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April 21, 2008

50 Observations And Notes From The Floor Of The New York Comic-Con, 2008

1. Although I'm on the road and could be completely whiffing on a biggie or two, I would say these are the biggest pieces of publishing and related news arising or otherwise first reported from New York Comic-Con: 1) Gordon Lee case dismissed; 2) Viz and Tokyopop each starting major-sounding new lines; 3) Virgin Comics banks on serial superhero universe creator Stan Lee (not for the substance of the result but for what it says about Lee and Virgin and each entity's desire to make such a deal); 4) Analysis at ICv2.com graphic novels conference suggests structural difficulties in the marketplace related to shelving and over-saturation should only get worse in the months ahead; 5) NYCC enjoys a generally successful show marked by slight panel disruptions and some scattered pre-planning. I wasn't quite feeling this number, but I'm sure there were a lot of people there.

2. It was easy to detect a lot of enthusiasm by the hometown creative community and New York publishers for the show; the opposite reaction would be deadly, I think. If I were in charge of NYCC, I would try to harness some of that local spirit through an incentive program or something that targeted regional artists and professionals in some way -- they were the show's best ambassadors, by far.

3. There was also a sense, at least for me, that Marvel and DC quite liked being the largest and most vital participants of a big-time comics convention. It's pretty remarkable considering how they were situated vis-a-vis this summer's popcorn movie slots and how many TV and movie actors/writers/creators in total hit the show how little film and TV-related buzz there was on the show floor compared to some other cons, but I don't think the cartoonists and comics industry folk seemed to mind one bit.

4. People kept telling me not for attribution that the programming had problems in that it was disorganized: people didn't know what panels they were on until late, there seemed to be a bit of overlap, and moderators didn't always know who was to be on their panels. It should be pointed out I heard no complaints about problems executing that schedule, and the people I spoke to seemed to believe most panels well-attended.

5. A lot of the old-time fans seemed to take special pride in this con as a spiritual successor to the old Seuling Cons, once the crown jewels of fan interaction.

6. I have a hunch that Spring dates suit this show a lot better than Winter ones. If the city were difficult to navigate, the stress levels would increase ten-fold, and I'm not certain every professional wants to break out of the winter work season to go run around New York for a few days.

7. I'm certain the project itself has been announced in other places, but I'm not sure I thought about it in the following way: Andrews McMeel seems to feel their forthcoming Dilbert boxed set is of a kind with its Complete Far Side and Complete Calvin and Hobbes efforts, even though the ongoing strip is for obvious reasons by no means complete. One way they're getting that feel to the project is by including a disc that will access a site that will update the strip's complete run as it builds onto the material in the set. There was a point at which I thought we might see five or six of those big $150 efforts from modern strips, but I don't think that's going to be the case. I'd be amazed if there are three more out there to be published.

8. Mark Evanier has a great "it's a small world" story about Mary Skrenes that I hope by now is up on his blog. I saw two or three people with only Evanier's Kirby: King of Comics book as a purchase, even though it's been out for a while.

image9. Dash Shaw's The Bottomless Belly Button looks quite gorgeous as both a publishing package and in the way the interiors were realized. I hadn't known that Shaw recently moved from his longtime home of Richmond, Virginia.

10. The Comic Foundry gang continues their group effort to point out how old I am and how young they are by featuring on their next issue's cover a female television personality who apparently covers comics, someone I couldn't have picked out of a line-up. Thanks, jerks.

11. I kept introducing myself to people that I've met up to a half-dozen times, because apparently I really am as old as Comic Foundry makes me feel. Or New York made me tired and confused. Sorry, Dan. Sorry, Amy. Sorry, other people.

12. NYCC spent three years to develop the Thursday/Friday party imbalance that it took San Diego three decades to achieve. I'm kidding, of course -- it's not a race. I would assume that in both major cities 1) it's easier to get a space for a Thursday night and 2) if you're throwing a smaller bash you sort of naturally avoid the weekend nights thinking that there would be bigger parties those nights.

13. Buzz Dixon's Christian comics studio is launching a third series through Thomas Nelson, this one a science fiction parable about courtship and marriage.

14. Jog of Jog the Blog is a nice, young man with an odd day job, strange dietary habits and apparently no desire to get any closer to comics than writing well about them and going to the occasional show.

15. The talented cartoonist Jim Campbell has not only a third but a fourth issue of Krachmacher out. I thought that guy had quit.

16. The convention could use better organization within its sections. The general orientation of the show seemed to work, and the big booths were spaced out at great enough distance to reduce traffic jams, but within certain areas there were some odd pairings. For instance, Fantagraphics might have been more naturally placed with other book publishers -- despite their comics roots they publish more in line with those companies than with five or ten-title comics companies -- rather than between Thomas Nelson and one of those con-classic, super-odd self-publishing efforts.

17. I haven't seen this noted anywhere, but DC's been live with Random House under their new distribution deal for several days now. The important thing to remember about a deal like that one is that it not only should have a physical effect on what books are available where, it will likely have long term ramifications in terms of how a publisher like that rolls books out and deals with those elements of its process in-house that have an impact on the final distribution.

18. I'm told that the Metropolitan/Joe Sacco book deal I mentioned Friday is one from a few years back rather than a brand new one, more a diversification of publishing options for the cartoonist that started a while ago than any bold, new direction.

19. Andrews McMeel is also doing a series collecting the newer Prince Valiant work by Mark Schultz and Gary Gianni -- that had also been announced a while ago, but I wasn't aware they were going for more of an accessible trade-type deal rather than a prestige/collector's item option.

20. The vast majority of creators to whom I spoke early on at the show were targeting Grant Morrison's Saturday panel.

21. The first surprise, cropped-up-suddenly line that I had to walk around was for Captain America artist Steve Epting.

22. I still don't get the costumes.

23. In the retail booths I saw a lot of discounted trades and a lot of how-to books, or at least enough more than usual to be noticeable.

24. Fanfare/Ponent Mon was set up next to Knockabout; it was like a two-booth visit from a comics scene on another world.

25. In addition to syringe giveaway pens for the launch of Black Jack, a welcome old-school promotional tactic (syringe pens are usually the purview of medical supply companies), Vertical had the first issue of its Dororo series on-hand. We live in a rich comics publishing era when Tezuka books can arrive after one totally forgot they were coming. The project they have planned after Black Jack launches is an equally big-name one, although much smaller in page size.

26. Describing some of the costumes in a bar later Friday night, I learned that New Yorkers have names for body parts that people in New Mexico tend to avoid even thinking about.

27. The new Feiffer book The Explainers looks sharp and is hugely thick, like a Maakies volume after several cycles of dianabol.

28. If overlapping remarks are any indication, a lot of publishing people seem as generally encouraged by opportunities to provide comics for kids as they are broadly anxious by what everyone sees as that potentially huge shelving crisis about to hit the big bookstores due to the continued flood of publishing, random elements of still-pernicious comics culture that thwarts the marshaling of specific resources in fruitful directions, and even the peculiar quirks of certain buyers.

29. Generic press passes is either the greatest idea ever or the worst. It's always nice to be reminded the job is more important than the person holding it. On the other hand, because I lisp my own last name, part of me really wanted my name on my badge even though I couldn't bear to write it on there myself. Plus I feel like a knob either way: introducing myself up front or waiting until after we've chatted a bit.

image30. My feet greatly appreciated the carpeting, but my knee did not appreciate it when I stepped on some light fixture or plug or something hidden under one of the rugs and twisted it. Ow.

31. You know, we obviously have different news priorities, but considering how they're beginning to smartly press their advantages in terms of size and scope and ability to temporarily tweak their platform, I have to admit that I'm starting to feel the pressure to step up this site's game to match Newsarama's. They had guys covering Legion of Super-Heroes panels that would have doubled my ability to cover the entire show could I have afforded them. One year from now, they'll probably have 50 staffers on every convention floor armed with Flip Video Ultras, and the rest of us will look like 63-year-olds turning out mimeographed newsletters for the local Masonic lodge.

32. It was nice to see you, too.

33. Two advantages cited by many over the San Diego floor were multiple ATMs and a rumored (well, I never saw it), professionals-only lounge area.

34. One group where a couple of players professed an interest in a stronger New York show over continued fealty to San Diego: book publishers, including a significant one not based in New York. It makes me wonder if Comic-Con International might benefit doing more work to make that a stronger, more distinct presence on their floor the way the superhero publishers, Indy Island and the art-comics areas have become dependable, recurring areas of special interest.

35. The dedicated Newsarama NYCC site has music that comes on about 30 seconds after the window opens. It scared the crap out of me every time I used it.

36. It's more an official hunch on my part than it is the result of some quantitative measurement, but I felt the mainstream American comic book companies did not fully endorse NYCC in terms of it becoming a place to hear breaking mainstream publishing comics news as much as they might have. At least it didn't seem like a ton of news of that sort was coming out at the show. There was some, just not a ton.

37. A continuing item of discussion among press people had nothing to do with the show but is a significant subject when it comes to comics publishing: a lot of folks seem at least slightly concerned whether or not they'll have a job six months, one year, five years from now. Not just a job covering comics -- a job covering anything.

38. One of the more interesting assertions made during Thursday's ICv2.com Graphic Novels Conference is that manga's ability to drive interest in fan participation has been a boon for publishers across the board in that there are more and more young people developing professional-level craft chops.

39. Best wishes and a speedy recovery from bumps and bruises to one of my three favorite comics/comics-culture bloggers, Kathleen David.

40. You know what was really popular without calling attention to itself? Any kind of statue or model that parents could make their kids stand next to while they took a photograph. You could probably do pretty well devoting your entire area to that kind of thing.

41. Marvel's not exactly all the way back into the conventioneering business, but their sparse booth stood in contrast to DC's now-familiar structure more through the presence of multiple DC staffers at their booth than by design. It's hard to say which strategy makes the most sense -- Marvel's requires almost no attention and investment, and although they miss out on multiple networking and press-shepherding responsibilities, the vast majority of people don't care about those things.

42. First Second will have an eight-book line-up this Fall, and will likely bounce between six and eight books in future seasons.

43. I'm not sure anyone's noticed -- I hadn't -- but the boutique publisher Oni Press has quietly almost tripled their staff the last few years, and is in either their 10th or 11th year of publishing, the latter depending on how you count things.

44. Del Rey Manga's Fairy Tale launch is apparently their most successful to date.

45. Heidi MacDonald made an interesting point in brief conversation that the comics industry seems to have little or no idea what to do with publishing news, and if I understood her point correctly, she's right. I just scanned a bunch of comics news and I'm not sure any of a number of publishing announcements I talked about on the floor were packaged and presented in a way that made them big news stories, and there's no reason many of them shouldn't be. Lead time issues still tend to punch proper marketing of individual books in the nuts. Serial comics tend to be the home of "what's next?" speculation. The industry doesn't have street dates to speak of. Diamond can't guarantee a date to ship anything even when stuff is listed. As a result of all of these things, material kind of floats to the surface rather than hits with a splash.

46. Good gravy, Ross Richie can talk.

47. I'm still a little skeeved out by the easy soft-porn/kids comics mix that you find all over the floor of a convention like this. "Naked Cylon Six" said one table banner over a few Playboys. I saw a few scattered porn magazines out on a table a few booths down from a line of kids waiting to meet Sonic the Hedgehog.

48. A strange, quiet young man walked up to me and asked if I had seen Jason Dohring, seemingly fired up with the certainty I could help him as if the actor and I were publicly-known old chums. Dohring wasn't murdered at the convention after 3:30 yesterday, was he?

49. I went into the press room at 2:30 PM on Sunday and didn't know a damn person in there. But there were like 20 people in there, all writing furiously into their computers.

50. One story that's not fresh enough or substantial enough by itself for me to consider it a top five news story but is worth noting nonetheless is the DC Comics imprint Vertigo making some PR hay about seeking out OGNs. This is important because 1) Vertigo was built upon a serial comics model and collection of same into trades, and 2) most of their big hits have come from writers with established credentials within comics rather than from outside of comics, and a call for agents to pitch OGNs indicates that a lot of outside talent will start to come to the imprint. That being said, it should be noted that three expected announcements all deal with projects from veterans rather than outsiders, including one from the great Peter Bagge.
posted 4:25 pm PST | Permalink

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Game News: The Crysis 2 Launch Trailer

Electronic Arts and Crytek GmbH’s Crysis 2 is available for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC today! You can check out the release announcement below followed by the launch trailer featuring music by B.o.B. For more details, visit the game’s official site:

Electronic Arts Inc. and Crytek GmbH, award-winning developers of the Crysis® franchise, announced today that Crysis 2 is available at retailers in North America and will be available in Europe on March 25. Crysis 2 catapults players into a stunning recreation of New York City in 2023, left ravaged by an alien attack. Players will use the powers of the Nanosuit 2 to be fast, be strong and be invisible, in an attempt to save humanity from this fatal invasion. Crysis 2 is the first game built on Cryteks new state-of-the-art multiplatform game engine, CryENGINE®3 and can be played in stunning high-definition in either 2D or stereoscopic 3D*.

Bringing the Crysis franchise to consoles has been a huge achievement for all of us at Crytek, said Cevat Yerli, CEO of Crytek. We are very excited to bring this high quality first person shooter to gamers on multiple platforms while also offering another dimension of gaming with stereoscopic 3D.

Reviewers around the world have already hailed Crysis 2 as a critical hit, as the game has already earned 15 scores of 90 and above from critics around the world including Official Xbox Magazine (UK) who said the game is jaw-slackeningly beautiful and PC Action (Germany), who says Crysis 2 is a bombastic shooter with great graphics, intelligent enemies and motivating multiplayer.

In Crysis 2, New York City has been ravaged by a series of climatic disasters and a plague that has struck down on the citys population with brutal epidemic speed. The aliens have returned, stalking the streets and leaving the city in chaos, its skyline in flames. Set in a world of futuristic warfare where soldiers are not solely reliant on firing rifles and hurling grenades, players are empowered to use New York City as a virtual playground and become the ultimate weapon. Featuring a story penned by award-winning science fiction author Richard Morgan (Altered Carbon), the single player campaign in Crysis 2 has a deep and affecting narrative.

Crysis 2 also includes a fast-paced multiplayer campaign, developed by Crytek UK, Cryteks specialist multiplayer studio. Crysis 2 multiplayer features six gameplay modes and 12 maps set across recognizable locations in New York City and is built around the unique gameplay of the Nanosuit 2. This gives gamers a fresh setting with an emphasis on vertical gameplay which allows players to strategize, attack and defend from above and below.

Crysis 2 is the first game built on Cryteks new state-of-the-art multiplatform game engine, CryENGINE®3. Crysis 2 is available in stunning high-definition either in 2D or stereoscopic 3D* for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC for $59.99.

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2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees

Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced nominations for the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards this morning. Anthony Mackie and Kate Beckinsale served as presenters. Nominees for Best Feature include 50/50, Beginners, Drive, Take Shelter and The Artist.

Margin Call was selected to receive the annual Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.

“The Film Independent Spirit Awards recognize the finest artistic achievements across the broad spectrum of independent filmmakingfrom emerging talent working on a shoestring budget to established auteurs,” said Film Independent Senior Director Sean Mc Manus. “The 2012 nominees tell their stories in such an authentic way and reflect the inclusive nature of the independent filmmaking community. We are delighted to support them and expand the audience for their work.”

“The Spirit Awards focuses primarily on American independents, so it was an honor to serve alongside an esteemed and dedicated group of indie film colleagues to determine many of the 2012 nominees,” said producer and Chair of the American Narrative Feature Nominating Committee Gail Mutrux. “It was an invigorating processexperiencing first-hand the vast array of storytelling that defines independent film, and discovering many new talents whose films inspired us.”

Winners will be announced at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 25, 2012. The 27th annual awards ceremony will be held as a daytime luncheon in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, and the premiere broadcast will air later that evening at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on IFC. Winners of the Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grants will be highlighted during the awards ceremony and announced at the Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominee Brunch on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood.

The Spirit Awards Nominating Committees selected nominees from 277 submissions this year and applied the following guidelines in determining the nominations: uniqueness of vision, original and provocative subject matter, economy of means (with particular attention paid to total production cost & individual compensation), and percentage of financing from independent sources.

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers are not listed)
50/50 – Producers: Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin, Seth Rogen
Beginners – Producers: Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech, Jay Van Hoy
Drive – Producers: Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Adam Siegel
Take Shelter – Producers: Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin
The Artist – Producer: Thomas Langmann
The Descendants – Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Mike Mills – Beginners
Jeff Nichols – Take Shelter
Alexander Payne – The Descendants
Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive

Joseph Cedar – Footnote
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Tom McCarthy – Win Win
Mike Mills – Beginners
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash – The Descendants

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
Another Earth – Director: Mike Cahill
Producers: Mike Cahill, Hunter Gray, Brit Marling, Nicholas Shumaker
In the Family – Director: Patrick Wang
Producers: Robert Tonino, Andrew van den Houten, Patrick Wang
Margin Call – Director: J.C. Chandor
Producers: Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson, Joe Jenckes, Corey Moosa, Zachary Quinto
Martha Marcy May Marlene – Director: Sean Durkin
Producers: Antonio Campos, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Josh Mond
Natural Selection – Director: Robbie Pickering
Producers: Brion Hambel, Paul Jensen

Mike Cahill, Brit Marling – Another Earth
J.C. Chandor – Margin Call
Patrick deWitt – Terri
Phil Johnston – Cedar Rapids
Will Reiser – 50/50

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director, and producer. Executive Producers are not listed
Bellflower – Writer/Director: Evan Glodell
Producers: Evan Glodell, Vincent Grashaw
Circumstance – Writer/Director: Maryam Keshavarz
Producers: Karin Chien, Maryam Keshavarz, Melissa M. Lee
Hello Lonesome – Writer/Director/Producer: Adam Reid
Pariah – Writer/Director: Dee Rees
Producer: Nekisa Cooper
The Dynamiter – Writer: Brad Inglesby
Director: Matthew Gordon
Producers: Kevin Abrams, Matthew Gordon, Merilee Holt, Art Jones, Mike Jones, Nate Tuck, Amile Wilson

Lauren Ambrose – Think of Me
Rachael Harris – Natural Selection
Adepero Oduye – Pariah
Elizabeth Olsen – Martha Marcy May Marlene
Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn

Demián Bichir – A Better Life
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Ryan Gosling – Drive
Woody Harrelson – Rampart
Michael Shannon – Take Shelter

Jessica Chastain – Take Shelter
Anjelica Huston – 50/50
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Harmony Santana – Gun Hill Road
Shailene Woodley – The Descendants

Albert Brooks – Drive
John Hawkes – Martha Marcy May Marlene
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
John C. Reilly – Cedar Rapids
Corey Stoll– Midnight in Paris

Joel Hodge – Bellflower
Benjamin Kasulke – The Off Hours
Darius Khondji – Midnight in Paris
Guillaume Schiffman – The Artist
Jeffrey Waldron – The Dynamiter

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
An African Election – Director/Producer: Jarreth Merz
Bill Cunningham New York – Director: Richard Press
Producer: Philip Gefter
The Interrupters – Director/Producer: Steve James
Producer: Alex Kotlowitz
The Redemption of General Butt Naked – Director/Producers: Eric Strauss, Daniele Anastasion
We Were Here – Director/Producer: David Weissman

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
A Separation
(Iran) Director: Asghar Farhadi
(Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany) Director: Lars von Trier
(UK) Director: Steve McQueen
The Kid With a Bike
(Belgium/France/Italy) Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
(UK) Director: Paddy Considine

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD  The 15th annual Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
Chad Burris – Mosquita y Mari
Sophia Lin– Take Shelter
Josh Mond– Martha Marcy May Marlene

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD  The 18th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Simon Arthur – Silver Tongues
Mark Jackson – Without
Nicholas Ozeki – Mamitas

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD  The 17th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Heather Courtney – Where Soldiers Come From
Danfung Dennis – Hell and Back Again
Alma Har’el – Bombay Beach

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – (Given to one films director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Margin Call – Director: J.C. Chandor
Casting Director: Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard Telsey
Ensemble Cast: Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci


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What's this?

commandlinefu.com is the place to record those command-line gems that you return to again and again.

Delete that bloated snippets file you've been using and share your personal repository with the world. That way others can gain from your CLI wisdom and you from theirs too. All commands can be commented on, discussed and voted up or down.

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Every new command is wrapped in a tweet and posted to Twitter. Following the stream is a great way of staying abreast of the latest commands. For the more discerning, there are Twitter accounts for commands that get a minimum of 3 and 10 votes - that way only the great commands get tweeted.

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Use your favourite RSS aggregator to stay in touch with the latest commands. There are feeds mirroring the 3 Twitter streams as well as for virtually every other subset (users, tags, functions,…):

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May 19, 2015 - A Look At The New Commandlinefu
I've put together a short writeup on what kind of newness you can expect from the next iteration of clfu. Check it out here.
March 2, 2015 - New Management
I'm Jon, I'll be maintaining and improving clfu. Thanks to David for building such a great resource!

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Psst. Open beta.

Wow, didn't really expect you to read this far down. The latest iteration of the site is in open beta. It's a gentle open beta-- not in prime-time just yet. It's being hosted over at UpGuard (link) and you are more than welcome to give it a shot. Couple things:

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Your feedback is appreciated via the form on the beta page. Thanks! -Jon & CLFU Team

Commands by qwertyroot from sorted by
Terminal - Commands by qwertyroot - 3 results
ftagmarks(){ jq -r --arg t "$1" '.children[] as $i|if $i.root == "tagsFolder" then ([$i.children[] as $j|{title: ($j.title), urls: [$j.children[].uri]}]) else empty end|.[] as $k|if ($k.title|contains($t)) then $k.urls else empty end|.[]?' "$2"; }
2016-12-24 15:12:04
User: qwertyroot
Functions: as

# Usage: ftagmarks TAG BOOKMARKS.JSON

ftagmarks Bash ~/.mozilla/firefox/*.default/bookmarkbackups/bookmarks-*.json

Tag can be partial matching, e.g. input 'Bas' or 'ash' will match 'Bash' tag.

# Exact tag matching:

ftagmark(){ jq -r --arg t "$1" '.children[] as $i|if $i.root == "tagsFolder" then ([$i.children[] as $j|{title: ($j.title), urls: [$j.children[].uri]}]) else empty end|.[] as $k|if $k.title == $t then $k.urls else empty end|.[]?' "$2"; }

Usage: ftagmark TAG BOOKMARKS.JSON

# List all tags:

ftagmarkl(){ jq -r '.children[] as $i | if $i.root == "tagsFolder" then $i.children[].title else empty end' "$1"; }

Usage: ftagmarkl BOOKMARKS.JSON

# Requires: `jq` - must have CLI JSON processor

sh -c 'url="http://youtu.be/MejbOFk7H6c"; vid="`for i in ".*youtu\.be/\([^\/&?#]\+\)" ".*youtu.\+v[=/]\([^\/&?#]\+\)" ".*youtu.\+embed/\([^\/&?#]\+\)"; do expr "${url}" : "${i}"; done`"; if [ -n "${vid}" ]; then echo ${vid}; else echo "${url}"; fi'
2013-09-04 19:33:09
User: qwertyroot
Functions: echo sh

url can be like any one of followings:

url="MejbOFk7H6c" url="http://youtu.be/MejbOFk7H6c" url="https://youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MejbOFk7H6c#t" url="//www.youtube.com/v/MejbOFk7H6c?hl=ru_RU&version=3&rel=0" url="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MejbOFk7H6c?feature=player_embedded"

If url mismatching, whole url will be returned.

for i in '/tmp/file 1.txt' '/tmp/file 2.jpg'; do ln -s "$i" "$i LINK"; done
2013-08-02 08:30:50
User: qwertyroot
Functions: ln

'/tmp/file 1.txt' '/tmp/file 2.jpg'

for Nautilus script

Or with

for Thunar action

If you linking the symlinks itself, but want to link to source files instead of symlinks, use

"`readlink -m "$i"`"

instead of

like this:

for i in '/tmp/file 1.txt' '/tmp/file 2.jpg'; do ln -s "`readlink -m "$i"`" "$i LINK"; done


text:
Feather Drop Feature Summary

Physics at Home
Feather Drop
Felix Baumgartner was nearly in free fall as he stepped out of his capsule at an altitude of 39 kilometers (24 miles). At this altitude, the atmosphere is so thin that a falling object experiences hardly any air resistance, so it accelerates rapidly to very high speed (Baumgartner's skydive exceeded the speed of sound).

Watch the video at Feather Drop to see how the air resistance on a feather depends on the density of the air it is falling through. First you'll see the feather fall through air at atmospheric pressure, and then through air at a very low pressure (a very good vacuum).
December 1, 2012 - December 16, 2012


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Port & Company® - Five-Panel Twill Cap. CP86

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text:
TV Show: Saved By The Bell

Elizabeth Berkley played Jessie Spano, president of the class that moved through Bayside High over the course of the show's four seasons. Jessie was a bit of a geek, which caused problems as the actress playing her grew increasingly sexy. By the series' end, you had this strange feeling that despite all the high grades and extracurricular activities, Elizabeth Berkley was destined to end up a stripper. Which she did, in the film Showgirls.


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While browsing through the J. Crew website today we stumbled upon this selection of items from Rei Kawakubo's Comme des Garcon Play collection. They appear to have picked up a small run of  men's pieces. While we've seen the boat neck shirt and other women's selections before, dudes will have to settle for choosing between the v-neck pullover or the cardigan.

The company is self-aware of this interesting choice too:  "We admit that this quirky cardigan from Rei Kawakubo's crazy-hard-to-find Play line is a bit of a departure from the heritage-type items we usually stand behind, but we're kind of obsessed—Frank, the head of our men's design team, has literally been wearing his every single day since it landed in his office," reads the copy.

Apparently they've only picked up 50 of them, so if you feel like getting these items from J. Crew, you can cop the v-neck sweater for $350 or the cardigan for $410. [J. Crew]

Follow @ComplexStyle for the latest drops, info, and lifestyle news.


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Thought for the day: I'm a celebrity, get me out of IT!

The last place you'd expect to see a former IT director is on television, but it seems they're popping up on all sorts of shows....

This Article Covers

The last place you'd expect to see a former IT director is on television, but it seems they're popping up on all sorts of shows. Colin Beveridge is certain that years of managing technology departments is a good grounding for the media circus.

Now, I know why the broadband sellers refer to their product as an always-on connection. Because that’s just what I have become: an always-on connection, especially since I installed a wireless home network.

For most of the time I am simply another node in a seething morass of entwined internetworks that extends effortlessly throughout and beyond my regular working day, into that precious time when I should be enjoying a well-earned rest.

Which is how I ended up the other night, half-heartedly watching television in the living room while conscientiously updating an important business spreadsheet on my wireless-enabled laptop.

In truth, I was paying much more attention to the IT cost model than to the telly programme – until I heard a familiar voice booming out of my TV set. The distinctive voice that caught my ear was that of René Caryol, co-author of Corporate Voodoo and a well-known former IT director.

It’s always interesting when you see a personal acquaintance on TV so I put down my laptop and listened to what René had to say about the characteristic behaviour patterns of the super-rich members of our society.

You might well think that this was an extremely unusual topic for a former IT director to embrace with any authority. But this didn’t surprise me at all because I have had the pleasure of meeting René several times and I have heard him speak at a number of IT events.

He is a truly inspirational speaker and one of only two “celebrity” [albeit former] IT directors that I know – the other being David Taylor, aka The Naked Leader, who has also appeared on various television programmes recently, including – believe it or not – the popular docusoap, The Salon.

Of course, before they succumbed to the glamorous worlds of television stardom and inspirational speaking, both René Caryol and David Taylor had a common professional background – they both managed large information technology departments.

Hallelujah! Brothers and sisters! There is life after IT! René and David are the living proof. They have a shared experience, which I believe has been the crucial element in their separate success stories as business book authors, speakers and television presenters.

It is no small coincidence that two such former technology managers are now leading figures in the world of analysing attitudes, behaviour and relationships in the workplace. After all, the typical IT department is a tremendous vantage point from which to observe the big beasts of the corporate savannahs, constantly locked in ritual combat with each other.

But, of course, we are not simply innocent bystanders on a safari. We are the people that have to try and find common cause between frequently conflicting priorities and agendas. We are the ones who actually have to pull the whole thing together into some sort of coherent systems portfolio.

Which is probably why every good IT manager very quickly learns that the technology is always the easiest bit to manage – the really hard part of our job is dealing effectively with people.

What do you think?

Which is harder - dealing with technology or dealing with people?  Tell us in an e-mail >> reserves the right to edit and publish answers on the website. Please state if your answer is not for publication.

Colin Beveridge is an independent consultant and leading commentator on technology management issues. He can be contacted at

This was last published in October 2003

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Malvertising campaign used a free certificate from Let's Encrypt

The organization says revoking certificates isn't the answer to abuse

Cybercriminals are taking advantage of an organization that issues free digital certificates, sparking a disagreement over how to deal with such abuse.

On Wednesday, Trend Micro wrote that it discovered a cyberattack on Dec. 21 that was designed to install banking malware on computers.

The cybercriminals had compromised a legitimate website and set up a subdomain that led to a server under their control, wrote Joseph Chen, a fraud researcher with Trend.

If a user went to the site, the subdomain would show a malicious advertisement that would redirect the user to sites hosting the Angler exploit kit, which looks for software vulnerabilities in order to install malware.

The subdomain used an SSL/TLS (Secure Sockets Layer/Transport Layer Security) certificate, which encrypts traffic between a server and a user's computer.

The certificate was issued by Let's Encrypt, a project that is run by the ISRG (Internet Security Research Group) and is backed by Mozilla, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Cisco, and Akamai, among others.

Let's Encrypt is the first large-scale project to issue free digital certificates, part of a broad movement to improve security across the Internet.

Chen wrote that Trend Micro had been anticipating that cybercriminals would try to get free certificates from Let's Encrypt for their own malicious purposes. In this case, encrypting traffic to the malicious server better masks the cybercriminals' activities.

It is possible to revoke digital certificates. However, Let's Encrypt had decided as policy not to revoke certificates. In October, the organization explained that certification authorities (CAs) are not equipped to police content.

But Let's Encrypt does check with Google's Safe Browsing API to see if a domain for which a certificate is requested has been flagged for phishing or malware.

Chen disagrees with this approach, writing, "CAs should be willing to cancel certificates issued to illicit parties that have been abused by various threat actors."

Josh Aas, ISRG's executive director, wrote via email that although the certificate in question could be used again, it's unlikely the cybercriminals would get very far because the domains are known malvertising sites.

The attackers could still just generate new certificates for different domains, and those actions would be difficult for any CA to stop, he wrote.

"CAs cannot detect and respond quickly enough," he wrote.

An alternative approach would be for online ad brokers to implement internal controls to stop malicious ads, Aas wrote.

The online advertising industry has recognized the problems with malicious ads, but cybercriminals use a variety of techniques to sneak harmful ones in.

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IBM acquires BI software maker Varicent

IBM will add Varicent's business intelligence software to its portfolio of analysis packages

Adding to its already considerable line of analysis software and expertise, IBM announced Friday that it has acquired business intelligence software provider Varicent Software.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Based in Toronto, Varicent was a privately held company founded in 2003. It has more than 180 corporate customers, including banks, insurance companies, retailers, information technology and telecommunications providers. Starwood Hotels, Hertz and Office Depot have used the company's products.

Varicent software collects and compiles reports of sales data from different systems, such as finance, sales, human resources and IT departments. Such data can then be used to determine employee compensation, streamline territory assignments, manage sales quotas, and report on and analyze sales activities.

The software will be folded into IBM's Smarter Analytics line of software packages, joining analysis software from previous acquisitions, including Algorithmics, Clarity Systems, OpenPages, Cognos and SPSS. IBM has been deploying software from these acquisitions into packages, called Smarter Analytics Signature Solutions, that address specific needs such as fraud detection, financial operations and customer service.

IBM expects to generate $16 billion in the sales of data analysis systems and services by 2015. The company has almost 9,000 consultants and operational personnel devoted to business analysis systems. It also employs 400 researchers in the field, who are expected to secure hundreds of patents a year.

Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Joab on Twitter at @Joab_Jackson. Joab's e-mail address is

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Apple fixing its awful Chinese labor mess, claims Cook

Tim's co says it's sorting everything out. Nothing to see here.

apple supplier responsibility report

It must be time for another Apple 'supplier responsibility' progress report. You know the drill: Apple tells us how everything's OK over in China, Congo and all the other places in its shiny supply chain.

Notably, and as if to prove the BBC wrong, Apple says its (finally) banned bonded labor.

In IT Blogwatch, bloggers wonder what took them so long.

curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment.

Tim Higgins serves a bond:

Apple Inc. is requiring factories to [cease] a controversial labor practiceknown as bonded labor, thecompany said in its annual supplier audit. … Tim Cook has been trying to combat the perception that workers in emerging markets are mistreated. … Worker advocates such as China Labor Watch have been criticalwith reports that workersare forced to work unpaid overtimein unsafe factory environments.

Suppliers often turn to third-party recruiters to find workers [who are] frequently from countries foreign to where a factory is [and] are charged fees in exchange for the job. … “It is in essence bonded servitude,”Jeff Williams, Apple senior vice president of operations, saidin an interview. … “The suppliers that hire them sometimes don’t know anything about this but the worker’s passport is sometimes held.”

In the audit, Apple said it had continued to take steps to weed out the use of minerals from mines from conflict regions such as those in the Democratic Republic of Congo  MORE

並びに Daisuke Wakabayashi adds:

Apple said it is making progress eliminating so-called conflict minerals. [But] was less definitive on other issuesincluding working conditions at some suppliers, or suppliers tosuppliers.

Apple came under fire last year in a BBC documentary that accused the company of breaking promises to improve working conditions. [The company] disagreed with the BBC’s conclusionbut said that Apple investigates every claim.  MORE

But Brendon Morgan reads between the lines (and doesn't like what he sees):

When a new Apple product is being made, production ramps up massivelythis obviously necessitates a large hiring spree. … Until recently these workers could be charged more than a month’s salary in recruitment fees. … The good news is that Apple has finally got around to banning this practice.

I am shocked that this was not something that Apple suppliers were banned from doing since 2008. … Judging by the recentinvestigations by the BBC it seems that little has really changed and lots of Apple's suppliers are still treating workers terribly.  MORE

And Kate Knibbs knows how not to bury the lede:

Why the hell is this just happening now?

Apple had already been pressuring factories to recoup excessive fees. … But this is the first zero-tolerance ban. … The workers who haven'tsettle[d] their debt often get their passports takenuntil they repay [it]. … Criticism about the conditionshas persisted for years.

Before we start patting Apple on the back, let's not. … This should've been prohibited from the beginning. … Apple knew thatsupplier factories were using bonded labor back in 2013.

It's also attempting to eliminatethe blood diamonds of the tech supply world. … Also very very overdue [and] something that every tech companyneeds to stop.  MORE

Meanwhile, Juli Clover toes the line:

Apple often finds itself in the spotlight overconditions at the factoriesbut the Cupertino company has for many years held its suppliers to a strict code. … Apple's Supplier Responsibility Team conductsaudits on a regular basis so that Apple can continue to work towards improving conditions.

For its ninth annual progress report, Apple conducted 633 audits covering more than 1.6 million workers in 19 countries.  MORE

You have been reading IT Blogwatch by , who curates the best bloggy bits, finest forums, and weirdest websites… so you don't have to. Catch the key commentary from around the Web every morning. Hatemail may be directed to @RiCHi or Opinions expressed may not represent those of Computerworld. Ask your doctor before reading. Your mileage may vary. E&OE.

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• Monday May 06, 2013

    Webb chairs first FIFA Anti-Discrimination Task Force meeting

    From left to right: FIFA Vice-President and CONCACAF President, Jeffrey Webb, who leads the FIFA Task Force Against Racism and Discrimination; and FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke; during the first meeting at the Home of FIFA in Zurich on May 6. (Copyright: FIFA/Foto-net)

    ZURICH - The newly created FIFA Task Force Against Racism and Discrimination held its first meeting Monday at the Home of FIFA in Zürich. The session focused the debate on the application of sanctions in cases of racist and discriminative acts. The proposal studied to uniformly implement the sanctions that already exist in the FIFA regulations in a stronger and more consistent manner.

    The group, chaired by FIFA Vice-president and CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb, included representatives from the football committee and a panel of experts on the fight against racism and discrimination. During the session, members highlighted the need to send a strong message of zero tolerance towards any such acts within football, making sure social justice and racial integration is implemented at all levels of the football community.

    From left to right: FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter; FIFA Vice-President and CONCACAF President, Jeffrey Webb, who leads the FIFA Task Force Against Racism and Discrimination; and FIFA General Secretary, Jérôme Valcke. (Copyright: FIFA/Foto-net)

    "We have a special responsibility in the way we can impact football and society," said Webb during his opening remarks. "One of the opportunities this task force has is its vast reach throughout FIFA's 209 member associations where we can implement the resolutions in every region and every country where football is played, bringing universality to the mechanisms that combat racism and discrimination."

    The task force came up with the following proposals, which will be included in a draft resolution to be presented at the FIFA Congress in Mauritius at the end of May:

    - Firstly, having an official at the stadium who would identify potential acts of discrimination with the aim of easing the pressure on referees and facilitating the availability of evidence, which is not always easy to obtain, for the disciplinary committees to take decisions;
    - Secondly, applying sanctions in two stages, with a list of applicable sanctions for a first or a minor offence, such as a warning, a fine, or the playing of a match behind closed doors, and a list of stronger sanctions for reoffenders or for serious incidents, such as point deductions, expulsion from a competition, or relegation;
    - Thirdly, emphasis on the responsibility of member associations and clubs for the actions of their players, officials and supporters, and on the need to implement the existing sanctions in a harmonised way across all confederations, member associations and leagues, with a proposal to request that clubs and member associations provide a concrete action plan showing their intention to fight any forms of racism and discrimination among their supporters.

    Reflecting the discussions that took place today, the Task Force will present a resolution on the issue of sanctions at the upcoming FIFA Congress in Mauritius at the end of May. Similarly, at its next meeting the Task Force will focus on education and prevention, which is the second objective that was set when the group was created.

    The following personalities took part in today's meeting:

    Darren Bailey (Director of Football Governance & Regulation of The Football Association) who was replacing for this session David Bernstein, President of the FA;
    Yury Boychenko (Chief of Anti-Discrimination Section at United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner who was replacing the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethemi Pillay);
    Serey Die (Ivory Coast player at FC Basel);
    Giovanni Merlo (Italian Journalist representing AIPS Media);
    Marcel Mathier (Outgoing chairman the FIFA Disciplinary Committee);
    Osasu Obayiuwan (Associate Editor NewAfrican Magazine);
    Piara Powar (CEO of FARE);
    Theo Van Seggelen (FIFpro Secretary General);
    Claudio Sulser (Incoming chairman FIFA Disciplinary Committee);
    Howard Webb (FIFA Referee);
    Véron Moseng-Omba (UEFA);
    Dr Thomas Partl (UEFA).

    Excused for this first session were players Jozy Altidore and Kevin-Prince Boateng who had obligations with their respective clubs.

    It should be noted that this is still an open list and additional members may be included in the task force in the future.

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Spreading the Word on Density

Spreading the Word on Density

RCA plans to increase awareness about proposed zoning change critical to future development in Reston.

The county’s chief planner will soon be hearing from a dismayed Reston Citizen’s Association.

At the group’s monthly meeting Monday, the board agreed to lead a campaign to increase awareness about a zoning ordinance change that would redefine how residential redevelopment is done in Reston — something it thinks the county has been remiss about up until now.

In June, Jim Zook, the director of planning and zoning, told local residents about a significant ordinance change he intends to present this summer to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors for their decision later this year.

“I think a lot of people left that meeting very confused,” said Jim Hubbard, one of RCA’s newly elected board members. “Basically, what they’re saying is that everything in Reston is going to be looked at [for redevelopment]. You could go from a situation where no more density is allowed to something that says the population could increase by 50 percent.”

UPSET BY THE LACK of information about what is actually being proposed, the RCA plans to send a letter to Zook asking for clarification in writing. In addition, the citizens' group plans to hold a public forum on the subject.

Zook’s proposed ordinance change comes on the heels of a situation that could soon shut down Reston’s residential development.

The existing Planned Residential Community (PRC) zoning ordinance governs most of Reston, roughly 6,200 acres. The PRC “caps” residential density at 13 persons per acre. County officials said earlier this year that Reston will soon hit its residential density ceiling.

“My impression is this [zoning ordinance change] is on a much faster timetable than people realize,” said John Lovaas, who was recently elected to the RCA board.

Other RCA board members agreed, arguing that the timetable leaves little time for residents to get up to speed.

“[Zook] doesn’t want to be the guy to tell developers to stop,” said Hubbard, suggesting the county’s motivation to fast-track the change.

RCA ALSO expressed disappointment about the lack of citizen involvement in the process. Why hasn’t a community group been formed to work with county staff to develop the zoning change, wondered Lovaas. “You’re talking about something that will shape this community for the next 50 years,” said Lovaas.

Corrigan, RCA president, said that the entire experience is shaping up to be another example why Reston should be a town, which would have control over zoning and would be better situated to hear from and respond to residents.


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 Entry of Dependants - Hong Kong Conpak CPA Limited
Entry of Dependants - Hong Kong Conpak CPA Limited

Entry of Dependants

Applicants admitted under the GES, ASMTP or IANG may apply for dependant’s visa for their spouses and unmarried dependent children under the age of 18. Dependants are not prohibited from taking up employment in Hong Kong.

Conditions on Admission of Dependants

  • There is reasonable proof of a genuine relationship between the dependant and the sponsor
  • There is no criminal record of the dependant
  • The sponsor is able to support the dependant’s living at a standard above the subsistence level and provide him/her with suitable accommodation in Hong Kong

Documents to be Submitted by the Dependants

  • An application form
  • The dependant’s recent photograph
  • Photocopy of the identity card
  • Photocopy of proof of the applicant’s relationship with the dependant

Limit of Stay

  • The length of stay of such dependants will be linked to that of their sponsors upon the approval of the application
  • Dependants are required to leave Hong Kong when the sponsors leave
  • Persons who have legally resided in Hong Kong for 7 years or above may apply for permanent rights of abode

Should you have any enquires about Entry of Dependants, please complete the form below and we will reply to you soon.

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David Burrowes is MP for Enfield and an Executive Member of the 1922 Committee.

Anyone would think we were back in the 1980s! A Conservative majority Government, a Labour Party which has lurched to the left – and now the Government facing cross-party opposition over deregulating the Sunday trading laws.

But before we dust down our old New Wave albums and Sunday trading arguments, it’s worth grasping the contest this time around is different. Britain already has one of the most deregulated Sunday trading regimes in Europe. The issue is not so much about the right to a day of rest versus the freedom to choose to shop but rather the need for large shops to open for more than six hours. We have a good British compromise – if you want to shop you can shop, but the difference of Sunday is respected.

I have received different reactions since I have raised the rebels’ flag in opposition to the plan to devolve and deregulate Sunday trading. Some have accused me of imposing my view of Sundays on others. However, my own choices for Sundays are not the issue. I am not defending my and others’ choice to say go to church and have a more restful day. I can of course do that however trading is regulated. I am, though, defending the choice of most shopworkers, who see this proposal as an additional pressure on them and their families, obliging them to work on Sundays.

For example, Martin, a retail store manager, has told me that “Any notion that Sunday working is voluntary disappeared long ago. I am now contracted to work one in four Sundays. My wife is a dispenser for a leading retail pharmacy and is currently in consultation to work Sundays. Who looks after our children if we both have to work Sundays?”

My constituent, Andrew, e-mailed me to say: “I have been in retail for most of my life and I have witnessed how retailers will always end up putting pressure on their employees to work on Sundays.”

I am also defending my local high streets, which welcome the different trading hours on Sundays for large shops and see extending hours as a threat. In my ten years as an MP, I have only had one local retailer asking for a change to Sunday trading. Significantly, it is one of the major supermarket retailers which does not have a convenience store presence on the high street. All the independent shops that I have spoken to oppose the plan. Many along Green Lanes, which runs through my constituency, are owned by local Asians, Greeks, Turks, Cypriots and Eastern Europeans. I doubt whether many of them have been engaged in the Government’s recent consultation.

I am challenging the mandate of the Government to make these changes.The Sunday trading devolution and deregulation plan was not in the Conservative Party’s manifesto. In contrast to the devolution proposals in the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill, which have emerged from a long campaign, consideration and manifesto commitment, the Sunday Trading plan, which may now be tacked on to the Bill, appears initially to have come out of lobbying by a group of London West End businesses and found its way into the Chancellor’s Budget speech. It does not have the flavour of a One Nation plan.

There is a growing cross-party opposition from a coalition of groups ranging from small businesses, convenience stores, unions, family campaigners and churches.  Even before an amendment has been tabled, 20 Conservative MPs have indicated their opposition which raises the distinct prospect, alongside Labour and DUP opposition, of a defeat for the Government.

So let me make the case for this opposition. Winston Churchill once said that “Sunday, as a day of rest, is the birth-right of every British citizen.” Why is this? Because a national day of rest, or at least a day which is different from the rest of the week, gives people chance to rest from their work, for families to spend time together and for communities to flourish. It’s an opportunity to counter the prevailing trend towards fractured families. The Sunday break has never been needed more.

As ever, Churchill’s wise words ring true today. A rhythm of regular rest holds us together as a healthy society: it’s better for our families, our communities, our villages, towns and even our cities; and it’s better for the physical as well as for the social environment. A shared day of rest has long been central to our life together as a nation, and is valued by our many diverse communities.

The Government has yet to publish its response to the recent consultation which will include a family test. The Social Market Foundation has given its version of the test and, significantly, concluded that even if these proposals help a small number of big businesses, they would be bad news for Britain’s families.

So why could the Government take the  political and social risk and press ahead? Two arguments are being made by those who are promoting the idea. First is a supposed economic case. But the claims made here are based on an inconclusive report dating to 2006, while the think tank Oxford Economics has very recently produced a report on Sunday trading which found that further deregulation would lead to job losses as small stores are forced to cut staff and investment, or even close down as their trade is displaced to big supermarkets.

This report shows that total trade will not rise if shops are open longer: it will merely be spread to different parts of the week, and so will not add to GDP. We saw this in 2012, when Sunday trading restrictions were suspended for the Olympics – retail sales actually fell, and this at a time when the country was awash with visitors. Clearly, there is no conclusive economic basis for the proposals.

The other argument is centred around individual freedom and letting people decide. What can be easily overlooked here is that the existing compromise is almost a classic case of balancing rights: one person’s freedom can impact on another person’s right to work (or not). It’s a question of fairness for all the people who together make up our country.  We should be mindful of the impact of extra hours on people needed to work in the shops, in the transport industry and in the many public services that will need to open up on Sundays.

There is little evidence that the changes, or devolved powers to change, are wanted, with Populus showing that 67 per cent of the British public support existing Sunday trading hours while only 23 per cent oppose the current rules. The status quo is also favoured by shop workers.  A survey of over 10,000 retail staff at large stores carried out by USDAW has shown that 91 per cent would be against the Government plans to relax the current laws. Fifty eight per cent of shop workers in large stores are already under pressure to work more hours on Sundays. Only six per cent want more Sunday work, compared to 35 per cent who want less.

The public seem to be on the side of the current compromise of limiting some Sunday opening for larger stores, which gives everyone plenty of time to shop while providing our families and communities a chance to rest. It works well for our small shops and it’s healthy for our society. I hope the Prime Minister will agree and stick to his pre-election assurance of having no plans to alter the historic compromise on Sunday trading. Until then I, and an increasing number of colleagues, will keep up the fight to keep Sunday special.

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TIMOTHY Nick Barrie

Nick Timothy is Director of the New Schools Network and a former Chief of Staff to Theresa May.

On 24 October 2012, Tom Watson – the MP for West Bromwich East and now the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party – was called by the Speaker to ask the Prime Minister a question in the House of Commons. What he said caused a sensation. A file of evidence, he claimed, which in 1992 was used to convict a paedophile called Peter Righton, “contains clear intelligence of a widespread paedophile ring. One of its members boasts of his links to a senior aide of a former Prime Minister…The leads were not followed up, but if the file still exists I want to ensure that the Metropolitan Police secure the evidence, re-examine it and investigate clear intelligence suggesting a powerful paedophile network linked to Parliament and Number Ten.”

In the three years or so that have passed since Watson’s incendiary claim, there has been a confusing mixture of irresponsible innuendo, false allegations and proven facts. Rumours have swirled around Westminster about the identity of an unnamed former minister who is alleged to have been a paedophile, while last summer, Wiltshire Police staged a press conference outside Sir Edward Heath’s old home in Salisbury and appealed for his “victims” to come forward.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, is reportedly preparing to apologise to Lord Bramall, the D-Day veteran and former Chief of the Defence Staff, after the Met badly mishandled its investigation into allegations against him that appear to have been baseless. There are similar calls for the police to apologise for their handling of allegations made about Lord Brittan, the former Home Secretary, and Harvey Proctor, the former Member of Parliament.

These events have prompted some people to criticise the investigation of old alleged crimes, even when it turns out that the accused have been guilty. Lord Lawson has questioned “how much [money] the police is spending now on chasing up often unsubstantiated accusations of historic sex abuse.” The Daily Telegraph recently splashed with the headline, “Murders rise amid police sex probes” as though the investigation of the latter explained the rise in the former. Charles Moore has complained that “if you ring the police today and say you are (or were forty years ago) the victim of child sex abuse, they have, according to the rules, to believe you. They have to interview you, log you as an abuse statistic and investigate your accusations.”

But while nobody should want the police to suspend disbelief and pursue allegations that upon investigation are clearly baseless, we should want them – in child abuse cases and other crimes – to listen to the alleged victim, interview them, record what they have said, and investigate. That is what the police are there to do. If they did not do these things, they would be negligent, and many crimes would go unpunished.

The lessons from the investigation into Lord Bramall and the other errors made by the police come down to simple competence. It was plainly wrong for Wiltshire Police to hold a press conference in front of Sir Edward Heath’s home and to talk about his “victims” as though it was a matter of fact that he was guilty. As the Metropolitan Police have admitted, it was wrong for them to describe publicly allegations about the existence of a Westminster paedophile ring as “credible and true” when they did not know they were. And it is wrong for the police to routinely leak the names of suspects to the media, just as it is wrong for them to keep people in limbo on bail for many months and sometimes even years.

But police incompetence is not just bad for the innocent people accused of crimes they did not commit. In far too many cases, and for too many years, police incompetence has meant that the guilty have got away with their crimes. The independent report into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, by Professor Alexis Jay, for example, says that “the police gave no priority to CSE, regarding many child victims with contempt and failing to act on their abuse as a crime.” Exactly the same could be said about the police response to organised child sexual abuse in Rochdale, Derby and Oxford. Likewise, the independent inquiry into the handling of allegations about Lord Janner found that he could have been prosecuted for indecent assault in 1991, 2002 and 2007 but each time did not face justice because of police failures. And of course the police were forced to apologise for failing to act on the multiple allegations made about Jimmy Savile.

So the conclusion we should draw from the case of Lord Bramall is that we need to deal with police incompetence, not adopt new policies and rules that make prosecutions of real criminals harder. If the police adopt a sceptical attitude when alleged victims of child abuse come forward, we risk returning to the culture of disbelief described by Alexis Jay that meant for decades few child abuse allegations were properly investigated. And if we decide that the police should not investigate old cases, we will be letting down the victims and telling other offenders like Janner and Savile that they can get away with appalling crimes. We will also send a dangerous signal to younger and more recent victims: that child abuse is not a crime we take seriously.

That would be a terrible turn for the worse, not least because we are beginning to learn that the sexual abuse of children is a much bigger social problem than any of us has realised until now. According to the National Crime Agency, at least one per cent of adult men could have a sexual interest in minors, while police leaders believe that the internet is facilitating the abuse of children, by making available hundreds of millions of images of abuse and bringing together online communities of abusers who would not previously have been able to communicate with one another.

It is difficult not to discern in some of the critics of the police investigations into child abuse – and indeed the critics of the Government’s decision to hold an inquiry into child sexual abuse – a distaste for simply discussing the subject as well as an intolerance of the campaigners who want to see it given greater public prominence. This intolerance – demonstrated well by John Humphrys in this interview with Peter Saunders from the National Association for People Abused in Childhood – mirrors the curious tolerance our society has shown to child abuse in the past. Popular references to “dodgy uncles”, “that teacher”, and men who “like little boys” all show we know child abuse is in our midst, yet we do remarkably little about it. Schools, councils, charities, children’s homes, even the BBC have all failed in their duty of care to young people. Some have been actively complicit in the abuse of children. Many families hid it. The authorities often dismissed it. And the result was that many thousands of victims suffered the double trauma of first being abused and then ignored.

So while it is certainly true that the likes of Tom Watson need to show more responsibility and the police need to show more professionalism, we must not draw the wrong conclusions about the Lord Bramall case and others like it. We need to face up to the scale of child abuse, we need to be prepared to talk about things we find uncomfortable, and we need to do everything we can to reduce the number of innocent young people who suffer these unspeakable crimes.

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Microsoft Surface Pro 3 tablet is more like a laptop

It's lighter, though, and the new stand makes it more ergonomic

Published: May 29, 2014 04:15 PM
Microsoft Surface Pro 3

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Pick up the new Microsoft Surface Pro 3, and you’ll find it hard not to think of it first as a laptop. A really cool-looking laptop, in fact, especially when you add one of the brightly colored keyboards Microsoft offers as an option. Prices for the Surface Pro 3 range from $800 for a Core i3-based model with 64GB of storage to $1,950 for a Core i7 version with 512GB of storage.

It is a tablet, of course. You can remove the keyboard and hold it on your lap. You can use the pen that Microsoft is now including, or swipe and tap on it like a tablet.

But in so many ways, it’s more like a laptop. Here’s why.

The 12-inch display is bright, crisp—and big. There’s plenty of display space for working on spreadsheets, presentations, and other jobs. The 3:2, squarish aspect ratio makes it great for looking at photos.

The Surface Pro 3 weighs in at 1.8 pounds without the keyboard (2.4 pounds with keyboard). That’s heavy for a tablet, but very light for a laptop. In fact, it weighs about the same as or less than many smaller 11-inch laptops, including the Surface Pro 2.

The Surface Pro 3 offers lots of options, and they all involve Intel Core processors. You can choose from the Core i3, i5, and i7. Putting that kind of processing power into a tablet usually means portability is sacrificed. But Microsoft did a good job here, fitting the Core processors into a device that’s just 0.3 inches thick. Microsoft says that’s the thinnest Intel Core device yet. By comparison, the Surface Pro 2, which is powered by a Core i5 processor, is 0.53 inches thick.

Find the best laptop or tablet for you with our buying guides and Ratings.

The Type Cover keyboard (a $130 option) is pleasant and comfortable to type on. But what sets this Surface Pro apart from prior models is the stand. The stand on the first Surface had only one position. The second had two. This one is pretty much unlimited, and that makes it easy to use this model on a desk and on your lap.

Battery life

Our preliminary tests showed the Surface Pro 3 gets about 10 hours of battery life. That’s about the same battery life of the best detachable and convertible laptops.

The Surface Pro runs on Windows 8.1, so it’s the full version of Windows and allows you to run all the programs you use on any Windows computer. Unlike with the Windows RT version, however, Office is not included.

Bottom line

If you’re looking for a super-portable Windows laptop that you can use without a keyboard, the Surface Pro could work for you. But if you’re in the market for a true tablet experience in Windows, you should consider something smaller and lighter, like the 8-inch Acer Iconia W4-820-2466.

Look for the results of our lab tests of the Surface Pro 3 soon.

—Donna Tapellini

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R&B star R. Kelly is set to open up about his sex crime allegations for the first time in a new tell-all memoir.
In 2002, the I Believe I Can Fly hitmaker was indicted on 21 counts of child pornography, based on a sex tape he allegedly made with an underage girl.
The singer was later cleared of all charges but the case tarnished his reputation and he has refused to talk about the scandal ever since.
But now the 45 year old will finally share all about his career and tumultuous past in new tome Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me, which is set for release on 28 June (12).
Record producer Antonio 'L.A.' Reid, who has had the chance to read an early draft of the book, tells AllHipHop.com, "In the tradition of legendary soul singer/songwriters, R. Kelly has defined his own unique style of genius while influencing an entire generation of singers. He is the pure essence of soul, and in Soulacoaster you'll discover the untold story behind every song."


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Process Performance Improvement - Part 2

Continuation of the Interview with Mike Brown on Performance of Process Control Tools

McMillan and WeinerBy Greg McMillan and Stan Weiner

Greg McMillan and Stan Weiner bring their wits and more than 66 years of process control experience to bear on your questions, comments, and problems. Write to them at

Stan: We continue our interview with Mike Brown, who has focused on the bottom-line performance of process control tools for basic and advanced control systems in his role as Vice President, North America Solutions at Matrikon Inc.

Greg: Where are the greatest opportunities today to better leverage tools and technology in process control to help deliver true performance improvement?

Mike: The biggest weakness and scale is still at the regulatory level. Base-level control has really not improved much given all the changes and improvements on the systems side. We need to be more flexible about how we support process control requirements, and the tools also need this flexibility. Today, advanced process control (APC) tools in industries like air separation are often designed, implemented and commissioned completely with remote services and fully supported by a centralized model of non-APC experts. Without the flexibility of the tools to support this model, these advanced control benefits in the air separation business would not have been possible.

Stan: What are some specific examples of ways to get non-control people to use control technology to deliver process improvements?

Mike: Bring 24X7 operators into the tuning workflow. Recent developments in tuning tools, such as closed-loop testing and identification, tuning of closed loop cascades and tuning of interactive loops now make this possible. Tuning tools are also shifting away from complex math and process control talk towards simpler understanding for process engineers. Working with process response curves that show open-loop response time, closed-loop response time, stability and confidence for both old and proposed tuning can really change the paradigm.

Another example is to combine some of the simple PID metrics of a monitoring system, such as percent saturation of a control loop, and use some powerful visualization techniques, such as tree maps, to analyze this information across a plant. Giving the process engineer the ability to quickly visualize all the flow controllers in a plant that have high output saturation is a great way to understand hydraulic limits and the need for bypass management. Further, looking at the same information for all temperature controllers provides a good overview of heating and cooling constraints. This is information that can easily be presented to the process engineer on a plant-wide basis in less than five seconds and provides good process knowledge. How long would it take for most process engineers to pull this data?

Again, simplification and robustness of these tools are essential to make this model work. Technologies usually evolve by adding features to solve that last 5% of complexity that exists. In many cases, the tools become too complicated for the non-expert to apply, and the expert is too busy to get to the problem. Technology development needs to focus more on easily solving 80% of the cases with a simple and robust approach that can be implemented by non-control specialists, such as process engineers, operators and instrumentation technicians. Imagine the case where 80% of all regulator loops could be optimally maintained by the shift operator, or 80% of the advanced control applications could be implemented by process engineers who really understand the process economics. This will require sophisticated technologies, but the complexity needs to be directed at the robustness of the tool and hidden from the user.

Greg: Some of the changes that you are proposing are fundamental to how an organization does things. Why do you think they will recognize the need for these changes?

Mike: They really do not have a choice. The fact is that their organizations are changing, and plants do not have the same level of staffing or dedicated expertise that they carried twenty years ago. Management knows this, and they only see it getting worse as more expertise retires. Companies that twenty years ago had a process control team of six people now have a team of two people who are just able to keep the control system infrastructure running and updated to current releases. Twenty years ago, advanced control projects were often executed with a team of two consultants supported by two engineers from the operating company. Today, a single third-party consultant is expected to independently deliver the application. In many cases, the knowledge never gets effectively transferred to the operating company. If operating companies are going to re-establish ownership of their process control improvement initiatives, they need simpler technology that allows greater flexibility of the resources that can be assigned to these tasks.

August 2010 Comic

Stan: What will be required for companies to support these efforts in the long term?

Mike: They need to see the economic results associated with these technologies and understand what is actually causing these economic effects.

There was a very good publication a few years ago by a U.S. chemical company trying to understand the real source of economics behind the recent application of a model-predictive controller (MPC) in an ethylene plant. The application demonstrated significant economic benefits mostly due to higher production rates, but there was a sense that over time, the benefits were not being sustained to the levels demonstrated post-commissioning. The immediate reaction was to bring back the consultant to review the design of the MPC controller, but one smart process engineer decided instead to take a Six Sigma approach to the analysis and to start documenting the magnitude and root cause of the benefits reduction each time the MPC controller was not able to push to maximum charge rates. After three months of analysis, a simple Pareto chart clearly showed that over 75% of the MPC controller benefits degradation was due to analyzer downtime, operational issues, operator training and instrumentation. There were no issues with the MPC controller design and its associated models. However, since the economics associated with these functions were now clearly linked to process control improvements and process benefits, there was now support for improvements in areas such as analyzer maintenance and operator training.

Taking the analysis one step further, the study extracted simple operator change data on MPC variables, such as constraint limits and manipulated variable limits. This data demonstrated that over time, as operators made more changes to the controller, the benefits dropped. Lack of operator understanding and intervention more often reduced the MPC controller's ability to truly optimize the process and maximize the production rates. Operations managers were now able to monitor the number of operator changes to MPC variable limits on a weekly basis and establish a threshold at which they would re-train the operator on the proper management of the controller. This is an example of operations people performing simple monitoring of control information in order to improve process control performance with a clear understanding of the economic benefits.

Greg: See if Mike's "Top Ten List" can help you get better traction within your organization for the adoption of process control technologies.

Top Ten Ways to Help Non-Control Engineers "Get" Process Control

10) Explain that in a typical plant, 70% of manufacturing processes or production units are under some form of process control.
9) Tell them that most process control technologies involve using a joystick.
8) Tell them that process control improvements give instant gratification: Designing a plant may take years to see the results, but process control improvements are visible within days.
7) Tell them that on Fridays, control engineers get extra BBQ at the plant cafeteria.
6) Show them that advanced control technologies are the best way to understand real plant limits and bottlenecks.
5) Tell them that plant operators will be nicer to them.
4) The best control engineers are also very good process engineers … so they can do two jobs!
3) Tell them that control engineers get 50% of all their savings as a Christmas bonus.
2) Demonstrate how most plants can achieve up to a 5% production increase, 10% better energy efficiencies, or 15% better yield improvements with better process control.
1) Point them to the Control survey that shows how process control engineers have better sex lives.

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> > > >

Sooji is a term used in India to describe a type of grind applied to grain.

There are actually two types of grinds, sooji and medium sooji. For regular Sooji, the grain is ground to be like coarse grains of sand. Medium sooji is more finely ground. A third stage of grinding further creates a fine powder, which is referred to in English as flour.

The grain the term is most often applied to is wheat, though in Bangladesh, it is just as likely to mean rice, and occasionally, the term will even be used to refer to a flour made from chick peas. It can also be made from corn (maize.)

A semolina-like version of Sooji is made from the endosperm of durum wheat.

If you reading a recipe written by an English speaker, presume they mean "farina." If you're very lucky, if they actually mean something else, they will write something such as Sooji (Semolina) or Rice Sooji.

Generally, Sooji will cook up flufflier than farina. It is is used in doughs, in batters, as a pilaf, hot cereals, cakes, puddings, etc.

Cooking Tips

Sooji can be used as an ingredient in a dish, or cooked on its own to be served as a side starch, as in a pilaf-type dish, or in the dish called Uppuma.

Language Notes

Called "Rava" in southern India.

See also:

Wheat Flour

All-Purpose Flour; Baker's Flour; Bread Flour; Bromated Flour; Cake Flour; Chapati Flour; Durum Flour; Farina; Farine de Froment; Gluten Flour; Graham Flour; Instant Flour; Matzo Meal; Pastry Flour; Plain Flour; Self-Rising Cake Flour; Self-Rising Flour; Semolina; Sooji; Sprouted Wheat Flour; Stone-Ground Whole Wheat Flour; Wheat Flour; Whole Durum Flour; Whole Wheat Flour

Please share this information with your friends. They may love it.

Also called:

Rava; Rawa; Suji

Oulton, Randal. "Sooji." CooksInfo.com. Published 21 January 2005; revised 02 December 2007. Web. Accessed 01/21/2017. <http://www.cooksinfo.com/sooji>.

© Copyright 2017. All rights reserved and enforced. You are welcome to cite CooksInfo.com as a reference, but no direct copying and republishing is allowed.

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Podera 4-port Luxe USB hub

podera-usbhub.jpgPodera from Hong Kong has released its 4-port Podera Luxe USB hub that looks great on your desktop, providing simple access to all your USB gadgets. Since all these ports are full USB 2.0 High-Speed compliant, and hence they don’t need a separate power supply. It looks extremely simple and comes in an attractive color that will definitely spruce up your desktop. No idea on how much it costs though.

Source: Technabob

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More Mini Gadget Glyphs » Coolest Gadgets Says: October 17, 2007 at 6:27 am

[…] Podera 4-port Luxe USB hub […]

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When you are stuck and need emergency plumbing in Elizabethtown the last thing you are thinking about is getting the best prices or even a fair price. This can lead to people simply paying too much when there is a time sensitive problem. Cork'd does two things to make sure you don't overpay in an emergency. First, quickly select your emergency in our Ballpark estimator to view a rough cost based on Elizabethtown averages of prior jobs, labor and equipment cost. Second enter your exact problem with as much detail as possible and our experts get to work right away. It is that simple so get started now.

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The Cornered Cat
Mom Voice

One of the most significant challenges I have faced as an instructor: making my voice work well enough for every student on the range to easily hear it. The problem – to the extent that it is a problem – is that I’m a girl, with a girl’s naturally-higher voice register. Male voices tend to cut right through ear muffs or plugs without much difficulty, but female voices have a harder time getting through. So I have had to learn a few tricks to help students hear my voice.

Fortunately, even the naturally soft-spoken 1 can learn to project their voices more effectively. Learning to project your voice certainly helps if you’re an instructor, but it’s also important for simple self defense. That whole thing about a soft answer turning away wrath is really, really important for people who need to de-escalate a schoolyard fight, a bar brawl, or any other social confrontation. However, those who face asocial threats, especially predatory violence – think strong-arm robberies or rapes – do much better to project a strong, forceful presence, because predators look for wimpy victims. A big part of creating that presence is using a strong, forceful voice to tell the would-be attacker to “BACK OFF!” or “STAY AWAY!”

I have been in classes where this skill was taught as Command Voice, a term which comes out of military use and has spread over into law enforcement circles. There’s nothing wrong with this term, but it doesn’t really resonate with me. I tend to think of it instead as Mom Voice.

Picture this: You are in your front yard when you see your 5-year-old son on the other side of the street. Just as you look up, you see two things. First, you see a car coming down the street. Second, you see your son stepping into the street. He is about to run directly into the path of an oncoming car. You need to stop him NOW, without any hesitation whatsoever. You don’t have time for a lot of words. You must be forceful. You must be loud enough for him to hear you clearly. That means you are not going to whine or beg, scold or whisper or plead or explain. You will simply shout. “DON’T MOVE! STAY THERE!”

That’s Mom Voice.

The sound comes from deep in your belly, not from your voice box. Ideally, it places very little or no strain on your vocal chords. It won’t create a raspy feeling in your throat, because the volume comes from your diaphragm muscles. It uses a much lower pitch than any scream.

To make it work, you must use short, simple sounds. “DON’T MOVE!” works well. So does, “BACK OFF!” or “GET BACK!” These are all clear, brief commands. Each word can be expressed in one sharp breath. Each word should be sharp, separate, distinct. Words that start and end with bold, crisp consonants work better than ones that start with soft, sussurating sounds or mumbly murmurs.

Your words must be very decisive and clear. To achieve that clarity, you must know what you are going to say before you open your mouth.Yes, I know that sounds a little insane, but how often have you heard someone begin a sentence with, “Ummm…” or “Ohhh…”? Those throat-clearing sounds give you time to think of what you’ll say next. But they erase your power. They make it harder for your listeners to hear you, blurring your intent and confusing your audience. You must begin with absolute decisiveness and snap out the words as if you really mean them. You must know what you will say before you ever open your mouth.

To make that happen, as an instructor, you should have a set list of commands you use every time you run a range. It does not matter (too much) what the specific commands are – as long as you use the same ones every time, and as long as your students know what each command clearly means. For this reason, you should practice your commands, especially the ones related to safety (“CEASEFIRE!”), on a regular basis. If you are not teaching regularly, you can practice the commands in the privacy of your own car on your way to work. 2

As a private citizen, you should also have a ready-made list of things you might say to a potential attacker. You should practice words you might use during or after a criminal encounter. “STAY BACK!” is a good one. So is, “GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!” Remember, you want short words you can spit out in one breath, and phrases that fit together easily. Try these, too: “CALL THE POLICE!” or “CALL AN AMBULANCE!” Again, try practicing these words in the privacy of your car, where other people can’t hear you. 3

These little tricks help make your voice clear, distinct, and easy to understand. And they may one day save someone’s life… including the life of a little boy who didn’t run into the street because someone used Mom Voice to stop him.

  1. My siblings will tell you I am not among them…
  2. Yep. That’s what I meant. It’s admittedly a lot of fun to tell the other cars, “DON’T MOVE!” as you enter an intersection, or tell the car riding your bumper to “BACK OFF!” But the commands don’t have to be related to what you’re doing at the moment, and do make sure your windows are up so you don’t provoke unnecessary alarm in other drivers.
  3. Did I mention? Roll the windows up first!

2 Responses to Mom Voice

  1. larryarnold says:

    Excellent as usual.

    Quibble: There’s a difference between “STAY BACK” and “GO AWAY,” and it’s which one you can actually enforce.

    Guy’s threatening you with a baseball bat. You point your gun at him and command, “STAY BACK!” If he takes a step toward you it shifts your justification to shoot. Bang.

    Guy’s threatening you with a baseball bat. You point your gun at him and command, “GO AWAY!” He says, “Eff you. I’m staying” but doesn’t step closer. Now what? You can’t make him go away. (There may be an exception if you’re on your own property.)

    In my classes I contrast between, “STOP OR I’LL SHOOT” and “DROP THE BAT” which makes the concept clearer.

    Avoid giving an asocial attacker a command you can’t enforce.

  2. Ascension says:

    Very well put.

    I had a teacher in Junior High that worked as a security officer as a side job. He always made a point to encourage the kids to speak in a manner that carried their voice. He’d purposely make them repeat something until he was satisfied they understood how to throw their voice without raising it.

    Later in life I took management training classes for a job and discovered that not everyone (even those that had been in leadership roles for years) understood the concept. It honestly surprised me. Being able to project your voice also projects confidence and demand which forces others to respond in some way. Not necessarily the way you wish, but they can no longer refuse or pretend not to acknowledge you.

    I’m a firm believer that its a valuable skill to have in your arsenal. Not only for self-defense purposes, but for everyday life and work.

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