text:
CEOs 'Encouraged' by Business Talks with Obama

The CEOs of 18 big companies, including Google, Boeing and General Electric, met with President Barack Obama to discuss the U.S. economy and the country's international competitiveness Wednesday.

FedEx Looks to Deliver Solid Gains in Its Latest Quarter

FedEx will likely show an increase in fiscal second-quarter earnings of about 20% from a year earlier when it releases its latest report on Thursday. The huge air-cargo carrier is looking for a jump in revenue to more than offset rising costs for jet fuel and other items.

Most FedEx Ground Drivers Lose in Class-Action Case

Right now, millions of Christmas presents are zooming around the country in FedEx trucks -- driven, one might think, by FedEx employees. However, it turns out the employment status of those drivers depends on which state they are working in, and according to a judicial ruling issued Tuesday, most are independent contractors.

FedEx Gears Up for Busiest Day of 2010

FedEx (FDX) is gearing up its busiest day of the year, confident that holiday shopping will help push traffic above its 2009 peak. FedEx, based in Memphis, Tenn., expects to handle about 16 million packages worldwide today, according to The Wall Street Journal. That%u2019s nearly 13% higher than its busiest day in 2009.

UPS to Require Photo IDs for Shipping Packages

UPS (UPS) is now requiring photo identification from customers shipping packages at retail locations around the world, a month after explosives made its way on to one of the company's planes.

Holiday Hiring Takes a Hit, Despite a Brighter Economy

Retailers and shipping companies are adding fewer new jobs than they did a year ago. One reason for the low number is that employers began shopping for seasonal workers earlier than usual, boosting hiring in October. If retail sales hold up, December could see more hiring.

Street Smart: What the Heck Is a Jobless Recovery?

When it comes to economic jargon there may be no more aggravating or seemingly contradictory phrase than "jobless recovery." What good is a recovery if it doesn't put people back to work? DailyFinance explains this oxymoronic state of affairs. [Video]

UPS Predicts 7.5% Jump in Holiday Shipping for 2010

As UPS gears up for its busiest time of year by hiring about 50,000 temporary workers, the world's largest package-delivery service said it expects to ship about 7.5% more packages this holiday season than it did a year ago.

As the Dollar Sinks, Prices of Essentials Soar

Intended or not, the Fed's quantitative easing policies are destroying the dollar's value. And that in turn is pushing prices of commodities that Americans need -- such as instance food, cotton and oil -- ever higher. And that hurts companies as well as consumers.

UPS to Raise Rates by 4.9% in 2011

UPS (UPS) will raise rates by 4.9 % for UPS ground packages in 2011. UPS will also raise rates by 4.9% for all air express and U.S. origin international shipments, the company said in a statement.

Are Air Cargo Costs About
to Go Sky High?

The discovery of two explosive devices found in packages on U.S.-bound cargo planes Friday raises new questions about security in the air-freight industry -- and its potential cost.

The 10 Biggest Corporate Givers to Politicians

As the mid-term election slowly draw nearer, we're taking a look at the companies whose deep pockets help keep America's political campaigns rolling along. With the help of the nonpartisan folks at the Center for Responsive Politics, we've combined a list of the top ten corporate campaign contributors, offering a look at the candidates they support, the issues that concern them, and their lobbying habits.

UPS to Hire 50,000 Workers for the Holiday Rush

UPS (UPS) will hire 50,000 seasonal employees to work over the holiday season. The company is taking on temporary staff to work in positions including package sorters and driver helpers, CNNMoney reported. They will work through the company%u2019s busy season, which covers the holiday period from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

UPS Launches Marketing Campaign to Promote Logistics Business

Package-delivery company United Parcel Service (UPS) is launching its largest ever marketing campaign to promote its logistic business to small and medium- sized companies looking to export their products. Print, TV and digital-media ads in the U.S., China, Mexico and the UK will promote UPS logistics with the slogan "We [Heart] Logistics" The Wall Street Journal reported.

UPS Easily Tops Estimates, Raises Guidance

UPS (UPS) earnings rose sharply in the second quarter to easily beat Wall Street's forecast on better-than-expected revenue growth, the world's largest package delivery company said Thursday. UPS also raised its full-year profit outlook. Like rival FedEx (FDX), UPS is considered to be a bellwether of global economic activity.

UPS Earnings Preview: Strong Profit Growth?

As the world's biggest package delivery company, UPS's (UPS) earnings will likely get extra attention for their macroeconomic implications when the company reports second-quarter results ahead of Thursday's opening bell.

Obama: The U.S.
Is on Schedule to Double Exports

The U.S. is making progress in its effort to boost exports of goods and services to other nations, according to a report released Wednesday by the White House. As a result of policies laid out by his administration, U.S. exports increased 17% during the first four months of the year compared to last year, President Barack Obama said before a gathering of government and corporate officials at the White House.

46 Cent Stamp? U.S. Postal Service Asks for Increase

The USPS has proposed a two-cent increase in the cost of first-class postage, which would push the stamp to 46 cents. If approved, the hike would be effective Jan. 2, 2011. Still, the higher rate won't fix what really ails the service.

Post Office to Announce Rate Increases as Losses Mount

The post office will today announce new mail rates in a bid to generate more revenue after posting a massive loss in 2009. Rates for first-class and other types of mail will rise, The Associated Press reported. The rate increases are subject to review by the independent Postal Regulatory Commission.

FedEx Delivers on Earnings, but Shares Fall

FedEx (FDX) earnings beat Wall Street's expectations by a penny a share as the world's second largest shipping company after UPS (UPS) enjoyed brisker business on the back of global economic recovery, but a tepid outlook hurt the stock. Market watchers key in on FedEx and UPS earnings because their worldwide shipping networks make them especially attuned to global demand.

Overnight Delivery to Europe? Not While the Volcano Is Spewing

International shipping companies are scrambling to keep their operations moving, even as volcanic ash from Iceland closes down air traffic across much of Europe. Time-sensitive documents make up a large part of international air shipments. Promises of overnight deliveries are on hold.


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Type: response

text:
Breaking News Bar
updated: 11/6/2013 10:35 PM

College of DuPage to Host Student and Parent Information Night (SPIN) Nov. 21

Success - Article sent! close
COD News Bureau

College of DuPage will host a Student and Parent Information Night (SPIN) for prospective high school students and their families at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21, in the Student Resource Center, Room 2000, on the College's main campus, 425 Fawell Blvd., in Glen Ellyn.

During this free event, students and their parents can browse information and select academic tables from 6 to 7 p.m., and then attend a presentation where they will learn about the many advantages provided through attending College of DuPage such as affordable tuition, innovative transfer opportunities and small class sizes that result in greater attention to individual students.

In addition to information about the more than 250 degree and certificates offered, attendees will also learn about the services and amenities provided by the College, including advising, athletics, career services, honors and online courses, internships, study abroad opportunities, tutoring, and the more than 60 social and academic clubs and organizations on campus.

This event is free and open to the public. Please click here to RSVP. For more information, visit or call (630) 942-3000.

Share this page

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-171-96-226.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2015-35
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for August 2015
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


text:
Daily Journal masthead

Suicide bomber attacks tribal police in northwest Pakistan, killing 3 and wounding 35

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A government official says a suicide bomber has attacked a vehicle carrying an area commander of the tribal police in northwest Pakistan, killing three people and wounding at least 35.

The official, Iqbal Khan, says area commander Tehsinullah Khan was among those wounded in the attack Tuesday in the tribal region of Jamrud.

He says the attacker was on foot and that he blew himself up as Khan's vehicle came out from the headquarters of the tribal police.

Jamrud is located about 25 kilometers (15 miles) northwest of Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

No one claimed responsibility for the blast, but suspicion immediately fell on the Pakistani Taliban and other local militant groups fighting the government.

Think your friends should see this? Share it with them!

Story copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Feedback, Corrections and Other Requests: AP welcomes feedback and comments from readers. Send an email to info@ap.org and it will be forwarded to the appropriate editor or reporter.

We also have more stories about:
(click the phrases to see a list)

Follow Daily Journal:

All content copyright ©2015 Daily Journal, a division of Home News Enterprises unless otherwise noted.
All rights reserved. Privacy policy.


text:
Ten lessons from Hillary Clinton's Hard Choices

Hillary Clinton wants to be leader of the free world. Her new book, Hard Choices at 600 pages, is possibly the longest job application in history. The book has been criticised for being boring.  Critics wanted more of the deeply personal stuff and the gossip, one even whining she had to wade through 10 pages on Asia to get to Hillary raving about being mother-of-the-bride at Chelsea’s wedding. But if you do like things in short form, don’t have time for a tome, or detailed foreign policy isn’t your style … relax. I’ve read Hard Choices for you.

Here are 10 lessons we can learn from Hillary Clinton.

Self promote

This is a book about how Hillary ran the world while Obama ran America. Almost. From negotiating about elections in Afghanistan to visiting a US funded paediatric HIV/AIDs centre in Zaire, from the expansion of China to the implosion of Syria, Hillary is in the thick of it and on top of it. Her manifesto is dense and detailed but there is absolutely no room for false modesty.

Be tough

Clinton’s book is about her showing she can make hard decisions and sells her as more hawkish on foreign policy than Obama.

But that’s not the fortitude I’m talking about.  Hillary took the job after picking herself up from the pain and heartache of losing the Democratic nomination to Obama.  She had to swallow her pride and work for the man.  Her success is driven by her intellect but also by the fact she is strong, dogged and self-disciplined.

Be energetic

One of the concerns about Hillary running for President is that, by election time, she’ll be 69 and too old.  But the woman is a machine. As Secretary of State (aged 61 to 65) she travelled nearly one million miles and visited 112 countries, breathing in 87 days of recycled air and clocking up chats with world leaders like a teenager clocks up hours on Instagram.  Clinton says she has the ability to sleep almost anywhere, anytime. She doesn’t discuss her fall and concussion in 2012, but it doesn’t seem to have stopped her.

Learn to take criticism and cope with the double standard

Hillary Clinton has three suggestions for coping with criticism. First, she suggests adopting Eleanor Roosevelt’s advice to grow “skin as thick as a rhinoceros”.  Second, learn to take criticism seriously but not personally because your critics can actually teach you lessons your friends cannot. Her third suggestion concerning the persistent double standard applied to women in politics is that you just “can’t let it derail you. Smile and keep going.”

Interestingly one of the few mentions of Australia in her entire book concerns this double standard. She feels Julia Gillard “faced outrageous sexism, which shouldn’t be tolerated in any country.”

Clinton has also managed to utter a phrase many politicians cannot.  "I was wrong".  She regrets voting to authorise war in Iraq in 2002.  But she won’t concede to any failures in protecting the American embassy in Benghazi when the US Ambassador to Libya and three others were killed on 11th September, 2012.

Don’t gossip and learn to keep a secret

As I said, Hillary doesn’t gossip in the book.  She tells the story of being a US Diplomat in diplomatic language, but it’s easy to read between the lines.  For instance, it’s clear she loves former British Foreign Secretary David Miliband but not so much Prime Minister David Cameron.  She’s admiring yet not in love with Angela Merkel and sees Nicholas Sarkozy as rather erratically and emotionally French.  Hillary doesn’t mince words on Vladimir Putin who she describes as “thin skinned and autocratic”.  The macho Russian leader has already responded,  “It’s better not to argue with women. But Mrs Clinton has never been too graceful in her statements.”

Regarding secrets, Hillary reveals in the book that when Osama Bin Laden was found and killed, President Obama rang the living former Presidents. He said to Bill “I assume Hillary’s already told you …” But she hadn’t.  If Hillary can keep a secret as big as that from her husband, she’s a rock. Respect.

See the ridiculousness in life

Some of Clinton’s critics say she lacks a sense of humour. I have seen her speak in Sydney and while she has a lightness of touch, she’s no stand up comedian. But while the jokes in her book are a bit lame, she can laugh at the stupidity of some of the crap written about her regarding her scrunchies, her hair and her pantsuits. She invited the instigators of the meme ‘Texts from Hillary’ in for a photo session of them checking their phones in unison.

Think of other women less fortunate than yourself

Hillary Clinton reveals many world leaders eyes actually glazed over whenever she raised women’s rights. Yet she set out to make opportunities for women and girls part of diplomacy and development work.  Clinton reveals she rang Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai three times in two days urging him to revoke a law legalising marital rape and that she also told the Saudis to “fix” a case where an 8 year old girl was being forced to marry a 50 year old man.

Be pragmatic

Clinton describes herself as an idealist and a realist, yet she shows herself to be a pragmatist.  Playing softball taught her that if you only go for home runs you often get out but if you go for singles and doubles and even walks it can add up to something bigger.  It’s clear this attitude gives her optimism and a spirit that doesn't buckle at the enormity of a task.

Have friends that inspire you

Hillary is clearly captivated, moved and enhanced by her friendships.  She’s also a hell of a name-dropper.

She and Aung San Suii Kyi hug while catching up in each others’ kitchens and give each other gifts like a doggy chew toys and jewellery. Nelson Mandela taught her how to “grit your teeth and work with former enemies” and would often ring for a chat with her and Chelsea.  Hillary also played piano with Bono. It's clear she also attracts brilliant staff around her and no doubt works them to the bone.

Develop resilience

Perhaps Hillary Clinton’s biggest lesson for all of us is resilience. Clinton’s mother had a terrible, neglected childhood and she taught her daughter “no matter how many times she got knocked down a hundred times what matters is you get back up”.  Reading Hard Choices it’s impossible not to respect and admire her ability to take on the world.

Towards the end of the book, Hillary quotes one of her heroes, former First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt “A woman is like a tea bag, you never know how strong she is until she’s in hot water”.

1 comment so far

  • Hillary is magnificent. If she runs I don't think the Republicans have anyone who can touch her. "Bring it on"

    Date and time
    June 17, 2014, 7:32AM

    Make a comment

    You are logged in as [Logout]

    All information entered below may be published.

    Error: Please enter your screen name.

    Error: Your Screen Name must be less than 255 characters.

    Error: Your Location must be less than 255 characters.

    Error: Please enter your comment.

    Error: Your Message must be less than 300 words.

    Post to

    You need to have read and accepted the Conditions of Use.

    Thank you

    Your comment has been submitted for approval.

    Comments are moderated and are generally published if they are on-topic and not abusive.


WARC-Truncated: length

text:
'Sperm donor' Jason Patric is told by judge that he has 'no paternity or custody rights' over son he shares with ex

Legal fight: Jason Patric wants legal access to his son but sperm donation laws may stop him

Legal fight: Jason Patric wanted legal access to his son but sperm donation laws stopped him

Lost Boys star Jason Patric has lost a bid to win legal visitation rights to see his son with former girlfriend Danielle Schreiber.

His case is complicated by rights governing sperm donation.

The child was allegedly conceived after the couple had broken up, when he offered to act as a 'sperm donor' on the condition that Schreiber did not seek child support or tell anyone about the arrangement.

According to TMZ, Patric, 46, made the arrangement in 2009 as he did not have any money to give her at the end of their ten year relationship.

A source told the website that he made it clear he would only provide his sperm if she accepted the conditions, and their son Gus was born in December 2009.

Then in 2011 the couple attempted a reconciliation, and by the time they broke up in May 2012 Patric had grown attached to Gus.

This led to him filing documents at a family court asking a judge to award him 50/50 custody.

But there is a law which states if an unmarried man artificially inseminates an unmarried woman with the help of a physician, he is not legally the father and has no custody rights.

The judge ruled in the case on Wednesday
according to TMZ and said that the a law states if a man donates sperm to a woman to whom he is NOT married and she's inseminated with the help of a doctor, the man has no paternity rights or claim of custody.

But all is not lost for Jason as his former lover is apparently happy to offer Jason the right to spend time with the boy voluntarily, although she objects to a judge ordering visitation.

Family man: Jason with son Gus and his on-off girlfriend Danielle Schreiber in December 2011

Family man: Jason with son Gus and his on-off girlfriend Danielle Schreiber in December 2011

Her case centred on her belief that the Speed 2 star should not have any legal rights to custody or visitation.

A spokesman for Patric told MailOnline as the trial began: 'We are confident that the court will agree that both parties intended to, and did agree to have this child together; that Ms. Schreiber has publicly acknowledged Mr Patric as the father and that his custodial rights will be upheld.

'The court has already denied Ms Schreiber’s request to dismiss the lawsuit on the allegation that Mr Patric is merely a “sperm donor.”

'It is unfortunate that in present society a father still has to go through legal proceedings in order to ensure his rights are protected.'


text:
stanhope column sig

Local lifestyle columnists

Why today’s kids are such lazy sloths

By From page A2 | July 27, 2014

This will come as no surprise to anyone who has listened to baby boomers complain about their kids: Today’s children are less fit than their parents were at the same age.

We knew it!

That information comes from research that looked at 50 fitness studies conducted between 1964 and 2010. It found that today’s kids run slower and have less endurance than their past counterparts.

That’s exactly what I told my kids when they were growing up: They would never be as fast as I was or have as much endurance. There was no way for them to check.

(Also impossible to check: My claim that everyone at school dances would gather around me and clap while I busted a move, and my claim that other students chanted my name every day when I arrived at school. As far as my sons know, I was like a cool character in a Disney Channel show.)

Researchers found that worldwide, kids’ cardiovascular fitness declined by 5 percent every decade since 1975, which coincidentally was the same year that “Baretta” debuted on ABC-TV. So you could make a case that actor Robert Blake is responsible for the slide in fitness – and that’s the name of that tune!

Of course, the terrifying implication is that the people who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s aren’t exactly physical marvels as they enter the September of their lives (how’s that for an optimistic, misty-colored view of life?). If my generation is a bunch of sloths in our twilight years, what will our children look like?

Will they track their time in the mile with a calendar? Will they measure their endurance by seeing how long they can surf the Web?

Perhaps part of the problem is TV.

When I was a preteen, I watched such brilliant TV fare as “The Superstars” (where professional athletes raced old-fashioned bikes and floundered in the water in “races”) and “Battle of the Network Stars” (where Robert Conrad and Gabe Kaplan ran 400-yard races and Dick Van Patten played tennis). The result of that televised fare? Obstacle courses and other TV-inspired games in my backyard with neighbor kids.

Kids watching TV today see reality shows that highlight personal drama and plenty of laziness. If they imitate it, the only fitness required is to attack someone like on “The Jerry Springer Show.”

Heck, even many of the competition shows are about cooking. For exercise, a modern kid makes cupcakes.

No wonder they’re in such bad shape.

In a world where people in their 40s, 50s and 60s are being pushed aside by punks who tweet and Instagram and play on the Xbox, it’s nice to have something to hold over them.

We might be unable to differentiate between rap stars. We might not be able to use our smartphones to Skype with friends. We might be guilty of dropping Robert Blake catch phrases into a column 40 years after they were relevant.

But we were more fit!

On second thought, there is at least one thing in common between the TV my generation watched and that watched by today’s generation: Bruce Jenner. He was an athlete in the goofy competition shows and now he’s an honorary Kardashian.

As Tony Baretta says, you can take that to the bank!

Reach Brad Stanhope at 427-6958 or [email protected] Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bradstanhope.

Brad Stanhope

Brad Stanhope

Brad Stanhope is a former Daily Republic editor. He began his career at the DR in the last millennium. He spent 24 years as a sports editor, associate editor and news editor before leaving the Daily Republic in 2014. Brad lives in Suisun City with his wife, Mrs. Brad, and two sons. He enjoys cheese.

Discussion | 21 comments

The Daily Republic does not necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Please read our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy before commenting.

  • CuriouslyJuly 27, 2014 - 4:49 am

    The title of your article is rude. I did not read the article because I couldn't believe a grown man was fat shaming children, even if the article has beneficial information.

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • janetJuly 27, 2014 - 7:42 am

    I agree with you Curiously.

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • Carolyn KeeneJuly 27, 2014 - 12:33 pm

    I think you are both being great Nancy(s)..... she says mysteriously.......

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • Bob C. TwinsJuly 27, 2014 - 1:08 pm

    I agree with Carolyn

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • Richard N. JainJuly 28, 2014 - 8:00 am

    Readers........ Do you agree with me? ..... That I sally forth first thing on Sunday morning to read this spot in the Daily Republic.... I always want to ... see (this) spot run..... run spot run.... it is always very enjoyable!

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • N. Drew BurymoreJuly 28, 2014 - 8:24 am

    I like horror novels myself.....

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • S. KingJuly 28, 2014 - 8:26 am

    I like Scarry stories....

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • Richard ScarryJuly 28, 2014 - 8:31 am

    Just wanted to say thank you Stephen... It's a Busy Busy World....have to phone home now.... Bye!

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • GinaJuly 27, 2014 - 1:44 pm

    They are lazy and its a proven fact that the kids these days have no endurance and they can look right at their parents for being that way. Fat and lazy. The truth hurts, if you don't agree then I suggest you get off the couch and get out and see how many or better yet, lack of kids are out ridding a bike or playing games in the park these days. the answer is NONE, ZERO, Notta. So if your hurt as you said by his title then then your living in a fake world. reality is always hurtful to those living under rocks. have parents stop buying video games and start buy outdoor stuff to do. have parents of 10 year olds stop buying smart phones so their lazy kid can sit around all day face booking. Think about it and when you wake up from what you see as the dream world you will see and smell the facts.

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • The SugarJarJuly 27, 2014 - 8:09 am

    I read the article. Not fat shaming. Lazy shaming, if you can't see his humor. It's easier to see when actually read.

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • JudyJuly 27, 2014 - 8:51 am

    I found it ironic and funny that someone would be too lazy to read the article about being lazy and just post a comment on the title of the article. I think Brad's writing is halarious and I would like to think he took "Curiously" with the sense of humor it deserved but who know? maybe he is too lazy to read the comments.......LOL

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • Brad StanhopeJuly 27, 2014 - 2:39 pm

    My potential laziness in responding to comments is overcome by my egotistical desire to see if anyone commented. So yes, I read the comments.

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • Typical County WorkerJuly 27, 2014 - 9:11 am

    Well since it is hard to keep a growing kid in bullet proof vests and can't eliminate every molester and kidnapper, they are stuck inside. Can't walk or ride bikes to school. They are doomed to be more sedentary than prior generations. Now it's "when I was your age I could walk to school" not the old "I had to walk both ways uphill in the snow to get to school"

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • Mayor SanchezJuly 27, 2014 - 9:28 am

    Good article. Who said fact and humor combination is non-achievable?Kudos to you Brad. Now, having started my day with good reading ,I'll venture outside for a leisurely senior citizen 3 mile jog ( it's more walk than jog) to shake off that steak and shrimp buffet guilty feeling from yesterday.

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • Ulises S. GuberJuly 27, 2014 - 10:45 am

    excuse me, but where is this steak and shrimp buffet , I want to be there....

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • Mayor SanchezJuly 27, 2014 - 1:40 pm

    @ulises. $19.99 steak and shrimp buffet Saturdays at Cache Creek in Capay Valley 40 minutes from Fairfield. : )

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • Ulises S. GuberJuly 27, 2014 - 10:38 am

    Kids today don't watch TV like we do, they have too many avenues for entertainment X-box, play station and youtube , so TV alone is not to blame, it's us, mom and dad we need to pull a few plugs and shut down the WiFi now and then go on Family outings , get involved , play board games and encourage your kids to take up sports , get the family to ride bikes together...

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • antiBOB,jazzAZZJuly 27, 2014 - 10:42 am

    They're dumber too.

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • Hunter G. AtherrsJuly 27, 2014 - 11:33 am

    Yes, todays' kids are spoiled..they never have to worry about looking for their next meal.

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • Fix the Broken Sewer Pipe NowJuly 27, 2014 - 4:16 pm

    I strongly agree with the idea that the President of the USA and the Congress of the USA and every state government in the USA should fix the broken sewer pipe which is spewing sewing into the USA.

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • Fix the Broken Sewer Pipe NowJuly 27, 2014 - 4:18 pm

    .....spewing sewage....

    Reply | Report abusive comment
  • Recent Articles

  • Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email.

  • Special Publications »

    Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service (updated 4/30/2015) and Privacy Policy (updated 4/7/2015).
    Copyright (c) 2015 McNaughton Newspapers, Inc., a family-owned local media company that proudly publishes the Daily Republic, Mountain Democrat, Davis Enterprise, Village Life and other community-driven publications.


text:
EXCLUSIVE: Top cop says missing sex ring dossier ‘still around’

A FORMER top cop says police should be able to find any files about an alleged paedophile ring in Westminster.

leon brittan, john o'connor, dossier, paedo ring, westminster, geoffrey dickens, saville, child abuse, clifford, rolf harris QUESTIONS TO ANSWER: O'Connor feels Leon Brittan has plenty of questions to answer [GETTY]

A dossier passed to Home Secretary Leon Brittan in 1983 has either been destroyed or gone missing.

But Ex-Flying Squad boss John O’Connor, 71, says there will be a paper trail.

He criticised the recent response from Mr Brittan over the dossier from former Rochdale MP Geoffrey Dickens.

Mr O’Connor said: “Leon Brittan has a lot of questions to answer.”

The ex cop added: “I believe the files will still be about somewhere. I think it will still be possible to get hold of some.

“If nothing else, the record of when each file was received will be recorded and the contents of each file will be listed.

“There must be a paper trail. If not, then they haven’t archived any correspondence, which is suspicious, and it’s since been destroyed. I find that very hard to accept.

“Scotland Yard have a very professional archive system and the first port of call should be with their general registry.

“This will provide a master index to identify the file archive reference number and current location.

“I believe all the missing files had a reference number, so information can be checked and verified.

“If they find the details, then the police can still go back and take new statements.”

He said that apart from the general archive, copies could have been retained at the storage facility at Hounslow, west London, or at the Public Records Office at Kew, southwest London.

“There must be a paper trail”

John O’Connor, former cop

Mr O’Connor recalled hearing claims in the early 1980s of a sex ring operating within Parliament.

However, despite expecting that an inquiry would involve his “Special Operations” unit in Scotland Yard, SO1, no probe was ever launched.

He said: “I remember when this was first flying about. I think it was in the early 1980s but then it just seemed to fade away.

“There was a rumour floating around the Yard at the time that there was a big paedophile ring in Westminster and that a major investigation was likely.

“We were on standby ready for something special.

“As SO1 we could quite easily have copped for this investigation as we dealt with these types of investigations.

“If it had come to us, the files certainly would not have gone missing and would have been investigated.

“I was interested as it might or might not have come directly to me or could have been passed on to someone I knew.

“I wasn’t too disappointed as it never happened and just thought it must have been a rumour.

“In later years certain names were banded about but it was not something I was personally involved with, so I didn’t feel any sort of neglect on my part.”

He confirmed that paedophile claims were fairly common at that time.


text:
Louis Van Gaal will be named new Man United boss next week (and he wants Giggs to stay)

LOUIS VAN GAAL will be named the new Manchester United boss next week.

NEW BOSS: Louis Van Gaal is set for Manchester United [GETTY]

Starsport revealed the day after David Moyes was sacked that United wanted Van Gaal to replace him. That is now set to happen.

United chiefs have held talks with Van Gaal and they are within days of finalising an agreement.

He expects to be announced as the new Old Trafford chief next week and wants Ryan Giggs to stay on, according to reports.

Giggs is currently serving as caretaker-boss after Moyes was axed.

The Welshman got off to a winning start against Norwich but it remains to be seen whether he will agree to a reduced role under Van Gaal.

DOUBLE DUTCH: Van Gaal will link up with Robin van Persie at Old Trafford [GETTY]

Van Gaal will have to balance two jobs as he prepares to mastermind Holland's World Cup bid.

Although he won't move into Old Trafford until after that, laying down transfer plans will be top of his agenda.

Van Gaal leads a 10-day training camp for Holland's domestic-based players on Wednesday before the full squad meet in Portugal on May 20.

Poor dealings in the transfer market ultimately cost Moyes his job.

He spent £27.5m on flop Marouane Fellaini and struggled to get the best out of club-record signing Juan Mata.


text:
  (Source: Reuters)

A Chinese worker demonstrates how he will fire a barrage against errant clouds during the Olympics in August.   (Source: Reuters)
China will bring out the BFGs to try to make sure weather doesn't rain on its Olympics

China may have to worry about clouds of smog and black soot due to its lax environmental policies and large scale adoption of inefficient partial-combustion obsolete technologies, but one thing it won't have to worry about at the 2008 Beijing Olympics this August is rain – that is if everything goes according to plan.

China is leveraging its significant military resources to wage a war against Mother Nature.  China plans to deploy 20 anti-aircraft (AA) guns around the city, firing a steady barrage of special payloads containing silver iodide and dry ice into cloud cover, whenever it should appear.  The Chinese hope that this novel strategy will help make the Olympics rain free and perhaps give it a chance to show off its military prowess.

The country is so confident in its rain fighting powers that the 91,000-seat Olympic stadium, nicknamed the "Bird's Nest," has no roof.  The efforts are being led by the city's Weather Modification Office, a sub-branch of the China Meteorological Administration.  The AA/rocket launcher assault is only one phase of a three-pronged assault the Office plans to deploy against inconvenient weather.

The first phase is detection.  China will use satellites, planes, and radar to track incoming weather.  It will also leverage the power of an IBM p575 supercomputer, which the city purchased last year.  The computer is capable of doing a modest 9.8 trillion floating point operations per second and has enough power to accurately model by the kilometer hourly reports for the entire 44,000 square kilometer (17,000 square mile) Beijing area.

Upon detection, the second phase will commence, starting with a barrage from 20 ground-based sites encircling the stadium.  Two aircraft will also be scrambled to spray dry ice and silver iodide into the clouds in an attempt to stop them from reaching the stadium.

If rain manages to break through these barriers, China will deploy its weapon of last resort:  liquid nitrogen.  Aircraft will pummel the clouds with liquid nitrogen.  This, according to officials, will increase the number of droplets in the cloud, but reduce their size, making them less likely to fall.  Officials hope this last ditch effort might hold off the clouds long enough for them to pass safely over the stadium before releasing rain.

There is a 50 percent chance of precipitation during any day that month, according to past trends.  The games will occur during Northeast Asia's rainy season.  Zhang Qian, head of Beijing's Weather Modification Office, warns that past results for weather modification during heavy rain haven't always been successful.  However, he optimistically mentions, "the results with light rain have been satisfactory."

The Chinese government is working very hard to try to make the games a demonstration in the countries newfound power and prosperity.  The government spent $40B USD bringing 120,000 migrant workers (at $130 per month) into Beijing for the massive construction projects planned, starting in 2001. In all, 1.5 million people will be displaced by the new construction projects.

China, with a population of 1.32 billion, has a penchant for excess; featuring the world's largest dam, the world's highest railroad, and in 2009, the world's largest Ferris wheel.  China's weather modification program will also be the largest in the world, when fully deployed.  It will feature over 1,500 weather modification professionals who will coordinate 30 aircraft and their crews, and a ground force of 37,000 part-time workers, mostly peasant farmers.

Comments     Threshold

This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

RE: "Weather Engineering"
By eye smite on 3/27/2008 2:15:50 PM , Rating: 3
I have cited on previous articles Chinese history showing a consistently militant behavior, and recently videos of the riots in Tibet and Chinese military killing those people. My posting of those items was not in anyway an attempt to offend anyone, simply a way to show people that this sort of behavior should surprise no one.

This time, I don't care if I offend anyone. The people running China are the biggest retards on the face of the earth. Whatever contempt they earn on this one, they deserve it. Just morons

RE: "Weather Engineering"
By Suomynona on 3/27/2008 5:00:24 PM , Rating: 3
The people running China are the biggest retards on the face of the earth.

They're not stupid, they're just ruthless assholes. They're actually very smart. They've managed to maintain control of the largest nation on earth for 60 years without facing any serious challenges to their power. The average Chinese person is apparently pretty happy with themselves, at least as long as their economy keeps growing. The only people that seem to be actively protesting the government are the minorities that are being oppressed. The people in charge seem to have done a pretty good job of hammering into people's heads the idea that they can just leave government to the elite, and not have to worry about it.

I think the true test of their intelligence will be when the Chinese economy starts to waver. Everyone's happy now because they're comfortable, but a big economic downturn could really throw a wrench into all that. But anyway, you don't have to be retarded to be power-hungry and amoral. Usually the opposite is true.

RE: "Weather Engineering"
By eye smite on 3/27/2008 8:29:43 PM , Rating: 3
I have to disagree with you, so lets define a couple of things. Intelligence and being smart are 2 different things. You can be as intelligent as you want and still make very stupid decisions....look at AOL. How would you know if the average chinese person is happy with themselves, they're probably just like Americans living in their own little world not messing with anyone and don't want to be messed with. I'd say you're right though. The constant killing of protestors over the last 60 years keeps them to a minimum. And yes, if you call all of Tibet a minority, they are being oppressed. Now I won't presume to apply American standards to the way the world works over there, but this is a constant repeat of China just killing people in Tibet because they want their leader back and the Chinese out. The reason I call them retards is because they have the hubirous to try and control the weather whilst being the biggest polluters industrially speaking on the face of the earth. That being said, you tell me how that's smart?

RE: "Weather Engineering"
By Ringold on 3/28/2008 9:06:10 PM , Rating: 2
The constant killing of protestors over the last 60 years keeps them to a minimum.

Except for, you know, the 60,000 protests in 2006 alone. Thats just the number the government admits; who knows how much higher the real one is. Unfortunately I don't have the number but for context it'd be interesting to see how many take place in the US during.. more quiet periods (ie, how many occured total across the US in 1999).

Difference with Tibet and your average protest complaining about the air or price controls (apparently, the people are capitalist enough to strongly dislike price controls -- unlike us they know it leads to shortages) is that those people in Tibet just didn't want to disperse.

I think the ruling class over there understands its sitting atop a powder keg, and they'll constantly improve things to keep themselves im power, but slowly. Prosperity solves many problems for them, and as long as the capitalism flows, so shall the prosperity.

Of course business cycles are inevitable; depressions are typically where communism/socialism grabs the imagination of the ignorant masses and becomes political reality. How does a 'communist' nation have a communist revolution? :P

Hopefully we never find out, as I imagine it wouldn't be pretty.

RE: "Weather Engineering"
By nofranchise on 4/4/2008 7:50:24 AM , Rating: 1
Sorry - the biggest retards in the world are the guys in the White House.

Chinas cabinet are all - except one if I remember correctly - engineers. They might not be empathic or nice, but they are not retards.

Idea: Go visit China before spewing nonsense.

Statement: China has serious problems that need to be adressed. Boycotting the Olympics would send a signal but risks irritating a sleeping giant (which in all likelyhood produces 80% of all the crap surrounding you right now.)

“Then they pop up and say ‘Hello, surprise! Give us your money or we will shut you down!' Screw them. Seriously, screw them. You can quote me on that.” -- Newegg Chief Legal Officer Lee Cheng referencing patent trolls

Copyright 2015 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki


text:
Print 12 comment(s) - last by mindless1.. on Sep 8 at 3:46 PM

The recent contest had 30 companies show off their unmanned vehicles

The U.S. Army is now testing robotic vehicles that may one day be able to protect soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. To help spur research, the Army recently held the Robotics Rode, offering companies the opportunity to show off future vehicles.

"We've all fought and we've lost friends on places where unmanned ground vehicles could have done the task equally well, and I regret that like you'll never know," said Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch.  "If I had done a better job fielding unmanned ground vehicles, those young people would still be alive."

The event, which was held from September 1-4 at Fort Hood, Texas, gave 30 companies the opportunity to show off their autonomous robotics.  Each vehicle had to maneuver through several field demonstrators, with military and civilian judges on hand.

The military hopes that the vehicles can help evacuate wounded soldiers, serve as scouts to help locate ambushes, and intentionally set off improvised explosive devices hidden by insurgents.

There isn't a set time line as to when the military hopes to use these vehicles, but military experts say they need to be used as soon as possible.

At the same time of the Robotics Rodeo, the Army also tested several advanced battlefield technologies pulled from the now defunct Future Combat Systems program.  Soldiers on the battlefield will give Army officials feedback on the technology, and what they would request.

Comments     Threshold

This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

RE: Err ...
By mindless1 on 9/8/2009 3:46:50 PM , Rating: 2
These are different times, we're not in any world wars and hopefully won't be within the viable lifespan of these proposed robots.

... or to put it another way, the conflicts that we are presently engaged in, are we simply destroying everything? That too would save our soldiers' lives, if we just sent in bombers instead but we are a bit more humane than that when possible.

Further, destroying everything isn't actually everything, as I wrote the remainder of the enemy felt they were better off giving up. We couldn't, and didn't, destroy all of Europe and beyond.

"Mac OS X is like living in a farmhouse in the country with no locks, and Windows is living in a house with bars on the windows in the bad part of town." -- Charlie Miller

Copyright 2015 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki


text:
Anonymous says its members should be free to DDOS websites as they please.  (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Anonymous calls Paypal "corrupt" for refusing to support Wikileaks and cooperating with the FBI in arresting members associated with the attacks.  (Source: Furious Fanboys)

Anonymous takes credit for an eBay stock drop, failing to recognize that the drop was due to a poor earnings report.   (Source: Crescent State Bank)
Group claims drop was due to its boycott of "corrupt" Paypal, says DDOS attacks are not illegal

The hacker group Anonymous has yet again struck out at eBay Inc. (EBAY) subsidiary Paypal.

I. "It's My Party, and I Can DDOS if I Want to"

The large group of international hackers [1][2][3]  and internet enthusiasts has been at odds with the e-payment service ever since last year, when it severed funding to Wikileaks citing violations of the terms of service, which forbid funding to be used in support of criminal activity.

Anonymous responded with distributed denial of service attacks.  Its thousands of members directed their Low Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC) programs to spam Paypal's servers with requests, which succeeded in temporarily slowing or crashing Paypal's services.

Following those attacks, fourteen alleged Anonymous members were arrested by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Among those includes Mercedes Haefer, a 20 year old female Las Vegas, Nevada college student who ensorcelled internet observers.

Now Anonymous and its daughter organization LulzSec [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] are calling jointly for a boycott of all Paypal services in response to the arrests.  The organization writes:
Many of the already-apprehended Anons are being charged with taking part in DDoS attacks against corrupt and greedy organizations, such as PayPal.

What the FBI needs to learn is that there is a vast difference between adding one's voice to a chorus and digital sit-in with Low Orbit Ion Cannon, and controlling a large botnet of infected computers. And yet both of these are punishable with exactly the same fine and sentence.
Quite simply, we, the people, are disgusted with these injustices. We will not sit down and let ourselves be trampled upon by any corporation or government. We are not scared of you, and that is something for you to be scared of. We are not the terrorists here: you are.
In short, Anonymous is arguing that distributed denial of service (DDOS) using the LOIC is a protest, not a cyber attack, and people should be free to DDOS with LOIC as they please (even if it disrupts businesses).  Of course they'd likely feel a bit different about the superior DDOS application XerXes, which was employed by a hactivist calling himself th3j35t3r ("The Jester") to take down Anonymous's beloved Wikileaks last year.

Anonymous warns Paypal via Twitter, "Our most dangerous weapons is (sic) neither ddos nor hacks.  It's angry citizens who feel naturally allied with us.  Expect us. #AntiSec #OpPayPal"

II. Stock Drop -- Not the Work of Anonymous

Yesterday eBay stock took 3 percent nose dive and Anonymous tried to take credit for it, cheering, "Final Standing: 33.36 -1.06 (-3.08%) That's about lost in share value | Thanks, Mateys! | Who won?"

The group suggested that they could drop the stock to as low as $20 per share -- a fall of almost a third.

However, such claims seem opportunistic and unrealistic, given that eBay just reported disappointing earnings.  While the earnings showed strong growth, earnings per share fell a cent short of the average analyst prediction, leading to the stock decline.

As of yesterday Anonymous was crowing about "tens of thousands" of Paypal accounts being deactivated.  If this is accurate, Paypal should hardly be concerned -- it has over 100 million accounts.  Of course, thanks to the convenient timing of the stock right after an earnings report, Anonymous can claim credit for the drop.

Surprisingly some news sites, such as NeoWin even believed the rhetoric.  The site, apparently oblivious of the earnings disappointment, wrote:
The boycott can be linked with a stock crash of their parent company Ebay which has already dropped ~3%. It’s expected that it will fall even more as more and more people follow the actions of others and deactivate their accounts.
If there's one thing Anonymous may have legitimately done, it's overloading Paypal's account deactivation page.  As of yesterday the page was down, though deactivations were proceeding via the service's phone line -- +1-888-221-1161.

This is understandable, though, as the service likely only experiences a small number of deactivations on any given day.

Comments     Threshold

This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

RE: Out to Lunch
By ipay on 7/28/2011 11:45:43 AM , Rating: -1
So if you happen to visit a website while a DDOS is going on, you should be arrested as a participant?

Statements like yours show how completely ignorant of the technical difficulties that exist in discerning legit traffic from participating in too much traffic. It's all about intent.

Do you really want to live in a world where the plebs have no voice at all? Where corporations have complete control? Give it time. You'll come around. Hopefully before it's too late.

RE: Out to Lunch
By Steve1981 on 7/28/2011 1:23:30 PM , Rating: 3
Statements like yours show how completely ignorant of the technical difficulties that exist in discerning legit traffic from participating in too much traffic. It's all about intent.

I don't think anyone pretends that tracking a reasonably sophisticated DDOS attack to the responsible party(ies) is inordinately easy; however, it is feasible.

Do you really want to live in a world where the plebs have no voice at all?

I want to live in a world where "plebs" have a constructive voice, be it a court of law, a lawful protest, or organizing a boycott. Launching attacks on websites we don't like isn't a part of that.

"I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For [Paramount] to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks!" -- Movie Director Michael Bay

Copyright 2015 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki


text:
The consul argues the defendant's due process rights were violated

Could the highest profile music piracy case to be brought against an individual in the U.S. be headed to The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS)? That's the outcome lawyers for working mom Jammie Thomas-Rasset are hoping for.

The defendant's legal team has filed a petition for certiorari claiming that their client's right to due process has been violated.  The case has been kicked around the courts for some time.

Ms. Thomas-Rasset first lost in a June 2009 jury verdict, with the jury deciding on a $1.92M USD fine, arguing that lawyers for music labels like Sony Corp.'s (TYO:6758) BMG and their trade group the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has sufficiently proved that the working mom had willfully-infringed on 24 songs.

After the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) approved the verdict, the matter seemed settled, setting a rather draconian precedent.  But a judge cut the fine to a mere $54,000 USD.

Then it was deja vu all over again -- the case went to retrial, a jury found Ms. Thomas-Rasset guilty of another huge fine ($1.5M USD, this time), and then the judge yet again bumped the fine to $54,000 USD.

Jammie Thomas-Rasset
Jammie Thomas-Rasset (left) [Image Source: joonbug]

Most recently the RIAA, et al. appealed the reduction, and the fine was bumped back slightly to $222,000 USD, where it currently sits.  That appeal prompted Ms. Thomas-Rasset's lawyers to ask the SCOTUS to hear the case.

The defendant's lawyers cite State Farm v. Campbell, BMW v. Gore, and St. Louis I.M. & S. Railway Co. v. Williams as relevant cases.  These cases all involved the plaintiff seeking a large amount of punitive damages (for example Dr. Ira Gore sued BMW and initially won $4M USD in punitive damages after BMW sold him a repainted vehicle and claimed it was new).  In each case the SCOTUS ruled that there should be reasonable limits, based on the scope of the civil offense, to punitive damages.

The RIAA and big media backers are estimated to have spent over $3M USD on the case; Ms. Thomas-Rasset has received much of her legal services and fees paid for via donations.

Source: RIAA v. The People

Comments     Threshold

This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

By ProZach on 12/15/2012 6:54:58 AM , Rating: 2
I hope this outrageous fine gets overturned.

Fines should fit the damages (listen up, Apple), so let the record companies prove what damages were sustained.

BTW, if the offending material was brought to attention of the artists, what would they have to say? My guess: "We don't care who shares our songs. Our label hardly pays us anything on recorded songs, which is why we stay alive playing live concerts. Anything to spread our music to others' ears is a compliment the efforts we put into our songs."

Hey kids- don't start a band hoping to get signed, do your own distro and promotion. The labels are more crooked than the San Andreas fault-line.

"We basically took a look at this situation and said, this is bullshit." -- Newegg Chief Legal Officer Lee Cheng's take on patent troll Soverain

Copyright 2015 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki


text:
PayPal will undoubtedly pass new fees on to its customers

One thing every user of PayPal is certainly familiar with its fees. It now looks as though the company famous for its user fees will have the tables turned. Visa CEO Charlie Scharf recently suggested that the credit card company could impose a fee on digital wallet operators such as PayPal.

MasterCard has already announced it plans to charge a fee to digital wallet operators starting in June. Fears that other major credit card operators could start charging PayPal fees for transactions have hurt PayPal shares. PayPal currently pays standard credit card fees to Visa and MasterCard, as well as American Express. These fees are paid whenever a PayPal purchase is made with a credit card bearing one of the companies’ logos.

The new fees that are being considered are in addition to these standard credit card fees.

During the Barclays Emerging Payments Forum this week, Scharf said, "I think it is totally appropriate to do that."
PayPal has been making a big push into the retail market allowing users to pay for items in stores using their PayPal account. Some analysts believe that as a payment option in physical stores PayPal could be a threat to major credit card networks such as MasterCard, Visa, and American Express.

Yesterday, eBay announced that it was reducing its fees in an effort to better compete with While PayPal has yet to announce a fee increase, if PayPal begins getting charged more for transactions it would undoubtedly raise fees for customers.

Source: Reuters

Comments     Threshold

This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

RE: why do people use paypal?
By Alexvrb on 3/25/2013 12:58:56 AM , Rating: 1
I've dealt with card fraud before, some time ago. It's frustrating, especially if it's your bank card. It's even worse if you go to use your card one day and it doesn't work (awkward!) because your account has been cleaned out! You have to waste your time dealing with the fraud department, going over all the bad charges. There's paperwork, too. Then, you're cardless for a while, and your replacement is a different number. So you have to update info for all the services that you DO trust to rely on your card for payments/transactions.

The process is not particularly fun. For someone to simply say "Oh it's fine if they go nuts charging things, you can just cancel the card and get your funds returned!" this says to me that you've never had to do this. Plus the issue isn't only that these random companies are unreliable and overcharge you. Another problem is that they don't have good security (well neither does Sony), and if you give every Tom, Dick, and Harry your info, sooner or later it'll fall into the wrong hands.

For buyers Paypal is generally pretty decent. I don't think Visa would better protect me from a bad seller. Of course, if you think it will help your argument, keep on using the seller angle. I'm sure the burnt buyers and other victims of fraud are sure to care.

"Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment -- same piece of hardware -- paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be." -- Steve Ballmer
Related Articles

Copyright 2015 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki


text:
  (Source: Qualcomm)
New smartwatch is a rare consume product for company who is best known for its mobile chipmaking

Qualcomm, Inc. (QCOM) today announced the availability of its Toq smartwatch computer, a device which competes with the $300 USD Galaxy Gear from Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd. (KSC:005930) and the $199 USD SmartWatch 2 from Sony Corp. (TYO:6758).

Priced at $349.99 USD, the Toq is the priciest of the high profile smartwatch offerings.  Powered by a special version of Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android operating system, Toq does have some unique perks, such as the low power color E-INK-like Mirasol display, a proprietary technology developed at Qualcomm and inspired by butterfly wings.  It also features wireless charging.  Basic included apps include an Accuweather Android weather forecast app, an optimized version of the Android E Trade Financial Corp. (ETFC) app, a messaging app, and a phone answering app (in case you want to talk into your watch).

The device launches on Dec. 2 -- a wild day of online shopping commonly known as "Cyber Monday".

Qualcomm Toq smart watch
Quacomm Toq [Image Source: AnandTech]

Qualcomm is best known for its Snapdragon family of mobile chips, which are a popular third party solution for tablets and smartphones.  While Samsung does produce reference platforms for OEMs integrating these chips, it has rarely actually released a device to the consumer market, making Toq a rather interesting oddball product to watch.

Both Google and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) are rumored to have their own branded smartwatches under development (under the respective Nexus and Surface brands).

Source: Qualcomm [press release]

Comments     Threshold

This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

RE: Zero Interest
By mik123 on 11/19/2013 5:48:08 PM , Rating: 2
I'd be interested if it could make phone calls, and browse the web.
Of course it would have to look a lot more elegant too.

RE: Zero Interest
By Moishe on 11/21/2013 3:36:57 PM , Rating: 2
The looks of these is kinda awful, but that's where Apple will come in.

I'm not a big Apple fan, but one thing they do over and over is take the old thing build for functionality, and they make it pretty, cool, fashionable and sell it.

These things really need some cool factor.

"There is a single light of science, and to brighten it anywhere is to brighten it everywhere." -- Isaac Asimov

Copyright 2015 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki


text:
Print 44 comment(s) - last by iLikeHam.. on Dec 28 at 10:35 AM

Google is once again on the move

2006 appears to be a banner year for Google. It purchased the highly popular YouTube online video site in early October and saw its stock price dance with the $500 mark in November. Now according to ComScore Networks Inc., Google Inc. has slightly edged in front of Yahoo! Inc. to become the second most visited website for the month of November.

ComScore's figures show that Google's site traffic rose by 9.1% to 475.7 million visitors while Yahoo's traffic rose just 5.2% bringing its tally to 475.3 million visitors. Microsoft still held on to a 26 million visitor advantage at 501.7 million.

News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media sites also saw a significant increase in traffic thanks to the booming popularity of Traffic for the company rose to a healthy 130.4 million visitors.

YouTube, Google’s recent acquisition, saw its visitors rise 24-fold to 107.9 million.

Comments     Threshold

This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

RE: Microsoft
By stmok on 12/26/2006 11:30:59 AM , Rating: 2
But Firefox and Google aren't from the same company.

"If you look at the last five years, if you look at what major innovations have occurred in computing technology, every single one of them came from AMD. Not a single innovation came from Intel." -- AMD CEO Hector Ruiz in 2007
Related Articles

Copyright 2015 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki


text:
Windows 2003 R2, 64-bit identifies the "Barcelona" processor as an unknown AMD CPU. (Source: DailyTech, Anh Huynh)

AMD's benchmarking utility reveals all four cores ran at 1.6 GHz. (Source: DailyTech, Anh Huynh)
Quad-Core AMD Opteron demonstrated by MSI, Supermicro, TYAN and Uniwide

AMD took the opportunity at Computex to show server platforms running the Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors, codenamed Barcelona, with the help of MSI, Supermicro, TYAN and Uniwide

The AMD quad-core processors are designed to drop-in (following a BIOS upgrade) with all existing AMD Opteron processor-based systems using DDR2 memory, while also enabling new platform capabilities such as those being demonstrated today.

One vendor demonstrated Barcelona to DailyTech, running at 1.6GHz. According to engineers familiar with the chip technology, the current AMD Barcelona samples are not scaling core frequencies well. AMD partners confirmed the highest running, POST and OS capable, Barcelona processor is 2.0 GHz. AMD previously posted benchmarks of a simulated 2.6 GHz Barcelona.

“We commend AMD for its non-disruptive roadmaps, allowing for a smooth upgrade from dual-core to quad-core,” said Danny Hsu, president, TYAN. “Streamlining and mitigating the complexities customers often face when upgrading their IT infrastructure is especially important in today’s competitive marketplace. TYAN has collaborated with AMD since 2001, and we will continue to support and take advantage of the customer-centric innovation AMD is offering in its quad-core processors when they are made available later this year.”

AMD roadmaps show Barcelona-based Opteron processors will launch in July, but the general consensus from partners is the processor isn’t performing well enough for a July launch.

“Quad-core, codenamed Barcelona will launch later this summer, in the July, August kind of time frame -- followed by [consumer chips] on the desktop... You'll see that in the Christmas line-up,” stated Robert Rivet, AMD executive vice president and CFO, just a few months ago.

Comments     Threshold

This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

RE: stop worrying
By swtethan on 6/6/2007 9:54:50 PM , Rating: 2
Did he even realize that fx-74 = 4x4? TWO DUAL CORE FX's

the competitor to that is the QX6700 (or QX6800)

and we all know that 4x4 = sucks

RE: stop worrying
By nerdye on 6/6/2007 11:10:27 PM , Rating: 3
You are right 4x4 is no logical match for any of the current Intel solutions out today, I asked the question to the VIP of Marketing of the software company I worked at last "why on earth would AMD release a chipset/platform that is by all means crippled by its current competition from Intel"?. He said "sometimes simply supporting the correct word, like "quad, or 4x" in this situation may pursuade enough of the customers that are "less in the know" to make its release worth going through with. Although in this situation AMD 4x4 sucks very badly, its easy to apply his logic to many product releases and might explain AMD's thought process despite their lack of success with the product of discussion. This is based on a moot topic though, Intel is the choice hands down, but I thought I would share the marketing logic I had learned and hope it applies.

RE: stop worrying
By CyborgTMT on 6/8/2007 6:24:55 AM , Rating: 2
In part I would agree that AMD was just trying to get the name out but part of it was also to work any bugs before the quads hit the market. With a 2x2 set up it's naturally going to lose to a chip that has all 4 cores on one processor, even if the individual cores are identical in performance. The true test of the platform is going to be the nut with too much money to spend that slaps 2 quads and a 4 X Crossfire setup on it. Maybe by the time this is all available I'll have enough saved up to throw down on one myself. Of course I'll be reduced to a Ramen noodle diet to pay the electric bill every month.....

RE: stop worrying
By Nil Einne on 6/11/2007 4:47:45 PM , Rating: 2
Exactly, I think AMD knows their the 4x4 will really shine when they get quad. 8x4 is likely crap all over anything Intel has given that Intel still lacks a 'Xeon for desktops'. Of course you'd have to be insane to want 8x4 but all AMD cares about is being able to advertise the fastest system. Intel could of course respond by sticking two of their Penryns together and making a 8 core OR by speeding up the 'Xeon for desktops' platform. But AMD will probably still have that area all to themselves for a while at least. Intel also are still stuck on the FSB and I suspect it'll start to show with a 8 core system.

"This week I got an iPhone. This weekend I got four chargers so I can keep it charged everywhere I go and a land line so I can actually make phone calls." -- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Related Articles

Copyright 2015 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki


text:
World News

Heavy police presence at Vancouver fireworks show

By The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER - Hundreds of Vancouver police officers are expected to be present at the Vancouver's Celebration of Light.

The high-profile fireworks show in English Bay is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people.

Police say a visible presence is intended to deter alcohol-fuelled fights and disturbances.

Officers say they are not expecting major disruptions, but say they want to ensure safety among attendees.

Officers on foot, horseback, bicycle, in police boats, and from the air, will monitor the crowds and boats around English Bay.

This year's event runs for three nights — July 26, July 30 and Aug. 2.

The United States is scheduled for the first night's performance, followed by France and Japan on the following two.

We encourage an open exchange of ideas on this story's topic, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. Personal attacks, inappropriate language, and off-topic comments may be removed, and comment privileges revoked, per our Terms of Use. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.

You might like ...

Community Events, September 2015

Add an Event

Read the latest eEdition

Browse the print edition page by page, including stories and ads.

Aug 31 edition online now. Browse the archives.


text:
Join us on Facebook
Customer Services
Current Issue
Past Issues
Back Issues
About Goats
About Us
Contact Us
Breeders Directory
Photo Gallery
Tell a Friend about Dairy Goat Journal.

Legs and Feet Play an Important Role in the Longevity and Wellness of Goats

By Shelene Costello

Peanut shows proper balance of angles and lengths of bone in front and rear assembly. Her front legs are straight from the side, the rear leg set is directly under her pin bones for good balance. Her withers are just a shade higher than her hips for proper levelness across the topline. And while her rear pasterns are not as strong as the front ones, they are functional for a sound life of good production.

A dairy goat carries a lot of weight on its legs and feet each day. A body capable of eating large amounts of high fiber, low protein food, with large amounts of water to make an udder full of great tasting milk, and often a belly full of babies for part of the year, is a lot of weight on these appendages. Having solid feet and legs can make the difference in how the goat lives and produces. I consider the foundation of goat structure to be the feet and the pasterns above them that support the weight of the whole goat.

Good solid feet that are soundly built with strong straight pasterns are ideal. There is quite a bit of leeway in goats kept in dry lots compared to goats that must go out and forage for their own food over large amounts of ground. I would be a lot stricter in my ideals if I knew that my goats would have to range over large areas, as opposed to what my herd really does, which is stay in a dry lot for part of the year and small pastures the rest of the year. Since my goats do not have to walk long distances, food and water is always a only short distance away, and my goats are able to be functional with slightly weaker pasterns and feet that are not quite as tight as ideal. I strive for ideal, but in reality will accept less, because of this. And I wonder how much the added exercise might strengthen the feet and pasterns of younger goats if they had to go out that much further on a regular basis?

When looking at a kid’s hoof structure, it is readily seen that they have feet that are the same depth at heel and toe. The bottom of the foot is flat and runs parallel to the coronary band, which is the division of hair and horn of the hoof. On most young kids, the foot is in balance. As the goat grows, the weight gets heavier and the differences of wear and structure begin to show.

Toes should be held relatively close together and point forward. Hooves should be trimmed regularly to keep that hoof balanced throughout life. The pastern is the lowest part of the leg above the hoof and up to approximately the dewclaw on both front and back legs. It should be short, straight and strong with a little give, but not too much.

Rear pasterns are often weaker than front ones, but all four can be affected in some way to varying degrees. If the pastern is slanted a lot on a young doe, odds are that as she matures it will weaken further. Longer pasterns tend to be less sturdy than short pasterns. A goat who walks with her pastern nearly horizontal is much more prone to bruising and strain, and will not be as willing to walk out to food and water, or even get up and move around—and that will affect the amount of milk she can make.

Mineral levels really play as large part in the strength of feet and pastern as genetics, in many areas of the country. So does the footing the goat lives and walks on. Goats who live on soft ground or well-bedded barns may have weaker pasterns and often more spread toes, especially as they age, than goats who have rocky pastures and hills to run and climb on.

When considering over-all leg structure in goats, I’m often surprised to note that not everyone considers the upper leg parts such as shoulders and upper legs in front assemblies, and the hip angles in rear assemblies. Both are a major part of leg structure and use, not just the leg that is jutting down below the main body frame. I consider the entire leg structure when evaluating legs from top to bottom.

Front ends can be a challenge since shoulders are not connected to the body by a joint, but rather are laid back against the rib cage and held with ligaments, tendons and muscles. Because of this, wear and tear can really loosen this attachment as can excess body fat, particularly as a young kid, but even as a mature animal.

Ideally the shoulder blade should be relatively flat, laid back at a good angle from point of shoulder at the front of the body to the top of shoulder at the withers, with flat muscling that keeps it tightly held to the body wall.

I’ve heard lots of discussion about the merits of tight shoulders in longevity, however, in my own experience I have seen and owned animals with looser shoulders than ideal, that are still functional well into advanced age. They certainly are not as pretty as nice tight ideal shoulders, but they can still support the goat over time. In long-range grazing or rocky terrain I imagine that this might make a greater difference in functionality than goats in dry lots and smaller pastures.

Tight shoulders that pinch at the top of the ribcage can interfere with comfort of the goat, particularly as it ages. The angle of that shoulder blade in relation to the upper "arm" can impact the goat’s movement. I’ve seen a lot of discussion over the years in what is the ideal angle of shoulder and upper arm, and it seems as though a range of a 90-degree angle is as close to ideal as can be expected.

The upper arm is the part that goes from the point of shouldering the front of the goat to the elbow. One of the things about upper arms I see in all species, not just goats, is a trend to shorter and shorter upper arms with a straighter, more open angle at the joint with the shoulder blade. Once that upper arm shortens and straightens, it brings the whole front leg further out to the front of the body. No longer will the front leg hang directly under the top of the shoulder, but will fall in front of it. This moves the whole center of gravity forward on the goat. As the goats carries the bulk of its weight on the front end, this adds even more of the body weight up front and contributes to the earlier breakdown of the entire front end assembly. Often the topline will sway down at the chine from this breakdown, and the shoulder may separate even more, the elbows may swing out away from the body, and sound movement may be lost.

From the elbow and down through the knee to the pastern the leg should be somewhat oval, not round in a dairy goat. The flatter bone pattern on a dairy goat makes the leg appear flatter on the sides than in front or behind. The leg should fall in a fairly straight line from both front view and side. In some animals, there can be a wide variation of bend in the knee joint. Sometimes it’s only from the side that the knee can be seen to bend forward, or occasionally backwards. A slight bend forward will still be functional. A bend backward will almost always result in a goat with issues of unsoundness in the long run.

From the front I’ve seen, in a few goats, the knee seems to be more toward the inside. While again, it’s not ideal, it can be functional, but it does contribute to earlier and more severe wear on the leg joints. Sometimes the lower leg, the cannon bone, from the knee to the pastern is shorter than ideal. This can still be functional, if it does not bring the front end of the goat down low enough to throw off the overall balance of the goat.

A dairy goat needs to be level withers and hips, if not a bit higher at the top of the withers. Ideally the withers should have a bit of a rise, which is not the shoulder blade itself, but a bony process of the spine just above the highest point of the shoulder blade. If the front end drops below the level of the hips, digestion and bodily fluids may not drain properly and the goat will carry even more weight on the front end, contributing to more breakdown of the front end assembly over all.

Moving to the rear leg assembly, the rear leg actually starts at the thurl, the hip joint. The thigh to stifle and stifle to hock joint, hock joint to ground should be nearly equal lengths to balance out the front end. And the distance from hock joint to the ground should be similar to the distance from the knee in the front leg to the ground to keep everything in balance as well. The hock to the pastern should be set perpendicular to the ground just behind or underneath the pin bones under the tail.

The openness of angles of each joint should balance out the angles of the shoulder and upper arm. The angle of the rump (the pelvis) affects the angles of the joints in the rear leg from top to bottom. With the ideal nearly level rump, it opens the angle of the thigh in relation to the stifle (knee) joint, which should be similar to the angle of the shoulder and upper arm. If the rump is too steep, it may push the angles of the rear legs out of balance.

Posty legs are legs that have wide-open angles and result in a rear leg that is too straight. Often the hoof is underneath the body rather than just behind it and may push the hip up so that it is higher than the withers and force more weight to be carried on the front end. Too closed off angles, or thighs that are too long, may push the hock joint out behind the goat and often the foot to be too far forward, or the whole hock to hoof, to be too far behind the goat, creating weakness in the hind end.

The rear end provides the propulsion in movement, the front end the stability and the feet are the foundation. I try to keep in mind that as mountain goats, the forebears of our domestic goats, were built to jump and climb and balance on rocky hills. Even though we have brought them down in to all kinds of terrain, we need to keep in mind the structure that will keep them sound, so that they are able to live long productive lives in whatever terrain they are kept.

Home | Subscribe | Current Issue | Library | Past Issues | Bookstore
About Us | Contact Us | Address Change | Advertise in DGJ | Photo Gallery | Links Privacy Policy | Terms of Use |


text:
Arts & Life Travel Columnists Lynn O'Rourke Hayes

Lynn O'Rourke Hayes

Try the ancient sport of stand-up paddle surfing

Stewart F. House/Special Contributor

Dallas residents Amy Ebert, 35, and Angeline Koh (right), 33, are partners and founders of the White Rock Paddle Company, which they operate from a trailer on White Rock Lake in Dallas. Ebert demonstrates a kayak while Koh uses the stand up paddle board on White Rock Lake in Dallas on Friday, March 23, 2012. They also rent canoes.

Standup paddle surfing (SUP) is considered an ancient sport, traced back to Polynesia. In the 1940s, surf instructors on Waikiki beach in Hawaii are said to have used the skill to gain a better view of their students. Today, families can indulge in the sport at many resorts and recreation areas. Here are five to consider.

1 Bend, Ore. Beginners and experts can be spotted paddling on the Deschutes River through the center of this central Oregon town, sometimes accompanied by others aboard rafts or inner tubes. A variety of local outfitters provide lessons, gear and encouragement for interested paddlers of all ages. Sign up for instruction or a tour. Later, with experience and skill under your belt, head out for an independent adventure.

Contact: 1-877-245-8484;

2 Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island Resort, Amelia Island, Fla. Learn to paddleboard on the Atlantic while staying at this luxury, family-friendly 446-room resort located on a 13-mile stretch of pristine coastline. Take lessons from the local pros or head out on your own. Add other water sports by trying jet skiing, boogie boarding, kayaking and surfing. Children 5 through 12 can look forward to the Ritz Kids program that offers adventures designed to introduce young people to the natural wonders of the island. The kids can also enjoy story time, snacks and a tuck-in offered by a friendly pirate.

Contact: 904-277-1100;

3 Outfitters Kauai, Poipu Beach, Kauai, Hawaii. Get sized up by the local pros and then head out with your gear for a beautiful day on this lush Hawaiian island. You and your family members will perfect your paddling skills on a creek that meanders through the Hule’ia National Wildlife Refuge. Hop off the board for a hike to a waterfall, where an overwater zip-line and a cannonball competition await. A motorized canoe will transport your crew on a relaxing cruise back to home base. A minimum age of 12 is recommended.

Contact: 1-888-742-9887;

4 Slickrock Adventures, Belize. Newbies can practice in sheltered lagoons, and the more experienced can try their skills on surf breaks in this Caribbean paradise. Challenge yourself via long paddles to nearby Cayes or use the board to transport yourself to top-notch snorkeling spots. You’ll also enjoy kayaking, fishing, diving, kite surfing and beach time when you book an adventure package on Adventure Island at Glover’s Reef.

Contact: 1-800-390-5715;

5 Covewater, Santa Cruz, Calif. Paddle among sea otters and playful seals on the calm waters of the Santa Cruz Harbor. Local pros will help you attain the proper stance and paddling technique before touring the Elkhorn Slough at Moss Landing. This special outing enables paddlers to explore the second largest remaining salt marsh in California and one of the most significant biodiversity hot spots in the world. Expect to see peregrine falcons, brown pelicans, great blue herons and great egrets while moving through the tidal channels.

Contact: 831-600-7230;

Lynn O’Rourke Hayes is editor of

editor picks

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.

Copyright 2011 The Dallas Morning News. All rights reserve. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
The shame of bad drive-thru starts with the heavy sack. Sometimes it's a plastic bag that's dense in the center like a full diaper. Start is not baby dump. Someone has finally figured out a way to make drive-thru food not shitty. It's this place called Start, and the food isn't all quinoa troughs and garbanzo bean tubs. You can get an honest-to-goodness burger. And tater tots. And sweet-potato tater tots. Here's a plus, and we can't believe we're saying this, they actually have a good veggie burger. It's rich, faux-meaty and loaded with fresh avocado. Fresh, from-scratch and made-to-order: That's drive-thru that doesn't suck. Oh, and the staff sometimes wears cool hats.

More Awards from This Winner

Location Details

4814 Greenville Ave.
Dallas TX 75206

All-access pass to top stories, events and offers around town.

Sign Up >

No Thanks!

Remind Me Later >


text:
Badly Drawn Boy

Until 2000's The Hour of the Bewilderbeast, Damon Gough could seep into the scenery, make his music without anyone making a fuss. Which is clearly the way he likes it: Since the beginning, he's cultivated a sort of look-at-me anonymity, like a superhero who prefers his secret identity yet craves the headlines, conspicuously hiding behind his trademark knit cap and beard. But after Bewilderbeast's lush lullabies and wide-screen melodies won him, among other things, England's coveted Mercury Music Prize, people know who he is now. Mainly British people, but still. Have You Fed the Fish?, then, is an after-the-gold-rush record, where Gough reacts to his sudden (and minor) celebrity and tries to find himself again amid myriad versions that exist on MTV Europe and XFM. "Sometimes you've got to rewind to go forward," he sings, and he sounds as though he's looking in the mirror.

It doesn't take much convincing; by song three, he's already "Born Again." Halfway through Have You Fed the Fish?--Badly Drawn Boy's second soundtrack of the year; call this one About a Badly Drawn Boy--Gough puts it all in perspective: "I remember doing nothing on the night Sinatra died/And the night Jeff Buckley died/And the night Kurt Cobain died/And the night John Lennon died," he explains on "You Were Right." "I remember I stayed up to watch the news with everyone." And though he considers himself a fan of those singers and songwriters, not someone who should be included in their company, the songs on Have You Fed the Fish? beg to differ. The five-minute "How?" is a pocket symphony by itself, jumping from feel-bad folk to hip-shaking horns to here's-where-the-strings-come-in grandeur and back again, and "Have You Fed the Fish?" is an unlikely anthem, with a chorus that gives your heart a hug. "Don't want to be obvious," he sings later in the song. Still not a problem.

Sponsor Content

All-access pass to top stories, events and offers around town.

Sign Up >

No Thanks!

Remind Me Later >


text:
Steve Orsini Has SMU Buying Into Big-Time Sports

Thanks to Steve Orsini, the Mustangs will get a lot better before they get worse.
Eli Luna

How's this for a daunting job description?

• Lure successful, high-profile head coaches to a small, private university that has minimized sports for 20 years.

• Nurture revenues and raise funds all by your lonesome, while simultaneously trimming fat from a $7 million operating deficit.

• Reincarnate a moribund athletic program into a Top 25 contender, putting butts in seats and wins on records.

• And, while you're at it, could you do something—anything—to obscure our discomfiture at George W. Bush's Presidential Library heading this way?

"A reasonable person might not have been so sure this could all work," says the man who not only accepted the challenge but, I'll be damned, is well on his way to pulling it off. "But I've always aimed high."

Steve Orsini, turns out, could sell green bananas to a suicide bomber on the way to work. Only slightly less plausible, he's got SMU buying into big-time sports.

While the Texas Rangers resort to the default leadership of Nolan Ryan, Orsini is re-booting SMU and performing one of the most extreme makeovers in the history of Dallas. In just 20 months on the job, the visionary athletic director has hired former basketball National Coach of the Year Matt Doherty, reigning football National Coach of the Year June Jones and infused our city's only Division I school with something it hasn't had since the 1980s—hope.

Overlooking Ford Stadium's north end zone in an office suite adorned with contemporary steel fixtures, classic brick walls and absolutely no boundaries, Orsini greets me on a gloriously sunny Friday morning by speaking in tongues that eventually, somehow, translate into motivation.

"SMU will come back." Um, can you repeat that?

"We've got so much to sell." Surely you jest?

"It's a culture shock. We've started by changing the perception, instilling a new mind-set." Hmm. Go on ...

"The administration, the faculty, the fans—they're all ready to accept athletics again." OK, now that actually makes some sense.

"We've got that first spark, and it's grown into a small flame. Now it's up to us to fan it like crazy." Chaaarrrge!!!

And to think, SMU's football and basketball teams are a combined 9-24. Beat them while they're down because, thanks to Orsini, the Mustangs will get a lot better before they get worse.

"Everything," he says with all the confidence of Tiger Woods stalking a 2-inch tap-in, "is in place."

I know, I know. SMU absorbed the NCAA's only death penalty in 1987 and Satan will be doing double Salchows on his backyard skating rink before the Mustangs crack the national rankings, right?

Wrong. This isn't the old SMU of David Stanley and Jimmy Tubbs and Phil Bennett and Peruna Patheticness. This is the new SMU belonging to Orsini, consumed with producing a Miracle on Mockingbird.

"We've got the facilities, the resources and the people," he says. "Next is the support...and, of course, the results."

The imminent happiness on our Hilltop began in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, where Orsini grew up with enough guts and guile to overcome his grades. The feisty fullback went to Notre Dame on scholarship, befriended quarterback Joe Montana and was a captain on the '77 team that won the National Championship in the Cotton Bowl.

"I wouldn't have gotten into Notre Dame without football," Orsini admits. "That's what drives me, giving kids like me those same kinds of opportunities."

He was working as a CPA in Manhattan when his alma mater called three years after graduation. And just like that, the guy who spent his days dreaming of becoming a partner in a Big 8 accounting firm suddenly became a...ticket manager?

"Yeah," he chuckles, "that was a pretty significant fork in the road. I always gravitate toward challenges."

Orsini eventually landed in Dallas, working first for Tex Schramm and then Jerry Jones during a 10-year career as the Cowboys' director of administration. A five-year stint as the Navy's associate athletic director followed, before stepping stones at Georgia Tech and Central Florida led him back here, to SMU.

When school president Dr. R. Gerald Turner informed the job candidate he'd ultimately be judged on wins and losses, he was sold.

"That told me they were ready," says Orsini, 51. "The pendulum here had obviously swung too far in the '80s, and the correction of that went too far as well. Now there's middle ground, a balance. We're primed to win."

In Orsini's short reign, SMU has constructed the $13 million Crum Center basketball practice facility, spent $1 million upgrading Moody Coliseum, splashed Dallas with a $750,000 "Pony Up" marketing campaign, drawn blueprints for a new outdoor tennis center, eased admission standards, maintained a 97-percent graduation rate and rekindled thoughts of a sport axed in '80.

"Baseball," Orsini says, "is at least on my radar."

Despite this year's 8-13 record that includes humiliating home losses to Alabama State, Centenary and USC Upstate, Orsini isn't distraught with his basketball program. Doherty recruited a Top 25 class in '07 but regularly played four freshmen together during last week's 29-point loss at No. 1-ranked Memphis.

"You have to tear it down before you can build it back up," explains Orsini, so proactive that he hired Doherty five weeks before he officially joined SMU's payroll. "Remember, that was the big hire. Trustees and supporters had heard the talk around here for a long time, but hiring Matt showed everyone that we actually had a commitment to break the paradigm of losing."

An excruciating 71-day search confirmed the philosophical transformation when Orsini hired Jones, fresh off leading underdog Hawaii to an undefeated season and the Sugar Bowl. SMU? A team that hasn't been to a bowl since 1984? Landing one of the hottest coaching commodities in college football? How in the name of Doak Walker did this happen?

Simple. Some liaison work by former Mustang star Eric Dickerson and a financial commitment from 20 boosters to make Jones the 15th-highest-paid coach in America, higher even than Texas A&M's Mike Sherman. Alerted to the public disgust of Dickerson and former Pony Express partner Craig James, Orsini and Doherty visited Eric in Los Angeles last summer. His confidence in SMU restored, Dickerson later received a call inquiring about the Mustangs' job from an old NFL acquaintance—June Jones.

"I wish I could take credit for pinpointing June," Orsini shrugs, "but, through Eric, it was him that approached us."

The coup wouldn't have been possible, however, if not for the uncanny salesmanship of Steve Orseesneeds.

It took him only three weeks to assemble the "Circle of Champions," a prestigious conglomeration of rich folk led by Gerald J. Ford and Carl Sewell, each pledging $100,000 a year for five years to foot the bill for Jones' five-year, $10 million contract.

"Was I leaping off the cliff? Sure," Orsini says. "But you know what? I never once got turned down."

Welcome back, SMU. We missed you.

Sponsor Content

All-access pass to top stories, events and offers around town.

Sign Up >

No Thanks!

Remind Me Later >


text:
Brain Awareness Week (BAW) provides an excellent opportunity to garner local press coverage. Your best route is through the communications office at your organization; they are comfortable working with the media and know the local press. Be prepared to provide details about your program and the campaign.

Here are some methods for contacting the media:

  • Letters to the Editor and Opinion pieces provide an opportunity to discuss issues and events. Letters should be brief and focused on one main theme. Opinion pieces should be written by an authority on the subject.
  • media advisory invites reporters to attend your event. It should be one page in length and cover the "who, what, where, when, and why" of your program, and include a contact name and number/e-mail. View our two samples.
  • press release can be sent before or after an event. Follow the “Guide to Writing a Press Release” below, and view a sample here.

Guide to Writing a Press Release
Some tips for making your release stand out:

Start Strong: Think of a newspaper and what attracts your attention: the title and the opening paragraph. To create a strong lead, include:

  • A concise and self-explanatory headline.
  • All the event details in the opening paragraph (who, what, where, when, and why).
  • Short sentences that state the facts. Avoid technical terms, jargon and flowery prose.
  • A quote from someone close to the project.
  • An acknowledgement of local partners and sponsors, to add a local human interest.

Get the Right Look: Press releases should be clear and easy to read.

  • Include the words ‘Press Release’ across the top of your header paper, along with the date of release and contact information. Indicate whether the information is intended “For Immediate Release,” or give an embargo date if you would prefer publicity be held back until a specified date.
  • Include a short paragraph that describes your organization and its mission at the bottom of the last page.
  • For printed releases, use one and a half or double line spacing and leave wide margins; 1-2 pages is standard for most releases.
  • Proofread your release before sending.

Time Your Communication:

  • Send releases by e-mail or mail (depending on the reporter’s preference) to newspaper and broadcast outlets at least four business days before an event.
  • Send your event information to calendar editors no fewer than ten business days before the event.
  • Check with magazine news desks directly for their timelines; magazines often require several months lead time.

Please note that the BAW Campaign Headquarters is unable to assist individual partners in the writing or distribution of press materials.

What to Remember about BAW When Speaking with the Media
In alerting the media to your BAW program, remember that your participation in a global campaign may make your story more newsworthy. Here are some facts to include about BAW:

  • March 16-20, 2016 is BAW's 21st annual celebration.
  • The campaign’s goal is to increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research.
  • BAW is a global partnership of government agencies, scientific organizations, universities, hospitals, service groups, professional associations, schools, and others.
  • Hundreds of BAW events take place each year, organized by partners to meet one or more of the following goals: scientific, education, or advocacy outreach.

Visit Build an Audience
Visit Media Tools
Visit BAW Proclamations
Back to BAW Resources

BAW Partners

Already a BAW Partner? Please enter your e-mail address and password

Login > Forgot Password
University of New England. USA. BAW 2013.

University of New England. USA. BAW 2013.

BAW Campaign Headquarters

The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives
505 Fifth Avenue, Sixth Floor
New York, New York 10017
Tel: +1 212 401-1689

Kathleen M. Roina

Campaign Director

Simon Fischweicher
Campaign Coordinator

Kathleen and Simon at the BioBus, BAW 2013.


text:
Mel Krieger died this morning.

[Bulletin Board]

Posted by Anne Vitale on 2008-10-07 10:49:04

I just received this message from Fanny Krieger. As most of you know Mel had been suffering from brain lymphoma – a cancerous tumor in the brain and was hospitalized over the entire summer. He apparently died quietly. Good Bye Mel. We will miss you........Anne

Dear Friends:

It is with great sadness that I write to let you know that Mel passed away this morning at 3:30AM on his final grand adventure.

Although he had been very ill for a while, it is still very painful to face the fact. At least, his illness did not cause him pain and he went very peacefully and his spirit will be with us for a long time.

I look forward to connecting with you in the weeks to come.

With love,

Follow ups:

Post a Followup:

Use the space below to compose your message:


text:
Tag Archives: Triple Threat

Sophia Anne Caruso

When NBC aired The Sound of Music Live!, viewers fell in love with the 12-year-old triple threat playing Brigitta vonMore »

Posted in Who's Hot, You Should Know | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Paul McGill’s Gonna Live Forever

Triple threat Paul McGill, one of the brightest stars in the new remake of Fame (and one of the “BroadwayMore »

Posted in Dancer's Diary | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment