The Glass projects an image that looks like a 25-inch television screen floating approximately eight feet away. It has a camera that can take both video with sound and still pictures."This is a very interesting piece of technology," Mr. Graves said. "I think some people are a little nervous when they see it because they assume I am recording everything I'm doing, which is definitely not the case."
He said he has had to plan a little extra time when he goes somewhere wearing it because so many people stop him to ask about it."Most everyone under 20 seems to know what is and wants to play with it," said Mr. Graves, who teaches history and alternative education at the high school. "They want one."On the other hand, people over 20 may know what it is it but are less impressed. They tend to be more apprehensive.
"I'm a pretty private person and I've noticed more people whispering when I walk by wearing them. I'm pretty sure they're talking about my Glass," he said. It is worn like a pair of glasses with temples over the ears, one of which contains the computer and Indoor Positioning System. When worn with the included sunglass shade or a hat, not as many people notice it, he said.
Plans are to make the Glass a self-contained interactive device, but for now it must be linked through a cell phone via a Bluetooth connection to access the Internet, according to Mr. Graves. "I see it as primarily a second screen for my cellphone," Mr. Graves said."It would be great for someone who works on the phone or needs to work with their hands while getting information from the Internet or a another source," he said. "It would be great for kids who spend a lot of time on their phone." He said it could free their hands for other things and get their heads out of their phones.
"The more I use it the more I really think that if you use a smart phone a lot it could be useful because it provides the information you want quickly and easily," he said.As a device that can film what the wearer sees Mr. Graves said, "I think it's a real game changer. I expect it to be a good teaching tool. It would be easy to film a virtual field trip by one student that the whole class could watch."As a track coach I think it will be interesting to see what our athletes are doing from their own perspectives," he said.
The Google Glass has been in development for a couple of years although Google, uncharacteristically for a high tech company, has been relatively quiet about the project. Their website shows what it can do through photos and videos that were made with a Glass, but it has no written description of the device. The page that is entitled how-to-get-one says, "Applications are now closed."
The Google Glass is not for sale to the general public, yet. Mr. Graves said he does not expect Google to begin selling the Glass until sometime in 2014.He had to apply to become one of the "Explorers," one of the 8,000 who were given the opportunity to buy one. He thinks his chances of being chosen were enhanced because he is a teacher and for over four years he has used the android operating system, which was developed by Google and is used in phones and the Google Glass.
Mr. Graves paid $1,500 for the Glass and had to travel to New York City for a fitting and a brief lesson on how to use it. "It costs money to be on the bleeding edge of indoor Tracking. The bleeding edge doesn't come cheap," he said, quoting a fellow teacher.
The only condition of the purchase was that he not sell it. Public interest in the device is so intense that owners can easily double their money selling them, he said. Google encourages the users to give them feedback primarily through a chat site for fellow Glass users.
Google sends out upgrades every month with tweaks and improvements and sometimes new apps. Mr. Graves said the sound quality is not as good as his phone and like most smart phones Internet surfing is not as easy as on his computer. "Right now, when I have a choice, I use my computer first, my cellphone next, and then the Glass.
Said Balogun: "MT African Pride, reported missing by the Navy was never, and I repeat, never in the custody of the police. At no time were any of the ships taken over by the police. It is not even a question of MT African Pride, all the vessels have always been with the Navy. If anybody says he handed over a ship to me, let him produce the handing over note because there is no way the handover of such magnitude can take place without a handover note. The vessels in question were at the high seas where the police have no access to them. The Navy deployed helicopters and ships to trace the MT African Pride and it was on the pages of newspapers that I read it. If the ship had not been in their custody, why did they deploy ships and helicopters to search for it?"
Without prejudice to the work of the House Committee, it must be noted that we are not just talking about a missing ship here. We are actually talking about the theft, corruption and mismanagement of our oil wealth, aided and abetted by officialdom and the implication for our economic well-being and national security. I repeat, nobody should confuse the issue here, this matter is about oil, not ship. And in another country where leaders are actually accountable to the people, several public officials would have lost their jobs by now, assuming they are not already in jail. But because this is Nigeria, we have a situation in which arrested vessels carrying stolen oil just 'disappear' into thin air and the Naval Chief can only tell us some cock-and-bull story!
2013年7月31日星期三
2013年7月11日星期四
Buying Wedding Bliss
The first time my mother pulled out food stamps in our local supermarket, I was confused. She had just bought me a new Kate Spade bag -- a gateway purse for any girl growing up in our wealthy enclave of Long Island. Could we really not afford cheese?
I had all the trappings of a middle class teen -- Hard Tail pants that sagged ever-so-grandly in the derrière, Juicy Couture velour, and enough Abercrombie billboard apparel to wear to every gym class. While this could hardly compete with my peers who held their books in Prada backpacks and owned a Fendi bag in every breed, I was content. I never coveted what they had. I understood that excessive tokens were bestowed on these 16-year-olds on no merit of their own. Their mothers simply wanted them to be able to keep up with the over-Keratin'ed class.
We weren't quite poor, at least not in the traditional sense. My one-bedroom apartment was modest compared to my besties' estates. Instead of a housekeeper to make me grilled cheese after school, I packed a snack and nibbled in the lunchroom of my mom's hair salon. I did all of the Indoor Positioning System.
My mom raised me by herself, with some weekend help from my Bronx-bred dad who considered brands like Express high fashion. He owned a t-shirt company and couldn't understand why I'd ever want to purchase pants with someone else's name on them when I had a perfectly good arsenal of tie-dyed sweats waiting for me at his warehouse. Despite occasionally admiring quilted clutches with signature c's, I had enough confidence on my own that I didn't need a $4,000 shield against the cruel kids.
Being at peace with my outlook on pricey goods has been almost entirely negated since I started planning my wedding. I always knew I wasn't going to spend an inordinate amount on my gown (and by that I mean, I'd keep it under $3,000) but what I didn't realize is how many other props need to be purchased to accompany your "big day," or in my case, my big week.
I chose to have a tropical destination wedding for two reasons. Firstly (and most importantly) I wanted to kidnap guests for a few days to have one extended party where they would all be laughably drunk for 48 hours with no car access. Secondly, as someone who finds decision-making impossible, I didn't want to be tempted to fixate on details like linens and votive count.
My wedding is in the hands of Mayte, a bohemian Argentine who runs the remote beach restaurant we'll be wed at in the Dominican Republic. Her average response rate between emails runs about three weeks but she closes our exchanges with "un abrazo" (Spanish for "a hug") so I feel at ease. There are entire bridal forums dedicated to this woman and the neurosis she stirs in brides who nightly fret that they won't see their centerpieces until two days before their receptions. For me, this is perfect. I sent my Pinterest board off to Mayte to give her a sense of just how many twinkle lights and peonies I want and the rest is in her trusty hands. Wedding planning complete.
Or so I thought. In an unforeseeable circumstance, I have found myself unemployed in the months leading up to my wedding. A note to brides everywhere: this may seem like a fantasy. It is not. Too many hours logged on Style Me Pretty will make you feel utterly inadequate. These virtual brides-to-be transformed from my inspiration to my nemeses who did everything better.
To fill my free time, I use task lists to feel productive. Things like "find best ever monogrammed tumblers," and "research tankinis with complementary swim skirts" have become full day affairs and sources of stress. Even after ticking off jobs, I'm left wondering if I did in fact get the perfect robe for my bridesmaids. Perhaps they'd prefer boxers, or tanks or ironic headbands. How do you pick one item that expresses proper gratitude to your friends? I know! A chevron makeup case with their initials on it definitely says, "I appreciate you." There's no harm in the occasional procrastination when you're on the clock, but when finding these items is your only occupation, absolute bride-sanity ensues. I get twitchy every night around 3 a.m. to feed my recent online shopping addiction. I feel like Michael Fassbender in Shame, with my incessant, passionless purchases, just trying to get a fix with every click, hoping I'll eventually feel a sense of calm.
One of the simultaneously best and worst things to happen to news media was the creation of 24/7 coverage. I can say this with complete authority because I once met Ted Turner. This is how I feel about the bridal publishing market. It's a blessing that I can access planning sites whenever I fancy, but also a curse. I've been able to tune out most of the chaos over the course of my nearly three-year engagement. But now, with two weeks to go, I'm beginning to worry that I didn't study enough for the exam. Did I get enough facials? Should I have stopped eating salt/white bread/white chocolate/brown soda/tequila by now? Which of the 700 workouts on Pinterest will actually give me the best bridal booty in seven days? And where do I get a trousseau? Does that come with the cake?
Every time I pass a shop window, I feel a strong pull to go inside -- maybe within lies the one purchase that will give me composure before I make this huge life change. Maybe, just this once, the high-end outpost will have the answer.
Like my grade school peers in Prada, my constant pursuit of items that I hope will transform me into my best self the week I get married has made me lose sight of what really matters. While I may not be secure in my choice of flip flops, cover-ups or crystalline sash, I am confident in my choice of who I'm marrying, even if I haven't found him a proper swimsuit yet. That's on tomorrow's to-do list.
Read the full products at www.ecived.com.
I had all the trappings of a middle class teen -- Hard Tail pants that sagged ever-so-grandly in the derrière, Juicy Couture velour, and enough Abercrombie billboard apparel to wear to every gym class. While this could hardly compete with my peers who held their books in Prada backpacks and owned a Fendi bag in every breed, I was content. I never coveted what they had. I understood that excessive tokens were bestowed on these 16-year-olds on no merit of their own. Their mothers simply wanted them to be able to keep up with the over-Keratin'ed class.
We weren't quite poor, at least not in the traditional sense. My one-bedroom apartment was modest compared to my besties' estates. Instead of a housekeeper to make me grilled cheese after school, I packed a snack and nibbled in the lunchroom of my mom's hair salon. I did all of the Indoor Positioning System.
My mom raised me by herself, with some weekend help from my Bronx-bred dad who considered brands like Express high fashion. He owned a t-shirt company and couldn't understand why I'd ever want to purchase pants with someone else's name on them when I had a perfectly good arsenal of tie-dyed sweats waiting for me at his warehouse. Despite occasionally admiring quilted clutches with signature c's, I had enough confidence on my own that I didn't need a $4,000 shield against the cruel kids.
Being at peace with my outlook on pricey goods has been almost entirely negated since I started planning my wedding. I always knew I wasn't going to spend an inordinate amount on my gown (and by that I mean, I'd keep it under $3,000) but what I didn't realize is how many other props need to be purchased to accompany your "big day," or in my case, my big week.
I chose to have a tropical destination wedding for two reasons. Firstly (and most importantly) I wanted to kidnap guests for a few days to have one extended party where they would all be laughably drunk for 48 hours with no car access. Secondly, as someone who finds decision-making impossible, I didn't want to be tempted to fixate on details like linens and votive count.
My wedding is in the hands of Mayte, a bohemian Argentine who runs the remote beach restaurant we'll be wed at in the Dominican Republic. Her average response rate between emails runs about three weeks but she closes our exchanges with "un abrazo" (Spanish for "a hug") so I feel at ease. There are entire bridal forums dedicated to this woman and the neurosis she stirs in brides who nightly fret that they won't see their centerpieces until two days before their receptions. For me, this is perfect. I sent my Pinterest board off to Mayte to give her a sense of just how many twinkle lights and peonies I want and the rest is in her trusty hands. Wedding planning complete.
Or so I thought. In an unforeseeable circumstance, I have found myself unemployed in the months leading up to my wedding. A note to brides everywhere: this may seem like a fantasy. It is not. Too many hours logged on Style Me Pretty will make you feel utterly inadequate. These virtual brides-to-be transformed from my inspiration to my nemeses who did everything better.
To fill my free time, I use task lists to feel productive. Things like "find best ever monogrammed tumblers," and "research tankinis with complementary swim skirts" have become full day affairs and sources of stress. Even after ticking off jobs, I'm left wondering if I did in fact get the perfect robe for my bridesmaids. Perhaps they'd prefer boxers, or tanks or ironic headbands. How do you pick one item that expresses proper gratitude to your friends? I know! A chevron makeup case with their initials on it definitely says, "I appreciate you." There's no harm in the occasional procrastination when you're on the clock, but when finding these items is your only occupation, absolute bride-sanity ensues. I get twitchy every night around 3 a.m. to feed my recent online shopping addiction. I feel like Michael Fassbender in Shame, with my incessant, passionless purchases, just trying to get a fix with every click, hoping I'll eventually feel a sense of calm.
One of the simultaneously best and worst things to happen to news media was the creation of 24/7 coverage. I can say this with complete authority because I once met Ted Turner. This is how I feel about the bridal publishing market. It's a blessing that I can access planning sites whenever I fancy, but also a curse. I've been able to tune out most of the chaos over the course of my nearly three-year engagement. But now, with two weeks to go, I'm beginning to worry that I didn't study enough for the exam. Did I get enough facials? Should I have stopped eating salt/white bread/white chocolate/brown soda/tequila by now? Which of the 700 workouts on Pinterest will actually give me the best bridal booty in seven days? And where do I get a trousseau? Does that come with the cake?
Every time I pass a shop window, I feel a strong pull to go inside -- maybe within lies the one purchase that will give me composure before I make this huge life change. Maybe, just this once, the high-end outpost will have the answer.
Like my grade school peers in Prada, my constant pursuit of items that I hope will transform me into my best self the week I get married has made me lose sight of what really matters. While I may not be secure in my choice of flip flops, cover-ups or crystalline sash, I am confident in my choice of who I'm marrying, even if I haven't found him a proper swimsuit yet. That's on tomorrow's to-do list.
Read the full products at www.ecived.com.
2013年7月7日星期日
No redemption as Thompson stops Price in five
It had been a wild heavyweight brawl, with Thompson tasting canvas himself in round two, before a series of powerful head shots had Price against the ropes and ultimately battered into submission. Both men looked like 'going' at numerous points in the contest, swaying like tall trees in a hurricane, as they shipped each other's heavy punches. Make no mistake, this time there was no lucky punch and no obvious excuses. If the first encounter - a second round TKO defeat in February - ended in disappointment for Team Price, then you can file this one under full-blown catastrophe. Although he wasn't flattened, the manner of defeat for Price was a hundred times worse than the last time.
With bitter rival Tyson Fury seemingly having overtaken Price in the queue for major honours, Price fans came out in droves to see whether their hero could get back on track towards an assault on the world scene. Fury of course had spent much of the week winding up Price's mentor Lennox Lewis, who had positioned himself at ringside approximately six feet from the Price corner. As somebody questioned Lewis's vantage point he could be seen to say "I'm staying right here". Nobody questioned him a second time.
Both men looked in terrific physical condition as they were introduced to the crowd – Thompson at 18st 7lb slightly lighter than the first encounter, and Price 3lb heavier than fight one at 17st 12lb. Price seemed incredibly nervous during the walk-ins and indoor positioning system. Whereas Thompson was the opposite. As Price walked out to James Brown's 'The Payback', The Tiger and all of his team took the opportunity to dance and high-five each other throughout, Thompson completely unfazed by the assignment ahead of him. This was all after what just about qualified as 'pre-fight entertainment' - a couple of midgets carrying flags and a fella committing homicide by saxophone - a truly awful rendition of 'Born In The USA'. If the music was designed to transport the listener to another place, then it certainly succeeded. Unfortunately, that place was pushing a trolley around Kwik Save on a Tuesday morning.
Back to the fight, and perhaps Price's nerves were responsible for a very cautious opening round. Thompson immediately began landing the southpaw jab, as Price pawed with his left for openings. Right hands were few and far between, and when Price did graze Thompson's chin, Tony just smiled and got on with the job in hand. In round two, although Price tried to establish his own jab, one or two landing solidly, he soon found himself backed up and under pressure, and looked all at sea. As Thompson closed the distance and moved inside, he just let his hands go. Price was content to clinch, but Thompson inflicted cumulative damage clubbing the side of his opponent's head with his free hands.
Tony wasn't waiting on the outside either - his fast jab making Price think about every attack. The crowd ignited as Thompson hit the deck from a push, but were soon cheering legitimately as Price threw a looping right to the top of the head as Thompson came in. Tony collapsed to the floor above the press row at ringside and it appeared touch and go whether he was going to beat the count. He did beat it, at nine, and ref Marcus McDonnell allowed him to continue. Price didn't go for the kill, remaining cautious as Thompson's legs appeared solid beneath him.
Round three saw some terrific action. A left hook inside had Price hanging on and appearing in some distress. He responded, slamming in a right hand of his own, sending Thompson back against the ropes and complaining of a punch behind the head. Thompson used every ounce of his experience to lean back against the ropes and out of danger from Price's follow up. Whenever Thompson attacked, Price seemed content to allow the American as much time and space as he needed to load up with hard bursts from angles. By round four, Price appeared frozen, almost statuesque with gloves protecting his chin but still plenty of target area for Thompson to place shots unchallenged.
Price looked thoroughly lost when Thompson got close, unable to get any punching leverage, Thompson dominated the close action, moving and hitting the static Scouser at will. The ending had a sense of inevitability. Thompson was by now more confident that when he attacked, and Price wasn't responding. As two solid right hands put Price in deep trouble, Thompson moved in, missing with little. Tony fired in accurate, powerful punches, Price's head now rolling around under the force. But rather than hold on, take a knee, or punch back, David allowed Thompson free rein. Price caught at least a dozen consecutive blows to the head but might have caught a break when ref McDonnell generously adjudged the ropes to be holding him up and issued a standing eight count. But upon looking into Price's eyes, he wisely called an end to the fight, Price completely done under Thompson's sustained assault.
As for what next, that is the million dollar question. Being so easy to hit in this fight, Price has serious defensive issues to address as a matter of urgency. But his lack of stamina was also disturbing - rather like Wladimir Klitschko's performance against Lamon Brewster back in 2004. He was breathing hard as early as the second round. He allowed Thompson unlimited access, and wasn't sure how to respond. The next career move will require much thought and strategising. Full credit once more to Tony Thompson, who showed class in victory and demonstrated that, despite his advancing years, he is a serious test for any heavyweight contenders out there.
Nineteen hearses departed from the medical examiner's office in Phoenix, rolled past a collection of firefighters outside the Arizona state Capitol and will pass through the community of Yarnell where the 19 died.
Firefighters, police officers and everyday people held hands over their hearts or saluted as the motorcycle-led escort slowly drove by and a quartet of bag pipers played a mournful song to a marching cadence. The firefighters' names were posted on a side window of each hearse.
The procession included several firefighting vehicles, including a truck that bore the name of the elite crew to which the 19 firefighters who died on June 30 belonged.Lon Reiman of Scottsdale carried two small American flags as he waited for the procession to begin. Reiman said he has several relatives who are firefighters and thought of them once he heard the news of the deaths.
Click on their website http://www.ecived.com/en/.
With bitter rival Tyson Fury seemingly having overtaken Price in the queue for major honours, Price fans came out in droves to see whether their hero could get back on track towards an assault on the world scene. Fury of course had spent much of the week winding up Price's mentor Lennox Lewis, who had positioned himself at ringside approximately six feet from the Price corner. As somebody questioned Lewis's vantage point he could be seen to say "I'm staying right here". Nobody questioned him a second time.
Both men looked in terrific physical condition as they were introduced to the crowd – Thompson at 18st 7lb slightly lighter than the first encounter, and Price 3lb heavier than fight one at 17st 12lb. Price seemed incredibly nervous during the walk-ins and indoor positioning system. Whereas Thompson was the opposite. As Price walked out to James Brown's 'The Payback', The Tiger and all of his team took the opportunity to dance and high-five each other throughout, Thompson completely unfazed by the assignment ahead of him. This was all after what just about qualified as 'pre-fight entertainment' - a couple of midgets carrying flags and a fella committing homicide by saxophone - a truly awful rendition of 'Born In The USA'. If the music was designed to transport the listener to another place, then it certainly succeeded. Unfortunately, that place was pushing a trolley around Kwik Save on a Tuesday morning.
Back to the fight, and perhaps Price's nerves were responsible for a very cautious opening round. Thompson immediately began landing the southpaw jab, as Price pawed with his left for openings. Right hands were few and far between, and when Price did graze Thompson's chin, Tony just smiled and got on with the job in hand. In round two, although Price tried to establish his own jab, one or two landing solidly, he soon found himself backed up and under pressure, and looked all at sea. As Thompson closed the distance and moved inside, he just let his hands go. Price was content to clinch, but Thompson inflicted cumulative damage clubbing the side of his opponent's head with his free hands.
Tony wasn't waiting on the outside either - his fast jab making Price think about every attack. The crowd ignited as Thompson hit the deck from a push, but were soon cheering legitimately as Price threw a looping right to the top of the head as Thompson came in. Tony collapsed to the floor above the press row at ringside and it appeared touch and go whether he was going to beat the count. He did beat it, at nine, and ref Marcus McDonnell allowed him to continue. Price didn't go for the kill, remaining cautious as Thompson's legs appeared solid beneath him.
Round three saw some terrific action. A left hook inside had Price hanging on and appearing in some distress. He responded, slamming in a right hand of his own, sending Thompson back against the ropes and complaining of a punch behind the head. Thompson used every ounce of his experience to lean back against the ropes and out of danger from Price's follow up. Whenever Thompson attacked, Price seemed content to allow the American as much time and space as he needed to load up with hard bursts from angles. By round four, Price appeared frozen, almost statuesque with gloves protecting his chin but still plenty of target area for Thompson to place shots unchallenged.
Price looked thoroughly lost when Thompson got close, unable to get any punching leverage, Thompson dominated the close action, moving and hitting the static Scouser at will. The ending had a sense of inevitability. Thompson was by now more confident that when he attacked, and Price wasn't responding. As two solid right hands put Price in deep trouble, Thompson moved in, missing with little. Tony fired in accurate, powerful punches, Price's head now rolling around under the force. But rather than hold on, take a knee, or punch back, David allowed Thompson free rein. Price caught at least a dozen consecutive blows to the head but might have caught a break when ref McDonnell generously adjudged the ropes to be holding him up and issued a standing eight count. But upon looking into Price's eyes, he wisely called an end to the fight, Price completely done under Thompson's sustained assault.
As for what next, that is the million dollar question. Being so easy to hit in this fight, Price has serious defensive issues to address as a matter of urgency. But his lack of stamina was also disturbing - rather like Wladimir Klitschko's performance against Lamon Brewster back in 2004. He was breathing hard as early as the second round. He allowed Thompson unlimited access, and wasn't sure how to respond. The next career move will require much thought and strategising. Full credit once more to Tony Thompson, who showed class in victory and demonstrated that, despite his advancing years, he is a serious test for any heavyweight contenders out there.
Nineteen hearses departed from the medical examiner's office in Phoenix, rolled past a collection of firefighters outside the Arizona state Capitol and will pass through the community of Yarnell where the 19 died.
Firefighters, police officers and everyday people held hands over their hearts or saluted as the motorcycle-led escort slowly drove by and a quartet of bag pipers played a mournful song to a marching cadence. The firefighters' names were posted on a side window of each hearse.
The procession included several firefighting vehicles, including a truck that bore the name of the elite crew to which the 19 firefighters who died on June 30 belonged.Lon Reiman of Scottsdale carried two small American flags as he waited for the procession to begin. Reiman said he has several relatives who are firefighters and thought of them once he heard the news of the deaths.
Click on their website http://www.ecived.com/en/.
2013年6月20日星期四
VeriSilicon Announces ZSP G4 Architecture
A leading Custom Silicon Solutions and Semiconductor IP provider, today announced the introduction of its fourth generation ZSP architecture (ZSP G4) and the availability of the ZSP981 Digital Signal Processor (DSP), the first core in the ZSP G4 series. The ZSP G4 architecture is compatible with the previous generation architecture and extends it further by introducing vector computation capabilities, higher bandwidth interfaces and more execution resources. Designed with inputs from wireless industry experts, the ZSP981 offers a 17X performance improvement over third generation ZSP cores while providing the power efficiency needed for mobile devices. ZSP981 provides modem developers the right level of programmable signal processing capability to implement new and evolving wireless technologies such as LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 802.11ac and more.
ZSP981 is the first of a set of cores based on the ZSP G4 architecture family. The cores range from a 4-issue, 4-MAC scalar core to a 6-issue, 260-MAC vector core. The cores differ primarily in their performance, power and area characteristics. They offer the flexibility and scalability necessary to target evolving application needs. Developers can easily select a DSP core from the ZSP G4 family that best satisfies the power, performance, area and flexibility considerations of the target platform. In addition, they can define custom instructions to exercise user defined hardware via the enhanced Z.Turbo interface. Cores based on ZSP G4 are ideally suited for multi-mode terminals, femto-cells, smart grid, M2M and mobile infrastructure.
ZSP981 is a fully synthesizable, 6-issue superscalar DSP core. Running at 1.2 GHz, a single ZSP981 can deliver 82 billion multiply accumulate operations per second. With wide, high speed interfaces to shared memory and enhanced Z.Turbo coprocessor ports to hardware accelerators, the ZSP981 enables system designers to achieve the desired balance between software and hardware in their systems. Also included in the ZSP981 subsystem are a power management module, a multi-core communication module and a multichannel Direct Memory Access (DMA), which greatly simplify system level integration and development.
"A pure Software Defined Radio (SDR) approach presents power challenges in mobile devices. User equipment system developers seek an optimal balance between performance and power, which is made possible by our ZSP981 DSP core," says Dr. Wayne Dai, President and CEO of VeriSilicon. "Based on the ZSP G4 architecture, we have created an adaptive and scalable wireless platform that can help mobile communication SoC vendors achieve the best solution in the shortest time."
The ZSP981 architecture is supported by ZView(TM) , a full-featured, easy-to-use suite of tools consisting of an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), compiler, assembler, optimizer, linker, debugger, simulators, and profiling utilities. ZView(TM) incorporates a number of significant new enhancements, including a vectorizing C compiler, and other optimization tools to accelerate software development.
To combat poor internet connectivity in Africa, founders of Ushahidi, David Kobia, Juliana Rotich, and Erik Hersman, are set to launch a modem, BRCK, that provides internet connection even without electricity.
BRCK, is a product designed by Africans, for Africans to work best in areas of the continent where internet connectivity is unpredictable. It can work even in remote areas where there are fairly unreliable internet connections.
Head at MIT Center for Civic Media Ethan Zuckerman described it as, “the equivalent of a backup generator for the net.”
BRCK connects two mains and has a battery that could work for 8 hours without power. It works much like a cell phone by gaining its connectivity through a standard SIM card and/or Ethernet or WiFi connections while intelligently and seamlessly switching between Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and 3G or 4G connections. It is extremely small, and designed to be the easiest possible networking device to set up. Once operating, it can connect up to 20 devices with a WiFi signal that can cover several rooms.
The idea to create BRCK was born out of the problem encountered in Ushahidi (“Ushahidi” means “testimony” in Swahili.), a non-profit technology company created in Africa in 2008 in response to the post-election violence in Kenya. With the use of Ushahidi, citizens can report incidence of violence and use this information to build maps illustrating where troubled spots are. Ushahidi builds open source software and digital tools to help people in the developing world use information more effectively.
“As a company full of engineers working in places with poor infrastructure, we simply cannot get connected as reliably as our peers in the developed world,” the company says.
“At Ushahidi, we face this problem all the time. We realised that what we really needed was a smart, rugged device that could connect to the internet any way it could, hop from one network to another, create a hotspot for multiple devices, while plugged in or running on battery power.”
However, when the founders devised that failure in internet connection could mar the purpose of the project Ushahidi; they launched a “KickStater” to fund it. The project started with the help of $172,107 raised on crowdfunding site for the Kickstarter.
Click on their website www.ecived.com/en/ for more information.
ZSP981 is the first of a set of cores based on the ZSP G4 architecture family. The cores range from a 4-issue, 4-MAC scalar core to a 6-issue, 260-MAC vector core. The cores differ primarily in their performance, power and area characteristics. They offer the flexibility and scalability necessary to target evolving application needs. Developers can easily select a DSP core from the ZSP G4 family that best satisfies the power, performance, area and flexibility considerations of the target platform. In addition, they can define custom instructions to exercise user defined hardware via the enhanced Z.Turbo interface. Cores based on ZSP G4 are ideally suited for multi-mode terminals, femto-cells, smart grid, M2M and mobile infrastructure.
ZSP981 is a fully synthesizable, 6-issue superscalar DSP core. Running at 1.2 GHz, a single ZSP981 can deliver 82 billion multiply accumulate operations per second. With wide, high speed interfaces to shared memory and enhanced Z.Turbo coprocessor ports to hardware accelerators, the ZSP981 enables system designers to achieve the desired balance between software and hardware in their systems. Also included in the ZSP981 subsystem are a power management module, a multi-core communication module and a multichannel Direct Memory Access (DMA), which greatly simplify system level integration and development.
"A pure Software Defined Radio (SDR) approach presents power challenges in mobile devices. User equipment system developers seek an optimal balance between performance and power, which is made possible by our ZSP981 DSP core," says Dr. Wayne Dai, President and CEO of VeriSilicon. "Based on the ZSP G4 architecture, we have created an adaptive and scalable wireless platform that can help mobile communication SoC vendors achieve the best solution in the shortest time."
The ZSP981 architecture is supported by ZView(TM) , a full-featured, easy-to-use suite of tools consisting of an Integrated Development Environment (IDE), compiler, assembler, optimizer, linker, debugger, simulators, and profiling utilities. ZView(TM) incorporates a number of significant new enhancements, including a vectorizing C compiler, and other optimization tools to accelerate software development.
To combat poor internet connectivity in Africa, founders of Ushahidi, David Kobia, Juliana Rotich, and Erik Hersman, are set to launch a modem, BRCK, that provides internet connection even without electricity.
BRCK, is a product designed by Africans, for Africans to work best in areas of the continent where internet connectivity is unpredictable. It can work even in remote areas where there are fairly unreliable internet connections.
Head at MIT Center for Civic Media Ethan Zuckerman described it as, “the equivalent of a backup generator for the net.”
BRCK connects two mains and has a battery that could work for 8 hours without power. It works much like a cell phone by gaining its connectivity through a standard SIM card and/or Ethernet or WiFi connections while intelligently and seamlessly switching between Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and 3G or 4G connections. It is extremely small, and designed to be the easiest possible networking device to set up. Once operating, it can connect up to 20 devices with a WiFi signal that can cover several rooms.
The idea to create BRCK was born out of the problem encountered in Ushahidi (“Ushahidi” means “testimony” in Swahili.), a non-profit technology company created in Africa in 2008 in response to the post-election violence in Kenya. With the use of Ushahidi, citizens can report incidence of violence and use this information to build maps illustrating where troubled spots are. Ushahidi builds open source software and digital tools to help people in the developing world use information more effectively.
“As a company full of engineers working in places with poor infrastructure, we simply cannot get connected as reliably as our peers in the developed world,” the company says.
“At Ushahidi, we face this problem all the time. We realised that what we really needed was a smart, rugged device that could connect to the internet any way it could, hop from one network to another, create a hotspot for multiple devices, while plugged in or running on battery power.”
However, when the founders devised that failure in internet connection could mar the purpose of the project Ushahidi; they launched a “KickStater” to fund it. The project started with the help of $172,107 raised on crowdfunding site for the Kickstarter.
Click on their website www.ecived.com/en/ for more information.
2013年5月9日星期四
Nvidia beats earnings targets despite PC slowdown
The world’s biggest standalone graphics chip maker reported non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting practice) revenue of $954.7 million, down 14 percent from $1.11 billion in the previous quarter and up 3.2 percent from $924.9 milllion a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings per share were 18 cents, compared to 35 cents in Q4 and 16 cents in Q1 a year ago.
Analysts had expected earnings per share of 10 cents on revenues of $940.6 million. Analysts have been worried about a steep drop in the PC business and the effect that can have on Nvidia’s core business of making graphics chips for PCs. But Nvidia has been diversifying for years into mobile devices with its Tegra line of mobile processors.
As previously mentioned, Nvidia plans to return more than $1 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and Indoor Positioning System.
“The success of Kepler-based GPUs within and beyond the PC helped drive another quarter of record margins,” said Jen-Hsun Huang [pictured], president and chief executive officer of Nvidia. “Kepler is capturing share among gamers, strengthening our workstation and supercomputing segments, and will fuel new growth opportunities for our GRID server graphics solutions. With Tegra 4 devices and Tegra 4i certification on the way, we’re gearing up to return to growth in the second half.”
In after-hours trading, Nvidia’s stock price is up 2 percent. Looking forward to the second fiscal quarter, Nvidia expects revenue of $975 million, plus or minus 2 percent, and non-GAAP gross margins are expected to be flat at 54.6 percent.
Nvidia’s Kepler-based PC graphics chips, such as those in the GeForce GTX Titan card, are selling well. Nvidia also said it has engaged with more than 100 potential customers for its GRID VCA visual computing appliance, which helps workstation users become more mobile through cloud technology. Nvidia has also introduced its Tegra 4i chip, which combines a 4G LTE modem with a mobile processor. That could give Nvidia an advantage in mobile devices the future.
Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insight & Strategy, said, “Nvidia’s solid earnings came on the back of higher-end Kepler-based gaming and workstation chips and cards where they have been gaining a lot of mindshare. The Tegra business was on a roll in the past few quarters driven by wins in Google Nexus 7 and Microsoft RT’s tablets, but that appears to have receded. While Tegra 4 hasn’t been benchmarked yet by reviewers, controlled bench-set [non-phone/tablet] numbers supplied by Nvidia shown that it performs pretty well, but the challenge will be bottling that into a phone. Project Shield [Nvidia's upcoming handheld game device] could end up being the biggest surprise as it leverages trends in mobility, Android gaming, and will also pull from the console business.”
Huang said during the investor day that Nvidia’s Tegra business is at break-even, even as the company ratchets up the investment to more than $300 million a year. Overall, Nvidia research and development has reached $1.2 billion annually. About $880 million of that is core investment in chip design, while $10 million each is focused on new opportunities including Grid systems and the Project Shield handheld gaming system.
“We increased our operating expenses to invest in once in a lifetime opportunities,” Huang said during the investor day. “These investments are so timely and they must happen now. So our first half is rather muted. We’ll have growth in the second half. The disruption of the traditional market literally happened overnight. That’s why it’s so important for us to keep our foot on the gas.”
This year, Nvidia is investing heavily in the first half in the hopes of achieving growth in the second half, Huang said. He pulled in investments in Tegra 4i, a mobile graphics processor with built-in LTE modem. That investment, he said, “was a good decision by all measures.” That pushed out the debut of Tegra 4 by a quarter, from the first to the second quarter. As a result, Tegra sales will be flat for the year, he said.
Overall, “the exciting thing is the market opportunity ahead of us,” Huang said. The total available market for Tegra chips [with $300 million investment] is $10 billion. The opportunity for Grid computing is $10 billion, and the traditional graphics processing unit (GPU) market opportunity is $6 billion, Huang said. Huang said he thinks the computing business, if not PCs, will continue to grow.
With Grid computing, Nvidia is taking that business into the cloud, enabling remote graphics processing and it will lead to multiple users on a single graphics chip. But Huang said the competition was fierce.
Huang said earlier that Nvidia will return $1 billion this fiscal year to shareholders in the form of stock buybacks and dividend payments, including $100 million in stock being repurchased this quarter. This will bring to $1.2 billion the total capital returned to shareholders since the company announced its quarterly dividend program in November.
Nvidia’s GPU business in the first fiscal quarter had revenue of $785.6 million, dow 5.6 percent sequentially and up 8.1 percent from a year ago. Nvidia saw declines in both desktop and notebook revenue. PC makers continue to closely manage inventory in advance of the Intel Haswell platform launch in June. Tegra revenue was $103.1 million in Q1, down 50.5 percent sequentially and down 22.2 percent from a year ago. The decline happened as Nvidia makes the switch from Tegra 3 to Tegra 4.
Analysts had expected earnings per share of 10 cents on revenues of $940.6 million. Analysts have been worried about a steep drop in the PC business and the effect that can have on Nvidia’s core business of making graphics chips for PCs. But Nvidia has been diversifying for years into mobile devices with its Tegra line of mobile processors.
As previously mentioned, Nvidia plans to return more than $1 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and Indoor Positioning System.
“The success of Kepler-based GPUs within and beyond the PC helped drive another quarter of record margins,” said Jen-Hsun Huang [pictured], president and chief executive officer of Nvidia. “Kepler is capturing share among gamers, strengthening our workstation and supercomputing segments, and will fuel new growth opportunities for our GRID server graphics solutions. With Tegra 4 devices and Tegra 4i certification on the way, we’re gearing up to return to growth in the second half.”
In after-hours trading, Nvidia’s stock price is up 2 percent. Looking forward to the second fiscal quarter, Nvidia expects revenue of $975 million, plus or minus 2 percent, and non-GAAP gross margins are expected to be flat at 54.6 percent.
Nvidia’s Kepler-based PC graphics chips, such as those in the GeForce GTX Titan card, are selling well. Nvidia also said it has engaged with more than 100 potential customers for its GRID VCA visual computing appliance, which helps workstation users become more mobile through cloud technology. Nvidia has also introduced its Tegra 4i chip, which combines a 4G LTE modem with a mobile processor. That could give Nvidia an advantage in mobile devices the future.
Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insight & Strategy, said, “Nvidia’s solid earnings came on the back of higher-end Kepler-based gaming and workstation chips and cards where they have been gaining a lot of mindshare. The Tegra business was on a roll in the past few quarters driven by wins in Google Nexus 7 and Microsoft RT’s tablets, but that appears to have receded. While Tegra 4 hasn’t been benchmarked yet by reviewers, controlled bench-set [non-phone/tablet] numbers supplied by Nvidia shown that it performs pretty well, but the challenge will be bottling that into a phone. Project Shield [Nvidia's upcoming handheld game device] could end up being the biggest surprise as it leverages trends in mobility, Android gaming, and will also pull from the console business.”
Huang said during the investor day that Nvidia’s Tegra business is at break-even, even as the company ratchets up the investment to more than $300 million a year. Overall, Nvidia research and development has reached $1.2 billion annually. About $880 million of that is core investment in chip design, while $10 million each is focused on new opportunities including Grid systems and the Project Shield handheld gaming system.
“We increased our operating expenses to invest in once in a lifetime opportunities,” Huang said during the investor day. “These investments are so timely and they must happen now. So our first half is rather muted. We’ll have growth in the second half. The disruption of the traditional market literally happened overnight. That’s why it’s so important for us to keep our foot on the gas.”
This year, Nvidia is investing heavily in the first half in the hopes of achieving growth in the second half, Huang said. He pulled in investments in Tegra 4i, a mobile graphics processor with built-in LTE modem. That investment, he said, “was a good decision by all measures.” That pushed out the debut of Tegra 4 by a quarter, from the first to the second quarter. As a result, Tegra sales will be flat for the year, he said.
Overall, “the exciting thing is the market opportunity ahead of us,” Huang said. The total available market for Tegra chips [with $300 million investment] is $10 billion. The opportunity for Grid computing is $10 billion, and the traditional graphics processing unit (GPU) market opportunity is $6 billion, Huang said. Huang said he thinks the computing business, if not PCs, will continue to grow.
With Grid computing, Nvidia is taking that business into the cloud, enabling remote graphics processing and it will lead to multiple users on a single graphics chip. But Huang said the competition was fierce.
Huang said earlier that Nvidia will return $1 billion this fiscal year to shareholders in the form of stock buybacks and dividend payments, including $100 million in stock being repurchased this quarter. This will bring to $1.2 billion the total capital returned to shareholders since the company announced its quarterly dividend program in November.
Nvidia’s GPU business in the first fiscal quarter had revenue of $785.6 million, dow 5.6 percent sequentially and up 8.1 percent from a year ago. Nvidia saw declines in both desktop and notebook revenue. PC makers continue to closely manage inventory in advance of the Intel Haswell platform launch in June. Tegra revenue was $103.1 million in Q1, down 50.5 percent sequentially and down 22.2 percent from a year ago. The decline happened as Nvidia makes the switch from Tegra 3 to Tegra 4.
2013年4月23日星期二
Audi R8 V10 plus
Audi India officials often go gaga about how some of the buyers of the R8 drive the super sports car around the most crowded, narrow streets of many Indian cities. That’s not too surprising given how easy to drive and comfortable this car can be even on bad roads.
But, put it on the track and it behaves like a completely different cat, one with remarkable agility and great grip. Though, even as it looks perfectly at home on the race track, the R8 doesn’t seem to be intimidating to drive. Instead, place the Lamborghini Gallardo 560-4 – other super sports car that shares the same engine, the same underpinnings and many of the cabin parts – and the intimidation level goes up considerably.
Essentially a boosted, face lifted version of the R8 V10, the new version has some key modifications to mark its higher performance capabilities. On the outside, what strikes you is the increased use of CFRP – an abbreviation that is all over the diagram of the new R8 V10 plus that Audi officials put up as part of the presentation.
Essentially, carbon-fibre reinforced plastic has now been used for more parts. So you get exterior mirror housings, the famous and R8 trademark side blades, the engine cover, the rear diffuser and the front spoiler all made out of this material. There is more in the cabin too. Another R8 trademark – the Audi Singleframe side air intakes at the front and rear bumpers – get a new configuration and are coloured in matt Titanium Gray.
The new Audi R8 V10 plus Coupé is powered by the same 5.2-litre, V10 engine that the current R8 model sports. The difference is in the boost to its state of tune, essentially matching that of the Gallardo 550-2’s performance. The V10 FSI engine with its – up to 8,700 rpm – high-revving concept now manages 404 kW or 550 bhp of peak power at 8,000 rpm. Peak torque is delivered lower down the rpm range at 6,500 and that is also about 10 Nm more at 540 Nm (compared the current V10 variant). The engine is paired with the 7-speed S tronic transmission that is also now offered with larger manual shift paddles behind the steering wheel.
On the race track, the new R8 V10 plus Coupé comes across as being more comfortable to drive thanks to Audi’s Quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. The positive impact of the Quattro system and the difference it makes to on-track confidence was felt even more because it was just a few weeks earlier that I had driven the Lamborghini Gallardo 550-2 on the same loop.
As part of the inauguration of the second edition of its Audi sportscar experience, the company had organised the test runs of the new R8 V10 plus and the course included high speeds laps, slalom sections and a brake test section. With its light and extremely stiff aluminium space frame body and the new sportier suspension the coupe feels more agile on the track. As you throw the car into the corners, the sporty new bucket seats hold nicely allowing the driver to point the steering better at the apex of every turn on the track.
The suspension has seen adjustments to the springs and damper tuning and there have been modifications to the camber values at the front axle for improved dynamics. The wave design brake discs with standard ceramic brakes make sure that all that additional power and agility is not at the cost of safety.
With an impish smile, his face betraying his knowledge about the Mahindra E2O, the driver of the other car was still expecting a sincere answer. And his face was still writ with genuine curiosity about the latest all-electric car from the makers of the Reva.
The E2O is a big leap from the Reva. Not so much in terms of its earth-saving concept, but in terms of it finally being a desirable electric car. It is a transformation which announces that electrics have moved into the realm of the possible, even in India, and that you can look cool while saving the planet.
Except for its final model name, the E2O (E for electric, O for Oxygen….it is not E Twenty) has been in the news for a while now. The concept NXR on which it is based, has been spotted in Motor Shows and been seen testing on the roads. So, the model’s design and most of its specifications had long been frozen. The battery-powered car was originally due to be launched in 2011. What caused much of the delay in rolling out the car was apparently caused by the Government’s dithering in deciding whether to extend a subsidy or not.
But, despite all that familiarity, the E2O still surprises me with its packaging when I first step into it. At the parking lot set next to a yellow Tata Nano and a beige Hyundai i10 Automatic, the E2O seems to blend right in like it is a new, regular compact hatch in the market. There is none of its predecessor’s ungainly, bug-eyed, and strangely arcane looks. Instead, the E2O sports a conventional tall-boy design, clean modern design lines, tight shut lines between its ABS body panels and just a touch of quirkiness.
The unique headlamps, the cab-forward design, the bonnet grille and the muscular wheel arches add to the overall feel of the E2O being a regular car. But, each one of these features hides parts of the electric reality behind them. The stubby, clamshell bonnet from the cab-forward design for example doesn’t lid an engine, instead all that is underneath is the spare wheel and the air-conditioner compressor. Behind the grille is a radiator, but one which runs cooling lines to the heat exchanger and the battery pack instead of an engine.
The wheel arches look over-sized and the puny 13-inch rims don’t provide that much of visual strength, but the tyres shod on the alloys are low-resistance tyres that have been specially developed with a compound that has higher silica content.
The E2O’s chassis is a tubular space frame and the car is built by bolting on the motor, controller, battery pack and the other suspension and seating parts. All the body panels are colour impregnated and dent resistant plastic. These panels made from specially developed base polymer are then simply bonded onto the frame using special adhesives.
Mahindra Reva officials say that the India-spec E2O has no airbags or other electronic braking or stability aids, but it still meets collision safety norms thanks to the space frame’s rigidity and the three crumple zones at the front that disperse the impact of a collision. The European-spec E2O which is currently under development will have the entire complement of safety features including stability management and am guessing that it will have to pass the Euro NCAP tests.
But, put it on the track and it behaves like a completely different cat, one with remarkable agility and great grip. Though, even as it looks perfectly at home on the race track, the R8 doesn’t seem to be intimidating to drive. Instead, place the Lamborghini Gallardo 560-4 – other super sports car that shares the same engine, the same underpinnings and many of the cabin parts – and the intimidation level goes up considerably.
Essentially a boosted, face lifted version of the R8 V10, the new version has some key modifications to mark its higher performance capabilities. On the outside, what strikes you is the increased use of CFRP – an abbreviation that is all over the diagram of the new R8 V10 plus that Audi officials put up as part of the presentation.
Essentially, carbon-fibre reinforced plastic has now been used for more parts. So you get exterior mirror housings, the famous and R8 trademark side blades, the engine cover, the rear diffuser and the front spoiler all made out of this material. There is more in the cabin too. Another R8 trademark – the Audi Singleframe side air intakes at the front and rear bumpers – get a new configuration and are coloured in matt Titanium Gray.
The new Audi R8 V10 plus Coupé is powered by the same 5.2-litre, V10 engine that the current R8 model sports. The difference is in the boost to its state of tune, essentially matching that of the Gallardo 550-2’s performance. The V10 FSI engine with its – up to 8,700 rpm – high-revving concept now manages 404 kW or 550 bhp of peak power at 8,000 rpm. Peak torque is delivered lower down the rpm range at 6,500 and that is also about 10 Nm more at 540 Nm (compared the current V10 variant). The engine is paired with the 7-speed S tronic transmission that is also now offered with larger manual shift paddles behind the steering wheel.
On the race track, the new R8 V10 plus Coupé comes across as being more comfortable to drive thanks to Audi’s Quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. The positive impact of the Quattro system and the difference it makes to on-track confidence was felt even more because it was just a few weeks earlier that I had driven the Lamborghini Gallardo 550-2 on the same loop.
As part of the inauguration of the second edition of its Audi sportscar experience, the company had organised the test runs of the new R8 V10 plus and the course included high speeds laps, slalom sections and a brake test section. With its light and extremely stiff aluminium space frame body and the new sportier suspension the coupe feels more agile on the track. As you throw the car into the corners, the sporty new bucket seats hold nicely allowing the driver to point the steering better at the apex of every turn on the track.
The suspension has seen adjustments to the springs and damper tuning and there have been modifications to the camber values at the front axle for improved dynamics. The wave design brake discs with standard ceramic brakes make sure that all that additional power and agility is not at the cost of safety.
With an impish smile, his face betraying his knowledge about the Mahindra E2O, the driver of the other car was still expecting a sincere answer. And his face was still writ with genuine curiosity about the latest all-electric car from the makers of the Reva.
The E2O is a big leap from the Reva. Not so much in terms of its earth-saving concept, but in terms of it finally being a desirable electric car. It is a transformation which announces that electrics have moved into the realm of the possible, even in India, and that you can look cool while saving the planet.
Except for its final model name, the E2O (E for electric, O for Oxygen….it is not E Twenty) has been in the news for a while now. The concept NXR on which it is based, has been spotted in Motor Shows and been seen testing on the roads. So, the model’s design and most of its specifications had long been frozen. The battery-powered car was originally due to be launched in 2011. What caused much of the delay in rolling out the car was apparently caused by the Government’s dithering in deciding whether to extend a subsidy or not.
But, despite all that familiarity, the E2O still surprises me with its packaging when I first step into it. At the parking lot set next to a yellow Tata Nano and a beige Hyundai i10 Automatic, the E2O seems to blend right in like it is a new, regular compact hatch in the market. There is none of its predecessor’s ungainly, bug-eyed, and strangely arcane looks. Instead, the E2O sports a conventional tall-boy design, clean modern design lines, tight shut lines between its ABS body panels and just a touch of quirkiness.
The unique headlamps, the cab-forward design, the bonnet grille and the muscular wheel arches add to the overall feel of the E2O being a regular car. But, each one of these features hides parts of the electric reality behind them. The stubby, clamshell bonnet from the cab-forward design for example doesn’t lid an engine, instead all that is underneath is the spare wheel and the air-conditioner compressor. Behind the grille is a radiator, but one which runs cooling lines to the heat exchanger and the battery pack instead of an engine.
The wheel arches look over-sized and the puny 13-inch rims don’t provide that much of visual strength, but the tyres shod on the alloys are low-resistance tyres that have been specially developed with a compound that has higher silica content.
The E2O’s chassis is a tubular space frame and the car is built by bolting on the motor, controller, battery pack and the other suspension and seating parts. All the body panels are colour impregnated and dent resistant plastic. These panels made from specially developed base polymer are then simply bonded onto the frame using special adhesives.
Mahindra Reva officials say that the India-spec E2O has no airbags or other electronic braking or stability aids, but it still meets collision safety norms thanks to the space frame’s rigidity and the three crumple zones at the front that disperse the impact of a collision. The European-spec E2O which is currently under development will have the entire complement of safety features including stability management and am guessing that it will have to pass the Euro NCAP tests.
2013年2月27日星期三
Guardly Releases Industry-first Integrated Indoor Positioning System
Guardly today announced the launch of its Indoor Positioning System (IPS), the industry's first mobile safety solution that offers integrated indoor location detection capabilities. Guardly IPS further enhances Guardly's existing mobile safety solutions for the enterprise by transmitting the building, floor and specific room of a mobile emergency caller in under 5 seconds and tracking indoor location changes in real-time thereafter.
Guardly provides mobile safety apps and cloud infrastructure for enterprise and public safety. Guardly's mobile safety apps act as personal emergency phones that broadcast real-time location, identity and support two-way communication with private security, authorities and personal safety groups. For enterprise security and police dispatch, Guardly provides a cloud-based incident management system rich with situational data to monitor, manage and respond to on-premise and remote worker emergencies.
Guardly Safe Campus, a solution designed for schools, was shown to help reduce emergency response times by around 44% at a university in a customer-led study performed 6 months ago. "Our IPS technology is another step towards Guardly delivering on its corporate mission to reduce emergency response times for people needing immediate assistance, and for those responding to requests for assistance," says Josh Sookman, Guardly Founder & CEO. "With Guardly IPS, all someone needs to do is launch our safety app and it will result in a personalized response to their exact indoor location. The implications of this innovation are truly game changing."
When an emergency occurs on a school campus or within a corporate office, hospital or public venue today, most calls made to local security personnel or police come from mobile phones or fixed emergency call boxes. Traditional emergency calls from mobile phones handled by the enterprise lack any form of indoor or outdoor location data, making it difficult to initiate response efforts; this can be further exacerbated if the mobile caller is unable to speak. While calls from emergency call boxes may have associated location data, emergencies can shift in location over time resulting in difficulties maintaining communication and coordinating response efforts.
"When a police dispatcher is working an emergency call, one of the first pieces of information required is an accurate location. Having the indoor location of mobile callers immediately available to dispatchers serves to reduce response times, especially for any campus that has multi-story buildings," said Rocco DelMonaco, Past VP University Safety at Georgetown University.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) estimates that 70% of 911 calls today are from wireless phones and that percentage is growing.i In context of 911 public safety networks, as of September 11, 2012 the FCC enforces Wireless E911 Phase 2 requirements, which state that wireless network operators must provide the GPS location of callers within 300 meters, within 6 minutes of a request by a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). Guardly IPS delivers at least an order of magnitude improvement in mobile emergency caller location accuracy over current public safety standards, giving its customers more precise data to act on and share with first responders to ensure more immediate and personalized emergency responses.
“Over the past few years, our applications such as asset tracking, patient security and environmental monitoring have delivered proven and substantial benefits to hospitals worldwide,” said Baruch Yoeli, Vice President of Engineering at Stanley Healthcare. “Combining the leading data visualization and analytics capabilities from Tableau with our widely used healthcare solutions unlocks vast new opportunities to extract additional value from location, status and condition data, and will help customers make quicker and better informed decisions.”
More than 17,000 healthcare organizations worldwide rely on Stanley Healthcare solutions. Its Wi-Fi Real-Time Location System (RTLS) has the exclusive endorsement of the American Hospital Association, and the recent 2012 Best in KLAS Report named Stanley Healthcare’s solutions the Category Leader for RTLS for the second year in a row. In the report, 97 percent of Stanley Healthcare customers surveyed stated that they would “buy again” their RTLS solutions.
Tableau is a global leader in rapid-fire business intelligence software. It is known for its dashboards and advanced visual analytics, which allow anyone to quickly uncover valuable insights from vast amounts of data. In fact, Gartner positioned Tableau as a “Leader” in its 2013 Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms* report.
Tableau’s software will be integrated with Stanley Healthcare’s MobileView software, the application platform and graphical user interface of its EcoSystem of healthcare solutions. Tableau analytics and data visualizations will be available first for Stanley Healthcare’s Asset Tracking & Management, Environmental Monitoring, Patient Safety, Security & Protection and Patient Flow solutions.
“Healthcare RTLS applications generate substantial amounts of data containing important intelligence that in the past has been difficult to attain,” said Dan Jewett, Vice President of Product Management at Tableau Software. “It’s a classic Big Data challenge and our software, combined with Stanley Healthcare’s solutions, can help departments across healthcare organizations easily gain access to this intelligence and act upon it in a way that directly impacts their business.”
With MobileView and Tableau, hospital staff will be able to drill down deeper than ever before into the large data sets generated to quickly solve critical business problems. For example, many hospitals use Stanley Healthcare’s Wi-Fi RTLS to track the real-time location and status of critical medical equipment throughout the hospital. Using Tableau’s advanced analytics capabilities, hospitals will not only be able to see the real-time location and status of items such as infusion pumps, they’ll also be able to quickly analyze historical and current par levels to predict and better plan future par levels, improving inventory allocation and utilization.
Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), a long-time Stanley Healthcare customer, is among the hospitals with early access to the MobileView and Tableau integration. According to Dennis Minsent, Director of Clinical Technology Services at Oregon Health & Science University, “We’re using Stanley Healthcare’s solutions to track the real-time location of nearly 4,000 infusion devices. The system is generating a significant amount of data, and we know there’s a tremendous amount of insight contained within that data. The combination of MobileView and Tableau Software will empower us to delve deeper into our asset tracking data to discover trends and solve resourcing issues without having to waste the time of IT analysts. This will help further extend the benefits of real-time location tracking to more aspects of hospital operations.”
Guardly provides mobile safety apps and cloud infrastructure for enterprise and public safety. Guardly's mobile safety apps act as personal emergency phones that broadcast real-time location, identity and support two-way communication with private security, authorities and personal safety groups. For enterprise security and police dispatch, Guardly provides a cloud-based incident management system rich with situational data to monitor, manage and respond to on-premise and remote worker emergencies.
Guardly Safe Campus, a solution designed for schools, was shown to help reduce emergency response times by around 44% at a university in a customer-led study performed 6 months ago. "Our IPS technology is another step towards Guardly delivering on its corporate mission to reduce emergency response times for people needing immediate assistance, and for those responding to requests for assistance," says Josh Sookman, Guardly Founder & CEO. "With Guardly IPS, all someone needs to do is launch our safety app and it will result in a personalized response to their exact indoor location. The implications of this innovation are truly game changing."
When an emergency occurs on a school campus or within a corporate office, hospital or public venue today, most calls made to local security personnel or police come from mobile phones or fixed emergency call boxes. Traditional emergency calls from mobile phones handled by the enterprise lack any form of indoor or outdoor location data, making it difficult to initiate response efforts; this can be further exacerbated if the mobile caller is unable to speak. While calls from emergency call boxes may have associated location data, emergencies can shift in location over time resulting in difficulties maintaining communication and coordinating response efforts.
"When a police dispatcher is working an emergency call, one of the first pieces of information required is an accurate location. Having the indoor location of mobile callers immediately available to dispatchers serves to reduce response times, especially for any campus that has multi-story buildings," said Rocco DelMonaco, Past VP University Safety at Georgetown University.
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) estimates that 70% of 911 calls today are from wireless phones and that percentage is growing.i In context of 911 public safety networks, as of September 11, 2012 the FCC enforces Wireless E911 Phase 2 requirements, which state that wireless network operators must provide the GPS location of callers within 300 meters, within 6 minutes of a request by a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). Guardly IPS delivers at least an order of magnitude improvement in mobile emergency caller location accuracy over current public safety standards, giving its customers more precise data to act on and share with first responders to ensure more immediate and personalized emergency responses.
“Over the past few years, our applications such as asset tracking, patient security and environmental monitoring have delivered proven and substantial benefits to hospitals worldwide,” said Baruch Yoeli, Vice President of Engineering at Stanley Healthcare. “Combining the leading data visualization and analytics capabilities from Tableau with our widely used healthcare solutions unlocks vast new opportunities to extract additional value from location, status and condition data, and will help customers make quicker and better informed decisions.”
More than 17,000 healthcare organizations worldwide rely on Stanley Healthcare solutions. Its Wi-Fi Real-Time Location System (RTLS) has the exclusive endorsement of the American Hospital Association, and the recent 2012 Best in KLAS Report named Stanley Healthcare’s solutions the Category Leader for RTLS for the second year in a row. In the report, 97 percent of Stanley Healthcare customers surveyed stated that they would “buy again” their RTLS solutions.
Tableau is a global leader in rapid-fire business intelligence software. It is known for its dashboards and advanced visual analytics, which allow anyone to quickly uncover valuable insights from vast amounts of data. In fact, Gartner positioned Tableau as a “Leader” in its 2013 Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms* report.
Tableau’s software will be integrated with Stanley Healthcare’s MobileView software, the application platform and graphical user interface of its EcoSystem of healthcare solutions. Tableau analytics and data visualizations will be available first for Stanley Healthcare’s Asset Tracking & Management, Environmental Monitoring, Patient Safety, Security & Protection and Patient Flow solutions.
“Healthcare RTLS applications generate substantial amounts of data containing important intelligence that in the past has been difficult to attain,” said Dan Jewett, Vice President of Product Management at Tableau Software. “It’s a classic Big Data challenge and our software, combined with Stanley Healthcare’s solutions, can help departments across healthcare organizations easily gain access to this intelligence and act upon it in a way that directly impacts their business.”
With MobileView and Tableau, hospital staff will be able to drill down deeper than ever before into the large data sets generated to quickly solve critical business problems. For example, many hospitals use Stanley Healthcare’s Wi-Fi RTLS to track the real-time location and status of critical medical equipment throughout the hospital. Using Tableau’s advanced analytics capabilities, hospitals will not only be able to see the real-time location and status of items such as infusion pumps, they’ll also be able to quickly analyze historical and current par levels to predict and better plan future par levels, improving inventory allocation and utilization.
Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), a long-time Stanley Healthcare customer, is among the hospitals with early access to the MobileView and Tableau integration. According to Dennis Minsent, Director of Clinical Technology Services at Oregon Health & Science University, “We’re using Stanley Healthcare’s solutions to track the real-time location of nearly 4,000 infusion devices. The system is generating a significant amount of data, and we know there’s a tremendous amount of insight contained within that data. The combination of MobileView and Tableau Software will empower us to delve deeper into our asset tracking data to discover trends and solve resourcing issues without having to waste the time of IT analysts. This will help further extend the benefits of real-time location tracking to more aspects of hospital operations.”
2013年1月6日星期日
Outrage over the culture of rape in India
In 2011, 24,206 rape cases were reported in India. That’s 66 per day — excluding the many rapes that go unreported for reasons that are as abusive as rape itself. A Thomson Reuters Foundation global poll revealed that India is the fourth-most dangerous place in the world for women. Even in the financial hub of Mumbai or the national capital New Delhi, young girls reaching puberty are advised not to look into the eyes of male passersby. More and more working women keep pepper spray with them at all times, and some keep hairpins. This happens even though the outgoing president of India is a 78-year-old woman; three Indian states have women as heads.
Yet if a rape victim is said to have “asked” for it, her family is doomed. Rapists are rarely arrested; far too often, the rape is never proven, and everything is forgotten.
Nonetheless, the recent gang rape and subsequent death of a 23-year-old woman in the nation’s capital has made headlines around the world. Thousands gathered in various cities in India to condemn the incident; two separate candlelight vigils took place in Boston and Cambridge last weekend, and several more were held across United States. The placards and the plethora of commentaries from across India have named the deceased victim “Damini”, or “Nirbhaya”.
Why did this particular incident gather public attention? Was it because the woman and her male friend — who was also stripped and beaten — were gravely injured? Was it because it took place in the capital city? Whatever the reason, it marks a major change from the denial that usually follows such incidents.
Women in the innards of the country face oppression at every stage of their life — that is, if the female fetus is not killed in the womb. Women in cities face harassment at the workplace, on the transport system, on streets. Upon going to the police station to register complaints, they are often given a lecture on forgive-and-forget. Female cops face sexual assault themselves from their colleagues.
Yet, this momentum created over the last two weeks is crucial because it gives out a single message: “Enough.” Consider the bare facts of the case: The woman was a physiotherapy intern whose father had sold off his agricultural land to educate her. She had gone to watch a movie in Saket that evening with her male friend. Saket is a plush area of New Delhi with several malls with several international brands. This is the face of “emerging” India — a face that tries too hard to look Western, even as women fight it out from their humble upbringings to chart out a career and an identity. It is the story that resonates with almost every Indian woman who has faced molestation at least once in her life, either by a close acquaintance or a stranger.
Would there have been an expression of outrage if the victim had been a cleaning woman? The same week of this incident, there were four other rapes from different parts of the country that were reported on the news. Could it be that the Delhi incident generated so much noise because the alleged perpetrators held petty jobs as driver, fruit seller, and gym instructor?
There was no acrid call for the death penalty or chemical castration — some of the outrageous demands of angry protesters over the last two weeks — when a woman named Manorama Devi was raped in custody by army soldiers, and later murdered, in the northeastern state of Manipur in 2004. There was no immediate remedial response from the government even after 40 women from Manipur stripped naked and shouted “Indian army rape us” before the army headquarters, after the Manorama incident. Another woman named Aruna Shanbaug has been lying in a vegetative state in a hospital in Mumbai for the last 40 years, after her rapist — a ward boy in the same hospital where she was a nurse — tried to asphyxiate her by tying a dog’s chain around her neck. The rapist is free today after serving seven years in prison. Meanwhile, several leading politicians have been accused of sexual assaults.
Clearly, the issues that lead to an outcry are selective. Yet, it would be wrong to dismiss this current wave of protest, which drove people out of their homes with candles and placards in their hands, ready to face the water cannons of a combative police. These protests have managed to force the government to set up a committee to reform rape laws. But there again, the myopia of the government is obvious: It has offered just one e-mail address and a phone number for suggestions. Large parts of India still have no electricity in their homes, let alone access to a computer or Internet. And these are also the places where rapes go on, unreported, and forgotten just as easily as they take place.
It is difficult to fight people without face. Boko Haram is not just a religious movement; it has something to do with the agitation of those who have the mentality of “Born to Rule.” This is the last battle. It is either we become their slaves or they win or we regain our freedom and go our separate ways.
It has nothing to do with religion. Yes, initially, the “Yusuffirian” movement was a religion movement, but the Northern political elites thought they had got their own militants in the like of Asari Dokubos, the Tompolos and they embraced them. It is a Northern militia against the government of Goodluck Jonathan to distract and make sure he did not work. When Yar’ Adua killed Yusuf, that did not cure it. It has now become an octopus, with several wings. It was very easy to trace the group during the leadership of Yusuf. But now you don’t see anybody, that was why when Yusuf was killed, I condemned it. I said the consequences would be far reaching, but some people were jubilating. Even if Jonathan wants to give them power in 2015, we will not allow it because he does not have such discretion. Then we will meet at the battle of Armageddon. They are killing and bombing at home. Now there is every suspicion that the helicopter crash in which (Andrew) Azazi and (Patrick) Yakowa died is not an accident.
There is a build-up. People are saying this is not an accident. A time will come when a group of people in Port-Harcourt and anybody that looks like Boko Haram will be killed – innocent people – the “Maruwas” and the “Mesuyas”. It will reach a point of elasticity where people would not be able to stand it again. When our agitation was on, we did not kill and bomb people. The easier thing to do by any Ijaw man is dynamite. People know how to make dynamite in every Ijaw village. That is the point that Jonathan presidency has been able to prevent.
Yet if a rape victim is said to have “asked” for it, her family is doomed. Rapists are rarely arrested; far too often, the rape is never proven, and everything is forgotten.
Nonetheless, the recent gang rape and subsequent death of a 23-year-old woman in the nation’s capital has made headlines around the world. Thousands gathered in various cities in India to condemn the incident; two separate candlelight vigils took place in Boston and Cambridge last weekend, and several more were held across United States. The placards and the plethora of commentaries from across India have named the deceased victim “Damini”, or “Nirbhaya”.
Why did this particular incident gather public attention? Was it because the woman and her male friend — who was also stripped and beaten — were gravely injured? Was it because it took place in the capital city? Whatever the reason, it marks a major change from the denial that usually follows such incidents.
Women in the innards of the country face oppression at every stage of their life — that is, if the female fetus is not killed in the womb. Women in cities face harassment at the workplace, on the transport system, on streets. Upon going to the police station to register complaints, they are often given a lecture on forgive-and-forget. Female cops face sexual assault themselves from their colleagues.
Yet, this momentum created over the last two weeks is crucial because it gives out a single message: “Enough.” Consider the bare facts of the case: The woman was a physiotherapy intern whose father had sold off his agricultural land to educate her. She had gone to watch a movie in Saket that evening with her male friend. Saket is a plush area of New Delhi with several malls with several international brands. This is the face of “emerging” India — a face that tries too hard to look Western, even as women fight it out from their humble upbringings to chart out a career and an identity. It is the story that resonates with almost every Indian woman who has faced molestation at least once in her life, either by a close acquaintance or a stranger.
Would there have been an expression of outrage if the victim had been a cleaning woman? The same week of this incident, there were four other rapes from different parts of the country that were reported on the news. Could it be that the Delhi incident generated so much noise because the alleged perpetrators held petty jobs as driver, fruit seller, and gym instructor?
There was no acrid call for the death penalty or chemical castration — some of the outrageous demands of angry protesters over the last two weeks — when a woman named Manorama Devi was raped in custody by army soldiers, and later murdered, in the northeastern state of Manipur in 2004. There was no immediate remedial response from the government even after 40 women from Manipur stripped naked and shouted “Indian army rape us” before the army headquarters, after the Manorama incident. Another woman named Aruna Shanbaug has been lying in a vegetative state in a hospital in Mumbai for the last 40 years, after her rapist — a ward boy in the same hospital where she was a nurse — tried to asphyxiate her by tying a dog’s chain around her neck. The rapist is free today after serving seven years in prison. Meanwhile, several leading politicians have been accused of sexual assaults.
Clearly, the issues that lead to an outcry are selective. Yet, it would be wrong to dismiss this current wave of protest, which drove people out of their homes with candles and placards in their hands, ready to face the water cannons of a combative police. These protests have managed to force the government to set up a committee to reform rape laws. But there again, the myopia of the government is obvious: It has offered just one e-mail address and a phone number for suggestions. Large parts of India still have no electricity in their homes, let alone access to a computer or Internet. And these are also the places where rapes go on, unreported, and forgotten just as easily as they take place.
It is difficult to fight people without face. Boko Haram is not just a religious movement; it has something to do with the agitation of those who have the mentality of “Born to Rule.” This is the last battle. It is either we become their slaves or they win or we regain our freedom and go our separate ways.
It has nothing to do with religion. Yes, initially, the “Yusuffirian” movement was a religion movement, but the Northern political elites thought they had got their own militants in the like of Asari Dokubos, the Tompolos and they embraced them. It is a Northern militia against the government of Goodluck Jonathan to distract and make sure he did not work. When Yar’ Adua killed Yusuf, that did not cure it. It has now become an octopus, with several wings. It was very easy to trace the group during the leadership of Yusuf. But now you don’t see anybody, that was why when Yusuf was killed, I condemned it. I said the consequences would be far reaching, but some people were jubilating. Even if Jonathan wants to give them power in 2015, we will not allow it because he does not have such discretion. Then we will meet at the battle of Armageddon. They are killing and bombing at home. Now there is every suspicion that the helicopter crash in which (Andrew) Azazi and (Patrick) Yakowa died is not an accident.
There is a build-up. People are saying this is not an accident. A time will come when a group of people in Port-Harcourt and anybody that looks like Boko Haram will be killed – innocent people – the “Maruwas” and the “Mesuyas”. It will reach a point of elasticity where people would not be able to stand it again. When our agitation was on, we did not kill and bomb people. The easier thing to do by any Ijaw man is dynamite. People know how to make dynamite in every Ijaw village. That is the point that Jonathan presidency has been able to prevent.
2012年12月9日星期日
Counsel for the council on getting public involved
Nine good people sit on our Portsmouth City Council. Elected every two years, they have just 730 days — give or take one or two depending on how the calendar shapes up and whether their term includes a Leap Year — to do good deeds. They have an immense pile of work for part-timers who earn $75 a meeting — with a $1,500 yearly limit — and have a day or night job to make a living.
This current council is impressive with its across-the-board diversity of talent. Along with City Manager John Bohenko and City Attorney Bob Sullivan sitting at the table, it's a smart, great collective. Businesspeople, company bosses, leaders in education, law, development and planning. Some rather new to the city, others who are long-timers. Some youngish, others not quite. An excellent group of hands-on working women and men dedicated to their community.
They agree on many things, and disagree on some. One was this past Monday when they voted 5 to 4 against considering Worth lot as the location for a parking garage. I was at the meeting, as well as a previous meeting in October when they spent almost three hours chatting about the issue, and I have to say I was impressed with the commitment of each councilor to listen and to think it through.
I applauded the majority decision not to build a garage there. During the past few months I had met with opponents of the garage and saw up-close-and-personal their hard work and concern, so my heart was in seeing the open space of Worth lot maintained for our future. But the important part of the decision wasn't just the result — it was the process leading up to it. Dozens of citizens, including some who had been saying "we can't fight City Hall," had banded together, spoke up, made calls, wrote letters, drew signs, wore "Not 'Worth' It" buttons, and preserved what for them is an important part of their lives.
This victory of people and open space over brick and cement was an incredible and real lesson in democracy. And regardless of how they voted, all nine councilors had set a process that for allowed public input, open discussion and in the end a decision that allows the dialogue to continue. What a win-win that is. The people won, but so did the process.
Speaking of process, I'd like to offer two "new" ways the council could involve the public. When I was assistant mayor in 1990, I proposed what was adopted as the "public comment session," allowing up to three minutes at the beginning of most meetings for anyone to address the council about any topic. I think that has worked well — as shown this past Monday when more than 30 people took that opportunity and addressed the parking issue. But it does have limitations.
I think an addition could be what we have seen in the "Portsmouth Listens" process. I suggest the council consider using the first 30 minutes of every other meeting, or at least once a month, for a "Talk With Your Councilors" segment. Depending on the number of citizens attending, the nine councilors can divide into half or groups of threes and chat — on an equal level, not from their up-high seats — in round-circle discussions. About anything. With everyone. No arguments. Just listening, exchanging, having a dialogue.
Another suggestion might be that the council could arrange a once-a-month "Call Your Council" segment from 6 to 7 p.m. before a regular meeting, inviting people to call and have a dialogue. Not everyone can spend time calling each member or attend a meeting at City Hall. So allowing citizens to make a one-stop conference call with their governing body would be a good way to expand public involvement. It could also include an interactive live blog, and be simultaneously televised on the community channel.
Even if just one new great idea a year comes from increased public involvement, it's worth it. We have tremendous talent in our city, but not everyone can make the time commitment to be on a board or committee, or to run for council. Since ideas are really the foundation of democracy, as shown this past Monday, seeking out those ideas is time well spent by our councilors.
The public comment session process has gone a long way toward including people — perhaps thousands have spoken using that opportunity during the past two decades that we have had it. But the search needs to go on for ways to do more, and to better communicate "with," not just "to" or "at," one another.
Today's quotes: "Citizenship is what makes a republic — monarchies can get along without it." — Mark Twain. "Deliberation and debate is the way you stir the soul of our democracy." — Jesse Jackson
Today's thought: A few days ago I was watching an episode from my "West Wing" DVD collection. It was about how the White House and Congress were spending all their time talking amongst themselves, getting bogged down with too many details and not enough of the "big picture" of what government should do, which is to help and include people in the process of governing. Of course, this was a television show, and is just fiction.
Airport officials are recommending that Achievement House get the job after the contract of concessionaire Alexis Enterprises expires in January. Alexis has been the second concessionaire since 2006.
Airport Manager Richard Howell said Alexis owners had told him they didn’t have time to manage this as well as their several other business operations.
Among its other goals, Achievement House seeks to develop workplace skills, according to Howell.
He said the group already operates food and beverage concessions at Camp Roberts, the Laguna Lake Golf Course, Atascadero’s Colony Park and the Santa Maria Transportation Hub.
Because the location will have an Achievement House staff member on hand, the concession will have two people to serve the public rather than the current single clerk. That will increase the level of service to customers, Howell wrote in a staff report to the Board of Supervisors.
“A real win-win situation for everyone,” Howell told The Tribune in an email.
The county plans to give the nonprofit a break on its first-year rent. It is inserting a contract provision that says it won’t have to pay rent for any month when gross receipts are less than $15,000, a figure it does not expect the concessionaire to reach.
After Alexis, which took over the snack bar and gift shop in 2010, said it would not renew its contract, the county sought someone else to run the operation, which Howell describes as “popular and needed.”
This current council is impressive with its across-the-board diversity of talent. Along with City Manager John Bohenko and City Attorney Bob Sullivan sitting at the table, it's a smart, great collective. Businesspeople, company bosses, leaders in education, law, development and planning. Some rather new to the city, others who are long-timers. Some youngish, others not quite. An excellent group of hands-on working women and men dedicated to their community.
They agree on many things, and disagree on some. One was this past Monday when they voted 5 to 4 against considering Worth lot as the location for a parking garage. I was at the meeting, as well as a previous meeting in October when they spent almost three hours chatting about the issue, and I have to say I was impressed with the commitment of each councilor to listen and to think it through.
I applauded the majority decision not to build a garage there. During the past few months I had met with opponents of the garage and saw up-close-and-personal their hard work and concern, so my heart was in seeing the open space of Worth lot maintained for our future. But the important part of the decision wasn't just the result — it was the process leading up to it. Dozens of citizens, including some who had been saying "we can't fight City Hall," had banded together, spoke up, made calls, wrote letters, drew signs, wore "Not 'Worth' It" buttons, and preserved what for them is an important part of their lives.
This victory of people and open space over brick and cement was an incredible and real lesson in democracy. And regardless of how they voted, all nine councilors had set a process that for allowed public input, open discussion and in the end a decision that allows the dialogue to continue. What a win-win that is. The people won, but so did the process.
Speaking of process, I'd like to offer two "new" ways the council could involve the public. When I was assistant mayor in 1990, I proposed what was adopted as the "public comment session," allowing up to three minutes at the beginning of most meetings for anyone to address the council about any topic. I think that has worked well — as shown this past Monday when more than 30 people took that opportunity and addressed the parking issue. But it does have limitations.
I think an addition could be what we have seen in the "Portsmouth Listens" process. I suggest the council consider using the first 30 minutes of every other meeting, or at least once a month, for a "Talk With Your Councilors" segment. Depending on the number of citizens attending, the nine councilors can divide into half or groups of threes and chat — on an equal level, not from their up-high seats — in round-circle discussions. About anything. With everyone. No arguments. Just listening, exchanging, having a dialogue.
Another suggestion might be that the council could arrange a once-a-month "Call Your Council" segment from 6 to 7 p.m. before a regular meeting, inviting people to call and have a dialogue. Not everyone can spend time calling each member or attend a meeting at City Hall. So allowing citizens to make a one-stop conference call with their governing body would be a good way to expand public involvement. It could also include an interactive live blog, and be simultaneously televised on the community channel.
Even if just one new great idea a year comes from increased public involvement, it's worth it. We have tremendous talent in our city, but not everyone can make the time commitment to be on a board or committee, or to run for council. Since ideas are really the foundation of democracy, as shown this past Monday, seeking out those ideas is time well spent by our councilors.
The public comment session process has gone a long way toward including people — perhaps thousands have spoken using that opportunity during the past two decades that we have had it. But the search needs to go on for ways to do more, and to better communicate "with," not just "to" or "at," one another.
Today's quotes: "Citizenship is what makes a republic — monarchies can get along without it." — Mark Twain. "Deliberation and debate is the way you stir the soul of our democracy." — Jesse Jackson
Today's thought: A few days ago I was watching an episode from my "West Wing" DVD collection. It was about how the White House and Congress were spending all their time talking amongst themselves, getting bogged down with too many details and not enough of the "big picture" of what government should do, which is to help and include people in the process of governing. Of course, this was a television show, and is just fiction.
Airport officials are recommending that Achievement House get the job after the contract of concessionaire Alexis Enterprises expires in January. Alexis has been the second concessionaire since 2006.
Airport Manager Richard Howell said Alexis owners had told him they didn’t have time to manage this as well as their several other business operations.
Among its other goals, Achievement House seeks to develop workplace skills, according to Howell.
He said the group already operates food and beverage concessions at Camp Roberts, the Laguna Lake Golf Course, Atascadero’s Colony Park and the Santa Maria Transportation Hub.
Because the location will have an Achievement House staff member on hand, the concession will have two people to serve the public rather than the current single clerk. That will increase the level of service to customers, Howell wrote in a staff report to the Board of Supervisors.
“A real win-win situation for everyone,” Howell told The Tribune in an email.
The county plans to give the nonprofit a break on its first-year rent. It is inserting a contract provision that says it won’t have to pay rent for any month when gross receipts are less than $15,000, a figure it does not expect the concessionaire to reach.
After Alexis, which took over the snack bar and gift shop in 2010, said it would not renew its contract, the county sought someone else to run the operation, which Howell describes as “popular and needed.”
2012年11月8日星期四
The Dark Side of Free Speech
In the years since social media sites have developed and shifted largely into news feeds and channels of information sharing -- where regular people are overnight transformed into reporters and editors -- a debate has been brewing about freedom of speech in the context of social media. With Hurricane Sandy recently ravaging several states across the east coast, and social media playing a large role in keeping populations with spotty Internet access and in-and-out cell phone reception informed, the issue of free speech has again taken center stage.
During the recent hurricane that swept through dozens of cities across the east coast, millions of people relied on sites like Facebook and Twitter to get out information and stay updated on the unfolding crisis, which claimed the lives of at least 157 people across the U.S., Canada and Caribbean, and left many more without electricity, heat, gas, cell phone reception and shelter.
The human curated news and real-time updates shared across social media sites -- which oftentimes turn into de facto emergency broadcast channels because of the unparalleled speed at which information can be posted and distributed -- during the natural disaster were largely factual and reliable. Information like updates on the location of the storm, where people could find access to the Internet and news on what parts of the city were under blackout, circulated across the curated channels.
But not all of the information swirling across these impromptu news outlets was helpful or factual. Trolls, like @comfortablysmug, whose identity was revealed by BuzzFeed as Shashank Tripathia, knowingly posted blatantly false information that could have caused mass panic and fear across an already devastated population.
Recent Tweets that were deliberately false -- claiming that the NYSE had been flooded due to Hurricane Sandy, that Con Edison was shutting down power to the entire city, that Con Edison workers were trapped in the New York power plant and that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was trapped in the city -- had critics claiming that posts like these should not be protected by freedom of speech. Blatantly misleading Tweets like these during a national disaster incite fear and panic in an already vulnerable population. What's more, the Tweets got picked up by major news channels like CNN, Reuters and The Weather Channel and were shared via social media sites hundreds of times before the Tweets were reported as false.
Several false images posted on Facebook and re-tweeted on Twitter, including one showing a shark swimming in the streets and another showing a massive storm cloud brewing above the Statue of Liberty, were shared so many times that the Atlantic published a post titled, "Think Before You Retweet: How to Spot a Fake Storm Photo."
The false tweets re-opened the debate about the boundaries of free speech -- something that New York Council Member Peter Vallone says is laid out in the New York Penal Law. Based on that law, Council Member Vallone is bringing a criminal case against Tripathia to the New York District Attorney's office.
"Unbeknownst to many, there's a law regarding falsely reporting an incident that covers this exactly. I've spoken to the Manhattan DA office and they're taking this very seriously," Council Member Vallone said, reading from the New York Penal Law on falsely reporting an incident. The law reads in part, "A person is guilty of falsely reporting an incident... when, knowing the information reported, conveyed or circulated to be false or baseless, he: Initiates or circulates a false report or warning of an alleged occurrence or impending occurrence of a crime, catastrophe or emergency under circumstances in which it is not unlikely that public alarm or inconvenience will result...."
"None of us think this [law] is something that should be consistently enforced," Council Member Vallone said, "The First Amendment is strong for a reason. But there are limits to even that. For example you're not allowed to yell 'fire!' in a crowded theater; this jerk [Tripathia] was yelling fire and New York was the theater."
Falsely yelling "fire" in a crowded theater was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court in the 1919 Schenck v. United States court case because it had the potential of causing a "clear and present danger." The rule was later partially overturned in Brandenburg v. Ohio in 1969, a case that limited the scope of banned speech to things that would "likely" incite "imminent" lawless action. Still, there is ambiguity to the terms "likely" and "imminent." But the law under which Council Member Vallone seeks to prosecute Tripathia on is the law against falsely reporting an incident or emergency under circumstances in which public alarm will result -- and Tripathia's comments on Twitter had the potential to cause alarm.
When asked about the case he brought to the New York DA against Tripathia, the New York Council Member said, "We're still at the very preliminary stage right now because the DA office still doesn't have power, but we will have upcoming discussions about this." (At the time of this interview, the DA office had still not been re-opened). "The Manhattan DA is taking this very seriously. I hope the fact that I'm asking for criminal charges to be seriously considered will make him [Tripathia] much less comfortable and much less smug."
Gerald Weber, of Gerry Weber's Law Offices, agreed that there should be limits to what people can say in certain instances. Weber explained that even in the United States, where freedom of speech is highly protected, there are instances when that protection can be lost. "If knowingly false speech is not reasonably identified as being fiction, and the speech can impact disaster relief and citizen preparedness in a disaster, there is a strong argument that free speech protections are lost. Though much will depend on the particular charges brought," Weber said.
But free speech stalwarts argue that it's exactly during tough times that free speech needs to be protected. Brian J. Buchanan, the managing editor at the First Amendment Center, said limiting freedom of speech could have a slippery slope effect -- essentially unraveling a constitutional right afforded to Americans under the First Amendment. "Making 'lies' illegal would be a slippery slope. If someone tweeted, 'Staten Island is in chaos' and others found that statement to be untrue, where would such a law draw the line between 'fact' and interpretation?"
Ken Paulson, a lawyer and former USA Today editor at the First Amendment Center, told GigaOm that freedom of speech -- no matter if the speech is true or not -- is one of the most highly protected rights Americans have. "Lies are constitutionally protected except in very rare exceptions. Someone recklessly tweeting is beyond the reach of the law except in rare exceptions," Paulson told GigaOm, adding, "Anything you want to outlaw on Twitter, you'd have to outlaw in conversation."
During the recent hurricane that swept through dozens of cities across the east coast, millions of people relied on sites like Facebook and Twitter to get out information and stay updated on the unfolding crisis, which claimed the lives of at least 157 people across the U.S., Canada and Caribbean, and left many more without electricity, heat, gas, cell phone reception and shelter.
The human curated news and real-time updates shared across social media sites -- which oftentimes turn into de facto emergency broadcast channels because of the unparalleled speed at which information can be posted and distributed -- during the natural disaster were largely factual and reliable. Information like updates on the location of the storm, where people could find access to the Internet and news on what parts of the city were under blackout, circulated across the curated channels.
But not all of the information swirling across these impromptu news outlets was helpful or factual. Trolls, like @comfortablysmug, whose identity was revealed by BuzzFeed as Shashank Tripathia, knowingly posted blatantly false information that could have caused mass panic and fear across an already devastated population.
Recent Tweets that were deliberately false -- claiming that the NYSE had been flooded due to Hurricane Sandy, that Con Edison was shutting down power to the entire city, that Con Edison workers were trapped in the New York power plant and that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was trapped in the city -- had critics claiming that posts like these should not be protected by freedom of speech. Blatantly misleading Tweets like these during a national disaster incite fear and panic in an already vulnerable population. What's more, the Tweets got picked up by major news channels like CNN, Reuters and The Weather Channel and were shared via social media sites hundreds of times before the Tweets were reported as false.
Several false images posted on Facebook and re-tweeted on Twitter, including one showing a shark swimming in the streets and another showing a massive storm cloud brewing above the Statue of Liberty, were shared so many times that the Atlantic published a post titled, "Think Before You Retweet: How to Spot a Fake Storm Photo."
The false tweets re-opened the debate about the boundaries of free speech -- something that New York Council Member Peter Vallone says is laid out in the New York Penal Law. Based on that law, Council Member Vallone is bringing a criminal case against Tripathia to the New York District Attorney's office.
"Unbeknownst to many, there's a law regarding falsely reporting an incident that covers this exactly. I've spoken to the Manhattan DA office and they're taking this very seriously," Council Member Vallone said, reading from the New York Penal Law on falsely reporting an incident. The law reads in part, "A person is guilty of falsely reporting an incident... when, knowing the information reported, conveyed or circulated to be false or baseless, he: Initiates or circulates a false report or warning of an alleged occurrence or impending occurrence of a crime, catastrophe or emergency under circumstances in which it is not unlikely that public alarm or inconvenience will result...."
"None of us think this [law] is something that should be consistently enforced," Council Member Vallone said, "The First Amendment is strong for a reason. But there are limits to even that. For example you're not allowed to yell 'fire!' in a crowded theater; this jerk [Tripathia] was yelling fire and New York was the theater."
Falsely yelling "fire" in a crowded theater was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court in the 1919 Schenck v. United States court case because it had the potential of causing a "clear and present danger." The rule was later partially overturned in Brandenburg v. Ohio in 1969, a case that limited the scope of banned speech to things that would "likely" incite "imminent" lawless action. Still, there is ambiguity to the terms "likely" and "imminent." But the law under which Council Member Vallone seeks to prosecute Tripathia on is the law against falsely reporting an incident or emergency under circumstances in which public alarm will result -- and Tripathia's comments on Twitter had the potential to cause alarm.
When asked about the case he brought to the New York DA against Tripathia, the New York Council Member said, "We're still at the very preliminary stage right now because the DA office still doesn't have power, but we will have upcoming discussions about this." (At the time of this interview, the DA office had still not been re-opened). "The Manhattan DA is taking this very seriously. I hope the fact that I'm asking for criminal charges to be seriously considered will make him [Tripathia] much less comfortable and much less smug."
Gerald Weber, of Gerry Weber's Law Offices, agreed that there should be limits to what people can say in certain instances. Weber explained that even in the United States, where freedom of speech is highly protected, there are instances when that protection can be lost. "If knowingly false speech is not reasonably identified as being fiction, and the speech can impact disaster relief and citizen preparedness in a disaster, there is a strong argument that free speech protections are lost. Though much will depend on the particular charges brought," Weber said.
But free speech stalwarts argue that it's exactly during tough times that free speech needs to be protected. Brian J. Buchanan, the managing editor at the First Amendment Center, said limiting freedom of speech could have a slippery slope effect -- essentially unraveling a constitutional right afforded to Americans under the First Amendment. "Making 'lies' illegal would be a slippery slope. If someone tweeted, 'Staten Island is in chaos' and others found that statement to be untrue, where would such a law draw the line between 'fact' and interpretation?"
Ken Paulson, a lawyer and former USA Today editor at the First Amendment Center, told GigaOm that freedom of speech -- no matter if the speech is true or not -- is one of the most highly protected rights Americans have. "Lies are constitutionally protected except in very rare exceptions. Someone recklessly tweeting is beyond the reach of the law except in rare exceptions," Paulson told GigaOm, adding, "Anything you want to outlaw on Twitter, you'd have to outlaw in conversation."
2012年11月6日星期二
Geotagging can help cities become 'smarter'
Leveraging big data and analytics will be key for those looking to becoming a 'smart' city, as technology can play its part in tackling the challenges brought about by urbanization.
One of the problems with urbanization is rising healthcare costs, especially in countries such as China, said Andrew Grant, director at McKinsey & Company Singapore. He was part of a panel discussion at the i.luminate 2012 conference organized by Singapore Telecommunications held here Tuesday.
"Healthcare costs in China will be 3 times in 10 years' time," said Grant, but noted one way of tackling this is by leveraging big data for preventive medicine. He was referring to China's disease surveillance network, where data is collected across the country to monitor the patterns and potential of infectious diseases--such as during natural disasters.
Such "crowdsourced" information can also be used to bring down healthcare costs, the executive pointed out, such as in emergency response which is one of the most expensive things governments provide.
For example, a number of cities have looked at hybridizing the existing response infrastructure with volunteers, Grant noted. Volunteers and defibrillators are geotagged, so when someone suffers from a heart attack the system triggers an alert to the nearest volunteer and the nearest defibrillator.
Cities can potentially get a lot of feedback from citizens to become more efficient and smarter too, but most do not capture it properly, the director noted. "For example, if a tree falls, I can geotag it and send it to the relevant department straightaway and this can help influence real-time workflows."
Agreeing, Doug Farber, managing director for enterprise in Asia-Pacific at Google, said it was important for governments to establish a foundation of standards on which services can be built on top of.
"A great example is geospatial infrastructure--having a single source of truth of what a country or what a city looks like," said Farber during the same panel discussion as Grant.
He cited the example of his experience in Queensland, Australia, where Google worked with local authorities after a hurricane struck two years ago.
"What made the problem worse was there were 15 to 20 different sources of truth to what the underlying data and the mapping data was. People didn't know what the disaster was, they didn't know where the property lines were. They didn't know where the flood plains started or ended," the executive said.
The search giant helped wade through the different data and unified them using Google Earth, and this single source of information then opened up opportunities for location-based services (LBS), he said.
"Once you set up that foundation, you can overlay other sorts of important information and send it out to a lot more constituents," he pointed out.
One of the problems with urbanization is rising healthcare costs, especially in countries such as China, said Andrew Grant, director at McKinsey & Company Singapore. He was part of a panel discussion at the i.luminate 2012 conference organized by Singapore Telecommunications held here Tuesday.
"Healthcare costs in China will be 3 times in 10 years' time," said Grant, but noted one way of tackling this is by leveraging big data for preventive medicine. He was referring to China's disease surveillance network, where data is collected across the country to monitor the patterns and potential of infectious diseases--such as during natural disasters.
Such "crowdsourced" information can also be used to bring down healthcare costs, the executive pointed out, such as in emergency response which is one of the most expensive things governments provide.
For example, a number of cities have looked at hybridizing the existing response infrastructure with volunteers, Grant noted. Volunteers and defibrillators are geotagged, so when someone suffers from a heart attack the system triggers an alert to the nearest volunteer and the nearest defibrillator.
Cities can potentially get a lot of feedback from citizens to become more efficient and smarter too, but most do not capture it properly, the director noted. "For example, if a tree falls, I can geotag it and send it to the relevant department straightaway and this can help influence real-time workflows."
Agreeing, Doug Farber, managing director for enterprise in Asia-Pacific at Google, said it was important for governments to establish a foundation of standards on which services can be built on top of.
"A great example is geospatial infrastructure--having a single source of truth of what a country or what a city looks like," said Farber during the same panel discussion as Grant.
He cited the example of his experience in Queensland, Australia, where Google worked with local authorities after a hurricane struck two years ago.
"What made the problem worse was there were 15 to 20 different sources of truth to what the underlying data and the mapping data was. People didn't know what the disaster was, they didn't know where the property lines were. They didn't know where the flood plains started or ended," the executive said.
The search giant helped wade through the different data and unified them using Google Earth, and this single source of information then opened up opportunities for location-based services (LBS), he said.
"Once you set up that foundation, you can overlay other sorts of important information and send it out to a lot more constituents," he pointed out.
2012年10月7日星期日
Scaring up new uses for empty storefronts
Whether it’s Halloween or any time of the year, nothing terrifies a mall property owner or developer more than an big empty store.
So, better to fill it with a host of ghouls, goblins, witches, ghosts, zombies and monsters howling like mad, dripping ooze or blood, and reaching long bony hands toward your head.
“Obviously, when you’ve got a 100,000-square-foot structure, empty, with no rent, and have to heat it and cool it all year round, when you find a tenant that will take it, as is, for four months, that certainly helps to take that pain away,” said Penny D. Cipolla, president of Innovative Realty Services, a Bowmansville-based commercial real estate brokerage firm.
And what better place to stash all those frightening creatures, where they can scare the living daylights out of adults and children, than in a cavernous, dark, echoing hulk – with a big parking lot outside.
“For a haunted house, you need to find a big space,” said Tim Bunch, founder and owner of House of Horrors and Haunted Catacombs, located this year in a former Circuit City store at Union Consumer Square in Cheektowaga. “There’s usually big buildings this size that are available.”
Such is the type of informal relationship that arises every year and benefits both landlord and tenant. Haunted houses or holiday-themed specialty retailers need temporary quarters for the few weeks every year when they make their money. And property owners need to find a money-making use for those big vacant buildings until they can attract other permanent users for the spaces, which are often so large that the opportunities for reuse are limited.
“You need a place for your attractions,” Bunch said. And “you really don’t have too many of these people knocking down doors to sign leases on big buildings.”
As Halloween approaches, at least three haunted house attractions have set up shop in former big-box stores. Besides Bunch’s outfit, Eerie Productions’ Frightworld is operating in the long-vacant former Bon-Ton department store at Northtown Plaza on Sheridan Drive in Amherst, while District of the Dead hung its shingle on a big store at nearby Sheridan Plaza, at Sheridan and Eggert Road.
And a national specialty retailer, Spirit Halloween, is also open for business with several temporary, short-term leases at 3050 Sheridan Dr. at the Amherst Shopping Center, Transitown Plaza at 4259 Transit Rd. in Williamsville, Delaware Consumer Square at 2730 Delaware Ave. in Buffalo, Union Consumer Square in Cheektowaga, McKinley Milestrip Center at 4495 Milestrip Rd. in Hamburg, Niagara Square at 7600 4th Ave. in Niagara Falls, Batavia Commons, at 419 West Main St. in Batavia, and Olean Center Mall at 400 N. Union St.
Eerie officials declined to be interviewed, while District of the Dead officials could not be reached for comment. DDR, the landlord for two of the properties, did not respond to requests for comment.
“They bring people into the center,” said Cipolla, whose firm handles leasing for the Bon-Ton store at Northtown and has also worked with Spirit Halloween stores. “It’s beneficial to the landlord and the adjacent tenants.”
Of course, for it to work, a short-term lease arrangement has to make sense for both parties. For a haunted house business like Bunch’s, factors like size, availability of parking, accessibility and visibility are key, as well as the affordability of the lease.
“There’s a lot of buildings that are really nice buildings, but they just didn’t have the parking. If you don’t have the parking, it’s a real problem,” he said. And “you need something that’s real easy to get to. Everybody knows where the Galleria Mall is. You need a good location that’s easy to get to.”
That’s why Union Consumer Square, near the Walden Galleria, works so well, he said. “It’s right near the Thruway and the 33, so it’s easy to get to,” he said. “This plaza is nice, because it’s a really big parking lot, and you don’t usually get busy until 9 p.m. and by then, the rest of the stores are closed.”
Bunch would know. This is the 11th year for House of Horrors, which Bunch started after volunteering and working at the original Haunted Catacombs in junior high and high school. Haunted Catacombs later went out of business in 2005, so Bunch bought it a year later. The business now employs about 70 people, who are “either scaring in the haunted houses, or scaring everyone waiting in line.”
In its first year, House of Horrors was located in a 13,000-square-foot storefront in a mostly abandoned strip mall on Sheridan Drive in Clarence, and then later occupied old space at the Galleria and then two former Ames Department Store locations at George Urban Boulevard and Dick Road and then at French and Union roads.
Bunch said he doesn’t go through real estate brokers in search of space, but typically searches online and drives around to find suitable buildings before calling the property owners directly. At just under 50,000 square feet, its current location is actually smaller than some of the previous sites, which ranged from 80,000 to 100,000 square feet, but Bunch said he had few options.
So, better to fill it with a host of ghouls, goblins, witches, ghosts, zombies and monsters howling like mad, dripping ooze or blood, and reaching long bony hands toward your head.
“Obviously, when you’ve got a 100,000-square-foot structure, empty, with no rent, and have to heat it and cool it all year round, when you find a tenant that will take it, as is, for four months, that certainly helps to take that pain away,” said Penny D. Cipolla, president of Innovative Realty Services, a Bowmansville-based commercial real estate brokerage firm.
And what better place to stash all those frightening creatures, where they can scare the living daylights out of adults and children, than in a cavernous, dark, echoing hulk – with a big parking lot outside.
“For a haunted house, you need to find a big space,” said Tim Bunch, founder and owner of House of Horrors and Haunted Catacombs, located this year in a former Circuit City store at Union Consumer Square in Cheektowaga. “There’s usually big buildings this size that are available.”
Such is the type of informal relationship that arises every year and benefits both landlord and tenant. Haunted houses or holiday-themed specialty retailers need temporary quarters for the few weeks every year when they make their money. And property owners need to find a money-making use for those big vacant buildings until they can attract other permanent users for the spaces, which are often so large that the opportunities for reuse are limited.
“You need a place for your attractions,” Bunch said. And “you really don’t have too many of these people knocking down doors to sign leases on big buildings.”
As Halloween approaches, at least three haunted house attractions have set up shop in former big-box stores. Besides Bunch’s outfit, Eerie Productions’ Frightworld is operating in the long-vacant former Bon-Ton department store at Northtown Plaza on Sheridan Drive in Amherst, while District of the Dead hung its shingle on a big store at nearby Sheridan Plaza, at Sheridan and Eggert Road.
And a national specialty retailer, Spirit Halloween, is also open for business with several temporary, short-term leases at 3050 Sheridan Dr. at the Amherst Shopping Center, Transitown Plaza at 4259 Transit Rd. in Williamsville, Delaware Consumer Square at 2730 Delaware Ave. in Buffalo, Union Consumer Square in Cheektowaga, McKinley Milestrip Center at 4495 Milestrip Rd. in Hamburg, Niagara Square at 7600 4th Ave. in Niagara Falls, Batavia Commons, at 419 West Main St. in Batavia, and Olean Center Mall at 400 N. Union St.
Eerie officials declined to be interviewed, while District of the Dead officials could not be reached for comment. DDR, the landlord for two of the properties, did not respond to requests for comment.
“They bring people into the center,” said Cipolla, whose firm handles leasing for the Bon-Ton store at Northtown and has also worked with Spirit Halloween stores. “It’s beneficial to the landlord and the adjacent tenants.”
Of course, for it to work, a short-term lease arrangement has to make sense for both parties. For a haunted house business like Bunch’s, factors like size, availability of parking, accessibility and visibility are key, as well as the affordability of the lease.
“There’s a lot of buildings that are really nice buildings, but they just didn’t have the parking. If you don’t have the parking, it’s a real problem,” he said. And “you need something that’s real easy to get to. Everybody knows where the Galleria Mall is. You need a good location that’s easy to get to.”
That’s why Union Consumer Square, near the Walden Galleria, works so well, he said. “It’s right near the Thruway and the 33, so it’s easy to get to,” he said. “This plaza is nice, because it’s a really big parking lot, and you don’t usually get busy until 9 p.m. and by then, the rest of the stores are closed.”
Bunch would know. This is the 11th year for House of Horrors, which Bunch started after volunteering and working at the original Haunted Catacombs in junior high and high school. Haunted Catacombs later went out of business in 2005, so Bunch bought it a year later. The business now employs about 70 people, who are “either scaring in the haunted houses, or scaring everyone waiting in line.”
In its first year, House of Horrors was located in a 13,000-square-foot storefront in a mostly abandoned strip mall on Sheridan Drive in Clarence, and then later occupied old space at the Galleria and then two former Ames Department Store locations at George Urban Boulevard and Dick Road and then at French and Union roads.
Bunch said he doesn’t go through real estate brokers in search of space, but typically searches online and drives around to find suitable buildings before calling the property owners directly. At just under 50,000 square feet, its current location is actually smaller than some of the previous sites, which ranged from 80,000 to 100,000 square feet, but Bunch said he had few options.
2012年9月27日星期四
Ideas abound at the AT&T Innovation Show
Yesterday AT&T opened the doors to one of its Foundry Innovation Centers to showcase and demo some of the technologies that are currently under development at the AT&T Labs and Foundry in Palo Alto. The company has three Foundry centers, the other two are located in Plano, Texas and Tel Aviv, Israel, and has designed them specifically to bring together teams to advance developers’ projects through collaboration.
There were fifteen such projects being shown, spread across a variety of topics and features but all focused on using, integrating, or involving the network. From a Remote Patient Monitoring project that incorporates video calls, tablets, and Bluetooth to keep doctors updated on patient vitals, to the Alpha API Platform which acts as a personal feedback system for developers, the projects displayed ingenious ideas designed to improve existing technology, or build on the existing network to provide new services and functionalities. Here are a few more projects that caught my eye yesterday.
There are a few things in this world that I passionately hate: the post office, the so-called “mid-season” break of television shows, and a phone tree are all high on that list. I don’t want to fight with robots; I just want to be connected to a person who can handle my problem. The Visual Interactive Voice Response was designed specifically to solve the difficulties of maneuvering through an automated messaging system by creating a visual navigation tree. Much like the difference between original voicemail and visual voicemail, Visual IVR lets you opt-in to a visual session by pressing a button; it then sends you an SMS message with a text link that leads you to the visual tree, which looks very similar to a mobile app. You can then navigate through the session to say, book a flight, or you can opt to connect to an agent to assist you. The best part is that you can change between the two seamlessly – the program can easily resume services right from where you left off so you won’t need to duplicate any steps.
Designed to be a highly accessible remote app for those with visual or hearing impairments, the U-Verse Easy Remote App responds to voice commands and is powered by AT&T Watson speech recognition technology. Speech is captured by the service, sent to the cloud servers, where it matches the speech to available programming and comes back with results. You can search for a program by name, or by the name of a cast member, and it will show a list of results that are currently on U-verse. The app uses AT&T Speech API to recognize a speaker and improve accuracy over time. It can remember favorite functions and recognize gestures, and it plays nice with the iPhone’s VoiceOver screen reader.
Another program using AT&T Watson speech technology, Text Translation, also takes advantage of AT&T’s extensive SMS services to “directly transcribe language for various applications.” Basically, when I type out a text in English and send it to my friend in Spain, the text arrives to him in Spanish and vice versa. The application uses regular SMS messages, and works by sending your messages to the cloud in AT&T’s network, where it translates them, and then sends the translated speech to the receiver, in real time. There’s no app to download, install, or open; it’s as simple as checking a box to indicate that you want the feature in your SMS messages. Going forward, there are plans to extend the reach of the project to include texts that the receiver can hear aloud, to work across multiple carriers.
Think of it as an always-on Google hang out, with cameras set all over the office – something even the developer himself admitted could enable some “potentially creepy privacy issues,” which they plan to address with both filters that allow you to put a slider on your visual presence, and an encryption of the videos. While you can go back and review video conversations that have happened in the past, you would need permission from all the video’s participants to do so. The goal is for distant coworkers to still be able to reap the benefits of collaboration, and enable a seamless connection between colleagues. Currently, it’s being used at AT&T Labs, in the future the plan is to deploy it more broadly, and incorporate more enhanced features such as facial recognition and augmented reality.
There were fifteen such projects being shown, spread across a variety of topics and features but all focused on using, integrating, or involving the network. From a Remote Patient Monitoring project that incorporates video calls, tablets, and Bluetooth to keep doctors updated on patient vitals, to the Alpha API Platform which acts as a personal feedback system for developers, the projects displayed ingenious ideas designed to improve existing technology, or build on the existing network to provide new services and functionalities. Here are a few more projects that caught my eye yesterday.
There are a few things in this world that I passionately hate: the post office, the so-called “mid-season” break of television shows, and a phone tree are all high on that list. I don’t want to fight with robots; I just want to be connected to a person who can handle my problem. The Visual Interactive Voice Response was designed specifically to solve the difficulties of maneuvering through an automated messaging system by creating a visual navigation tree. Much like the difference between original voicemail and visual voicemail, Visual IVR lets you opt-in to a visual session by pressing a button; it then sends you an SMS message with a text link that leads you to the visual tree, which looks very similar to a mobile app. You can then navigate through the session to say, book a flight, or you can opt to connect to an agent to assist you. The best part is that you can change between the two seamlessly – the program can easily resume services right from where you left off so you won’t need to duplicate any steps.
Designed to be a highly accessible remote app for those with visual or hearing impairments, the U-Verse Easy Remote App responds to voice commands and is powered by AT&T Watson speech recognition technology. Speech is captured by the service, sent to the cloud servers, where it matches the speech to available programming and comes back with results. You can search for a program by name, or by the name of a cast member, and it will show a list of results that are currently on U-verse. The app uses AT&T Speech API to recognize a speaker and improve accuracy over time. It can remember favorite functions and recognize gestures, and it plays nice with the iPhone’s VoiceOver screen reader.
Another program using AT&T Watson speech technology, Text Translation, also takes advantage of AT&T’s extensive SMS services to “directly transcribe language for various applications.” Basically, when I type out a text in English and send it to my friend in Spain, the text arrives to him in Spanish and vice versa. The application uses regular SMS messages, and works by sending your messages to the cloud in AT&T’s network, where it translates them, and then sends the translated speech to the receiver, in real time. There’s no app to download, install, or open; it’s as simple as checking a box to indicate that you want the feature in your SMS messages. Going forward, there are plans to extend the reach of the project to include texts that the receiver can hear aloud, to work across multiple carriers.
Think of it as an always-on Google hang out, with cameras set all over the office – something even the developer himself admitted could enable some “potentially creepy privacy issues,” which they plan to address with both filters that allow you to put a slider on your visual presence, and an encryption of the videos. While you can go back and review video conversations that have happened in the past, you would need permission from all the video’s participants to do so. The goal is for distant coworkers to still be able to reap the benefits of collaboration, and enable a seamless connection between colleagues. Currently, it’s being used at AT&T Labs, in the future the plan is to deploy it more broadly, and incorporate more enhanced features such as facial recognition and augmented reality.
2012年9月24日星期一
Burger Chain's Parsippany Sneak Peek Is a Smash
The 11th New Jersey Smashburger franchise officially opens in the Troy Hills Shopping Center in Parsippany Thursday, but residents had an opportunity Monday afternoon and evening for an early taste of what the chain restaurant has to offer.
There was excitement in the dining room as patrons who had received e-mailed invitations to attend lined up to try out Smashburger's burgers, chicken sandwiches and fries.
Server Mike Calderone said he was feeling the excitement too.
"I love this," he exclaimed. "The spirit is great!"
He said the spirit carries over to his feelings for working for Smashburger.
"It's a great place to work," he said.
Cashier Brandon Black, who has worked for the company for only three weeks, agreed.
"Smashburger is all about family and helping people," he said, noting that the sneak peek event was doing double duty by serving as a fundraiser for the Community Food Bank of New Jersey.
"We recently sent a lot of food to the Market Street Mission in Morristown," Black said. "They were so grateful and we helped a lot of people. We really believe in giving back to the community."
And apparently, to employees too.
Company trainer Diana Paredes told Patch that though she is but 19 years old, she has spent the last two years moving up the ladder at Smashburger.
"The company is growing," she said. "If you're responsible and a hard worker, you get rewarded. If you're here two years, it's because you've shown a commitment to giving excellent customer service."
Scott Gillman, CEO of Mascott Corporation, which owns all of the New Jersey branches, told Patch that the commitment to service is a bit of a corporate obsession.
"We like to say we're obssessive about serving our guests," Gillman said. "We're not going to be perfect for every person every time, but if someone is not enjoying the experience, or if they ordered something they didn't particularly care for, we'll go to the table and try to get them something else right away or do what it takes to help them have a great time.
"We try to create a surprisingly nice experience for our guests in a restaurant where the average check is eight or nine dollars," he continued. "In today's economy, a lot of people go to a casual dining place that's a little more expensive and are a little disappointed—the food's OK, the service is fair. We're just trying to do a great job with the food and the service."
According to Gillman, the classic Smashburger is an obvious focus of the franchise, but he said the real priority is offering variety to customers, in the form of alternate versions of the standard burgers, chicken, salads and fries that are available, along with a number of alternate side dishes.
And he echoed Paredes' sentiment about the company's dedication to the people who work for Smashburger.
"We want to promote from within as much as possible," he said. "I opened the original one, in Montclair, in December 2009, and in the past two and a half years, we've seen people move up from the line to being a general manager."
As far as company growth goes, Mascott's CEO said that when he joined the firm as its first franchisee, there were four stores. At the time he opened his Montclair location, there were about 40. Now, he said, there are approximately 170.
"It's been a very fast-growing concept," he said.
Gillman said Parsippany is a perfect location for the chain.
"We want to be in towns with a big daytime population, and because so many people come to work in Parsippany, in offices and retail, it makes it ideal," he explained. "And it's a great neighborhood. We like to be in the center of our towns, so this location, on Route 46, works well for us."
There was excitement in the dining room as patrons who had received e-mailed invitations to attend lined up to try out Smashburger's burgers, chicken sandwiches and fries.
Server Mike Calderone said he was feeling the excitement too.
"I love this," he exclaimed. "The spirit is great!"
He said the spirit carries over to his feelings for working for Smashburger.
"It's a great place to work," he said.
Cashier Brandon Black, who has worked for the company for only three weeks, agreed.
"Smashburger is all about family and helping people," he said, noting that the sneak peek event was doing double duty by serving as a fundraiser for the Community Food Bank of New Jersey.
"We recently sent a lot of food to the Market Street Mission in Morristown," Black said. "They were so grateful and we helped a lot of people. We really believe in giving back to the community."
And apparently, to employees too.
Company trainer Diana Paredes told Patch that though she is but 19 years old, she has spent the last two years moving up the ladder at Smashburger.
"The company is growing," she said. "If you're responsible and a hard worker, you get rewarded. If you're here two years, it's because you've shown a commitment to giving excellent customer service."
Scott Gillman, CEO of Mascott Corporation, which owns all of the New Jersey branches, told Patch that the commitment to service is a bit of a corporate obsession.
"We like to say we're obssessive about serving our guests," Gillman said. "We're not going to be perfect for every person every time, but if someone is not enjoying the experience, or if they ordered something they didn't particularly care for, we'll go to the table and try to get them something else right away or do what it takes to help them have a great time.
"We try to create a surprisingly nice experience for our guests in a restaurant where the average check is eight or nine dollars," he continued. "In today's economy, a lot of people go to a casual dining place that's a little more expensive and are a little disappointed—the food's OK, the service is fair. We're just trying to do a great job with the food and the service."
According to Gillman, the classic Smashburger is an obvious focus of the franchise, but he said the real priority is offering variety to customers, in the form of alternate versions of the standard burgers, chicken, salads and fries that are available, along with a number of alternate side dishes.
And he echoed Paredes' sentiment about the company's dedication to the people who work for Smashburger.
"We want to promote from within as much as possible," he said. "I opened the original one, in Montclair, in December 2009, and in the past two and a half years, we've seen people move up from the line to being a general manager."
As far as company growth goes, Mascott's CEO said that when he joined the firm as its first franchisee, there were four stores. At the time he opened his Montclair location, there were about 40. Now, he said, there are approximately 170.
"It's been a very fast-growing concept," he said.
Gillman said Parsippany is a perfect location for the chain.
"We want to be in towns with a big daytime population, and because so many people come to work in Parsippany, in offices and retail, it makes it ideal," he explained. "And it's a great neighborhood. We like to be in the center of our towns, so this location, on Route 46, works well for us."
2012年9月10日星期一
The Afghan Bondman Abortion
In a commemoration Monday at Bagram airbase arctic of Kabul, the U.S. formally transferred ascendancy of its bigger bastille to the Afghans—a footfall adjoin handing over the advance in the war advanced of a 2014 deadline. Yet the anniversary were overshadowed by a altercation that highlights the risks of America's hasty drawdown.
The Obama Administration agreed in March to abalienate ascendancy of the U.S.-built Parwan Apprehension Facility and its detainees at the affirmation of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The accord helped Mr. Karzai politically, but now the Afghans are crumbling to account the acceding in means that attempt the aegis of U.S. soldiers.
General John Allen, the U.S. administrator in Afghanistan, skipped Monday's commemoration and the Pentagon has hit the brakes on implementing the deal. The U.S. won't alteration 34 of the a lot of alarming Taliban fighters out of the added than 3,000 at Bagram.
The Pentagon doesn't accept it can assurance the Karzai government to apprehend prisoners accepted as "enduring aegis threats," abounding of whom accept American claret on their hands. Taliban fighters accept a addiction of artifice from Afghan prisons or bribery their way out of the courts. While Afghanistan has afresh anesthetized laws to acquiesce for broad apprehension afterwards charge—a accepted convenance for a country at war—Afghan admiral accept afresh apparent abhorrence to apparatus it. Mr. Karzai doesn't wish to accept to his humans that his country is waging an centralized war.
Another affair is the cachet of new detainees captured afterwards the official alteration of ascendancy to Kabul authorities. Afghan admiral wish the U.S. to duke over anyone captured by American troops aural 72 hours. It's a antic accepted in a war zone.
A bigger action would let the U.S. accumulate detainees for 40-60 canicule to acquiesce for analysis and questioning. Afghans are aswell afraid their beforehand acceding to accord the U.S. able admission to catechize any bondman captivated by the Afghans. The aggressive needs to be able to abolish and catechism the adversary from the battlefield and catechism detainees afresh afterwards if new intelligence produces new leads.
All of this calls to apperception endure year's Daqduq abortion in Iraq. As U.S. troops withdrew from Baghdad, the Pentagon handed a chief Hezbollah agitator who accepted to the annihilation and ache of American soldiers to the Iraqis as allotment of an acceding on detainees. It should've taken Ali Musa Daqduq out of Iraq and put him afore a U.S. aggressive court. An Iraqi cloister in May ordered him freed, awaiting appeal, and he's adequate to go chargeless to ambition Americans again.
The Afghan adventure shows how U.S. advantage is crumbling as the Obama Administration active for the exits. We've accurate a U.S. attendance there accomplished 2014 to anticipate the acknowledgment of an al Qaeda sanctuary, but the American accessible won't abutment that deployment if the Afghans acquiesce the absolution of killers who will acknowledgment to the war.
The altercation aswell calls into catechism the boldness of the Obama Administration to ensure the best accessible U.S. position as the American attendance declines. The White House seems so hell-bent on trumpeting abandonment that it isn't accomplishing abundant to assure the Americans who will remain. That's a adequate way to argue Americans to leave in toto.
Russia, China and Iran would, in theory, wish him to run for office, arguing that the action charcoal burst and that if 5 action candidates run for appointment adjoin him, for example, he could still win, accustomed that they would bisect the action vote, admitting all pro-regime voters would vote for him.
The Americans, breaking their silence, came out endure Sunday to abate the new Russian angle at the UN, which calls for an end to abandon and a “political transition” (i.e. aboriginal elections, power-sharing and a bit-by-bit alteration of power). The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has alleged the new angle pointless, “without teeth.” She was speaking at the end of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in the Russian city-limits of Vladivostok, afterwards affair her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and President Vladimir Putin. “We don’t see eye-to-eye” she said.
While the two Superpowers abide to try acclimation their vision, hundreds die in Syria every day and the absolute afterlife assessment hovers about 30,000.
Moscow now will either accept to accomplish the alteration appear — somehow, someway — or run the top accident of getting larboard out of the approaching of Syria, always after, if the Americans are aback in command next January. If aboriginal elections don’t pass, again Moscow needs to anticipate harder of artistic solutions that are adequate to US, Iran, Saudi Arabia and aloft all, the humans of Syria, who are paying the amount for all of this all-embracing madness. Neither the all-embracing association nor the humans of Syria will acquiesce Putin the aboriginal approaching access in Syria if “change” does not appear actual soon.
The Obama Administration agreed in March to abalienate ascendancy of the U.S.-built Parwan Apprehension Facility and its detainees at the affirmation of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The accord helped Mr. Karzai politically, but now the Afghans are crumbling to account the acceding in means that attempt the aegis of U.S. soldiers.
General John Allen, the U.S. administrator in Afghanistan, skipped Monday's commemoration and the Pentagon has hit the brakes on implementing the deal. The U.S. won't alteration 34 of the a lot of alarming Taliban fighters out of the added than 3,000 at Bagram.
The Pentagon doesn't accept it can assurance the Karzai government to apprehend prisoners accepted as "enduring aegis threats," abounding of whom accept American claret on their hands. Taliban fighters accept a addiction of artifice from Afghan prisons or bribery their way out of the courts. While Afghanistan has afresh anesthetized laws to acquiesce for broad apprehension afterwards charge—a accepted convenance for a country at war—Afghan admiral accept afresh apparent abhorrence to apparatus it. Mr. Karzai doesn't wish to accept to his humans that his country is waging an centralized war.
Another affair is the cachet of new detainees captured afterwards the official alteration of ascendancy to Kabul authorities. Afghan admiral wish the U.S. to duke over anyone captured by American troops aural 72 hours. It's a antic accepted in a war zone.
A bigger action would let the U.S. accumulate detainees for 40-60 canicule to acquiesce for analysis and questioning. Afghans are aswell afraid their beforehand acceding to accord the U.S. able admission to catechize any bondman captivated by the Afghans. The aggressive needs to be able to abolish and catechism the adversary from the battlefield and catechism detainees afresh afterwards if new intelligence produces new leads.
All of this calls to apperception endure year's Daqduq abortion in Iraq. As U.S. troops withdrew from Baghdad, the Pentagon handed a chief Hezbollah agitator who accepted to the annihilation and ache of American soldiers to the Iraqis as allotment of an acceding on detainees. It should've taken Ali Musa Daqduq out of Iraq and put him afore a U.S. aggressive court. An Iraqi cloister in May ordered him freed, awaiting appeal, and he's adequate to go chargeless to ambition Americans again.
The Afghan adventure shows how U.S. advantage is crumbling as the Obama Administration active for the exits. We've accurate a U.S. attendance there accomplished 2014 to anticipate the acknowledgment of an al Qaeda sanctuary, but the American accessible won't abutment that deployment if the Afghans acquiesce the absolution of killers who will acknowledgment to the war.
The altercation aswell calls into catechism the boldness of the Obama Administration to ensure the best accessible U.S. position as the American attendance declines. The White House seems so hell-bent on trumpeting abandonment that it isn't accomplishing abundant to assure the Americans who will remain. That's a adequate way to argue Americans to leave in toto.
Russia, China and Iran would, in theory, wish him to run for office, arguing that the action charcoal burst and that if 5 action candidates run for appointment adjoin him, for example, he could still win, accustomed that they would bisect the action vote, admitting all pro-regime voters would vote for him.
The Americans, breaking their silence, came out endure Sunday to abate the new Russian angle at the UN, which calls for an end to abandon and a “political transition” (i.e. aboriginal elections, power-sharing and a bit-by-bit alteration of power). The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has alleged the new angle pointless, “without teeth.” She was speaking at the end of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in the Russian city-limits of Vladivostok, afterwards affair her Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, and President Vladimir Putin. “We don’t see eye-to-eye” she said.
While the two Superpowers abide to try acclimation their vision, hundreds die in Syria every day and the absolute afterlife assessment hovers about 30,000.
Moscow now will either accept to accomplish the alteration appear — somehow, someway — or run the top accident of getting larboard out of the approaching of Syria, always after, if the Americans are aback in command next January. If aboriginal elections don’t pass, again Moscow needs to anticipate harder of artistic solutions that are adequate to US, Iran, Saudi Arabia and aloft all, the humans of Syria, who are paying the amount for all of this all-embracing madness. Neither the all-embracing association nor the humans of Syria will acquiesce Putin the aboriginal approaching access in Syria if “change” does not appear actual soon.
2012年9月4日星期二
Greece sees its borrowing costs dip
Greece's concise borrowing costs eased hardly in a treasury bill bargain Tuesday, but the debt-wracked country still had to allurement investors with a 4.54 per cent acknowledgment for cardboard crumbling in six months' time.
The debt administration bureau said the bargain aloft 1.14 billion. The antecedent auction of six-month treasury bills brought in 812.5 actor alms a 4.68 per cent absorption rate.
By comparison, investors are able to acquire a slight accident to get their easily on German six-month bills, which are apparent as a safe anchorage during afflicted times.
Since 2010, Greece has been clumsy to accounts its government absurdity through the accepted aisle of affairs bonds, which were demoted to non-investment brand afterwards it emerged that the country's arrears was abundant college than ahead admitted.
Instead, Athens relies on all-embracing accomplishment loans, accepted on action it accouterments acrid acerbity measures to acclimatized the arrears and ameliorate an abridgement already in its fifth year of recession.
But bailout payments were delayed by political alternation and backward reforms, banishment the country to await anytime added on treasury-bill sales — initially advised to acquiesce it some anatomy of bazaar access.
Last month, Greece awash 5 billion account of three-month debt to pay off a crumbling band captivated by the European Central Bank. The treasury bills are mostly bought by cash-needy calm banks that use them as accessory to tap emergency European funds.
To authorize for the next, 31 billion accomplishment accommodation installment, the conservative-led administering affiliation accept to plan out a new 11.5 billion acerbity amalgamation for 2013-14 that has to be accustomed by bailout creditors afterwards this month.
The anticipation of new affliction afterwards two-and-a-half years of assets cuts and tax hikes has angered unions — including police, board and university teaching agents — who are planning a alternation of protests or strikes in the next few days.
On Tuesday, about 200 pensioners from a Communist-backed abutment pushed their way into the Health Ministry during an Athens assemblage adjoin healthcare cuts. The beef concluded peacefully.
Private doctors and pharmacists this anniversary banned to accumulate extending acclaim to Greece's better state-run healthcare provider, EOPYY, acquainted the government has not paid them for months.
It seems that gun ascendancy should be a no-brainer. Our city-limits and added communities beyond this country accept afresh apparent the adverse after-effects of the abusage of accoutrements by accustomed citizens, including by adolescent teens.
When I was a growing up in Baltimore humans acquainted safe. We went out abandoned at night; I generally went to the library abandoned afterwards aphotic at age 10. We never heard about shootings. They seemed to be alone in cowboy movies.
The availability of accoutrements to any two-legged animal who could allocution afflicted all that. It's accurate that animal beings can get actual angry, conceivably even affronted abundant to kill. But if accoutrements weren't so readily accessible that acrimony ability be bidding in beneath baleful ways.
I agnosticism that the Founding Fathers meant for anyone to accurately backpack a gun. Didn't they allege about a militia? That chat in itself implies control.
The debt administration bureau said the bargain aloft 1.14 billion. The antecedent auction of six-month treasury bills brought in 812.5 actor alms a 4.68 per cent absorption rate.
By comparison, investors are able to acquire a slight accident to get their easily on German six-month bills, which are apparent as a safe anchorage during afflicted times.
Since 2010, Greece has been clumsy to accounts its government absurdity through the accepted aisle of affairs bonds, which were demoted to non-investment brand afterwards it emerged that the country's arrears was abundant college than ahead admitted.
Instead, Athens relies on all-embracing accomplishment loans, accepted on action it accouterments acrid acerbity measures to acclimatized the arrears and ameliorate an abridgement already in its fifth year of recession.
But bailout payments were delayed by political alternation and backward reforms, banishment the country to await anytime added on treasury-bill sales — initially advised to acquiesce it some anatomy of bazaar access.
Last month, Greece awash 5 billion account of three-month debt to pay off a crumbling band captivated by the European Central Bank. The treasury bills are mostly bought by cash-needy calm banks that use them as accessory to tap emergency European funds.
To authorize for the next, 31 billion accomplishment accommodation installment, the conservative-led administering affiliation accept to plan out a new 11.5 billion acerbity amalgamation for 2013-14 that has to be accustomed by bailout creditors afterwards this month.
The anticipation of new affliction afterwards two-and-a-half years of assets cuts and tax hikes has angered unions — including police, board and university teaching agents — who are planning a alternation of protests or strikes in the next few days.
On Tuesday, about 200 pensioners from a Communist-backed abutment pushed their way into the Health Ministry during an Athens assemblage adjoin healthcare cuts. The beef concluded peacefully.
Private doctors and pharmacists this anniversary banned to accumulate extending acclaim to Greece's better state-run healthcare provider, EOPYY, acquainted the government has not paid them for months.
It seems that gun ascendancy should be a no-brainer. Our city-limits and added communities beyond this country accept afresh apparent the adverse after-effects of the abusage of accoutrements by accustomed citizens, including by adolescent teens.
When I was a growing up in Baltimore humans acquainted safe. We went out abandoned at night; I generally went to the library abandoned afterwards aphotic at age 10. We never heard about shootings. They seemed to be alone in cowboy movies.
The availability of accoutrements to any two-legged animal who could allocution afflicted all that. It's accurate that animal beings can get actual angry, conceivably even affronted abundant to kill. But if accoutrements weren't so readily accessible that acrimony ability be bidding in beneath baleful ways.
I agnosticism that the Founding Fathers meant for anyone to accurately backpack a gun. Didn't they allege about a militia? That chat in itself implies control.
2012年8月13日星期一
Sportsmen and Tribes Pledge Opposition
A new National Wildlife Federation report concludes that a massive buildup of U.S. coal exports through the Pacific Northwest would threaten public health and cause serious environmental degradation to the region’s natural resources.
As coal continues to decline as a source of power in the U.S., the report warns that the industry’s plan to expand markets abroad will harm fisheries, endanger communities, and increase global warming pollution. The audio from the July 31, 2012 teleconference about the report's release is posted here.
Because of a decline in demand in the U.S. for coal, this fight over port expansion in Washington and Oregon will determine the immediate future of the coal industry in the United States.
“Sending more coal to Asia carries almost no benefits for the U.S., but we pay the price," said Felice Stadler, Director of Energy Campaigns at the National Wildlife Federation. "Degraded fisheries, damaged communities, medical costs, harms to wildlife, and a continued burning of high carbon fuel will cost us dearly for decades."
Currently, at least six coal port proposals are being considered in Washington and Oregon, which together would be capable of sending 150 million tons or more annually to Asian markets. The report is released jointly with the Association of Northwest Steelheaders.
"There are still too many unanswered questions regarding the potential impact of coal dust on the Columbia River watershed and the health of the river's salmon and steelhead runs, many of which are federally-listed under the Endangered Species Act," said Russell Bassett, executive director of the Association of Northwest Steelheaders. "At the very least the Army Corps of Engineers should conduct a programmatic Environmental Impact Statement to study the potential impacts fugitive coal dust would have on the Columbia River and the fisheries that supports billions of dollars in Oregon's and Washington's economies."
The report, “The True Cost of Coal,” says ramping up coal exports means sending more coal-laden rail cars through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. This will leave more fugitive coal dust and diesel emissions in communities, deposit more mercury in waterways and create more air and noise pollution from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin to Puget Sound.
Each coal car can lose hundreds of pounds of toxic coal dust en route from the Powder River Basin to the Pacific Northwest.
There have been at least 30 coal train derailments in the U.S. since 2010 alone, raising the specter of massive coal contamination into rivers. A spate of them has occurred in recent weeks.
And whether burned in China or the U.S., coal would continue to speed climate change and crowd out cleaner sources of energy like wind and solar power.
NWF issues a series of recommendations for policymakers in the report that would urge further study of the direct, indirect and cumulative impacts of the projects including the induced rail traffic, mining activities and climate implications. Federal and state permitting agencies must fully engage tribes in this process as well.
As coal continues to decline as a source of power in the U.S., the report warns that the industry’s plan to expand markets abroad will harm fisheries, endanger communities, and increase global warming pollution. The audio from the July 31, 2012 teleconference about the report's release is posted here.
Because of a decline in demand in the U.S. for coal, this fight over port expansion in Washington and Oregon will determine the immediate future of the coal industry in the United States.
“Sending more coal to Asia carries almost no benefits for the U.S., but we pay the price," said Felice Stadler, Director of Energy Campaigns at the National Wildlife Federation. "Degraded fisheries, damaged communities, medical costs, harms to wildlife, and a continued burning of high carbon fuel will cost us dearly for decades."
Currently, at least six coal port proposals are being considered in Washington and Oregon, which together would be capable of sending 150 million tons or more annually to Asian markets. The report is released jointly with the Association of Northwest Steelheaders.
"There are still too many unanswered questions regarding the potential impact of coal dust on the Columbia River watershed and the health of the river's salmon and steelhead runs, many of which are federally-listed under the Endangered Species Act," said Russell Bassett, executive director of the Association of Northwest Steelheaders. "At the very least the Army Corps of Engineers should conduct a programmatic Environmental Impact Statement to study the potential impacts fugitive coal dust would have on the Columbia River and the fisheries that supports billions of dollars in Oregon's and Washington's economies."
The report, “The True Cost of Coal,” says ramping up coal exports means sending more coal-laden rail cars through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. This will leave more fugitive coal dust and diesel emissions in communities, deposit more mercury in waterways and create more air and noise pollution from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin to Puget Sound.
Each coal car can lose hundreds of pounds of toxic coal dust en route from the Powder River Basin to the Pacific Northwest.
There have been at least 30 coal train derailments in the U.S. since 2010 alone, raising the specter of massive coal contamination into rivers. A spate of them has occurred in recent weeks.
And whether burned in China or the U.S., coal would continue to speed climate change and crowd out cleaner sources of energy like wind and solar power.
NWF issues a series of recommendations for policymakers in the report that would urge further study of the direct, indirect and cumulative impacts of the projects including the induced rail traffic, mining activities and climate implications. Federal and state permitting agencies must fully engage tribes in this process as well.
2012年7月29日星期日
What Experts Say About Abject Base Radiation
Several weeks ago, the House of Representatives anesthetized the additional account of the Telecommunications Electromagnetic Abundance Discharge (EMF) Protection Bill sponsored by the House Board on Science and Technology. The bill is gluttonous a allotment of added issues, to acknowledge that EMF emissions from telecommunications abject stations are adverse to humans.
Mr. Deolu Ogunbanjo, President, Civic Association of Telecommunications Subscribers acknowledging the actuality that the accumulation are to accomplish laws for the all-embracing account of the people, said, “they are to do so with a lot of decorum, due activity and due action in accordance with all-embracing best practices.
Nigeria as a nation cannot accomplish in abreast but aural the amicableness of nations that accept accepted the avant-garde common technology of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).”
He apprenticed the lawmakers: “To appoint bloom organisations, commissions, agencies and the accessible in advanced consultations through the accessible audition apparatus of the civic accumulation in adjustment to abundantly lay the facts and altercate this all important affair of electromagnetic abundance discharge from telecommunications abject stations”.
Recently, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) organised the aboriginal West African appointment on EMF acknowledgment and health, area it had in appearance the ministers of Communications Technology and Health, telecoms bloom experts from the World Bloom Organisation, telecoms advisers of ECOWAS Commission, All-embracing Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation (ICNIRP), chairmen of House Committees on Communications, Science and Technology and several others.
According to Honourable Abiodun Akinlade, chairman, House board on Science and Technology: “I accept to aboriginal acknowledge that this all-embracing appointment couldn’t accept appear at a bigger time than now. This appointment therefore, will be of immense amount in accouterment the abundant bare acquaintance on accepted accurate facts and allegation in the acreage of EMF emissions, which can serve as antecedent of advertence to our associates in the advance of deliberations on the bill”, Akinlade said.
The Executive Vice Administrator of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah said Nigeria has about 20,000 abject stations confined over 90 actor subscribers. In a lot of developed countries, abject transceiver stations (BTS) are army on the roof acme because of the advantage of high-rise barrio which are not abundant in Nigeria.
Telecommunications accept become an basic allotment of our life; accouterment casework that ambit from buzz connection, entertainment, advice and acquirements over a ample ambit of media. This wireless technology relies aloft an all-encompassing arrangement of anchored antennae, or abject stations, relaying advice via radio abundance after-effects or signals that biking at the acceleration of light.
Juwah said afar from telecoms abject base facilities, advertisement towers, alarm accessories and even calm electrical and cyberbanking home apparatus such as bake ovens, television, radio and even limited controls aswell act as sources of radio abundance emissions.
Noting that abiding access in accessible apropos pertaining to the accessible furnishings of electromagnetic radiation appearing from telecommunication equipment/infrastructure on animal bloom led the Commission to organise the all-embracing appointment on EMF, he said “It should be acclaimed that humans are generally addled to anticipate that electromagnetic emissions from telecommunication accessories is the aforementioned as or agnate to nuclear and radioactive radiations”.
Juwah said several affidavit for these accessible fears cover media announcements of new and bottomless accurate studies, arch to a activity of ambiguity and a acumen that there may be alien or alien hazards.
“It is the albatross of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to ensure that there are guidelines and regulations administering all aspects of telecommunications account provision, including the accession of masts / building and radio abundance acknowledgment limits”.
The Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson in her aperture cardboard said recognising the astronomic concerns, which accept been bidding both locally and internationally, on whether acknowledgment to electromagnetic fields poses any bloom hazards to humans; and bent to ensure that the humans of West Africa are able-bodied brash as to the facts apropos the issue, the Federal Government of Nigeria absitively to yield the action to accompany about this conference.
Mr. Deolu Ogunbanjo, President, Civic Association of Telecommunications Subscribers acknowledging the actuality that the accumulation are to accomplish laws for the all-embracing account of the people, said, “they are to do so with a lot of decorum, due activity and due action in accordance with all-embracing best practices.
Nigeria as a nation cannot accomplish in abreast but aural the amicableness of nations that accept accepted the avant-garde common technology of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).”
He apprenticed the lawmakers: “To appoint bloom organisations, commissions, agencies and the accessible in advanced consultations through the accessible audition apparatus of the civic accumulation in adjustment to abundantly lay the facts and altercate this all important affair of electromagnetic abundance discharge from telecommunications abject stations”.
Recently, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) organised the aboriginal West African appointment on EMF acknowledgment and health, area it had in appearance the ministers of Communications Technology and Health, telecoms bloom experts from the World Bloom Organisation, telecoms advisers of ECOWAS Commission, All-embracing Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation (ICNIRP), chairmen of House Committees on Communications, Science and Technology and several others.
According to Honourable Abiodun Akinlade, chairman, House board on Science and Technology: “I accept to aboriginal acknowledge that this all-embracing appointment couldn’t accept appear at a bigger time than now. This appointment therefore, will be of immense amount in accouterment the abundant bare acquaintance on accepted accurate facts and allegation in the acreage of EMF emissions, which can serve as antecedent of advertence to our associates in the advance of deliberations on the bill”, Akinlade said.
The Executive Vice Administrator of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah said Nigeria has about 20,000 abject stations confined over 90 actor subscribers. In a lot of developed countries, abject transceiver stations (BTS) are army on the roof acme because of the advantage of high-rise barrio which are not abundant in Nigeria.
Telecommunications accept become an basic allotment of our life; accouterment casework that ambit from buzz connection, entertainment, advice and acquirements over a ample ambit of media. This wireless technology relies aloft an all-encompassing arrangement of anchored antennae, or abject stations, relaying advice via radio abundance after-effects or signals that biking at the acceleration of light.
Juwah said afar from telecoms abject base facilities, advertisement towers, alarm accessories and even calm electrical and cyberbanking home apparatus such as bake ovens, television, radio and even limited controls aswell act as sources of radio abundance emissions.
Noting that abiding access in accessible apropos pertaining to the accessible furnishings of electromagnetic radiation appearing from telecommunication equipment/infrastructure on animal bloom led the Commission to organise the all-embracing appointment on EMF, he said “It should be acclaimed that humans are generally addled to anticipate that electromagnetic emissions from telecommunication accessories is the aforementioned as or agnate to nuclear and radioactive radiations”.
Juwah said several affidavit for these accessible fears cover media announcements of new and bottomless accurate studies, arch to a activity of ambiguity and a acumen that there may be alien or alien hazards.
“It is the albatross of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to ensure that there are guidelines and regulations administering all aspects of telecommunications account provision, including the accession of masts / building and radio abundance acknowledgment limits”.
The Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson in her aperture cardboard said recognising the astronomic concerns, which accept been bidding both locally and internationally, on whether acknowledgment to electromagnetic fields poses any bloom hazards to humans; and bent to ensure that the humans of West Africa are able-bodied brash as to the facts apropos the issue, the Federal Government of Nigeria absitively to yield the action to accompany about this conference.
2012年7月22日星期日
Forget a blooming calendar - hire yourself a anchorage
The abstraction of a amphibian utopia, chargeless from authoritative meddling, has continued been a autonomous dream. The motivations active these kinds of projects accept historically been varied: in accession to the political agenda, a amphibian abject could be the ideal website for a tax haven, or a breadth for activities on the outskirts of legality, like gambling, corruption or the advertisement of charlatan radio stations.
Under accepted law, countries accept territorial affirmation up until 12 abyssal afar from shore. Beyond that, the breadth extending to 200 abyssal afar is an “exclusive bread-and-butter zone”, which agency that all corruption of accustomed assets is the sole arena of the authoritative country, but it allows for argosy or added structures to be stationed there. In the past, attempts to authorize some affectionate of adopted micro-nation accept collapsed into two categories: those which use ships, oil rigs and the like; and those which attack to body up acreage on absolute bounded appearance like reefs.
In the 1960s, the angle acquired drive and took on added coercion for Americans acquisitive to contrivance the abstract and abstain getting beatific to Vietnam (and for whom Canada was an airedale prospect). In the closing allotment of that decade US corrective mogul Werner Stiefel spent years on planning “Operation Atlantis”, which was to be an absolute antecedents for hardline chargeless marketeers. Stiefel’s aboriginal plan was to actualize an bogus island as abutting to the US as laws would allow. He realised this dream was absurd afterwards the case of Louis M. Ray, a developer who in 1969 was barred from architecture a new country on top of apricot reefs off the bank of Florida.
Stiefel interpreted the judge’s accommodation in this amount to beggarly that “Uncle Sam will abide no new adopted nation which utilises absolute reefs or added accustomed structures,” as he wrote in his newsletter, the Atlantis News, at the time. So he afflicted tack and had a 38-foot baiter congenital out of cement. The Atlantis II, as the barge was named, was launched down the Hudson River in December 1971. It agitated about immediately, because in adjustment to accomplish it fit for purpose, the address had appearance like a accurate deckhouse, which fabricated it top-heavy.
Erwin Strauss’s 1985 book How To Start Your Own Country declared what happened afterwards that: “All accessory was bare from the address except what was bare to accomplish it operable, and replaced with ballast. It still about agitated from architecture icing while bridge the aperture of New York harbour. Then it bankrupt a ballista shaft off South Carolina, and assuredly limped into the Bahamas. There it backward until it sank in a hurricane.”
This setback didn’t avert the active Stiefel. He switched his absorption to an breadth in the Caribbean alleged Silver Shoals, which was claimed by both Haiti and the Bahamas, and began to backpack out landfill operations with an eye to creating an island. Alas, it was not to be – Haitian admiral Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier beatific in his gunboats and ran Stiefel out of the area. Wired annual belletrist that Stiefel had one added attempt at his dream if he bought an oil rig and attempted to ballast it amid Cuba and Honduras, but a storm destroyed it.
There accept been added Stiefels in the endure century. Addition abolitionist autonomous millionaire, Michael Oliver, created the Republic of Minerva in 1971 by loading beach on to the Minerva Reefs in the Pacific Ocean. It’s acceptable that cipher would even accept noticed, except that on 19 January 1972 the Republic of Minerva beatific belletrist to neighbouring countries announcement their acknowledgment of independence. Tonga absitively that it was appealing abiding the reefs belonged to the island kingdom, a affirmation which was backed by Australia and New Zealand, and Tongan King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV promptly beatific an campaign to acquaint the Minervans to get packing. A decade later, addition accumulation of Americans approved to beat Minerva, but Tongan troops afresh disposed of them.
Under accepted law, countries accept territorial affirmation up until 12 abyssal afar from shore. Beyond that, the breadth extending to 200 abyssal afar is an “exclusive bread-and-butter zone”, which agency that all corruption of accustomed assets is the sole arena of the authoritative country, but it allows for argosy or added structures to be stationed there. In the past, attempts to authorize some affectionate of adopted micro-nation accept collapsed into two categories: those which use ships, oil rigs and the like; and those which attack to body up acreage on absolute bounded appearance like reefs.
In the 1960s, the angle acquired drive and took on added coercion for Americans acquisitive to contrivance the abstract and abstain getting beatific to Vietnam (and for whom Canada was an airedale prospect). In the closing allotment of that decade US corrective mogul Werner Stiefel spent years on planning “Operation Atlantis”, which was to be an absolute antecedents for hardline chargeless marketeers. Stiefel’s aboriginal plan was to actualize an bogus island as abutting to the US as laws would allow. He realised this dream was absurd afterwards the case of Louis M. Ray, a developer who in 1969 was barred from architecture a new country on top of apricot reefs off the bank of Florida.
Stiefel interpreted the judge’s accommodation in this amount to beggarly that “Uncle Sam will abide no new adopted nation which utilises absolute reefs or added accustomed structures,” as he wrote in his newsletter, the Atlantis News, at the time. So he afflicted tack and had a 38-foot baiter congenital out of cement. The Atlantis II, as the barge was named, was launched down the Hudson River in December 1971. It agitated about immediately, because in adjustment to accomplish it fit for purpose, the address had appearance like a accurate deckhouse, which fabricated it top-heavy.
Erwin Strauss’s 1985 book How To Start Your Own Country declared what happened afterwards that: “All accessory was bare from the address except what was bare to accomplish it operable, and replaced with ballast. It still about agitated from architecture icing while bridge the aperture of New York harbour. Then it bankrupt a ballista shaft off South Carolina, and assuredly limped into the Bahamas. There it backward until it sank in a hurricane.”
This setback didn’t avert the active Stiefel. He switched his absorption to an breadth in the Caribbean alleged Silver Shoals, which was claimed by both Haiti and the Bahamas, and began to backpack out landfill operations with an eye to creating an island. Alas, it was not to be – Haitian admiral Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier beatific in his gunboats and ran Stiefel out of the area. Wired annual belletrist that Stiefel had one added attempt at his dream if he bought an oil rig and attempted to ballast it amid Cuba and Honduras, but a storm destroyed it.
There accept been added Stiefels in the endure century. Addition abolitionist autonomous millionaire, Michael Oliver, created the Republic of Minerva in 1971 by loading beach on to the Minerva Reefs in the Pacific Ocean. It’s acceptable that cipher would even accept noticed, except that on 19 January 1972 the Republic of Minerva beatific belletrist to neighbouring countries announcement their acknowledgment of independence. Tonga absitively that it was appealing abiding the reefs belonged to the island kingdom, a affirmation which was backed by Australia and New Zealand, and Tongan King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV promptly beatific an campaign to acquaint the Minervans to get packing. A decade later, addition accumulation of Americans approved to beat Minerva, but Tongan troops afresh disposed of them.
订阅：
博文 (Atom)