The Tor network—used by activists, journalists, and law enforcement officials is famous for cloaking web surfers' identities and locations. And, apparently, it contains a vulnerability that poses a risk to all that protective anonymity, according to researchers at MIT and the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI).
An estimated 2.5 million people—including journalists, political activists, terrorists and even consumers who don't want to share their browsing histories with Facebook or other commercial entities—use Tor daily. And that is why the network is of keen interest not only to "repressive" regimes like Russia and Iran but to governments a lot closer to home, including our own. Not to put too fine a point on this, but one person's activist could be another person's terrorist, but I digress.
Journalists and citizens living under repressive regimes depend on the encrypted Tor browser to surf the web anonymously. But in certain cases, an attacker can figure out which dark web site a user is trying to access by passively monitoring Tor traffic, and even reveal the identity of servers hosting sites on the Tor network.
For users, this means that an attacker can see that you're using Tor to visit WikiLeaks' hidden service—perhaps you want advice on leaking a sensitive government document—and match it up with your IP address. For hidden service providers, this means that the server hosting WikiLeaks' site would be revealed to the attacker.
Importantly, the attack doesn't require the decryption of any traffic—only that it be monitored —and the exploit only requires control of a node where users enter the Tor network. An attacker could even set one of these nodes up herself.
When you use Tor, your connection gets encrypted and routed through three hops which form a path called a "circuit." A circuit starts with an entry point called a "guard," before going back into the regular internet via what are called "exit nodes." The guard sees your IP address, and the exit node sees where the traffic's going.
Without controlling both the entry and exit points, however, an attacker should not be able to put two and two together to figure out who you are and where you're going.
But controlling both an entry and exit point is hard, which is why researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) and Qatar University have taken an alternate approach. The group demonstrated a new vulnerability in which an attacker controlling an entry guard can determine whether a user is accessing one of Tor's hidden services—the sites that make up the dark web—instead of a regular clearnet site with 99 percent accuracy, and without controlling an exit node. 88 percent of the time, the researchers were also able to identify which hidden service the user was trying to access.
The attack also goes both ways, too. Since computers hosting hidden services also access the Tor network through an entry guard, researchers could identify the real IP address of a server hosting a hidden service, also with with 88 percent accuracy.
The attack, described in a paper the team will present at the 2015 Usenix Security Symposium this summer, does not require the attacker to actually decrypt any Tor traffic. Instead, it relies on passively monitoring network traffic. The researchers used a machine learning algorithm to analyze patterns in the traffic going through a computer, controlled by an attacker, that has been randomly selected by the Tor network to act as a guard in a particular connection.
That computers in the Tor network shouldn't be trusted completely and present a risk to users surfing the anonymous network has been known for some time. Earlier this year, an independent security researcher known as "Chloe" found that attackers running exit nodes—computers that serve as exit points to the clearnet—can intercept traffic and communications.
Thankfully, the MIT and Qatar University researchers propose some fixes that will make it more difficult for attackers to deanonymize Tor traffic using their attack. Dummy packets could be sent by computers using the network, for example, making it more difficult to establish a pattern.
The Tor Project has not yet responded to Motherboard's request for comment. According to Kwon, a Tor Project developer told him that a fix would be worked into a future version of the Tor software.
In the end, the new vulnerability is a reminder that tools that promise security online, even powerful and well-respected ones like Tor, can't keep your traffic totally anonymous . For now, at least. Because as long as people keep breaking these tools and telling everyone about it, they'll keep getting better—hopefully.
"It's is [sic] a known issue that hidden service circuits are noticeable in certain situations, but this attack is very difficult to execute. The countermeasures described in the paper are interesting since the authors claim that deploying some of them would neutralize their attack and better defend against hidden service circuit fingerprinting attacks in general.
This has yet to be proven. We are interested to see this article get officially published at Usenix Security where some Tor developers and privacy researchers will be attending. We need more concrete proof that these measures actually fix the issue.
TOR has hidden routing comands that could reveal your IP. It is a ZERO security network, totally intercepted nowadays by nsa or using this hidden commands. Come on. Stop using this network which is 100% intercepted GUARANTEE.
Does it make the user anonymous ? The attacker may know which website is being accessed by pattern recognition and which VPN server is accessing it, but he wouldn't know which user is behind the VPN.


For payment inquiries please email acctpayable@eastman.com and include the PO number, Shipment number, Bill of Lading number as appropriate. To be set up for on-line invoice inquiries for immediate feedback, please contact one of the following email addresses and instructions will be provided.
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Suppliers transacting with Eastman on the Ariba Network should submit invoices through the Ariba Network. Credit memos cannot be transmitted through the Ariba Network and should be e-mailed or mailed using the information below.
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One More Soul- Catalog - Topics :: Marriage Preparation Tools :: 1) Give couples an outstanding "marriage prep packet".
Home Catalog Topics Marriage Preparation Tools 1) Give couples an outstanding "marriage prep packet".
There is so much to learn! Each couple needs the best self-study resources we can provide. Years ago, a couple could rely on instinct, or support from the culture, or trial and error to get by. Our culture short-circuits most of this learning, so extra help is needed. Fortunately a wealth of resources is available. Many are very inexpensive and can simply be given to each couple, or their cost can be covered by a reasonable tuition charge. Some are more pricey, but are so valuable that they need to be mentioned.


Allegro Venturi Blowers are lightweight and safe to use.
Compressed air or saturated steam is the power source for our Venturi Blower line. Small volumes of high velocity air (from the compressed air source) run through the casting and out the nozzle jets, creating a venturi action or pulling action that creates large volumes of air through the venturi and out the air diffuser.
Compressed air or saturated steam is the power source for our Allegro Venturi Blowers. Small volumes of high velocity air (from the compressed air source) run through the casting and out the nozzle jets, creating a venturi action or pulling action that creates large volumes of air through the venturi and out the air diffuser.
A 1.27cm hose with a "crows foot" connection is recommended from your air supply source to the side inlet connection. The compressor size required can be determined by checking the chart on air consumed at various inlet pressures. Operate our Allegro Venturi Blowers on air or steam lines limited to 140 psi.


110cm Blue Dress.whip woven cover lacque.
Dress.whip woven cover lacque. Thread black, handle light blue Dobert are a 5 generation whip manufacturing family owned business. Based in Germany, Dobert produce outstanding quality hand-made whips, the craftsmanship developed over 5 generations displayed in the top class finish and detail applied to each of their whips.
For something a bit special, this 24� (60cm) leather covered whip is ideal. It has a nickel/brass button at the end which prevents the whip being dropped and it is finished off with a useful leather loop.
This strong & flexible whip come with a two-tone spiral shaft and solid leather keeper at the base.
Celtic Equine Tartan Riding Whip is a fashionable whip comes with a two tone handle and checked pattern along shaft and keeper.This whip is 65cm in length. Available in blue, grey,red, green and black.
Childrens Mini Thread Stem Whip A lightweight whip featuring a threaded stem and handle, rubber button cap and web keeper.
This coloured whip is 27� long and features a plastic handle at one end and narrow leather keeper at the other. The whip comes in many different colours and has a leather loop.
This dressage whip measures 39� (97.5cm) and has a single coloured thread stem and rubber handle. It is easy to hold and has a plastic button at the end to prevent it being dropped.
This smart whip features a thread covered fibreglass stem, leather handle, silver coloured mushroom cap and fine leather keeper. Made in England.
Ideal for day-to-day use, but smart enough to use at shows. A thread covered stem with a plastic handle.
General Purpose Whip This lovely quality whip features a punched leather handle, flared keeper with a threaded spiral stem, woven knot cap and metal stud. Made in England.
HySCHOOL Leather Cane - 22"
HySchool Leather Cane Smart leather Ideal for showing Leather cane, perfect for showing. Black or brown to match tack.
HySCHOOL Show Cane - 22"
Leather Show Cane Silver caps Leather cane with silver caps – perfect for the show ring. Black or brown to match your tack.
HySCHOOL Unicorn Riding Whip Feel magical with the HySCHOOL Unicorn Riding Whip! The fun, glittery design will sparkle away in the light, with the unicorn shaped end in matching colours. Silver stitching spirals down the shaft of the whip for ultimate dazzle! The rubber handle allows for a secure grip.
Leather Showing Whip A plaited leather covered fibreglass stem makes this smart whip lightweight in the hand. Finished off with a plaited leather cap and a flared leather keeper. Made in England.
Celtic Equine Multi Coloured Whip is 55cm in length.Perfect accessory for your little lady when she goes riding her pony. Make sure she stands out in pony camp with this colourful, fun whip. This whip comes with a hand strap, which is beneficial for children.
Celtic Equine Pink fairy whip has Glittering effect, with star figure flap and fairy toy. This whip is 55cm in length.
This whip comes in five block colours to cater for all tastes. It is 29 long and features an easy to hold rubber ridged grip handle with single colour stem and leather keeper at the end.
Procrush Event Whip has increased the safety and humanity standards of racing/events whips worldwide and is now mandatory for all jump jockeys in the UK and USA. Not only is it popular with jockeys but with riders of all disciplines.
The Procush Flat whip has been designed solely for flat racing. It has an 8 inch padded shock absorbing end which is shorter than that on the Procush Competition and Event whips.
The ProCush Junior is a shorter whip specially designed for younger riders or riders how prefer a bat type whip. The special wrapped handle creates a secure comfortable grip for the rider. This whip makes the prefect gift.


text:
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Home » About » People » Jennifer Granick
Jennifer Granick
Position / Title:
Non-Residential Fellow
American Spies
jennifer at law dot stanford dot edu
Focus Areas:
Crypto Policy Project
Government Hacking
Jennifer Granick fights for civil liberties in an age of massive surveillance and powerful digital technology. As the new surveillance and cybersecurity counsel with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, she litigates, speaks, and writes about privacy, security, technology, and constitutional rights. Granick is the author of the book American Spies: Modern Surveillance, Why You Should Care, and What To Do About It, published by Cambridge Press and winner of the 2016 Palmer Civil Liberties Prize.
Granick spent much of her career helping create Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society. From 2001 to 2007, she was Executive Director of CIS and founded the Cyberlaw Clinic, where she supervised students in working on some of the most important cyberlaw cases that took place during her tenure. For example, she was the primary crafter of a 2006 exception to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act which allows mobile telephone owners to legally circumvent the firmware locking their device to a single carrier. From 2012 to 2017, Granick was Civil Liberties Director specializing in and teaching surveillance law, cybersecurity, encryption policy, and the Fourth Amendment. In that capacity, she has published widely on U.S. government surveillance practices, and helped educate judges and congressional staffers on these issues. Granick also served as the Civil Liberties Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation from 2007-2010. Earlier in her career, Granick spent almost a decade practicing criminal defense law in California.
Granick's work is well-known in privacy and security circles. Her keynote, "Lifecycle of a Revolution" for the 2015 Black Hat USA security conference electrified and depressed the audience in equal measure. In March of 2016, she received Duo Security's Women in Security Academic Award for her expertise in the field as well as her direction and guidance for young women in the security industry. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore) has called Granick an "NBA all-star of surveillance law."
High Res Photo of Jennifer Granick
Photo credit: Michael Sugrue
Debate: Metadata and the Fourth Amendment
Read more about Debate: Metadata and the Fourth Amendment
This post is the first in a series of posts from Just Security's Jennifer Granick and Guest Author Orin Kerr debating the constitutionality of the NSA's telephony metadata program. Be sure to check back later today for a response from Orin Kerr.
FISA Court Rolls Over, Plays Dead
Cross-posted from Forbes.
A newly declassified opinion shows FISA court "oversight" in the face of egregious, unconstitutional and potentially criminal government misconduct means nothing. Read more about FISA Court Rolls Over, Plays Dead
NSA, DEA, IRS Lie About Fact That Americans Are Routinely Spied On By Our Government: Time For A Special Prosecutor
It seems that every day brings a new revelation about the scope of the NSA's heretofore secret warrantless mass surveillance programs. And as we learn more, the picture becomes increasingly alarming. Read more about NSA, DEA, IRS Lie About Fact That Americans Are Routinely Spied On By Our Government: Time For A Special Prosecutor
The Secret FISA Court Must Go
The Secret FISA Court Must Go, an op ed on The Daily Beast. Read more about The Secret FISA Court Must Go
Brief of Amici Curiae Mozilla Foundation, Computer Scientists, Security and Privacy Experts in Support of Defendant-Appellant and Reversal
Jonathan Mayer
Litigation Brief
Read more about Brief of Amici Curiae Mozilla Foundation, Computer Scientists, Security and Privacy Experts in Support of Defendant-Appellant and Reversal
Arguing that a defendant's conviction for website hacking should be overturned because legitimate, highly valuable security and privacy research commonly employs techniques that are essentially identical to what the defendant did and that such independent research is of great value to academics, government regulators and the public even when – often especially when — conducted without a website owner's permission.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


CHARLESTON, S.C.(Jan. 11)--Maj. Gen. Earle E. Morris Jr., comptroller general for the state of South Carolina and recently retired director of the South Carolina State Guard, will be honored at Friday's dress parade of the Corps of Cadets at The Citadel. The parade begins at 3:45 p.m. at Summerall Field. Morris will be recognized for his dedicated service to the nation and the state of South Carolina, which has spanned more than four decades.
"It hardly seems 43 years since I put on the Army uniform as a 'buck private,'" Morris wrote in his "From the Director" column in the Dec. 1994 issue of SCSG News. "Very few are so fortunate as I have been to serve my nation and my state for so long," Morris said.
Morris began his military service as a cadet at Clemson College, where he received a bachelor of science degree in 1949. Following enlistment in the South Carolina Army National Guard, he completed the Palmetto Military Academy in 1951 and was commissioned a second lieutenant. Following a distinguished career in the Army National Guard, Morris retired in 1987 as a brigadier general and became deputy director of the State Guard. In 1991, Morris assumed command of the State Guard and was promoted to major general.
In civilian life, Morris is equally devoted to public service. He was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1950 at the age of 21, and served in the House until his election to the South Carolina Senate in 1954. Serving in the Senate until 1970, Morris became lieutenant governor in 1971. In 1976, Morris became comptroller general of South Carolina, and has continued to be re-elected to the post. While serving as comptroller general, he has received numerous awards and national recognition for distinguished leadership in the field of governmental financial management.
In 1993, Morris was awarded the nation's Most Valuable Public Official by City and State magazine. Morris has received honorary degrees from several of South Carolina's colleges and universities, including an honorary doctor of laws degree from The Citadel in 1983.


text:
Biodiesel Maker Contends Study Proves Algae's Worth
John Davis January 25, 2010
A recent study that contends algae-based biodiesel is no more environmentally friendly than conventional row-crop feedstocks has generated some controversy, as well as quite a few comments. And even the algal-biofuel industry seems to be split on the issue.
As you might remember from my story last week, University of Virginia researchers have concluded that algae's environmental footprint is larger than other terrestrial crops, and the environmental impact of algal-based biofuels needs to be better studied before major investments in algae production are made.
The Algal Biomass Organization has taken exception with the study with the group's executive director, Mary Rosenthal, pointing out several concerns about the report:
· Assumptions about algae growth systems. The report uses a first generation, raceway-style pond system as its benchmark. Many leading algae companies abandoned that approach years ago and have a variety of more advanced cultivation systems, some of which are unrelated to the methods the authors sought to assess.
· Assumptions about co-location. By assuming the production facility is not co-located with a large CO2 emitter, calculations for sourcing CO2 are flawed, resulting in a higher attribution of CO2 for algae plants. Most commercial-scale algae projects are being developed alongside major emitters in order to beneficially reuse CO2 that will take the place of equivalent carbon emissions from petroleum fuels.
· Assumptions about water use. The study assumes fresh water and non-potable salt water are equal. A sustainable industrial algae production model uses non-potable, non-agricultural water in the process of making liquid fuels.
While agreeing with ABO's contentions with the study, Riggs Eckelberry, CEO of algae-biofuel maker Origin Oil, says the research does prove that the old way of turning algae into biodiesel is not a valid method anymore. And it's not a method his company practices.
"It basically puts a tombstone on those earlier approaches [to algal-biodiesel production]."
Eckelberry says the Virginia study confirms earlier research that OriginOil did that found you need to co-locate algae-growing operations with other CO2 producers, you can't use vast amounts of land, and non-potable water must be used, among other things. But Eckelberry says the algae industry has done a poor job getting that word out, with his own company's research all but ignored months ago. He hopes this will serve as a wake-up call for the algae industry's advocacy group.
"I think they've been looking for a focus and some traction as an organization. And from the e-mails I've received and forwarded [from the ABO's Rosenthal], I think they've found it."
Eckelberry says he's forwarding his information to the ABO in hopes the industry can work together to show that algae-based biofuels are truly the greenest fuels on the planet.
You can hear my entire conversation with Riggs here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/domesticfuel/Riggsinterview.mp3]
algae, Audio, Biodiesel, biofuels


text:
Romare Bearden Art Collection
Home Romare Bearden Art Collection
One of the 20th century's preeminent artists, Romare Bearden (American, 1911–1988) lived and worked during a period of unprecedented growth and vitality in American society. His diverse oeuvre—including collages and photomontages; mosaic murals; designs for stage sets, record album covers, and books; and watercolors, oils, and monotypes—reflects the creative ferment of his time. Deeply impassioned about the people, issues, and ideas that shaped the world, Bearden imbued his work with a humanism that transcends time and place. Bearden received numerous awards and honors, including the National Medal of Arts and several honorary doctorates. His work is in many major collections, including those of the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Studio Museum in Harlem.
Romare Bearden (13)
Wrapping it Up at the Lafayette 1974
Paper Size: 36 x 26 Image Size: 30 1/2 x 22 3/4 Sold Unframed & Unmounted ...
Early Carolina Morning
Paper: 26 x 33 3/4Image: 21 x 29 3/4Serigraph edition of 950 Sold Unframed &...
School Bell Time
Paper Size: 35 x 43 7/8 Estate signed serigraph ed. 950
Nanette Bearden Contemporary Dance Theatre 10th Anniversary
Paper: 30 x 20Image: 16 7/8 x 12 3/4Sold Unframed & UnmountedThis art print comes...
NOAH Means "A New Day"
Paper: 34 1/2 x 21 Image: 22 5/8 x 17 Artist: Romare Bearden Sold Unframed...
The Last of the Blue Devils
Paper: 30 x 24Image: 24 x 18 3/8Sold Unframed & UnmountedThis art print comes rolled...
Out Chorus
Paper: 24 x 36Image: 26 1/4 x 20Sold Unframed & UnmountedThis art print comes rolled...
Carolina Shout
Return of the Prodigal Son
Paper: 26 1/2 x 28Image: 20 1/4 x 24 1/8Sold Unframed & UnmountedThis art print...
The Lamp
(30th Ann. of Brown vs. Board of Education) Paper: 35 x 21 1/2Image: 24 x...
Quilting Time
Jamming at the Savoy
Paper: 22 x 31 3/4 Image: 15 3/8 x 25 3/4 Sold Unframed & UnmountedThis art...


A DMK21 camera fitted with an IR/UV cut filter and the lens assembly from a x2 Barlow was fitted into a x2.5 Barlow and placed in a Solarmax II 60BF15 solar scope AR1327-AR 1324 regions were imaged in H-alpha light. A total of 40,000 frames were captured in AVIs and then registered and stacked in Registax 6. Microsoft ICE was used to composite the final image.
A DMK31 camera was placed at the prime focus of an 80mm refractor fitted with a Baader solar filter and imaged a string of active regions across the whole disk of the Sun.
A DBK camera was used for both images.
A Pentax K-x DSLR was placed at the prime focus of a Maksutov 127 telescope. Two overlapping images were captured and stitched together using Microsoft ICE.
An afocal image was captured of Jupiter using a modified afocal adaptor.
The north and south equatorial belts are clearly visible in this image.
A DMK camera fitted with an IR/UV cut filter and the lens assembly from a x2 Barlow was used in conjunction with a H-alpha PST to capture 3 areas of the Sun in between the clouds. The images have been colourised to represent H-alpha light.


text:
<?php
/**
 * This is a Anax pagecontroller.
 *
 */

// Get environment & autoloader.
require __DIR__.'/config_with_app.php';

// Demonstration of application specific module CDice
$dice = new \Mos\Dice\CDice();

// Check how many rolls to do
$roll = isset($_GET['roll']) && is_numeric($_GET['roll'])
    ? $_GET['roll']
    : 0;

if($roll > 100) {
    throw new Exception("To many rolls on the dice. Not allowed.");
}

// Make roll and prepare reply
$html = null;
if($roll) {
    $dice->roll($roll);

    $html = "
You made {$roll} roll(s) and you got this serie.
\n
";
    foreach($dice->getResults() as $val) {
        $html .= "\n

";
    }
    $html .= "\n
\n";

    $html .= "
You got " . $dice->getTotal() . " as a total.
";
}

// Prepare the page content

$app->theme->addStylesheet("css/dice.css")
           ->setVariable('title', "Throw a dice")
           ->setVariable('main', "

Throw a dice

This is a sample pagecontroller showing how to use application specific modules in a pagecontroller.

How many rolls do you want to do, 1 roll, 3 rolls or 6 rolls?

    $html
");

// Render the response using theme engine.
$app->theme->render();

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
There's LIFE after death on the 'net
https://www.mscl.com/forum/
so-called Angels
https://www.mscl.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=289
Posted: Aug 10th 2000, 12:58 pm
I just watched the Christmas episode again, with Juliana wotsit, and notiiced something that I hadn't noticed before, I had often thought it weird that MSCL suddenly went off on its little Fantasy tangents, but I have noticed that in this episode, the only people that actually see the girl are Angela and her mother, and all that the girl does is guide people, so showing why it is that she was never really talked about, and giving it that little extra touch that made her real.
This is the same in Haloween, the only person that actually acknowledges any of the 'Ghosts' is Angela, so this could easily be in her imagination. So making it all possible.
Problem solved, job done
Re: so-called Angels
Posted: Aug 11th 2000, 7:47 pm
by SarahHall82
I have to say that the just the other day I was thinking to myself 'I'm always saying to everyone that MSCL is soooo real and yet they had that whole ghost thing in the Christmas one' and that depressed me somewhat actually because it's great for a lot of reasons but it's the pure reality of it that is so great in this world of phony crap ! So..anyway after that outburst I should just stop writing !
PS What I meant to add was that it does show the similairty between Angela and her Mum that they're the only two and it DOES take away from the pure silliness of it (In other words I agree with you !)
Posted: Aug 12th 2000, 3:40 am
by oldguy
To be honest, I am not sure what either one of you are
trying to say ---- and that's not a criticism, it's just
my own ignorance and isolation, most likely.
But I do want to say that I think "So-called Angels" is
one of the top two or three best MSCL episodes. I LOVE
the fact that it plays a little bit with the mystery of
a real angel --- that this girl with the guitar was a real
person who died and now has enough spirit left to appear
to Angela and her mother. It's very powerful --- whether
you take it literally --- or just as a story-line metaphor.
I think MSCL was extremely effectively at playing with reality
--- whether it was in portraying a dream, or portraying a possible
hallucination/vision with a real angel. For us here in the real
world, we rarely (if ever) have visions, but sometimes we have
powerful moments where a dream takes on more meaning than day-to-day
reality, and sometimes we share Angela's abstract musings and
passions. I for one, absolutely LOVE this aspect of MSCL.
It's an interesting debate, really (I'm not sure if this is a
real debate, but it could be one). I used to tell other MSCL
fans that I didn't really think the strength of the show was
its realism ---- I still think the main strength of MSCL is
its remarkable ability to capture the feeling of being 15 years
old --- which includes a mixture of reality, fantasy, distortion,
misperception, truth, lies, and dreams and illusions.
Best wishes --- and I hope you hold on to whatever reason
it is/was you like this show.
By saying what I said, have to say that the strange story lines did not detract from my enjoyment of the show, I have to say that Angels and Haloween are my favourite episodes, all that I found strange was that they seemed so diferent to the rest of the show, but I feel that what I noticed explains it to some small extent.
If you know what I mean, I'm not sure that I do.
Posted: Jul 11th 2001, 3:17 pm
I love 'so-called Angels' and always cry at the end of that episode although I can't explain why! I also like the fact that quite early on in the episode Angela's parents are watching the black and white film 'It's a wonderful life'....which is a film all about a guardian angel at christmas time (which I love too!) - it's cool! I think that is actually where the writers got their ideas for this episode from!..........in fact (and I'll have to go and check this) but I think they actually sing a song about lassoing the moon....."buffalo tom won't you come out tonight, come out tonight, come out tonight, buffalo tom won't you come out tonight...and dance by the light of the moon!" Right, now I'm gonna have to go and watch that and look for any similarities between the two!
"And dance by the light of the moon!"
Re: Buffalo Gals (reply to above)
So, I've just watched that clip and they sing "buffalo gals can't you come out tonight, come out tonight, come out tonight" etc and they do end the song by singing "and dance by the light of the moon"....I think that linking the movie to 'so-called angels' and the jingle at the end of every episode's credits is very clever from the MSCL team - yes, very clever indeed! (even if it was by accident?) I also think it is interesting, with so many similarities and links, that both the film and the series have titles with the word LIFE in them (of course one is used as a positive as in 'wonderful' and MSCL, by definition, is negative!) I think perhaps I am analysing too much!
Posted: Aug 19th 2001, 10:00 am
by lizardcub
I hate that goddamn angel, because it takes me out of what is otherwise an incredibly powerful and moving episode, since I can't believe in the dumb old thing. Plus, why does Juliana Hatfield talk in that irritating, wispy way? I think she may be trying for ethereal, but it sounds quite off to my ears.
Re: "Problem solved, job done": well, except for the fact that at the end of Halloween Angela has that flower in her notebook, and if the angel isn't real, why would Patty and Angela have the exact same vision of it? Also, doesn't it help them find things? (I haven't seen this episode in ages, so please excuse the shakiness of my memory!)
Well, "And dance by the light of the moon" is the theme for Bedford Falls Production Company. It follows all Bedford Falls productions (try Once and Again, currently on ABC), not just MSCL.
I don't actually think MSCL was inspired by It's a Wonderful Life, although I admit I have no actual way of knowing. In any case, both having It's a Wonderful Life on TV around Christmastime and Christmas angels are cliches, so I don't think one necessarily inspired the other.
Posted: Aug 22nd 2001, 1:23 am
OK, so the flower is hard to explain, maybe it was just a co-incedence. Patty and Angela both seeing the same could be the mother-daughter twist, and the angel helping find people could be just female intuition????
It sort of works?? Maybe?? Ithink so anyway.
And yes she is a bit annoying, but I still think it is the best episode, they wrote it quite well so that she said very little and mostly just sang, which was good.
Rchard
I don't buy at all that they were leaving it ambiguous in either episode, for the reasons explained (the flower, which she hadn't seen before, wa a coincidence? Female intuition??). Besides, you see the dumb old angel's wings at the end, in a shot that isn't from the perspective of either Angela or Patty.
So-called Angels is a fun episode. Bess Armstrong is amazing. But I don't think it's as good as, say, the Pilot or Self-Esteem.
I rather enjoyed the beyond reality aspects of these episodes. ANd myself would prefer to take it as that than as a connection between angela and her mother because for me that would be even more quaint and cheesy. But hey for a lot of people a big part of the show's appeal is that everyone can take whatever they want to from the show and relate it to themselves in any way they can. For me I am happy with life as it is but I am a little bit waiting for the principles of reality to suddenly change one day and to discover that things like angels, spirits, magic all those dream like things might be possible. NO that isn't realistic but that's kind of the point. I guess episodes like So-called ANgels and Halloween are an outlet for my beyond reality hopes and wonderings. If these episodes are something else for others then that's great. ANd I don't believe that angels and spirits are really any less likely than the possibility of ANgela choosing Brian (at some point) and there are enough people out
there who believe in that possibility. Just my thoughts.
samiam.
I think you guys are missing the point here to an extent. The supernatural elements that are part of the Halloween and Christmas stories are meant to raise the level of the story-telling to a higher order --- These episodes in effect become comparable to myths or fairy tales. On this level, there isn't one "correct" interpretation. The whole point in introducing these fantastic elements to the show is that multiple interpretations are simultaneously valid --- Did Angela only dream about the dead boy Halloween night --- or did she really see him? --- and does this distinction even matter (or is it valid?). Once MSCL opens itself up to dreams and angels --- we are looking at life from a totally different, more spiritual perspective. To quibble over what is real or what is imagined is to miss the point entirely.
Oldguy
Good to see a post from you, Patrick. It's been a long time. Hope
Reply to above 3 messages!
Posted: Oct 24th 2001, 8:21 pm
Forgot to point out that the Bedford Falls is the name of the town in that film (hence the name of the MSCL production company). I think it did inspire MSCL not because the film was featured in So-called Angels (with a similar story line) but also because the film (it's a wonderful life) is shown in the PILOT episode of MSCL also...at the end when Angela goes in to her mum's room (it's on the TV in the background). So I think I may have been right in my initial comment to point out that this film did indeed inspire the show in more ways than one!...name? production company name? end tune? and story lines!!! If you're reading this thread and are a bit lost then read the three comments above this one
Re: Reply to above 3 messages!
Posted: Oct 24th 2001, 11:28 pm
Also, in one scene, Jimmy Stewart is wearing a shirt with the number
three on it which we see Brian wearing quite a bit throughout the


Why is this logo needed?
The logo is intended to provide consumers with the confidence that devices can support the next generation of Ultra High Definition (UHD, also referred to as 4K) and High Dynamic Range (HDR) broadcast and broadband services.
UHD pictures are up to four times the clarity of existing High Definition services but HDR brings a whole new dimension with vivid, true to life colours, darker blacks and brighter whites.
How is the logo different from the other UHD logos?
Only one other logo for devices places requirements on displays to support the high contrasts and vivid colours possible with High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Wide Colour Gamut (WCG). Some of the early consumer logos only required displays to support higher pixel resolutions with 8 bits per pixel and it was clear that this was not sufficiently compelling for content providers to justify expensive new UHD production workflows. It is now clear that content providers and broadcasters will invest in UHD technology when all the benefits of UHD, HDR and WCG can be realised simultaneously as this delivers a real step change in visual quality.
In addition, other UHD logos all consider the display of UHD content from a secondary source devices over HDMI. Such an approach means that consumers can purchase a great quality display, only to find that the TV is unable to actually display UHD HDR content delivered via broadcast or via broadband (OTT). The 4K HDR Ultra HD logo aims to bridge the gap not covered by existing logos, which do not specify requirements for broadcast and broadband UHD HDR services based on open standards.
This logo is supported with a comprehensive test suite, certification and audit of devices so that consumers and the industry can have confidence in the capability of devices that carry this logo.
Read our blog here, to see a more in depth explanation for why we believe a new 4k HDR logo is needed.
What are the benefits of this logo for consumers?
The benefit for consumers is that their TV or set-top-box will display UHD HDR content whether broadcast, broadband or via HDMI, for their region, giving them confidence in terms of compatibility and quality.
What are the benefits of this logo for manufacturers and retailers?
The logo conveys in a simple way to consumers that a complex set of features and technologies will work together, for the region applicable. By giving consumers greater confidence in the future compatibility of their UHD TV or set-top-box purchase, manufacturers and retailers can make their range of UHD TVs more compelling.
Because retailers can be confident that TVs carrying the logo have been tested against a wide range of HDR content delivered over HDMI, broadband and broadcast, they know that the chance of dissatisfied consumers and returned purchases is reduced.
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Many pay TV operators are interested in enabling HDR content. Most will be distributing to a set-top-box, not directly to a TV, and while the use of the logo might not be of interest to an operator, it still makes a lot of sense to choose an appropriate set of technical requirements that stays aligned with industry trends and is backed with a comprehensive test suite.
Who can use the logo and how is it obtained?
This logo is open to any manufacturer of devices that support the Logo Technical Requirements and have signed a Logo Licence Agreement. Devices that meet the requirements must be registered and then logo licensees may carry the logo on their device and packaging, and marketing material relating to the device. A requirement for registering a device is that it has been tested using the available test suite. This process is described in more detail in the Logo Licence Process document which you can request from here.
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See The Logo Technical Requirements.
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Licensees are required to certify that their device meets the requirements and a test suite is available for manufacturers to license for use in their labs for development and acceptance testing. Manufacturers may also self-certify using this test suite as part of the logo registration process. Manufacturers not wishing to test the device themselves, can test it in one of our worldwide test labs.
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A full list of the tests can be obtained by contacting us. To use the test suite a modulator is required for playing out the broadcast Transport Streams to the device under test.
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Device manufacturers and their suppliers can separately license the test to validate 4k and HDR support of their device, even if they do not wish to show the logo on the device. This is useful since the test suite covers many generic HDR technical requirements and we recognise there will be situations where manufacturers wish to validate the performance of their device but do not need to use the logo itself.
Which devices are currently carrying the logo?
LG, the world's largest 4k HDR receiver manufacturer by volume, is using the logo on all LG 2017 4k TVs. MStar, the world's largest TV semiconductor vendor, Hisense and T1-Tek are also supporting the logo. Please click here to see LG's own report about adopting the 4K HDR logo, and you can also see the list of LG models that support the logo here. Panasonic is another company that is now carrying the logo on it's televisions. View the list of televisions from Panasonic that carry the logo here.
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TV and set-top-box manufacturers wishing to display the logo should contact us for licence fee information.Use of the logo is free of charge for companies that are not TV device manufacturers. Such companies wishing to display the logo must follow the Logo Usage Rules.
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Currently the technical requirements refer to the DVB UHD Phase 2 specification for broadcast and HbbTV 2.4.1 for broadband services – covering most of Europe and some other parts of the world. The relevance of the requirements to consumers in non-DVB areas is for the manufacturer to decide. When other open standards requiring HDR are published for a region, the logo technical requirements will be reviewed and updated.
The Logo Licence Agreement in general provides a worldwide licence, subject to the T&Cs and those of any referenced documents. None of these make any specific geographical restrictions.
The Registered Trademark itself so far only covers the EU via the EUIPO. Countries outside of the EUIPO jurisdiction may have (unregistered) common law trademark protections where applicable, but in these areas Eurofins Digital Testing accepts no liability whatsoever for its use. This is strictly a matter for the manufacturer. The area of coverage may be extended in the future.
How is Eurofins Digital Testing qualified to operate this logo regime?
Eurofins Digital Testing have a long history of providing device certification and testing services to the industry. We are the world's leading independent test laboratory for digital TV and operate a number of certification regimes and provide world leading testing tools and materials to the CE industry.
Please register your interest in the 4K HDR Ultra HD Logo here or download our datasheet for more information.


Spend 3 weeks studying in the beautiful city of Paris, France with AIFS during your January term! You'll earn 3 credits either studying fine arts through a Fashion in France 18th - 21st Century course at the renowned Cours de Civilisation Française de la Sorbonne, or exploring an art history course, Paris: World Capital of Arts and Architecture, at the Institut de Langue et de Culture Françaises. Courses are taught in English. Live in a double room in a Parisian homestay or for a supplemental fee in a student residence. Social and cultural activities are included to help immerse you in French culture such as guided city tours, a boat trip along the River Seine, and an excursion to the Château of Versailles. An optional day trip to the Champagne Region of France is also offered.


Opening times, details of the dresses, accessories stocked.
Network Advertising - AVI, MPEG videos as video screen savers. Shareware.
Offers eye examinations, contact lens fittings, a selection of designer eyewear in Columbus, OH.
Watercraft; Boats; Hovercraft - UK hovercraft designer / builder.
Time enabled component which helps to create professional forms with no coding efforts.
Liberal Democrat councillor for the Manor ward on London Borough of Hillingdon Council.
Calgary, Banff Chartered Accountants provide a full range of accounting services.
Sustainable design, green building practices. Overview of services, photo gallery, press items offered.
Art, craft gallery, plus prints by Walter Elliott to buy mail order. Profile, example works.
Describes accommodation, facilities. Room rates, restaurant, photographs, contacts.
Describes facilities, accommodation. Prices, photographs, contacts. Located in Dogmersfield.
Provide industrial cooling, heating, chiller rental, commercial cooling, heating, air conditioning.
Telephone directory - Provides details of the facilities, lessons available.
Personal health information manager. Track weight, blood pressure, calories.


(Speakman & Rowland, 1999). The duration and depth of this torpor is highly variable between species, sexes, and individuals.
New Zealand provides a unique opportunity to study effects of a subtropical to temperate latitudinal gradient on torpor expression as it ranges from cold-temperate and sub-alpine/alpine with Ta as low as -10 °C in winter in the south to sub-tropical in the north. New Zealand is also home to lesser short-tailed bats (Mystacina tuberculata), an endemic and threatened bat species which provides a good opportunity to assess torpor expression in the wild. This species roosts communally ranging up to thousands of individuals (Sedgley, 2001), and many similar tree-roosting bats of the same family employ torpor to reduce thermoregulatory costs especially during pregnancy, relative to lactation (Willis et al., 2006). However, to date no work has examined torpor expression in New Zealand bats, despite its likely importance for roost requirements, survival and fitness.
This project will be the first to examine the potential heterothermic behaviour of M. tuberculata and will shed light on crucial aspects of this threatened animal's life history. Additionally, this project will lead to exciting breakthroughs about the influence of and interactions between climate, reproductive status, Ta, and prey availability on torpor expression in free- ranging endotherms.


text:
Q: dropbox Unicode Encoding Conflict I have a python script that queries customer and order information for a database, creates a latex template based on that data with jinja2, and finally calls
subprocess.call(['/usr/texbin/pdflatex', filename], shell = False)

with filename being the latex template.
The folder of the respective filename is named after the customer. I'm operating in Germany, so some of the filenames contain 'Umlaute' such as ö.
I have a folder structure like so:
.
└── invoices
    ├── customer_no_umlaut
            ├── invoice_no_umlaut_01
            └── invoice_no_umlaut_02
    └── cüstömer_with_ümläüt
            ├── invoice_with_ümlaut_01
            └── invoice_with_ümlaut_02

This all works perfectly fine on my local computer.
Since I need to share these files, however, I want to have the pdfs in a Dropbox folder.
So in my code, I plug in the path to the Dropbox folder instead of the original local folder.
What I then get is the latex template in my Dropbox-folder with this text in parenthesis after the filename:
Unicode Encoding Conflict

as in
"Rechnung_Gedöns_4-724_(Unicode-Codierungskonflikt).tex"

So it seems that Dropbox is not happy with my unicode charset.
What I find strange, though, is that this applies to the filename only. The python script is able to create folders in the Dropbox with the customer's name retrieved from the database with the same encoding.
Does someone have any thoughts on how to solve this?

A: I managed to resolve this by chance more or less.
In my desperation, I deleted the customer folders containing an umlaut in my Dropbox. I then reran the script described in the question again. From the respective customer data, the script creates the path of the target file folder. If the folder does not exist, it is being created.
As I had deleted the folders, they were now created anew. The latex templates where then placed inside and called with
subprocess.call(['/usr/texbin/pdflatex', filename], shell = False)

And everything works fine.
I guess the old versions of the folders must have been where the unicode conflict took place.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
home/pregnancy center/ pregnancy a-z list/ sutures bested staples after c-section in study article
Sutures Bested Staples After C-Section in Study
Latest Pregnancy News
Anxiety Meds Valium, Xanax Raise Miscarriage Risk
Low Birth Weight Babies a Worldwide Problem
Antibiotics Use After Complicated Vaginal Birth
Quieter NICUs a Good Rx for Premature Babies
TUESDAY, July 8, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Women who deliver their baby by cesarean section are less likely to suffer complications if sutures -- rather than staples -- are used to close the incision, a new study says.
"This study clearly shows that women who undergo C-section have fewer wound complications after suture closure than after staple closure," study first author Dr. Dhanya Mackeen, said in a university news release. Mackeen was a fellow at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia at the time of the study.
The study included almost 750 women who had C-sections at three U.S. hospitals. Those whose C-section incisions were closed with sutures (stitches) were 57 percent less likely to develop wound complications than those whose incisions were closed with staples.
Specifically, wound complications occurred in 18 out of 370 women who received sutures and in 40 of the 376 who received staples.
The researchers also found that women in the suture group were 80 percent less likely to have their wound re-open to a size of 1 centimeter (0.4 inches) or more than those in the staples group.
"There has been ongoing debate in the field about the use of sutures versus staples," study senior author Dr. Vincenzo Berghella, director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University, said in the university news release.
"C-sections are a common procedure in the United States, and yet we still haven't established the best way to close these incisions," he noted.
"Based on these results, we recommend that C-section incisions be closed with stitches rather than staples," said Berghella, who is president of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
C-sections account for about one-third of all deliveries in the United States, and as many as 46 percent of all deliveries in China, according to the researchers. A previous study found that more than 50 percent of doctors prefer to use staples over sutures to close a C-section incision, because staples are easier and faster to use, and better for closing deeper incisions, such as those in overweight women.
On average, suturing takes about nine minutes longer than stapling, the researchers found.
Results of the study were published in a recent issue of the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.
SOURCE: Thomas Jefferson University, news release, July 7, 2014
Conception: The Amazing Journey from Egg to Embryo See Slideshow
Stages of Pregnancy: 1st, 2nd, 3rd Trimester Images
Explore the changes a pregnant woman's body goes through as you watch a baby grow during the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters.
Read more: Stages of Pregnancy: 1st, 2nd, 3rd Trimester Images


text:
Q: How to display SQL Server table indexes? I need to list/display all the clustered and non clustered indexes contained by a table.
How can I do that using SQL Server 2008 R2?

A: How about this:
SELECT
    TableName = t.Name,
    i.*
FROM
    sys.indexes i
INNER JOIN
    sys.tables t ON t.object_id = i.object_id
WHERE
    T.Name = 'YourTableName'

If you need more information (like columns contained in the index, their datatype etc.) - you can expand your query to something like this:
SELECT
    TableName = t.Name,
    IndexName = i.Name,
    IndexType = i.type_desc,
    ColumnOrdinal = Ic.key_ordinal,
    ColumnName = c.name,
    ColumnType = ty.name
FROM
    sys.indexes i
INNER JOIN
    sys.tables t ON t.object_id = i.object_id
INNER JOIN
    sys.index_columns ic ON ic.object_id = i.object_id AND ic.index_id = i.index_id
INNER JOIN
    sys.columns c ON c.object_id = ic.object_id AND c.column_id = ic.column_id
INNER JOIN
    sys.types ty ON c.system_type_id = ty.system_type_id
WHERE
    t.name = 'YourTableName'
ORDER BY
    t.Name, i.name, ic.key_ordinal

These system catalog views contain a wealth of information about your system....


Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants, and suspended solids and gases from water with the goal of producing water fit for a specific purpose. Most public drinking water goes through a disinfection process, but water purification may also be designed for other purposes, including fulfilling the requirements of pharmacological, medical, chemical and industrial applications, or just to upgrade the drinking water supply. The methods used include physical processes such as sediment filtration, carbon based filtration, sedimentation with sand filters; chemical processes such as flocculation and chlorination and the use of ultraviolet light or ozone. Water testing and analysis should begin the process of determining the appropriate technologies and systems to meet the goal of the end user.
On an individualized basis, water purification systems can be installed for the removal of almost any of the potential water quality concerns you may have. For example, lead is typically removed from drinking water with either a reverse osmosis water purification system or a carbon filter designed specifically for the removal of lead from water. Water softeners are typically installed to remove dissolved iron (see photo below) or manganese and hardness minerals in the water through a technology called Ion Exchange (see below for more detailed information on this). A water softener will also remove dissolved lead from the water as well, however they are usually installed ahead of the piping where the potential for lead leaching is most likely to occur and is not recommended for this purpose. To remove particulate iron or manganese, a properly sized sediment filter is required. Radon or arsenic in the water requires other technologies and systems. Water testing will lead to the right system design & installation.
In addition to the above systems described, there are many other types of systems to remove bad tastes & odors, sediment and many other objectionable minerals and contaminants that may be present in the water. For more detailed information on bad odors and tastes in your water, see the link at: https://h2ocare.com/bad-odor-taste-water/.
The only way to know how hard your water is by having it tested. There are on-site testing methods that are reliable or you can have a sample taken to a certified laboratory. If you have a private well, there can be a very different hardness level than even the house across the street with a private well. Hard water interferes with many cleaning tasks, from doing the laundry to washing dishes to taking a shower. Washing your hair in hard water may leave it feeling sticky and dull. Dishes and glasses get spotted or streaky and a film may build up on shower doors, bathtubs, sinks and faucets. Clothes can look dingy and feel rough and scratchy. Magnesium and Calcium may have major affects on your home's plumbing and your ability to clean, even though the EPA has no published limits on these. Scale from hard water can build-up inside water heaters insulating the temperature sensor inside the tank creating extra work to bring the temperature up to the set level. This reduces the life of your hot water heater and will likely require early replacement. Hard water can also cause scale build-up in pipes that can lower water pressure throughout the home (see photo below).
The primary hard water minerals are calcium and magnesium (the hardness minerals), while iron and manganese ("The Stainers") can also be found in water, mostly in private wells. Depending on whether the contaminant's form is in solution or particulate, these contaminants can be removed with a water softener and/or a properly specified sediment water filtration installation.
A water softener will improve your water greatly if you have hard water minerals, iron, or manganese in your water. If other impurities are confirmed in the water test, they can be removed with other types of water filtration systems. The maximum allowable level (per the Environmental Protection Agency) for iron as a secondary contaminant is .3 parts per million and for manganese is .05 parts per million. Small amounts of these minerals can have very noticeable, even damaging affects on your home's water quality. Water softeners vary, including up-flow versus down-flow which can make a big difference, particularly if there are elevated levels of iron or manganese in the water. In some cases where the water chemistry is more complicated, a different type of water filtration system may make more sense to remove iron or manganese.
Any water purification system recommendation should start with a water test before an informed decision can be made. To determine what type of water testing to have performed and how to take a proper sample, call a water treatment professional or a state certified laboratory. In summary, controlling your Wayland water quality is attainable through proper water testing and equipment specification with today's available water filtration technologies at a reasonable price. Proper on-going maintenance is also critical to maintain a consistent level of great water quality.
H2O Care is an established, Massachusetts based water filtration and testing firm, formed in 1989 with offices in Hudson, MA (439 Main St.) & MIddleton, MA (Route 114) . Articles published by the Company can be seen in Water Technology Magazine or linked through the website publications section at http://h2ocare.wpengine.com. You can contact us by email at service@h2ocare.com or by calling us at 978-777-8330.


The Sant Samaj, a conglomerate of a number of Sikh religious groups and sects, has called upon the Akal Takht to replace the Nanakshahi calendar with the traditional Bikrami calendar, which was followed by the Sikh community before the Sikh calendar came into being in 2003.
"The Nanakshahi calendar, be it the original version of 2003 or the revised one of 2010, has only caused confusion among the Sikhs", the Sant Samaj said in a memorandum that was handed over to Akal Takht jathedar, Giani Gurbachan Singh, here on Monday.
The memorandum was handed to the jathedar by Sant Samaj chairman Baba Harnam Singh Dhuma, the head of the Mehta Chowk-based Damdami Taksal. It contained the signatures of leaders of around 15 religious organisations or sects.
Dhuma had handed over a similar memorandum to the jathedar in December last year, calling for putting an end to the solar-based Nanakshahi calendar and reverting to the lunar-based Bikrami calendar. The jathedar had kept this memorandum under the wraps for almost a year.
It was virtually a show of strength by the Sant Samaj at the Akal Takht secretariat where the meeting with the jathedar took place. In the meeting they made it clear that they would stop at nothing short of bringing back the Bikrami calendar.
"We have conveyed our viewpoint to the jathedar. It is for him to take a decision. We have told him that Sikhs should follow the calendar which was in circulation when Guru Nanak Dev was born and that was the Bikrami calendar and not the Nanakshahi calendar," Dhuma said while talking to the media after meeting the jathedar.
Prominent among the sects/groups that have come in support of the Bikrami calendar, include the Nihang jathebandis, Damdama Taksal, Rarra Sahib Samparda, Nanaksaria samparda, Bhuchowale Sant, Ratwara Sahib dera, Baba Hari Singh Randhawa, Harianvela wale and a couple of others.
There are supporters of the Bikrami calendar even in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). Prominent among these is Amarjit Singh Chawla.
Later briefing the media, Giani Gurbachan Singh said, "I have received the viewpoint of the Sant Samaj and that of some other organisations that are in favour of the Nanakshahi calendar. We will take up both the viewpoints at the next meeting of the 'Singh Sahibs' (high priests) and thereafter take a decision".
He, however, did not disclose when the next meeting of the high priests was scheduled.
Meanwhile, a number of Sikh groups including the Dal Khalsa, the Akali Dal (Delhi) led by Paramjit Singh Sarna, Akal Purkh ki Fauj of Jaswinder Singh Advocate, the Panthic Taal Mel Sangthan of Giani Kewal Singh, a former jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib, the All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) and a number of others have lent their support to the Nanakshahi calender.
Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh, who favours the original Nanakshahi calendar of 2003, feels that the original calendar is "vital for the unity of the Sikhs".
He feels that the Nanakshahi calendar is an identity marker for the Sikh community and the changes (of 2010) have already killed the spirit of the calendar. The amendments made in 2010 had the imprint of the RSS and now, the latest efforts to revert to the Bikrami calendar was a part of a larger conspiracy, hatched by anti-panthic elements including the Badals, to cause severe setback to the distinct identity of the Sikhs, he added.
The Dal Khalsa has urged the jathedar and others to build consensus on the issue instead of playing a partisan role.
SGPC executive member Karnail Singh Panjoli and its general secretary Sukhdev Singh Bhaur are also supporters of the 2003 version of Nanakshahi calendar and had opposed the amendments in 2010 at the executive meeting that was to ratify the changes.


text:
CineMarter
Passengers - Moral Choice Time!
Marter | 23 Dec 2016 12:00
CineMarter - RSS 2.0
Directed by Morten Tyldum. Produced by Neal H. Moritz, Stephen Hamel, Michael Maher, and Ori Marmur. Written by Jon Spaihts. Release date: December 21, 2016.
Before we get into Passengers, there's something else that needs addressing. Misleading marketing is terrible, yes - and Passengers has some of that - but condemning a film because of it isn't fair. Is is fair, though, to describe a plot point that happens fairly on and isn't a spoiler in the movie, even though the trailer made it seem like it was one. Okay? Okay.
So, Passengers is going to be a movie that you come out of and want to almost immediately discuss, in large part because a large chunk of its plot hinges on a decision made by its protagonist, and that decision will be controversial. The lead is Jim (Chris Pratt), who is one of 5,000 passengers on the Starship Avalon, which is traveling to a colony called HomesteadII. It's a journey that takes an excruciatingly long time to complete, so all of the passengers and crew members are put into hibernation, set to wake up a few months before the trip is complete. Jim wakes up with 90 years to go - only 30 years in. He is the only one to wake up - and the only semi-sentient being around is an android bartender, Arthur (Michael Sheen).
He deals with this for a year, and comes inches from killing himself to end the isolation. However, he previously noticed a woman, a writer named Aurora (Jennifer Lawrence), and has contemplated waking her up from her hibernation. Here's your ethical conundrum, everyone. Will he do it? Will he ruin someone else's life - the movie goes so far as to literally call it "murder" - to satisfy his own need for companionship? The trailer makes it seem like a twist, but it isn't; that's just a marketing hook.
Of course, he eventually chooses to do it - and subsequently hide this fact from her. A large chunk of the movie is dedicated to watching Jim in isolation, and then watching Jim and Aurora slowly bonding, bereft of other choices. But we need some excitement, so it eventually turns into a disaster movie. It almost feels like two movies, with the only thing linking them being the small mechanical failures we see in its first two-thirds, which eventually escalate to the explosive final third.
Passengers, like the vessel at its core, is an empty, pretty film.
The only thing people are going to care about is the moral choice, though, and whether or not, after Aurora eventually learns the truth, she can forgive Jim. The movie gives her agency in this matter; she gets to choose. As far as I'm concerned, it's handled well. It's mulled over and discussed and treated seriously. We understand the difficulties in making such a decision. It could have been mishandled, but I don't think it was.
The movie surrounding that decision, though, isn't anything special. The parts where Jim is isolated turn out to be more boring than insightful - there's little psychological examination being done here. The - for lack of a better word - "dating" portion of the film is about the thinnest romance you can imagine, watchable only because of the easygoing chemistry between Pratt and Lawrence. And the disaster section doesn't feel earned - it comes across more like a tacked-on "we need a way to end this" scenario. It doesn't help that it has a character appear to (1) explain everything, (2) fix or describe how to fix things, and (3) disappear after his purpose is fulfilled.
The spaceship, the Starship Avalon, is wonderfully rendered, and if there's a reason to watch Passengers, it's probably for the ship. It's fun seeing all of the technological improvements that the filmmakers envision - their visions of the future on full display. The special effects are great, and the cinematography is, at times, wonderful - some of the shots of space rival Gravity. There just isn't much to the film beyond this one ethical dilemma, and that's not enough on which to hang an entire film.
Passengers, like the vessel at its core, is an empty, pretty film. It doesn't have enough to say or do to be anything more than a passable experience. Its strengths lie in the technicals, with its special effects and cinematography both shining over its story and characters. Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence have strong chemistry but rarely do much for their characters. Its moral choice is, I think, handled well, and if nothing more, Passengers will get people talking. That's engagement, and engagement is a good thing.
Bottom Line: Passengers might not work all the way, but at least it's engaging and entertaining enough to keep our attention.
Recommendation: Its visuals alone might make it warrant a trip to the cinema, but it'll be a better home video release.
If you want more of Matthew "Marter" Parkinson, you can follow him on the Twitter @Martertweet.
marterandy garcachris prattcinemarterjennifer lawrencejon spaihtslaurence fishburnemichael sheenmorten tyldummovies and tvpassengersreviewscience and tech
Amazing PC Case Mods Encaen 12 Comments
Record of Lodoss War - Dungeons and Dragons, The Anime Hayden_Russell 13 Comments
The New X-Files Learning Curve Aaron Williams 8 Comments
Ghostbusters - Who You Gonna Call? Marter 7 Comments
Dragon Fin Soup Is Distilled Essence of RPG Grind James Fenner 4 Comments
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The Escapist Podcast - April 7, 2017 Lizzy Finnegan 0 Comments


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Ο τυφώνας «Σάντι» απομακρύνεται κι οι πληγείσες περιοχές μετρούν τις πληγές τους. Εκατομμύρια σπίτια χωρίς ρεύμα, αρκετές περιοχές βυθισμένες στο νερό. Ο Ομπάμα κήρυξε κομητείες τις Νέας Υόρκης σε κατάσταση «μεγάλης εθνικής καταστροφής»
Νέα Υόρκη.- Του Αποστόλη Ζουπανιώτη Δεκαεπτά νεκροί και μεγάλα προβλήματα που θα χρειαστούν αρκετό χρόνο να λυθούν και θα στοιχίσουν ...
Τυφώνας Σάντι: 10 νεκροί, ίσως ξεπεράσουν τα 30 δισεκατομμύρια δολάρια οι ζημιές
Νέα Υόρκη.- Του Αποστόλη Ζουπανιώτη Ο τυφώνας Sandy συνεχίζει βορειοδυτικά και με βραδείς ρυθμούς την πορεία του στην ενδοχώρα των ΗΠΑ,...
Papaconstantinou Barbs against Venizelos
Athens.- Former Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou indirectly accused current PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos, who took on the ministry after him, and the ministry's financial crimes squad (SDOE) over the 'non-utilization' of the so-called...
Tsipras: Greece Being Turned into 'Economic Protectorate'
Paris (AMNA/O. Tsipira) -- Main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras expressed his belief that a political change in Greece could push the rest of Europe for more social justice, addressing a press conference in Paris on Saturday after a meeting of the...
Venizelos Optimistic after DC Talks with IIF, IMF Officials
Washington, DC.- PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos expressed optimism over the outcome of the Greek government's and people's efforts, expressing hope that when the new package of measures is finalized in a few days' time "there will be a positive...
Koening: US Support a Just Solution in Cyprus
Nicosia.- (CNA)-United States of America support a just solution to the Cyprus problem, said on Friday the new US Ambassador to Cyprus John Koenig, noting at the same time that the energy issues offer a great prospects for the Cypriot...
Landmines Fenced off by UNFICYP
Nicosia.- UNFICYP fenced off an area in Denia village where landmines had been swept away due to heavy rain of the last days. Sources from UNFICYP told CNA that following consultations with the Police of Cyprus, the dangerous areas where fenced off...
Christofias Inaugurates Exhibition at the Louvre
Nicosia.- (CNA) ---Cyprus President Demetris Christofias inaugurated Friday evening an exhibition of Cypriot antiquities at the Louvre Museum, in Paris, titled "Cyprus between Byzantium and the West, from the 4th to the 16th century".The...
Consultations between Troika and Government Continue
Washington, DC.- By Apostolos Zoupaniotis Consultations between the head of the IMF mission to Cyprus Delia Velculescu and Cyprus Finance Ministry technocrats lasted until late last night, via teleconference, in an attempt to overcome certain...
Aegean Airlines Says Acquisition of Olympic Air a Necessary Move
The acquisition of Olympic Air by Aegean Airlines was a necessary move in order that the two Greek airlines become viable, dealing with the challenges of an economic crisis and increasing competition in the airline market, Eftihis Vasilakis,...


Advertise: Vendors may advertise in the quarterly The Georgia Chiropractor magazine, which is mailed to every chiropractor in Georgia, as well as to other chiropractic organizations and legislators. Click here to download the media kit. For more information, contact Carly Sharec via email or by calling 770-723-1100.
Exhibit: GCA hosts two trade shows each year in conjunction with its Spring & Fall Conferences. Vendors may purchase a tabletop during the Spring Conference or an 8'x8' booth during the Fall Conference, which is a great way to connect with attendees. Click here for exhibitor information, or contact Carly Sharec, via email or by calling 770-723-1100.
Sponsor: Exhibitors and/or vendors who are unable to attend the shows can gain exposure to conference attendees through a variety of sponsorship options, such as refreshment and event sponsorship, WiFi sponsorship and much more! Click here for sponsorship information or contact Diane Hamby via email or by calling 770-723-1100.
Please contact Carly Sharec, Director of Communications & Events, if you are interested in a partnership, or call her at 770-723-1100.


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Watch Van Halen in Hank Williams Jr.'s 'My Name Is Bocephus' Music Video
Van Halen were one of the greatest rock bands of all time, but did you know they also had country connections? It's possible that some fans don't even realize that's Van Halen in the background of Hank Williams Jr. 1986 music video "My Name Is Bocephus."
As Sammy Hagar recalled in a post to Facebook in January, "Not a lot of people know that in 1986 Van Halen were part of a Hank Williams Jr music video. It was a cool tune and a crazy scene.
"[Drummer] Alex [Van Halen] had just shaved his head, me and Mikey [bassist Michael Anthony] were shooting it like a cue ball – we all had a blast!" Hagar adds.
In the clip below, the band members appear in various crowd shots in a bar where everyone has donned shades and fake beards in order to look more like Williams:
According to the Van Halen News Desk, the members of Van Halen would get "good and crazy" on a regular basis when Hagar first joined the band. They called those times "Bocephus mode" in honor of Williams' legendary shenanigans, and when he got wind of that, he invited them to appear in his video.
Williams would later name-check Van Halen in his 1988 song "Young Country," which says, "We like old Waylon / And we know Van Halen / We like ZZ Top / We like country and rock."
Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen died on Tuesday (Sept. 6), at the age of 65, after battling cancer repeatedly over the course of two decades. Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban are among the many artists from across all genres of music who turned to social media to salute Van Halen's influence following the news of his death.
Eddie Van Halen Year By Year: 1977-2017 Photos
Source: Watch Van Halen in Hank Williams Jr.'s 'My Name Is Bocephus' Music Video
Filed Under: hank williams jr
Categories: Country News, R.I.P.


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Thompson in Turn 5: For Michael Waltrip, Due Respect
November 9, 2020 February 13, 2009 by Frontstretch Staff
NASCAR's resident funny-man, corporate promoter extraordinaire and one of three owner/drivers in the Sprint Cup Series is geared-up and offering his opinions on most anything NASCAR, although that is not so unusual. Topping the list of issues that the 45-year old Waltrip, now in his third season as a team owner, expounded upon this week was the current ban on testing at NASCAR sanctioned tracks for competitors in its top five divisions. The testing prohibition, in place for the time being at least through the 2009 season, is in Michael Waltrip's estimation "…a colossal waste of time and money."
The 45-year-old Owensboro, Ky. native, who first strapped into a Cup car in 1985 and has competed in 725 points-earning events since that time, would just as soon see the testing ban become permanent. In his opinion, computer technology has made the need to test obsolete. Said Waltrip, "We can go to the wind tunnel. These guys will tell you, the cars are set up so precisely when they leave the shop. The guys go to the seven-post rig, and they shake them. They do simulation. They understand what the cars are going to do when they go into the corner in the wind tunnel. So everything about the setup, it can be done virtually or through wind tunnel and seven-post testing. So when you go to a racetrack to test, you're just basically burning up tires, burning up gas and taking people's time, taking employees' time at home away, which is a negative, because the schedule is so intense."
Keep in mind that this is not the same Waltrip that for years was routinely referred to as Mikey, more recognized for his goofiness and the fact that he was the not-so-accomplished younger brother of stock car racing legend Darrell Waltrip. In recent years, Michael Waltrip has become his own man. Though arguably still a little goofy, he is a person who is fully committed to the sport hook, line and sinker. Waltrip's longtime involvement and his sizable investment in the sport through Michael Waltrip Racing has earned him the right to voice his opinion… and for it to be considered.
In short, Michael Waltrip is putting his money where his mouth is. He has signed the checks for Sprint Cup teams to go testing and he has realized the savings from the testing prohibition this offseason. On a purely financial level it is impossible to argue his point that not testing saves time and aids in giving personnel more time at home before entering another race season – the longest season of any professional sport.
Where Waltrip's argument seems to come apart at the seams is when he states, "We used to didn't know how to set up a car on the computer. We would blow a car in the wind tunnel, then couldn't wait to get it to the track to see how it runs. Now they blow a car in the wind tunnel, they know exactly what it will do. It's gotten that precise."
Perhaps MWR has beat the competition in recruiting the right computer geeks and has now advanced his computer simulation testing procedures to true virtual reality. However, that is doubtful. If in fact Waltrip's assertion that computer simulation and analytical interpretations has negated the need to put rubber on the track, then it would only seem logical that if and when NASCAR once again permits on-track testing the MWR stable of cars will forgo those test dates and save the money and time. What the heck, let Roush Fenway, JGR and HMS chase their tails.
Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 HMS bunch conducted more than 20 testing sessions during his successful championship effort in '08. And this is a team that seemingly has had it all figured out for the previous two championship years! If Michael Waltrip is to be believed – shame on Chad Knaus and crew for wasting millions of Rick Hendrick's dollars!
You won't find a winning Sprint Cup crew chief on pit road that will proclaim that the only information he needs to dial in his hotrod to victory is a $3.5 million seven-post shaker rig and some really good proprietary software. Conversely, no crew chief intent on winning would not want that equipment and information available to him.
They'll all tell you that the computer age has allowed them to "get it close" before loading the racecars onto the hauler, but there are things a computer just can't precisely simulate. Such as the variations of tire wear that occur depending on a variety of different factors, including driving styles and weather conditions. Or for that matter, how a driver adjusts to tire wear or fuel loads at any given time. You might be able to tune a car with a computer, but there hasn't been a computer chip developed yet that can be inserted into a driver's modem that will allow him or her to interface flawlessly and in parallel with the predetermined computer model that is assumed to be best on race day.
And of course, thankfully such a futuristic day hasn't arrived. We've all seen it many times when a car finally loses its superior handling during a run and then it is up to the driver to race by the seat of his pants. It is inevitable at some point during a long run that the handling will go away, and only through on-track testing can that point be determined and what adjustments should be made by mechanics and the driver to allow the car to still turn acceptable lap speeds.
There is little doubt that on-track testing does provide valuable information to the crew and driver. After all… isn't the information that can be shared by multi-car teams in testing the biggest argument owners have used for wanting to expand, if at all possible, to the four-team limit?
Again, Michael Waltrip has every right to his opinion, and probably more so than anyone besides a handful of his fellow team owners. Besides, even if his justification for the argument does not entirely mesh with his opinion, perhaps saving money, equipment and wear and tear on crew members is justification enough to put an ending to extra testing separate from that afforded teams during the normal course of a race weekend.
Since Waltrip's statements appeared Monday on Scene Daily, the anti-Waltrip crowd has used his statements as an opportunity to post venomous attacks on Waltrip as a person, driver, owner and most everything in between. Such comments that are, in my estimation, nothing more than silliness and ignorance on the part of those that entertain themselves in such a manner. However, one comment on a website did get my attention. A simply stated, "Who cares what Michael Waltrip thinks."
Well, as a team owner and veteran of almost 25-years in the series, I would think anyone interested in the sport would respect Waltrip's opinion, even if they didn't agree with it. NASCAR certainly has considered his thoughts on improving the sport. Let's not forget that it was the 6' 5" Waltrip that championed the need for a roof exit on Cup cars. And Waltrip that observed the inequity of the go-or-go home cars qualifying at different times during qualifying, leaving some at a disadvantage to others depending on track condition changes during the session. NASCAR's answer: a midseason change in qualifying procedure dictating that those outside the Top 35 in points and needing to qualify into a race on speed are all grouped together and qualify one immediately after another.
Though it may be that Waltrip did not entirely hit the mark on his recent musings concerning extra-curricular testing, he might not have missed it by much either – at least in theory.
Either way… give the guy his due.
And that's my view from turn 5.
Categories Cup Series, Thompson in Turn 5, Tommy Thompson Tags Michael Waltrip Post navigation
Nationwide Rookie Michael Annett Eyes Another Daytona Victory
Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2009 Camping World 300 at Daytona


Di Brandt's Walking to Mojácar "immerses readers into a transcultural voyage"
Di Brandt's Walking to Mojácar is reviewed by Libe Garcia-Zarranz in the Winter 2012 issue of The Goose Review. According to Garcia-Zarranz, Walking to Mojácar "raises a series of key issues around environmental degradation and the loss of affective ties, while leaving space for human creativity and intimacy both in the literary realm and the technological arena." She comments on the multiple languages and cultures evoked in the collection: "Fusing English with other languages such as French, German, and Spanish, Walking to Mojácar immerses readers into a transcultural voyage...." To read the full review, click here and scroll to page 92.


This portfolio is meant to provide you with an impression of my professional profile. Hopefully we will meet some day and I can get to show you more! I am a librarian and digital humanist. I specialize in digital projects that support scholarly work, further education, or mediate between academics and the general public.
My current projects are building an online education resource for a course on the meaning of life and developing a prototype of a game about the meaning of life, serving as editor for the Mirror of Race Project, and being both fundraiser and co-producer on the documentary movie Reflections on Race.
I'm also working hard to turn a dilapidated old house with a hopelessly neglected garden into a nice old house with a charmingly neglected garden.


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Félicien Rops
1833 - 1898 • Belgium • Wikipedia
© Félicien Rops
The content on this page is aggregated
and is not affiliated with the artist.
There are few 19th century artists as controversial or as profoundly shocking as Félicien Rops. Even more than a century after his death, his "blasphemous erotica" can still cause great offense in a world of safe spaces and trigger warnings.... Rops' work has been described as blasphemous, sadistic, sexist, misogynistic.... (http://dangerousminds.net/comments/blasphemy_sex_satanism_and_sadism_the_diabolic_erotic_art_of_felicien_rops) Félicien Rops (7 July 1833- 23 Aug.1898); Belgian artist, known primarily as a printmaker in etching and aquatint. .... He produced a number of etchings as illustrations for books by Charles de Coster. In 1862 he went to Paris where he met the etchers Félix Bracquemond and Jules Ferdinand Jacquemart. His activity as a lithographer ceased about 1865, and he became a restless experimenter with etching techniques. Rops met Charles Baudelaire towards the end of the poet's life in 1864, and Baudelaire left an impression upon him that lasted until the end of his days. Rops created the frontispiece for Baudelaire's Les Épaves, a selection of poems from Les Fleurs du mal that had been censored in France, and which therefore was published in Belgium. His association with Baudelaire won his work the admiration of many other writers, including Théophile Gautier, Alfred de Musset, Stéphane Mallarmé, Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly, and Joséphin Péladan. He was closely associated with the literary movement of Symbolism and Decadence. Like the works of the authors whose poetry he illustrated, his work tends to mingle sex, death, and Satanic images. According to Edith Hoffmann, the "erotic or frankly pornographic" nature of much of Rops's work" is.... Rops often combined soft-ground etching—a technique practiced by few artists of his day—with mezzotint or aquatint, and sometimes added hand-coloring to his plates. His etchings... influenced many younger artists, including Munch and Max Klinger. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A9licien_Rops) undefined
More on Google
Related artists: Jean Delville


Gill has a very fascinating pattern. I have never seen a Bengal with a pattern quite like his! It's starting to rosette and we should see some of the warmer tones come into his background color as he matures. We can't wait to watch him grow and develop over the weeks to come. His face is very colorful with nice white eye goggles. Gill loves to wrestle already and is already becoming the little adventurer.


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Susser Holdings Corporation
Mary Sullivan, Chief Financial Officer
DRG&L
Ken Dennard, Managing Partner
(713) 529-6600, ksdennard@drg-l.com
Anne Pearson, Senior Vice President
Susser Petroleum Partners LP Announces Filing of Registration Statement
HOUSTON, Texas, June 22, 2012 – Susser Petroleum Partners LP, a wholly owned subsidiary of Susser
Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SUSS), announced today that it has filed a registration statement on Form S-
1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") relating to its proposed initial public offering
of common units representing limited partner interests.
In connection with the initial public offering, substantially all of Susser Holdings Corporation's wholesale
motor fuel distribution business will be contributed to the partnership. Susser Holdings will own the general
partner of the partnership as well as all of the partnership's incentive distribution rights and a majority of its
units representing limited partner interests.
BofA Merrill Lynch and Barclays will act as joint book-running managers and co-structuring advisors in the
transaction. This offering of common units will be made only by means of a prospectus. A written prospectus
meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, when available, may be obtained from:
Edgewood, New York 11717
The registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the SEC and is available on the SEC's
website at www.sec.gov under the registrant's name, Susser Petroleum Partners LP, but has not yet become
effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time the registration
statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to
buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state and jurisdiction in which such an offer,
solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such
state jurisdiction.
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" which are based on current plans and
expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to vary
materially, including but not limited to, the inability to complete the initial public offering. For a full discussion
of these risks and uncertainties, please refer to the "Risk Factors" section of the Registration Statement on Form
S-1 filed today and the information included in subsequent filings. These forward-looking statements are based
on and include our expectations as of the date hereof. Subsequent events and market developments could cause
our expectations to change. While we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the
future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if new information becomes available, except as
may be required by applicable law.
SUSS-IR


text:
Peter Kafka and Kara Swisher
Follow @karaswisher
Recent Posts by Kara Swisher
Will Yahoo Try to Get Its "Cool Again" by Doing a Deal for Tumblr?
May 16, 2013 at 4:35 pm PT
Earlier this week, Yahoo CFO Ken Goldman spoke at JP Morgan's Global Technology conference and underscored the need for the aging Silicon Valley Internet giant to attract more users from the coveted 18-to-24-years-old age bracket. Along with more marketing, he explicitly said Yahoo needed to be "cool again."
"One of our challenges is we have had an aging demographic," said Goldman at the Boston event. "Part of it is going to be just visibility again in making ourselves cool, which we got away from for a couple of years."
According to sources close to the situation, that could mean a strategic alliance and investment in or outright buy of perhaps the coolest Internet company of late: Tumblr.
Sources said the talks were serious, but any kind of deal — of course — could come to naught.
But it's not the first time Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has been interested in the New York-based hipster blogging service. As an executive at Google, she had closely watched its fast growth, along with that of Foursquare. Since she took over at Yahoo, several sources said that she has met with its top execs, including founder and CEO David Karp.
But sources said that interest has gotten stronger more recently, coming at the same time as Tumblr has been stepping up its efforts to raise a large funding round that could value the New York company at $1 billion. In a series of fundings since 2007, Tumblr has raised $125 million so far, at a reported valuation of $800 million.
In the latest round, one source close to the situation said Tumblr was considering "strategic" investments, which would presumably be of the kind that Yahoo had tried and failed to do recently with France's Dailymotion video service. Since then, Mayer and her team have looked at the ongoing deal to purchase Hulu that has many possible other bidders.
Tumblr is different from Dailymotion or Hulu, of course, in that it focuses heavily on user-generated content, largely text and photos, although there is an increasing use of video on the site.
But this puts it directly in Yahoo's main wheelhouse, especially recent efforts to undergird its strong set of existing media offerings to appeal to a different audience and also get into the social space via consumer-based software solutions that are both elegant and easy to use.
"If you could pick a company that fits in with what Marissa Mayer has demonstrated in her career — aesthetics software technology and fast-growing — you could not land on a better choice," said another source.
That said, Yahoo has been sticking to smaller acquisitions under Mayer's regime, spending very little on a clutch of small mobile startups to up its game in the important sector. And at the same investment conference, Goldman also said additional M&A would continue to be smaller for Yahoo.
Still, any kind of deal with Tumblr could certainly bring Yahoo a big, young audience. Its worldwide traffic was at 117 million visitors in April, according to comScore. On its home page, Tumblr claims it has 107.8 million blogs and 50.6 billion posts. U.S. desktop traffic to Tumblr was 37 million in April, close to LinkedIn and Twitter, although Twitter obviously has much more via mobile.
But figuring out how to make money from that audience is a task that the company has only recently started to tackle.
Like other recent Web startups that have seen rocket ship growth — see: Twitter, Facebook — Tumblr resisted advertising for its formative years, and its user base seems particularly unwilling to accept standard banner ads. In addition, many industry observers think that Tumblr's pages are packed with porn and/or other questionable content that would scare off advertisers.
But within the last year or so, Tumblr has started selling modestly sized "native ads" promoting brands' Tumblr pages, on users' "dashboards." That's the equivalent of running ads in a Facebook user's News Feed or a Twitter user's main feed.
Initial signs are promising. Tumblr told Forbes that it generated $13 million in revenue last year, and suggested it could do as much as $100 million this year; people close to the company say its momentum has continued this year.
In addition to figuring out its top-line business, Tumblr and its backers have also been spending a long time trying to figure out a managment structure. Even Karp's strongest backers say that the 26-year-old needs help running the company, and for months they have been looking for a "Sheryl Sandberg"-style COO candidate.
"David is very charming, and clearly very very bright, and understands the product," said an executive who talked to Tumblr about the role. But, "he's incredibly confrontation averse, and there's almost a 'Game of Thrones' palace feeling to the management team."
Possibility of death by wildfire aside, sources said that the search has yielded two or three candidates that Tumblr is considering. It is a key hire since the company needs to build out an extensive infrastructure quickly, given its sharp consumer growth, including fielding a more robust advertising team. Tumblr hired an experienced exec, Lee Brown, from Groupon last fall, who has been busy hiring more sales execs. Interesting aside: Brown was a longtime Yahoo ad exec.
But building out the needed structure at the company is a long slog, and Tumblr might be seeking more help one way or another.
Yahoo declined comment and Tumblr has not gotten back to us as yet.
Tagged with: blogging, cool, DailyMotion, David Karp, demographic, desktop, funding, Google, Hulu, investment, Ken Goldman, Lee Brown, management, Marissa Mayer, native ads, Sheryl Sandberg, StartUp, traffic, Tumblr, Yahoo
Some of Our Fave D Conference Videos Before AllThingsD Signs Off in 3 … 2 … 1 …
How Can You Miss Us if We Won't Go Away? Paczkowski and Swisher Highlights From AllThingsD.
Viral Video: Even Jerry Seinfeld Has a Drone. What's With That?
The Longish Goodbye: Highlights From AllThingsD Staffers Johnson, Del Rey and Cha
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Schlumberger Licenses ADNOC Offshore Drilling Technology
Abu Dhabi, UAE – November 9, 2016: The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has entered into an agreement with Schlumberger, a world leader in drilling technology, to license ADNOC's proprietary offshore drilling technology for use in Schlumberger's portfolio of drilling services. The Stabilising System for Deep Drilling (SSDD) technology greatly improves offshore drilling operations by improving borehole stability and reducing drill times, with significant potential savings for operating companies.
The licensing agreement was signed, today at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), by Abdulmunim Saif Al Kindy, ADNOC's Director of Exploration, Development and Production, and Djamel Idri, Schlumberger's General Manager and Vice President, UAE, at ADIPEC, the world's most influential oil and gas show, taking place in Abu Dhabi, until November 10.
Al Kindy said: "The international licensing of this technology represents an important milestone for the company. The SSDD greatly reduces complications in the offshore drilling process, where conditions are often challenging and costs are high. We are excited to see this invention shared through this global agreement, which will spread ADNOC's technological expertise worldwide."
The licensing of the SSDD system represents the first time a proprietary ADNOC technology will have been commercialised abroad.
The system was developed by Fahed Al Ameri, ADNOC Drilling Department Manager, and Farhaad Khaled Saeed Mohamed Al Awadhi, ADMA OPCO Drilling Technical Support Manager and is manufactured in the UAE.
"The addition of the SSDD technology to Schlumberger's industry-leading portfolio of drilling tools and services presents an opportunity to improve drilling performance in offshore operations," said Idri.
"By minimising down-time and increasing drilling stability, operators stand to reap savings in both time and unexpected costs. We are pleased to bring ADNOC's technology to our customers, and look forward to further cooperation between our companies."
Downhole stability has been a major challenge for offshore operators, where environmental concerns prevent the use of many additives to drilling fluid.
W/Bank to Disburse Approved $750m Nigeria's Power Sector…
'Rains wrecked havock on Dangote Refinery'
The licensing of the SSDD system, through Schlumberger, presents an economic opportunity for ADNOC and a reliable solution for operators in many of the world's most challenging operating environments.
Workplace Diversity Fundamental to Petroleum Industry Progress
ADNOC's Integrated Gas Master Plan to Meet Growing Energy Needs for Abu Dhabi and Overseas Customers