We all know certain household chemicals can be dangerous, but did you know some might cause cancer? The main ingredient in Roundup, the most popular weed killer worldwide, has been linked to the development of certain cancers, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. If you or someone you love developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, or another cancer, after significant exposure to Roundup weed killer, you may have a legal claim.
Battling cancer is an overwhelmingly stressful, emotionally trying, process. Our firm understands what you're going through, and we want to provide you with the legal support necessary to help you move forward and seek the compensation you both need and deserve.
At our firm, we are passionate about fighting for the rights of the wrongfully injured. We have more than 100 years of combined legal experience to use towards your case, and several of our attorneys are board-certified experts in their respective fields. To date, we've won millions in verdicts and settlements on behalf of our clients, and we want to help you, too.
Ready to get started? Call (713) 999-3681 to discuss your Roundup case with our lawyers.
Roundup is the most used herbicide in the world. Manufactured by Monsanto, Roundup offers a great variety of weed killers, some of which are designed for professional use, while others are distributed for at-home gardening.
The main ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, has been studied by several organizations to determine whether or not it could be dangerous to humans. The International Agency for Research on Cancer, a division of the World Health Organization, listed glyphosate as a "probable" carcinogen in 2015, and it has since been banned in several locations.
Several individuals have filed lawsuits against Monsanto for their creation and sale of the dangerous Roundup products. These lawsuits claim that the company knowingly sold, and continues to sell, products that they know to be unsafe and carcinogenic. To date, thousands of lawsuits have been filed, several of which were on behalf of groundskeepers, gardeners, and other workers who came in direct contact with the dangerous weed killer on a daily basis.
Recently, a federal jury pronounced Monsanto responsible for a San Francisco man's development of cancer. The case involved Edwin Hardeman, who claims he developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after using Roundup weed killer for 26 years to control the overgrowth on his property. In another California case, Monsanto was ordered to pay $80 million in damages to an individual who developed cancer after working as a groundskeeper for several years.
There are currently more than 11,000 other individuals suing Monsanto for the damaging and dangerous effects of Roundup weed killer.
If you developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after using Roundup, especially if you were exposed to the product on a regular basis, our firm may be able to help you take legal action against Monsanto. Some of the recent lawsuits brought substantial, concerning evidence to the table, including ghostwritten research distributed by Monsanto to hide the dangerous effects of their products. If you were harmed, we want to help you fight for compensation for medical bills, future medical care, pain and suffering, and loss of wages. Don't wait to stand up to the party responsible for you or your loved one's illness, take action now.
Contact Fibich, Leebron, Copeland & Briggs today to discuss your Roundup case with our Houston product liability attorneys.


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"Schlocktoberfest" horror series slashes back to Cine
Andrew Shearer @cinemandrew
From silent classics to modern slashers, the yearly film festival is a don't-miss for horror purists
From classic monsters to contemporary slashers, Cine has horror fans covered for its 6th annual Schlocktoberfest film screening series. Curated with an eye towards blending reverent presentation and genre essentials, the program also serves as a lesson in the foundations of horror, the influence each era has had on the ones after it and the enduring truth behind what things still scare us no matter how many decades go by.
This year's selections, though picked from nearly a century's worth of technical and stylistic progress, are connected by solid lines of mystery and suspense that translate across generations and make for an unforgettable audience experience.
"The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (Oct. 3rd) : Told in flashback, Robert Wiene directed this 1920 tale of a strange, tyrannical doctor (Werner Krauss) who hypnotizes a sleepwalking man (Conrad Veidt) and uses him to commit murder. Presented as a double feature with "Nosferatu" accompanied by a live soundtrack performed by The Invincible Czars. 1 hr. 7; NR.
"Nosferatu" (Oct. 3rd) : Released in 1922, nearly a full decade before Universal's iconic adaptation of "Dracula," F.W. Murnau's unauthorized version of the story is widely considered the more terrifying film. Presented as a double feature with "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" accompanied by a live soundtrack performed by The Invincible Czars. 1 hr. 34; NR.
"Scream" (Oct. 4th-5th) : Seen as a massive comeback for "Nightmare on Elm Street" creator Wes Craven, "Scream" satirized the '80s slasher craze his film helped start and inadvertently set off a new one due to its box office success. Three sequels followed, prophetically turning the series into the same kind of thing parodied by the 1996 original. 1 hr. 51; R.
Hear more from the Cine staff on this week's Cinema File Podcast:
"House" (Oct. 10th-12th) : Described by its cult of dedicated fans as one of the most bizarre and entertaining films of all time, Nobuhiko Obayashi's 1977 horror comedy concerns a group of schoolgirls who encounter supernatural forces when they visit the home of an elderly relative (Yoko Minamida). Fully restored and presented by the Criterion Collection. 1 hr. 28; NR.
"Deep Red" (Oct. 17th-19th) : There is no better introduction to the world of Italian giallo films than this 1975 murder mystery co-written and directed by one of the genre's undisputed masters, Dario Argento. Featuring graphic death scenes staged to the music of prog rock band Goblin, "Deep Red" remains a massive influence on horror cinema. 2 hr. 6; R.
"Knife + Heart" (Oct. 24th-26th) : Though it's the only new movie in the Schlocktoberfest lineup, this artful 2018 shocker from French filmmaker Yann Gonzalez takes place in 1979 and is bathed in the colorful style and atmosphere of iconic slasher movies of the era by Dario Argento and Brian DePalma, all while set in the world of gay adult films. 1 hr. 42; R.
"Friday the 13th" (Oct. 31st-Nov. 2nd) : Before it became the gold standard of horror franchise excess (there are 12 films in the series as of this writing), Sean Cunningham's 1980 original was just a gory movie with a surprise villain (and no hockey masks) and a tacked-on, somewhat implausible ending just in case audiences left wanting more. 1 hr. 35; R.
Visit www.athenscine.com for show times and tickets.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
MIT just invented one of the strongest, lightest materials known to man
Image source: MIT
By Mike Wehner @MikeWehner
The bright minds at MIT are always cooking up new technologies, so to hear that they invented a new material that's stronger than steel isn't even all that surprising, but what's particularly interesting it that they managed to also make it far lighter than almost everything else. The team of scientists used an extremely common element to create it: Carbon.
TODAY'S AMAZON DEALS: America's running out of N95 masks – so people are getting these instead for $2
Researchers have long known how strong carbon can be when it's arranged in the right way. Graphene, which essentially an extremely thin sheet of carbon atoms arranged in two dimensions, is ridiculously strong, and the applications for it are growing by the day. The only drawback is that, because it's typically produced in thin sheets, it's hard to construct three dimensional objects out of it. That's where MIT comes in.
MIT discovered that by taking many small flakes of graphene and fusing them together they could essentially create a mesh-like structure that, while porous, retained graphene's amazing strength properties. They used 3D plastic models to test what kind of a structure would be the strongest under pressure, and then arranged the graphene in the same manner. The resulting material is only 5% as dense as steel, but an amazing 10 times stronger.
MIT envisions the material potentially being used in automobiles, airplanes, and other applications where weight needs to be as low as possible, but strength and rigidity is still of great importance. The new graphene-based 3D material is thought to be one of the strongest, yet lightest materials known to man, which is a pretty astounding feat.
Tags: MIT
Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games for the past decade, covering breaking news and trends in VR, wearables, smartphones, and future tech. Most recently, Mike served as Tech Editor at The Daily Dot, and has been featured in USA Today, Time.com, and countless other web and print outlets. His love of reporting is second only to his gaming addiction.
Best of CES 2017: The 15 most innovative products at CES this year
CDC just made this controversial coronavirus precaution mandatory
An exciting new Google Maps feature is finally rolling out
By Chris Smith 23 hours ago
Dr. Fauci delivered the best news you'll read all week about the coronavirus vaccine
By Yoni Heisler 12 hours ago


text:
Canada's trademark changes mean higher fees, more complexities in filing
As of Monday, June 17, brand owners filing trademark applications will be paying more, as the amended Trade-marks Act and the new Trademarks Regulations come into force.
A step forward or new concerns? Examining the proposed Trade-marks Act
The proposed Trademarks Act is a significant departure from the current Trade-marks Act. Trademark lawyers in Ontario should realize how it will impact their practice and subsequently how they advise their clients.
Canada's impending trademark law changes to affect how IP lawyers protect fate of clients' brands
Canada's trademark laws will be revised on June 17, which means the country will be shifting to a first-to-file requirement for trademark registration from a first-to-use system.
Best practices to manage AI risk with IP
Companies implementing artificial intelligence technology often face unique intellectual property issues.
Timely trademark applications, due diligence are essential for cannabis industry IP
The future may be green, but as the cannabis industry in Canada expands by leaps and bounds since recreational use of the plant was legalized here in October, cannabis growers and retailers alike will need to move to protect their intellectual properties sooner rather than later, and to ensure they are complying with regulations.
In-house lawyers look to tidy up IP, employment issues
The new year is always a good time to take stock and do some tidying up. In speaking to some in-house counsel it seems they all might benefit from the legal department equivalent of applying Japanese consultant Marie Kondo's philosophy around decluttering when it comes to IP issues and labour and employment law challenges — take inventory and find order around the various patents and trademarks and employment law legislative challenges that linger in the corners.
Canada's changing IP landscape
As part of its national Intellectual Property Strategy announcement in 2018, the Canadian government plans on investing $85.3 million over the next five years to help develop, protect and provide access to IP.
Toronto DJ wins trademark registration despite association with Drake
A Toronto disc jockey will be allowed to register a trademark for the term "6IX" in association with DJ-related services in Canada, despite an opponent's evidence that the term was popularized by musical artist Drake.
Trademark update
Set to come into effect next year, the legislative changes to the Trade-marks Act will bring Canada in line with international treaties and make trademark applications faster.
Brave new world: some legal considerations in using AI and IoT Systems
Artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things are hot subjects (and buzzwords) for lawyers in 2018. Beyond the hype, however, lies a plethora of legal and business issues.
Patenting artificial intelligence
Demand for AI patents is growing exponentially as the pace of innovation accelerates. In October, Saudi Arabia became the first country in the world to grant citizenship to a robot.
The need for IP: Top 10 Intellectual Property Boutiques
Trademark Act amendments are just one of the many changes driving the need for intellectual property boutiques. Since Canadian Lawyer last listed the top intellectual property boutiques, there's been a lot of change in the area.
Keyword advertising: practical considerations for advertisers
Keyword advertising has quickly become one of the most commonly used methods of online advertising. However, whether using a third party's trademarks as keywords in keyword advertisement could potentially lead to liability for trademark infringement or passing off has been a relatively undeveloped area of trademark law.
Canada as a patent outlier
Canada's reputation as unfriendly to innovators may be changing.
The promise of the invention
In a blog entitled The Patent Policy That Could Harm Canada's Patients, Laura Crist of the Global Intellectual Property Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, condemned Canada's patent case law for requiring Canadian patents to achieve the promise set out in the patent specification.
CETA bringing changes to pharma patents in Canada
On Oct. 30, 2016, Canada signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union. Just one day later, Bill C-30: An Act to implement the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union and its Member States and to provide for certain other measures was introduced.
Build an IP case to protect your database
Our predecessors have always been collectors. Hunter-gatherers survived in harsh climates by collecting stone axes, arrowheads, animal furs and the like.
Sell products globally, but keep trade secrets local
Now's the time to develop a global trademark strategy
IP into the future


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Something you should see… Juergen Teller's Woo at ICA
A retrospective of an iconic fashion photographer? This couldn't be further up our street here at The Cultural Exposé. That it also includes images from the photographer's home life makes this all the more intriguing. But then again, in many ways, Juergen Teller has been giving us an insight into himself for some time now as he has often appeared in his own photographs.
Teller started out in music photography making his name with the cover of Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U – a Mona Lisa-esque ambivalent pose, suggesting either 'I'm hurt and alone' (most likely) and 'What the f**k are you looking at?' (an equally distinct possibility for our Sinead). Following that, Teller set about changing the very nature of fashion photography. Featured in this exhibition is his work for designer Marc Jacobs, a tranche of work which featured Teller himself, as naked as the day he was born, flouncing about on a bed with the arch-raunch herself, Charlotte Rampling. Here, you can see Teller curled up in the foetal position clutching the hand of a serene and distant Rampling. It is this playfulness that has marked Teller out as a distinctive operator, his images both meant as a bit of fun but also raw and unabashed.
That he enjoys playing with the viewer and has a self-deprecating sense of humour is also illustrated by the exhibition's inclusion of the many complaints he received while completing his weekly column for Die Zeit. You get the feeling that Teller couldn't care less about the criticism. In fact, if anything he relishes it and being provocative is what sets him apart. Doubtless if there was no criticism he would have to do so something that would garner some gainsaying.
But that doesn't mean that Teller is a sensationalist. Far from it. He does things because he likes to experiment and his very free approach brings out the experimental in his subjects, and it all makes for compelling, unusual and quite wonderful photography. (Words: Ed Spencer)
Woo is on from 23 January 2013 – 17 March 2013 For more info visit: www.ica.org.uk/34587/Exhibitions/Juergen-Teller-Woo.html
Ed is a writer of many guises, currently scouring the literary world to find someone lucky enough to publish his first novel, Blighty - a satire set in the environmentally fascist People's Republic of Britannia. He also contributes to Artrocker magazine and discusses life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness at http://rufioriggs.wordpress.com
Send us your "selfies" and win places on a Culture Club Photography Workshop! (This competition is now closed)
Something you should see… 35 mm: A Musical Exhibition
Something you should see… Rwanda in Photographs: Death Then, Life Now
Something you should see… Damien Hirst: The Complete Spot Paintings 1986-2011
What we've been up to… Coal Vaults
Something you should see… Patrick Caulfield: Prints 1964 – 1999
Somewhere you should go…Masters of Style: Celebrating the Stories behind Italian Fashion, Somerset House
Something You Should See… Reed + Rader at 18 Hewett Street


How to Resolve Self - Conflicts in Eating Disorder Sufferers.
Eating disorders are rooted in emotional struggles. These struggles are deep emotional conflicts within the sufferer, these are called self-conflicts.
How the conflicts started in the first place?
This process begins by fantasizing at a very early age. People fantasize a script, for example like a Hollywood production focusing on TV stars or other celebrities. Then they start rehearsing their part. As they go, they either give up on their initial part and take up a new one, or they practice the first part and role -play that script out until it becomes who they think they are. Practising the script automates their behaviour and it becomes fixed.
For example, a young girl perceived that she is overweight. By looking through magazines, watching TV and movies she finds herself a role- model that is slim, polished and glamorous and play out this picture in her mind. From the same source she gets a script to follow to achieve this kind of unattainable look. She rehearses it until it becomes automatic and turns into an eating disorder, anorexia or bulimia.
Her imprinting environment plays a significant role in the alternative scripts available to her. If her parents happen to be too strict or uncaring, she would be unable to develop a positive coping strategy to counteract her developing problems. In some problematic families being warm and friendly is seen as an embarrassment, so the child becomes cold and aloof to compensate.
It is the private self. This self consist of thoughts we wish we didn't have and actions we wish we haven't done. It also contains our self-esteem, our attractiveness, and our secret ambitions. Eating disorders sufferers may dream of looking like a slim movie star, or a sport champion etc. Her/his self-esteem is really proportional to a degree of how alike she/he looks compared to their famous role-model they are trying to emulate.
This self is built by culture and society. Ideal self is about living a perfect life, without any mistakes and therefore without room for growth.
This self is about our "should" and "oughts" which have been learned from our culture and our society but they are not ours. For example, when a swimming coach tells a young girl: " You should lose weight immediately in order to fit the criteria for the swimming completion." Initially the girl was probably OK with the way she was and didn't think she needs to lose weight immediately. Her swimming coach installs the "ought-to-be self" in her. Her "ought-to-be self" may go into conflict with her "actual self" after the coach's comments and if she is vulnerable she will develop an eating disorder in order to comply with the losing weight rules that have been set in her mind.
This is a self we believe we could be and desire to be. This self is especially obvious in young people when they plan for the future. Later in life this self can be a source of discontent if the desires have not been fulfilled. For example, a woman after 30 suddenly develops an eating disorder. This eating disorder is very likely to be a consequence of discontentment due to her unfulfilled desires of an earlier time (or the "desired self").
1. Realize that one has emotional conflicts and they are probably the cause of the eating disorder.
2. Believe that one should and can solve these self- conflicts.
3. Accept that emotional healing is the only way to solve these internal conflicts.
4. Go through the emotional healing process.
5. Follow the emotional healing strategies as a way of living your life.
Emotional healing is the only answer to resolve self-conflicts in eating disorder sufferers. If emotional healing does not occur during a particular treatment - there is little hope for this kind of treatment being helpful.
Maybe in this case the person ought to look for different alternatives. Mindfulness training seems to prove itself as a great emotional healer for these kinds of ED sufferers. It has been proven that if one is mindful and aware, one can experience true freedom and liberation from all their self conflicts.


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Resources›
Packaging and Labeling Glossary›
Product Labeling›
Pallet Labeling
Pallet wrapping involves providing protective containment for goods assembled on pallets prior to shipping. These can be either be unit pallets, consisting of numerous cases of the same product, or diverse pallets, composed of different packaged and cartoned products palletized together because they are being shipped to the same destination. The pallet loads are wrapped by pallet wrapping machines with arms that move around the loads, applying stretch film that holds the loads securely in place during moving and shipping. The film wrap also protects the loads from weather and other environmental forces. The stretch film, as it tries to return to its original configuration, holds loads tightly intact as they are moved around the destination location before they are opened and the products shelved or warehoused.
To facilitate proper delivery, each wrapped load must be labeled with its specific destination information. To ensure successful delivery, labeling must be able to survive the rigors of pallet movement prior to and following shipping, as well as during the logistical journey itself. They must remain clear, readable and firmly in place until they reach their destination.
Particularly in the case of mixed pallet loads, pallet labeling also reflects the contents of the pallet. In such cases, scanning the pallet label reveals the label information for each of the items on the load.
Because of the scale of the pallet loads, pallet labeling is done by hand in smaller operations, using print-and-apply hand-held devices. Large operations, that produce more pallet throughput use automated systems to maintain productivity.
Several types of automated pallet labeling systems are used to label filled pallets. Due to the size of pallet loads and their distance from the label print source, these machines usually have arms that extend toward the pallet film to apply the labels. Each system includes an on-demand label printer, usually an inkjet machine, and an attached module that applies the label.
Heavy duty tamp modules have arms that extend up to 32 inches, for example. Label printers print each label, which is then held by a vacuum pad on the arm. The pad is moved to the proper position, usually by a chain drive, and tamped firmly on to the pallet load's film surface.
Another pallet labeling system option includes a heavy-duty swing arm labeling module. It includes an arm that can be extended, usually to 24 inches. In this machine, the vacuum pad receives a printed label, which then swings out to apply it to the pallet load.
Shrink wrap and sleeve labels
Pressure-sensitive labels
Wraparound labels
Food Grade Labels


Faith, Coffee & Love : Invisible Maracas!
One of my favorite things right now is the zumba classes at the gym, they are such an outlet for me because I love to dance and this now combines my love of something with the idea of working-out and makes working-out super fun. Last week we were in the middle of moving our hips to some Salsa music when I noticed one of my gal pals really getting into the rhythm of the music, gone was the instruction of pumping your arms this way and that way. She turned around and looked at me and said we might as well have fun while doing this! Damn right!
If you are a Salsa dancer and you don't have to be a good one, you know that when you are really into it, your shoulders are rolling to the beat and your arms are keeping you in step. If I could post you a video breaking it down for you I would – too bad I'm not that blog savvy!!!!
Today I was totally following her lead and when Salsa time came around I was like WOO-HOO!! Suddenly I caught my self in the mirror and almost fell out laughing! I was dancing like my -MOMMA! I was taken back some 20 years ago (or more gulp…double gulp!) and we were in one of my moms friends house, the furniture pushed against the walls, floor cleared and music blasting. There in the middle of the floor kickin' it ole' school is my momma and her invisible maracas!! Back in the day that's what I would think when I saw her dance, I must have been 9 or 10 (yes more than 20 yrs ago!) maybe even younger. All the kids would be playing chase running around like crazy or in a room watching T.V. before real dancing even occurred to us. I would be getting something to eat or goofy dancing with the grown-ups and I'd see my mom tearing up the floor, I'd think what the heck is she doing?! It looks like she has invisible maracas in her hands and she is shaking them to the music! I thought she looked silly, the same way I did today! In my defense, isn't everything retro cool now and days? Therefore so am I!


With Verngaurd crumbling into chaos an ancient prophecy foretells of a young hero who can find the source of Magic, the Macht Crystals, and save the world.
The quest to find the five pairs of crystals is protected by a series of primeval riddles, timeless guardians, and formidable trials. Below is a summary of the five pairs of Macht, or Power, Crystals and a brief glimpse of their riddles.
You have cleared the Dragon's test.
Now you are ready for your quest.
Courage and persistence will see you through.
Nothing shall be freely given out.
And bring secrets to light.
Five sets of power crystals to seek.
Succeed and the strong shall fear the weak.
Recover them and deny Evil.
Undo millennia of savage crimes and upheaval.
Sometimes you need more than light.
Seek the crystals of perception.
Beware it's joined opposite, deception.
Always a force to be reckoned.
Seek the crystals of Power.
Or Weakness will rule the hour.
The Time crystals are Third.
In this world, it demands to be heard.
It dominates each and every Life.
Death frees you from that strife.
Three symbols are here for you.
Find the one to solve the riddle.
Step only on that ones middle.
In death you will wash.
Sacrifice crystals are set number four.
To find them, you'll need to pull oar.
Love is one side; Hate is the other.
You will decide who dies, you or another?
With each decision in life there is a cost.
Love is about giving more than receiving.
Hate bleeds heartache on the hater; no deceiving.
Wisdom crystals are at the end.
Knowledge, easy to say hard to achieve.
You must break the evil one's Ignorance weave.
The world is not free from the abyss.
The Evil One grows frantic.
The last task is gigantic.
A solution for each you must arrive.
Find the two of which you search.
Pick the wrong one and you are in a lurch.
Once you find the two.
Push them and you are through.
Then you will finally know what to do.
The many will be saved by the few.


text:
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle is has achieved a major milestone this month by opening two new early education centres under the St Nicholas Early Education banner in 2018.
Maitland Council has unanimously approved plans submitted by the Diocese to transform the former Maitland Ex-Services Bowling Club site into a home for a new 70-place St Nicholas Early Education Centre and a 20-place vocational training centre.
St Nicholas Early Education is soon to open three new exciting Early Education facilities.
On Tuesday evening St Nicholas Newcastle West and Singleton educators came together for training on Aboriginal perspectives in early childhood by Cherie from Speaking in Colour.


"There's a killer on the loose," Stone said, ABC News reported.
"The most difficult aspect of this case is a 10-year-old son and an 18-year-old daughter are without their mother." Stone said, according to WTVD.
"A deputy on scene confirmed to CBS 17 that Lynn Keel's first wife, Elizabeth Bess Edwards Keel, died at the same home on Jan. 1, 2006. He told investigators she fell on the back steps and died," WNCN reported.
"Stone said there had been a domestic issue between Diana and her husband about a year ago," WTVD reported.
"There had been concerns between the husband at one time and Mrs. Keel but there has been nothing lately that has been reported on that," Stone said, according to WTVD.


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Home Meet SSJ Associate Fr. Dennis Martin
Meet SSJ Associate Fr. Dennis Martin
Fr. Dennis claims Pittsburgh, PA as his hometown where he was educated by the Sisters of Charity. He credits the sisters and the priests of his parish for his vocation. In 1975, he was ordained as a Marianist priest and was accepted into the Erie diocese in 1984. He served at St. George Parish for three years and was pastor of St. Teresa's Parish in Union City for six years before joining Saint Vincent Hospital as a chaplain.
He enjoys listening to classical music and attending concerts, both in Erie and Pittsburgh. He also enjoys movies, plays, and reading history.
Fr. Dennis became an SSJ Associate in 2003; Sister Stephanie Wagner was his mentor. According to Fr. Dennis, she calls every month to make sure he is being a "good associate."
"I totally enjoy living the SSJ charism. It is so Gospel-centered and focuses on the Holy Trinity, Mary, and St. Joseph – an inspiration for me and my ministry at Saint Vincent Hospital for the past 28 years. I pray for all in these difficult times. May God's love and mercy bless us all."
Click here to meet other SSJ Associates.
">Click here for information about becoming an SSJ Associate.


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Пьяная курица — способ приготовления курицы с использованием алкогольных напитков. Разновидности этого блюда встречаются в Китае, Греции и Латинской Америке.

Китай
В китайской кухне есть много разных способов приготовления пьяной курицы ().

 Одна широко известная и очень популярная версия, Шаосин, возникла в провинции Чжэцзян на востоке Китая. Пьяного цыплёнка/курицу Шаосин готовят и маринуют в старинном вине Шаосин, традиционном китайском вине из ферментированного риса, чтобы придать ему насыщенный вкус.
 В другом варианте блюда целую курицу сначала готовят на пару, а затем нарезают на кусочки подходящего размера, чтобы их можно было взять палочками для еды. Мясо, приготовленное на пару, вместе с соком готовится с луком, имбирём и солью . После того, как курица приготовлена, её маринуют в китайском вине, хересе или дистиллированном напитке, таком как виски, на ночь в холодильнике. Курицу подают охлаждённой, часто в качестве закуски или аппетайзера. Помимо мяса со вкусом алкоголя, ещё одной особенностью блюда является наличие желатина со вкусом алкоголя, получаемого из-за охлаждения смеси алкоголя и мясной подливы.

Греция
Пьяный цыплёнок () — это блюдо существует во множестве вариаций в тавернах Греции и Кипра. Базовый рецепт, который подают как мезе или основное блюдо, состоит из куриных грудок, замаринованных в алкоголе (обычно узо), обжаренных, а затем тушённых в маринаде.

Латинская Америка
В аргентинской, чилийской и мексиканской версии этого блюда называется pollo borracho, и, как правило, включает зелёные и чёрные оливки и корицу.

Примечания

Источники
 Chinese Drunken Chicken recipe (web.archive)

Блюда по алфавиту
Китайская кухня
Греческая кухня
Блюда из курятины

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EMPORIUM ARCADE BAR SAN FRANCISCO OFFERS DRINK SPECIALS DURING WARRIORS GAMES
Pictured L to R: Promotional graphic; Emporium's San Francisco Location.
(Graphic and Photo Courtesy of Emporium Arcade Bar)
EMPORIUM ARCADE BAR SAN FRANCISCO OFFERS EXCLUSIVE DRINK SPECIALS DURING ALL GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS GAMES
Click Here for Downloadable, Hi-Res Photos
SAN FRANCISCO (November 2021) – A lively space ideal for watching everyone's favorite hometown basketball team, Emporium Arcade Bar San Francisco now offers official drink specials of the Golden State Warriors, including a $15 Hennessey shot and Modelo beer special as well as a $15 Moet Mini Champagne special available during all Warriors games.
With plentiful large, high-definition TVs and a large, 50-foot movie theater-sized projector screen plus two 15-foot screens, Emporium San Francisco offers an unparalleled experience for fans gathering to cheer on their favorite basketball team. In addition, the venue offers an expansive collection of classic arcade games, pool tables, foosball and more.
"We are thrilled to partner with the Golden State Warriors to offer exclusive drink specials for fans visiting Emporium to watch a game," said Danny Marks, co-founder, Emporium Arcade Bar. "Surrounded by high-definition TVs, guests love the atmosphere at our San Francisco location during basketball games. We can't wait to welcome fans to experience it for themselves."
For guests 21 years or older with a valid I.D., Emporium's San Francisco location is open Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 2 a.m. Ongoing hours of operation can be found at www.emporiumarcadebar.com.
ABOUT EMPORIUM ARCADE BAR
Emporium Arcade Bar is the quintessentially cool place to hang out and have a good time. Originally launched in Chicago in 2012, Emporium now has six locations: three in Chicago (Wicker Park, Fulton Market and Logan Square), two in the Bay Area (San Francisco and Oakland) and one in Las Vegas (AREA15). Emporium Arcade Bar offers unparalleled destinations for all types of games, including classic arcade favorites, pool tables, pinball, foosball and many more. Its passionately curated bar purveys the choicest craft beer selections, an innovative cocktail program and expansive liquor list. In addition, Emporium Arcade Bar showcases vibrant murals by local artists and an ongoing, robust calendar of live shows, DJs and game tournaments. For more information, visit www.emporiumarcadebar.com, as well as its San Francisco Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages and its Oakland Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages.
Attractions + Experiences, Dining & Cocktails


The main goal of Cowork Baldaya is to stimulate, encourage and support entrepreneurship in the neighborhood of Benfica.
Supporting projects, companies and professionals in the process of incubation, but also in a phase of development and consolidation of their activity and / or business.
Located in the heart of Benfica, the Cowork Baldaya offers access to a shared work space and various administrative support services, training and acceleration of its activity / business, such as training, consulting and mentoring.


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Home News UN Security Council Should Seek Justice for Myanmar Atrocities
UN Security Council Should Seek Justice for Myanmar Atrocities
on: December 23, 2018 In: News, Top NewsNo Comments
States Should Urgently Create Mechanism to Prepare Future Prosecutions
United Nations member countries should urgently act to ensure that those responsible for atrocity crimes in Myanmar are held to account, Human Rights Watch said. The UN Security Council should refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC), and concerned governments should immediately present a UN resolution to establish an International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) to preserve evidence and assist in investigations for future prosecution of those responsible for atrocity crimes in Myanmar.
On August 27, 2018, the UN-mandated Fact-Finding Mission's three experts issued a report documenting Myanmar security forces' abuses against the ethnic Rohingya population, including, but not limited to, murder, rape, and torture, and concluded that they amounted to crimes against humanity and war crimes. It also found that the systematic oppression and discrimination amounted to persecution, and may also amount to apartheid. The report also concluded there was sufficient information to warrant prosecution of senior military officials to determine liability for the crime of genocide, and named six senior commanders. The report also detailed abuses committed by Rohingya militants and called for them to be held to account.
"The Fact-Finding Mission's powerful report and clear recommendations demonstrate the obvious need for concrete steps to advance criminal justice for atrocious crimes, instead of more hollow condemnations and expressions of concern," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "UN member states should step up efforts that include the urgent creation of an International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to ensure those most responsible for grave crimes do not escape prosecution."
The 20-page report consisting of its main findings was based on 847 interviews, satellite imagery, authenticated documents, photographs, and video, and covered serious abuses in Rakhine, Shan, and Kachin States from 2011 to the present. In addition to the atrocities documented in Rakhine State, the Fact-Finding Mission found that crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the Myanmar military in Shan and Kachin States. It also detailed abuses committed by ethnic armed groups it said may also constitute war crimes. The report concluded that these violations reflect a longstanding pattern of conduct by the Myanmar military authorities and the need to end the cycle of impunity.
The report calls for the investigation and prosecution of cases by the ICC and raises the possibility of creating a special tribunal by the UN Security Council, similar to that created to prosecute grave crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia.
The report named six high-ranking military officials, including Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, as among those responsible for "a failure to take necessary and reasonable measures to prevent and punish crimes, and a causal link between these failures and the atrocities committed." It determined that the civilian authorities were not in a position to control the military, but nonetheless contributed to the commission of atrocity crimes through their acts and omissions.
The report also recommends that UN member states urgently establish an International, Independent, Impartial Mechanism – similar to the Syria IIIM – to collect, evaluate, and preserve evidence to assist criminal investigations and prosecutions of atrocity crimes committed in Myanmar, including by third states using their universal jurisdiction laws. Such a mechanism should be mandated to consider crimes dating back to at least 2011, the primary period covered by the Fact-Finding Mission report, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch has called on the UN Security Council and concerned governments to adopt an arms embargo and targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against Myanmar military commanders implicated in abuses, and to refer the situation to the ICC. Separately, ICC judges are considering whether the court has jurisdiction over Myanmar officials who forced Rohingya refugees to flee to Bangladesh, an ICC member, for the crime against humanity of deportation.
Since the Myanmar military's campaign of ethnic cleansing began last August, several countries and multilateral institutions – including the United States, Canada, and the European Union – have imposed travel and financial sanctions on several Myanmar security force commanders, units, and individuals implicated in atrocities, the vast majority in Rakhine State. While these sanctions are important, they are not a substitute for prosecutions before credible, impartial, and independent courts, Human Rights Watch said.
The UN Human Rights Council established the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar in March 2017 because of credible and serious allegations of human rights abuses in late 2016. The mission's mandate is to "establish the facts and circumstances of the alleged recent human rights violations by military and security forces, and abuses, in Myanmar […] with a view to ensuring full accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims." The mandate was extended after the widespread abuses that began on August 25, 2017. The Myanmar government refused to cooperate with the Fact-Finding Mission and denied access to its experts and its staff.
"So far, condemnations without action by UN member states have only emboldened a culture of violence and oppression in Myanmar," Adams said. "This report should eliminate any doubt about the urgency of investigating those responsible for mass atrocities. The time to act is now."
Tags: Justice for Myanmar Atrocities
Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee holds Special meeting to revise principles on foreign fighters
New Year Greetings Message from Iranian Families of the Victims of Terrorism to His Holiness Pope Francis and All the Christians of the World


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The InfoCommerce Blog
Dead Letter Office
I got a call from the new postmaster at our local post office the other day. Her staff had apparently discovered a sizable stack of year-old nixies from our conference promotions, and wanted to know if I would still be interested in them, for the requisite fee of course. After ruefully noting that the Postal Service is, "really hurting for money," she pretty much offered to drop them off right away if we would just have a check waiting.
I found this call remarkably sad. It's not that I have any particular affection for the Postal Service. Having been a business mailer for nearly 30 years, I have had the same mixed experience as everyone else. But at its peak, service was prompt and reasonably reliable. And direct mail marketing made money for mailers. That's why our mailboxes overflowed with catalogs and offers.
Just before the Internet went mainstream, direct marketers were being confronted with the reality of rising costs and reduced response rates. The industry was just beginning to confront a future of smaller, smarter, better targeted promotions when email arrived, a delivery channel that allowed for unlimited promotion.
Yes, unlimited promotion! Image your daily volume of postal mail if postage and printing were free. Such a visual doesn't even begin to do justice to the feeding frenzy wrought by email and its promise of no-cost, instant gratification. And that's just the legitimate marketers; spammers and scammers were the icing on the cake.
With no gating mechanism (i.e. cost), so many piled on to email marketing so quickly that recipients got overwhelmed and response rates dropped precipitously. Of course when response rates drop and email is free, the natural response is to send more email, and that's exactly what has been happening. Even today, when we talk to marketing managers at B2B companies, they report the standard response to any email campaign that doesn't generate the required revenue is to send more email. And if that doesn't work, still more email is sent. Interestingly, they all admit it's a lousy way to do business, but what's the option? After all, postal mail is so dead.
Solution? Social media. There's one great problem with social media: the "social" part. To make social media work as a marketing channel, you need a) an audience and b) something interesting to talk about. Many marketers are so desperate to tap social media they literally try to buy audiences with such things as deep discounts and even gift cards. But it's a lot harder to be interesting, especially for B2B marketers. It's kind of like walking into a bar on Friday night and trying to chat people up about your superior industrial replacement roofing solution.
The real solution is to first recognize the free ride is over. The days of "spray and pray" marketing are ending, a direct parallel to what happened with postal mail. And waiting for the next new online marketing channel to solve all your problems is no solution. Any new channel that shows even a sign of promise will be quickly over-run by hordes of aggressive and desperate marketers.
The real long-term solution is intelligent marketing fueled by data. You need to know more about your customers and prospects so you can be relevant to them, engage with them intelligently and earn their continuing interest. With that foundation, you move from having lists to having a community. This is not the easy path, because those marketers doing it right still have to cut through the clutter of the sloppy marketers doing it wrong.
Maybe with enough attention and respect, we can pull email back from the brink. The stakes are huge, and if we fail, we may all find ourselves someday trying to hawk our email bounce-backs to generate some quick cash.
Mar 16, 2012 9:48:01 AM
Because It's There
I am constantly reviewing new online data products looking for fresh ideas and innovative business models. I do see both, but increasingly I am seeing more lazy and uninspired products.
They are also formulaic . Here's the recipe: grab some public domain database, add some modest value to it (sometimes little more than simple parametric searching), build a user interface and ... well actually, that's about it. Business models vary: there might be a paywall, there might be ads from an ad network. It's actually not uncommon for some of these sites to have no business model at all. It is as if the owners want somebody else to identify the hidden value in what they've done and bring it to them on a silver platter.
This formula play has actually become so common that that there isn't much opportunity left. The number of public domain databases that anyone really wants to access is small, and too many have piled on. That's why a new class of online data sites has emerged: those based on licensed, but generally low-value data. You see them everywhere. The "locate anyone" sites that are generally derived from credit report header data. The business directories are based on compiled yellow pages listings.
The harsh reality is that it's cheap and easy to throw together a website to access a database, especially when the data are low-cost or free. And with the cost so low, there's little incentive to spend time and money to confirm a market need, and sometimes there is little urgency to even generate any revenue.
Professional data publishers point out that these products add little value and tend to be poorly produced and indifferently marketed. Yet there is a segment of the market that is content with "good enough" content, especially when the content is low-priced or even free. It's rare that data products of this type will steal large amounts of revenue from professional data publishers with similar content, but they still have a corrosive effect over time by de-valuing content in the eyes of users, creating downward pressure on prices.
What's a publisher to do? Those who rely largely on public domain data need to understand that this is a precarious place to be these days. Yes, normalization and cleaning and even verifying add value, but these important steps aren't the compelling value proposition they used to be, in part because with some smarts and programming skill, a lot of this value can be replicated by a low-end competitor on an automated basis. The only real long-term answer is differentiated, proprietary data. Even better, publishers need to be thinking about offering insight, analysis, commentary and context. And amid all the new technology that can do such wonders scraping websites to build databases and turning data into polished text, let's not forget that these can only be process steps, not a destination. All these clever tools are available to your competitors as well, and they get cheaper and more powerful every day.
Want long-term success? Think different. It works for content just like it works for computer products!
Good Leads Come to Those Who Rate
I was fascinated an intrigued to read about a start-up company called Inbound Score that is literally just opening for business. Its business is simple but powerful: it takes email sales leads and automatically scores them for you.
In a simple application, supposed you have a "contact us" form on your website. Information from the form is generally sent to you via email. What you know about the person contacting you is generally very little. And if you are getting any volume of such leads, you can immediately see the value of rating them.
According to an article in VentureBeat, what Inbound Score offers is a new tool that seamlessly integrates with your email software and scans new messages for sales leads based on parameters your provide. When it encounters a lead, it uses the email address supplied by the sender to scour the web, social networks and private databases. What is returned to you is the original lead with up to 25 additional data fields appended, along with a score that rates the lead on a 1-100 scale. Pricing for this service starts at $29 per month.
As you can surely see, this is a new spin on what many B2B publishers are already providing (or trying to provide) to advertisers -- basic lead contact information, enhanced with additional data to further qualify the lead, and some kind of lead score.
This concept isn't entirely new, but it's a neat spin on the concept, particularly the notion of scoring the lead when it is delivered to an inbox. If services like this take off, publishers will have to consider both the information they are supplying as part of their lead programs, as well as the format. Excel files (still the most common way leads are delivered) will start to look very tired by comparison.
And let's not forget the opportunities here for data publishers who can be powering tools such as this with fast access to proprietary, structured data. There are lots of interesting angles here, including possible a la carte up-selling of deep company or individual backgrounders.
Exciting stuff!
Jan 21, 2012 9:31:47 AM
An Age-Old Problem
Most of us are familiar with the incredible success story of our 2004 Model of Excellence winner, the Internet Movie Database (IMDB). IMDB began life as a Usenet group list, morphing into arguably the first example of a database built with user-generated content. In 1998, the non-profit hobbyist venture was acquired by Amazon.
In those frothy dot com days, it would have been reasonable to expect a huge backlash from all those who had voluntarily contributed to IMDB and watched their effort absorbed by a for-profit entity. But Amazon handled things perfectly. It lavished paid editorial resources on IMDB to quickly prove to users that it was going to make IMDB even deeper and more comprehensive. As importantly, it kept IMDB free. It worked. There was no backlash and usage of the site kept growing. Amazon then linked its DVD catalog to IMDB to increase sales of movies, and that worked as well. More recently, Amazon launched IMDBPro, a paid subscription version of IMDB with even more content for movie industry professionals. It has integrated local movie show times. It added ratings and rankings. Usage has soared along with advertising revenue. It's been a great ride for IMBD.
But now IMDB is embroiled in a truly odd and very public dispute with an actress who doesn't want her real age published in IMDB. The actress, who prefers her age to be listed as age 26-33, was incensed that IMDB listed her as -- gasp -- age 40. She promptly sued Amazon for $1 million.
The basis for the lawsuit? Older actresses get fewer movie roles. How do we know this? Because a study was done of the earnings of older actresses. Of course, if actresses regularly lie about their ages, one probably shouldn't place too much weight on such research.
IMDB hit back hard, with its lawyers calling the lawsuit frivolous and trying to get the actress to publicly identify herself, something they might have thought would force the actress to drop the lawsuit.
But an interesting detail that has got less attention is that IMDB apparently determined the true age of the actress by accessing credit report data when she ordered an IMDB subscription and paid by credit card. If true, this takes editorial research to a new level.
There may be additional facts to this case I don't know, but while I give conceptual brownie points to IMDB for being so committed to data quality, my view is IMDB went beyond the call of duty. Data publishers have a long and proud history of not removing information when requested or threatened, but crossing the line into private detective work is rare. IMDB is also playing in a dangerous gray area when the information being obtained is on an individual and not an organization.
On a more practical level, my guess is that IMDB wasn't doing the same intense research on every actor in its database, and intensely checking only a few actors doesn't help IMDB or its customers. And even if IMDB had made a commitment to getting true ages for all actors in its database, would its customers really care that much? The industry has managed to thrive for many decades despite dubious age data. Do movie producers really want to automatically screen actors in or out based solely on age? If so, perhaps IMDB shouldn't be working so hard to enable such discriminatory behavior. Overall, it seems like a lot of effort for very little benefit ... to anyone.
On the most practical level of all, my recommendation to the actress in this case, as well as to all those who want to take control of their identities: if you are going to lie about your age, don't do it with an age range, just pick a number. IMDB editors probably couldn't enter an age range in their database, and that's probably what prompted the research in the first place!
Call Tracking: The Next Generation
Buying guides and call tracking have a long history together. For over 30 years, buying guide publishers have used various types of call tracking to help document response to advertisers. This is particularly important to these publishers, because buying guide advertising is sold primarily on its ability to generate direct response for advertisers.
In the really good old days when most business was done by postal mail, tracking response was easy. The publisher simply added a suffix to the advertiser's address, so that 123 Main Street might become 123-B Main Street. Advertisers could simply scan their incoming mail for proof of advertising efficacy, and there are legendary stories about buying guide salespeople dragging company CEO's down to their mailrooms to prove that their publications did indeed generate business.
As phone usage became the dominant means of doing business, resourceful buying guide publishers discovered Remote Call Forwarding. With this service, the advertiser would have a unique phone number that appeared only in the buying guide, and all calls to that number would be seamlessly forwarded to the advertiser's regular main telephone number. Best of all, the publisher (not the advertiser) would receive a monthly phone bill that showed the number of calls that had been forwarded that month. It wasn't a lot of detail, but it was hard concrete proof to counter that age-old advertiser renewal objection, namely "I didn't get any calls." Remote Call Forwarding didn't provide much data, was expensive and was a logistical nightmare for publishers, but it worked.
Because of the hassle and costs, publishers were quick to embrace the next generation of Call Tracking, which was based on 800 numbers. Besides lower costs, 800 numbers not only told you how many calls were made to the number, but the phone number of each caller. It was a huge step forward, but many smaller advertisers were reluctant to use 800 numbers in the belief that they wouldn't be viewed as local businesses if they sported a toll-free number. Call tracking stalled a bit for this reason.
The last ten years have seen something of a renaissance for call tracking. Local phone numbers began to become available with all the same data as toll-free numbers. The growth of pay-per-call created a demand for information such as call length (to judge engagement) and even digital recording of calls (to address concerns of advertisers who didn't want to pay for non sales-related calls). But with such heavy use of email to communicate, call tracking seemed destined never to regain its former prominence.
This may now be changing. A Toronto-based company called Telmetrics is a hotbed of innovation in call tracking. It's just introduced software that, when embedded in a mobile phone app, can track calls made from an advertisement with no need for a special phone number at all. And if that isn't intriguing enough, the company now also offers audio-to-text transcription of all calls, and can even scan the text to look for commonly used words and phrases that might inform keyword advertising purchases! It's remarkable stuff, and online buying guides need all the sales documentation tools they can get.
Dec 16, 2011 12:59:12 PM
Less Glitter on Twitter
It's shocking but true: Alec Baldwin has suspended his Twitter account. Apparently, a recent war of tweets with American Airlines didn't yield the support he expected from his fan base, so he's offline, at least for a while.
Interestingly, Alex Baldwin is not the first celebrity to flee Twitter after ill-considered, politically incorrect or just tone-deaf remarks (think John Mayer, Sinead O'Connor and James Franco). And that's just entertainment. Consider the number of politicians who discovered how much controversy could be generated from 140 characters or less (Anthony Weiner and Sam Brownback are just two examples).
When an actor like Alec Baldwin walks away from a medium that provides direct access to over 600,000 of his fans, that's significant. And it points out that social media comes with both power and pitfalls. Consider this from two perspectives. First, part of the appeal of following a celebrity on Twitter is feeling closer to the celebrity because it's the authentic voice of the celebrity, who is encouraged to tweet frequently by the short message nature of the medium. But too much candor and spontaneity can backfire easily. A case in point is Ashton Kutcher, who handed over control of his Twitter account to his publicists after some ill-advised remarks. Of course with that level of safety, authenticity is lost.
Second, there are no rules of the road with social media. What's personal and what is professional? What is public and what is private? Are rants about poor service authentic or inappropriate? Right now, the only way to know when you've gone too far is to go too far.
At a time where toilet paper brands have Facebook pages, where retailers offer gift cards to customers who "like" them on Facebook, where people are finding they can get their grievances with big companies addressed more quickly through a tweet than direct contact, we are all making it up as we go along. And if it's this hard in the B2C world, it's twice as hard for B2B companies trying to formulate a social media strategy. Social media is a mountain road with hairpin turns and no guardrails. And in such situations, there is only one correct response: go slow.
Dec 9, 2011 12:08:33 PM
What jumped out at me in the course of completing a number of recent client research projects is that market leaders in several different verticals were offering their subscription clients not just content, but analysis and sometimes consulting as well. What we may be seeing playing out is the "high tech/high touch" trend identified by futurist John Naisbitt. He predicted the rise of high touch as consumers sought more emotionally satisfying experiences in their business experiences. I think in the world of B2B, it's a lot more practical, but just as profound.
Information providers that offer access to an analyst staff are really offering skilled hands to substitute for the reduced levels of support businesspeople have within their own organizations. Where in the past, a corporate staffer might turn to an assistant or the corporate information center to chase down a specific fact or statistic, now these businesspeople are turning to information providers. It's not so much that this is simply the influence of the new generation of workers who can't or won't think for themselves. Rather, what we are seeing is time-pressured people seeking knowledgeable help wherever they can get it. That this help is skilled, readily accessible and bundled into the price of an information product only makes it more compelling.
This trend is larger than just access to analysts. Increasingly, we hear information providers tell us that companies routinely buy not just their data, but additional help in using it and extracting value from it. Many data providers with strong brands in their vertical markets report that they are regularly asked to consult to their clients on big picture issues and industry trends. This move towards advice takes many forms, but it seems to be bubbling up everywhere.
Admittedly, it is not a small decision to offer your subscribers access to your analyst staff, especially if you don't currently have one. But I will note that where we see it, such access is almost always a high-value differentiator. I know a number of data publishers who have turned down consulting projects because it is a very different and labor-intensive activity, but sometimes a smart partnership can yield most of the benefit with limited if any downside.
My advice: think about offering advice. It's not the right decision for every market or publisher, but it is a clear path away from the "just the facts ma'am" historical positioning of the data publishing industry, and has the potential to deliver a durable boost to your overall value proposition.
Two IPOs That Merit Review
Angie's List and Yelp, both BTC review sites, are now making the leap to public ownership. Angie's List went public yesterday, ending its first day up 25% from its offering price. Yelp has filed papers for a public offering in the near future.
At a high level, these sites are remarkably similar, arguably even a bit competitive. Dive into the business models, however, and they couldn't be more different.
Angie's List has a model that defies conventional wisdom: call it a B2C paid community review site. Get this model right and you build something with enormous power: a massive army of reviewers who have a vested interest in honestly and accurately reviewing local businesses because they are paying for the privilege of accessing that same base of reviews. You also get an engaged community, something that advertisers (at least well-reviewed advertisers) are anxious to tap. Indeed, Angie's List reported advertising revenue of $34 million last year, versus subscription revenue of $25 million. The most remarkable feat of all: avoiding real or perceived conflicts of interest while selling subscription access to objective reviews then selling advertising around those reviews. Spend just a few seconds on the Angie's List site and you will see the intense focus on transparency and objectivity. No effort has been spared to make both businesses and consumers feel they are getting good value, trusted information and fair treatment. It's a delicate business model, but Angie's List has been perfecting it for over a decade.
Contrast Angie's List to Yelp, which has a free access model in which access to business reviews are free, and revenues are generated from advertising. Yelp has unquestionably impressive metrics: over 22 million reviews, and 61 million users for starters.
But beyond the differences in business models, Yelp is a distinctly different business. And while its free access model afforded fast growth, it has paid a price for being free. As Yelp became increasingly influential among consumers, it started attracting false and biased reviews from businesses seeking to improve their own ratings or damage the ratings of competitors. Yelp responded with a series of opaque algorithms designed to root out fake reviews, but that ended up doing real damage to Yelp's perceived integrity among both consumers and businesses. Even worse, Yelp showed little sympathy to businesses that claimed that demonstrably false reviews were ruining their businesses. That's an especially big issue because Yelp depends on such businesses for advertising revenue. This lack of transparency and perceived conflicts of interest came to a head when a number of businesses accused Yelp of offering improved ratings to those that advertised. It was a PR disaster, but one caused as much by the business model as specific business actions.
And that's another place where you see huge contrasts: company leadership. Angie's List is run by Angie Hicks, who exudes Midwestern values and integrity, and is completely aware that while her mission is to inform and empower consumers, her business model can also recognize and reward good service providers, and that works to everyone's benefit.
Contrast that persona with Josh Stoppleman, founder of Yelp, who fashions himself as something of a consumer advocate, with businesses of all kinds inherently the bad guys. When the New York Times asked him about a business trying to get Yelp to remove a bad review for a dish it didn't even serve, Stoppleman's nuanced reply was, "why believe the business owner?" After several such interviews, Yelp's PR team finally got Stoppleman locked in a closet for the good of the IPO.
It's difficult to say with certainty which business model is stronger. The Angie's List approach has a lot going for it, but it's a hard road to build a business like this, making the company even more impressive. At the same time, Yelp is to date a success story in its own right, but like so many other large review sites, is fighting issues and complications on almost every front. The need for consumer reviews is clearly large and durable, but we are a long way from a firm conclusion as to how they should be collected and presented.
You Had to Be There!
The theme of this year's DataContent Conference was "Crowd, Cloud and Curation." But in addition to those big themes, another word cropped up in almost every session: mobile. The excitement around mobile was palpable, and there seemed to be general agreement that tablet devices are already starting to have a significant impact on the industry, and a largely beneficial one, provided publishers embrace the tremendous shift to mobile online access and start to leverage the power of these new devices. My view? As a reliable skeptic, you might expect some push-back, but I'm fully on board. Mobile devices, tablets in particular, are rapidly changing how users access data, and even how they do business. This creates opportunities in some markets, but more fundamentally, it means publishers cannot allow themselves to be left behind as usage patterns and user expectations for data products begin to radically shift.
Our keynote speaker, Clare Hart, CEO of Infogroup, nicely set the stage for the sessions that followed by noting that to maximize the value of data, "you have to innovate around it." This well sums up the InfoCommerce Group view that data publishers need to focus on "data that does stuff," not simply providing mountains of raw content from which users are expected to find and extract value on their own. Clare illustrated this with a sneak peak at a soon to be launched Infogroup product called Yesmail Marketing Intelligence that will provide remarkable competitive intelligence to marketers, coupled with a powerful user interface and real-time alerting.
Among our 2011 Models of Excellence nominees, we got in-depth looks at two barely-launched ventures: BestVendor, which is doing some exciting work in social discovery, and First Stop Health, a new data-driven health concierge service. We also got a good overview of FeeFighters which matches businesses to credit card processing services, an area that's gotten a lot of attention lately.
We also learned about newly launched Chaikin Power Tools, which integrates mountains of data and sentiment analysis into a simple, elegant buy/sell indicator for investors. We also heard from another startup, Brilig, which lets online marketers precisely tap specific market segments, precision that's been sorely lacking to date. Resolute Digital and b2bAnywhere confirmed the stampede to mobile in our session on that topic, and gave us some useful thinking on how B2B mobile will evolve.
Anne Holland of Subscription Site Insider presented some preliminary findings from a study conducted in conjunction with InfoCommerce Group on paid subscription product renewal rates and retention marketing best practices. In our always popular "Excellence Revisited" Wanted Technologies, Alacra andAgencyFinder offered candid assessments of what went right - and wrong - with products that had previously won them our Model of Excellence award. The level of candor, as always, was incredibly insightful.
Also insightful were presentations from DonorBase and The Praetorian Group and our own Janice McCallum who offered specific revenue generating ideas with potential applicability to many in the audience. And we also got helpful case studies from Depository Trust, PDR Network and ZoomInfo about what's involved in launching a new data product inside a company that's not in the data business, and how to successfully re-position existing data businesses that have lost their way.
We also went interplanetary this year, as we learned about the launch (first publicly announced at our conference) of Saturn, a new service jointly developed by Locationary, Neustar and theLocal Search Association. Designed to be a frictionless cloud-based platform where data publishers can upload data, the goal of Saturn is to help business partners standardize, synchronize and maintain their data to improve accuracy. There's a lot more to Saturn, and the potential to revolutionize data collection, enhancement and maintenance is huge. Best of all, none of this vision involves making all information free!
Conference attendees also got the inside scoop on Infochimps, a company with the ambitious goal (well underway) of collecting all the data on the web, arguably doing for data what Google has done for text. It's a breathtaking vision, a vision, I should note, that fully supports the role of paid data products. In fact, Infochimps would like to be the central marketplace for such datasets.
The 2011 Model of Excellence award winners? This year, the awards went to Artlog, Depository Trust and FeeFighters.
If you now really wish you were there, you can view some of the speakers and presentations here, in Pancasts provided byPanopto. Our compelling programs are our best advertisement, so consider this our first promotion for DataContent 2012. You have to be there!
Hammer Time
Who can resist the opportunity to talk about the new search engine venture announced yesterday by of all people the rapper M.C. Hammer?
There are so many ways to come at this announcement, most of them humorous and pun-laden. Indeed, the announcement seems to have been more interesting to the entertainment press than the tech press.
The details are sketchy, and the site itself is "pre-beta" (which may or may not be the same as "post-alpha"). We do know the site is named WireDoo (which my spell checker wants to correct to "weirdo") and its tag line is "search once, see what relates."
WireDoo is described alternatively as "deep search" and "relationship search." The goal, apparently, is to provide sort of a split-screen search results page: traditional links on the right, and content that is related, but that wouldn't normally come up in a search of the word or phrase being searched on the left. Sounds intriguing, especially since so much of this related content seems to be data-oriented: percentages, statistics, ratings, lists, etc. A search for "car," for example, might pull back related data on operating costs, MPG, insurance costs, unit sales, etc.
It's an interesting if not entirely novel concept, where success lies in execution. If Mr. Hammer can pull this off, I think he's entitled to crow, "U Can't Touch This," because this type of automated curation has inherent value in providing context and, if you remember the early days of search, you'll remember this term: serendipity.
Intriguingly, most of the other search engines launches (DuckDuckGo, Blekko) employ a reductive strategy designed to filter and focus search results. Mr. Hammer arguably looks to expand search results, but with a high degree of relevance.
M.C. Hammer joins the growing list of celebrities (think Ashton Kutcher and Justin Timberlake) who are investing in technology, a sure sign to some that we are in the late stages of a tech bubble. That view is only reinforced when Mr. Hammer, when asked why he is investing in a new search engine of all things, replied "Why not swing for the fences...no one is playing for singles in the Valley anymore."
New search engines, tech bubbles, celebrities ... mix it all together and you get one thing for sure: complexity. And it's exactly this complexity we'll be tackling head-on at DataContent 2011 -- just two weeks away. Don't miss this unique opportunity to sharpen your understanding of where things are headed --register today!
Oct 21, 2011 8:30:28 AM
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The helix reflects our steady population growth. Population plaques will be spaced at intervals: the lowest part of the helix reflects our 1776 population of 2.6 million and rises steadily until its highest point with the most recent census population of 310.2 million.
We have had 27 official flags. By law, one star must be added for each new state. The red bands denote the length of time each flag flew. A plaque will commemorate each one.
These reflect the time periods our nation has been at war. Each major armed conflict will be commemorated with a plaque.
There is space to add bands for other historical events, such as the great depression, which will be depicted with grey tile.
Other significant events may be commemorated via plaques located along the timeline of the curve, such as the first automobile, first flight, and the first moon landing.
The 6' wide walkway around the perimeter of the monument will be called The Ring of Honor. Of the 3,500+ service personnel who have received the Congressional Medal of Honor, 204 hailed from Illinois. Each of them will be honored with a small plaque on the periphery of the ring. There will be adequate room to honor future recipients.
The flag pole will be capped with a reflecting prism. We will use the pole and prism as a sundial. We will recognize historic events such as the assassination of presidents and civic leaders, the deaths of local soldiers, police officers, fire fighters, and other first responders.
Memorial headstones, each containing a smaller prism will be located throughout the site. Each headstone will be placed so that at the exact date and time (adjusted to local time) associated with the event light striking the prism atop the flagpole will shine directly on the respective memorial. Examples in this model include: 911 and JFK's assassination.
The earth is tilted on its axis. It also has a slight "wobble" in its rotation. The resulting shadow pattern (taken the same time every day) is an interesting "figure‐8". The site will include an inlay of pavers, with plaques to note the equinoxes and the solstices.


text:
Q: Is there a "Restore Down" event in VB.NET What event would fit when I click the "Restore Down" button in the title bar then it restores down the main form together with the other form with the specific size I declared.
I am new to vb.net and still exploring new functions. Please help!

A: Apologizes for c# solution, perhaps this will help you to convert it to VB.Net. I don't know any better solution available but this should work.
private FormWindowState? previousWindowState;
protected override void OnSizeChanged(EventArgs e)
{
    if (this.Bounds == this.RestoreBounds && previousWindowState.HasValue && previousWindowState.Value == FormWindowState.Maximized)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Restored down");
    }
    previousWindowState = this.WindowState;
    base.OnSizeChanged(e);
}

A: Adapted Srirams answer to vb.net
Private Sub MotionManagerDialog_Resize(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.SizeChanged
    If Me.Bounds.Equals(Me.RestoreBounds) And Not PreviousWindowState.Equals(Nothing) And
                        PreviousWindowState.Equals(System.Windows.Forms.FormWindowState.Maximized) Then
        ' Captures restore down action
    End If
    PreviousWindowState = Me.WindowState
End Sub

A: To clarify Wylie's answer: You also need to declare PreviousWindowState somewhere:
Dim PreviousWindowState As FormWindowState

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Are you looking for an unforgettable holiday? What we propose here is the ultimate journey through the epic landscapes of Namibia, Africa.
This guided tour includes all Namibia's main attractions, from the red deserts of the south to the foggy Atlantic shore; from the rugged northern beauty of Damaraland to the magnificent wildlife in Etosha National Park.
Depart Windhoek and drive via Rehoboth into Kalahari Desert for overnight at your lodge. A scenic drive will be undertaken towards sunset (in open vehicles).
Drive through Kalahari and visit the Quiver tree forest near Keetmanshoop. Lunch in Keetmanshoop (for your own account) and from there continue to Naute Dam to the northern fringes of Fish River Canyon. Overnight near Fish River.
After breakfast, travel to the Hobas Campsite, an entrance to the Fish River Canyon to view the canyon's most spectacular northern fringes. Proceed to Aus and stop for lunch (for your own account). See desert adapted horses on entering Namib Desert. Enjoy spectacular scenery of the Aus Mountains on an unguided walk. Scenic sun downer drive included in the afternoon (for own account). Overnight in Aus.
Optional excursion to Kolmanskop possible (on your own account) – enquire with your guide regarding the rate (min 4 guests). See the ever-changing vistas of the desert landscapes when driving along the most beautiful district road in Namibia, the D707 (road conditions permitting). Visit Duwiseb Castle before arriving at the lodge in the late afternoon. Overnight in Maltahöhe region.
Early wakeup to visit Sossusvlei where you will undertake a 4x4 vehicle drive into the heart of the Namib Desert. Climb into the gorge of Sesriem Canyon before you travel past the impressive Namib Naukluft Mountains to your lodge. Overnight near Namib Naukluft Park.
Drive through Kuiseb Canyon and continue towards Walvis Bay at the coast. Lunch in Walvis Bay (for own account). Visit Walvis Bay Lagoon to view seabirds. Travel to Swakopmund. Enjoy a complimentary sundowner at the Moon Landscape.
Day at leisure to explore Swakopmund (unguided). You may wish to book an optional day tour (for own account) in Swakopmund (guided tour through historical town or the Mondesa township, quad-biking, sand-boarding; Living Desert Tour, scenic flight over Skeleton coast or catamaran or boat cruise at Walvis Bay). Many optional activities are on offer (for own account): visit aquarium, museum or crystal gallery, and many more.
Another day at leisure to enjoy the wide range of attractions available in Swakopmund.
Depart early morning on the salt road towards Henties Bay, past some pans and an array of bird life. Visit Twyfelfontein and the Organ Pipes on your way into wild Damaraland. A packed lunch is provided en route. Arrive at the lodge during the late afternoon.
Morning at leisure. Have lunch at the lodge and in the afternoon join a sun downer drive in the Aba Huab River and possibly encounter the desert dwelling elephants (seasonal).
Leave Damaraland. Visit a Damara village near Twyfelfontein and learn more about the culture and the tradition of this half-nomadic people. Continue via the little town of Outjo. Lunch stop (for own account) - possibly meet fellow guests joining the Etosha tour. From there continue to Etosha National Park. Arrive in the early afternoon and undertake your first game drive into the park.
Overnight near Etosha National Park – Etosha Safari Camp or similar.
Day excursion into the Etosha Park. Except for the rainy season, Etosha's animals are dependent on artificial waterholes and natural springs. Explore the various waterholes along this enormous saltpan in a closed vehicle game drive (open vehicle game drives are optional and for own account). Lunch stop at one of the rest camps (lunch for your own account).
Continue discovering the huge variety of wildlife in the Etosha Park in a closed vehicle game drive (open vehicle game drives are optional and for own account). Of the 114 mammals species found here, several are rare and endangered like the black rhino or the black faced impala. Your guide will also introduce you to the complex subject of managing such an enormous reserve. Lunch stop at one of the rest camps (lunch for own account).
Depart the Lodge or camp and travel south towards Otjiwarongo. Continue towards Windhoek via Okahandja where we will visit a local handicraft market. Tour ends on arrival in Windhoek late afternoon.
Minimum 2 guests. Dual language German/English commentary. Game drives in Etosha are in closed vehicles. Open vehicle game drives are optional and for own account.


Write a memoir. Live forever. Who cares? I didn't, but my son Charlie did because he asked me to write about a few of my life experiences. The project grew until I had a memoir containing 45 stories.
I think that writing a memoir is an excellent way to get organized before one dies. It is also an effective way of deflecting one's mementos from the trash bin. I scanned some of my mementos such as a student body card with my picture on it and a painting of my home in 1945 and used them as illustrations.
I received a surprising bonus in this effort. I learned things about my self. As Socrates said several thousand years ago, "An unexamined life is not worth living." I found out what he meant and it's hard to explain the value I felt in discovering why and how my life events occurred.
I confess that some of my original stories were so poorly written that my sister-in-law Mary Belser in New Zealand suggested that I take a writing class. I did and I studied and wrote for two years in a San Jose, CA municipal adult education class called "Fact and Fiction for Fun and Profit" taught by author Erna Holyer. The result was my book Memoirs of a Late 20th Century Engineer.
I didn't want boxes of this memoir in my garage that would ultimately find a home in the garbage. I bought a double-sided Brother laser printer and made a few letter sized, black and white copies in a clear plastic notebook with a color cover page insert.
I really wanted color printing but I didn't want to pay for it. Most of the photos and illustrations were in color. The black and white books already cost $20 each not counting my labor. Hence I converted the Microsoft WORD document into a PDF (Portable Document Format) file using a free PDF distiller such as CutePDF or PrimoPDF. I originally posted my memoir on the free web space provided by my Earthlink e-mail account. I got my own web space at karl-belser.com in 2008.
Creating a website is somewhat tricky and you may need help. I read a web article titled How Web Pages Work on the How Stuff Works website that explains HTML in detail and how to create web pages. Hand coding in HTML was, I felt, too difficult, but I now understood in principle how to create and fill in the HTML table that is the basis of my web page.
I now use a free WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) program called Kompozer to create the web pages and a free file transfer program (FTP) called Filezilla to move (or post) the pages from my computer to the server. My memoir is posted on my personal web site along with other articles I have written. More detail on the creation and posting process are given in my article Creating and Editing Web Pages.
If the technicalities of this discussion intimidate you, there are many computer science types that will find setting up a website, scanning pictures, PDF distilling, and MP3 creation relatively simple. So get some help.
Take a look at my website and see if PDF publishing of family history might not work for you or your parents. It's an effort of love, not money.


The indictment reveals not just the actions of Khusyaynova, but a massive social media effort by Russia to inflame tensions in the United States, spread divisiveness, and create hatred that interferes with the political process. In some cases, the Russian operatives behind a sea of false fronts even argued for and against the same issue in the most extreme terms—they trolled issues from multiple positions, with no intent except to increase hatred and rip apart American society.
Court documents name Khusyaynova as "chief accountant" for an extensive Russian propaganda campaign called Project Lakhta. This project, funded through one of the three Russian companies indicted by Robert Mueller in July, appears to be a massive effort to spread false stories designed to inflame racial tensions, create divisiveness, and disrupt conversations.
"The strategic goal of this alleged conspiracy, which continues to this day, is to sow discord in the U.S. political system and to undermine faith in our democratic institutions," said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The EDVA office places the operation budget of Project Lakhta at more than $35 million between 2016 and 2018, though not all those funds were spent in the United States. In the first half of 2018 along, Project Lakhta spent $10 million to create discord in US political discussions.
As in previous instances involving Russian hackers, the false identities created by Khusyaynova spread on issues of race, sexual orientation, immigration, and regulation of guns. After the 2016 election, Project Lakhta also focused on Donald Trump's attack on black athletes in the NFL, the women's march, shooting incidents such as the massacre in Las Vegas, and rallies by white supremacists. In several instances, Project Lakhta appears to have argued both sides of the same issue, taking extreme positions designed to inflame attitudes and cause discord. The project also attacked specific politicians, including John McCain and Barack Obama.
The indictment was previously prepared and unsealed at a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. The case was filed by by the office of the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, not by Special Counsel Robert Mueller or any member of his team.
The scope and nature of Project Lakhta is staggering, and the extent to which it, or other projects like it, have been successful in raising the temperature of debate in the United States is difficult to gauge. Though Donald Trump has certainly been the chief agent of driving the civil out of civil discourse, Trump has often either adopted stories from Alt-Reich sources or retweeted stories and comments from social media. It's not clear at this point if some of those stories were actually generated by Project Lakhta.
Even more staggering is the fact that Project Lakhta accounts for only a fraction of the known overall effort by Russia to sway events in the United States. As the US attorney charges, Khusyaynova was engaged in "information warfare against the United States" and she's just one member of a well-funded army.
The connection between Project Lakhta and pro-Trump social media efforts in 2016 is not yet clear. The US attorney states that the criminal complaint "does not include any allegation that Khusyaynova or the broader conspiracy had any effect on the outcome of an election." But that was certainly its intent.


Funeral Flowers from TRINITY MOUNTAIN FLORAL DESIGNS - your local Mountain Home, ID.
Let TRINITY MOUNTAIN FLORAL DESIGNS deliver a lovely floral expression of sympathy and reverence for you. This arrangement features white roses, Fuji mums, gladiolus, lilies and bells of Ireland.


Christmas Eve with Heidi girl - matching black & gold of course!
Christmas morning many years ago at my grandparents house.
Marriott brunch with two of my besties.
The best gel manicure ever! The color doesn't have a name, but it looks like solid glitter!
Can you believe it's already Monday!? Oh how I could vacation for another month or two...maybe on a tropical island (hey a girl can dream). It's back to work for me today - hopefully some of you are still on winter break or Christmas vaca with your loved ones. Luckily, this is New Year's week so another day and a half off - woohoo! I decided to share some insta pics from my holiday break with little Miss Heidi girl. We traveled to Kentucky to see family & friends and had a wonderful time. I'm a Kentuckian and I don't make it home enough so it was such a nice visit. Great shopping, good food, Sephora, brunch with my besties and a University of Kentucky Wildcat win (against the Louisville cards)!
If you're still able to sleep in today please snooze some for me.