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Are middle children the best poised to succeed?

More from Sarah Boesveld | @sarahboesveld

According to Alison Kramer, her middle child Benjamin, above, is “very chill and happy in his own skin.”

Sandwiched between bossy, overachieving Wendy and sweet yet spoiled Kathryn, Janice Evans admits to being the stereotypical middle child, attracting far less attention from her parents, always trying to keep the peace and being overly giving of herself.

Even so, it seems the unfavourable position has worked out well for the 38-year-old London, Ont., mother of two. Studying to the point of physical exhaustion in high school helped her prepare for a career as a dedicated investment manager, she said. So, too, did all that negotiating with her sisters — the skill is critical to her job communicating with investment teams and clients. And that giving thing? Well, let’s just say her children are quite pleased to get what they want most of the time.

“[Growing up], I was always flying under the radar, total self-starter, did what I wanted to do, didn’t cause grief and if I ever wanted to challenge [my sisters] I just did it privately,” she said. “I could count on one hand the number of times my parents turned to me [with their full attention].”

While the prevailing wisdom pegs middle children as the underachievers in the family, overshadowed, untethered and resentful about their ranking, a new body of research smashes that stereotype with a bold proposition: Middles just might be the best poised to succeed in life.

The parental neglect, whether real or perceived, can turn children into independent, well-adjusted and empathetic adults who know how to negotiate and keep the peace at work, in their relationships and with their own kids, write Catherine Salmon and Katrin Schumann in their new book The Secret Power of Middle Children.

Middleborns like Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Dalai Lama are trailblazers and justice seekers with a drive and passion that set them apart from their attention-absorbing siblings, adds Ms. Salmon, who teaches and researches psychology at the University of Redlands in California.

“Even though middle children may in fact be overlooked, it doesn’t mean they don’t become high achieving or innovators,” she said. Just look at Madonna, Bill Gates and Donald Trump. Their middleton status often motivates them to work harder, she said, as they try to rise above the pack.

While there are stereotypes for every birth order — the oldest is usually pegged as responsible and conservative, the youngest free-spirited and rebellious — studies have shown middles have a bad rap, said Ms. Salmon, who grew up in Hamilton, Ont., as the baby of the family.

Descriptors such as “neglected, confused and envious” didn’t sound at all like her friendly, confident father, the second son of four, who put himself through Queen’s University’s engineering program and became the first in his family to earn a university degree. It also didn’t sound like any of her middle-child friends, one of whom she describes in the book as “reliable, generous, kind and dedicated.”

Her own studies show middle children tend to get less money from their parents for university tuition than their sisters and brothers receive. Another found middles to be more open to innovative ideas — a trait that’s even more pronounced in lastborns.

And while their desire for peace and equilibrium makes them “good friendship specialists,” sometimes the empathetic and trusting nature of middles can backfire on them, Ms. Salmon points out.

Being too much of a “pleaser” contributed to the demise of Ms. Evans’ marriage to someone she feels took advantage of that personality trait, she said. Her sisters also give her grief for putting her children first and catering to their every want and need instead of taking better care of herself.

True, middles aren’t known for their sky-high self-esteem. Research by Jeannie Kidwell at the University of Tennessee in the 1980s found middle children tend to have lower self-esteem than their siblings because they aren’t fawned over like firstborns and lastborns.

“Sometimes when other people start taking you for granted, it can make you sometimes internalize that and you feel ‘maybe I’m not all that,’” Ms. Salmon said. “There may be some advantages to the fact that they don’t have over-inflated self-esteem, because certainly that’s not a good thing particularly either.”

But to make up for any attention deficits in their family, middles will work harder to gain acknowledgment from their parents and their peers, whom they tend to gravitate toward if they’re not getting the attention at home, Ms. Salmon said. That kind of interaction turns them into more social creatures who are attuned to other peoples’ perspectives and motivations, she added — another score for the middle kid.

Growing up in Alberta, Kathy Riches was often on a more focused path than the sisters on either side of her. While they took a long time to decide what they wanted to do with their lives, the 52-year-old middle child was the first to get a job in a Hallmark shop at age 15 without any prodding.

“My parents were surprised because my older sister never had any ambition,” said the Calgarian, who works as a trader in the oil and gas industry. But unlike most middles, Ms. Riches’ parents did have high hopes she would pursue academics, since it clearly wasn’t going to happen with her big sister.

“[I was] striving to be perfect. I’d already set the bar really high. I don’t see my sisters having set the bar very high,” she said. While birth order traits are most pronounced in families with three siblings, all the same gender and fewer than five years apart, shifts do happen when, say, the oldest doesn’t completely fill the first-in-the-family role.

John F. Kennedy, the second boy in a family of nine, may never have entered politics if his older brother, who was being groomed for the job, didn’t die young, Ms. Salmon pointed out. Same thing with Richard Nixon, who assumed the role as eldest child when his older brother passed away.

“There are probably some benefits to being the first in terms of the parental expectations and the effort made by parents to fulfill those [wishes],” she said. “But there is a downside — firstborns are more likely to develop anxiety disorders; there’s a lot of pressure on them. Some hold up really well and some of them don’t.”

Julie Cole’s second-born daughter Posy took on a lot of responsibility in her family because her older brother Mack has autism.

“She’s incredibly responsible, efficient, effective, good at everything, does homework without being asked, highly reliable,” says the Burlington, Ont., mom of six.

Of course environmental factors, personality, gender and size of the family change the dynamics of birth order. And, to be sure, it’d be tough to find someone who encompasses all the classic traits of a middle, Ms. Salmon said. Some researchers, however, don’t subscribe to the middles-as-most-likely-to-succeed bill of goods.

Middleborns often rank highest on agreeableness during personality tests, said preeminent birth-order researcher Frank Sulloway, who serves as adjunct professor in the department of psychology at the University of California Berkeley. But the consistent finding that middles and other laterborns get fewer parental resources doesn’t set them up for greater success in life.

“It ranks back to this unique family niche and the fact that given they receive less parental investment they tend to become more peer oriented,” said the author of the 1996 book Born to Rebel, which presented controversial new research about birth order. “The bottom line is probably [middles] are less likely to succeed, but they are nicer people.”

Dalton Conley, author of 2004’s The Pecking Order, which followed children in America over the years through longitudinal studies and in-person interviews, said one would need to look far beyond a person’s place in the family to predict their future success.

“[Birth order] is not the major factor that’s going to determine your success in life. What I found was in two-child families, it didn’t matter at all. But when you got to three or more, on average the middleborns were worse off,” said the dean of social sciences at New York University. “They got less parental investment, they did worse school-wise as far as I could follow them. We know that how well you do in school translates to adult socioeconomic success in life.”

The middleborn conundrum is going to be less and less of an issue as the sizes of more affluent families shrink, Mr. Conley pointed out. It’s something Ms. Salmon’s heard before and her solution is this: Good qualities of middles can be coaxed out of children whatever their birth order.

“Those traits are really worthwhile and if we are going to have smaller families, we need to foster them,” she said.

She suggests parents let up a bit, quit all the supervision and expectation and let children be freer to make mistakes and carve their own paths.

Ms. Cole, for one, said she doesn’t expect all her children to be stellar students. And she finds it sad that some parents subscribe so closely to the notion that middles will feel left out that they don’t have more than three.

Any concerns Alison Kramer had about paying extra attention to her middle child faded the day little Benjamin, 7 — whom she describes as “very chill and happy in his own skin” — contentedly scrawled a picture of his family. “He said he liked being in the middle because there are always people around him,” she said from her Burlington, Ont., home. “I always thought being in the middle would be hard and it stuck with me. It made me so happy that he liked it.”

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Where chromosomes agree, Stanford researchers find signatures of human migrations and marriage practices

Examining shared stretches of genome from dozens of world populations, Stanford biologists have found a new way, not only to trace human history, but to help find hidden disease genes.

Stanford researchers have helped find a way to tease out the stretches of genome that are shared among affected individuals due to a recent common ancestor.

Your genome is a window onto your heritage – or, more precisely, several windows. There are the marks left by human evolution, the traces of ancient human migrations out of Africa and, scattered throughout, clues to your immediate ancestors' marriage habits.

This last detail is particularly interesting to medical geneticists. They're looking for the genes underlying rare, recessive diseases that mainly crop up in populations with a high number of marriages among close relatives, known as consanguineous marriages.

But this can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Teasing out the stretches of genome that are shared among affected individuals due to a recent common ancestor, rather than from vestiges of deep population history, would significantly reduce the amount of hay.

A group of researchers, led by Stanford biology research associate Trevor Pemberton and biology Associate Professor Noah Rosenberg, has developed a way to attempt to do just that, laying bare worldwide genome patterns in the process.

The research paper, authored with Stanford biology Professor Marcus Feldman, Devin Absher and Richard Myers of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, and Jun Li of the University of Michigan, appeared Thursday in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Chromosomal geography

Runs of homozygosity, or ROH, are segments of the genome where both chromosomes are identical. Homozygosity is what allows recessive traits, like blue eyes or cystic fibrosis, to appear at all – otherwise, the presence of a single dominant counterpart for a gene would mask the recessive characteristic.

Researchers have considered ROH before, but this comprehensive study of nearly 2,000 individuals from 64 populations across the world took a different approach. Using a new statistical model, the researchers "can disentangle ROH that are due to ancient population history from those that are due to recent consanguineous marriages," said Pemberton.

There are three flavors of ROH, separated by length. These all "follow different patterns," Pemberton explained, "which is what you'd expect when there are different processes underlying each of them."

Short- and middling-length ROH both vary with geography. Not only do they show distinct patterns on different continents, they increase in number as you move farther away from East Africa. It's a clear artifact of ancient waves of human migration.

"It's something novel, to see the signature of the distance from Africa in the ROH by separating them into classes of different size," Rosenberg said.

Africa, accordingly, also has the most diverse array of these short and intermediate ROH, while more recently populated regions such as Oceania and the Americas have the fewest.

These runs hearken back to events that are tens of thousands of years old. And many of the short runs – the more ancient of the two – appear to be fragments of even older ROH.

Gene hunting

The longest ROH, however, follow a different pattern. Younger and rarer, these runs don't obey a simple out-of-Africa progression. Instead, they appear most often in societies that have a history of marriage between relatives – in the Middle East and Central and South Asia, in particular. Adherence to the caste system in certain Indian towns, for instance, can severely limit spouse options.

These newer runs are also the ones that may help researchers narrow in on the chromosomal regions harboring the genes behind rare, recessive conditions –typically a side effect of relatively recent consanguineous marriage.

Researchers should be able to compare the ROH of an individual with a disease to those same chromosomal stretches in unaffected members of the same population group. "If it's frequently homozygous in the general population, you can largely discount the chromosomal region as a candidate," said Pemberton. "If it's rarely homozygous in the general population, it becomes a stronger candidate."

The group has already begun tentative collaborations with medical geneticists and has released a genomic map of the ROH locations.

"The idea is, the resource will be there and available for anyone who wants to come in and answer a question," Rosenberg said.

Trevor Pemberton, Biology: (650) 724-5122, trevorp@stanford.edu

Max McClure, Stanford News Service: (650) 725-6737, maxmc@stanford.edu

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Bill Moggridge, Stanford professor and developer of laptop computer, dies at 69

Bill Moggridge was a professor, co-founder of IDEO and designer of the first laptop computer.

Mayo Nissen / Creative Commons Bill Moggridge portrait

In addition to teaching undergraduate courses in the Mechanical Engineering department's Design Division, Bill Moggridge was a popular mentor and adviser to graduate students.

Bill Moggridge made our world function a little more smoothly and beautifully. He has many credits to his name: Developer of the laptop computer design. Director of the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Co-founder of IDEO, a world-leading design firm. A member of the design faculty at Stanford for nearly 30 years.

He found delight in the design of everyday objects; the smallest details made the biggest difference to him.

"I've always been interested in the perfect spoon. It is delectable in a multisensory way: the appearance, the balance and feeling as you pick it up off the table, then the sensation as it touches your lips and you taste the contents," Moggridge said in an interview with Smithsonian magazine last year.

He died in San Francisco on Sept. 8 after a battle with lung cancer. He was 69 years old. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Karin; his sons, Alex and Erik; and his brother, Hal.

The first laptop

Moggridge was born in London on June 25, 1943; his father was a civil servant, his mother an artist. He studied industrial design at London's Central School of Art and Design (now the Central St. Martins College of Art and Design) in London, and in 1969, opened his own design firm, Moggridge and Associates, in the top floor of his London home.

Some of his first commercial designs were for Hoover UK, the household appliance company, and they provided a glimpse of things to come: a toaster that could have passed for a "Star Wars" droid, and a scarlet space heater that looked like a candle flame frozen mid-flicker. He turned ordinary household products into desirable works of art.

In 1979, he made a prescient move to Palo Alto, Calif., where he set up his new design group, ID Two, in the heart of innovation and high-tech design.

The venture paid off almost immediately when, through a chance encounter, Moggridge met John Ellenby, an engineer who had just founded GRiD Systems Corp. Personal computers were still bulky devices, and Ellenby was interested in developing something more portable. He needed someone to design it, and Moggridge jumped at the opportunity.

One of Moggridge's design philosophies was to ask people what they wanted in an object, and then design something that fit those desires, rather than the other way around. The computer needed to fit in a briefcase, so Moggridge would have people carry around objects of different sizes and weights to gauge what was an acceptable load to bear over the course of a day.

He would eventually produce a form so perceptive to users' needs that computer makers have yet to truly expand beyond its central elements. The GRiD Compass 1100 was a slim, matte black rectangle, made of a lightweight but sturdy magnesium alloy, that featured an electroluminescent display that folded down over a low-profile keyboard – all original concepts, and central to the now ubiquitous "clamshell" laptop design.

"In the early days, we were designing computers without computers, on drawing boards. [Personal computers] didn't really exist yet for most people," said Dennis Boyle, a close friend and an early partner at IDEO. "Having a screen that would fold down on the keyboard – it's almost like having a door on the side of a car now."

The father of interaction design

By all accounts, Moggridge was delighted with his precedent-setting design – it contained more than 40 patentable features – but he didn't have much time to bask in its success. A new challenge quickly presented itself.

"My role at the beginning was to design the physical form of the product. But when I had an actual prototype and I took it home, I was amazed that really everything I'd done wasn't very interesting or important. And that the thing that was really important was what was happening between me and the software behind the screen," he said in a later interview.

This realization sparked Moggridge to pioneer a design approach called interaction design – which he initially called "softface," for software interface. Though the inspiration took off from a need to create better ways to engage with the new digital world, the goal-oriented approach would become central to all his work – what do people need in a design, and how can we give that to them?

For example, when designing a product for the elderly, he would fog his team's vision by smearing Vaseline on their glasses, and have them wear gloves to give them the sense of arthritic hands. The motivation was clear: The best design required particular insight into how the person would use the product or service. Like the laptop design, this approach was as cutting edge then as it is standard practice today.

It was around this time that Moggridge visited Stanford and expressed an interest in working with students. "It was love at first sight," said Bernie Roth, who taught product design courses with Moggridge for years, and is now the academic director of Stanford's Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, also known as the

In addition to teaching undergraduate courses in the Mechanical Engineering Department's Design Division, he was a popular mentor and adviser to graduate students. Moggridge applied the same thoughtful tenacity with which he approached his own work to his students' efforts. "[Bad design] hurt him viscerally. And so he would sit down and help work out how to make it better," Roth said.

"He was older than us, but he didn't seem older," said Bill Burnett, one of Moggridge's graduate students, and now executive director of Stanford's design program. "He was as curious and open to new ideas as anyone at any age."

Burnett recalls how Moggridge would bike to campus every Saturday morning and spend a couple of hours challenging him to improve his designs. "I imagine those two hours every week were worth thousands of consulting dollars, and yet he freely gave them," said Burnett. "He took teaching and advising to heart. I use Bill as my example of what you have to do to be a good teacher."

The diplomat of design

At Stanford, Moggridge met David Kelley, a mechanical engineer teaching in the design program; in 1991, the two, along with Mike Nuttall, would found the Palo Alto-based IDEO, perhaps the world's foremost innovation and design firm. At IDEO, Moggridge began to focus on encouraging a design approach that revolved around interdisciplinary cooperation, and greater attention to the human experience of a product or brand.

That combination of creative and analytic thinking helped inspire the framework for Stanford's lauded, created by David Kelley in 2004. Moggridge signed on as a consulting associate professor at the in 2005, and although he continued his work at IDEO, he found time to write two seminal books, Designing Interactions (2006) and Designing Media (2010).

In 2010, he was named director of the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and left IDEO and Stanford to move to New York and help reinvent the museum. "It broke my heart. But they couldn't have made a finer choice," said Roth. "He was one of the foremost designers in the world, an elder statesman of design."

Moggridge would say that he devoted the first phase of his career to designing products, and the second phase to leading teams of designers. At Cooper-Hewitt he was embarking on the third phase, which he described as raising the profile of design, through education and communication.

He wanted every child in America to be exposed to design, and specifically design thinking, by the age of 12, and for students to have the option of taking higher-level design courses in high school. His goal was for design thinking to expand beyond commercial interests and to permeate all facets of life, so that leaders of corporations and nations would have better tools for innovation.

Master of simple pursuits

In 2009 Moggridge received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Design Awards. Friends and colleagues, however, remember his ever-present smile or his habit of presenting them with original poems. Or his general elegance and affability, a special charm that brought people together, and brought out the best in them.

"He would be in a meeting, and if the group seemed down, or if he thought the focus [of the design] was drifting too far from the needs of people, he would start singing – perhaps an old British drinking song – and that would cheer us up," Kelley said.

Chris Flink, a graduate of Stanford's product design program who now co-heads the consumer experience practice at IDEO, was also touched by his long friendship with Moggridge. Flink remains in awe of how someone as successful as Moggridge remained so grounded.

"Some of his career pursuits were focused on making more superficial things beautiful and better. But the things that matter most – that happened in the context of his life and home – were the things that he was even better at. He mastered those as well," said Flink, who is also a consulting associate professor at the "It's such a rare thing to have someone that was such a great contributor on the world stage, and a master of the lived life at home and the enjoyment of the simplest things, like picking mushrooms in the woods around his house, and relationships with the people who were closest to him. That's the kind of success that few can claim authentically."

Bjorn Carey, Stanford News Service: (650) 725-1944,


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Guitar Center And DIRECTV Announce Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators Live From The Sunset Strip

LOS ANGELES, July 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Guitar Center is proud to announce Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators Live from the Sunset Strip presented by Gibson and Epiphone. The iconic guitarist is set to take over thee of Hollywood's most legendary venues, including The Troubadour, The Whisky and The Roxy in celebration of Guitar Center's 50th Anniversary. The shows will feature songs spanning Slash's storied career including material from his upcoming album, World on Fire, set to be released Sept. 16, 2014.

Guitar Center And DIRECTV Announce Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators Live From The Sunset Strip

Guitar Center Presents: Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators Live from the Sunset Strip:

September 23, 2014

The Troubadour

September 25, 2014

The Roxy

September 26, 2014

The Whisky

Tickets for all three shows go on-sale August 1st at SlashOnline.com. Additionally, fans can visit guitarcenter.com/slash to enter for their chance to win a VIP trip for two to see Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators live at The Roxy and take home an Epiphone Les Paul signed by the legendary guitarist. For fans unable to make it to Hollywood, Guitar Center will present Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators Live from The Roxy, in a DIRECTV original 90-minute concert special filmed in stunning 4k and 5.1 surround sound. The special will premiere exclusively on DIRECTV's Audience Network (channel 239) Nov 9th at 8 p.m.

"I've always admired Guitar Center's commitment to artists," says Slash. "They're constantly creating new avenues for musicians to get their music out to fans and inspiring people to pick up an instrument and play. "They've also been supportive of my career since the very beginning here on the Sunset Strip. I am happy to be a part of their 50th celebration."

"Guitar Center and Slash have enjoyed a relationship that spans 3 decades, so it goes without saying that we're excited to help him launch his new record," says Dustin Hinz, Vice President of Brand Experience and Entertainment Marketing. "Slash is a true icon that has influenced musicians his entire career and there's nothing more important to Guitar Center than to enable artists as legendary as Slash to continue inspiring future generations of musicians. His passion and dedication to the craft make him the quintessential artist to celebrate Guitar Center's 50th Anniversary."

Guitar Center and Slash have a long-standing history of working together. Past partnerships include Your Next Record with Slash, Guitar Center Onstage with Slash, Guitar Center Masterclass with Slash, Guitar Center Sessions and more. Slash Live from the Sunsent Strip is presented by Gibson and Epiphone along with proud partners Dunlop and MXR.

About Slash:

SLASH has amassed album sales of over 100 million copies, garnered a GRAMMY Award and seven GRAMMY nominations and was inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. Time magazine named SLASH #2, behind Jimi Hendrix, on its "The Ten Best Electric Guitar Players of All-Time" list. SLASH helped create signature sounds like the guitar riff on #1 hits for Guns N Roses "Sweet Child o' Mine" and "Welcome To The Jungle." After leaving the band, SLASH went on to critical acclaim with SLASH's Snakepit and global success with the supergroup Velvet RevolverSLASH's self-titled biography critically well-received, climbed the bestseller list in both the U.S. and U.K. hitting #8 on the NY Times Bestsellers List. SLASH landed on the top of the charts with his first solo album, Slash (2010) which featured Ozzy Osbourne, Fergie and more. SLASH and his band featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators released the critically acclaimed Apocalyptic Love (2012) which stormed the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart at #4 as the top rock debut and produced his first-ever #1 rock radio solo hits: "You're A Lie" and "Standing In The Sun." SLASH released Nothing Left To Fear (2013) the first-ever motion picture he co-produced from Slasher Films, his film/TV production company. SLASH and his band will release their new album WORLD ON FIRE September 16, 2014www.slashonline.com.

DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV) is one of the world's leading providers of digital television entertainment services delivering a premium video experience through state-of-the-art technology, unmatched programming and industry leading customer service to more than 37 million customers in the U.S. and Latin America. In the U.S., DIRECTV offers its over 20 million customers access to more than 195 HD channels and Dolby-Digital® 5.1 theater-quality sound, access to exclusive sports programming such as NFL SUNDAY TICKET™, Emmy-award winning technology and higher customer satisfaction than the leading cable companies for 13 years running. DIRECTV Latin America, through its subsidiaries and affiliated companies in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and other Latin American countries, leads the pay TV category in technology, programming and service, delivering an unrivaled digital television experience to more than 17 million customers. DIRECTV sports and entertainment properties include two Regional Sports Networks (Rocky Mountain and Pittsburgh), and minority ownership interests in Root Sports Northwest and Game Show Network. For the most up-to-date information on DIRECTV, please visit www.directv.com.

About Guitar Center:

Guitar Center is the world's largest retailer of guitars, amplifiers, drums, keyboards, recording, live sound, DJ and lighting equipment, with more than 260 stores across the U.S.  2014 Marks the milestone 50th anniversary of the Guitar Center Brand as we continue to help people make music from coast to coast. In addition, the Music & Arts division operates more than 120 stores specializing in band instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors and students since 1952.  With an unrivaled in-store experience and passionate commitment to making gear easy-to-buy, Guitar Center is all about enabling musicians and non-musicians alike to experience the almost indescribable joy that comes from playing an instrument. All we sell is the greatest feeling on earth. For more information about Guitar Center, please visit www.guitarcenter.com.

For more information, please contact [email protected] or visit our Press Room at http://gc.guitarcenter.com/pressroom/

Subscribe to our RSS newsfeed at http://feeds.feedburner.com/GuitarCenterPressroom

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DevOps is often described as a combination of technology and culture. Without both, DevOps isn't complete. However, applying the culture to outdated technology is a recipe for disaster; as response times grow and connections between teams are delayed by technology, the culture will die. A Nutanix Enterprise Cloud has many benefits that provide the needed base for a true DevOps paradigm.
What sort of WebRTC based applications can we expect to see over the next year and beyond? One way to predict development trends is to see what sorts of applications startups are building. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Arin Sime, founder of WebRTC.ventures, will discuss the current and likely future trends in WebRTC application development based on real requests for custom applications from real customers, as well as other public sources of information,
China Unicom exhibit at the 19th International Cloud Expo, which took place at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, in November 2016. China United Network Communications Group Co. Ltd ("China Unicom") was officially established in 2009 on the basis of the merger of former China Netcom and former China Unicom. China Unicom mainly operates a full range of telecommunications services including mobile broadband (GSM, WCDMA, LTE FDD, TD-LTE), fixed-line broadband, ICT, data communica...
With the introduction of IoT and Smart Living in every aspect of our lives, one question has become relevant: What are the security implications? To answer this, first we have to look and explore the security models of the technologies that IoT is founded upon. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Nevi Kaja, a Research Engineer at Ford Motor Company, will discuss some of the security challenges of the IoT infrastructure and relate how these aspects impact Smart Living. The material will be delivered i...
As software becomes more and more complex, we, as software developers, have been splitting up our code into smaller and smaller components. This is also true for the environment in which we run our code: going from bare metal, to VMs to the modern-day Cloud Native world of containers, schedulers and micro services. While we have figured out how to run containerized applications in the cloud using schedulers, we've yet to come up with a good solution to bridge the gap between getting your contain...
Apache Hadoop is emerging as a distributed platform for handling large and fast incoming streams of data. Predictive maintenance, supply chain optimization, and Internet-of-Things analysis are examples where Hadoop provides the scalable storage, processing, and analytics platform to gain meaningful insights from granular data that is typically only valuable from a large-scale, aggregate view. One architecture useful for capturing and analyzing streaming data is the Lambda Architecture, represent...
As organizations realize the scope of the Internet of Things, gaining key insights from Big Data, through the use of advanced analytics, becomes crucial. However, IoT also creates the need for petabyte scale storage of data from millions of devices. A new type of Storage is required which seamlessly integrates robust data analytics with massive scale. These storage systems will act as “smart systems” provide in-place analytics that speed discovery and enable businesses to quickly derive meaningf...
Your homes and cars can be automated and self-serviced. Why can't your storage? From simply asking questions to analyze and troubleshoot your infrastructure, to provisioning storage with snapshots, recovery and replication, your wildest sci-fi dream has come true. In his session at @DevOpsSummit at 20th Cloud Expo, Dan Florea, Director of Product Management at Tintri, will provide a ChatOps demo where you can talk to your storage and manage it from anywhere, through Slack and similar services ...
SYS-CON Events announced today that Ocean9will exhibit at SYS-CON's 20th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY. Ocean9 provides cloud services for Backup, Disaster Recovery (DRaaS) and instant Innovation, and redefines enterprise infrastructure with its cloud native subscription offerings for mission critical SAP workloads.
Building a cross-cloud operational model can be a daunting task. Per-cloud silos are not the answer, but neither is a fully generic abstraction plane that strips out capabilities unique to a particular provider. In his session at 20th Cloud Expo, Chris Wolf, VP & Chief Technology Officer, Global Field & Industry at VMware, will discuss how successful organizations approach cloud operations and management, with insights into where operations should be centralized and when it’s best to decentraliz...
The taxi industry never saw Uber coming. Startups are a threat to incumbents like never before, and a major enabler for startups is that they are instantly “cloud ready.” If innovation moves at the pace of IT, then your company is in trouble. Why? Because your data center will not keep up with frenetic pace AWS, Microsoft and Google are rolling out new capabilities In his session at 20th Cloud Expo, Don Browning, VP of Cloud Architecture at Turner, will posit that disruption is inevitable for c...


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People in the News

Met-Pro Corp. - Harleysville, PA

Original Press Release

Met-Pro Corporation Announces Separation of Chairman and CEO Roles

Press release date: November 13, 2012

Harleysville, PA - Met-Pro Corporation (NYSE: MPR-News), announced today the separation of the positions of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. George H. Glatfelter II, the Board's lead director, has been elected Chairman of the Board, a non-executive position, by the Company's Board of Directors. Raymond J. De Hont, who has held both positions of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since 2003, will continue to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and as a director.

"Separating the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer is consistent with today's corporate governance best practices, and is certainly appropriate for Met-Pro Corporation as we continue to position the Company for long-term success," said De Hont. "This action will allow me to devote all of my energy and attention to the leadership and management of the Company, including driving our growth and profitability initiatives. I look forward to continuing to work with our Board to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities that lie before us."

Mr. Glatfelter, who has served on Met-Pro Corporation's Board since May 2004, and as its lead director since August 31, 2011, is the retired Chairman of the Board of P.H. Glatfelter Company (NYSE: GLT). Mr. Glatfelter was elected Chairman of Met-Pro Corporation's Board for a term ending with the meeting of the Board of Directors immediately following the 2013 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, at which time the Board shall select its Chairman for the ensuing year. He is currently Chairman of the Company's Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and a member of its Compensation and Management Development Committee.

About Met-Pro

Met-Pro Corporation, with headquarters at 160 Cassell Road, Harleysville, Pennsylvania, is a leading niche-oriented global provider of product recovery, pollution control, fluid handling and filtration solutions. The Company's diverse and synergistic solutions and products address the world's growing need for clean air and water, reduced energy consumption and improved operating efficiencies. Through its global sales organization, internationally recognized brands, and operations in North America, South America, Europe and The People's Republic of China, Met-Pro's solutions, products and systems are sold to a well-diversified cross-section of customers and markets around the world. For more information, please visit

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Hospitals stretched as 13 CAR children die in Cameroon every day

by Lisa Jones, Plan UK | Plan UK
Thursday, 26 June 2014 11:17 GMT

* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Hospitals are stretched in Cameroon as thousands of refugees from the Central African Republic continue to cross the border, reports children’s charity Plan International.

An estimated 13 refugee children are dying in Cameroon every day, according to figures from UN’s Office for the Co-Ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA). Around 40 per cent of children are suffering from acute malnutrition.

More than 103,000 refugees have now crossed into Cameroon from the Central African Republic since the start of this year, figures from UNHCR suggest.

“More than half the refugees in the region are under the age of 18, including unaccompanied children and teenage mothers,” says Barro Famari, Plan’s Country Director in Cameroon.

“The children are very vulnerable with many suffering from severe malnutrition and a significant number are developing serious complications.

“The capacities of hospitals are stretched as there are an overwhelming number of sick children with very limited health personnel and drugs,” he adds.

Plan has built a number of boreholes in one of the sites, Mbile, with plans to construct more in both refugee sites and the host communities, as well as latrines and showers.

Plan is also constructing areas where children can play and learn safely.

Fourteen-year-old Fadila’s school in Bangui had to shut down because of the violence. She and her family are now living in a refugee camp in Cameroon.

“I feel safe and happy being here but I miss school. I would have loved to have brought some of my books along but I couldn’t go back to my house to get them,” says Fadila*.

“I have no friends here. I would like to have some books so I can read and catch up on what I am missing at school,” she adds.

Focusing initially on immediate hygiene and sanitation needs, Plan will be expanding its response to include education and child protection, building 87 temporary learning spaces in the camps.

More than 2,000 families have already received hygiene kits from Plan, which contain soap, sanitary towels, toothbrushes, toothpaste and a bucket.

It has also distributed malaria prevention and treatment drugs to four health centres, as well as medicine to treat other infectious diseases.

For more information on Plan’s work or to make a donation call 0800 526 848 or visit

(*name changed)

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Graduate engineering student Jason Sanchez is headed to the Technical University of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain on an international post-doctoral fellowship from the National Science Foundation to research computational failure mechanics with Professor Xavier Oliver.  He is planning to defend his dissertation later this summer before he leaves for Spain.

Sanchez presented his research at a conference in Venice, Italy in 2008.  He stopped in Spain to meet with Oliver and to discuss the possibility of future research. Oliver told him about the possibility of funding from NSF and Sanchez applied successfully for the fellowship, which will support his research over the next two years.

His interest in the area was triggered by work he performed as a defense contractor for the U.S. Air Force for five years.  Sanchez was working to simulate specific failure processes associated with weapons effectiveness, but encountered difficulties.

Sanchez says there is no one method that can be applied to a wide range of fracture problems including the failure of concrete structures, landslides, fragmentation due to impact or blast and failure of parts during specific manufacturing processes.  At UNM, the St. Pius high school graduate worked with associate professor of mechanical engineering Tariq Khraishi.

His goal during the fellowship is to conduct research to develop a new computational fracture method based on particle finite element method for fluids.

Media contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627;


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March 27, 2017

Current weather

Broken clouds, 69.8 °F

Hattiesburg City Council Proclaims Sept. 15 Fill It To The Top Day

Main Content
Southern Miss Director of Athletics Jeff Hammond, Golden Eagle mascot Seymour and Southern Miss cheerleaders accept a proclamation from the City of Hattiesburg declaring Sept. 15 as "Fill it to the Top Day" in Hattiesburg. (Photo courtesy of Southern Miss Athletics)

Members of the Hattiesburg City Council passed a resolution on Tuesday, Sept. 4 declaring Sept. 15 as "Fill it to the Top Day" to coincide with The University of Southern Mississippi’s home-opening football game of the 2012 season.

City officials presented the proclamation to Southern Miss Athletics Director Jeff Hammond and other University representatives during a special ceremony at City Hall. The Golden Eagles open the home portion of the new season at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 15 against Conference USA rival East Carolina.

In the months leading up to the 2012 season, the Southern Miss Athletics Department launched a “Fill it to the Top” campaign for the home opener at M.M. Roberts Stadium. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 601.266.5017.


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We are working hard to make our corporate contributions reflect the values of our customers, communities, and associates.  As Sam Walton said, “Each Wal-Mart store should reflect the values of its customers and support the vision they hold for their community.

Wal-Mart will not make corporate contributions to support or oppose highly controversial issues unless they directly relate to our ability to serve our customers.

Wal-Mart does not have a position on same sex marriage and we do not give preference to gay or lesbian suppliers.   Wal-Mart does have a strong commitment to diversity among our associates and against discrimination everywhere.


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Monday, March 27, 2017
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NYC mayor: I oppose legalizing marijuana

/ 09:48 AM February 16, 2013

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. AP Photo

NEW YORK— Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he opposes legalizing marijuana — or any other illicit drug.

Bloomberg discussed the issue on his weekly WOR Radio show Friday. A day earlier, he said New York City plans to stop booking and arraigning many people arrested on low-level marijuana-possession charges.

Bloomberg says he opposes legalizing marijuana because it’s stronger than it used to be. He added that if marijuana were legal, those dealers would just start selling something else, like cocaine.

He says the policy change that takes place next month will ease congestion in courts and jails.

People who get picked up on charges of having a small amount of marijuana will be released with tickets if they have identification and no open warrants.

TAGS: Legalization of Marijuana, marijuana, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City
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Personnel Updates:

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. announced the promotion of Amy Zehrer to the position of Exec VP Stores.

Ascena Retail Group announced that Linda Heasley has accepted the position of President and CEO of Lane Bryant. She joins Lane Bryant after six years as President and CEO of The Limited. The company also announced it has named Ronnie Robinson to the position of president Ascena Global Sourcing (AGS).

Bebe Stores, Inc. named Brigitte Bogart Exec VP of Design and Product Development.

Belk Inc. has named Dorlisa Flur to the newly created position of Exec VP Omni-channel.

Body Central announced Andrea Jackson has joined the company as Senior VP, GMM and will be responsible for merchandising. Other new hires included the appointment of Patti Simigran as Senior VP of E-Commerce and Direct Merchandising, Debbie Martin as Senior VP of Trend and Design and Grant Simmons as VP of E-Commerce Marketing.

Charming Charlie announced that Tom Fitzgerald has joined the company as Exec VP, CAO and CFO.

Claire’s Stores announced Linda Hefner Filler has been named President of Claire’s North America. Holly Cohen joined the company as Senior VP, Global Real Estate and Construction. She previously served in the same role for J. Crew. Claire’s also announced that Peter Collyer will join the company from the Walt Disney Co. as Senior VP Global Human Resources.

Coach announced that Victor Luis has been appointed President and Chief Commercial Officer. Concurrently, he has joined the board of directors. He will become CEO in January 2014. Lew Frankfort will continue as Chairman and CEO during this interim period and will then become executive chairman. Zach Augustine will join Coach as Exec VP, Global Environments. Erin Thompson will join Coach this spring as VP, Artistic Director, Global Environments. The company appointed Sandra Hill, Exec VP Women’s Design.

Hudson’s Bay Company has named Eileen DiLeo Exec VP of Stores for the Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Taylor divisions, succeeding Debbie Edwards who will retire on May 1.

JCPenney has cut loose at least 300 workers at the retailer’s headquarters in Plano, TX. The cuts will leave the company’s headquarters with less than half the workers it had when CEO Ron Johnson took the reins in late 2011.

Men’s Wearhouse has named Jon W. Kimmins as Exec VP and CFO, effective April 4.

Quiksilver, Inc. announced the appointments of Tom Hartge as Global Head of Footwear and Kasey Mazzone as Global Head of Supply Chain. The additions to the team are part of a larger senior management reorganization, which includes Pierre Agnes, President of Quiksilver Europe, assuming the additional role as Global Head of Apparel.

Rue21, Inc. announced that Stacy B. Siegal has been promoted to the additional position of Chief Administrative Officer.

Sears Canada Inc. appointed E.J. Bird as Interim CFO.

VF Corporation announced that Scott A. Roe has been named as the company’s VP, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer and a member of its Operating Committee. Bradley A. Batten, who previously held the role, is retiring.

Mergers and Acquisitions:

Sycamore Partners has agreed to acquire teen retailer Hot Topic, which will soon operate as a private company.

Industry Insight:

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. opened its first-ever store in the Philippines on March 1.

Barneys New York is slowly eliminating it’s more affordable contemporary branch, Barneys Co-Op. Two of the biggest Co-Op locations, one on New York City’s Upper West Side and one at The Grove shopping center in Los Angeles, CA, will be renovated and rebranded as regular Barneys by this summer.

Casual Male Retail Group has changed its corporate name to Destination XL Group Inc. to reflect the company’s transition to its Destination XL retail stores and e-commerce website.

Chico’s announced plans to debut a new format, called Boston Proper, and to enter Canada in 2013.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. will debut a new retail concept this year, called Field & Stream. In addition to two planned Field & Stream stores, the company plans to open 40 Dick’s Sporting Goods stores, one Golf Galaxy store and two True Runner locations this year. The company also will partially remodel 75 existing Dick’s stores.

DSW Inc. has launched, a new website located at that offers top luxury brands at up to 50% off. The Luxe810 assortment includes shoes, handbags, jewelry, and other accessories for men and women. To support the launch, DSW is opening five Luxe810 Pop-Up Shops in key metropolitan locations, offering luxury accessories and ready-to-wear fashion for a limited-time only.

FGL Sports launched a new digital ‘lab’ Sport Chek store concept in Toronto. The 12,000 sq. ft. store will act as a springboard for brands such as Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Oakley and Samsung, to test new technologies out in a store setting.

Foot Locker Inc. will close its 22 skate wear CCS stores and plans to run the concept as a purely online business. The company, which also owns Champs and Footaction chains, also announced that it plans to add more stores in Europe and under its Kids Foot Locker chain this year. Foot Locker also expects to triple the number of remodels to more than 200 stores for its Champs and Foot Locker banners.

Gander Mountain is opening a firearms superstore in Reynoldsburg, OH. The Gander Mtn. Firearms Super Center is a new concept transforming the Gander Mountain store into a specialty retail outlet focused specifically on fulfilling the needs of firearms enthusiasts.

The Hudson’s Bay Company announced The Bay will now be known as Hudson’s Bay.

JCPenney announced that Canada’s Joe Fresh brand will launch in JCPenney stores beginning March 15, with a collection of modern basics for women. The collection will be displayed in 750 sq. ft. to 2,500 sq. ft. dedicated shops in nearly 700 stores. JCPenney also said it is rolling out an upscale fancy-dress line, Pearl by Georgina Chapman of Marchesa brand.

Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. will open a Denim & Supply store in New York this spring. The unit will be located at University Place and will mark it’s first-ever U.S. standalone location for the brand.

Saks Inc. has renovated its men’s store in Beverly Hills, CA. The four-level 54,000 sq. ft. store is located on Wilshire Boulevard.

The U.S. Postal Service has partnered with Wahconah Group Inc. to introduce a new line of apparel and accessories under the name “Rain Heat & Snow.”

Victoria’s Secret will open its first stores in Hong Kong this year.

Von Maur Department Stores announced it will open a 150,000 sq. ft. store at the Quail Springs Mall in Oklahoma City in fall 2014. The store will be the company’s first location in Oklahoma.

Real Estate:

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will close 40 to 50 U.S. stores in 2013. The majority of the store closures will occur through natural lease expirations.

Aéropostale will open a new P.S. From Aéropostale store, connected to a new Aéropostale store, in South Bay Galleria in Los Angeles, CA. Both stores are expected to open in May 2013.

Bass Pro Shops is opening a new Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store in San Jose, CA in 2015 at a shopping center planned for the northeast corner of Interstate 85 and Almaden Expressway.

Body Central said it will pare new store growth to 25 units in 2013 from 39 openings last year.

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. announced that the company’s “Your Rewards” loyalty program was revamped and reintroduced.

Burberry has signed a lease for 301 N. Rodeo Dr. The Beverly Hills, CA flagship is scheduled to open in 2014, when Burberry plans to close its nearby location at 9560 Wilshire Blvd.

Cabela’s Inc. plans to open a 42,000 sq. ft. Cabela’s Outpost store in Waco, TX. Construction is scheduled to begin in the Central Texas Marketplace this spring and doors are expected to open this fall.

City Sports opened a new 9,200 sq. ft. store in Chestnut Hill, MA. A second new store, slated to be the retailer’s largest-ever unit at more than 10,500 sq. ft., will open in New York’s financial district in 2013.

Dick’s Sportings Goods opened a new store in the Holly Springs Towne Center in Holly Springs, NC.

Gap Inc. expects to open about 160 company-operated stores in fiscal 2013. The expansion plans include up to 35 new Athleta stores in North America, as well as up to 20 Old Navy stores in Japan and 35 namesake stores in China.

Golf & Tennis Pro Shop, Inc. will open its second PGA Tour Superstore store on the West Coast, a 50,000 sq. ft. location in Irvine, CA, later this year.

H&M has announced 10 new locations, including the Roosevelt Collection in Chicago, IL, Union Station and The Shops at Georgetown Park in Washington, DC, the French Quarter in New Orleans, LA, City Place in West Palm Beach, FL, and the Waikiki Business Plaza in Honolulu, HI.

Kohl’s reported grand openings of nine new stores in seven states, bringing the retailer’s total store count to 1,155. Stores open Wednesday in Decatur, AL, Danville, IL, Ames, IA, Cedar Rapids, IA, Minot, ND, Sherwood, OR, Hermitage, PA, Spring Township, PA, and Denton, TX. The chain also announced it will remodel 30 locations in 2013.

Lane Bryant has opened a new 7,835 sq. ft. flagship store in New York City.

Nordstrom Inc. plans to double its Nordstrom Rack portfolio to more than 230 stores over the next four years, with plans to open a projected 24 new stores for 2013. Planned store locations for this year include: Ann Arbor and Auburn Hills, MI, Birmingham, AL, Boston, MA, Columbia, MD, South Portland, ME, Concord, Culver City and Upland, CA, Washington, DC, Atlanta, GA, Cleveland and Columbus, OH, El Paso, TX and Honolulu, HI. The company also will enter the Canadian market for the first time, with a new store in 2014.

Saks Inc. plans to close its Saks Fifth Avenue store located in Stamford Town Center in Stamford, CT in early 2014.

Green Initiatives:

Hanes has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s highly coveted Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award for 2013. The award is the company’s fourth consecutive year of Energy Star recognition and its second consecutive year as a recipient of the Sustained Excellence Award, which is given to a select group of organizations that have exhibited outstanding sustainability leadership year after year.


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Recent grad thrives, finds her path during time at Drury

The new year looks bright for Emily Cline, one of more than 280 December Drury graduates.

A Springfield native who majored in biology and Spanish while also playing on the women’s soccer team, Cline is headed for a career in physical therapy. She’ll begin work on her doctorate this fall. A 4.0 student, she’s already been accepted to Washington University in St. Louis and has interviews at several other top-flight schools such as the University of Colorado and Northern Arizona.

Dr. Kevin Jansen, professor of biology and one of Cline’s faculty advisors, says he won’t be surprised if Cline is among the top in her class no matter where she chooses to pursue her advanced degree.

“She’s excellent at critically evaluating what’s in front of her, whether it’s a defense on the soccer field, a question on an exam or a patient’s needs,” Jansen says.

Emily Cline at Trustee Science Center

Evaluating her career at Drury, Cline says it’s been a time of growth and self-discovery. She chose Drury because it was a place where she could pursue both athletics and academics in “a place where I wouldn’t be just a number.” She finished knowing more about her path in life.

Studying Spanish opened her eyes to other cultures, especially after a semester abroad in Spain. Beyond getting to know the people and the language better, the time spent in an unfamiliar setting taught her something important about herself.

“I’ve never felt great about making mistakes,” she admits. “My time abroad put me in situations where I felt a little unsure at times, but I started to feel OK with that. I learned to navigate places I’ve never been before and that gave me confidence to do other things. I became more independent.”

Cline currently lives in Drury’s Foreign Languages House, an on-campus residence that is also a gathering place for foreign language club events and international student dinners. Living on campus has also taught her a lot, she says, beginning with having freshman year roommates she’d never previously met.

“That was the start of opening up to more people and being more receptive to different ways of life,” she says.

But it was her time in Drury’s rigorous science curriculum and multiple physical therapy internships that revealed a career path to Cline. She wants to specialize in neurologic physical therapy, where she will be able to form very close one-on-one relationships with patients who need direct care to fight diseases like Parkinson’s or multiple sclerosis.

Emily Cline soccer goal

“When I came to Drury it was because I wanted to be able to get to know my professors, and later in life I want to have that kind of relationship with my patients, too,” she says.

Jansen says Cline’s combination of intellect and people skills will serve her well in the field. Like many Drury students, Cline is exceptionally accomplished but knows she still has so much to learn, he says.

“That combination of intelligence and gratitude for the opportunities to reach higher goals is what makes our students special,” Jansen says.


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‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ Photo: James McAvoy’s Professor X is Swinging Through the ’60s

'X-Men: First Class'
20th Century Fox

Bryan Singer has tweeted a new photo from the set of ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past‘ and it looks like James McAvoy‘s character has given over to a new power: Flower power.

Singer Tweeted this photo:

Singer describes the picture as ‘Serpico,’ which is the famous ’70s cop film starring Al Pacino (and directed by Sidney Lumet), though considering that ‘First Class’ was set in 1962 — and McAvoy doesn’t look like he’s aged a decade — we’re guessing this is more his mid to late ’60s wear. And, even with the wheelchair, he wouldn’t look out of place on a cover of a Beatles album.

Though we liked the film for a number of reasons, the period costumes was one of the reasons why ‘X-Men: First Class’ was so much fun to watch. As important as the characters were to that film, so were the settings and the fashion — one of the great pleasures of the film was seeing familiar characters interacting in 1960s clothing, especially Michael Fassbender, who looked like he was ready to cameo on ‘Mad Men.’

Singer has been tweeting pictures at a very steady pace, so we’re going to be given a lot of behind-the-scenes looks at this film. Since it won’t hit theaters until July 18, 2014, if you want to know the latest, follow Singer’s Twitter account.

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Simply register at then call us back after you've completed your payment.

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Connecticut Commuter Advocates Upset Over Where Fare Hike Money Is Going

HARTFORD, CT (CBSNewYork) – Commuters on Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven Line are paying more to ride the rails, but where’s all that extra money going?

WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau On The Story

The 4 percent fare hikes kicked in last month, but Gov. Dan Malloy‘s new budget reveals the $12 million raised will actually be used to cut the state subsidy to the railroad, according to says Jim Cameron of the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council.

“This seems to prove just what we had feared, which is that the fare increase was not money that was gonna be spent on the trains, but was really gonna end up in the general fund,” Cameron WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau.

The Connecticut DOT says the money goes directly into the transportation fund, where it could wind up paying for bridges or roads.

But State Representative Gail Lavielle of Wilton has a bill ready that would earmark revenue from the higher fares specifically for rail improvements.

“The money’s coming in from the fare increases and then it’s being pulled straight out to be used for other purposes,” she said Thursday.

How do you feel about this? Sound off in the comments section below!

One Comment

  1. Ray says:

    When our crooked socialist governor Malloy is involved, of course this isnt surprising.

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Fort Covington, NY 12937 ZIP Code Profile

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Fort Covington, NY

Camera Icon Photos of the local Fort Covington, NY area   |   Fort Covington, NY 12937 Real Estate

ZIP Code 12937: Basic Data & USPS Preferred City Name

Preferred Name, USPS
Fort Covington, NY 12937

Acceptable Alternative
Ft Covington, NY 12937

  • ZIP Code Type: STANDARD
  • Businesses Addresses: 32
  • Single Family Addresses: 512
  • Multi-Family Addresses: 0
  • County: Franklin County
  • Centroid: Latitude 44.956, Longitude -74.489
  • Time Zone: Eastern Time Zone (UTC -5 hours)
  • Observes DST: Yes

Neighborhood Data

Address Based Hyperlocal Data Input an address and get data & demographics for the pertinent census block group (CBG), a searchable map and a customized directory. The CBG is the smallest geographical unit used by the Census Bureau for reporting certain data.

12937 ZIP Code Map

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Fort Covington, NY 12937 Data & Demographics (As of July 1, 2016)

Total Population 1,509
Population in Households 1,509
Population in Familes 1,215
Population in Group Qrtrs 0
Population Density1 55
Diversity Index2 38

Total Households 603
Average Household Size 2.5
Family Households 413
Average Family Size 3

Total Housing Units 687 (100%)
Owner Occupied HU 475 (69.1%)
Renter Occupied HU 128 (18.6%)
Vacant Housing Units 84 (12.2%)
Median Home Value $75,962
Average Home Value $109,053

Median Household Income $41,788
Average Household Income $53,449
Per Capita Income $21,358
  (Compound Annual Growth Rates)

2010-2015 2015-2020
Population 0.13% 0.04%
Households 0.24% 0.1%
Families 0.04% 0.05%
Median Household Income   2.24%
Per Capita Income   2.0%
1) Population Density = Total Population per square mile.
2) The Diversity Index is a scale of 0 to 100 that represents the likelyhood that two persons, chosen at random from the same area, belong to different race or ethnic groups. If an area's entire population belongs to one race AND one ethnic group, then the area has zero diversity. An area's diversity index increases to 100 when the population is evenly divided into two or more race/ethnic groups.
Based on Census 2010 counts, the Diversity Index for the United States was 60.6 and it is expected to increase to 64.8 by July 1, 2018.

Fort Covington, NY 12937 - Peer Comparisons by Rank and Percentile

The table below compares 12937 to the other 1,741 ZIP Codes in New York by rank and percentile using July 1, 2016 data. The location Ranked # 1 has the highest value. A location that ranks higher than 75% of its peers would be in the 75th percentile of the peer group.

Variable Description Rank Percentile
Total Population # 1190 32nd
Population Density1 # 1297 26th
Diversity Index2 # 539 69th
Median Household Income # 1499 14th
Per Capita Income # 1510 13th

Additional comparisons and rankings can be made with a VERY EASY TO USE New York Census Data Comparison Tool.


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Carteret, NJ Ultimate Frisbee

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  • Woodbridge NJ Ultimate Indoor League  League Profile
    Woodbridge NJ Ultimate Indoor League
    Iselin, NJ
    For beginners and veterans alike, who share an interest in playing a competitive yet spirited game while meeting new people at the same time. 4 coed draft teams, 7 players each (format and numbers subject to change pending final registraion). Baggage requests will be considered on a case by case basis by the league organizers.

    4 on 4 (3/1 gender ratio) indoor league on indoor basketball gymnasium

    Woodbridge Community Center
    600 Main Street
    Woodbridge, NJ

    Why: Why wait for Spring?

    Sunday Evenings(Jan 31st to Feb 28th). Two one-hour games: 6pm, 7pm. Each Team will play one game per night per week. 4 games guaranteed.

    How: Please make registration fee payment by clicking on the following link:

    Registration fee will be $30 per person.

    On the "Add Special Instructions to the Seller Section", make sure to include your full name, gender, height, and skill level(see below).

    Skill Level
    1 - new or pickup player
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    3 - club sectionals only/college player only
    4 - club regionals player
    5 - club nationals player

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Monolingual and multilingual technical documentation

Technical communication is like an ocean: you can consider it either as a barrier or as a bridge to your customers.

We are the bridge for your monolingual and multilingual technical documentation. The services we offer in this area include the following:

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Topic “Identive”

Restructuring Expected to Continue Through 2014 for Identive

U.S.-based Identive Group, a supplier of NFC tags and ID equipment, reported continued business divestitures and hinted at the possibility of more job cuts, in reporting its first quarter earnings.

Financial Review: Publicly Traded NFC Vendors Show Mixed Results for 2013

NFC Times Exclusive: All publicly traded vendors across the NFC ecosystem have filed their year-end earnings reports, and the results show a mixed bag of promising sales for contactless and EMV technology, continued restructuring and expected challenges ahead with the advent of host-card emulation.

Identive Narrows Losses; Reports More Restructuring

U.S.-based Identive reported significant restructuring and job cuts in the fourth quarter, along with increased sales for NFC and other RFID tags–but still no profit.

Identive to Sell NFC Tagtrail Platform; Insists NFC Tags Remain Core to Its Business

Identive will sell its Tagtrail platform for tag campaign management, but the company says NFC tags remain a core part of its business.

Losses Continue for Identive in Q3, Though NFC a Bright Spot

Nov 14 2013

Identive Group showed higher revenue in the third quarter, thanks to a jump in NFC and RFID sales, but took a large impairment charge and will sell some “noncore assets,” as its share price continues to hover around historic lows.

Ashour Steps Down as Identive CEO; Company to Focus on Cloud-Based ID, but NFC Support Continues

Sep 9 2013

The board of U.S.-based Identive Group has replaced its CEO, signaling a new direction for the ID, reader and NFC tag supplier toward more authentication services and cloud-based technologies, especially targeting mobile devices. The vendor said it would support NFC for the authentication products or services as well as continued support for tags.

Identive Raises $7 million in Stock Placement; Seeks to Expand Tags, Bolster Balance Sheet

Identive Group’s losses narrowed in the second quarter, and the company recorded strong growth in sales of NFC tags, including tags for interactive toys for video games.

Tag Marketing Platforms Gain Momentum as More NFC-Enabled Smartphones Roll Out

Kiona Smith-Strickland

As NFC-enabled mobile devices reach the market in larger numbers, announcements of commercial-grade NFC-enabled advertising campaigns have also increased, demonstrating that the market for NFC-enabled marketing is beginning to materialize.

NFC Tag Shipments Continue to Grow Though Profits Remain Elusive for Identive

U.S.-based Identive Group reported an 81% year-over-year growth in transponder sales but a loss for the quarter overall, in preliminary second quarter results the vendor released Friday.

Identive Reports Growing NFC Business; Blames Flat Sales, Losses, on U.S. Budget Cuts

U.S.-based Identive Group reported growing NFC and smart card reader business, but fell back into the red during for the first quarter, a loss it largely blamed on U.S. federal government budget cuts.

Exclusive: What Tokenization Fees from Visa Might Look Like for Issuers

NFC TIMES Exclusive – While Visa has said it is waiving tokenization fees for issuers that join its commercial tokenization hub, VDEP, and use its Visa Token Service, some observers believe the network will charge the fees sooner or later.

Sony Launches Support for FeliCa Technology on HCE Devices, Though Few Handsets Available Yet

NFC TIMES Exclusive – Japan’s Sony Corp. is supporting host card emulation with its proprietary FeliCa contactless technology, which could enable service providers to avoid the need for secure elements in rolling out FeliCa-based applications on NFC phones.

Samsung Semiconductor Faces Challenges in Rolling Out Contactless-Payments Service for Wearables

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – Samsung Semiconductor believes there is room for yet another closed-loop payments service, one that enables consumers to pay with contactless wearables devices that carry its dual-interface chips.

Android Pay Launches in Belgium, While State-Owned Belfius Bank Takes Two-Staged Approach to Own HCE Rollout

NFC TIMES Exclusive – Two of the largest banks in Belgium have launched, or are planning to launch, HCE-based mobile payments but chose different approaches: BNP Paribas Fortis decided to first launch with Android Pay, while state-owned Belfius Bank plans to enable the service within its mobile-banking app.

Serbia's KomBank Seeks to Increase Mobile Banking Users with HCE Service

NFC TIMES Exclusive – Komercijalna banka Beograd, known as KomBank, one of Serbia’s largest banks, incorporated a host-card-emulation-based mobile payment service into its mobile banking app to increase awareness and use of the app, Slobodan Lukić, the bank's deputy director of the payment cards division told NFC Times.

Apple Pay Launches in Ireland and Gears Up in Italy; but Only One Major Bank On Board So Far in Each Country

NFC Times Exclusive Insight – Apple has expanded its mobile payments service to another small market, with its launch Tuesday in Ireland, but is preparing to launch in a much larger market, Italy.

Taiwan’s Largest Transit Ticketing Service Plans Bluetooth-Enabled Mobile Ticketing, Though Needs Regulatory Approval

NFC TIMES Exclusive – Taiwan’s EasyCard Corp., the operator of the country’s largest closed-loop transit and retail payments service, is working with a provider of Bluetooth-enabled mobile payments technology to offer customers an NFC-like experience to pay for rides and purchases in stores.

Australian Domestic Debit Network Nears Launch of Token Service Provider to Compete with Visa and Mastercard

NFC TIMES Exclusive – Australia’s largest domestic debit network, eftpos, plans to launch its overdue tokenization service commercially by the second quarter, likely serving at least one of the country’s big four banks for its HCE mobile wallet and one or more of the “Pays” wallets, such as Android Pay and possibly Apple Pay, NFC Times has learned.

Certification Issues and Legal Battle Delay Launch of Kerv Ring; Wearables Maker Says Ring Ready

NFC TIMES Exclusive – After two years addressing design, certification and legal issues, UK-based start-up Kerv Wearables says it’s finally ready to launch its NFC-enabled ring.

Exclusive: Why are Some of the Largest U.S. Merchants Balking at Supporting NFC?

NFC TIMES Exclusive – While the base of contactless point-of-sale terminals in the U.S. has grown substantially over the past two and a half years, some of the country’s largest merchants continue to resist the idea of accepting such NFC wallets as Apple Pay and Android Pay.

Exclusive: Taiwanese Banks to Pay Apple Cut of Transaction Fees on Par with U.S.

NFC TIMES Exclusive – TAIPEI, Taiwan: Apple will collect a cut of transaction fees from Taiwanese banks on credit card transactions that is around the same level as the tech giant takes from U.S. credit card issuers, when Apple Pay launches in Taiwan, expected later this month, NFC Times has learned.

Analysis: Why QR Codes are Challenging NFC to Enable Mobile Payments

NFC TIMES Exclusive – Despite the resurgence in demand for NFC technology with the launch of Apple Pay in 2014, followed by other NFC-enabled “Pays” wallets and the separate rollout of HCE technology by Google, use of QR codes for mobile payments continues to grow in popularity globally.


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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

NISA to host delegates from Senegal

The National Inter-departmental Sports Association (NISA) will finally host a 5-man delegation from Senegal for a championship dedicated for the working class.
The delegates, who are part of the Federation of the Senegalese Workers’ Sports, will be guest of their Gambian counterparts who are twice champions.
The guests are expected in Banjul on Thursday 24 January before the starting of the event on January 25.
It is The Gambia’s turn to host event of this magnitude, and this time for three days.
A marathon contest, football female volleyball as well as Pull (to be introduced) will be open for competition during the championship which is expected to wrap up on January 27, 2012.

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Monday, March 18, 2013

Kasa Renews Call for Baba Leigh’s Release

Dudu Kasa Jaata- Gambian Politician

Dudu Kasa Jaata, a vocal opposition in the Gambian has on Monday renewed his calls fro the Gambia government to release the detained Imam Baba Leigh after months of detention with out trial.
It could be recalled that Imam Leigh whisked away from his family since 3 December, 2012, by the plain cloths suspiciously the Gambia’s spy agency and since then his family are left in limbo as they are yet to know his whereabouts talk less of seeing him.
The out spoken politician label the Gambia’s human right record as among the worst due to what he call bad governance that the current regime is manipulating and handling the affairs of the state, adding that people are tired of witnessing bad news day-in-day-out.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Kasa Jaata- Gambia needs Political, Media Reform

Regardless of international intervention, the Gambia needs a reform in the way and manner in which politics and politicians as well as the media situation are been handled in the country, said Dudu Kasa Jaata, a vocal political activist in The Gambia.
The verbal politician made these remarks in a three paper statement reacting to the Gambia government’s refusal to accept the EU’s 17-Points Dossier earlier this year, which touched on media and political reforms amongst others.


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Patric Hornqvist

Pittsburgh Penguins ’15-16 Outlook

The Pittsburgh Penguins have two of the league’s best forwards in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but last season they lacked the offensive depth to sufficiently back them up. GM Jim Rutherford is hoping he addressed that issue this summer, but there is still a big X-factor with this team.

Starting with the positives, newcomer Phil Kessel is one of the league’s top goal scorers and pairing him up with a superb playmaker like Crosby should make for a great combination. Combined with Patric Hornqvist, Malkin, David Perron, and Chris Kunitz and the Penguins have the potential to feature two very effective lines. Summer additions Eric Fehr and Nick Bonino will also provide the Penguins with some all-important depth up the middle.

After that though, their bottom-six gets a little hazy.

Theoretically, Pascal Dupuis would be an ideal presence on their third line and wouldn’t look out of place if the Penguins opt to put him in their top-six, but he’s also played in just 55 games over the last two seasons due to a torn ACL and a blood clot. Even if we presume that his health issues are behind him, one has to wonder if the long layoffs have negatively impacted the 36-year-old forward. The Penguins might be penciling Beau Bennett for a third line role as well, but he’s had injury problems too and hasn’t developed as hoped.

Health issues have unfortunately been a running theme for the Penguins.

They’re counting on Kris Letang to anchor their defense, but the 69 games he played last season represented a personal best since 2010-2011. Even Malkin is a question mark at this point, as he’s only surpassed the 70-game mark once since 2008-2009.

Now to be fair, if the biggest knock is “they might get hurt,” then that’s arguably a sign that there are not a lot of issues to begin with.

After all, the Penguins core — when healthy — is among the most impressive in the league. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury can be firmly listed as part of that foundation as well as his performance over the last two campaigns has run contrary to the old narrative that he gets worse under the heightened pressure of the playoffs.

The jury is still out on the Penguins’ depth though and those aforementioned injury problems can’t be casually dismissed. This is a team that has been among the most prone to health problems from 2009-10 onward, according to Man Games Lost.

If that trend ends though, then this should be a very dangerous team.

It’s Pittsburgh Penguins Day at PHT

Throughout the month of August, PHT will be dedicating a day to all 30 NHL clubs. Today’s team? The Pittsburgh Penguins.

After another disappointing finish in the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins decided to change course by replacing GM Ray Shero and head coach Dan Bylsma with Jim Rutherford and Mike Johnston respectively prior to the start of the 2014-15 campaign. The results, at least as far as last season was concerned, were not desirable.

To be fair, Pittsburgh was strong for much of the campaign and was even in the running for the Presidents’ Trophy through March 12 with a 39-18-10 record. However, they went 4-9-2 for the remainder of the season and they just barely secured the second Wild Card seed. That set up a first round series against the New York Rangers that the Penguins lost in five games.

For a team that’s home to two of the best forwards in the league, the Penguins’ big weakness last season was actually their offense. Years of subpar drafting beyond first round picks and a top-heavy salary balance sheet seemed to finally catch up with the Penguins as they were thin on scoring threats outside of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

Chris Kunitz, James Neal, and Jussi Jokinen provided the Penguins with at least 57 points each in 2013-14, but the 35-year-old Kunitz slid to 40 points, Neal had been dealt to Nashville in exchange for Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling, and Jokinen left as an unrestricted free agent. Consequently, Malkin and Crosby were the only Penguins players to record more than 57 points last season.

Pittsburgh went from being tied for the fifth best offense in 2013-14 to finishing in a tie for 18th just one season later. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury had a strong campaign and that continued into the 2015 playoffs, but the Penguins provided him with just eight goals of support over five games against the Rangers.

Off-season recap

Rutherford has moved to bolster the Penguins’ offense over the summer. He brought Phil Kessel to Pittsburgh in a blockbuster trade with Toronto that also involved the Penguins conceding 2014 first round pick Kasperi Kapanen. Nearly a month later, Pittsburgh acquired Nick Bonino, Adam Clendening, and a 2016 second round pick from Vancouver in exchange for Brandon Sutter and a 2016 third round selection.

Pittsburgh further addressed its forward depth with the signings of Eric Fehr (three years, $6 million) and Matt Cullen (one-year, $800K).

Combine that with the return of Pascal Dupuis (blood clots) and Pittsburgh’s group of forwards should look significantly different this season.

Pens’ plan for now: Crosby starts as Kessel’s center

A lot can change between today and training camp, let alone the regular season, but the Pittsburgh Penguins plan on starting Phil Kessel out on Sidney Crosby’s line.

(Head coach Mike Johnston made note that the course could easily be altered.)

Under this setup, Evgeni Malkin would likely center a line including Patric Hornqvist. One would assume that Chris Kunitz would fill out the Crosby – Kessel combo, but again, this is pure speculation in August.

The biggest “loser” of this scenario may just be David Perron, at least if he was bumped down to the third line. Roster Resource’s depth chart really shows how much the Penguins’ roster has changed this off-season.

Back in July, PHT took an early look at the debate regarding pairing Kessel with Crosby or Malkin, pointing to some takes that “Geno” might work better with the sniper than No. 87.

You can find a succinct discussion of that argument from’s Dan Rosen:

With Kessel and Malkin on the ice together, there would be constant movement and interplay between two threats able to score on virtually any possession in the attacking zone.

Crosby plays more of a north-south game of direct lines and quick puck movement. Crosby’s linemates have to think the game quickly, react quickly, and be ready in a hurry. He wants his wings to be predictable.

Scoring lines are generally fluid in the modern NHL, yet in late August, it’s fun to get an update like this. Which way would you lean if you were in Johnston’s shoes?

Barring bad injury luck, Kessel should be a happy man in either scenario.

Would Kessel work better with Crosby or Malkin?

Phil Kessel joining the Pittsburgh Penguins inspires some intriguing questions, and one of the most enjoyable ones is: should he line up with Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin?

If you’ve followed how the modern NHL works, the most accurate answer is probably the evasive one: “both.”

Head coaches love to juggle combinations, especially early on in a season, so the high-scoring sniper will likely get multiple looks with the two dynamic pivots. Heck, the Penguins could terrify opposing defenses (and penalty kill units) by sending all three out, especially when they need a goal or two.

All of those disclaimers aside, it’s still a pretty fun thing to debate, particularly during the hockey-starved summer.

Interestingly, it seems like quite a few people argue that Kessel might click with Malkin more than Crosby, and the theme of such arguments comes down to meshing styles.

Note this stance from’s Dan Rosen:

With Kessel and Malkin on the ice together, there would be constant movement and interplay between two threats able to score on virtually any possession in the attacking zone.

Crosby plays more of a north-south game of direct lines and quick puck movement. Crosby’s linemates have to think the game quickly, react quickly, and be ready in a hurry. He wants his wings to be predictable.

The Hockey Writers’ Mike Colligan floated a similar theory:

Malkin and Kessel also play an instinctual style as opposed to the precise, tactical approach of Crosby. Much like Mario Lemieux, Malkin and Kessel know exactly when to take off up the ice before hockey fans (and most opponents) even realize there’s a breakaway opportunity. They react to the game as it unfolds, which can be a nightmare for linemates who don’t have the same mindset.

Naturally, Kessel could just easily find chemistry with Crosby. In simplified terms, the American winger is a natural sniper while Crosby ranks as one of the NHL’s most gifted passers. Actually, let’s go even simpler: that duo could work simply because of their sheer skill.

Pensburgh brings up an interesting idea, too: Malkin may very well prosper with Kessel in town even if the former Maple Leaf isn’t his winger. “Geno” had to deal with makeshift wingers while Crosby skated alongside David Perron and Patric Hornqvist in 2014-15, yet Kessel arguably allows other Penguins forwards to fall in more comfortable spots.

It’s obviously way too early to predict how this will shake out, especially since the Penguins could conceivably shake up their roster a bit more before the 2015-16 campaign kicks into gear. Either way, it should be fun to find out how Kessel fits in Pittsburgh, though.

Related: Crosby thinks that Kessel is excited to join the Penguins.

It’s Done: Rangers eliminate Penguins in overtime

The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers battled fiercely for five games. Each contest was determined by just one goal and the final two went to overtime.

But at the end of the day, the Penguins could only win once and the Rangers officially eliminated them with a 2-1 victory tonight.

Carl Hagelin scored the overtime marker:

This is the sixth straight year Pittsburgh couldn’t get it done in the playoffs. This time around though, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury wasn’t the story. He did all that could be expected of him in this series, posting a 2.12 GAA and .927 save percentage in five contests.

Instead fingers will likely be pointed at Evgeni Malkin, who fired six shots on goal Friday night but still finished the series without a single point. The Penguins lacked offensive depth in this series as well as Sidney Crosby and Patric Hornqvist accounted for half of Pittsburgh’s eight goals.

At the same time, it would be wrong to ignore the fact that the Penguins were missing defensemen Kris Letang, Christian Ehrhoff, and Olli Maatta as well as forwards Pascal Dupuis and Beau Bennett due to injuries. That’s a lot of talent to be stuck on the sidelines.

Still, another Penguins season that began with Stanley Cup aspirations is over while the Presidents’ Trophy winning Rangers are moving forward. The Rangers fell in the Stanley Cup Final in 2014. They’re one step closer to getting back there now.

Click here for playoff highlight videos