text:
Who is the Most Overpaid Actor in Hollywood?
Let's face it: actors get paid a lot of money. Sometimes it's well worth it. Other times? Not so much. So who came out on top of the 10 Most Overpaid Actors in Hollywood? Let's find out.
Forbes looked back at the last three movies in an actor's career, calculated that against their salary and how much the film made and came up with the following list. And it's not pretty for Eddie Murphy. It's no surprise the years haven't been kind to Murphy, who was once box-office gold. But his last three live-action films were 'Tower Heist,' 'Imagine That' and 'A Thousand Words' - all of which underperformed.
Coming in at a solid #2 is Katherine Heigl who is reportedly making $12 million these days for a movie. By contrast, her last film, 'One For the Money,' only made $26 million total. Also, who is paying Katherine Heigl $12 million to star in a movie?! We're not Louis B. Meyer over here but this seems like an unwise decision considering, you know, "Katherine Heigl is annoying" is a top Google search result.
When you look at the list, you see a lot of big names (Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller), some Oscar-winners (Sandra Bullock, Denzel Washington) and a lot of what you'd think are major stars (Don't people love Reese Witherspoon? Isn't that a thing?). But name-power doesn't get you as far as it used to. Look at 2011 when the stars of the biggest three movies of the year were Daniel Radcliffe, Shia LaBeouf and Robert Pattinson. Or how Sony rebooted 'Spider-Man' with Andrew Garfield so they didn't have to pay Tobey Maguire $20 million for 'Spider-Man 4.'
Take a look at the full list of the 10 Most Overpaid Actors and see if you agree.
1. Eddie Murphy – Returns $2.30 for every $1 paid.
2. Katherine Heigl – Returns $3.40 for every $1 paid.
3. Reese Witherspoon – Returns $3.90 for every $1 paid.
4. Sandra Bullock – Returns $5 for every $1 paid.
5. Jack Black – Returns $5.20 for every $1 paid.
6. Nicolas Cage – Returns $6 for every $1 paid
7. Adam Sandler – Returns $6.30 for every $1 paid.
8. Denzel Washington – Returns $6.30 for every $1 paid.
9. Ben Stiller – Returns $6.50 for every $1 paid.
10. Sarah Jessica Parker – Returns $7 for every $1 paid.


text:
MoveForward 2011 Limited is a Wellington, New Zealand technology company with a staff of five across two divisions - Crackerjack Digital and Crackerjack Hosting.
MoveForward has clients in New Zealand, Australia and USA.
Crackerjack Digital
Crackerjack Digital builds exceptional websites, mobile websites and web-based software for discerning creative and digital agencies.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
The attached Harper's Bazar article was written by my great grandfather Governor Steunenberg of Idaho. I am happy to say that the governor appears to have had a reasonably progressive view of suffrage in 1900 at a time when it was still being greatly resisted.
Further reading:
Governor Steunenberg and his assassination on by blog at: Idaho Meanderings
The HBO movie: Iron Jawed Angels
American Memory: Suffrage Prisoners
Time Classroom: Iron Jawed Angels
YouTube: Video Preview of Iron Jawed Angels


text:
Fromer Pakistani army chief Musharraf charged in 2007 Bhutto assassination
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan – A Pakistani court has indicted former Pakistani president and army chief, Pervez Musharraf, in the 2007 assassination of a former prime minister.
Afsha Adil, a member of Musharraf's legal team, said Musharraf pleaded not guilty.
Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was killed in 2007 during a rally in the city of Rawalpindi.
Prosecutor Chaudry Muhammed Azhar said the charges include murder, conspiracy to commit murder and facilitation for murder.
Prosecutors have said Musharraf, who was president at the time, failed to properly protect her.
Musharraf has faced a litany of charges relating to his rule since returning to the country in March from self-imposed exile.


text:
NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Clinton Group, Inc. ("Clinton Group"), one of the largest owners of Xenoport, Inc. XNPT ("Xenoport"), sent a letter to the Chief Executive Officer of Xenoport, Dr. Ronald W. Barrett, calling for change in Xenoport's management and capital allocation.
As indicated in the letter, the full text of which is copied below, the Clinton Group believes Xenoport's assets are worth substantially more than the current stock price implies, but that changes are required for stockholders to realize that value. Clinton Group believes the fair value for the Company is $13 to $16 per share.
About Clinton Group, Inc.
Clinton Group, Inc. is a Registered Investment Advisor based in New York City. The firm has been investing in global markets since its inception in 1991 with expertise that spans a wide range of investment styles and asset classes.
[Clinton Group Letterhead]
October 15, 2013
Ronald W. Barrett, Ph.D Chief Executive Officer Xenoport, Inc. 3410 Central Expressway Santa Clara, CA 95051
Re: Capital Allocation and the Importance of Focusing on 829
Dear Dr. Barrett:
I write on behalf of the Clinton Group, Inc., the investment manager to various funds and partnerships ("Clinton Group") that collectively own more than 1.3 million shares of the common stock of Xenoport, Inc. ("Xenoport" or the "Company"). This ownership stake makes Clinton Group one of the Company's top ten owners, according to Bloomberg data.
We have been aggressively buying the Company's stock lately because we believe Xenoport's assets are worth substantially more than the stock price implies. We believe fair value for the Company is closer to $13 to $16 per share, but we are also convinced that some significant changes in capital allocation and management need to be made for stockholders to realize this value.
At the moment, we believe the Company is on the wrong course, with the wrong management team. Having spent $750 million since the inception of the Company, you have had no commercial success. The capital markets have assigned an enterprise value to Xenoport of just $195 million (despite the Company having spent multiples of that amount on research and development) and the stock is down more than 47% and 86% in the one- and five-year periods ended Friday. Over the same periods, the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index is up 42% and 185%, respectively. Investors in the Company's 2005 initial public offering have lost nearly half their investment over the last eight years.
For stockholders to expect a different outcome in the future, the Company must change leaders, capital allocation strategy and direction. We are bullish on the prospects for the stock, if the Board adopts these suggestions.
Fourteen years into the Company's history, Xenoport is left with three principal assets: gabapentin enacarbil, the Company's FDA-approved drug for the treatment of moderate-to-severe primary restless legs syndrome ("RLS"), known as "Horizant" in the United States; XP23829 ("829"), the Company's novel fumaric acid ester compound and pro-drug for monomethyl fumarate (or "MMF"); and cash, which we estimate to be $70 million. (FN. 1).
It appears to us that gabapentin enacarbil (which, for ease of reference, I will refer to as "Horizant") will not be successful commercially. We wish it were otherwise: as stockholders we would certainly benefit if Horizant had developed a strong clinical following or if it were on a predictable path to commercial success or lucrative sale. However, we see no objective reasons to be optimistic.
In the United States, the drug has been on the market for more than two years and has garnered aggregate sales of approximately $14 million, according to Morgan Stanley Research. You chose to partner the drug with Glaxo ("GSK"), which was certainly sensible at the time given GSK's experience in the RLS market with Requip and its large neurology sales force. Horizant did not sell, which you now blame on GSK's approach to the launch. But there is no evidence that the flaccid launch was solely or even primarily the result of GSK's approach.
Rather, an equally or more likely thesis is that Horizant (at $125 per month) is not differentiated enough from generic gabapentin (available for $11 per month) or the two other generic RLS treatments (ropinirole and pramipexole, both also available for $11 per month), other extended-release versions of gabapentin, such as Gralise (which admittedly is not labeled for RLS), or other branded RLS treatments, such as Neupro, Requip XL and Mirapex ER. In a crowded market for RLS drugs, dominated by three drugs that have gone generic, the Company chose not to do any head-to-head clinical studies, leaving doctors and payors without any evidence of superior efficacy or differentiation. We suspect this lack of objective, comparative studies is the real cause of Horizant's tepid reception; GSK's marketing approach likely would not have mattered.
Evidence from Asia bolsters our view. In Japan, Xenoport's Asian partner, Astellas Pharma Inc., has sold just $2 million of the drug in the first 12 months of availability there. (There is hope that Astellas will achieve a small increase in run rate as some of the year-one Japanese regulatory restrictions are lifted, but no one appears very enthusiastic.) In May, Astellas informed the Company that it does not want to launch the drug in the five other Asian markets to which it had rights.
It appears Horizant will never be the commercial success we all wish it were.
XP23829 ("829") is quite a different story. We are extremely enthusiastic about the prospects for 829. With a pharmacokinetic profile that nearly matches that of Biogen's Tecfidera (another MMF prodrug), so-called "formulation 1" of 829 appears very likely to be developed into an effective treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis ("MS") or psoriasis, or both. The Company's early studies also suggest formulation 1 of 829 is likely to produce fewer side effects than Tecfidera. As promising, so-called "formulation 2" of 829 holds the prospect of superior efficacy compared with Tecfidera as its time-release formulation may allow more constant exposure to MMF and improve upon Tecfidera's daily, dual-peak MMF exposure.
It appears to us that 829 is poised to follow in the footsteps of other "second generation" biotechnology blockbusters that, even with just small improvements in efficacy, dosing or side effects, have proven to be substantial clinical and commercial successes. Like 829, these second-generation drugs - examples include Abraxane (which improved upon paclitaxel), Vyvanse (improving upon Adderall) and Eylea (improving upon Lucentis) - were built around the known efficacy of chemically related "first generation" drugs (or use the same mechanism as that parent). Building a product on established science in this way has proven to be relatively lower risk than the typical biotechnology endeavor and enormously profitable for investors as even small improvements can be clinically and commercially significant.
That is the opportunity - and it is not small - with 829. Citigroup Research projects that Tecfidera will garner sales of $5 billion globally in 2019, growing to more than $8 billion annually by 2027. After just six months on the market, Tecfidera already has captured 11% market share among MS drugs, according to Credit Suisse Research, and its commercial launch has been characterized as having "stellar performance" that makes it the "holy mother of launches." (FN. 2)
The capital markets have certainly taken note of the MMF opportunity. Since the time Biogen announced Phase III results of BG-12 (the compound that became Tecfidera) on April 12, 2011, Biogen's market capitalization has grown by more than $36 billion. Most of that growth, in our view, is attributable to Tecfidera's prospects as the only approved MMF prodrug on the market.
Yet Tecfidera, having proven that MMF is extremely effective in treating MS, is vulnerable to competition. Reported side effects, primarily gastrointestinal events and flushing, affect more than 40% of patients, and Tecfidera's dosing pattern and pharmacokinetics may not be ideal.
Xenoport's 829 - having received just $10 million of research and development support (FN. 3) from the Company - is positioned to be a second-generation MMF prodrug and presents the Company with a massive commercial opportunity. Given its overlapping pharmacokinetic profile with Tecfidera, we believe the Company's ability to demonstrate efficacy in MS and psoriasis is a low risk proposition. And the early signs suggest, as noted, that 829 may well have fewer side effects or, in formulation 2, may even be superior in efficacy.
Developed correctly and expeditiously, 829 thus has the opportunity to share in the MMF market with Tecfidera as an equivalent or superior compound for treating MS. We believe 829 could be approved, and in the market, for MS by 2019 and for psoriasis by 2017. With Tecfidera protected by patents through at least 2028 (and 829 protected by non-overlapping composition-of-matter patents even longer), the two compounds could split the commercial market for MMF for many years. Even modest market share for 829 would generate hundreds of millions in cash flow to Xenoport annually.
The Path Forward
The significant economic prospects for 829 are clearly not fully priced into the stock. Instead, the capital markets have seemingly attributed nearly all of the value of MMF as a treatment for MS (and psoriasis) to Biogen. We think we know why.
We believe the capital markets have largely ignored the prospects for 829 because Xenoport's operational, strategic and capital allocation history suggests that Xenoport will not execute well on this golden opportunity. The stock market is betting against our management team and strategy, not against our compound. (Consider, for example, the 2013 class of biotechnology IPO companies, many of which carry valuations that are multiples of Xenoport despite having less developed science, a riskier development path and uncertain end-market dynamics. Nevertheless, these "fresh" public companies have captured the stock market's attention because their management teams are well regarded, they appear focused and they have not yet disappointed investors.)
I am sorry to say that Xenoport, on the other hand, has given the market good reason to be skeptical. In its fourteen-year history, the Company has incurred cumulative losses of $500 million, chasing various markets and drug prospects, always with enthusiasm, but seemingly without discipline and never, so far, with commercial success. With the Company's cash hoard whittled to just $70 million at the hands of these various failed efforts, the Company again appears to be distracted from advancing its highest probability prospect (829) in what we believe will be an unprofitable, and likely fruitless, effort to salvage Horizant.
As you know, the Company has announced plans to spend as much as $35 to $40 million of its remaining cash in an attempt to demonstrate that Horizant is commercially viable. We are skeptical that it will work, but more importantly, we are flabbergasted that a small-cap biotech company would chose to spend some of its last dollars (which are not cheap) to hire a contract sales force, produce marketing collateral, hold science talks for doctors, develop sales operations and distribution capabilities and build other internal capabilities (such as FDA reporting) that are necessary to be a full commercial enterprise. This is not the prerogative of $250 million biotech companies. That is especially so when the Company has an exceptional compound in its lab, just waiting to be developed.
Indeed, we see these renewed and expensive efforts on Horizant as little more than a Hail Mary pass, without any objective evidence to suggest that the effort will be successful. (Query why, if there were such evidence, another party with more and cheaper capital has not rushed in to fund the effort in a structure that would be beneficial for both it and Xenoport.) We are mindful that you and the Company expended a lot of hard work (and capital and emotion) in the development of gabapentin enacarbil, in the hard-won FDA approval, in the initial licensing success and in the subsequent litigation and settlement with GSK. But sunk costs and emotion have no place in capital allocation decisions.
The reality is that the drug had a failed launch and it is nearly unprecedented for a drug re-launch to achieve significantly different commercial results. We fear the book on Horizant has been written.
Importantly, the Company also no longer has the luxury of "excess" capital. It is time for Xenoport to be ruthless about its portfolio of assets and disciplined in its capital allocation. The only proper question for the Board and management team now is: how does the Company maximize the value of its assets for the benefit of the current stockholders?
The Company is down to its last $70 million. With the stock severely undervalued, doing an equity capital raise should be off the table. (More on that math later.) The Board and management team should assume that the remaining cash is the only cash the Company can invest. Xenoport needs to put its $70 million to work in the highest probability-weighted investment projects available.
We are convinced that the capital can all be put to work, with extremely high probability adjusted returns, on the further development of 829. The capital could be used for a Phase 2 study in MS, or a Phase 2 and Phase 3 study in psoriasis, or some combination of these. Spending on drug development - the core mission of the Company - has a much higher expected return than hiring sales people to pitch doctors. Indeed, our models, which we are happy to share with you, suggest that spending the $70 million on 829 would advance the science far enough along to garner a significantly improved partnering deal on 829 or a sale of the entire Company at a significant premium to today's stock price.
We estimate the net present value of 829 to the existing stockholders (in the scenario in which the Company moves the science along further by using substantially all of its cash on this effort) at approximately $600 to $700 million, or $12.50 to $14.50 per share. The major assumptions used in our model, which we believe are very conservative, are described in the appendix to this letter.
By contrast, spending less on 829's development (e.g. so the Company can hire a contract sales force to market Horizant, as the current plan calls for) is likely to result in a less advantageous licensing deal on 829 and a lower premium on the sale of the Company. Simply put, the science will not be as far along and the risks and costs will be higher for a partner. When we model those assumptions, based on as much market data as we can gather, we conclude that 829 has a net present value to stockholders in this scenario of $450 to $550 million.
Thus, we believe that were the Company to spend the $30 to $40 million of cash currently earmarked for Horizant commercialization instead on 829 science, the increase in value to stockholders would be approximately $150 million (the difference between $650 million and $500 million), or about $3 per share. We also believe that the signaling effect of allocating capital properly - and demonstrating management's confidence in its 829 program - would in any event lead to a higher stock price, as more of the $650 million in 829 value that we estimate becomes priced into the stock.
Dr. Barrett, we have heard you say that you believe you can have it both ways. That essentially you can spend the $30 to $40 million on Horizant and then raise additional capital to advance the 829 program. We are supportive, of course, of raising non-dilutive capital, if you can do so before you spend on Horizant and if doing so will augment the value of the Company's assets without distracting management. But, given where the stock trades today, it would be a huge mistake to dilute the current stockholders' ownership of 829 (which is worth, in our view, more than three times the total enterprise value of Xenoport) to raise capital for Horizant commercialization. That is especially true given that Xenoport has absolutely no experience commercializing a drug and the returns on spending $30 to $40 million on Horizant are completely speculative.
The math is relatively simple. Assume that Horizant is worth $50 to $100 million today ($1 to $2 per share), consistent with what several sell-side analysts have written. Even if spending an additional $35 million on Horizant could be expected to increase Horizant's value by $50 million (color us skeptical), stockholders would be worse off if that $35 million is taken away from 829 development or raised by selling equity. And, of course, the math is even worse for existing stockholders if, as we suspect is likely, Horizant's value is left unaffected by the $35 million in spending. See below.
Alternatives Description Advance 829; sell Split existing capital Raise additional Horizant between Horizant equity and spend and 829 on 829 and Horizant Optimistic Case for Horizant Value of 829 $ 650 $ 500 $ 650 Value of Horizant $ 100 $ 150 $ 150 Total Equity Value $ 750 $ 650 $ 800 Shares Outstanding 47.7 47.7 55.2 Price Per Share (a) $ 15.72 $ 13.63 $ 14.50 Discount to Optimal -13.3% -7.8% Downside Case for Horizant Value of 829 $ 650 $ 500 $ 650 Value of Horizant $ 50 $ 50 $ 50 Total Equity Value $ 700 $ 550 $ 700 Shares Outstanding 47.7 47.7 55.2 Price Per Share (a) $ 14.68 $ 11.53 $ 12.69 Discount to Optimal -21.4% -13.7% (a) $35 mm capital raise assumed to cost 6%; offering priced at 12.5% discount to market ($ in millions, except per share prices)
The Company, in our view, has sub-optimally deployed stockholder capital for too long. It is time, in our view, for some focused efforts and belt tightening. With just 88 employees, we are befuddled by the cost structure of the Company, which has incurred "selling, general and administrative" expenses (not including R&D) of nearly $30 million per year over the last five years, including more than $2.6 million per year for your services. (We also note that less than 10% of your bonus last year was dependent on progress with 829.) And while annual SG&A costs have grown over those five years, the Company cut its R&D budget nearly in half during the period. Now the Company spends more on SG&A than it does on R&D.
Stockholders are much worse off. From 2008 to 2012, while you collected more than $16 million in pay, grew SG&A expenses, cut the R&D budget in half and spent less than $10 million on 829, the stock dropped 86%. We recognize as well that your interests and ours as stockholders are not very well aligned. Despite serving as a co-founder of the Company and its Chief Executive Officer for the past twelve years, we calculate that your equity stake in Xenoport is currently worth less than $1.4 million.
Dr. Barrett, we believe the Company needs a new Chief Executive Officer who will think like an owner, with a mandate to urgently execute on the Company's best prospects and grow the value of its most promising asset, 829. We encourage you to step aside and to ask the Board to search for a new Chief Executive. More importantly, we urge you to stop your spending on Horizant immediately and to pursue with exigency the development of 829.
Please know that we believe these changes are critical for stockholders to realize the full and fair value of the Company's assets. Accordingly, if you and the Board choose not to move along this path, we will have no choice but to exercise our various rights as stockholders to ensure the value of the Company is preserved and grown.
We are available at any time to discuss these matters with you or members of the Board of Directors.
Best regards.
Gregory P. Taxin President
Appendix Valuation Model Assumptions Spend Capital Exclusively on 829 Formulation One Market Timing 2019-2028 Market Share of MMF Slow growth from 2% to 20% Pricing 10% discount to projected Tecfidera pricing Royalty Rates 15% to 35% as cumulative sales increase (slightly higher than Horizant) Probability 30% Formulation Two Market Timing 2019-2028 Market Share of MMF Slow growth from 5% to 50% Pricing Same as Tecfidera Royalty Rates 15% to 22% as cumulative sales increase Probability 10% Psoriasis Market Timing 2017-2028 Market Share 1.5% to 5% of moderate-to-severe psoriasis patients Pricing Slight discount to projected biologics pricing Royalty Rates 15% to 35% as cumulative sales increase (slightly higher than Horizant) Probability 10% Cash Usage Cash Used $50-60 million Upfront Milestone $100 million Timing 2017 Probability of Licensing 50% Weighted-average cost of capital assumed to be 10%
Spend Capital on Horizant and 829 Formulation One Market Timing 2019-2028 Market Share of MMF Slow growth from 2% to 20% Pricing 10% discount to projected Tecfidera pricing Royalty Rates 15% to 30% as cumulative sales increase (same as Horizant) Probability 30% Formulation Two Market Timing 2019-2028 Market Share of MMF Slow growth from 5% to 50% Pricing Same as Tecfidera Royalty Rates 10% to 16% as cumulative sales increase Probability 10% Psoriasis Market Timing 2017-2028 Market Share of MMF 1.5% to 5% of moderate-to-severe psoriasis patients Pricing Discount to projected biologics pricing Royalty Rates 15% to 30% as cumulative sales increase (same as Horizant) Probability 10% Cash Usage Cash Used $20 to $30 million Upfront Milestone $50 million Timing 2015 Probability of Licensing 50% Weighted-average cost of capital assumed to be 10%.
FN. 1: The Company reported $93 million at June 30, 2013. Consistent with sell-side analysts, we estimate that the Company has used approximately $23 million in cash since then.
FN. 2: See "ViewPoints: Tecfidera Streaks Towards Blockbuster Run Rate, Questions Remain Over European Launch," First Word Pharma, July 28, 2013.
FN. 3: See Form 10-Q, June 30, 2013 at 17 and Form 10-K for December 31, 2012 at 71.
SOURCE Clinton Group, Inc.
Copyright (C) 2013 PR Newswire. All rights reserved


text:
BW Integrated Systems
- CA, United States Show Phone Numbers
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Thiele Technologies / SWF Companies provides innovative packaging automation solutions using robotic technology. Solutions include cartoning, case packing, palletizing, and de-palletizing. Complete end-of-line solutions are created by using robotics along with our wide range of conventional automation products. These products include tray, bliss and RSC formers/sealers, modular and integrated case/tray packers and vertical/horizontal cartoners. By utilizing the strength of each of these product lines, along with our vast experience in packaging automation, Thiele / SWF is able to provide innovative solutions to our customers.


text:
A few days ago I was testing something on the dev machine and removed a few user groups from the site permissions list on a site collection. They were still associated with the site, just had no site permissions. I was logged in as site admin. Went to do something on one of those sites and what do you know, I can't get in! Checked the site collection admin, where I was queen of everything and all looked well. Checked Central Admin and the Sharepoint:80 web application, found my errant site collection, and yes I was site admin. Still couldn't get in.
Here is how I got back in. I do not recommend using this as a method to get in. It is a horrible hack and will consign me to SharePoint Hell. I only did it because it was a dev machine and the outcome was not important. However - it is an example of how to dynamically add an existing SharePoint user group onto a Site Permissions list if it isn't on it already:
using (SPSite site = new SPSite("http://notmyemployerssitecoll/sc/sample/"))
using (SPWeb web = site.OpenWeb())
foreach (SPGroup group in web.AssociatedGroups)
if (group.Name.Contains("My Little Lost Group"))
//assign it permissions to control everything
//obviously when we do this for real, we want it to grab the
//existing role assignment
SPRoleAssignment roleAssignment = newSPRoleAssignment(web.SiteGroups[group.Name]);
SPRoleDefinitionBindingCollection roleDefinition = roleAssignment.RoleDefinitionBindings;
roleDefinition.Add(web.RoleDefinitions["Full Control"]);
web.Properties[group.Name] = "Full Control";


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Difference between revisions of "SLiM"
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After login check if there is only one gnome-keyring-daemon instance running
After login check if there is only one gnome-keyring-daemon instance running ps -A | grep gnome. If those lines are executed too early then you have 4 instances running which is not good.
You also should notice that seahorse for example does not show any pkcs11 errors anymore and that your keyring is unlocked all the time and does not lock itself anymore. See also [https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=1019845#p1019845 here].
You also should notice that seahorse for example does not show any pkcs11 errors anymore and that your keyring is unlocked all the time and does not lock itself anymore. See also [https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=1019845#p1019845 here].
=== SLiM and Environment Variables ===
=== SLiM and Environment Variables ===
Revision as of 10:19, 22 November 2011
Template:Article summary start Template:Article summary text Template:Article summary heading Template:Article summary wiki Template:Article summary end
SLiM is an acronym for Simple Login Manager. SLiM is simple, lightweight and easily configurable. SLiM is used by some because it does not require the dependencies of GNOME or KDE and can help make a lighter system for users that like to use lightweight desktops like Xfce, Openbox, and Fluxbox.
- 1 Installation
- 2 Configuration
- 3 Other options
- 3.1 Changing the cursor
- 3.2 Match SLiM and Desktop Wallpaper
- 3.3 Shutdown, reboot, suspend, exit, launch terminal from SLiM
- 3.4 SLiM init error with rc.d daemon
- 3.5 Power-off error with Splashy
- 3.6 Power-off tray icon fails
- 3.7 Login information with SLiM
- 3.8 SLiM and Gnome Keyring
- 3.9 SLiM and Environment Variables
- 3.10 Setting DPI with SLiM
- 3.11 Use a random theme
- 3.12 Move the whole session to another VT
- 3.13 Automatically mount your encrypted /home on login
- 4 All Slim Options
- 5 Resources
Install SLiM from the extra repository:
# pacman -S slim
Enabling SLiM
SLiM can be loaded on startup by entering it in your daemons array in Template:Filename or by modifying Template:Filename. See Display Manager for detailed instructions.
Single environments
To configure SLiM to load a particular environment, edit your Template:Filename to load your desktop environment:
#!/bin/sh # # ~/.xinitrc # # Executed by startx (run your window manager from here) # exec [session-command]
SLiM reads the local Template:Filename configuration and then launches the desktop according to what is in that file. If you do not have a Template:Filename file, you can use the skeleton file by:
$ cp /etc/skel/.xinitrc ~
Remember to make .xinitrc executable:
chmod +x ~/.xinitrc
Replace Template:Codeline with the appropriate session command. Some examples of different desktop start commands:
exec awesome exec dwm exec startfluxbox exec fvwm2 exec gnome-session exec openbox-session exec startkde exec startlxde exec startxfce4 exec enlightenment_start exec ck-launch-session $ONE_OF_THE_ABOVE
To get automount to work it might be necessary to use something like e.g.:
exec ck-launch-session dbus-launch startxfce4
If your environment is not listed here, refer to the appropriate wiki page.
If you have problems with PolicyKit, use ConsoleKit's Template:Codeline by changing the Template:Codeline line of your Template:Filename to:
login_cmd exec ck-launch-session /bin/bash -login ~/.xinitrc %session
and leave your Template:Filename as plain as possible; for instance:
#!/bin/sh exec startxfce4 # or the window manager of your choice
To make SLiM automatically login as a specified user (without having to type a password) the following lines in Template:Filename should be changed.
# default_user simone
Uncomment this line, and change "simone" to the user to be logged into automatically.
# auto_login no
Uncomment this line and change the 'no' to 'yes'. This enables the auto login feature.
Multiple environments
To be able to choose from multiple desktop environments, SLiM can be setup to log you into whichever you choose.
Put a case statement similar to this one in your Template:Filename file and edit the sessions variable in Template:Filename to match the names that trigger the case statement. You can choose the session at login time by pressing F1. Note that this feature is experimental.
# The following variable defines the session which is started if the user doesn't explicitly select a session # Source: http://svn.berlios.de/svnroot/repos/slim/trunk/xinitrc.sample DEFAULT_SESSION=twm case $1 in kde) exec startkde ;; xfce4) exec startxfce4 ;; icewm) icewmbg & icewmtray & exec icewm ;; wmaker) exec wmaker ;; blackbox) exec blackbox ;; *) exec $DEFAULT_SESSION ;; esac
Note that, in this script, the default option simply executes, e.g., exec icewm (if that is the default session), without icewmbg and icewmtray. You may want simply to repeat everything you've put under, e.g., icewm) again under *).
Install the Template:Package Official package:
# pacman -S slim-themes archlinux-themes-slim
The Template:Package Official packages contains several different themes. Look in the directory of Template:Filename to see the themes available. Enter the theme name on the Template:Codeline line in Template:Filename:
#current_theme default current_theme archlinux-simplyblack
To preview a theme run while an instance of the Xorg server is running by:
$ slim -p /usr/share/slim/themes/<theme name>
To close, type "exit" in the Login line and press Enter.
Additional theme packages can be found in the AUR.
Dual screen setup
You can customize the slim theme in Template:Filename to turn these percents values. The box itself is 450 pixels by 250 pixels:
input_panel_x 50% input_panel_y 50%
into pixels values:
# These settings set the "archlinux-simplyblack" panel in the center of a 1440x900 screen input_panel_x 495 input_panel_y 325
# These settings set the "archlinux-retro" panel in the center of a 1680x1050 screen input_panel_x 615 input_panel_y 400
If your theme has a background picture you should use the background_style setting ('stretch', 'tile', 'center' or 'color') to get it correctly displayed. Have a look at the very simple and clear official documentation about slim themes for further details.
Other options
A few things you might like to try.
Changing the cursor
If you want to change the default X cursor to a newer design, the Template:Package AUR package is available.
After installing, edit Template:Filename and uncomment the line:
cursor left_ptr
This will give you a normal arrow instead. This setting is forwarded to Template:Codeline. You can look up the possible cursor names here or in Template:Filename.
To change the cursor theme being used at the login screen, make a file named Template:Filename with this content:
[Icon Theme] Inherits=<your-cursor-theme>
Replace <your-cursor-theme> with the name of the cursor theme you want to use (e.g. whiteglass).
Match SLiM and Desktop Wallpaper
To share a wallpaper between SLiM and your desktop, rename the used theme background, then create a link from your desktop wallpaper file to the default SLiM theme:
# mv /usr/share/slim/themes/default/background.jpg{,.bck} # ln -s /path/to/mywallpaper.jpg /usr/share/slim/themes/default/background.jpg
Shutdown, reboot, suspend, exit, launch terminal from SLiM
You may shutdown, reboot, suspend, exit or even launch a terminal from the SLiM login screen. To do so, use the values in the username field, and the root password in the password field:
- To launch a terminal, enter console as the username (defaults to xterm which must be installed separately... edit Template:Filename to change terminal preference)
- For shutdown, enter halt as the username
- For reboot, enter reboot as the username
- To exit to bash, enter exit as the username
- For suspend, enter suspend as the username (suspend is disabled by default, edit Template:Filename as root to uncomment the Template:Codeline line and, if necessary modify the suspend command itself (e.g. change Template:Codeline to Template:Codeline))
SLiM init error with rc.d daemon
If you initialize SLiM with Template:Filename inside the DAEMONS array and it fails to initialize it's most likely a lock file issue. SLiM creates a lock file in Template:Filename on each initialization, however, in most cases the lock folder in /var does not exist preventing SLiM from initializing. Check to make sure Template:Filename exists, if it does not you can create it by typing the following:
# mkdir /var/lock/
Power-off error with Splashy
If you use Splashy and SLiM, sometimes you can't power-off or reboot from menu in GNOME, Xfce, LXDE or others. Check your Template:Filename and Template:Filename; set the Template:Codeline same as Template:Codeline.
Power-off tray icon fails
If your power off tray icon fails, it could be due to not having root privileges. To start a tray icon with root privileges, be sure to have SLiM start the program. Edit Template:Filename as follows:
sessionstart_cmd /path/to/tray/icon/program &
Login information with SLiM
By default, SLiM fails to log logins to utmp and wtmp which causes who, last, etc. to misreport login information. To fix this edit your Template:Filename as follows:
sessionstart_cmd /usr/bin/sessreg -a -l $DISPLAY %user sessionstop_cmd /usr/bin/sessreg -d -l $DISPLAY %user
SLiM and Gnome Keyring
If you are using SLiM to launch a Gnome session and have trouble accessing your keyring, for example not being automatically authenticated on login, add the following lines to Template:Filename (as discussed here).
auth optional pam_gnome_keyring.so session optional pam_gnome_keyring.so auto_start
You also have to add to Template:Filename:
password optional pam_gnome_keyring.so
If you use a screensaver you also have to add
auth optional pam_gnome_keyring.so
to Template:Filename for example (replace gnome-screensaver with slimlock,slock,whatever you use). If you don't do that, your keyring is locked when screen is locked by your screensaver and not unlocked again after logging back in.
However, this fix alone no longer works since Gnome 2.30. Further changes are necessary as described here. Modifying the Template:Codeline line in Template:Filename:
login_cmd exec ck-launch-session dbus-launch /bin/bash -login ~/.xinitrc %session >~/.xsession-errors 2>&1
As of GNOME 3, simply adding Template:Codeline after Template:Codeline will work, without needing to edit Template:Filename.
As of GNOME 3.1, you need to add Template:Codeline after Template:Codeline and edit Template:Filename, otherwise the keyring will not be automatically unlocked. I never tried it on 3.0, so maybe the above information about GNOME 3 is wrong.
The solutions mentioned here and also further information are found here.
If you have problems keeping the keyring unlocked for longer sessions, there is another thing that Gnome does: Look at Template:Filename}.
Append the following lines to .xinitrc just before you start your wm (example here is awesome wm):
/usr/bin/gnome-keyring-daemon --start --components=gpg /usr/bin/gnome-keyring-daemon --start --components=pkcs11 /usr/bin/gnome-keyring-daemon --start --components=secrets /usr/bin/gnome-keyring-daemon --start --components=ssh /usr/bin/awesome
After login check if there is only one gnome-keyring-daemon instance running (ps -A | grep gnome). If those lines are executed too early then you have 4 instances running which is not good.
You also should notice that seahorse for example does not show any pkcs11 errors anymore and that your keyring is unlocked all the time and does not lock itself anymore. Finally gnome-keyring is fully functional like in Gnome. See also here.
SLiM and Environment Variables
If you have trouble with environment variables changing after a session is started, one cause could be the module pam_env.so, by default, reads the file Template:Filename and sets up the environment accordingly.
For example: I use SLiM, which fires up a XFCE4 session upon valid authentication. When this is done my terminal(xfterm4) can't print Unicode characters(LC_* environment variables has been defaulted/altered to "POSIX"). But when I start XFCE4 manually, like so: Template:Codeline, Unicode characters on my terminal works fine.
This can be fixed by adding this to Template:Filename or your user specific file: Template:Filename:
# You can change these to fit your preference, of course. LANG="en_US.UTF-8" LC_COLLATE="C"
Alternatively, you can modify the line in Template:Filename from:
session required pam_env.so
session required pam_env.so envfile=<yourfile>
Where <yourfile> is the name of the file you want PAM to recognize as your default environment file, when starting a new session from SLiM.
Setting DPI with SLiM
The Xorg server generally picks up the DPI but if it doesn't you can specify it to SLiM. If you set the DPI with the argument -dpi 96 in Template:Filename it will not work with SLiM. To fix this change your Template:Filename from:
xserver_arguments -nolisten tcp vt07
xserver_arguments -nolisten tcp vt07 -dpi 96
Use a random theme
Use the Template:Codeline variable as a comma separated list to specify a set from which to choose. Selection is random.
Move the whole session to another VT
Lets say you have commented out tty terminals 3-6 as you may not use them. (You may use screen and therefore only need one terminal) So, to move the X-Server you need to change one number in the Template:Filename file. Just a few lines down you should see:
xserver_arguments -nolisten tcp vt07
Simply change the vt07 to lets say vt03 as there is no agetty started there.
Automatically mount your encrypted /home on login
You can use pam_mount.
All Slim Options
Here is a list of all the slim configuration options and their default values.
sessionstart_cmd allows %user (execd right before login_cmd) and it is also allowed in sessionstop_cmd
login_cmd allows %session and %theme


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The British royal also sat on the edge of his seat at a Cirque Du Soleil show
Looks like Prince Harry and Las Vegas are getting along just fine.
One night after hitting the dance floor at Tryst, the prince's tour of Las Vegas continued with something a little more low key early Saturday evening.
Joined by eight guys – several from his group from the previous evening, including his security detail – Harry, 27, who's on a break from military training in the U.S., checked out Cirque Du Soleil's "O" at the Bellagio at 7:30 p.m.
Seated toward the front, the plaid shirt-wearing prince sipped Corona, sat on the edge of his seat and gave a standing ovation before being quickly whisked away before the house lights turned on.
On his way out, Harry was "all smiles" and was overheard saying he "loved the show," says a source.
Another thing Harry loved: Free drinks, which was something he discovered he could get from simply gambling. "He lost $300 gambling [Saturday morning] and his friends lost $200. He couldn't believe you got free drinks from gambling at the blackjack tables," a source tells PEOPLE.
And in typical Vegas fashion, Harry made it another late night, this time at XS Nightclub. Much like the previous evening, Harry kept a low profile, sitting a table off of the main dance floor usually reserved for the owner of the club.
The club was tipped off that they had a royal in the house after deejay Sander Kleinenberg Tweeted: "Playin moonbahton for Prince Harry.. #onlyinvegas.
Mainly keeping to his boys, Harry left the club just after 4 a.m. He was overheard saying he may stay in Vegas Sunday.


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Trabant Café
You might remember my post about Fritz and his wife having a Trabant procession at their wedding… if not here it is. His comment mentioned that they were planning on opening a Trabant themed cafe in Romania.
No website as yet, but you can become a fan of their Facebook page.


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his acclaimed debut feature Aint Them Bodies Saints
David Lowery in our library this morning. His latest film, A GHOST STORY, opens today! @A24 pic.twitter.com/fFSY884bvs— Criterion Collection (@Criterion) July 7, 2017
David Lowery in our library this morning. His latest film, A GHOST STORY, opens today! @A24 pic.twitter.com/fFSY884bvs
So this just came up in my feed:David Lowery in our library this morning. His latest film, A GHOST STORY, opens today! @A24 pic.twitter.com/fFSY884bvs— Criterion Collection (@Criterion) July 7, 2017
A Ghost Story feels bracingly, at times alienating new. Its a movie you cant be quite sure how to take. There are moments where the movie seems to be handing you keys to interpretation, but Id caution viewers against looking at such scenes for answers, because they have a rope-a-dope qualityas if they're designed to bait and trap those who would sneer at this kind of movie. In any event, this is a film that's more inclined to ask questions than answer them, much less give life advice.
I should admit here that any take I can offer is provisional. I need to see the film a second time to sweep away preconceived notions that mightve been lingering in my mind during my first viewing of A Ghost Story. The movie is so simple in its storytelling and its situations are observed so patiently that the result has a disarming purity, as if Lowery jammed a tap into his subconscious and recorded one of his dreams directly to film. Its probably the closest that a lot of people are going to get to seeing a late-period silent movie on a big screena melodrama that deals in big ideas and obvious symbols, and that puts across fantastical concepts, such a ghost haunting the landscape over a period of decades, by putting a sheet over its leading man and having him walk around slowly and stare blankly at stuff. (Cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo shoots the movie in the old-fashioned, square-ish Academy ratio, letting us see the rounded edges of the frame; this has a constricting effect, so that we seem to be spying through a keyhole at someone elses life.)
But one of the lessons of this quietly gripping movie, and of the American art-film tradition to which it belongs, is that stillness can conceal troubling depths, and even seemingly small moments can be rife with meaning and implication.
Individual moments are drawn out so slowly that you feel trapped in them alongside the characters, but what gives the film its particular poignancy is the way it makes those moments feel both attenuated and fleeting a reminder of how little time we are granted together on this astral plane.
These scenes are a warning to look closer and listen carefully, to appreciate the deeper meaning of moments that might otherwise seem insignificant a lesson that applies well beyond the domain of the movie theater.
A Ghost Story's greatest strength is how it explores the idea that time is relative. A widower fighting back tears while eating a pie can feel like an eternity, while a family living, dying, and decomposing can feel like an instant.


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The Jeremy Northam Blog would like to welcome new contributer Amy Cockram, who has reviewed Jeremy's latest audiobook for us.
Passing up a horrible squalid side-alley, saw a woman, youngish but very pale and with the usual draggled exhausted look, kneeling by the gutter outside a house and poking a stick up the leaden waste-pipe, which was blocked. I thought how dreadful a destiny it was to be kneeling in the gutter in a back-alley in Wigan, in the bitter cold, prodding a stick up a blocked drain. At that moment she looked up and caught my eye, and her expression was as desolate as I have ever seen; it struck me that she was thinking just the same thing I was.
"Diaries," George Orwell (edited by Peter Davison)
I like to start my reviews by declaring any bias that I have. That I like and admire the work of Jeremy Northam is no surprise, but I also like and admire George Orwell. I had to teach a seminar on Orwell during an abortive stint as a teaching assistant when I was a student, and this instilled in me an enjoyment of and admiration for his writing (this didn't always happen; I loathed some things I had to teach). I know Orwell's most iconic fiction – Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm – but I developed a personal preference for his journalism and essays. I would recommend his brilliant essay Politics and the English Language to anyone who writes, and I dread to think how many of his guidelines I will probably break in just this one piece of writing. So, given my admiration for Orwell, after Jeremy Northam read Down and Out in Paris and London and Homage to Catalonia – both of which have been reviewed by Gill on this blog – I found myself hoping that he would also read The Road to Wigan Pier for CSA Word. I am very happy that my wish came true.
The event that Orwell described in his diary above is also related, in a slightly changed form, in The Road to Wigan Pier. Orwell's diary entries from 31st January 1936 to 25th March 1936 record his experiences researching the book, which was first published in 1937. He spent these couple of months in 1936 travelling around the poverty-stricken industrial areas in the North of England, staying in cheap lodging houses and with working-class families, to see the conditions in which people were living and working. Orwell witnesses the gruelling and invaluable – and yet scarcely valued – work that the coal miner does and comes to admire him more than any other man. What starts as an insight into extreme poverty becomes a tract against the iniquities of the British class system, before evolving into an essay in support of beleaguered Socialism. In its own way it is as political as Homage to Catalonia, but without all the acronyms.
It is interesting to hear and read The Road to Wigan Pier retrospectively, as some of Orwell's descriptions foreshadow changes – not always for the better – in British society, while other fears have thankfully not come to fruition. The roots of Nineteen-Eighty-Four are clear in his fears over the possible rise of Fascism. Orwell is afraid that words are "feeble things," ill-suited to adequately convey the misery he witnesses, but his words and Jeremy Northam's voice together are very powerful indeed.
Orwell finds that the road to Wigan Pier is paved with coal and disappointment. He responds to a critic who accuses him of vilifying humanity:
Mr Orwell was "set down" in Wigan for quite a while and it did not inspire him with any wish to vilify humanity. He liked Wigan very much – the people, not the scenery. Indeed, he has only one fault to find with it, and that is in respect of the celebrated Wigan Pier, which he had set his heart on seeing. Alas! Wigan Pier has been demolished, and even the spot where it used to stand is no longer certain.
Orwell is disappointed to find that Wigan Pier is no longer there, but this is nothing compared to people who have been disappointed by life. The young woman whom he sees trying to unblock her drain, fully aware of how destiny has cheated her, is the rule rather than the exception. The road to Wigan Pier is essentially a road to nowhere that leaves people adrift in hopeless poverty. The early chapters are bleak and show the landlord-forsaken, crumbling housing in which many people live.
I would listen to Jeremy Northam read the phone book, as the cliche goes. There are occasions in The Road to Wigan Pier when he is obliged to recite costs of food, rent and housing conditions. I am aware that this sounds dry, but it isn't. Orwell's writing is a fascinating historical document which reveals how unbearably harsh conditions were for people living in poverty in the 1930s, and yet, somehow, bear it they did because they saw no better alternative. I have ancestors who were coal miners in Wales, so Orwell's description of going into the mines was a fascinating and troubling insight into the conditions under which my relations would have toiled.
What, above all, saves this from dryness is the clarity of Orwell's prose, and the empathy with which he writes about the people he meets. It is clear in his writing that Orwell liked and respected the people of Yorkshire and Lancashire: he doesn't vilify humanity, but he does condemn the poverty in which they live. Jeremy Northam's sensitive reading, bringing out Orwell's anger at conditions and his scathing mockery of middle and upper-class attitudes, is perfectly suited to Orwell's voice. All bias aside, I cannot think of an actor who would be better suited to bringing Orwell's prose to life. The Road to Wigan Pier gives Jeremy less opportunity to display his range of accents and comic talent than did Down and Out in Paris and London (which remains my favourite Orwell performance of his). Jeremy Northam gets to do the occasional Northern dialect, but it is mainly George Orwell's mockery of class prejudice – with which, he admits, he is partially complicit – that gives Jeremy the chance to adopt some snarky posh accents and bring out some humour. Where in Down and Out in Paris and London he had the opportunity to add some broad colour to Orwell's narrative, here he works in subtle tones and shading.
At the risk of sounding greedy and asking for more, please can Jeremy Northam read Orwell's Keep the Aspidistra Flying next? Thanks!
Thank you also to Gill for giving me the chance to write a guest post on her excellent blog.
The Road to Wigan Pier audiobook from CSA Word is unabridged (7 hours and 37 minutes, 6CDs). It is available on CD and as a download. You can hear a sample here.
© Amy Cockram, all rights reserved.
Many thanks to Amy for a great post. I hope it will be the first of many. You can read more from Amy at her excellent blog Stuff and Nonsense.


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Complaining of a leak in the basement, Bronte said landlord Jamal Alokasheh asked for her apartment key. She said she returned to see six workman dismantling items in her apartment. "After that, I said I'm going to fight back."
With the help of Martin Needleman, project director and chief counsel of Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation, an organization that helps provide legal services, Bronte won a case in court against her landlord and is helping friends in the building with similar circumstances.
Alokasheh did not respond to an interview request.
A rally led by Mobilization Against Displacement, a coalition that advocates for tenants in Brooklyn, was held on Wednesday, July 25, in front of 193 Bedford Ave., another site where tenants claim that landlords have been using underhanded tactics to force them from their rent-controlled apartments so they can get higher rents.
Organizers say those tactics include damaging buildings and neglecting repairs until the Department of Buildings is finally forced to issue a vacate order.
Long-time community member and representative for Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, Evelyn Cruz, discussed the importance of taking action.
"It's not enough to wear buttons and say 'save affordable housing,'" she said. "It means standing in the trenches. When a landlord is greedy and only interested in evicting affordable housing residents for the benefit of high-yielding rent, this is not acceptable."
"I was a victim of displacement in this neighborhood where a landlord for 13 years ignored our family, turned off utilities, lights, gas and water every chance they got," said Councilwoman Diana Reyna.
Remembering testifying in court as a child, Reyna admitted "After everything, it's those experiences that make you stronger."
Other sites where there has been alleged landlord displacement include 202 Franklin Street in Greenpoint, as well as 172 North 8th St., 167 Bedford Ave., 79 South 6th St., and 684 Flushing Ave. in various parts of Williamsburg.


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Won't seek re-election to Fourth Ward, Merrill
From Melissa Schroeder
Lincoln County Board Supervisor
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Melissa Schroeder, and I have been serving as a County Board Supervisor since 1990 and the majority of my time on the board has been wonderful and rewarding. However, since 2002 a hostile environment has permeated within this County Board and it begins and ends with the total disrespect for any supervisor who dares to question the established power structure.
This letter may or may not surprise some people and it could prompt at least one "Letter to the Editor" regarding how misguided I am. It is time to set the record straight concerning what has really been going on with this board and why it is so dysfunctional. I have not been able to accomplish as much as I had wanted to in the past three and a half years because I am not willing to keep my mouth shut. We are all entitled to our opinions and I have mine. Frankly, I am sick and tired of being demonized for asking questions or having a difference of opinion.
I have served under four other County Board chairs and during the most adversarial of times, we always treated each other with decency and respect. The board didn't agree on every issue, but at the end of the day, we walked out of our meetings as friends, who happened to have a difference of opinion on the issues. Unfortunately, now an effective "blame game" is being waged against those of us who question the majority's motives and tactics. The only way tensions have subsided is when the current regime has silenced us by intimidation or if we are willing to join the "gang." Game playing and cronyism in the name of "good government" has become status quo. Name calling is promoted and tolerated, especially when the name calling is done by friends and supporters of the chair and directed at the perceived "troublemakers." The ego trip that the County Board leadership is on has led to nothing but monetary damages and a public relations nightmare for Lincoln County and its residents.
The latest initiative is "Let's create a County Administrator." Lincoln County taxpayers are expected to believe that the only way Lincoln County government will run smoothly is if we have a county administrator and the only reason everything went haywire over the last few years is because the county didn't have one.
A resolution authored by Supervisor Alber appeared on the September County Board agenda even though it had been referred to an "independent committee" by the Administrative and Legislative Committee. His resolution had no factual data concerning which counties have administrators, the population of those counties or the potential long-term effects concerning an increase in staff or wages attached to it. With no concrete information to warrant a change, we were expected to take a "leap of faith" along with Supervisor Alber (his words, not mine) and vote yes on his resolution. Thankfully, the resolution lost by one vote.
The "independent committee" has since been named and they are instructed to investigate the need for an administrator along with other possible changes to the administrative structure of Lincoln County. For your information, the committee members have already demonstrated their support for a county administrator because every member on this committee voted for the resolution authored by Supervisor Alber. My question to the chair is: Why didn't you at least make some attempt to hide your bias and appoint one person to the committee who might have questioned the need for an administrator?
After much soul searching, I have decided not to seek re-election in 2006. There are many reasons why I came to this decision: 1.) Disrespect, mistrust, animosity and intimidation will continue until whoever is elected chair is willing to extend a hand of friendship and respect to all supervisors so that this board can be functional again; 2.) I don't think enough supervisors appreciate the fact that we serve at your pleasure. You pay the bills with your tax dollars and we need to do a better job of handling your money; and 3.) I think it is time for me to step aside and allow someone with a new perspective to serve the citizens of the Fourth Ward. My only hope is that the person who replaces me will be unbiased, have the "where for all" to think and speak for themselves and not cave in to the pressures that go along with the job.
To the citizens of Merrill's fourth ward, thank you, I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve as your County Board supervisor. To my wonderful family and friends, thank you for your support and understanding since this journey began. Finally, to my friends who continue to serve on the Lincoln County Board and in county government, let me quote Edward R. Murrow, "Good Night and Good Luck."
Melissa Schroeder
Game playing, cronyism have become status quo
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Still in LimboSeptember 20, 2003
update: Just so everyone knows, what you're currently looking at is in fact the new server, with full archives. I pulled the DNS swap (I didn't find out about modifying local host files until too late) and managed to export my entries. I'm running Berkely DB, just to clear that up — since I was re-installing anyway, I started fooling around with MySQL, but I'm just way too busy to wrap my mind around it right now. Maybe when things settle down.
Disappearing comments are thanks to the server switch. The last 10 to 15 comments are out of sync between the two, although it seems most are seeing the new server now. I'll lose a few in the process, but oh well.
There are still a few bits and pieces on this site that 404, but I'll be .htaccessing everything that I can, and fixing links where I can't. Links to previous posts should still work. More problem-solving once propogation hits my neck of the woods.
So here's the latest. Apparently you can't, in fact, drop an entire Movable Type install on a new server and expect things to just work out. In fact, it looks like even though I have my various databases backed up in full, multiple times, I have no way of actually getting that data back into Movable Type. I didn't try the proper internal 'export entries' method from MT before the DNS switch, and now I can't because the name server resolves here.
What to do? Well, for a while anyway I'll be jumping back to the other server. Once it propagates out my way, I'll try a proper export then hop back here.
Since DNS switches are anything but instantaneous, this will take another few days. I'm starting to feel like I'm running around in circles here.
On the bright side, most of the static content on this site has been converted to PHP, so (hopefully) the process of rebuilding the weblog data and re-pointing old archive links to the new equivalents will be quick. Once I have that data. If I can get it.
Any suggestions? I'm all ears.
Reader Comments
i just moved to a new server too, but took the export route, mostly because mysql databases are an enigma to me.
on your old server, can you change the cgipath info in your mt.cfg file from http://www.mezzoblue.com/ to something like http://xx.xx.xx.xx/~username/ for whatever your old nameserver's ip is [or something like that], then try logging in and exporting the data?
Perhaps this is a silly question, but have you checked the Troubleshooting part of the MT manual? There's a section on 500 errors there with a few double-checks to run though. There's also a section called "I just switched hosts, and now I can't log in."
Of course, if you've been using that Berkeley DB (which it sounds like you are), you're better off going the export/import route and switching to MySQL while you're at it. :)
So here's what I've done so far in more detail.
I grabbed the entire directory structure of my site a few nights ago, MT install included. When I jumped to the new server, I uploaded cgi-bin again without making changes, and tried logging into MT. No dice, I got an error 500 (Internal server error). I grabbed my mt.cfg file and updated some of the paths, since I'm no longer on G|/Inetroot/users/mezzoblue or whatever my path was under IIS. Still no love.
I loaded one of the .db files from the /db/ directory into a text editor to take a look at what was inside - it seems there are hard-coded references to the old G|/Inetroot path within, so I'm sure that's not helping.
I tried re-installing MT from scratch (which is what you're on right now), backing up the new /db/ folder, and swapping. Cute idea, except I couldn't log into MT. I even tried dumping my NEW author-related db files on top of the OLD db directory, but even though I could log in, I couldn't see any data once inside.
So it looks like just about anything I could pull involving the old set of data files isn't going to happen. The only potential way to clear this up that might work is making that error 500 go away. But I don't even know where to begin on that count.
At the risk of being a smart aleck, I could suggest converting from MT to Blosxom, which avoids the whole ugly database issue by keeping everything in a regular heirarchical file system rather than an RDBMS.
One of the really nice things about this approach is several decades worth of power tools for managing, backing up, restoring and synchronizing files works perfectly in your blog's backoffice.
I'm building my site now, and one of the main reasons I've never sone it before was that all other blogging tools are too awkward in one way or another - As a 20-year Unix veteran, Blosxom offers me not only a decent blog, but the ability to leverage the world's best text-processing tools and environments. Good Luck w/ MT - I considered both it and Greymatter (among several others), but the simple power of Blosxom was what it took to make me take the plunge…
If you're tired of waiting dns to propagate, you can speed the process up by overriding the dns setting on your local box by editing your hosts file.
On XP, the host file is in C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc
I don't have an OSX box handy, but I'm assuming that if it's like every other Unix box the location should be /etc/hosts
edit it and add a line
<old ip address> www.mezzoblue.com
restart your browser.
Now, when you access www.mezzoblue.com, your browser should go to the old server, regardless of what the DNS setting is. You can then export the file through MT and do what you wish.
Just remember to delete the line from the hosts file when you're done so you go back to the proper dns behaviour.
This is a good way to test out the new server as well, without impacting other people. Set up the new server, add the line to your hosts file with the new ip address, test www.mezzoblue.com, which is now going to the new server but only for you. Once you're happy with things, delete the line from the hosts file, update your dns and you're off to the races.
The server 500 error is a trickier one to debug without more information. Feel free to email me if you're still stuck…
as far as i remember, mysql tables are really just huge files held on the harddrive, in directories named after the databases the table is contained in, somewhere in mysql's install location.
can you not locate those files (sorry, not sure what your specific situation with regards to your old host is), copy them into a virgin mysql install, and attempt a kosher export of the data from there ?
I may have missed something, so I am not sure if you are on mysql or bdb on your install. I know I had issues with switching providers or even getting the BDB databases to work on my Mac with the latest version of BDB installed. I did manage to get them fixed using several commands to update the files. The MT docs and support forums should have something on this. If you are using MySQL, are you sure there may not be a version compatibility issue? I do not remember of a utility to test data integrity, but you should start mysql admin and check your data that way.
Speaking of which, I need to backup my weblog…
Yes, a write up of the conversion steps would be great, and of your 'learning php' process.
MySQL is a lot more reliable than BerekelyDB, or a heirarchical file structure. The MT forums are very helpfull regards this. (and much more)
What stuff do you have which is asp based? I never noticed any asp dynamic stuff whizzing around?
you say you just dumped the old cgi-bin onto the new server. could the 500 error be as simple as a permissions problem?
I hope you're taking extensive notes Dave, I can see the potential for a rather good ' PHP/Moveable Type ' tutorial here.
Hope it all goes smoothly for you, and I look forward to some top tips for faint hearts like myself to follow.


text:
So your users just got new shiny smartphones and can't wait to start downloading all the hottest apps. Hold on a second. Before they do, there are some important facts they need to know. Adam Ely, founder & COO at Bluebox, has identified security facts every mobile user must know before they expose company or personal data to cyber criminals.
Related Topics : In Their Own Words: The Four Dark Horses for the Third Major Mobile OS Speak, HTC, Mobile Search, 3G, Location-Based Services
Wearables are revolutionizing the workplace, with innovations that create a safer work environment or enhance the way professionals are able to go about their job. ... More >>
Here are the top 10 strategic technology trends that will impact most organizations in 2017. Strategic technology trends are defined as those with substantial disruptive potential or those reaching the tipping point over the next five years. ... More >>
Digital innovation is by far the biggest influencer, changing the way we do just about everything, from shopping to communication to running a business. ... More >>


text:
797 Prospect St., Fredericton, NB, Canada, E3B 5Y4
Phone: (506) 453-0800 Fax:
Supports Green Practices
"Supports Green Initiatives" designates a hotel's participation in an optional environmental program that includes the use of energy-efficient lighting, guestroom towel/linen re-use, and on-premise recycling. "Supports Green Initiatives" does not represent an official certification of any kind.
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Exclusive flexible rate for Choice Privileges members when you book direct at ChoiceHotels.ca or through the Choice Hotels Mobile App. Valid at most International and U.S. Choice Hotels locations. Must be or become a Choice Privileges member prior to making the booking. Discount rate is non-transferable or redeemable for cash, cannot be used for future stays or existing reservations and may not be combined with other promotions, offers or discounts. Unless otherwise stated, quoted rates are per room, per night, based on single/double occupancy and do not include taxes, gratuities or incidental charges. Early departure fees, deposit and cancellation restrictions may apply and will vary by hotel. Not valid at vacation rental properties.
This Comfort Inn® hotel is close to many city highlights including Fredericton Mall, Fredericton Botanical Garden, Odell Park, the University of New Brunswick-Fredericton and St. Thomas University.
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Check-In Time: 14:00 Check-Out Time: 11:00 Guest Rooms: 98


text:
I know what near death looks like. He is strong and wears a hoodie.
It was November 2010 at 8:30 p.m. in Russian Hill, an upscale neighborhood in San Francisco that is generally considered safe.
I was walking home from the grocery store, carrying a bag of groceries in one hand and an iPhone in my other hand.
I saw a man in a hoodie walking in front of me. He turned around. He was a half a block away. But he was close enough to see my flashy new iPhone 4.
I crossed the road to get away front of him, but he came charging at me.
I froze.
He grabbed my hands.
I said, "Please don't take my iPhone, please don't take my iPhone."
I was thinking I didn't want him to steal my photos and contacts, and access my most private data.
He said nothing. He just stared at me. A second later, he punched me in the face.
As I lay on the ground unconscious, he ran away with my iPhone 4 and hopped in a getaway car.
A guy on a motorcycle went chasing after him and took down his license plate number. But the thug was able to get away.
Later that night, my neck hurt and half my face was numb. My back hurt -- it felt like whiplash.
I lay in bed for two weeks. I had nightmares. My mind kept going back to the moment of him charging at me. Images of him punching my face would play out like a horror film. I felt trapped in that memory, in that moment.
Following the event, I went to the hospital twice, and they told me if I wasn't dead already, I'd be okay. There's always a risk of bleeding to death from a head injury.
While that happened a year and a half ago, certain situations still make me feel uneasy and I hesitate going out at night alone.
But I learned something valuable from this experience: I'm not the only one.
In the following months, a handful of men in the tech industry emailed me to say that their wives had been attacked for their phones too. A police department spokesperson told us that an average of six people every day are mugged for their electronic gadgets.
And a lot of the thefts happen in exactly the same way -- a man punches a woman in the face, steals her phone, and gets into a waiting car.
Victims Have A Common Profile
Up to 80 percent of the street crimes in San Francisco are robberies of phones, laptops, and tablets, according an assistant District Attorney and several San Francisco cops who routinely work on iPhone theft cases.
They all asked to remain anonymous, as they do not speak for the SFPD on an official basis.
There are about several hundred robberies a month in the city, our sources said.
In San Francisco, a majority of these robberies occur in sketchy or borderline neighborhoods like Bayview, the Mission, the Tenderloin, and the Western Addition.
Crooks are also known to drive out to nice neighborhoods and get out and find a victim to attack. The drive-by robbery is getting more common, where robbers see someone talking on their phone, so they get out and snatch it.
The stolen electronics are brought to some known stores on 7th and Market Street, according to a cop who goes to that area to catch robbers who try to sell stolen goods there.
Criminals usually sell an iPhone for hundreds of dollars in cash or exchange it for dope.
Robbers get a high return on smartphones. If they steal bikes, they get 30 percent. But if they steal an iPhone, they can get up to a few hundred dollars. This is the same as it costs when a person signs up with a new plan with a carrier, so the robbers are getting market value for stolen goods.
A sergeant who works on robbery investigations said "the problem is that we can arrest these guys all day long, but they don't get prosecuted."
Prosecutors have to be able to prove that the suspect knows the property is stolen and usually they can't prove that.
An assistant DA in San Francisco, who has worked on many robbery cases, said the vast majority of the robberies happen on MUNI, either on the bus or the electric street trains. Though they aren't usually as violent as my case.
Typically, the victim is seated near an exit door and is using his/her phone when the bus or train stops to let passengers off. The suspect waits until the last minute, grabs the phone out of the victim's hands and runs off the bus or train. Sometimes the person can wait until the victim is off the bus to attack.
Most of the time -- but certainly not always -- the victim is an Asian female of any age.
The thieves tend to wear all dark clothing, and usually a hooded sweatshirt with the hood up.
These attacks are increasingly serious. One police officer recently worked on a case of a 50-year-old Asian woman who was critically injured after she was attacked and robbed of her phone. The woman fought back and was knocked to the ground, where she hit her head. The woman underwent brain surgery to remove part of her skull, and she survived.
Read on to find out how to protect yourself→
How To Be Safe
The thug popped my bubble and brought me into a whole new level of being alert.
But most people don't have this increased awareness. Most walk around unaware, lost in their music or or texting their friends.
That's a mistake. If you look up and look at people in the eyes, they will probably not attack because you'd be able to identify them. That's why awareness is your greatest weapon.
Officer Albie Esparza, a public information officer at the San Francisco Police Department said, "we all know people have to use their devices. We suggest people use their devices while being aware of their surroundings. Limit the use of the devices and if one is going to use music, then turn the volume down to hear if someone is approaching you."
The bottom line is criminals are opportunistic and if they see an opportunity, they will take it, Esparza said.
"If one is a victim of a robbery, call police immediately and try to obtain a detailed description of the suspect and direction of travel. Do not fight as suspects may be armed with a weapon and no property is worth being injured over. Of course GPS tracking is very helpful and you should provide that info to police," Esparza said.
While Apple's MobileMe can trace your iPhone, the phone has to be on for the tracking feature to work. A cop told me that it is somewhat accurate and it has been useful in finding some stolen iPhones.
But it has its fair share of limitations, especially if the robber is hiding in a home. MobileMe only circles a general area, so it will only narrow it down to a few houses and the cops don't have the power to search the houses.
Usually, experienced criminals shut the phone off right after stealing it, so MobileMe won't work anyway.
So can wireless carriers help?
No. Carriers can shut off your phone number, but can't do anything by law that allows cops to get information on where your specific phone is. It's against privacy laws, a cop said.
No Stolen Phone Registry In The U.S. -- Why?
A police officer who investigates these kinds of crimes told us about a search warrant study. In the study, an investigator went to 12 victims of iPhone robberies back when AT&T was the only U.S. carrier with the iPhone. Even if the criminals changed the sim card, and even they or a subsequent buyer jailbroke it, the serial numbers on the phone stayed the same.
Four of those phones were re-registered with AT&T, he said.
Other countries have a registry of stolen phones, so the phone can't be turned on by another service provider. When it gets put on this list, it basically makes the phone useless.
The carriers in the United States do not do that.
"I wish that there could be a national registry for stolen devices. It could be a huge deterrent for iPhone thefts," one officer told us. The national registry has reduced crime in other parts of the world because there is no reason for criminals to resell an item that won't ever work.
We reached out to AT&T to ask why they don't have a stolen phone registry. They didn't comment.
Jot Carpenter, vice president of government affairs at CTIA said, "CTIA and its member companies have been in active discussions with FCC and law enforcement regarding potential solutions, and we will be happy to expand those discussions to include other policymakers. At the same time, we want to make sure that whatever solutions are adopted to address this problem do not have unintended consequences." (CTIA has a list of anti-theft protection apps for phones.)
The officer who told us about the search warrant study thinks it is because "the companies are trying to fight having the registries established, so that when someone has their phone stolen, that person needs to get another phone. Apple doesn't want that either. They make business off the robberies that happen."
According to two sources close to the situation, companies within the GSM Association are "exploring an industrywide solution to permanently disabling stolen devices on all networks."
At least these discussions are happening.
I had to buy another iPhone. But I can't buy back my innocence.


text:
Free python IDE for Windows,Mac & Linux with UML,PyChecker,Debugger,GUI design,Blender & more
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Switched from Windows to Ubuntu
14 comments:
- AnonymousFebruary 25, 2007 1:15 PM
I downloaded spe, but it's lije a python package, how can I open it ?ReplyDelete
file, SPE-0.8.3.c.win32-py2.5.exe
- AnonymousFebruary 25, 2007 2:18 PM
To the anonymous poster - you have downloaded the SPE install program for use with Windows and Python 2.5 - just run it!ReplyDelete
I have installed windows version but can not run it.ReplyDelete
Looking the Programs tab I see that aims to some .py.
I'm not sure that such call will open/run as a winodws program
In order to run SPE you need to install python from www.python.org and wxpython 2.6 from wxpython.org.ReplyDelete
I am working on a compatible version for wxPython2.8
- ScotsmanFebruary 26, 2007 3:12 AM
I am so pleased you are working on an update. This is an awesome editor for python and wxPython. Cannot wait for the wxPython 2.8 version.ReplyDelete
Any time frame for a beta?
I have been waiting for your site to get back up. I wanted to get the manual. Any chance you could make it available again?ReplyDelete
- ScotsmanFebruary 27, 2007 7:30 PM
That's great news Stani. I'm downloading the subversion now and will try it out.ReplyDelete
This is, by far, the best Python IDE out there.
Donation on its way!
- AnonymousFebruary 27, 2007 9:21 PM
Welcome to Ubuntu! It is nice.ReplyDelete
If you checkout from subversion, you might want to give it a try. No timeframe yet, but I guess maybe in the end of next week.
The manual online has to wait till I have the full site up (maybe in a month). But if you donate (paypal,stani.paypal*gmail#com) any amount, I'll send you by email.
Ubuntu is great :)ReplyDelete
Not to do with Ubuntu, or spe per se, but I can't subscribe to the Atom feed at the end of your blog. It just show up the atom source, but not asking me to subscribe.
btw, can you add the blog to planetpython.org?
scrap that part about the atom feed, it works on my third try.ReplyDelete
Still please consider planetpython tho :-)
Ok, I'll add it to planet python. Appearantly there are two: an official and unofficial one. Why is that?
Welcome back! This is the best python editor IMHO. I don't see a donate button/link on this blog. I would like to contribute in the future.ReplyDelete
I'm new not only to SPE but to python itself.Can anyone make a "How to install and get 'SPE for windows' for dummies" tutorial, if its not toomuch trouble.Please.ReplyDelete