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Thursday, September 24, 2009

Condoned insanity

Went to afrikaburn 2 weeks ago - South Africa's version of the Burning Man.

just WOW

Counting down for next year already and going to be contributing my own art installation - a giant Y tree with concepts hanging from string on its branches

all my afrikaburn pics can be seen here:

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• $45 Non- Refundable application fee.
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  • Utilities: Tenant pays for electric, internet/cable as well as water and sewer. (Garbage and recycling removal is included with rent.)
  • RCN or Service Electric for cable and internet.
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Tuesday, March 6, 2012

White-winged Dove discoverd at backyard feeders on Staten Island NY...

How would you like to find a rare bird at your backyard feeders? I know I would and that is exactly what happened when Anthony Ciancimino a 14 year old junior high school birder discovered a White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica) while scanning a flock of Mourning Doves roosting in a tree near his feeders. Let's back up a second here to focus on what should not be missed. "Scanning a flock of Mourning Doves"! Right there you know that Anthony is not your casual birder, one who did not casually chalk up the MODOS as well...MODOS.

What makes the White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica) rare for our area you ask? Well, its mostly a tropical dove, that can be found in Texas and the Southwest. However, it is increasing its range northward and an introduced population has become established in Florida. From my observation, this looks very much like a wild and not a caged bird - strong flight with no visible "cage wear" and no bands on the legs. I would be very surprised if this candidate is not accepted by NYSARC (New York State Avian Record Committee) as a Staten Island first record for this species.

Note the white line along front of wing on the perched bird.

 I first met Anthony last year while birding Cloves Lake Park on Staten Island. He was attending a bird walk led by my friend Howie Fischer and stood out from the birders in attendance as he called out birds as fast as the leader. Howie had spoken highly of him and it was evident why. Equally impressive was the presence of Anthony's mother who was in attendance, showing her support for her son's passion. And it is a passion because Anthony is pretty much in the field with every spare time he gets. Are you getting the picture already on how serious this kid takes his birding?

I met Anthony for the second time as I finally made it over to his house with his permission to see the White-Winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica). I enjoyed speaking with him about birds and the plants he was tending in his yard. I hope the bird sticks around and many more get to see it. If you are interested in seeing the bird, check out the Staten Island List Serve for information on recent sightings and to contact Anthony. It seems proper birding etiquette not to show up unannounced. Oh and given the recent sighting of another rarity, in Gray-crowned Rosy Finch at another backyard feeder, you may want to consider putting out some feeders too... you never know what bird may show up in your backyard.

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Linda Rockwell said...

Very informative post Andrew. Interesting to read how one of my common feeder birds is rare elsewhere. That young man sound like quite the young birder!

Cindy said...

On the wings of a snow white dove ;-) Nice to hear of passionate young birders..

Gene said...

What an amazing sighting. Anthony seems like quite a birder.


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Man and van Kitts Green

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Find out secrets behind Your birthday date:
Day: Month: Year:
Spiritual support is welcome:
In my timezone its
Friday, 19. Jan
Saturday, 20. Jan
In my timezone its
Sunday, 21. Jan

12. September 1971. - Birthday Scan

Virgo, 12. September 1971.

If you were born on 12th September 1971., your age is Fourty-Six years and One Hundred and Thirty days. 16932 days passed since day of Your birth (or 2418.9 weeks). But you are not alone with this! In world 359000 babies was born on that day.

You were born on Sunday, and your zodiac sign is Virgo.

You haven't had birthday in this year yet., next birthday will be in 235 days. Your previous birthday was 130 days ago.

The "big bum" was on ≈20th December 1970. (if you were born on time), but for details, ask your parents, they may have some interesting story for that day ;-)

  • Why not celebrate every 100-th day of your life? Next one will be in Sixty-Eight days ( Thursday, 29th March 2018.), when you will be 17000 days old.
  • Every 1000-th day sounds better? OK, next one will be in Sixty-Eight days ( Thursday, 29th March 2018.), your age will be 17000. days.
  • When will you reach the retirement age of 65 years?: 12th September 2036.. Remaining number of days: 6809 ≈ 18.7 years
  • If your hair were never cut since b-day, today, it would be 5.93 meters long.
  • Heart beats since your birth: 1706.7 millions.
  • Since your birth, in Danube (at Bp.), 3437.9 billion m3 water flowed.

What happened more on that day in September?

We found 2 event that happened on 12. September 1971.
  • Ahn Jae-wook, South Korean actor, singer, and composer [category: Births]
  • Walter Egan, American golfer (b. 1881) [category: Deaths]
Click here, if you want to see what happened more on 12. September date (Not only in 1971. year).

Biorhythm for visitors born on 12. September 1971.

If Your birthday is on 12. September 1971, check below your Physical, Emotional and Intellectual biorhythm calculator for next 20 days. What is biorhythm? Read more on FAQ page.


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One of a Kind Blockchain Solutions and Services Ecosystem LuxCore Kick-Starts the New Year with Massive Updates

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Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Contribution by Stevie Kirby

Ever since we got Wildblue Arizona internet, I have been addicted to Facebook. It is amazing to me how many people I can keep up with. I like to keep up with all of the gossip going on with my friends, and fortunately people love to post their whole lives on Facebook. I love finding out who is dating each other, who is engaged, and who is pregnant. I can even keep up with people that I have not talked to since high school. I had a friend in middle school who moved and I did not keep in touch with her. We found each other on Facebook and we are going to lunch next week. I also have a cousin who I was really close to growing up, but now she lives half way across the country. She has two kids now and I am so glad that I am able to see pictures of them growing up. I probably spend way too much time on Facebook, but I think that is definitely worth it to be kept in the loop.

Disclosure Policy

This policy is valid from July 10, 2009
This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation. The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content. The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question. This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.


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Wednesday, 17 August 2011

Mom's the best!

During this fasting period, mom's cooking has always remain our favourite! Although once in a while we do buy food from outside. She would could almost everything from 'killer' spaghetti bolognese to delicious Nasi Lemak. Well today's menu would be special curry and curry puffs!
Curry Delight

Nasi campur

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Daily Archives: August 20, 2013

3 posts

Lee Thompson Young has been found dead after a suspected suicide in Los Angeles. TMZ.com reports that the “Rizzoli & Isles” star’s body was found with what authorities believe was a self-inflicted gunshot wound earlier today. Show staffers on the set became concerned when he didn’t show up for work this morning. […]

Last week Robin Thicke, Pharrell and T.I. filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles for a declaratory judgment ruling that the highly popular song of this summer, “Blurred Lines”, does not infringe upon Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” and Funkadelic’s “Sexy Ways.” As both the Gaye Estate and Bridgeport Music, publishers of Funkadelic’s song, threatened legal action […]


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Lauryn Hill A Nightmare? Being Sued For Verbal Abuse

Reports have surfaced suggesting that Lauryn Hill, mother of 6, is a complete nightmare to work with! Lauryn’s guitarist Jay Gore filed suit against the singer for verbal abuse, claiming “After shows, Hill would demand that the musicians and road support personnel attend meetings where she would engage in a person-by-person critique and berating” and “At one point, Hill made a statement in front of the tour personnel to the effect that ‘I can’t believe I am paying you fools, you should be paying me.’”

Do we believe that Lauryn is an out of control Diva?

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Mapping Carbon

NASA/JPL-Caltech. Click to enlarge.
NASA/JPL-Caltech. Click to enlarge.

Mapping Carbon

John Reid

After ten years in the planning and numerous technical setbacks and glitches (which included a rocket failure) NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory – 2 (OCO-2) is finally sending high quality data back to earth. The satellite makes continuous, precise measurements of atmospheric CO2 concentrations over most of the planet by means of absorption spectroscopy. The diagram is a compilation of mean atmospheric CO2 concentrations for the 6 week period period commencing 1st October 2014.

Hopefully this satellite is likely to be returning similar data for many years into the future so these results are only a tentative “sneak preview” of what is to come. They were obtained during northern fall and southern spring. Since CO2 concentrations are most likely influenced by biological processing in plants, animals and fungi, future measurements in other seasons will be of prime importance in understanding the earth’s carbon cycle.

World Vegetation Map
World Vegetation Map

Nevertheless there are already some real surprises, viz.:

  1. Over land, CO2 concentrations are dominated by vegetation type – the high concentrations over South America, Southern Africa and Indonesia correspond closely to tropical evergreen rainforest and tropical deciduous forest and scrub (click on global vegetation map above).
  2. There are unexpected but significant concentrations over the oceans. The concentrations in the South Atlantic and near Madagascar may well be due to an eastward drift from the nearby continental concentrations due to the general easterly trend in atmospheric circulation. However the concentrations east of Japan and north of New Zealand cannot be explained in this way, nor can the concentration near the southern tip of Greenland. Some of these have been attributed to tectonic acivity in an article by Prof. Martin Hovland of the University of Bergen.
  3. There is little evidence that CO2 from industry plays much part in the total scheme of things. Western Europe as a whole shows little evidence of excess CO2 production apart from the Eastern side of the Adriatic Sea where there is little industrial activity.  England appears to have been a net sink for CO2 in autumn.
  4. The high concentrations over China may well be due to industrial activity but it could also be attributed to excess emissions from subtropical broadleaf rainforest at this time of the year. We will have to wait another six months to get a clearer picture. A similar argument applies to the SE corner of the United States

It is already obvious that these observations are a serious embarrassment to NASA’s front office. NASA’s caption to this map reads as follows:

Global Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

Global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations from Oct. 1 through Nov. 11, as recorded by NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2. Carbon dioxide concentrations are highest above northern Australia, southern Africa and eastern Brazil. Preliminary analysis of the African data shows the high levels there are largely driven by the burning of savannas and forests. Elevated carbon dioxide can also be seen above industrialized Northern Hemisphere regions in China, Europe and North America.

This cannot go unchallenged:

above northern Australia,

er, that country is called Indonesia, I-n-d-o-n-e-s-i-a. Perhaps it is politically incorrect to name a third world country in this context.

high levels driven by burning of savannas and forests

Indeed? Levels that massively exceed the industrial emissions of Western Europe? I look forward to the peer-reviewed paper on this one. That certainly is a lot of grass.

Elevated carbon dioxide can also be seen above industrialized …Europe Where? I must be looking at a different map.

The situation may well change as more data becomes available – new ideas will certainly emerge and it may be decades before it is all understood.

The fact remains that in six weeks this satellite changed the face of climate science. NASA should be proud of the people who carried this through and not seek to obfuscate their findings.

8 thoughts on “Mapping Carbon”

  1. Michael, your ideas apply equally well to forestry which is also carbon neutral. This whole climate thing started out purely as an argument for not burning fossil fuels, which, on the face of it, was not such a bad idea back around 1990 when both temperatures and CO2 were rising and not much research work had been done. Since then it has become a gigantic boondoggle for numerical modellers and a basic tenet of militant Environmentalism. Now all technology is suspect as we hanker for some mythical paleolithic past. Even farming has to kow-tow to the new God and apologise for “taking from the Earth”. Reasoned argument has become a thing of the past. Nowadays it is all about “raising awareness”. It used to be called “spreading the faith”.

  2. I hear about farting cows a lot and as a small scale farmer with an interest in science I wonder why cows or ruminants in general are singled out as contributors to CO2 equivalent emissions. Cows ideally eat grass so their source of carbon to convert into methane comes from grass. Often they are finished on grain. Either way they mostly burp and cough their methane laden gases with the carbon derived from the food they eat. So if they are making any significant contribution to atmospheric carbon, then soil carbon must be being lost at an astronmic rate.

    I do realise that net soil carbon is often lost through intensive agriculture but blaming cows seems to be a bit of vegan propaganda. In my case, my grass fed cows and sheep seem to be doing the opposite. My grasses have improved over the past six years so I presume I am at worst carbon neutral and likely to be actually using ruminants to sequeseter more carbon than they expel on my previously poorly grazed paddocks.

    The only serious candidate I can see to grazing ruminants as a contributor to atmospheric carbon is the tractor and transport fuels used on broad acres grain farming. So if the cows don’t eat the grain and humans do then human methane would also be a problem.

    So lets leave the ruminants out of the equation unless someone can explain where all their carbon comes from and show me how it isn’t a closed loop with grasses.

  3. “To every complex problem there is a simple solution”.

    It is invariably wrong.

    I first heard of scientific concern for increased atmospheric CO2 at a science day visit to Syd. Uni. with my ten year old son, 32 years ago. Our academic hosts suspected anthropogenic causes. The graph line illustrating increased CO2 was geometric comprising horizontal and vertical steps of six month intervals. These were credibly explained by northern hemisphere deciduous forests.

    More recently I attended Prof. Garnaut’s final lecture at the University of Tasmania and heard that the case for global warming was proven by a consensus of scientists with a guilty verdict on human habitation. Supporting evidence ignored major variables such as farting cows, vehicle exhausts, erupting volcanoes, tectonic activity, etc.

    SCC (single cause certainty ) propelled the economics professor to a quantitative diagnosis of how we can eliminate the effect of human existence on climate change. This was based on computer modeling presented as as science. This jingoistic political course can only wreck our best hope of improving the well being of all – the global economy.

    1. In late 1986 I purchased a car from a CSIRO meteorologist who, during the conversation assured me that CO2 levels had reached the levels needed for run away greenhouse effect global warming in March of that year.

      Like all of the warmenistas other predictions, I’m still waiting for it to be proven right.

      Scientific method says that if your hypothesis isn’t supported by empirical results then your hypothesis is wrong. It’s as simple as that, and as the AGW hyphothesis has not only failed to be supported by empirical results, but has also managed to bet every single prediction over a period of 30 years wrong, maybe they should try going back to the scientific method and not the Frankfurt School’s Critical Theory.

  4. I agree with you entirely that the terrestrial pattern simply follows vegetation. No need for forest fires, etc.

    Over the sea the situation is more complex. I see no point in cherry-picking a few spots and guessing tectonic correlations. The pattern fails to pick up sea floor spreading sites, or the global distribution of volcanoes.

    It will be interesting to see how the pattern changes with time – or if it does.

  5. NASA is primarily a media machine so I am not surprised that anything they release might distort or bias the facts. Especially since countries like India are achieving for a miniscule budget what costs NASA a fortune, and private companies are closing in on their (extraterrestrial) turf.

    It is clear that the summary of the CO2 map is poor and inaccurate and may have the old anti-science approach of moulding the data to fit predetermined ideas. I am not convinced against man induced global warming but I do feel that natural variations and non-man-made influences probably play a part.

  6. NASA exercise turning up some interesting stuff – just in time for Paris 2015.

    Developing world attribution of greatest global CO2 emissions to developed world may turn out to be (at best) a dubious hypothesis, thus making its demands for ‘climate reparations’ even shakier.

Comments are closed.


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Latest News and Rumors Surrounding WWE 2K15 for Aug. 18

Ryan Dilbert@@ryandilbertWWE Lead WriterAugust 18, 2014

WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon greets media at the WWE 2K15 Press Event at Cicada on Saturday, August 16, 2014 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Colin Young-Wolff/Invision for 2K/AP Images)
Colin Young-Wolff/Associated Press

SummerSlam weekend cut away much of the veil that was covering WWE 2K15.

Info on the upcoming video game isn't as shrouded as it was before. The majority of the roster is now revealed, images and clips of the game are spreading across the Internet and one writer gave a hands-on preview.

Some fans aren't going to be thrilled at the omissions from the roster. More Superstars will be added to the list, though.

Taking a peek at some leaked gameplay and hearing what Vince Ingenito of IGN had to say about WWE 2K15 should cheer those fans up. The game isn't the same old retread of the series.

Even with its imperfections, it's set to be a revolutionary step in the series' evolution.

WWE 2K14, despite 2K Sports taking over, was not all that different from the game's previous editions. Mechanics mostly stayed the same, save some minor tweaks.

It looks as if tweaks are set to give way to bigger shifts.

Ingenito wrote for IGN about his experience playing an early version of the game. He said, "I really dig the direction 2K15 is taking the franchise. It's a very clear step down a path that few wrestling games have ever walked. I'm here to tell you that WWE 2K15 is, for lack of a better term, a wrestling sim."

He described it as "different," discussing a new grappling system, mechanics and stamina system. As a result, the game is closer to what one sees on TV each week.

The stamina system, as Ingenito notes, will prevent players from just running around the ring with no consequence. To avoid getting gassed, you'll have to pace yourself.

Ingenito wrote the following on the grappling system:

It starts like rock, paper, scissors – with each player pressing one of three face buttons, and the winner advancing to a more advantageous position. From here, both players play what is essentially a lock-picking game, rotating the right stick until they find the 'sweet spot,' and holding it there to improve their respective situation. During this time, the player with advantage can land strikes, or even wrench whatever limb they've grabbed a hold of. It's a lot more like the opening stages of a real match than running right up to your opponent for a spine-buster the moment the bell rings.

This changes as the match goes on, though. Once the feeling-out process is over, moves are easy to perform.

It sounds a lot more complicated than the previous system, but if it makes the game feel more authentic, a tougher learning curve won't bother fans. Requiring a bit of added strategy will please those who have mastered, and are likely bored of, the old system.

Fans caught plenty of glimpses of how the game will look over the weekend. Previous screenshots featured next-gen versions of John Cena and Randy Orton. Next up is Goldust.

WWE 2K tweeted a screenshot of The Bizarre One in all his face-painted glory:

He looks fantastic here, the developers doing a great job with the lighting and details in his ring gear. These improved graphics give fans more reasons to upgrade their consoles.

Stephanie McMahon provided an early look at her husband in action. She tweeted out a look at the 2K Showcase mode, which will feature Triple H and Shawn Michaels' rivalry:

This appears to be the famous 2002 angle where Triple H stabbed Michaels in the back. The SummerSlam match that followed this will be fun to play out.

In addition to those images, released a photo gallery of character art from the game, which included Chris Jericho.

Chris Jericho character art
Chris Jericho character artCredit:

And AJ Lee as well.

AJ Lee character art
AJ Lee character artCredit:

What's most interesting to fans, though, is how those wrestlers and others move in the ring and what improvements 2K Sports has made with animations. Some videos taken at Germany's Gamescom provides a look at both.

Fans were playing a stripped-down version of the game at the recent convention. They weren't shy about posting their experiences online.

In one video, Orton battles Cesaro.

A tutorial for the aforementioned grappling system pops up. It looks as if the addition will be a boost to the game, providing a new element to the mat-wrestling side of things.

Some of the animations look excellent, such as Orton cringing after a slam and holding his ribs after Cesaro clocks him, for example. The familiar awkward moments of missing an opponent when grappling or running past one's foe are present here as well, though.

A part of that has to be attributed to the players still picking up the game.

Another video sees a virtual Cena tangle with a virtual Cesaro. This offers a better look at the grappling system even if the instructions are in German.

One can see that 2K Sports has been working on strikes and the reaction to them as well. Cesaro and Cena's slugfest looks great.

A third video shows a No Holds Barred match.

The players struggle to get Cesaro to smash Orton into the table, so we don't get to see how that looks. Whoever is controlling The King of Swing has a much better result cracking a baseball bat against Orton's torso.

IGN posted a more official video featuring Cena:

There's not much new to enjoy here, as the previously released screenshots were clearly taken from this scene. Still, it's clear that the presentation in WWE 2K15 is going to be top-notch.

It's the roster that is drawing the most complaints.

After 2K Sports' roster reveal event, Renee Young announced who is officially part of the game so far. WWE's biggest stars are on that list, as are some Hall of Famers from the past.

As of now, the game's roster is as follows, per

  • AJ Lee
  • Alberto Del Rio
  • Bad News Barrett
  • Batista
  • Big Show
  • Big E
  • Bray Wyatt
  • Brie Bella
  • Brock Lesnar
  • Cameron
  • Cesaro
  • Chris Jericho
  • CM Punk
  • Cody Rhodes
  • Curtis Axel
  • Damien Sandow
  • Daniel Bryan
  • Darren Young
  • Dean Ambrose
  • Dolph Ziggler
  • Erick Rowan
  • Fandango
  • Goldust
  • Hulk Hogan (Hulkamania Edition)
  • Hollywood Hogan (Hulkamania Edition)
  • Jack Swagger
  • Jey Uso
  • Jimmy Uso
  • John Cena
  • Justin Gabriel
  • Kane
  • Kofi Kingston
  • Luke Harper
  • Mark Henry
  • Naomi
  • Natalya
  • Nikki Bella
  • R-Truth
  • Randy Orton
  • Rey Mysterio
  • Roman Reigns
  • Rob Van Dam
  • Ryback
  • Santino Marella
  • Seth Rollins
  • Shawn Michaels
  • Sheamus
  • Steve Austin
  • Sting (pre-order)
  • Retro Sting (pre-order)
  • Summer Rae
  • Tamina Snuka
  • The Miz
  • The Rock
  • The Undertaker
  • Titus O'Neil
  • Triple H
  • Tyson Kidd
  • Xavier Woods

Some additional Superstars are sure to be available as downloadable content. Some should be added to the roster proper as well.

For now, though, Bo Dallas, Rusev, Adam Rose, Paige, Christian, Sin Cara, Zack Ryder and Heath Slater are all missing. Ryder, like his fans, want to know if he's going to be in the game:

What's also surprising is the small number of legends. Sting is obviously a momentous inclusion. Beyond him, there aren't a ton of names from the past.

There had also been rumblings of adding an NXT element to the game, per Brad Davis of, which would mean rising stars like Adrian Neville and Sami Zayn would be part of the fun. That looks to be untrue for the moment.

If 2K Sports sacrificed some roster size for better gameplay, fans are going to be happy with the trade. Having Slater on board would be fun, but it's not as important as smoothing out the mechanics.

    TNA Loses Its TV Deal in the UK

    Pro Wrestling logo
    Pro Wrestling

    TNA Loses Its TV Deal in the UK

    Corey Jacobs
    via Wrestling News

    Twitter Reacts to Top Stars and Moments of Clash of Champions

    Pro Wrestling logo
    Pro Wrestling

    Twitter Reacts to Top Stars and Moments of Clash of Champions

    Erik Beaston
    via Bleacher Report

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Fabulous Father’s Day Photo Ideas

With Father’s Day quickly approaching you may be unsure what to get the man that has always been there for you, helped tie your shoes and even taught you to ride a bike. Pictures are worth a thousand words and these simple photo ideas are sure to melt even the toughest of Dads’ hearts.

1. Caught In the Act

Playtime Father's Day Photo InspirationsChildren are always yearning for daddy to play with them. Let’s be honest, Dads do give the best horsey back rides! So why not capture their inner youth with a photo that will span the years. (Photo Credit: Christy Peterson Photography)

2. Show Your Silly Side

Show your silly sideEvery Dad has a soft spot for his daughter and if anyone can get him to be silly, it’s her. Capture their goofy sides for a picture he will treasure. (Photo Credit: Danic Photography)

3. Try These On For Size

Shoe sizes comparisons for Father's Day Photo InspirationsThere is nothing truer than, “They grow up too fast!” Capture their fun size as a way to remember that for a short time, you did have bigger feet than you son! (Photo Credit: Ram Morrison)

4. Generations

Generations of Fathers for Father's day photographyOne of my favorite family photos is of my great-grandfather, grandfather and father (all of whom had the same name). Seeing generations of the same eyes, smile or cleft chin is a treasured keepsake. (Photo Credit: Cheezburger)

5. The Eyes Have It

Father's Day Photos - Show off the eyes!Does your daughter or son have their father’s eyes? Capture them! I love the up close and personal feel of this photo as well as the soft lighting. (Photo Credit: Art Limited)

6. Father and Son Attitude

Fist bump - Father's Day Photo IdeasFathers and sons have a special bod as well. Capture their ‘cool dude’ persona’s with a little fist bump action photo. (Photo Credit: Jay Moore Photography)

7. Change of Scenery

Background Change Up for Father's Day PhotosForget boring photos in front of the house or on the living room couch. Get out there and explore! Even this busy scenery gets lost in the background when you make this picture black and white. (Photo Credit: Black Star)

8. Age Doesn’t Matter

Older fathers matter too - Father's Day Photography InspirationJust because his children are no longer small does not mean Dad doesn’t want his picture taken with them. This photo captures the personalities of both the Father and the daughter as well as the love that they have for each other. (Photo Credit: Occasiodea)

9. Photo Editing

Photoshop magic for awesome Father's Day PhotographyAre you a Photoshop expert? Do you have mad skills in Lightroom? This transparent picture of three generations is a true masterpiece and a great way to capture the past, present and future. (Photo Credit: Writing 101)

10. Embrace the Chaos

Capture the chaos of everyday life for Father's Day PhotographyIf your house is anything like mine, everyday is chaos. Bit that chaos won’t last forever, so embrace it while you can. And while you are at it, capture it on film! (Photo Credit: Bored Panda)

I can guarantee that your Father will love any photo you give him this Father’s Day but why not put some extra thought behind it! It will surely be a gift he treasures for years to come.

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PEOPLE: Back to School with Ebba

Ebba looked adorable in her scholar-inspired look! Layering our AW13-14 Checked shirt with a sporty sweater vest and little pleated skirt she looked ready to get studying. Check out Ebba's blog HERE!

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Acumin’s Cyber/IT/Information Security Year in Review – 2015: Q2

In Information Security ByRyan Farmer / 19th January 2016

April – “No I insist, please just take it”

In the month that acts surmounting to cyberwar unfolded, one airline went out of its way to make hackers’ jobs a lot easier. This time RyanAir wasn’t making the headlines for some new hare-brained schemes to charge for basic human rights on-board its planes (toilets, seatbelts, oxygen, and what have you). Rather they were embroiled in a transfer controversy – and no not to do with them dumping travellers miles outside of their destinations – having gained access to their funds transfer system, hackers made a single payment of €4.6m to a Chinese bank account.

The RyanAir incident could potentially be attributed to Dyre Wolf (nomenclature courtesy of IBM and nothing to do with Ghost or Jon Snow), a long-term malicious campaign combining multiple attack vectors against enterprise targets. There was much talk of dark web collaboration between crime rings, and warnings of diversion tactics (for example launching DDoS attacks to mask intended actions and targets) as the perpetrators focused their actions on organisations which regularly wire transfer large sums.

Another concerted and joined up campaign this month saw DDoS attacks with traffic of up to 45GB/s launched against a plethora of online betting providers like Unibet, Pokerstars, TonyBet, 888poker, and Betfair. The motivation behind these attacks was something that would become all too familiar a tale this year, ransom; with attackers demanding 10 bitcoins to halt their actions and allow normal connectivity to resume. The request is so modestly priced you might just be tempted!

Playing out like a tribute to Cold War espionage, Russian attackers were able to gain access to systems at the White House, including Obama’s unclassified emails and non-public schedule. The belief is that no truly classified systems were accessed, but it was certainly seen as something of a coup, especially as the entry route was apparently via a spear phish email to the State Department whose systems they had access to for some time.

This wasn’t the only conflict online focused around disparate values. Retrospectively it was like looking through a window in to the future, as Anonymous declared war on ISIS supporters online and launched #OpISIS. A number of sites and social media accounts were taken over and/or destroyed, although security services berated the heavy-handed vigilante actions as valuable evidence was lost in the process.

Finally for April we look at something which will inevitably become more commonplace, and something it seems has been happening on LinkedIn this year too (more on this later); social engineering attacks via CareerBuilder. Consider the information the standard CV holds, and then beyond this there are the inappropriate details jobseekers can often feel compelled to share. Bear in mind that short of contact details and career history, there is little of this information provided that is truly required to move job or can’t be discussed in person. It’s concerning then that individuals, including information/cyber security professionals (who would turn out to be a frequent target due to high levels of access), deemed it necessary to share: date of birth, spouse’s and children’s names and ages, National Insurance number, full address (sometimes including second home), and employer toolsets among other details on their CVs. Such details are invaluable to social engineers, so it’s surprising that they would be made so readily available particularly as some of the sites these documents are uploaded to don’t even require an employer to register details to search for them.

May – Third time’s a charm

Jamie. Again. Password-stealing malware presented by Naked Chef’s website was found running in the background of users’ machines this time.

Also rehashing old news this month we had Russia and Ukraine taking their conflict digital again; hotels suffering PoS attacks, Hard Rock and Intercontinental; Afognak (an Alaskan tribal entity) transferred $3.8m to cybercriminals; and (what would go on to become a reoccurring event this year) road signs and billboards being hijacked with inappropriate images began in Atlanta (PSA – don’t investigate further!). The latter of these is actually incredibly easy to do and the majority of the systems that relay these messages use stock security settings and passwords on-device; if the default password isn’t in use, fear not for a simple pattern of several button presses will restore factory settings. Ease of use and accessibility is understandable but some form of centralised read/write authentication as a minimum should be expected considering the important information these devices can be displaying.

Q2 was definitely not a good time to be a US-based hotelier or health insurer, with large organisations hit in a multitude of attacks. Blue Cross Blue Shield Health was perhaps the most notable of these for the sheer volume of financial and sensitive medical records lost, 10 million may pale in comparison to rival Anthem’s earlier achievement, but it’s certainly no small effort. Even more alarming is the disparity of when the attacks are believed to have occurred, compared to when they were detected some 6 months later. This wasn’t to be the end of it though as a second incident on Blue Cross insurers was also discovered in September at Excellus, which dated back almost two years before being spotted. The vulnerability had remained open the entirety of that time. Offering customers free credit reporting after such slow detection rates seems a little akin to trying to reattach the stable door after the horse has settled down elsewhere and started a new life.

On the subject of depressingly belated breach detection, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino was hit by PoS malware for 7 months, whilst rival group Intercontinental Hotels was busy downloading malicious email attachments across several of its locations. Although less impressive than Hard Rock’s record, the Intercontinental chain had been attacked for 4 months until the Secret Service pointed out to them they had been getting hit. And we all thought no good could come of US mass surveillance!

I suspect few people were overly sympathetic when the Internal Revenue Service was hit in a breach that it would turn out affected 330,000 US taxpayers; the original number disclosed came in at about a third as many. With the data lost including Social Security numbers, it’s no surprise identity fraud was quick to follow and some of those affected even started legal proceedings against the IRS who they claim knowingly ignored technical vulnerabilities.

Meanwhile BitFinex could have been another footnote in the brief history of cryptocurrencies, however despite being hit by a targeted attack and losing some 1500+ Bitcoins, the fact they kept funds in separate multisig vaults spared them a further 99.5% of their digital wealth. A small step for crypto exchanges, a giant leap for damage limitation through effective security procedures.

As if further proof was needed about the simple yet impactful effect of hacktivist attacks, the World Trade Organisation fell foul of an Anonymous SQL injection against an e-learning system. Through this vector the WTO lost data for 50k+ records, including 58 admin account logins.

June – Government handouts

No one is safe online. Not your government, not the military, and not even security vendors. We’ve all seen tales of two-bit security start-ups overpromising on the power of their brand of snake oil, but Kaspersky are one of the household names. And not in a trading on the success of decades old antivirus products kind of way, they know their stuff and are usually on the front line of research and disclosures.

It came as something of a surprise then when it was discovered that the Russian AV firm had been breached. The attack, executed by those responsible for 2011’s Duqu APT, took advantage of a compromised digital certificate issued to Taiwanese hardware-manufacturer Foxconn as well as three simultaneous zero-day exploits to transfer malware. Due to the highly complex and costly nature of the methods used, there is a general consensus that those involved were backed by a nation state. These are people who usually try their utmost to avoid detection, so the question remains as to their motivation – Bragging rights? Capability testing? Preparation for a third iteration of Duqu? Or simply to access Kaspersky’s data?

Government website uptime around the western world took a hammering in June. This was in part due to a number of DDoS attacks launched at Canadian public sector entities including the site, Ontario’s police association, and their Security Intelligence Service’s (CSIS) site. Things weren’t much different south of the border, with the US Army’s site taken down by the Syrian Electronic Army, and some 47 other US government agencies lost user login details. Civil servants in America were hit from all sides as 22m government employee records were lost when the Office of Personnel Management were hit in a highly targeted attack.

Over on the dark web, Akorn Inc., a pharmaceutical, found its customer database of 50,000 the subject of an online auction; considerately the firm were invited to bid to buy their own data back. This followed an earlier SQL injection against vulnerable PHP files across their server environment. You would suspect that had the data stolen included any IP, blank chequebooks would have been waved at those responsible; but this shows how fundamental information security is to an organisation’s ability to conduct its business.

Paranoia around putting all your online security eggs in one basket appeared justified, as password manager LastPass discovered unauthorised network space. They claim that vault encryption remained uncompromised but urgently encouraged all users to reset their master passwords nonetheless. This wasn’t the first of such attacks against what is a very obvious and appealing attack surface, and it won’t be the last. While using such products enables far more effective password security, there is an air of inevitability and expectation that a serious incident will occur sooner or later as the payload holds such value.

Reading like something from a Hollywood script, Polish airline LOT was forced to cancel 10 flights and reschedule 12 others when computers responsible for issuing flight plans were attacked. We’ve heard a number of things about the potential of attacks on in-flight systems, but this was certainly a wake up call to those in the aviation industry if ever one was needed about the high impact nature of any incidents on such systems. It may seem like hyperbolic media sensationalism, but it seems like it is only a matter of time before a cyber incident results in real world casualties.


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Fantasy Football – The Secret to MBA Admission?

Fantasy Football – The Secret to MBA Admission?

We  know what you’re thinking:   These nerds have never been on a real football field, so of course they love fantasy football!  That’s mean-spirited and not entirely true. ..a little bit.  Perhaps you think it’s really a stretch to think there is a link between fantasy football and MBA admissions, but strap up and come along for the ride – we’ll get you there!  Firstly, excuse me to all those men and women who are not actively involved in American Fantasy Football (why not?), but this blog is seasonally relevant as the NFL draft recently occurred and it’s time to start assembling the squad.  Hopefully, most people are familiar with the “fantasy” concept (I’m sure there is fantasy in other sports around the world like soccer, rugby, badminton), but the general concept is that you are allowed to pick a few players in a given sport  and compete against other people in your league with your chosen fantasy all-star team.  As I contemplate a tough fantasy football championship loss and try to figure out what went wrong this season, I realized a surprising connection to MBA admissions:  The “every down back” – a player that has enough skills where he can contribute to all the offensive sets and is continually on the field.

When I look at my fantasy team this year, I had a good QB (Tom Brady, you are the man!), good WRs and a decent tight end, but my running backs split time with other players.    What happened to the days of Emmitt Smith, Marshall Faulk, or Barry Sanders getting every carry and catches on third down?  Just as those backs are the key to fantasy football success, having that “complete” skill set is the key to getting accepted to a top MBA program.   (thanks for sticking with me, I’m getting to the point).

The “every down back” equivalent for MBA admissions is the candidate that has it all – performance at work, a strong academic background, good test scores, personal successes and triumphs, community impact, youthful good looks (okay- this isn’t totally necessary – just dress well).  You will generally know where you stand regarding gaining admission if you analyze your results in each of those categories as compared to your peers at those respective business schools.    Sure, you can get into a 2nd or 3rd tier MBA program without the complete package, but good luck making it to the Super Bowl (i.e. Wharton, Stanford GSB, HBS, etc.) without strength in nearly all areas.  A lot of our clients are lacking in either academic, test scores or community areas, but the good news is those are generally the easiest areas to fix.  If you test scores are weak, take a GMAT / GRE class.  Academics poor?   Take a few relevant classes to bolster your GPA.   No community involvement?   Find a volunteer organization where you have an interest or passion and make an impact!

The admissions regular season is about to start in about six weeks or so and we are now in the MBA application pre-season.  If you want to win a championship in late 2013 early 2014, it’s time plan and make moves now as the pre-season is where rings are won and lost (this football metaphor is getting out of hand, we know J.   Spend the time to think about your candidacy and bolster your areas of weakness.  It goes a long way when “Ingrid the Investment Banker” or “Mark the Marketer” can show that they are much more than what they have accomplished at work (performance at work is a given for top MBA programs).  Be the every down back and you should be well-positioned to have confetti falling on your head before hopping a flight to Disneyland to pal around with some 20-year old doomed to be Mickey Mouse for the rest of his life while you celebrate your MBA application championship!

Reach out if you’d like to have a free consultation!

The guys and ladies @ AdmitAdvantage

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Sunday, July 19, 2009

968 Amstutz Drive Available Again!

968 Amstutz drive had an offer the Monday after the first open house and went into pending very quickly. However the Buyer's loan did not go through and the property is now back on the market1 Those of you that missed this property the first time, it is back on the market!

Since there has been so much interest in the property, we have provided more time for Buyers to preview the home.

Join us for an Open House Sunday July 19th from 1PM to 2PM and also July 25th and July 26th from 1PM to 2PM. Offers will be reviewed on July 27th by 5PM. Please e-mail offers to or fax to (408)516-9325.

Disclosures and inspections are all available contact me for more details!

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Contact Sheets from “people I know”

Like I suppose you must know, a picture it is not a single picture. Usually the final picture is chose from an entire series of images. These are a few contact sheets of known “people I know” exhibition pictures.

Maybe it is interesting to see what frame was before and after the frame I choose for my project. This may be interesting for some of you, especially for those that are already familiar with my “people I know” project.

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“Upload a New Version” on BetterLesson

September 2, 2011

Last year, your “Measuring Mass” lab lesson went well.  But there are a few things you’ll tweak when you teach the lesson again this year.  As you improve upon your lesson materials, you can replace your old files on BetterLesson with their newest versions by using the “Upload New Version” feature.

Send us your feedback.  Let us know if you’re using this feature and how we can improve upon it.  Please email us at

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Sex & Pink Socks

Occasionally, a woman may need to bite her tongue.  Although that may sound like a kinky sex tip, it isn’t — but I’ll get to that in a minute.  First, let me give you a little background on the Pink Sock Situation.

I was in Egypt right before all hell broke loose in January 2011.  While cruising down the Nile (the only major river in the world that flows to the north), my husband and I sent off seven days worth of dirty socks and a couple other items to be washed.  We were traveling light: five people for three weeks in two backpacks, and Egypt is very dusty, so we wore socks and shoes everywhere (except on the boat), and we thought ourselves very clever for planning down to the last dirty sock.
The very reasonably priced laundry service returned our clothes two days later: One pink dress, one newly pink polo shirt, and 70 bright pink socks.  We had a good laugh until my husband and three sons realized they would be trouping around the Great Pyramid, the Valley of the Kings, and the ubiquitous statues of Rameses II in glowing pink socks.  (To his credit, my teenage son wore his newly pink polo shirt without comment, but the pink socks were a stretch, even for him.)  When we got home, my husband tossed every last sock in the trash without comment.  That got me thinking about the unexpected, but ubiquitous…

Pink Sock Situation

Once upon a time a man did a load of laundry and one of his partner’s white socks accidentally came out pink.  She was annoyed: “How hard is it to separate whites and non-whites when you do the wash?” she asked him, shaking her head and holding the offending item up like a dead rat.

The guy was embarrassed (and frustrated, too).  He had tried to do the right thing, and instead of thanks, he got chastised.  How hard is it to just throw the damn thing away? he wondered.

Time passed.  Things went well for the couple and they decided to start a family.  They got pregnant and had a baby.  Suddenly, their ordered lives were tossed into a jumbled heap in the middle of the unvacuumed living room rug.  (Babies have a way of doing that to you.)  No one got enough sleep, and that was perilous.  He tried to help out at night, but the baby cried for his mother, so the man gave up and slept fitfully on the couch.  The woman had always wanted to have a child, but this was more than she had bargained for, and her husband wasn’t helping much.  He hated to admit it, but he was relieved when his paternal leave was up, and he could go back to work.

That first day alone, sore from giving birth and utterly exhausted, the young mother was still in her pajamas at 4pm.  She had just gotten the baby to fall asleep after nearly three hours of crying and was thinking that if she hurried, she could take a hot shower and change her clothes before the ravenous infant awakened and demanded her attention.  She tiptoed out of the bedroom to get clean underwear (she hadn’t done laundry in weeks!) and stopped in the kitchen, suddenly famished.  A number of months ago, her husband had brought home the wrong pasta sauce and an expired salad, so she had done all the shopping after that.  Now, she didn’t have the energy to walk to the garage, let alone drive to the store, and the fridge was an empty wasteland.

She stuffed some old Triscuits into the pocket of her robe and went back to looking for clean clothes.  There weren’t any.  She slumped down onto the massive pile of dirty laundry, tears in her eyes, and bit down on a stale cracker, wondering why her husband didn’t do more to help around the house.

Does this story sound familiar?  What if I switch the pink sock for a melted spatula or a low-rider diaper or a comment along the lines of “not exactly the clothes I would have picked out for little Emma”?

The moral of the story: If the work he’s doing in “your domain” is good enough, say thank you and then force your lips into a smile (and surreptitiously toss the sock or the salad out later).  If he does something that you think is dangerous, by all means speak up, but otherwise, think long and hard about complaining.  No one wants to be in a relationship where they are constantly in trouble for failing to live up to someone else’s (arbitrary and unnecessary?) standards.  If you want him to help out around the house, then don’t complain when he does.  Instead, recognize that he is trying to contribute and find SOMETHING to compliment.  Everyone makes mistakes, and pink socks aren’t the end of the world, even in Egypt.

What does all of this have to do with good sex, you ask?  Here’s the tip, guys:  Tired, overworked, resentful spouses (of either gender) don’t make for good sex partners.  If you want her to show more enthusiasm for a romp under the covers, then do what you can to lighten the load a bit, even if it means risking a pink sock now and then.  Men wearing aprons are sexy, and so are men pushing vacuums or carrying laundry baskets and grocery bags.  If you don’t believe me, try it out, and when she wraps her arms around your waist and leans her head against your back, grateful that you jumped in to help, you may find the perfect opportunity to take off those pink socks.

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Thursday, March 24, 2011

Race Report - New Bedford Half marathon

By Mark Vatour

For the last 3 years I’ve raced the New Bedford Half Marathon a season opener. While it conflicts with Quncy I like the level of organization (chips, waterstops, clocks at every mile and a fairly good crowd support). New Bedford has a large field with a good showing from the BAA etc as it is a final Boston tune up for many. This race is always cold as it is on the water and there are two moderate hills. This would be my longest run in a while but after and abysmal performance at the Multisport Expo TT I was hoping to run 1:30 but decided I’d be happy at 1:31ish.

So after long a long bathroom line I shed a few layers and headed off to the start. The gun went and the race started. For the first few minutes I was assessing just how little clothing I was wearing and how cold I thought I’d be. I went though the first mile at 6:10 and realized I was in trouble. Sensible racing would have had me staring at a lot closer to 7minutes. Oh well. I was quickly passed by Karen Smyers and decided I’d stay with her (in my mind she must be the she must be the smartest person in the race right?). The miles seemed to click a way. I’d drink a little but not a lot as the water as it was cold and I didn’t want to wear it. I was using the race clocks to do the math in my head rather than look at my Garmin. I went though mile 7 is 45minutes so I knew I was ahead of 1:30 pace but was starting to feel a bit tight. The New Bedford course is notoriously windy as the race turns along the water and this year was not different.

At each passing mile I was trying to do the math of how much of a gap might have. I had started to “give back” time and watched my cushion shrink with each passing mile. I also started having flashbacks to Brian Quigley passing me at mile 9 a year before. So with one eye on the race clock and another over my shoulder kept running while I started running out of gas. I finished at 1:29:12, pleased to be under 1:30 but definitely learning something of a lesson about having gone out too fast. Quigley never caught me as he never showed up. Michelle Quigley did and seemed to have a great result.

Race Report - NYC Half marathon

By Brendan Hall

New York, New York, the place of my birth, how I do love thee so. And what's not to love? The energy, the crowds, the excitement, the homeless dude playing the cello whilst singing "Wind Beneath My Wings" in perfect pitch. It's a spectacle and a perfect venue for an early-season half marathon. Now, since certain BTTers made my time look like I pulled a rickshaw with a family of four through the course, I'll spare you the details of my belabored motoring and focus on some of the more colorful aspects of my race weekend experience. (I did manage to pull off a 3+ minute PR with the rickshaw, btw)

I drove down Saturday morning and met a friend for a nutritious brunch in the West Village after which, while bouncing around in the early spring sunlight and breathing in the crisp air with its record-breaking pollutants in parts per million, I happened upon two cute little dogs outside of a cafe. They started sniffing my Converse and I returned the favor by petting them and asking the owner what their names were. When I looked up to meet her eye-to-eye, it was none other than Hillary Swank...seriously! I'd like to say that I maintained my composure and said something SO charming to the two-time Oscar winner in yoga pants that we spent the rest of the day cocktailing and making out but instead, I'm pretty sure I told her she looked hot in "Boys Don't Cry" and then blacked out. Moving on...

As Eric mentioned, the "expo" was nothing to get excited about nor was the swag bag. It wasn't overly crowded when I went, which is nice because I was still getting over my run-in with Hillary and crowds generally freak me out like clowns at a child's birthday party...or anywhere for that matter. I was hoping to pick up some Gu and/or other race fuel and they had nada. The only memorable item in my swag bag was Axe Body Soap which is hilarious for any number of reasons. After the expo I headed to my hotel to nap and woke up just in time to meet my brother at a sports bar and catch some NCAA hoops over Chicken Salad sandos...and a beer or two. (Sorry, Jorge!)

I rose to meet the race day at 5am, wolfed down all of the bodega bought breakfast treasures I had secured the night before and after watching 3-4 episodes of ESPN, headed out to catch a cab, a task I assumed would be easy at 6:45am...I was wrong. I ran all over midtown trying to flag someone/anyone down for a ride to 95th and 5th and after 20 minutes, I finally convinced a fellow runner who was already in a cab at a red light to let me jump in with her. My first cab-jacking...what a rush! We arrived to the race start with plenty of time to spare for a quick warm-up before the gun went off.

The conditions were perfect and running in Central Park is always a blast no matter what time of year. Great crowd support, a few long ups and downs before hitting the super flats of Broadway, 42nd Street and then West Side Highway. At the end of the day, I hit my goal of 1:35 and was pretty pleased with myself. So much so, I pulled off a second cab-jacking to get back up-town. I highly recommend jumping in the lottery pool next year. I know I will. Now, back to updating Hillary's wiki page...

Race Report - NYC Half marathon

By Eric Lambi

I decided to race the NYC half this year largely because I am a wimp who cannot handle the hills and wind at the New Bedford Half. I made this race the focus of my winter training with the goal of setting a new half marathon PR (previous PR 1:22:50). So with that in mind, my wife and I left our only child in the hands of a complete stranger on Saturday morning, did the long drive to NYC, hit the expo to pick up my number (expo was lame), ate dinner at Carmine's in the theatre district (didn't like, don't recommend), went to the Lion King (very good, do recommend) and hit the sack about 6 hours before my 5AM wakeup call.

Sunday morning I left the hotel a little before 6 (race start time 7:30) fearing that I would not be able to find a cab and would be forced to take the subway. As luck would have it I got a cab almost immediately. Apparently, my cab driver was training to join the Nascar circuit because we drove around the perimeter of Central Park at interstate speeds, weaving in and out of the other taxis driving the other racers to the starting area. The ride raised my heart rate and adrenaline levels, which surely improved my race time.

The NYC Half race course is point-to-point and starts in Central Park. It loops around the park for 8 miles then heads south out of the park through Times Square, over to the West Side highway, and south to the finish near Battery Park. The Central Park section is rolling and twisty, requiring a lot of focus on your tangents. The last 5 miles outside of the park are flat and fast, and we had a tailwind, which really helped on the finishing straight. My plan was to run between 6 and 6:10 miles for the first ~5k and evaluate how I felt from there. Showing how committed I was to this plan, I ran each of the first 5 miles all 6 minutes, but was still feeling good at this point and knew I was going to have a great race. The sixth mile at the north end of Central Park was mostly uphill and I took it relatively easy, clocking a 6:15 (slowest mile of the race) and then gradually sped up on the downhill section to the park exit near mile 8.

Running into Time Square was absolutely the highlight of this race. The announcer mentioned at the start line that this is one of only two annual events for which Time Square gets shut down (the other being the New Year's Eve party), and this section of the course really makes the race unique. Inside of Times Square I lost my GPS signal, so I was focused on staying with the racers around me. I crossed the 10 mile mark at 1:00:2? and knew that I would be able to break 1:20, a faster time than my pre-race expectations, relatively easily. I considered the possibility of going into the hurt locker and trying to break 1:19, but I have a marathon this coming Saturday and thought I would be better off keeping something in reserve for that race. As a result, I spent the last 5k staring at my Garmin making sure I wasn't running too slow and watching others pass me and fade into the distance. I crossed the finish line with a time of 1:19:40, which I was thrilled with. This is a good result for me and gives me a lot of confidence heading into next weekend's marathon (The National Marathon in Washington D.C.). I'm now doing my best to recover and prepare for that race.

Post-race we went to my favorite restaurant in the entire world: Norma's at Le Parker Meridien (  I highly recommend this place to anyone who likes to eat.


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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Content Marketing: The future of marketing your business online

By Ryan Kettler of Preation, Inc.

Businesses everywhere are continually trying to stay on top of the latest trends in online marketing. Whether it’s through utilizing a blog, social media, or Google Adwords, businesses employ a great deal of effort trying to get the word out to their target markets, about their products and services, in the most efficient and effective manner possible. One method of reaching new customers online is called content marketing. What is content marketing you might ask?

Content Marketing refers to the process of using high quality content to attract new customers to your website. Content marketing isn't a new concept. Business marketers have been writing articles and publishing press releases to promote their businesses for many years. But now with the high volume of business that is conducted online, content marketing has become an important method for promoting businesses on the Internet.

A key advantage that businesses gain through content marketing is low-cost traffic to their websites. Content Marketing has been proven to be the most cost effective method of driving new visitors to a website.

Unlike popular online marketing techniques like email newsletters and surveys that help businesses communicate with their existing customers, content marketing allows businesses to reach new customers. Other methods for attracting new customers online include purchasing text advertisements with Google AdWords or Facebook and purchasing banner advertisements with Yahoo Ads or DoubleClick or the Online Yellow Pages.

Online advertisements typically result in a cost of $2.00 - $3.00 to acquire a new visitor to a business website. By contrast, content marketing, when done correctly, can deliver high quality traffic for as little as 2-3 cents per visitor. That’s like finding a coupon for 99% off all of your online advertising!

Do you have a website that just isn't living up to your expectations as a marketing tool no matter what you try? It's not your fault, you probably have a great utility website (i.e. e-commerce websites, business process websites, customer service website). The good news is that you don't have to abandon your utility website in order to get a marketing website. In fact, your utility website will be an important part of your new online marketing strategy.

The best way to quickly begin doing content marketing is to launch a content marketing website for your business. It only takes a few minutes to get started. You can sign up for a free trial of Eden Platform, a low-cost content marketing system, at

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Thursday, February 7, 2013

Clinipace named to FORBES "Most Promising Companies" list

CED Member Clinipace Worldwide, a global digital contract research organization (dCRO), today announced that the company has been listed at No. 36 on FORBES annual ranking of America’s Most Promising Companies -- a list of 100 privately held, high-growth companies with bright futures.
Clinipace has closed four global acquisitions over the past three years. Most recently, Clinipace acquired Paragon Biomedical, expanding its therapeutic expertise, site management capabilities, and clinical operations. In addition, the company extended its global footprint with the addition of offices in Irvine, California, High Wycombe, United Kingdom, and Trivandrum, India. Clinipace now employs over 450 individuals globally.This prestigious list is based on growth (both in sales and hiring), quality of management team and investors, margins, market size and key partnerships.
“It is an honor to be named to FORBES’ ranking of America’s Most Promising Companies,” said Jeff Williams, CEO, Clinipace Worldwide. “We owe this achievement to the dedication and expertise of our employees who work tirelessly to deliver a new service delivery model with which we are changing and improving the way clinical trials are run through a technology-enabled platform.”
Clinipace raised $13.2 million from six investors in just two weeks in September 2012, and an additional $9 million Series C-2 round led by Harbert Venture Partners and acquired Paragon Biomedical in October 2012.

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Plus Size Proportions: Apple Shape

You’re most likely an Apple shape if:

  • You have slim legs & a flat bottom
  • You have wide & defined shoulders
  • You have a prominent tummy
  • Your waist is as wide or larger than your shoulders & hips

Celebrities Queen Latifah and Sara Ramirez (Grey’s Anatomy) are both confident Apple shapes that know how to dress to impress.  Basically, it comes down to a balancing act and when you’re an Apple shape that means balancing your top half with your bottom half.  The proportions of a garment and the way it fits your body are so much more important than following the latest trend or fitting into a certain size.

1 - Apple Shape

Many Apples inherently possess something that all North American women covet: great gams! With your shape, a loose fitting tunic goes a long way in camouflaging the tummy. Try pairing a tunic with leggings or skinny jeans and a pair of funky heels or boots.  Drawing attention to your fabulous legs will draw eyes downward and visually balance your top half.

For tops and dresses, Apple shapes can minimize their torso with an empire waist.  Like the ancient Greeks from which this style was borrowed (and the French Empire for which it was named) this silhouette is classically flattering. In fact, we have Napoleon Bonaparte’s wife Josephine, a trendsetter in her day, to thank for its revival.  She popularized the empire waist during the French revolution.  To try this style look for tops that will emphasize the narrowest part of your upper body (right under your bust).  Make sure there is enough fabric to drape loosely across your tummy.  Also keep your eye out for V-necks because they’ll elongate your torso as well.

As any fashionista knows, the jacket or coat you wear can make or break an outfit. Look for styles that hit below the waist or have a belt.  Also, make sure there is only a single row of buttons.  Double breasted styles will just add unwanted width through the torso.

Well there you have it!  Now you have all the knowledge to make a wardrobe as fabulous as you!  If you have questions, comment below.  We’re always happy to help!

xox Cherry Velvet

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Digital marketing to promote online courses

To publicize your course and attract students, especially if you are starting in this market, it is important learn a bit about digital marketing and study strategies that are of great value to promote online courses.

Digital marketing to promote online courses

Promote online courses: what are the major challenges of the digital marketing

A big advantage that the internet and digital marketing brought to new entrepreneurs who want to promote online courses, is a better chance to compete with large enterprises.

The online release of a brand, product or service costs much less than the dissemination via traditional media, and with the right strategy it is possible to achieve excellent results and reach a large number of people.

But to use the digital marketing to promote online courses, is necessary study and practice, and some factors may present a greater challenge, such as:

Analyze Big Data

Big Data is the name given to the large volume of data generated every day on the Internet. Information we leave on digital channels we visited and which are of great value to businesses know what our preferences, what we seek and are interested in consuming.

Despite these data get recorded, manage them is quite complicated and the main challenge of the small and medium entrepreneur is to do this analysis correctly, in order to draw more assertive strategies to promote online courses and publicize their business.

Adapt to different platforms

Create an appropriate digital marketing strategy to the different media platforms is necessary for an effective promotion campaign, but this task is becoming increasingly complex.

The number of channels and social networks has increased significantly in recent years and each has its peculiarities, which requires an elaborate strategy to integrate all effective and in a complementary way.

Increased competition

It got easier compete with the big companies, it is true, the problem is that it got easier for everyone, which caused a considerable increase in competition.

As everyone has access to the same resources to promote online courses and gain prominence amid a tight market, you need much more dedication and constant improvement of the contents.

Aware of this competition, the was developed with intuitive interface, content and settings optimized for SEO.

Complete platform of online teaching and learning (LMS), is very easy to use, perfect solution for those who want to create, promote and sell online courses.

Visit our website, test, see how simple it is to use and start right now to profit from doing what you like.


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Archive | History RSS for this section

Happy 2nd Birthday

HappyBirthdayI just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Birthday on this second anniversary of Two years ago today, citizen scientist “parrish” provided the first classification. Here’s what we get from that first one:

1,parrish,Td0721(1981),1981-07-22 09:00:00 UTC,2012-09-26 18:57:45 UTC,1981202N24123.TD0721.1981.07.22.0900.37.GMS-1.034.hursat-b1.v05.png,,,,,,,,,band-2.0,,,GMS-1,same,curved

To most, it is a bunch of comma-separated gobbledygook However, to our science team, it is a treasure trove of information — especially when you consider we have 350,000+ lines of this data.

Read More…

Trouble in Paradise: Hawaii and Tropical Cyclones

Hawaii – a tropical paradise, full of sun, fun, palm trees, beauty, mountains, volcanoes and more.  But wait…have you ever thought about Hawaii and tropical cyclones?  Although not frequent, tropical cyclones have battered the Hawaiian Islands several times in recent memory.

Read More…

Do cyclones develop ‘off-season’ in the Atlantic?

Headquarters for the U.S. National Hurricane Center

In the Atlantic, the official dates for the hurricane season are 1 June – 30 November. This certainly doesn’t mean that cyclones only exist during this time frame, yet 97% of all cyclones that have developed have occurred during those months.  While we really won’t know exactly how many cyclones have developed out of season prior to 20th century technological advances, there is evidence of off-season storms in the Atlantic dating back to May of 1771, and more recently tropical storm Beryl in May of 2012. Most cyclones that develop out of season do not typically impact the U.S., but there have been more than handful that have, giving us pause to think what a fickle planet our Earth can be.

Read More…

Featured Storm – Super Typhoon Fengshen (2002)

Origin and Track of Typhoon Fengshen

Origin and Track of Typhoon Fengshen

Typhoon Fengshen was the strongest storm of the 2002 Pacific typhoon season. It developed on July 13 near the Marshall Islands and rapidly intensified due to its small size. Fengshen went from being a tropical depression to a cyclone in only 6 hours. By July 15, Fengshen was given typhoon status, and after initially moving to the north, it turned toward the northwest. On July 18, the typhoon reached its peak intensity of 185 km/h (115 mph), according to the Japan Meteorological Agency; the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) estimated peak winds of 270 km/h (165 mph). Disparities like this between agencies are the driving force behind the creation/purpose of  Cyclone Center, and with your help these dissimilarities can be smoothed out. Your classifications are important to us, so we ask that you please take a moment and provide your input on Typhoon Fengshen to help us determine its peak winds.

Typhoons Fengshen (north) and Fung-Wong

Typhoons Fengshen (north) and Fung-Wong (south) undergo the Fujiwhara effect

The JTWC estimated that Fengshen was a super typhoon for five days, which broke the record for longest duration at that intensity. This record would later be tied by Typhoon Ioke in 2006. While approaching peak intensity, Typhoon Fengshen underwent the Fujiwhara effect with Typhoon Fung-wong, causing the latter storm to loop to its south. The Fujiwhara effect is when two nearby cyclonic vortices orbit each other and close the distance between the circulations of their corresponding low-pressure areas. Interaction of smaller circulations can cause the development of a larger cyclone, or cause two cyclones to merge into one.

Fengshen gradually weakened while approaching Japan, and it crossed over the country’s Ōsumi Islands on July 25 as a severe tropical storm. The typhoon swept a freighter ashore, killing four of the 19 crew members aboard. In Japan, Fengshen dropped heavy rainfall that caused mudslides and left $4 million (¥475 million Japanese Yen) in crop damage. After affecting Japan, Fengshen weakened in the Yellow Sea to a tropical depression, before moving across China’s Shandong Peninsula and dissipating on July 28. The typhoon produced strong winds and heavy rain in Japan. A station in Miyazaki Prefecture reported the highest rainfall in Japan with a total of 717 mm (28.2 in). Most of the precipitation fell in a 24 hour period, and the heaviest 1 hour total was 52 mm (2.0 in) in Taira, Toyama. The remnants of Fengshen produced heavy rainfall in northeastern China. The storm affected the capital city of Beijing, becoming the first storm to produce significant impact there since Typhoon Rita in 1972.

– Kyle Gayan is an undergraduate student in Atmospheric Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and is also a retired USAF Master Sergeant; his 20 years of service was spent exclusively in the weather career field. He recently joined the Cyclone Center team as a classifier and contributor to our social media.

Hurricane Katrina and the Intensifying Coastal Threat

This week Cyclone Center introduces Hurricane Katrina (2005) as one of our featured storms.  This is the 8th anniversary of Katrina’s assault on the northern Gulf of Mexico coast.  The city of New Orleans, despite a massive system of protective levees and pumps, lost over 1500 souls, almost all from drowning when water flooded about 80% of the city.  Since then,  millions of dollars have been spent on the repair and upgrade of the levee system in and around metro New Orleans.  Are they ready for the next one?

“We’ll be absolutely ready for it,” said U.S. Army Corps communications officer Wade Habshey in a recent Discovery News article. “What we have in place now can withstand a Katrina-level storm.”

New Orleans flooding caused by 60 kt. winds, 10-14 ft. storm surge.  Category-5 values: 150 kt winds, 30-35 ft. storm surge.

New Orleans flooding caused by 60 kt. winds, 10-14 ft. storm surge. Category-5 values: 140 kt winds, 25-35 ft. storm surge.

But what exactly is a “Katrina-level” storm?  Winds in downtown New Orleans rarely exceeded minimal hurricane force at the peak of the event.  Storm surge and the strongest winds from the weakening Katrina were focused well to the east in coastal Mississippi.  And yet levees failed, water flooded significant portions of the city, and over 1,500 perished.

An even bigger concern in the long-term are geological changes occurring in the area; coastal portions of Louisiana are sinking into the ocean as climate-forced sea levels continue to rise and land areas sink.  This exacerbates the threat of  hurricanes for a region that experiences one on average every couple of years.  Many climate scientists now believe that hurricanes will be stronger on average in the future as the ocean, which provides the fuel for the storms, continues to warm.

What more should be done?  Government officials exude confidence that the improvements to the levy system will hold up, but we’ve heard that story before.  Claims were made soon after Katrina that the levee system was designed to withstand a Category-3 storm , not something like “Katrina’s strength”.  We’ve already seen that Katrina wasn’t even a hurricane in New Orleans – what happens when a real Category-4 or 5 storm hits the area?  We can only hope that residents will have left, because it’s a very good bet that there will be little dry land to stand on.

– Chris Hennon is part of the Cyclone Center Science Team and Associate Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Asheville

Diary of 1949 Typhoon Allyn: Part 4 – The end

If you missed it, read the introduction to this article and part 1 and part 2 and part 3.

Admin Bldg. #4 ComMar after Typhoon Allyn. Guam 20 Nov. 1949

Admin Bldg. #4 ComMar after Typhoon Allyn. Guam 20 Nov. 1949

Typhoon Allyn was one of the most destructive to pass Guam. Although the eye passes some distance to the South, damage was severe over most of the island. the following is the conclusion of a diary of events during the 10 hours of the storm’s passage over the island.

“1705K: The eye of the typhoon passed approximately 45 miles to the south of the station between 1615 and 1630K. Our pressure has risen two millibars now and should continue to rise as the storm moves on.

“1720K: An item of interest might be that when the air freight terminal went to pieces, there were several cars wrecked. One in particular, a Ford, is folded up just like an accordion and is one complete wreck. Several other cars are almost as bad. The front end of the terminal building here is beginning to sag and the operations sections has a large hole in it. Doesn’t look good if these winds continue as they are.

“1800K: Forecast diminishing winds and eye passage given to radio at 1715K to be relayed to [other bases]. Courier from Harmon arrived 1730K and was given forecast. Wind at this timeis definitely swinging to south presently southeast at 70 knots with gusts to 85 knots.

“1915K: Forecast given … that winds would be 30 knots by [midnight], present winds SE at 50 knots with gusts to 60 knots.

“2200K: The winds are slowly dying down, but still holding steady around 40 knots with gusts in the 50s. Our pressure is on the rise still and by 6 hours everything should be well under control. Light rain is continuing to fall with intermittent heavy showers.”

So in the time span from noon until 10 p.m., the conditions went from showers to dangerous winds back to rain showers. The result was catastrophic. Nearly $20 million (1949 dollars, about $200 million in 2012 dollars) was done to military installations. The economy of Guam was also severely impacted.  Most – if not all – of several important crops were destroyed: breadfruits (100% lost), vegetables (90%), banana (75%) and so on.

Diary of 1949 Typhoon Allyn: Part 3 – The center passes

If you missed it, read the introduction to this article and part 1 and part 2.

This is the strongest part of the storm. Part 4 will conclude the diary and summarize some information from the damage report.

“1605K: Now getting gusts to 100 m.p.h. Everything still holding fairly well. Visibility is less than one eighth of a mile and rain is falling at a rate of about 4 hundredths of an inch per hour. Emergency lights still not working. Believe the starter is out. Pressure still falling. The clouds still the same with a few breaks in the lower stratus with overcast solid above. Ceiling is now about 50 feet.

“1620K: Put in for a call to Clark field and was greeted by a call from Iwo Jima. They want to close down operations there but advised that they stay in operation for at least 24 hours in case of emergency at this station. Gave them the latest information on the storm and our condition. The wind is estimated at 90 knots now and the visibility is almost zero. The ceiling is estimated at 50 feet in precipitation.

“1632K: Corrugated roofing just started tearing off the roof of the terminal, it made a tremendous crash when the section tore off. All of the troops that are using the terminal as a typhoon shelter had looks of apprehension and I can’t say that I blame them. Indications are that the barometer is starting to level out. The crash of sheet metal on the terminal wasn’t the terminal roof apparently but the remains of the freight terminal on the east side of us. Capt. Highley said that it completely collapsed.Visibility has lifted from zero to 3/4 of a mile but the wind still has 110 knot gusts.

“1650K: Report just received from the Rawin crew, who had just left their hut, and they say that all the buildings are going and that sheet metal is flying thick through the air. Looks like the center has passed us as we had a 1 millibar rise in [pressure in] the last 15 minutes, although will wait for one more observation before we draw any definite conclusions. Winds still haven’t decreased although they are beginning to vear into the SE. Maybe its past us.”

Part 4 will contain the conclusion of this diary and a summary of the damage report.

Diary of 1949 Typhoon Allyn: Part 2 – Conditions worsen

If you missed it, read the introduction to this article and part 1.

What is rawin? What is the hydrogen shack? What is Antrac? What is a T-6? Well, I’m learning as I transcribe this, too. I’ve provided links to other sites that provide more information, but some things are still a mystery to me. For instance, Antrac appears to be related to air traffic control (that is, what I’ve learned from web searching). But I could be wrong.

Page from Consolidated Report on 1949 Typhoon Allyn

Page from Consolidated Report on 1949 Typhoon Allyn

The following is an hour of notes from Typhoon Allyn.

“1437K: Just went outside to check on the T-6’s at the east end of the ramp. They are not in sight. Don’t know whether they have been moved or whether they are out of sight on the low end of the ramp. It is very difficult to stand erect in the open. Andersen AFB is estimating 85 knots. No buildings have blown down but trees are starting to go over. The pole for the Antrac antenna is swaying about six feet at the top. One pole has gone down at the Rawin shack. The banana trees have been uprooted. Rawin reports that the T-6’s were still on the ramp the last time they went by.

“1445K: The corrugated roof on the inflight kitchen quonset is starting to tear off. One section is gone completely and another is starting to rip off. Estimate that the Antrac pole will stay up another hour or hour and a half.

“1455K: Capt. Myers just returned from quarters area, he said that the large hangar doors just went through th PLM hangar as he came by. Heavy rain just began to fall and the visibility has been reduced to less than one eighth of a mile and the wind is now hanging at about ninety knots. The rain is in sheets and horizontal with the ramp. Debris is beginning to fly and the inflight kitchen is still holding its own. The wind tee is just about demolished.

“1510K: The station is being used as a fire control center for this area. The fire marshall has men stationed and is standing by himself for fires that are reprted into this station. The observer will not be able to take psychrometer readings much longer as it is impossible to stand against the wind.

“1515K: Numerous power lines have blown down, and island power is due to go off at anytime. We can’t get the emergency power unit to work.

“1520K: The lights just went out. No emergency power as yet, but repair crews on the way. Estimating the winds at 80 knots and the visibility at three eighths of a mile in torrential rains.

“1530: Pressure is dropping on an average of four millibars per hour and the tendency is still down. The bottom is really falling out of this. Sheet metal is now tearing off of the depot hangars and the Rawin shack is OK; however, the hydrogen shack is going. The doors have been blown off and it shouldn’t last much longer. Debris is traveling along the ramp at about twenty miles per hour.

Diary of 1949 Typhoon Allyn: Part 1 – Preparing for the storm

If you missed it, read the introduction to this article.

Before we continue the narrative, one should have an understanding of the time conventions in these posts. The U.S. military uses time zones named by letter. The “Z” time zone is the same as the UTC, the Universal Time Coordinate, which is the time in …. Guam – in the Western Pacific – is in the “K” time zone. So times listed in the report as “K” refer to local time. For instance, 17:00K is 5 p.m. local time. To learn which letter your time zone corresponds to, visit this web page describing time zones. Keep in mind that the following spans a three hour period.

1949 Typhoon Allyn's path through the Pacific

1949 Typhoon Allyn’s path through the Pacific

Page 4: “Running diary of approach of Typhoon Allyn:

“Arrived at Harmon at 1145K on the 17th and set up shop. Things proceeding normally with winds increasing slightly. The nine light indicator at this station won’t last too long from the indications. It is warbling loudly and the count of the flashes at this time is impossible.

“1315K: Wind has now picked up considerably and the reports from North indicate that they are abandoning the station as the radar tower is about to topple over. We are estimating the winds at this time and cross checking with the Navy. The wind at Harmon is now tearing the inflight kitchen apart. The pressure is falling ominously. We are taking readings every 15 minutes and estimating the wind every 5 min. Also, setting up to take readings with the sling psychrometer and trying to keep an accurate count of all the happenings as they occur.

“1322K: A piece of wiod just went down the ramp must have been a 6×6 and 10 feet long.

“1325K: The rawin tower is no longer visible. Winds must be in the vicinity of 70 knots [80 mph] at this time.

“1336K: [A] communication man just came in and said that JMP is going off the air. They are evacuating the station. We are now out of contact with the rest of the Pacific area.

“1355K: Winds are really beginning to blow now. It is whistling thru all the wires, and the poles next to the stations have quite a list to them. Estimating the winds at 60 knots at this time. Wind tee is hanging on by shreds. Communications are out as they have evacuated both the Weather Central and Guam Broadcast stations, so we are out of contact with everyone but Navy. Rain is coming down in sheets and visibility is getting bad. Visibility at 1/2 mile at this time.

“1420K: Low scud 200 feet [high covering] about eight tenths [of the sky] and [completely overcast] stratocumulus clouds just above, moving beter than 50 knots. Antenna pole at the edge of the building now has a 6 foot oscillation.

A first hand account of a typhoon landfall from 1949

In today’s society of 24-hour news and reporting via satellite, it is not uncommon to have unending first hand coverage of a hurricane, tropical cyclone, or typhoon as it makes landfall. In 1949, however, such an account was quite rare. At NCDC (NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center) we have historical records produced by the Air Force during the period when they flew aircraft into typhoons in the western North Pacific. One such report is the “Consolidated Report” which they produced for each typhoon. This report often includes the analysis of current conditions and forecast maps. It contains summaries of reconnaissance flights, communications, meteorological condition summaries and often a damage report.

Damage from 1949 Typhoon Allyn

Damage from 1949 Typhoon Allyn

One typhoon from 1949 – Typhoon Allyn – passed quite close to Guam. The forecasters there included in their “Consolidated Report: Typhoon ‘Allyn’ November 14-24, 1949” a rare addition: a running diary of the typhoon’s approach to Guam. Over the next few days, I’ll be reproducing the diary here for those interested in a first hand description of the landfall conditions. While this doesn’t contain video feeds, or interviews with local residents, it provides insight into the strength of these violent storms and those who had to work through such conditions. This reproduction of that report is dedicated to those who provided forecasts to our armed services and helped protect lives and property during those years of service at Guam and other forecast offices in the Pacific.

Page 4: “During the morning of 17 November, the wind strengthened to 30 knots [34 m.p.h.], and the dark sky and falling barometer gave sure indications of the advent of the storm. Arrangements had been made for Clark [another Air Force Base] to accept forecast responsibility. Also, Haneda had been instructed to perform the functions of the Typhoon Warning Center, for it appeared certain that Guam’s contact with the [outside world] was to be terminated abruptly and for an indefinite period. Acting on instructions to retain responsibility as long as possible, the Center almost overplayed its hand. The plan called for the Center to issue bulletin 13 [bulletins are their term for a warning] by 17:30Z. Clark was to issue bulletin 14; however 15 minutes before the bulletin 13 was ready for transmission, the communication station ceased operations. It was only by special arrangement that this final message was transmitted. By 04:00Z, 17 November, the surface wind was near 50 knots [57 m.p.h.] making the weather station an unhealthy place due to the proximity of a 40 foot radar tower; consequently, all personnel evacuated to typhoon shelters.

“Due to the fact that the weather station at Harmon Air Force Base was located in a typhoon proof structure, it was manned throughout the storm. The following remarks have been taken from a log kept by forecasters who operated that station, beginning 17 November at 11:45K (01:45Z).”

The remainder of this diary chronicles the ensuing 12 hours of the typhoon’s interaction with Guam.

To be continued…