K-State football coach to speak in Fort Scott Fort Scott Tribune Kansas State University football coach Bill Snyder, the architect of the "greatest turnaround in the history of college football," will speak at 7 pm May 9 at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the Fort Scott Community College campus. ... and more »

INDIANAPOLIS — A group of students from Bowling Green State University will take to the asphalt on Saturday at the iconic home of automotive racing to pit their all-electric go-kart against those from 29 other colleges and universities around the world. The eight BGSU students have spent months designing and building their lithium-ion, battery-powered No. 9 racer for a 100-lap race around a special 1,200-foot road course track at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.The Collegiate evGrandPrix open-wheeled kart race is sponsored by Allison Transmission Inc., and is designed to advance electric powertrain development and increase enthusiasm among young engineers and motor sport enthusiasts.The privately funded BG kart, which reaches speeds of 45 mph or more, is being driven by sophomore Kenneth Heschel, a Port Clinton native and 14-year Kart racing veteran.The champion of the overall evGrandPrix competition is the team that best blends kart design and community outreach with race placement and optimal efficiency during 100 laps of racing.“We’re competitive. From what we’re showing, we’re in the upper third [of competing teams]. It’s not just about speed, though. We have to be able to finish the race,” said Anthony Palumbo, adviser to the BGSU Motorsports club and a BGSU professor emeritus who is accompanying the team.In addition to their electric vehicle, the team has been working with students at Penta Career Center on a second kart that students there hope to enter in follow-up races in September, said Mike Hall, an automotive technologies instructor at Penta.This is not the first time BGSU has been involved in electric-powered motor sports.The school fielded an electrified open-wheeled racer called the “Electric Falcon” between 1994 and 2003, racing other collegiate teams from across the country in an effort to develop some of the drivetrain technology now appearing on consumer electric vehicles.

Rachel Krause, aka the building doctor, asked Richard Martinez and Judy Cattran what projects they had in mind for their historic 1865 home.“Do you want a list? There’s about a hundred things,” Mr. Martinez said, looking up at the stately brick house on North Superior Street.“Priority?” Ms. Krause asked hopefully.The technical preservation services coordinator for the Ohio Historic Preservation Office had just 50 minutes to look over the 4,800-square-foot home inside and out, basement and attic included.Her mission: To identify problems in structures built before 1955 and advise owners on issues such as crumbling plaster, deteriorating masonry, and window problems.She and colleague Mark Epstein, who heads the Ohio Historic Preservation Office’s resource protection and review department, fanned out to a variety of residential and commercial properties within a five-mile radius of Toledo’s center Friday, providing the free building consultations. In addition to private homes in the Vistula Historic District and the Old West End, their stops included the shuttered Ohio Theatre on Lagrange Street and the Casey-Pomeroy House Bed & Breakfast on North Huron Street.Ms. Krause said moisture tends to be the worst enemy of old buildings though she also frequently sees structural issues that result from poorly thought-out repairs or changes to the structure. Both were true at the Martinez-Cattran house.During a walk around the yard, Ms. Krause pointed to several issues that were contributing to moisture problems — clogged gutters along the roof line, ivy and other vines growing up on the brick, peeling paint on the front porch.In the brick-floored basement, the floor was damp around a drain with an unknown destination. A small dehumidifier hummed nearby.“You might want to find out where that drain’s going,” Ms. Krause suggested, adding that additional dehumidifiers might help too. “You might be doing one thing for one room and causing a problem for another room.”Mr. Martinez pointed out a support beam and floor jacks they installed in the basement to reinforce a sagging first floor caused, he said, when previous owners removed a back staircase that led from the kitchen area to the maid’s quarters upstairs and relocated the basement stairs. With parlors and bedrooms dramatically appointed with antiques — not to mention eight fireplaces — Mr. Martinez and Ms. Cattran said their real priority is to redo their kitchen and butler’s pantry-turned-laundry room, which they’ve been living with since they bought the house in 1988.Ms. Cattran said she favored removing a wall and opening up the kitchen, while Mr. Martinez wants to rebuild the back staircase along that very wall to re-create as closely as possible the house’s original design.Ms. Krause listened patiently, though it was clear their differences of opinion were not a matter for the building doctor. The Building Doctor Clinic, which included a free seminar on renovation projects Thursday evening, was sponsored by the United North Community Development Corp., the Toledo chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Toledo-Lucas County Planning Commission, the Toledo Historic District Commission, and the Ohio Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio Historical Society.Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-724-6129.

Open house planned today at The Cove ASHEVILLE - The Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove, along with Camp Cedar Cliff and 106.9 The Light, invites the community to its annual open house, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. today.

ABNA.ir

Mosque graffiti condemned Jackson Clarion Ledger Bishop Richard Malone says he condemns the anti-Islam graffiti that was painted on the Maine Muslim Community Center on Monday morning. The slogans included "Osama today, Islam tomorrow" and "Go Home." MOSCOW - The Church of Scientology says Russian ... Religion briefs: Maine Catholic bishop condemns anti-Islam graffitiFort Worth Star Telegram RELIGION ACROSS THE NATIONphillyBurbs.com Anti-Islam message widely denounced; mayor weighs inPortland Daily Sun Press Herald -Lez Get Real all 230 news articles »

33rd Annual AHA Event Comes to San Diego June 16-18

Boulder, CO • May 5, 2011—The homebrewing hobby continues to grow substantially, and the National Homebrewers Conference is a clear indicator of the pastime's popularity. The sold-out conference is projected to hit an all-time high of 1,900 participants, which is nearly a 50 percent increase over last year's attendance.

The comprehensive conference agenda, plus the thriving San Diego craft brewing and homebrewing community, is certainly a draw for attendees traveling from all corners of North America to participate in the world's longest-running homebrewers conference. Attendees will take in educational seminars, participate in social events and, for some, receive prestigious awards in the National Homebrew Competition.

Hobbyists will immerse themselves in three days of concentrated education-30 different seminars all told-to expand their homebrewing knowledge. Expert speakers, including well-known authors and professional brewers, will cover the gamut of topics, ranging from ingredients to brewing techniques to advanced recipes. While attendees may have a difficult choice deciding which seminars to prioritize, all will be sure to hear the keynote address, given by Vinnie Cilurzo, founder and brewmaster of Russian River Brewing Co., on Friday, June 17.

Once the notebooks have been packed away and the slideshows have ended each evening, participants will celebrate at social events that are unique to the National Homebrewers Conference. Attendees will be treated to a host of special beers at Thursday's Pro-Brewers Night, an event that sees more than 40 breweries from California and beyond try to impress beer enthusiasts with their finest fermentables. Then, homebrew clubs take center stage for Friday's Club Night. Two parts homegrown beer festival, one part costume party, Club Night always delivers with wacky fun and artful homebrew.

Finally, the conference winds down on Saturday, June 18 with a banquet featuring "The Homebrew Chef," Sean Paxton. The 2011 National Homebrew Competition winners will be awarded at this closing event as well. With close to 7,000 entries in 28 different style categories, this year's competition has been the largest to date and is the largest beer competition in the world!

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The American Homebrewers Association has worked on behalf of the homebrewing community since 1978 and boasts a membership of more than 25,000 homebrewers. The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) organizes events including the National Homebrewers Conference and National Homebrew Competition. The AHA also publishes Zymurgy magazine. The AHA is part of the Brewers Association, whose Brewers Publications division is the largest publisher of contemporary and relevant brewing literature for today's craft brewers and homebrewers.

Beer lovers are invited to learn more about the dynamic world of craft beer at CraftBeer.com. Follow the AHA on Twitter, and join us on Facebook.

The next special contribution to the community will be the Dan Brown Legacy Fund supporting the "Neuroscience Institute" at Community Medical Center. Until recently patients and families have either traveled great distances or gone without much needed attention.

First off, I just want to say Thank You to those who joined us both in person and virtually last week at our Impact 2011: Building the Borderless Workplace conference. Personally, I always get energized by these events, especially when I have the opportunity to participate in real-time conversations with the amazing people who make up the leaders, practitioners, solution providers, media market, and researchers of the HR industry. What a passionate and vocal industry we work in!

I wanted to wrap up this week by sharing some insights on what I saw, heard, and personally felt at the conference last week for those who were unable to attend in person: 

What I Saw:

Although we were in the middle of beautiful St. Petersburg, with a view of the water just outside our windows and at a venue that often feels like you've stepped into a 1940’s vintage Hollywood movie set, the conference rooms were packed with passionate HR professionals taking copious notes on topics that ranged from Leadership development, HR Strategy, to What Learning will look like in 2021 (free streamed sessions). The questions and conversations following the sessions, made it into hallway discussions, and often ended up bleeding into lunch conversations. Participants were focused on learning as much as they could from everyone at the conference, especially from each other.

The networking events were lively and provided an opportunity for informal connections that hopefully everyone found positive. For example Laura Ann Preston from Kelly Services was in demand for introductions at every event based on her discussions on talent segmentation and changing the performance management dialogue in her Talent Initiatives panel. I think her exact words were “I was being chased”, but it was said with a smile. HR analytics and workforce planning was another hot topic. I’m sure I personally introduced Akil Walton, from Eaton Corporation to over 30 different people looking to learn more about Eaton’s great experience in building an HR Analytics function.  Everyone was looking to either increase their own knowledge or bring back information that their colleagues could use. 

What I Heard:

Theses discussions started during the pre-conference executive roundtables on Tuesday, which included companies that ranged from the University of Michigan to Darden Restaurants, and continued till Friday afternoon when I had the pleasure of finally sitting down to grab lunch with Starwood’s head of Talent Management and we finished our conversations over a fantastic Turkey Club.

How to implement successful HR Shared Service functions and COE’s; and differentiate this model from centralized HR functions

Restructuring and rethinking HR was a theme echoed throughout the conference. Those attending the HR sessions were interested in learning more about talent integrator roles, optimal HR structures, and the changing makeup of talent acquisition functions.

One of our international solution providers commented that this was the first conference they had heard the term Chief HR Officer used so often. He specifically asked if this role was on the increase and where was the CLO role heading? Well, that was a tough question that I’ll leave for a later blog, but I did share that in our research we are seeing an increase in the use of the titles Chief HR Officer or Chief People Officer.

Practical development of HR, particularly increasing the skills and capabilities of HR Business Partners and Center of Excellence leads

I saw and heard this theme throughout the conference. Comments centered on the fact that the current certification and higher-education programs offered important initial HR development – but they weren’t getting at the heart of what was missing in the HR community, real life experience and on the ground support.

When Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) presented their case study on Developing an Integrated People Services Organization for Strategic Talent Management; they had several audience questions about how they selected key HR roles and expectations for growth and development of their HR department. Their new HR structure has a heavy focus on the value of each area of HR, which promotes job mobility and breaks down traditional unspoken stigmas that often rise up between shared services functions, COE’s, and field HR roles. Sarah St. Clair, VP of HR for BAH even mentioned that her 80 + direct reports are expected to move and change roles on average every 2 years, emphasized by our speaker Kathy Nichols, an HR Director in her organization. 

In our Practitioner Panel: HR Challenges for the Coming Decade: Building Flexibility for the Future all four of our HR panelist's discussed the need to develop business acumen, solid planning, and advisory skills throughout HR.   Ellen Austin, a Senior Business Partner for Human Resources, Business Development Bank of Canada (BDBC) shared that her organization required all HR leadership roles to participate in 6 to 9 month job rotations in business roles throughout the organization. Once they had the experience of being on the front lines and working directly with clients or in other support roles, they became much more aware of the value of their work and its impact on their clients.  

We also found a lot of excitement in the Solution Provider discussions on this topic.  During the small group break outs in Benchmarking HR: Do You Dare to Compare? session we asked about where HR was seeing their budgets increase or decrease. The 15 or so vendors in my group had a great discussion about the increase in hiring and development needs, even for their own internal HR functions. As companies that sell sophisticated learning and HR offerings, they needed to find HR professionals who understand their business and can help them grow. Companies like Allen Communications said that their internal HR capabilities were critical to continuing their current growth rate. Additionally, almost everyone mentioned that they were spending a lot of time educating clients as part of the sales process or the support process in their particular offering areas. Those who had developed this capability felt it was increasing their sales dramatically.

We also saw announcements at the conference from MindLeaders/ThirdForce who launched their new TalentGuides, performance support modules based off of Bersin & Associates research content for HR professionals. (I’ll admit that this is a shameless plug in the middle of the blog, but I had the pleasure of working with the MindLeader’s team in supporting the development of these modules for the last year, and have a soft spot for their efforts). Conference participants who saw demos of the TalentGuides were excited about the simple idea of providing HR professionals performance support on critical talent areas when it was needed most, in front of clients and at decision making points, rather than in a separate classroom.

Our research found that 92% of High Impact HR organizations had formal internal development programs for their HR functions, and that the most effective HR development tools were coaching and mentoring programs and regular job rotations. These are all examples, of how organizations are accomplishing these best practices. 

The role of HR in managing or supporting organizational cultural changes 

Andy Mackay, from SunTrust Banks said it best, “My business is focused on changing our culture, so I need to be focused on our culture”. In Wednesday’s session on Developing a Comprehensive HR and Talent Strategy, I asked how many organizations were working on cultural change initiatives – over half the room raised their hand. As leaders we just know that Organizational Culture trumps HR initiatives – so changing the culture becomes a real focus when it is counter-productive to the company’s success. Several people came up to me after the session and asked, can HR actually change an organizations culture – and I’d have to honestly say “No, not alone”. They can support leadership efforts to change culture, they can ensure that they are nurturing and supporting a culture that has been set by their leadership, and they can coach leaders on the difference between talking about a culture and actually creating a culture. These are all important roles for an HR function – but they can’t set or change culture without leadership. Feel free to let me know if you disagree.

HR measurement and metrics

Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the focus on HR measurement, metrics, and analytics throughout the conference. Almost every solution provider we spoke with shared the fact that HR analytic capabilities was a major part of their upcoming product road-map; even service providers were discussing how they were going to integrate analytics with their offerings. We saw unique, and potentially game changing tools like Zapoint's which has taken data collection methods from social sites and brought analysis of that data  to the next level, and Reward Platforms like  I Love Rewards and  Globoforce, talking about analyzing their data to not only connect it to annual engagement scores and turn-over rates, but start to connect it to the flow of recognition in a company, real time engagement notifications, and tracking organizational culture changes.  Everyone is talking about it, but few organizations and solution providers are doing it well.

We offered a small post session workshop on Building HR Analytics Capabilities which originally had 21 people signed up for the session, by the end of the conference we had an additional 12 people extend their stays to participate in the workshop, when they could have been sitting by the pool. This audience was a mix of solution providers and practitioners, and everyone was there to learn. We spent a considerable amount of time in the workshop, talking about how to prepare and develop HR professionals who could appropriately use the data coming out of these efforts. My co-presenter Akil Walton from Eaton Corporation summed it up by saying “None of the technology, or analytics skills, or even dashboard tools matter if your HR department and line managers don’t understand how to use the data to help the business make good decisions”. 

What I Felt:

Proud to be part of an industry that has so much passion and openness. Frustrated that as an industry we were still struggling with some of the basics. Exhilarated at seeing all the opportunities we, as an industry, have to help not only our companies but every person who interacts with our companies at some level.

Finally, I felt like I personally heard a battle cry – it is easy to overlook when learning about new technology implementations or yet another awe inspiring story about HR restructuring and transformation. Without development of the HR function, these initiatives simply don’t succeed. Today’s HR leaders are serious about developing their HR departments. Development that goes beyond a few business acumen courses and focuses on providing “on the job” programs that include experiences, special projects, job rotations, and extensive business knowledge and data interpretation skills.  Without these efforts, can HR actually fulfill on their goals and strategies?

In closing I’ll quote Ellen Austin, from BBDC when she was asked on her panel how she ensured her HR Strategy and Business Plan were solid, she stated  “I simply ask myself, when looking at my plan; if this was a business… would I lend them the money for this plan?”  Can you look at your own HR organization, strategy, and plan and feel confident that you would lend yourself the money?

If you attended Impact this year we’d love to hear about your own experiences, and we look forward to the next chance we can all get together and learn from each other.

Stacey Harris

Principal Analyst

While transients are seeking job placement assistance, welfare benefits and other services through the Riverside Community Shelter and the Community Access Center, the dogs and cats will be permitted to remain at the campus in a 400-square-foot shelter in one of 18 “pods”.

Most African Americans ring up a friend or relative, not 911, when they have stroke symptoms, a new study has found, delaying potentially life-saving treatment. In the study, published Friday by the journal Stroke, Georgetown University Medical Center researchers surveyed 253 community volunteers living in a predominantly black, urban area of Washington, D.C., about how they would handle stroke symptoms. Eighty-nine percent …

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has received a $500,000 grant from the California Community Foundation that will help support the hospital's COACH for Kids and Their Families program.

Reporting by Sarah Phelan and Linda Man. Photographs by Sarah Phelan
Thirty-six candidates have filed papers in the 2011 mayor’s race, but only former Sup. Michela Alioto-Pier, Sup. John Avalos, Board President David Chiu, former Sup. Bevan Dufty, former Sup. Tony Hall, City Attorney Dennis Herrera, venture capitalist Joanna Rees, City Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, and Sen. Leland Yee got to publicly race out of the starting gate May 5 during the first official mayoral forum. And while the decision to exclude the other 25 candidates was understandable from a logistical perspective, it raised the perennial question as to how the concerns of marginal communities and marginal candidates will be addressed during the campaign. (N. B. Write-in candidate and taxi driver Harold Miller used the forum to circulate his campaign literature, a strategy he also employed during this week’s cab driver protest around MTA credit card fees)<!--break-->

The May 5 mayoral forum, which the University of San Francisco’s Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good and buildOn, a national non-profit organization, hosted, was apparently modeled on the 2008 Presidential Candidate Forum on Service. And it was intended to enable candidates to ‘address substantive questions about the future of service and engaged citizenship in San Francisco,” according to a USF press release.

But while the forum gave the audience a chance to meet nine mayoral candidates up front and personal, and though the candidates sought to differentiate themselves as best they could, the open-ended nature of the questions that students got to pose, resulted in more talking around the issues, and less answering of the questions. By forum’s end, the one message that the mostly student audience seemed to have gotten was that the city is out of money, thanks to a $350 million dollar deficit, and that folks need to volunteer, and, come to think about it, why not volunteer for someone’s mayoral campaign.

“It was more like mayors promoting themselves. Are they supposed to be like that?! The main thing I learned was that the city is in huge debt,” one student observed, after listening to the candidates talk about their experience giving back to the community and what they hope to change if elected.

 USF student Christina Lopez, in her junior year and majoring in Politics, told the Guardian that if she had to vote at last night’s candidate forum, she would have chosen Yee. She said that out of all candidates, Yee offered more insight on how he would change things and what he would do if he was mayor. “The forum was helpful because I didn’t really know all the candidates,” Lopez said. “ I will follow the campaign and see how they actually fall through with what they said about rebuilding SF.”

Audience member Jack Frohlich said he still has no idea who to vote for. “I want to hear where we are going to get the money to do what we are going to do,” Frohlich said. “I want to hear somebody proposing a surcharge on the richest people in the state to close the budget gap.”

USF student Andriana Duckworth, a sophomore majoring in Politics, said she would vote for Avalos. “I liked how he said that we don’t need to take money from other local budgets to fix our public school system,” Duckworth said. She also noted that she liked how Alioto-Pier talked about disabilities and would like to hear it addressed more.  “When people hear diversity, they think of race and class but not disability,” Duckworth said.

So how did the candidates seek to frame and differentiate their candidacies?

Hall characterized himself as “an independent,” but then waffled his way through a long and confusing explanation of his 34 years in public service that included the claim that he was “very successful” as a supervisor.

Alioto-Pier talked about the defining moment in her life: the day she broke her back when she was only 13 years old, thanks to a ski lift accident, and how she subsequently began, “fighting for equality and the rights that I knew were mine.”

Herrera, like the bright lawyer he is, won Brownie points for noting that the location for the mayoral forum on public service was very apt, given Leo McCarthy’s service-oriented political career. Herrera then highlighted the positive changes that his office has made in recent years, including its efforts to promote marriage equality and universal healthcare. “These are real changes that started in San Francisco and had a positive impact,” he said.

Board President David Chiu cast himself as a champion of immigrants, civil and tenants’ rights, and took credit for helping usher in a new era of civility at City Hall. “For the last ten years, City Hall has not been as functional as we would have liked,” Chiu said. “I’m very proud that the tone at City Hall has changed.” He said that balancing the budget, reforming pensions, bringing in the America’s Cup and nurturing and retaining tech companies like Twitter, and creating a world-class public transit system were top priorities. ‘We’re losing families, tenants and homeowners,” Chiu warned.

Venture capitalist Joanna Rees made the biggest visual impression of the night, thanks to a bright orange jacket that made this reporter speculate that Rees was trying to raise her name recognition by making a subliminal connection with the famously bright orange wrapped Reese's Pieces. Either way, Rees cast herself as a political outsider who would breathe fresh air into an otherwise, allegedly, uninspired room. “We’ve lost the spirit of innovation at City Hall,” Rees claimed, as she committed to creating an online clearinghouse that would allow people to share their talents and meet the needs of various services, and thereby “foster more public and private partnerships.”

Sup. John Avalos stressed his roots as a social worker and a community and labor organizer. “I’m running because I want to fight for immigrants and support families and diversity,” he said. “We need to figure out how we can bring neighborhood leaders together, and how communities can come together.”

Former Sup. Bevan Dufty was the only candidate to use the linguistically persuasive technique of talking about himself as if he were already mayor. “I’m excited to be mayor, I love San Francisco, it’s a city where you can achieve your dreams,” Dufty gushed, as he pledged to fight to “uphold diversity and buck the trend that’s anti-immigrant." Dufty also did the good job of relating to the audience, largely through his ability to tell funny stories to make his points. And he wins credit from this reporter for crediting Sup. John Avalos for authoring the local hire legislation that Dufty helped pass in December by becoming the eighth vote when then Mayor Gavin Newsom wanted to veto the legislation, and that interim Mayor Ed Lee recently enacted citywide.

Sen. Leland Yee highlighted his long track record of public service, including the times he used to tutor immigrant youth in San Francisco’s Chinatown, when he was a UC Berkeley student. And he stressed his seniority as an elected official, as he ruminated on his experiences on the school board and the Board of Supervisors, and then in the state Assembly and now in the Senate.

“These are extraordinary times,” Yee said. “We don’t have enough money to do all the things we want, but through civic engagement and leadership we can provide.” He stressed that his priority is not to cut education, social services, and services that are in need. “The government is about taking care of people that are in need of help," he said.

Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting talked about his decision, five years ago, to start resetting how things worked in his office, by training his staff, investing in their future and holding them accountable for the work they do. “We were able to bring in $260 million over our budget,” Ting said, stressing that the effort proved that government works better if you have more say and more power. He also noted that his office introduced the city’s first solar incentive program.

"Now we have four times the solar roofs, we’ve doubled the city’s megawatt production, and we’ve created green collar jobs,” Ting said, lamenting that the city now wants to get out of the program. “You are missing from the dialogue,” he told the audience, as he promoted his Reset San Francisco theme.

And then, after a two-hour round of questions, it was back to the campaign trail, where raising money will be one key to getting out the message in this otherwise crowded race. The other key? Having the stamina and staying power to keep on message while pounding the pavement for the next six months.

In the meantime, you can listen to the candidates' closing statements here:

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iDevice Apps

New iPhone, iPod touch and iPad product announcements for May 6, 2011:

New iPhone, iPad and iPod touch apps

• With its most recent update on May 4, Animal Phone - the iPhone App For Kids, is winning over kids with realistic interaction, and parents with an ability to positively engage their children. Before they even learn to walk, children are now swiping and tapping their way across the entire catalogue of kids apps. From virtual tea parties to simulated phone calls with animals, the latest apps are shifting imaginative play from the toy box to the App Store.
• Barchick.com has announced its all new, revolutionary iphone app. Following the phenomenal success of the website, it was only matter of time before they developed the app. Like the website, it’s simple to use and contains only the best bars in London Drinking dens on the go, 24/7. Plus it’s free, what’s not to love?
• MultiSnooze today released MultiSnooze 2.0 for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users. MultiSnooze is a patented application, offering the perfect waking solution for serial snoozers. Users can tap or shake to have uninterrupted snoozing (no hitting the snooze button), or use the SoftWake feature to hear a chime sound at each snooze session. A user can also awaken to his or her own iTunes playlist or the app’s stock songs. Thousands of alarm settings can be created, named and saved.
• Ken Tidwell has announced D200 DSLR v2.0 for iOS, another in his series of Min-U Guides to Nikon DSLRs. The app provides quick, easy access to information by allowing the user to “drill down” through a topic, just like using the camera menus, until they find exactly what they need. A convenient alternative to carrying bulky, printed reference material, the app also includes a handy list of D200 Quick Specs, a troubleshooting checklist, error messages, and much more.
• Imre Fazekas has announced Sixth Seal 1.1, a huge update to his popular top-view fantasy action-game for iPhone and iPad devices. Featuring an unmatched gesture-based magic control system, Sixth Seal provides non-stop action and fascinating gameplay with eye-catching graphics. Action, strategy, role-playing, and humor have been seamlessly combined to ensure an unforgettable gaming experience. Version 1.1 incorporates long-waited and requested improvements. The game is Free for 2 days and discounted for another few days.
• AircutDev has announced HydroToss 1.0.6 for iOS. In HydroToss, the goal is to put all the balls in appropriate containers using accurate tilt controls integrated in your iOS device. The balls give you immersive gameplay and a different outcome every time. HydroToss is a constantly updated game; updates include new levels, new type of devices, new worlds, new obstacles and new level design and of course, seasonal updates with themed levels as well as Game Center support.
• The newly launched Addicted to Ibiza Island Guide brings users all the top news, venues and music from the famous sun destination of Ibiza. This app includes hundreds of club nights, bars, beaches and club listings, making it an essential resource for unlocking the secrets of the White Isle. Addicted to Ibiza Island Guide 2011 offers Full length DJ mixes from some of the planet’s most popular DJs, as well as a Shout Outs section where users can leave advice or drop a line to new friends & more.
• Visiting certain countries by car might also mean stocking up on extra equipment, such as visibility vests, spare light bulbs, or as in Turkey, Poland and Greece, a fire extinguisher. The smart navigation software iGO primo app provides you with all this information, both before you start your trip and when you cross the country border. The new TTS Pro feature even reads the country summary out to you when entering a new country.
• SplitApple is a fun archery game, the perfect mix of arcade and simulation. Use your skills and accuracy to hit the bull’s eye. Aim right, adjust your shot power and pay attention to the wind and gravity. Reach the highest score in the tournament and time trial modes. Take risks and aim for apples up in the trees to perform a “SplitApple.” You might lose a shot, but you can win a big reward if you get it right!
• Team Sollmo has announced the release of a major update for its popular free-to-play, single-player RPG Buddy Rush. Today’s Third Wave update includes several new characters, plenty of additional items, a fresh chapter full of missions, and a new Raid mode. Raid is a new mode in which players will be able to bring along all of their created characters to attempt to conquer groups of increasingly difficult monsters. The new characters and over 43 new costumes for existing characters are now available to play throughout the game, in addition to the new chapter, Kanbucay, a beach-themed map that features high-level content appropriate for the new level cap of 72.
• Teyon has announced that for a limited time only, their iOS app Arctic Escape 1.0 will be available for free. Arctic Escape is a hybrid of a simple strategy and puzzle with the mechanics resembling popular Lemmings. Take control of a bunch of penguins getting into all sorts of trouble all the time. They were abducted from Antarctica by a cunning scientist and now need your help to come back home. Teyon will promote the game in association with DailyAppDream.
• Flying Mac has announced that FarFinder, the remote file access application for Mac, iPhone and iPad, has been renamed Presence and has received a major upgrade. Presence 2.0 provides secure access to a Mac’s files, by web browser from any Mac or PC, and by iPhone and iPad using the iOS client. New features include a native iPad client, sharing files with others right from the Mac, bridging between other iOS apps and a remote Mac, round-trip editing for iWork, better connectivity and more.
• Hockey Fight Pro is now available for iPhone, iPod and iPad. Hockey Fight Pro is a 3D Unity based hockey fighting game made in collaboration with hockeyfights.com, the world’s largest hockey fight collection and community.
• Getting Jiggy is a new innovative puzzle game for your iPhone,iPod touch and iPad. There is nothing quite like it, all you need is an eye for detail and the push of a button. How much do you think you know about the animal world? Are you ready to take on the challenge and beat the Puzzle game.
• Adobe Connect Mobile has been significantly updated and is available for free download at the App Store. This is the second major version of the app, which was first introduced in February 2010. The app lets users participate in Adobe Connect web conference meetings using an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch—users can collaborate anytime, anywhere and participate in chat conversations, view slides and presentations, and watch and broadcast video.
• Autodesk has announced some updates to SketchBook Pro for iPad. The design app is taking advantage of the new technologies on the iPad 2 to allow artists to create the highest resolution artwork to date and enable them to produce print-quality images directly on their iPad. The updates to iOS also allow SketchBook users to start a sketch on one device and finish it on another, including their desktop, using Dropbox.

New apps for iPad only

• d-Studio today released a Mother’s Day Edition of Join the Hearts - Jigsaw Puzzle for iPad. Join the Hearts 1.2 adds a nice collection of pictures which were especially chosen for this holiday. Now Join the Hearts Picture Library includes both: Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day collections which makes a pack of 48 beautiful pictures in total. While working on the picture user can zoom and move round the big game table. The interface design of this jigsaw puzzle game has been also updated.
• Dreamix Studio has introduced Album App LITE 1.0, their brand new digital photo album solution for iPad. Easily create extensive photo albums on your iPad. Scale, rotate and move photos with a single touch. Add pages to your album and get creative with the layout, or use one of the 30 predefined layouts. Album App comes with 5 themes that contain a lot of backgrounds, borders and objects to fill your album. Album App Lite is available with a 2 album, 2 pages each, limitation.
• Following the release in January of the iPhone & iPod touch version of Interval Trainer Go Matrix, Appnoose has announced the release of the HD version for iPad and iPad 2 called ITGO Matrix HD. The ITGO series of interval trainers as featured in several major UK publications, offers users the most advanced interval training experience for iOS and are the first to offer user programmable dual fast and slow music playlists, voice, vibration and visual alerts for interval changes in one package. In addition ITGO Matrix offers users the ability to program their specific fast and slow intervals to the exact second with the option to store the customized programs.
• Portegno Apps has introduced KidsMag for iPad, their monthly interactive magazine for kids 3 and older. Issue One features more than 30 pages of interactive content, including: Listen & Learn, Play & Enjoy, Draw & Color, Counting & Writing, and Reading & Listening. Two realistically drawn young children, Teo and Bianca, guide the reader through more than 50 different activities. The writing, illustrations, and activities are comparable to those of the highest quality print books for children.

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

---

3:23 P.M. CDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Hey, it’s good to be back with you all. I’ll tell you what.  I want to thank General Colt for accompanying me up here.  I get the honor of introducing the General.

I was back here on February 11th, to welcome home members of the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Afghanistan -- 155 of you got off that plane in the middle of the night, and the only thing that was more exciting than seeing you getting off is watching your families watch you all get off.  So it’s an honor to be back here so soon.

I know many of you have just gotten home in the past few weeks -- so welcome home.  And I know from experience that your families want more than anything to spend time with you.  And so, every time I show up at a welcome home ceremony, I’m always worried about getting in the way.  Because I remember when my son came back home from Iraq after a year, there were all these ceremonies.  And I kept saying, hell, man, stop, I want to see my kid.  (Laughter.)

So, anyway, I get it.  So let me just say how much gratitude the President and I have, and all Americans do, for you all.  You guys have been in the fight from the beginning.  And the risk you’ve taken, the incredible sacrifices you’ve made, the comrades you’ve lost, the losses you’ve personally endured -- you’ve been in some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world.

I’ve been there a number of times, back up those damn mountains.  I’d get a helicopter to go down 9,800 feet, and all I got on is a vest -- a bulletproof vest and a helmet and I’m out of breath climbing up about 40 clicks -- 40 feet.  And you guys are up there, 60 to 80-pound packs running around.  God, you’re amazing.  You just are amazing.  I’m in awe of the job you do, in awe of the job you do.  (Applause.)

As I said back in February, I want to also thank your families.  They made sacrifices as well, those intangible sacrifices -- those missed births and those missed birthdays, those missed graduations, those missed -- an occasional funeral. Perhaps more than anything else, just being missed, just not having you home.

The famous poet -- there was a famous poet I like to quote, John Milton, who said, “They also serve who only stand and wait.” Your families serve as well.  And the rest of America owes your families a debt of gratitude as well.  (Applause.)  And so, to all the families that are listening, I want to say their service is as real as yours and it’s as appreciated.

To the soldiers here, you are the most capable warriors.  Let me say this without any fear of contradiction, you’re the most capable warriors in the history of the world.  There has never, never, never, never been a fighting force as capable as you are.

It’s my job today and my honor to talk a little bit about the man that I get to work with every day.  We’ve just got to spend time with the assaulters who got bin Laden.  (Applause.)

By the way, I shouldn’t say this, but I’m going to tell you anyway -- the President is going to be mad I’m taking so long -- (laughter) -- but today was “Grandfather’s Day,” so I went by earlier this morning before I came out here to my granddaughter’s little spring play.  And after it’s all over she said, “Pop, come back to my classroom with me.”  I said, “I can’t, honey.”  She said, “Are you going someplace on Air Force Two?”  I said, “Yeah, I am, babe.”  She said, “Where are you going?”  I said, going to -- true story -- I said, “I’m going to Fort Campbell.”  I said, “We’re going to see the guys out there who got Osama bin Laden.” Absolutely true story.  She said, “Pop!” and then she grabbed a little friend of hers and she said,  “My Pop is going out to see the whales.”  (Laughter.)  Not the SEALs, the whales  (Laughter.) Because if they’re that good they got to be big, man.  They got to be big.  (Laughter.)  Well, you guys are the gorillas, I’ll tell you.

I want to tell you, look, I’ve watched -- I’ve been around a while with eight Presidents, so I’ve watched Presidents make some difficult decisions.  They’ve all had to make difficult decisions.  But sitting in every meeting getting ready and planning for this mission and assault, for the mission to get bin Laden, I saw something extraordinary.  I saw a President who was told the odds -- told the odds weren’t but much more than 50/50 that he’d be there and we could do this, but they were considerably less than 100 percent.

And I, along with the all the rest of his national security team and Secretary of Defense, stayed -- everyone else, we sat around there and he asked our advice and we gave him our advice, and we told him told him a little this and that.  And finally, he just looked at all of us and said, I got faith in the -- I got faith in these guys.

He walked off on his own without anybody giving him any guarantees at all and he decided -- because he believed in not only the SEALs, but believes in all of you.  He has absolute total faith in all of you.  And he made that determination, and it was an amazing thing to watch.  But it was because he had the absolute confidence that you were there.

And so he decided, when he got into office, because of the fight you all were in from the beginning, that the number one priority was to get Osama bin Laden.  And he knew the risks, he knew there were significant risks, and more importantly, special operations risks to the people who were risking their lives getting there.  But he didn’t hesitate, nor did your guys.

Bob Gates said something interesting.  I’ve known Bob for a long time.  He said, it was one of the gutsiest decisions I’ve ever seen made and one of the gutsiest raids.  This is going to go down in history, what happened.  This is going to go down in history.

And here to introduce your Commander-in-Chief, the guy that I’m proud to serve with, is one of the country’s leading warriors himself, Deputy Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division, General Jeffrey Colt.  Ladies and gentlemen, General Colt.  (Applause.)

GENERAL COLT:  Thank you, sir.

I can only try to tell you today just how proud of you that this Division and this local community are.  But more importantly, today, you’re going to get to hear from the Commander-in-Chief just how appreciative he is of all of your service and your sacrifices.

Please join me in this great privilege of welcoming the President of the United States, Barack Obama.  (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Fort Campbell!  (Applause.)  101st Airborne Division—Air Assault, hello!  (Applause.)

General Colt, thank you for that great introduction -- it was great because it was brief.  (Laughter.)  More importantly, thank you for the extraordinary leadership that you’ve shown here at one of the largest Army bases in America.  (Applause.)

And let me just say, I make a lot of decisions; one of the earliest and best decisions I made was choosing one of the finest Vice Presidents in our history -- Joe Biden, right here.  (Applause.)

Chaplain Miller, thank you for the beautiful invocation.

I want to thank General Colt for welcoming me here today, along with your great Command Sergeant Major, Wayne St. Louis.  (Applause.)  The Quartet and 101st Division Band.  (Applause.)  All these troopers behind me —- you look great.  (Applause.)  You noticed they kind of hesitated.  (Laughter.)  

We got a lot of folks in the house.  We’ve got military police and medical personnel.  We’ve got the Green Berets of the 5th Special Forces Group.  I think we’ve got a few Air Force here.  Ohh -- (laughter.)  Well, we thought we did.  There they go -- okay.  Come on.  (Applause.)  And, of course, the legendary Screaming Eagles.  (Applause.)  And although they’re not in the audience, I want to acknowledge the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment —- the Night Stalkers -— for their extraordinary service.  (Applause.)

Now, I’ve got to say, some of you are starting to look a little familiar -- because last December, when we were at Bagram, I was out there to thank you for your service, especially during the holidays.  And we had a great rally, a big crowd -- it seemed like everybody was there from the 101st.

And since then, I know we’ve had quite a few homecomings.  The Rakkasans.  (Applause.)  Destiny.  (Applause.)  Strike.  (Applause.)  Bastogne.  (Applause.)  And some of the Division Headquarters —- the Gladiators.  (Applause.)  On behalf of a grateful nation —- welcome home.  (Applause.)   

Of course, our thoughts and prayers are with General Campbell, Command Sergeant Major Schroeder, and all of the Screaming Eagles and troops that are still risking their lives in theater.  And I’m so pleased that Ann Campbell and Marla Schroeder, and some of the inspiring military spouses are here.  Where are they at?  Right over there.  (Applause.)  We are grateful to you.  God bless you.  There they are.  Thank you so much.  (Applause.)  This happens to be Military Spouse Appreciation Day.  (Applause.)  And we honor your service as well.

Now, I didn’t come here to make a really long speech.  I know you're hearing that.  (Laughter.)  It’s like, yeah, it’s hot!  (Laughter.)  What I really wanted to do was come down and shake some hands.  I came here for a simple reason —- to say thank you on behalf of America.  This has been an historic week in the life of our nation.  (Applause.)  Thanks to the incredible skill and courage of countless individuals -— intelligence, military —- over many years, the terrorist leader who struck our nation on 9/11 will never threaten America again.  (Applause.)

Yesterday, I traveled to New York City, and, along with some of our 9/11 families, laid a wreath at Ground Zero in memory of their loved ones.  I met with the first responders —- the firefighters, the police officers, the Port Authority officers —- who lost so many of their own when they rushed into those burning towers.  I promised that our nation will never forget those we lost that dark September day.   

And today, here at Fort Campbell, I had the privilege of meeting the extraordinary Special Ops folks who honored that promise.  It was a chance for me to say —- on behalf of all Americans and people around the world —- “Job well done.”  Job well done.  (Applause.)

They’re America’s “quiet professionals” -- because success demands secrecy.  But I will say this.  Like all of you, they could have chosen a life of ease.  But like you, they volunteered.  They chose to serve in a time of war, knowing they could be sent into harm’s way.  They trained for years.  They’re battle-hardened.  They practiced tirelessly for this mission.  And when I gave the order, they were ready.

Now, in recent days, the whole world has learned just how ready they were.  These Americans deserve credit for one of the greatest intelligence military operations in our nation’s history.  But so does every person who wears America’s uniform, the finest military the world has ever known.  (Applause.)  And that includes all of you men and women of 101st.  (Applause.)

You have been on the frontlines of this fight for nearly 10 years.  You were there in those early days, driving the Taliban from power, pushing al Qaeda out of its safe havens.  Over time, as the insurgency grew, you went back for, in some cases, a second time, a third time, a fourth time.

When the decision was made to go into Iraq, you were there, too, making the longest air assault in history, defeating a vicious insurgency, ultimately giving Iraqis the chance to secure their democracy.  And you’ve been at the forefront of our new strategy in Afghanistan.

Sending you -- more of you -- into harm’s way is the toughest decision that I’ve made as Commander-in-Chief.  I don’t make it lightly.  Every time I visit Walter Reed, every time I visit Bethesda, I’m reminded of the wages of war.  But I made that decision because I know that this mission was vital to the security of the nation that we all love.

And I know it hasn’t been easy for you and it hasn’t, certainly, been easy for your families.  Since 9/11, no base has deployed more often, and few bases have sacrificed more than you.  We see it in our heroic wounded warriors, fighting every day to recover, and who deserve the absolute best care in the world.  (Applause.)  We see it in the mental and emotional toll that’s been taken -- in some cases, some good people, good soldiers who’ve taken their own lives.  So we’re going to keep saying to anybody who is hurting out there, don’t give up.  You’re not alone.  Your country needs you.  We’re here for you to keep you strong.

And most of all, we see the price of this war in the 125 soldiers from Fort Campbell who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice during this deployment to Afghanistan.  And every memorial ceremony —- every “Eagle Remembrance” —- is a solemn reminder of the heavy burdens of war, but also the values of loyalty and duty and honor that have defined your lives.

So here’s what each of you must know.  Because of your service, because of your sacrifices, we’re making progress in Afghanistan.  In some of the toughest parts of the country, General Campbell and the 101st are taking insurgents and their leaders off the battlefield and helping Afghans reclaim their communities.

Across Afghanistan, we’ve broken the Taliban’s momentum.  In key regions, we’ve seized the momentum, pushing them out of their strongholds.  We’re building the capacity of Afghans, partnering with communities and police and security forces, which are growing stronger.

And most of all, we’re making progress in our major goal, our central goal in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and that is disrupting and dismantling -- and we are going to ultimately defeat al Qaeda.  (Applause.)  We have cut off their head and we will ultimately defeat them.  (Applause.)

Even before this week’s operation, we’ve put al Qaeda’s leadership under more pressure than at any time since 9/11, on both sides of the border.  So the bottom line is this:  Our strategy is working, and there’s no greater evidence of that than justice finally being delivered to Osama bin Laden.  (Applause.)

But I don’t want to fool you.  This continues to be a very tough fight.  You know that.  But because of this progress, we’re moving into a new phase.  In the coming months, we’ll start transferring responsibility for security to Afghan forces. Starting this summer, we’ll begin reducing American forces.  As we transition, we’ll build a long-term partnership with the Afghan people, so that al Qaeda can never again threaten America from that country.

And, as your Commander-in-Chief, I’m confident that we’re going to succeed in this mission.  The reason I’m confident is because in you I see the strength of America’s military -- (applause) -- and because in recent days we’ve all seen the resilience of the American spirit.

Now, this week I received a letter from a girl in New Jersey named Payton Wall.  She wrote to me on Monday after the news that bin Laden had been killed, and she explained how she still remembers that September morning almost 10 years ago.  She was only four years old.  Her father, Glen, was trapped inside the World Trade Center.  And so, in those final, frantic moments, knowing he might not make it, he called home.  And Payton remembers watching her mom sobbing as she spoke to her husband and then passed the phone to Payton.  And in words that were hard to hear but which she’s never forgotten, he said to her, “I love you Payton, and I will always be watching over you.”     

So yesterday, Payton, her mom, and her sister, Avery, joined me at Ground Zero.  And now Payton is 14.  These past 10 years have been tough for her.  In her letter, she said, “Ever since my father died, I lost a part of me that can never be replaced.”  And she describes her childhood as a “little girl struggling to shine through all the darkness in her life.”

But every year, more and more, Payton is shining through.  She’s playing a lot of sports, including lacrosse and track, just like her dad.  She’s doing well in school.  She’s mentoring younger students.  She’s looking ahead to high school in the fall.  And so, yesterday she was with us —- a strong, confident young woman -— honoring her father’s memory, even as she set her sights on the future.

And for her and for all of us, this week has been a reminder of what we’re about as a people.  It’s easy to forget sometimes, especially in times of hardship, times of uncertainty.  We’re coming out of the worst recession since the Great Depression; haven’t fully recovered from that.  We’ve made enormous sacrifices in two wars.  But the essence of America -- the values that have defined us for more than 200 years -- they don’t just endure; they are stronger than ever.

We’re still the America that does the hard things, that does the great things.  We’re the nation that always dared to dream.  We’re the nation that’s willing to take risks -- revolutionaries breaking free from an empire; pioneers heading West to settle new frontiers; innovators building railways and laying the highways and putting a man on the surface of the moon.

We are the nation -- and you’re the Division -- that parachuted behind enemy lines on D-Day, freeing a continent, liberating concentration camps.  We’re the nation that, all those years ago, sent your Division to a high school in Arkansas so that nine black students could get an education.  That was you.  Because we believed that all men are created equal; that everyone deserves a chance to realize their God-given potential.

We’re the nation that has faced tough times before -- tougher times than these.  But when our Union frayed, when the Depression came, when our harbor was bombed, when our country was attacked on that September day, when disaster strikes like that tornado that just ripped through this region, we do not falter.  We don’t turn back.  We pick ourselves up and we get on with the hard task of keeping our country strong and safe.

See, there’s nothing we can’t do together, 101st, when we remember who we are, at that is the United States of America.  (Applause.)  When we remember that, no problem is too hard and no challenge is too great.

And that is why I am so confident that, with your brave service, America’s greatest days are still to come.  (Applause.)

God bless you.  God bless the 101st.  And God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

END
3:47 P.M. CDT

By: Jenée Desmond-Harris

MSBNC reports that a street in New York City near the place where civil rights icon Malcolm X was assassinated may be renamed for his wife, Dr. Betty Shabazz.

The renaming of the Washington Heights street would be symbolic, taking the form of a sign at the corner of W. 165th Street and Broadway, bearing the name "Betty Shabazz Place." The location is directly in front of what used to be the Audubon Ballroom and Theater, where Malcolm X was slain.

The building now houses the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial Educational Center, which Shabazz worked tirelessly to create. She died before it was completed in 1997, but her daughters took over and opened the center in 2005.

We're guessing that Dr. Shabazz would be much more concerned with the work the center is doing than with a symbolic naming of a street. Making "Betty Shabazz Place" official -- which will happen if a pending resolution is approved by the City Council -- will really be for the benefit of the community that's there today. As her daughter Malaak told the Daily News, "I hope it's going to inspire young women. We don't have many heroes."

Read more at MSNBC.

In other news: African American Stroke Victims: Most Call A Friend before 911.

Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

We have another CTS profile for you today - meet Steve Thomas, Sr. Support Escalation Engineer!

 

What is your Microsoft anniversary date? 

I started as an FTE on May 15th, 2006. Before that I worked for Microsoft as a contractor.

 

What office/campus do you work at?

I work in the Las Colinas Campus in Irving, TX

 

What is your current role in Microsoft? 

I am a Senior Support Escalation Engineer and the CTS vertical Lead for System Center Virtualization

 

What kind of projects are you currently working on?

I recently completed CTS Readiness for MED-V v2 and served as a Beta Engineer for MED-V v2. Right now as Vertical/Support Topic Lead in the System Center Virtualization group, I am currently working to increase global collaboration between engineers supporting App-V, MED-V, VDI, and SCVMM to provide for a consistent customer support experience across the globe.

 

What have you blogged about?

I write extensively for the App-V and MED-V team blogs. Lately my blogs involve the changes in the new release of MED-V and I also have been blogging a lot on the issues encountered when virtualizing Office 2010 with App-V.

 

I am a big proponent of leveraging social media to communicate with partners, vendors, customers, friends, and family through Microsoft channels (Technet, MSDN) as well as my own personal channels (Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress) where I am known as the "Mad Virtualizer."

 

How did you get to this role – what is your background and career path so far? 

After being a contractor in the 90's, I moved into academia for a while. Missing the action, I returned to the industry and to contracting including a stint with Microsoft. When the opportunity at Microsoft to join CTS full-time came to fruition, I jumped at the chance. I love troubleshooting and resolving complex issues.

Any advice for potential candidates looking to connect to Microsoft?

It seems that every job at Microsoft is unlimited in the potential impact you can have on your peers and the customer community you serve. It is amazing how you can influence your position to evolve. After working here for five years I realized that the worst mistake in my life was not coming to work here 15 years ago when I first had the chance.

 

Check out other CTS blogs here:

The SCVMM Team Blog
The Server App-V Team Blog
The ConfigMgr Support Team Blog
The Virtualization Team Blog
The Virtual PC Team Blog
The RDS Team Blog

Rye Barcott was serving as a military intelligence officer with the Marines in Iraq in 2000 when he decided to set up a non-profit organization in Kenya, a continent away. He called it "Carolina for Kibera," for the slum in Nairobi he visited during his junior year at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Barcott had journeyed to Kibera to understand ethnic violence in anticipation of his future Marine assignments. "I was overwhelmed by the sights and the sounds and the fact that young kids could grow up in rooms the average size of a dorm room and be separated from your [sic] neighbor by a thin piece of tin and right outside your door step runs open sewage," Barcott said. Since Barcott and some friends in Kibera founded "Carolina for Kibera," the village has opened a medical clinic, a community center, a sports program for kids and a waste management program. Many people see contradiction that Barcott waged war in Iraq while promoting peace in Africa -- fighting war while waging peace. Barcott says he believes there are ways to make the two co-exist. "The military finds itself on more and more of these amalgamations. I don't think we are really good at it and that was my real take away," he said. "I think we are best served when we integrate the use of the military with other forms of American influence and power." You can hear KUT's Erika Aguilar's interview with Rye Barcott by click on the audio player button above.

New York Daily News

Lindsay Lohan begins court-ordered 360 hours of community service at homeless ... New York Daily News LOS ANGELES – Lindsay Lohan was all smiles as she started her 360 hours of community service at a homeless women's shelter Friday. The "Mean Girls" star arrived at the Downtown Women's Center looking ready for action with tall black ... Lindsay Lohan to Teach Acting to Homeless WomenTiny Green Bubble Lohan begins community serviceTVNZ Lindsay Lohan on Community Service: Let's DO This!The Hollywood Gossip E! Online (blog) all 114 news articles »

Homes for eight residents of the Central Virginia Training Center will be built in Lynchburg, according to plans announced by the Central Virginia Community Services Board.

Troubled starlet Lindsay Lohan — who will most likely never play Stevie Nicks in any film but may be a new convert of the Church of Scientology — made another visit to the Downtown Women’s Center to fulfill some of the 320 hours she has to serve there as part of her probation violation punishment. [...]

Ritter Center in San Rafael is hiring a Medical Respite Care Manager/RN Case Manager. The RN Case Manager will report directly to the Health Center Administrator. This is a 75% time position with a flexible schedule.

Position Summary
Functions as a medical Case Manager for homeless patients discharged from local inpatient services who require a medical respite bed. Coordinates care with Homeward Bound’s on-site staff at the Next Key Center, New Beginnings Center, and Mill Street. The position requires a community health focus and experience in coordinating care among providers and community health agencies for disenfranchised patients. In addition to facilitating the development of a plan of care which extends beyond the hospital discharge, the RN acts as a comprehensive care coordinator for patients assigned to his / her care, continually assessing the patient needs, engaging ancillary services as needed, discharge to a suitable program or housing as needed and facilitating communication amongst other clinicians and agencies providing care.

Education, Qualification and Requirements

- Graduate of an accredited School of Nursing, College or University.
- Graduate degree desirable, but not required.
- Current California license as a Registered Nurse
- Experience working with disenfranchised populations. Community Health experience preferred.
- One (1) year experience in medical/surgical nursing required.
- Spanish language skills helpful.

Qualified applicants please submit your resume to cia@rittercenter.org or fax to (415) 457-3490. Please limit faxes to 4 pages. Candidates will be notified to schedule an initial interview. No phone calls please.

Formed in 1980, Ritter Center is a community-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that offers services for Marin County’s homeless and working poor. In addition to showers, laundry, clothing, pantry, case management and emergency financial assistance, Ritter Center also operates a fully licensed clinic through which it provides primary care services for clients/patients. For more information, please visit www.rittercenter.org.

• This is at a non-profit organization.
• OK to highlight this job opening for persons with disabilities
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job!
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

Jewish Home of San Francisco

VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Physical Therapist (Full-Time)
Physical Therapist and Speech Therapist (Per Diem)

We are seeking Physical/Occupational/Speech Therapists to join our team at the Jewish Home of San Francisco, a 5 star rated non-profit comprehensive senior care community. Our nine-acre campus includes STARS, a state of the art sub-acute unit providing short-term rehabilitation, a newly opened Acute Psych geriatric hospital and residential center to 400 seniors.

You will join a dynamic team of 20 therapists in helping our short-term and long-term patients achieve their full potential. The Jewish Home of SF’s comprehensive scope of services and programs have made us a national model for geriatric care: Specialized Clinics in Audiology, Dermatology, Neurology and Radiology to mention a few; Integrative Medicine, Acupuncture, Massage Therapy and Healing Touch and Research programs to improve the care of older, frailer adults.

We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome diversity in every way. Our multi-cultural and multi-denominational staff reflects the richness and natural beauty of the Bay Area!

Jewish Home is offering…
• Competitive compensation
• Great work environment

If you posses...
• Current California licensure by Therapy Board
• Geriatric experience preferred
• Must work well in dynamic environment
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

Email cover letter with salary requirements and resume to:

Jewish Home of San Francisco
Attn: Therapist Position
jobs@jhsf.org
Visit our website at www.jhsf.org

• Compensation: DOE
• This is at a non-profit organization.
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job!
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

UPS (NYSE:UPS) has activated its newly-created Logistics Action Teams (LAT) to support the American Red Cross's relief efforts for victims of the recent tornadoes in the southeastern United States. Additionally, the company pledged an additional $100,000 to its original $500,000 commitment to the American Red Cross and made a $50,000 contribution to the Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter of the Red Cross, also earmarked for emergency relief for tornado victims. LATs were established in January to leverage UPS's transportation network, logistics expertise and far-reaching employee volunteer base for the benefit of the Red Cross during natural disasters and emergencies. The LAT approach was modeled after the World Food Programme's Logistics Emergency Teams, which utilize logistics experts from private companies like UPS in times of crisis. This is the first deployment of a UPS LAT team, one of four created so far and assigned to the Metropolitan Atlanta Chapter. In addition to Atlanta, UPS has trained LAT teams to work with the Red Cross in San Francisco, Houston and Louisiana. In addition to the Atlanta team's efforts, UPS also is managing emergency supply shipments to Alabama and Mississippi for the Red Cross's national office. "The UPS Logistics Action Team has been invaluable to our tornado relief operation," said Nancy Brockway, Chief Emergency Services Officer for Metro Atlanta Chapter of the American Red Cross. "Their expertise has helped us be more efficient in transporting meals and supplies to the families who so desperately need them." Mark Krause, a UPS operations division manager, is working directly with the Red Cross's Logistics Command Center in Atlanta. His current assignment is working with the local Red Cross Bulk Distribution Manager to help coordinate relief efforts in Georgia. Projects underway include:

• Bulk distribution of clean-up supplies to the hardest hit areas.
• Pick-up and delivery of hot meals to fixed feeding sites.
• Transportation of documents, equipment and supplies from warehouses to service delivery sites.
• Operation of daily pick-up and delivery routes between Red Cross warehouses and affected areas.

This week, UPS volunteers saw the benefits of recent donations of time and labor. On April 15 in Atlanta, the employees on their day off cut huge donated linoleum sheeting for use to protect school gymnasium floors used for shelters. That sheeting has been delivered to schools around the region. UPSers also got a "thank you" from the mayor of Geiger, Ala., who asked UPS to lend the town two 53-foot trailers to protect personal items that were retrieved after the storms. The Red Cross partnership and recent activation in the Southeast are extensions of The UPS Foundation's innovative use of logistics experts for humanitarian relief around the globe. Yuki Muramatsu, UPS Japan, has been assigned to the World Food Programme Logistics Emergency Team (LET) in Tokyo to support relief efforts for earthquake victims there. She began on March 23 and continues to serve as the LET lead coordinator, responsible for handling all incoming relief shipments for the WFP including warehouse management, customs clearance and transportation to the impacted areas. Other recent UPS humanitarian relief activities include grants to the Red Cross of Columbia (Cruz Roja Colombiana) after extensive floods and mudslides; shipments of relief supplies to refugees in Tunisia and Liberia for CARE and the UNHCR, respectively, and continued shipping of goods for Japan relief efforts. Since its founding in 1907, UPS has built a legacy as a caring and responsible corporate citizen, supporting programs that provide long-term solutions to community needs. Founded in 1951, The UPS Foundation, which celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2011, is responsible for facilitating employee involvement in the local, national and global communities. In 2010, UPS and its employees, active and retired, invested more than $95 million in charitable giving around the world. The UPS Foundation, which has urgent humanitarian relief as part of its core focus giving areas, can be found on the web at UPS.com/foundation. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com/RSS.

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ - Today, United Way honored U.S. Bank with the 2011 Spirit of America® Award to recognize the company and its employees' commitment to improving the financial stability of individuals, families and local communities. Microsoft Corporation, Bank of America, Procter & Gamble and Dominion Resources, Inc. also received Summit awards for generosity, volunteerism and measurable community impact. "At a time when many families need extra help, U.S. Bank has demonstrated true leadership by dedicating their resources and people to improve financial stability through program grants, training, financial education and assistance, community service, and more," said Brian Gallagher, president and CEO of United Way Worldwide. "Their commitment, and that of these other model corporate citizens, is truly improving lives." As part of the 2010 U.S. Bank United Way campaign, Richard Davis, chairman, president and chief executive officer for U.S. Bancorp, the parent company of U.S. Bank, called U.S. Bank employees to action, asking them to "Dare to Dream" of a community where everyone could live a healthy life. Employees responded wholeheartedly, leading U.S. Bank to a $12.5 million United Way campaign - an 11% increase from the previous year. In 2010, U.S. Bank provided $38 million in total charitable giving (including United Way), an increase of 24%. Further, over 36,000 U.S. Bank employees (60%) volunteered, helping hundreds of thousands of people with home buying, basic banking and more. "It is an honor to be recognized by United Way, an organization that truly makes a difference by providing a wide variety of services and assistance to those in need in communities across the country," said Davis. "I am especially proud of our employees whose contributions, service and partnership with United Way have helped to make our communities stronger, healthier and more vibrant places to live, work and play." U.S. Bank provided $25.8 million to support programs focused on financial education, job training, affordable housing and more - representing 75% of the bank's overall charitable giving. Plus, U.S. Bank boosted its fundraising efforts for United Way and 25,000 other qualifying charities by offering triple FlexPoints to customers who used their FlexPerks Visa card to make charitable contributions. Donations made via the card increased overall by 22% and donations specifically to United Way increased 45%. In addition to the 2011 Spirit of America Award, United Way presented Summit Awards for exceptional community results to these corporate leaders:

• Microsoft partnered with United Way in multiple ways including Gulf Coast oil spill support, software and grants, plus a companywide auction, photography book and employee donations – overall providing $14.3 million in cash, software and in-kind donations to United Way, part of the $603 million in cash, software, and matching of employee contributions to charitable organizations and causes around the world in 2010. Microsoft also supported United Way's focus on education by serving on the Campaign for the Common Good education launch panel, partnering with United Way during the NFL Half Time Show to promote InterroBang, an interactive online educational game for kids, and providing software and expertise for the online components of United Way's education town hall, plus local support for United Way of King County's Parent-Child Home Program to help low-income families prepare for kindergarten. Microsoft's General Counsel, Brad Smith was the co-chair of United Way of King County this year, and Microsoft employees logged more than 72,490 volunteer hours toward education projects and 363,000 hours overall. Since 2006, Microsoft has doubled the number of employees volunteering plus provided $23 million in matching grants, with a $17/hour donation for employees volunteering 10 or more hours.
• Procter & Gamble and its employees demonstrated their commitment to touch and improve lives by contributing time, cash and product to United Way organizations around the world last year, including raising almost $16 million for local communities through employee campaigns. In concert with the Company's Live, Learn and Thrive program that helps children get off to a healthy start, receive access to education, and build skills for life, P&G; helped expand the reach of United Way organizations around the world. For instance, P&G; provided support for the creation of United Way chapters in Panama and Honduras, and supported on-going efforts in Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Canada, and the U.S. Through efforts like these P&G; has benefited more than 210 million children globally since 2007 - on its way to reaching 300 million by 2012. Plus, P&G; provided support to United Way of Greater Cincinnati's Winning Beginnings and Success By 6 early childhood education programs and the Born Learning program in Latin America. In addition to employee financial donations, more than 5,000 P&Gers; volunteered more than 37,000 hours to United Way agencies last year, including more than 145 team volunteer events, a 453% increase over the previous year.
• Bank of America has invested more than $450 million with United Way since 1999, taking a leadership role as the largest financial institution supporter for more than 10 years. The bank was the first financial institution to nationally support United Way's Financial Stability Partnership through $4.5 million in grants in addition to employee volunteers, providing free tax preparation and filing assistance to lower-income working families, resulting in 1.5 million free tax returns and $2 billion in total tax refunds. In addition, the bank is also the national founding partner of United Way's one-stop centers which bring a range of social services under one roof to increase people's economic self-sufficiency. In 2010, bank employees donated more than $25 million to basic human services supported by United Way and donated thousands of hours as part of more than one million volunteer hours contributed to local communities last year.
• Dominion and its philanthropic arm, The Dominion Foundation, granted $24 million in 14 states, including supporting United Way of Southeastern Connecticut's heating assistance program and food center. Dominion also provided $4.5 million in EnergyShare heating and cooling assistance. In 2010, Dominion employees volunteered 150,000 hours, a 20% increase over 2009. Dominion's focus on supporting the communities it serves is clear: Employees participating in the Speaker Bureau program spoke at 91 different schools and civic organizations in 2010; the company created STEM endowments for New England Public Schools, including "Worm World" outreach; and Dominion piloted a new higher education grants program in Virginia, focusing on workforce development. The program has been expanded to 10 states for 2011. Dominion is a leader and key sponsor of Greater Richmond and Petersburg United Way's Women's Leadership Initiative where 75 Dominion employees are members, focusing on supporting childcare centers.

The Spirit of America and Summit Awards program, now in its 24th year, is United Way's highest national honor for a corporation, recognizing the United Way Global Corporate Leadership company with the most comprehensive commitment to improving lives and strengthening communities. Applicants are evaluated by corporate peers, labor representatives and local United Ways. About United Way United Way is a worldwide network in 40 countries and territories, including more than 1,200 local organizations in the U.S. It advances the common good, creating opportunities for a better life for all by focusing on the three key building blocks of education, income and health. United Way recruits people and organizations who bring the passion, expertise and resources needed to get things done. LIVE UNITED® is a call to action for everyone to become a part of the change. For more information about United Way, please visit: LIVEUNITED.org. About U.S. Bank U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), with $311 billion in assets as of March 31, 2011, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States. The company operates 3,082 banking offices in 25 states and 5,238 ATMs and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at www.usbank.com.

Mike Elk, a third-generation union organizer who writes for the Campaign for America's Future has a post up at Alternet, which should be of considerable interest to both the labor movement and the Democratic Party. Elk's post, "Major Union Victory for Rite Aid Workers Offers Roadmap for Labor Movement," is important to the Democratic Party because labor unions function as a pivotal source of funding and volunteers for Democratic candidates. When unions grow, the Party's resources will expand.

Elk's insights about the highly successful campaign of the International Longshoremen Workers Union to organize Rite Aid workers at the company's southwest distribution center should prove instructive for future campaigns. First, a little history:

The victory is a testament to the resolve of the workers and organizers -- it's a success five years in the making. It reveals how tough the environment for rehabilitating the labor movement is, but also how it is still possible to win through creative, direct action.

"We're excited about winning this victory, even if it took longer than it should have" said Carlos "Chico" Rubio, a 10-year warehouse worker who was on the union bargaining committee. Unlike many unions that do win a good contract, the union was quick not to praise the boss for agreeing to a contract, but to point out instead that the process was a long and costly one. Workers decided to first start organizing a union in March of 2006 and hoped to have a new contract within several months, not five years.

Rite Aid management responded with the typical toolbox of anti-union tactics. They hired a team of expensive union busters to hold anti-union intimidation sessions and captive audience meetings. They threatened to fire workers if they supported the union and even fired two workers for wanting to a join a union. They asked a delay of over 18 months from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on scheduling a vote so that they could have more time to run intimidation sessions to make workers wary of joining a union. Finally after two years of organizing and despite massive anti-union attacks, workers voted to join a union 283 to 261 in an NLRB supervised election in June of 2008.

Elk reports that Rite Aid stalled with bad faith or "surface bargaining" for a full year after the vote. Then the union and workers got creative:

...Workers started by attending yearly stockholder meetings and opening lines of communications with stockholders and board members. They released detailed reports about how much money the union busting efforts of Rite Aid was costing the company. Workers were able to persuade some stockholders to put pressure on Rite Aid to negotiate a fair and equitable contract.

Likewise, they used their leverage against Rite Aid by expanding the fight across various unions and the country. They formed a coalition of nationwide Rite Aid workers from various unions including UFCW, SEIU, and Teamsters who coordinated their strategy. Workers reached out to powerful community allies with groups like United Students against Sweatshops and Jobs with Justice. They held protests in nearly 50 cities across the country against Rite Aid and promised to apply more heat if Rite Aid didn't settle the contract dispute in California.

After creative coalition-building comes economic withdrawal, a.k.a. 'hardball':

Most importantly, the workers union had a strong presence within the distribution center in Lancaster, California. Workers even engaged in "work to rule," where they purposely slowed down movement in the distribution center in order to put pressure on the company to settle a contract. Even last year, 75 workers walked off the job for a day in Lancaster, California to protest Rite Aid's lack of good faith bargaining.

Finally, when negotiations seemed to be breaking down at the last second, they launched a "pinpoint" boycott campaign at two Rite Aid workers at two Rite Aid Stores in San Pedro, California on April 1, 2011. They persuaded hundreds of seniors to switch their prescriptions to other pharmacies. The threat of a larger boycott spreading forced Rite Aid to finally settle the contract a month later.

To put the Rite Aid campaign's success in perspective, Elk points out that "fewer than 1 in 6 organizing drives ever results in a union contract for workers in the workplace."

It looks like the ILWU and Rite Aid workers have developed a promising organizing template for the 21st century union movement. It's an especially welcome development, coming soon after the Wisconsin protests and the awakening of many workers to the unexpected consequences of voting Republican.

An invigorated labor movement is also critically-important for insuring the integrity of the Democratic party. As Joan Walsh notes in her Salon.com post today, data provided to her by AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka indicates,

...Democrats have become almost as reliant as Republicans on corporate money (Republicans get 79 percent of campaign contributions from business; Democrats get 72 percent, and the share from unions has dropped in half in just the last decade.)

Restoring a larger share of contributions from unions to Democratic candidates will help make the Party less beholden to their corporate contributors -- and more responsive to the priorities of working families. But the challenge is made more difficult, as Walsh reports, by the AFL-CIO's recent decision to invest more of current resources in shoring up the Federation's structure and programs, and less on federal candidates for office. In her interview with Trumka, he explains how the allocation of the Federation's resources will be different going forward:

...We're going to do a full-time, around the calendar political program that's going to be mobilizing and educating people 12 months a year, 24 months a cycle, as opposed to doing it till Election Day and dismantling it. We're going to keep people in place, and actually make people pay a price [if they don't keep promises]. We'll start running some of our own, in state races.

Democrats face a tough challenge in the short run in raising funds for candidates to make up for the expected shortfall resulting from the AFL-CIO's new priorities. If they can raise the needed funds through other means, a stronger union movement could result in a more mutually beneficial relationship down the road. In the longer run, what it comes down to is that Democrats must do a better job of supporting unions and their priorities, so unions can grow and return the favor.

On Monday, May 9 Greeneville's own Kimberly , Neil and Reid Perry will join both the Greene County Chapter of the Red Cross and the Greene County Disaster Relief/Donation Center to assist in relief efforts, offer solace to those who have been hardest hit and express gratitude for the first responders and community volunteers for their ...

Today, NASA announced three future key missions preselected as part of the Discovery program named GEMS, TiME and Comet Hopper. This is an important announcement, which was eagerly expected by our community.

The NASA Discovery program is a low-cost mission ($425 million FY2010) program aimed at developing and supporting a well-defined and narrow-range science mission in the field of planetary exploration. Discovery is a dynamic and highly valuable program which had led to a lot of well-known missions with a wide range of scientific goals including (adapted from Visions & Voyages Decadal survey):

- NEAR Showmaker (Feb 1996) to rendezvous the Near Earth Asteroid 433 Eros.
- Mars Pathfinder (Dec 1996) to land and trek on Mars surface (Sojourner)
- Lunar Prospector (Jan 1998) to orbit the moon
- Stardust (Feb 1999) to collect samples of comet 81P/Wild
- Genesis (Aug 2001) to collect solar wind sample
- CONTOUR (July 2002) to flyby to comet nuclei (unsuccessful)
- MESSENGER (Aug 2004) to orbit Mercury
- Deep Impact (Jan 2005) to impact and flyby comet Tempel 1
- Dawn (Sep 2007) to rendezvous the large main-belt asteroid 4 Vesta and 1 Ceres
- Kepler (Mar 2009) to search exoplanets by transit
- Grail (launched in Sep 2011, orbit insertion in Jan 2012) to measure the moon gravitational field

With the exception of the CONTOUR mission, all spacecrafts launched in the framework of Discovery program were a success. Because of their robustness several spacecraft had their lifetime extended and they were reused for a new mission with different scientific objectives. For instance, after exploring the comet Tempel 1, the orbiter was renamed EPOXI and was used to characterize exoplanets by transit and flyby the comet 103P/Hartley.

In 2010, NASA released an announcement of opportunity for a 12th Discovery mission with a potential launch before end of December 2016. A panel of scientists and engineers from NASA and elsewhere reviewed 28 submitted missions. These missions encompass all bodies of the solar including asteroids and comets, which have been traditional targets for the Discovery missions because of their proximity. However the 2010 Announcement of Opportunity was slightly different since it included as well the use of Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) developed by NASA and the US Department of Energy. This radioisotope power system is more efficient than the previous generation and works without solar panels allowing planetary scientists to envision longer missions and giving us access to less hospitable region of our solar system.

Today's NASA announcement is an important first step since the leading teams of these projects will receive $3 million from NASA to validate their concept and refine the design of the spacecraft. In 2012, another panel will meet and choose the mission which will be selected for Discovery-12 and launch in 2016 or before. For planetary scientists in the US and elsewhere, this pre-selection is important since it gives us an idea of the future projects in our field and it could influence the direction of our future research.

Let me finally describe these selected mission concepts:

The Geophysical Monitoring Station (GEMS) will perform for the first time an in-situ investigation of the interior of Mars. With this lander station, Bruce Banerdt from Jet Propulsion Laboratory and his team propose to understand the formation and evolution of terrestrial planets through the study of Mars interior structure, its level of tectonic activity and meteor impact flux. GEMS will carry a seismometer, a self-penetrating mole system to measure the temperature of the interior of Mars, radio tracking device to measure with great precision the dynamic rotation of Mars. The team mentioned in their 2010 Fall AGU conference abstract that they can propose a mission to Mars which fits into the budget of the Discovery program by reusing the Phoenix spacecraft design, its technology and its landing system. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory which also managed the Phoenix mission from Aug. 2007 to Nov. 2008 would be in charge of this mission. The scientific objectives of this mission are ambitious but crucial in the context of the Mars exploration and the understanding of terrestrial planets.

The Titan Mare Explorer (TiME), as portrayed in an artist rendering of the lake lander probe TiME (from Wikipedia), is definitely in my mind the most original mission ever envisioned in the field of planetary science. It all started in 2007-2008 when lakes and seas were discovered in the northern hemisphere of Titan, satellite of Saturn. The chemistry of these lakes, their role in the methane cycle of Titan and the seasonal variability is unknown and will remain unsolved even with the presence of the Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn. The TiMeE mission led by Ellen Stofan from Proxemy Research proposes to determine the composition and depth of these seas, their variation over time and their relation with meteorology and the geography of their surrounding. After a launch in January 2015, and a cruise of 7 years, a lander will separate from the spacecraft and "splash" on Ligeia Mare, one of the large Titan seas, for at least 3 months. This first nautical exploration of an extraterrestrial sea could be a unique opportunity to study a place with a methane cycle analogous to Earth's hydrologic cycle. The instrument payload of this mission is not well known. The Applied Physics Lab at Johns Hopkins University would manage this pioneer low-cost mission for the outer planet exploration. I am betting that we will know more about the science objectives and the instruments on board this "boat lander" in the future.

The Comet Hopper (Chopper) mission led by Jessica Sunshine from University of Maryland was conceived shortly after images collected by various spacecrafts of Tempel 1, 81P/Wild 2 and 19P/Borelly comet nuclei revealed a great diversity among them but also on each individual body. To understand this heterogeneity the team proposes to study in detail a comet over its full revolution around the sun. The concept was presented at the ACM conference in 2008 and they identified as a target the comet P/2004 R1 (McNaught) with a period of 5.4 years. The spacecraft will "hop" on the small comet nucleus and collect data about its surface composition and properties. Taking advantage of the weak gravity of the comet nucleus, it will be able to go back in orbit (a "sortie" as shown in the figure above) and remains around the nucleus to study as well the cometary coma to understand the link between the surface activity and the cometary activity. Once again, the use of nuclear power source allows the mission to remain active for a long period of time. The NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center would manage this mission. The image to the left depicts the Comet Hopper concept and its ability to land at multiple sites of a comet nucleus.

So that's it. I can anticipate a lot of disappointments in our community. I know several members of proposed missions who spent a lot of time developing their mission concept, putting together a team of researchers and engineers and writing this document. Unfortunately it is not possible to select all these missions. I am not personally involved in any proposed and preselected missions but I had of course my preferences for missions toward asteroids, in particular multiple asteroid systems (asteroids with moons), or toward Io to finally understand the origin and evolution of this exotic volcanism.

On a bright side, the recently revealed decadal survey in planetary science emphasized the need for regular, predictable, and preferable short (≤24 months) cadence for Discovery announcement of opportunity releases and mission selections. If NASA follows this recommendation, in May 2013 I should write a new post on this blog about the preselected missions for Discovery-13. The fun part of this job is that we don't know what scientific and engineering discoveries will be made in the next 2 years. Because the priorities in planetary science can change radically, these Discovery missions are definitely the best way to make great discoveries on emergent research topics.

Congratulations to the preselected teams.

Clear skies.
Franck M. (@AllPlanets)

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by Radar Staff

Take a look at Radar Online’s weekly countdown, The POP TEN: From the church pews to the beach sand, we've got all the best in the week that was in pop culture.

Lorenzo Lamas and Shawna Craig got married in Casa Dorada Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

PHOTOS: Couples We’d Like To See!

The newest extended members of the royal clan, Carole Middleton, James Middleton, Michael Middleton and Pippa Middleton, left the Goring Hotel in London.

Nicole Richie showed off  her bikini body poolside in Miami, Florida.

PHOTOS: Topless Bikini Babes

B-list actress and Playboy pinup Yvette Vickers was found mummified in her Los Angeles home.

Jennifer Lopez arrived  at the Grove for the release party of her new album 'Love' in Los Angeles.

PHOTOS: Stars Without Make-up

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's yearly Costume Institute Gala is one of the most style-savvy events of the year in NYC, and we’ve got the best and worst from this year’s fashion-fest. 

Mad Men star January Jones was spotted at the Laker/Mavericks game in Los Angeles, sporting her growing baby bump.

PHOTOS: Stars Who Look Like Other Stars

Justin Bieber performed his 'My World' Tour for a crowd at Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Lindsay Lohan attended an orientation session for her upcoming community service at the Women's Center in Downtown Los Angeles.

The same week her boyfriend George Clooney turned 50, Italian beauty Elisabetta Canalis stripped down for an ad for Peta in the buff.

PHOTOS: The Name Game - Celebs Who've Changed Their Names

And the week’s top in pop was ...

Americans celebrated the capture and killing of terrorist Osama bin Laden at landmarks like the White House and Ground Zero.

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Lady Gaga To Mentor American Idol's Final Four

VIDEO: Katherine Jackson: Michael Being A Molester Is 'The Biggest Lie Ever Been Told'

Hello Sexy! Reese Witherspoon Steams Up London Premiere

Lindsay Lohan began her community service this morning (06.05.11).

The troubled star reported for duty at the Los Angeles Downtown Women's Center (DWC) - where she is must complete 360 hours of work - just before 10am.

It was her first day of community service, and the paparazzi caught up with Lindsay Lohan as she was finishing up a little over 2 hours of work on Friday (May 6).

The “Mean Girls” actress looked a bit tuckered out as she hopped in a vehicle outside the Downtown Women’s Center in Los Angeles, CA.

Lohan was ordered by Judge Stephanie Sautner to complete 480 hours of community service for her probation violation.

360 hours must be completed at the Downtown Women’s Center and the other 120 hours will be logged at the L.A. County morgue, according to E! Online.

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No Sewage Sludge In "Organic" School Gardens! Millions Against Monsanto: See You in Chicago, Seattle & New York! Get Ready for World Food Day Actions 10/16/11 Videos of the Week Via Organica Updates Little Bytes Quote of the Week Why Being a Foodie Isn't "Elitist" "America's current system of food production - overly centralized and industrialized, overly controlled by a handful of companies, overly reliant on monocultures, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, chemical additives, genetically modified organisms, factory farms, government subsidies and fossil fuels - is profoundly undemocratic. It is one more sign of how the few now rule the many. And it's inflicting tremendous harm on American farmers, workers and consumers." - Eric Schlosser, "Why Being a Foodie Isn't 'Elitist'," May 1, 2011, The Washington Post Read More Essay OF THE WEEK The Xtremes: Subversive Recipes for Catastrophic Times "Minor political reforms and corporate 'greenwashing' at this stage of history are too little, too late. The lesser of indentured evils in the White House is not going to save us. Increased market share for organic, green, and Fair Trade products will amount to little or nothing in the closing era of the Xtremes. What we need is a bold determination to carry out regime change and build a new green and egalitarian society, inside the deteriorating infrastructure of the old." Read More Alerts of the Week Get Monsanto Out of Trader Joe's & Whole Foods Market! Trader Joe's is 80% GMO-free. All of their store-brand products are sourced from non-genetically modified ingredients, and Trader-Joe's-brand products are 80% of what they carry. But Trader Joe's definitely sells foods that contain GMO ingredients. For example, Trader Joe's sells products by: * Morningstar Farms, which admits that all but one of their products (the Breakfast Patties Made with Organic Soy) contain genetically modified organisms. * Tofutti, which uses non-GMO soy protein, but admits that other ingredients, like the partially hydrogenated (trans fat) soybean oil in their Better Than Cream Cheese, are genetically modified. Ask Trader Joe's to go from 80% to 100% GMO-free. In the meantime, demand that they respect consumers' right to know what's in our food by labeling any food that may contain ingredients made with genetically engineered organisms, including ingredients from animals raised on genetically engineered feed. Take Action Likewise, Whole Foods Market claims to support mandatory GMO labels, but admits selling unlabeled foods made with genetically modified organisms. Whole Foods & Trader Joe's both have non-GMO policies for their store-brand products, but the policy doesn't apply to the rest of the food they sell. The Millions Against Monsanto campaign is stepping up our efforts to get Monsanto out of Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's. Click here for action ideas, including a video on GMO Food Dumps! Alerts of the Week No Sewage Sludge In "Organic" School Gardens! Some of Hollywood's "green" celebrities - Rosario Dawson, Ed Begley, Jr., and a bevy of starlets - thought they were promoting organic school gardens for inner-city kids. But the Environmental Media Association (EMA) teamed them up with a secretive corporation, Kellogg Garden Products, whose main business is selling Los Angeles sewage sludge! That company calls its Kellogg brand "quality organics" and deceptively labels bags sold at the garden store as "garden soil" made from "compost" - with no mention of which products are made from industrial and human waste that contains tens of thousands of contaminants. That's why federal law bars the use of sewage sludge-based products in organic gardens. So, when news broke that Kellogg Garden Products provided sewage sludge products to EMA's "organic" school gardens, and its spokesperson even posed with sewage sludge-derived products at the gardens, you'd think EMA and its stars would cut all ties to the sludge industry. But you'd be wrong. Instead of denouncing the contamination of the kids' gardens and the corporation's effort to "greenwash" its brand through associating with stars devoted to organic produce, EMA is sticking with its corporate donor. So far. Help OCA's ally, the Center for Media and Democracy, tell Hollywood it's not green to partner with a company that put sewage sludge on school gardens. Tell Hollywood to Stop Greenwashing Sewage Sludge! PLEASE DONATE Millions Against Monsanto Fundraising Appeal Three hundred thousand have already signed up as participants and supporters in our Millions Against Monsanto Truth-in-Labeling Campaign. But we need money to print leaflets, to buy educational videos, to print up T-shirts and bumper stickers, and to pay our campaign staff. As you know, GMOs, Factory Farms, and deceptively labeled consumer products pose a mortal threat to public health, climate stability, and all living things. As we speak, organic crops are being contaminated with Monsanto's GMOs. We need your financial contributions to educate and mobilize consumers, to protect and maintain strict organic standards, and to pressure the entire food industry, including natural food stores and co-ops, to adopt Truth-in-Labeling practices. Please Donate Millions Against Monsanto See You in Chicago, Seattle & New York! To gear up for the Millions Against Monsanto actions on World Food Day, October 16, 2011, we're hosting regional anti-GMO summits at each of the Green Festivals around the country: Chicago May 14-15, 2011 Seattle May 21-22, 2011 New York October 1-2, 2011 We need volunteers in each city to host gatherings at their homes or community centers, to put up OCA staff and volunteers in their homes and to work in the Millions Against Monsanto booths. To volunteer, please click here. If you've already volunteered, thank you! Campaign Director Alexis Baden-Mayer will be contacting you shortly. Millions Against Monsanto Get Ready for World Food Day Actions 10/16/11 On Sunday, October 16, 2011, the Organic Consumers Association's Millions Against Monsanto campaign is calling for World Food Day actions to get genetically engineered organisms out of our food. Get involved by joining your local Millions Against Monsanto chapter! The goal is to have 435 actions, one in each U.S. Congressional District, and for each action to represent 2300 Millions Against Monsanto supporters. 435 x 2300 = 1,000,000 Against Monsanto It would be great to have 2300 people participating in each event, but we can also demonstrate our numbers by delivering petitions signed by 2300 people in each Congressional District. Anyone who can't attend an action on 10/16/11, can join the virtual rally by signing the Millions Against Monsanto petition. Time to start planning! Here's how to get started. Videos of the Week Dumping GMOs: Guerrilla Theatre OCA's Thalia Kazakos offers another great video on how and why anti-GMO activists should organize local activists and dump GMO-tainted products in front of natural food stores, especially industry leaders such as Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's. Watch   Carbon Nation Carbon Nation is the logical next step after An Inconvenient Truth: We know there's a problem; now, how do we get everyone to do something about it? Watch this and more of OCA's favorite videos on our YouTube Channel! Via Organica Join Us In Mexico for a Spring Sustainability Conference Engineers without Borders, The Center for Appropriate Technology and Indigenous Sustainability- Mexico (CATIS-Mexico) and the Earth and Lime Institute are hosting a month-long spring workshop in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.  The OCA's sister organization Via Orgánica has been invited to teach during the Small Scale Sustainable Farming week, June 20-24th, 2011. A solution-based course, this program teaches skills in small-scale organic food production for both urban and rural dwellers. Participants will have the opportunity to link practical skills in variety of locales, as well as analyze how overarching global issues like climate change and food scarcity can be confronted.   We are inviting our members to participate in this exciting course.  Register by May 7th for the early bird special.  Combine your spring vacation with an enlightening and authentic educational experience in the outskirts of beautiful San Miguel.  Meet OCA Director Ronnie Cummins and the Vía Orgánica staff.  Learn More   Planet to Plate Tour Join Planet2Plate with a small group on a private 8-day tour of the foods and agricultural origins of the sustainable movement in San Miguel de Allende. Meet the people working with the OCA's sister organization, Vía Orgánica. On this tour you'll trace the region's agriculture from the pre-colonial milpa (considered the original perma-culture technique), to the colonial hacienda system. Then get a brief look at agribusiness for exports compared to rural organic cooperatives working together to support the livelihoods of many families. Celebrate the sustainable food movement, which is flourishing in the fertile,high-desert of Central Mexico by sampling the best organic food the region has to offer.   For more information please visit Planet2Plate's website. Little Bytes Will the Real Food Movement Please Stand Up? READ MORE A Closer Look at the USA Assassination of "Osama bin Laden" READ MORE Take the Pledge for Climate Protection READ MORE Some Developers are Starting to Incorporate a New Feature into Neighborhoods: A Food Supply READ MORE Coke, BPA, and the Limits of 'Green Capitalism' READ MORE Book of the Week Help Us Build a Sustainable Future!  Our friends at Chelsea Green offer the latest books on sustainability, democracy, new science, and pathways to peace. Thanks to our new Affiliate Program, your online purchase supports the OCA! This weeks featured book is: Food Not Lawns Gardening can be a political act. Creativity, fulfillment, connection, revolution-it all begins when we get our hands in the dirt. Food Not Lawns combines practical wisdom on ecological design and community-building with a fresh, green perspective on an age-old subject. Activist and urban gardener Heather Flores shares her nine-step permaculture design to help farmsteaders and city dwellers alike build fertile soil, promote biodiversity, and increase natural habitat in their own "paradise gardens." But Food Not Lawns doesn't begin and end in the seed bed. This joyful permaculture lifestyle manual inspires readers to apply the principles of the paradise garden-simplicity, resourcefulness, creativity, mindfulness, and community-to all aspects of life. Plant "guerilla gardens" in barren intersections and medians; organize community meals; start a street theater troupe or host a local art swap; free your kitchen from refrigeration and enjoy truly fresh, nourishing foods from your own plot of land; work with children to create garden play spaces. Flores cares passionately about the damaged state of our environment and the ills of our throwaway society. In Food Not Lawns, she shows us how to reclaim the earth one garden at a time. Learn More Message From Our Sponsors iSpaces Gives the World a Free Virtual Desktop! The Conscious Cloud At last there is a technology company focused on serving the highest good! iSpaces is working to reduce the digital divide by giving everyone access to a personal desktop, even if they can't afford to own the actual machine. What is iSpaces? iSpaces is a free virtual desktop you can access from any computer with an Internet connection. All of your open browser windows, tabs and files will be ready and waiting for you no matter what computer you login from. Get ready to leap into the cloud and visit www.ispaces.com to set-up your free account today - it's pure web ecstasy!  Become an OCA Sponsor! Every issue of Organic Bytes now goes to 265,000 organic consumers with a thousand new subscribers each week. Please help us and your business by letting our subscribers know who you are and that you support the work of the OCA. Please contact us if you want more information! Please forward this publication to family and friends, place it on web sites, print it, duplicate it and post it freely. Knowledge is power! Organic Bytes is a publication of Organic Consumers Association 6771 South Silver Hill Drive - Finland, MN 55603 - Phone: 218-226-4164 - Fax: 218-353-7652 Subscribe & Read past issues and print- friendly PDF versions of Organic Bytes Connect with us:

University Place's Town Center project will have a tint of green. The city will install sonar panels on the roof of its new civic and library building as part of a broader community push toward environmental sustainability.

Memorial focuses on drug, alcohol addiction Kodiak Daily Mirror by Louis Garcia Stories of addiction, loss and redemption took center stage Thursday night at a community memorial forum in the Kodiak High School commons. The stories shared painted a very real and sad picture of what it means to become addicted to ...

A research center is looking for a Software Developer of Semantic Service Platform for Web, TV and Mobile in Austria. According to the post, “STI International Consultancy and Research GmbH (STI Research), a research centre based in Innsbruck and Vienna, Austria which contributes to the international semantic technology community, seeks applications for a software developer. Both students and graduates are welcome to apply. The position is available from anytime from May 2011 onward, with an initial duration of up to 2 years. An extension is also possible.” continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

  May 5, 2011 Saturdays share faith story with hundreds at prayer breakfast FYI  - THIS is  a Long Article Attendees pray for community, government, schools, businesses By Abbey Doyle The Herald Bulletin ANDERSON, Ind. — A crowd of about 500 gave Jeff and Karen Saturday a standing ovation after the two shared their faith story Thursday at the Madison County Prayer Breakfast.“It is powerful to look out on this sea of people,” the Indianapolis Colts center said. “Especially knowing that all of us are standing up united for Christ and praying for the same things. ... We are all doing it together. That is a powerful, powerful thing.”Communities across the country were hosting similar events on Thursday, the National Day of Prayer.The event at Madison Park Church of God was hosted by Anderson Mayor Kris Ockomon.“We’ve always tried to have a faith-based administration,” the mayor said after the event. “This is one way we can reach out to the community. It gives a positive image to the community.”Ockomon acknowledged the special relationship the Saturdays have with the city and his brother Skip Ockomon and said he was grateful for the couple’s willingness to come and share their story.Both Jeff and Karen Saturday received nods of appreciation and understanding and chuckles during their address. http://heraldbulletin.com/local/x1892928163/Saturdays-share-faith-story-with-hundreds-at-prayer-breakfast

Ecorse Project Sparkle and Shine: To help with the cleanup or donate equipment or money, contact Dorcas McCreary at 313-368-2410. The Eight Mile Boulevard Association's Clean the D: Volunteers can call 313-366-3388 or show up at 8 a.m. Saturday for registration behind the Belmont Shopping Center at 8 Mile and Dequindre.

With so many schools closing their doors due to budget cuts and declining enrollment, we asked GOOD readers to imagine a way to repurpose an abandoned school building so that the space once again serves the needs of its community. We're thrilled to announce that our winner is the "Farm to Table Urban Food Center" designed by "illustrator, designer, thinker, writer, and story-teller" Caroline Hadilaksono.

Hadilaksono tells us that since learning about how the food industry really works she's been feeling that, beyond reading labels and shopping for organic, natural products, there's not much "an average person like me can do to make a real, lasting, and pragmatic impact on the food crisis we're facing." As a solution, her urban food center idea creates "an all-in-one ecosystem for food, where members of a community would be able to grow, prepare, distribute, and consume food, all in one place."

The practical and innovative design is modeled on of the floor plan of her neighborhood school, Wilton Place Elementary School in Los Angeles. It includes an outdoor urban farm; forward-thinking indoor hydroponic farms and vertical gardens; a for-profit cafe, farmer's market, and produce store; and a nonprofit kitchen for feeding the homeless community. And, since the public does indeed need education about food, existing classroom space is used to hold cooking, nutrition, and agriculture classes. The design is so comprehensive and inspiring, after looking at it, you'll be asking yourself, how can we really make this happen in an abandoned school?

For her efforts, Hadilaksono will receive a GOOD T-shirt and a gift subscription. Thanks to everyone who entered, and congratulations again to our winner!

Last night, NYU's Game Center played host for a talk with Erik Wolpaw. You undoubtedly know Erik's work as one of the writers behind "Portal" and the recently released "Portal 2." But he's been writing awesome words for way longer than that. Years before entering the game development community, he created the much-revered site, Old [...]

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has received a $500,000 grant from the California Community Foundation (CCF) that will help support the hospital's COACH for Kids and Their Families® program. Over a two-year period, the grant will help fund primary healthcare and case management services by COACH for Kids to vulnerable children in underserved communities in Inglewood, Centinela Valley, and the South Los Angeles neighborhoods of Watts and Compton...

Title Sr. Planner/Current Planning Development Mgr Date Posted Monday, May 2, 2011 Description Western VA’s fastest growing community known for its scenic beauty, nestled between Philpott & Smith Mountain Lakes along the Blue Ridge Mountains, located approximately 10 miles south of Roanoke, VA, is currently accepting applications. Responsibilities include directing & managing the current planning & code compliance operations of the Planning Dept. Serves as professional staff support to the County BOS, BZA, Planning Commission, etc. BS Degree in Planning or related field req w/min of 3 years exp in planning, zoning, subdivision/plan review, erosion & sediment control, & code enforcement. Supervisory exp., Master’s degree, and AICP certification preferred. Salary, DOQ/E –Min$44,623 + Exc. Benefits. Location Franklin County VA Contact Info Application and job description available in HR at the Franklin County Government Center, 1255 Franklin Street, Suite #111, Rocky Mount, VA 24151 or apply online at www.franklincountyva.gov. Application review will begin Monday, May 23, 2011. Open until filled. AA/EOE

May 2011 events have been published on the San Francisco Bay Area Genealogy Calendar – a collection of local genealogical society classes, workshops and meetings within a 75 mile radius of San Francisco.

The May calendar includes forty-five events at various venues around the Bay Area, sponsored by twenty different societies and genealogy libraries.

Among the choices you will find several featuring speakers who are members of the California Genealogical Society:

5/1 Janice Sellers – Researching Newspapers Online, Central Library, Sacramento

5/7 Craig Siulinski – Who Do You Think You Are? Into to Genealogy, CGSL, Oakland

5/7 Janice Sellers – Using the Subscription and Free Web Sites available at the Oakland Regional Family History Center, ORFHC, Oakland

5/14 Glenn Koch – Wish You Were Here: Using Postcards in Your Genealogy Research, CGSL, Oakland

5/15 Janice Sellers – Newspapers Online, Albert Einstein Center, Sacramento

5/15 Cath Madden Trindle – Land Ahoy! Locating Property Records, Central Library, Sacramento

5/21 Marcia Holstrom – Social Networking for Genealogists, Grace Lutheran, San Mateo

5/21 Jeffrey Vaillant – Chasing a Civil War Ancestor, Finley Community Center, Santa Rosa 

5/22 Lisa Lee – Genealogy Research Puzzles: A Brainstorming Session, Central Library, Sacramento


If you would like to add your group's events to the calendar, please email the information by the 20th of each month for publication on the 25th. (Please put "SFBA Calendar" in the subject line.)


Copyright © 2011 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Last night in the Foundation Room at House of Blues in Boston, MA, Boston Red Sox aces Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz released their own labels of Charity Wines.

From this initiative, athletes do not profit a single dime. Instead, 100% of their proceeds will raise big league dollars for charity:

- Clay Buchholz: "ChardonClay" benefits the Jimmy Fund

- Jon Lester: "CabernAce" benefits Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Bob Dougherty, the Director at the House of Blues, made the opening remarks to kick off the evening. Andrew Graff, president of Charity Wines then provided background on his company and all they do for great causes. Suzanne Fountain, Director of the Jimmy Fund, and Michael Rubin with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, both presented what they are doing to help fight cancer. Then Heidi Watney led a Q&A session with Lester and Buchholz, as well as took questions from the audience.

The 2011 wines are produced by acclaimed the Selby Winery located in Healdsburg, California. Both wines are expected to retail for about $14 a bottle, and will be available beginning this week and next across Red Sox Nation in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. For wine connoisseurs and Sox fans out of these states, wines can be purchased online at www.charitywines.com.

The Jimmy Fund
Clay Buchholz can be untouchable, proven by the no-hitter he tossed in just his second big league start. Yet, he reaches back and connects with those in need across the community. Buchholz is a Co-Captain of the Jimmy Fund, an official charity of the Boston Red Sox, and a portion of proceeds from ChardonClay support the Jimmy Fund in the fight against cancer at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, helping to raise the chances of survival for children and adults with cancer locally and around the world. Cheers. Learn more at www.jimmyfund.org.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Jon Lester knows the importance of overcoming barriers in life and on the diamond. Less than two years after being diagnosed with lymphoma, he pitched the biggest game of his life, helping his ballclub win a world championship. That's why proceeds from Jon Lester's CabernAce support Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the development of targeted immunotherapies. This pitch helps researchers maximize the body's own ability to strike out disease so lymphoma patients can win their own games in life. Learn more at www.fhcrc.org.

Special Courts program provides alternatives for those diagnosed with mental ... TribLocal In celebration of May as National Mental Health Month, the McHenry County 22nd Judicial Circuit Court invites the community to a special courts presentation at 6 pm on Thursday, May 12 at Shah Center of McHenry ... and more »

It seems that hospitals have been bolstering their emergency response plans, as more than 76 percent that are part of the National Hospital Preparedness Program met 90 percent or more of measures for all-hazards preparedness in 2009, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced yesterday. Of roughly 6,300 hospitals nationwide, more than 85 percent participate.

The state-by-state report shows that many hospitals use dedicated redundant, interoperable systems to facilitate communication between hospitals, public health agencies and emergency managers. During a disaster, these hospitals can notify a state, territory or city emergency operations center with the number of available beds in less than 60 minutes.

The majority of hospitals also have plans in place to accommodate a rise in the demand for care during a disaster. In addition, these hospitals put in plans for evacuating the hospital, sheltering patients and staff during a disaster, and responding to mass fatalities, notes the HHS.

To enhance emergency preparedness, the report suggests hospitals form healthcare coalitions within their community, comprised of care providers, government agencies, nongovernment organizations, businesses and community residents. Working as a team will enable hospitals to better prepare for and respond to disasters, notes the HHS.

Despite the good news, there is still room for improvement, as other studies have shown gaps in emergency preparedness, such as most state health departments lacking adequate preparation for nuclear incidents.

For more:
- read the HHS announcement

Related Articles:
Hospital emergency preparedness shows some holes
Most states have little preparation for nuclear incidents
State budget cuts jeopardize emergency preparedness

The Sacramento Opera has raised $85,000 toward its goal of $122,000 to keep the company’s hopes for a season this year alive by a May 12 deadline. But it still needs to get pledges for $37,000 by Thursday or it cannot present a new season. The company plans to present some of the big guns of opera to raise interest, including performances of Pagliacci and Rigoletto. If the company can raise the $37,000 in less than a week, it will present three shows with the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra including an evening of duets, trios and quartets at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in October, the two performances of the opera Pagliacci at the Community Center Theater in November and two performances of Rigoletto in February at the Community Center...

Happy Friday!Boy, Community really killed it last night. Which made me feel better about Justin Lin pooping all over my reporting that I did last week, saying that he hasn't heard anything about the original Terminator cast coming back.Which makes total sense, because without a script, you can't attach and without official attachment, who is going to confirm that? No one. One of the worst things Terminator 5 can do right now is start making promises about what it's going to be (Remember McG's "I promise you can trust me with this franchise" promise?).Anyway. Justin Lin and I disagree about the pitch that has his name circling it like an electron cloud. And like electron clouds, we can know where the electrons are or what speed they are moving at, but not both. We know Lin and Arnie are approaching the package with the highest speed, but I'm still convinced at least Linda Hamilton is in that cloud as well.But, new week, new things. Let's rock. [Character and Design: Thor Up! Lantern Down!]   Well, well, well, Marvel, we meet again. It occurred to me the other day that as a graphic designer, I really get DC Comics superheroes. They went through a design phase that allows most of their core Justice League characters to be represented by a symbol - something you can put on a t-shirt or format to a keychain. Flash has a yellow lightning bolt across red, Superman has his Kryptonian insignia. Green Lantern (the modern one) has a circle bound by two parallel lines. Hell, Green Lantern is about the light spectrum having it’s own inherent emotional powers across the universe. The only DC hero that flashes through my head that doesn’t have an immediate symbol come to mind is the Martian Manhunter, but that’s because he’s mostly represented by the big, red, X he has across his green chest. From a design standpoint, that’s distinctive. Marvel, on the other hand, they have characters. Or as the classic “birth of the Silver Age” story goes, DC had the Justice League, so Stan Lee created The Fantastic Four. Two of the strongest characters in all of comics: Superman for DC and The Thing for Marvel, were created to compete with each other. The Thing, well crafted as a character who is saddened by his external change in appearance juxtaposed with Superman, one of the least interesting superhero characters ever. I’ve seen Thor, and by this time, so have many of you. Wasn’t it fun? I’ve also seen the new Green Lantern trailer and was encouraged, but still kind of wary about the whole thing. The closer we get to Lantern, the more worried I am that the story is really going to turn people off. Like, hard. If an audience can’t be grounded in reality by Ryan Reynolds alone, Green Lantern is going to be a trippy experience, probably most akin to how I felt during Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, which was: This feels familiar, but also instantly wrong and unsettling. Thor goes as far as the Marvel Universe is going to to go into the Magic Realms (at least until Dr. Strange kicks up on TV), and it manages to still make the film about character - even if it’s very basic character conflicts - from beginning to end. It really helps to have a core family plot to focus on while trying to wrap your head around the Rainbow Bridge. Which makes me worry, because I don’t know what we’ll have as a touchstone when we have to absorb Oa, Ganthet and a bevy of Lanterns from other, emotionally foreign worlds.   [Did Stephen King From The Past Just Screw Stephen King?]   Bad news, literary-fantasy-slash-western fans: The rumblings from the left coast seem to indicate that Comcast slid into a controlling spot for Universal Studios and has started trimming back some geek properties from their slate. Currently on the butcher’s block is the over-ambitious, almost too-good-to-be-true Dark Tower multimedia assault, which would have seen the seven (soon to be eight) book series turned into three films with TV miniseries between each film. Things were looking good with Javiar Bardem supposedly in as the lead Roland, but turnaround for a project this size is a scary thing. Turnaround - just a quick refresher - is when a studio sells off a project and all development done thus far to another studio for a negotiated price plus expenses incurred during initial development. As in, Bardem, Ron Howard, Brian Graizer - not the cheapest names in the biz - will need to get paid before work can continue. AND, to rub salt in the wound, the Hollywood Reporter story on this had this little jab nested inside of it: “ The sources also say that the final portion of the project has been found creatively lacking.” Ouch. I bet you almost anything this is a result of dealing with the fact that Stephen King, the writer, factors heavily into the Dark Tower series towards the end as Stephen King the character who happens to write. This is a sad turn of events, because making that element work somehow could have made Dark Tower something special. Now, let’s just see if it can stay alive. [There Went The Office]   This will be the second time I tell you that it’s probably not worth watching The Office anymore. The first time would be directly after Jim & Pam’s wedding, which I still maintain is the finale of the series. Everything afterwards is fine, sure, but it feels like a third echo of the original British concept, not like a progression of the characters from the previous seasons. Steve Carell was the American Office as much as Ricky Gervais was the British Office. Yes, Carell didn’t create the thing, but it was his Michael Scott that allowed America to evolve The Office beyond the British’s themes. Pam, Jim, Dwight - they all have pretty consistent direct parallels to British counterparts. Michael Scott was a wholly original character that rose like a Phoenix out of the ashes of David Brent. But, we are Americans, after all, so when it was time for Michael to finally go, what we got was a Greg Daniels-penned farewell to a great character, not the satisfying conclusion of a storyline. If there was one thing I liked about Michael Scott as a character it was that no matter how happy or giddy he could get in the moment, his life was largely one of the saddest existences known to man, similar to Brent, who is revealed to be a pretty much shitty person through the British Office specials. Greg Daniels is a master at television and he did a pretty good job at distilling all Michael’s relationships. I just wish there was something to be said about Michael Scott at the end of all this, but there really isn’t. He was here, we loved him, now he’s gone, leaving behind a show populated with characters I know well, yet can’t emotionally root for. The basis of sitcoms is that characters don’t make big, sudden changes. I thought that the message of The Office as a property was that everyone’s mundane life is boring in it’s small, real moments with real characters. It was a fauxumentary style series, if you’ve forgotten, that was supposed to make us feel like these were real people. Thing is, at the end of “Goodbye Michael,” we’re left with the following plots: Will Farrell’s boring boss replacement has an obesity problem and is a horrible salesman, Toby has a brother that may or may not be Michael Scott’s guest star window as it seems there’s a Toby sibling in Colorado, Erin is Phillis’ kid P gave up 20 years ago. Yeah, this is boilerplate and not-at-all interesting. The Office, American Version: We had a good 4 years of solid fun, but the goodwill that kept me watching past that just moved to Colorado.   [Some Quotes About Human Centipede 3: The Final Sequence]   Just take these quotes from Human Centipede director Tom Six right out of any context you might want to put them in and enjoy them just as they are: “People attach Barbie dolls together. People have tattoos. It’s really crazy. We’re now talking to people about doing some merchandising.” “I just have this crazy fantasy. But some people are getting so angry about it. They want me to stop making films. So they [say they’re going to] try to shoot me and cut me open with glass and all nasty things.” “It’s going out after the summer. Part 2, not many people have seen it. Only the distributor and the people who worked in post production. They think it’s really crazy. I made this joke aboutPart 1 being My Little Pony compared to Part 2. People at the distribution company (IFC), at the first screening they had, some people walked away because they couldn’t handle the things they are seeing. But they absolutely love it. “ “Three films makes a Human Centipede for me. Three can be the combination. What I want to do is make Human Centipede III: Final Sequence. And then I don’t want to make any Human Centipedes again. I’ve a terrific idea for it that’s completely different than 1 and 2 again. I think Part 3 will make Part 2 look like a Disney film.” Well, gross. But: I’m in for this madness.   [SUN DAY]   Check out this short animated film by Derek Spencer about a brother and sister in space who experience light for the first time. Because I’m a big animation softie sometimes. [Adrian Brody Reads Notorious B.I.G. Lyrics at The Lincoln Center] This was the first video I watched one day this week. Just woke up, saw a link e-mailed to me, clicked it. What followed was a roller-coaster ride of emotion that went something like this: “Curiosity,” “Can this volume go higher?” “Maybe I’ll put on headphones?” “Is this racist?” “Is this Adrian Brody trying to be funny?” “Really, is this racist?” “Man, I should listen to this album again.” “Hilarity” “Serious moment.” “Hilarity.” All and all, if you didn’t think Biggie was a poet, you need to go back to middle school where all English teachers have one unit comparing Shakespeare to hip-hop. KA-BAM!Well, well, well. It's May already! And summer movie season!Check my Twitter HERE for shorter (barely) rants.And check me out on the Kino Katey podcast HERE. Source: Notorious D.A.7.E

Lindsay Lohan gets a jumpstart on her community service by not wearing a bra and wearing a see-through top.
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This week in BPOS news is a recurring segment on the Microsoft Online Services Team Blog that covers news from all sectors of Cloud Computing and the Microsoft Online Services business suite known as the Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS). You can read all past This Week in BPOS News segments here.

For this week in BPOS news we learn about a small town that is cashing in and creating jobs with the Cloud, and discover a great resource for anyone moving from BPOS to Office 365.

1.     Quincy Cashes in on the Cloud

Our first BPOS story focuses on how the expanding landscape of the Cloud is increasing economies in rural areas. Quincy is a sleepy town of 5,044 that sits in the center of the state of Washington. It is about a 3 hour drive from Microsoft headquarters, but houses facilities for Microsoft that help power the Cloud. Business Week focuses on this town and how it is turning into a technical economy.  

Microsoft isn’t the only technology company in Quincy. Dell, Yahoo, Intuit and Sabey have claimed land to erect their own data centers in Quincy. The article dives into how this town is riding the Cloud and engaging its economy through hosting Cloud computing infrastructure. The town also looks out for its residents by “Exchanging tax breaks for jobs.” Quincy gives tax breaks to the tech companies that employ at least 35 percent of the impending new jobs to local residents. The article also explains how Quincy was able to plan and invest for the present demand in cloud construction.

Be sure to check out the entire article here. What are your thoughts?

2.     Manage your transition from BPOS to Office 365

 

Are you transitioning to Office 365 from BPOS? If you are migrating or thinking of moving to Office 365, be sure to check out this useful resource on how to manage your transition from BPOS to Office 365. In this article you will find answers to what differentiates Office 365 from BPOS, how to try Office 365, and how to transition to Office 365.

What is the difference between Office 365 and BPOS?

Service	BPOS	Office 365
Exchange Online	X	X
SharePoint Online	X	X
Office Live Meeting	X	Replaced by Lync Online.*
Lync Online		X
Office Professional Plus		X

 

The article comes from the Microsoft Online Services Help and How-to portal which houses plenty of great information for current BPOS customers. Be sure to check out the following helpful articles:

·         BPOS to Office 365: Transition Checklist for Administrators

·         Transition your account from BPOS to Office 365

·         Contact Technical Support

·         Troubleshoot issues with your transition to Office 365

Are you migrating to Office 365? How do you feel about the migration process? Leave your comments and thoughts below.

What are your thoughts about the stories we shared with you this week? Did you see a story you want to share with us? Let us know what other topics you’d like to see. You can comment on this blog post or send an email to our community mailbox. Follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page.

 

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