Niea Milwaukee 2009 Again

App killer?

Posted by TerranceV | Technology | Posted on August 31st, 2011

"I got home and I found a mail delivery note telling me that a package had arrived from the United States, and that they would return later".

For each patent that they offer to license, the Texan company "is seeking 0.575% of US revenue (all income is in principle generated in the US because Android and iOS app stores are both registered there) over for the period of the notice letter to the expiration of the patent (they have a duration of 20 years), plus applicable past usage", as set out in Lodsys blog.

BBC asked the company to explain briefly what their patent 7,222,078 is for. Lodsys did not reply.

"The sad result of patent trolls is that they stifle innovation by asserting patents (often of dubious quality) against companies who cannot afford to fight back or take a license, leaving those companies in many instances to shut down operations or cease providing their innovations," she added.

But Mike Lee, from Appsterdam, an organisation that brings together application developers, told the BBC that "the main thing is not to lose hope."

"The claims by Lodsys and other shell companies are intended to make you feel hopeless, so you give up quickly."

Appsterdam is providing assistance to developers who have been contacted by companies such as Lodsys.

The BBC also asked Apple and Google if the vast patent war in which they, along with other big technology players, are involved in may have been a breeding ground for companies like Lodsys.

They gave no answer.

David had been toying with the idea of starting to develop applications for iOS as, he says, they sell better than the Android ones.

Now he is not so sure. Meanwhile, the 21 days Lodsys have given him are running out.

This article first appeared on BBC Mundo

Originally Published On: www.bbc.co.uk – Original Article Here

Plain Vanilla No More: Ice Cream To Swoon For

Posted by TerranceV | Lifestyle | Posted on August 31st, 2011

My 10-year-old son and I were lolling in our chairs in a post-dinner torpor, sweating from every pore even though all we’d had to eat was cold pasta salad. “Hey, do you feel like going for an ice cream?” I asked him. He sprang to his feet, like a human exclamation point. “That’s exactly what I was going to say.”

I wanted something that you wouldn’t expect to find in an ice cream at all. An ice cream that included not fruit, but vegetables. Not candy morsels, but herbs and spices. Not sugar, but vinegar. I wanted ice creams that not only refused to meet you halfway but dared you to chase them all the way back to their savory, salty, pungent sources.

We left the dishes and drove, in a shared cloud of pesto breath, to the soft-serve stand a couple of miles away. Noah got a root beer float. I got a malted milkshake. I sipped and chewed on the straw — a bad habit I can’t seem to shake — and waited to be transported. Vanilla. Sugar. A hint of malt. Vanilla. Sugar. A hint of malt. The same thing, over and over. Sure, it was freezing cold, which was without question a relief. Still, I wanted to be swept off my feet, yet here I was, strictly earthbound.

Noah was happy with his float, and I too should probably have just ordered one of my favorites — mint chip or maple walnut or some other chunk-studded flavor. But I’d just wanted to get something different from my usual, and I thought the platonic plainness of a malted would serve.

But it just didn’t. So I decided: Next time, different would have to mean different. Really different. After all, what is the use of having 700 cookbooks if you can’t find a recipe or two for weird-flavored ice creams?

As I fired up EatYourBooks.com, the cookbook-indexing website that allows me to actually use my too-big-to-browse collection, I pondered what would make an ice cream truly different. I didn’t want an ice cream flavor that was uncommon here but conventional in its country of origin, like green tea (Japan) or rosewater (India). As I see it, simply coming from far away doesn’t make you exotic. Not in a country like this one.

I wanted something that you wouldn’t expect to find in an ice cream at all. An ice cream that included not fruit, but vegetables. Not candy morsels, but herbs and spices. Not sugar, but vinegar. I wanted ice creams that not only refused to meet you halfway but dared you to chase them all the way back to their savory, salty, pungent sources.

T. Susan Chang regularly reviews cookbooks for The Boston Globe and NPR.org and the cookbook indexing website Eat Your Books. Her first book, A Spoonful of Promises: Recipes and Stories from a Well-Tempered Table
(Lyons Press), will be released in fall 2011. Visit her blog, Cookbooks for Dinner.

I’m not the first to have this idea. As I soon discovered, it’s easy to find outlandish-sounding recipes based on any number of unexpected ingredients, ranging from avocado to zabaglione.

You don’t have to go to terrific lengths if you want to go to the Twilight Zone of frozen treats. You can get an ice cream to express a deeply contrarian character with a single ingredient — black pepper. From the first taste of black pepper ice cream, you know beyond a doubt that something is definitely Not Normal. Yet it instantly grows on you — the coarse heat of the pepper and the chill of the cream echoing each other in quick succession like a series of slaps and kisses.

Even more intriguing, to my mind, are the ice creams that sound like an ordinary weeknight dinner prep that has taken a violent left turn. What about basil and pine nut ice cream? (That’s practically pesto, said Noah.) Or caramelized onion and balsamic vinegar ice cream? Which sounds as though it ought to be served atop a steak and a salad.

The kids were surprisingly enthusiastic about our adventure on the dark side of ice cream. “Hey, wouldn’t it be funny if we had garlic ice cream?” exclaimed Noah. “We have,” I pointed out. “At the garlic festival a couple years ago.” My son was unfazed. “Well, let’s have it again.” Meanwhile, his little sister’s face disappeared deep inside her bowl as she licked up the last of the pepper ice cream and hunted for stray particles. Eventually she re-emerged, her nose generously daubed with pepper-flecked custard.

I’m sure those black wizards, the molecular gastronomists, could and would go farther. I’m sure they could find a way to make fried chicken ice cream or baby octopus ice cream or pretzel-with-mustard ice cream. And I don’t blame them a bit for going to town with their dehydrators and liquid nitrogen and Pacojets. They’re mad scientists, and that’s just what they do.

But no such sorcery is necessary for my family. We’re pretty balanced eaters who just need a little variety from time to time. None of us is terribly picky, and for the most part we’ll try anything once. Moreover, we’ve always been good about eating our vegetables — even when they happen to be in ice cream.

Originally Published On: www.npr.org – Original Article Here

Elizabeth Ohene: Culture clash?

Posted by TerranceV | Top Stories | Posted on August 31st, 2011

In our series of viewpoints from African journalists, Ghanaian writer Elizabeth Ohene sees her home country through younger, questioning eyes.

Otherwise, I would be in a lot of trouble with her grandmother who would not be amused that her granddaughter was walking around without earrings.

After waiting for more than five minutes while the girl at the counter was having a conversation with a friend, we were told we had to wait for about 20 minutes for the order.

The six year old led me out of the place and said we should have made a report to the boss that the girl was not taking care of her customers.

"Are all the cousins I have met really my cousins?" she wanted to know next.

"Yes, they are. Indeed, they are your brothers and sisters but we will not get into that," I told her.

"And is everybody else my aunt or uncle?" she asked.

"Yes. And you, young Miss Akua Ametoedzani, are my daughter. There is no word for niece in our language," I replied.

And lastly: "Does everybody have black hair here?"

"Err, yes. Black people usually have black hair and those like me who have gone grey have, like me, dyed their hair to remain black."

If you would like to comment on Elizabeth Ohene's column, please do so below.

Originally Published On: www.bbc.co.uk – Original Article Here

Sandwich Monday: Cemitas Atomica

Posted by TerranceV | Lifestyle | Posted on August 31st, 2011

Not what it seemed.

Molly poses with the Atomica as someone is hard at work making more Cheese Wigs in the background.

Brian wonders: was I maybe wrong about sandwiches all along?

Brian: You have to be careful to keep the layers from slipping. It’s Sandwich Jenga.

Ian: We should tie our hands behind our backs and play Sandwich Hungry Hungry Hippos.

Blythe: It’s actually easier to digest the marbles.

[The verdict: worth the trip. Despite the atomic barrage of different kinds of pork, it still manages to be subtle and delicately spicy. It's like watching a fat man do ballet, which is one of my favorite activities. More about Cemitas Puebla here.]

Originally Published On: www.npr.org – Original Article Here

Sinopec to shut Luoyang refinery from Thurs for repair -source

Posted by TerranceV | Business | Posted on August 31st, 2011

BEIJING Aug 31 (Reuters) – Asia’s largest refiner, Sinopec
0386.hk, will shut down its 200,000 barrel-per-day (bpd)
Luoyang refinery from Thursday for a regular turnaround, an
industry source said.

The overhaul, which will last 45-50 days, was previously
scheduled to be conducted in August and September.

(Reported by Jim Bai and Chen Aizhu; Editing by Ken Wills)

Originally Published On: www.reuters.com – Original Article Here

Mauritius

Posted by TerranceV | Top Stories | Posted on August 31st, 2011

Mauritius, a volcanic island of lagoons and palm-fringed beaches in the Indian Ocean, has a reputation for stability and racial harmony among its mixed population of Asians, Europeans and Africans.

Mauritius was uninhabited when the Dutch took possession in 1598. Abandoned in 1710, it was taken over by the French in 1715 and seized by the British in 1810.

It gained independence in 1968 as a constitutional monarchy, with executive power nominally vested in the British monarch. It became a republic in 1992. The island of Rodrigues and other smaller islets also form part of the country.

Mauritius claims sovereignty over the Chagos islands, which lie around 1,000 km to the north-east. The British territory, which was separated from Mauritius in 1965, is home to the US military base on Diego Garcia. The British government oversaw the forced removal of the Chagos islanders to Mauritius to make way for the base.

The country is home to some of the world's rarest plants and animals. But human habitation and the introduction of non-native species have threatened its indigenous flora and fauna.

The dodo – a flightless bird and a national symbol – was hunted into extinction in the 17th century.

Originally Published On: www.bbc.co.uk – Original Article Here

Sierra Leone

Posted by TerranceV | Top Stories | Posted on August 31st, 2011

Sierra Leone, in West Africa, emerged from a decade of civil war in 2002, with the help of Britain, the former colonial power, and a large United Nations peacekeeping mission.

Sierra Leone has experienced substantial economic growth in recent years, although poverty and unemployment remain major challenges.

In September 2010, the UN Security Council lifted the last remaining sanctions against Sierra Leone saying the government had fully re-established control over its territory, and former rebel fighters had been disarmed and demobilised.

Economic recovery has been slow partly because the reconstruction needs are so great. Around half of government revenue comes from donors.

The restoration of peace was expected to aid the the country's promotion as a tourist destination in the long term. Sierra Leone boasts miles of unspoilt beaches along its Atlantic coast, and hopes to emulate its neighbour Gambia in attracting tourists.

Sierra Leone is also rich in diamonds and other minerals. The trade in illicit gems, known as "blood diamonds" for their role in funding conflicts, perpetuated the civil war. The government has attempted to crack down on cross-border diamond trafficking.

Sierra Leone has a special significance in the history of the transatlantic slave trade. It was the departure point for thousands of west African captives. The capital, Freetown, was founded as a home for repatriated former slaves in 1787.

Originally Published On: www.bbc.co.uk – Original Article Here

Nigeria vows to fight terrorism

Posted by TerranceV | Top Stories | Posted on August 31st, 2011

Nigeria's president has promised to bring terrorism under control, during a visit to the scene of Friday's bombing at the UN's headquarters in Abuja.

"Terrorist attacks on any individual or part of the world is a terrorist attack on the rest of the world," he added. "Terrorists don't care about who is anywhere."

"We will work with the UN and other world leaders to ensure that terrorism is brought under control."

When asked by the BBC what he would do about Boko Haram, he gave no direct answer but acknowledged it posed a threat.

"Boko Haram is a local group linked up with terrorist activities and as a government, we are working on it and we will bring it under control."

Our correspondent says Nigeria's government has tried negotiating with Boko Haram and cracking down hard, but neither tactic has worked.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday that he condemned "this terrible act utterly", and sent Deputy Secretary General Asha-Rose Migiro and Under-Secretary General for Security Greg Starr to Nigeria.

On Saturday, the UN's top official in Nigeria said nine of its staff were confirmed dead and that dozens were being treated in hospital.

"We have lost motivated, bright, selfless people who were working only for the good of Nigeria and the world," said Agathe Lawson, the UN's acting resident co-ordinator.

"Our priority now is to ensure those who are injured and the families of those who died are cared for."

Mr Lawson said that her "second and urgent priority" was to ensure that UN operations continued in Africa's most populous nation.

"We will not be deterred in our mission to work to improve the lives of Nigerians. This is why we are here," she added.

Shortly after President Jonathan left the bomb site, agents from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrived to help investigate.

"The FBI is on the ground at the request of the Nigerian government," said US embassy spokeswoman Deborah MacLean without elaborating.

Originally Published On: www.bbc.co.uk – Original Article Here

Lowering the Volume for Motorcyclists

Posted by TerranceV | Health Care | Posted on August 30th, 2011

By Chris Gorski, Inside Science News Service

(ISNS)—Before hopping on his motorcycle, Michael Carley puts on earplugs, followed by his helmet. It’s a step many riders take. After accelerating, most of the sound that a rider can hear isn’t from the bike engine or other vehicles on the road, but from the air rushing over and around his helmet.

The helmet Carley wears is designed and tested for comfort and impact protection—but not for sound protection. Noise inside the helmet can reach rock-concert levels when traveling at highway speeds.

Carley, a mechanical engineer, has gathered a group of engineers and psychologists to study how to minimize helmet noise. The group includes researchers from two U.K. universities, the University of Bath, where Carley works, and nearby Bath Spa University. They are studying how to protect riders from hearing damage and reduce the potential distraction that noise poses to riders.

"Riding a motorcycle is a very noisy endeavor," said Rick Korchak, editor of webBikeWorld, a popular motorcycle website that carries detailed helmet reviews. "There are no quiet motorcycles and there are no quiet helmets."

While riders and others recognize that noise can be a problem, many U.S. jurisdictions prohibit the use of earplugs or other noise-reducinging devices. One long road trip could take a rider through numerous changes in local laws.

"A lot of people, they just do what they’re comfortable with, irrespective of what the jurisdiction says is the law," said Charles Brown, a psychologist specializing in sound perception from the University of South Alabama in Mobile.

"We strongly advocate the use of high-quality, correctly inserted ear plugs when riding a motorcycle," said Korchak. He added that good ear plugs will not eliminate all noises, allowing sirens and traffic to be heard.

Sound Research

Riders experience noise from multiple sources.

First is the engine noise, which is a relatively insignificant factor once riders accelerate to highway speeds. Audible wind noise can reach volumes as high as 115 decibels or more, roughly equivalent to what power saw operators without ear protection would hear. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends limiting such exposure to 15 minutes or less per day.

Most initial academic research in motorcycle sound focused on long term hearing damage. The group from Bath began researching the topic by establishing reliable measurements of what happens to air passing over a helmet in a wind tunnel. Then, on roads and test tracks, they studied the relative placement of the rider and the motorcycle. They studied how all the important variables interact, such as the height of the windshield, the location of the helmet and the size of the rider.

Turbulent air buffeting off the motorcycle windshield is one problem. The researchers found that small differences in air flow patterns can cause large variations in sound level. Subsequently, the Bath group took their experiments to wind tunnels to measure in detail what riders experience.

The Bath group’s most recent paper, accepted for publication by The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, details the way airflow around the helmet creates noise. They found that for the type of helmets with a full shield and visor covering the face, the largest component of noise comes from air rushing around the chin bar, which wraps around the jaw.

There’s another type of sound experienced by riders, but it’s more difficult to quantify, and not affected by earplugs. It’s called body conducted sound. Aboard a motorcycle, this process transmits engine vibrations and the percussive force of the wind through the flesh and bone to the ear. Earplugs don’t stop it, and it can be significant.

"It’s why your voice sounds different when you hear a recording of your voice versus what you experience as your own voice," said Carley.

Limiting Sound’s Impact

Reducing the amount of sound that reaches riders can benefit more than motorcyclists’ hearing. Riders have to process the sound of riding, the sound conducted through their bones, and a wide variety of visual stimuli as well, all while responding to the situation around them.

16 repeated job search errors

Posted by TerranceV | Home | Posted on August 30th, 2011

(CareerBuilder.com) — Over the years, hiring managers have born witness to every hiring, interviewing, résumé, cover letter and negotiation mistake there is.

You know what these blunders are. Yet you (and hundreds of other job seekers) continue to make common job search mistakes.

Job searching the Generation Y way

From those who see your mistakes over and over, here are 16 common job search mistakes to avoid — and some of them may surprise you.

1. You don’t keep your options open

"Candidates tend to think that if they interview for a job they will get an offer, so they do not apply and interview for multiple positions," says Joanie Spain, director of public relations and career services, School of Advertising Art, a graphic design college. "They wait until one plays out completely, putting their job search on hold until knowing for sure they didn’t get the offer."

"By having many more irons in the fire, you diversify the risk and disappointment that is inevitable when any single opportunity disappears," adds Roy Cohen, author of "The Wall Street Professional’s Survival Guide: Success Secrets of a Career Coach."

"You also present yourself as a more passionate and energetic candidate. You’re in the ‘zone’ — a point where you’re in the flow of information and ideas — and that makes you more valuable."

2. You turn up your nose at job descriptions

"Entry-level candidates are reluctant to apply for a position unless the job sounds like their ‘dream job’ or they have all qualifications listed," Spain says.

"Rather than going on an interview to get more information, they base decisions about applying on the job description alone. They fail to see that all interview experience is good experience, or that, until there is an offer on the table, there is no decision to make."

3. You haven’t perfected the thank-you note

"Don’t be too verbose with a thank-you note after an interview. Sending out a version of "War and Peace" can come across as desperate and needy for a job. However, sending a one or two sentence thank-you note comes across as flippant, not well thought-out and potentially shows indifference regarding the job to the employer," says Mike Barefoot, senior account manager at Red Zone Resources, a recruitment firm.

"We encourage candidates to keep them to four to eight sentences."

4. You don’t check your references

"Always give out references that you’ve pre-screened. We sometimes see candidates give out references that were never checked with and the references feedback isn’t always kind," Barefoot says.

"Also, make sure they’re predominantly managers. An occasional colleague is okay, but contemporaries and friends really don’t carry that much weight in helping you land a position."

5. You’ve got poor business acumen

"Managers are becoming more savvy and are taking candidates out to lunch for interviews. They want to see how you treat a restaurant staff and see the ‘real’ you. If you’re rude to them or don’t seem appreciative for their hard work to make your meal pleasurable, managers wonder how you’ll treat contemporaries you work with," Barefoot says.

6. You have a messy briefcase

"A messy briefcase can imply the person is unorganized, messy and unprepared, and that their work will be less than optimal," says Ronald Kaufman, author of "Anatomy of Success."

"Someone who is neat, clean, organized and prepared in all areas conveys they’re serious about getting a job and working."

7. You discount temporary positions

"Many employers coming out of a recession want to hire on a temporary or temp- to perm- basis. We have already seen several contractors be offered permanent positions after they have proven themselves," says Jeffrey Weinstock, Esq. president, Rhodes & Weinstock, a recruiting firm.

"Not only will the temporary position pay some bills, think of it as an audition for a potential perm position, or at least a way to get a good reference for another position."

8. You have a bad attitude

"Poor attitudes come through in telephone calls and in interviews. If you are not positive, why would a potential employer want to hire you?" asks Weinstock. "It may take some time, but by being positive, by doing all the right things, by seeing each position as an opportunity, it will happen."

9. You include too much work history

"Many job seekers over 40 think that they have to take their work history back to their first job out of college," says Cheryl E. Palmer, career coach and résumé writer. " All that is needed is the last 10-15 years of your work history."

10. You use your work email address on your résumé

"Some people do not regularly check their personal email, so they use their employers’ email instead," Palmer says. "This sends a negative message to potential employers that the job seekers will not hesitate to use their equipment for personal use."

11. You take "no" as a final answer

"No" usually only means "no" for that position, says Bruce Hurwitz, president and CEO, Hurwitz Strategic Staffing, LTD.

"If you are rejected for a job you should send a thank-you note, thank the employer for the opportunity, and wish them well. No one does that. When the next opening comes around, he’ll remember you," says Hurwitz.

12. You lack tact

"Be determined without being pushy. Calling or emailing to ask about the status of your résumé or interview can be a double-edged sword," says Rod Hughes, director of communications, Oxford Communications.

"A tactful follow up can place you top of mind with the hiring manager, while incessant calling or emailing can push your résumé right off the table."

13. You don’t search for yourself on the Internet

"Your would-be employer is probably going to look you up online, so you should know what is out there," says Amanda O’Brien, vice president of marketing, Hall Web Services.

"Clean up what you can, check your privacy settings on social networks and if it is something you can’t get down off the internet, you may want to consider talking to the company about it."

14. You have a ‘death by bullets’ résumé

"Bullets are great but they need context. Keep them to one line, focused on a result and include a figure like a fact, percentage or number," says Adriana Llames, author of "Career Sudoku: 9 Ways to Win the Job Search Game." "Or, put the information in a short summary of the position."

15. You’ve got a scattered strategy

"Looking for a job in any industry and with two or three résumés is going to get the same result as the strategy: scattered," Llames says. "Job seekers with a clearly defined, focused and organized strategic approach to their job search end up with clear results — and a new job."

16. You think it’s about you

It is not about you and your need for a job — it is about the prospective employer and their need to run a successful business and make money, says Lori B. Rassas, employment attorney and author of "Employment Law: A Guide to Hiring, Managing and Firing for Employers and Employees."

"Many applicants mistakenly believe they will be an appealing candidate if they explain they will accept any type of job offer at any salary because they have been laid off, unemployed for an extended period of time, have children in college, or are having difficulty making the mortgage payments," she says.

"Even if all of those circumstances are true, candidates need to craft a different message, focusing on how they can benefit the employer by saving them money, streamlining processes, creating additional sources of revenue and bringing overall value to the company."

&copy CareerBuilder.com 2010. All rights reserved. The information contained in this article may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority.

Originally Published On: www.cnn.com – Original Article Here