Friday, May 31, 2013

Puffin numbers 'weather storm wreck'

North Sea coast puffin populations appear to have weathered spring storms which caused the deaths of thousands of the birds, researchers believe.

About 3,500 puffins were found dead along the coast of eastern Scotland and north east England in March.

The deaths of so many birds is known as a wreck.

But a recent count, funded by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), found puffin numbers at the Isle of May National Nature Reserve similar to 2009 levels.

The reserve, on the edge of the Firth of Forth, is home to the largest colony of puffins in the North Sea area and is a UK hub of research into puffins.

Burrow census

The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology survey indicated that a total of 46,000 burrows showed signs of use by puffins this spring.

Continue reading the main story

?Start Quote

We now wait to see how successful these birds are in raising chicks this summer?

End Quote David Pickett Reserve manager

Researcher Mike Harris said: "This March's wreck has clearly had a serious effect on the puffins on the Isle of May but, perhaps surprisingly, numbers are very similar to the last count which took place in 2009.

"Our general impression over the last few years was that the population was increasing slowly and this may explain why we have not seen a decline following the recent wreck."

The count also revealed that the effects of the March weather seriously disrupted breeding on the island, with laying two to three weeks later than normal.

It is possible that some birds will not breed this year.

David Pickett, SNH's reserve manager for the Isle of May, said: "The March wreck has seriously affected the timing of breeding with those birds that did survive breeding very late.

"It would not be surprising if they needed a few weeks to recover and get into breeding condition.

"We now wait to see how successful these birds are in raising chicks this summer."

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22718913#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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America Has Lost the Will to Swim for Its Life, Apparently, Because Obama

A terrible thing happened last week: a bridge collapsed in Washington state, leaving three people stranded in the middle of a river, waiting to be rescued by boat. According to conservative commentator Tony Katz, the terrible thing was not the nation's frail infrastructure. It was that those three wimps were too scared to swim to shore. Katz said on an NRA Internet radio show last week:

Katz: Well one of the guys tells a story about how his shoulder separated, like his shoulder popped out. And his wife was next to him. He popped his own shoulder into place and then got his wife to get out. Now that's a guy fully actualized and knowing that he has to live.

Where this thing dropped seemed to me not to be very far, I mean easy get over to the banks where you can get onto dry land. Some of them waited on their cars for an hour for help to arrive?

What has happened in our entire evolution of the past 30 years that we've gone from guys who were standing on the street jumping into ice water to save a woman and here we have people who are 25 feet from shore, if they weren't injured, couldn't make that swim, or ten people couldn't create a human chain. Or it took an hour to get some kind of boat.

RELATED: Conservatives Control the Political E-mail Rumor Mill

That's right, 30 years of liberalism has turned Americans into water-fearing fraidy cats. Katz cited conservative commenter Dennis Miller's claim that during Hurricane Katrina, stranded people were "up to their knees in water screaming out, where is the government to help me?" That was what's at heart in the liberal fight for gun control ? to get people wimpier, to think "you can't do it, only government can," Katz said. "It gets us nowhere, it gets us dead."

RELATED: Troubled Bridge Over Washington Water Collapses into 'Big Puff of Dust'

Those grand unifying theories of everything always get people into trouble. Katz's theory is just an extension of the old saw that liberals coddle criminals, single moms, and people on welfare. Surely people who fear drowning must fit in there somewhere! As?Media Matters' Timothy Johnson points out, the water of the Skagit River?was 46 degrees and 18 feet deep. Rescuers took so long because they had to?maneuver?"tangled bridge wreckage," KTVZ reported.?So those people didn't swim because they were wimps, they didn't swim because they didn't have a death wish.

RELATED: Bridges and U.S. Infrastructure Spending Are Falling: Is There a Link?

(Photo via Associated Press.)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/america-lost-swim-life-apparently-because-obama-211249952.html

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Key role of EMPLOYEES in Business Process Improvement | Kaizen ...

There are four major roles within a business management system: Business Leader, Process Owner, Operational Manager, and Process Operator. The responsibilities of each of these roles are unique, but work together as a system. Some employees in an organization may perform as many as all four of these roles over the course of a day, week, month, or year. Now let?s have a look at each role in detail.

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1.???? Business leaders

Business leaders have responsibility for creating the business plans (including strategic plans created during the strategic planning process) and associated resourcing plans necessary to cause the organization to be successful.

Senior leaders (corporate) have the duty of defining the customer and business objectives which an organization needs to achieve in order to be successful. This process includes overseeing the development of the organization?s mission, vision (goal), and values.

Lower leader-levels (business unit and functional) get the task of translating senior leaders? business objectives into business objectives that make sense for their level and that support the accomplishment of the senior leaders? business objectives.

The responsibilities of the business leaders follow the PDCA (plan, do, check, and act) cycle.

Plan: The business leaders create and own the business performance objectives of the organization. Senior leaders need to first understand the requirements of their customers, stockholders, workforce, suppliers, and communities. They need to understand their competition. They need to understand the environmental, economic, technological, social, legal, and political environments that they do business within. Senior leaders need to consider all of these elements as they design a Business model and business Strategy map that will meet the customer and business requirements. Business Leaders then translate these requirements and business environment issues into business performance objectives. Business Leaders then create business plans and associated resourcing plans that will cause the organization to achieve these business objectives. The Business Leaders establish business performance metrics to measure the business?s capability to meet these business objectives. Many organizations create a Balanced scorecard to organize and communicate business performance metrics.

Do: The business leaders are responsible for communicating to the organization their business plans. As the organization conducts business, the Business Leaders are responsible to build bridges and remove barriers that will allow the business performance objectives to be met. The business performance metric data is produced and collected as business is performed by the organization.

Check: The business leaders periodically analyze the business performance data and use it to visualize the business?s capability to meet business objectives over time (performance trends), compare actual performance against performance targets, and identify performance issues.

Act: The business leaders are responsible to create improvement actions to address the performance issues that are identified during their analysis of the business performance data. These improvement actions are created to ensure the organization is able to achieve their business plans.

?2.???? Process owner

The process owner is the person who is responsible for designing the processes necessary to achieve the objectives of the business plans that are created by the Business Leaders. The process owner is responsible for the creation, update and approval of documents (procedures, work instructions/protocols) to support the process. Many process owners are supported by a process improvement team. The process owner uses this team as a mechanism to help create a high performance process. The process owner is the only person who has authority to make changes in the process and manages the entire process improvement cycle to ensure performance effectiveness. This person is the contact person for all information related to the process.

The responsibilities of the process owner follow the PDCA (plan, do, check, and act) cycle.

Plan: The process owners create and own the process performance objectives of the organization. The process owner first needs to understand the external and internal customer requirements for the process. This person uses the business plans as a source to help understand the long term and short term customer and business requirements. This person then translates these requirements into process performance objectives and establishes product (includes service) specifications. This person establishes process performance metrics to measure the process?s capability to meet the product specifications and overall process objectives. The set of metrics that are to be reviewed by operational managers and process operators are called key performance indicators (KPIs). The process owner then designs process steps to describe work that when performed will have the capability to produce products that meets the customer and business requirements.

Do: The process owner is responsible to communicate to the operational managers the details of the processes that the operational managers are responsible to execute. As the operational managers and process operators perform the processes, the process owner is responsible to build bridges and remove barriers that will allow the process performance objectives to be met. The process performance metric data is produced and collected as the process is performed by process operators. The process owner is continually involved with the operational managers and process operators as they use kaizen to continually improve the process as they are performing the work.

Check: The Process Owner periodically analyzes the process performance data and uses it to visualize the process?s capability to operate within control limits over time (performance trends), compare actual performance against performance targets, and identify performance issues.

Act: The Process Owner is responsible for creating improvement actions that address performance issues that are identified during their analysis of the process performance data. Improvement actions may include the initiation of Lean projects to reduce waste from the process or include the initiation of Six Sigma projects to reduce variation in the process. Improvement actions may include the use of problem solving tools that would include risk assessment and root cause analysis. Risk assessment is used to identify and reduce, eliminate, or mitigate risk within the process. This is the proactive approach to avoid problems being created from the process. Root-cause analysis is the reactive way to respond to problems that occur from the process. Root-cause analysis is used to identify the causes of problems within the process and identify and implement improvement actions that will ensure these problems do not occur again.

3.???? Operational manager

The operational Manager is responsible to bring the resources and processes together to achieve the objectives of the business plans that are created by the business leaders.

The responsibilities of the operational manager follow the PDCA (plan, do, check, and act) cycle.

Plan: The operational managers ? in collaboration with each Process Operator, create Process Operator performance objectives for the employees they supervise. The Operational Manager needs to understand the performance requirements of the process. They match employees (Process Operators) with the competency and skill requirements of the process to be performed. They ensure that the Process Operators have the budget, facilities, and technology available to them that is necessary to achieve the performance objectives of the processes.

Do: The operational manager is responsible to teach process operators how to perform the processes (work). Process Operator instruction usually consists of classroom and on-the-job training. The Operational Manager oversees the work and ensures Process Operators receive ongoing informal feedback as to their performance. As the Process Operators perform the processes, the Operational Managers are responsible to build bridges and remove barriers that will allow the process and Process Operator performance objectives to be met. Process and Process Operator performance metric data is produced and collected as the process is performed. The Operational Manager ensures that Process Operators are using Kaizen to continually improve the process as they are performing the work.

Check: The operational manager periodically analyzes the key performance indicators (KPIs) during the production cycle to evaluate the work group?s ability to achieve the process and process operator performance objectives. This data is used to visualize the process and process operator capability to meet business plan objectives over time (performance trends), compare actual performance against performance targets, and identify performance issues. They review this performance data and sort out process operator performance issues from process performance issues. Many organizations use a war room concept to post performance data. Within the war room, the operational manager conducts periodic review and analysis of this performance data.

Act: The operational manager is responsible to create improvement actions to address the performance issues that are identified during their analysis of the process and Process Operator performance data. They address Process Operator performance with ongoing feedback to the Process Operator and/or by using an employee performance management review process. They communicate process performance issues to the Process Operator(s) and the Process Owner.

4. ? ? Process operator

The process operator is responsible to learn and perform the processes (work) necessary to achieve the objectives of the business plans that are created by Business Leaders.

The responsibilities of the process operator follow the PDCA (plan, do, check, and act) cycle.

Plan: The process operators ? in collaboration with their Operational Manager, create and own their performance objectives. Process Operators are responsible to understand the performance objectives of the process they are to perform and the specifications of the product they are to produce.

Do: Process operators are responsible to learn the processes (work) that they are to perform. They ensure the processes are performed to meet the process performance objectives and produce product that meets specification. As the Process Operators perform the processes, they are responsible to communicate to their Operational Manager (supervisor) the bridges that need to be built and the barriers that need to be removed to allow the process and Process Operator performance objectives to be met. Process and Process Operator performance metric data is produced and collected as the process is performed.

Check: The process operator periodically reviews the Key performance indicators (KPI?s). The Process Operator makes adjustments to their work based on their actual performance compared to KPI targets. The Process Operator is responsible for identifying and reporting any performance issues and stopping production if necessary.

Act: Process operators practice kaizen to continually challenge the process and communicate improvement suggestions to their operational manager (supervisor).

Key considerations

Processes need to align to business goals. An organization?s strategic goals should provide the key direction for any Business Process Improvement exercise. This alignment can be brought about by integrating programs like Balanced Scorecard to the BPI initiative. E.g. when deploying Kaizen, Six Sigma, identification of projects can be done on the basis of how they fit into the Balanced Scorecard agenda of the organization.

Customer focus Fast-changing customer needs underscore the importance of aligning business processes to achieve higher customer satisfaction. It is imperative in any BPI exercise that the ?Voice of Customer? be known, and factored in, when reviewing or redesigning any process.

Importance of benchmarks BPI tools place a lot of emphasis on ?measurable results?. Accordingly, benchmarks assume an important role in any BPI initiative. Depending on the lifecycle of the process in question, benchmarks may be internal (within the organization), external (from other competing / noncompeting organizations) or dictated by the senior management of the organization as an aspirational target.

Establish process owners for any process to be controllable, it is essential that there be clarity on who is the process owner, and what constitutes success/failure of the process. These success/failure levels also help establish ?control limits? for the process, and provide a healthy check on whether or not a process is meeting the desired customer objectives.

?Source: Wikipedia

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Source: http://kaizeninstituteindia.wordpress.com/2013/05/31/key-role-of-employees-in-business-process-improvement/

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Stupid Celebrity Quotes: Hollywood Stars Say The Darndest Things

Stupid Celebrity Quotes: Hollywood Stars Say The Darndest Things

Mariah Carey stupid quoteMost of us at some point in our lives has said something that made no sense at all. But celebrities have a public forum so their stupid quotes make headlines. Let’s take a look at some of the more outrageous stupid things that Hollywood celebrities have uttered. Justin Bieber “People write to me and say, ...

Stupid Celebrity Quotes: Hollywood Stars Say The Darndest Things Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/05/stupid-celebrity-quotes-hollywood-stars-say-the-darndest-things/

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Notable words from the National Spelling Bee

Amber Born, 14 of Marblehead, Mass., covers her face while spelling "malacophilous" during the semifinal round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Amber Born, 14 of Marblehead, Mass., covers her face while spelling "malacophilous" during the semifinal round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Caleb Miller, 13, of Calhoun, La., cast his head back after incorrectly spelling "cyanope'" during the semifinal round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Thursday, May 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Amber Born, 14 of Marblehead, Mass. reacts after spelling the word "malacophilous" correctly during the semifinal round of the National Spelling Bee, Thursday, May 30, 2013, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

(AP) ? A look at some unusual, difficult or otherwise noteworthy words from the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

? KNAIDEL ? a small mass of leavened dough cooked by boiling or steaming. The winning word for 2013 was from German-derived Yiddish, a source of much amusement to champion Arvind Mahankali, 13, of Bayside Hills, N.Y., who finished third in 2012 and 2011 after misspelling German-derived words. This time, he had little trouble.

? CYANOPHYCEAN ? a blue-green alga. Runner-up Pranav Sivakumar, 13, of Tower Lakes, Ill., was bounced by this word, missing it by a single letter. He thought the final "a'' was an "i."

? LANSCENET ? a card game, similar to pharaoh, played in central Europe. Aspiring comedy writer Amber Born, 14, of Marblehead, Mass., seemed confident about this word until she was given an alternate pronunciation and deadpanned, "That is cause for panic." She let out a big sigh and spelled it right.

? KABURI ? a land crab common in mangrove swamps from the West Indies to southern Brazil. Chetan Reddy's run in the finals was over as soon as he asked for the language of origin and was told, "unknown." With little helpful information, Chetan, 13, of Plano, Texas, pursed his lips before guessing "c-a-b-u-r-r-i."

? MELOCOTON ? a peach grafted on a quince root stalk. Grace Remmer, 14, of St. Augustine, Fla., who spells quickly when she knows a word, asked for the definition twice and the etymology twice. She was off by two letters, and that was the end of her fourth and final National Spelling Bee appearance. "Thank you, everyone," she said, and left the stage to a standing ovation.

? GALERE ? a group of people having a marked common quality or relationship. Derived from French and old Catalan, this word nearly bounced champion Arvind Mahankali from the finals. He asked for the etymology twice, shifted his body back and forth and stroked his chin. He started with "g-a," and then asked to start again, getting it right with seconds to spare.

? DORYLINE ? a type of migratory tropical ant that is blind except for the functional males. In the finals, Christal Schermeister, 13, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., stood silently for a long time, trying to figure it out. "Can I have the definition again, please?" she asked, her voice cracking a bit. She went with "d-o-r-a-l-i-n-e" and was eliminated.

? SMELLFUNGUS ? a critic or faultfinder, taken from a novel by 18th-century absurdist Laurence Sterne. Gokul Venkatachalam, 12, of Chesterfield, Mo., spelled it correctly.

? MALACOPHILOUS ? adapted to pollination by snails. "I don't know if that's possible," Amber Born said. After spelling the word correctly, she leapt for joy and dashed back to her seat.

? CYANOPE ? a person with fair hair and brown eyes. Caleb Miller, 13, of Calhoun, La., asked if it came from the Greek word "ops," meaning eye. Told yes, he responded, "Thank goodness." He still misspelled the word, going with p-s-i-a-n-o-p-e. Told the correct spelling, he said, "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."

? BILBOQUET ? a device having a cup or spike at the top of a stick to which is attached a ball on a string. This word looked like it might trip up 11-year-old Vanya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kan., the sister of the 2009 champion and one of the favorites. She paused while pretending to write the word on her hand, a common technique among spellers. But she got it right and advanced to the finals.

? CABOTINAGE ? behavior befitting a second-rate actor. There was no acting from Eva Kitlen, 14, of Niwot, Colo., who struggled with this word, breathing quickly into the microphone, before getting it wrong. "Can I maybe get a different word?" she asked. "I hope you get a different word," pronouncer Jacques Bailly responded. She did not.

? TENERAMENTE ? a musical direction meaning "tenderly." Grace Remmer, who plays violin, chuckled with relief after being asked to spell this word, which helped propel her to the finals. She still asked Bailly to use it in a sentence, which turned out to be a gem: "The piano teacher repeatedly encouraged the Incredible Hulk to try to play the lullaby teneramente."

? OLEACRANON ? the clinical term for the funny bone. Emily Keaton, 14, of Pikeville, Ky., missed this word by adding an "h'' after the "c." She jumped back with surprise at the sound of the bell that ended her spelling bee career. Emily was a five-time National Spelling Bee contestant.

___

Follow Ben Nuckols on Twitter at https://twitter.com/APBenNuckols.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-05-31-Spelling%20Bee-Notable%20Words/id-b6bc7b66dfd5409c85b8b988c3135fe8

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Skype links to Lync, for some serious Microsoft synergy

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As predicted, Microsoft is taking advantage of a little cross-platform action, connecting up Skype with its business-minded communication service, Lync. The connection brings together "the enterprise richness of Lync and the global reach of Skype," according to the company, letting users sign into Skype with their Microsoft account on Windows or Mac or merge their contact lists together on the popular VoIP service. At present, you can use instant messaging or audio calling, with more features -- including video calling -- coming later. You can check out a detailed version of the sign-in process by clicking on the source link below.

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Source: Skype Blog

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/LG1RaFMvuGA/

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SmartThings opens up its home automation platform to developers

SmartThings opens up home automation platform to developers

To say SmartThings' Kickstarter campaign was a success is an understatement: the Internet of Things outfit, which offers a clever array of home automation sensors, routers and smartphone apps, raised more than $1.2 million (over four times the company's original goal), nabbed over 6,000 backers and quickly sold out of its first batch of kits. Naturally, the company isn't stopping there -- it's making good on its goal of providing an open-source platform for developers, as it announced the availability of its Developer and Inventor Toolkit. Now, interested parties can create and develop their own SmartThings, and can collaborate with like-minded folks to come up with even more ways to take advantage of the platform. Additionally, it supports several types of wireless standards, such as WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee and Z-Wave, giving it interoperability with various home automation systems.

As a refresher, SmartThings connects a large number of household items -- appliances, automatic door locks, thermostats, humidity sensors, presence sensors, power outlet switches, IR remotes, secret bookcase doors and plenty more -- to a central router which then can be controlled through a smartphone app. Thanks to the openness of the platform, the number of use-case scenarios is rather significant, which certainly makes it more appealing to users. If you're interested in learning how to get started, head below to the press release and go here to get the whole enchilada of information.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Sas-4pqD9Ek/

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Thursday, May 30, 2013

Amnesty denounces Egypt's civil society bill

CAIRO (AP) ? An International rights group is denouncing Egypt's presidency's decision to move ahead with a disputed bill feared to stifle non-governmental organizations, despite assurances by the president that it will not put "restraints" on civil society.

Amnesty International warned in a statement Wednesday that the bill, if passed by the country's defacto parliament, would be "a death blow" to civil society. They say it gives authorities "wide ranging powers" over the registration, activities and funding of NGOs through a newly formed body in which state security agencies will be represented.

The group expressed its fears just as President Mohammed Morsi said on Wednesday that the state would support NGOs but that it had a role to protect society from "foreign dangers."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/amnesty-denounces-egypts-civil-society-bill-171028006.html

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Tim Cook: 13 million Apple TVs sold, half in the last year; 'grand vision' for TV

Tim Cook 13 million Apple TVs sold, half in the last year 'grand vision' for TV

Speaking at AllThingsD's D11 conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook just dropped the latest sales figure for the Apple TV: 13 million (compare that to Roku's sales of 5 million in the US), with "about half" sold in the last year. Despite being prodded by interviewers Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, Cook repeated his "area of great interest" line (again) regarding TV, only mentioning that the company does have a "grand vision" in place. Surprised by the hockey puck's popularity? You're not the only one, as Cook followed up on Steve Jobs' proclamation that" no one wants to buy a box," claiming "Frankly, the popularity of the Apple TV has become much larger than we thought it would. We aren't marketing it."

Last year at the conference he reported sales of 2.7 million Apple TVs for the year, and the company noted 2 million sold in Q1 2013. He also followed his predecessor's stance that the current TV experience needs remodeling "When you look at the TV experience, it's not an experience that I think many people love...still an experience that is too much like 10 or 20 years ago." As usual however, despite the "interest," if you're looking for a hint that Apple is going to join the likes of Google and Microsoft in trying to shift the balance of the TV market, Cook -- like Jobs before him -- is keeping those details to himself.

Follow along with our D11 live blog right here.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/eZw-BocZ0r0/

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Marketing Mix clinches victory in Gamely Stakes ? Horseracing News

Marketing Mix clinches victory in Gamely Stakes ? Horseracing News

Marketing Mix managed to claim the Gamely Stakes (Grade 1) after a thrilling battle against Tiz Flirtatious at the Hollywood Park in United States of America.

The all-important competition had attracted some quality stallions and the competition was expected to be a tough one. Moreover, the track was declared as firm, which allowed all of the challengers to come out with all guns blazing.

At the start of the event, Marketing Mix broke well and stayed in the top three. However, she was not forced to push hard until the ending moments, as the overall distance to cover was more than one mile. Her jockey, Gary Stevens, controlled the pace very nicely and finished on top of the table by a head distance in the end.

After the race ended, winning trainer Tom Proctor said, ?She makes me look good, that's how good she is - that's hard to do. You never know how fit they are until they run. If they aren't, they get beat; if they are, they don't. She's always run well off a layoff.?

Overall, this was the eighth victory for Marketing Mix, who has participated in a total of 15 events. Other than that, she has finished as a runner up on four occasions whereas secured the third spot once, which shows that she has just missed out on the top three just twice in her career.

On the other hand, Tiz Flirtatious was also ridden pretty nicely by her jockey Julien Leparoux. However, the five-year-old mare was unable to get off to a strong start, which cost her a chance of winning the race. Despite that, she battled quite hard until the end and no one was aware of the correct result.

About the fight to the finish line, Marketing Mix?s rider said, ?Julien and I were both trying to make the winning move coming into the stretch. About the sixteenth pole we were getting them cranked up and his mare actually had a little better turn of foot than mine did, but we managed to get up in time.?

Although both the jockeys of the top two mares would have had their hearts in their mouths, the crowd ended up enjoying a thrilling finish to the Gamely Stakes.

Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Marketing-Mix-clinches-victory-in-Gamely-Stakes-Horseracing-News-a215955

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Looking back?Moving Forward - Heart of the Matter

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Source: http://heartofthematteronline.com/looking-backmoving-forward/

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iNFORMATiON FARM: Soylent | Replace Food With Fuel

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?We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.? said the Cat. ?How do you know I'm mad?? said Alice. ?You must be?, said the Cat, ?or you wouldn't have come here.?

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Source: http://informationfarm.blogspot.com/2013/05/soylent-replace-food-with-fuel.html

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San Francisco firm is hiring Property and Casualty Predictive Modelers #54602 #jobs #analytics

San Francisco firm is hiring property and casualty predictive modelers for Position 54602.

Requires at least four years of experience analyzing property and casualty insurance data. Position is open at our international client due to growth.

Apply to Ezra Penland Actuarial Recruitment at http://www.EzraPenland.com ?, or email actuaries@EzraPenland.com ?and mention Position 54602, or call us at (800) 580-3972.

Join our LinkedIn Group for Predictive Modeling at http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4347019 ?.

Related posts:

  1. Predictive Modelers with 8+ years of Modeling Experience Sought in San Francisco #43226 #jobs #phd
  2. Our Hartford Client has an immediate need for Property and Casualty Predictive Modelers with 4 to 15 years of exp. #43936 #jobs
  3. Predictive Modelers with Property and Casualty Insurance Training needed in Connecticut #44163 #jobs
  4. Ohio Property and Casualty Insurer seeks Predictive Analytics Exp. #43922 #jobs
  5. Property and Casualty Insurance Predictive Modeling Analyst sought in Colorado #43585 #jobs #analytics

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Source: http://www.ezrapenland.com/2013/05/28/san-francisco-firm-is-hiring-property-and-casualty-predictive-modelers-54602-jobs-analytics/

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YouTube adds slow-mo feature to its editing tools

YouTube autoslomo

YouTube introduces builtin slowmo feature

How do you add a dramatic flair to your mundane video clips? You play it in slow motion, that's how. And now that YouTube has introduced a built-in slow-mo feature, you don't even need to capture footage using a high-speed camera. Just click Edit, navigate to Enhancements and hit the icon emblazoned with a turtle to make footage crawl at 12.5, 25 or 50 percent of its original pace. Note that resulting clips can last no longer than 10 minutes, and the feature might not be available in some countries outside the US just yet. Head past the break to compare two samples and see how the new feature can transform your YouTube vids, Dave Chappelle-style.

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Source: YouTube

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/28/youtube-slowmo-feature/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget

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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

House Republicans question Eric Holder on his leak testimony

By Lawrence Hurley and David Ingram

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Republican lawmakers asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday to clarify testimony he gave Congress this month about his role in the targeting of journalists in a leak probe.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and colleague James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin sent a letter to Holder saying recent media reports "appear to be at odds with your sworn testimony."

At the May 15 hearing, Holder said he had never been involved in any decision to pursue a criminal investigation of a journalist and said it would not be "wise policy" to do so.

Last week, news outlets reported that Holder had approved a decision to seek a search warrant for Fox News email records as part of a leak investigation. Reuters later reported Holder signed off on a subpoena for telephone records as well.

The Fox News reporter involved, James Rosen, was described as a "co-conspirator" by investigators, but was not charged.

A Justice Department official said the department had received the Republicans' letter and planned to show that Holder's testimony was consistent with the facts.

In a defense of Holder, White House spokesman Jay Carney said that Holder had testified truthfully. Carney told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday there was an "extremely large distinction" between describing a reporter as a co-conspirator and charging him with a crime.

Carney said there are no plans to prosecute Rosen.

President Barack Obama "absolutely" has confidence in Holder to continue as the chief U.S. law enforcement officer, he said.

Concern from journalists and free speech advocates last week prompted Obama to order a review of Justice Department procedures governing investigations that involve reporters. Many of those procedures predate email.

On Thursday, as part of the review, Holder was scheduled to begin a series of meetings with Washington news bureau chiefs to allow them to air concerns and exchange ideas. Later meetings were being planned for news executives and lawyers, and for government intelligence and law enforcement officials, according to a Justice Department statement.

'FULL AND ACCURATE ACCOUNT'

The letter on Wednesday from House Republicans focused not on the wider review but on the searches of Rosen's materials. It asked Holder for a "full and accurate account of your involvement in and approval of these search warrants."

Rosen reported in 2009 that U.S. intelligence officials believed North Korea would conduct more nuclear tests in response to U.N. sanctions. Stephen Kim, a former State Department analyst suspected of being Rosen's source, faces trial on charges he violated an anti-espionage law.

The Republicans' letter asks Holder to give a detailed account of his role and to respond to eight questions, including whether the Justice Department ever intended to prosecute Rosen.

U.S. Representative John Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that Holder had been "forthright and did not mislead the committee."

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Howard Goller and David Storey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/house-republicans-assail-eric-holder-leak-testimony-173927307.html

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Fox Sports has not determined why rope snapped

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) ? Fox Sports said on Monday it still had not determined why an overhead TV camera cable snapped during the Coca-Cola 600.

The network says a full investigation is under way and use of the camera is suspended indefinitely. Earlier, NASCAR said it would wait for Fox Sports to conclude its review before deciding if such technology would be used in the future.

Charlotte Motor Speedway said 10 people were injured when part of the drive rope landed in the grandstand; three were taken to hospitals. All were checked out and released soon after.

In a statement, Fox said it was "relieved and thankful to know that the injuries to fans caused then CAMCAT malfunctioned at Charlotte Motor Speedway were minor."

The network again apologized for the disruption.

Several drivers, including then-leader Kyle Busch, reported damage to their cars from the rope.

NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp told The Associated Press on Monday that there were no plans to use the system at upcoming races "so we'll have ample time to review."

The network said the system was provided by Austrian company CAMCAT. The rope that failed was certified for a breaking strength of 9,300 pounds and was only bearing less than 900 pounds of force during the race, according to Fox Sports.

The network said it's reviewing with CAMCAT equipment maintenance records, history and installation information and plans to share its findings with NASCAR and Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The network said the system was used successfully at the Daytona 500 and was set up and working at last week's Sprint All-Star race in Charlotte. Fox's final NASCAR telecast this year comes Sunday at Dover International Speedway.

Tharp said NASCAR would let the network determine what went wrong.

"We'll sync up with them on what they have learned this week and go from there," he said.

The network explained how the drive rope moves the camera back and forth and failed near its turn one connection. The camera, it said in a statement, did not come down "because the guide ropes acted as designed."

The rope, Fox said, was made of Dyneema, which it described as "an ultra-strong synthetic that has the same approximate strength of a steel wire with the same diameter." It said the rope was less than a year old, had been factory-tested by its manufacturer and its breaking strength was certified before shipment. The rope was also inspected by CAMCAT when it was received last June.

According to OnlineRopes.com, Dyneema has the "highest strength-to-weight ratio of any manmade material in the world. On weight-to-weight base, it is up to 15 times stronger than steel."

The pictures such cameras provide can be extraordinary. But in this case, the failure brought confusion and chaos to the racers and the fans.

Coca-Cola 600 winner Kevin Harvick thought he was imagining things when he noticed the black rope on the track. He was among the lucky ones who escaped without damage. Busch said he heard a "thunk" when he ran over it and knew he'd have problems.

Busch used a cellphone to take a picture of the mangled metal around his front, right-side wheel so his team could figure out how to repair the damage.

Marcos Ambrose dragged a piece of the rope that got caught up in his car behind him on the track. Mark Martin also reported problems after driving over the rope.

NASCAR red-flagged the race for about 30 minutes and allowed teams back to their pits to get their cars back to race trim.

NASCAR first threw a caution flag before two red flags came out. It eventually allowed the cars to come into the pits, giving crews 15 minutes to work on their cars.

During the break, Busch's crew frantically worked to repair several problems to the right front wheel well. After completing repairs, the crew slapped high-fives as the car rolled back on the track.

Busch remained competitive and was running in the top five at the midpoint of the race. But his night ended in frustration when his engine blew up on lap 253. He said the engine problem was not related the rope damage. He thanked NASCAR for how it handled the unique stoppage.

"I commend NASCAR for taking the initiative and letting us repair our damaged cars from the issue we had," Busch said.

Busch said he never saw the nylon rope.

Ambrose wound up 10th behind Harvick, the second top-10 finish of the year for the Richard Petty Motorsports team.

Kasey Kahne led 156 laps, most of the night, and was second to Harvick. He was as bewildered as everyone else with the TV cable across the track.

"I've never seen anything like it," he said. "I came around turn four, saw it wrapped around Kyle's car, hit mine. I thought I was seeing things."

The camera hung in place over the large painted logo on the grass between the start-finish line and pit road.

Fox broadcaster Chris Myers apologized during the telecast several times to fans, drivers and race teams for the disruption. The network's statement offered "a sincere 'thank you' to the staff at CMS for attending to the injuries and keep us informed on this developing situation."

Busch wasn't sure anybody had seen that happen before and offered a solution: "Maybe now we can get rid of that thing."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fox-sports-not-determined-why-rope-snapped-215921105.html

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Good Reads: From writer?s block, to edible insects, to an unexpected nuclear leader

This week's roun-dup of Good Reads includes a remedy for writer's block, a call to eat insects, a growing culture of sharing, countering the false perception of Europe's decline, and a nuclear Khazakstan.

By Jenna Fisher,?Staff writer / May 22, 2013

Dried insect spices are displayed as part of a London exhibit, ?Insects au Gratin.?

Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

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To face the blank page

What if writer?s block or the moments between creative inspirations didn?t bother us? What if they could be considered welcome moments or even essential to the game of creation? Most people don?t experience writing in one fluid bout of perfection, anyway, writes Leni Zumas in the Spring 2013 issue of Good magazine. In an essay titled ?Working the Hole,? she investigates how to overcome those moments when ?[t]he aversion to sitting down to write, or to staying at the desk, is fierce and physical, almost as if magnets were at work, rejecting each other.?

Skip to next paragraph Jenna Fisher

Asia editor

Jenna Fisher is the Monitor's Asia editor, overseeing regional coverage for CSMonitor.com and the weekly magazine.

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Make use of your time in between bursts of inspiration by becoming a scavenger, Ms. Zumas says. Not in the carrion bird of prey way, but by practicing deliberate awareness. ?In order to show readers the world in ways they may never have seen it before, the artist herself must practice being open to raw, unbridled perception,? she writes. The only thing wrong with ?the lacunae of inspiration,? as Walter Benjamin once described writer?s block, is how much we fear it.

Eat your insects

Lauren Alix Brown writes in Quartz that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says it?s time to get over it when it comes to the topic of eating bugs. Ms. Brown points out five reasons to follow through: (1) They?re good for you, ?grasshoppers have comparable levels of protein to raw beef....? (2) They?re better for the environment. (3) It makes economic sense. The cost of raising insects is low, which is good for economic development. (4) They are less likely than livestock to transmit food-borne maladies like SARS. (5) Insects are everywhere, and many people already do eat them.?

?Humans, on average, already unintentionally ingest an estimated 1 pound of insects a year, mixed in with other foods,? writes Brown.

Why own, when you can rent ? or borrow?

Americans have defined themselves by what they own: their cars, houses, books, music, power tools. But a cultural shift is changing definitions of ownership, as the Monitor?s Oct. 1, 2012, cover story reported (?The sharing economy?). Janelle Nanos of Boston Magazine delves further into the forces that have made sharing and renting more appealing: a poor economy, rapidly evolving technology that encourages sharing (share button on Facebook, anyone?), and growing city populations.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/xamdZgr2iQM/Good-Reads-From-writer-s-block-to-edible-insects-to-an-unexpected-nuclear-leader

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U.S. Home Prices See Big Gains (WSJ)

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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

The Weapons

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About VitaminHeart:

"You have no spark of life at all do you. You are a dead to the world, parasitic creature who tries to bring everyone else down to your pathetic and useless level."

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Faith Healing Parents Charged With Murder - Freethought Blogs

Remember the parents in Pennsylvania who had a second child die from an entirely treatable condition while on probation for doing the same thing to another child? They?ve now been charged with third degree murder. They also face a separate hearing for violating the probation.

The couple are charged with the third-degree murder of Brandon Scott Schaible. The baby, just over 7 months old, died in April of bacterial pneumonia and dehydration.

?Sadly, there is only one reason for it: his parents,? District Attorney Seth Williams said at a news conference. ?Instead of caring and nurturing him, they ultimately caused his death by praying over his body rather than taking him to the doctor.?

A medical examiner ruled Tuesday that Brandon?s death April 18 was a homicide, the Philadelphia Daily News reported. The medical examiner said the child began experiencing difficulty breathing, irritability and decreased appetite three days before he died.

At the time of their infant son?s death, the couple were already on probation for the 2009 death of their 2-year-old son Kent, who died after they decided to simply pray for his recovery rather than take him for medical care.

They belong to a church that teaches that it is a sin to go to the doctor because it proves that you lack faith in God to heal. Faith is not some vaguely good thing, it?s downright dangerous in many cases.

Source: http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2013/05/27/faith-healing-parents-charged-with-murder/

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