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40 Under 40: Quineka Moten is one of the Knoxville Business Journal's 2017 40 Under 40 honorees.
Quineka Moten
40 Under 40: Quineka Moten is one of the Knoxville Business Journal's 2017 40 Under 40 honorees. Quineka Moten Check out this story on knoxnews.com: http://knoxne.ws/2CxgmLN
Quineka Moten, 2017 Knoxville Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree.(Photo: Michael Patrick/News Sentinel)Buy Photo
Quineka Moten learned at a young age that not all students living in the same community had access to the same educational opportunities.
"In high school, when I was writing full research term papers and my cousins were doing book reports on books I read in middle school, I realized something is wrong here," she said.
While Moten has built a career out of improving educational opportunities for children, her new role as director of education and youth services at the Knoxville Area Urban League positions her to shape educational policy.
Moten is working with Conexión Américas, a nonprofit collaborating with organizations like KAUL to promote educational equality and excellence in Tennessee through its convening of the Tennessee Educational Equity Coalition.
"We're working to ensure all students have access to equal opportunities in terms of education," she said. "That entails working with education stakeholders, elected officials, parents, and community members to understand school improvement and the impact ESSA has on our students' education."
KAUL was selected by the group to receive a grant to develop materials, content and training about the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the new federal education law replacing No Child Left Behind, to share with schools, parents and community leaders.
Quineka Moten, 2017 Knoxville Business Journal 40 Under 40 (Photo: Michael Patrick/News Sentinel)
Their work aims to mobilize stakeholders around ESSA accountability to push for changes that produce positive outcomes for students, particularly low-income students and students of color, she said.
Moten came to the Urban League in August from the Great Schools Partnership Community Schools Initiative, where she spent three years as the site resource coordinator at Green Magnet Academy.
She said she joined KAUL to serve more students statewide.
Since then, Moten has coordinated activities for KAUL's National Achievers Society and served on the advisory board for the East Knoxville Freedom School, a free 6-week summer literacy program affiliated with the Children's Defense Fund.
Moten, a Girls Inc. mentor and member of the Knoxville Chamber's Diversity Champions, also mentors urban youth to make sure they are prepared for college and beyond through Project Ready.
Conexión Américas also selected Moten as one of 16 recipients of its inaugural Mosaic Fellowship to develop and connect education leaders from diverse backgrounds as they work to ensure equity in education.
"One of the things I like about Quineka as an individual is she is willing to get engaged; she's willing to roll up her sleeves and not just talk about what needs to be done in Knoxville, but is willing to do the work," KAUL President and Chief Executive Officer Phyllis Nichols said.
Education/Certifications: Bachelor's degree, interdisciplinary studies, University of Tennessee; master's degree, human resource management, UT.
What do you like to do in your free time? Travel, write poetry, run, attend or teach Zumba classes, and play video games and laser tag with my son.
Family: Son, Deion
Read or Share this story: http://knoxne.ws/2CxgmLN
Sears building at West Town Mall to be demolished
40 Under 40: Tiffany Martin, KUB
40 Under 40: Ryan Dobbs, Barber McMurry Architects


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Month / December 2008
24 December 2008 3 December 2010 by programx360
But I *want* to pay my TV License
BBC, Isle-of-Man
There's a bit of a storm brewing at the moment that has been simmering for a
while on the Isle of Man. As an offshore jurisdiction, with our own tax rules
and economic regulation, there is a continuing confusion about why
we should pay the TV License. The TV License, often called the "BBC Tax", is
an annual payment of about £138 which chiefly goes towards the BBC, although
some goes to the broadcast infrastructure. In the future, with Channel 4's
current financial problems, some of it may also help prop up Channel 4's public
service remit.
Unfortunately, however, there seems to be an increasing resistance to paying the TV License on the island, seemingly only because we can get away with it. The Isle of Man's geographical location, sandwiched neatly between Cumbria in England and Northern Ireland means we can catch a TV signal from either coast.
Indeed, Northern parts of the island currently enjoy a full complement of digital channels – more than the Isle of Man will enjoy when we finally switch to digital in 2009.
The revenue collection of the TV License has always been difficult on the island, with a large number of people actively not paying it due to the difficulties the TV Licensing Authority have in gaining access to the island's residents and legal system. A recent problem the TV Licensing Authority hit was when they came over on to the island in force to enforce revenue collection, only to be told to go back as they hadn't applied for th required work permits. Comical, yes. I suspect someone in the UK didn't to their homework. Subsequent arrangements of enforcement have been better planned.
In Manchester, I received a number of benefits of being a TV License payer. I didn't resent it, although requiring students to own their own individual licenses without provision of a single license by the halls of residence was a little unfair. As an island resident, I don't enjoy the same benefits.
TV License Benefits
Analogue service
DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast)
Yes Partial (geographical restrictions)
Broadcast infrastructure
Yes Yes (2 transmitters)
Use of BBC Internet site
Access to archives using iPlayer
Access to Freeset/Freesat from Sky platforms
So seems to me we still get a pretty good deal. I am the first to complain
when the BBC launch services that are not available on the island. I am used to
multi-channel broadcasting over terrestrial on the digital platform, digital
radio stations and Internet services. DAB was only recently launched on the
island, and it was a very quiet launch. Unfortunately, I "lost touch" with my
favoured radio station, 6 Music, in the meantime as a result of the lack of
If we, as an island, ceased to pay the TV License, we could have serious
implications on our content. Some users on the island may be able to obtain a
signal leaking from one of the adjacent coasts, but otherwise the island would
be without a terrestrial TV signal. Due to the slow implementation of
technologies by the BBC and broadcasting infratsructure, the island has no real
digital option and won't have when the island goes digital next year (only the
primary channels being available). This has resulted in over 70% of houses on
the island having to be fitted with satellite receiving equipment, so equivelant
content to the UK can be obtained. What about the other 30%? Those people are
very likely to be vulnerable people, people on low incomes, people who don't
want to deface their property with a satellite dish or people who cannot
physically access a line-of-sight signal. Surely the very group who should not
be deprived of TV access would be vulnerable groups? It is often their only
company and source of information, particularly in the winter months. The BBC could actively
block our access to the BBC web site, and associated network services. iPlayer, in particular, will likely disappear as it specifically states that content is made available subject to
payment of the License Fee. Bernard Moffat, quoted in
the Courier this week, seems to be encouraging people to steal the TV services
from the UK and use satellite services to access the services for those unlucky
enough not to be able to access a leaking signal from Northern Ireland or
England. I am distinctly unhappy about this. £138 for a TV License is not a lot
of money, if he is concerned about the cost of the license he should put his
efforts in arranging a subsidy for people who struggle to afford the fee, not
advocating theft of a service that people in the UK are paying for. It is by
happy coincidence that we have leaking signals from the UK of digital
terrestrial and are in the beam area of satellite broadcasting, but with the
increasingly complex and advanced DRM mechanisms, it may not be long before
equipment bought in the Isle of Man may be actively blocked. Is he also not
considering the possibility (remote though it is) of satellite failure? A
satellite may fail due to any number of reasons (space debris, systems
malfunction, etc.) and repairs/replacement is not cheap and could leave the
island without television for weeks or months.
I've had this debate with non-UK citizens in various forums. People who can't
understand a "TV Tax". Putting aside the immensely expensive broadcast
infrastructure, programme content, news gathering and other services, the TV
License pays for a fair and unbiased content provision mechanism that is not
muddied by commercialism, political leaning or aspirations and is ultimately
responsible for the development of many technologies we now take for granted:
colour television, HD content, digital radio are but some of the more visible
technologies developed by the BBC, at least in part.
If we, as an island, endorse outright theft of service leakage unless you can
afford a Sky subscription (and don't mind submitting youself to the Murdoch
empire and customer service experience), then we're going be even more
ostracised than we currently are due to our tax status. Not a way to make
friends and influence people when you're a small island in uncertain financial
Waltons: Bad Manx Customer Service – Again
Customer-Experience, Isle-of-Man
There's few things that upset me more than arrogant sales people. Unfortunately, on an island where there are few options and a distinct lack of viable competition, arrogance is rife. There seems to be an underlying feeling that if you don't like it, tough, because there are no more options.
Like Nick, I have also come away short following a recent Customer Experience. For me, it was while trying to buy a TV/Video/Remote sender and then a Blu-Ray player.
I don't like shopping at electornic goods retailers. The staff are basically out to pay their commission and whether you get the product you actually want and require is not always a priority. I can deal with pushy sales people, so I'm fine with that. What I can't stand is them giving out incorrect information. Unfortunately, though, thinking about it today I realised that if they knew what they were doing then they'd probably be in another job.
So, experience #1. Buying a video/remote sender. I have bought these previously, and I know that despite the marketing on the pack you cannot watch the source in the two rooms at the same time, that bit of information is strategically "ommitted". You need to split the signal off and then send it to the second room. Despite arguing this with the salesman at Waltons last week, they were quite insistent. Got it home, tested it, oh what a surprise. So I bought the necassary kit from Maplin instead. No biggie.
Today took the biscuit, however. I am after a Blu-Ray player, a very specific
model of Blu-Ray player. I'm after the Panasonic DMPDB55 Blue-Ray player,
because having done my research I find it is the most affordable player on the
market and has oustanding reviews. It's also one of a very few players that have
Blu-Ray Profile 2.0. Unlike the DMPBD3x models, which everyone seems to want to sell to me. So having done my research, printed off my bit of paper, I
reluctantly decided to give a local firm a chance to bag £400 from me. I stood
around at the counter for about 5 minutes while 3 staff argued about the maximum length of a USB cable for another customer and a fourth stood around in the office at the back. Someone finally came to see me and I said I was looking for "that" player, handing over my sheet. I was brusquely told "no, we don't have that one". I had to ask about when they were going to get it in stock, "not before Christmas". I didn't actually need it for Christmas, but a date would have been nice. Then, he
tossed the piece of paper back at me. Such contempt for me as a
customer is misplaced.
In these uncertain times, if someone came in to my shop and said "I have £400
burning a hole in my pocket, and I want to buy this player", I would be all over
that sale. No knowledge of the product is needed, no effort is needed, the sale
is already made! All that needs to happen is for the stock to come in. An "I'm
sorry Sir, that player isn't currently in stock. Could I put one on back order
for you? Would you like to secure it with a deposit?" would have been much more
useful. (As it happens, I was more worried about the length of queue in HMV when
getting the Blu-Ray discs than when I would get the player!)
So, I've decided to buy it from Superfi, a company I bought my amplifier from when I was back in Manchester. These guys were VERY good. They talked to me, helped me identify the best speakers to use, and even stayed open later so I could pick it up after work. THAT is customer service. So instead of investing £400 in a player and giving a local business a hefty commission/return, I am going to spend £350 on a UK company's web site – and wait for delivery anyway. Now who's the idiot?
After the Waltons experience, I did go to Colebourns for an almost as useless
response. No "can we order it in?". Just "No, we don't stock that". All I got
when I tried to engage in conversation was a grunt. Then I went to M&S and
the quality of service was markedly different. The salesman behind the counter
knew what he was talking about and when he asked his colleague about whether the player was in stock, his colleague actually said "No, but we have these models.
Can I ask why you want this model?" I was then able to say I needed the Profile
2.0 feature, he was told by myself and his colleague why I needed this and we
both came out of that experience positively. They didn't have it in stock, but
my was it an improvement on Waltons!
Things I'd like to see in 2009
Social-Media, Twitter
At the Manx Third Thursday lunch today, Sherrilynne asked us "What is the next big thing going to be in 2009?". A few good answers went around the table, but I found couldn't really answer. If I.T. is fast, Social Media is even faster, I couldn't come up with anything fast enough before it became old news.
But here's what I would like to see:
Twitter is clearly the big thing at the moment, and a number of supporting services have popped up around its borders to complement the core Twitter service using its API. I'd like to see some consolidation of these services within one or more
sites or services. It doesn't have to be Twitter itself, but I think the micro-blogging space is in need of some clarity. Twitterers use different picture, URL and syndication services, each with their own API. This leads to confusion – as fast as I get to grips with one site's service, another one comes along and I'm out of fashion. In a "normal" business market, you might see one web site buying another web site in order to gain its intellectual property, and then build on it. Unfortunately, while Twitter seems to be able to perform acquisitions despite its quite dubious business model, I can't see this happening. Some of the services provided by the complementary Twitter services such as TwitPic, MrTweet, Twollo, etc. are so obvious that either Twitter are waiting to see which services "take off" before buying or are focused on doing one thing – and doing it well (though their success in this respect, particularly with regards the current reluctance of the Facebook status update not working, is open to question).
Steve Burrows (while wielding his Google Android phone) suggested that social networking on mobile phones will be a big thing, particularly for location-based services. I'm inclined to agree. Putting aside the fancy smart phones which are often just style over substance (iPhone, anyone?) more phones and networks are coming out with the specific goal to provide access to social networks on the move. Maybe the days of quickly checking your Facebook as soon you get to a computer with an internet connection are numbered, instead, you'll synchronise yourself with the social networks without even knowing it – while your phone is in your pocket, for example. Services such as location-based status updates, networked games (I'm thinking of Facebook Flash games, such as Tetris and Scrabble) and voice/webcam-based social networking using the phones hardware all become quite intriguing prospects. I'm already on the roadmap, with my planned upgrade from the Nokia N95 to the N97, itself social-network
based. The only weakness in the plan is data carrier rates, which if you're
using one of our local carriers, offers less than competitive deals where you can access up to ONE WHOLE MEGABYTE a month on your mobile phone.
I would also like to see companies' wings clipped with regards collection and
protection of data. The quiet acquisition of almost everything about your
computer experience by Google seems to have gone unnoticed by most, the current
focus being on the losing of personal data on trains and stolen laptops. The government is committed to collecting even more personal data, particularly for their contraversial ID card scheme. Most web sites you visit have the ability to collect personal data, in addition to their trend and usage acquisition software (also powered by Google), but which web sites are fully aware of their Data Protection responsibilities? I have personal knowledge of companies that have taken their data protection responsibilities less than seriously and I would like to see this trend reversed. The acquisition of data needs to be controlled, along with the subsequent storage and timely destruction of the data. Schemes like OpenID and Windows Live/Passport authentication mechanisms seem to be heading in the right direction, though neither is entirely there yet. I'd be happy to be proxy authenticated by a site that I could trust, and then contribute to a person's blog safe in the knowledge that my personal data is safe. (How many passwords have you typed in to quickly register on sites that could be used elsewhere for more serious purposes and what gauantee have you that your password was encrypted from use by the web site developer and anyone who could potentially gain access to it?)
In other areas, I would like to see the Heathrow Third Runway ditched, in favour of a North-South High Speed Rail Link (though I suggest we would have to
wait a long time for the latter, like Christian Wolmar, I'm not convinced in the Tories' claims that they would implement the scheme). I would like to see the BBC not to pander to the ultra-conservative tabloids that spoil broadcasting for younger people who like their comedy a little edgier than Morecambe and Wise. Finally, I would like to see The Isle of Man to build a tunnel under the Irish Sea that comes out in Liverpool so I can get to Manchester without paying the ridiculous anti-competitive fares by air and sea I currently have to pay. I can't see this happening, though, not because a tunnel can't be built but because the Manx government doesn't seem to share its residents desire for increased competition and choice in services such as travel, television broadcast provision and fixed line rental.
Not a New Year's Resolution
I don't do New Year's Resolutions, if you need to change some aspect of your
life, a New Year is hardly an excuse for making the change. No, it is mere
coincidence that I am coming to this conclusion.
The conclusion is that I am not fitting enough work into my day. 18 months
ago, I was working every available hour on the Work Connexions project.
Following that, I decided to "take a year off", ie. reduce the amount of work I
do outside my paid employment. This also helped me keep a low profile while any
negativity generated from Work Connexions could settle. Now, however, I am ready to poke my head over the parapet again.
I am interested in .NET development, collaboration, Social Media and
Marketing. Whereas I have been able to enjoy input in a Marketing/Social media
capacity in my previous job, my new job does not give me access to the same
level of work. In order to keep myself in touch with this area, I'm going to
have to increase work "outside of hours". My day currently starts at 07:00 and
ends at 22:00. Between 18:30 and 22:00 I spend time with my wife. This, however,
does not give me the time I need to work on a couple of personal projects I have
going on and keep my fingers in the social media and marketing spaces. Balancing
personal vs. professional life. Tricky. #There may be trouble ahead …#
Here are my commitments for this coincidental resetting of the annual clock:
Instead of turning over at 0545 when my wife gets up, I am going to get up
and find some work to do. I'll be listening to Radio 4 at this point, so beware
of ill-informed rants in relation to the news. Maybe I'll use the extra time to
go in to work earlier. (This also means there will be less traffic on the road
for the days I ride to work on my bike.)
The tricky bit comes when I come home from work. I need to be able to spend
time with my wife and be able to commit time (and energy) to more work.
Solution: work late. This should also have the benefit of ridding myself of
thoughts which would otherwise keep me awake. The strategy is to wear myself out
intellectually and physically. ….. NEED …. MORE …. DIET …. COKE ….
I'm going to get in to the habit of blogging posts over several days. Many
bloggers have the time to prepare and write blogs, but I just don't. It's not
part of my job, and it's not part of my core skills. So, I'm going to blog over
several days, maybe leaving half-written blog posts lying to see if further
inspiration comes up or for me to have a cool-down period so I can realise I am
just ranting rubbish.
With my "secret project" currently taking up my Saturday mornings, I am
seeing less time I can work over the weekend while spending time with my wife.
This will be tricky! Whereas I previously worked Saturday/Sunday morning (making up a full day) this timetable isn't really possible. I need to attain success in
my secret project as soon as possible! Maybe I need to get back to the time
machine project I was thinking about. Unfortunately. it's much too complicated
for my 'ickle brain.
My peers on the island, including Owen, seem to be intellectual dynamos. I need to
return to that state of being. I have done some outstanding work on outside
projects, and continuing work on these projects can help maintain my standing in
areas such as ethical web development, marketing, etc. I just hope I won't burn
myself out.
Okay, it's 0641. A quick Porridge and then off to work …
UK Google stats: People use Google to enter URL/Brands, well derr.
The Guardian (amongst others, including Google themselves) covered this years search term statistics for the UK this morning. Every year, Google releases some interesting statistics that provide a
modern insight into trends that would be difficult to obtain from other channels.
Apparently, the top 4 search terms in the UK this year have been:
All these are web sites in their own right, whose branding is either based around their URL or vice versa. So how come? Is it down solely to good marketing? It's all quite obvious, really. Bloggers are now shouting about users using Google as a "portal" to access obvious URLs. Yes they are, but then anyone who has trained a user up in simple web access or walked a user through something in
person or over the phone, will know whenever people use the internet, it is very likely they'll use the largest box on the web browser to type a URL in. And that is usually a Google search box, for example, the Firefox default search screen. I've even helped people who never even realised that the Address Text field should be used.
This highlights that your brand is everything in search terms. But whether it is just marketing that has caused people to use Google as a means of accessing web sites in the first instance (whereas using Google to access web sites within a set of search results would be in the second instance) is more questionable than people claim. Clearly, your key is to get your brand known in the "real world", so it acheives its own life outside of the web. Google is already being used as a verb, Facebook is synonymous with social networking (whether it is Facebook, MySpace or Bebo), the BBC is one of Britain's most famous brands and has a very high reputation across the world and YouTube and eBay are the sites of choice in their respective domains. But ask someone who is not as expert as
some of us on the internet to go to a site, and watch where they put the address.
I'd be interested to see what percentage of those brands accessed via Google are from the Firefox Google home page, I bet it's a sizeable chunk. Can Live and Yahoo! searches claim the same? I bet they don't. Live search is the default search for new IE installations, but the physics are simple: the IE7 browser search box/button is small. Yahoo!, well, who uses Yahoo anymore?
So saturation is key to generate the brand, but the size of the textbox is also important. Search is becoming a smaller part of Google's arsenal every day, though. They are collecting data on us in an increasingly concerning level. I posted my first submission to the Google Search Wiki today, but what about Google's Friend Connect, GMail, Analytics, Documents and Map services? The recent launch of Friend Connect gives them access to data that would otherwise be hidden within Facebook's privacy settings, the relationships between people. (Friend Connect is clearly a response to the failed Orkut service) This is qualitative data that would be useful if not to Google, then certainly to paranoid authorities. Are they going to be as open with this data? I bet not.
9 December 2008 3 December 2010 by programx360
Twollo
@a_rusakov, @jonpauldavies, @mediauktv, @problogger, @wcf, Social-Media, Twitter
I received a suggestion to try www.twollo.com today, from one of the guys I am
following on Twitter, @jonpauldavies. His bio says he "help businesses communicate better with customers through innovation and automation". I think that means he is into Social Media. An insightful follow, one nugget was that he was beta-testing www.Twollo.com, which is an automated follower/be-followed service that works with Twitter.
Basically, you submit your interests, so I submitted:
.NET (okay, a wide net)
Windows Workflow
Social Media (of course)
Initial results were not good. I added them and it just said "0 results". Oh,
well, maybe I just had to wait a few moments. In the next few seconds, I had
found I was following 15 more people and my feed was being flooded. A very
useful feature, if you can tie your interests down.
I have tried using the search.twitter.com tool in a similar manner
to try and weed out some interesting feeds, @a_rusakov, @mediauktv and @problogger and it works quite well. But it does need effort and you do sort of need to have a look at each feed before you follow to make sure you control the old noise to signal ratio.
Twollo automates all this for you. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work for
me. Based on my interests, I soon got flooded with feeds that were half-English,
half foreign (I'm talking European languages and Eastern languages – or
certainly characters sets), about 40 errors in my Twitter Feed (I presume that a
Twitter feed wasn't working and was just spewing our errors into the
Twitter-sphere) and one or two useful posts. I've kept @WCF
but binned the rest and turned it off.
All in all a really good idea, but some more thought needs to go into it.
Principally, only serve me with content in my own language and from feeds that
work. Some form of gauge to throttle feed content would be great, too. I'll
certainly come back to it, as it will surely help reduce my Twitter maintenance
which I find I have to keep returning to to maintain my feed quality and
relavance.
Goodbye @redstarvip and @stephenfry
@redstarvip, @stephenfry, Social-Media, Twitter
I've been expanding my Twitter circle recently, trying to find a bit more
content out there which is outside my normal line of interest. To my existing
contacts, which include Sitecore Professionals, CRM and .NET specialists and
Social Media bods, I have widened the net to philosophical and comedic
Twitterers.
But today I am losing two of them.
First to go was @redstarvip, who decided he wanted to start a debate with:
Now I'm all for open debate, but this seemed to be asking for a fight and
inviting ill educated responses. There are ways to structure debate to try and
ensure that the debate remains an informed and stable one. The language he used
was just plain provocative. To be fair to him, he did reply back:
Didn't seem like he was using much logic to me.
And I'm also losing @stephenfry. I actually do not agree with Stephen Fry's online presence, having disagreed with him previously about his blog where he seems suddenly to be an authority in IT consumer electronics (He has one of those unhealthy hatreds of a certain operating system). Fair enough though, the man has an opinion, and everyone is entitled to an opinion. I started following him due to my colleagues/friends all appreciating his style on QI, and I have to admit I was a fan of Fry and Laurie, when he was funny. The man is a very clever man, and I do appreciate "clever" humour.
A very quick way for me to lose respect for someone. This highlights a
weakness of Twitter. It can be used to insult, lie and be downright rude across
the net with no consequence. My Grand-parents always used to tell me, "People
who swear do so because they aren't intelligent enough to find the right words".
Well, I don't understand what's going on here but I sure don't want to listen
to/read this outburst just because an educated man can't use an operating system
he doesn't prefer.
IWantSandy+Twitter=?
I-Want-Sandy, Social-Media, Twitter
About a month ago, I discovered I Want Sandy, which is a virtual Personal
Assistant (PA) service. Not that I necassarily need a PA (though one would be
nice), but that this was a service I could use to jot notes down, track my ideas
and – most importantly – use it through my existing networking channels,
principally, Twitter. Sandy was great, you could send her a message such as "Remind to pick up the shopping at 6" and "she" would create an appointment for you and remind you when the time came. "She" can be asked to do things using email (including replying to emails and copying her in – she would read it and pick up the paragraphs relevant to her), Twitter and her web site. Then, she would remind you using the same media, web-site, email and Twitter. US
users could also be SMSed their reminders.
Modern web services seem to be going simple – really simple. Sandy was simple
at the core, it was just an appointment book. Twitter is just a glorified SMS
broadcasting system. Such simple components can then be used in mash-ups, to
create new applications.
It's hard to believe that from a difficult start with Twitter 6 months ago
that it has come to be such an important part of my digital life. Random
thoughts and comments coming in to me from those I follow and going out to those who follow me do occasionally have gems in them that can inspire me to look
further into an area of interest, follow current events as they happen and
(hopefully) contribute the same to others. Most importantly, unlike reading
people's blogs, it requires low commitment on the part of the subscriber.
Unfortunately, Sandy looks like she is joining the increasing number of
redundancies as of 15th December, but this time you won't need to bail her out
as you have had to do with the banks and possibly (and probably) America's
[ignorant] car industry. "She" has been acquired by Twitter. As "Sandy's Helpers" say in their sad news about the end of Sandy's service, this does raise some interesting ideas of what possible applications could be made with
such a direct integration of the two services. While Sandy's helpers are giving
nothing away, it's still exciting to think what could be:
Delayed Twittering, already done by some sites (sorry, couldn't re-find them)
but why not combine it within the core Twitter service. This delayed Twittering
could be easily wrapped up in a "reminder" metaphor. The number of services that
have ballooned around the Twitter service is incredible, many of them offering
very simple services which I struggle to see as economically viable in terms of
paying for the hosting. From pictures with TwitPic to Grading by Grader. Maybe
it's time for Twitter to reap the benefits of what services have been successful
and wrap them within their core product?
Twitter interacting with your inbox: Sandy could be instructed to create
reminders, jot notes, etc. by just copying her email address into a standard
email. This was very neat, and did not detract from the conversation in hand –
the recipient had no need to understand who (or what) she was. No complicated
code sequences, just straight plain English. Combining Twitter with your inbox
in a similar way could be used to generate Twitter content at the same time. For
example, as an extra channel for bulk e-Marketing. Send an enewsletter out and
have the enews "activate" a Twitter feed linking to the enews page on a web
It doesn't look like any changes will come soon, as with anything
Twitter-ish, feature roll out is very slow and often very unreliable as demand
often outstrips capability. So, I guess we'll just have to wait.
Being able to make a difference
I've been in a new job now for just over a month, and things are going well.
The reason I say this is because I am in the honeymoon period where my skill-set
can drive productive change within the business and its products. What's
important to me is that I remain in this honeymoon period.
It's important to be able to feel that you can effect change within an organisation that is employing or contracting you. Without this, there is no reason to stay, other than to trudge through your mortgage payments. My previous employment was challenging, interesting and I enjoyed the work. Unfortunately, for various reasons I found myself in a rut where despite my requests, ideas and efforts, any development work never resulted in any significant improvement. It took me a year and a half to push through the need for a new web-site, for example, a little worrying when the business is modelled around e-Commerce. You eventually end up in a mind-set that you no longer try and change things, because established work practices, office politics and commitments conspire against any positive change you could create.
As with a lot of IT professionals, my CV is full of shorter stints in
companies around 2-3 years. This goes back to my first job. You start, you get
given your remit and you maybe become enthused about the possibilities of your
own development and the development of the project you are involved in. Fast
forward to two years later, and you often lose that either because you have got
bored, or you are finding change difficult to implement. This is despite many IT
projects requiring professional, skilled input in the long-term, ie. more than 2
At the moment, I feel very positive about the improvements I can make to an
existing, successful CRM product. I'm sure this will continue, working in a
small team, it would be hard to foresee a situation where I would not be able to
influence development of our products. Also, being at the core of upcoming
developments, I would find it difficult not to be part of any future success as
a result of our work, so I'll be in this for the long-term. Having got out of a
rut, I find my mind is working again, making me feel I had it turned off for the
last 2 years!
That said, everything happens for a reason and you learn from everything,
whether you realise it or not. So I don't begrudge any period in my CV, as I
will always gain value from past and current work whether I realise it or not. I
have also met some very good people in every place I have worked and am still in
touch with many of them.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Trigger when Date Changes in Different TimeZones One of my business use case requires to recalculate some metrics on date change and also need to cover clients working on different time zones like EDT, IST etc.
Is there any option in Java to get a trigger on a date change and should work for different time zone?
Example: I want a trigger for date change in IST, EDT, GMT, MST, CST etc only. and not all time zones. Is there any jar or a framework which supports this where i can input the time zones and i just get notifications.
I cannot use cron triggers here because it works on a single timezone. Cron expression takes a particular time zone.
Any help is appreciated.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Huge news about the Intel, AMD and ARM CPU vulnerabilities have rocked the tech world this week. It started with reports about Intel's processors being plagued by a serious bug that could be exploited by hackers to gain access to low-level kernel memory, allowing them to read the contents of protected memory. The fix being applied now will definitely slow-down all PCs and Macs using Intel CPUs.
Intel has now issued an official response to the reports of its CPUs being vulnerable to such attacks, and has revealed that the ill-effects should not be significant for the average computer user.
While on one hand, Intel claims that the 'exploits' do not have the potential to corrupt, modify or delete data, the company has also been quick to roll out software updates as a mitigation measure, which is a clear sign that the issue is more severe than the firm would like to admit.
Moreover, in a bid to assure concerned users that Intel has their back, the firm claims that it is working with companies like AMD and ARM to solve the issue on an industry-wide scale.
While earlier reports pointed at Intel CPUs being the only vulnerable component, today's announcement from Google Project Zero details exactly which devices are under threat.
Intel's official response further states that any form of performance slowdown will likely be for workload-dependent tasks and an average computer user won't be able to detect the dip in performance.
But the chipmaker's assurance is not in line with other reports that suggest the opposite. The fix for the bug is believed to cause the CPU to constantly flush its cache of TLBs (Translation Lookaside Buffer), which play a pivotal role in allowing a processor to access the user memory at a quick pace. CPU performance slowdown is inevitable in its absence, experts believe, but the magnitude might vary depending upon the usage scenario.
Intel has promised to release more details regarding the exploit next week, after necessary remedial updates have been rolled out on a wider scale.


This is a 1960's vintage tweed waistcoat.
It's a dark olive green tweed, with very fine pinstripes of deep red and blue woven into the fabric.
It buttons up high at the front with five buttons, in the style of a 1940's waistcoat.
The waistcoat is smartly tailored with two slanted, jetted pockets at the waist and one at the left chest, and the fabric is cut-away above and below where the buttons sit (as can be seen in the image below), for a superior fit.
The fabric appears to be wool on the front and the back appears to be cotton.
The lining appears to be viscose and because of the age of the waistcoat, the lining fabric is flatter in colour and looks antique, which gives this piece a real vintage feel.


text:
How To Draw a Bunny Directed by John Walter
October 19, 2004 Roy Christopher
Ray Johnson has been called the "the most famous unknown artist in the world." He was an unsung Pop Art innovator, collaging, mailing, and performing his way through the mid-twentieth century New York art scene. As artist Billy Name says in one of the interviews in the film: "Rauschenberg was a person making art, so was Andy (Warhol). Ray wasn't a person. Ray was art… That's why he's an artist's artist."
How To Draw a Bunny documents Ray's life as best as it could be done. Many were acquainted with him and his work – and many over long periods of time – but no one seemed to know who Ray was. His entire life was a performance. And so too, it appears, was his death (the mystery surrounding his apparent suicide opens the film). He never went to openings, never had his own art show, despised galleries, was meticulous about his prices, and truly worked outside the art system his entire career.
Ray Johnson started or helped start many of the techniques and trends for which other artists are known: the use of copy machines and collaging; using images from advertising, brand logos, and pop culture icons; and mail art, or as he called it, "correspondence art."
How To Draw a Bunny is a fun collage in itself: a collection of interviews of artists who knew Ray, including Chuck Close, Christo and Jean-Claude, James Rosenquist, the aforementioned Billy Name, and Ray Johnson himself; many great photographs; and, presented mostly in black and white, the film maintains the opening mood of mystery throughout. It's a fun and intriguing look at an artist about whom one may not have heard, but will certainly be better off with his acquaintance.
Art Movies
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Address space layout randomization (ASLR) is a security technique involved in protection from buffer overflow attacks. Many recent APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) attacks have utilized many different ASLR bypass techniques during the past year, according to Researchers at FireEye.
Many exploits and malware attacks rely on the ability of the programmer to accurately identify where specific processes or system functions reside in memory. In order for an attacker to exploit or leverage a function, they must first be able to tell their code where to find the function or process to exploit.
The goal of ASLR is to introduce randomness into addresses used by a given task. It involves randomly arranging the positions of key data areas of a program, including the base of the executable and the positions of the stack, heap, and libraries, in a process's address space.
Today a lot of attention is brought to client side exploits especially inside web browsers. Normally the exploitation is done through the oldest known method of spraying the heap.
According to Researchers, the easiest and most popular way to defeat ASLR protection is - loading a non-ASLR module. Such attacks were recently used in Internet Explorer (IE) Zero-Day Exploit CVE-2013-3893 and some other vulnerabilities i.e. CVE2013-1347, CVE-2012-4969, CVE-2012-4792.
But there is a limitation that the non-ASLR module technique requires that IE 8 and IE 9 must be running with old software such as JRE 1.6, Office 2007/2010.
Another ASLR bypass technique involves the modification of the BSTR length/null terminator. But this technique only applies to specific types of vulnerabilities that can overwrite memory, such as buffer overflow, arbitrary memory write, and increasing/decreasing the content of a memory pointer. The Adobe XFA 0day exploit (CVE-2013-0640) uses this technique to find the AcroForm.api base address and builds a ROP chain dynamically to bypass ASLR and DEP.
"The good thing about these types of vulnerabilities is that they can corrupt the length of a BSTR such that using the BSTR can access memory outside of its original boundaries. Such accesses may disclose memory addresses that can be used to pinpoint libraries suitable for ROP. Once the exploit has bypassed ASLR in this way, it may then use the same memory corruption bug to control EIP."


text:
2014 Acura MDX Hits The Road with Updated AcuraLink System
By Sherri L. Smith published 27 March 13
Acura debuted the third generation of its MDX luxury SUV during the 2013 New York International Auto Show. In addition to an updated look and new engine, the MDX will also feature the next-generation AcuraLink connectivity system with AcuraLink Real-Time Traffic.
A cloud-based system, AcuraLink relays information on traffic and street conditions. The system also offers a variety of media selections and security features that can be accessed via an embedded cellular system. However some AcuraLink features can work with compatible smartphones. The AcuraLink system is free to Acura owners for up to three years.
During our demo, we were shown some of AcuraLink's more prominent features, including the dual-screen center console. The 8-inch top display is called the Color Information Display and displays relevant information such as time and weather. The bottom On Demand Multi-Use Display (ODMD) is a 7-inch touch screen that features haptic feedback. Acting as the car's central console, drivers can access a variety of functions including music and navigation using the ODMD. The addition of the dual displays enabled Acura's engineers to reduce the number of physical buttons from 41 to a manageable 9.
Other technological features include a Multi-Angle Rearview Camera and available Lane Keeping Assist System (LKAS), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low-Speed Follow, Blind Spot Information (BSI) and Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS).
The 2014 Acura MDX hits the road sometime this summer, so drivers eager to take the AcuraLink system for a test drive won't have much longer to wait.
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Sherri L. Smith
Sherri L. Smith has been cranking out product reviews for Laptopmag.com since 2011. In that time, she's reviewed more than her share of laptops, tablets, smartphones and everything in between. The resident gamer and audio junkie, Sherri was previously a managing editor for Black Web 2.0 and contributed to BET.Com and Popgadget.


The dramatic moment a car went up in flames in a Norfolk village has been captured on camera.
A passer-by leaving work in the early hours of Sunday captured this image showing the extent of the blaze.
Police were called on Sunday, March 17 at 1am to reports a car had been set on fire and abandoned at the junction of Ormesby Road and Yarmouth Road in Hemsby.
One fire engine from Martham attended the scene and the crew swiftly extinguished the blaze, the fire service said.
A neighbour has told how she was woken up by the sound of car horn sounding persistently.
Looking out of the window she said she was shocked to see a car fully ablaze and immediately called the fire brigade who said they were already on their way.
She described how she quickly pulled on some clothes and rushed to help in case anyone was trapped in the vehicle.
She added she was also concerned for her own home in case the car exploded.
A small crowd had gathered as the drama unfolded.
The car has now been removed.


text:
The Top 10 Games of Gamescom 2022
An exciting weekend has come and gone with Gamescom 2022 officially behind us. While not everyone was able to physically attend the event, there were plenty of live shows on YouTube and Twitch to enjoy. Of course, the height of the emotion was the upcoming games list we can see in 2023 and beyond.
As I love to do, I have made our own list of the The best games of Gamescom 2022 that I can't wait to get our hands on when they finally release. There were a few others that I'm looking forward to playing, but I had to draw a line somewhere. Otherwise, you'll be here reading all day.
If you are a fan of Elder Scrolls Online, you will surely enjoy Dune Awakening. It's going to be an MMORPG in a massive open world with various Dune elements. The trailer shows you jumping on one of the huge worms, which I hope will turn into a means of transportation.
You may remember from my review of Dune: Spice Wars that I am a huge fan of Frank Herbert's work. To be able to play in an open world within a MMO environment It's so tempting that I'll be waiting for all the news about this game. Dune Awakening is sure to be a title that will keep us playing for years to come.
One of the Gamescom 2022 games coming soon is Return to Monkey Island, with a release date set for September 19, 2022. '90s gamers like me will remember how much fun the initial Monkey Island was. Well we headed back to adventure with a new sequel.
As Guybrush returns, the islands are not as you remember them. There is a new leadership at stake, which means new adventures and puzzles. Of course, she has yet to discover the secrets that await on the mysterious Monkey Island.
Here's a new entry from Bandai Namco that I only heard about during Gamescom 2022. It's been an incredibly long time since I've played a theme park simulation game, and Park Beyond looks outstanding so far. I definitely can't wait to try it out when it arrives in 2023.
The Park Beyond show trailer and screenshots massive theme park grounds with colors galore. There are rides you would never have dreamed of, many of which try to defy gravity as much as possible. The trick will be to attract as many visitors as possible without losing life or limb.
Probably one of the most anticipated Warner Bros. games in 2023, Gotham Knights is an upcoming action role playing game with an open world environment. With Teen Titans on Netflix already setting the stage for these heroes, you can now play as them after Batman's death.
That's right, the caped crusader or the dark knight is dead. Criminals are taking over Gotham City, but the new Gotham Knights won't let it go. You will also have to deal with corrupt police officers, which is the nature of the doomed city. Are you ready to take back the night?
While we're on the Warner Bros. train, here's another open world role playing game set in the Harry Potter universe. Hogwarts Legacy already had high expectations before Gamescom 2022. You play as a character in the 19th century, long before Harry set foot in the school.
As you learn spells and ways to defend yourself, you also discover an ancient secret that can threaten the wizarding world. There is the promise of many magical creatures, potions and spells. It may just be the biggest Hogwarts game to ever grace our screens. It's a shame I won't be able to see Hermione.
Also known in some circles as Eclipse, Destiny 2: Lightfall is a upcoming downloadable content to the base game. The Witness is coming, who is destined to end all things. There are new powers to discover in the campaign, and it will welcome Season 20 when it launches in late February 2023.
I tried to play Destiny 2 once, but I was so involved with other online games at the time that I couldn't give it the attention it deserves. The new downloadable content looks so spectacular that I wonder if I'll have enough time to catch up before it's over. new package arrives Apparently a new subclass is also coming.
My nephew loves this series, and Goat Simulator 3 will be here in November 2022 according to Gamescom 2022. It has all the key ingredients you'll want from being a goat. That's how it is; for those who don't know this franchise, you run like a goat in this sandbox open world game.
However, there is much to do, such as completing quests for NPC. For the most part, players simply want to cause as much chaos as possible as a goat. Goat Simulator 3 promises to give you as much fun as possible with this animal, even with some amazing skins. (No goats were harmed in the making of this article..)
It is very sad that I have not yet had this game in my hands, since I am a great lover of the first and horror in general. With the base game recently released in February 2022, we already have Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Bloody Ties. announced for october. I'll have to make a plan to play it before the DLC arrives.
Interestingly, the DLC contains a great story for Dying Light 2. As you try to achieve fame and fortune, you end up dealing with a revenge plot. Of course, you can expect tons of undead during your missions.
When I first heard about Deliver Us Mars during the Summer Games Festival, I was already excited. Gamescom 2022 revealed that we can expect to see it in February 2023, and it can't be soon enough. Love planets and explore themthat this game will allow us to do.
The story revolves around one of the ARK colony ships going silent. You head to Mars to find out what went wrong. While you are there, you discover that something sinister is going on. Will you be able to find the answers before the humans of Earth run out of time?
The upcoming horror game announced at Gamescom 2022 is a mix of the old with the new. We already had Layers of Fear and Layers of Fear 2. It seems that Blooper Team went back to the drawing board and used both games as the basis for the new improved version.
That means you'll continue to explore artists' obsessions but in a new light. There's a extended story, and you will have some more items to use in the horrible adventure. What makes it so spectacular is the Unreal Engine 5 technology and the first-person horror perspective.
Chat with David Guo, CEO of Top Games Inc.
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United States and Canada win in the second game of the women's ice hockey world championship
Categories Games Tags games, Gaming, Guides, News
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SEC Gives YouNow's Ethereum Token 'Props' Reg A+ Approval
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (ICO) has granted an ethereum-based token a Reg A+ qualification, the startup YouNow said Thursday. Props is an ethereum-based blockchain token that integrates with streaming platforms like YouNew and XSplit to reward users and creators with tokens. YouNow – which developed the Props blockchain – Read more…
By Manhar Gupta, 6 days ago
Blockstack Paves Way for Blockchain Startup Fundraising with SEC Nod
Blockchain startups have received a dose of clarity on the fundraising landscape, and you can feel the excitement in the air. The U.S. securities regulator has given Blockstack the green light to sell Stacks (STX) tokens in the maiden SEC-approved crypto deal of its kind. The utility token sale will Read more…
Crypto Mom Bemoans 'Regulatory Escape Room' Feel for Crypto
U.S. regulators FINRA and the SEC have put out a joint statement explaining why they have yet to approve applications from crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Gemini requesting to receive licenses to operate as broker-dealers alongside their custody services. The statement comes in the wake of fraying patience and Read more…
By Manhar Gupta, 1 week ago
SEC, FINRA Issue Explanation of Crypto Custodian Approval Delay
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) believe there are a number of questions they need to address before they can approve crypto companies' applications to become broker-dealers. In a joint statement Monday, the SEC Division of Trading and Markets and FINRA's office Read more…
SEC Launches Search for Blockchain Data Service to Help 'Monitor Risk'
The U.S. SEC has taken some steps to provide clarity to blockchain companies, but it's widely believed that the agency has not been active enough with respect to providing regulation. Now the securities regulator is apparently interested in engaging an "enterprise-wide data subscription for blockchain ledger data." According to the Read more…
By Manhar Gupta, 2 weeks ago
ICO Law Specialist Calls for Kik CEO to Stand Down in Crypto/Securities Case vs SEC
A partner at a law firm working with startups that have raised funds using via an initial coin offering is calling on the CEO of Kik to stand down in his case against the SEC. The expert in crypto law believes that Ted Livingston might well do more harm than Read more…
Blockchain Association to Oversee Spending of the Defend Crypto Fund
The Blockchain Association has taken over the "Defend "Crypto" fund setup to help finance the legal battle between Kik and the SEC. The social messaging firm has stated that it feels the money could be better put to use by the industry collectively. Kik will take back the original $5 Read more…
Blockchain Association Takes Over Kik's 'Defend Crypto' Crowdfunding Effort
Canada-based social media company Kik is relinquishing control of its legal defense crowdfunding campaign to the Blockchain Association in an effort to broaden the initiative's reach. Kik and the Blockchain Association announced Friday that the D.C.-based lobbyist group would be taking over "Defend Crypto," the crowdfunding initiative that Kik previously Read more…
SEC Begins Accepting Public Comments on ETF Backed by Bitcoin and T-Bills
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is kicking off the public comment period for a proposed exchange-traded fund (ETF) backed by bitcoin and Treasury bills. The SEC published a rule change proposal Tuesday which would allow Wilshire Phoenix Funds to list shares of the ETF on the NYSE Arca exchange, announcing Read more…
Howey Schmowey – The Real Answer is to Update Securities Regulations
David Weisberger is co-founder and CEO of CoinRoutes and a veteran of building trading desks and financial technology businesses. The opinions expressed in this article are his own, and do not reflect CoinDesk's position. The following article originally appeared in Institutional Crypto by CoinDesk, a free newsletter for the institutional market, with Read more…
Stonewalled by FINRA, Up to 40 Crypto Securities Wait in Limbo for Launch
THE TAKEAWAY: FINRA has sat for months on roughly 40 broker-dealer applications from companies dealing in crypto assets, denying them a broker-dealer license that would let these firms offer securities in the U.S. Some think FINRA, a self-regulatory organization, is holding off on these approvals at the SEC's request, as the agency Read more…
By Manhar Gupta, 1 month ago
Kik vs SEC: The Lawyers Speak
The SEC has filed a complaint against Kik, claiming the company's initial coin offering was a breach of federal securities law. We brought in three outspoken lawyers to discuss the case, its merits and its potential impacts for the broader crypto community. Subscribe to CoinDesk on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c… Site: https://www.coindesk.comFacebook: Read more…
Did Kik Just Place a Target on the Backs of its Form-D ICO Peers?
By CCN: Kik might very well have good intentions by inviting a fight with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. If the litigation, which the securities regulator has filed against the company, goes Kik's way, it will set a precedent for other blockchain startups that have taken a similar approach Read more…
Bitcoin in Crosshairs as SEC & DOJ Drop Hammer on Crypto Firm Longfin
By CCN: The "crypto" startup Longfin Corp. got spanked by both the SEC and the DOJ for fraud amid a broader regulatory crackdown on bitcoin-related financial crimes. Specifically, Longfin's CEO, Venkata Meenavalli, is accused of inflating the company's revenue by $66 million in order to fraudulently secure a listing on Read more…
Firm That Saw Stock Boost After Crypto 'Pivot' Hit With New SEC Charges
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed new charges against fintech company Longfin Corp. and its CEO, Venkata Meenavalli, alleging that the company committed fraud when it claimed to bring in more revenue than it had in order to secure an exchange listing for its shares. According to a Read more…
The SEC Case Against Kik's ICO Appears Strong, Experts Say
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sued messenger app maker Kik for its $100 million ICO – which the agency contends was an unregistered securities sale – and the regulator appears to have built up a strong case in its initial court move. In a complaint filed Tuesday, the SEC Read more…
The 8 Biggest Bombshells From the SEC's Kik ICO Lawsuit
When Kik's board of directors decided to support the company's pivot to crypto, one of the board members described it as a "hail Mary pass." It was early 2017 and the Canadian mobile messaging startup, having depleted its venture funding, was months away from firing everyone and calling it quits. Read more…
SEC Sues Kik Over Illegal Security Token Kin, The Outcome Could Change Crypto Forever
As expected, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has sued Kik Interactive Inc. The regulatory body alleges that the social messaging firm turned crypto company broke securities laws when it held its $100 million ICO in 2017. Kik argues that it has attempted to work with the SEC over Read more…
US Securities Watchdog Says Desperate Kik Turned to Blockchain Tokens
By CCN: According to documents tweeted by lawyer Stephen D. Palley, the government accuses Kik of turning to selling tokens out of desperation. The accusation is part of a motion to discover. Will the SEC pull off a massive win against Kik? | Source: Twitter Will Kik Open the Floodgates? Read more…
The SEC Is Suing Kik for Its 2017 ICO
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing Kik for allegedly running an unregistered securities sale when it launched an initial coin offering (ICO) for its kin token in 2017. In a filing submitted Tuesday, the SEC said Kik violated Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933, which Read more…
SEC's Crypto Savvy Surprises Blockchain Insiders at D.C. Forum
It was billed as an opportunity for the Securities and Exchange Commission to learn more about cryptocurrency. But what was striking about Friday's forum was how much the agency's staff already knew. From questions about atomic swaps to comments about airdrops and forks, the SEC's FinTech Forum, held at its Read more…
SEC's Hinman Says Some ICOs May Be Eligible for 'No-Action' Relief
Startups that conducted initial coin offerings (ICO) years ago may be eligible for relief from potential enforcement actions by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, an agency official said Friday. For the last year and a half, the regulator has been filing cases against projects that raised money by selling Read more…
By Manhar Gupta, 2 months ago
What to Expect at the SEC's Blockchain Forum on Friday
At a fraught moment for government-industry relations, U.S. regulators and cryptocurrency insiders are sitting down for a meeting. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will convene its first FinTech Forum Friday at the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C., discussing a range of issues related to digital assets and distributed ledger technology Read more…
Kik is Crowdfunding $5 Million in Crypto to Help Fight SEC
Canada-based messaging app firm Kik has launched a crypto crowdfunding campaign to support a likely court battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its 2017 initial coin offering (ICO). Announced by Kik founder and CEO Ted Livingston and Patrick Gibbs, a partner at law firm Cooley LLP, on Read more…
SEC Sues California Operator Behind $26 Million Crypto Pyramid Scam
By CCN: On Thursday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil injunctive action against the operator of an alleged pyramid scheme that raised $26 million from investors. The defendant in the case is Daniel Pacheco, 45, a resident of San Clemente, California who has been charged by Read more…
Public Perceptions of the Bitcoin Spot Market Are Wrong, Says Bitwise
Today's bitcoin spot market is "significantly smaller and significantly more efficient" than is generally perceived, argues Bitwise Asset Management. In a white paper presented as comment to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, Bitwise said the quality of the bitcoin spot market and the strength of arbitrage Read more…
SEC Sues Alleged $26 Million 'Crypto' Ponzi Scheme Operator
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing a California resident on charges of selling unregistered securities and conducting a Ponzi scheme disguised as a cryptocurrency. The SEC announced Thursday that it had filed for an injunction against Daniel Pacheco, claiming that he sold unregistered securities through IPro Solutions Read more…
Nabbed! SEC Reels in $30 Million Alleged Diamond-Backed Crypto Scam
By CCN: The U.S. SEC has secured a court order to stop an alleged diamond-backed Ponzi scheme estimated to be worth around $30 million. The securities regulator outlined how more than 300 investors were fleeced into handing over funds to Florida-based Argyle Coin LLC. SEC obtains emergency order halting alleged Read more…
SEC Moves to Halt Diamond-Linked Crypto 'Ponzi Scheme,' Freeze Assets
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken action against what it alleges is a $30 million cryptocurrency scam based around supposed diamond investment. In a press release Tuesday, the commission alleged that defendant Jose Angel Aman operated a purported crypto business called Argyle Coin as a Ponzi scheme, Read more…
SEC Postpones Decision on VanEck/SolidX Filing in Latest Bitcoin ETF Setback
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has again delayed a decision on a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposal. In a new document filed Monday, the SEC said it was instituting proceedings on whether to approve or disapprove a proposed rule change that would allow the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust to issue Read more…


Dr. Mercury, Heavy Metal's liquid-metal Supreme. To most of those whom he protects he appears as some super-advanced artificial life-form, but the truth is far more tragic.
The machine that was once a man first appeared a few years ago. His appearance followed a crime-wave as reports of a series of break-ins at high-tech research and development labs around the city.
Most of the targets were involved in electronics, computing and robotics. The last of the targeted labs, however, was a small cutting-edge facility recently founded to examine the possibility of joining thought-interface control with nanotech robotics to create a kind of smart liquid metal. Minute self-reassembling machines constantly stripped their own components to create new forms and functions. The lab was led by Dr. Andrew Merritt, their pioneer and a man consumed by his work.
Andrew was ever the epitome of the obsessive scientist and engineer. An experimental scientist specializing in metallurgy, physics, chemistry, quantum mechanics and half a dozen other fields, he was recognized within the scientific community as a potential genius. Andrew was always determined to push the boundaries of the possible further and further. He looked to the work of others, contemporaries like Drexler, as well as the science of Supremes such as C.O.R.E., and took what he learned and built upon it to create the thought-interface assembly for his nanotech re-assemblers.
Andrew was working late one night with his two most trusted assistants; his best friend Matt whom he had known since their first days at MIT, and Lydia, his unrequited love. Matt knew all about Andrew's feelings for Lydia, and although naturally more gregarious, respected his friend's wishes, even when Andrew was at his clumsiest simply due to her presence around him.
The three were conducting their latest tests on the thought-interface. All three had used the interface equipment, but Andrew always proved the most adept with it, so Matt and Lydia watched on, re-calibrating settings as he went through a simple set of control exercises. In the center of the room on a raised dais, a puddle of what looked like quicksilver rose up into a column before slowly assuming an almost human-like shape. A basic form defined, Andrew started thinking through a selection of shape extrusions; the metal form extended first a spike then a blunt shape where its hands were. Finally he thought through a variety of surface changes: the metal body changed colors, rippling through the hues of the rainbow before testing out a couple of patterns – checks first then a random camouflage scheme next.
"All preliminary checks complete," began Lydia, smiling at Andrew who could not see her expression, stood behind him as she was.
"All readings within normal range," Matt followed up. Without looking he guessed Lydia would be looking on fondly at his best friend, and he briefly wondered how two people so smart could be so stupid with their feelings.
"Testing, testing…one…two…three…testing! Is thing on? This is Dr. Mer…er..Mercury!" the tinny synthetic voice came from the metal man-form. Lydia gasped and Matt laughed out loud.
"I have been visualizing the speech modulation for some time and thought I would surprise you!" said the artificial voice again. The three immediately shared warm comments and their usual in-jokes.
Suddenly the good feeling was shattered. The skylight above the room in which the three scientists worked was smashed as four figures descended on abseil ropes. As the intruders made their entrance, two sprayed the room with bullets from sub-machine guns they held single-handed. Bullets tore into equipment and flesh. Machinery around Matt and Lydia sparked and splintered and their bodies tumbled as they were hit.
The four men landed and surveyed the room. Wordlessly, one motioned towards where Andrew sat amid the thought-interface. Another raised his weapon, and flipped a selector switch, aiming then firing two shots into Andrew's chest.
Pain washed over Andrew as he looked downwards. Blood was oozing from two wounds in his torso. He could feel life sapping away, his vision blurring as he saw the four men purposefully approach the thought-interface equipment. He willed himself to take control of the nanotech re-assemblers.
His mind was fighting against the yawning maw of an infinite and final blackness. His head swam. He willed himself through the interface into the liquid-metal form with a last-ditch clarity. Rage filled his mind. His best friend was dead. The unspoken love of his life was dead. And he was dying too. And these murderous would-be thieves were responsible.
Andrew suddenly felt his mind occupy every single nano-machine at once. His conscious control of the re-assemblers had been pushed further than ever before, and was complete as he had never quite envisioned. The metal-man form took on a renewed definition. It rose up to its full height and strode defiantly towards to nearest interloper. The metal-man reared one hand backwards, formed a vicious spike where its hand had been, and thrust forwards, shattering the rib-cage of the shocked killer who slumped dead to the floor, his body sliding from the lowered spike-arm.
The three remaining killers opened fire, one shouting to be careful not to hit the thought-interface. His words were lost on his terrified colleagues.
The metal-man walked up to one, dispatching him with a clubbing blow to the temple that killed him instantly. The other fell almost as quickly to a further bludgeoning strike that crushed his chest.
The last gun-man stood, paralyzed with fear for a few moments before his training kicked in and he opened fire with a tight group of shots to the man-machine's chest. His training had not equipped him for situations like this and his death was as swift as that of his colleagues.
The man-machine surveyed the ruin that was the lab. There were four dead killers, dispatched in scant seconds, their blood on his hands. To the sides of the room he could see two other bodies, both lifeless. The man-machine let out an inhuman raging scream. Desperation crowded his mind as he turned to face the body of Dr. Andrew Merritt. His body, which too was now lifeless and inert.
He ran then, ran into the night.
Days passed as he hid. A manhunt was launched after the bodies of the three scientists and four thieves were discovered. However, no-one was there to notice that at some point the thought-interface device was spirited away. C.O.R.E. volunteered to help in the search, and it was the future Heavy Metal leader that found the man-machine that had been Andrew Merritt. But he was Merritt no more. C.O.R.E. immediately recognized the spark of humanity and near-broken spirit within the living machine. He listened quietly as the scientist haltingly told his story, and then led him back to the city, to his own home-base in Golden Plaza. No charges were ever leveled against Merritt; it was accepted that he had been the victim of a dreadful robbery.
In the weeks to follow, as he grew accustomed to his new body, he publicly adopted the name Dr. Mercury. What had been a passing joke among friends became a badge of honor to their memories. He threw himself into new work. C.O.R.E. began to assemble Heavy Metal, inspired by Supreme Teams of the past such as the Supreme Alliance. Dr. Mercury began developing amazing new technologies, pushing the limits of his science further, while assisting in the endeavors of the fledgling Team in every way he could. As more members of the soon-to-be legendary Team gathered, Dr. Mercury found he warmed particularly to the young Chronin, and would become a mentor to the young girl, both striving ever forwards in their scientific achievements. Some comfort was gained through this friendship to help melt the pain of the past and his re-birth as Dr. Mercury.
Few of the residents of Pulp City whom he helps know the tragic truth of his past, and most think he is some kind of super-robot, but that does not stop Dr. Mercury striving to do his best, to fulfill his new purpose with so much already lost.


Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee today introduced a broad 21st Century infrastructure package that includes key areas within the Committee's jurisdiction, including broadband, drinking water, healthcare, the electric grid, brownfields and renewable energy infrastructure. The Leading Infrastructure For Tomorrow's America Act, or LIFT America Act, (H.R. 2479) sets out five years of funding for essential infrastructure improvements, job growth, and greater protections for public health and the environment.
The LIFT America Act is sponsored by Energy and Commerce Committee Democratic members Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Bobby Rush (D-IL), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Gene Green (D-TX), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Mike Doyle (D-PA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), John Sarbanes (D-MD), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Dave Loebsack (D-IA), Joe Kennedy III (D-MA), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Scott Peters (D-CA) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI).
The LIFT America Act will invest in programs with proven records of job creation, including the drinking water State Revolving Fund and the Brownfields Redevelopment program. The legislation requires the use of American made iron and steel for drinking water projects and hospital construction and requires the payment of prevailing wages. The bill will also spur new high-paying technology jobs by supporting deployment of smart buildings, smart grid, and Smart Communities technology.
The LIFT America Act also provides much-needed funding to repair and replace aging infrastructure that will have significant public health benefits, especially for children. The bill includes funding to get lead out of school drinking water, replace polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-laden lighting fixtures with safer and more energy efficient alternatives in schools, and reduce diesel emissions from school buses.


Check out the video leak of Fear the Walking Dead episode 6. Will the ex-wife make the right choice in the season finale of FTW? Doesn't look like it!
Check out the video leak of Fear the Walking Dead episode 6. Will the ex-wife make the right choice in the season finale of FTW? Doesn't look like it!


text:
EchoGo Heart Failure from Ultromics Receives FDA Clearance as a Breakthrough Device
Dec 9, 2022 | Company News, Imaging News |
Ultromics' EchoGo Heart Failure, an AI solution for echocardiography with the potential to revolutionize the diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance.
The solution was developed by echocardiography and AI experts from Ultromics, a spin-out of the UK's University of Oxford, in collaboration with Mayo Clinic. The device uses AI to accurately detect HFpEF from a single echocardiogram image.
HFpEF is a heterogeneous syndrome that can be challenging to identify. Current approaches include time-consuming and often inconclusive diastolic function assessment, and require a highly specialized, increasingly rare skillset, and often invasive testing.
The FDA clearance comes just weeks after Ultromics demonstrated its commitment to addressing this area of significant unmet medical need by joining the FNIH (Foundation for the National Institutes of Health) Accelerating Medicines Partnership Heart Failure (AMP HF) program. The $37 million, five-year multi-stakeholder collaboration, managed by FNIH, is a collaboration between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the FDA, the American Heart Association (AHA), the American Society of Echocardiography, and industry members.
The partnership seeks to develop a deeper understanding of HFpEF and develop more precise strategies and targeted therapies that could improve the lives of millions and improve survival while minimizing exposure to invasive techniques.
There is an urgent need to develop predictive tools to help diagnose HFpEF patients. Patients can now benefit from new therapy drugs, such as SGLT2, which has been shown to significantly reduce both hospitalizations and potentially fatal adverse events. The simultaneous clearances of EchoGo Heart Failure to improve HFpEF detection and SGLT2 to improve treatment represents a leap forward in addressing an unmet need in cardiovascular medicine.
Dr Ross Upton, CEO and Founder of Ultromics, said, "We are delighted that the FDA has recognized EchoGo Heart Failure as a breakthrough device and has cleared the technology to provide reliable detection of HFpEF. The technology improves the accuracy of HFpEF detection, enabling more patients to receive treatment which will reduce the significant burden on patients and healthcare systems alike.
"Although compelling progress has been made in the diagnosis and treatment of many forms of heart disease, heart failure hospitalizations and mortality continue to rise globally. It is now time to make a change. Together with our FNIH AMP HF partners, we aim to redefine the heart failure care pathway and improve world-wide patient outcomes."
Patricia A. Pellikka, MD, Vice Chair, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Mayo Clinic, said, "It has been a pleasure to collaborate with the team at Ultromics to develop and test EchoGo Heart Failure. This novel solution applies AI to cardiovascular imaging to greatly simplify identification of patients with HFpEF, a diagnosis that can be challenging to make, and allow more expeditious treatment. HFpEF currently is associated with high rates of hospitalization and mortality. By facilitating early diagnosis and treatment, we can improve the lives of many."
Dr Julie Gerberding, Chief Executive Officer at the FNIH, said, "The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health will harness the valuable perspectives and expertise of a select number of collaborations, including Ultromics, to alleviate this unmet need and pave the way for better classification and more precise treatment strategies."
[Source(s): Ultromics, PR Newswire]
[PHOTO CAPTION: The first and only AI-enabled HFpEF detection platform for echocardiography, designed to connect to any care setting to support clinicians with HFpEF diagnosis, allowing them to accurately detect HFpEF and send patients onto life-saving therapy. (Image courtesy of Ultromics]
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Dive Manado, Bunaken, Bangka and Lembeh in Indonesia with the underwater pioneers of North Sulawesi, home to some of Indonesia's richest reefs and best dive sites. Since 1987, Murex Dive Resorts has hosted scuba divers from all over the world and continues to provide quality service within a tranquil, tropical resort setting. Murex Manado (servicing Bunaken) and Murex Bangka are friendly, family-run resorts located in North Sulawesi, Indonesia.