1/2 C sweet potato puree (or pumpkin)
1/3 C brown sugar, packed {next time, I'm planning to try honey}
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. all spice
1/2 tsp. cloves
2 C bread flour
1 C white whole wheat flour
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
2 T water
1 egg white
cornmeal, for baking
Begin by proofing the yeast with warm water in a large bowl. Alternatively, Pam provides instructions for making the bagels dough in the bread machine.
Next, add in the brown sugar, salt, sweet potato and all the spices. Mix until combined.
Add in the flour and then allow your mixer to knead the dough for ~7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. You can certainly do the kneading by hand too.
Allow the dough to rise (covered) for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
When dough has had a chance to rise, divide the dough into 9-10 equal portions. Shape each portion into a bagel by making a hole in the center and rounding out the dough into a circle. I tried a few square bagels too :)
Cover, and let the dough rest on the counter for 10 minutes.
Then, place the dough into the refrigerator and let it sit covered for the night.
In the morning, remove the bagels from the oven and let them come to room temperature (~10 minutes) while you heat a large kettle of water to boiling.
Gently drop bagels, two at a time, into the boiling water and let them boil for 45 seconds. Flip the bagels over with a tong or slotted spoon and let them boil for 45 more seconds.
Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon and allow them to dry out a bit on a clean tea towel.
Dip the bagels into a plate with cornmeal.
Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart from the other bagels.
Combine 2 T water with an egg white, and wash over the top of the bagels.
Bake bagels at 400 for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden brown.
Set on a cooling wrack and try to avoid eating until cooled ... slightly ;-)
This recipe is linked to:
Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
Delicious Dishes
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Ingredient Spotlight x2


text:
Welcome to Spyware site Where you can get a FREE Spyware Download
There are currently over 78,000 spyware and adware programs that are
infecting innocent Internet users such as yourself through downloadable games, music, screensavers, pictures, pop-ups, emails, and the list goes on and on. Spyware and Adware can cause your PC to run extremely slow and even crash, and allow hackers and advertising companies to invade your privacy whenever they wish.
So yes, spyware and adware is a big problem that you must be aware of in order to protect your PC from possible harm.
Free Spyware Download - THIS ANTI-SPYWARE SOFTWARE WILL HELP KEEP YOUR PC FREE FROM SPYWARE and ADWARE INFECTIONS! Scan your PC FREE of charge with Spyware Nuker to locate any spyware or adware infections!
What is Spyware?
Spyware applications are programs and files that hide on your PC's hard drive without your direct knowledge. These programs allow hackers and advertising companies to track your every move, both online and even when you work offline. They can track the websites you visit, the items that you buy online, the emails you send and receive, your Instant Message dialog, and worst of all they can even record your credit card number, personal identification numbers, and all of your passwords. If you use dial-up to connect to the Internet then spyware can be used to bill 900 numbers to your phone bill. This is just a short list of the harm that spyware can cause.


text: Supreme micro-ATX C232 with 5X Protection II for dependable stability, LED-illuminated audio shielding and DDR4 support. 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We employ an active protective circuit design to guard your system against electrostatic interference and damage, providing greater component longevity. 1 LAN port ESD TVS diode protection on the LAN circuit. 2 USB connectors TVS diodes for surface-mount and dual-inline packages. 3 VGA connectors Additional on-circuit ESD TVS diodes to protect D-Sub functionality. 4 Keyboard and mouse connectors Additional on-circuit ESD transient-voltage-suppression (TVS) diodes. DRAM Overcurrent Protection Short-circuit damage prevention Onboard resettable fuses prevent overcurrent and short-circuit damage. This extends beyond I/O ports to DRAM to safeguard the lifespan of both your system and connected devices. DIGI+ VRM Precision control for stable power ASUS-exclusive DIGI+ VRM intelligently delivers power to the processor based on real-time demands, reducing energy waste and improving system stability. Stainless-Steel Back I/O 3X corrosion-resistance for greater durability Corrosion-resistant stainless steel back I/O panels bonded with chromium oxide have a lifespan that's three times (3X) longer than ordinary panels. Superb Performance DDR4 Support Make your memory go fasterWith DDR4, you'll accelerate memory frequencies up to an incredible to 2133MHz! And ASUS works with almost every DDR4 memory vendor, so you're assured the best compatibility. Enjoy the DDR4 benefits with ASUS 100 series. (DDR4 vs DDR3) 2Xfaster write read speeds 2Xlarger capacity 20%lower power consumption Media-acclaimed UEFI BIOS The smoothest, slickest mouse-controlled graphical BIOS has been improved to make it even more appealing. Whether you're a PC novice or a seasoned overclocker, the EZ and Advanced Modes help you find your way, quickly and easily. EZ Flash 3 Update the latest BIOS via the internet, and from within the BIOS. 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It natively supports a maximum of six USB 3.0 ports, six SATA 6Gbit/s ports, and PCIe 3.0 lane speed support for faster data retrieval. Ready for Intel LGA1151 Xeon E3 1200 v5 series processors This motherboard supports Intel® LGA1151 Xeon® E3 1200 v5 series processors, memory and PCI Express controllers integrated to support two-channel (2-DIMM) DDR4 memory and 16 PCI Express 3.0/2.0 lanes for great graphics performance. Ready for 6th-generation Intel LGA1151 Core/ Pentium/Celeron processors This motherboard supports 6th-generation Intel LGA1151 CoreTM / Pentium® / Celeron® processors in the LGA1151 package, with graphics, memory and PCI Express controllers integrated to support onboard graphics output with dedicated chipsets, two-channel (2-DIMM) DDR4 memory and 16 PCI Express 3.0/2.0 lanes for great graphics performance. * Specifications and features vary by model, and all images are illustrative. Please refer specification pages for full details. Dependable Stability Superb Performance Gaming Audio Easy PC DIY Front USB 3.0


text:
Severe Thunderstorm Watch and Flash Flood Watch
The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 4am Sunday 6/23/13
The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls has issued a Flash Flood Watch until 7am Sunday 6/23/13.
Another round of active weather is expected today and tonight, with severe storms possible...Heavy rainfall rates of up to 2 to 4 inches per hour will be possible with the strongest storms, which will bring a high potential for flash flooding across much of the forecast area. Severe storms will also be possible, with hail to the size of golf-balls and 60 mph gusts this evening. Overnight, the main severe threat will be damaging wind gusts to 70 mph and small hail. (Via NWS Sioux Falls)


text: The man of many monikers — Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, etc — has made a name for himself in multiple industries. He got started on his journey to mogul as a 12 year old who lied about his age to get a paper route and then created several false identities in order to operate several others simultaneously. He studied business administration for two years at Howard before taking an internship at Uptown Records. Four years later and two weeks after being fired from the label, he formed Bad Boy Records and produced the debut of the legendary Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G. He helped launch the careers of Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Lil' Kim, Faith Evans and himself. Diddy's tribute to his slain friend Biggie, "I'll Be Missing You," helped make his debut album, No Way Out, multi-platinum. The runaway success lead to lavish and legendary parties with strict dress codes, dating Jennifer Lopez, forays into acting (Monster's Ball, Get Him To The Greek, A Raisin In The Sun on Broadway), founding the Vote or Die campaign and producing reality TV series like Making the Band and Run's House. In 1998, he took on the fashion world. Sean Jean started with clothes for men and boys but expanded to include women's and fragrances by 2004. He's even in the beverage industry as brand ambassador for Ciroc vodka. It's amazing he found time to father five kids with three women — sons Justin and Christian, daughter Chance and twins D'Lila and Jessie.


text:
David Goss
What an interesting article – a really good angle. I think that possibly a lot of people do the right things but in the wrong order, so they design a beautiful site and mark it up carefully, and then start making changes to shoehorn in the business objectives. Doing things in the right order could save a lot of time and money for designers and clients.


text:
Just because something is scary doesn't mean it's a figment of your paranoid imagination.
That is Joshua Corman's response to those who say there is too much unwarranted FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) regarding the lack of security in the Internet of Things (IoT), which is rapidly evolving into the Internet of Everything.
There is reason to be afraid, he said, because the dangers in the digital "ocean" are as real as swimming in a physical ocean of sharks, with blood in the water.
Corman, CTO of Sonatype and one of the featured speakers at the Security of Things (SECoT) Forum in Cambridge, Mass. on Wednesday, used that image for the title of his talk, "Swimming with Sharks -- Security in the Internet of Things."
As he and other speakers throughout the day noted, the attack surface of the IoT is growing exponentially. Most estimates are that there are at least 10 billion "things" now connected to the Internet, with that number expected to reach anywhere from 50 billion to more than 212 billion by the end of this decade, with 30 billion of them self-governing and "autonomous."
[Related: The Internet of Things: An exploding security minefield]
And so far, there is no "cavalry" coming to save the public from IoT threats. It is up to the security community, he said, to "be the voice of reason" and to call for public policy makers to improve "technical literacy." Corman's latest project, @iamthecavalry, is an effort to bring security awareness regarding the IoT to the grassroots.
That, he said, is because there is plenty of information about cool features and convenience from embedded smart devices (remote door locks, automatic insulin pumps, self-driving cars), but not so much about the risks.
"A bedrock principle is that everything we do is based on risk v. reward," he said, "but right now, our understanding of the risk is not based on complete information."
The reality of the IoT, he said, is that, "right now the sharks outnumber the good guys." Instead of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), he said it would be better to think of Advanced Persistent Adversaries. "They're a different kind of shark. It's a very serious problem -- not really a 'what' but a 'who' and 'how.' And we are losing. Our best and brightest are spending millions and billions on security controls, but there are still breaches on regular basis. "
One of the reasons for that is that "offense is easy, but defense is hard." That has been proved by Anonymous, he said, the loose hacktivist collective that Corman spent some time studying as a "species of predator." What he found was that the group, in spite of being populated by relatively unsophisticated people using rudimentary tools, "they made up for it with will power. They went on a 50-day rampage called the Summer of Lulz and pretty much took down anyone and everyone they wanted with great success. They held up a mirror to our neglect. They showed how badly we've operationalized basic web security."
Most important, he said, "they revealed that hacking power existed and was available to anyone. And this has big implications for the IoT," especially given the growth of our dependence on it.
"If you ask: 'Are we getting better or worse at security?' given that our dependence on the IoT is growing faster than our ability to secure it, I don't see the evidence that we are getting better."
There is plenty of troubling evidence of the lack of security he said, noting the recent demonstration by hackers that they could breach the control systems of modern cars, including the airbags, seat belts, brakes and even the steering wheels. He said a friend of his who is diabetic was able to hack his own insulin pump, and demonstrate that an attacker could deliver him a lethal overdose.
The response, when he informed his doctors and the manufacturer of the pump, he said, was simply, "We comply with FDA standards."
Internet-connected door locks that can be opened or closed remotely, "are supposed to keep bad guys out, but they can all be undermined to let bad guys in," he said.
And at the regional level are Industrial Control Systems (ICS) for utilities like water, sewer and the electrical grid that have hard-coded passwords, making them far too easy to hack.
Without public pressure, he said, things are unlikely to change unless there are some high-profile, catastrophic failures of systems. "If it's about public safety and public good, then the public needs to be part of the discussion. And we need to be ambassadors for digital literacy.
"No one is coming to save us," he said, "so it is worth trying. "We are adrift, and blood is in the water."


text:
Hey guys!
The Leech review is live and ready to go! Anything else you wanna see, just let me know!
Hey guys!
The Leech review is live and ready to go! Anything else you wanna see, just let me know!
For toy review videos and more, visit Pixel-Dan.com!
SUBSCRIBE to me on YouTube! YouTube.com/c/Pixel-Dan
Thank you muchly, Dan.
Argh!!! Darn iPad!
Top wants: 3 main Twiggets, Red Knight, Granita, Hunga the Harpy, Dylamug, Vultak, Enchantress, Kothos, General Tataran, Evil Seed (Filmation), Masque, Sybiline (pack-in Gorgon), Melaktha, Despara, toy Catra, Master Sebrian, Andros, Sorceress NA comic, Kex Queen, Lodar, Green trap Jaw, Pink tri-Klops, pale monkey feet Stratos, Orange Ram man, Pale Man e Faces
You sound like you really dislike this figure.
No Hurricane Hordak?
My seller/trader/buyer feedback:
Really been looking forward to this one. Thanks for the preview.
Think he looks way better in this video review than he has in any previous online photos... I'm actually looking forward to getting him now, whereas before September was just a "blah" month in an otherwise fantastic year.
I do agree about the 200X design being better BUT I never liked how the staction was so haunched over. I also see the points about the proportions BUT he's a FANTASY character. He should be wiggling around somewhere with no legs if he were and actual leech or slug. So, for the the proportions don't really bother me all that much.
200X fan? Classic fan? What does that mean? I'm a MotU fan!!!
I wish his mouth were more closed like the staction. Otherwise, the figure is fine.
I think you might be able to pull off a symmetrical Filmation pauldron look if you have two Leeches and heat and pop off the biceps from the top of the arm.
The Official 200X Sorceress vs 200X Evil-Lyn 2 Pack Support Thread
The Blonde Teela Thread
Sagitar (Jetlag) Azdar Belzar Chazdar 200X Evil-Lyn 200X Teenage Prince Adam 200X Teenage Teela 200X Sorceress General Rattlor (MYP) 200X King Randor and Queen Marlena 200X Battle Armor King Randor and Battle Armor Queen Marlena Ice Armor He-Man WMD Roboto
Thanks for the review, and the comparisons of the heads.
I think his proportions are fine, I never really thought about it or noticed anything 'off-looking' about it. Looks great!
I agree the undersides of his hands could have used a bit of detail, but it's still alright. I'm likely to keep his hands pointing down anyway.
video not available?
eta: working now
Last edited by EldestSon; August 21, 2011 at 06:36pm.
Great review, Dan !
I DEFINITELY agree with you about the fact that the 200x staction look is superior to the MOTUC one !
Yes, there's something that's a bit off with the proportions... although this doesn't annoy me as much as what I feel is a horrible sculpt for the head !
I'm sorry, but I just can't get over that head... If the Horsemen had given Leech a 200x head, he would have looked SOOOO much better !
Very great job about the articulations, Dan ! It's nice to know Leech is able to stand on his feet.
Still, I have a question for you: what about the legs movement range ? Is it OK with Leech kicking forward ? Does the loincloth hinder the movements a lot, or is there enough movement ?
I must say I'm still undecided about buying Leech...
Anyway, I'm looking forward to watching Hurricane Hordak's review (by the way, did you receive him at the same time as Leech ?) !
Does he have good range of head movement, or can he only look side-to-side? It looks like the neck is too thick for the usual ball joint to be useful.
A critical cricket is a cricketal critic.
i agree that the standard arms & legs don't look right with the head and torso. i wish they'd waited for leech until they could afford all new parts. but overall i still like him and i think the head sculpt is great. thanks for the review!
Dan the Man. Thanks.
You don't stop playing because you grow old you grow old because you stop playing. George Benard Shaw.
I thought I could get over the odd proportions of the torso I'd noticed since the reveal... but I don't think I can. Maybe I'll save that money and buy a regular Hordak that I'm missing.
Dan, from your description, it sounds like Leech's hands are probably jointed like Bow's. Am I understanding that correctly?
Roast Gooble Dinner podcast Appendix & Notations
Doughnuts & Top Cow podcast Co-Host
not as cool as the statue but a ok figure
the King needs his Queen and pet! Queen Veena and Battle Lion for MOTUC!
For the Love of Illumina & her Cat Sleetah!!
my Feedback http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/...d.php?t=205099
my sale page http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/...d.php?t=205041
Great review Dan,
Just 1 question is his armour removable at all?
great review. there's really only one question...can he-man's head fit in leech's mouth?
Someone get Dan some canned air or something so he can clean his old figures.
Thanks Dan.
p.s. Suction cup hate-or.
No Hurricane Hordak yet. He did not arrive with Leech.
Last edited by Pixel Dan; August 21, 2011 at 08:29pm. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
For toy review videos and more, visit Pixel-Dan.com!
SUBSCRIBE to me on YouTube! YouTube.com/c/Pixel-Dan
Cool figure, thanks for the review.
Thanks Dan! Not seeing the proportions problem at all, though. When I look at the vintage figure, it seems to me that his arms were already pretty thin when compared to his big body. Seems to work just fine, honestly.
Anyway, I'm really lookin' forward to this guy! Looks fantastic!
"Since you got here by not thinking, it seems reasonable to expect that, in order to get out, you must start thinking." ~ Tock, the Watchdog
Alexx has a blog?! Come on in and check out Toys and Tomfoolery! You won't regret it...until the next morning.
I think he fits in perfectly with the present Horde members!! Can't wait. Dan, is the head removable????
I will NEVER believe that Mermista beheaded Mer-Man! You sit on a throne of lies.... and smell of beef and cheese, bio writer!!!!
Great review, Dan. Thanks!
As for the figure, that head is just awful. Another example (even WORSE than Clawful) of when going with more of a Vintage/200x hybrid would have been a better move.
I'm not at all excited about this guy.
Successful trades/purchases
Squishy Duck Man, Man-E-Toys, JOAH-MAN, Jawbridge, Zuff-Man, Mern-Ra, He-Ryno, tattoojunkie74, zodak74, bigassbuzz


text:
Joined 6 February 2006
|This user is a bureaucrat on the English Wikiquote. (verify // user)
|This user is an administrator on Commons. (verify // user)
Hi, I'm EVula, and you're not.
Pages I've worked onEdit
I've done extensive copyvio work on: (removing copyvios, not adding them...)
- Jeff Dunham
- V for Vendetta (film)
- The Nostalgia Critic (went from 495k to just 74k [1])
For more items, check out Wikiquote:Copyright Cleanup Project#EVula.
Other pages I've just had fun editing:
- Mystery Science Theater 3000
- Hot Fuzz
- Firefly (TV series)
- Created {{quotation limit}}
- See Category:1990s films? There were 585 articles just sitting there; I sorted them all, by hand, into their correct sub-categories (which didn't exist at the time).


text:
Visual Basic .NET Database Programming For Dummies
412 pages
November 2001
US $34.99 Add to Cart
This is a Print-on-Demand title. It will be printed specifically to fill your order. Please allow an additional 2-3 days delivery time. The book is not returnable.
Table of Contents
Author Information
Visual Basic.NET Database Programming For Dummies covers everything you need to get up and running with this substantially changed version of Visual Basic and to begin creating databases for the new Microsoft .NET Platform. This book introduces programmers to quick database solutions with Visual Basic.NET; provides step-by-step instructions on how to design and build databases from scratch; and shows you how to create reports, validate and index data, and create custom controls. The book also demonstrates how to connect your database to the Internet.


text:
A heavy metal rocker's $10,000 guitar has been found nearly two months after it was stolen from his tour bus outside the Chicago Theatre, officials said.
Police said the guitar was pawned at Royal Pawn Shop in the 400 block of South Clark Street and later brought to the Chicago Music Exchange, where an employee recognized it as rocker Zakk Wylde's Pelham Blue Les Paul.
Wylde, former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of the heavy metal band Black Label Society, was performing at the Chicago Theatre in March as part of the Experience Hendrix Tour, which featured famous musicians like Buddy Guy and Johnny Lang, when the theft occurred.
Wylde, 47, told police that he returned to his tour bus following his performance at the venue and discovered his guitar and leather jacket were missing, according to Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Jose Estrada.
Wylde valued the guitar, a custom-made Pelham Blue Les Paul with his signature bulls-eye pattern on it, at around $10,000. He told the Chicago Tribune that surveillance footage from the Chicago Theatre showed three men entering the bus after his tour manager forgot to lock the bus door while stocking it with food and ice.
According to a post from an employee at the Chicago Music Exchange Friday, someone brought the guitar in to see if they could replace the instrument's strap and bolts.
"We knew exactly who she [the guitar] was the second she was put on our bench," the post read.
The Chicago Music Exchange notified police Friday evening of the guitar's return and Area North detectives are investigating, Estrada said.
Employees from Royal Pawn Chicago, who were previously featured in the Tru TV reality show "Hardcore Pawn: Chicago," said they were happy to hear the guitar would be returned to the rocker.
"Glad we could help in the safe return of your guitar," the store posted on Wylde's Facebook page.
Wylde posted to Twitter Sunday notifying fans of the guitar's discovery and thanking those who helped find it, though it is not clear if it has been returned to him yet.
MASSIVE BL THANKS To MY BELOVED BL FAMILY & ALL THE ASS-KICKING PEOPLE INVOLVED IN BLUE-BALLS's RETURN HOME!tBLStSDMF pic.twitter.com/bqVCZNjd3b
— Zakk Wylde (@ZakkWyldeBLS) May 4, 2014


text:
A handful of payments companies including Square and PayPal are moving beyond their core market in payments to take advantage of an opportunity to help small businesses grow.
Following the 2008 financial crisis, banks severely restricted access to capital, disproportionately affecting fledgling and medium-sized businesses. Annual loan originations to businesses with $1 million or less in revenue fell dramatically between 2007 and 2013.
For payments companies like Square and PayPal this created an opportunity. They are now offering loans and advances to their small-business clients and charging a fixed fee for the capital advance. It's a way to develop a new revenue stream and help their merchants grow (which in turn, means more money from credit card transaction fees). In a recent BI Intelligence report, we explain how these digital-lending programs work, how they stack up to alternatives, and why banks should be worried about these programs taking off.
Here are some of the key points from the report:
- Small businesses are often in need of quick capital that can't be accessed through traditional bank loans or credit cards. The 2008 financial crisis left hundreds of thousands of small businesses with pent-up demand for working capital to grow their businesses. Only 2.4 million traditional loans were originated to businesses with $1 million or less in revenue in 2013, down 54% from 2007.
- To fill this niche, a handful of start-ups and payments companies are now offering small businesses a financing opportunity that works like an advance on sales. In this report, we focus on two examples: Square Capital and PayPal Working Capital. These programs offer merchants financing in exchange for a fixed fee which is paid back as a percentage of the merchant's daily sales. If merchants have no sales on a particular day they pay nothing.
- The programs are most competitive with credit cards and banks loans. Though the equivalent annual percentage rate (APR) of these programs tends to be higher, they help merchants save time, the terms are clear, and repayment is automated. Merchants often value these features enough to pay what equates to a premium.
- Square, PayPal, and others are offering these lending programs because they can meet an existing demand among merchants they have already acquired as clients. The payments business depends on the number and value of purchases made at merchants since payments companies typically take a cut of each transaction as revenue. Logically, then, payments companies want to serve merchants with growing businesses. But without access to capital, it's difficult for a business to grow. Both companies are seeing more pressure on their primary card-processing businesses as new entrants such as Stripe gain market share. Capital lending offers a high return without extensive startup costs.
- Banks should be worried. These programs compete with existing banking products, including credit cards and bank loans. Even though these programs tend to be more expensive than loans and lines of credit, a large group of merchants turn to them because they can gain access to financing more quickly and easily and because the repayment schedule tracks their business performance.
In full, the report:
- Analyzes the market for small business lending and which business are most likely to use digital lending programs.
- Explains how these new lending programs work using Square and PayPal as case studies.
- Details the advantages that payments companies and other businesses see in small-business lending.
- Investigates why banks should be worried about these new lending initiatives and how they might push back.
Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it:
- Subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and over 100 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> Learn More Now
- Purchase & download the full report from our research store. >> Purchase & Download Now
PS. Did you know...
Our BI Intelligence INSIDER Newsletters are currently read by thousands of business professionals first thing every morning. Fortune 1000 companies, startups, digital agencies, investment firms, and media conglomerates rely on these newsletters to keep atop the key trends shaping their digital landscape — whether it is mobile, digital media, e-commerce, payments, or the Internet of Things.
Our subscribers consider the INSIDER Newsletters a "daily must-read industry snapshot" and "the edge needed to succeed personally and professionally" — just to pick a few highlights from our recent customer survey.
With our full money-back guarantee, we make it easy to find out for yourself how valuable the daily insights are for your business and career. Click this link to learn all about the INSIDER Newsletters today.


text:
In 2003, Chinese rail minister Liu Zhijun proposed to "realize railway development via leaps and bounds."
In 2010, the government called its Great Rail Leap Forward a success: "China has achieved more in high-speed rail development in 5 years than the rest of the world combined in over 4 decades."
But the sector has suffered recently. First Liu was replaced by a less ambitious rail minister as part of a political shift away from rail. Second there was a major train crash in Wenzhou.
Jefferies, in a report out today, says things will only get worse as it becomes apparent that the Great Rail Leap Forward was fueled by an unsustainable rise in debt:
The boom has turned to a bust, and the issues facing rail are symbolic of the risks in China's broad infrastructure spending: 1) It is a key source of rent seeking and grey income; 2) The fast build-out may have come at the risk of quality and safety; 3) Projects are far ahead of demand and have dubious cost-benefit rationales; 4) The lack of demand for the infrastructure and the cash flow mismatch have guaranteed the unsustainable rise of debt at MOR and local governments. If China is to get rich tomorrow, [Fixed Asset Investment] needs to slow today.
Jefferies's Julian Bu identifies some areas where the Great Leap Forward went wrong [our summary follows]:
1) Poor people make up most of the rail passengers, and they don't care how fast the trains go.
2) China is too big a country for rail to compete with air travel when it comes to rich travelers.
3) Planners assumed land value would increase infinitely. Thus they built tracks in sparsely populated and deserted areas, like between Lanzhou and Xinjiang.
4) Many tracks provide overlapping service. Between Beijing and Shanghai, for instance, there are currently three high-speed rail lines and one regular track.
5) China spent illogical amounts to maximize speed.
6) HSR train stations tend to be located far away from city centers. This can be blamed on rushed development, incentive to build new stations rather than expand old ones, and optimism about future urban growth.
7) China cut corners on equipment and safety.
Jefferies reiterated an underperform rating on many Chinese rail companies. Looking beyond rail, the bank declares that China's infrastructure boom has peaked. By now the government seems to have realized that changing its growth model is more important than GDP.


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US man pleads guilty in theft of $5M violin
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A U.S. man pleaded guilty Wednesday to providing the stun gun used to rob a concert master of a $5 million Stradivarius violin.
Universal K. Allah, 36, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine when he's sentenced in late July.
Allah provided the stun gun used to attack and rob a violin concert master in January, according to the criminal complaint. The concert master dropped the instrument, and the robber grabbed it, jumped into a waiting vehicle and fled.
Allah told investigators the thief was 42-year-old Salah Salahadyn, a Milwaukee man who previously served prison time following the theft of a $25,000 statue. Salahadyn had also been heard talking about stealing high-end art, and said his "dream theft" was to snatch a Stradivarius violin because of its potential value and because it could be taken from a musician walking down the street, a confidential source told police.
Salahadyn is also charged with being a party to felony robbery. He pleaded not guilty in February, but his attorney has requested another plea date. A second plea hearing typically would not be scheduled unless the accused person was considering changing a plea. That hearing is set for June 30.
The 300-year-old violin, which has been appraised for insurance purposes at $5 million, was missing for nine days before police recovered it in good condition. It was found in a suitcase in the attic of a Milwaukee home where Salahadyn's acquaintances lived, although police said the homeowner didn't know what was in the suitcase.
Allah's defense attorney, Paul Ksicinski, didn't immediately return a message Wednesday. The criminal complaint says Allah wasn't at the scene of the robbery, Ksicinski has said.
Many Stradivarius violins, crafted by renowned Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari, are owned by private collectors who lend them to top violinists to be played in symphonies. Experts say a Stradivarius violin degrades with disuse but remains in good condition when played regularly.
Experts estimate 600 to 650 Stradivarius instruments remain — about half of what the master produced — and they can be worth millions of dollars each.
Violin thefts are rare, perhaps because thieves know the instruments would be hard to sell. Experts say high-value instruments are almost always well-documented with photographs and easily identified, even if they're being sold halfway around the world.
Dinesh Ramde can be reached at email@example.com.


text:
As a woman, I know I'm supposed to swoon at the sight of chocolate and lower my voice when I rhapsodize about chocolate truffles, souffles and bouchons, as if I were talking about an illicit love affair.
So the first time my then-boyfriend, now-husband brought me a box of exquisite chocolates for St. Valentine's Day, I squealed with delight like I knew I should -- and then promptly stowed the box in the back of the fridge. He found them a few months later -- the cold and the cocoa butter had already rendered them dusty, and it was clear that I hadn't eaten a single one.
He looked at me, he looked down at the box he held in his hand, he looked back at me -- a look of utter shock on his face. I was caught. I had no choice but to confess:
I don't like chocolate.
I'm actually not much for sugar at all. Now, don't get me wrong. I have yet to turn down a dessert that is offered to me. But when it comes to cravings, I tend toward the salty and crunchy. Say, a plate piled high with twice-fried French fries. Or salty potato chips. Or salty pretzels. Or salty . . . well, you get the idea.
But then I met Crack Pie.
Sold at Momofuku Bakery & Milk Bar in Manhattan, this pie has taken New York City by storm, partly because of the audacious name, partly because of the jaw-dropping price tag -- $44 a pie, yes, $44 a pie -- and partly because anyone who has tried it, including myself, CNN bigwig Anderson Cooper and the people who are buying the 60 to 90 Crack Pies sold each day or two, can't stop raving about it.
Still not convinced? Out-of-town demand is so high that the bakery just started shipping the pie by FedEx. They've even sought trademark protection for the name.
Crack Pie is a twist on Chess Pie -- an old-school dessert found in the "Joy of Cooking," popular because it can be made with common pantry ingredients such as butter, eggs, sugar and vanilla.
But Milk Bar pastry chef Christina Tosi's reimagining makes Crack Pie an original. Instead of just a humdrum pie shell that serves as a container for the filling, Tosi dreamed up a shell that begins with a homemade oat cookie blended with a bit more butter, sugar and a healthy dash of salt.
The result is a crust that is divinely rustic and unrefined -- don't bother trying to get a perfect edge as you press it into the pie plate. It just won't happen.
Under Tosi's reconsidering, the interior of this pie takes a glug of heavy cream, a bit of milk powder to help give the mixture body and egg yolks instead of whole eggs.
It's baked at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, and then 325 degrees for about 10 minutes, just until the top is golden brown. The interior will jiggle when you remove it from the oven.
You will fear that the pie is undercooked.
But you must have faith.
It's not an understatement to say that this pie defies description. But I'll try. It's ooey-gooey. Buttery and rich. Silky. Pillowy. I'll wager that it's not like any pie you've ever had before because that salty-sweet-crunchy-oaty crust is as much a part of the pie as the filling itself. In a weird way, it remind me of kettle corn, with that one-two, salty-sweet hit that keeps you coming back for more. And more. And more.
Now, Tosi says Crack Pie must be served cold. And this is where she and I disagree. Take it out of the oven and let it cool just a bit -- otherwise, it's like pouring molten lava on your tongue, and I tell you this from personal experience -- but you want it to be warm when served.
Tosi and I agree, however, on how it should be eaten.
With a spoon.
While it's still in the pie plate.
With your favorite someone.
It's clear that I'm in love. I'm prepared to forsake all others. In my mind, I might as well be on a Crack Pie diet -- reaching this level of dessert nirvana means I can happily pass up all other desserts forevermore. (This must be what other women mean when they say they will do anything for chocolate.)
As for my husband, he's given up trying to guess what I want for Valentine's Day. We're at that "Here's the credit card, just tell me what I bought you" stage. But that doesn't mean romance is dead. I know exactly what I am buying for this holiday of love, and with whom I'm going to eat it.
And if you ask me for details, I'll look around to make sure no one else is listening in, drop my voice to a throaty whisper -- and tell you all about it.
As a woman, I know I'm supposed to swoon at the sight of chocolate and lower my voice when I rhapsodize about chocolate truffles, souffles and bouchons, as if I were talking about an illicit love affair.


text:
- Publish date:
- Updated on
- Year
- 1964
Hanoi prepares for more air attacks
Hanoi is reported to be holding air-raid drills for fear of more U.S. attacks in the wake of the Pierce Arrow retaliatory raids that had been flown in response to the Gulf of Tonkin incident.
The North Vietnamese government urged all civilians with nonessential posts to leave the city. In ground action, ARVN troops ambushed a Viet Cong unit south of Saigon. Meanwhile, Viet Cong guerrillas attacked three hamlets in the Vinh Binh Province along the coast in the Mekong Delta. A U.S. helicopter crashed 50 miles northwest of Saigon, killing three U.S. airmen.


text:
Ant lions hunt despite sealed lips
Ant lions are ferocious predators, but some of them don't have a mouth.
At least not in the usual sense. Over evolutionary time, the slit at the front of the mouth cavity has sealed shut in the armored larvae of ant lions that hunt in sand.
Only young sand-dwelling ant lions are mouthless. As adult insects, the 2,000 or so named species in the ant lion family, the Myrmeleontidae, have mouths and often a touch of the nature-calendar prettiness of damselflies, with long, lacy wings. But "they're not the killing machines that the juveniles are," says biologist Sandra Binning of the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
Instead of mouths, the larvae rely on two long, toothed hooks at the front of the head. The youngsters dig pits in sand and bury themselves up to the hooks, ready to grab and stab ants or other insects that tumble in.
Each hook has a covered groove on the underside. When the hook


text:
If your child, or a child who is close to you is soon turning one, you're probably gearing up for a celebration of a wonderful year with a sweet new little one in your life. After all, this is a momentous event in every parent's life and should be treated as such. Commemorate this momentous occasion with our wonderful gift ideas for baby's first birthday.
Make baby's first birthday memorable with our unique 1st birthday gift ideas for boys and girls, sure to light up the face of any little one. Whether you need a 1st birthday gift for a girl or boy, our presents for 1st birthday celebrations are guaranteed to please both baby and mom and dad.
If you're soon celebrating the older kids in your family, make sure you grab some awesome birthday gifts for kids that will dub you the title of coolest gift giver amongst the youngest members of your family. From superhero t-shirts to totally awesome bedroom decorations that they'll love putting right above their big kid bed, you'll have all the birthday ideas you need to make this a wonderful celebration your favorite youngster will always remember.
Our boy birthday gift ideas are perfect for the little tyke in your life. From personalized buckets filled with bubbly fun, custom backpacks that will hold all of his school essentials on his way to class, and fun play mats he'll spend hours playing on, finding birthday gifts for boys has never been easier.
If you're headed to a baby's first birthday party, don't leave mom and dad out of the celebration; after all, they've made it through a full year of long, sleepless nights and new baby woes and come out on the other side happier for it. Grab a beautiful bouquet before you head over for the party and congratulate them on their first successful 365 days of parenthood.


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Fortunoff Fine Jewelry
Interlocking Open Ring, 18 Karat Gold
Interlocking Open Ring, 18 Karat Gold
Great Gold! New comfortable ring in 18 karat gold mixes the look of yellow gold with just a touch of white for versatility. Stock size 7.
- 18 karat yellow and white gold
- Top measures .70 inch at widest
- Stock size 7
- Made in Spain
Gold Jewelry - What You Should Know
When you are looking at jewelry, it's important to know the quality of what you buy. Sometimes jewelry is characterized as gold, but really contains very little gold, or none at all. When you see several pieces of jewelry that all look similar, yet are priced very differently, the fineness of the gold may account for the vast differences in pricing.
- An item that is called "gold" must be 24-karat gold (that is, pure gold) throughout.
- 14 karat gold is 14/24, or 585/1000, parts gold.
- 18 karat gold is 18/24, or 750/1000, parts gold. The 18 karat gold standard is most typical of Italian and other European countries.
- Vermeil is plated sterling silver. It requires a layer of gold at least 2.5 microns thick (approximately 100 millionths of an inch). The gold is generally 14, 18 or 24 karat, and frequently specified.
- Gold filled, gold plate, and electroplate items have thinner layers of fine gold applied over silver or a base metal such as bronze or steel, and contain less gold content than vermeil. This technique is best suited to necklaces or earrings, where the durability of the coating is less crucial. U.S. laws and FTC regulations are very clear about the thickness or content of gold in these products.
- White gold is created by mixing other alloys with the pure 24K gold. White gold is routinely coated with a rhodium finish. Rhodium is in the platinum family, and therefore tarnish resistant. The rhodium finish on white gold will wear off over time depending on how the jewelry is worn, cared for and cleaned. This finish can be reapplied as needed.
For more information see our Metals Info and Care Guide.
Special Care for Gold Jewelry
- For light cleaning of your gold or platinum jewelry soak the jewelry in a bowl of mild liquid detergent and lukewarm water. Brush lightly with a toothbrush. Rinse thoroughly with warm, then cool water to remove dulling residue, and dry with a soft cloth. To remove heavy grease or oil, dip your precious metal jewelry into plain rubbing alcohol, then follow the directions above.
- Remove jewelry before bathing, swimming, gardening or exercising.
- Chemicals such a chlorine or cleaning solutions can damage your jewelry. Hairspray, perfume or perspiration may also dull the finish of precious metals.
For more information on jewelry care see our Jewelry Care Guide.
If you have questions about how to care for your jewelry, email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Fortunoff Fine Jewelry
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Athens Pizza is a family restaurant located on Centerville Turnpike and Kempsville Road, across from the Woods Corner Shopping Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Athens Pizza specializes in Pizza, Gyros, Subs, Greek Salad and much more. Please take the time to see our complete menu for a sampling of all the delicacies that Athens Pizza has to offer. We also offer a short video tour of Athens Pizza so you can see for yourself how great the food really is!
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I see no chips!
The more I look at this item, the more I'm convinced it's not a rolling pin. I think it might be an automobile vase.In the glory days of motoring before WWII - especially in Pierce Arrow automobiles and the classic Rolls Royce models, cars had vases that sat in special holders inside the "carriage" of the vehicle. Usually, the glass vase was placed in some sort of holder that was attached to the interior frame. The holder could be brass or highly polished wood. A flower or two or three were placed in the vase in water. Every vase I've ever seen in a Pierce-Arrow has a narrow, nipple bottom.
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‡ In these countries please contact our distributor
One of the core duties of a Board is to ensure that companies evolve to meet the ever changing challenges and opportunities they face. A Board must set the pace in this, refreshing and strengthening its membership with deeper expertise, new perspectives and greater diversity.
Since becoming Chairman in 2014 I am pleased with the evolutionary changes we have made at Smith & Nephew. I believe these build on the successes of the past and position the Company well for further progress.
We have been able to attract new Non-Executive Directors of high calibre to replace Board members retiring after completing their service.
Angie Risley, who joined in September 2017, is currently Group HR Director of J Sainsbury plc and was previously Non-Executive Director of Arriva plc, Biffa plc and Serco plc where she was also chairman of the Remuneration Committee. Marc Owen, recently retired from the Executive Committee of Fortune 500 healthcare business McKesson Corp, where he was Chairman of Celesio AG and President of McKesson Speciality Health, and previously a healthcare and technology specialist at McKinsey, joined in October 2017. Roland Diggelmann, Chief Executive Officer at Roche Diagnostics and a member of the Corporate Executive Committee of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, and previously a senior executive at Zimmer GmbH, will join on 1 March 2018.
Marc and Roland strengthen the Board's knowledge of commercial healthcare and the medical devices sector while Angie will provide effective leadership to our Remuneration Committee when Joe Papa steps down at the AGM in April. Joe has been a highly valued colleague and exemplary steward of Smith & Nephew. On behalf of the whole Board, I thank him for his service.
In October Olivier Bohuon notified the Board of his intention to retire by the end of 2018, after seven years as Chief Executive Officer. Under Olivier's leadership Smith & Nephew has undergone important and necessary change and he has significantly strengthened the foundations of our Company. As Smith & Nephew enters its next chapter, the Board is determined to build on this.
Olivier continues to lead Smith & Nephew and drive the Company's growth initiatives and operating plans. In this he is supported by our new Chief Financial Officer, Graham Baker, who joined in March 2017.
The Board has been impressed with Graham's strong start as he quickly developed his understanding of the business and we welcome his commercial acumen and attention to detail. Our views of Graham have been echoed by the positive shareholder feedback we have received.
In 2017 the Board invested significant time meeting local management and employees and understanding market dynamics. These included visiting our offices in Dubai, Tokyo and Hull, as well as some Board members spending time with our salesforce to better appreciate their role and meeting customers. In addition to giving us commercial insight, such activities let us get anecdotal evidence of the culture at Smith & Nephew, something the Board puts great value on. We strive to set the tone from the top, and review data to demonstrate performance, but it is only by meeting employees from all levels of the Company that we can be certain that Smith & Nephew's values of I perform, I innovate and I earn trust are being lived across the business.
We conducted our regular review of strategy and Group structure at our annual strategy meeting in October, ensuring the continued close alignment of Board and management on our expectations and current direction. We upgraded our Risk Management process and strengthened our internal team in this area. Our Senior Independent Director, Ian Barlow, conducted a Board Effectiveness Review which identified some areas of further improvement which we are focusing on, such as deepening our knowledge of the competitive landscape to enable us to better support management develop and deploy resources to win in our chosen markets. I encourage you to read more about these and other matters in our Governance section starting on page 50.
The Board receives regular updates on the performance of the business from the CEO and CFO, together with members of the senior management team attending Board meetings over the course of the year.
We could clearly see areas of the business where the Company excelled in 2017, such as Global Operations where we have improved quality and supply, and R&D, where we have an exciting new product pipeline. It is no coincidence that both of these areas of the business have effective leaders who impressed the Board during 2017.
Whilst the trading performance of the Group was better than in 2016, and we delivered within our guidance, we continue to endorse the Chief Executive's view that this business can and should deliver better results and reinforce the need for continued focus on driving better execution.
The 2017 full year dividend of 35.0¢ per share reflects the strong growth in adjusted earnings per share.
The Board approaches 2018 with optimism. Olivier has built a strong foundation and we expect to attract someone of the highest calibre to accelerate business performance from this base. Thank you for your support and engagement in 2017 and the Board looks forward to serving you into an exciting next chapter for Smith & Nephew.
Yours sincerely,


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Book News: Amazon Expands Into Campus Bookselling
David Ryder/Getty Images
The daily lowdown on books, publishing, and the occasional author behaving badly.
- Amazon has launched a new store and a pickup center with Purdue University, its second university store after the retailer teamed up with the University of California, Davis earlier this year. The store (or "cobranded experience," as Amazon calls it) gives a small percentage of sales to the university. This will be the first Amazon store to provide pickup and drop-off sites on campus. "With the pressure on college campuses to reduce costs, this new way of doing business has the potential to change the book-buying landscape for students and their families," Purdue President Mitch Daniels said in a statement quoted by Publishers Weekly.
- Graham Hillard has a new poem, "Balletomane," in The Believer:
"First the murmuring, then the air turned peculiar:
the sudden, stifling closeness of two thousand breaths
drawn and held like the fermata before an entrance."
- Rebecca Mead considers the question of guilty pleasures: "The fallacy that the pleasures offered by reading must necessarily be pleasures to which a self-defeating sense of shame is attached offers a very impoverished definition of gratification, whatever book we choose to pull from the shelf."
- For Guernica, Jess Row writes about whiteness, blackness and James Baldwin's Another Country: "My version of Another Country would have to begin with whiteness, the unnamed, unresolved, guilty whiteness of 90s liberals, hidden under irony and subterfuge: fake dreadlocks, tribal tattoos, unconvincing DJ names. Whiteness that was doing everything possible to act as if it no longer mattered."
- X-Files star Gillian Anderson — she of the quizzical brow — is coming out with a sci-fi thriller novel, co-written by Jeff Rovin. Simon & Schuster has an excerpt.
- Bookstore sales fell 7.9 percent in the first half of 2014, compared with the same period last year.


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Our Mechatronics Engineering Program has been accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. This accreditation is retroactive to October 1, 2015.
The purpose of Engineering Technology is to prepare students for a broad range of technical and industrial management positions. This is accomplished through nationally accredited programs, a project-based learning environment, and extensive collaboration with industry. The department faculty members have appropriate academic credentials in addition to significant industrial experience. Numerous opportunities are available for students to participate in nationally competitive projects related to topics such as space robotics and solar-powered vehicles.
Several programs require heavy interaction with the industrial sector, which allows students to work on projects with potential employers. Experiential learning opportunities exist through cooperative and internship classes. Highly motivated students may wish to obtain important industry-recognized certifications that exceed accreditation requirements. Students may study an array of the latest breakthroughs in topic areas such as constructions, rapid prototyping of electrical and mechanical systems, safety, engineering systems, and environmental science. The combination of these programs and activities offers preparation for graduates entering the fast-paced technology sector.
Department Mission
The mission of the Department of Engineering Technology is to
- develop students who will base professional decisions and actions on their social, economic, and environment implications
- prepare students who are well prepared for a variety of professional careers in industry, education, and government
- contribute to the profession's knowledge base through research
- develop a mutually beneficial alliance with industry, government agencies, and educational institutions by seeking and sharing facilities and expertise
The Robert E. and Georgianna West Russell Chair of Manufacturing Excellence is designed to promote quality interaction with local industry. Students are encouraged to benefit from the scheduled activities, seminars, and short courses sponsored by the Chair of Manufacturing Excellence.
The department offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Engineering Technology, Environmental Science, and Mechatronics Engineering.
The Engineering Technology major includes three concentrations: Computer Engineering Technology, Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology, and Mechanical Engineering Technology. The Mechatronics Engineering major is the only engineering degree that MTSU offers at this time.
Minors are offered in Electronics, Engineering Systems, Engineering Technology, and Environmental Science.
Courses are also offered which apply toward Six-Sigma certification, Lean manufacturing certification, safety certification, and credits toward PMI® certification in Project Management. Cooperative Education work experiences are possible for most programs. Interested students should check with their advisors.


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I believe God put each kiddo in my room for a reason. It might have been a kiddo who needed me as I tried to remember to have a heart of patience or He might have put that child in my room to teach me to have more patience. Our children learn so much because we are a lesson to them.
My greatest gifts have been in the encouraging words from a parent who has told me how much I have helped their child and them. Even when I have not heard those words, I remember Colossians 3:23- "whatever you do, work at it with all of your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."
Yes, there are times I complain A LOT! There are times I wonder if it is time to become a Wal-Mart greeter. There are times I feel as if I am a
So, take a little time today to know that you ARE making a difference.


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Hey everyone! I bought my first bento box in July, a blue Daiso Lovely but within a couple of days that one broke. The seal on the top layer had kind of peeled back. Japan Centre then sent me a new one, free of charge :D and this has been fine, until today when the same thing happened! This time however I had a cabbage ball in there and a little gratin cup (hmm wonder where those recipes came from xD) so the juices leaked all over my bag :(
Anyone else had problems like that with these type of boxes? Or am I just unlucky and got two from a defective batch?
I have emailed Japan Centre again to let them know. Don't know what will happen as I think its outside of those 28 days...
Do they have more bento boxes in their store? I am visiting London town on Friday and Saturday (busy bee!) so if they stock any higher end stuff, that maybe more sturdy, I may get another.
I'm not short, I'm fun sized ^_^
Hi Leelee
I tend to use lock-and-lock for 'wet' stuff - one too many handbag leaks!
Japan Centre also sells the urara (red, blue, mustard) boxes, but they are most definately not watertight. I know the lovely box is supposed to be airtight, but I don't trust any daiso boxes to be water-tight!
It has been great before at keeping grease out of my bag, but its because it broke. And thats the second one I have had thats broke, thats my issue.
I wouldn't trust it with say soup or something, but with this, well as I said I never had a problem before... :( I hate when things break
So I got myself a Sistema lunch cube for now. Quite nice, compartments etc but its a very large capacity compared to before! 1.2L (?) One half of the box fits all the lunch I used to take. And its not as dainty.
I am going to take my boxes to Japan Centre in London to see if they can sort something out and so they can inspect it. I may find a nicer, more sturdy box there as well.
Salad for lunch for a while then? Big boxes are good for salad.
My blog is Food and Shoes
Yep it will have to be I guess. I don't like salad in cold weather either, but oh well!
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@justbento - strictly site updates
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ENGS 105: Computational Methods for Partial Differential Equations I
This course concentrates on the numerical solution of partial differential equations commonly encountered in Engineering Sciences. Finite difference and finite element methods are used to solve problems in heat flow, wave propagation, vibrations, fluid mechanics, hydrology, and solid mechanics. The course materials emphasize the systematic generation of numerical methods for elliptic, parabolic, and hyperbolic problems, and the analysis of their stability, accuracy, and convergence properties. Weekly computer exercises will be required to illustrate the concepts discussed in class.


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If you ever complain about a cough, cold or the flu on Twitter or Facebook, a Baltimore startup called Sickweather.com wants your tweets and status updates.
The website, which launched in November, mines social networking sites using a computer algorithm, and is able to tease illness trends out of a sea of social media-data.
Sickweather is the brain-child of Graham Dodge, a 36-year-old Windsor Mill resident, who pulled in a pair of his Dulaney High School buddies, Michael Belt and James Sajor, to launch the company.
Dodge spent years in Los Angeles during the first dot-com bubble, more than a decade ago, working in Internet media businesses. Living in Maryland for the last several years, Dodge works full-time as a marketing director for a Timonium accounting firm.
But for the past year, he and his partners have been nursing the startup dream with Sickweather, a site that aims to provide consumers with real-time information about illness trends in their communities across the country. The team is currently looking for early stage investors, but have already gotten media attention in the United States and England.
The site could be a boon to health care providers and pharmaceutical companies, who can use it to advertise their products and services to a highly targeted audience: sick people who want to feel better as quickly as possible.
Dodge recently spoke with the Baltimore Sun about Sickweather's origins, its competition and business model, and the prospects for adapting the site to forecast other trends using social media data.
How did you get the idea for Sickweather?
About a year and a half ago, I was sick with a stomach bug. My first inclination was to find out if anyone had the same thing. I went on to Facebook to see if my friends were talking about the same bug. Sure enough, I found a friend. Based on my background in web development and online marketing, and knowing how the [application programming interfaces] work on Twitter and Facebook, I knew I could do that search on a broader scale with keyword filtering, and be able to tell what symptoms were going around.
Is Sickweather your first startup project?
No, back in the first dot-com bubble (in the late 1990s), I had a startup called Notfilms.com. It was a portal for users to send us amateur videos. People would send us videos and VHS tapes and we would have a person encode the video and put it online. We would get a dozen or so videos a week and do our best to keep up with it. People didn't have broadband connections back then. This was before YouTube. There was no platform or venue for anyone who wanted to show a video of themselves skating down a sidewalk. We ended up not surviving the dot-com bubble bursting. Our funding dried out. And then a couple years later, YouTube emerged. The concept was there but the audience and the technology wasn't ready.
How does Sickweather fit in with the science of studying outbreaks and contagion in public health?
Two of our advisors are from Hopkins, one is a professor and the other is a Ph.D. student. They have received their own press for their own research in using Twitter to track illness. We quickly realized we had some synergy in what we were doing. Our approach is validated by their own research and the research of others who use natural language processing [to study online public health trends].
Several years ago, Google released their Flu Trends tool, which can show and predict flu outbreaks based on keyword searches people are using for flu symptoms. But, aside from that tool, Sickweather doesn't really seem to have much competition.
That's right, surprisingly. ... There was nobody mining the social graph [online social networking websites] for indications of illness the way we were thinking of doing, and nobody doing it in real time. ... Not only are we not limited to just tracking flu, we can also mine the social graph in real time and search any symptom or illness that people openly talk about on social media.
I noticed that depression was one of the top three sicknesses in Baltimore last week.
Yes. And after we [the Baltimore Ravens] beat the Steelers, depression was the no. 1 symptom in Pittsburgh.
Can you get into forecasting sicknesses the same way TV weather forecasters try to predict future weather patterns?
Yes, we can. The 7 million tweets we've collected, we've refined down to 1.3 million qualified reports of illness, with 90 percent accuracy. So 9 out of 10 times, our algorithm is correctly identifying a sickness. One of the things we're rolling out soon is time lapse maps, so you can see where diseases are growing. It's very much like weather forecasting. It's early days for illness forecasting. We're really the first company to offer sickness forecasting for consumers. We were able to forecast whooping cough in Algonquin, Ill., about two to four weeks before it was reported in the media. In that sense, we're already predictive.
Where are most of your users?
Most are in London. It's our most popular city. It's probably because we received press in the BBC. After London, it's Washington, D.C., then Baltimore, then New York. Conservatively, we hope to have 200,000 registered users by the end of the year. [Dodge declined to release the current number of users.]
There are a lot of things that people reveal about themselves through social networks that can be searched — why did you decide to focus on public health and not, say, political sentiment?
Our technology could definitely be transposed as a listening tool for any number of subjects, and we do have plans to develop and roll that out into separate companies. Right now, our focus is on health because it seems to resonate really well among the general public. I think people appreciate that this information is used for a greater good.
What is your status as a startup? Are you seeking financing?
We're [at a] very early stage still. We still have not received any funding. Up to this point, we've been bootstrapping it with our own capital and sweat equity. We have advertisers who are interested. Real ads will start appearing on this site later in the first quarter. We have nine on staff, myself and my two partners included. We're all working in varying degrees of full-time or part-time on the project. We are in the process of talking to angel investors.
So what's Sickweather's business model?
It's ad-revenue-based. We offer what we call symptom-targeted advertising. When users come to our site with a cough, we can serve up ads that are directly related to that symptom. It's a highly targeted ad platform for health care providers.
Looking back, did you ever think you'd be involved in a startup such as Sickweather?
No. It's been exhilarating. It's been hard work. And we still are very much coming from outside the box of health care. We are very much outsiders looking into that world, and that may be to our advantage... We've been embraced by many healthcare 2.0 bloggers and people who are health care prophets, who are saying change is coming and Sickweather is going to be a part of that new ecosystem.
See more business leaders interviewed by The Baltimore Sun


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SMH News Of The Week: Chinese Couple Sell Their Kids In Order To Keep Up With Video Gaming Expenses!
"People will sell all sorts of things to feed an addiction, but a couple in China has gone further than ever before. The National Ledger reports... "A young Chinese couple has sold all three of their children in exchange for money to play online games at Internet cafes...[a relative] turned the couple in after learning what [they] had done." $9,700--A blogger for Joystiq writes, that was the amount the parents reeled in for the children before they were turned in. "Li Lin and Li Juan sold their baby daughter for approximately $500 as well as two sons for $4,600 each. The Sanxiang City News reported that the couple were turned over to authorities by Li Lin's mother." While selling children is illegal in China, the couple's defense was a little unorthodox. They claimed: they didn't know. Digital Journal says that isnt' as far off as it may sound. They say other Chinese laws may have confused the young parents. They report... "According to Sanxiang City News, the newspaper which originally reported on the couple's actions, neither Lin nor Juan knew that selling their children was illegal. In China, where a one-child policy is heavily enforced, it is likely that the couple--both allegedly under 21 years of age-- sincerely did not know that their actions were against the law." A writer for Dvice reacts saying, we've seen this kind of behavior from electronics junkies before, but never like this. "We've heard of young teens trading kidneys for iPads, virginities for iPhones and weirdos who eat deep-fried PSPs, but parents selling their kids to fund Internet gaming addictions? That's new and insane." But is it really that simple? A writer for Gather says that gaming or otherwise--an addiction is an addiction. "It's more than a case of deadbeat parents; the egregious act is tantamount to a crack cocaine addiction. In both instances, the instrument of addiction is needed over and over as the person chases another high."" - Newsy
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