Google Chromebooks bring the cloud to the plane with 12 free Gogo sessions

Need a dozen or so extra reasons to pick up a new Samsung Chromebook? How's about 12 free in-flight WiFi sessions from GoGo? Granted, it's probably not enough reason alone to pick up the browser-based notebook, but it should help sweeten the deal a bit. The deal, which kicks in after May 31st, will have you flying the friendly web on some 1,500 Gogo-sporting planes.

Continue reading Google Chromebooks bring the cloud to the plane with 12 free Gogo sessions

Google Chromebooks bring the cloud to the plane with 12 free Gogo sessions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 13:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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User:Wynajemautokarowwarszawa - Kent Adventure Gaming ...

From Kent Adventure Gaming Society Wiki

Sports and adventure tourist are types of tourism now popular with travellers who would like to spend their vacation either in sports or even adventure related activities. Sports tourist means creating a trip to a particular destination both to participate in a particular sports event, or to practice and learn a particular sport. On the other hand, adventure tourism refers to activities and also tourist spots that either usually do not attract and/or not accessible to the most of travellers. It might be because the area under consideration is remote control or the offered activities are hard and difficult, or perhaps the trip is actually not suited to nearly all tourists. wynajem autokarow warszawa.

The actual travel industry has exploded fast because the 1954s: Based on the Un World Tourism Organization, worldwide tourism arrivals seasoned a growth from 25 million within 1950 in order to 684 million within 2000; international tourist arrivals are required in to reach one billion by 2020. A good emergent tourism design is towards more experienced-based rather than destination-based trips. Travelers nowadays seek unique ways of spending their own vacation to find meaning through conversation with their environment. Accordingly, tourism companies offer more tailor-made, off-the-beat-path deals. Additionally , the actual growing trend of active lifestyles converted into many travelers seeking methods to integrate their fondness for a particular exercise into a trip to a new destination. przewozy autokarowe Warszawa.

When considering a vacation, you need to check whether travel insurance applies for your planned activities. Trips in order to remote destinations best done in groups, specifically for women. Climate conditions that could prevail during the time of journey must also be anticipated. Along with these, be certain your journey providers have place safety measures in place. Lastly, you should be aware associated with any medical conditions you might have prior to your trip.

If you plan to perform a specific activity as part of a sports-oriented trip, first check out the difficulty level of the program you'll take part in before paying any due. You will find cases, like that activities were handled by instructors who are less advanced than their college students. An actual activity that is designed to test strength might be simply a regular workout in a new setting up. You should make sure that this activities you might be going take fit with your level of ability. wynajem autokarow mikrobusow warszawa.

As tourism experiences are becoming much more "unique", taking into consideration the growth of sports and also adventure travel and leisure, there is a chance for individual providers of exceptional sports activities or adventure experience to be able to out-compete mass-market tourism services. The USAID study for sustainable rural travel and leisure in 2007, for example , discovered that adventure tourist activities favors sustainable development objectives, channeling financial benefits of improvement back to local community members instead of to large foreign or commercial tourism agencies. Which means that when planning your trip, the options you choose not only posseses an impact the quality of your own experience but also within the lives of the communities an individual visit and connect to.

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Tomato genome sequence comes to fruition

For years scientists have slaved away, trying to piece together the genes that make up the ripe, red goodness that is the tomato. They have finally published the fleshy fruit's genome in full.

The genome of any species is the DNA code that is stored as a blueprint inside every cell of every individual of that species. The DNA letters, called base pairs, are organized into genes, which are translated into proteins, the building blocks and machinery of every cell.

Decoding these genes can help researchers understand the different types of proteins found in organisms, and how these proteins make that species different from every other species. These kinds of insights from the genome could help crop researchers improve the yield, nutritional content, disease resistance, taste and color of tomatoes, they say.

1. More science news from msnbc.com

   1. DNA designs done faster and cheaper

      Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Researchers show how DNA can be tweaked to create shapes as complex as alphabets and smiley faces more cheaply and quickly than previously thought.

   2. Tomato genome sequence comes to fruition
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   4. Origin of disputed tyrannosaur investigated

"For any characteristic of the tomato, whether it's taste, natural pest resistance or nutritional content, we've captured virtually all those genes," study researcher James Giovannoni, of Cornell University, said in a statement. "Tomato genetics underlies the potential for improved taste every home gardener knows and every supermarket shopper desires and the genome sequence will help solve this and many other issues in tomato production and quality."

Generic and wild genomes
The researchers sequenced the genome of the tomato species Solanum lycopersicum, of the variety "Heinz 1706," as their type tomato. These tomatoes possess some 35,000 genes arranged on 12 chromosomes (large arrangements of hundreds of genes packed into one strand), the researchers said.

The researchers also sequenced the garden tomato's wild ancestor, Solanum Pimpinellifolium.

Knowing the sequence of one tomato can help seed companies and plant breeders get a grasp on what makes different varieties, like heirloom tomatoes, different from the generic grocery tomato.

Because the variability between two varieties is pretty small, it's easier to use the Heinz 1706 genome as a guide, and pinpoint the differences that lead to changes in color, taste, texture, size and shape that distinguish one variety from another.

Tomato vs. potato
The genome is also important in learning why the tomato is so different from its genetic relatives in the nightshade family of flowering plants, which includes the potato, pepper and even coffee. Scientists want to know what genes have changed that gives each of these species their distinct flavor and look.

"Now we can start asking a lot more interesting questions about fruit biology, disease resistance, root development and nutritional qualities," Giovannoni said.

Tomatoes represent a $2 billion market in the United States alone. The USDA estimates that Americans consume, on average, more than 72 pounds (33 kilograms) of tomato products annually. Researchers have even developed a robot tomato harvester to go into space (or just use here on Earth).

The study will be published Thursday in the journal Nature.

You can follow LiveScience staff writer Jennifer Welsh on Twitter, on Google+? or on Facebook. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter and on Facebook.

? 2012 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.

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US Rep. Frank apologizes for hoodie quip in Mass. (Providence Journal)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Bristolbites.co.uk Estimated Value N/A ? Bristolbites, bristol restaurant

This domain registered on 2011-03-23.
This site is currently hosted at New Dream Network, LLC. The IP 69.163.201.174 links to a server in Brea, United States. This site has Google PageRank? 4 of 10.

Website Information

Title:

Bristol Bites ? the definitive guide to food and drink in Bristol

Description:

Bristol restaurant reviews, vouchers, directory and latest food and drink news from Bristol's favourite food blogger

Tags:

Bars, Bristol, Cafes, Drink, Eating, Events, Food, Offers, Pubs, Restaurant, Restaurants, Reviews, Venues

Estimated Data

Daily Visits: The amount of user?s traffic during 24 hours. We use widestat algorithm with our own data to calculate visits quantity.	-	Monthly Visits: The amount of user?s traffic during 1 month. We use widestat algorithm with our own data to calculate visits quantity.	-
Daily Revenue: The estimated cost of daily income from contextual advertising allocation.	-	Monthly Revenue: The estimated cost of monthly income from contextual advertising allocation.	-

Summary Stats

Alexa Rank: Alexa Rank is combined rating, that takes into account both the quantity of users and the quantity of website?s page views. The lower Alexa Rank index is the better. The best website has maximum rank 1. Learn more - http://www.alexa.com/help/traffic-learn-more	-	Google PageRank: Google PageRank? - is an important rate for your website promotion in Google? search engine that is calculated for every page separately. The higher website PageRank the more significant it is for Google?, maximum PageRank value is 10.	4 of 10
Compete Rank: Compete rank is the authorized analytic resource that estimates sites? traffic. The bigger site traffic the lower Compete rank will be.	-	Google Index: The quantity of Google? indexed pages. The more pages are indexed by Google? the better.	-
Quantcast Rank: Quantcast makes hybrid evaluations of website?s audience and gives it the rank. The smaller the Quantcast Rank the better, maximum 1.	-	Yahoo Index: The quantity of Yahoo indexed pages. The more pages are indexed by Yahoo the better.	5
DMOZ Listed: DMOZ ? is the most significant multilingual catalogue of sites in the Internet which is supported by community of volunteer editors. Search engines pay a lot of attention to DMOZ catalogue, this catalogue will be extremely useful to promote your website.	No	Bing Index: The quantity of Bing indexed pages. The more pages are indexed by Bing the better.	-

Domain Registration

Created: Search engines are using website age while ranking search results. The older the website the better it is ranked in search engines.	2011-03-23
Updated:	2011-06-08
Expires:	-
Registrar: Domain name registrar is the organization that has all the rights for creation and registration of new domain names and also the right for extending validity of already existing domain names in domain for which obligatory registration is established.	Nominet UK
Owner:	-
Domain Nameservers:	ns1.dreamhost.com ns2.dreamhost.com

Server Information

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Daybreak: Downville to Snub Eviction Show? | Big Brother Africa StarGame | Afr

Downville has decided to snub the Live Eviction Show tonight if their requests are not met.

After snubbing the Saturday night party, staging a Diary Room takeover and fearlessly breaking all of Big Brother's House rules, the Housemates headed to the bedroom to continue their revolt. As all the drama and chaos unfolded, Big Brother summoned Head of House Keagan to the Diary Room. Keagan refused and so did each of the Housemates who were summoned consequently.

After endless requests over the loudspeakers, Mildred eventually went to the Diary Room to hear what Big Brother had to say. Upon exiting the Diary Room, she relayed to her fellow Housemates that Biggie had asked for them to come up with a civilized resolution to the strike. The Housemates were not hearing any of this, Keagan and Seydou in particular. The crew argued amongst each other about a way forward.

They finally decided that they will snub the Live Eviction Show this evening and will not gather in the lounge when requested to, if they are not given any alcohol. Mildred and Keagan have been tasked with delivering this bombshell to Big Brother during the course of the day.

Way forward

On Wednesday, Downville was denied alcohol after Seydou abandoned his punishment which required him to find a needle in the haystack for microphone infringement.

This week, Nominations happened only in Upville. It will be interesting to see how this will go. Will Big Brother give the gang alcohol and if not, could the Housemates be serious trouble for snubbing the Live Eviction Show?

- By NgettyD

Click here and vote to keep Maneta, Mampi or Lady May in the game.

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RIM warns of operating loss, layoffs to come

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White House Petitioned to Make Research Free to Access

Image: Wkimedia Commons/Daniel Schwen

From Nature magazine

More than 17,000 people have signed an online petition urging US President Barack Obama to require all scientific journal articles resulting from US taxpayer-funded research to be made freely available online. The signatures, obtained within a week of the petition's launch after an active social media campaign, put it over two-thirds of the way towards the threshold that will require an official response from the White House.

It comes as the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) ? one of the largest biomedical institutions in the United States ? becomes the latest institution to require its researchers to make their articles freely available in an open-access repository. However, they can opt out if it brings them into conflict with publishers. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge and various Harvard University schools are among those with similar policies in place.

The petition, on the White House website, was launched by Access2Research, a group of four open-access advocates who were frustrated by the lack of progress on the issue and so are trying a new tack. The petition urges the president to ?act now to implement open access policies for all federal agencies that fund scientific research?.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, is the only US government agency that requires researchers to deposit their articles in the agency's PubMed Central online archive within 12 months of publication, a policy that followed a bill passed by Congress in 2007. It is estimated that about 90,000 papers are deposited each year, with half a million people accessing the database of 2.4 million papers each day.
Getting the ball rolling

?We know the NIH policy works to provide public access and there have been no data presented that it hurts publishers? revenues, so we are asking for that policy to be extended,? says John Wilbanks, a senior fellow at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri, and one of the four people spearheading the petition.

The proposed extension would see open-access polices cover all 12 federal-science agencies, including the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture. The petition does not stipulate a time period within which articles should be deposited or a particular repository, to give agencies flexibility, Wilbanks says.

The agencies together receive about US$60 billion in federal research dollars each year, with about half going to the NIH, so the number of papers available annually could double under the proposal, says Heather Joseph, another petition leader and executive director of the pro-open access Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, based in Washington DC.

Assuming the petition tops 25,000 signatures before 19 June, there must be an official response from the administration. ?It at least puts the issue in front of the president's staff for consideration. The response could be as weak as a simple acknowledgement, or as strong as a policy statement or directive?, such as an executive order telling agencies to expand the NIH policy, Joseph adds.

The timing of the petition is no accident. A bipartisan bill ? the Federal Research Public Access Act (FRPAA) 2012 ? that advocates extending the NIH policy to other federal agencies, and shortening the time frame in which papers must be deposited from 12 months to 6, is making its way through Congress. The White House is also currently reviewing its open-access policies.

?We want the White House to state its position because it could get the ball rolling with agencies, and we want FRPAA because it is much harder to overturn,? says Joseph.

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RIM Halts Trading To Issue Business Update, Hires RBC And J.P. Morgan For ?Strategic Review?

Canadian smartphone manufacturer RIM has briefly ceased trading of their stock today in order to issue a "business update" from CEO Thorsten Heins to their stockholders. Though the release takes the time to outline some of the company's recent personnel changes, Heins also points out that the company has enlisted the services of both the Royal Bank of Canada and J.P. Morgan to help the company evaluate their financial strategies going forward.

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Good Religious Education should convey ... - The Jewish Teachers

Racism can never be justified.? That?s why when AQA (a leading UK exam board) published an exam question last week on a GCSE Judaism paper which asked students to ?Explain briefly why some people are prejudiced against Jews? it provoked such outcry from the Board of Deputies of British Jews among other community organisations.?? As a Religious Studies teacher, teaching the AQA GCSE, I think that a discussion around stereotyping and scapegoating is important and legitimate.? However, I can?t help thinking that for some students, when asked to ?Explain why some people are prejudiced against Jews? or indeed any other minority, a student might just list all the worst sorts of objectionable things about the group specified; without making reference to flawed upbringing or ignorance as an explanation for the racist views ? and there?s no doubt that this is what AQA had in mind when they wrote the exam. My real worry is that these kinds of badly written exam questions can limit and lead to ?bad RE? teaching.? The best Religious Studies teaching is done by teachers who attempt to convey religions and their context in society in an engaging an authentic way.? In the case of Jewish Studies, I think that the context of racism and Anti Semitism has to be taught sensitively, as one part of Jewish history, but not to the exclusion of teaching about all other aspects of Jewish identity, belief and practice. Ultimately GCSE examinations are a ?rubber stamp? to acknowledge years of learning, and it?s a missed opportunity when poorly worded examination questions fail to showcase the breadth of students? learning.

Flora R H Richards is in her fifth year of teaching Religious Studies at various London schools. She trained to teach at King?s College London and has a Religious Studies degree from Lancaster University. She is chair of the Jewish Teachers Association. Email her on chair@jewishteachers.org.uk

Find JTA on Facebook under ?UK Jewish Teachers?

Follow JTA on twitter @jewishteacher

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Demo Day: Surge Accelerator in Houston Launches 10 Energy Startups

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Kira M. Newman May 24, 2012

As temperatures heat up and electricity demand soars, Texas is at risk for blackouts this summer. It?s a reminder that we need to keep innovating in energy technology just to keep the lights on.

One innovator in this space is Surge Accelerator, which launched its first class of clean and traditional energy startups out of Houston today. Armed with $30,000 in funding, these 10 companies have survived a 12-week mentorship program and are hoping to make our energy use more efficient.

Energy is a unique sector, explains cofounder and managing director Kirk Coburn. He realizes that Surge is making a 3- to 6-year investment in these teams, who mainly sell to enterprises like oil or utility companies ? companies that take their time when adopting new technologies. But that might be changing:

?There?s this great generational career change that?s happened in energy, where most of the executives of the big companies are Baby Boomers but over half of their employees are Gen Y and millennials,? says Coburn. ?And the one thing we know about that generation is that they don?t know a world without Facebook, they don?t know a world without an iPhone, so they expect software to be elegant and high design. So we?re trying to take that concept and apply it to an industry that has not seen that in the past.?

This year?s class features 7 female founders. Here are the 10 startups:

• ActualSun (Houston, TX/Portugal): An analytics platform for renewable energy plant owners to compare performance and reduce costs. Cofounded by Sofia Pessanha, Nisha Desai, and Luke Murray.
• Advanced Seismic (Houston, TX): A seismic processing suite for Windows that lets companies pay as they go for computing power. Cofounded by John Almon and Leron Wells.
• drillMap (Austin, TX): An analytics application for petroleum companies that lets them access data within minutes and build reports.
• FuelMiner (Minneapolis, MN): Hardware and software for companies with a fleet of vehicles to optimize fuel use in real time. It monitors things like hard breaking and excessive idling. Made by Certusoft.
• Lowfoot (Toronto): A web-based energy-use tracker that connects to your smart meter and helps you earn rewards for saving energy. Cofounders Philip Playfair and Steve Hammond previously worked together on Advanced Utility Systems, which made utility billing software.
• Molecule Software (Houston): A cloud-based trading platform that helps those in the energy commodity industry manage their risk.
• Pinnacle (The Woodlands, TX/Boston, MA): Tools for utility companies to easily integrate with new smart grid devices and save money, without upgrades or customization.
• Revokom (Chile/Denver, CO): Creators of AssetFollower, a mobile platform for the oil and gas and mining industries that lets team members and service providers view activity on drilling sites, mines, and other assets.
• Snugg Home (Boulder, CO): Software tools for residential contractors to make homes more energy efficient. Cofounded by residential energy modeling specialist Adam Stenftenagel, global warming scientist Jeff Friesen, and technology professional Benjamin Mailian.
• Tune Energy (Palo Alto, CA): A subscription service for smart-meter users that monitors usage and efficiency so you don?t overpay for electricity.

---

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About the Author Kira M. Newman

Kira M. Newman is a Tech Cocktail writer interested in startups, innovation, and new trends. In 2012, she returned from a 6-month whirlwind tour of Asia, where she met tons of welcoming, inspiring, and infectiously passionate entrepreneurs. Follow her @kiramnewman.

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? 2012 Tech Cocktail, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Sandwalk: The Business of Online Education

John Hawks is interested in putting his lecture on the internet [My foray into online education]. I'll eventually get around to discussing whether this is a good idea or not. Today I want to question his sources.

John Hawks quotes an article by someone named Robert Tracinski as evidence that online education is the wave of the future. Let''s look at that article.

Robert Tracinski writes for The Intellectual Activist, which describes itself like this ...

The Intellectual Activist is especially dedicated to understanding and promoting the revolutionary ideas of the 20th-century novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand ? the great champion of the power of reason, the supreme value of the individual, and the unfettered liberty of a capitalist society. TIA serves as a forum for those who are working to gain a deeper understanding of Ayn Rand's fiction and philosophy and applying her ideas to gain new insights in every field of human knowledge.

Rober Tracinski has been called The Intellectual Leader of the Tea Party.

The article in question was published on a website called Real Clear markets: Bigger than Facebook. Now, I'm familiar with most of the leading education websites but this is a new one for me. I also know many of the experts in undergraduate education but I wasn't aware of Richard Tracinski before today. Oh well, if John Hawks thinks he's worth reading then I'll read the article.

Here's what Tracinski has to say ...

Let's put it this way: if you can build a $100 billion company by using the Internet to replace the college yearbook--imagine what you can do if you use the Internet to replace college.

That's what is just beginning to happen. It all became official when the Massachusetts Institute of Technology appointed as its new president the guy who is responsible for MITx, the school's free online education program.

So far nobody has replaced the college textbook, as far as I know [Free/Cheap Textbooks for Students]. (Trust me, I would know if that happened.) That's not a very good beginning.

It's also not very encouraging that he brings up the MIT experiment since that has not proven to be very successful [On the Quality of Online Courses]. It looks like Tracinski has fallen for the standard hype that just because MIT offers free online courses, colleges are doomed.

What makes MITx so interesting is that it isn't just a bunch of lectures posted online. It also includes discussion groups and coursework and a certification program for completion of the work. My first thought when they launched MITx was that it's a little unclear how such a "certificate" differs from a "degree." In turn, that raises questions about how universities are going to be able to keep on jacking up their tuition every year and expecting that students go $100,000 in debt, when so much top-quality education is becoming available for free.

First, there's no evidence that what MIT is offering counts as "quality education." I doubt that Tracinski would know the difference between quality education and a teapot. Second, students who are willing to pay huge tuition fees probably see something of value beyond what they could get by sitting in their bedrooms watching a computer monitor. Maybe the pubs near Harvard Yard really are more exciting than your parent's house in the suburbs of Kansas City?

Thirdly, the discussion about online education goes far beyond the United States of America. If you're going to develop an argument based on capitalist principles then you're forced to ignore all those students in countries where high tuition fees aren't much of an impediment.

The article notes that the new president's main job will be to raise money: "Left unspoken were the unquestionable expectations for Mr. Reif as a powerhouse fund raiser. MIT raised $3 billion over the course of Ms. Hockfield's presidency, and the university is preparing to embark on a new capital campaign." Well, that's one potentially viable new business model: raise billions in donations so that you can use the Internet to offer a top-quality education to a huge number of people for free.

One thing is clear. If you're going to MIT for the sole purpose of taking classes on campus then why would you do that if the school claims to be offering classes of equal quality online?

That's one heck of a "business plan." Give up all tuition income and rely on alumni and businesses to fund free online education!

But there are other business models, too. Newsweek just reported on the start-up of Coursera, a kind of free, online Ivy League college.

"Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng believe the Internet should allow millions of people to receive first-class educations at little or no cost....

"So far they've signed up volunteer professors from Stanford, Princeton, University of Michigan, and University of Pennsylvania. Coursera will offer 35 courses in subjects ranging from math and computer science to world history and contemporary American poetry. These aren't just videotaped lectures; they're full courses, with homework assignments, examinations, and grades"

Let's make one thing perfectly clear. No matter what you might think of online courses in the humanities, mathematics, and computer science. It's not possible to teach most science courses online. The labs are really hard to do when you are a thousand miles away from the test tubes, chemicals, centrifuges, and fossils. You simply can't get a quality education in the sciences without experiencing the lab component of the courses.

Of course, that's of no significance to Robert Tracinski because he probably doesn't think you need to be scientifically literate in order to get an undergraduate degree.

Note that this, too, is so far being run as a charity, though it is the instructors who are donating their time. But Coursera is also backed by Silicon Valley venture capitalists, and the most interesting part of the story is that they're starting to home in on the central economic factor that accounts for the value of higher education: its function as a kind of corporate head-hunter.

"Coursera doesn't pay its professors, and it has yet to dream up a way to generate revenue, though as Ng says, 'If you're changing the lives of millions of people, there will be a way to make money from that at some point.' One possibility involves charging companies for helping them find qualified job applicants"

Consider what a radical advance this would be for young people: not only is your education free, but it includes a job-placement service.

Now I get it. It's bad enough that universities are coming under the influence of large corporations, now the goal is to cut out the middle man and just have the corporations directly fund a company to prepare their future employees.

I wonder if John Hawks realizes that anthropology might not be one of the courses that major corporations want their employees to take? It certainly looks like biochemistry is going to disappear since we can't train biochemists over a high speed modem connection.

It's certainly a much better deal than the old system. I just came across an argument that it's immoral to offer unpaid internships, which actually prepare young people for a career. Yet somehow it's considered perfectly normal to charge someone $100,000 or more for a degree from a college that has deliberately neglected to ensure that its service has any marketable value.

So the purpose of a university is to prepare students for a career but many universities are charging a lot of money and not preparing students for a career? We can fix this by offering free online courses designed and funded by Silicon Valley venture capitalists?perhaps with the help of Ayn Rand and the Tea Party?

If this business plan is successful, it could do wonders for universities in Canada and other countries. Not only would we get an influx of liberal-minded American students, but our own graduates would become increasingly attractive to many American employers who don't buy into this corporate takeover of universities.

I don't know if either of these new business models--MITx or Coursera--is going to become the new model for higher education. Maybe both will be. But a lot of people are now at work on this problem, and they will eventually come up with the right combination to burst the higher education bubble and take down existing universities in the same way that the Internet has taken down the old newspaper publishing business.

I'm beginning to see why people like Robert Tracinski are so appealing to the American right wing. It's because they are stupid.

There's much more but I'm getting nauseous. Let me just close with this ...

One of the radical changes I think we will see is the decoupling of the humanities from technical and professional education. As it is, universities package together two forms of education with radically different economics. Scientific, technological, and professional courses teach skills that are judged by objective standards and have direct, measurable economic value.

The humanities, at best, have an economic value that is indirect and difficult to quantify. Perhaps it will make you more creative and a deeper thinker. Maybe Steve Jobs sitting in on classes in calligraphy helped inspire the Macintosh. But then again, the humanities departments are also packed with a bunch of charlatans who will waste your time with things like--well, here's an example. Check out a hilarious review by Joe Queenan of an impossibly pretentious and utterly nonsensical academic tome on the deeper meaning of that important subject, Harpo Marx.

As someone who came out of the humanities departments--I have a degree in philosophy--I assure you that this sort of thing goes on all the time, and your tuition dollars are paying for it. Obviously, there is no reason why they should pay for it, so eventually they won't.

---

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Danica Patrick, Carl Edwards talk diet and fitness leading into ...

The Coca-Cola 600 is NASCAR's longest race. At 600 miles, Sunday night's marathon is closer to an endurance race, designed to test the limits of both car and driver.

The teams have done their part, delivering cars that should withstand the rigors of 600 miles, but what about the drivers? The Coke 600 is unlike anything they experience all season long, especially for first time competitor Danica Patrick.

Patrick endured seven Indianapolis 500s during her tenure in the IndyCar Series but predicts that the 600 will test her like no other race has.

"For me, it's just a matter of staying focused, staying positive, and staying hydrated," Patrick said.

While mental health will play a role in determining the outcome of Sunday's race, the Coca-Cola 600 requires a physical health and hygiene like no other race, a fact not lost on Patrick. Her season-long diet consists of egg whites, oatmeal and light sandwiches.

"During the race, I will have a drink mix that's a blend of carbs and protein," Patrick said. "I managed okay in the 500 at Darlington last week, but it's going to be a fair bit hotter. Hydration is going to be the most important element."

Temperatures are expected to reach 86 degrees tonight placing an added emphasis on personal fitness. This plays right into the hands of Carl Edwards and Mark Martin, two of the most physically fit drivers in the garage.

Edwards has been featured on the cover of Health and Fitness Magazine while Martin is competing in Sprint Cup at age 55, both due to their extreme workout regimens. Edwards has a specialized training routine in preparation, led by his personal trainer, Dean Golich, and they aren't telling.

"Dean's given me some specifics instructions," Edwards said. "It's going to be a hot, long, race and while I'm not going to tell you what I do, I am prepared for it.

"All of these races are tough and sometimes the ones you think are going to be tough aren't as bad. There are some days you just don't feel as good and some of my hardest races have been ones that I didn't think were going to be that hard."

Edwards did give away one secret - try not to eat in the middle of the 600.

"They used to have a little snack box in my car, but I don't do that anymore," Edwards said. "This race is one that maybe if you had something to eat in the middle of the race it would be good, but you've got to be careful about eating something when you're under that much stress and you've got the belts tight and everything. I've learned that you've got to be careful about what you eat during a race, even if it seems really simple, so I just don't eat."

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Six Teeth Care Rules for Sound Dental Health |

Dental health is a part of your overall health condition. One cannot remain happy with painful gum, foul smelling breath, bleeding teeth and other dental problems. In one or other way, these problems are going to affect your overall health condition. So, you should care for your teeth as you care other parts of body. You should not ignore dental pains and problems. You should visit your dental consultant soon if you have any problem. Here are six golden teeth care rules for sound dental health.

Brush twice a day. You should brush in the morning to remove accumulated debris overnight in the mouth and before going to bed to remove the debris that accumulate in your mouth in the whole day. You should use soft angled brush to clean up your teeth. Hard brush will harm your gum and you may face gum bleeding.

Rinse your mouth after every small or heavy meal. Food particles should not be accumulating in your mouth. They will give rise to germs and will create foul smells.Eat plenty of calcium rich food and protein. These are healthy for your dental health. Avoid junk foods as they are harmful for your teeth. You should visit the dentist twice in a year to know the condition of your teeth and gums. You should ask the dentist about right methods of brushing and tongue cleaning. Food particles get deposited in the gaps of teeth and back portion. Ask the doctor to remove particles from these hidden parts. Change your toothbrush after every 2 month. Massage your gums with finger tip. It increases blood circulation.

These are some rules to take care of your teeth. Teeth care is very important for everybody. One should not neglect the teeth. Damages teeth can be a big problem for you. So, it is better to care before they get damaged or deformed. Dental health is not only important for overall fitness rather it is essential to give grace to your pleasing personality. Your flawless smile will attract the people around you and smelling mouth will force them to remain away. Pediatric dental care is thus for your overall happiness of life. Inculcate the above mentioned rules in your habit and stay happy for long. Hope you will have a sound dental health by taking appropriate care.Pediatric Dental Care is the discipline that focuses intimately on the oral health & unique need of the child/infant/adolescent.

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Internet Show ? Social Video Marketing Online Business School

http://www.ripplingmedia.com Nigel Abbott?s presentation on The Power of Social Video Marketing.

Nigel covers the following: Video is the medium and social is the distribution.

Lets have a look at some good case studies.

Lets explore some of the key rules for engaging video content.

What are the opportunities with distribution ? social reach?

Video is the crown jewel of content Marketing, simply because It is the closest medium to real life.

People can both see and hear your message in such creative story telling ways and can be moved to action in ways rarely possible with other forms of content.

Compelling online video should be interactive, accessible, informative and a sticky type of content: what is best referred to as ?Intelligent Content.?

With online videos you can create intelligent content with high production values at extremely cost effective prices.

There are four key components to Social Video Marketing when developing a strategy:

Developing the content ? What do you want your content to actually achieve?

Producing the content ? What will be the style and the level of budget?

Content distribution?? Who and where do you want people to see your content? (target audience & reach)

Measuring its success?- Tracking the results.

Duration : 0:35:51

Technorati Tags: Advertising, branding, business, cellphone, communication, communications, Computer, Design, digital, Facebook, fan, google, internet marketing, LinkedIn, Marketing, Mass Media, media, mobile, mobisodes, niseko, online, pages, production, rippling, Search, social, social media, social networking, social video, Software, syndication, Technology, traffic, tweets, twitter, Video Blogging, video marketing, video marketing Australia, video marketing tips, viral, visual, webisodes, website, youtube

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Discreate Relationships - | Drupal

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Helpful Tips For Your First Cruise ~ TRAVEL LEISURE E ...

e-bruxelles-city.com - If you are looking to take a relaxing vacation with your family, loved one or simply by yourself for some peace and quiet, a cruise is definitely one of your top options. If this is going to be your first cruise, there are a number of issues that you need to define to help you with your planning.

Firstly, who is it that is going on this cruise with you? Whether it is your husband, your kids, or you are planning on spending some quality ?you? time, everyone is welcome on most cruises. However it is easy to find a cruise that is mainly adult, or some that are more focused on providing entertainment for kids, from toddlers to teenagers.

Financially, you need to decide how much money you want to spend, and figure out a realistic budget for yourself.? Usually, approximately 100 US dollars a day is sufficient, not including the cost of getting to the cruise ship itself. Make sure you find out exactly what is included in your fare; some extras that used to be thrown in are now an additional charge. There are a couple different ways to save, like taking advantage of the early bird fares and booking in advance. Also, while it?s risky, for those of you with flexible schedules, booking last minute can save you a bunch as well.

So, what?s the most affordable way to get to your cruise ship? The most likely, and popular, ways are driving or flying. A cruise can be a great finish to a road trip, where you can stop off whenever you please and explore several destinations on the way to your fabulous vacation to be.?
Some cruise lines can give you a flight and cruise package, which is easier, and less stressful way to plan your trip, plus it usually includes the pricey transfers from the airport to your cruise ship. In addition, most cruise lines usually take care of your luggage, which means they can transfer it directly to your cabin?a huge bonus for people that hate lugging around heavy bags?which, let?s face it, is the vast majority of us.

The next big decision for you is to decide when it is that you want to travel. Obviously you will want to go somewhere where the chance of hurricanes is limited in the fall; however, keep in mind cruise ships will alter their destinations accordingly.? Timing wise, if you are planning on only spending a week on vacation, you are limited to the sunny areas, such as Mexico, most of the Caribbean, or the Bahamas. Other possibilities, depending on your starting destination, are Hawaii, Alaska or even Europe.?
If you are travelling without family and have a flexible schedule, the fall and spring and usually the cheapest times, because kids are away in school, and the weather is generally a bit chancier.? In the more tropical areas, the temperature does not change too much, but what does change is the amount of precipitation. A bit of warm rain won?t hurt you, but it can be a bit of a pain. Keep in mind that most places have their rainy season in the winter, and the dry season is the summer.

When choosing where to cruise to, a good starting point is figuring out what sort of activities you want to do, because each destination comes with a distinct ambience. There are always many water sports available on the ships, such as snorkelling and pool activities and more energetic things such as scuba diving.? Port calls often take you to the ?tourist? sites, such as museums and ruins. If you decide to venture off on your own, be careful of ?friends? that will willingly show you the so called good stores to shop in, because they are working off of commission with those stores. Usually a polite no thank you is good enough.? The cruise line will give you a list of activities for the port stops that are offered. Keep in mind that there are limited availability of some of the tours, so book in advance if it?s something you really want to do.

If you are nervous about your first cruise vacation, an excellent thing to is make sure you get a cabin you are going to be comfortable in for your cruise, because it is going to be your ?home? for the duration of your vacation. Keeping in mind that they do vary in prices, most people select the cheapest room available so they have more spending money. Sometimes there are deals for upgrading to a better cabin if you book early enough.?
Make sure you know the ship?s plans because sometimes if you are only doing a one-way trip, the sightseeing may only be on one side of the ship, so you will see nothing from your room.? If small spaces bother you, a cabin with a balcony may be good for you?although it?s pricier, you get the luxury of stepping outside and enjoying the view.

The last question most people have is food related. The apprehension some people feel about cruising with set dinner times is quite often unnecessary.? You get to pick your dinnertime yourself, either an early seating, which is usually around 6, the late seating, around 8pm, and an open option, where you are given a timeframe of a few hours.? There are benefits to all of them. If you choose the late seating, there is always the possibility of missing certain shows or entertainment. The early seating means that any excursions you do need to be planned to allow you enough time to get back and ready for dinner.? The open seating may be the best option for families?we all know how unpredictable life can be with kids!

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Look for a ideal sunglasses for your type of confront | | Business ...

Look for a ideal sunglasses for your type of confront

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China on the capitalist road

China Daily, the largest English-language newspaper in China, carried a front-page headline last week: "Village Gratitude Shows Integrity of Task."

Not clear what that's about, and the opening sentence isn't much help: "On a hot afternoon, Zhou Yi picked up a bag of freshly boiled eggs that had been left on the doorstep of the committee office in Chaqulak village in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region." I figured this must be some feel-good story about the noble, uncorrupted country folk taking care of the less fortunate in their midst.

But read on. Zhou Yi is not a homeless man dependent on the generosity of his fellow peasants who have little enough for themselves, etc. He is one of a group of "regional-level officials sent to live in Chaqulak as part of an initiative to provide officials with firsthand experience of working at the grass-roots." The officials were grateful for the eggs. Apparently they don't get a per diem.

A program to send bureaucrats into the countryside to see what real work is like? It's possible the story is not so simple, and maybe China Daily has an agenda here. But it sure sounds like what went on during Mao Tse-tung's Cultural Revolution of 1966-76, doesn't it? The founding editor of China Daily himself spent nine years doing menial work on a farm somewhere before he was allowed to return to Beijing.

I thought that stuff didn't happen anymore. In 1979, just three years after the Cultural Revolution collapsed, Deng Xiaoping reversed course and China started down the capitalist road, with stunning results that any visitor can see: small towns converted into huge cities with millions of people living in high-rises, driving cars (or taking new subways); choking on pollution but nevertheless happy to be enjoying the fruits of a free-market economy.

And yet the Communist Party retains absolute political power (although there are now real elections at the village level, with multiple candidates and all the fixin's). In fact, the party takes credit for reforming the economy, and may even deserve it.

So how does all this fit together? How free is the average Chinese citizen? How much communism is left in the Communist Party? Will free-market capitalism inevitably lead to democracy? Or have the Chinese discovered some new Confucian synthesis of free markets and authoritarian rule?

These are the kind of questions that an American visitor to China will naturally have. And after eight days there (in a small group of journalists whose way was paid by a foundation funded by a Hong Kong billionaire), I now have all the answers.

Actually, whatever insights I may have gained during my visit came mostly from reading James Fallows' new book, "China Airborne," on the plane coming home. Fallows spent several years in China with the explicit and full-time purpose of trying to understand it. He writes that to talk about China (population 1.3 billion) as a single entity is absurd:

"When acting on the international stage, or when imposing some internal political rules, the central government can operate as a coordinated entity. But most of the time, visitors ? and Chinese people too ? see vividly and exclusively the little patch of 'China' that is in front of them, with only a guess as to how representative it might be of happenings anywhere else."

Fortunately, while Fallows was learning about China firsthand, I was in Washington taking an advanced course in guesswork at the National Punditry Institute. So here is my best guess about China: More than two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it's pretty well established that freedom and democracy really are universal appetites. Everybody wants them, with no special exemption for Asian cultures.

But would you give up your right to vote in exchange for a job in the city, indoor plumbing, a TV? That's what many Chinese people believe their country is doing: moving slowly in introducing democracy in order not to interfere with the mad dash to capitalism.

The Chinese are still ruled by a regime that killed millions in defense of a philosophy it no longer believes in. But now it rules with a lighter, and somewhat whimsical touch.

An older dissident type told us that young adults didn't even know about the events 23 years ago in Tiananmen Square. We asked a bunch of college students. They giggled and snorted: Of course they knew about Tiananmen Square. Would they write about it in the school paper? More snorting: Of course not. They seemed perfectly comfortable with the anomaly, maybe because they think it won't last.

Even more comfortable was a huge manufacturing firm that had set up a series of inspirational posters near the front door. Most of them were filled with business school babble about corporate culture. In this environment, one poster about the important role of the Communist Party stood out. And in fact the party had supplied funds to get this company started. In every other respect, it seemed like a big company anywhere in the capitalist world. (And I was there for more than 45 minutes, listening to a discussion in a foreign language, so I know.)

The best-known bit of totalitarian-style repression in China is the notorious "one child" policy. It is still the rule, but it is enforced somewhat sporadically. If you are an only child of your parents, you yourself may have more than one. Some people who can afford it just pay the fine as a cost of having children. And meanwhile China faces a shortage of working-age people to support a growing number of old folks. So even putting ethical issues aside, the whole thing looks like a mistake. It won't last.

Yes, the Chinese Communist Party continues to do terrible things, as the case of Chen Guangcheng demonstrates. But the party also seems to function as sort of a Rotary Club that you join if you want to get ahead in China's raucous, utterly non-communist economy.

Michael Kinsley, a former editorial page editor of The Times, is a Bloomberg View columnist.

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Reducing your embarrassing problem of snoring using the anti ...

You can expect to see snoring listed as one of the major problems when it comes to sleeping. There are so many stop snoring product that can be tried to stop it. Snoring can be easily stopped if you put in a little effort and money. Snoring problems are now easily a thing of the past. You may have attempted some anti-snoring techniques and products, all to no avail. Here are a few measures you can use to effectively put a stop to the problem of snoring. The type of remedy that you choose will depend upon the actual cause of your problem. Having too much mucous blocking your nasal passage is seen as one of the major reasons that people snore. If the nasal passage swells, snoring also happens. Elevated sleeping and relaxation techniques wouldn?t do you any good if that were the case. But nasal sprays can be potentially useful. You can gain temporary reprieve from these nasal sprays. But you need to surely consult your doctor if the problem becomes a little serious. It is highly likely that you are starting to disturb your neighbors and anyone else close by with your too loud or too lengthy snoring. You may have some other sleep disturbances. If you face such problems, this is a cause of serious concern. Thus anti snoring sprays can be tried for mild problems. Addiction to anti snoring sprays is a huge possibility if you use them for a long time. They could give rise to more grave consequences in the future. The sprays should be used with the proper dosage. If the sprays are purported to be airway moisteners, don?t bother buying them. They are considered to be less effective because tissue softening or moistening of airways may not solve your problem. The cause might not even be dry throat. Using these sprays for a long time could render the mucous membrane too tender. You might soon suffer heart problems such as irregular heartbeat. The nasal septum could experience some perforation. Are you having uncertainties regarding the cost of the spray? If you have roughly five dollars, that will be enough. You can also handle your snoring problems using those more expensive sprays that usually cost around 30 dollars. Your snoring could also be influenced by how proper your bed is. You can even try the nasal valve dilators. You can either buy these nasal products from the various stores that sell medical supplies or the many online stores distributing them.You will find it harder and harder to breathe if your nasal passage is blocked. You need to lie a little elevated. Other than this, you can try the nasal dilators. All types of snoring issues can be taken care of by this. ?You can choose the plastic piece type as a nasal valve dilator. These plastic-tipped strips are inserted into the nostril. You might feel a little uncomfortable, but it helps to remove snoring problem. Practice this regularly until such time that you are sleeping properly and soundly, with no disturbances. These sleeping aids will cost you only roughly 20 to 30 dollars.

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