The Graziani family sometimes has a little difficulty distinguishing between pets and business assets.That's because Graziani Reptiles in Venus breeds snakes and other reptiles for a living, but there are a few cold-blooded residents that Greg, Jacki and their kids, Lexi and Lane, consider pets.
These include Jack, an albino alligator, two alligator hatchlings named Ebony and Ivory, a Galapagos tortoise called Sydney, Goliath the cayman rock iguana, some small lizards and some big snakes.Greg, who starred on the National Geographic TV series, "Python Hunters," said he typically doesn't name the snakes. "Snakes can't hear you. They don't have ears," he explained.
His favorite pets include Jack the albino alligator, who is now in his breeding program along with another favorite - a 20-year-old ball python.Many people enjoy keeping exotic, or non-native, species for pets. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) area spokesperson Gary Morse did not have statistics on non-native pets in the county or state at his fingertips, but noted that many species, such as certain non-venomous reptiles and amphibians, small mammals like sugar gliders and chinchillas, and tropical birds do not require a license.
Licenses are required for Class I, II and III animals, with Class I, which includes chimpanzees and tigers, being the most dangerous. These animals have many requirements, including specifics on how they must be caged and maintained. Eleven-year-old Lane's newest favorite pet is a 29-inch-long albino alligator hatchling his dad named Ivory. Lane said he might change the name.
"He's nice. He's tame," said Lane, stroking the toothy animal's jaw as it lay docile on his forearm."This is not a pet I recommend," Greg said quickly. Having been passionate about reptiles since he was a child, Greg has taught Lane how to handle the alligator and desensitize it by touching its mouth. The animal is also well-fed and in a low-stress environment.
In a pen just outside sits Goliath, a caymen rock iguana. He likes a good scratch and will lift up to allow his owners to rub him in just the right place under his chin. But that doesn't mean he's showing affection, Greg emphasized."They do not share human emotion. They live off instinct," he explained. When people try to ascribe human emotion to animals is often what gets people hurt, he warned.
Greg acquired Goliath the same time he acquired the family's Galapagos tortoise, Sydney. At 22 years of age, the tortoise is still too young to easily determine the sex, hence the ambiguous name, but Greg mostly refers to it as a "she."
Sydney hid out in a burrow of hay as raindrops began to fall and hissed at Greg as he tried to coax her out. He guessed her weight to be about 125 pounds as he gave a few tugs on her shell. Since she is an endangered species, Sydney cannot cross state lines, Greg said.
The man who gave Sydney to him had seen Greg on TV. He told Greg he would donate the tortoise to him only if he agreed to keep it."I was real excited to find out about it," said Greg. He estimates the animal to be from $20,000 to $30,000.Graziani said some people choose reptiles for pets because they tend to be less allergenic.
Morse said many people don't realize the caging and maintenance needs of some non-native species. Some can be expensive to feed and provide health care for.When Greg got rtls, she had a deformed shell due to nutritional deficiencies. Tortoises love fruit, but fruit should only be about 5 percent of their diet, he explained. Like Goliath, Sydney's proper diet is mostly grass. "Just because (an animal) is eating something doesn't mean it's good for him," Greg stated.
Morse noted that many non-native animals can live long, so their owners need to be prepared for that.Releasing non-native species into the wild is a problem he has seen firsthand. For that reason some species aren't allowed at all, for example,the flesh-eating pirahna fish.
Even with her physical problems, Sydney will live to be about 200 years old. Greg said an animal like this will have to be willed down in the family, so either Lexi or Lane can look forward to having it for a long time."They get to fight over that," he joked.Thirty miles north in Sebring, Lola and Leya relax hidden under a blanket on the Price family's sofa. These sphynx cats, also called "hairless cats" may look a little odd at first glance, but Karen Price loves them, calling them her "hairless babies."
"I was on a waiting list for six years," explained Price, who originally wanted a leopard-spotted sphynx, which go for about $6,000. But when she discovered a local breeder had a pink and grey sphynx kitten, Price chose to take Leya home instead for a cool $1,000 and later got Lola, a black and pink sphynx cat, from the same woman.Sphynx cats originated in Toronto, Canada, in 1966 when a domestic cat gave birth to a hairless kitten. This was discovered to be a normal mutation also found around the world, and the sphynx breed was born.
Not all sphynx are completely hairless. Price's cats' skin is covered with a fine, almost imperceptible down. Stroking their warm bellies feels a lot like stroking a newborn baby. They have long legs, large ears, baggy skin and a "rat tail." Her husband Alan said they reminded him of Yoda from Star Wars.
These kitties are in a lot of ways like any other cats. They have their personalities (Lola likes human attention while Leya spends more time hissing), they groom themselves, and they enjoy high places. Leya will play with 13-year-old A.J. on the cat's terms. But the sphynx breed has its peculiarities, too.
Because they have no fur, there is nothing to absorb the natural oils produced by their skin, so they need to be bathed once a week."They are high maintenance," confirmed Price, who also needs to clean the oil from around Leya's nails and take extra care of the cats' ears, which don't have any hair in them to keep out dirt.
She also has to check their noses to make sure they don't inhale bits from their litter box. Sometimes the oil from Leya's skin stains the bedsheets when she sleeps with Price's 14-year-old daughter, Nala.The cats get cold easily, too.Price pointed to the TV satellite receiver. "They sit on it," she said. They fight over the WiFi box, too, another piece of technology that radiates heat.
These cats tend to be less allergenic than typical cats because they don't shed, they are bathed regularly, and their saliva contains lesser amounts of a problem substance that induces allergic reactions. They are also tick- and flea-free and hardy, said Price.With proper care, they can live 20 years, she stated.Wild pigs were something the Sapp family were used to trapping and selling. Who knew they would end up with one for a pet?
It happened on New Year's Day. Eddie and his son, 11-year-old Layton, were out trapping hogs as usual and ended up with two pregnant sows.The day before the buyer arrived, one sow had her litter. But when the buyer left with his purchase, one little piggy had been left behind."I saw something run down the side of the trailer," recalled Layton, who was out playing with his sister."I saw it, too," said 10-year-old Lindsay.
Mom Paula, although she is a Lake Placid 4-H leader, was not too keen on playing mommy to a baby hog, especially since their home was in a residential area not zoned for livestock. But Macie, as they named her, lived inside the house and was bottle-fed on goat's milk until she could eat dog food.
"They are cleaner than a dog," said Paula, and easier to train. Now that the family has moved to a new home where they can have animals, Macie has her own stall and gets to roam five acres of property, digging up mudholes to roll around in when the ground is wet.
"They like to roll around in the mud because they don't sweat," the Sapps explained.When the Sapp kids walk up to Macie's cage, she runs up to the door, oinking quietly. When they let her out, she makes a beeline to where her food is kept. Macie is kept on a strict diet to keep her from becoming obese. She eats dry dog food, corn, scraps and fruit. Her favorites are apples, bananas and watermelon.
She doesn't wander too far, comes when called and listens to commands, said Paula. The people in their old neighborhood were very fond of Macie, recalled Paula. She's a little worried that in their new neighborhood someone might mistake Macie for a wild hog and take a shot at her.
The kids like it when she chases them, but always in play and never with aggression. She has her funny little idiosyncrasies, too, like how she enjoys sticking her snout into the pond and blowing bubbles and prefers the green jellybeans to any other color.
Read the full story at www.ecived.com/en/!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Kingdom comes good again
So close to being crowned champion jockey when riding 161 winners during a fantastic 2011 campaign - losing out on the title by just four to Paul Hanagan - De Sousa was snapped up by the powerful Godolphin operation just a few months later.
He may not have ridden the same quantity of winners since, but the quality of his rides has unsurprisingly been on the rise and he continues to be one of the most sought-after jockeys in the weighing room when available.
A four-timer at Pontefract on Sunday was quickly backed up by Wednesday's across-the-card treble at Salisbury and Bath, and he found the target again at Gosforth Park as My Freedom turned in a stylish display in the Betfred TV Seaton Delaval Handicap.
Last seen finishing down the field in a valuable Meydan handicap back in February, the 6/1 chance was never too far off the gallop, which proved sensible in a race run at a crawl.
When asked to go about his business, Saeed bin Suroor's five-year-old showed a nice change of gear to put the race to bed and only had to be pushed out in the closing stages to beat favourite Validus by two and a quarter lengths.De Sousa said: "He travelled well and when I asked him to go two (furlongs) out he picked up and won really well.
"We went a bit slow for the first furlong, but I was happy with my position and it gave my horse chance to organise himself and find his feet."He has had a few issues at home, but has done it well today."
While Saturday's Northumberland Plate appeared likely to be run on fast ground at the start of the week, steady rain fell throughout Thursday's card and de Sousa warned: "It won't take much to turn it soft."Big Time Billy made the most of her lowly Flat rating with a facile victory in the Betfred Slatyford Old Boys Handicap.
Peter Bowen's seven-year-old won in Listed company during her bumper days and also struck at that level over timber at Cheltenham in April, but went into her latest Flat assignment off a mark of just 62.
The 4/5 favourite travelled powerfully, picked up well and was eased down by Joe Fanning in the final furlong, but still came home with five lengths in hand over the pacesetting Brasingaman Eric.Fanning said: "She did it very easily. She travelled well and when the gap came she quickened up well."She was running here as I don't think there was much for her over hurdles."
Trainer Ruth Carr was delighted to see 4/1 favourite Amazing Blue Sky secure his first victory of the campaign, making every yard of the running in division one of the Betfred "Racing's Biggest Supporter" Handicap.Carr said: "He'd come so far down the weights and just needs things to go his own way."He needs an easy lead, which he got, and when the other horse loomed upsides he really stuck his neck out. He meant business today.
"There are a few options next week, so we'll see what the handicapper does."The Bob Johnson-trained Bygones For Coins was a shock 25/1 winner of the second division.Johnson's son and assistant, National Hunt jockey Kenny Johnson, said: "She was going to win with me on at Cartmel last time when she fell at the last.
"She just has to be ridden properly. A lot of jockeys throw everything at her but she doesn't find much off the bridle and you have to sit and suffer."Andrew [Mullen] listened to what he was told and showed a lot of bottle."She is in again tomorrow, but we'll see. There's a hurdle race at Southwell I think she'd win [July 14]."Richard Fahey is in no rush to make fancy plans for Good Old Boy Lukey (10/11 favourite) after he made it two wins from as many starts in the Betfred Mobile Lotto Novice Stakes.
Fahey said: "He's two out of two and you can't knock him. The form is just okay and we'll have to see what the handicapper does."We don't really want to take on the real stars now. Hopefully we'll be able to go for a nursery."
In the aftermath of leaked data concerning the surveillance of those abroad and American citizens by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden (now wanted on charges of espionage and believed to be at Moscow Airport), the FTC has begun scrutinizing the control and rights of consumers who have had information collected and stored about them.
One type of business at the forefront of such analysis is data brokerages. These companies are B2B-based and collect thousands of details on the general public, from shopping habits to vacation choices, and from ethnicity to estimated income. Collected through various means including online activity, data brokers then sell this information to corporations for marketing and future product research.
Although data brokerages sometimes include ways for consumers to opt-out of marketing databases, the U.S. agency wants more transparency to prevent sensitive details including present medical condition and financial status from leaving the control of the average consumer.
"We spew data every minute we walk the street, park our cars, or enter a building, the ubiquitous CCTV and security cameras blinking prettily in the background — every time we go online, use a mobile device, or hand a credit card to a merchant who is online or on mobile," FTC member Julie Brill noted. "We spend most of our days, and a good deal of our nights, surfing the web, tapping at apps, or powering on our smart phones, constantly adding to the already bursting veins from which data miners are pulling pure gold. That's where the "big" in "Big Data" comes from."
"Reclaim Your Name" is the initiative proposed by Brill to combat the issue. Under the terms of the scheme, Brill envisions an online portal where data brokerage firms would describe their data mining practices and consumer access policies, giving individuals the power to correct information where necessary. For example, inaccurately-mined data could harm a user's credit score, potential to secure a loan, employment or benefits.
Click on their website www.ecived.com/en/ for more information.
He may not have ridden the same quantity of winners since, but the quality of his rides has unsurprisingly been on the rise and he continues to be one of the most sought-after jockeys in the weighing room when available.
A four-timer at Pontefract on Sunday was quickly backed up by Wednesday's across-the-card treble at Salisbury and Bath, and he found the target again at Gosforth Park as My Freedom turned in a stylish display in the Betfred TV Seaton Delaval Handicap.
Last seen finishing down the field in a valuable Meydan handicap back in February, the 6/1 chance was never too far off the gallop, which proved sensible in a race run at a crawl.
When asked to go about his business, Saeed bin Suroor's five-year-old showed a nice change of gear to put the race to bed and only had to be pushed out in the closing stages to beat favourite Validus by two and a quarter lengths.De Sousa said: "He travelled well and when I asked him to go two (furlongs) out he picked up and won really well.
"We went a bit slow for the first furlong, but I was happy with my position and it gave my horse chance to organise himself and find his feet."He has had a few issues at home, but has done it well today."
While Saturday's Northumberland Plate appeared likely to be run on fast ground at the start of the week, steady rain fell throughout Thursday's card and de Sousa warned: "It won't take much to turn it soft."Big Time Billy made the most of her lowly Flat rating with a facile victory in the Betfred Slatyford Old Boys Handicap.
Peter Bowen's seven-year-old won in Listed company during her bumper days and also struck at that level over timber at Cheltenham in April, but went into her latest Flat assignment off a mark of just 62.
The 4/5 favourite travelled powerfully, picked up well and was eased down by Joe Fanning in the final furlong, but still came home with five lengths in hand over the pacesetting Brasingaman Eric.Fanning said: "She did it very easily. She travelled well and when the gap came she quickened up well."She was running here as I don't think there was much for her over hurdles."
Trainer Ruth Carr was delighted to see 4/1 favourite Amazing Blue Sky secure his first victory of the campaign, making every yard of the running in division one of the Betfred "Racing's Biggest Supporter" Handicap.Carr said: "He'd come so far down the weights and just needs things to go his own way."He needs an easy lead, which he got, and when the other horse loomed upsides he really stuck his neck out. He meant business today.
"There are a few options next week, so we'll see what the handicapper does."The Bob Johnson-trained Bygones For Coins was a shock 25/1 winner of the second division.Johnson's son and assistant, National Hunt jockey Kenny Johnson, said: "She was going to win with me on at Cartmel last time when she fell at the last.
"She just has to be ridden properly. A lot of jockeys throw everything at her but she doesn't find much off the bridle and you have to sit and suffer."Andrew [Mullen] listened to what he was told and showed a lot of bottle."She is in again tomorrow, but we'll see. There's a hurdle race at Southwell I think she'd win [July 14]."Richard Fahey is in no rush to make fancy plans for Good Old Boy Lukey (10/11 favourite) after he made it two wins from as many starts in the Betfred Mobile Lotto Novice Stakes.
Fahey said: "He's two out of two and you can't knock him. The form is just okay and we'll have to see what the handicapper does."We don't really want to take on the real stars now. Hopefully we'll be able to go for a nursery."
In the aftermath of leaked data concerning the surveillance of those abroad and American citizens by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden (now wanted on charges of espionage and believed to be at Moscow Airport), the FTC has begun scrutinizing the control and rights of consumers who have had information collected and stored about them.
One type of business at the forefront of such analysis is data brokerages. These companies are B2B-based and collect thousands of details on the general public, from shopping habits to vacation choices, and from ethnicity to estimated income. Collected through various means including online activity, data brokers then sell this information to corporations for marketing and future product research.
Although data brokerages sometimes include ways for consumers to opt-out of marketing databases, the U.S. agency wants more transparency to prevent sensitive details including present medical condition and financial status from leaving the control of the average consumer.
"We spew data every minute we walk the street, park our cars, or enter a building, the ubiquitous CCTV and security cameras blinking prettily in the background — every time we go online, use a mobile device, or hand a credit card to a merchant who is online or on mobile," FTC member Julie Brill noted. "We spend most of our days, and a good deal of our nights, surfing the web, tapping at apps, or powering on our smart phones, constantly adding to the already bursting veins from which data miners are pulling pure gold. That's where the "big" in "Big Data" comes from."
"Reclaim Your Name" is the initiative proposed by Brill to combat the issue. Under the terms of the scheme, Brill envisions an online portal where data brokerage firms would describe their data mining practices and consumer access policies, giving individuals the power to correct information where necessary. For example, inaccurately-mined data could harm a user's credit score, potential to secure a loan, employment or benefits.
Click on their website www.ecived.com/en/ for more information.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Android SDK from SecuGen
SecuGen Corporation is pleased to announce the release of the FDx SDK Pro for the Android Operating System. This new Software Developer Kit (SDK) enables software developers to add fingerprint authentication to their Android based software running on ARM tablets and smart phones. This Android SDK incorporates SecuGen’s MINEX certified, FIPS 201/PIV compliant template extraction and matching algorithms.SecuGen makes its 1:1 SDKs, such as the new Android SDK, available for free via download from the SecuGen website.
Mobile computing is a rapidly growing platform for delivering a wide variety of applications including applications that demand high levels of security such as, finance, health care and medical records, as well as government services. SecuGen’s Hamster IV and Hamster Plus fingerprint readers, along with the iD-USB SC and iD-USB SC/PIV dual mode fingerprint and smartcard readers are sold through reseller partners worldwide. SecuGen’s products are widely recognized for being rugged, accurate and affordable.
Dan Riley, Vice President of Engineering for SecuGen said, “We are very excited to be able to offer Android compatibility for our fingerprint readers. Our partners have been asking for this and our role, as always, is to provide them with the tools that they need. The Android SDK is one of several exciting new products that we will be bringing to market in 2013.”
Won Lee, CEO of SecuGen added, “We are very pleased to offer our partners the new Android SDK. We work tirelessly to provide the tools that our partners need to succeed. Today mobile computing has become a ubiquitous platform for a broad range of rtls. We are proud to be able to deliver to our partners the ability to leverage that platform.”
If so, you ought to be very worried about a pair of developments in the last week that offer a theoretical framework to end shareholder class actions. If, on the other hand, you're of the view that shareholder litigation is merely a transfer of wealth from corporations to plaintiffs' lawyers, with little actual return to investors, you might want to start thinking about how to use the new rulings to stop that from happening.
Let's look first at the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-3 decision last week in American Express v. Italian Colors. That case, as you know, was brought by small businesses that believed American Express was abusing its monopoly in the charge card market by requiring them also to accept Amex credit cards carrying higher fees than competing credit cards. The Supreme Court said that even though the merchants had statutory antitrust rights under the Sherman Act, they had given up their right to sue Amex as a class when they signed arbitration agreements barring such suits. It was of no matter, the majority said, that the cost of arbitrating an individual antitrust claim would dwarf the recovery of any single small business: The merchants signed contracts that included arbitration clauses and those contracts bound them. (Or, as Justice Elena Kagan put it in a memorable dissent: "Here is the nutshell version of today's opinion, admirably flaunted rather than camouflaged: Too darn bad.")
The Amex ruling immediately drew the ire of consumer and employment rights advocates, who argued that it gives corporations the power effectively to insulate themselves against all sorts of legitimate claims by cutting off escape routes from class action waivers in mandatory arbitration clauses. But what about shareholders? In a very smart column on Monday, Kevin LaCroix of D&O Diary raised the question of Amex's potential impact on securities fraud and shareholder derivative class actions. Does the court's ruling, he asked, mean that "the broad enforceability of arbitration agreements reaches far enough to include the enforceability of arbitration agreements and class action waivers in corporate articles of incorporation or by-laws?"
Why shouldn't it, after all? Shareholders sue corporations and corporate boards under a pair of laws passed in the 1930s, meaning that their federal statutory rights are no more powerful than those of the merchants who tried to sue Amex under the Sherman Act. So why can't corporations, as LaCroix suggests, impose mandatory arbitration and class action waivers on shareholders?
They may well be able to under this Supreme Court, Duke law professor James Cox told me Tuesday. Cox said he believes that sooner than later, some private start-up or company engaged in an initial public offering will include a mandatory arbitration provision in its corporate charter. The company will have to be able to show that shareholders consented to the provision, just as the merchants in the Amex case agreed to mandatory arbitration, Cox said, "but I could easily imagine this court fantasizing that when you buy shares of the company, you consent."
What about the Securities and Exchange Commission? When the private equity fund Carlyle floated the idea of shareholder arbitration in an IPO in 2012, the SEC quietly objected and Carlyle ended up dropping the proposal. Though the SEC has never permitted the IPO of a company with a mandatory arbitration clause, Cox told me he believes the SEC "has limited power" to block such provisions if a corporation really wants to litigate the issue up to the Supreme Court.
Doomsday has not yet arrived for shareholder litigation, and perhaps it never will. Another Harvard law professor, Jesse Fried, cautioned in an email that forum selection by-laws are "very different animals from arbitration provisions, especially when the shareholders can change the by-laws if they are really unhappy about them." Strine's ruling Tuesday included a caveat noting that forum selection by-laws regulate just where suits are brought, not what suits shareholders may bring (nor, by extension, whether they can bring suits at all). Fried and Coates both told me that Delaware courts will question whether mandatory shareholder arbitration clauses are consistent with a board's fiduciary duties to shareholders. Fried added that corporate defense lawyers may also be philosophically (and financially) opposed to moving shareholder claims to arbitration; Coates posited that corporations may prefer to resolve shareholder claims through class actions rather than through endless individual arbitrations. (I have my doubts on that score.)
Opponents of mandatory shareholder arbitration can also point to specific laws as evidence that Congress intended shareholder claims to be litigated on a classwide basis, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act and the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act, both of which assume that shareholders will litigate as a class. The Supreme Court, moreover, has not (to my knowledge) suggested diverting shareholder claims to arbitration, even though it has spent a lot of time in the last couple of years tinkering with the mechanics of securities class actions. For that matter, the court's securities rulings haven't been nearly as hard on plaintiffs as some of the court's other class action decisions.
Mobile computing is a rapidly growing platform for delivering a wide variety of applications including applications that demand high levels of security such as, finance, health care and medical records, as well as government services. SecuGen’s Hamster IV and Hamster Plus fingerprint readers, along with the iD-USB SC and iD-USB SC/PIV dual mode fingerprint and smartcard readers are sold through reseller partners worldwide. SecuGen’s products are widely recognized for being rugged, accurate and affordable.
Dan Riley, Vice President of Engineering for SecuGen said, “We are very excited to be able to offer Android compatibility for our fingerprint readers. Our partners have been asking for this and our role, as always, is to provide them with the tools that they need. The Android SDK is one of several exciting new products that we will be bringing to market in 2013.”
Won Lee, CEO of SecuGen added, “We are very pleased to offer our partners the new Android SDK. We work tirelessly to provide the tools that our partners need to succeed. Today mobile computing has become a ubiquitous platform for a broad range of rtls. We are proud to be able to deliver to our partners the ability to leverage that platform.”
If so, you ought to be very worried about a pair of developments in the last week that offer a theoretical framework to end shareholder class actions. If, on the other hand, you're of the view that shareholder litigation is merely a transfer of wealth from corporations to plaintiffs' lawyers, with little actual return to investors, you might want to start thinking about how to use the new rulings to stop that from happening.
Let's look first at the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-3 decision last week in American Express v. Italian Colors. That case, as you know, was brought by small businesses that believed American Express was abusing its monopoly in the charge card market by requiring them also to accept Amex credit cards carrying higher fees than competing credit cards. The Supreme Court said that even though the merchants had statutory antitrust rights under the Sherman Act, they had given up their right to sue Amex as a class when they signed arbitration agreements barring such suits. It was of no matter, the majority said, that the cost of arbitrating an individual antitrust claim would dwarf the recovery of any single small business: The merchants signed contracts that included arbitration clauses and those contracts bound them. (Or, as Justice Elena Kagan put it in a memorable dissent: "Here is the nutshell version of today's opinion, admirably flaunted rather than camouflaged: Too darn bad.")
The Amex ruling immediately drew the ire of consumer and employment rights advocates, who argued that it gives corporations the power effectively to insulate themselves against all sorts of legitimate claims by cutting off escape routes from class action waivers in mandatory arbitration clauses. But what about shareholders? In a very smart column on Monday, Kevin LaCroix of D&O Diary raised the question of Amex's potential impact on securities fraud and shareholder derivative class actions. Does the court's ruling, he asked, mean that "the broad enforceability of arbitration agreements reaches far enough to include the enforceability of arbitration agreements and class action waivers in corporate articles of incorporation or by-laws?"
Why shouldn't it, after all? Shareholders sue corporations and corporate boards under a pair of laws passed in the 1930s, meaning that their federal statutory rights are no more powerful than those of the merchants who tried to sue Amex under the Sherman Act. So why can't corporations, as LaCroix suggests, impose mandatory arbitration and class action waivers on shareholders?
They may well be able to under this Supreme Court, Duke law professor James Cox told me Tuesday. Cox said he believes that sooner than later, some private start-up or company engaged in an initial public offering will include a mandatory arbitration provision in its corporate charter. The company will have to be able to show that shareholders consented to the provision, just as the merchants in the Amex case agreed to mandatory arbitration, Cox said, "but I could easily imagine this court fantasizing that when you buy shares of the company, you consent."
What about the Securities and Exchange Commission? When the private equity fund Carlyle floated the idea of shareholder arbitration in an IPO in 2012, the SEC quietly objected and Carlyle ended up dropping the proposal. Though the SEC has never permitted the IPO of a company with a mandatory arbitration clause, Cox told me he believes the SEC "has limited power" to block such provisions if a corporation really wants to litigate the issue up to the Supreme Court.
Doomsday has not yet arrived for shareholder litigation, and perhaps it never will. Another Harvard law professor, Jesse Fried, cautioned in an email that forum selection by-laws are "very different animals from arbitration provisions, especially when the shareholders can change the by-laws if they are really unhappy about them." Strine's ruling Tuesday included a caveat noting that forum selection by-laws regulate just where suits are brought, not what suits shareholders may bring (nor, by extension, whether they can bring suits at all). Fried and Coates both told me that Delaware courts will question whether mandatory shareholder arbitration clauses are consistent with a board's fiduciary duties to shareholders. Fried added that corporate defense lawyers may also be philosophically (and financially) opposed to moving shareholder claims to arbitration; Coates posited that corporations may prefer to resolve shareholder claims through class actions rather than through endless individual arbitrations. (I have my doubts on that score.)
Opponents of mandatory shareholder arbitration can also point to specific laws as evidence that Congress intended shareholder claims to be litigated on a classwide basis, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act and the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act, both of which assume that shareholders will litigate as a class. The Supreme Court, moreover, has not (to my knowledge) suggested diverting shareholder claims to arbitration, even though it has spent a lot of time in the last couple of years tinkering with the mechanics of securities class actions. For that matter, the court's securities rulings haven't been nearly as hard on plaintiffs as some of the court's other class action decisions.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Are Higher Speed Trains Between Chicago & Detroit Economically Feasible?
A common refrain heard among people in Michigan is that trains are uneconomic and a sinkhole of costs and no profit. The facts are more nuanced. Some commuter trains firms are profitable and some are loss making. In many countries, railroads are a "for profit" activity. People forget that all railroads in the U.S. were built with private risk capital. The Japanese high speed rail system (they started building it in 1962 when "Made In Japan" was a byword for cheap plastic crap) was privatized and that company was sold for $90 billion to private investors.
What most people don't realize is that the Detroit to Chicago "higher speed" rail line, now fully funded, once in service in 2015 or 2016 will be a very profitable business earning tens of millions of dollars a year in profit based on the most recent (very reasonable) feasibility study available. Delta and Southwest earn substantial profits on their Detroit to Chicago air shuttle service and this will be a cheaper and faster way to get to Chicago.
The higher-speed train plan calls for frequency of the trains to triple from 3 to 9 trains per day with 3.75 hours transit time from Detroit to Chicago and 3.25 hours from Ann Arbor to Chicago. The assumption is costs would rise to $95 million from $37.2 million and revenue would rise to $113 million from $20.2 million. I find this very realistic. Some of the costs are fixed and not truly variable. Three times the costs would be $111.6 million, but they wouldn't be that high as all costs don't triple if you triple the number of daily trains.
The revenue improvement is also realistic because higher speed trains will shift business travelers like me from planes to trains. By the time I drive to the airport and park, go through security and wait, I've blown 90 minutes and on the other end 30-90 minutes depending upon which airport, where I am actually going and if it is rush hour or not. The elapsed time taxiing and flying is about 60 minutes, so 3 hours to 4 hours. Including the parking fees ($10 or $20 a day, but add 15 minutes to the trip if you use the $10 lot), car mileage ($25), taxi ($30) or mass transit costs ($3) on the other end and the plane ticket itself ($265 to $800 depending upon how far in advance you buy your ticket and which airline you use), air travel costs ($303 to $875) a lot more than the projected round-trip price of $90-$120. What's the advantage in air travel then?
The key is that the higher speed rail has to be reliable and on-time +90% of the time, like the best airlines are. Then passengers would migrate en mass and adding more train cars to an already moving train is cheap, so the extra marginal revenue from those passengers will be very, very profitable.
If it was a stock, I'd be buying it. However due to a federal law called PRIIA, the current $17 million annual loss on the line for the next two years until the higher speed trains run and the service turns profitable must be borne by the state of Michigan and the state legislature is balking at funding it. Maybe the governor should do an initial public offering to raise the money?! If he raised $50 mm privatizing the ownership of the operating route in Michigan in an IPO and in 2015 it earned $18 mm, it would be a great investment! In other words an entity that owns the land hires Amtrak to operate the higher speed rail line and pays any deficits and gets to keep any operating profit. It would still be branded Amtrak.
It's not possible without legislation at the state and federal level, but my reason for raising it is as a thought exercise to show that it is a profitable business and a wise investment for the state to make. This profitable rail business could then fund the start-up costs of commuter shuttle trains.
If the Canadians build out a similar service to Toronto from Detroit, as Governor Snyder is currently trying to do, the economics get better again. This would further improve ridership and the profitability of the "higher speed" rail line. Over time, we can funnel the profits from running this 110 mile per hour service into true high speed rail with speeds of 250 m.p.h. Then you would be able to go from downtown Ann Arbor to Chicago or Toronto in one hour and fifteen minutes or to downtown Detroit in under 15 minutes.
Maybe it’s the distinct shade of green that’s so interesting in that it offsets the site so perfectly in home colors. Proximity is also a decided asset in that every field is closely aligned with the next.
Then there’s the good people who make it go, coaches and players and community who care so completely about youth and prep programs that they’re willing to do what has to be done to keep the venue pristine.
In recent weeks the Brookwood Athletic Complex has been undergoing vast cosmetic changes though as it’s effectively jumping into the 21st century via a project called Brookwood 2.0.
This project started in December with a total of $300 and has since then took off, gaining steam and monetary contributions at a phenomenal pace through private donations and not a single dime from taxpayer funds. When it is completed the new Brookwood Complex with have a new football field fitted with synthetic turf, thus putting an end to the expensive and never-ending process of keeping the field in shape. Seating will be revamped to accommodate 4,000 and four new soccer fields will be added making Clare a premier tournament destination for soccer. At the end of the 2014 school year the track will also be resurfaced.
The American Medical Association has voted to consider obesity a disease in the hopes that this will spur more direct communication between doctors and patients. Plus, it might increase the pressure on insurance companies to pay doctors for having these discussions.
It seems some physicians aren’t comfortable telling patients how to live, but if the discussion is about treating a disease, they’ll be more likely to weigh in. I got an email last week from a reader who wondered why doctors aren’t more aggressive in pointing out patients’ poor health habits. I’ve wondered the same, noting that I get more directives from dental hygienists and plumbers than any doctor I’ve ever had.
Most of us can identify our lousy health habits, but knowing the doctor will follow up on our progress – or lack thereof – at the next appointment can be a motivator. However, our health care system doesn’t always encourage this.
A couple of years ago, I made an “appointment” with my children’s pediatrician with no intention of bringing a kid along. I just wanted to talk with him privately about some concerns, but the nurse’s exasperation made it clear that I had breached a protocol. In the end, I was granted the chat, and it was cordial and productive. Whether it was deemed “billable,” I don’t know, but it could explain the frustration.
Doctors should get paid for taking the time to discuss health issues. It’s vital to preventing disease or managing conditions. It’s a key to cutting health care costs. But fee schedules favor tests and procedures. It wasn’t until 2011 that Medicare began paying doctors for broaching end-of-life planning with patients and their families. Before that, long-shot procedures would be covered, but not a discussion that could head off unwanted heroism. But the change had to be ushered in quietly – via presidential directive – to avoid more tantrums about “death panels.”
Click on their website www.ecived.com/en/ for more information.
What most people don't realize is that the Detroit to Chicago "higher speed" rail line, now fully funded, once in service in 2015 or 2016 will be a very profitable business earning tens of millions of dollars a year in profit based on the most recent (very reasonable) feasibility study available. Delta and Southwest earn substantial profits on their Detroit to Chicago air shuttle service and this will be a cheaper and faster way to get to Chicago.
The higher-speed train plan calls for frequency of the trains to triple from 3 to 9 trains per day with 3.75 hours transit time from Detroit to Chicago and 3.25 hours from Ann Arbor to Chicago. The assumption is costs would rise to $95 million from $37.2 million and revenue would rise to $113 million from $20.2 million. I find this very realistic. Some of the costs are fixed and not truly variable. Three times the costs would be $111.6 million, but they wouldn't be that high as all costs don't triple if you triple the number of daily trains.
The revenue improvement is also realistic because higher speed trains will shift business travelers like me from planes to trains. By the time I drive to the airport and park, go through security and wait, I've blown 90 minutes and on the other end 30-90 minutes depending upon which airport, where I am actually going and if it is rush hour or not. The elapsed time taxiing and flying is about 60 minutes, so 3 hours to 4 hours. Including the parking fees ($10 or $20 a day, but add 15 minutes to the trip if you use the $10 lot), car mileage ($25), taxi ($30) or mass transit costs ($3) on the other end and the plane ticket itself ($265 to $800 depending upon how far in advance you buy your ticket and which airline you use), air travel costs ($303 to $875) a lot more than the projected round-trip price of $90-$120. What's the advantage in air travel then?
The key is that the higher speed rail has to be reliable and on-time +90% of the time, like the best airlines are. Then passengers would migrate en mass and adding more train cars to an already moving train is cheap, so the extra marginal revenue from those passengers will be very, very profitable.
If it was a stock, I'd be buying it. However due to a federal law called PRIIA, the current $17 million annual loss on the line for the next two years until the higher speed trains run and the service turns profitable must be borne by the state of Michigan and the state legislature is balking at funding it. Maybe the governor should do an initial public offering to raise the money?! If he raised $50 mm privatizing the ownership of the operating route in Michigan in an IPO and in 2015 it earned $18 mm, it would be a great investment! In other words an entity that owns the land hires Amtrak to operate the higher speed rail line and pays any deficits and gets to keep any operating profit. It would still be branded Amtrak.
It's not possible without legislation at the state and federal level, but my reason for raising it is as a thought exercise to show that it is a profitable business and a wise investment for the state to make. This profitable rail business could then fund the start-up costs of commuter shuttle trains.
If the Canadians build out a similar service to Toronto from Detroit, as Governor Snyder is currently trying to do, the economics get better again. This would further improve ridership and the profitability of the "higher speed" rail line. Over time, we can funnel the profits from running this 110 mile per hour service into true high speed rail with speeds of 250 m.p.h. Then you would be able to go from downtown Ann Arbor to Chicago or Toronto in one hour and fifteen minutes or to downtown Detroit in under 15 minutes.
Maybe it’s the distinct shade of green that’s so interesting in that it offsets the site so perfectly in home colors. Proximity is also a decided asset in that every field is closely aligned with the next.
Then there’s the good people who make it go, coaches and players and community who care so completely about youth and prep programs that they’re willing to do what has to be done to keep the venue pristine.
In recent weeks the Brookwood Athletic Complex has been undergoing vast cosmetic changes though as it’s effectively jumping into the 21st century via a project called Brookwood 2.0.
This project started in December with a total of $300 and has since then took off, gaining steam and monetary contributions at a phenomenal pace through private donations and not a single dime from taxpayer funds. When it is completed the new Brookwood Complex with have a new football field fitted with synthetic turf, thus putting an end to the expensive and never-ending process of keeping the field in shape. Seating will be revamped to accommodate 4,000 and four new soccer fields will be added making Clare a premier tournament destination for soccer. At the end of the 2014 school year the track will also be resurfaced.
The American Medical Association has voted to consider obesity a disease in the hopes that this will spur more direct communication between doctors and patients. Plus, it might increase the pressure on insurance companies to pay doctors for having these discussions.
It seems some physicians aren’t comfortable telling patients how to live, but if the discussion is about treating a disease, they’ll be more likely to weigh in. I got an email last week from a reader who wondered why doctors aren’t more aggressive in pointing out patients’ poor health habits. I’ve wondered the same, noting that I get more directives from dental hygienists and plumbers than any doctor I’ve ever had.
Most of us can identify our lousy health habits, but knowing the doctor will follow up on our progress – or lack thereof – at the next appointment can be a motivator. However, our health care system doesn’t always encourage this.
A couple of years ago, I made an “appointment” with my children’s pediatrician with no intention of bringing a kid along. I just wanted to talk with him privately about some concerns, but the nurse’s exasperation made it clear that I had breached a protocol. In the end, I was granted the chat, and it was cordial and productive. Whether it was deemed “billable,” I don’t know, but it could explain the frustration.
Doctors should get paid for taking the time to discuss health issues. It’s vital to preventing disease or managing conditions. It’s a key to cutting health care costs. But fee schedules favor tests and procedures. It wasn’t until 2011 that Medicare began paying doctors for broaching end-of-life planning with patients and their families. Before that, long-shot procedures would be covered, but not a discussion that could head off unwanted heroism. But the change had to be ushered in quietly – via presidential directive – to avoid more tantrums about “death panels.”
Click on their website www.ecived.com/en/ for more information.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Tackling the identity crisis
The financial challenge facing police authorities in the UK is all too apparent. Soon after coming to power, the coalition government announced plans to cut central grants to the police by 20% over the four years to 2015. And with the task of reducing the national deficit proving harder than anticipated, it is quite possible that even deeper cuts lie ahead. In terms of ‘boots on the ground’, this equates to at least 15,000 fewer officers, and a total reduction in headcount of over 32,000. Furthermore, financial retrenchment is going hand in hand with demands to maintain or even enhance frontline policing. To try and square this particular circle, police authorities are pursuing a number of strategies. One option is to make more effective use of mobile computing. However, whilst there are undoubtedly opportunities to cut costs and boost productivity this way, concerns over the potential vulnerability of IT networks must also be taken into account.
Of course, the trend towards mobile technology predates the age of austerity. Police vehicles have increasingly resembled remote offices on wheels in recent years and a report by the UK National Audit Office in 2012 noted that trials of mobile technology showed a positive impact on the speed and efficiency with which routine administrative tasks were completed. With the right tools at their fingertips, officers are able to spend more time within the communities they serve.
But such efficiency gains cannot be made at the expense of protecting the sensitive data which officers handle on a daily basis. Reports of advanced cyber threats, including hacking, spyware, ID theft and viruses are increasingly commonplace, and police forces are clearly high profile targets for malicious attacks. In terms of addressing these risks, robust user authentication is one of the cornerstones of an effective security infrastructure. Currently, the most common technique is the classic username and ‘memorable’ password combination. Unfortunately, numerous security breaches have demonstrated the inherent weaknesses of this approach. This is certainly recognized in the US, where plans are now in place to ensure that access to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS), the national database which contains information such as fingerprints and criminal records, must only be via a secure user authentication method.
In practice, secure user authentication means moving beyond traditional username/password techniques. And whilst the methodologies may vary, the basic principle is straightforward. Secure user authentication for log-in requires at least two form factors. For example: something the user knows (such as a name and password) plus something the user has. This might be a smartcard that holds a securely encrypted ID, or a ‘token’ that can generate a single-use password or PIN that is entered into a computer or device during log-in.
For police forces struggling with unprecedented budget reductions, the good news is that the enhanced security delivered by strong user authentication can also reduce overheads and improve productivity. The reason for this lies in the plethora of different credentials currently carried by both officers and administrative staff. Studies suggest that the typical officer has up to five, including not just the obvious warrant card, but also those used for physical access to buildings, rooms and lockers, and logical access to computers and networks. However, by making use of a secure user authentication solution such as Gemalto’s Protiva Defender Suite, it is possible to combine multiple access functions on a single credential such as a smartcard, cutting costs and increasing the speed with which officers can complete everyday tasks. Furthermore, because it is designed specifically for military and emergency service applications, Protiva Defender Suite utilizes the high level encryption and security technology necessary to resist sophisticated cyber-attacks.
In common with many other frontline public services, the police are wrestling with the challenge of making fewer resources go further than ever. Modern IT is one of the most valuable tools at the disposal of those charged with rising to the challenge. And although the issue of streamlining and strengthening user authentication is clearly part of a much bigger picture, it is at least one area in which there is demonstrable evidence of the ability to squeeze improved performance from a shrinking budget.
Gemalto, a world leader in digital security, help organizations protect and manage their logical, physical, and cloud-based data assets. Our Protiva strong multi-factor authentication solutions provide the highest level of protection.
Gemalto develops secure embedded software and secure products which we design and personalize. Our platforms and services manage these products, the confidential data they contain and the trusted end-user services made possible.
The smartphone application, called ‘myEcoCost’, has been developed as part of a ￡2.6 million study by Nottingham Trent University, coordinated by Bavarian-based company TriaGnoSys, into whether consumers make more sustainable choices when information on products, such as ecological footprint, is made available to them.
Developed by ‘experts’, the electronic system will enable shoppers with smart phones to scan a product’s barcode and receive a rating of how ‘sustainable’ it is. The aim is for consumers to identify which products have the smallest carbon footprint, which use the least resources and which are the healthiest for them to consume.
Shoppers will be able to view the cumulative ecological cost of the products or services they have purchased online using a system similar to reward or loyalty card schemes.
Professor Daizhong Su, Head of the Advanced Design and Manufacturing Engineering Centre at the university’s School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, said: “The aim is for consumers to make a more environmentally conscious decision about what they buy. For example, shoppers may choose a ‘greener’ product over another item that is the same price if they know that it has less of an impact on the environment.
“The desired knock-on effect of this would be that manufacturers would refocus their priorities and make their products and processes more sustainable, with luxury packaging, for instance, becoming a thing of the past and being deemed distasteful by society.”
Click on their website www.ecived.com/en/ for more information.
Of course, the trend towards mobile technology predates the age of austerity. Police vehicles have increasingly resembled remote offices on wheels in recent years and a report by the UK National Audit Office in 2012 noted that trials of mobile technology showed a positive impact on the speed and efficiency with which routine administrative tasks were completed. With the right tools at their fingertips, officers are able to spend more time within the communities they serve.
But such efficiency gains cannot be made at the expense of protecting the sensitive data which officers handle on a daily basis. Reports of advanced cyber threats, including hacking, spyware, ID theft and viruses are increasingly commonplace, and police forces are clearly high profile targets for malicious attacks. In terms of addressing these risks, robust user authentication is one of the cornerstones of an effective security infrastructure. Currently, the most common technique is the classic username and ‘memorable’ password combination. Unfortunately, numerous security breaches have demonstrated the inherent weaknesses of this approach. This is certainly recognized in the US, where plans are now in place to ensure that access to the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS), the national database which contains information such as fingerprints and criminal records, must only be via a secure user authentication method.
In practice, secure user authentication means moving beyond traditional username/password techniques. And whilst the methodologies may vary, the basic principle is straightforward. Secure user authentication for log-in requires at least two form factors. For example: something the user knows (such as a name and password) plus something the user has. This might be a smartcard that holds a securely encrypted ID, or a ‘token’ that can generate a single-use password or PIN that is entered into a computer or device during log-in.
For police forces struggling with unprecedented budget reductions, the good news is that the enhanced security delivered by strong user authentication can also reduce overheads and improve productivity. The reason for this lies in the plethora of different credentials currently carried by both officers and administrative staff. Studies suggest that the typical officer has up to five, including not just the obvious warrant card, but also those used for physical access to buildings, rooms and lockers, and logical access to computers and networks. However, by making use of a secure user authentication solution such as Gemalto’s Protiva Defender Suite, it is possible to combine multiple access functions on a single credential such as a smartcard, cutting costs and increasing the speed with which officers can complete everyday tasks. Furthermore, because it is designed specifically for military and emergency service applications, Protiva Defender Suite utilizes the high level encryption and security technology necessary to resist sophisticated cyber-attacks.
In common with many other frontline public services, the police are wrestling with the challenge of making fewer resources go further than ever. Modern IT is one of the most valuable tools at the disposal of those charged with rising to the challenge. And although the issue of streamlining and strengthening user authentication is clearly part of a much bigger picture, it is at least one area in which there is demonstrable evidence of the ability to squeeze improved performance from a shrinking budget.
Gemalto, a world leader in digital security, help organizations protect and manage their logical, physical, and cloud-based data assets. Our Protiva strong multi-factor authentication solutions provide the highest level of protection.
Gemalto develops secure embedded software and secure products which we design and personalize. Our platforms and services manage these products, the confidential data they contain and the trusted end-user services made possible.
The smartphone application, called ‘myEcoCost’, has been developed as part of a ￡2.6 million study by Nottingham Trent University, coordinated by Bavarian-based company TriaGnoSys, into whether consumers make more sustainable choices when information on products, such as ecological footprint, is made available to them.
Developed by ‘experts’, the electronic system will enable shoppers with smart phones to scan a product’s barcode and receive a rating of how ‘sustainable’ it is. The aim is for consumers to identify which products have the smallest carbon footprint, which use the least resources and which are the healthiest for them to consume.
Shoppers will be able to view the cumulative ecological cost of the products or services they have purchased online using a system similar to reward or loyalty card schemes.
Professor Daizhong Su, Head of the Advanced Design and Manufacturing Engineering Centre at the university’s School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, said: “The aim is for consumers to make a more environmentally conscious decision about what they buy. For example, shoppers may choose a ‘greener’ product over another item that is the same price if they know that it has less of an impact on the environment.
“The desired knock-on effect of this would be that manufacturers would refocus their priorities and make their products and processes more sustainable, with luxury packaging, for instance, becoming a thing of the past and being deemed distasteful by society.”
Click on their website www.ecived.com/en/ for more information.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Tiny backpacks for dragonflies track their brains in flight
The brain of a dragonfly has to do some serious calculations -- and fast -- if it hopes to nab a mosquito or midge in midair. It has to predict the trajectory of its prey, plot a course to intersect it, then make adjustments on the fly to counteract any evasive manoeuvres. Neuroscientist Anthony Leonardo created the tiny dragonfly backpack above to study how circuits of neurons do these computations.
The backpack weighs 40 milligrams, about as much as a couple grains of sand, equal to just 10 percent of the dragonfly's weight. Electrodes inserted into the dragonfly's body and brain record the electrical activity of neurons, and a custom-made chip amplifies the signals and transmits them wirelessly to a nearby computer.
One of the trickiest design challenges was how to power the chip without adding so much mass that the insects couldn't get off the ground, says Leonardo, who's based at Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Farm Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia.
He and collaborators at Duke University and Intan Technologies came up with a clever solution based on the same technology found in the RFID key card access system used in many office buildings. There, a reader, usually a small pad next to a door, emits radio waves to create a magnetic field. When a key card gets close enough to the reader, the magnetic field induces a current that powers a chip inside the card, enabling it to transmit a code to unlock the door.
The two long antennae on the dragonfly backpack harvest radio waves and power the chip in a similar way. Eliminating the need for a battery on the backpack was the key to keeping the weight down.
Getting dragonflies to hunt inside the lab turned out to be a little tricky too, Leonardo says. In a plain white room, the insects exhaust themselves trying to escape. So the team installed turf on the floor, installed a small pond, and covered the walls with a scene that evokes a springtime meadow.
In their experiments, the researchers release fruit flies and watch the dragonflies take off from a perch and catch them. Eighteen high-speed infrared video cameras positioned around the room capture every move as a dragonfly closes in on its prey and launches its body upwards, curling its hairy legs inward to form a sort of basket trap (see video below).
As the dragonfly hunts, the backpack captures the firing of neurons Leonardo thinks play a crucial role in guiding it towards its prey. "We know a lot about their anatomy," he said. "They gather input from visual parts of the brain and send axons down to the motor neurons that move the rtls."
The question that fascinates Leonardo is how those neurons and others transform information about the visual scene into a plan of action, and how they continuously update the plan as the dragonfly and its prey move through space. All animals do this type of transformation, from a centre fielder running down a fly ball to a lion running down a gazelle. But a neuroscientist can't exactly study those situations in the lab.
Earlier this year, I wrote about my wish for a digital insurance card that could be displayed on my smart phone, similar to the electronic boarding passes now available with airline apps.
I rarely seem able to remember to transfer the latest paper cards from the envelope mailed to me by my insurer to my glove compartment, and my wallet. So the card I have with me is often dog-eared and out of date, even though I have paid my premiums and my coverage is current.
When I first wrote about digital insurance cards, just seven states permitted them (Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana and Minnesota.)
But after a busy legislative season, 25 states now permit drivers to show “e-cards” at traffic stops, according to a map prepared by the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, a trade group that supports use of the digital cards.
The 18 states that approved electronic proof-of-coverage laws this year (including Arkansas, the state where I live) are: Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
The association’s director of personal lines policy, Alex Hageli, has said the use of electronic identification cards is more convenient for consumers, and can help reduce time spent by courts addressing tickets issued simply because (like me) drivers forgot to put the card in their wallets.
“It makes good sense to allow consumers and insurers to use increasingly ubiquitous technology to comply with the law,” Mr. Hageli said in a prepared statement.
The association supports “flexible” rules allowing use of the digital cards as an option for insurers and consumers–meaning that those who prefer paper cards can still use them.
The backpack weighs 40 milligrams, about as much as a couple grains of sand, equal to just 10 percent of the dragonfly's weight. Electrodes inserted into the dragonfly's body and brain record the electrical activity of neurons, and a custom-made chip amplifies the signals and transmits them wirelessly to a nearby computer.
One of the trickiest design challenges was how to power the chip without adding so much mass that the insects couldn't get off the ground, says Leonardo, who's based at Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Farm Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia.
He and collaborators at Duke University and Intan Technologies came up with a clever solution based on the same technology found in the RFID key card access system used in many office buildings. There, a reader, usually a small pad next to a door, emits radio waves to create a magnetic field. When a key card gets close enough to the reader, the magnetic field induces a current that powers a chip inside the card, enabling it to transmit a code to unlock the door.
The two long antennae on the dragonfly backpack harvest radio waves and power the chip in a similar way. Eliminating the need for a battery on the backpack was the key to keeping the weight down.
Getting dragonflies to hunt inside the lab turned out to be a little tricky too, Leonardo says. In a plain white room, the insects exhaust themselves trying to escape. So the team installed turf on the floor, installed a small pond, and covered the walls with a scene that evokes a springtime meadow.
In their experiments, the researchers release fruit flies and watch the dragonflies take off from a perch and catch them. Eighteen high-speed infrared video cameras positioned around the room capture every move as a dragonfly closes in on its prey and launches its body upwards, curling its hairy legs inward to form a sort of basket trap (see video below).
As the dragonfly hunts, the backpack captures the firing of neurons Leonardo thinks play a crucial role in guiding it towards its prey. "We know a lot about their anatomy," he said. "They gather input from visual parts of the brain and send axons down to the motor neurons that move the rtls."
The question that fascinates Leonardo is how those neurons and others transform information about the visual scene into a plan of action, and how they continuously update the plan as the dragonfly and its prey move through space. All animals do this type of transformation, from a centre fielder running down a fly ball to a lion running down a gazelle. But a neuroscientist can't exactly study those situations in the lab.
Earlier this year, I wrote about my wish for a digital insurance card that could be displayed on my smart phone, similar to the electronic boarding passes now available with airline apps.
I rarely seem able to remember to transfer the latest paper cards from the envelope mailed to me by my insurer to my glove compartment, and my wallet. So the card I have with me is often dog-eared and out of date, even though I have paid my premiums and my coverage is current.
When I first wrote about digital insurance cards, just seven states permitted them (Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana and Minnesota.)
But after a busy legislative season, 25 states now permit drivers to show “e-cards” at traffic stops, according to a map prepared by the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, a trade group that supports use of the digital cards.
The 18 states that approved electronic proof-of-coverage laws this year (including Arkansas, the state where I live) are: Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
The association’s director of personal lines policy, Alex Hageli, has said the use of electronic identification cards is more convenient for consumers, and can help reduce time spent by courts addressing tickets issued simply because (like me) drivers forgot to put the card in their wallets.
“It makes good sense to allow consumers and insurers to use increasingly ubiquitous technology to comply with the law,” Mr. Hageli said in a prepared statement.
The association supports “flexible” rules allowing use of the digital cards as an option for insurers and consumers–meaning that those who prefer paper cards can still use them.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Niagara Falls State Park gets major makeover
“This is such an historic time at Niagara Falls State Park,” Harvey said. “We have not seen an infusion of capital and a wholesale approach to the look and feel of this park in a generation. And now our nation’s oldest state park is going from shabby to shining. We could not be more grateful to Gov. Cuomo for his support of our parks, to our state legislators for their unwavering commitment to parks, to the staff that steward this park, and to the local contractors that performed this work. It is just tremendous.”
The first phase of the multi-year plan features a $1.8 million restoration at Three Sisters Islands that includes a new trolley shelter, expanded parking area, new pedestrian walkways and overlooks, enhanced landscaping, as well as new railings. Luna Island received a $1.1 million overhaul, including new pedestrian walkways, overlook improvements, enhanced landscaping as well as new benches, light posts and railings. The Cave of the Winds saw a $1.7 million renovation of the tunnel that leads visitors to the gorge as well as the installation of new high-speed elevators.
The event also included a groundbreaking for a $4.3 million project to revitalize Prospect Point. The work at this popular viewing area will take place in phases so as to always provide access for visitors to the view, and will include landscape restoration, new railings, benches, light fixtures and walkway surfaces. The first phase, which is the point itself, will finish in October and then move to the lower grove trails to the north and south of the points with work ending in that area by August 2014. Construction will not affect any of the attractions at Niagara Falls State Park.
The improvements revealed today are outlined in a comprehensive landscape improvement plan developed in 2012 to restore the most heavily used areas of Niagara Falls State Park, including its primary viewing points, walking trails, historic buildings and plantings. All landscape improvement projects will be consistent with the design principles utilized by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in his original vision for the park.
These projects represent a multi-year, $25 million commitment to revitalizing Niagara Falls State Park, the nation’s oldest state park. Funding for the Niagara Falls park revitalization initiative will come primarily from money from the Niagara River Greenway fund, courtesy of the New York Power Authority, under commitments made in 2005 as part of a relicensing process for the Niagara Power Project hydroelectric dam. State Parks will continue to consult with the Niagara River Greenway Commission on the projects.
“The New York Power Authority is proud of the role we’re playing in revitalizing Niagara Falls State Park, and helping to preserve this crown jewel of the state park system,” said NYPA Trustee Terrance P. Flynn, a Western New Yorker. “The priority that Gov. Cuomo set for rejuvenating and upgrading the park led to our providing a lump-sum payment of $25 million from annual funding set aside for Greenway improvements under the relicensing of our Niagara Hydroelectric Power Plant. It is greatly rewarding to see the significant recreational benefits that have resulted from that funding.”
“The Niagara Falls State Park draws millions of visitors each year to our area, and these restorations will now match the beauty of the parks to that of the falls,” State Sen. George Maziarz said. “Upgrades to this park have been needed for a number of years, and the improvements at Three Sisters Islands are only the start. I am pleased that the constructions jobs created for the improvements were filled by a Niagara County company, and I applaud Gov. Cuomo and Commissioner Harvey for their continued commitment to Niagara Falls State Park.”
“I am pleased that we are using this funding to enhance the quality and aesthetic beauty of our parks. State parks are an important aspect of the region’s tourism industry, which is a major local job creator,” said Assemblyman John Ceretto. “Moving forward, I would like to see even greater cooperation between state and local officials, especially when determining the design and implementation of our parks in order to stay true to the prolific vision of Frederick L Olmsted.”
City of Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster said, “The core of Olmsted’s genius was his ability to balance the values of aesthetics and the natural environment with the practical requirements of accommodating large numbers of visitors. These improvements, in a modern expression of classic Olmsted principles, seek to create a more attractive visitor experience in a way that is sensitive to historical and environmental values. Paving has given way to green space, invasive plants have been replaced by native species, and access has been improved in ways that protect the landscape from being ‘loved to death’ by visitors. Thanks to Gov. Cuomo and Commissioner Harvey for all the great work done so far, recognizing that, in many ways, this is only the beginning of a project that will transform the park’s appeal today while protecting it for generations into the future.”
Thomas Herrera-Mishler, CEO and president at Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, said, “These projects help to preserve and enhance the historic landscape at Niagara Falls State Park, a legacy built on the genius of Frederick Law Olmsted, who originally campaigned to create this park and designed it to provide free access to one of the world’s natural wonders. He foresaw the growth of tourism at Niagara Falls, and these improvements respect the spirit of his design principals as they accommodate numbers of visitors that would have astounded even Mr. Olmsted’s imagination. Visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy the falls in a naturalistic landscape that is safe and attractive. I am grateful for the state of New York’s increased stewardship of this globally significant historic landscape.”
John Percy, president and CEO of the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp., said, “The foresight of Gov. Cuomo and Commissioner Harvey have granted future generations the opportunity to enjoy Niagara Falls State Park as many before them have. When the renovations are complete, Frederick Law Olmsted’s vision will be secure for the millions of guests that visit the park every year. Niagara Falls State Park is an international treasure, and I praise the state on this tremendous effort to preserve the beauty that surrounds one of our natural wonders.”
Last year, Cuomo and the State Legislature authorized the NY Works program to provide $89 million statewide, leveraging $143 million in total funding, to move forward with more than 100 overdue projects to improve 55 parks and historic sites and spur job creation and economic development. The Niagara Falls State Park projects were among the first to be funded. This year, a second round of $90 million in NY Works funding will advance an additional 90 construction projects to upgrade and repair more than 50 state parks and historic sites across New York. Click on their website www.ecived.com/en for more information.
The first phase of the multi-year plan features a $1.8 million restoration at Three Sisters Islands that includes a new trolley shelter, expanded parking area, new pedestrian walkways and overlooks, enhanced landscaping, as well as new railings. Luna Island received a $1.1 million overhaul, including new pedestrian walkways, overlook improvements, enhanced landscaping as well as new benches, light posts and railings. The Cave of the Winds saw a $1.7 million renovation of the tunnel that leads visitors to the gorge as well as the installation of new high-speed elevators.
The event also included a groundbreaking for a $4.3 million project to revitalize Prospect Point. The work at this popular viewing area will take place in phases so as to always provide access for visitors to the view, and will include landscape restoration, new railings, benches, light fixtures and walkway surfaces. The first phase, which is the point itself, will finish in October and then move to the lower grove trails to the north and south of the points with work ending in that area by August 2014. Construction will not affect any of the attractions at Niagara Falls State Park.
The improvements revealed today are outlined in a comprehensive landscape improvement plan developed in 2012 to restore the most heavily used areas of Niagara Falls State Park, including its primary viewing points, walking trails, historic buildings and plantings. All landscape improvement projects will be consistent with the design principles utilized by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in his original vision for the park.
These projects represent a multi-year, $25 million commitment to revitalizing Niagara Falls State Park, the nation’s oldest state park. Funding for the Niagara Falls park revitalization initiative will come primarily from money from the Niagara River Greenway fund, courtesy of the New York Power Authority, under commitments made in 2005 as part of a relicensing process for the Niagara Power Project hydroelectric dam. State Parks will continue to consult with the Niagara River Greenway Commission on the projects.
“The New York Power Authority is proud of the role we’re playing in revitalizing Niagara Falls State Park, and helping to preserve this crown jewel of the state park system,” said NYPA Trustee Terrance P. Flynn, a Western New Yorker. “The priority that Gov. Cuomo set for rejuvenating and upgrading the park led to our providing a lump-sum payment of $25 million from annual funding set aside for Greenway improvements under the relicensing of our Niagara Hydroelectric Power Plant. It is greatly rewarding to see the significant recreational benefits that have resulted from that funding.”
“The Niagara Falls State Park draws millions of visitors each year to our area, and these restorations will now match the beauty of the parks to that of the falls,” State Sen. George Maziarz said. “Upgrades to this park have been needed for a number of years, and the improvements at Three Sisters Islands are only the start. I am pleased that the constructions jobs created for the improvements were filled by a Niagara County company, and I applaud Gov. Cuomo and Commissioner Harvey for their continued commitment to Niagara Falls State Park.”
“I am pleased that we are using this funding to enhance the quality and aesthetic beauty of our parks. State parks are an important aspect of the region’s tourism industry, which is a major local job creator,” said Assemblyman John Ceretto. “Moving forward, I would like to see even greater cooperation between state and local officials, especially when determining the design and implementation of our parks in order to stay true to the prolific vision of Frederick L Olmsted.”
City of Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster said, “The core of Olmsted’s genius was his ability to balance the values of aesthetics and the natural environment with the practical requirements of accommodating large numbers of visitors. These improvements, in a modern expression of classic Olmsted principles, seek to create a more attractive visitor experience in a way that is sensitive to historical and environmental values. Paving has given way to green space, invasive plants have been replaced by native species, and access has been improved in ways that protect the landscape from being ‘loved to death’ by visitors. Thanks to Gov. Cuomo and Commissioner Harvey for all the great work done so far, recognizing that, in many ways, this is only the beginning of a project that will transform the park’s appeal today while protecting it for generations into the future.”
Thomas Herrera-Mishler, CEO and president at Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, said, “These projects help to preserve and enhance the historic landscape at Niagara Falls State Park, a legacy built on the genius of Frederick Law Olmsted, who originally campaigned to create this park and designed it to provide free access to one of the world’s natural wonders. He foresaw the growth of tourism at Niagara Falls, and these improvements respect the spirit of his design principals as they accommodate numbers of visitors that would have astounded even Mr. Olmsted’s imagination. Visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy the falls in a naturalistic landscape that is safe and attractive. I am grateful for the state of New York’s increased stewardship of this globally significant historic landscape.”
John Percy, president and CEO of the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp., said, “The foresight of Gov. Cuomo and Commissioner Harvey have granted future generations the opportunity to enjoy Niagara Falls State Park as many before them have. When the renovations are complete, Frederick Law Olmsted’s vision will be secure for the millions of guests that visit the park every year. Niagara Falls State Park is an international treasure, and I praise the state on this tremendous effort to preserve the beauty that surrounds one of our natural wonders.”
Last year, Cuomo and the State Legislature authorized the NY Works program to provide $89 million statewide, leveraging $143 million in total funding, to move forward with more than 100 overdue projects to improve 55 parks and historic sites and spur job creation and economic development. The Niagara Falls State Park projects were among the first to be funded. This year, a second round of $90 million in NY Works funding will advance an additional 90 construction projects to upgrade and repair more than 50 state parks and historic sites across New York. Click on their website www.ecived.com/en for more information.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
The new film about WikiLeaks infuriates WikiLeaks
Every documentary filmmaker begins with deciding on the story to be told, and, then, on how to sustain audience interest.
If your goal is to inform the public or take a stand on an important issue by explaining its origins and exposing wrongdoers, then, you go one way. If your goal is to entertain and shroud your motives by exploring murky personality contradictions, you go another.
We Steal Secrets, veteran filmmaker Alex Gibney's latest documentary (or is it a docudrama?), was skillfully made with the backing of a major media company. It tries to do both.
Ironically, that company, Comcast-Universal, owners of NBC, is at the same time having a major success with another movie, Fast and Furious 6, glamorising a criminal gang that relies on speedy cars.
You could say that WikiLeaks, the subject of We Steal Secrets, also began with a fury - a fury against war and secrecy, and was moving as fast as it could using speedy online postings to challenge media complacency in the digital realm.
The docu-tract uses slick graphics to creatively report on the origins and impact of WikiLeaks, the online whistleblower collective, but then, for "balance" and perhaps to pre-empt any criticisms of any bias, especially too much ideological sympathy, opened the tap on endless criticisms by Wiki-dissidents who have turned on founder Julian Assange, as well as the pathetic patriot hacker-turned-informant who ratted out Manning.
The movie revels in all the negatives that surround him, and his chief and gutsy leaker, Private First Class Bradley Manning, who is now being tried tried in a case that could land him behind bars for life under the 1917 Espionage Act.
On June 1, more than one thousand Manning supporters rallied at the Virginia base at which he is being held. His trial, which began June 3, featured testimony from military prosecutor Captain Joe Morrow of the Army, who charged Manning with a dangerous rtls.
"This is a case about a soldier who systematically harvested hundreds of thousands of classified documents and dumped them onto the internet, into the hands of the enemy - material he knew, based on his training, would put the lives of fellow soldiers at risk," he said.
His defence lawyer David Combs challenged the government, contending, "He was selective. He had access to literally hundreds of millions of documents as an all-source analyst, and these were the documents that he released. And he released these documents because he was hoping to make the world a better place."
Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights that also defends Manning explained: "The Manning trial is occurring in the context of perhaps the most repressive atmosphere for free press in recent memory. It was bad enough that the Obama administration prosecuted twice the number of whistleblowers than all prior administrations combined. Then it went after logs and records of journalists and publishers."
It is surprising that the film's very title, "We Steal Secrets" - what many might take as a Wiki-boast - was taken from an interview in the film itself; it was an admission by former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden about what the US government, not Wikileaks, is all about. Balancing his espionage boosterism in the movie is a former Republican Justice Department hack.
It is very rare for an indy filmmaker to land interviews with top intelligence honchos. It is unclear who had had the juice to get this "get", as major TV interviews are called in the news world. CIA directors don't tend to make themselves available to films they don't control or have a reason to believe they would be treated respectfully.
The film has had a big promotional push and is already playing in three theatres in New York, a success that masks some of its editorial failings, including its in-your-face attempt at "fairness and balance", the pretext the one-siders at Fox routinely use as their claim to credibility.
The promotional hype for the film initially made it seem like an endorsement of Assange until you read it closely: "Filmed with the startling immediacy of unfolding history, Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney's We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks details the creation of Julian Assange's controversial website, which facilitated the largest security breach in US history. Hailed by some as a free-speech hero and others as a traitor and terrorist..."
So, there you are - the movie's real question: is Assange a good guy or not? And what about Manning? Why did he do what he did? So, at the outset, Gibney leaves the political plane for a psychological, or even, a psychiatric one. He is out to personalise, and in the process de-politicise a very political issue, for what's known in the news-biz as "character-based story telling".
If your goal is to inform the public or take a stand on an important issue by explaining its origins and exposing wrongdoers, then, you go one way. If your goal is to entertain and shroud your motives by exploring murky personality contradictions, you go another.
We Steal Secrets, veteran filmmaker Alex Gibney's latest documentary (or is it a docudrama?), was skillfully made with the backing of a major media company. It tries to do both.
Ironically, that company, Comcast-Universal, owners of NBC, is at the same time having a major success with another movie, Fast and Furious 6, glamorising a criminal gang that relies on speedy cars.
You could say that WikiLeaks, the subject of We Steal Secrets, also began with a fury - a fury against war and secrecy, and was moving as fast as it could using speedy online postings to challenge media complacency in the digital realm.
The docu-tract uses slick graphics to creatively report on the origins and impact of WikiLeaks, the online whistleblower collective, but then, for "balance" and perhaps to pre-empt any criticisms of any bias, especially too much ideological sympathy, opened the tap on endless criticisms by Wiki-dissidents who have turned on founder Julian Assange, as well as the pathetic patriot hacker-turned-informant who ratted out Manning.
The movie revels in all the negatives that surround him, and his chief and gutsy leaker, Private First Class Bradley Manning, who is now being tried tried in a case that could land him behind bars for life under the 1917 Espionage Act.
On June 1, more than one thousand Manning supporters rallied at the Virginia base at which he is being held. His trial, which began June 3, featured testimony from military prosecutor Captain Joe Morrow of the Army, who charged Manning with a dangerous rtls.
"This is a case about a soldier who systematically harvested hundreds of thousands of classified documents and dumped them onto the internet, into the hands of the enemy - material he knew, based on his training, would put the lives of fellow soldiers at risk," he said.
His defence lawyer David Combs challenged the government, contending, "He was selective. He had access to literally hundreds of millions of documents as an all-source analyst, and these were the documents that he released. And he released these documents because he was hoping to make the world a better place."
Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights that also defends Manning explained: "The Manning trial is occurring in the context of perhaps the most repressive atmosphere for free press in recent memory. It was bad enough that the Obama administration prosecuted twice the number of whistleblowers than all prior administrations combined. Then it went after logs and records of journalists and publishers."
It is surprising that the film's very title, "We Steal Secrets" - what many might take as a Wiki-boast - was taken from an interview in the film itself; it was an admission by former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden about what the US government, not Wikileaks, is all about. Balancing his espionage boosterism in the movie is a former Republican Justice Department hack.
It is very rare for an indy filmmaker to land interviews with top intelligence honchos. It is unclear who had had the juice to get this "get", as major TV interviews are called in the news world. CIA directors don't tend to make themselves available to films they don't control or have a reason to believe they would be treated respectfully.
The film has had a big promotional push and is already playing in three theatres in New York, a success that masks some of its editorial failings, including its in-your-face attempt at "fairness and balance", the pretext the one-siders at Fox routinely use as their claim to credibility.
The promotional hype for the film initially made it seem like an endorsement of Assange until you read it closely: "Filmed with the startling immediacy of unfolding history, Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney's We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks details the creation of Julian Assange's controversial website, which facilitated the largest security breach in US history. Hailed by some as a free-speech hero and others as a traitor and terrorist..."
So, there you are - the movie's real question: is Assange a good guy or not? And what about Manning? Why did he do what he did? So, at the outset, Gibney leaves the political plane for a psychological, or even, a psychiatric one. He is out to personalise, and in the process de-politicise a very political issue, for what's known in the news-biz as "character-based story telling".
Friday, June 7, 2013
Riders try out Metro’s new stainless steel fare gates
The machines had been shrouded in white tarps for weeks. On Wednesday night, about a dozen members of the transit agency’s riders advisory group got to try out the gates.
“This is about looking at the design, the ease of use and the experience of using it,” Alison Simon, Metro’s director of customer research, told a group of riders before taking them through the new fare gates.
Metro is expected to pick a vendor in July to lead the costly and complicated job of modernizing its fare-collection system. Riders will no longer have to convert their money into Metro’s main currency — the $5 electronic SmarTrip card — to ride trains and buses. Instead, they will be able to wave a smart phone, key fob or credit card in front of a scanner as they board a bus or walk through a subway station fare gate. It will be the first time that Metro has revamped its fare payment system since Metrorail service began 37 years ago.
Riders now use Metro’s brown and orange fare gates and tap their electronic SmarTrip cards or stick in paper Farecards to enter rail stations. But many riders complain that the gates don’t open quickly enough. Other riders say they close too fast for those in wheelchairs or with strollers.
In the dim light of Metro’s basement, the nine new gates gleamed. Some riders — who jokingly called themselves “transit geeks” — said it felt as if they were test-driving the latest car models at a dealership.
Many of the new fare gates have more sensors than the existing Metro fare gates and can better detect strollers, guide dogs and wheelchairs, and stay open longer as needed. Some beeped. One had tempered glass at eye height — a move meant to deter fare evasion. Others lighted up red, blue or green.
Unfortunately my husband and I fell into the debt trap - badly. It started with not being able to buy food and afford rent - and we were living in a tiny, tiny flat. So we started buying food on our Woolies cards.
When our salaries increased we continued the habit of buying groceries and all kinds of stuff on credit. We made a habit of living beyond our means, and somehow more and more places kept giving us credit, which was impossible to resist. We also had to pay for our own wedding - we did it as cheaply as we could and had the whole family and friends jump in to help, but it still cost a lost.
When the company I worked for closed down I was forced to take another job that paid significantly less and so we were compelled to go into debt counselling. This was the best decision we could have made at that time!
I see it all the time – people who live far above their means but moan about their debt endlessly. Then they go and buy an expensive lunch every work day of the week and tell you all about the take aways and shopping they enjoyed over the weekend. A few minutes later they will complain they have no savings and worry what will happen if they ever need to go to hospital (as a medical aid isn’t high on their list of essentials). I don’t understand it but I’ve given up trying.
When I was in Grade 9 we were taught how to draw up a budget. The simple guideline was to spend less than you earn. Please note that I am not in any way dismissing that there are many people who don’t earn enough to afford the basics and battle daily to put food on their tables. What I’m talking about is how people will wilfully go into debt just to have things they don’t need.
I cannot grasp is how people can spend thousands on a pair of boots they don’t need but have to have because of the name. Or buy a new car when they can barely afford the instalments on the old one. Or rent a massive house in a smart area but have no retirement plan or anything put towards their old age. Some people go into debt to have a big wedding or an expensive holiday.
Everything has become about status and what you have. When did we start caring so much about what others think? When did keeping up with the Joneses become a way of life for so many people?
I’ve learnt that if I don’t have money for something, I wait until I do before buying it. Yes I’m one of those people who don’t own store cards. But I’m also one of those people who don’t get heart palpitations when opening their mail because they are dreading a huge account. Obviously taking out a loan to buy a house or vehicle is the norm but to get into debt just because you have to have the latest electronics to boast to your friends about? Well that is just sad.
This will allow drivers to access apps like music streaming service rara, which gives access to a library of 17 million songs while on the move, plus a Mobile Office App which lets you dictate and send emails and text messages using just the SIM card built into the car.
The system also allows BMW to send software updates and diagnose faults remotely. The firm claims ConnectDrive won’t add any more to the new price of a car. Instead, BMW plans to recoup the cost of developing the system – a figure in “the three-digit millions of Euros” according to one BMW insider – by selling apps developed by BMW and third party firms, through a bespoke BMW app store accessed either in-car or on a special owner’s section of the BMW website.
For example, the rara music streaming service will cost around ￡390 to add as an option in the first year, with users paying a license fee set by the music industry of ￡9.99 per month after that. However, as part of the deal, BMW picks up the SIM card bill, even if you drive the car abroad, so there are no extra roaming charges.
BMW has said that the system is extremely secure – Simon Euringer, head of ConnnectedDrive told us that it’d cost more to hack the system than to buy it in the first place – and that it can be updated by BMW to reflect changes in legislation.
Euringer added that the new ConnectedDrive had been developed to enhance its new i cars. The i ConnectedDrive includes an intermodal route planner, which lets you know if taking the tube or train is a quicker way of travelling that driving.Click on their website www.ecived.com/en for more information.
“This is about looking at the design, the ease of use and the experience of using it,” Alison Simon, Metro’s director of customer research, told a group of riders before taking them through the new fare gates.
Metro is expected to pick a vendor in July to lead the costly and complicated job of modernizing its fare-collection system. Riders will no longer have to convert their money into Metro’s main currency — the $5 electronic SmarTrip card — to ride trains and buses. Instead, they will be able to wave a smart phone, key fob or credit card in front of a scanner as they board a bus or walk through a subway station fare gate. It will be the first time that Metro has revamped its fare payment system since Metrorail service began 37 years ago.
Riders now use Metro’s brown and orange fare gates and tap their electronic SmarTrip cards or stick in paper Farecards to enter rail stations. But many riders complain that the gates don’t open quickly enough. Other riders say they close too fast for those in wheelchairs or with strollers.
In the dim light of Metro’s basement, the nine new gates gleamed. Some riders — who jokingly called themselves “transit geeks” — said it felt as if they were test-driving the latest car models at a dealership.
Many of the new fare gates have more sensors than the existing Metro fare gates and can better detect strollers, guide dogs and wheelchairs, and stay open longer as needed. Some beeped. One had tempered glass at eye height — a move meant to deter fare evasion. Others lighted up red, blue or green.
Unfortunately my husband and I fell into the debt trap - badly. It started with not being able to buy food and afford rent - and we were living in a tiny, tiny flat. So we started buying food on our Woolies cards.
When our salaries increased we continued the habit of buying groceries and all kinds of stuff on credit. We made a habit of living beyond our means, and somehow more and more places kept giving us credit, which was impossible to resist. We also had to pay for our own wedding - we did it as cheaply as we could and had the whole family and friends jump in to help, but it still cost a lost.
When the company I worked for closed down I was forced to take another job that paid significantly less and so we were compelled to go into debt counselling. This was the best decision we could have made at that time!
I see it all the time – people who live far above their means but moan about their debt endlessly. Then they go and buy an expensive lunch every work day of the week and tell you all about the take aways and shopping they enjoyed over the weekend. A few minutes later they will complain they have no savings and worry what will happen if they ever need to go to hospital (as a medical aid isn’t high on their list of essentials). I don’t understand it but I’ve given up trying.
When I was in Grade 9 we were taught how to draw up a budget. The simple guideline was to spend less than you earn. Please note that I am not in any way dismissing that there are many people who don’t earn enough to afford the basics and battle daily to put food on their tables. What I’m talking about is how people will wilfully go into debt just to have things they don’t need.
I cannot grasp is how people can spend thousands on a pair of boots they don’t need but have to have because of the name. Or buy a new car when they can barely afford the instalments on the old one. Or rent a massive house in a smart area but have no retirement plan or anything put towards their old age. Some people go into debt to have a big wedding or an expensive holiday.
Everything has become about status and what you have. When did we start caring so much about what others think? When did keeping up with the Joneses become a way of life for so many people?
I’ve learnt that if I don’t have money for something, I wait until I do before buying it. Yes I’m one of those people who don’t own store cards. But I’m also one of those people who don’t get heart palpitations when opening their mail because they are dreading a huge account. Obviously taking out a loan to buy a house or vehicle is the norm but to get into debt just because you have to have the latest electronics to boast to your friends about? Well that is just sad.
This will allow drivers to access apps like music streaming service rara, which gives access to a library of 17 million songs while on the move, plus a Mobile Office App which lets you dictate and send emails and text messages using just the SIM card built into the car.
The system also allows BMW to send software updates and diagnose faults remotely. The firm claims ConnectDrive won’t add any more to the new price of a car. Instead, BMW plans to recoup the cost of developing the system – a figure in “the three-digit millions of Euros” according to one BMW insider – by selling apps developed by BMW and third party firms, through a bespoke BMW app store accessed either in-car or on a special owner’s section of the BMW website.
For example, the rara music streaming service will cost around ￡390 to add as an option in the first year, with users paying a license fee set by the music industry of ￡9.99 per month after that. However, as part of the deal, BMW picks up the SIM card bill, even if you drive the car abroad, so there are no extra roaming charges.
BMW has said that the system is extremely secure – Simon Euringer, head of ConnnectedDrive told us that it’d cost more to hack the system than to buy it in the first place – and that it can be updated by BMW to reflect changes in legislation.
Euringer added that the new ConnectedDrive had been developed to enhance its new i cars. The i ConnectedDrive includes an intermodal route planner, which lets you know if taking the tube or train is a quicker way of travelling that driving.Click on their website www.ecived.com/en for more information.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
What's been improved
In all the fuss about the Start screen, it's easy to miss that Windows 8 had major improvements to security; that was the culmination of ten years of work on defending the operating system, senior product manager Chris Hallum told us.
"Windows 7 is six times more likely to get infected than Windows 8 and Windows XP is 21 times more likely to be exploited."
But that was still all defensive reactions; for Windows 8.1, he said, Microsoft is going on the offensive with better malware protection, new ways of checking the security certificates web sites rely on - and with a plan to add encryption and biometric security to every PC.
The built-in anti-malware tool Defender will protect against more threats in the browser, including from plugins and ActiveX controls. "In Windows 8.1 we will scan those payloads before they're executed," Hallum told us.
Microsoft will also be more active about protecting the browser against stolen certificates; because the browser trusts those certificates to identify popular web sites that you log into, hackers have started targeting them (and the authorities who issue them) as a way to break into your rtls.
"Public certificates have already been hacked," Hallum points out; in a number of cases certificates for well-known companies like Yahoo and Google have been compromised and used on fake web sites to steal credentials."
For Windows 8.1, Microsoft will operate a service tracking certificates for the top million web sites. "If we see a certificate being used fraudulently or showing up on a server where it shouldn't be, we will work with the certificate authorities," Hallum said, noting that this will protect other versions of Windows and indeed other platforms too.
With Windows 8.1, encryption isn't just for business users any more, although Microsoft is improving BitLocker performance for business systems (up to 30 times faster than in Windows 8, Hallum claims). "We need it not just to protect your data but also the system itself; we don't want people to be able to tamper with Windows system files," he explained.
That's why all versions of Windows will now include encryption; BitLocker in the business editions and the same device encryption that's already in Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 in the home editions. "We expect encryption to be pervasive," he predicted.
There are some hardware restrictions on this; you need a PC that is capable of Connected Standby with Windows 8 or 8.1. That means the PC has a UEFI BIOS and either a separate Trusted Platform Module (TPM), ARM's Trusted Zone or Intel's Platform Trust Technology for storing information securely.
It also means there is are no Direct Memory Access connections, which includes both FireWire and the Thunderbolt technology Intel developed with Apple; Hallum says Microsoft is talking to Intel about ways of making Thunderbolt more secure but DMA connections can transfer code directly into memory, bypassing system security.
Microsoft will also use the information about the PC stored in the TPM to 'harden' Windows with a cloud service that's provisionally called Provable PC Health (expect the name to change, Hallow says). This will use the record of secure boot stored in the TPM to verify that your PC isn't infected. "We can remotely analyse the security state of the device and the integrity of the device." Hallum says, claiming that this will detect even sophisticated malware like Flame.
"We will inform the user if there is a problem and if there is an infection Windows can put them back in a safe state. If there is an infection that can steal their credentials we will inform them, and we will help them remediate their Microsoft account."
Once you can store information securely and prove that your PC doesn't have a rootkit or a virus that could compromise that, you can use your PC as a way to authenticate that's more secure than a password.
"Passwords are increasingly problematic," Hallum points out; "people can have them phished or they can be guessed." Windows 8 can already use the TPM as a virtual smartcard but that's not truly two-factor authentication. You need something else to prove your identity and that will be your fingerprint.
Today's fingerprint sensors are big, clumsy (you have to swipe your finger across them carefully) and easy to fool with a fake finger. More powerful sensors can tell the difference between a real finger and a fake – they can tell if your finger has a pulse – and they can detect prints from four fingers at once, but those sensors currently cost $100 or more.
"Windows 7 is six times more likely to get infected than Windows 8 and Windows XP is 21 times more likely to be exploited."
But that was still all defensive reactions; for Windows 8.1, he said, Microsoft is going on the offensive with better malware protection, new ways of checking the security certificates web sites rely on - and with a plan to add encryption and biometric security to every PC.
The built-in anti-malware tool Defender will protect against more threats in the browser, including from plugins and ActiveX controls. "In Windows 8.1 we will scan those payloads before they're executed," Hallum told us.
Microsoft will also be more active about protecting the browser against stolen certificates; because the browser trusts those certificates to identify popular web sites that you log into, hackers have started targeting them (and the authorities who issue them) as a way to break into your rtls.
"Public certificates have already been hacked," Hallum points out; in a number of cases certificates for well-known companies like Yahoo and Google have been compromised and used on fake web sites to steal credentials."
For Windows 8.1, Microsoft will operate a service tracking certificates for the top million web sites. "If we see a certificate being used fraudulently or showing up on a server where it shouldn't be, we will work with the certificate authorities," Hallum said, noting that this will protect other versions of Windows and indeed other platforms too.
With Windows 8.1, encryption isn't just for business users any more, although Microsoft is improving BitLocker performance for business systems (up to 30 times faster than in Windows 8, Hallum claims). "We need it not just to protect your data but also the system itself; we don't want people to be able to tamper with Windows system files," he explained.
That's why all versions of Windows will now include encryption; BitLocker in the business editions and the same device encryption that's already in Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 in the home editions. "We expect encryption to be pervasive," he predicted.
There are some hardware restrictions on this; you need a PC that is capable of Connected Standby with Windows 8 or 8.1. That means the PC has a UEFI BIOS and either a separate Trusted Platform Module (TPM), ARM's Trusted Zone or Intel's Platform Trust Technology for storing information securely.
It also means there is are no Direct Memory Access connections, which includes both FireWire and the Thunderbolt technology Intel developed with Apple; Hallum says Microsoft is talking to Intel about ways of making Thunderbolt more secure but DMA connections can transfer code directly into memory, bypassing system security.
Microsoft will also use the information about the PC stored in the TPM to 'harden' Windows with a cloud service that's provisionally called Provable PC Health (expect the name to change, Hallow says). This will use the record of secure boot stored in the TPM to verify that your PC isn't infected. "We can remotely analyse the security state of the device and the integrity of the device." Hallum says, claiming that this will detect even sophisticated malware like Flame.
"We will inform the user if there is a problem and if there is an infection Windows can put them back in a safe state. If there is an infection that can steal their credentials we will inform them, and we will help them remediate their Microsoft account."
Once you can store information securely and prove that your PC doesn't have a rootkit or a virus that could compromise that, you can use your PC as a way to authenticate that's more secure than a password.
"Passwords are increasingly problematic," Hallum points out; "people can have them phished or they can be guessed." Windows 8 can already use the TPM as a virtual smartcard but that's not truly two-factor authentication. You need something else to prove your identity and that will be your fingerprint.
Today's fingerprint sensors are big, clumsy (you have to swipe your finger across them carefully) and easy to fool with a fake finger. More powerful sensors can tell the difference between a real finger and a fake – they can tell if your finger has a pulse – and they can detect prints from four fingers at once, but those sensors currently cost $100 or more.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
I’ve got 99 problems and these guys are all of them
Chris Harrison arrives at the Bachelor Holding Pen to explain to the congress of manbaboons in clear, monosyllabic terms how the dates will be working this week: there will be two 1-on-1 dates, one group date, and roses are available on all of them. And with that, he delivers the first date card, and backs carefully out of the McMansion before the roargrunts and feces-flinging begins.
Maya Angelou reads the date card: “Brooks, I’m waiting for a sign, Princes Desiree,” and the room erupts in teeth-baring which might look like smiling to humans, but is actually an aggressive display.
At The Bachelorette pied-à-terre Princess Desiree draws pictures of ladies, and yammers about how she “couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys.” Oh, honey. Oh.
Princess Desiree heads to the Holding Pen in her suddenly baby blue Bentley, which what? I am almost positive this car was white the last time we saw it. Anyone? Am I imagining things? Is she going to drive a different Easter Egg-colored Bentley in each episode? Or was the rap video later in the episode so powerfully bad that it broke my brain when I watched last night? What is happening here?
ANYWAY. Princess Desiree arrives in her now baby blue Bentley and collects Brooks and ferrys him away to a bridal store where she forces him to watch her spin around in a bunch of different wedding dresses. What a fun time for everyone! What’s next, Princess Desiree? Meeting your parents? Apartment shopping? Touring delivery wards in hospitals? Brooks, being a good sport, tries on a series of wacky tuxedos — but tellingly always comes out with his bow tie dangling around his neck, untied, until he’s doing his talking heads at which point the bow tie appears to have been knotted into a lump by a blind child with some sort of degenerative muscular condition.
The pair, still dressed in a wedding dress and a tuxedo with THAT THING clumped around his neck, then get back into the baby blue Bentley and drive … somewhere, I wasn’t sure at the time it aired because my internet/cable connection has this adorable quirk in which the moment it is 85 degrees or hotter outside, it begins rebooting itself. As you can imagine, this makes my job as a TELEVISION BLOGGER a delight in the summer here in Houston. (“I was just trying to do you a favor! Did you see that bow tie?” — My Internet/Cable Connection)
So, according to the video on ABC’s site that I watched this morning, they went to a cupcake truck where they eat “wedding cake” and fend off over-eager tourists. Next up: tossing the garter to the audience of tourists, shopping 401K plans and looking into life insurance policies sitting on the Hollywood sign. In their wedding clothes. For some reason. When did we give up on the whole wedding theme? What does this have to do with anything? Brooks tries to explain why sitting on the L on the Hollywood sign means something more to Princess Desiree than it would say, to you or me, something about her passions, and following them and declaring herself on top of the world, but it doesn’t make a bit of sense, and maybe he needs to spend less time trying to appear deep and more time watching how to tie a bow tie videos on YouTube. Brooks tells Princess Des that his first real relationship ended a year and a half ago, and it makes him a little apprehensive about opening himself up to possibly be hurt again, but that he knows it is worth it. Princess Des declares this to be “just like” what she went through, but unless I somehow overlooked Brooks hanging out with Dallas Sean, Cal Naughton Jr. and Justin Wannabieber in St. Emily’s Manherd, I THINK IT WAS PROBABLY A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
The Producers finally let them get out of the wedding dress and that RIDICULOUS TIE LUMP, and back into street clothes. Princess Des then drives Brooks into a “dangerous” part of town, and he bites his nails and clutches his pearls over the razor wire and graffiti (!!!!) in the neighborhood. Princess pretends to be lost and pulls up to a supposedly closed road that she suggests they go down anyway. Brooks is terrified, but agrees, and discovers that the road is actually Los Angeles’ 6th Ave. Bridge that The Producers have decorated with chandeliers and a dining table and I mean, seriously, Brooks. You have an ENTIRE CREW WITH YOU, CALM DOWN. Your only danger you face is that you might have to pull a suicidal Jack Shephard off the edge, start a drag race or suddenly flee from a T-1000 BECAUSE THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST RECOGNIZABLE SPOTS IN ALL OF LOS ANGELES, DUMMY.
So they sit down to dinner on the bridge, and Brooks asks her about her family and childhood, and she burbles on about how happily married her parents are, leaving out the whole “and we were homeless for a while and lived in tents and bytheway, my brother is a psychopath” part. In response, Brooks bursts into tears about his parents’ divorce and related daddy issues. Something about not seeing his father from the time he was 13 until he was 19, which might just explain the whole bow-tieing issue. And so Princess Desiree offers him a rose because what, she’s not going to give the crying guy a rose? And then they go down to the other end of the bridge where some guy named Andy Grammer is singing that one song about letting your hair down and keeping your head up and Brooks dances about as well as he ties bow ties and fortunately this whole silly date is over, the end.
Back at the house, the remaining men receive the group date card: “Handsome Dan, Juan Pablo, Hashtag D-Bag, Zack K., Urquelle (thanks, Dodes), Nick from New Girl, Drew Who is Not Brandon, Marionette Face, Family First, Nipples Jr., Maya Angelou, Michael G., 7-Years-Sober, and Prop Daddy: Who’s here for the right reasons? Princess Des.”
Princess Desiree meets this clown car load at some winery wearing what appears to be a purple sock with the toe cut out of it — seriously, Princes Des, does your brother know you are out in public in that? — and explains that they will be filming a rap video with Soulja Boy.
Just typing that sentence makes me want to go get into my car, drive to the store, buy another box of wine, begin drinking it in the checkout line, strap the box to one of those beer hats with the straws, drive home –all the while breaking the law and drinking the wine from my wine hat, do not doubt me for one second– and come home and put myself into a wine coma. I DO NOT GET PAID ENOUGH FOR THIS. SOULJA BOY DOES NOT GET PAID ENOUGH FOR THIS. MOMMA NEEDS ALL OF THE CHEAP CAB. NOW.
And listen, I know why this is happening — The Producers have become self-aware in recent years, and they’re hoping that a bunch of white guys and Urquelle doing the cabbage patch while rapping off-rhythm about “being here for the right reasons” will become viral video gold.Click on their website www.ecived.com/en for more information.
Maya Angelou reads the date card: “Brooks, I’m waiting for a sign, Princes Desiree,” and the room erupts in teeth-baring which might look like smiling to humans, but is actually an aggressive display.
At The Bachelorette pied-à-terre Princess Desiree draws pictures of ladies, and yammers about how she “couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys.” Oh, honey. Oh.
Princess Desiree heads to the Holding Pen in her suddenly baby blue Bentley, which what? I am almost positive this car was white the last time we saw it. Anyone? Am I imagining things? Is she going to drive a different Easter Egg-colored Bentley in each episode? Or was the rap video later in the episode so powerfully bad that it broke my brain when I watched last night? What is happening here?
ANYWAY. Princess Desiree arrives in her now baby blue Bentley and collects Brooks and ferrys him away to a bridal store where she forces him to watch her spin around in a bunch of different wedding dresses. What a fun time for everyone! What’s next, Princess Desiree? Meeting your parents? Apartment shopping? Touring delivery wards in hospitals? Brooks, being a good sport, tries on a series of wacky tuxedos — but tellingly always comes out with his bow tie dangling around his neck, untied, until he’s doing his talking heads at which point the bow tie appears to have been knotted into a lump by a blind child with some sort of degenerative muscular condition.
The pair, still dressed in a wedding dress and a tuxedo with THAT THING clumped around his neck, then get back into the baby blue Bentley and drive … somewhere, I wasn’t sure at the time it aired because my internet/cable connection has this adorable quirk in which the moment it is 85 degrees or hotter outside, it begins rebooting itself. As you can imagine, this makes my job as a TELEVISION BLOGGER a delight in the summer here in Houston. (“I was just trying to do you a favor! Did you see that bow tie?” — My Internet/Cable Connection)
So, according to the video on ABC’s site that I watched this morning, they went to a cupcake truck where they eat “wedding cake” and fend off over-eager tourists. Next up: tossing the garter to the audience of tourists, shopping 401K plans and looking into life insurance policies sitting on the Hollywood sign. In their wedding clothes. For some reason. When did we give up on the whole wedding theme? What does this have to do with anything? Brooks tries to explain why sitting on the L on the Hollywood sign means something more to Princess Desiree than it would say, to you or me, something about her passions, and following them and declaring herself on top of the world, but it doesn’t make a bit of sense, and maybe he needs to spend less time trying to appear deep and more time watching how to tie a bow tie videos on YouTube. Brooks tells Princess Des that his first real relationship ended a year and a half ago, and it makes him a little apprehensive about opening himself up to possibly be hurt again, but that he knows it is worth it. Princess Des declares this to be “just like” what she went through, but unless I somehow overlooked Brooks hanging out with Dallas Sean, Cal Naughton Jr. and Justin Wannabieber in St. Emily’s Manherd, I THINK IT WAS PROBABLY A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
The Producers finally let them get out of the wedding dress and that RIDICULOUS TIE LUMP, and back into street clothes. Princess Des then drives Brooks into a “dangerous” part of town, and he bites his nails and clutches his pearls over the razor wire and graffiti (!!!!) in the neighborhood. Princess pretends to be lost and pulls up to a supposedly closed road that she suggests they go down anyway. Brooks is terrified, but agrees, and discovers that the road is actually Los Angeles’ 6th Ave. Bridge that The Producers have decorated with chandeliers and a dining table and I mean, seriously, Brooks. You have an ENTIRE CREW WITH YOU, CALM DOWN. Your only danger you face is that you might have to pull a suicidal Jack Shephard off the edge, start a drag race or suddenly flee from a T-1000 BECAUSE THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST RECOGNIZABLE SPOTS IN ALL OF LOS ANGELES, DUMMY.
So they sit down to dinner on the bridge, and Brooks asks her about her family and childhood, and she burbles on about how happily married her parents are, leaving out the whole “and we were homeless for a while and lived in tents and bytheway, my brother is a psychopath” part. In response, Brooks bursts into tears about his parents’ divorce and related daddy issues. Something about not seeing his father from the time he was 13 until he was 19, which might just explain the whole bow-tieing issue. And so Princess Desiree offers him a rose because what, she’s not going to give the crying guy a rose? And then they go down to the other end of the bridge where some guy named Andy Grammer is singing that one song about letting your hair down and keeping your head up and Brooks dances about as well as he ties bow ties and fortunately this whole silly date is over, the end.
Back at the house, the remaining men receive the group date card: “Handsome Dan, Juan Pablo, Hashtag D-Bag, Zack K., Urquelle (thanks, Dodes), Nick from New Girl, Drew Who is Not Brandon, Marionette Face, Family First, Nipples Jr., Maya Angelou, Michael G., 7-Years-Sober, and Prop Daddy: Who’s here for the right reasons? Princess Des.”
Princess Desiree meets this clown car load at some winery wearing what appears to be a purple sock with the toe cut out of it — seriously, Princes Des, does your brother know you are out in public in that? — and explains that they will be filming a rap video with Soulja Boy.
Just typing that sentence makes me want to go get into my car, drive to the store, buy another box of wine, begin drinking it in the checkout line, strap the box to one of those beer hats with the straws, drive home –all the while breaking the law and drinking the wine from my wine hat, do not doubt me for one second– and come home and put myself into a wine coma. I DO NOT GET PAID ENOUGH FOR THIS. SOULJA BOY DOES NOT GET PAID ENOUGH FOR THIS. MOMMA NEEDS ALL OF THE CHEAP CAB. NOW.
And listen, I know why this is happening — The Producers have become self-aware in recent years, and they’re hoping that a bunch of white guys and Urquelle doing the cabbage patch while rapping off-rhythm about “being here for the right reasons” will become viral video gold.Click on their website www.ecived.com/en for more information.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Waco opens for business
Waco Oil and Gas, located at 2358 West 23rd St., has opened up an office complex to provide rented office space for not only the gas and oil industry, but for anyone that is in need of office space. The offices include complete secretarial services, full furnishings, all utilities, free parking, conference room access, a full kitchen and full security system. The business that wish to rent office space will only have to pay one price a month and will also get to pick out its own furniture as well as decide wether or not they want cubicals or an open floor plan. There are eight offices in the complex.
"Waco is a premier dirt mover ... They go in and move all dirt and creates roads (for the oil and gas industry)," said Greg Duvall, the facilities manager at the office complex, who is from Belmont County. "The owner of Waco Oil and Gas is Ike Morris, he's the president, his son, Doug Morris is the vice president. This venture here in Bellaire is really under the umbrella of Doug Morris."
The current building, which used to be a sports bar, has been completely renovated and holds eight offices, each ranging in different sizes. It was on one of the trips to this area, that they noticed there was a need for office space for these entities that were coming to the area. These offices are open to any business that would be in need of office space.
"We are now ready to open up our doors and ready to do business," said Duvall. "We have a few groups showing interest and using our facilities. We are trying to make this as easy as possible for these companies that are coming in."
Many of these oil and gas companies that are coming into the Ohio Valley are from different states and unfamiliar with the area. In renting an office, these companies have a ready made office, along with a secretary, Verna Marinelli, who knows the area. Marinelli, a Bellaire native, has 28 years of office management experience.
"This office facility is set up to where a business could come in open his or her laptop and be ready to go," said Duvall. "The internet, telephones and copy and fax are all here, anything they need to do office work ... Everything is ready to go."
Everyone who worked on the renovation as well as all the materials that was used came from within a 20 mile radius of the Waco Oil and Gas Office Complex.
"They own this building, they are not fly by night kind of people," said Duvall. "In the 70s' when the gas and oil people were in this area, they were (unreliable), but this Waco Oil and Gas out of Glenville, West Virginia ... if they say something, it is the truth."
For residents who enjoy our many parks and trails, there is more good news on the way. The Council and Town Staff have identified a specific area within the Town’s signature green space, Heritage Park, for the long-awaited dog park. Proposed features of the dog park include separate areas for big dogs, small dogs, and additional space for training. Also, the Council will formally accept a grant from Texas Parks and Wildlife this month, which will help enhance Twin Coves Park, located on the shores of Grapevine Lake.
After many years of discussion, the Council is moving forward with a permanent Senior Center. During a joint work session with the Parks, Arts, and Library Services Board, the Council selected a proposed site, centrally located at the southwest intersection of FM 2499 and West Windsor Drive. The Senior Center will be tucked away on the back of the property for privacy, near an existing park. Additionally, the Town recently received the permit from TxDOT to place a traffic signal at this intersection and construction crews will have it functioning this summer. During the June 17 meeting, the Council will consider a professional services agreement for the center's design, with the hopes of breaking ground before the end of the year.
While we marked the completion of Post Oak Park in May, we also celebrated the beginning of another project with the Canyon Falls groundbreaking ceremony. In addition to the residential development, the 1,242-acre master-planned community is expected to include areas for commercial businesses and retailers in addition to a high school site for Argyle ISD, a Flower Mound Fire Station, and a Denton County building. Construction has started and the project's first roads and home sites are scheduled for completion later this year, with home sales beginning in early 2014.
Also this summer, residents have the chance to voice their opinion in other future economic development projects in the Retail and Restaurant Survey. Conducted every few years, the Town seeks input from residents about their favorite shopping and dining locations. I encourage everyone to participate as the Town uses the data as a recruitment tool and actively pursues the top 50 choices from each category. This is a great tool to have in hand when it comes to attracting businesses because we have the data already showing our residents’ support. Once available, Town staff will get the word out and invite resident participation.
Additionally, restaurants and retailer representatives showed increased interest in our Town at the recent International Council of Shopping Centers global retail real estate convention (ICSC Recon). Our Town Manager Jimmy Stathatos and Economic Development Director Mark Wood attended ICSC Recon along with 30,000 industry professionals, which provided the Town with the opportunity to meet with prospective retailers and restaurants, network with brokers, and learn of retailers actively pursuing new locations. Following several positive meetings, the Town will now follow-up with retailers and restaurants interested in a Flower Mound location.Read the full story at www.ecived.com/en!
"Waco is a premier dirt mover ... They go in and move all dirt and creates roads (for the oil and gas industry)," said Greg Duvall, the facilities manager at the office complex, who is from Belmont County. "The owner of Waco Oil and Gas is Ike Morris, he's the president, his son, Doug Morris is the vice president. This venture here in Bellaire is really under the umbrella of Doug Morris."
The current building, which used to be a sports bar, has been completely renovated and holds eight offices, each ranging in different sizes. It was on one of the trips to this area, that they noticed there was a need for office space for these entities that were coming to the area. These offices are open to any business that would be in need of office space.
"We are now ready to open up our doors and ready to do business," said Duvall. "We have a few groups showing interest and using our facilities. We are trying to make this as easy as possible for these companies that are coming in."
Many of these oil and gas companies that are coming into the Ohio Valley are from different states and unfamiliar with the area. In renting an office, these companies have a ready made office, along with a secretary, Verna Marinelli, who knows the area. Marinelli, a Bellaire native, has 28 years of office management experience.
"This office facility is set up to where a business could come in open his or her laptop and be ready to go," said Duvall. "The internet, telephones and copy and fax are all here, anything they need to do office work ... Everything is ready to go."
Everyone who worked on the renovation as well as all the materials that was used came from within a 20 mile radius of the Waco Oil and Gas Office Complex.
"They own this building, they are not fly by night kind of people," said Duvall. "In the 70s' when the gas and oil people were in this area, they were (unreliable), but this Waco Oil and Gas out of Glenville, West Virginia ... if they say something, it is the truth."
For residents who enjoy our many parks and trails, there is more good news on the way. The Council and Town Staff have identified a specific area within the Town’s signature green space, Heritage Park, for the long-awaited dog park. Proposed features of the dog park include separate areas for big dogs, small dogs, and additional space for training. Also, the Council will formally accept a grant from Texas Parks and Wildlife this month, which will help enhance Twin Coves Park, located on the shores of Grapevine Lake.
After many years of discussion, the Council is moving forward with a permanent Senior Center. During a joint work session with the Parks, Arts, and Library Services Board, the Council selected a proposed site, centrally located at the southwest intersection of FM 2499 and West Windsor Drive. The Senior Center will be tucked away on the back of the property for privacy, near an existing park. Additionally, the Town recently received the permit from TxDOT to place a traffic signal at this intersection and construction crews will have it functioning this summer. During the June 17 meeting, the Council will consider a professional services agreement for the center's design, with the hopes of breaking ground before the end of the year.
While we marked the completion of Post Oak Park in May, we also celebrated the beginning of another project with the Canyon Falls groundbreaking ceremony. In addition to the residential development, the 1,242-acre master-planned community is expected to include areas for commercial businesses and retailers in addition to a high school site for Argyle ISD, a Flower Mound Fire Station, and a Denton County building. Construction has started and the project's first roads and home sites are scheduled for completion later this year, with home sales beginning in early 2014.
Also this summer, residents have the chance to voice their opinion in other future economic development projects in the Retail and Restaurant Survey. Conducted every few years, the Town seeks input from residents about their favorite shopping and dining locations. I encourage everyone to participate as the Town uses the data as a recruitment tool and actively pursues the top 50 choices from each category. This is a great tool to have in hand when it comes to attracting businesses because we have the data already showing our residents’ support. Once available, Town staff will get the word out and invite resident participation.
Additionally, restaurants and retailer representatives showed increased interest in our Town at the recent International Council of Shopping Centers global retail real estate convention (ICSC Recon). Our Town Manager Jimmy Stathatos and Economic Development Director Mark Wood attended ICSC Recon along with 30,000 industry professionals, which provided the Town with the opportunity to meet with prospective retailers and restaurants, network with brokers, and learn of retailers actively pursuing new locations. Following several positive meetings, the Town will now follow-up with retailers and restaurants interested in a Flower Mound location.Read the full story at www.ecived.com/en!
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