text:
Home > News > Windows Phone 7 Needs A Flagship Phone
Windows Phone 7 Needs A Flagship Phone
January 18, 2011 by Christopher Meinck 29 Comments
In early October, Microsoft had a big launch party in NYC. Steve Ballmer was on the Today Show and the coming out party for Windows Phone 7 was underway. This was more announcement party than launch party, since the phones weren't available initially. That would come a month later or in the case of the Dell Venue, TBD. There were no lines to speak of, unless you count the few stores that featured Minka Kelly. Local AT&T retail locations in my area had a handful of each device, more than enough to meet the demand, which was minimal. LG, who joined HTC and Samsung as WP7 launch partners, have indicated that sales were disappointing. While it's in vogue to blame Windows Phone 7, it's the flagship phone that's the missing ingredient.
Let's take a look at that other platform with the green guy. It took years for Android to take off, but look no further than the Droid for why it took off. It's marketing and positioning. For Verizon customers, Android became the alternative to the iPhone. If you were sticking with Verizon, you likely left one of their stores with an Android phone. Up until the immensely successful Droid campaign, it could have been with HTC's Droid Eris. What Verizon did with the Motorola Droid was create a flagship phone for the Android platform. Outside of tech blogs and phone geeks, regular folks weren't talking about Android phones. Those Droid commercials changed the fortunes for Android. Sales volumes have gone up and so has developer interest. That's not to say sales would not have been brisk. Android was positioned well against the dated OS on RIM's BlackBerry line and the Droid ship had sailed by the time webOS phones hit Verizon.
Now let's switch gears to revisit the Windows Phone 7 launch on AT&T, which is the larger of the two carriers where you could purchase a Windows Phone device. Immediately, you are in competition with the iPhone, not to mention a handful of Android devices like the Samsung Captivate. When you look at the devices, there is no clear-cut horse to get behind. Most pundits penned the Samsung Focus as the best of the AT&T devices, but it was just another phone amongst a table of phones in front of Steve Ballmer. People don't watch those commercials and think, I want that Samsung Focus or that HTC Surround. There is hardly any differentiation between the two, at least from the 60 second ad clip. They see Windows Phone 7, which is the intent of Microsoft's campaign. There is no hardware that sells the platform, no flagship phone that stands above the rest. Don't get me wrong, I think the current line of devices are very good, but just how they got lost on that table in front of Ballmer, they are getting lost on the shelves at AT&T.
Now that Verizon will have the iPhone, the race for marketing dollars from phone manufacturers will be heated. For Microsoft, they simply make the OS, so they are somewhat removed from that process. The last time they worked with Verizon was on the KIN and that didn't work out so well. Windows Phone 7 is not the KIN, but at least the marketing was device specific. Somehow they need to partner with HTC, Samsung or even LG to make a phone that will be worthy of Verizon's marketing dollars. Verizon has an impressive lineup due this year, so the challenge is becoming increasing greater. Verizon will have the iPhone 4 on February 10th and big Android releases in the HTC Thunderbolt and still-unnamed LTE compatible Samsung phone. For the first time, AT&T will have one of the hottest Android phones in the Motorola Atrix.
The time for a flagship Windows Phone 7 device is overdue and it might just be the reason why sales are not impressive. It's not the operating system, it's delivering a Windows Phone that stands out from the rest on the table. While the table of devices will help drive adoption over time, it's the flagship phone that will get them back in the race.
Filed Under: News Tagged With: Android, editorial, flagship, iPhone, Windows Phone 7
Larry says
I guess you haven't seen the Venue Pro
Christopher Meinck says
A phone that is not in stock, sold exclusively online and works on the fourth largest carrier is not what I would define as a flagship phone.
Brian says
Nor has anyone else, for that matter!
I have two 16gb Dell Venue Pros, and they rock! Awesome phone.
joshua low says
I agree that there isnt a "standout" phone in WP7's lineup, that could be due to all 10 phones are just at Microsoft's minimum hardware requirements levels (save for storage and camera), and none have something better.
Dual core or 1.2Ghz phones are mostly on android phones for now, but if Microsoft's decision standardize it's phones does result in a lack of a clear cut winner.
Take the Samsung Focus for instance. It's a great phone with a stunning display. It also has very plastic feel to it.
Jabberwolf says
Did Android had a flagship phone?
is it now surpassing iphone because of so many options – yes.
So why would they want to push the lesser marketing model of Apple, when Android seems to have the better model to follow.
And remember, Apple is a hardware company, MS and Google, software.
Android took off with the Droid, a flagship phone. Subsequent Droid releases have built upon the success of the original.
Did you really say that Apple has a "lesser marketing model"?
Otis says
Do you not remember all the "I don't" ads for the release of the Droid? and how much they still push the Droid lineup?
I remember the 1st time I had seen a "I Don't" ad. I thought, "I hope who ever is coming out with this Droid better be ready for a fight…" they were…. and now I own one.
I think you've replied to the wrong comment. I agree with you. Those ads hit like a ton of bricks. Compare the Droid ads to the AT&T ads I've posted in the article. No comparison.
Nelson Ocampo says
The idea behind WP7's minimum system requirements was that it allowed developers a standard set of specs to aim their apps and games at. So a phone with a more powerful processor likely isn't going to make much of an impact. Someone with that phone wouldn't really see the benefit from that processor.
At this point, adding more RAM than 512 will likely not see an additional benefit.
The Samsung Focus has two things going for it that make it stand apart from the crowd. Its screen and the possibility of adding extra memory in the future through an SD card. It's not enough to really make it a flagship device, but considering the above two statements I made above, it's close.
A phone could differentiate itself from others if it had a large amount of storage. If any WP7 device were to have 32 GB of storage space, I believe it would likely jump to the top of the list of WP7 handsets. And if that phone happened to also have a large SAMOLED screen, all the better. But would it be a flagship device? I'm not sure.
It seems that the reality is that MS wants all of its devices to be 'flagship' devices. Yes, it sounds silly. But as MS puts out each update, the OS becomes more and more feature filled. And if MS still has room for optimizing how the managed code interacts with the device, then we could possibly see 3rd party apps responding more briskly than before.
Imagine that. A device that acts like it's getting better and better the longer you have it.
WheresWinPho says
The flagship is supposed to be the software. This is why M$ is locking down the OS and setting some decent hardware req's. Youre supposed to be able to pick up any of them and say, "This is a great phone." or maybe, "THIS is MY phone."
As cheesy as that sounds, this I think is the reaction they are hoping for.
BTW, I'm currently rocking a Focus with 37GB of usable memory and i LOVE it. Of course not everyone can afford to spend more on their SD cards than their handsets. M$ should have sold higher capacity Focuses for decent prices along with their Amazon deals for the holidays. I think people would have liked that a lot.
Bennytheblade says
Duhhhh…. Samsung Focus.
Sent from my Samsung Focus.
Runningman says
I am another very satisfied Samsung Focus owner. When I bought it a few weeks ago, I almost had to go find smelling salts to revive the salesperson when I asked about it. He went on to explain that most customers come in looking for either IPhone or Android and are either completely unaware of the new platform or suspicious of it. Even though he liked the platform, he said it got completely lost in the current array of choices for smartphones.
Here in Canada I am only just starting to see the wireless carriers give it some attention and show it alongside Apple, Android and Blackberry. I am happy to be part of a new platform and look forward the many updates that I know Microsoft will develop in the future.
I thought it was interesting to see at the Amazon website that 3 of the top 5 rated Smartphones are from the Windows Phone 7 platform. My experience with the phone and operating system has been flawless and am happy to show it off to anyone that is interested in looking at it. I do think that a "Flagship" phone would help Microsoft create some buzz and get this platform the attention it deserves.
Rodney E Jones says
It's easy. If the others have it, get it!
I'm with AT&T and I want a 4.3 to 4.5 inch SAMOLED + screen, and the fastest processing speed I can get. 1 gig of ram would be nice.
I agree that MS needs a kick a** phone they can be proud to stand by and promote.
Why should WP7 users have inferior devices? Ya know what? I plan to get one.
My upgrade is coming in May and I hope that samsung at least uses the infuse platform to make a competitive WP7 phone. If not then something even more innovative will be the only phone acceptable. Period!
MS should use that same mu$$$cle that it used to get apps in the market place to get it's next great device on the shelf.
And last, More power to IOS and Android for doing good. I support WP7 because I want to experience something different not because I want the others to fail. We need these companies to compete so we will have innovative and diverse products. In other words… Don't Hate!
Lenny says
I'm in totally agreement with you. If WP7 used the Samsung Infuse platform with just the WP7 os and put this out it would truly be their flagship phone and they would get all kind of attention. Let hope they are thinking like we are.
Rodney E. Jones says
Thanks Lenny. Please read this other article… posted on http://blogs.computerworld.com/17727/new_sales_figures_show_windows_phone_7_sales_go_from_bad_to_worse?source=rss_blogs
My reply was..
What about solutions?
Submitted by Rodney E. Jones on January 28, 2011 – 9:32 A.M.
I have been to several stores and found that each employee working there pushes a specific device. I ask them if that's the device they personally use and they always say yes. Given that Android and IPhone are the most popular amongst most people, those are the phones that sales people stand by. Most sales people don't have a huge knowledge of the features of multiple devices so I do thank them for at least being honest about what they do know and not pushing unfamiliar products on people to just make a sale.
It seems like the problem lies in the influence of the end users decision at the point of sale. Since people are naturally sceptical of new devices, being that they are expensive and that they want to choose a good one, they will gravitate towards the negative, especially if the sales people don't know any of the positive features of a device.
If I were MS i would send "mystery shoppers" out to get feedback about the store associates habits. The problem most likely lies at the front line. It's to often that I've seen a customer come into a store because they've seen a WP7 commercial, were interested, and were turned off by a store rep., mostly because the rep. could not rebuttal to the comment " there's little apps available"
One representative, at AT&T, was asked How many apps were available. He said 2000 but didn't know of any positive features about the phones to push. The customer moved to the left.
Another rep., at AT&T, told a lady that apps were all that mattered, and that WP7 had only 2000 apps. This was in early January when 5000 were available. I corrected the rep. and also let her know of the other useful features WP7 has to offer, in which she replied " I didn't know that"
Another rep, at radio shack, pushed blackberry and I found out that that's the phone she personally uses. It's not so much that she didn't know about WP7 features, but that she wasn't interested in learning about anything new or different.
SALES ASSOCIATES ARE LOYAL TO APPLE AND GOOGLE RIGHT NOW. MS. MUST INSURE QUALIFIED REPS. ARE IN STORES IN ORDER TO GAIN LOYALTY. START WITH CHANGING THE SALES REPS. MINDSET AND AWARENESS AND SALES WILL INCREASE. WP7 IS A GREAT PLATFORM!
Keep in mind that MS doesn't want the quality of the user experience to change dramatically from device to device.
Adding a faster processor or even more RAM may cut out on some very slight lag in some apps (if code isn't optimized), but it probably won't make good things go faster.
The minimum system requirements were put in place to reduce fragmentation. Developers have a target to shoot for, and if they create their apps for that target then they know that everyone with a WP7 device will be able to run their game or app with equal snappiness. So, unless a developer isn't interested in reaching a lot of customers, you won't see them creating apps or games that will use the potential of a high end processor or extra RAM.
In other words, adding a powerful processor and more RAM would increase the price of the phone, while adding very little (if any) benefit to the user. This may change in future version of Windows Phone (when they open up multitasking), but I would imagine that will still be over a year away.
Hardware like extra storage space, a hardware keyboard, front facing camera, high quality display, etc… would be able to benefit a user who is interested in it. So I imagine that most hardware improvements will be in this vein.
Good point Nelson. I can see where things like better screens, HDMI, more storage, dual cameras are most inportant. I would choose them over faster processing speeds and larger ram. You are right, my girlfreinds focus is plenty fast and works great, although I'm still wishing for some new features on mine when I finally get it.
InlandEmpire says
I agree that WP7 needs a flagship device. I am on AT&T and don't want to change carriers. I love taking my own phone to Europe. I have an AT&T Tilt and I am waiting for a 4.3-inch screen. Android phones already have 4.3-inch phones and a future 4.5-inch phone is coming shortly. I am waiting to see what happens at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona before I decide on my next phone. If there is no 4.3-inch phone in the future I will go with the Focus.
Chuck says
I got the HTC Surround 7 and it offers Dolby Mobile and SRS Surround. The sound is awesome. Apart form that HTC has a app called Attentive Phone that silences the phone when placed on a surface when ringing, if you shake the phone it lowers the ringer, if it's in a pocket or purse it will ring louder, if your on the phone you can go to speaker by placing it on a surface. If a very nice app that I believe helps distinguish the HTC Surround 7 along with the pop out speaker that sport a Kickstand and Yamaha Speakers.
LG Optimus 7 is a phone my wife got and it offer DNLA, Scansearch and Panarama Shots. It a nice phone as well and it's processer is faster which really isn't that much of a difference. I kind of like the physical buttons on the LG over the touch sensitive buttons on the HTC because of accidental touches. The volume button on the LG though is horribly placed. Overall between the two I prefer the HTC. Windows Phone 7 is an awesome phone and I love the Hub Idea over the Apps everywhere approach of the others. Thank God Microsoft didn't follow the crowd.
Oh one more thing. I love the way Zune wirelessly syncs with my phone over my home network. You never have to connect the phone to your PC. I also love how Zune purchases work between my Phone, Xbox 360 and PC. If you got the 360 and a PC your stupid not to get the phone.
One more story about the Windows 7 Phone. My wife's workplace uses Blackberry as their portable office phones so she leaned towards getting another blackberry because of that reason but then went with the windows 7 phone because they might give her a Blackberry instead of using her own personal which did not happen in the end. Anyway she took her phone over to the IT guys and they were stunned how easy it was to connect it to the email system over the Blackberry. I guess the Microsoft Exchange service has something to do with it. They were like there suppose to be more but there wasn't a need to do more it was that easy to get it setup.
J. Smith says
What happened to the HTC 7 Pro? It was said to be an exclusive phone for Microsoft Employee's on Sprint Network in November; but I never heard another word. I think the flagship phone; that will set itself apart from the Droid/iPhone movement, will have a full Qwerty Keyboard for us business users that are looking to downsize from a laptop when we're mobile. Screen size and speed is important too, but what gravitates business users; with corporate contracts/plans in the SmartPhone arena. The ability to offload 'work' onto a SmartPhone device. Word, Excel, Web-Apps; all with data entry requirements; and touch keyboards have awkward feel. IMO. Besides, WP6 users were primarily Exchange users; with elaborate calendaring and contact interests.
It's most likely coming soon.
MS wasn't able to get reliable CDMA compatibility into WP7 before launch, so it was pushed to the first update.
I would imagine that carriers already have that update and are putting it through their tests.
Barry says
I think the columnist hit the nail on the head – WP7 needs a flagship phone. The OS is excellent, and would appeal to a great many people but the hardware its on reads as mid-level or entry-level smartphone. When I show off my Focus to friends, I get the same comments over and over again: it's very cool but the phone feels cheap. I can't argue with them. I love using the OS but I hate the hardware its on. MS needs what Palm needed for WebOS: a badass handset to show off their OS, preferably on Verizon.
No 4G phones
No front facing cameras
No memory card support
No Adobe Flash
No app organization
No turn by turn navigation
Very limited customization
These are the reasons why my next phone will probably be Android instead of WP7. And I love Xbox Live and Zune, so I should have been a lock for WP7. Microsoft has a lot of work to do. They need to start getting big updates out fast if they want to be competitive with Android.
I can agree with some of your concerns about WP7.
Lets remember that this platform has been out for less than 3 months and that IOS had to release a new model to get copy and paste and some other features. IOS was attractive to customers for what it offered, and continued to get better.
Second, Nobody really has what's defined as "true 4G" yet, or is getting it in near future. Look up the actual specs for a 4G network and you will see that all of the new networks like AT&T's new HDSP+, or Verizon's LTE are really "3.5G". So if you are buying a device based on those claims you might not actually see to big of a difference.
Wp7 doesn't have front facing cameras yet, but they most likely will get them. I predict that the samsung infuse platform will receive wp7 software before years end. This will become standard hardware on all phone as video chat becomes more popular.
Once again memory card support will be added later to most wp7 phones. We have a Samsung Focus, which has a slot for a card. right on the box it says "support for up to 32gb cards. Plenty of people online have upgraded there's successfully. I personally want to buy a phone with at least 32Gigs built in, and who wants to spend more money on extra hardware.
I personally don't like not having the option to upgrade, but all those millions if Apple users don't seem to mind that much.
The decision to not add multitasking was made to optimize overall performance. Multitasking sound great in theory, but the current cell phone tech does not support it very well for most phones. Our Focus moves around applications plenty fast mainly because it doesn't have multitasking using up unnecessary resources. Although I do agree it would be nice in the future, and most likely will come.
Adobe Flash, believe it or not, might not be used in the future. Microsoft is focusing on HTML5, which doesn't require plug ins like Flash to play music or video. Although it's not available now, a update late this year should bring it. This is looking to the future of web browsing, instead of just trying to keep up with the other's. But you're right, why didn't they at least have flash until the update????
I agree about the app organization. It's terrible!!!! Good thing its easily fixable with a minor update, and I hope soon.
Does AT&T have the navigator tool still?? It has TbyT navigation. maybe an app?? I like Google maps, it works Good. Anyways easy fix.
And I agree it doesn't have the customization of android,,,Yet.
For being on the market for less than 3 months it is a good alternative, already surpassing RIM, Nokia and Palm, but that's not saying much. The platform has a promising future and plenty support which is growing day by day.
It took android a year to start gaining ground, and those who jumped on the band wagon early are glad they did. With time WP7 can will be at true competitor. I can name at least 15 features it has out the box that the others don't. So in the end it's about what you want. Choose carefully because by one and a half years your phone will be thoroughly outdated, and by 2 years, Oh Man!!
But if you are with AT&T I would get the samsung Infuse with android. It sound like it has what you want right now. It's not out yet, but will be before summer. Look it up and hala at me. Thanks.
Of course all of this stuff is fixable, but until it is fixed WP7 will be seen as behind the curve. They're in a better position than they were with Windows Mobile 6.5, but Microsoft needs to double time and one-up whatever Google is doing because they have a big head start.
HTML5 doesn't solve the lack of Flash problem. If I ever go to a website on my phone and it's unable to playback the video embedded on the site then the web browsing experience on that device is subpar. I'm not going to blame the websites, I'm going to blame the device. If you want to prioritize HTML5, fine, but the lack of Flash will be seen as a flaw in some mobile devices for many years still.
4G or 3.5G, whatever you want to call it, it means faster internet access. 4G is what people want and unfortunately WP7 doesn't support HSPA+, LTE, or WiMAX yet. This is going to give Android an advantage for some time. Look at how quickly every carrier and phone manufacturer has adopted the 4G buzz word; it's because it is one of the main thing that consumers care about.
The lack of expandable memory in WP7 wouldn't bother me so much if it wasn't for the fact that at least half of the WP7 devices have only a measly 8GB of storage. 8GB of memory was reasonable 2 years ago, not anymore. And even though you can update the memory card in a few devices like the Focus, the ones that allow this require you to completely reset the WP7 device from scratch when changing the memory. That is not true memory card support in the way that Android has it.
Yep, you're right. It's not a matter of can it be fixed, but will and when it will be fixed. They need to pull the other half of their heads out their asses. I will still remain optimistic. Thanks for the added perspective.


Adam and I would like to say a massive thank you for making my dream come true, since I was a little girl it was my dream and you made it happen. Your horses are beautiful and trained to such a high standard, the carriage itself is amazing and both you and your daughter looked so smart. I would also like to say thank you to Mike for taking my mum and bridesmaids to church when their car failed to arrive, you went that extra mile and I am very grateful to all of you. Thank you for the beautiful memories.
Dear Nicky & family, thank you so much for your service on Saturday 24th at Orchardleigh. The wedding was a huge success, made even more special by your efforts. The carriage & horses looked superb, Leigh was surprised and loved it, I think a few tears were shed! Brian & I were so pleased with your extra efforts saving us a lot of worry. Thank you again.
Please accept this e-mail as our HUGE thanks for the part you played in our special day. The day itself was everything we could have wished for and more.
Everyone commented on how stunning the horse and carriage was and how Chip & Woody stole everybody's hearts! It really did prove to be one of the most memorable moments of our day.
We will of course, most certainly recommend you to our friends/family that are looking for the service you provide.
This is a rather belated but heartfelt thank you for 'saving the day' on 3rd December. When we were seriously let down by another horse and carriage company on the morning of the wedding, we thought there was absolutely no chance that the bride's dream of a horse and carriage would be fulfilled. However, Blagdon horse drawn carriages came up trumps! With only an hour to spare you M as you managed to prepare and travel to my daughter's house, and greeted us with smiles, enthusiasm and positivity. Although we were warned that with the short timescale the horses would not be given their usual bath, we were overwhelmed at how immaculate everything looked. We genuinely feel that you turned the day around for the bride and completed the most important day of her life. Your approach was both professional and personal, and we cannot thank you enough for coming to our rescue and saving the day!
We apologise for our slow feedback, but would be more than willing to act as a testimonial or reference for any future events.
Thank you so much for such an amazing journey to and from our wedding. It meant so much to us and the guests complimented your horses and carriage – they looked stunning. Thank you for your help in making our wedding such a perfect day.
Just a quick email to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making yesterday so very special for Jason & Kelly yesterday was the icing on the cake – both of you were amazing, your horses were absolutely beautiful and the carriage was stunning – the whole package was more than fantastic. Everyone commented on how calm the horses were and how elegant and what fun it was ………especially seeing you both with the ice cream cones, truly lovely. With my very best wishes and the biggest of hugs.
I just wanted to get in touch to say thank you for your services.
It was always our daughter's dream to be taken to her wedding in a horse drawn carriage and you made that dream come true. Despite the weather your personal appearance and presentation of the horses and carriage exceeded all our expectations.
Thank you so much for being so wonderful on our wedding day. The horses were stunning and the attention to detail was brilliant. Mum and the bridesmaids loved the ride to the church and Marc and I enjoyed the ride home so much.
I have had so many people ask me where you are from; I would definitely recommend you to anyone.
You did a fabulous job thank you so much. It meant so much to Ian and I to be escorted back to Rookery in your most prestigious and beautiful carriage.
Thank you for everything; a dream come true. A moment to top all moments!!!!


Redwolf Energy was started in 2018, as the first Caribbean based non-profit company, whose focus is the promotion and implementation of renewable energy projects and technologies throughout the Caribbean.
© 2018-2019 Redwolf Energy. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Home»Archives»Arts (Page 3)
Getty Offers Topical Look at Monumentality
By Dyanne Weiss on December 16, 2018 architecture, Arts, Entertainment, Museum, photography
An exhibition at the Getty Research Institute (GRI) adds further fuel to the political fires today about monuments and monumentality. The topical exhibit at the Getty Center in Los Angeles through April 21 delves into the monumentality of historical statues, urban planning, natural phenomenon and government buildings, particularly the role these structures play as symbols […]
LACMA 'Outliers and American Vanguard Art' Shows Depth of Diverse Talent
By Dyanne Weiss on November 19, 2018 Arts, Entertainment, Museum, Opinion News, Painting, photography, Sculpture
American art has gone through a series of transitions in the past century as artists, many self-taught, embraced folk art and other non-classical techniques. Key examples showing the depth and diversity of talent from these "Outliers and American Vanguard Art" are now on view through March 17, 2019, at the Los Angeles County Museum of […]
Getty Explores 'Underworld' and Ancient Greek Beliefs About Afterlife
By Dyanne Weiss on November 8, 2018 Arts, Entertainment, Museum
The Getty Villa features a new exhibit that explores Ancient Greek beliefs about the afterlife and "Underworld." The Getty exhibition look at views more than 2000 years ago about what happens after someone dies. It was aptly timed to open on Halloween and just before the Day of the Dead (aka Dia de los Muertos). […]
« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 … 164 Next »

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Congratulations to all the winners of the 2011 bookmark contest. The theme this year is "Every child has the right to...". The Richmond Health Department received 2521 entries from 45 public and independent elementary schools. The winning bookmarks will be printed and distributed throughout the community.


Whether young or mature, any improvement that enhances appearance can be rewarding and make life more enjoyable.
Seriously, I think if we just hang out, you'll see that I'm getting a lot more mature.
The new credit facility is expected to have more favourable terms and mature in 2012.
They chose to ignore any losses that banks will suffer on loans that will mature after 2010.


Under Missouri law, an unmarried father can sign an Affidavit acknowledging his paternity of a child. Most often, such Affidavits are signed at the hospital shortly after the birth of a child. By law, to be a binding acknowledgement of paternity, the "father" must be given information about the effect of admitting paternity and the Affidavit must be signed in the presence of a notary public.
The information given about the effect of signing the Affidavit may be a little as giving the man a toll-free number to call. The impact of signing the Affidavit can be far-reaching. The Affidavit constitutes the basis for an Order that the "father" pay child support, carry medical insurance and contribute to medical and dental expenses that are not covered by or reimbursed by insurance. The acknowledgement of paternity could also be the basis for an Order that the "father" contribute to the child's college education. Failure to pay child support can have serious consequences, from garnishment of wages and bank accounts to the seizure and sale of cars and boats to the involuntary sale of real estate to satisfy back due child support.
Despite the clear language of the law, the State of Missouri has created and widely distributed a form Affidavit that does not even have a space for the signature of a notary; rather, spaces for two witnesses to sign are provided.
In a recent case in St. Louis County, Missouri, a judge found that a man who signed an Affidavit of Paternity was permitted to challenge paternity because he was given no information about the legal consequences of signing the form. The Judge ruled that the man's name had to be removed from the child's birth certificate. As such, paternity testing will be required for the man to be named the child's legal father. This is a significant development in the law regarding unmarried fathers who, having signed an Affidavit of Paternity in a daze after the birth of a child, now doubt paternity.
The case in which this finding was made is confidential, as it involves paternity, but the message is clear: any man who signed an Affidavit of Paternity without first receiving information about the consequences of doing so has options to challenge the establishment of paternity by an Affidavit of Paternity.


text:
From Resolution to Transformation: Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and the Need for More Civil Society Engagement
Civil society is unique as it is in a position where it can move the culture into a place in which political rapprochement becomes easier[1]. – Prof. J. Sugden
Changing the Process for Substantive Results
Over the course of twenty years, the successful resolution of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has yielded lukewarm results. High-level negotiations within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group process seem to have reached a stalemate. Efforts invested toward building mutual trust and understanding among the parties involved, have not been very effective.
This article approaches the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from a negotiation process standpoint, propounding two procedural shifts which may facilitate substantive results better reflecting the parties' interests.
From Conflict Resolution to Conflict Transformation
One procedural shift involves a shift of paradigm for viewing the negotiation process. At this point, the parties have maintained the "conflict resolution" paradigm, which regards conflict as a short-term phenomenon that can be eliminated through mediation or other intervention processes (Conflict Transformation and Peacemaking, 1997). Moving forward, considering the importance of future relationship and trust in this case, parties are encouraged to redefine the process as "conflict transformation," which is a combination of short-term conflict management with a long-term relationship building and a transformation of the roots of a conflict. Table 1 below illustrates this shift in paradigm.
Conflict Resolution Perspective
Conflict Transformation Perspective
Key Question
How do we end something not desired? How to end something destructive and build something desired?
Content-centered. Relationship-centered.
To achieve an agreement and solution to the present problem creating the crisis. To promote constructive change processes inclusive of but not limited to immediate solutions.
Development of Process
Embedded and built around the immediacy of the relationship where the present problem appears. Concerned with responding to symptoms and engaging the systems within which relationships are embedded.
The horizon is short-term. The horizon is mid- to long-term.
View of Conflict
Envisions the need to de-escalate conflict processes. Envisions conflict as a dynamic of ebbs (conflict de-escalation to pursue constructive change) and flow (conflict escalation to pursue constructive change).
Source: John Paul Lederach, Michelle Maiese, "Conflict Transformation".
The term and phenomenon of "conflict transformation" is not unanimously used and accepted by everyone, with differing opinions on conflict resolution being more quick and effective and on conflict transformation being limited in many areas and having significant time-cost. In disputes where parties need a quick and final solution to a problem and do not have a significant relationship, they resort to solving their problems by negotiations or mediation and in such cases the exploration of relational and structural patterns are of limited value.
However, in cases where parties share an extensive history together and have the potential for future relations, simple resolution approaches may be too narrow. As Table 1 shows, though they may solve immediate problems, they miss the greater potential for constructive change. This is even more significant in contexts where there are repeated and deep-rooted cycles of conflict episodes that have created destructive and violent patterns. The case of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of such cases, and here avenues to promote transformational change should be pursued (Lederach, Maiese, 12). Although fighting between the countries ended in 1994, and there is currently no major bloodshed over the disputed territory, there has been and still is a situation of "no war, no peace" between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, with the fundamental problems of the conflict remaining unresolved (Shain Abbasov et. al, 2009). This holds true in spite of negotiations, which have been ongoing for more than 20 years – and there are slim if any guarantees that they will not last for another 20 or more years, without tangible results.
Given the aim of conflict transformation is not to eliminate the conflict, but to work with it and transform it constructively, particularly "to reduce violence, increase justice, and transform human relationships, so that the overall culture of violence will be transformed" (Strategies for Peace: Transforming Conflict in a Diverse World, 2011-2012), this process of transformation is of paramount importance on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement path. Entire generations of Armenians and Azerbaijanis have been raised with negative propaganda about the opposite side; solely achieving agreement is unlikely to break this image of the enemy and reduce mutual hatred and aggression, which endangers peaceful coexistence between the nations. Instead, with the transformation of perceptions and relations between the nations, with the establishment of trust between the societies, an agreement would be sustainable, and parties would remain committed to it.
Multi-Track Diplomacy
The second procedural shift involves an expansion of the scope of parties engaged in the negotiation process. By far, negotiations have been conducted by the highest level of political leadership through occasional high-profile meetings, with a focus on making incremental concessions while emphasizing the cease-fire. As mentioned, this conflict resolution approach has spiraled into a deadlock, without much progress being made over the past two decades. Even if the process as it stands renders a substantive agreement, the question remains whether the agreement would be a lasting one and would be accepted by societies back home. Further, the process does not necessarily address the issues of broader issues of building relations and trust.
This shift entails the active and systematic engagement of mid-level and civil society leadership in the conflict transformation process. The framework developed by John Lederach, a prominent scholar in this field, supports this approach:
Source: Becky Nesbit, "The Role of NGOs in Conflict Resolution in Africa: An institutional Analysis", Indiana University: Bloomington, Indiana, 2003, 27
According to Lederach, there are three levels of actors in the peace-building process: top leadership, middle-range leadership and grassroots leadership, with each level engaging in different peace-building tasks. The logic behind this model is that relationship-building between the conflicting parties will take place from the bottom of society with the hope that repairing or "transforming" relationships will lead towards building peace between them (Sugden, 2011).
Thus, the absence of an active and systematic engagement of middle-range and grassroots leadership in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement acts against a sustainable agreement as this conflict encompasses identity-based causes. Effectively addressing such causes requires more than formal political conflict settlement by top leadership, but also the involvement of broader civil society to target attitudes and stereotypes (Gahramanova, 2010).
The Armenian and Azerbaijani historical narratives have grown increasingly hostile, each portraying its own group as indigenous and peaceful, and the other side as an enemy who destroys their population and cultural heritage. At the same time, both sides blame any past or present tragedy on the other side, be it a misfortune or injustice, genocide or a destruction of cultural heritage, the start of the Nagorno-Karabakh war or an ethnic cleansing. Both consider the other's historical accounts to be lies, created for political purposes. This mutual negative perception has grown so much that any concession in the frames of the peace process is seen as unacceptable to either side (Gamaghelyan, 2010).
Therefore, an exchange among and frequent communication between the civil societies, media representatives, young people, and political and military leaderships (currently implemented, yet in need of coordination and intensification) has the potential of humanizing the conflict, breaking down existing stereotypes and making the coexistence of the societies to the conflict possible. The people should be readied for a compromise or any possible solution, as without this readiness, no political leader is going to be successful in implementing the decision which would be made during the official negotiations (Gamaghelyan, 2010). This claim can be exemplified by the 1998 resignation of the Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan and the 2001 pressure on the Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev. While Armenia's first post-independence president was forced by his ministers to step down in 1998 after publicly advocating an attempt for mutual concession to Azerbaijan, in 2001 the Azerbaijani President came under pressure when he returned home from talks with Kocharyan at Key West, as a result of which the breakthrough achieved in Florida diminished in the face of domestic criticism. Consequently, Ter-Petrossian's resignation and Aliyev's rapid abandonment of compromise raised fundamental doubts regarding the sustainability of agreements reached by the leaders in isolation from their societies (Harutunian, 2010). In the meantime, exactly for this reason, in the last 4 years, mainly starting from 2009, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs constantly encourage the presidents of the countries to increase people-to-people contacts, implement confidence-building measures and prepare their populations for peace and not war:
"Peoples of the region have suffered most from the consequences of war, and any delay in reaching a settlement will only prolong their hardships. A new generation has come of age in the region with no first-hand memory of Armenians and Azerbaijanis living side by side, and prolonging these artificial divisions only deepens the wounds of war. For this reason, we urge the leaders of the sides to prepare their populations for peace," (Joint Statement by the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries, 2012)
It should be stressed, however, that the active engagement of mid-level and civil society leadership would not substitute negotiations by the political leadership, but would complement it. The top political leadership themselves are the bodies bearing full and effective authority to commit on behalf of their respective nations, and hence any final resolution should be approved first and foremost by these figures.
A Sustainable Agreement
The goal of negotiation is not only to achieve an agreement, but an agreement which would be sustainable and operative. The goal of negotiation is not simply to affect the agreement, but also to effect it. The possibility of achieving sustainable and substantive results is increased through setting effective processes.
Based on this approach, this article propounds implementing two procedural shifts in the ongoing negotiation process. One shift is a shift of mental paradigm, from a "conflict resolution" perspective to a "conflict transformation" one. The second entails expanding the scope of parties involved in the negotiation process, by actively and systematically engaging middle-range and grassroots leadership along with the top political leadership.
These shifts should lay new ground for overcoming the current deadlock in negotiations, addressing stereotypes born from identity-based causes, building mutual trust and relationship, and, eventually, creating broad understanding among societies necessary for adopting a lasting agreement.
Gahramanova, Aytan. "Paradigms of Political Mythologies and Perspectives of Reconciliation in the Case of the Nagorni-Karabakh Conflict." International Negotiations, 2010: 133-152.
Gamaghelyan, Phil. "Rethinking the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: Identity, Politics, Scholarship." International Negotiation, 2010: 33-56.
Harutunian, Ruben. "The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: Moving from Power Brokerage to Relationship Building." International Negotiation 15, 2010: 57-80.
Huseynov, Tabib. "Mountainous Karabakh: New Paradigms for Peace and Development in the 21st Century." International Negotiations, 2010: 7-31.
Lederach John Paul, Maiese Michelle. "Conflict Transformation."
Mark, Mattner, Reiner Forster, Civil Society and Peacebuilding: Potential, Limitations and Critical Factors. Report No. 36445-GLB, Social Development Department, World Bank, 2006.
Nesbit, Becky. The Role of NGOs in Conflict Resolution in Africa: An Institutional Analysis. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University, 2003.
Sugden, Jack. "Civil Society and Peacebuilding in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Football for peace and the view from the bottom." Dissertation, 2011.
Joint statement by the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries. March 22, 2012. http://www.osce.org/mg/89076 (accessed April 2, 2013).
Shain Abbasov, Karen Bekaryan, Tabib Huseynov, Manvel Sarkisian, Rashad Shirinov, Mikayel Zolyan. Karabakh 2014: Six analys, ts on the future of the Nagorny Karabakh peace process. United Kingdom: Conciliation Resources, 2009.
Strategies for Peace: Transforming Conflict in a Diverse World. Undergraduate Fellows Report, Washington DC: Berkley Centre for Religion, Peacea dn World Affairs, Georgetown University, 2011-2012.
Conflict Transformation and Peacemaking. 1997. http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/transform/jplall.htm (accessed October 28, 2012)
[1]Jack Sugden, Civil Society and Peacebuilding in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Football for peace and the view from the bottom, 2011, 15


text:
Vulnerable households miss out on £50m in energy bill support
Home » Lifestyle » 'Teen Mom 2' Premiere Recap: Leah Tells Kailyn About Javi and Briana
'Teen Mom 2' Premiere Recap: Leah Tells Kailyn About Javi and Briana
Off to a messy start! Leah Messer told Kailyn Lowry about Javi Marroquin and Briana DeJesus' plans to share a hotel room in Florida during the Monday, May 7, season premiere of Teen Mom 2. Leah proved she was loyal to Kailyn, but also definitely drove a wedge into Briana's relationship with the rest of the cast. Also, things seem to be heating up between Briana and Javi even though they are denying it. Check out the biggest moments from Monday's episode of the MTV reality show below!
Leah Ratted Out Briana to Kailyn
Leah and Briana met for the first time when going to the VMAs together, and Briana could not help but gush about Javi. Even though she claimed they were just friends, she was constantly FaceTiming him and talking about him. She even told Leah that Javi was bringing the boys to visit her and they were staying in the same hotel.
"I don't think she'll be happy," Leah told Briana about Kailyn. "She's probably going to be mad at you."
Afterward, Leah felt uncomfortable about the situation and felt obligated to tell Kailyn, who knew nothing about Javi's plan to spend the trip with Briana and her children.
"It seemed like they were trying to cover it up with something else," Leah said about the situation.
Kailyn confronted Javi about it, who told her it was none of her business. But he did discover that it was Leah that told his ex about the trip, which annoyed him and Briana.
"There's a lot of rats out there," Javi said.
Jenelle Gets Into Another Custody Battle
Jenelle Evans has found herself in a custody battle again, this time with Nathan Griffith's mom, who filed a motion for emergency custody to take Kaiser away immediately. Apparently, Nathan's mother was worried about potential abuse of Kaiser in Jenelle's home.
"I'm sick of us trying to have our happy ending and everyone's trying to f–k it up," Jenelle said about the motion.
Both Nathan and Barbara Evans agreed with the motion because they have been noticing signs of abuse themselves and suspect David Eason is the perpetrator.
"He has tendencies to be a violent person," Nathan said about David.
Jenelle also has a feeling that her mom had something to do with this latest legal situation and thinks her mom is just seeking revenge.
"He doesn't touch the kids like that," Jenelle sobbed about David. "Everything's completely fine here and everyone thinks it's not."
Javi Wants to Date Briana and Kailyn Hates It
Even though Briana claimed there's nothing going on between her and Javi, she seemed open to something more, but was keeping it casual. However, Javi seems like he might want to make a move, and admitted that he and Briana text every day and have "really good chemistry."
"We flirt with each other here and there," he said.
Kailyn, on the other hand, is not happy with the growing relationship or about the pair sneaking around behind her back. She said she's watched Briana on the show and that she seems "messy."
"Javi likes to s–t where he eats," she said. We smell a catfight coming soon!
Chelsea's Ex Tries to Pull a Fast One
Chelsea Houska filed to get her daughter's last name hyphenated to include her husband Cole DeBoer's because that's what Aubree wanted. Adam Lind said he would agree with the deal, only if he got the child support reduced or eliminated completely.
"Obviously, he's fine with doing it," Chelsea said, adding that he's trying to get out of something and using the name change as an excuse. She later learned that he'd been arrested for domestic simple assault and that his ex-fiancee had filed a restraining order against him that detailed drug use and abuse.
"His drug use is just out of control," Chelsea said. "He's, like, getting worse."
If you or anyone you know is facing substance abuse issues, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 for free and confidential information 24/7.
Teen Mom 2 airs on MTV Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.
Horoscopes today – Russell Grants star sign forecast for February 9


As an administrator of an OpenShift Dedicated cluster, your account has additional permissions and access to all user-created projects in your organization's cluster. While logged in to an account with this role, the basic developer CLI (the oc command) allows you increased visibility and management capabilities over objects across projects, while the administrator CLI (commands under the oc adm command, and formerly the oadm command) open up additional operations.
While your account does have these increased permissions, the actual cluster maintenance and host configuration is still performed by the OpenShift Operations Team. If you would like to request a change to your cluster that you cannot perform using the administrator CLI, open a support case on the Red Hat Customer Portal.
The oc CLI used for both normal developer operations and administrator operations is available for download from the Command Line Tools page in the web console. See Get Started with the CLI for more detailed installation steps.
You can log in as an OpenShift Dedicated cluster administration via the web console or CLI, just as you would if you were an application developer.
When you log in to the web console, all user-created projects across the cluster are visible from the main Projects page.
When your account has the dedicated-cluster-admin cluster role bound to it, you are automatically bound to the dedicated-project-admin for any new projects that are created by users in the cluster.
1 The fred@example.com user is a normal, project-scoped administrator for this project.
2 The alice@example.com and bob@example.com users are cluster administrators.
If this group is currently empty or if you need assistance editing group membership, open a support case on the Red Hat Customer Portal.
Users with a dedicated-reader role are granted edit and view access to the dedicated-reader project and view-only access to the other projects.
See Managing RBAC for more details on these and related authorization tasks.
You can create a service account to be able to run applications like Jenkins that make calls back to OpenShift Dedicated.
See the Developer Guide for basic service account management tasks, which as a cluster administrator you can perform in any user-created project, and see Configuring Service Accounts for more advanced, cluster-wide settings.
OpenShift Dedicated provides a cluster administrator console tailored toward application development and cluster administrator personas.
An administrator with Containers as a Service (CaaS) experience and with heavy exposure to Kubernetes.
An application developer with Platform as a Service (PaaS) experience and standard OpenShift Dedicated UX.
Sessions are not shared across the consoles, but credentials are.
dedicated-admins have the additional capability of accessing the Prometheus, Grafana, and Alertmanager dashboards. The Prometheus dashboard can be used to query cluster-wide metrics. The Grafana dashboard provides predefined graphs of many Prometheus metrics. The Alertmanager dashboard tracks alerting of predefined rules across the cluster.
While dedicated-admins have access to Alertmanager, the changing of any configuration (including, but not limited to, silencing alerts) can impact the visibility by Red Hat SRE into cluster issues and is strongly discouraged.
As an administrator, you are able to view, create, and modify quotas and limit ranges on other projects. This allows you to better constrain how compute resources and objects are consumed by users across the cluster.
Defaults can be set for quotas and limit ranges for new projects at creation. To request such a change, open a support case on the Red Hat Customer Portal.
Further explore the Cluster Administration guide for more reference information on what's possible with your role and what other cluster settings can be configured for you by the OpenShift Operations Team.


Hi Nigel, a very happy new year to everyone, so let's all be thrilled with this delicious blend swinging crazy !!!!!!!!!
Hello John, My 2nd song, Nobilis, is shorter than Genesis, but still worth a listen to nonetheless.
I greet. Long not ago, I wrote but I had not on any piece no idea. I greet, and add new mix. Mix is simple enough maybe, but it falls in ear.


text:
Mining must embrace its role as an agent of change for good
Global Mining Review, Tuesday, 30 October 2018 09:40
Mining needs to embrace its role as an agent of change for good – and tell the story of how it does this better – if it wants to continue to compete for investment dollars and talent in the future, according to International Council of Mining and Metals CEO Tom Butler.
Speaking at the International Mining and Resources Conference 2018 in Melbourne, Butler said there was overwhelming evidence that mining was a force for social progress – especially in those often-poorer countries that were highly dependent on mining as an economic base.
The economic contribution of mining is widely understood. In the last five years, ICMM members paid over US$100 billion in taxes, and currently directly employ more than one million people, with a job multiplier of up to 25 in developing countries.
"Such payments are important in a mining country like Australia, where mining's production value is about 10% of GDP, but they are critical for the much poorer countries that are dependent on mining, including for example the 15 African countries that are in the top 25 of ICMM's index of mining dependent countries. In these countries, this contribution will be key to them diversifying and achieving their development goals," Butler said.
"Beyond the economic contribution, our own research published earlier this year has found, based on independent indicators, that social progress over the 20 years to 2015 has been fastest in mining-dependent countries. That means that people in these 25 countries have become healthier, better educated, and enjoyed improved access to affordable and clean energy, water and sanitation at a faster rate than in other (non-mining) countries."
It's these social indicators that really indicate the power of progress that can be generated by mining. And with a flood of money flowing to sustainable investment funds, mining – done with the right set of principles – can be an investment of choice for ethical investors.
The movement of ethical investment to the mainstream is another shift that mining is adapting to, Butler said. The forces driving that change are similar to those driving fundamental shifts in the way mines operate – changes in community expectations, and technology.
"20 years ago, it would have been hard to imagine that Apple would one day be a bigger driver for ESG improvements in mining than Greenpeace, or that investors would demand more accurate data on social performance than Oxfam," Butler stated.
"Today, what we see is a convergence between the demands of consumers, of communities and the NGOs who advocate for them, and of investors. This convergence is reflected in for example the number of funds applying Sustainable and Responsible Investment criteria, which the Economist commented recently went from AUS$13 to AUS$23 trillion in only four short years."
Mining has a complex relationship with climate change. Coal is being challenged as an energy source because of its high CO2 emissions, while large supplies of different metals will be critical to support collar, wind and battery technologies if the world is to meet global emissions targets.
"To give just one example, the Bank predicts we will need 20 million t of copper alone for just those three technologies, to meet the 2°C scenario. That is roughly a years' worth of total global supply," Butler noted.
"But it is not sufficient for us to say that; we also have to make sure that we are taking all possible steps to maximise the use of our own renewable energy, and that our operations are as energy efficient with as low a carbon footprint as possible. The industry has started to do that, with some notable examples, but it still has a long way to go."
Butler said the way forward for mining is for the industry to be clear about what it stands for, and say it clearly, in a world that is looking for more than dollars from its biggest industries.
"The mining sector has a critical role to play in the sustainability effort. We can choose whether to lead or follow in that. I believe that the leaders will be rewarded with access to finance, projects, and markets on more reasonable terms," Butler said.
"It's also time we told our story better. People outside our sector largely don't understand our contribution, the important role we will have to play in decarbonising the planet and in helping countries develop. And telling our story better will help us attract the next generation of talent that we need so crucially.
"And it's time to embrace the new social contract – which means re-thinking our models for partnership and how we collaborate, and how we engage with consumers, civil society and our host communities. If we can do those three things, we will be well equipped to face the future."
Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/finance-business/30102018/mining-must-embrace-its-role-as-an-agent-of-change-for-good/
Australian mining news


Watching these films, I began to appreciate the terrific skill of Alan Ladd. He's most famous for Shane and a couple of the noir films he made with Veronica Lake, but I became familiar with him through some of these foreign-set adventures. Contracted to Paramount for most of his career, he anchored melodramatic films with his hardened demeanor and sincere conviction. The storylines were all similar but there's nothing at all like them today, so they get better as they get older.
In the early 1960s Alan Ladd Jr., his son, became an agent. Ladd Jr. represented some of the best young stars of the era like Robert Redford and Warren Beatty. He then became a producer, working with Ava Gardner and Marlon Brando among others.
A decade later, Ladd Jr. became an executive at the long-standing but financially struggling film studio, Twentieth Century Fox. Soon serving as studio president, he became a lone champion of George Lucas and his strange space fantasy called Star Wars.
Stephen Jared: Were you on the Paramount lot much as a kid?Alan Ladd Jr.: I used to stay with my father on the weekends - they used to work on Saturdays in those days - and so on Saturdays I would go and spend the whole day at Paramount.
What were those sets like? It felt as though you were walking into the atmosphere you were dealing with. As a kid, I didn't spend much time on the sets themselves. I would be more likely wandering around the studio. I would go to various streets -- New York street and Chicago street and stuff like that.
Did your father talk about acting? No. Never to me. Never mentioned whether he did like it or didn't like it. My feeling would be that he wasn't thrilled about it because he was a very shy man so I don't think he liked to be any part of publicity or anything like that. I'm just guessing.
A lot of people think a great actor is someone who is different in every film, but if that were true then every star from Humphrey Bogart to Spencer Tracy to your father and even more modern stars like Robert Redford and Clint Eastwood would not be considered great actors. What do you think makes a great actor? It's difficult to say but during my father's time he basically did the same movies over and over again - as did Bing Crosby and Bob Hope who were also contracted to Paramount at that time.
The impression from history books is that they all grumbled about that. I always imagined that some actors were unhappy with the scripts but a lot of them were probably happy to have a place to work everyday. Do you recall how most stars felt? I think most stars were very happy with their contracts. As far as I could tell, my dad was very happy being at Paramount. He could work with the same grips, electricians and everything else with each picture. Those people were under contracts as well as actors. It was kind of nice. You could go to work and know all the people you were working with.
What made you want to work in films? When I grew up I spent all my time watching movie after movie after movie.
Does any one stand out as being a major influence? No. Not one - but many of them were.
How has the cinema of your youth informed your career? I made a lot of women's films. Not that as a kid I was seeing women's films but I knew that they were very popular - Bette Davis and Joan Crawford - they were very popular. And I think that played a part in why I did so many women's films.
Do you watch the films you've made? Not the ones I was involved in. If there are things I don't like, there's nothing I can do about it.
Was it your knowledge of old Hollywood that helped you identify the value of Star Wars when others couldn't see it? I just believed that George Lucas had talent.
You've opened the door for so many of the best films of the last 40 years as either head of a company, president of a studio or as primary producer. I've no doubt your father is looking down from Heaven with great pride in what you've accomplished, but would he like what he sees of modern Hollywood? I don't know. Modern Hollywood is so different from the Hollywood he grew up in. Like I said, he went to work with people he knew every day at Paramount. Of course he worked for Universal, Warner Brothers and Columbia too but most of his life was at Paramount.
Do you ever find yourself saying, "Boy, I wish it was like old Hollywood?" In today's market I wish it was like old Hollywood. But not when I was working before. Now it's just - I don't what it is now - it's just remaking pictures over and over and over again.
Can you identify a point where it changed dramatically and why? I think it changed dramatically because creative people aren't involved anymore with the process of making movies. It's more lawyers and marketing people.
You've got a couple films in development. Is it still a thrill? When they work out - sure.
It's fashionable these days to be negative about Hollywood people, but I think it's hard to balance fantasy and reality, and in Hollywood your job is fantasy and you have to work so hard at it in order to be successful. Can you comment on the difficulties of this? Cary Grant once said, "I've spent the greater part of my life fluctuating between Archie Leach and Cary Grant, unsure of each, suspecting each." I knew Cary Grant and he always seemed to be having a good time. I think he enjoyed being Cary Grant.
Remove Alan Ladd and his son from Hollywood history and the bridge connecting the classic era to present day crumbles. From the small role of a reporter Ladd played in Citizen Kane to the numerous talents owing pivotal career moments to Ladd Jr., such as George Lucas, Ridley Scott, Ron Howard, Lawrence Kasden, Mel Gibson, and recently Ben Affleck, they've created an extraordinary legacy not unlike the Barrymores and Hustons but unfortunately not typically mentioned with the same well-deserved fanfare.


Consumers may request and obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies.
As a First Federal account holder, you get access to Fraud Defender absolutely FREE! If you think you have been a victim of a breach or identity theft, stop by a First Federal branch TODAY to get the process started. It only takes a few minutes to enroll, and the earlier fraud and identity theft are stopped, the quicker your life can get back to normal.
Do you might be a victim of identity theft? See what our FREE Fraud Defender can do for you!


At-home health biometrics tracking is a growing market as consumers recognize the importance of empowering themselves when it comes to their personal health. For consumers to integrate health biometrics tracking into their day-to-day lives, it needs to be presented in a positive way. In this post, we're going to explore the importance of positive experiences for consumers when it comes to health biometrics tracking, as well as touch on the technology manufacturers need to enable their next wearable or mobile device.
With ECG biosensors and algorithms, OEMs have the opportunity to use heart rate variability (HRV) data to provide consumers with information previously only available in labs or at the doctor's office. This information can provide a window on the health of a consumer. While this information is valuable, for consumers to fully adopt this technology, it has to be presented in a way that is concise, easy-to-understand, and—perhaps most importantly—enjoyable.
In order for any device to integrate seamlessly into its wearer's lifestyle, it needs to be incredibly user-friendly. Consumers are looking for products that can produce results with minimal fuss, so devices need to be portable or wearable, as well as easy to set up and monitor.
Consumers are looking for all-in-one solutions when it comes to health biometrics tracking. They don't want one device for tracking mood, another for monitoring stress or fatigue, and so on. Ensuring your device provides a wide assortment of health insights—and the right ones—will provide it with an advantage over the competition.
Will the information be presented in the form of a graph or chart?
Will it make use of an app that is available on a computer, or other portable device such as a phone or tablet?
Regardless of the form you choose, it's important that the information be easy to access and understand.
Consumers need incentives for continued use in order to successfully integrate your device into their routines. These incentives can include positive psychology and reinforcement, as well as the ability to track progress and milestones. If a user can see a visual representation of a goal they are working toward (such as a graph documenting weight loss, or a step tracker counting toward a daily goal), they are far more likely to continue using their device.
NeuroSky provides manufacturers with the health biometric tracking technology needed to create empowering user experiences with consumer-ready mobile and wearable devices. Our ECG biosensors and algorithms can easily integrate into your device, accurately tracking both heart rate and HRV, and providing practical information to the user ranging from stress, mood, fitness levels, and more. NeuroSky's ECG biosensor, the BMD101, was developed specifically for wearable and mobile devices. It doesn't require any external devices or components and is the world's smallest (at 3mm x 3mm), making it an ideal option for manufacturers interested in developing small footprint devices.
Consumers are naturally picky. They want feature-heavy products that are easy to use and understand, and integrate seamlessly into their day-to-day routine. NeuroSky provides mobile and portable device manufacturers with the ECG biosensors and algorithms needed to offer positive experiences, helping you uncover the next big thing in health biometrics tracking. For more information on health biometrics tracking, be sure to download our free whitepaper, Wearable Solutions For Improving Heart Health and Wellness.


text:
Q: jQuery UI Tabs does not load content correctly until window resize I'm having some issues using jQuery UI Tabs in my Wordpress install. For some reason the content inside the tabs does not load correctly until the user resizes the window.
I'm not sure how to debug this, there's no errors on the page either.
Link to the dev site
Before resize:

After resize:

The problem is in the third tab, here's what's in it:

                <?php

                $blueprint_slider = get_field('blueprints_images');
                if ($blueprint_slider == '') {
                    ?>

Plantegninger – 2 flotte boliger på endetomt for salg

Ta kontakt for tegninger og mer informasjon. Husene er ca. 200 kvm BRA.

                    <?php
                } else {
                    echo do_shortcode( "[envira-gallery id=". $blueprint_slider->ID ."]" );
                    echo do_shortcode( "[envira-gallery slug=". $blueprint_slider->post_name ."]" );
                }

                ?>

                <?php
                $tablepress_id = get_field('blueprints_sales_table');
                tablepress_print_table( array( 'id' => ".'$tablepress_id'.", 'use_datatables' => true, 'print_name' => false ) );
                ?>

A: The tab that contains the Envira images is not initially visible and has no dimensions at the time when Envira figures out the parent width. When you view the tab and then resize the browser, your enviraSetWidths() routine corrects this. However, note that if you resize the browser before visiting the third tab, and then visit the tab, the images are still small because the parent container (tab) had width:0 before it was opened.
To fix this, bind to the tabsactivate event and trigger the resize handler:
$( "#tabs" ).on( "tabsactivate", function( event, ui )
{
  $(window).triggerHandler("resize");
} );

$("#tabs").tabs();
var tabWidths = [];
$("div", "#tabs").each(function() {
  tabWidths.push({
    id: this.id,
    width: Math.round($(this).width())
  });
});

alert("Initial tab widths:\n" + JSON.stringify(tabWidths).replace(/,/g,',\n'));

$("#tabs").on("tabsactivate", function()
              {
  alert("Id: " + this.id + " -- width: " + Math.round($(this).width()));
  });

<link href="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jqueryui/1.11.4/themes/smoothness/jquery-ui.css" rel="stylesheet" />

Nunc tincidunt

Proin dolor

Aenean lacinia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Order-of-the-State-Public-Health-Officer-Vaccine-Verification-for-Workers-in-Schools
Division of Communicable Disease ControlCurrently selected
Division of Communicable Disease Control > Pages > COVID-19 > Order-of-the-State-Public-Health-Officer-Vaccine-Verification-for-Workers-in-Schools
Order of the State Public Health Officer Vaccine Verification for Workers in Schools
COVID-19 Menu
KAREN L. SMITH, MD, MPH
Director and State Public Health Officer
EDMUND G. BROWN JR.
State of California—Health and Human Services Agency
All Californians
Vaccine Verification for Workers in Schools
Page Alert Details
LetterAuthority
Related Materials: Vaccine Verification for Workers in Schools - Q&A
LetterContentArea
State Public Health Officer Order of August 11, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic remains a significant challenge in California. COVID-19 vaccines are effective in reducing infection, serious disease, hospitalization, and death. At present, 63% of Californians 12 years of age and older are fully vaccinated with an additional 10% partially vaccinated. Children under the age of 12 are not currently eligible for any authorized vaccines.
California is currently experiencing the fastest increase in COVID-19 cases during the entire pandemic with 22.7 new cases per 100,000 people per day, with case rates increasing tenfold since early June. The Delta variant, which is two times more contagious than the original virus, is currently the most common variant causing new infections in California.
Unvaccinated persons are more likely to get infected and spread the virus, which is transmitted through the air. Most current hospitalizations and deaths are among unvaccinated adults. Almost all K-6th graders are unvaccinated and will not be eligible for vaccines at the outset of the 2021-22 school year. Additionally, although some 7-12th grade students will be fully vaccinated by the start of the school year, many will not. As of August 10, 2021, less than 41% of Californians 12 to 17 years old were fully vaccinated.
California is committed to safe, full, in-person learning for all in K-12 schools, following strong public health science. For example, California has implemented a universal masking requirement in all K-12 schools, as well as recommendations around testing strategies for K-12 schools, to support the successful return to full in-person instruction at the outset of the school year, as well as minimizing missed school days.
Vaccination against COVID-19 is the most effective means of preventing infection with the COVID-19 virus, and subsequent transmission and outbreaks. Current CDPH K-12 guidance strongly recommends vaccination for all eligible individuals, thereby reducing COVID-19 rates throughout the community, including in schools, and creating a wrap-around safety layer for unvaccinated students. This Order, consistent with this recommendation, requires verification of vaccination status among eligible K-12 school workers, and establishes diagnostic screening testing of unvaccinated workers to minimize the risk that they will transmit while on K-12 school campuses, where a majority of students are not vaccinated and younger students are not yet eligible for vaccines.
Schools may use funds received from multiple sources to address costs associated with employee vaccination verification and COVID-19 diagnostic screening testing, including Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) I, II, and III; Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) I and II; and In-Person Instruction Grants (AB 86). Additionally, the California Department of Public Health provides access to subsidized COVID-19 testing for schools through specified partners.
For these reasons, in order to prevent the further spread of COVID19 in K-12 schools, the following temporary and limited public health measures are necessary at this time.
I, as State Public Health Officer of the State of California, order:
I. This Order applies to the following facilities: public and private schools serving students in transitional kindergarten through grade 12, inclusive, except that it does not apply to home schools. Further, it does not apply to child care or to higher education.
II. All schools identified in this Order must verify vaccine status of all workers.
A. Pursuant to the CDPH Guidance for Vaccine Records Guidelines & Standards, only the following modes may be used as proof of vaccination:
COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card (issued by the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control & Prevention or WHO Yellow Card) which includes name of person vaccinated, type of vaccine provided and date last dose administered); OR
a photo of a Vaccination Record Card as a separate document; OR
a photo of the client's Vaccination Record Card stored on a phone or electronic device; OR
documentation of COVID-19 vaccination from a health care provider; OR
digital record that includes a QR code that when scanned by a SMART Health Card reader displays to the reader client name, date of birth, vaccine dates and vaccine type; OR
documentation of vaccination from other contracted employers who follow these vaccination records guidelines and standards.
In the absence of knowledge to the contrary, a school may accept the documentation presented as valid.
B. Schools must have a plan in place for tracking verified worker vaccination status. Records of vaccination verification must be made available, upon request, to the local health jurisdiction for purposes of case investigation.
C. Workers who are not fully vaccinated, or for whom vaccine status is unknown or documentation is not provided, must be considered unvaccinated.
III. Testing requirements:
A. Asymptomatic unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated workers are required to undergo diagnostic screening testing.
B. Workers may be tested with either antigen or molecular tests to satisfy this requirement, but unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated workers must be tested at least once weekly with either PCR testing or antigen testing. Any PCR (molecular) or antigen test used must either have Emergency Use Authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or be operating per the Laboratory Developed Test requirements by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
C. Unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated workers must also observe all other infection control requirements, and are not exempted from the testing requirement even if they have a medical contraindication to vaccination, since they are still potentially able to spread the illness. Previous history of COVID-19 from which the individual recovered more than 90 days earlier, or a previous positive antibody test for COVID-19, do not waive this requirement for testing.
D. Schools with workers required to undergo workplace diagnostic screening testing should have a plan in place for tracking test results and conducting workplace contact tracing, and must report results to local public health departments. There are IT platforms available that can facilitate these processes for schools.
IV. Definitions: For purposes of this Order, the following definitions apply:
A. "Fully Vaccinated" means individuals who are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19: two weeks or more after they have received the second dose in a 2-dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna or vaccine authorized by the World Health Organization), or two weeks or more after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson [J&J]/Janssen). COVID-19 vaccines that are currently authorized for emergency use:
By the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) , are listed at the FDA COVID-19 Vaccines webpage
By the World Health Organization (WHO), are listed at WHO COVID-19 Vaccines webpage
B. "Incompletely vaccinated" means persons who have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine but do not meet the definition of fully vaccinated.
C. "Transitional Kindergarten" means the first year of a two-year kindergarten program that uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate.
D. "Unvaccinated" means persons who have not received any doses of COVID-19 vaccine or whose status is unknown.
E. "WHO Yellow Card" refers to the original World Health Organization International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis issued to the individual following administration of the COVID-19 vaccine in a foreign country.
F. "Worker" refers to all paid and unpaid adults serving in the school settings described in Section I. Workers include, but are not limited to, certificated and classified staff, analogous staff working in private school settings, and volunteers who are on-site at a school campus supporting school functions.
V. The Terms of this Order supersede any conflicting terms in any other CDPH orders, directives, or guidance.
VI. Except to the extent this Order provides otherwise, all other terms in my Order of June 11, 2021 remain in effect and shall continue to apply statewide.
VII. This Order shall take effect on August 12, 2021, at 12:01 am. Facilities must be in full compliance with the Order by October 15, 2021.
VIII. This Order is issued pursuant to Health and Safety Code sections 120125, 120140, 120175,120195 and 131080 and other applicable law.
Tomás J. Aragón, MD, DrPH
PO Box, 997377, MS 0500, Sacramento, CA 95899-7377
Department Website (cdph.ca.gov)


Nice song with nice pictures of Georgia.
"Look at the sky, Apareka (The man's name in Georgia). The moon is aligning to the Datvisjvari (Bear's Cross Pass in Georgia, Dusheti). «Why are you looking like that with your black eyes, girl? Why you following me in attic." "We will be Equals today (Equals "scorproba" tradition in Georgia).


Umerani MS, Abbas A, Sharif S. Clinical Outcome in Patients with Early versus Delayed Decompression in Cervical Spine Trauma. Asian Spine J. 2014 Aug;8(4):427-34. doi: 10.4184/asj.2014.8.4.427. Epub 2014 Aug 19. PubMed PMID: 25187859; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4149985.
Umerani MS, Abbas A, Sharif S. Traumatic brain injuries: experience from a tertiary care centre in Pakistan. Turk Neurosurg. 2014;24(1):19-24. doi: 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.7080-12.1. PubMed PMID: 24535786.
Aslam E, Muhammad T, Sharif S. Percutaneous vertebroplasty in osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures: our initial experience. J Pak Med Assoc. 2008 Sep;58(9):498-501. PubMed PMID: 18846799.
Sgouros S, Sharif S. Post-traumatic syringomyelia producing paraplegia in an infant. Childs Nerv Syst. 2008 Mar;24(3):357-60; discussion 361-4. Epub 2007 Nov 20. PubMed PMID: 18026959.
SadafNasir, Muhammad AyubMansoor, Salman Sharif. Anomalous origin of right vertebral artery from right external carotid artery: JCPSP. 03/2010; 20(3):208-10.
Muhammad SohailUmerani, Saqib Kamran Bakhshi, Asad Abbas, Salman Sharif, Post Traumatic Transcalvarial Blepharoencephalocele: A Rare Entity: Journal of spine and neurosurgery. 02/2014; 3(3).
Muhammad SohailUmerani, Asad Abbas, Salman Sharif, Traumatic brain injuries: experience from a tertiary care centre in Pakistan.
Muhammad SohailUmerani, Asad Abbas, Salman Sharif, Intra cranial hydatid cyst: A case report of total cyst extirpation and review of surgical technique: Journal of neurosciences in rural practice. 08/2013; 4(Suppl 1):S125-8.
Salman Sharif, Asad Abbas (MBBS, Muhammad SohailUmerani, Symptomatic relief in meralgiaparesthetica after surgical intervention: Pan Arab Journal of Neurosurgery 05/2013; Volume 17, Issue 2, May 2013(2):90-96.
Journal Of Pakistan Medical And Dental Association (JPMA), June 2013 issue, titled: �Chronic Low Back Pain And Psychological Disturbance, Experience At A Tertiary Care Center�.
Javed G, Khan MB, Ahmed SI, Hussain M. Dhaga Technique for Tissue Plane Preservation after Decompressive Craniectomy: Comparison of New Technique with Institutional Standard. World Neurosurg. 2015 Apr 30. pii: S1878-8750(15)00477-5. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2015.04.048. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 25936904.
Hussain M, Bari ME. Suicide bomb attack causing penetrating craniocerebral injury. Chin J Traumatol. 2013;16(1):51-3. PubMed PMID: 23384872.
Nasir S, Hussain M, Mahmud R. Flexion/extension cervical spine views in blunt cervical trauma. Chin J Traumatol. 2012;15(3):166-9. PubMed PMID: 22663912.
Hussain M, Nasir S, Murtaza G, Moeed U, Bari ME. Magnetic resonance imaging in cervical facet dislocation: a third world perspective. Asian Spine J. 2012 Mar;6(1):29-33. doi: 10.4184/asj.2012.6.1.29. Epub 2012 Mar 9. PubMed PMID: 22439085; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3302912.
Hussain M, Nasir S, Moed A, Murtaza G. Variations in Practice Patterns among Neurosurgeons and Orthopaedic Surgeons in the Management of Spinal Disorders. Asian Spine J. 2011 Dec;5(4):208-12. doi: 10.4184/asj.2011.5.4.208. Epub 2011 Nov 28. PubMed PMID: 22164314; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3230647.
Nasir S, Hussain M, Khan SA, Mansoor MA, Sharif S. Anomalous origin of right vertebral artery from right external carotid artery. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2010 Mar;20(3):208-10. doi: 03.2010/JCPSP.208210. PubMed PMID: 20392388.
Hussain M, Javed G. Diagnostic accuracy of clinical examination in cervical spine injuries in awake and alert blunt trauma patients. Asian Spine J. 2011 Mar;5(1):10-4. doi: 10.4184/asj.2011.5.1.10. Epub 2011 Mar 2. PubMed PMID: 21386941; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3047893.
Nasir S, Hussain M. Repeat cranial tomography in patients with mild head injury and stable neurological examination ---- a perspective from a developing country. Chin J Traumatol. 2011;14(5):297-300. PubMed PMID: 22118485.
Hussain M, Bari E. Intracerebral migration of stray bullet leading to sudden and fatal worsening. J Coll Physicians Surg Pak. 2011 Mar;21(3):182-3. doi: 03.2011/JCPSP.182183. PubMed PMID: 21419030.
Copyrights © 2017 Department of Neurosurgery LNH. All rights reserved.


text:
Elected Officials Sworn in for 2023
Updated at 2:28 am on December 30, 2022
Newly elected officials took their Oath of Office on Thursday morning in Marshall County Superior Court No. 3 with Honorable Judge Matthew Sarber officiating.
Officials who took their Oath of Office Thursday were Stan Klotz, Robert Huff, Todd Huff, Marie Fishburn, Nicole Cox, Adam Faulstich, Amy Knapp, Tim Kazanecki, Janet Howard, Jenny Bennett, Kevin Falk, Deborah Johnson, Will Patterson, David Stultz, Stephen Wilhelm, Matthew Hassel, Stacey Patrick, Danny Bates, Stephen Barber, Peter Paul, James Baldwin, and Emily Haskins.
All the candidates who were successful in the 2022 election to begin their terms in 2023 rose from their seats, raised their right hand and took the oath: I, (name), do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Indiana and that I will faithfully, impartially, and diligently discharge the duties of the Office of (state your office), according to law and the best of my abilities.
Judge Sarber expressed his congratulations, welcomed them to public service, and encouraged all those who will be taking office to enjoy the journey. As a student of history before he completed Law School, Judge Sarber reflected on some words of Edmund Burke. "Edmund Burke was one of the foundational people talking about Representative Government. There's two models of Representative Government – there is the Trustee Model and there's the Delegate Model. You are going to have to battle with that. The Trustee Model is you are who you are – the election process happened and you will have to represent individuals who elected you with your abilities and you make the decisions. The Delegate Model is you are there essentially to do whatever they want you to do. There is a tension there because you have to make the decisions according to what you want and your constituents expect their rights to be heard. So, wrestle with that but enjoy it – because after all it's going to be fun, it's going to be exciting, and the people have elected you to serve the office. I congratulate all of you."
Officials who still need to complete their service in another office will swear in tomorrow evening at the close of the official work day and before the New Year starts. Other officials who were not present Thursday have already sworn in or made arrangements to swear in by Friday evening.
Article and photo provided by Jamie Flury, a staff writer for the Pilot News.


Driven by their new discoveries, the investigators launch into their second day of exploring the entombed Lake's Camp. The expedition excitement has hit a feverish pitch and it is anyones guess what will be discovered next.
Madness and disaster strike the Lexington Expedition. The gallant Starkweather mounts a rescue and finds an old, old argument waiting.
With The Enemy Within Campaign complete, the group does a round table discussion, dissecting the campaign, its strengths, weaknesses and much, much more. This is a SPOILER HEAVY episode for The Enemy Within, so please do not listen if you are playing the campaign and don't want anything spoiled.
With the trial of Wolfgang von Aschenbeck coming to a close and little time to prove his innocence, the party struggles to find any clues they can. Suspicions abound for possible enemies of The Empire but can anybody prove it? How do you tell a Witch Hunter to back off of a witch hunt? What happened to Emma? Is Aschenbeck being framed? Is Adelle all she is cracked up to be? Or is everyone just pawns in a grand conspiracy orchestrated by the Black Cowl?
With a plan and a series of quests in place, the party sets out to locate the fate of Wolfgang von Ashenbeck, cleanse the Tainted Bell Clapper, and learn what they can from the Witch Hunter Adelle Ketzenblum. Emma recruits an army of waifs, a trial begins, and the party decides to cheat a bit when asked to follow some religious rules.