Both NFC-wallet and TSM (Trusted Service Manager) platform were developed by i-Free for mobile contactless technology. Three services are available for NFC-wallet users: MobileMasterCard PayPass payment card of Tinkoff Credit Systems bank, transport cards from some Russian regional centers and geolocation-based coupon service. Nowadays these services are available only for a limited number of users, although we are preparing them for mass commercial use.
A package solution including NFC -wallet and TSM platform significantly extends smartphone's features, thus converting the devices into universal storages of any modern smart-cards and respective applications.
This new product is cardinally different from all NFC -solutions existing nowadays on the market of Russia and CIS. The fundamental novelty of the product is the possibility to download the payment, transport and any other cards the same way as one downloads games and applications. All you need to use a card in a sale point is to touch the MasterCardPayPass technology supporting reader with your phone.
NFC -wallet and TSM platform comply with the highest safety standards and are protected from attacks on the software and hardware level.
Anatoly Makeshin, the member of the board of Tinkoff Credit Systems bank, commented on the technology solution: "We aim to offer to our clients the most advanced and hi-tech products. To us, the no-branches bank, the most convenient way of delivery of a payment instrument right to the client's hand has always been of paramount importance. This solution combines both high usability and speed: it takes few minutes to get a card into a smartphone. This is a breakthrough, one more confident step into future payments."
Currently NFC-wallet offers not only basic functions of Mobile MasterCard PayPass card download a d download and use in retail and service outlets, but also the payment for goods and services inside the application. The user can buy a ticket for a public transport or purchase a coupon paying for it with international bank card in one click.
Today NFC -wallet is integrated in three smartphone models - Philips W336, HTC One and HTC One SV. The application supporting the work of NFC -wallet is embedded in the phone as a part of the system software. It ensures the guaranteed compatibility of the application with hardware characteristics of every specific phone model; it also allows using all the possibilities of Android platform.
"The smartphone park with NFC -wallet support will be significantly broaden in the months coming: according to our estimate not less than 1 million of such phones will appear on Russian market before the year will be over. - Pavel Sokolov, i-Free Project leader, says. - While creating NFC -wallet we understood that we were developing the application that people would use every day and we did our best to make the wallet easy to use by any person. That is why we designed a simple, self-explanatory user interface and embedded a lot of functions to use the application easily".
Currently the product uses Embedded Secure Element. The support of NFC-compatible SIM-cards from mobile phone companies in regards of i-Free TSM-platform will be added in the nearest future, which will ensure a broader consumer audience coverage to service-providers - banks, transport companies and others.
TSM platform complies with all necessary industrial standards. This solution also takes into account the requirements and specifics of Russian transport infrastructure.
Kirill Gorynya, General Director of i-Free Innovations commented on the platform and NFC -wallet start up: "It is the first full-featured NFC-solution on the market of Russia and CIS and we hope that its start-up will finally give the necessary impulse to interested companies to create and implement NFC-compatible services. The international experience shows that there is a demand for NFC -services in different areas of life and business, and they are used by different social groups."
"The start-up of the first NFC-service in Russia with remote Mobile MasterCard PayPass card issue and personalization is a remarkable event for further mass development of NFC-infrastructure and services available to both Russian banks and their customers. Near and consistent work of the project teams of i-Free, Tinkoff Credit Systems bank, and MasterCard made it all possible. It is worth noting that to implement this project, i-Free had undergone very difficult and multilevel certification and audit process for compliance of technical functionality and bank cards data processing safety, as well as testing in MasterCard authorized labs." - Dmitry Tartyshev, Vice-President for mobile business development of MasterCard in Russia, notes.
Natalie and her husband had a patchwork quilt of businesses in Australia. They owned a direct mail house, a nightclub, a bathroom advertising business, an alcohol manufacturing company, several coffee franchises and bookkeeping to name a few. I can relate. I had an accessory design business, a medical consulting practice, and made shirts before I found my calling. If you feel like you have been on a winding road going nowhere, then read on! I figured we can all learn something by finding out what it took for them to get from start up to their million dollar dream come true.
We teach Law of Attraction. We are the poster children for the Law of Attraction. Once we know what it is that we want -- we're very clear about our vision. If you're focusing on visualizing, knowing what the end result is and taking action, things just start to fall into place. We took action. We found a business mentor and flew to the U.S. to learn more. I remember on the plane from Australia to the U.S., I said, "Alright. This is the plan. We've gotta meet this Frank Kern guy because he knows what he's doing. We've got to somehow convince him to mentor us. We've got to meet other marketers. We've just got to be sponges and just immerse ourselves in this world. That way we will figure out what we're doing.
We knew it was a short cut. We attended a seminar with Frank because we had used his tools and they worked. It seemed like a miracle that he had a mastermind. You had to actually apply for it -- you had to be chosen. Let's be really brutally honest -- we had no money, but we had credit cards. The mastermind was $2,000 a month and that was money we really didn't have. I said, "Don't worry about it. We'll find the money."Click on their website www.ecived.com/en for more information.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Bud Selig’s Latest Innovative Blunder
Too many years ago, Bud Selig and his merry band of morons introduced interleague play. And, like most of his innovations, I ended up enjoying them later. Hell, who doesn’t get juiced if their 83-win team has a shot at the 2nd wild card slot and – dream big here – blazing a path to a championship. Ah, innovation rewards the truly mediocre.
So interleague play is here to stay. And it works if you like me are a fan of a team which shares its city with another or has a legit natural rival. We love the intensity of Mets/Yankees; we think Orioles/Nationals is intriguing, especially now that legitimacy has been bestowed on both clubs. When the White Sox play in Wrigley Field it is intriguing because it seems backwards.
The Blue Jays hosting the Braves? The most potentially exciting thing there is Canadian Customs weerily eyeing Fredi Gonzalez while trying to remain typically polite and resisting the urge to profile him in that small office over there.
As an aside, I think MLB should just regionalize like hockey. You wouldn’t love a division with the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Phillies and we’ll say the Pirates? 19 games a year? Hockey does a good job of keeping these rivalries fresh, no? Then you’ve never been to a Rangers-Islanders game.
So Selig — because he was smart enough to move his Brewers to the NL to fix the odd-number problem in each league in baseball – moves the Astros to the American League and creates a constant Interleague series. No biggie, I thought, bury the Rockies/Mariners series among the Hands free access.
But then we have the aforementioned Mets/Yanks, White Sox/Cubs, Angels/Dodgers at the exact same time during the week of Memorial Day. Wait…what? Why on Earth are we stacking these rivalries on top of each when the numbers say we must play an interleague series every day of the season? On a night where Matt Harvey was on the mound for the Mets against the Yanks, baseball is losing a chance to showcase Chris Sale humming a four-seamer under the chin of Anthony Rizzo. Yeah, because that make sense.
I’m from New York which, of course, means no other city counts. But residents of other big cities, I’m told, have a prurient interest in other cities. One might call it an indirect rivalry they all want to be New York, I know.
Bud’s solution to running out of pitchers in an All-Star game was to – think about this – make the game count for home field advantage in his sport’s championship, without addressing even the issue of running out of pitchers in the All-Star game. This year, it counts!!! It may count, Bud, but it certainly doesn’t add up.
So maybe I’ll tape the games of the Crosstown Classic that’s what they call it in Chicago, by the way while I watch the Yankees whitewash the AAA Mets. I’ll hope the pressure of the Los Angeles rivalry doesn’t make Josh Hamilton drain a fifth of vodka hidden in CJ Wilson’s Head and Shoulders bottle of course in Chavez Ravine this week Come on, Hamilton running to third after the ball squirts away on a strikeout? Must see TV, dude.
Bud and his merry band of bumbles should thank the stars that their game is so beloved by its fans, or at least those who haven’t switched to football news in May over actual game action. We consume, in multi-media form, all the baseball we can get. We put up with gimmicks like the Fan Cave, six home and road uniforms for every team, and, well, Mitch Williams, in order to get our beloved game of baseball.
But if you’re going to make interleague play a constant commitment based solely on the math of your decisions, unstack the rivalries and showcase them around the country. We all love our teams, but passion for the game is universal and baseball could use a constant showcase of intensity and excitement. Otherwise we might watch spring college football or listen when ESPN tells us the NBA playoffs are, like, the only thing that matters and that Tim Tebow is still relevant.
Many Florida families thinking about saving for future higher education costs often find themselves in an uphill battle and very confused. The news is filled with stories questioning the value of higher education, highlighting the recent increase in college tuition and bringing to light the nationwide student loan debt crisis.
All of these things are legitimate concerns for parents and the abundance of information is overwhelming. Here are a few facts for you to consider:
Individuals with a bachelor's degree earn an average of $20,000 a year more than high school graduates and earnings continue to increase with additional degree levels.
Although Florida is still considered one of the most affordable states for in-state college tuition, state law permits tuition and fee increases of up to 15 percent at state universities until the national average is reached.
Student loan debt exceeds $1 trillion in the U.S. — the highest in history. It is higher than credit card debt and auto loan debt with an average balance of $25,000. In addition, millions of student loans are delinquent three months or more.
So interleague play is here to stay. And it works if you like me are a fan of a team which shares its city with another or has a legit natural rival. We love the intensity of Mets/Yankees; we think Orioles/Nationals is intriguing, especially now that legitimacy has been bestowed on both clubs. When the White Sox play in Wrigley Field it is intriguing because it seems backwards.
The Blue Jays hosting the Braves? The most potentially exciting thing there is Canadian Customs weerily eyeing Fredi Gonzalez while trying to remain typically polite and resisting the urge to profile him in that small office over there.
As an aside, I think MLB should just regionalize like hockey. You wouldn’t love a division with the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Phillies and we’ll say the Pirates? 19 games a year? Hockey does a good job of keeping these rivalries fresh, no? Then you’ve never been to a Rangers-Islanders game.
So Selig — because he was smart enough to move his Brewers to the NL to fix the odd-number problem in each league in baseball – moves the Astros to the American League and creates a constant Interleague series. No biggie, I thought, bury the Rockies/Mariners series among the Hands free access.
But then we have the aforementioned Mets/Yanks, White Sox/Cubs, Angels/Dodgers at the exact same time during the week of Memorial Day. Wait…what? Why on Earth are we stacking these rivalries on top of each when the numbers say we must play an interleague series every day of the season? On a night where Matt Harvey was on the mound for the Mets against the Yanks, baseball is losing a chance to showcase Chris Sale humming a four-seamer under the chin of Anthony Rizzo. Yeah, because that make sense.
I’m from New York which, of course, means no other city counts. But residents of other big cities, I’m told, have a prurient interest in other cities. One might call it an indirect rivalry they all want to be New York, I know.
Bud’s solution to running out of pitchers in an All-Star game was to – think about this – make the game count for home field advantage in his sport’s championship, without addressing even the issue of running out of pitchers in the All-Star game. This year, it counts!!! It may count, Bud, but it certainly doesn’t add up.
So maybe I’ll tape the games of the Crosstown Classic that’s what they call it in Chicago, by the way while I watch the Yankees whitewash the AAA Mets. I’ll hope the pressure of the Los Angeles rivalry doesn’t make Josh Hamilton drain a fifth of vodka hidden in CJ Wilson’s Head and Shoulders bottle of course in Chavez Ravine this week Come on, Hamilton running to third after the ball squirts away on a strikeout? Must see TV, dude.
Bud and his merry band of bumbles should thank the stars that their game is so beloved by its fans, or at least those who haven’t switched to football news in May over actual game action. We consume, in multi-media form, all the baseball we can get. We put up with gimmicks like the Fan Cave, six home and road uniforms for every team, and, well, Mitch Williams, in order to get our beloved game of baseball.
But if you’re going to make interleague play a constant commitment based solely on the math of your decisions, unstack the rivalries and showcase them around the country. We all love our teams, but passion for the game is universal and baseball could use a constant showcase of intensity and excitement. Otherwise we might watch spring college football or listen when ESPN tells us the NBA playoffs are, like, the only thing that matters and that Tim Tebow is still relevant.
Many Florida families thinking about saving for future higher education costs often find themselves in an uphill battle and very confused. The news is filled with stories questioning the value of higher education, highlighting the recent increase in college tuition and bringing to light the nationwide student loan debt crisis.
All of these things are legitimate concerns for parents and the abundance of information is overwhelming. Here are a few facts for you to consider:
Individuals with a bachelor's degree earn an average of $20,000 a year more than high school graduates and earnings continue to increase with additional degree levels.
Although Florida is still considered one of the most affordable states for in-state college tuition, state law permits tuition and fee increases of up to 15 percent at state universities until the national average is reached.
Student loan debt exceeds $1 trillion in the U.S. — the highest in history. It is higher than credit card debt and auto loan debt with an average balance of $25,000. In addition, millions of student loans are delinquent three months or more.
Current And Former Residents, And Strangers, Find Ways To Help And Heal
The Long Island resident dedicated his training and the marathon “in memory of the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook school tragedy,” Mr Schneider wrote in an email to The Newtown Bee. “When I decided to undertake this memorial fundraising effort, I was just struggling to figure out a way to help,” he added.
Mr Schneider has a lot of family and friends in the Northeast, including a cousin, Reinhard Hillefeld, who lives in Newtown.
“The tragedy our community is going through really hit him hard, being a father to three little boys,” Mr Hillefeld said in early March.
Thanks to donations from family, friends, co-workers and even strangers who heard of Mr Schneider’s decision, he was able to raise over $4,100 for The Sandy Hook School Support Fund.
In addition to fundraising for the fund, Mr Schneider wore a pair of sneakers during the Louisiana run that he had marked with the initials of each of the Sandy Hook School victims while running the marathon. In addition, he wore a green T-shirt with white lettering that read 26 Miles for the Sandy Hook School 26.
“I added the initials to the sneakers after I completed a training run in memory of each victim,” he wrote. “The stories I read about each victim carried me throughout my training and the marathon. As I approached the finish line, I stopped and took off my sneakers, raised them up, and bowed my head to honor the memory of the victims and recognize their inspiration in my Hands free access.”
Madeline Gagne raised a few hundred dollars a few months ago. Above the fundraising effort, though, the work the 19-year old Sandy Hook resident and University of Tampa sophomore feel better about returning to school after her holiday break.
“I had a hard time going back to Florida for school this semester,” she said. “I felt like I was betraying Newtown by leaving it after such a tragic event.
“I still feel guilty being in warm and sunny Florida while my family drives past Sandy Hook Center every day and is reminded of what happened,” she said via email.
Like many residents and friends of Newtown, Madeline began to immediately incorporate something into each day’s outfit that would remind her of 12/14 — a We Are Newtown T-shirt, a Pura Vida bracelet, “or even green and white nail polish,” she said — but it didn’t feel like enough. Before she returned to school earlier this year, Madeline reached out to Jason Sumerau, her sociology professor, looking for some advice.
They decided that instead of creating a separate event to serve as a fundraiser, Madeline would piggyback onto something that had already been planned. They decided to keep things simple, setting up a table during the school’s spring dance concert on February 23, where Madeline had hoped to sell snacks and water, as well as stickers and bracelets, during two performances that day.
Madeline’s stepfather is Adam Zuckerman, who in February designed stickers that feature a red heart surrounding a depiction of the Sandy Hook School sign. With white lettering above and below the school sign, the message of the stickers read “Sandy Hook School In Our Heart.”
She learned that the school’s theater department already handles water and snack sales, but “they were more than willing to have the proceeds from the Saturday shows go to Sandy Hook,” she reported. Madeline — a dance student, who was also in one of the numbers during the annual show — had decided that she would donate any money she raised to Sandy Hook Promise.
“I knew the father of [one of the children] also graduated from New Milford High School,” said Mrs Regan, a member of the NMHS Class of 1993. “It became clear that we needed to show our support for this family, and show my own children that we can still support these families living quite some distance away.”
Within hours of learning the names of the victims, Mrs Regan announced on her Facebook page that she would be designing, ordering, and selling green and white silicone bracelets, in exchange for $5 donations. The bracelets are green, with white lettering that say Sandy Hook Newtown CT on one side, and Forever Angels 12/14/12 on the other.
Before she was even able to figure out where the donations would be sent, the first order of bracelets arrived, and she had orders for more than that first batch of 800 bracelets.
Meanwhile, Mrs Regan approached her employer, Patriot National Insurance Group, to see if the company would be willing to help in selling the bracelets.
“Turns out the HR director, who I knew was from Connecticut, knows the mom of [the child whose father attended New Milford High School that Mrs Regan knew of],” she said. “Small world. So we worked together ordering another 800 bracelets.”
By March 11, Mrs Regan had raised more than $7,500, and she had decided to divide those funds between four funds: $3,000 is being donated to Newtown Park & Bark, in memory of Olivia Engel; $2,000 is going to Newtown Kindness/The Act of Kindness Awards, in memory of Charlotte Bacon; $1,350 will go to Newtown Social Services, earmarked for the police officers who responded to Sandy Hook School on 12/14; and another $1,350 has been donated to the Town of Newtown, for teachers and survivors.
A group of women in the Capitol Region of New York, Niskayuna Moms on the Run listened when Newtown’s town leaders began to plead with the nation to stop sending so many items into town. Knowing that the town was still being overwhelmed with visitors, the women, an informal running group, decided to host their own memorial run and walk on January 19, with proceeds to benefit one Newtown fund and two Niskayuna funds.
The event was called Strides for Sandy Hook Memorial. Participants were invited to choose from a 5K run and 1-mile walk, each leaving from Niskayuna Town Hall.
“We were originally going to go to Newtown to do Strides For Sandy Hook [a 5K run-gathering and balloon release at Fairfield Hills held on January 19], but when people were encouraged to do their own runs and events, we decided to do this,” Tina Lee, who organized the New York event with Kelly Anderson, told The Newtown Bee. “We have a large email list that we could send information out to, but we realized there were a number of people in our community who might also want to be involved.”
Mr Schneider has a lot of family and friends in the Northeast, including a cousin, Reinhard Hillefeld, who lives in Newtown.
“The tragedy our community is going through really hit him hard, being a father to three little boys,” Mr Hillefeld said in early March.
Thanks to donations from family, friends, co-workers and even strangers who heard of Mr Schneider’s decision, he was able to raise over $4,100 for The Sandy Hook School Support Fund.
In addition to fundraising for the fund, Mr Schneider wore a pair of sneakers during the Louisiana run that he had marked with the initials of each of the Sandy Hook School victims while running the marathon. In addition, he wore a green T-shirt with white lettering that read 26 Miles for the Sandy Hook School 26.
“I added the initials to the sneakers after I completed a training run in memory of each victim,” he wrote. “The stories I read about each victim carried me throughout my training and the marathon. As I approached the finish line, I stopped and took off my sneakers, raised them up, and bowed my head to honor the memory of the victims and recognize their inspiration in my Hands free access.”
Madeline Gagne raised a few hundred dollars a few months ago. Above the fundraising effort, though, the work the 19-year old Sandy Hook resident and University of Tampa sophomore feel better about returning to school after her holiday break.
“I had a hard time going back to Florida for school this semester,” she said. “I felt like I was betraying Newtown by leaving it after such a tragic event.
“I still feel guilty being in warm and sunny Florida while my family drives past Sandy Hook Center every day and is reminded of what happened,” she said via email.
Like many residents and friends of Newtown, Madeline began to immediately incorporate something into each day’s outfit that would remind her of 12/14 — a We Are Newtown T-shirt, a Pura Vida bracelet, “or even green and white nail polish,” she said — but it didn’t feel like enough. Before she returned to school earlier this year, Madeline reached out to Jason Sumerau, her sociology professor, looking for some advice.
They decided that instead of creating a separate event to serve as a fundraiser, Madeline would piggyback onto something that had already been planned. They decided to keep things simple, setting up a table during the school’s spring dance concert on February 23, where Madeline had hoped to sell snacks and water, as well as stickers and bracelets, during two performances that day.
Madeline’s stepfather is Adam Zuckerman, who in February designed stickers that feature a red heart surrounding a depiction of the Sandy Hook School sign. With white lettering above and below the school sign, the message of the stickers read “Sandy Hook School In Our Heart.”
She learned that the school’s theater department already handles water and snack sales, but “they were more than willing to have the proceeds from the Saturday shows go to Sandy Hook,” she reported. Madeline — a dance student, who was also in one of the numbers during the annual show — had decided that she would donate any money she raised to Sandy Hook Promise.
“I knew the father of [one of the children] also graduated from New Milford High School,” said Mrs Regan, a member of the NMHS Class of 1993. “It became clear that we needed to show our support for this family, and show my own children that we can still support these families living quite some distance away.”
Within hours of learning the names of the victims, Mrs Regan announced on her Facebook page that she would be designing, ordering, and selling green and white silicone bracelets, in exchange for $5 donations. The bracelets are green, with white lettering that say Sandy Hook Newtown CT on one side, and Forever Angels 12/14/12 on the other.
Before she was even able to figure out where the donations would be sent, the first order of bracelets arrived, and she had orders for more than that first batch of 800 bracelets.
Meanwhile, Mrs Regan approached her employer, Patriot National Insurance Group, to see if the company would be willing to help in selling the bracelets.
“Turns out the HR director, who I knew was from Connecticut, knows the mom of [the child whose father attended New Milford High School that Mrs Regan knew of],” she said. “Small world. So we worked together ordering another 800 bracelets.”
By March 11, Mrs Regan had raised more than $7,500, and she had decided to divide those funds between four funds: $3,000 is being donated to Newtown Park & Bark, in memory of Olivia Engel; $2,000 is going to Newtown Kindness/The Act of Kindness Awards, in memory of Charlotte Bacon; $1,350 will go to Newtown Social Services, earmarked for the police officers who responded to Sandy Hook School on 12/14; and another $1,350 has been donated to the Town of Newtown, for teachers and survivors.
A group of women in the Capitol Region of New York, Niskayuna Moms on the Run listened when Newtown’s town leaders began to plead with the nation to stop sending so many items into town. Knowing that the town was still being overwhelmed with visitors, the women, an informal running group, decided to host their own memorial run and walk on January 19, with proceeds to benefit one Newtown fund and two Niskayuna funds.
The event was called Strides for Sandy Hook Memorial. Participants were invited to choose from a 5K run and 1-mile walk, each leaving from Niskayuna Town Hall.
“We were originally going to go to Newtown to do Strides For Sandy Hook [a 5K run-gathering and balloon release at Fairfield Hills held on January 19], but when people were encouraged to do their own runs and events, we decided to do this,” Tina Lee, who organized the New York event with Kelly Anderson, told The Newtown Bee. “We have a large email list that we could send information out to, but we realized there were a number of people in our community who might also want to be involved.”
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Steve Wozniak discusses his dependency
I have a calendar life that is complicated, so I use BusyCal and Google Calendar. I keep two different browsers open to avoid some confusion. I enter calendar dates with time zones, which I can't do on my iPhone. I watch DVD's since I don't have broad- band where I live. I record videos for promotions and interviews and it's handy to have the notes in front of me on the screen. I do a lot of Skype interviews and it's handy to see notes for those as well. I often copy from one source (web page maybe) to an email I'm composing.
I read Google news and use NetNewsWire to keep up with general and tech news. I use it when I travel for Slingbox. I'm better on the large keyboard. The larger screen is great for maps and photo viewing. I also keep tons of music and movies on the SSD, although the smaller size cramps me over a full HD. I often take notes regarding business talks and paste them into TextEdit docs to view during phone calls. These calls I usually make with my iPhone. I use FileChute to upload files that I want to distribute but which are too large for email. I use Dropbox to share with my iPhones. I'm always backed up with my home Time Capsule. I write AppleScripts, too.
Most of my photos I collect with iPhoto but I use Aperture for my finer photos, mostly from my Leica M9. I keep reminder links and files on my desktop and I have categories (folders) in my dock for things like "fun relief" and "important". I keep folders on my desktop for things like the songs I'm currently attracted to and upcoming speech events. I also keep many notes of info I need all the time, like home IP numbers and game scores, in Stickies, but I close Stickes to keep things neater. I also have a few games in my dock for Hands free access.
When Sunny Varkey was 4 years old, his parents left him in the care of family members in his native India while they “went to seek green pastures” teaching English as a second language in Dubai in the late 1950s, in what was then a sleepy British protectorate on the southeast coast of the Gulf.
“My parents were brought over by Easa Saleh al-Gurg, who later became the United Arab Emirates ambassador to Great Britain,” he said in a recent interview in London. “Our family came with empty hands, but in those days the U.A.E. was a land of opportunity.”
Initially his parents’ pupils came almost exclusively from local families, but the discovery of oil in Dubai in 1966 brought an influx of foreign workers, many from the Asian Subcontinent. Two years later, Mr. Varkey’s parents opened Our Own English High School, the first private school in Dubai for Indian students. Meanwhile Mr. Varkey was completing his own education, first at a Catholic boarding school in India and then in Dubai, followed by a year at a college on the Isle of Wight, in Britain.
“I did not study much,” Mr. Varkey said. He joined his parents in 1970, just before Dubai gained its independence from Britain, and took over the company in 1980, starting with his parents’ single school in Dubai.
Although he never attended university himself, he now runs GEMS Education, which claims to be the largest private provider of K-12 education in the world, and presides over a network of about 70 schools operating in 18 countries, from the United States to Britain, Egypt to China. His two sons, Dino and Jay, now hold senior positions at the company, making it a three-generation endeavor.
In addition to owning schools with a total of 130,000 students, the Dubai-based company also manages schools and school systems on government contracts and acts as consultants in the Philippines and several African countries.
Despite his company’s growing influence, Mr. Varkey has long avoided the media spotlight. But with more recent moves into Britain and the United States, that seems to have changed. In February the company hosted the first Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai, bringing together 500 delegates to discuss the relationship between governments and the private sector. It included Bill Clinton, the former U.S. president who was recently named honorary chairman of the Varkey GEMS Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm.
Mr. Varkey’s increasing prominence has also brought greater scrutiny both of his business model and his educational philosophy. From the beginning, the GEMS schools in Dubai took for granted a kind of ethnic segregation.
“We had an Indian school, we had a Pakistani school. We also opened a British school,” where “we had key British teachers — the head of school, head of curriculum, and so on, as well as a number of Asian teachers,” Mr. Varkey said.
The company remains the largest employer of British teachers outside of the United Kingdom, as well as the largest employer of Indian teachers outside of India. Pay scales at each school are linked not to the local economy or the nature of the school, but to salaries in a teacher’s home country.
And while the company boasts that it provides the same high-quality education at its least-expensive schools (where fees are approximately $750 a year) as it does at premium schools (where fees can exceed $40,000), there has been criticism at both ends of the scale.
In 2008, parents with children at the GEMS Jumeirah Primary School in Dubai wrote to Mr. Varkey after class sizes were increased. There have also been complaints about sharp increases in school fees and the closure of the Westminster School in Dubai after the country’s school regulator would not raise a cap on private school tuition.
Jane Donovan’s two daughters, now aged 10 and 7, have attended GEMS Wellington since they moved to Dubai three years ago. In Britain, they had attended a private school with similar tuition fees.
“I can see how it would be a struggle for parents who, for the first time, have to pay for education because there is no public option for them,” she said, referring to the fact that expatriates in the U.A.E. do not have the same access to free public education that local citizens do, or that they would have had back in their home countries.
“But we were paying anyway back home, and we were very happy with the quality of teaching and school grounds at GEMS,” Mrs. Donovan said.
When challenged on class size, Mr. Varkey pointed to airlines, which offer first class, business and economy seats on the same plane, or to Mercedes, which produces several classes of cars.
I read Google news and use NetNewsWire to keep up with general and tech news. I use it when I travel for Slingbox. I'm better on the large keyboard. The larger screen is great for maps and photo viewing. I also keep tons of music and movies on the SSD, although the smaller size cramps me over a full HD. I often take notes regarding business talks and paste them into TextEdit docs to view during phone calls. These calls I usually make with my iPhone. I use FileChute to upload files that I want to distribute but which are too large for email. I use Dropbox to share with my iPhones. I'm always backed up with my home Time Capsule. I write AppleScripts, too.
Most of my photos I collect with iPhoto but I use Aperture for my finer photos, mostly from my Leica M9. I keep reminder links and files on my desktop and I have categories (folders) in my dock for things like "fun relief" and "important". I keep folders on my desktop for things like the songs I'm currently attracted to and upcoming speech events. I also keep many notes of info I need all the time, like home IP numbers and game scores, in Stickies, but I close Stickes to keep things neater. I also have a few games in my dock for Hands free access.
When Sunny Varkey was 4 years old, his parents left him in the care of family members in his native India while they “went to seek green pastures” teaching English as a second language in Dubai in the late 1950s, in what was then a sleepy British protectorate on the southeast coast of the Gulf.
“My parents were brought over by Easa Saleh al-Gurg, who later became the United Arab Emirates ambassador to Great Britain,” he said in a recent interview in London. “Our family came with empty hands, but in those days the U.A.E. was a land of opportunity.”
Initially his parents’ pupils came almost exclusively from local families, but the discovery of oil in Dubai in 1966 brought an influx of foreign workers, many from the Asian Subcontinent. Two years later, Mr. Varkey’s parents opened Our Own English High School, the first private school in Dubai for Indian students. Meanwhile Mr. Varkey was completing his own education, first at a Catholic boarding school in India and then in Dubai, followed by a year at a college on the Isle of Wight, in Britain.
“I did not study much,” Mr. Varkey said. He joined his parents in 1970, just before Dubai gained its independence from Britain, and took over the company in 1980, starting with his parents’ single school in Dubai.
Although he never attended university himself, he now runs GEMS Education, which claims to be the largest private provider of K-12 education in the world, and presides over a network of about 70 schools operating in 18 countries, from the United States to Britain, Egypt to China. His two sons, Dino and Jay, now hold senior positions at the company, making it a three-generation endeavor.
In addition to owning schools with a total of 130,000 students, the Dubai-based company also manages schools and school systems on government contracts and acts as consultants in the Philippines and several African countries.
Despite his company’s growing influence, Mr. Varkey has long avoided the media spotlight. But with more recent moves into Britain and the United States, that seems to have changed. In February the company hosted the first Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai, bringing together 500 delegates to discuss the relationship between governments and the private sector. It included Bill Clinton, the former U.S. president who was recently named honorary chairman of the Varkey GEMS Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm.
Mr. Varkey’s increasing prominence has also brought greater scrutiny both of his business model and his educational philosophy. From the beginning, the GEMS schools in Dubai took for granted a kind of ethnic segregation.
“We had an Indian school, we had a Pakistani school. We also opened a British school,” where “we had key British teachers — the head of school, head of curriculum, and so on, as well as a number of Asian teachers,” Mr. Varkey said.
The company remains the largest employer of British teachers outside of the United Kingdom, as well as the largest employer of Indian teachers outside of India. Pay scales at each school are linked not to the local economy or the nature of the school, but to salaries in a teacher’s home country.
And while the company boasts that it provides the same high-quality education at its least-expensive schools (where fees are approximately $750 a year) as it does at premium schools (where fees can exceed $40,000), there has been criticism at both ends of the scale.
In 2008, parents with children at the GEMS Jumeirah Primary School in Dubai wrote to Mr. Varkey after class sizes were increased. There have also been complaints about sharp increases in school fees and the closure of the Westminster School in Dubai after the country’s school regulator would not raise a cap on private school tuition.
Jane Donovan’s two daughters, now aged 10 and 7, have attended GEMS Wellington since they moved to Dubai three years ago. In Britain, they had attended a private school with similar tuition fees.
“I can see how it would be a struggle for parents who, for the first time, have to pay for education because there is no public option for them,” she said, referring to the fact that expatriates in the U.A.E. do not have the same access to free public education that local citizens do, or that they would have had back in their home countries.
“But we were paying anyway back home, and we were very happy with the quality of teaching and school grounds at GEMS,” Mrs. Donovan said.
When challenged on class size, Mr. Varkey pointed to airlines, which offer first class, business and economy seats on the same plane, or to Mercedes, which produces several classes of cars.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Paul’s Supermarket measures success by people
For 44 years, Paul’s Supermarket has “made it on their own.” Paul’s is a home-grown business, swelling over the years from one original location to three, implementing several store expansions, and touting a combined workforce of 200 employees that have never been laid off. And all that with no tax incentives.
“The American dream is to go out there and make it on your own. We have done everything on our own,” said Steve Hermann, vice-president of Paul’s Supermarket, and grandson of Paul Hermann, the hands free access. “We believe in the American way and giving back to our community, the community who has given so much to us,” he added.
Hermann, who manages the day-to-day operations, said projects like the toll bridge, The Villages, Porta Cima and some of the condominiums are what bring the people to the Lake. “In turn, we want to give back to those people, committing to excellence in customer service, quality and value, a family philosophy since Paul Hermann took over the United Super in 1968.”
Hermann said Paul’s Supermarket has grown and become what it is today because of his grandfather’s people skills and pride in meat cutting. “The meat is cut, not butchered, as some people say,” he said. “Grandpa was not a butcher.”
Hermann reflected on his grandfather’s belief that a butcher killed the cow; a meat cutter is an artist. “At Paul’s, the customers got their meat cut the way they wanted: the right grain, the right way,” he said. “It is always fresh, unlike corporate stores where the meat is usually cut and processed somewhere else.
“Think about it…do you want your meat cut by an artist or butchered?” he asked. “The meat department is our foundation… our strength… and still is today.”
“Hamburger, sausages… those are all cut fresh in our store… we still do it the way Grandpa taught us,” Hermann said. “In fact, our current meat director was raised from a teenager by my grandpa and [Grandpa] taught him everything he knows.”
As Paul’s Supermarket continued to grow, Paul’s son, Gary, joined the business full-time in 1990. Shortly thereafter they took over the Osage Beach store located in the Parkway Center. Hermann said they worked well together. “My dad was a thinker and focused on the business side of things. With my grandpa’s strength in meat and my father’s focus in business and how to take care of the customers, keeping the prices right, we have grown the business, and now have bakery, deli, floral, and wine and spirit departments,” he said.
Even with all the added departments, freshness in foods and excellence in customer service are still a priority. Hermann said breads are baked fresh daily, deli products are fresh, and cooked food is prepared anew each day.
”All our meat is fresh. You can’t find a better cut of deli meat,” he said. “Boar’s Head has 21 meats certified by the American Heart Association. Our famous chicken tenders are made with fresh chicken that has never been frozen and has no msg. They are hand battered in a secret recipe of spices and cooked in no trans fat, cholesterol free oil,” he said. “We want the freshest and the healthiest…the best tasting,” Hermann boasted.
Hermann, who is also in charge of the marketing aspects of the three stores, said In addition to the quality, Paul’s also wants to provide incentives and give to “the client” without taking anything away.
“A customer is someone who comes and goes,” he added. “A client is someone you build a relationship with, and that is what we want to do with each person that shops in their store,” he said. To help with this, the Rewards Card was introduced, which keeps track of spending levels. There are also multiple clubs to join at Paul’s, such as the Cleaning Club, Pet Club, Smart Chicken Club and Lunch Club, all of which provide the client savings based on the amount they spend, Hermann shared.
Hermann said Paul’s also runs specials throughout the year with prize give-a-ways and other spending level incentives such as a free turkey at Thanksgiving. “This is just another way to give back,” he said. “Our clients in our stores are the best at the Lake and we want to say thanks.
Hermann, who proudly claims Paul’s status as a hometown grocer, was born and raised at the Lake and has been involved with the store since he was 14-years-old. He and his wife Lauren are committed to giving back to the community.
He is on the school board and his three children attend School of the Osage. Lauren, who has a degree in education, has been chairwoman for the March of Dimes the past two years and has raised over $150,000 for the organization. She is also incoming president of the PTA. “She gives! That is all she knows and it amazes me how much she gives,” Hermann said proudly.
While she is not directly involved in the operations of Paul’s, Hermann said without Lauren, he would not be able to be involved and have a family. “I owe everything to her,” he said.
Hermann’s Uncle Pat also works with the store; he had worked for Little Debbie’s for over 20 years before coming to Paul’s full-time. Hermann said his uncle helps make sure Paul’s is giving clients the best service possible.
Hermann said it is important to adapt to the clients’ needs, which is why the owners of Paul’s are readily available and always open to suggestions. “We have a commitment to excellence in customer service, value, and quality,” he said. “That is what I am passionate about.”
When Hermann looks at the future, he sees Paul’s clients. “We are always looking for expansion and if the opportunity presents itself and it is fruitful to Paul’s family and the community, then we will,” he said.
“We take one step at a time. We have been in business 44 years and compete with the largest corporations in world: Kroger, Hy-Vee, Wal-Mart and now Dierbergs. We don’t want to make a mistake on that level.” “We want to take care of our associates as well as our clients,” he said. “We are a hometown grocery store. We don’t look at numbers, we look at people. “
“The American dream is to go out there and make it on your own. We have done everything on our own,” said Steve Hermann, vice-president of Paul’s Supermarket, and grandson of Paul Hermann, the hands free access. “We believe in the American way and giving back to our community, the community who has given so much to us,” he added.
Hermann, who manages the day-to-day operations, said projects like the toll bridge, The Villages, Porta Cima and some of the condominiums are what bring the people to the Lake. “In turn, we want to give back to those people, committing to excellence in customer service, quality and value, a family philosophy since Paul Hermann took over the United Super in 1968.”
Hermann said Paul’s Supermarket has grown and become what it is today because of his grandfather’s people skills and pride in meat cutting. “The meat is cut, not butchered, as some people say,” he said. “Grandpa was not a butcher.”
Hermann reflected on his grandfather’s belief that a butcher killed the cow; a meat cutter is an artist. “At Paul’s, the customers got their meat cut the way they wanted: the right grain, the right way,” he said. “It is always fresh, unlike corporate stores where the meat is usually cut and processed somewhere else.
“Think about it…do you want your meat cut by an artist or butchered?” he asked. “The meat department is our foundation… our strength… and still is today.”
“Hamburger, sausages… those are all cut fresh in our store… we still do it the way Grandpa taught us,” Hermann said. “In fact, our current meat director was raised from a teenager by my grandpa and [Grandpa] taught him everything he knows.”
As Paul’s Supermarket continued to grow, Paul’s son, Gary, joined the business full-time in 1990. Shortly thereafter they took over the Osage Beach store located in the Parkway Center. Hermann said they worked well together. “My dad was a thinker and focused on the business side of things. With my grandpa’s strength in meat and my father’s focus in business and how to take care of the customers, keeping the prices right, we have grown the business, and now have bakery, deli, floral, and wine and spirit departments,” he said.
Even with all the added departments, freshness in foods and excellence in customer service are still a priority. Hermann said breads are baked fresh daily, deli products are fresh, and cooked food is prepared anew each day.
”All our meat is fresh. You can’t find a better cut of deli meat,” he said. “Boar’s Head has 21 meats certified by the American Heart Association. Our famous chicken tenders are made with fresh chicken that has never been frozen and has no msg. They are hand battered in a secret recipe of spices and cooked in no trans fat, cholesterol free oil,” he said. “We want the freshest and the healthiest…the best tasting,” Hermann boasted.
Hermann, who is also in charge of the marketing aspects of the three stores, said In addition to the quality, Paul’s also wants to provide incentives and give to “the client” without taking anything away.
“A customer is someone who comes and goes,” he added. “A client is someone you build a relationship with, and that is what we want to do with each person that shops in their store,” he said. To help with this, the Rewards Card was introduced, which keeps track of spending levels. There are also multiple clubs to join at Paul’s, such as the Cleaning Club, Pet Club, Smart Chicken Club and Lunch Club, all of which provide the client savings based on the amount they spend, Hermann shared.
Hermann said Paul’s also runs specials throughout the year with prize give-a-ways and other spending level incentives such as a free turkey at Thanksgiving. “This is just another way to give back,” he said. “Our clients in our stores are the best at the Lake and we want to say thanks.
Hermann, who proudly claims Paul’s status as a hometown grocer, was born and raised at the Lake and has been involved with the store since he was 14-years-old. He and his wife Lauren are committed to giving back to the community.
He is on the school board and his three children attend School of the Osage. Lauren, who has a degree in education, has been chairwoman for the March of Dimes the past two years and has raised over $150,000 for the organization. She is also incoming president of the PTA. “She gives! That is all she knows and it amazes me how much she gives,” Hermann said proudly.
While she is not directly involved in the operations of Paul’s, Hermann said without Lauren, he would not be able to be involved and have a family. “I owe everything to her,” he said.
Hermann’s Uncle Pat also works with the store; he had worked for Little Debbie’s for over 20 years before coming to Paul’s full-time. Hermann said his uncle helps make sure Paul’s is giving clients the best service possible.
Hermann said it is important to adapt to the clients’ needs, which is why the owners of Paul’s are readily available and always open to suggestions. “We have a commitment to excellence in customer service, value, and quality,” he said. “That is what I am passionate about.”
When Hermann looks at the future, he sees Paul’s clients. “We are always looking for expansion and if the opportunity presents itself and it is fruitful to Paul’s family and the community, then we will,” he said.
“We take one step at a time. We have been in business 44 years and compete with the largest corporations in world: Kroger, Hy-Vee, Wal-Mart and now Dierbergs. We don’t want to make a mistake on that level.” “We want to take care of our associates as well as our clients,” he said. “We are a hometown grocery store. We don’t look at numbers, we look at people. “
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Expand Push Into SMB Payment Analytics
The payments space is starting to settle down. The flow of seed funding has slowed, and a handful companies have separated from the pack, raising meaningful capital over the past year. Add Providence-based Swipely to that list. The payments processing and analytics play announced today that it has raised $12 million in new funding in a series B round led by Shasta Ventures, bringing the company’s total venture financing to $20.5 million.
Last year the startup moved away from its initial card-connected loyalty model to pursue a smart payment-processing and analytics strategy aimed at a number of larger, and mostly commoditized, legacy processing players. The three year-old company runs credit cards payments for small and medium-sized businesses, and then builds marketing and analytics services on top of Hands free access.
Swipely’s product plugs into the back-end of a merchant’s point of sale system like a traditional payment processor, but stores the transaction data (which would traditionally come in a paper statement weeks later) immediately to the cloud. There, the company can use the data to run a suite of ancillary services. That includes metrics to determine a business’s most valuable customers, the percentage of new versus returning customers, and more. It also folds in marketing services that allow businesses to sign up customers in card-connected loyalty programs and lead generation.
Since making its shift last year, the startup has been on a tear. Swipely has nearly tripled the total transactions it processed in all of last year, up from $250 million in 2012 to $700 million today. Today, the company’s platform is used in over 130 cities, and has processed over 2 million consumers.
Part of what has accelerated its growth is that the model asks little of merchants or consumers in terms of learning a new behavior – a pitfall that has limited some payments startups’ ability to grow: “If our merchants had to replace their point-of-sale system to adopt Swipely, they probably would not do it. They’re large businesses who depend on these systems to do a lot of things,” says Davis about the decision to take an open approach. “For the most part, the new-fangled iPad POS systems don’t compete at the upper end of the POS market today… If it’s not broken, there’s no need for them to fix it.”
The question now remaining for Swipely is whether staying out of the consumer experience (by creating a mobile payments app) and the merchant experience (through the point of sale device) will hurt its positioning down the road. As new entrants like Square push upstream with an integrated model (including merchant processing, consumer payments, and POS), and legacy players try to add similar services, Swipely could find its market share diminished. But it’s clear that for the time being the advantages of the open model (early scale and low-cost adoption) far exceed the long-term value of a closed approach.
In La La Land, the home of movie magic, we're used to our surroundings being not quite what they seem. But did you know, at this very moment, you are surrounded by thousands of tiny containers of various shapes and sizes, camouflaged in bushes, hidden in fake electrical boxes, attached by magnet to the bottoms of bar stools and perched atop stop-signs? You might need an ultra-violet light to discover the final clue to find them or wait for low tide to wade out to a cave at the beach, but they're there. That creepy guy at the bus stop who keeps looking around suspiciously might be totally nuts...or he might be a geocacher.
Geocaching is a worldwide treasure hunt that began in May 2000 when the U.S. government gave up "selective availability" and allowed civilians to use GPS devices with almost perfect accuracy for the first time. Computer consultant David Ulmer was one of many GPS enthusiasts brainstorming how this newly available technology could be used. The day after "selective availability" was lifted, Ulmer decided to hide a bucket in the woods near his home in Beavercreek, Oregon filled with prizes and post the coordinates online for anyone to find. He called it "The Great American GPS Stash Hunt" and its one rule was, "Take some stuff; leave some stuff."
Los Angeles has become a world hotspot for geocaching, partly because of our year-round mild climate, partially because of our tech savvy population and partially because of our varied and intriguing terrain. "Whatever geocaching experience you're looking for, you can find it in L.A.," claimed real estate broker and geocacher Andy Perkins in a phone interview. "On the same day, you can be digging for boxes at the beach, grab easy urban caches through the city, then head up to the mountains or out to the desert."
Perkins has been geocaching with his wife as Team Perks since they moved to the area over ten years ago and were looking for a fun way to explore. Together, they have hidden over a hundred cashes and geocached in forty two states. Their strategy is to hide caches in beautiful or interesting spots that searchers might not have seen before. "Our area has actually become saturated with caches. All the good spots are taken," says Perkins. "So when we go four-wheeling in our jeep or hiking to a scenic spot, we hide them out there. We have some out at Vasquez Rocks where they shot a lot of Star Trek."
Perkins and his wife are what geocacher Stephen O'Gara of Team Ventura Kids would call Green People. "I consider there to be three different groups of geocachers," says O'Gara by phone. "One is Green People who like to go hiking and do events like CITO (Cash In Trash Out) to clean up trails. Others focus on finding as many caches as they can. Then there's the techy group that's more into the programs and software." O'Gara, who began searching for geocaches with his friends on Harleys all over the southwest, admitted he fell in the second group. The Ventura Kids set a world record several years ago by finding 1,157 caches in 24 hours along the Extraterrestrial Highway in Nevada. The highway's claim to fame is not only that it passes Area 51 but also that is one of the largest geocache "power trails" in the world, with 2800 caches hidden every few hundred feet.
The treasure hunt continues once you've found the cache. If the container is small (some are smaller than a screw), it may only contain the log scroll for visitors to sign. But if it is larger, it may contain geocoins, trackables or other items visitors choose to leave behind. A geocoin is a collectible item that organizations and teams leave like a calling card. Trackables are dog tags with a unique number on them that are attached to items as small as a toy car or as large as a bowling pin. When you find a trackable, you look up the number online and see where in the world it's trying to get to. When you travel closer to its destination, you hide it in a geocache for another cacher to find.
Last year the startup moved away from its initial card-connected loyalty model to pursue a smart payment-processing and analytics strategy aimed at a number of larger, and mostly commoditized, legacy processing players. The three year-old company runs credit cards payments for small and medium-sized businesses, and then builds marketing and analytics services on top of Hands free access.
Swipely’s product plugs into the back-end of a merchant’s point of sale system like a traditional payment processor, but stores the transaction data (which would traditionally come in a paper statement weeks later) immediately to the cloud. There, the company can use the data to run a suite of ancillary services. That includes metrics to determine a business’s most valuable customers, the percentage of new versus returning customers, and more. It also folds in marketing services that allow businesses to sign up customers in card-connected loyalty programs and lead generation.
Since making its shift last year, the startup has been on a tear. Swipely has nearly tripled the total transactions it processed in all of last year, up from $250 million in 2012 to $700 million today. Today, the company’s platform is used in over 130 cities, and has processed over 2 million consumers.
Part of what has accelerated its growth is that the model asks little of merchants or consumers in terms of learning a new behavior – a pitfall that has limited some payments startups’ ability to grow: “If our merchants had to replace their point-of-sale system to adopt Swipely, they probably would not do it. They’re large businesses who depend on these systems to do a lot of things,” says Davis about the decision to take an open approach. “For the most part, the new-fangled iPad POS systems don’t compete at the upper end of the POS market today… If it’s not broken, there’s no need for them to fix it.”
The question now remaining for Swipely is whether staying out of the consumer experience (by creating a mobile payments app) and the merchant experience (through the point of sale device) will hurt its positioning down the road. As new entrants like Square push upstream with an integrated model (including merchant processing, consumer payments, and POS), and legacy players try to add similar services, Swipely could find its market share diminished. But it’s clear that for the time being the advantages of the open model (early scale and low-cost adoption) far exceed the long-term value of a closed approach.
In La La Land, the home of movie magic, we're used to our surroundings being not quite what they seem. But did you know, at this very moment, you are surrounded by thousands of tiny containers of various shapes and sizes, camouflaged in bushes, hidden in fake electrical boxes, attached by magnet to the bottoms of bar stools and perched atop stop-signs? You might need an ultra-violet light to discover the final clue to find them or wait for low tide to wade out to a cave at the beach, but they're there. That creepy guy at the bus stop who keeps looking around suspiciously might be totally nuts...or he might be a geocacher.
Geocaching is a worldwide treasure hunt that began in May 2000 when the U.S. government gave up "selective availability" and allowed civilians to use GPS devices with almost perfect accuracy for the first time. Computer consultant David Ulmer was one of many GPS enthusiasts brainstorming how this newly available technology could be used. The day after "selective availability" was lifted, Ulmer decided to hide a bucket in the woods near his home in Beavercreek, Oregon filled with prizes and post the coordinates online for anyone to find. He called it "The Great American GPS Stash Hunt" and its one rule was, "Take some stuff; leave some stuff."
Los Angeles has become a world hotspot for geocaching, partly because of our year-round mild climate, partially because of our tech savvy population and partially because of our varied and intriguing terrain. "Whatever geocaching experience you're looking for, you can find it in L.A.," claimed real estate broker and geocacher Andy Perkins in a phone interview. "On the same day, you can be digging for boxes at the beach, grab easy urban caches through the city, then head up to the mountains or out to the desert."
Perkins has been geocaching with his wife as Team Perks since they moved to the area over ten years ago and were looking for a fun way to explore. Together, they have hidden over a hundred cashes and geocached in forty two states. Their strategy is to hide caches in beautiful or interesting spots that searchers might not have seen before. "Our area has actually become saturated with caches. All the good spots are taken," says Perkins. "So when we go four-wheeling in our jeep or hiking to a scenic spot, we hide them out there. We have some out at Vasquez Rocks where they shot a lot of Star Trek."
Perkins and his wife are what geocacher Stephen O'Gara of Team Ventura Kids would call Green People. "I consider there to be three different groups of geocachers," says O'Gara by phone. "One is Green People who like to go hiking and do events like CITO (Cash In Trash Out) to clean up trails. Others focus on finding as many caches as they can. Then there's the techy group that's more into the programs and software." O'Gara, who began searching for geocaches with his friends on Harleys all over the southwest, admitted he fell in the second group. The Ventura Kids set a world record several years ago by finding 1,157 caches in 24 hours along the Extraterrestrial Highway in Nevada. The highway's claim to fame is not only that it passes Area 51 but also that is one of the largest geocache "power trails" in the world, with 2800 caches hidden every few hundred feet.
The treasure hunt continues once you've found the cache. If the container is small (some are smaller than a screw), it may only contain the log scroll for visitors to sign. But if it is larger, it may contain geocoins, trackables or other items visitors choose to leave behind. A geocoin is a collectible item that organizations and teams leave like a calling card. Trackables are dog tags with a unique number on them that are attached to items as small as a toy car or as large as a bowling pin. When you find a trackable, you look up the number online and see where in the world it's trying to get to. When you travel closer to its destination, you hide it in a geocache for another cacher to find.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Who Should Take Blame for Mets’ Unraveling This Season?
If ever there were a time for Jon Niese to channel his inner Jerry Koosman — or, maybe Sid Fernandez, if we’re being less overheated — it was Thursday afternoon against the Cardinals. Watching Niese was like one giant tease for Mets fans, who must’ve turned off the TV wondering why he can’t flatten hitters like that all the time.
Niese didn’t just make the Cardinals look bad in a 5-2 victory, he outpitched Adam Wainwright, which is saying something. The left-hander ended the Mets’ six-game losing streak, delivering to this franchise a much-needed Band-Aid. Still, let’s be truthful, that’s all it was.
Niese’s masterpiece aside, the Mets have been careening toward disaster for most of May and are now on pace for 100 losses. No one should be surprised; this roster has been badly flawed from the outset. Still, it’s disturbing how quickly the season has unraveled, leaving in its wake the sense that it’s hopeless from here to September.
So who’s to blame? Terry Collins made himself an easy target last week, creating an adversarial relationship with the public. The manager quickly walked back his comments, apologizing for saying, “I don’t answer to fans.” Of course Collins doesn’t. But it’s hard to repair the damage once a wedge has been placed between the players and the ticket buyers. It’s how managers get themselves fired.
Collins should’ve known better than to give the Wilpons an opening like that. No matter what ownership says to the contrary, they’ll need a fall guy if the Mets are doomed to play .400 ball the rest of the summer. What better candidate than someone who rips the saps who still actually pay to see the Hands free access?
But that’s not saying Collins deserves to be canned. Given a pass for last week’s misstep, he’s had a better year than most of his remarkably awful lineup. There’s plenty of talk, generated mostly by rogue fans, about Wally Backman arriving mid-summer to shake things up. Admittedly, it’s a seductive story line: Backman and his tightly wound clock, is just the medicine these sorry Mets need. Right?
Not really. Backman would face the same obstacles that currently handcuff Collins: a non-productive outfield, a bullpen that ranked last in the majors in almost category in May, not to mention the regression of key players such as Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy and even Niese.
Somehow, the Mets are worse this year despite adding Matt Harvey, who might be the best pitcher in baseball. This summer was supposed to be a springboard to the 2014 renaissance — if not a wild-card run, at least a dance on the fringes of respectability.
But general manager Sandy Alderson, a Dartmouth College graduate, chose to populate his bullpen with aging relievers, one of whom, Scott Atchison, has already broken down. The wear and tear on the Mets’ relief corps will only become more pronounced, too, especially if Niese can’t sustain the fastball he showed the Cardinals and Dillon Gee, who admits he’s “lost” on the mound, doesn’t find his equilibrium. And then there’s Harvey and his innings.
At 24, the Mets’ boy-ace is already a candidate for the Verducci Effect, having increased his workload by 331∕3 innings from 2011-12. The formula, while admittedly imperfect, nevertheless issues a warning to any under-25-year-old pitcher whose workload increases by more than 30 innings from one season to the next.
The Mets would be smart to protect Harvey — only, with what? LaTroy Hawkins? Robert Carson? Eventually, the fans will be treated to Zack Wheeler and while the Harvey-Wheeler duo will tap into a deep well of nostalgia among the franchise’s historians — think: a young Seaver-Koosman — Alderson’s bullpen will keep breaking their hearts. At least until the Mets can score more runs.
No one could’ve predicted how fast Davis would decelerate this season. One scout flatly asked, “What’s he even doing on that roster?” To slightly lesser degrees, Duda and Ruben Tejada have worked their way down the ladder of success. Although Murphy finally got hot recently, ownership was nevertheless desperate enough to sign Rick Ankiel, a decision that was met with derision by rival talent evaluators.
Alderson’s response, of course, is to point to similar gambles that have worked out for the Yankees, specifically with Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay. But GM Brian Cashman has had a much higher percentage than Alderson in picking the right horse. Overbay and Wells are only his most recent success stories; the list goes on to include Eric Chavez and Russell Martin and Raul Ibanez, among others.
To be fair, the difference between Cashman and Alderson is money. One man has it at his disposal, the other is working with food stamps, at the mercy of his penniless bosses. That’s the last remaining hope for Alderson, that the Wilpons will fatten the payroll to $100 million next year after John Santana and Jason Bay are finally off the books. That’s a $52 million windfall.
Niese didn’t just make the Cardinals look bad in a 5-2 victory, he outpitched Adam Wainwright, which is saying something. The left-hander ended the Mets’ six-game losing streak, delivering to this franchise a much-needed Band-Aid. Still, let’s be truthful, that’s all it was.
Niese’s masterpiece aside, the Mets have been careening toward disaster for most of May and are now on pace for 100 losses. No one should be surprised; this roster has been badly flawed from the outset. Still, it’s disturbing how quickly the season has unraveled, leaving in its wake the sense that it’s hopeless from here to September.
So who’s to blame? Terry Collins made himself an easy target last week, creating an adversarial relationship with the public. The manager quickly walked back his comments, apologizing for saying, “I don’t answer to fans.” Of course Collins doesn’t. But it’s hard to repair the damage once a wedge has been placed between the players and the ticket buyers. It’s how managers get themselves fired.
Collins should’ve known better than to give the Wilpons an opening like that. No matter what ownership says to the contrary, they’ll need a fall guy if the Mets are doomed to play .400 ball the rest of the summer. What better candidate than someone who rips the saps who still actually pay to see the Hands free access?
But that’s not saying Collins deserves to be canned. Given a pass for last week’s misstep, he’s had a better year than most of his remarkably awful lineup. There’s plenty of talk, generated mostly by rogue fans, about Wally Backman arriving mid-summer to shake things up. Admittedly, it’s a seductive story line: Backman and his tightly wound clock, is just the medicine these sorry Mets need. Right?
Not really. Backman would face the same obstacles that currently handcuff Collins: a non-productive outfield, a bullpen that ranked last in the majors in almost category in May, not to mention the regression of key players such as Ike Davis, Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy and even Niese.
Somehow, the Mets are worse this year despite adding Matt Harvey, who might be the best pitcher in baseball. This summer was supposed to be a springboard to the 2014 renaissance — if not a wild-card run, at least a dance on the fringes of respectability.
But general manager Sandy Alderson, a Dartmouth College graduate, chose to populate his bullpen with aging relievers, one of whom, Scott Atchison, has already broken down. The wear and tear on the Mets’ relief corps will only become more pronounced, too, especially if Niese can’t sustain the fastball he showed the Cardinals and Dillon Gee, who admits he’s “lost” on the mound, doesn’t find his equilibrium. And then there’s Harvey and his innings.
At 24, the Mets’ boy-ace is already a candidate for the Verducci Effect, having increased his workload by 331∕3 innings from 2011-12. The formula, while admittedly imperfect, nevertheless issues a warning to any under-25-year-old pitcher whose workload increases by more than 30 innings from one season to the next.
The Mets would be smart to protect Harvey — only, with what? LaTroy Hawkins? Robert Carson? Eventually, the fans will be treated to Zack Wheeler and while the Harvey-Wheeler duo will tap into a deep well of nostalgia among the franchise’s historians — think: a young Seaver-Koosman — Alderson’s bullpen will keep breaking their hearts. At least until the Mets can score more runs.
No one could’ve predicted how fast Davis would decelerate this season. One scout flatly asked, “What’s he even doing on that roster?” To slightly lesser degrees, Duda and Ruben Tejada have worked their way down the ladder of success. Although Murphy finally got hot recently, ownership was nevertheless desperate enough to sign Rick Ankiel, a decision that was met with derision by rival talent evaluators.
Alderson’s response, of course, is to point to similar gambles that have worked out for the Yankees, specifically with Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay. But GM Brian Cashman has had a much higher percentage than Alderson in picking the right horse. Overbay and Wells are only his most recent success stories; the list goes on to include Eric Chavez and Russell Martin and Raul Ibanez, among others.
To be fair, the difference between Cashman and Alderson is money. One man has it at his disposal, the other is working with food stamps, at the mercy of his penniless bosses. That’s the last remaining hope for Alderson, that the Wilpons will fatten the payroll to $100 million next year after John Santana and Jason Bay are finally off the books. That’s a $52 million windfall.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Comic Book Guy is living a lie
We notice it every week and then conveniently forget it. It's the elephant in the room, the balrog in Moria, the gagh in the Rokeg blood pie, the organic webbing in Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man. We have ignored it for too long. No more.
For years, we have welcomed into our lives a man who is living a lie. He sits there every day of every week talking to us, laughing with us, mocking us, all the while pretending to be something he's not. And we let him! We just smile and laugh and mock him back.
Not today. Today I'm here to finally say it: Comic Book Guy is no baseball fan! He's just your generic Star Trek geek with zero interest in baseball or any other sport. So why, we must wonder, does he bother calling his store "The Android's Dungeon and Baseball Card Shop"? He's not fooling anyone.
The evidence is everywhere. Sure, the store is stocked with the appropriate paraphernalia -- that Isotopes pennant has been hanging on the wall for as long as I can remember -- but it all feels much too staged. For example, why is there a Red Sox pennant hanging behind the counter? The Red Sox have nothing to do with Springfield, but there it hangs, just another little mask for Comic Book Guy to hide behind. Who knew the neckbeard would need a beard of his own?
And the 25-cent sleeve of cardholders that has been hanging on the wall for 24 years? Is there even one other sheet anywhere else in the store? They're not for Magic or Pokemon cards, that's for sure. No self-respecting collectible-card-game enthusiast would store his precious cards in such cheap plastic. No, that sleeve is camouflage, hoping to convince us that The Android's Dungeon is a baseball-card shop. Same with the baseball on the shelf along the wall, or the various ballplayer photos and magazines that are set up occasionally. But we know the truth.
Comic Book Guy wants nothing to do with baseball. When he sold the film rights to his comic book Everyman, the rotund one exclaimed, "I played hardball with Hollywood -- the closest I will ever come to playing a sport in my life." When Mr. Burns bought a squad of Major League ringers to play on his softball team, our pony-tailed friend was nowhere to be found, in the stands or otherwise. Remember all the excitement about the Lisa Simpson-led Little League team a few years ago? Professor Frink, Gary and those college geeks were the nerds in the sabermetric club at Moe's Tavern. Comic Book Guy was probably busy sitting at his (so-called) baseball-card shop muttering, over and over again, "Worst. Sport. Ever."
Remember when the Isotopes won a championship thanks to that sniper at the All-Star Game? And the resulting riots led to a city-wide curfew for children? One person was noticeably absent. That's right, the only baseball-card shop owner in town couldn't get off his duff for something as monumental as a national championship from the local nine. So it shouldn't be a surprise that, when the MENSA junta took charge of Springfield, he and his brainy friends tried to outlaw sports of any kind.
Meanwhile, back at the shop, does CBG even sell baseball cards? There was that one time Milhouse tried to buy a copy of the 1973 Carl Yastrzemski card, when he had the big sideburns. To his credit, Comic Book Guy knew exactly which card he wanted and exactly its price. However, in the 20-plus years since then, there hasn't been a single other baseball-related item sold. There have been ALF pogs and Steve Allen pogs, jazz albums, barbershop albums, Mary Worth telephones, Radioactive Man comic books, Biclops comic books, Poochie merchandise, video games like Bonestorm and Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge, Itchy & Scratchy animation cels, James Bond autographs, McBain posters, bootleg movies, a little boy's soul ... but no baseball cards. The store has been visited by the likes of Stan Lee, Hi & Lois, and even special-effects guru Tom Savini. Why not Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens or Babe Ruth IV? What about the Capitol City Goofball?
It's in his free time that we see what Comic Book Guy really loves. As you might imagine, comic-book and science-fiction conventions play a big role. He once won the Ultimate Belt at a Star Trek convention and nearly married Edna Krabapple at Springfield's Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con. His internet life is just as predictable. Comic Book Guy runs many online forums (including "Ain't I Fat News"), is a usenet obsessive, and was once married to a woman in an online role-playing game. He dresses in superhero costumes, attends flea markets, watches Doctor Who, and opines about any piece of pop culture that crosses his path. The only thing missing from these outside pursuits? Baseball. On that famous day when Hall of Famer Whitey Ford was pelted with pretzels, not even the allure of free food was enough to bring our anti-hero to the ballpark. A few years later, Homer Simpson staged a hunger strike to protest the Isotopes' upcoming move to Albuquerque. Duff Stadium was filled that night with Springfield citizens from all walks of life, from retiree Jasper to billionaire Mr. Burns. And where was Comic Book Guy? Who knows.
For years, we have welcomed into our lives a man who is living a lie. He sits there every day of every week talking to us, laughing with us, mocking us, all the while pretending to be something he's not. And we let him! We just smile and laugh and mock him back.
Not today. Today I'm here to finally say it: Comic Book Guy is no baseball fan! He's just your generic Star Trek geek with zero interest in baseball or any other sport. So why, we must wonder, does he bother calling his store "The Android's Dungeon and Baseball Card Shop"? He's not fooling anyone.
The evidence is everywhere. Sure, the store is stocked with the appropriate paraphernalia -- that Isotopes pennant has been hanging on the wall for as long as I can remember -- but it all feels much too staged. For example, why is there a Red Sox pennant hanging behind the counter? The Red Sox have nothing to do with Springfield, but there it hangs, just another little mask for Comic Book Guy to hide behind. Who knew the neckbeard would need a beard of his own?
And the 25-cent sleeve of cardholders that has been hanging on the wall for 24 years? Is there even one other sheet anywhere else in the store? They're not for Magic or Pokemon cards, that's for sure. No self-respecting collectible-card-game enthusiast would store his precious cards in such cheap plastic. No, that sleeve is camouflage, hoping to convince us that The Android's Dungeon is a baseball-card shop. Same with the baseball on the shelf along the wall, or the various ballplayer photos and magazines that are set up occasionally. But we know the truth.
Comic Book Guy wants nothing to do with baseball. When he sold the film rights to his comic book Everyman, the rotund one exclaimed, "I played hardball with Hollywood -- the closest I will ever come to playing a sport in my life." When Mr. Burns bought a squad of Major League ringers to play on his softball team, our pony-tailed friend was nowhere to be found, in the stands or otherwise. Remember all the excitement about the Lisa Simpson-led Little League team a few years ago? Professor Frink, Gary and those college geeks were the nerds in the sabermetric club at Moe's Tavern. Comic Book Guy was probably busy sitting at his (so-called) baseball-card shop muttering, over and over again, "Worst. Sport. Ever."
Remember when the Isotopes won a championship thanks to that sniper at the All-Star Game? And the resulting riots led to a city-wide curfew for children? One person was noticeably absent. That's right, the only baseball-card shop owner in town couldn't get off his duff for something as monumental as a national championship from the local nine. So it shouldn't be a surprise that, when the MENSA junta took charge of Springfield, he and his brainy friends tried to outlaw sports of any kind.
Meanwhile, back at the shop, does CBG even sell baseball cards? There was that one time Milhouse tried to buy a copy of the 1973 Carl Yastrzemski card, when he had the big sideburns. To his credit, Comic Book Guy knew exactly which card he wanted and exactly its price. However, in the 20-plus years since then, there hasn't been a single other baseball-related item sold. There have been ALF pogs and Steve Allen pogs, jazz albums, barbershop albums, Mary Worth telephones, Radioactive Man comic books, Biclops comic books, Poochie merchandise, video games like Bonestorm and Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge, Itchy & Scratchy animation cels, James Bond autographs, McBain posters, bootleg movies, a little boy's soul ... but no baseball cards. The store has been visited by the likes of Stan Lee, Hi & Lois, and even special-effects guru Tom Savini. Why not Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens or Babe Ruth IV? What about the Capitol City Goofball?
It's in his free time that we see what Comic Book Guy really loves. As you might imagine, comic-book and science-fiction conventions play a big role. He once won the Ultimate Belt at a Star Trek convention and nearly married Edna Krabapple at Springfield's Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con. His internet life is just as predictable. Comic Book Guy runs many online forums (including "Ain't I Fat News"), is a usenet obsessive, and was once married to a woman in an online role-playing game. He dresses in superhero costumes, attends flea markets, watches Doctor Who, and opines about any piece of pop culture that crosses his path. The only thing missing from these outside pursuits? Baseball. On that famous day when Hall of Famer Whitey Ford was pelted with pretzels, not even the allure of free food was enough to bring our anti-hero to the ballpark. A few years later, Homer Simpson staged a hunger strike to protest the Isotopes' upcoming move to Albuquerque. Duff Stadium was filled that night with Springfield citizens from all walks of life, from retiree Jasper to billionaire Mr. Burns. And where was Comic Book Guy? Who knows.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Aconite Announces PIN Management Product
"Many issuers and processors are finding that the constraints of their current PIN handling processes will not allow them to cut costs and mitigate the fraud risks inherent in these operations." said Patrick Regester, EVP Sales & Marketing at Aconite. "These same organizations are also facing increasing customer demand for access to PIN services using mobile and internet channels."
Aconite PIN Manager (APM) unifies the generation, distribution and authentication of PINs across multiple card management systems and over diverse channels. APM supports traditional PIN distribution via PIN mailers but importantly also enables innovative and very significant cost-savings, estimated at 25% or greater, through the elimination of traditional mail, replacing this with secure distribution via SMS, IVR, internet banking or a combination of these channels.
"APM has been architected from the ground up to meet the needs of issuers and processors for a feature-rich but flexible solution that integrates easily with both existing card management and Hands free access as well as new online services," added Regester. "There is a need to provide a unified solution with common standards and procedures to ensure consistent and secure handling of PINs."
APM manages PINs for both magnetic stripe and EMV chip cards, where control of Offline PIN change and reset via EMV Scripting is integrated. APM can also be used to administer other digital credentials such as biometrics across multiple smart products, including mobiles. The most recent organization to license the APM product is a leading financial services processor in Europe with more than 10 million cards issued.
NXP has announced that MEXIBUS - the public transport operator in the federal state of Mexico – has selected MIFARE DESFire EV1 for its contactless smart ticketing solution. The new cards will ensure reliable and secure fare payment across the growing MEXIBUS network. In addition to secure smart card ICs, NXP is also providing the ICs in MEXIBUS’s new readers. The ticketing system was integrated by Grupo Indi, using cards manufactured by ASK and Inteligensa.
MIFARE DESFire EV1 is a product platform for transport ticketing systems, enabling passengers to enjoy better journeys and public transport operators to improve the cost-efficiency and transaction speed of their systems. In addition to public transportation, the MIFARE DESFire platform also allows smart cards to be used for multiple applications such as bike rental, street parking or museum tickets.
Covering the area around the federal district of Mexico City, which itself has over 21 million residents, the federal state of Mexico has experienced rapid growth over the past few years, and now comprises over 15 million people. As the most densely populated region in Mexico, a more efficient and cost-effective urban transportation system is needed that limits the amount of cars on the roads while ensuring mobility in and around Mexico City. Convenient and efficient boarding, as enabled by the NXP solution, encourages the increased use of public transportation for a more sustainable urban life.
Seventeen contactless transport ticketing projects in Mexico are already based on NXP’s MIFARE technology platform. The interoperability of these MIFARE-based urban transport systems with the new MEXIBUS system means that Public Transport Operators can offer a cost-efficient ticketing solution allowing passengers to use a single card for all journeys across the city and the federal state of Mexico. The MIFARE DESFire technology platform is also extendable beyond smart cards to other form factors such as NFC-enabled smart phones and banking cards.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless and poisonous gas that is emitted by all internal combustion engines, such as boat engines and onboard motor generators. In the early stages, the symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to seasickness, but CO can kill in a matter of minutes. The only way to detect CO is with an alarm, so install CO alarms on board, especially in living and sleeping areas.
Oregon’s lakes, rivers and bays are the perfect getaway for Oregon boaters. Before taking the plunge, though, Oregon boaters are reminded that anyone who operates a powerboat is required to carry a boater education card. In 2011, boating accidents in Oregon increased by 10 percent from the year before – underscoring the need for easier access to Oregon boating safety courses and other educational materials.
Most recent national data from the U.S. Coast Guard details 4,588 accidents in 2011, including 758 fatalities and 3,081 injuries. The majority of these accidents occurred from May to September, with 77 percent of the reportable incidents for the year. In Oregon, there were 66 boating accidents in 2011, resulting in 10 deaths and 39 injuries.
Hackers got into bank databases, eliminated withdrawal limits on pre-paid debit cards and created access codes. Others loaded that data onto any plastic card with a magnetic stripe — an old hotel key card or an expired credit card worked fine as long as they carried the account data and correct access codes.
A network of operatives then fanned out to rapidly withdraw money in multiple cities, authorities said. The cells would take a cut of the money, then launder it through expensive purchases or ship it wholesale to the global ringleaders. Lynch didn’t say where they were located.
There were two separate attacks, one in December that reaped $5 million worldwide and one in February that snared about $40 million in 10 hours with about 36,000 transactions. The scheme involved attacks on two banks, Rakbank in the United Arab Emirates and the Bank of Muscat in Oman, prosecutors said.
The plundered ATMs were in Japan, Russia, Romania, Egypt, Colombia, Britain, Sri Lanka, Canada and several other countries, and law enforcement agencies from more than a dozen nations were involved in the investigation, U.S. prosecutors said.
The accused ringleader in the U.S. cell, Alberto Yusi Lajud-Pena, was reportedly killed in the Dominican Republic late last month, prosecutors said. More investigations continue and other arrests have been made in other countries, but prosecutors did not have details.
An indictment unsealed Thursday accused Lajud-Pena and the other seven New York suspects of withdrawing $2.8 million in cash from hacked accounts in less than a day.
Aconite PIN Manager (APM) unifies the generation, distribution and authentication of PINs across multiple card management systems and over diverse channels. APM supports traditional PIN distribution via PIN mailers but importantly also enables innovative and very significant cost-savings, estimated at 25% or greater, through the elimination of traditional mail, replacing this with secure distribution via SMS, IVR, internet banking or a combination of these channels.
"APM has been architected from the ground up to meet the needs of issuers and processors for a feature-rich but flexible solution that integrates easily with both existing card management and Hands free access as well as new online services," added Regester. "There is a need to provide a unified solution with common standards and procedures to ensure consistent and secure handling of PINs."
APM manages PINs for both magnetic stripe and EMV chip cards, where control of Offline PIN change and reset via EMV Scripting is integrated. APM can also be used to administer other digital credentials such as biometrics across multiple smart products, including mobiles. The most recent organization to license the APM product is a leading financial services processor in Europe with more than 10 million cards issued.
NXP has announced that MEXIBUS - the public transport operator in the federal state of Mexico – has selected MIFARE DESFire EV1 for its contactless smart ticketing solution. The new cards will ensure reliable and secure fare payment across the growing MEXIBUS network. In addition to secure smart card ICs, NXP is also providing the ICs in MEXIBUS’s new readers. The ticketing system was integrated by Grupo Indi, using cards manufactured by ASK and Inteligensa.
MIFARE DESFire EV1 is a product platform for transport ticketing systems, enabling passengers to enjoy better journeys and public transport operators to improve the cost-efficiency and transaction speed of their systems. In addition to public transportation, the MIFARE DESFire platform also allows smart cards to be used for multiple applications such as bike rental, street parking or museum tickets.
Covering the area around the federal district of Mexico City, which itself has over 21 million residents, the federal state of Mexico has experienced rapid growth over the past few years, and now comprises over 15 million people. As the most densely populated region in Mexico, a more efficient and cost-effective urban transportation system is needed that limits the amount of cars on the roads while ensuring mobility in and around Mexico City. Convenient and efficient boarding, as enabled by the NXP solution, encourages the increased use of public transportation for a more sustainable urban life.
Seventeen contactless transport ticketing projects in Mexico are already based on NXP’s MIFARE technology platform. The interoperability of these MIFARE-based urban transport systems with the new MEXIBUS system means that Public Transport Operators can offer a cost-efficient ticketing solution allowing passengers to use a single card for all journeys across the city and the federal state of Mexico. The MIFARE DESFire technology platform is also extendable beyond smart cards to other form factors such as NFC-enabled smart phones and banking cards.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless and poisonous gas that is emitted by all internal combustion engines, such as boat engines and onboard motor generators. In the early stages, the symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to seasickness, but CO can kill in a matter of minutes. The only way to detect CO is with an alarm, so install CO alarms on board, especially in living and sleeping areas.
Oregon’s lakes, rivers and bays are the perfect getaway for Oregon boaters. Before taking the plunge, though, Oregon boaters are reminded that anyone who operates a powerboat is required to carry a boater education card. In 2011, boating accidents in Oregon increased by 10 percent from the year before – underscoring the need for easier access to Oregon boating safety courses and other educational materials.
Most recent national data from the U.S. Coast Guard details 4,588 accidents in 2011, including 758 fatalities and 3,081 injuries. The majority of these accidents occurred from May to September, with 77 percent of the reportable incidents for the year. In Oregon, there were 66 boating accidents in 2011, resulting in 10 deaths and 39 injuries.
Hackers got into bank databases, eliminated withdrawal limits on pre-paid debit cards and created access codes. Others loaded that data onto any plastic card with a magnetic stripe — an old hotel key card or an expired credit card worked fine as long as they carried the account data and correct access codes.
A network of operatives then fanned out to rapidly withdraw money in multiple cities, authorities said. The cells would take a cut of the money, then launder it through expensive purchases or ship it wholesale to the global ringleaders. Lynch didn’t say where they were located.
There were two separate attacks, one in December that reaped $5 million worldwide and one in February that snared about $40 million in 10 hours with about 36,000 transactions. The scheme involved attacks on two banks, Rakbank in the United Arab Emirates and the Bank of Muscat in Oman, prosecutors said.
The plundered ATMs were in Japan, Russia, Romania, Egypt, Colombia, Britain, Sri Lanka, Canada and several other countries, and law enforcement agencies from more than a dozen nations were involved in the investigation, U.S. prosecutors said.
The accused ringleader in the U.S. cell, Alberto Yusi Lajud-Pena, was reportedly killed in the Dominican Republic late last month, prosecutors said. More investigations continue and other arrests have been made in other countries, but prosecutors did not have details.
An indictment unsealed Thursday accused Lajud-Pena and the other seven New York suspects of withdrawing $2.8 million in cash from hacked accounts in less than a day.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Why We Use Our Middle Names
"Arrigg" is a confusing middle name to have. It's unusual, hard to pronounce, and I've never once been able to say it without having to repeat myself. Even after spelling it out, I'm used to puzzled reactions. I always have the same line in response, with pride: "Arrigg. It's Lebanese, and it's my Mom's last name."
I was fortunate to grow up in a happy household with two parents who were and continue to be incredibly and utterly in love. They're the kind of couple that complements one another, where one's weakness is the other's strength. They were both incredibly attentive parents -- too attentive, I felt at times -- but now I realize it's exactly the reason I stayed out of trouble. Yet despite the equal and healthy nature of their relationship, our family would unanimously agree that it's my mother who is the soul of the rtls.
Claudia Arrigg is the most generous, caring, and giving person you've ever met (yes, I realize I'm biased). She's the kind of lady who makes you well up in tears when thinking about her, who makes you wonder how on earth you were so lucky as to have been born into the care of this amazing woman. And the most beautiful part is that if you ever asked her, she'd have no idea what you are talking about. To her, to give all for her kids and for her family is all she knows. It's natural. And she wouldn't have it any other way.
She's also an incredibly accomplished ophthalmologist, a legendary doctor in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts. She's earned her money and reputation, one patient at a time. But despite her success, she always prioritized her children. Many days I came home from school to find that my mother had left work early after 90+ patients to prepare a snack and make sure I started my homework on time. She made so many little sacrifices to give me the discipline that I surely didn't have naturally.
My mom kept her name when she married my Dad. That meant that despite her incredible effort as a parent, throughout my life people tended not to immediately associate her with me. So I'm extraordinarily grateful that my parents decided to give me and my two siblings my mother's maiden name as our middle names. As a deeply personal homage to my mother, I use my middle name as much as I can. It's the least I can do to honor such a humble, driven, and passionate woman -- the person to whom I literally owe my life but also a person whom I appreciate a leader, a fighter, and a ruthless champion of family. By using my middle name, I ensure that in small ways -- my e-mail signature, the way I sign credit card receipts -- and large -- the way my name appears one day on my wedding invitation, my mom is and will always be on shining display as a fundamental part of me.
I have a friend who likes to host dinner parties that bring together a bunch of people who don't know each other. It's great for networking, and over the course of the evening, the guests usually exchange business cards. Things are generally pretty cordial.
So I was stunned when an attorney at the table one night, a guy who looked to be in his early 40s, took a look at my card, smirked and asked me, "Does everyone at HuffPost Women use her middle name?"
It was a ridiculous comment. Though I'm sure he was mocking my feminism, I'm not sure how he thought using my full name on my business card -- the name that's on my birth certificate -- indicated a feminist stance. It's not like I was married and insisting on using my maiden name as well as my married name -- though there would be absolutely nothing wrong with that.
This guy didn't realize a lot of things. He didn't realize that I was used to that kind of mockery, and that one of the reasons I live in New York is that I rarely have to hear this sort of thing here. He didn't realize that I grew up around men who ridicule any remotely feminist behavior, who think NOW is an organization dedicated to man-hating rather than equality, who don't recognize that saying things like, "Does everyone at HuffPost Women use her middle name?" mainly conveys a monumental insecurity around the opposite sex.
When I was about 13, my mother revealed to me that she had wanted to be a doctor but instead became a middle school science teacher. I didn't understand. It's not that there was anything wrong with being a middle-school science teacher -- I had one and liked her very much. I just couldn't see what had kept my mother from pursuing her true goal. Hadn't I'd always been told I could do whatever I wanted to do? Did the same rules not apply to her?
When I asked her why she hadn't followed her dream, she answered, "I didn't think I was smart enough."
I've never forgotten that statement or stopped thinking about its origins. Part of it had to be that she hadn't known any female doctors growing up. She hadn't known that many women who worked. Part of it probably had to do with her specific upbringing, and experiences I will never know about that made her doubt her abilities.
It didn't end when I was 13. In the years after, I heard my mother deny her intelligence again and again. She claimed mine, which she extolled to an embarrassing degree, was "all your father." She said things to me like, "You're already everything I ever wanted to be."
I've often wondered what my mother would have done had someone told her that she is as capable and intelligent as she is. By that, I don't mean to suggest that she hasn't made a tremendous impact on many people's lives. Her former students still approach her at restaurants and events to tell her how much they enjoyed her classes. She has made an incalculable difference for the new mothers she visits through the worst of postpartum depression and the inner-city girls who participate in the summer sports camp she volunteers with every year. And of course her friends and family have benefitted from her humor, her support and constant love. But I wish that it had been possible for her to have a sense, just once, that she had exactly what it took to do the thing she aspired to do.
I was fortunate to grow up in a happy household with two parents who were and continue to be incredibly and utterly in love. They're the kind of couple that complements one another, where one's weakness is the other's strength. They were both incredibly attentive parents -- too attentive, I felt at times -- but now I realize it's exactly the reason I stayed out of trouble. Yet despite the equal and healthy nature of their relationship, our family would unanimously agree that it's my mother who is the soul of the rtls.
Claudia Arrigg is the most generous, caring, and giving person you've ever met (yes, I realize I'm biased). She's the kind of lady who makes you well up in tears when thinking about her, who makes you wonder how on earth you were so lucky as to have been born into the care of this amazing woman. And the most beautiful part is that if you ever asked her, she'd have no idea what you are talking about. To her, to give all for her kids and for her family is all she knows. It's natural. And she wouldn't have it any other way.
She's also an incredibly accomplished ophthalmologist, a legendary doctor in the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts. She's earned her money and reputation, one patient at a time. But despite her success, she always prioritized her children. Many days I came home from school to find that my mother had left work early after 90+ patients to prepare a snack and make sure I started my homework on time. She made so many little sacrifices to give me the discipline that I surely didn't have naturally.
My mom kept her name when she married my Dad. That meant that despite her incredible effort as a parent, throughout my life people tended not to immediately associate her with me. So I'm extraordinarily grateful that my parents decided to give me and my two siblings my mother's maiden name as our middle names. As a deeply personal homage to my mother, I use my middle name as much as I can. It's the least I can do to honor such a humble, driven, and passionate woman -- the person to whom I literally owe my life but also a person whom I appreciate a leader, a fighter, and a ruthless champion of family. By using my middle name, I ensure that in small ways -- my e-mail signature, the way I sign credit card receipts -- and large -- the way my name appears one day on my wedding invitation, my mom is and will always be on shining display as a fundamental part of me.
I have a friend who likes to host dinner parties that bring together a bunch of people who don't know each other. It's great for networking, and over the course of the evening, the guests usually exchange business cards. Things are generally pretty cordial.
So I was stunned when an attorney at the table one night, a guy who looked to be in his early 40s, took a look at my card, smirked and asked me, "Does everyone at HuffPost Women use her middle name?"
It was a ridiculous comment. Though I'm sure he was mocking my feminism, I'm not sure how he thought using my full name on my business card -- the name that's on my birth certificate -- indicated a feminist stance. It's not like I was married and insisting on using my maiden name as well as my married name -- though there would be absolutely nothing wrong with that.
This guy didn't realize a lot of things. He didn't realize that I was used to that kind of mockery, and that one of the reasons I live in New York is that I rarely have to hear this sort of thing here. He didn't realize that I grew up around men who ridicule any remotely feminist behavior, who think NOW is an organization dedicated to man-hating rather than equality, who don't recognize that saying things like, "Does everyone at HuffPost Women use her middle name?" mainly conveys a monumental insecurity around the opposite sex.
When I was about 13, my mother revealed to me that she had wanted to be a doctor but instead became a middle school science teacher. I didn't understand. It's not that there was anything wrong with being a middle-school science teacher -- I had one and liked her very much. I just couldn't see what had kept my mother from pursuing her true goal. Hadn't I'd always been told I could do whatever I wanted to do? Did the same rules not apply to her?
When I asked her why she hadn't followed her dream, she answered, "I didn't think I was smart enough."
I've never forgotten that statement or stopped thinking about its origins. Part of it had to be that she hadn't known any female doctors growing up. She hadn't known that many women who worked. Part of it probably had to do with her specific upbringing, and experiences I will never know about that made her doubt her abilities.
It didn't end when I was 13. In the years after, I heard my mother deny her intelligence again and again. She claimed mine, which she extolled to an embarrassing degree, was "all your father." She said things to me like, "You're already everything I ever wanted to be."
I've often wondered what my mother would have done had someone told her that she is as capable and intelligent as she is. By that, I don't mean to suggest that she hasn't made a tremendous impact on many people's lives. Her former students still approach her at restaurants and events to tell her how much they enjoyed her classes. She has made an incalculable difference for the new mothers she visits through the worst of postpartum depression and the inner-city girls who participate in the summer sports camp she volunteers with every year. And of course her friends and family have benefitted from her humor, her support and constant love. But I wish that it had been possible for her to have a sense, just once, that she had exactly what it took to do the thing she aspired to do.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
MasterCard to Power Nigerian Identity Card Program
The Nigerian National Identity Management Commission and MasterCard today announced at the World Economic Forum on Africa the roll-out of 13 million MasterCard-branded National Identity Smart Cards with electronic payment capability as a pilot program. The National Identity Smart Card is the Card Scheme under the recently deployed National Identity Management System. This program is the largest roll-out of a formal electronic payment solution in the country and the broadest financial inclusion initiative of its kind on the African continent.
As part of the program, in its first phase, Nigerians 16 years and older, and all residents in the country for more than two years, will get the new multipurpose identity card which has 13 applications including MasterCard’s prepaid payment technology that will provide cardholders with the safety, convenience and reliability of electronic payments. This will have a significant and positive impact on the lives of these Nigerians who have not previously had access to financial services.
The Project will have Access Bank Plc as the pilot issuer bank for the cards and Unified Payment Services Limited as the payment processor. Other issuing banks will include United Bank for indoor Tracking, Union Bank, Zenith, Skye Bank, Unity Bank, Stanbic, and First Bank.
The announcement was witnessed by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy in Nigeria, who stressed the importance of the National Identity Smart Card Scheme in moving Nigeria to an electronic platform. This program is good practice for us to bring all the citizens on a common platform for interacting with the various government agencies and for transacting electronically. We will implement this initiative in a collaborative manner between the public and private sectors, to achieve its full potential of inclusive citizenship and more effective governance,” she said.
“Today’s announcement is the first phase of an unprecedented project in terms of scale and scope for Nigeria,” said Michael Miebach, President, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard. “MasterCard has been a firm supporter of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Cashless Policy as we share a vision of a world beyond cash. From the program’s inception, we have provided the Federal Government of Nigeria with global insights and best practices on how electronic payments can enable economic growth and create a more financially inclusive economy”.
Chris ‘E Onyemenam, the Director General and Chief Executive of the National Identity Management Commission, said “We have chosen MasterCard to be the payment technology provider for the initial rollout of the National Identity Smart Card project because the Company has shown a commitment to furthering financial inclusion through the reduction of cash in the Nigerian economy.” He added “MasterCard has pioneered large scale card schemes that combine biometric functionality with electronic payments and we want to capitalize on their experience in this field to make our program rollout a sustainable success for the country and for the continent.”
“Access Bank’s involvement in this project is testament to our ongoing efforts to expand financial inclusion in Nigeria,” said Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, CEO of Access Bank. “The new identity card will revolutionize the Nigerian economic landscape, breaking down one of the most significant barriers to financial inclusion – proof of identity, while simultaneously providing Nigerians with a world class payment solution”.
“Unified Payments is the foremost transaction processor and pioneer of EMV processing and acquiring in Nigeria, owned by leading Nigerian banks. We will use our expertise and experience to guarantee the success of the project and ensure that the data of Nigerians are protected. We look forward to working with other partners in delivering value to all stakeholders’’, said Agada Apochi, Managing Director and CEO, Unified Payments.
The new National Identity Smart Card will incorporate the unique National Identification Numbers (NIN) of duly registered persons in the country. The enrollment process involves the recording of an individual’s demographic data and biometric data (capture of 10 fingerprints, facial picture and digital signature) that are used to authenticate the cardholder and eliminate fraud and embezzlement. The resultant National Identity Database will provide the platform for several other value propositions of the NIMC including identity authentication and verification.
Thanks to the unique and unambiguous identification of individuals under the NIMS, other identification card schemes like the Driver’s License, Voters Registration, Health Insurance, Tax, SIM and the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) will benefit and can all be integrated, using the NIN, into the multi-function Card Scheme of the NIMS. When fully utilizing the card as a prepaid payment tool, the cardholder can deposit funds on the card, receive social benefits, pay for goods and services at any of the 35 million MasterCard acceptance locations globally, withdraw cash from all ATMs that accept MasterCard, or engage in many other financial transactions that are facilitated by electronic payments. All in a secure and convenient environment enabled by the EMV Chip and Pin standard.
Tiger Woods may not like TPC Sawgrass all that much, but you would never know it from the surgical precision with which he dissected Pete Dye’s dastardly design on Thursday.
Woods, who fired a nearly flawless opening-round 5-under 67, got off to a good start to his 2013 Players Championship, with a birdie on the second hole of his opening round. The world No. 1, who has made no secret of his discomfort with the tricky home of the men’s so-called “fifth major,” had to wait until the ninth to can another, but from there he went on a birdie barrage to card his first-ever sub-70 opening round at Sawgrass.
The 14-time major champion, who made four straight birds between Nos. 9 and 12, added another on the par-5 16th, and almost posted his first bogey-free round at Sawgrass. Hitting 10 of 14 fairways and 12 greens in regulation, as well as making 11 one-putts certainly didn’t hurt on a day when Woods needed a strong showing.
By the time he teed off as part of the afternoon wave, Tiger was already looking up at early clubhouse leader Roberto Castro, who tied the course record with a 63. Even good pal Rory McIlroy, who has missed the cuts in all three previous appearances at The Players, went low, posting his first sub-par round (66) at The Players.
As part of the program, in its first phase, Nigerians 16 years and older, and all residents in the country for more than two years, will get the new multipurpose identity card which has 13 applications including MasterCard’s prepaid payment technology that will provide cardholders with the safety, convenience and reliability of electronic payments. This will have a significant and positive impact on the lives of these Nigerians who have not previously had access to financial services.
The Project will have Access Bank Plc as the pilot issuer bank for the cards and Unified Payment Services Limited as the payment processor. Other issuing banks will include United Bank for indoor Tracking, Union Bank, Zenith, Skye Bank, Unity Bank, Stanbic, and First Bank.
The announcement was witnessed by Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy in Nigeria, who stressed the importance of the National Identity Smart Card Scheme in moving Nigeria to an electronic platform. This program is good practice for us to bring all the citizens on a common platform for interacting with the various government agencies and for transacting electronically. We will implement this initiative in a collaborative manner between the public and private sectors, to achieve its full potential of inclusive citizenship and more effective governance,” she said.
“Today’s announcement is the first phase of an unprecedented project in terms of scale and scope for Nigeria,” said Michael Miebach, President, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard. “MasterCard has been a firm supporter of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Cashless Policy as we share a vision of a world beyond cash. From the program’s inception, we have provided the Federal Government of Nigeria with global insights and best practices on how electronic payments can enable economic growth and create a more financially inclusive economy”.
Chris ‘E Onyemenam, the Director General and Chief Executive of the National Identity Management Commission, said “We have chosen MasterCard to be the payment technology provider for the initial rollout of the National Identity Smart Card project because the Company has shown a commitment to furthering financial inclusion through the reduction of cash in the Nigerian economy.” He added “MasterCard has pioneered large scale card schemes that combine biometric functionality with electronic payments and we want to capitalize on their experience in this field to make our program rollout a sustainable success for the country and for the continent.”
“Access Bank’s involvement in this project is testament to our ongoing efforts to expand financial inclusion in Nigeria,” said Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, CEO of Access Bank. “The new identity card will revolutionize the Nigerian economic landscape, breaking down one of the most significant barriers to financial inclusion – proof of identity, while simultaneously providing Nigerians with a world class payment solution”.
“Unified Payments is the foremost transaction processor and pioneer of EMV processing and acquiring in Nigeria, owned by leading Nigerian banks. We will use our expertise and experience to guarantee the success of the project and ensure that the data of Nigerians are protected. We look forward to working with other partners in delivering value to all stakeholders’’, said Agada Apochi, Managing Director and CEO, Unified Payments.
The new National Identity Smart Card will incorporate the unique National Identification Numbers (NIN) of duly registered persons in the country. The enrollment process involves the recording of an individual’s demographic data and biometric data (capture of 10 fingerprints, facial picture and digital signature) that are used to authenticate the cardholder and eliminate fraud and embezzlement. The resultant National Identity Database will provide the platform for several other value propositions of the NIMC including identity authentication and verification.
Thanks to the unique and unambiguous identification of individuals under the NIMS, other identification card schemes like the Driver’s License, Voters Registration, Health Insurance, Tax, SIM and the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) will benefit and can all be integrated, using the NIN, into the multi-function Card Scheme of the NIMS. When fully utilizing the card as a prepaid payment tool, the cardholder can deposit funds on the card, receive social benefits, pay for goods and services at any of the 35 million MasterCard acceptance locations globally, withdraw cash from all ATMs that accept MasterCard, or engage in many other financial transactions that are facilitated by electronic payments. All in a secure and convenient environment enabled by the EMV Chip and Pin standard.
Tiger Woods may not like TPC Sawgrass all that much, but you would never know it from the surgical precision with which he dissected Pete Dye’s dastardly design on Thursday.
Woods, who fired a nearly flawless opening-round 5-under 67, got off to a good start to his 2013 Players Championship, with a birdie on the second hole of his opening round. The world No. 1, who has made no secret of his discomfort with the tricky home of the men’s so-called “fifth major,” had to wait until the ninth to can another, but from there he went on a birdie barrage to card his first-ever sub-70 opening round at Sawgrass.
The 14-time major champion, who made four straight birds between Nos. 9 and 12, added another on the par-5 16th, and almost posted his first bogey-free round at Sawgrass. Hitting 10 of 14 fairways and 12 greens in regulation, as well as making 11 one-putts certainly didn’t hurt on a day when Woods needed a strong showing.
By the time he teed off as part of the afternoon wave, Tiger was already looking up at early clubhouse leader Roberto Castro, who tied the course record with a 63. Even good pal Rory McIlroy, who has missed the cuts in all three previous appearances at The Players, went low, posting his first sub-par round (66) at The Players.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Belief Is Just the Beginning
People say, "Well, I'm not smart enough, or spiritual enough, or skilled enough to make a difference in the world. So I'm just going to try to lead a good life, go to work every day, retire, and play golf. And I'm saved, so I'll go to heaven when I die." There's also a tendency for people also think, I can just leave it to professionals. My pastor will do it, not me.
We really need to help people in the pews understand that believing is only the beginning. Unless they build their entire life on this foundation of the Christian faith, they will always live a compartmentalized life, and will not be effective.
God doesn't want to use people who aren't committed. God invites us but we have to RSVP. We have to say to Jesus, "Here are all the things I have in my life: my money, my house, my career, my skills, and we have to lay them down and ask him to use us. Many Christians have not taken that step. They've not gone all in with their Christian faith.
A lot people say, "I want to do something like you're doing, I want to make a difference for God!" Often I have to answer, "Why would God use you for a significant assignment if you haven't even committed to the simplest things? You haven't committed to tithing, to obedience, you haven't committed to reading the Scripture. If you are faithful in the small things you'll keep getting bigger opportunities to Hands free access.
One of the traps leaders fall is valuing belief above behavior. Pastors often talk about doctrine and not as much about behavior and how doctrine informs behavior.
We also tend to place explanation above exhortation. So we explain Scripture quite eloquently and thoroughly. We have our scholarly approaches to the Greek and the Hebrew but we leave the exhortation piece out. We need to apply the Word to change lives. We should set high expectation for following Christ.
I hear few sermons that exhort me to leave the church and be a different person. Another trap church leaders fall into: building an institution instead of a leading a revolution. If we are all about institution-building, we are in the wrong business. God called us to lead a revolution. Institutions can serve to advance the revolution, but it's got to be clear that the goal is the gospel revolution and not just building a bigger and bigger church that's more comfortable for people that go there.
“There’s so many different circumstances you can be in to get Newstart. Not a lot of people recognise that,” said Hannah Joyner, a 25-year-old with a bachelor of arts degree and a graduate diploma. After graduating in 2010, she worked as an archivist on a fixed-term contract for a year and a half before her job ended unexpectedly.
Although she had some savings, she was without work and entirely reliant on Newstart?—?$497 fortnightly for a single person?—? for seven months. “It was so dismal, it was a bad situation,” said Joyner. “I am only just starting to get out of the situation now.”
Joyner says it was confronting to find herself unemployed. “There’s a lot of anxiety and depression and upset that comes [from losing your job], and it makes it much harder to find work again,” she told Crikey. “As part of getting Newstart, you have to go to a job service provider and they are basically telling you to apply for jobs that you’re overqualified for. They don’t understand why you’re not looking just looking for a job at Subway. I found a lot of it very demeaning and very patronising.”
In the last two months she’s found casual work at a government department. Before then she applied for 10 jobs every fortnight, as per the Newstart demands, and secured one job interview. “Every job is suddenly a casual job, a six-month contract. There’s nothing guaranteed, there’s nothing permanent,” said Joyner. ”Even to get off Newstart, there’s no guarantee you won’t be on it again in three months.”
Joyner has credit card debt and is aware that the hours at her casual job are likely to soon go down. She’s also entirely reliant on her own finances. “Worst case scenario I wouldn’t be homeless, but if I was, say, going to need emergency dental care, there is nobody who would be able to pay that. I’m at the point now where I just feel like the stress of all of it has given me so adrenaline, I’m ready for anything. I’m actually grateful for insight for how a lot of people live, I’m grateful for the experience. For the rest of my life, I will be safe with money.”
It’s now standard practice that many graduates go straight onto Newstart once they finish their degrees, and that’s where 24-year-old Kelly Williamson found herself after completing her bachelor of arts degree in screenwriting. She spent eight full months on Newstart, before finding casual work in hospital administration.
While on Newstart, Williamson applied for around 230 jobs in arts, administration and health. “If you really want to, you can put in any old application anywhere, but I used to try really hard, and that was basically my week: applying for jobs,” she told Crikey. “I had three interviews and a lot of rejections.”
Williamson was sent along to Serena Russo, a recruiter that Centrelink works with to help the long-term unemployed. At the beginning, Williamson was classified as stream 1, a highly employable person who was expected to have a job within 12 weeks. When she didn’t, she was reclassified as stream 3, which indicates candidates with longer-term issues (Serena Russo receives more funding for stream 3 candidates), and was quizzed about her presentation and mental health. That was a demoralising moment, said Williamson: “I have a degree. I don’t have presentation issues. They said I was highly employable … You don’t leave that place feeling good, you feel like you’re unemployable and there forever.”
We really need to help people in the pews understand that believing is only the beginning. Unless they build their entire life on this foundation of the Christian faith, they will always live a compartmentalized life, and will not be effective.
God doesn't want to use people who aren't committed. God invites us but we have to RSVP. We have to say to Jesus, "Here are all the things I have in my life: my money, my house, my career, my skills, and we have to lay them down and ask him to use us. Many Christians have not taken that step. They've not gone all in with their Christian faith.
A lot people say, "I want to do something like you're doing, I want to make a difference for God!" Often I have to answer, "Why would God use you for a significant assignment if you haven't even committed to the simplest things? You haven't committed to tithing, to obedience, you haven't committed to reading the Scripture. If you are faithful in the small things you'll keep getting bigger opportunities to Hands free access.
One of the traps leaders fall is valuing belief above behavior. Pastors often talk about doctrine and not as much about behavior and how doctrine informs behavior.
We also tend to place explanation above exhortation. So we explain Scripture quite eloquently and thoroughly. We have our scholarly approaches to the Greek and the Hebrew but we leave the exhortation piece out. We need to apply the Word to change lives. We should set high expectation for following Christ.
I hear few sermons that exhort me to leave the church and be a different person. Another trap church leaders fall into: building an institution instead of a leading a revolution. If we are all about institution-building, we are in the wrong business. God called us to lead a revolution. Institutions can serve to advance the revolution, but it's got to be clear that the goal is the gospel revolution and not just building a bigger and bigger church that's more comfortable for people that go there.
“There’s so many different circumstances you can be in to get Newstart. Not a lot of people recognise that,” said Hannah Joyner, a 25-year-old with a bachelor of arts degree and a graduate diploma. After graduating in 2010, she worked as an archivist on a fixed-term contract for a year and a half before her job ended unexpectedly.
Although she had some savings, she was without work and entirely reliant on Newstart?—?$497 fortnightly for a single person?—? for seven months. “It was so dismal, it was a bad situation,” said Joyner. “I am only just starting to get out of the situation now.”
Joyner says it was confronting to find herself unemployed. “There’s a lot of anxiety and depression and upset that comes [from losing your job], and it makes it much harder to find work again,” she told Crikey. “As part of getting Newstart, you have to go to a job service provider and they are basically telling you to apply for jobs that you’re overqualified for. They don’t understand why you’re not looking just looking for a job at Subway. I found a lot of it very demeaning and very patronising.”
In the last two months she’s found casual work at a government department. Before then she applied for 10 jobs every fortnight, as per the Newstart demands, and secured one job interview. “Every job is suddenly a casual job, a six-month contract. There’s nothing guaranteed, there’s nothing permanent,” said Joyner. ”Even to get off Newstart, there’s no guarantee you won’t be on it again in three months.”
Joyner has credit card debt and is aware that the hours at her casual job are likely to soon go down. She’s also entirely reliant on her own finances. “Worst case scenario I wouldn’t be homeless, but if I was, say, going to need emergency dental care, there is nobody who would be able to pay that. I’m at the point now where I just feel like the stress of all of it has given me so adrenaline, I’m ready for anything. I’m actually grateful for insight for how a lot of people live, I’m grateful for the experience. For the rest of my life, I will be safe with money.”
It’s now standard practice that many graduates go straight onto Newstart once they finish their degrees, and that’s where 24-year-old Kelly Williamson found herself after completing her bachelor of arts degree in screenwriting. She spent eight full months on Newstart, before finding casual work in hospital administration.
While on Newstart, Williamson applied for around 230 jobs in arts, administration and health. “If you really want to, you can put in any old application anywhere, but I used to try really hard, and that was basically my week: applying for jobs,” she told Crikey. “I had three interviews and a lot of rejections.”
Williamson was sent along to Serena Russo, a recruiter that Centrelink works with to help the long-term unemployed. At the beginning, Williamson was classified as stream 1, a highly employable person who was expected to have a job within 12 weeks. When she didn’t, she was reclassified as stream 3, which indicates candidates with longer-term issues (Serena Russo receives more funding for stream 3 candidates), and was quizzed about her presentation and mental health. That was a demoralising moment, said Williamson: “I have a degree. I don’t have presentation issues. They said I was highly employable … You don’t leave that place feeling good, you feel like you’re unemployable and there forever.”
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Why Do Film Critics Love It So Much?
McConaughey was surely excellent in Dazed and Confused, but it says here Stewie forgot the actor’s amusing performance in Edtv (an early mock of the rising reality television genre), and then the Family Guy episode was drawn and written before 2011’s Bernie in which McConaughey similarly shined. Amid a lot of bad films he’s made a few good ones.
All of which brings us to Mud. At Rotten Tomatoes 98% of the critics who reviewed it liked it, the great Joe Morgenstern at the Wall Street Journal referred to it as a classic, and then the New York Post’s Lou Lumenick raved, singling out “McConaughey’s remarkable comeback” with “a terrific turn as the title character.” It should be stressed up front that critics know their stuff, their reviews surely inform my film choices, but in this case it’s worth asking if they watched the same average, and full of holes movie that I did.
About McConaughey’s performance, those who haven’t yet seen Mud would be wise to substantially dial down their expectations. Indeed, there’s nothing new or original about the actor’s performance. Unless critics truly notice things that the average viewer does not, it’s quite simply the case that McConaughey plays the same laconic, Texas-drawling character he plays in every film. Mud provides no evidence that the actor has spread his thespian wings in any way, and the accent is merely a reminder of his limited range. Along those lines, do viewers remember How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in which McConaughey and the rest of his Brooklyn-based family all had Texas accents? If so, you’ll recognize the drawl in this one. Nothing changes.
As for the film itself, it begins with teens Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) transporting themselves on a motorboat out to a remote island in the lake country of Arkansas. They go there based on a tip that there’s a serviceable, but abandoned motorboat stuck in the trees from a recent hurricane. They intend to make the boat their Hands free access.
Upon reaching the boat they discover non-perished food that indicates someone has beaten them to it. That someone is McConaughey’s character “Mud,” and right away the story starts to unravel.
Mud is on the run from the police, along with the family of a man whom he killed for the man having been intimate with Mud’s lifelong unrequited love, Reese Witherspoon’s Juniper. Mud describes Juniper in glowing terms, including her long legs which, for anyone who’s ever seen Witherspoon in person, knows do not exist. Couldn’t they have at least altered the script slightly with Witherspoon’s diminutive stature in mind?
Ellis and Neckbone required a motorboat to get to the remote island, but somehow Mud just showed up there despite the manhunt for him. Mud immediately reveals himself as a chain smoker, but also a chain smoker who is starving. Mud asks the boys to bring him back food that is in short supply, yet in concert with his starvation (we have to watch Mud chug Beenie Weenies a couple of times) we’re supposed to believe that cigarettes are plentiful.
Notable is that Ellis works for his fisherman father. This requires mention because upon return from their first visit to the remote island where Ellis and Neckbone meet Mud, Ellis is late for work.
Of course after that Ellis and Neckbone regularly visit the island given Ellis’s sympathetic view of Mud. It seems their responsibilities at home disappear, after which they suddenly have easy access to a motorboat and motorcycle in order to bring Mud provisions. All this begs the question why they covet the boat up in the trees to begin with.
Ellis takes a shine to Mud, and he does because his own father is set to be divorced by his mother who has fallen out of love with him. The underlying story of the film is one of men putting women on a pedestal, only for those women to spurn their worship.
Mud tells Ellis and Neckbone that he’s waiting on the island for Juniper, and that once she reaches him they’ll take the boat from the trees and motor off into the sunset (free of police and others eager to kill him) in order to live happily ever after. Yes, the woman who has never been fully committed to Mud is now going to embrace life with a man who faces prison time for murder.
As the film goes on, Ellis and Neckbone bring Mud food, supplies necessary for fixing the boat, and remarkable for two spindly teens, an outboard motor that they’ll fix with Mud so that he can make his escape. Recognize that amid all of this the police are searching for Mud, Neckbone’s guardian of sorts (Galen, played by Michael Shannon in a role that makes little sense – it’s not a reach to suggest that the edit of this film was a nightmare) sees them on the island with the outlaw, but the police and family members of the murdered adulterer never seem to find an island that Mud curiously reached sans transportation, and that Ellis and Neckbone routinely visit.
Amid all this the two teens remarkably spy Juniper, and get a note to her from Mud in which he professes his love, plans for escape, and presumably more. You see, Mud lacks food, but somehow he has cigarettes, white stationary and pens (he has to make a list of what he needs to get off of the island!) in surplus. In fairness, one of the few comical scenes involved the teens getting the note to Juniper, Juniper telling them what it said, only for the Ellis and Neckbone to acknowledge having already opened it for reading.
All of which brings us to Mud. At Rotten Tomatoes 98% of the critics who reviewed it liked it, the great Joe Morgenstern at the Wall Street Journal referred to it as a classic, and then the New York Post’s Lou Lumenick raved, singling out “McConaughey’s remarkable comeback” with “a terrific turn as the title character.” It should be stressed up front that critics know their stuff, their reviews surely inform my film choices, but in this case it’s worth asking if they watched the same average, and full of holes movie that I did.
About McConaughey’s performance, those who haven’t yet seen Mud would be wise to substantially dial down their expectations. Indeed, there’s nothing new or original about the actor’s performance. Unless critics truly notice things that the average viewer does not, it’s quite simply the case that McConaughey plays the same laconic, Texas-drawling character he plays in every film. Mud provides no evidence that the actor has spread his thespian wings in any way, and the accent is merely a reminder of his limited range. Along those lines, do viewers remember How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in which McConaughey and the rest of his Brooklyn-based family all had Texas accents? If so, you’ll recognize the drawl in this one. Nothing changes.
As for the film itself, it begins with teens Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) transporting themselves on a motorboat out to a remote island in the lake country of Arkansas. They go there based on a tip that there’s a serviceable, but abandoned motorboat stuck in the trees from a recent hurricane. They intend to make the boat their Hands free access.
Upon reaching the boat they discover non-perished food that indicates someone has beaten them to it. That someone is McConaughey’s character “Mud,” and right away the story starts to unravel.
Mud is on the run from the police, along with the family of a man whom he killed for the man having been intimate with Mud’s lifelong unrequited love, Reese Witherspoon’s Juniper. Mud describes Juniper in glowing terms, including her long legs which, for anyone who’s ever seen Witherspoon in person, knows do not exist. Couldn’t they have at least altered the script slightly with Witherspoon’s diminutive stature in mind?
Ellis and Neckbone required a motorboat to get to the remote island, but somehow Mud just showed up there despite the manhunt for him. Mud immediately reveals himself as a chain smoker, but also a chain smoker who is starving. Mud asks the boys to bring him back food that is in short supply, yet in concert with his starvation (we have to watch Mud chug Beenie Weenies a couple of times) we’re supposed to believe that cigarettes are plentiful.
Notable is that Ellis works for his fisherman father. This requires mention because upon return from their first visit to the remote island where Ellis and Neckbone meet Mud, Ellis is late for work.
Of course after that Ellis and Neckbone regularly visit the island given Ellis’s sympathetic view of Mud. It seems their responsibilities at home disappear, after which they suddenly have easy access to a motorboat and motorcycle in order to bring Mud provisions. All this begs the question why they covet the boat up in the trees to begin with.
Ellis takes a shine to Mud, and he does because his own father is set to be divorced by his mother who has fallen out of love with him. The underlying story of the film is one of men putting women on a pedestal, only for those women to spurn their worship.
Mud tells Ellis and Neckbone that he’s waiting on the island for Juniper, and that once she reaches him they’ll take the boat from the trees and motor off into the sunset (free of police and others eager to kill him) in order to live happily ever after. Yes, the woman who has never been fully committed to Mud is now going to embrace life with a man who faces prison time for murder.
As the film goes on, Ellis and Neckbone bring Mud food, supplies necessary for fixing the boat, and remarkable for two spindly teens, an outboard motor that they’ll fix with Mud so that he can make his escape. Recognize that amid all of this the police are searching for Mud, Neckbone’s guardian of sorts (Galen, played by Michael Shannon in a role that makes little sense – it’s not a reach to suggest that the edit of this film was a nightmare) sees them on the island with the outlaw, but the police and family members of the murdered adulterer never seem to find an island that Mud curiously reached sans transportation, and that Ellis and Neckbone routinely visit.
Amid all this the two teens remarkably spy Juniper, and get a note to her from Mud in which he professes his love, plans for escape, and presumably more. You see, Mud lacks food, but somehow he has cigarettes, white stationary and pens (he has to make a list of what he needs to get off of the island!) in surplus. In fairness, one of the few comical scenes involved the teens getting the note to Juniper, Juniper telling them what it said, only for the Ellis and Neckbone to acknowledge having already opened it for reading.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
On leaving Berkeley for Boulder… a reflection
When I find out I’m moving, I walk home slowly. The temperate climate of Berkeley, its warm April sunshine stretching over green hills, crowds the sidewalks with flowers — an explosion of California poppies, mountain lilac, hummingbird sage, fawn lilies, and pink-flowering currant erupting from winter into hard, bright colors. I bend over a shaggy bush of Cecile Brunner roses, listening to the whir of a hummingbird as it hovers over the fuchsias, their brilliant pink and purple petals swaying softly.
At San Pablo and Addison I look at my neighborhood as if I had already left, gazing over my shoulder at the mural painted along Mi Tierra market — the Indigenous woman with her arms extended high over her head, snapping a fence in her hands, the bold colors standing out against the muted Bay Area fog. Between Mi Ranchito Bayside Market and the Middle Eastern shop where I buy labneh and za’atar, an old woman sits in a hard plastic chair watching novelas at the local laundromat, her age-swollen hands folding faded t-shirts and jeans. On Monday evenings, my neighbors sit at the sidewalk tables in front of Luca Cucina, swirling wine in long-stemmed glasses. On Sunday mornings, I read the New York Times book review at Local 123, breathing in the scent of Four Barrel coffee against the brick walls of their backyard patio.
Everyone has assured me that I will love Colorado, but still, a faint sadness hangs like the cobwebs in the corners of my boxed up apartment. When I notice my neighbor’s wisteria, its blooms hanging over the porch and awning, shimmering in the sunlight like bunches of pale purple grapes, I think of Anne of Green Gables, leaving her island and setting out toward Kingsport. “Yes, I’m going,” said Anne. I’m very glad with my head…and very sorry with my heart.”
I’ve paged through field guides, trying to find familiar faces in the physical makeup of Colorado. I know I can expect the sturdy manzanita and the heavy scent of sage, but there will be no avocado or pomegranate trees. Coworkers will not drop heavy grocery bags full of Meyer lemons on the Hands free access, imploring everyone to take a few, a half dozen at the very least, and I might forget the scent of the California laurel, its oil lingering on my fingers as I brush my hands against the leaves. I will have to give up my California state residency, staring at a photo of myself pasted against the strange and unfamiliar Colorado driver’s license.
As I reluctantly drop off the last of the hundreds of books I have checked out over the years, I wonder what the Boulder library is like. My footsteps echo along the stairwells of the Berkeley library, bouncing into the high corners of its vaulted ceiling as I run my fingers along the fat spines of faded reference books.
When friends in Colorado ask if I’ll need any help settling into my new home, I stare at the swirling colors of my tie-dye library card and pick my way through my routines, stirring through the sediment of my life in Berkeley. All those afternoons reading in People’s Park, listening to the beat of drums, marveling at bodies twisting themselves and vaulting high as they practice capoeira, yoga, martial arts — always the pungent smell of weed hovering around groups of students sitting cross-legged against redwood trees. Years crowded with morning hikes in Tilden Park, chatting with the rangers at the environmental education center, scratching the forehead of a complacent dairy cow, the scent of non-native eucalyptus trees mixing with the dust.
A handful of Friday night concerts at Ashkenaz and Sunday morning brunch at the Buddhist monastery on Russell Street, sitting in a lotus flower position with a plate of vegetarian noodles and mango sticky rice, smiling at my best friend when we both pull out our own utensils so we don’t have to use the disposable ones. When I go into the Berkeley Bowl for what I know will be the last time, I nearly have a full-fledged panic attack, remembering that there is no grocery cooperative in Boulder. I’ll have to shop at Whole Foods. My disdain strikes me as comical, quintessentially Berkeley.
I stop taking the bus, leave my bike at home, and insist on walking everywhere, trying to memorize every corner, letting my eyes rest on all of the things I have loved and let fade into the background of routine and daily life. I wander down Telegraph, get a homemade ice cream sandwich at CREAM, and impulsively buy a “I hella heart Oakland” t-shirt.
The tourists that straggle into Berkeley end up on Telegraph and I watch them negotiate their way past Cal students, the jewelry tables set along the sidewalk, the grizzled drifters holding cardboard signs that say, “too ugly to prostitute” or “need money for beer.” Mostly these tourists look around with unimpressed expressions, as if trying to understand why anyone would choose this place over San Francisco. It’s easier to appreciate the Golden Gate arching its way to Marin, the quaint strings of cable cars clattering up Hyde and Mason, the rows of San Francisco homes stacked neatly together as the fog rolls over Pier 39 and the Ferry Building.
Berkeley, with its weirdness painted proudly across its naked chest, is harder to swallow on a day trip. Its charms work their way quietly, steadily, till one day on a trip to Utah, you are explaining Berkeley’s innovative school programs, the way Alice Waters has integrated sustainable agriculture and slow food into elementary school education, and your voice quivers with pride. When Obama wins the election in 2008, the city explodes onto the streets, neighbors are clinging to each other, dancing in front of their homes, but for all its energy and protest, there are quiet corners of refuge, spaces to walk slowly, reading the bronzed poems of the Addison Street Anthology stamped into the sidewalk. Cement squares gilded with the number of Berkeley Nobel laureates, Janis Joplin’s arrest in 1963. A whole city bursting at the seams with inspiration for change. Even Cafe Gratitude, with its ludicrous ordering system, has something like endearment clinging to the folds of its eccentricity.
When my best friend flies up from LA to help me drive out to Colorado, we spend our last day in San Francisco. He’s never walked across the Golden Gate and I am happy for the excuse to have dim sum at the Hong Kong Lounge in the Inner Richmond. Stuffed with fried taro and steamed rice rolls, I stand on the bridge, the wind pushing hard, shoving my goodbyes back against my chest. We had planned to have clam chowder on the Wharf, but I am anxious to return to the East Bay. My throat feels tight, my lungs compacted. We go to Revival on Shattuck, sitting at the bar, perusing the weekly cocktail menu. I stare out the window, watching as a couple walk past the door, stopping to gaze at the dinner menu with yoga mats rolled tightly under their arms. After dinner, I insist we walk the two miles home, breathing in the scent of roses and reaching out for the wisteria, its pale petals luminescent in the moonlight. The squares of cement under my feet are scrawled with the words of an Ohlone song. “See! I am dancing! On the rim of the world I am dancing!”
At San Pablo and Addison I look at my neighborhood as if I had already left, gazing over my shoulder at the mural painted along Mi Tierra market — the Indigenous woman with her arms extended high over her head, snapping a fence in her hands, the bold colors standing out against the muted Bay Area fog. Between Mi Ranchito Bayside Market and the Middle Eastern shop where I buy labneh and za’atar, an old woman sits in a hard plastic chair watching novelas at the local laundromat, her age-swollen hands folding faded t-shirts and jeans. On Monday evenings, my neighbors sit at the sidewalk tables in front of Luca Cucina, swirling wine in long-stemmed glasses. On Sunday mornings, I read the New York Times book review at Local 123, breathing in the scent of Four Barrel coffee against the brick walls of their backyard patio.
Everyone has assured me that I will love Colorado, but still, a faint sadness hangs like the cobwebs in the corners of my boxed up apartment. When I notice my neighbor’s wisteria, its blooms hanging over the porch and awning, shimmering in the sunlight like bunches of pale purple grapes, I think of Anne of Green Gables, leaving her island and setting out toward Kingsport. “Yes, I’m going,” said Anne. I’m very glad with my head…and very sorry with my heart.”
I’ve paged through field guides, trying to find familiar faces in the physical makeup of Colorado. I know I can expect the sturdy manzanita and the heavy scent of sage, but there will be no avocado or pomegranate trees. Coworkers will not drop heavy grocery bags full of Meyer lemons on the Hands free access, imploring everyone to take a few, a half dozen at the very least, and I might forget the scent of the California laurel, its oil lingering on my fingers as I brush my hands against the leaves. I will have to give up my California state residency, staring at a photo of myself pasted against the strange and unfamiliar Colorado driver’s license.
As I reluctantly drop off the last of the hundreds of books I have checked out over the years, I wonder what the Boulder library is like. My footsteps echo along the stairwells of the Berkeley library, bouncing into the high corners of its vaulted ceiling as I run my fingers along the fat spines of faded reference books.
When friends in Colorado ask if I’ll need any help settling into my new home, I stare at the swirling colors of my tie-dye library card and pick my way through my routines, stirring through the sediment of my life in Berkeley. All those afternoons reading in People’s Park, listening to the beat of drums, marveling at bodies twisting themselves and vaulting high as they practice capoeira, yoga, martial arts — always the pungent smell of weed hovering around groups of students sitting cross-legged against redwood trees. Years crowded with morning hikes in Tilden Park, chatting with the rangers at the environmental education center, scratching the forehead of a complacent dairy cow, the scent of non-native eucalyptus trees mixing with the dust.
A handful of Friday night concerts at Ashkenaz and Sunday morning brunch at the Buddhist monastery on Russell Street, sitting in a lotus flower position with a plate of vegetarian noodles and mango sticky rice, smiling at my best friend when we both pull out our own utensils so we don’t have to use the disposable ones. When I go into the Berkeley Bowl for what I know will be the last time, I nearly have a full-fledged panic attack, remembering that there is no grocery cooperative in Boulder. I’ll have to shop at Whole Foods. My disdain strikes me as comical, quintessentially Berkeley.
I stop taking the bus, leave my bike at home, and insist on walking everywhere, trying to memorize every corner, letting my eyes rest on all of the things I have loved and let fade into the background of routine and daily life. I wander down Telegraph, get a homemade ice cream sandwich at CREAM, and impulsively buy a “I hella heart Oakland” t-shirt.
The tourists that straggle into Berkeley end up on Telegraph and I watch them negotiate their way past Cal students, the jewelry tables set along the sidewalk, the grizzled drifters holding cardboard signs that say, “too ugly to prostitute” or “need money for beer.” Mostly these tourists look around with unimpressed expressions, as if trying to understand why anyone would choose this place over San Francisco. It’s easier to appreciate the Golden Gate arching its way to Marin, the quaint strings of cable cars clattering up Hyde and Mason, the rows of San Francisco homes stacked neatly together as the fog rolls over Pier 39 and the Ferry Building.
Berkeley, with its weirdness painted proudly across its naked chest, is harder to swallow on a day trip. Its charms work their way quietly, steadily, till one day on a trip to Utah, you are explaining Berkeley’s innovative school programs, the way Alice Waters has integrated sustainable agriculture and slow food into elementary school education, and your voice quivers with pride. When Obama wins the election in 2008, the city explodes onto the streets, neighbors are clinging to each other, dancing in front of their homes, but for all its energy and protest, there are quiet corners of refuge, spaces to walk slowly, reading the bronzed poems of the Addison Street Anthology stamped into the sidewalk. Cement squares gilded with the number of Berkeley Nobel laureates, Janis Joplin’s arrest in 1963. A whole city bursting at the seams with inspiration for change. Even Cafe Gratitude, with its ludicrous ordering system, has something like endearment clinging to the folds of its eccentricity.
When my best friend flies up from LA to help me drive out to Colorado, we spend our last day in San Francisco. He’s never walked across the Golden Gate and I am happy for the excuse to have dim sum at the Hong Kong Lounge in the Inner Richmond. Stuffed with fried taro and steamed rice rolls, I stand on the bridge, the wind pushing hard, shoving my goodbyes back against my chest. We had planned to have clam chowder on the Wharf, but I am anxious to return to the East Bay. My throat feels tight, my lungs compacted. We go to Revival on Shattuck, sitting at the bar, perusing the weekly cocktail menu. I stare out the window, watching as a couple walk past the door, stopping to gaze at the dinner menu with yoga mats rolled tightly under their arms. After dinner, I insist we walk the two miles home, breathing in the scent of roses and reaching out for the wisteria, its pale petals luminescent in the moonlight. The squares of cement under my feet are scrawled with the words of an Ohlone song. “See! I am dancing! On the rim of the world I am dancing!”
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