Friday, April 30, 2010

Miami Dolphins should fire GM Jeff Ireland

Jeff Ireland 
Although this isn't going to happen, yet, the Miami Dolphins should fire Jeff Ireland. After asking then-Oklahoma State and now Dallas Cowboys Wide Receiver Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute, then reportedly appologizing for the insult, Ireland used Sports Illustrated to rub salt in the wound.

S.I.'s Jim Trotter reports the following alleged interaction between Dez Bryant and Jeff Ireland and says it comes from unnamed sources but essentially clears Jeff Ireland because Jeff claims Dez said his own father was a pimp:


"My dad was a pimp."
"What did your mom do [for a living]?"
"She worked for my dad."
"Your mom was a prostitute?"
"No, she wasn't a prostitute."


Jim Trotter didn't get the message from Dez Bryant, who calls his blog post a "lie" according to the Palm Beach Post and ESPN's Ed Werner. Dez Bryant says its not true and Pro Football Talk.com explains that ESPN failed to report Bryant's version of the story until after Miami's Jeff Ireland countered Dez Bryant in another publication.

But Jeff Ireland's out of line and should be fired, or at the very least suspended for several weeks without pay.

The NFL needs to send a message that insults that defame the character of NFL Players are not to be allowed. This message needs to be sent to NFL front-offices and Jeff Ireland should be the example Commissioner Roger Goodell uses.

Networking: It's Not Who You Know, But Who Knows You

Join us for a Webinar on May 5

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/557520768


In this webinar, Dr Benjamin Ola. Akande will offer sage advice on the most productive and effective way to network for success. The presentation is sure to be filled with great antidotes, compelling stories and valuable take-a-ways such as “Find meaning in every conversation.” Dr. Akande concludes this presentation with the advice to “remember that networking is not about who you know, but who knows you.”

Dr. Akande is the Dean of the George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology at Webster University.

This event is brought to you by the Consortium Finance Network, a special interest group of The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management.

Title: Networking: It's Now Who You Know, But Who Knows You

Date: Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Time: 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM CDT


After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP, 2003 Server or 2000

Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newerAny source

Distracted driving and cell phones

"Distracted driving" is when you drive while taking your hands off the steering wheel, your eyes off the road, or your mind off of driving. Whether you are eating while driving or using your cell phone while driving, distracted driving increases your chances of getting into a serious accident. Today, organizations throughout the US are collaborating to raise the awareness about the dangers of distracted driving. Read more about what the Google Maps team is doing with the Oprah Winfrey Show.

With the exception of Google Maps Navigation, which is designed for hands-free use with a car dock, Google Mobile products are not intended to be used while you are driving. Hand your phone to a passenger or park your car in a safe place if you need to search for a restaurant or check your email while behind the wheel.

For more information about distracted driving and how you can help prevent it, please visit www.distracteddriving.gov. And if you're in the US and have an iPhone, Palm Pre, or Android-powered device, you can go to Google.com in your browser today to see our mobile doodle. Do not do this while you are driving, of course.

Any source

超人的秘密身份四之四──Superman: Secret Identity #4《美漫》



編劇:Kurt Busiek
繪者:Stuart Immonen
提字:Todd klein
色繪:Stuart Immonen
封面:Stuart Immonen
年份:2004
期刊:#1: Smallville
   #2: Metropolis
   #3: Fortress
   #4: Tomorrow
出版:DC Comics
頁數:208pages


喔耶,繼續來介紹《Superman: Secret Identity》#4,這一回將畫下句點。#4的Clark Knet年紀來到五十七~七○歲,原以為步入暮年的這一篇不會有太大的可看性,但本回有兩個很有趣的梗,呼呼呼~我儘量避開不談,免得破壞看書樂趣。

注意,以下有大量劇透!

若#1有著冒險犯難的少年精神,#2加注深沉與羅曼蒂克的元素,#3寫出平實的人生面相,那麼#4,則有著難以言喻的溫柔氣氛。當年華老去,其實在現實生活中,平凡人心態都很難調整的過來,更別說Superhero了,他們所要面臨的是隨著年齡老化而力量走下坡的難堪心理,但Kurt Busiek卻把結尾處理的一切自自然然,當你真真實實的活過一次,在看著日落,你會想到,它是如此莊嚴、優美與必然的雄偉,而不僅僅悲傷青春歲月不再。


救難一向都避人耳目、低調萬分的Clark被一個流浪老婦給撞個正著,而原因在他年紀大了,對週遭敏銳度衰退許多,Clark承認對他而言這是份相當陌生的體認。

但Clark一開始還無法接受事實,因此很搞笑的效法漫畫中的Superman,嚐試吸收黃太陽的幅射能以恢復往日雄風,結果只得到一個如地獄般的冬季黑皮膚和來自每一個熟人「你上澳洲渡假啦」的問候。XD


Clark發現自己看夕陽的次數變多了。這是#4主線故事前呼後應的前呼。

Clark仍舊協助軍方處理各種政治與救援地帶十分模糊的危機任務,對於Malloy暗示著軍方並不需要Superman協助,他不知道該如何看待話中意義,僅能一如以往,小心翼翼地保持距離。另一方面,因為#2實驗室的「Meteor Strikes/流星雨計劃」讓他找到調查方向,Clark得到自己為何會有超人力量的後續線索,這是份關於優生學的實驗計劃,軍方選定各州各點,以幅射能污染水源,意圖製造特異能力,Clark十三歲時接觸到此水源、十六歲才爆發出能力,而根據官方資料,Clark是第十三個力量最特殊、強大的案例。


Clark害怕女兒們會繼承這份力量,曾在女孩們幼年時做過各種測試,但女兒就像是實驗室老鼠令夫婦倆無法忍受,所幸女孩們看來一切正常,很快的Clark與Lois放棄繼續試驗。

呃啊,有兩個梗不能講時,能介紹的也就不多了說。囧rz


比Clark年長個幾歲的Malloy即將退休,他選擇單方切斷對Clark的聯繫管道,並且在最後一次碰面時,對Clark說出一段很有感情的對話。那個,我覺得,Clark,你應該繼續結交這位朋友的。

《Superman: Secret Identity》刻劃出一個並不天真、卻有著最美好年代的單純璞真之感動,我們無法如Clark一樣有著Super力量,卻可以活得如他那般腳踏實地,Kurt Busiek試著告訴讀者,成長的痛終究會如過往雲煙,不該放棄的是自我信念。嗯,好故事!


最後,仍舊要來貼Alex Ross的畫作啦!XDDD

喔喔喔,Alex,你為什麼可以畫得這麼帥呢?!(心花朵朵開)
HomeAny source

中村明日美子短篇集--轉角處的我們《漫畫》


漫畫名:轉角處的我們(曲がり角のボクら)
漫畫家:中村明日美子
集 數:單行本
譯 者:曲冰熙
※原文版2009年2月‧白泉社於2010年1月授權長鴻中文化※


我比較欣賞中村明日美子畫這類詼諧、幽默、青春無敵的喜劇故事啦,如此帶著粉紅色鏡片觀看世界,處處充滿瑰麗美感的人生幻象,對於舒壓的幫助性可是非常之大。<( ̄▽ ̄)>

《轉角處的我們》是不同時期的混搭作品,六篇單元劇皆以校園為舞台,劇中情感帶著一些曖昧成份,雖然中村說自己作品很不純熟,但每一篇感覺都好讚!

【阿部與黑羽】中村的出道作。黑羽同學無意間闖入阿部同學和導師正在分手的場面,此一契機,讓她和阿部逐漸熟稔。這篇沒有結局的師生戀一點都不苦,反而是酸中帶甜。

【隔壁的吸血鬼】一篇反駁吸血鬼並不存在的作品問世,大學教授坂本緋一郎因此招惹來某位趕也趕不走的怪人。

【閃亮的人生】「我長大後要嫁給爸爸!」是武田認為身為人父獨享的甜蜜特權,然而美香第一次說起類似的話的對象居然是幼稚園小淳老師,讓武田大受打擊,也激起對小淳不服輸的鬥志。

【在櫻花紛飛中的背影】童年時將初吻獻給彼此的真理與小葉,在多年以後再度重逢,對於小葉,真理依舊怦然心動,只是小葉正身陷於即將失戀的處境中。

【轉角處的我們】阿文藉由同學打賭的推波助瀾之下,在學園祭之前向心愛的女孩小亞告白了,只是隨著事件被拆穿,阿文和鼓吹他要更勇敢誠實的同學翠、以及小亞手帕交沙耶,四人的真實感受讓這場告白和接受與否全都亂了套。另外加收續篇【受誘惑的我們】。

中村在劇情處理上皆有做了個小小轉折,每一篇都有驚喜感,是本滿溫暖人心的珠玉小品漫!
HomeAny source

派崔克與安琪私探系列五--雨的祈禱《小說》


小說名:雨的祈禱(Prayers for Rain)
小說家:丹尼斯勒翰(Dennis Lehane)
譯 者:尤傳莉
※原文版‧於2010年4月授權臉譜中文化※


咦?《雨的祈禱》主角根本是巴巴吧?!派~崔~克~,你是怎麼了?請趕快振作起來啊!XDrz

「見鬼了,他到底在幹嘛?」
「誰?」
她搖搖頭,眼睛看著鏡子。「巴巴。」
我看著後視鏡,看到巴巴的黑色廂型車在紅髮仔房子後方約五十碼的路邊停下。我親眼看著他跳下車子,從兩棟幾乎一模一樣的尖頂木屋之間鑽過去,消失在後院的某處。
「這個,」我說,「可不是我們原先的計劃。」
「紅髮仔在他屋子裡。」安琪說。
我將車子掉頭沿著街道往前,經過紅髮仔的房子,此時他剛好進屋關上門;然後我繼續往前,經過巴巴的廂型車。我又開了廿碼,靠右邊停下,旁邊是一戶正在蓋的房子,裸露的褐色土地上聳立著另一棟尖頂木馬的骨架。
安琪和我下了車,往回走向巴巴的廂型車。
「好討厭他這樣。」她說。
我點點頭。「有時我都忘記他也有自己的腦子。」
「我知道他有他自己的腦子,」安琪說,「問題出在他用腦子的方式,會害我夜裡睡不著。」
我們走到廂型車後端時,巴巴從兩棟房子之間冒出來,把我們推到一旁,打開後車廂。
「巴巴,」安琪說,「你剛剛做了什麼?」
「噓。我正在忙。」他把手裡拿的修枝剪扔到車廂後頭,從車裡地板掀起一個運動包,然後關上門。
「你在--」
他一根手指豎在唇上。「噓。相信我。這個很棒。」
「你會用上強烈炸藥嗎?」安琪問。
「你希望用嗎?」巴巴又伸手要去開車門。
「不,巴巴。千萬不要。」
「喔。」他的手離開車門。「沒時間了。馬上回來。」
他把我們推擠到一旁,蹲低身子跑過草坪,朝向紅髮仔的屋子跑去。即使蹲低了身子,他跑過你家草坪時,還是顯眼得像登月火箭,你很難沒看到他。他的體重大概比一架鋼琴稍微輕些,不過比冰箱又要稍微重些,而且他有張像是新生兒般痴呆的臉,臉底下的脖子精得像犀牛腹。其實呢,他移動時也有點像犀牛,腳步笨重,微微右傾,不過我的老天,跑得可真快。
我們嘴巴微張,看著他跪在那輛BMW旁邊,用一根細鐵鉤開了鎖,花的時間就跟我用鑰匙開鎖一樣,然後他打開了車門。
安琪和我都緊張地等著警報大作,卻只等到一片寂靜,同時巴巴伸手到車裡,拿了個東西出來,放到他軍用雨衣的口袋裡。
安琪說,「媽的他在幹嘛啊?」
巴巴伸手打開腳邊那個運動袋的拉鏈,一手在裡頭翻了一下,找到了自己要找的東西。他拿出一個小小的黑色四方形物件,放進車裡。
「是炸彈。」我說。
「他答應過的。」安琪說。
「是啊,」我說,「不過呢,啊,別忘了,他是瘋子。」
巴巴用軍用雨衣的口袋擦了車內外他碰過的地方,然後輕輕關上車門,又蹲低身子越過草坪跑向我們。
「我,」他說,「真他媽酷斃了。」
「同意。」我說,「那你剛剛做了什麼?」
「我是說,我太了不起了,老哥。我說真的,有時候連我自己都會嚇一跳。」他打開廂型車後門,把運動包扔進去。
「巴巴,」安琪說,「那個袋子裡裝了什麼?」
巴巴快憋不住了。他把袋子整個拉開,招手要我們看看裡頭。「手機!」開心得像個十歲小孩似的。
我看著袋子裡。他說得沒錯。有十支或十二支--諾基亞、易利信、摩托羅拉,大部份是黑色的,少數幾支是灰的。
「了不起。」我說,抬眼看著他笑開的臉。「其實呢,為什麼這樣很了不起,巴巴?」
「因為你的點子很遜,而我想出了這個主意。」
「我的點子不差啊。」
「遜斃了!」他開心地說。「我的意思是,會砸鍋的,老哥。在盒子裡裝竊聽器,讓那傢伙--還不是個小妞--帶進屋裡頭去。」
「嗯,所以呢?」
「所以呢,如果他把盒子放在餐室桌上,人上樓到臥室,去做你想偷聽的事情呢?」
「我們是希望他不會啦。」
他大姆指朝我一豎。「想得可真美。」
「那麼,」安琪說,「你的點子是什麼?」
「把他的手機掉包。」巴巴說。他指指運動袋。「這些手機裡頭全都先裝好竊聽器了。我唯一要做的,就是找出我手機裡跟他一樣的」--他從口袋裡掏出一支諾基亞掀蓋式手機--「換成這個。」
「這是他的手機?」
他點點頭。
我也跟著他點點頭,陪著他微笑半天,然後收了笑容。「巴巴,沒有不敬之意,不過那又怎樣?這個傢伙人在自己家裡。」
巴巴腳跟撐地往後一晃,雙眉豎起又落下幾次。「是啊?」
「是啊,」我說。「所以--該怎麼說呢?--他屋裡大概有三四支家用電話了,媽的他幹嘛需要用手機?」
「家用電話。」巴巴緩緩說,皺眉逐漸取代了微笑。「我都沒想到過喔。他可以拿起一支家用電話,愛打那裡就打那裡,嗯?」
「是啊,巴巴。家用電話的用處就是這個。他大概現在就在打電話了。」
「狗屎。」巴巴說。「我已經把後頭的電話線給剪斷了,真可惜,嗯?」
安琪大笑。她兩手捧住巴巴那張可愛的胖臉,親了他鼻子一記。
巴巴臉紅看著我,微笑又開始擴大了。
「嗯。」
「怎麼?」
「對不起。」我說。
「因為什麼?」
「因為懷疑你。行嗎?高興了吧?」
「還有跟我講話那麼跩。」
「沒錯,我跟你講話太跩了。」
「而且還用嘲笑的口吻。」安琪說。
我瞪著她。
By~P.175

「我歸納一下,」巴巴說,一面用外用酒精拭著的擦傷前額,「你被一個長得像奈爾斯克蘭恩的傢伙打得屁滾尿流。(影集角色名,外型瘦削、帶書卷氣的心理醫師)」
「嗯。」我勉強開口,一包像美式足球那麼大的冰敷袋壓在我腫起的下巴。
「不曉得耶,」巴巴跟安琪說,「我們還能再跟他混一道嗎?」
安琪微笑。「你愈來愈像是我們的負擔了。」
by~P.264

我打電話給戴文,問他能不能查出任何有關提摩西麥高德瑞克的資料,他吵著要兩張十月的新英格蘭愛國者隊對紐約噴射機隊美式足球賽的門票,當成他們的服務費。
「拜託,」我說,「我有季票十三年了,從當年他們在地下室打地舖時就是死忠球迷。別搶走我看這場球賽的機會。」
「他的姓怎麼拼?」
「戴文,那是星期一晚上的球賽。」
「是M-A-C開頭還是M-C開頭?」
「M-C開頭,」我說,「你很爛。」
「嘿,我在局裡的報案清單上注意到,今天清晨有個人在史力普街把一個傢伙的公寓掃射得亂七八糟。被害人的名字讓我覺得很眼熟。這事情你知道嗎?」--敲詐外加施壓--
「愛國者隊對噴射機隊。」我慢吞吞地說。
「鮪魚盃。(季賽對決之意)」戴文喊道。「鮪魚盃!你的位子還是在第五十排嗎?」
「對。」
「讚哪。等一下回你電話。」
我在座位上往後靠,雙腳擱在鐘樓的窗台上。
「這個案子我們賺不到錢。」安琪說。
「沒錯。」
「你剛毀掉了你等了一輩子想摸的汽車。」
「是啊。」
「然後又放棄了每年最重大的那場美式足球賽的門票。」
「差不多就是最重要的吧。」我點點頭。
「你快哭出來了嗎?」
「我努力忍著。」
「因為男子漢是不會哭的?」
我搖搖頭。「我怕我一哭,可能就停不下來了。」
by~P.345


六個月前,凱倫尼寇斯是個熱愛生命男友工作、帶著粉紅色鏡片看世界的甜美姑娘;六個月後,從內崩壞到外的她由廿六樓高處一躍而下、自殺身亡。凱倫尼寇斯曾是派崔克案主,他協助阻止同一運動俱樂部的男人繼續搔擾凱倫,六星期後,凱倫曾試著再找尋他,只是派崔克認為工作已結案、將之拋在腦後,直到新聞上報,才想起一通來自被遺忘的凱倫來電留言。雖然沒有疑點、沒人委託、拿不到酬勞,派崔克仍決心為凱倫討回公道。

《雨的祈禱》前面三分之二頁數看的我心驚膽跳,這系列辦案對象手段一個比一個糟糕,整個世界腥風血雨到讓人不忍佇立,但派崔克和朋友們嘻笑怒罵之下流動的濃厚情感又看得我好HIGH,能把小說劇情寫得如此即輕快又沉重、即幽默又殘酷,真想問問勒翰,他是怎麼辦到的。

這篇推薦文寫得真沒感情⋯⋯_Drz(爆腦漿),但《雨的祈禱》真的好看,只是劇情最後結束的有些不痛快,其它都滿分!嗯,好吧,反正再怎麼介紹都沒有臥斧來得強,所以,也不多談了,請直接往下翻臥斧的導讀吧。


【導讀】
  從達許.漢密特、雷蒙.錢德勒、羅斯.麥唐諾、勞倫斯.卜洛克、詹姆士.艾洛伊到丹尼斯.勒翰,這些作家筆下被劃歸為「冷硬(Hard- Boiled)」派的故事,幾乎都有這樣的特質:揭開不同階層不同人物的種種表象,移來光源,將不堪的人性亮晃晃地照映出來,讓讀者們清楚地認知:所謂怪物,其實正是人類自己某些特質的聚合。
  或許有人要問:世界很糟,人性很爛,這些在現實世界天天上演,何需再花筆墨闡述?
  因為這些作者利用故事將世界裡子的髒污翻轉出來的時候,總還會在裡頭安置幾個疲憊、頹唐、不全然符合社會標準、嘴上不說但心裡一直有所堅持的角色,不自覺地撐起全世界的不仁不義,鍥而不捨地前進想要證明一些什麼;他們對人性大多沒什麼信心,但他們的所作所為,卻是人性當中,某種良善的現世證明。這些故事雖然昭顯了殘酷的現實,卻會在情節行進的時候,開始與之抗爭;閱讀這些故事,重點並不在聽作者訴說人性當中的種種黯影,而在期待闇黑之境裡,他們燃起的小小光亮──彷彿在大旱之際,某種即將飄雨的微渺徵兆,那是一種慰藉,也是一種希望。
  只要落下第一滴雨點,世界,就有可能變得不再一樣。
HomeAny source

Utopia Adriatica . . .

Quella che sto per fare, è l'analisi meteo di un evento a lungo termine che però, stando ai movimenti dei grandi centri motore che condizionano il tempo in Europa, potrebbe avere buone probabilità di realizzarsi, almeno in parte.


Per prima cosa analiziamo le emissioni odierne del modello di calcolo GFS rispetto al geopotenziale a 500 hPa (circa 5400 m slm) e i rispetti livelli di pressione al suolo, per le ore 12 UTC (14 in Italia) di Lunedì, martedì e Mercoledì.
La prima mappa ci mostra come un intenso affondo perturbato freddo da nord (lingua verde) tenda a colpire in pieno Portogallo e Spagna, come risposta ad una decisa rimonta dell'Anticiclone dell'Azzorre ad alte latitudini, fin verso la Groenlandia (lingua rossa ben visibile con la H). La risposta diretta sull'Italia sarà l'inizio dell'afflusso di correnti meridionali calde, di origine nord Africana. Tali correnti in realtà già inizieranno ad affluire da domenica pomeriggio.

La seconda mappa ci mostra la situazione di cut-off, dove il minimo di geopotenziale (cerchio verde) si isola tra Francia, Spagna e Sardegna, con annesso minimo di pressione di 1000 hPa in approfondimento sul mar Ligure. Siamo alle 12 utc di martedì, e le correnti sciroccali sono in nuovo e ancor più potente caricamento. Notare anche l'anticiclone su Balcani che tende a bloccare l'avanzare della perturbazione verso est.


La terza mappa, riferita alle 12 utc di Mercoledì, ci fa chiaramente notare come il nucleo perturbato, in seno alle correnti mediamente occidentali, avanzi lentamente verso l'Italia. Infatti ora i minimi di geopotenziale (cerchio verde) li troviamo più spostati verso l'Italia, e il minimo di pressione al suolo, che tende a sovravanzare quello in quota, centrato più ad est e nella zona delle Alpi. E' questo il momento in cui le correnti sciroccali iniziano a lasciare il posto a quelle di libeccio in Adriatico e al ramo freddo da maestrale ad ovest.

Ora invece vediamo come tutto ciò si dovrebbe tradurre in termini di vento al suolo sull'Adriatico, e quindi anche di onde.
La prima mappa ci fa vedere come la risposta calda da S-E sia già attiva su tutto il fetch per le ore centrali di lunedì, quando le onde dovrebbero esser già distese ed in crescita, dopo il caricamento di domenica sera. La misura non sarà enorme...


La seconda mappa ci mostra invece come, con l'avvicinarsi del nucleo più intenso, martedì le cose cambino in meglio. Lo scirocco, sempre straordinariamente disteso su tutto il suo fetch a disposizione, continuerà a soffiare già sui 20 nodi al largo al mattino, mentre supererà i 25 nodi al pomeriggio e verso sera sulle zone centrali. Qui onde garantite, bene formate e con misura in crescita, e comunque superiori al metro già dal mattino.

L'ultima mappa ci mostra la situazione al pomeriggio di Mercoledì, quando il minimo, ormai stanco di aver girato attorno al golfo Ligure per 2 giorni, decide di attraversare il bel paese, senza prima aver concesso la spina da S-E più forte di tutto l'episodio, dopo già oltre 48 ore di S-E su tutto il fetch...Tale spinta raggiungerà punte di 30 nodi al largo, e la cosa che ancor più ci fa sognare è che, andando verso sera, il garbino che già si vede entrare in Romagna, dovrebbe estendersi fin su tutte le Marche. Mappa da non crederci, visto che in condizioni tali si avrebbero onde anche oltre i 2 metri a riva (dove la secca permette loro di alzarsi, e direi che sono poche queste zone- tra il Conero e la Romagna più riparata, ma comunque ottima misura anche altrove) con vento da terra....



Il tutto sarà accompagnato da forte maltempo soprattutto al nord Italia, ma anche sole a sprazzi lungo le coste dell'Adriatico, dove la temperatura dell'acqua già intorno ai 16° in aumento consentirà tranquillamente di surfare in 3-2 senza calzari.

Al prossimo aggiornamento!!! E speriamo buono e ricco di conferme!!!

NB: questa è un evoluzione proposta da uno dei migliori modelli di calcolo meteo, ma comunque a lungo termine, quindi le smentite sono molto probabili. Però vista l'emozione che provo nel vedere certe carte meteo che appaiono molto raramente, mi sono sentito di pubblicarle. Gli spostamenti delle grandi masse d'aria Atlantiche (H pressione delle Azzorre e grande affondo perturbato ad ovest del Continente) però mi danno molto fiducia sulla realizzabilità dell'evento, almeno in parte, con onde per 1 o 2 giorni, non necessariamente nella stessa scala temporale appena vista.Any source

BVI Investment Business: Changes to Regulatory Regime

After the industry consultation, the British Virgin Islands has enacted the Securities and Investment Business Act, 2010 (SIBA). This became the most significant change to the regulatory regime for investment business in the British Virgin Islands since the Mutual Funds Act, 1996, meaning an important step for the continued development of the financial services sector in the jurisdiction.

The objectives of SIBA's introduction are modernisation of the mutual funds and investment business regimes and developing appropriate legislative provisions in relation to securities business, while addressing international standards of regulation.

As stated in the press release issued by the Financial Services Commission, the regulation and administration of hedge funds and securities business in the BVI has been a major priority for the Government of the BVI and the FSC. The enactment of SIBA marked a significant step forward for investment business in the Territory. SIBA's enactment will not significantly change existing fund business and contains appropriate transitional provisions. However, it will transform BVI’s regulatory approach to investment business.

The Director of Investment Business at the BVI FSC, Brodrick Penn, said that the new Act means the maturity and growth of the jurisdiction beyond that of a fund only jurisdiction as it implements new laws and rules for areas such as public issues and securities intermediation activities. It reinforces the commitment of the BVI territory to develop regulatory regime for investment business consistent and compliant with international standards and balance the commercial interests of the BVI.
Article any source

Could Newsnight Wales be here to stay?

Last night’s debate was the first I saw and I turned over after 20 mins that’s how much it gripped me, so I can’t say who won or lost but but it doesn’t seemed to have changed things radically judging by some of the post match commentary.

However what did catch my eye was the fact there was a Newsnight Wales Special for the Election and not only for the content, it included Welsh voters reaction to the debates and analysis from Welsh politicians.

I wrote last May that despite cutbacks BBC Scotland seems to be more committed to politics and news coverage and that is why they produce Newsnight Scotland which has been on air since 1999 discussing the days political events in Scotland post devolution. The programme normally runs for 20 minutes from 11pm after the first half hour of Newsnight, something that could easily be replicated in Wales.

Newsnight is a well respected political programme and an ideal format to scrutinise our reluctant Welsh Ministers and politicians over their decisions and policies on a daily basis and help make them more accountable to voters, something Welsh politics is in desperate need of.

So now that Newsnight Wales has had its first outing albeit at General Election time there is a good case for it staying and becoming a regular part of the Welsh broadcasting landscape - what about it BBC Wales?Any source

Canvi de temps

Després dels darrers dies de bonança amb temperatures càlides durant el centre del dia que ha portat gent a la platja i alguns valents a gaudir del primer bany de la temporada, amb el canvi de mes sembla ser que les pluges tornaran a visitar-nos i aquestes vindran acompanyades d’una baixada notable de les temperatures.

A hores d’ara ja es comencen a apreciar aquests canvis amb núvols alts a la costa i ruixats tempestuosos en zones del Pirineu i del Prepirineu català. De cara a demà dissabte, aquests ruixats s’aniran estenent arreu de Catalunya, especialment durant les hores centrals del dia a la meitat nord i zona interior. Seran en forma de tempesta i localment d’intensitat forta i acompanyades de calamarsa. A Tossa, s’espera que les precipitacions puguin fer acte de presència al llarg de la matinada, serien pluges molt febles si és que arriba a caure alguna cosa, serà a partir de mig matí quan els núvols creixeren amb força i originaran ruixats que podran arribar a Tossa a partir de migdia, puntualment amb tempesta. De cara al vespre hauran desaparegut.

Per diumenge, novament el temps es complicarà, i sembla ser que les tempestes serien més extenses i més virulentes. Aquests podrien afectar Tossa amb més facilitat. Serà a partir del vespre quan els nuclis tempestuosos siguin més actius a la costa i les precipitacions siguin més extenses i més continuades. Aquesta tongada de pluges vindran acompanyades per una baixada notable de les temperatures, degut a l’entrada d’una massa freda en tot els nivells de troposfera, el que facilita la convecció diürna i fa pensar que les tempestes puguin ser fortes en algunes zones de l’interior amb la combinació de la bossa freda i una petita baixa que s’ubicarà entre València i Mallorca aportant vents humits i inestabilitat. Diumenge serà un dia plenament primaveral.

De cara a dilluns i dimarts, la inestabilitat continuaria amb ruixats tempestuosos. La cota de neu baixaria fins els 1200 metres, per tant, podem tornar a veure el Montseny enfarinat en ple mes de maig, fet que no és inusual.Any source

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Tax Relief from Insurance YOU must know

Want to save more from Tax? Read on…
 
 
Although this article is somewhat considered late for individual tax-payers this year, this could be useful next year anyway. When you buy insurance, besides getting the comprehensive protection and a worthwhile investment that will keep you financially stable should the unexpected happen, one more feature are very important for every tax payers.
 
Under Malaysian Income Tax Act 1967, you will also enjoy tax relief benefits provided. These tax incentives are given by Malaysia government to encourage us get have a protection plan, thus, inducing a good living life among Malaysians.
 
So what’s tax deductible? How much?
  • Premiums on life insurance and/or deferred annuities.
  • Premiums on education or medical benefits.
How much tax relief?
- Up to Rm6,000 for life insurance premiums and EPF contributions.
- Up to Rm3,000 for medical and education policies premiums.

 
You may qualify for tax relief under Education policies if:
  • Beneficiary is the child.
  • The life assured is the parent and the child is the nominee.
  • Maturity amount must be payable when your child is between the ages of 14 to 25 years.
Or,
  • The life assured is the child.
  • Parent is the proposer.
  • Payer benefit is attached for the full term.
  • Maturity amount must be payable when your child is between the ages of 14 to 25 years.
You may qualify for tax relief under Medical policies if:
  • Expenses are related to medical treatment resulting from a disease, accident or disability.
  • The policy must be for coverage of 12 months or more.
  • Both standalone policies and riders qualify, but if it is a rider, only the rider premium qualifies for deduction.

 
Common Mis-understanding:
How do I know how much relief I can deduct every year?
Every year, your insurer will send you a statement for tax deductions purpose and you just need to fill in the figures shown in that statement. You may request from your insurance company or agent, if you didn’t get it.

 
My premium is Rm2,400. Why the statement only shows Rm1,800?
Tax deductible is based on the actual premiums paid for that particular year. In this case, you only paid Rm1,800 for that year of assessment.

 
My premium is Rm2,400. Why I can’t relief full amount?
This may due to administration fees, or certain riders which didn’t entitle for relief.

 
If I buy insurance for my parents, can I get the relief?
NO. Your parents can get deductions if they bought insurance for their own. However, you may claim for your parents’ medical expenses of up to Rm5,000.

 
Not enough?
From 2010 onwards, premium on annuity scheme or additional premium paid on existing annuity scheme is qualify for another Rm1,000 relief. Amount exceeding Rm1,000 can be claimed together with life insurance premium category.

As the above criteria may change from time to time by regulatory authority, please seek your own tax advice if necessary.Any source

Goldman hearings as mass distraction

Well, sorry to repeat myself, but this is how I basically put it earlier today on Twitter:

"“To detached observers, it’s obvious Goldman $GS hearings are a public spectacle designed to draw attn to fin reg. + pandering to US voters.”"

Thanks to BMB for quoting me, and more importantly, for adding his own two cents. I really couldn't summarize the game plan any better than he does.

Obviously, I'm not the only one who thinks the timing or circumstances of Goldman Sach's hearing in Congress are a little staged or convenient.

And it's not that the SEC doesn't have a case against Goldman; that's
for the legal system to decide. It's just that we're getting the broad strokes of information on this case in the midst of a circus sideshow, with politicians lashing out at the investment bankers in a blatant effort to appeal to their economically-strained voter base.

I could go on about the timing and merits of the case, and the shameless grandstanding of our elected officials during this latest public spectacle. Instead, we'll post some relevant videos here to lend a bit of added perspective on the Goldman fiasco, and some of the bigger problems our nation currently faces.


Mark Mobius discusses the Goldman hearing (at 8:20) on Bloomberg.




Marc Faber feels the case against Goldman Sachs is "purely for show, to appease the public" (Bloomberg video) and (CNBC video).


Goldman hearings are an argument to short Treasuries, and a distraction from problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, says Charles Ortel.


Peter Schiff talks with Tech Ticker about the "real crisis" the US is facing, how we got into this mess, and why our Senators have "some nerve" slamming Goldman for running with the policies and incentives they helped create (you'll hear Peter's take on the proposed financial industry regulations as well).

We're sure you're already loaded to the gills with media commentary on these hearings and the case against Goldman Sachs, so we'll just offer up these interviews in the interest of highlighting some of the more detached, and contrary, bigger-picture views on this subject. Hope you get something out of them.
Any source

Caleb Campbell, 2008 NFL Draft hit, returns to Detroit Lions



Viewers of this bloggers videos from the NFL Draft will remember the All-American hit Caleb Campbell, from the 2008 NFL Draft.

Campbell's an Army 1st Lt. a 7th round pick of the Detroit Lions who the U.S. Army originally allowed to delay his entry in the Army to play in the NFL, much to the delight of NFL fans at Radio City Music Hall in 2008 as the video shows.

But in July 2008 The Army reversed field and said Caleb Campbell could not as a soldier play in the NFL.

But now, Caleb's getting his chance to play in the NFL according to The Detroit Free Press. Awesome. And because Caleb's a nice very respectful person this blogger had the pleasure of meeting at the NFL Draft in 2008. The whole room at Radio City gave Caleb a standing ovation, making one of the most moving moments I've ever witnessed at The NFL Draft.

Caleb's attending the Lions Minicamp, and signed a contract with the team this week according to Pro Football Talk.com.

Best of luck to him.

Vendredi 14 Mai 2010 orageux

Orages pour ce Vendredi 14 Mai 2010 ?

Matin :
Les hautes pressions occuperaient l'Espagne et le Portugal.
Ailleurs, en un mot : dépression !
En effet, les basses pressions domineraient mais sans qu'il y ait une accélération importante de l'écoulement de l'air.
Il faudrait donc s'attendre à de nombreuses averses voire quelques orages localement.

Les températures minimales oscilleraient entre 5°C à Grenoble et 12°C à Nice en passant par 7°C à Nevers, 9°C à Paris, 10°C à La Rochelle.

Après midi :
Le rayonnement aidant, la surface de la Terre serait chauffée considérablement !
Dans ces conditions, le risque orageux monterait au fil des heures.
Des structures organisées pourraient même apparaitre localement !
Dans tous les cas, les précipitations seraient abondantes.

Les températures maximales seraient conformes aux normes de saison : elles partiraient de 17°C à Roubaix (près de la frontière Belge) pour aller à 18°C à Nantes, 19°C à Blois et 20°C à Strasbourg.
Au Sud, entre 16°C dans les Alpes et 21°C à Perpignan en passant par 19°C à Agen, 20°C à Nimes et à Bastia.
Any source

Mayo mayea...

Dice el refranero español: "Cuando Marzo marcea, Mayo mayea....". Y después de un Marzo tan fresco y húmedo como el pasado, Mayo comenzará con una tónica parecida en nuestra Comarca de Valdeorras.
Meteograma para un punto de nuestra Comarca
El descenso térmico será acusado, con Isotermas que rondan los 0ºC. Después de alcanzar en O Barco la temperatura máxima de Galicia, e incluso una de las más altas de España el pasado miercoles 28, con una máxima de 32,5ºC alcanzada a las 15,55 h. las temperaturas máximas descenderán progresivamente hasta casi 15ºC, dejando unas máximas en O Barco la semana que viene que rondarán los 15/16 ºC.
Las mínimas descenderán también de modo significativo, entre 6/8ºC, con unas mínimas previsibles para O Barco de entre 5/7 ºC la próxima semana.
Mapa Modelo Gfs 500 hPa
Todo esto se debe a las Fusión del Anticiclón de las Azores con el Groendlandés, y el ascenso de este primero, que propiciará la entrada de vientos casi árticos por el flanco derecho del Anticiclón en dirección hacia nuestra península.
Las precipitaciones no serán cuantiosas, aunque podrían ser en muchas ocasiones de carácter tormentoso. La cota de nieve descenderá hasta los 1000/1.200 mts. por lo que se espera que nuestra montañas se vuelvan a cubrir del elemento blanco.
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Werner meets Harrison - Monetary Reform & LVT. No: 1

There was a certain frisson in the air when Richard Werner, leading international academic on monetary reform and Fred Harrison eminent land value taxation economist both presented at the IU Conference in London yesterday  These leading proponents of their subjects had a theme of 'secrecy' (Werner) and 'hidden knowledge' (Harrison) that surround their disciplines and both are tireless exposers of the long-established thrall in which ordinary people are held thereby - where the major players in banking and land ownership rake off their gains to the permanent impoverishment of society. The victims, being blinded by this status quo that has endured for centuries, meekly accepting that the recurring banking and property crises are seemingly held to be irrevocable laws of nature. 
Both speakers have had similar career paths. For 20 years (Werner) and over 30 years (Harrison), having struck gold in their pursuit of reality and truth in matters of credit and banking  and of land, respectively, have pursued the thread wherever it took them, despite the lack of recognition that might have been expected from their insights.  These pioneers met for the first time in person at the School of Economic Science in Mandeville Place, London where the theme of the conference is: 'Why is so much wealth in the hands of so few?'.  The Conference continues today and Fri 30th.
I will be opening up Werner's and Harrison's viewpoints in subsequent postings on this blog. Werner gave a fast and potted history of credit, beginning in ancient Babylon up to date. He also revealed the mechanism that Keynes overlooked in his prediction that wealth by the year 2028 would mean that no-one would need to work more that 15 hours a week. Harrison gave a heartfelt view of the fact that despite having accurately predicted the dates of the last two boom-bust cycle peaks he has been ignored by politicians whom he specifically warned.  He also pointed out a vital flaw in Keynes' thinking: 'There is no land problem any more'.  

This occasion was a highly important meeting. There is hope that these powerful streams for economic reform can find an integrated platform. Within the space of two hours these speakers  occupied the same rostrum, but where they speaking from different premises? Link to this blog in days ahead. 

James Roberston has long brought these two themes together. See his latest newsletter which has a last-minute UK election suggestion. See also The Free Lunch - Fairness with Freedom. 
         Any source

Uncomfortable truths about the Conservatives campaign

While the Labour Party desperately tries to limit the damage and move talk on to anything apart from yesterday’s disaster without much success, the Telegraph’s Benedict Brogan has a revealing insight into the state of the Conservatives Campaign

He writes "Months ago, the likes of Steve Hilton and George Osborne were predicting – and praying – that it would all come down to the campaign, and the likelihood that Mr Brown would somehow crack under pressure. They wanted to focus voters' minds on the hard truths about Mr Brown – his temper, his indecisiveness, his policy failings.

Until Mrs Duffy popped up, they were having to confront some hard truths of their own, not least that Mr Cameron's decision to agree to the televised debates that gave Mr Clegg equal billing, against the advice of many around him, was probably the single biggest strategic mistake of his leadership."

In fact, the Tories, champions of openness in politics, are concealing plenty of inconvenient truths of their own, from the hidden elements of their deficit reduction programme to Mr Cameron's own capacity for temper and rudeness. The truth about Gordon Brown is their weapon; the truth about themselves – most of it good, but difficult to sell – is best avoided.

I guess there is some truth in the claims that the Conservatives are making up their Election strategy as they go along – for all our sakes let’s hope they don’t do the same when they are in Government.Any source

Nou video de la nevada del 8 de Març a Tossa de Mar.

Us deixo un nou video de la nevada del 8 de Març.
Atenció! Entorn al minut 5:30 es pot veure un Flamenc en plena nevada al mig de sa platja Gran.


La nevada del 8 de març 2010
Cargado por tvtossa. - Mira las noticias más recientes en video.Any source

Che impatto ha l'età di un sito sul suo posizionamento?

Ciao a tutti e bentornati all'appuntamento con i video di Matt Cutts, l'iniziativa che vede protagoniste le domande degli utenti e le risposte di Matt Cutts relative al mondo dell'indicizzazione, delle sitemap e dei link.

Come annunciato qualche settimana fa, i video seguono la scia delle mini guide "Lo sapevate che..." e offrono nuove possibilità di approfondimento e apprendimento sia per gli utenti che vogliono saperne di più sulla ricerca su Google in generale, sia per i webmaster che vogliono essere informati e aggiornati su tutto ciò che riguarda l'ottimizzazione, il Page Rank, le directories, e altri temi utili per il proprio lavoro quotidiano. Il video di oggi prende in considerazione l'età di un sito e l'impatto che tale fattore rappresenta per il suo posizionamento.
I video usciranno in versione "embedded" sul blog e su YouTube attraverso il canale Google Webmaster Central Channel.

Se i sottotitoli in Italiano non si avviano automaticamente con il video, fate Clic in basso a destra sul triangolino per attivarli e scegliete "Italian" per visualizzarli.

Come sempre aspettiamo il vostro feedback e i vostri suggerimenti tra i commenti del blog e sul Forum di assistenza per i webmaster, quindi scrivete e restate sintonizzati :)



Any source

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

ATWATER VILLAGE HISTORY TO BE PUBLISHED

Friends of Atwater Village (FAV) in partnership with Arcadia Publishing will be producing an Atwater Village photographic history book for the Images of America series.

In order to fully preserve Atwater’s history FAV is asking for help in obtaining old photographs, documents, newspaper articles, receipts or advertising from local businesses and any other historic information regarding Atwater Village between the years of 1900-2000. The book is a way to share and preserve our local history and a great way to mark the Centennial of our neighborhood.

At the Atwater Village Centennial Street Festival, slated for Sunday June 13, 2010, FAV will be taking oral histories from those that would like to share their memories of Atwater Village’s past. We will also be scanning photographs and memorabilia that Atwater Villagers would like to share for possible inclusion in the book. The book is slated to go on sale by late 2010 or early 2011.

Please come by the FAV booth during the Street Festival or contact us at 323.913.2999 or at favboard@friendsofatwatervillage.org

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The New Image Search for Android and iPhone

When you do an image search, we find that it is typical that you will look through many pages of search results. So in the redesign of Google Image Search for mobile, available today for iPhone 3.0+ and Android 2.1 devices, we focused on making it easy to quickly see as many image thumbnails as possible:
  • The thumbnails are square to maximize the number of images we can get on the screen at one time so you can scan them quickly
  • You can swipe to see the next or previous page of results, or tap the large, stationary 'Next' and 'Previous' page buttons
  • We optimized for speed so that the images appear quickly when you browse
When it comes to viewing the images, we now make them as large as possible by introducing a special image viewing page:
  • The black background emphasizes the image and the buttons fade after a few seconds so you can just see images with little distraction
  • Easily browse through the images by swiping from picture to picture


To try this new version of Image Search, just go to www.google.com on your phone and tap on “Images.” The new experience is available in 38 languages worldwide. Whether you like to look through pictures of prom dresses, impressionist paintings or 猫 ジャンプ we hope you love this update to Image Search for mobile.

Update on 6/2 @ 5:40 pm: This version of Image Search is now available for all Android and Palm webOS devices.

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Jeudi 13 Mai 2010 oceanique

Circulation océanique d'Ouest pour ce Jeudi 13 Mai 2010 ?

Matin :
L'anticyclone se positionnerait sur les îles britanniques (Nord de l'Angleterre du moins) ainsi que sur l'Espagne et le Portugal.
Entre les deux, les basses pressions.
Il faudrait donc s'attendre à un flux d'Ouest assez peu dynamique dans le sens où l'écoulement de l'air serait faible.
Du coup, les averses pourraient être nombreuses dans une masse d'air à peu près de saison pour une matinée.

Les températures minimales oscilleraient entre 6°C à Gap et 12°C à Nice en passant par 8°C à Bourges, 10°C à Paris, 11°C à La Rochelle.

Après midi :
Avec l'ensoleillement, les nuages cumuliformes (se développant verticalement) seraient de plus en plus gros.
Les orages éclateraient un peu partout particulièrement sur l'Aquitaine et le Midi Pyrénées (par effet relief) !
Le soleil ferait quelques belles percées entre les gouttes : une situation où les arcs en ciel apparaitraient facilement !

Les températures maximales seraient conformes aux normes de saison : elles partiraient de 17°C à Lille pour aller à 18°C à Nantes, 19°C à Orléans et 20°C à Strasbourg.
Au Sud, entre 16°C à Bourg Saint Maurice et 21°C à Perpignan en passant par 19°C à Arcachon, 20°C à Nimes et à Cannes.
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Pick this Nit: Null Path URIs and the Pedantic Web

There is no surer way to flush out software bugs and configuration errors than to do a sales demo. The process not only exposes the problem, but also sears into the psyche of the demonstrator an irrational desire to see the problem eradicated from the face of the earth, no matter the cost or consequences.
Here's a configuration problem I once found while demonstrating software to a potential customer:
Many library information services can be configured with the base URL for the institution's OpenURL server. The information service then constructs links by appending "?" and a query string onto the base URL. So for example, if the base URL is
http://example.edu/links
and the query string is
isbn=9780393072235&title=The+Big+Short ,
the constructed URL is
http://example.edu/links?isbn=9780393072235&title=The+Big+Short.
For the demo, we had configured the base URL to be very short: http://example.edu, so the constructed URL would have been http://example.edu?isbn=9780393072235&title=The+Big+Short. Everything worked fine when we tested beforehand. For the customer demo, however, we used the customer's computer, which was running some Windows version of Internet Explorer that we hadn't tested, and none of the links worked. Internet Explorer had this wonderful error page that made it seem as if our software had broken the entire web. Luckily, breaking the entire web was not uncommon at the time, and I was able to navigate to a different demo site and make it appear is if I had fixed the entire web, so we managed to make the sale anyway.
It turns out that http URLs with null paths aren't allowed to have query strings. You wouldn't know it if you looked at the W3C documentation for URIs, which is WRONG, but you will see it if you look at the IETF specs, which have jurisdiction (see RFC 1738 and RFC 2616).
Internet Explorer was just implementing the spec, ignoring the possibility that someone might ignore or misinterpret it. The fact that Netscape worked where IE failed could be considered a bug or a feature, but most users probably considered Netscape's acceptance of illegal URLs to be a feature.
I still feel a remnant of  pain every time I see a pathless URL with a query string. Most recently, I saw a whole bunch of them on the thing-described-by site and sent a nit-picky e-mail to the site's developer, and was extremely pleased when he fixed them. (Expeditious error fixing will be richly rewarded in the hereafter.) I've come to recognize, however, that a vast majority of these errors will never be fixed or even noticed, and maybe that's even a good thing.
Nit picking appears to have been a highlight of the Linked Data on the Web Meeting in Raleigh, NC yesterday, which I've followed via Twitter. If you enjoy tales of nerdy data disasters or wonky metadata mischief, you simply must peruse the slides from Andreas Harth's talk (1.8M, pdf) on "Weaving the Pedantic Web". If you're serious about understanding real-world challenges for the Semantic Web, once you've stopped laughing or crying at the slides you should also read the corresponding paper (pdf, 415K ). Harth's co-authors are Aidan Hogan, Alexandre Passant, Stefan Decker, and Axel Polleres from DERI.
The DERI team has studied the incidence of various errors made by publishers of Linked Data "in the wild". Not so surprisingly, they find a lot of problems. For example, they find that 14.3% of triples in the wild use an undeclared property and 8.1% of the triples use an undeclared class. Imagine if a quarter of all sentences published on the web used words that weren't in the dictionary, and you'd have a sense of what that means. 4.7% of typed literals were "ill-typed". If 5% of the numbers in the phone book had the wrong number of digits, you'd probably look for another phone book.
They've even found ways that seemingly innocuous statements can have serious repercussions. It turns out that it's possible to "hijack" a metadata schema, and induce a trillion bad triples with a single Web Ontology Language (OWL) assertion.
Nit Free Terminator Lice Comb, Professional Stainless Steel Louse and Nit Comb for Head Lice Treatment, Removes NitsTo do battle with the enemy of badly published Linked Data, the DERI team urges community involvement in a support group that has been formed to help publishers fix their data. The "Pedantic Web" has 137 members already. This is a very positive and necessary effort. But they should realize that the correct data cause is a hopeless one. The vast majority of potential data publishers really don't care about correctness, especially when some of the mistakes can be so subtle. What they care about is accomplishing specific goals. The users of my linking software only cared that the links worked. HTML authors mostly care only that the web page looks right. Users of Facebook or Google RDFa will only care that the Like buttons or Rich Snippets work, and the fact that the schemas for these things either don't exist in machine readable form or are wildly inconsistent with the documentation is a Big Whoop.
Until of course, somebody does a sales demo, and the entire web crashes.
(nit and head louse photos from Wikimedia Commons)
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Evoluzione 29 - 30 - 1 Aprile - maggio 2010



Buonasera a tutti!



L'avanzare della stagione primaverile nel Mediterraneo è spesso sintomo di giornate calde e stabili, con tempo bello quasi ovunque e vento assente, se si esclude quello ciclico di brezza che inizia a manifestarsi non appena l'escursione termica del suolo riesce ad oscillare sul valor medio che è quello del mare.

Perciò Aprile terminerà in bellezza, ma da inizio Maggio le cose potrebbero cambiare... infatti finora mancano ancora all'appello le perturbazioni primaverili che si approfondiscono bene nel mar Ligure, richiamando venti meridionali un pò ovunque; perturbazioni che la statistica le vede attraversare il nostro paese tra Aprile e Maggio, prima che la forza delle correnti occidentali vada calando concedendo poi soltanto l'affondo di perturbazioni Nord-occidentali non più in grado di approfondire minimi di pressione del genere sull'Italia.





SINTESI METEO



Giovedì 29 e venerdì 30 aprile: bel tempo e abbastanza caldo su tutta la Penisola. Qualche addensamento al sud giovedì e sulle Alpi venerdì, ma con basso rischio di rovesci.



Sabato 1 maggio: bello al centro e al sud, a parte un po' di velature in arrivo. Nubi al nord con qualche rovescio limitato alle Alpi. Ancora abbastanza caldo, specie al centro-sud.





PREVISIONI SURF





Mar Ligure



Giovedì 29: Mari calmi o poco mossi.

Venerdì 30: Mari calmi o poco mossi.

Sabato 1: Mari inizialmente calmi, con venti di S-E in aumento in mattinata, e possibili prime ondine (max 0,5 m) surfabili nel pomeriggio sul settore centrale e zone esposte del levante.





Isole Maggiori



Giovedì 29: Mari calmi o poco mossi.

Venerdì 30: Mari inizialmente calmi o poco mossi, ma con venti da S-E in rinforzo sulla Sardegna meridionale già dal mattino, e prime ondine surfabili nel pomeriggio (0,5 m).

Sabato 1: Al mattino onde di 0,8-1 m da S-E su Sardegna meridionale, 0,5 m sulla zona orientale verso nord. Nel pomeriggio onde da Sud anche sulla Sicilia s-w, mentre sulla Sardegna le onde iniziano a superare il metro.





Mar Tirreno



Giovedì 29: Mari calmi o poco mossi.

Venerdì 30: Mari calmi o poco mossi.

Sabato 1: Mari inizialmente calmi, ma con venti di scirocco in rinforzo, e prime onde surfabili su bassa Toscana-alto Lazio nel pomeriggio, di max 0,5 m.





Mar Ionio



Giovedì 29: Mari calmi o poco mossi.

Venerdì 30: Mari calmi o poco mossi.

Sabato 1: Mari calmi o poco mossi.





Mar Adriatico



Giovedì 29: Mari calmi o poco mossi. Possibilili piccole onde da nord (max 0,5 m) al mattino sul settore meridionale (Puglia, Molise), in rapido calo.

Venerdì 30: Mari calmi o poco mossi.

Sabato 1: Mari calmi o poco mossi.







Al prossimo aggiornamento!







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Mercredi 12 Mai 2010 fraicheur

Une fraicheur remarquable pour ce Mercredi 12 Mai 2010 ?

Matin :
La dorsale anticyclonique referait son apparition sur l'Ouest de la France ainsi que sur les îles britanniques.
Sur l'hexagone, nous aurions un flux de Nord dépressionnaire.
Cependant, le gradient de pression ne serait pas important.
Concrètement, de nombreuses averses séviraient dès le lever du jour avec parfois du grésil et même de la neige à très basse altitude (moins de 1000 mètres ?).

Les températures minimales oscilleraient entre 4°C à Grenoble et 10°C à Nice en passant par 5°C à Nancy, 7°C à Paris, 8°C à La Rochelle.

Après midi :
Pas d'amélioration en vue sur l'ensemble des paramètres.
En effet, le temps serait très lourd avec le rayonnement solaire.
Du coup, les nuages à développement vertical prendraient de l'ampleur : les orages seraient alors nombreux donnant souvent du grésil voire de la grêle !
Seul le pourtour méditerranéen pourrait rester au sec : et encore ! ce n'est pas certain !

Les températures maximales seraient fraiches pour la saison : elles partiraient de 11°C à Dunkerque pour aller à 14°C à Strasbourg, 15°C à Bourges et 16°C à Nantes.
Au Sud, entre 10°C à Bourg Saint Maurice et 19°C à Perpignan en passant par 15°C à Montélimar, 17°C à Agen et 18°C à Nimes.
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Are the Tories the natural party of Coalition?

Unless something earth shattering happens in the next week or so, the UK is on heading for a Parliament where no one party has overall control and while that prospect is exciting some and is good for democracy there are some who would prefer a clear cut result, not least the Conservative Party.

But if you look back coalition in the UK was a far more frequent occurrence and the Tories were willing to offer big concessions, over at the Next Left Blog it states ‘Strikingly, the Conservatives were frequently willing to offer the Premiership to a smaller partner, an offer turned down by Hartington in 1886 (with his Liberal colleague Goschen taking the Treasury a few months later) but accepted by the Liberal Lloyd George in 1918 and of course Labour's leader Ramsay MacDonald in 1931, as part of an attempt to project the idea that these coalitions were not simply Tory fronts.

Most in today's Conservative party seem unaware of the depth of their pro-coalition history.

Why? Because history begins in 1979. For the ideologised post-Thatcher party, coalition is indeed anathema, as it never was for Disraeli. The post-Thatcher Tory party remains cut off from the party's historical, political and intellectual traditions by the enduring impact of Keith Joseph's famous declaration of 1975 that the history of actually existing British post-war Conservatism has been a betrayal - and "not Conservative at all".

Power-sharing, negotiation, compromise - the very stuff of politics - and any attempt at pluralist political reform are viewed primarily as attempts to shut the Tories out. Yet a deeper progressive Conservativism might have learnt from their history, rather than apparently being cut off from it. It would not see all political negotiation as an offence against strong government, and so would see in the increased pluralism of a post-devolution, multi-party politics enormous opportunities for a supple, pragmatic Tory statecraft. It would probably be preparing to compete and deal on electoral reform, rather than implying it would cling to the wreckage of first-past-the-post even if it blew itself up by providing a bizarre result with little democratic credibility at all. Indeed, it might particularly favour the Alternative Vote at least, for it would finally lock in Cameronism, just as the early '70s Tories were the party of devolution and more interested than Labour in electoral reform.'


I wonder what will be on offer to potential suitors if the Conservatives emerge as the largest Party but without an overall majority this time around.Any source

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

New Place Pages for mobile

Last fall, we launched Place Pages which organize relevant and useful information about places on Google Maps. Since then we've been developing a version, available now, which gives you access to the same useful information optimized for your mobile phone. For example, in the video below, the Place Page for Mama's restaurant in San Francisco shows location information, customer ratings, opening hours and what people are saying about the restaurant in summary format.



To get more details on opening hours or on customer specific comments related to the food, service or ambiance, simply click on those respective sections to show more information instantly. The Place Page also provides links to useful websites where the user can read full reviews about the place. Lastly, if address and cross street information is not enough, click on the map button and you will be taken to a full screen dynamic map which is pannable and zoomable. In this way you can quickly see the restaurant's location in the context of the entire neighborhood.

To try this yourself, go to google.com on your phone's browser and search for "mama's sf". On the search results page, click on the listing for Mama's restaurant to go to the Place Page. This mobile optimized Place Page is currently supported on Android-powered devices and iPhones/iPod touches in the US.

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Psicologia

- via dai rumor, pensa velocemente
- non ascoltare puntualmente i consigli del FAD (ci becca come sentiment in generale, ma entrate ed uscite tendono ad essere errate)
- non ascoltare quello che fanno i colleghi (S.)Any source

Memo episodio FAD - parte 2

ero già in posizione da diversi giorni (dal 6/4)

19/4 guadagno 1% (0,5% leva 2) aperta su 23.200

20/4 la posizione short sull’FTSEMIB traballa a fronte di un +1,61% di borsa
tutti gli indicatori sono aperti sul rosso, ma il Vortex che si è incrociato il 20 e non il 19 non dà il segnale di ingresso!!!!!

Nonostante uno scossone al rialzo che per la 2a volta ha fatto tremare la nostra posizione short (per quanto il vortex si sia aperto ma non sia andato sotto i minimi – ben 22.600 anche se gli RWI e diversi indicatori sono già sul rosso)

cmq per fortuna che il giorno dopo il 21 la borsa continua a scendere

il 27 abbiamo chiuso la posizione quando il 21 si sono aperti gli indicatori: x 2 settimane abbiamo tenuto aperto una posizione che non ha dato frutti ma solo perdite potenziali






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