New study explores efficacy of vasectomies

For the estimated 80 million domestic cats that are kept as house pets, there are as many roaming free.

Those numbers shouldn't be surprising, considering the rate at which felines are able to reproduce. I've previously written about the overpopulation issue with cats and dogs, and getting these numbers in check has been the focus of many. Spay and neuter programs and protocols are helping to make progress.

First, understand that from a biological standpoint, we are in a battle with pets. Reproductive success drives evolution, pure and simple. It's the strongest biological factor in any species. Biology has a way of taking over, jumping any hurdle that is put in its path and compensating. The pets themselves have no control over their biological drives, and therefore can't curb their behavior when it comes reproducing.

Comprised of a clowder of free-roaming cats that are the descendants of unaltered tame cats somewhere in their ancestral line, the social structure is by no means random: at its core, it has at least one sexually-active dominant male and fertile females who are often well-bonded and who will help care for their respective litters and each other. Colonies are often formed around shelter — be it a wooded area, abandoned house, under a porch area that doesn’t get that much foot traffic or something else — and a food source of some sort.

Because of their unique resiliency, feral cat colonies have posed a special challenge. The structure and reproductive patterns of these groups have piqued the interest of researchers and got them thinking: Could the way that a feline in a feral colony is sterilized impact the overall numbers of new litters that are born?

First, TVHR is not a common way to address feral cat populations. Trap, neuter and release TNR on the other hand, is a more widely-accepted approach to controlling feral cat colony populations, and for a lot of reasons.

Because TVHR isn’t put into use as much and because the life span of feral cats is far shorter — an average of three years as opposed to the 15 that their Indoor Positioning System — it’s been difficult to extrapolate the long-term data that helps to give some solid numbers that researchers would be looking for. Each computer run simulated the feral cat population over 6,000 days, tracking individual cats on a daily basis, thus predicting effectiveness of TVHR.

Those two things are very advantageous: the cats don't reproduce, and because they no longer produce reproductive hormones, behaviors like fighting, spraying and howling are reduced, addressing the needs of the community-at-large. Behaviors like those would be troublesome to anyone who lives in close proximity to a feral colony.

A possible advantage to vasectomy as opposed to neuter procedure is that though the tube that carries semen is cut, the animal retains their testicles and their reproductive hormones. For that reason, upon being returned to the colony, the cat preserves his dominant position and can continue mating with females without producing kittens — and quite possibly protect their turf from other male competitors that are “intact”.

Conversely, a neutered male loses his dominant position in the colony, and the next most dominant male takes his place — and the cycle continues. It's important to note that when a female cat that has not been sterilized mates with a male that has had a vasectomy, she enters a 45-day pseudo-pregnancy, dipping the chance of fertile mating even further.

Your DSLR probably came bundled with a standard 18-55mm lens. This is a solid jack-of-all-trades that sports a nice wide angle and reasonable focal length. However, any photographer worth their salt needs to bolster their kit with a few additional lenses — otherwise you might as well have stuck with a high-end compact camera. In almost all cases, the type of lens employed will have a bigger effect on image quality than the camera itself.

For most photographers, a telephoto zoom lens makes the most sense for your next purchase. Most DSLR models offer affordable 55-200mm lenses that are great for capturing faraway action, such as animals at the zoo.

An ultra-wide-angle zoom lens is also worth putting on your shopping list: this will allow you to take great panoramas without any tedious stitching and are also great when you need to capture everyone in crowded group photos, making them a staple of wedding photographers. On the other end of the spectrum is the macro lens with a fixed aperture: these let you get up close and personal with the camera’s subject and are a great way of documenting nature.

One of the simplest ways to improve your DSLR’s performance is to install the latest firmware upgrade. These are usually available on the manufacturer’s website and may include everything from improved auto-focus tracking to recording RAW video files. Firmware updates are also free, which is good news for photographers on a budget.

In addition to official vendor updates, you can also find custom, third-party firmware for many DSLR models. These are capable of super-charging your camera with a wide range of features that the manufacturer didn’t include.

No really. Many dismiss 3D as a fading fad, but when it comes to user-created content the technology is more than just a gimmick. It’s capable of adding a whole new dimension to your photos both literally and figuratively. Imagine watching your baby’s first steps in a format that you can almost reach out and touch — it might seem vaguely cool now, but what about in twenty years when you kids have flown the coop? Adding 3D functionality to your DSLR will make your recorded memories far more tangible.

One recent example is the Kúla Deeper: a snap-on hardware accessory that allows you to create 3D photos and movies. The accessory adds a pair of mirrors on either side of your DSLR lens for dual image capture. The Kúla Deeper works with most regular DSLRs although viewing the results naturally requires a 3D-compatible display. Charmingly, there’s also an Anaglyph mode which lets you watch the movies with a pair of retro red-and-blue 3D glasses. Bless.

Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/!

Kean computer science students in Union travel 'beyond the grave'

Nestled under ancient trees beside the First Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth lies a cemetery, richly studded with gravestones. Even through few words, the aged markers tell eloquent tales of the lives lived long ago in this town famous for its role in history. The fates of entire families, of patriots as well as unknowns, can be gleaned from the inscribed details on each slab.

A thoroughly modern innovation, developed by Kean University Computer Science students, now provides access to the wealth of information contained in the cemetery. Historical researchers, genealogists and any interested person can hold all the tales from these crypts in their own hands.

In September 2012 Reverend Higgs, a pastor of the Church, challenged Kean University Computer Science students to create a smartphone app to make the burial ground’s information easily accessible. This was indeed no small task as the cemetery contains more than 2,000 tombstones, in various stages of corrosion.

The Kean Computer Science and Information Technology student team, under direction of Professor Patricia Morreale and student Carlos Silva, divided into two groups, one to create an iPhone app and indoor Tracking, an Android app. Jason Bonafide, serving as database developer and administrator, supported both teams.

The Apple iPhone development team, was under the leadership of Josh Lisojo, with Allan Goncalves, Nathaly Lozano, and Harold Liao all contributing in areas of map and features. Lisojo also handled search functionality. The Apple iPhone emulator was used to build the Apple screens.

Daniel Church led the Google Android development team, with Dev Das, Steve Holtz, and Jugal Shah working on map, features, and search, respectively. The Android OS required expertise in Java and XML.The project was very demanding, as each team had to find ways to mirror the other team in search functionality and features. The Apple app (fpc Cemetery app) debuted in the Apple store mid-March 2103, with the Android app (FPC Cemetery) arriving in the Android store in April. Currently both apps are free to download.

The app is easily navigable and even incorporates humor (the search bar contains the prompt “I see dead people”). Users may seek information by name, year of death, age, or section of the burial grounds. Each individual’s file includes birth and death dates, age, cause of death, epitaph and a photo of the gravestone if available. In addition, there are maps and photos of the graveyard, and information for those planning a visit.Reverend Higgs is very satisfied with the final results and said, “The app was well received at the NJ Historic Trust annual preservation conference in Newark. It clearly represents a cutting-edge approach to linking the latest technology to the necessity of preserving and rediscovering our history.

Everywhere I've shown the app, people have been impressed by the quality of the work and intrigued as to how this technology can open new audiences to appreciating our heritage. My sincere appreciation to the Kean team for pioneering this new avenue to history.”

Now, in my 70s and with artificial knees, I walk or cycle and swim laps daily, all of which has kept me aerobically fit, free of pain, reasonably trim and energetic. So in combing recently through the professional literature on exercise and bone health, I was quite disappointed to learn that neither swimming nor cycling is especially good for my bones — at least, not the ones most susceptible to fracture. Swimming, in fact, might compromise the strength of those bones because it lacks the tug of gravity.

That’s what researchers have found when they measured bone mineral density in young athletes who swim or cycle, and even in some who run.
There are two reasons for this. One is the continuous nature of these activities. Bones, it seems, don’t like constant pressure. They respond better to exercise that involves forceful muscle contractions, occurring in starts and stops and with some variety — as happens, Hands free access, when playing tennis or training with weights.

To maintain strength, bones also need the stress of gravity, which is lacking in cycling and swimming and not as powerful when walking as it is when running. Being suspended in water is like floating in space for a short time: Once they leave Earth, astronauts lose bone.

In the famous Nurses’ Health Study, which has followed tens of thousands of postmenopausal women for decades, those who walked for at least four hours a week were 40 percent less likely to suffer hip fractures than those who walked less.

Those who walked for at least eight hours a week (or did the equivalent amount of another activity) were as unlikely to suffer hip fractures as women on hormone replacement therapy, long known to protect bones. As a bonus, walking briskly for exercise also lowered the women’s risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

Read the full products at www.ecived.com/en/!

2013 Ford Escape

“There isn’t much this doesn’t have to offer,” joked Lee Ward, a sales rep at Friendly Ford in Geneva, referencing the five-passenger SUV.From an EcoBoost engine with turbochargers and direct-injection to a hands-free lift gate with video-game-inspired motion-sensing technology, the Escape allows users to connect, move and venture without a worry.

A best-in-class, fuel-nursing 33 mpg on the highway serves as a strong selling point for the 1.6L EcoBoost engine, which features a  turbocharger on the inline four-cylinder setup. The engine features variable camshaft timing to improve the economy, boasting 178 hp while allowing plenty of low-end torque for passing.

A second engine option is the 2.0L EcoBoost, featuring 30 mpg highway and 240 hp. The engine combination allows 3,500 pounds of towing capacity. The third engine, coming standard, is the Duratec inline four-cylinder with 168 hp. Each comes mated to the six-speed SelectShift Automatic, allowing the driver to select a gear like a manual, or run with the ease of an automatic.

“I’m pretty impressed with the Hands free access,” Ward said. “This can do more than you might expect it to.”The ease of access is a major selling point of the vehicle. A simple toe-wave has the rear hatch springing open. A class exclusive, a gentle kicking motion under the bumper with the Intelligent Access key fob in a pocket or purse combine to trigger the lift gate to open; replicating the action will make it close.

The height can be reprogrammed to fit inside tighter garages, so the lift gate doesn’t swing to its full height and avoids contact with roofs and rafters.The lift gate exposes a 67.8-cubic-foot storage area; the seats split in 60/40 fashion and form a flat path all the way to the backs of the front seats with the adjustable cargo load floor in place.

“You can have a flat shot all the way to the front and maximize your length or drop the floor to a lower spot,” Ward said.The tech-savvy aren’t left wanting, either. Ford SYNC can pair with a cell phone, transferring all contacts to support voice-activated calling. The technology can also play MP3s, USBs or iPods. Anything with Bluetooth can stream to the system, including popular audio sources such as Pandora, iHeartRadio.

The controls are mounted on the steering wheel, and can be activated by simply pressing a button and asking Ford SYNC to do what you wish: “Call Mom” or “Play playlist: Road Trip.”Additional activated services include turn-by-turn navigation.

“Just say the word, SYNC will get it done,” Ward said. “SYNC can also read incoming text messages to you.”The huge MyFord Touch LCD display makes controlling the devices easy and also places an LCD screen in the gauge cluster. The five-way controls on the steering wheel mirror the display panel and allow access to the media hub and dual USB ports. Voice commands also bring up weather reports and can find destinations or points of interest without a physical address. Looking into blind spots is a snap with the in-dash display, with a meter to help judge rear-backing maneuvers.

The Escape can even parallel park itself; a press of a button engages active park assist, which alerts the driver when an appropriate opening is found. Then, the driver removes his or her hands from the wheel, and the vehicle will park itself, giving commands to the driver to shift gears and apply the brake and accelerator.

The Escape also features intelligent four-wheel drive, available to determine road conditions and adapt 20-times faster than the blink of an eye. Ford advertises the on-demand system as its most advanced intelligent four-wheel drive system ever.“If you can’t find something you like about Escape, take it out and look a second time. There’s so much more to go over. I’m still learning everything about rtls. Ford did a really good job getting it together on this one,” Ward said, listing off additional available items such as Curve Control, Roll-Stability Control, and the ability to cue the MyKey functionality to block calls and texts while driving. 

The dozens of innovations make the Escape a multi-segment offering with multi-level appeal. The body even features 10 pounds of recycled clothing in the sound-dampening system, and the post-consumer and post-industrial polyester fabric carpeting includes 25 recycled 20-ounce plastic bottles per vehicle. More than 85 percent of the vehicle is recyclable after it’s retired from service.

 Some herald it as a debt-free degree, but that largely depends on how you define “debt.” Students won't have a fixed sum hanging over their head, gathering interest that’s being skimmed off by a for-profit lender or big bank—but they will be making regular payments of a (small) chunk of their income for a (rather long) time. Though the final details will be hammered out in the pilot program, the bill suggests that graduates of four-year programs pay 3 percent of their income—and grads of two-year schools pay 1.5 percent—for 24 years. The goals are to eliminate the upfront cost of college and to allow students to take jobs that pay less but have more social benefit without worrying about making monthly debt payments. Students who make a lot of money will pay a larger amount into the fund, and each generation will fund schools for the generation after them—hence the name, Pay It Forward.

It's noteworthy that the proposal came from students themselves. In the fall of 2012, Barbara Dudley, the founder of the Oregon Working Families Party, taught a capstone class at Portland State University on student debt with professor Mary King. The Pay It Forward plan had been considered elsewhere—most recently in Washington state—and the students considered it as along with other proposals for state and national action to solve the student debt crisis. “We fell in love with it,” says Kevin Rackham, who was a junior at Portland State when he took Dudley and King's course.

The students were deeply involved in every step of shaping the bill, says Sami Alloy, a WFP campaign manager. “They decided that they thought this was a just way to create a shared responsibility model that would remove that initial financial and psychological barrier.”

The students presented their proposal (the full text of which is available on the Oregon WFP's website) to a panel of legislators and secured a champion in Portland Democrat Rep. Michael Dembrow, chair of the Oregon House higher education committee, who introduced the bill. The Working Families Party made the bill a legislative priority, and the students worked with Alloy and Dudley to lobby for the bill. They were backed by a coalition that included the Oregon Student Association, Portland State University Association of University Professors, Jubilee USA, the United Food and Commercial Workers union and Teamsters Local 206.

“With the hard work of the students and the political power we've built as the WFP, we were able to build consensus in the legislature, but I don't think that anybody expected it to move this fast or to be so unanimous,” Alloy says. “The reason this has struck such a chord is that people are hungry for a solution to the student debt crisis.”

Democratic candidates field queries

The Iranian regime has repeatedly shown its true colors by brutally oppressing its own people, threatening to wipe Israel off the map, denying the Holocaust happened, and funding terrorist groups such as Hizbullah, an organization that is committed to continuing its killing of Americans and to Israel’s extinction. Allowing such a regime to acquire a nuclear weapon is plainly unacceptable. A nuclear-armed Iran represents not only an existential threat to Israel but also a grave threat to the region, the United States, and to global stability. It could well ignite a dangerous regional arms race and heighten the prospects of a bomb falling into the hands of terrorists.

For these reasons, every option — including military action — must be on the table. I will always support ensuring that Israel has the necessary tools to protect itself from the Iranian threat while strengthening U.S. and multilateral sanctions on the indoor Tracking. That said, we must continue to vigorously pursue diplomatic and economic solutions because the cost of military action to substantially disrupt the Iranian nuclear program would be extraordinarily high for the U.S., Israel, and our other allies.

In an increasingly uncertain world, Israel continues to be an advocate for freedom, equality, and democracy in the Middle East. My focused study of Israel, its values, and its unique relationship with the United States began during my time at Oxford, where I was the president of the Chabad House’s L’Chaim Society and at Yale, where I founded the Eliezer Society. Since then, during my trips to the country, I have seen first-hand Israel’s dedication to its values and its friendship with the United States.

The United States must continue to support Israel as a secure homeland for the Jewish people. Where Israel’s security is at stake, America’s security is at stake. American support for Israel has been at the center of our Middle East policy for over six decades and must continue to be a central component of our foreign policy in the region.

Real security for Israel will only come with an enduring peace. Therefore, I strongly support a two-state solution with a Jewish state of Israel existing in peace alongside a sovereign Palestinian state. The United States should continue to facilitate direct negotiations that seek a two-state solution. However, it is the right of the Israeli government to make the tough decisions that are necessary to secure its future. The Palestinian People deserve a state that allows them to prosper and thrive, but that state must not be a vehicle for launching attacks against Israel. During any negotiation, certain things must remain non-negotiable, namely conditions that speak to Israel’s right to exist as a secure Jewish state.

 These problems are not just concurrent — they are inextricably linked, and Congress has been responding in precisely the wrong way. A laser focus on immediate and extraordinary deficit reduction to help stabilize the debt at the expense of investing in putting Americans back to work has provided short-term deficit reduction, but has also extended the recession’s tragic impact on unemployment and has hampered our growth.

Our failure to prioritize unemployment reduction and economic growth does more than hurt American families today; it hurts our prospects of growing our way out of our debt challenges.

Make no mistake about it: We must be diligent about our debt, and it is currently too high. The president has already signed into law about $2.4 trillion in deficit reduction between 2013 and 2023. However, we will not be able to cut our way out of our problems, and the sequester remains a blunt instrument cutting in the wrong places. Furthermore, defeat of many aspects of President Obama’s American Jobs Act, on the basis that the country could not afford to invest in critical priorities to alleviate joblessness and strengthen our long-term competitiveness, is emblematic of Congress’s inability to understand the connection between smart spending and investment now and long-term debt reduction.

 The U.S. must continue to promote democracy, freedom, and the rule of law in the Middle East. The Arab Spring will require our patience, and our understanding. The transition from oppression for tens of millions presents many opportunities as well as uncertainties for the U.S., Israel, and everyone in the region struggling for democracy. These efforts begin with protecting America’s special alliance with Israel, and include providing significant, targeted aid throughout the region.

The civil war in Syria is an unthinkable atrocity that has resulted in an estimated 100,000 deaths and has forced over 1.6 million Syrians to become refugees. The U.S. should take whatever steps it can to safely support moderate opposition fighters, aid refugees, and prevent the spillover of fighting into neighboring countries. Putting U.S. troops on the ground in Syria is not an option given the complexity of the situation and all we’ve learned from our past 12 years of war. Any military aid or support must be carefully targeted and measured against the risk of arms falling into the hands of extremist, rather than moderate, rebels.

As far as Egypt is concerned, we should continually review the extent and composition of the substantial aid we provide, keeping in mind that this aid is vital to the stability of the region and important to the well-being of the Egyptian people. Despite my deep displeasure with Egypt’s former regime, I have grave concerns about the Egyptian military’s forceful hand in removing a democratically elected government from power and feel that we should be abundantly clear with the Egyptian military that we expect the beginnings of a transition to a democratically elected civilian government immediately. America knows the difficulties of transitioning to democracy. It took us two wars — our revolution and the civil war — before we reached a point where our democratic evolution, which remains in process today, didn’t involve widespread armed conflict. Democracy — self-determination — is a fundamental human right, and we must support it the best we can, wherever we can.

The charitable contribution deduction rewards altruism and plays an important role in promoting philanthropy. Here in Newark, we’ve seen how philanthropy can help transform a city. For example, we have raised over $200 million from innovators to strengthen our schools. This has allowed Newark to create programs such as “My Very Own Library,” which has provided 120,000 books for nearly 12,000 low-income students to help build home libraries. Partnering with private foundations also allowed us to create immediate access to affordable medications for thousands of uninsured Newark residents through the Newark Rx program. Put simply, philanthropy has provided vital support to my community’s collective efforts to transform Newark and solve some of our most difficult problems.

There is plainly a need to clean up the tax code, and close inefficient loopholes that make our code far less progressive and add to our deficits. However, tax reform should not remove incentives to donate to charity. My experience as mayor of Newark will inform how I look at any proposals to change the tax status of charitable contributions, and I will work with members of both parties to ensure that we continue to promote philanthropy.

Medicaid provides millions of low-income and disabled Americans with essential healthcare services and has been one of the most important programs in U.S. history. I strongly oppose turning Medicaid into a block grant program or capping the amount of Medicaid funding provided to states based on a per capita rate. These changes would likely lead millions of Americans to lose access to healthcare insurance and significantly decrease the quality of care provided by Medicaid.

It is also deeply troubling that over a dozen states have rejected the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. Elected officials should not deny healthcare to millions of their constituents to advance a political agenda. Rejecting this expansion is the wrong decision from budget, healthcare system quality, and moral perspectives. The states that have turned down expanded coverage will lose $8.4 billion in federal funding and spend $1 billion more on uncompensated healthcare. Here in New Jersey, Medicaid expansion will provide healthcare coverage to more than 100,000 more New Jerseyans and save the state $227 million in one year.

Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/.

Facts finally collide with ideology on Europe

There have been some glum faces around David Cameron’s cabinet table of late. To the chagrin of some eurosceptic colleagues, the government’s much-heralded audit of Britain’s relations with the EU is coming up with the wrong answers. Brussels is neither sucking the lifeblood from British democracy nor stifling its economy with unnecessary regulation. For all its inevitable irritations, the Union seems to be serving the national interest.

The government has published the first tranche of reports in a comprehensive review of Britain’s EU membership. This first batch includes studies of the “balance of competences” in the single market, tax policy, foreign policy and defence, food safety and animal welfare, health and development. Given the political sensitivities within the coalition – Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats do not share widespread Tory hostility to most things European – the task in large part has been in the hands of neutral civil servants.

The result is a series of reports that tell the story as it is, shorn of ideology and political judgments. This is what persuaded the prime minister to defer publication until backbench Tory MPs hostile to the EU had safely departed Westminster for the parliamentary recess. Mr Clegg wanted the reports released at a ministerial press conference. Mr Cameron’s office insisted there should be no fanfare.

Pro-Europeans seeking a knockout blow in favour of the EU status quo will be disappointed. Though the reports say the single market has provided significant advantages for the British economy, they also acknowledge the difficulty of quantifying the gain. And while business backs the level-playing field legislation needed to make the single market work, there is less of a consensus around environmental and real time Location system.

What is most striking, however, is the distance the conclusions stand from the original intent of the review. The exercise was to have provided a springboard for the large-scale repatriation of EU powers sought by hardline eurosceptics as a minimum requirement for continued membership. Iain Duncan Smith, Owen Paterson and Philip Hammond were among cabinet ministers who protested at the even-handed approach of officials. During one Whitehall exchange, an adviser to Mr Hammond complained the foreign policy and defence report was unduly weighted towards the evidence.

Three broad conclusions arise from the reports. The first is that the single market holds up a mirror to the close integration of modern economies. Companies depend on the “four freedoms” of goods, services, persons and capital. Cross-border supply chains, common standards, mobile workforces and multicentre manufacturing are the stuff of today’s business. These processes depend on common standards and regulation.

Japan has voiced publicly what many third countries have said privately. Foreign investment (and the jobs that go with it) in the UK is vitally dependent on access to other EU markets. At a more mundane level, Britain’s food processing industry could not work if its complex cross-border production chains did not all operate under uniform regulation. The same applies across other industries and many services. The implication is that if Britain were to leave the EU, it would be obliged by economic realities to opt back into the panoply of regulation – only this time without any say in shaping the rules.

The second conclusion is that Europe and the rest of the world are complementary markets for British business. The evidence submitted by Vodafone tells the story. The advent of EU telecommunications regulation gave the company a chance to scale up from a national to a European provider; once established in Europe it could realise its global ambitions. Looking through the other end of the telescope, overseas companies such as BMW use their British operations to sell cars to emerging markets – a practice made possible only because of EU trade agreements with third countries.

Third, whatever their rhetoric, British governments often choose to operate through Brussels even when there is no obligation so to do. Thus in foreign policy and rtls, where the institutions of the Union are relatively weak, more often than not Britain seeks to co-ordinate with its EU partners. Elsewhere, it wants to extend Union competences: animal welfare would seem a natural province for decision-making at national level, but Britain is vociferous in pressing for EU-wide rules.

All in all, the reports throw up plenty of instances when the EU needs reform or where European rules should be dropped in favour of national choices. They underline, however, how difficult and costly it would be for Britain to unravel the facts of interdependence. The ideology of the eurosceptics has collided with the evidence. No wonder Mr Cameron waited for the safety of the summer parliamentary recess.

The issue is coming to a head this week as parliament votes on plans to unclog the civil lawsuit system put forward by Annamaria Cancellieri, justice minister, and history suggests she has a fight on her hands. Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi often used immovable vested interests as an excuse for the policy paralysis that characterised his nine years in office. Mario Monti, his sober technocrat successor, ran into the same wall. Now it is the turn of Enrico Letta at the head of his fragile and febrile left-right coalition.“The lawyers, the major lobbies – they block our country from becoming normal,” an exasperated Ms Cancellieri fumed at a recent conference.

The law would extend the use of mandatory alternative dispute procedures, or mediation, to try to cut a backlog of civil lawsuits running at some 5m cases and increasing by 10 per cent a year. Lawyers went on strike for a week in protest.The slowness of Italy’s civil justice system – it takes an average of 1,210 days to resolve a commercial dispute – is often cited as the most potent deterrent to foreign investors. In the World Bank’s 2013 global ease of doing business survey, Italy ranked 160th out of 185 countries in terms of enforcing contracts.

Italy abounds with lawyers – more than 240,000, compared with 54,000 in similarly sized France. They also make up more than 10 per cent of parliament, including Mr Berlusconi’s two personal lawyers, who were heavily engaged in tackling his raft of trials and investigations when not involved in tabling legislation to give him immunity.

New treatment may prevent disability in stroke patients

Enrique Chapa lay in a hospital emergency room bed about a month ago, disoriented, unable to speak and barely able to move. Paramedics had just rushed in the 75-year-old retired truck driver, who had suffered a major stroke in his home.His wife and son sat outside his room in Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, on the brink of making what needed to be a quick decision that could help Chapa's recovery, as well as countless other future patients.

Physicians had just told them about an experimental study that could give Chapa access to a treatment that potentially could better dissolve the blood clot in his brain and lessen his chance of a long-term disability. They would need their permission to try it on him.Another element: The study is a randomized, double-blinded and placebo-controlled trial, meaning they wouldn't know if Chapa received the experimental portion of the treatment until the trial is complete.

The family weighed its options, asked to see the device and prayed. “I told them, OK, let's do it,” said his son, Michael Chapa.With that green light, Chapa became the world's first stroke patient to participate in a pivotal Phase III clinical trial for the treatment of Indoor Positioning System, or strokes in which blood clots occur.The therapy involves using a device that delivers ultrasound energy to the brain in combination with a blood clot-busting medication that's currently the only approved treatment for stroke patients.

“If the device is better than no device, then presumably if there's an effect and it helps more patients achieve full recovery from their stroke, then the (Food and Drug Administration) may approve the device for stroke treatment,” said Dr. Andrew Barreto, assistant professor of neurology in the stroke division at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, one of 60 sites worldwide recruiting patients for the trial. “Then we would have our second-approved stroke treatment.”

The device, called the Clotbust-ER, is a hands-free head frame, worn like a helmet, that delivers ultrasound waves through the skull and to the brain using 16 probes, focusing on areas where blood clots are most likely to occur.Barreto, who's also the North American principal investigator on the study, said the waves can open up the blood clot and allow more of the drug to get into the clot, restoring blood flow quicker and potentially reduce damage.

Earlier research using ultrasound technology was done with a single-hand device that required extensive medical training. The latest design can be administered easily in any emergency room.The clinical trial will require a total of 830 patients and take about 21/2 years. Previous research using the device was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.The current trial is sponsored by Cerevast Therapeutics, which used some technology licensed from UTHSC to design and develop the device.

Currently, the medication, tissue plasminogen activator or tPA, is the only approved treatment for ischemic stroke.While the drug works well, it doesn't have as much benefit to those with large blood clots and can cause some brain bleeding, Barreto said.“So we're adding additional treatments to tPA in the hope that we can amplify the effect,” he said.

In 2004, former UTHSC Professor Dr. Andrei Alexandrov published the results of a small safety study he led for the treatment in the New England Journal of Medicine.The study used two groups of 63 patients each: One group received the ultrasound treatment with tPA and the other received just the drug.Those given ultrasound technology with the clot-busting medication didn't suffer any increased risk of bleeding, the research showed. It also found the rate of reopening arteries in the brain blocked by a clot tripled in patients administered ultrasound energy and those patients were also less disabled at 90 days.

“We knew that they can respond to tPA and ultrasound, but there were not studies telling us what to expect at three months,” said Alexandrov, director of the comprehensive stroke center at the University of Alabama Hospital and global principal investigator for the current trial. “That's why we powered the study at 126 patients, relatively large for a safety study, but quite small for the definitive trial.”

There is no evidence that the poor eat more takeaways than any other group in our society. There may be more takeaway outlets in poor areas, but all cohorts of Kiwi society eat them regularly, both rich and poor. The one advantage for the rich is that they can afford to spend a bit more on "healthier" versions of takeaways.

What is driving our obsession with takeaways? One factor is no doubt the recession, during which people have been looking for a cheap, convenient treat.The business model of the convenience and takeaway food industry ensures that the resulting meal will be stacked full of sugar, fat and salt. This cocktail is lethal for one in four Kiwis who are a high risk for getting diabetes - a grisly condition that wipes eight years off your life.

For most Kiwis the excuse that we can't afford to eat healthily are pretty hollow, the truth is we are too lazy - or to be more politically correct, we're too time-short.That raises the question of whether government health policy hasn't priced our time correctly. Or to translate that into English - whether our "free" public health system should make it more expensive for us not to avoid crap food and save the taxpayer some dosh in paying for the consequences - let alone extend our own years of health living.

A health sector that was cheaper to access for those who have taken preventive measures to avoid the consequences of the worst of our fake food - diabetes, cancer, strokes, obesity, sleep apnoea - would be a win-win.A tax on "rubbish" food would provide the funds for the health sector to treat those too slack too avoid it. With such an abuser pays regime in place why would we care about those who eat the seeds of their own demise?

And what of that first group we discussed - the poor who can't afford to do anything else but turn up each night at the local chippie?

Read the full story at www.ecived.com/en/!

Kansas higher ed dealing with budget cuts

Leaders at the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and Wichita State University are warning that the cuts, along with what legislators called a “salary cap,” will damage everything from farming programs to the ability to educate doctors to the ability to help Wichita’s aerospace industries create new jobs. The dean who runs K-State’s Research and Extension Service even wrote last month that the cuts would damage the state’s 4-H programs.

And the big plot twist in this narrative of dispute is that some of strongest criticism of the cuts is coming from some of the state’s better-known conservative budget hawks.

Legislators such as Ray Merrick, the Republican speaker of the House, and Marc Rhoades, chairman of the House’s appropriations committee, have said in written public statements that legislators were merely trying to hold universities more accountable when they approved budget cuts.

They chided universities for tuition increases like the 8 percent increase requested by WSU earlier this month. The Board of Regents will vote on that request, and tuition increase requests from all the other Regents universities, this week.

Merrick and Rhoades, in a statement last month, wrote that “ever increasing tuition rates … put a burden on middle class families, even when state funding has remained constant over the last 12 years. The average tuition rate at the six major state universities went up from $1,243 in 2000 to $3,195 in 2012, an increase of 157 percent over 12 years. During the same time period, the U.S. inflation rate rose about 33 percent.

“Historically, Kansas families have borne the brunt of university budgets that continue to increase every year through both higher tuition rates and state taxes,” Merrick wrote. “The House budget plan found savings across all areas of state government, including the Regents, that will ensure our ability to keep the tax burden on Kansas families low.”

Brownback let stand cuts in higher-education spending in signing the state budget, even though he’d opposed any reduction in state funding and went on a statewide tour in April and May to build opposition to the idea. In a message to legislators, he called on them to work with the state Board of Regents to “craft a shared vision for higher education,” according to the Associated Press.

Susan Wagle of Wichita, the Kansas Senate president, warned that the cuts are “devastating” to some of the state’s finest educational institutions, including WSU. She said it will harm the state’s ability to create jobs if the cuts aren’t restored.

Wagle voted for the budget package that included the cuts. But she said last week that the Senate only agreed to the budget bill as a last resort, when it became apparent that the House was unwilling or unable to pass a budget without a salary cap.

Fred Logan, a Brownback appointee to the Kansas Board of Regents, said last week that the salary cap – on top of the budget cuts – is “one of the worst public policy moves I have seen in recent years.” He called the cap “a nightmare,” “horrible public policy,” and said it will do “irrational harm.”

New limitations on salaries in the state university system were portrayed as a salary cap in debate in the state Legislature. But because of the way the law is written, the cap actually represents a substantial cut in funding for salaries at the universities.

Unlike most agencies, state funding for the universities’ salaries comes through a block grant to the Board of Regents. It is that grant that was reduced, leaving less money to pay employees.

Although there is an amount designated for salaries in the funding they receive from the state, universities do have the flexibility to shift money from other budget lines to employee pay.

This year, budget negotiators in the Legislature, seeking to cut state funding for universities, took money from those universities that overspent or underspent their salary budget line.

Universities that have shifted funds to pay their employees more than the state budgeted for personnel saw their salary funding cut by the amount of the additional employee pay.

Universities that spent less state money than they were budgeted for salaries, generally due to open positions, in most cases had their salary line reduced to what they actually spent.Read the full story at www.ecived.com/en!

Is Other Music Next?

Erstwhile iTunes software designer and marketing leader Alec Marshall had a front row seat to watch music downloads chip away at the CD, starting in the ’90s. He says the streaming services replacing the download for many of us are not capable of returning recorded music revenue to its high water mark, either.

His answer: a new kind of sponsorship that includes artist pages where user activity from social networks can be monitored, and sponsorship ads served, in such a way that he claims will earn them more money. All that changes is the target URL on the end of the artist’s tweets, Facebook updates, and so on. The company is called Vidiam (screenshot above), although the version at that URL is not what is launching later this summer.

Vidiam’s first target is EDM, or electronic dance music, which he claims is a few steps ahead of where the rest of the industry is going. As things stand now, here’s how a typical EDM artist repeatedly uses social media to promote single a piece of music.

The goal of all of this stuff, he points out, is not to sell anything beyond the artist’s reputation. To EDM artists, the most important download store is Beatport — even though artists on the Beatport top 20 chart make as little as a couple thousand dollars a year from selling downloads there, he claims. Instead, their real financial goal is to climb the Beatport sales charts in order to book bigger venues, establish DJ residencies at bigger clubs, and play larger festivals. He’s talking about EDM, but really, the same trends are happening in other areas of music too.

“The [recorded] media that they’re putting out has become more of a calling card, especially in the electronic music space, because the pain points in this specific genre are reflective of what I think the pain points for the rest of music are going to be in the next few years,” said Marshall by phone. “Down to a T, the artists in this space literally use music and media as business cards in order to get better and better gigs.”

Because that chart is so important, EDM artists do whatever they can to climb it, even including costly promotions. His idea: to monetize the self-promotion artists already do online, by channeling their Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, SoundCloud, and anything else into a more controlled space on Vidi.am. An artist would start directing all their traffic to that artist page — everything in the numbered list above. If the traffic logs show interest, Vidi.am can activate its brand team to seek out a sponsor for the page, and the artist gets paid (percentages and amounts vary by deal) for what they’re already doing anyway.

Unlike on YouTube or other general sites, he says, ads surrounding the videos (other than the pre-roll) will be copacetic with the artist’s own goals.

“YouTube is using retargeting cookies and all sorts of tracking mechanisms to try and put behavioral ads around the content that you’re watching,” explained Marshall. “With that, I’ve been bouncing around to all the EDM sites, and I follow a link in from one DJ, I’m really likely to get ads from another DJ surrounding [the song]. That’s really distracting, and it’s a negative environment for the artist, and it’s negative for the advertiser, and definitely not appreciated inside of the fan base.”

Top EDM artists such as Ti?sto already earn significant money through sponsorships, but Marshall sees two problems there. First, brands only tend to go after the very top artists — the same one percent or so who are also making decent money anyway. Second, those promotions fizzle after the artist fulfills their contractual obligations.

Instead, Vidi.am lets the sponsorship continue for a month or so, and everything the artist links to online goes to that page. This sort of sponsorship makes sense, as much as those of us who DJ-ed college radio in the ’90s might cling to the idea that Corporate Rock Sucks. All of that content is surrounded by ads anyway, so why shouldn’t the artist try to make those ads make more sense — and more money, like, for them, directly?

If this sort of sponsored communication works for EDM artists, other genres could be next. Will tomorrow’s country, rock, and pop stars end up copying what EDM artists are doing already, issuing and promoting new music content on a weekly basis, and then trying to turn all of that communication into a sponsorship opportunity? We’ve certainly heard sillier things said about the future of music.

“EDM [is exhibiting this trend of prolific, occasionally sponsored fan/artist communication] because the competition’s so high,” said Marshall. “Really, there’s 18 young DJs nipping at the heels of every DJ that has a solid residency, or every DJ that’s getting paid enough to tour, so they can support their teams and the production value of the gig. They’re seeing that there are no record labels sponsoring that.The funny part is that some of these DJs have elevated into higher levels of artist management [so] we’re talking to the same management company that are managing major country bands, jam bands, rock bands. They are saying ‘Yeah, if so-and-so country music star stops touring for a month, they’re going to get their house taken away.’”Read the full story at www.ecived.com/en!

Now, a new problem that could delay start of monorail

With the country’s first monorail service all set to start by September this year, agencies are now squabbling over its traffic dispersal system. And this could potentially delay your promised ride in the A/C monorail by a few more months.

There is no consensus between the traffic police, BMC and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) over traffic management, with the MMRDA’s plan being junked as “impractical and too difficult” to implement by the traffic police.

On Monday, the Empowered Committee (EC) on the Mumbai Makeover project, which discussed this at length, saw agencies disagreeing with each other before chief secretary Jayant Kumar Banthia finally intervened and asked officials to go to the site and sort out the issue instead of finalising plans in a Mantralaya boardroom.

Banthia asked joint commissioner of police (traffic) Vivek Phansalkar, joint metropolitan commissioner of the MMRDA Ashwini Bhide, and additional municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta to visit the site to discuss the plan and sort out differences between the Indoor Positioning System.

The MMRDA presented its plan for traffic dispersal at the seven stations of the first phase of the monorail corridor that is expected to be opened to public in September this year. The 8.8-km route from Chembur to Wadala crosses some of the most congested areas in the city, and the plan — which envisioned creating traffic medians, side pavements and parking bays for giving way to commuters — was criticised by many present as being feasible only on paper. Funding for the traffic management system has also not yet been finalised with the government hoping that every agency involved pitches in.

“The monorail project has been delayed and now traffic dispersal threatens to delay it further. Traffic dispersal and management should have been planned and worked out in advance along with the project and not at the last minute,” said a member of the EC.

Banthia told HT, “In a city like Mumbai, we will always face the challenge of space, but we have to make the best of what is possible. All the agencies will revisit the plan at the site and modify it if required. Funding details have not yet been finalised.”

 According to the published agenda, the council will discuss ordinances to appropriate $53.4 million and $68.9 million in tax increment funds for reinvestment in multiple zones throughout the city for affordable housing costs, administrative expenses, project costs, payment to the Houston Housing Finance Corp. and payments to certain redevelopment authorities.

The council will also discuss a resolution to adopt a drought contingency plan; an ordinance related to exemptions for paying for parking meters for law enforcement vehicles; and an ordinance approving an application to the Department of State Health Services for immunization and vaccines for children.

The agenda also includes resolutions designating several sites as historic landmarks, including the Baldwin-Riddell house, 3963 Del Monte Drive; the Cooper-Bland house; 3262 Ella Lee Lane; the William B. Ferguson house at 3003 Chevy Chase Drive; and the Herbert A. and Elizabeth Kipp house, 2455 Pine Valley Drive.

Several ordinances are expected to be approved, including a contract between the city and AIS International Ltd., for a laboratory information management system for environmental health testing; an ordinance awarding a $3.11 million contract to Synagro of Texas for onsite water treatment, sludge de-watering and disposal services; and an ordinance appropriating $788,621 for the purchase of police emergency vehicle equipment for the Houston Police Department.

It's a miracle that no one was killed when a bridge span dropped into the Skagit River last week after being clipped by an Alberta trucker, cutting off the I-5 north of Seattle. The bridge is one of more than 1,500 in the state considered to be functionally obsolete, that is, not necessarily unsafe but not constructed to current standards and/ or handling more traffic than it was designed for.

As our American neighbours figured out how to get around a blocked section of the state's major artery, politicians lamented how much work there is to be done on roads and bridges and how little money there is to tackle the job. Just a few days before the collapse, the Seattle section of the American Society of Civil Engineers released a report card on infrastructure in Washington state, giving bridges a C-and roads a D+.

We've got our own challenges in B.C., and while the risk of sudden death by bridge collapse may not be as high as beyond the Peace Arch, the decision-making gridlock over new sources of funding for TransLink is contributing to the slow strangulation of traffic in the Lower Mainland.

Now that Premier Christy Clark has performed her political magic, her new government will be in a position to carry out the campaign promise of a referendum on TransLink that would be held in conjunction with the civic election in November 2014.

Clark says the people affected should have a say in how they pay for transit. That's a nice principle, but in practice it's another stick being tossed by the province into the spokes of regional transit.

TransLink was formed by the provincial government in the late '90s to turn responsibility for regional transit over to the region. Part of that responsibility was raising money to operate and expand the system.

But time and again, when the regional management has come up with a fundraising scheme that offends the government in Victoria, whether New Democrats or Liberals, it has been quashed. Among the proposals that have been turned down are a vehicle levy, a parking stall tax and region-wide road pricing.

Under the latest plan, the province is going to work with the TransLink mayors' council to come up with new funding sources that would then be put to a vote.

Given how this issue has been batted about over the past two decades, it seems more likely that they will find new ways to get blood out of a stone.

In February of last year, Trans-Link prepared an extensive shopping list of potential new taxes and fees. It included higher gas taxes, higher fares, new vehicle registration fees, an employee tax, a tax on traffic through the port and an attempt to capture some of the increase in property value that usually occurs along a new transit line.

Google Wallet Rolls Out To More Devices

Google sadly scrapped its plans to introduce a plastic “universal” credit card that works at point-of-sale as a way to use its Google Wallet service out in the real world, but the company has not given up on its NFC-powered payments solution just yet. The company announced Wednesday evening that the Google Wallet app now works on more phones: the Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy Note II and HTC One on Sprint and the Samsung Galaxy Note II on US Cellular.

As you may have noticed, there’s a looming problem with Google Wallet, and no, it’s not international support. It’s that Google still can’t roll the app out across the U.S. Of the big four mobile carriers here, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile, all but Sprint are backing a competing NFC-based payments initiative called Isis. Though this program is only in pilot trials in Austin and Salt Lake City, it’s clear the carriers are hoping to delay and impede progress of competitive solutions when they can, using regulatory red tape and any other legal loopholes they can find.

In Verizon’s case, the company skirted around the FCC’s 2012 decree which said it couldn’t block applications from download, with a few exceptions. (Initially, the carrier blocked the installation of the application from Google Play entirely.) According to Verizon, the secure element being used in Google Wallet is the issue. The carrier told the FCC that the app requires integration with the secure element on the device – something that makes it different from other m-commerce apps like Square or PayPal. And this is a “secure and proprietary piece of hardware” that’s “fundamentally separate from the device’s basic communications functions or its operating system,” said Verizon.

“Verizon has a straightforward process under which Google or others could launch devices on Verizon’s network with Google Wallet included,” Verizon responded at the time of the FCC inquiry.

In a sense, the carrier is positioning the Google Wallet app as something that requires additional oversight and control because of the way it integrates with phone hardware. Nevermind that the Verizon-backed Isis solution works in almost exactly the same way.

Well, before we all smugly pat ourselves on our backs, consider the awkward truths about contemporary racism replete in Bruce Norris’ Pulitzer Prize-winning “Clybourne Park,” the regular-season finale at Long Wharf Theatre, where it runs through June 2.

Deftly directed by Eric Ting, “Clybourne Park” nimbly proposes that the PC Police may have censored speech in “mixed” company, but have only stuffed our unspoken fears and prejudices beneath our “Kumbaya” countenance of acceptance.

“Clybourne Park” is not only a dramaturgical treat, for, indeed, it is expertly crafted, baldly honest and briskly entertaining, but it also genuinely earns its poignancy and humor. It is, furthermore, a delightful acting exercise, as Norris calls upon seven actors to magnificently portray two sets of characters — one in 1959 and another 50 years later.

The fact that all these characters spring from the shadows of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” via Norris’ fertile imagination (save one, Karl Linder, a small but pivotal character of Hansberry’s creation), adds welcome intrigue to kindle our attention.

Ting, whose staging denies none of the play’s splendid subtleties, deals himself a killer seven-card-stud cast, a seamless ensemble in which each actor stands out while maintaining balance.

Daniel Jenkins and Alice Ripley are Russ and Bev, a troubled, married couple living in the very same house that Hansberry’s Younger family purchases at the conclusion of “A Raisin in the Sun.” Linder (Alex Moggridge), the character who, in Hansberry’s play, tries bribing the Youngers out of moving into the titular neighborhood, here tries dissuading Russ from selling to the Youngers, whom Russ doesn’t realize, are African American.

Smart ID plan for Suvarnabhumi

Thai citizens represent no more than 5% of all international travellers passing through the airport. They would still need passports once they left the country and critics will say it could cause confusion. Some travellers may assume they will not need a passport at all.

The proposal is on the table, but far from finalised. The airport has installed automatic passport checkpoints for Thai citizens, a system that is now working efficiently. There was a long learning curve and a reluctance to use the unmanned gates, but the immigration bureau hired personnel to assist passengers.

The TrustPoint 3-factor biometric reader is a flexible solution, offering a variety of security options including biometric, PIN and optional PKI challenge-response authentication for increasing or decreasing the assurance level of site security, depending on the user’s requirements. It is the only solution of its kind that is Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) compatible, using a design that is made to authenticate Personal Identity Verification (PIV) credentials and mitigate electronic cloning.

“The coupling of AccessNsite with the innovative technology behind Bridgepoint’s TrustPoint 3-factor biometric reader will provide a high assurance, biometrically authenticated security system,” said Rick Foster, director of marketing and sales for Quintron’s Security Systems Division.

AccessNsite is a Java-based application that is built on a modular, object-oriented design, providing unlimited system scalability, flexibility and reliability. The software supports real-time credential evaluation at initial enrollment and full-time authentication via TrustPoint 3-factor biometric readers and compatible control panels that are installed at one location or many sites worldwide. This leverages Quintron’s enroll local-access global advanced data sharing capabilities between globally distributed systems and rtls.

According to Tom Corder, president and CEO of Bridgepoint Systems, the collaboration with Quintron will facilitate efficient enrollment by taking advantage of AccessNsite’s open architecture to offer an intuitive, user-friendly application. “In designing our product with the latest PKI standards in mind,” said Corder, “we created an authentication mechanism that is not only impenetrable, but easy to administer and manage. We are pleased to unveil this latest innovation in smart card reader technology, offering the highest level of security and access control.”

Foster also pointed out that “the 3-factor Bridgepoint reader makes it possible for security personnel across town, across the country or across the globe to deny access -- one badge, one face, one fingerprint at a time.” By coupling the AccessNsite system with Bridgepoint’s cryptographic PKI challenge-response technology, he added, the TrustPoint 3-factor biometric reader offers efficient data entry as well as image and signature capture from any location in real-time.

When a user enters his or her PIN, the solution performs a “one-to-one” match between the biometric template stored on a PIV credential and the “live-scan” of a user’s finger. When the sensor is ready for a scan, it lights up with a bright red glow and the LCD display then guides the user through the authentication process. The reader can also be configured to work automatically or manually with the PKI challenge-response in the ON or OFF mode. This feature allows the customer to use the reader with PACS in security levels I and II, and later implement higher security including levels III and IV.

Bridgepoint, a pioneer in the physical access field, was the first U.S. company to develop smart card readers for use by the Department of Defense in a physical access system. It was also the first to integrate the Department of Defense’s CAC with biometrics in a real world deployment and the first to install an interoperable personal identification reader in a government, multi-tenant facility. Some of the nation’s largest government contractors and systems integrators use the company’s technology.

I think it’s getting there. I would not say it’s ready yet. And that’s really for two reasons: Atlanta and the South in general is a particularly car-centric culture. Now, one of the interesting things about bike sharing is that it’s been proven in other places that just putting the program out there is an effective tool of education and cultural change. If you sort of throw it at people, they’ll say, “Oh, there are just bicycles everywhere, I have to respect them as a driver.”

The bigger issue is making sure the proper infrastructure is there, and there is some work to be done, but there’s also been a lot of positive development. Josh Mello over at the City of Atlanta has been awesome since he joined that organization. The city just approved $2.5 million for bike infrastructure funding, new lanes. The BeltLine is a huge component. So it’s happening.

I’ll be the first to tell you there are pros and cons to each solution, and what we’re doing is not perfect yet. It was a little surprising to see the focus on convenience. I think some of that came from the fact that they looked at smart-bike systems almost a year before the final results came out, and the technology was at a much earlier stage.

[With ViaCycle] you can still put a kiosk in high-traffic areas. We’ve gone out and designed that. At the risk of oversimplifying, it’s basically an iPad on a stand with a credit card reader. You can put it anywhere, that way if you have a station Downtown or in a place with a lot of tourists, they have access to all that same functionality.

But I agree with you. Mobile is where the world is going, and while the need for a physical presence in advertising is still very strong, there’s no reason you need things controlled by heavy, standalone, stationary equipment.

Absolutely. When we started the project I’d say half the people we talked to would shake their head at us and go, “Bike sharing, what’s that?” Now almost three years later, people know what it is and they know the value it can have, and for us it would mean so much. We want to make Alanta a better place. It’s what gave us our start, and it would be really awesome to see that come full circle in moving toward a more connected city.

Something that’s been really interesting to watch has been the rise of collaborative consumption startups. Broadly you can apply that label to Airbnb (a website for travelers seeking non-hotel accommodations), which is probably the largest and best known. Companies like Uber doing shared ride services. The founders are based out of Atlanta of a California company called InstantCab doing the same thing—sort of disrupting the taxi industry. There’s a company called Scoot doing electric scooter sharing.

Kroger seeks bigger Marketplace slice

It’s just a few paragraphs in an 87-page financial report, but in the annual 10-K document that the Kroger Co. filed on April 2 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the fierce battle for market share that the Cincinnati-based retailer is waging with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. practically jumps off the page.

“Based on Nielsen Homescan Data, our estimated market share increased in total by approximately 20 basis points in 2012 across our 19 marketing areas outlined by the Nielsen report. … Wal-Mart Supercenters are a primary competitor in 17 of these 19 marketing areas. In these 17 marketing areas, our market share increased in nine and declined in eight,” the report states.

Wal-Mart has been muscling in on Kroger’s supermarket turf since 1988, when the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer began developing its Walmart supercenters, which carry a full line of groceries. In the Toledo area, Wal-Mart added groceries to its stores in 2006.

The addition of groceries pushed Wal-Mart further into the concept of “hypermarkets” — a format that combines a supermarket and a department store. In theory, it gives customers a one-stop shopping experience — and it gave Wal-Mart a significant advantage over pure supermarket chains such as Kroger, Aldi, Safeway, and Hands free access.

But Kroger, which learned a thing or two about hypermarkets after acquiring the consummate hypermarket chain Fred Meyer stores in 1998, has not been idle while Wal-Mart stocks up on groceries.

In 2004 in Columbus, the retailer built its first Kroger Marketplace store — a 125,000-square-foot store with full-service grocery and pharmacy departments, but also an expanded general merchandise area that includes outdoor living products, electronics, home goods, and toys. The Marketplace stores have evolved to include gourmet coffee stands, a bank, a jewelry store, apparel, and baby clothing and furniture.

Last year Kroger began converting its 68,000-square-foot supermarket in Lambertville into a 128,000-square-foot marketplace. The project is about 80 percent complete. In its first phase, it expanded the store’s produce area, added a bakery and a fresh seafood area, and built a “bistro” area with a coffee, beverage, and olive bar and made-to-order sandwiches.

Grocery industry analyst Bill Bishop, head of Illinois-based Willard Bishop Consulting, said it isn’t surprising that a traditional supermarket chain such as Kroger has been deploying a concept that adds more general merchandise because retailers are always seeking new categories that will help attract customers, as Wal-Mart did when it added groceries to its lineup of general merchandise.

“Every retailer is trying to get into, to the extent they can, completely new markets because that’s a kind of pure growth for them. So when you go to a [Kroger] Marketplace store and see furniture — which shocked me the first time I saw it — it’s pretty evident that having bigger stores has let capable retailers put their toes into new markets for growth,” Mr. Bishop said. “And I think what you’re going to see is a lot more of that.”

Last week on Da Vinci’s Demons, Rome steps up with some power plays preparing Pazzi as their plan B while sending Riario in to massacre everyone at Florence’s alum mine save for a boy whom he sends to Lorenzo with the message of what he did. Lorenzo sees this act of war and focuses on Leonardo’s guns while becoming ever more paranoid about betrayal since Becchi’s supposed deception, taking it out on anyone who he deems a traitor (except for Leonardo, of course.) Meanwhile, Giuliano shows some maturity and intelligence and visits Becchi attempting to get some answers and realizes the spy is still in their midst. While Giuliano begins his search for the remaining spy, Donati becomes worried about what Becchi will say to convince them of his innocence (and maybe a little concerned about essentially sentencing him to death by the wheel …maybe) so she kills him with hemlock in a show of “mercy.” All the while, Lorenzo and Leonardo work to thwart an all-out war with Rome, until Leonardo blows up the forge (and gets away with it). Leonardo saves the day with a completely ridiculous new invention and just as he’s being honored for his heroics and genius, Pazzi has Dragonetti arrest Leonardo for sodomy based on an anonymous denunciation.

After being locked up in prison due to the accusations, Leonardo attempts to sleep and dreams of visiting the cave as a boy, seeing flashes of dead bodies and a man hanging from the ceiling of the cave until he suddenly wakes. Another prisoner taunts him a bit about being a sodomite while Leonardo notices a bat fly into the cell used for solitary confinement and inquires about them, finding out that the bats nest in the cell.

In the castle, Lorenzo shows King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella around attempting to win over the King and Queen to have them invest with the Medicis since Rome had pulled their funds and business out of Florence. Lorenzo easily impresses Ferdinand with his banking ability while Clarice shows Queen Isabella around. After presenting Donatello’s David to her, Isabella’s friar denounces the statue and Isabella is quick to agree and states the statue is lewd, asking to cover it up “for the remainder of her visit.” When they talk about the visiting couple, Clarice suggests they merely need a distraction and to let Giuliano create a production.

Back in prison, Leonardo picks a fight with another prisoner in an obvious ruse to get into solitary confinement. The guards quickly beat him down and place him there where his father visits to discuss Leonardo’s defense in court, which still has me wondering about Becchi’s or the servant that was killed on the wheel’s trial. I don’t know laws of Florence in that time, though. Maybe treason just doesn’t get a trial. Sent by Lorenzo, Piero attempts to talk to him about his plea, but Leonardo insists that the charges must and will be dropped as he looks through the food Piero brought him at his request. He specifically looks for the Marcgravia evenia, which reflects sound better than other plants and attracts bats, which he demonstrates as a bat flies into his hands. His childlike amusement at the bat landing in his hands causes Piero to tell him they could always use insanity as a defense, but obviously Leonardo is up to something here. You’d think somebody would notice his unusual interest in the bats. Or is it that they simply don’t care and think the eccentric genius is merely crazy?

Ryback and Stars Who Desperately Need to Win at PPV

With WrestleMania XXIX firmly in the rear-view mirror, the WWE is now focused on building up a multitude of different stars for the upcoming summer season. Scoring a big victory at Extreme Rules is a great way to start.

While the card is only halfway complete, it is fairly obvious which matches will be added if they haven't been announced already. Some bouts such as Mark Henry vs. Sheamus or a potential Randy Orton vs. Big Show match could go either way without consequence, but other tilts will feature one Superstar who clearly needs to win in a bad way.

Perhaps winning isn't everything in professional wrestling, but there comes a point when Superstars have to win and look strong in order to get over properly with the fans. The WWE has the potential for a highly entertaining summer provided the creative team books Extreme Rules logically.

That isn't always the case, but with CM Punk out for the time being and part-time guys such as Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker and The Rock not as prevalent, smart booking will be of the utmost importance moving forward.

The WWE backed itself into a corner last year when John Cena got injured as it pressed Ryback into the main-event scene against CM Punk and had no choice but to make him lose. Rather than allowing him to rebound,rtls, the losses have continued to pile up for Ryback over the past several months.

The WWE had a golden opportunity to give Ryback a huge victory on the WrestleMania stage over Mark Henry, but Henry inexplicably won the match. That ultimately led to Ryback's heel turn, but losing to Henry wasn't really necessary to make that happen. Whatever the case, it's very difficult to take Ryback seriously knowing how putrid his record is.

Since WrestleMania, Ryback has been made to look strong, but it's time for the WWE to put its money where its mouth is. If the writers are going to continue to herald Ryback as the most unstoppable force in wrestling, then he needs to win at Extreme Rules.

Ryback will be facing Cena for the WWE Championship in a Last Man Standing match, which could set the stage for a title change. The Shield has been heavily involved with Cena and Ryback as of late, so it wouldn't be surprising to see the group lay out Cena and help Ryback win the title after stifling him so many times in the past.

Even though Ryback would be getting help, he would still get a major rub simply by beating Cena. It isn't as if Cena ever loses cleanly anyway, so a win of any kind over Cena is huge.

Fans hoped that the schizophrenic booking would change when Ziggler won the World Heavyweight Championship, but that hasn't been the case, as Ziggler continues to lose despite having gold around his waist.

Over the past several weeks, Ziggler has won matches here and there over the likes of Kofi Kingston and other midcarders, but he has lost to both Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio, who will be his opponents at Extreme Rules. It's understandable that the WWE wants to make it seem as though the title could potentially change hands, but jobbing out Ziggler isn't the way to do it.

The WWE has a penchant for making its heel champions lose constantly. Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett is dealing with that currently, and Antonio Cesaro was mired in a losing streak for months before dropping the United States Championship to Kingston.

Perhaps the worst part about it is the fact that he has A.J. and Big E Langston constantly influencing matches, so he should never lose. He loses quite often, however, and even when he does win, it is usually due to outside interference. If the fans are to believe that Ziggler is as good as he says he is, then he needs to go on a prolonged winning streak.

Look for that to begin at Extreme Rules, where Ziggler will face Swagger and Del Rio in a ladder match. Hopefully it marks the start of a big run for Ziggler rather than serve as a one-off victory.

That isn't to say that The Shield will be sunk the second it loses, but there is honestly no point in having the triumvirate lose right now. The likes of John Cena, The Undertaker, Ryback, Sheamus, Randy Orton, Big Show, Chris Jericho and countless others have tried to stop The Shield, but each and every on them has failed.

Although The Shield hasn't yet been put in an Extreme Rules match officially, it is almost certain that at least two of them will challenge Team Hell No for the Tag Team Championships. Also, based on the events of Raw, Dean Ambrose could potentially face Kofi Kingston for the United States Championship. The Shield beat Kofi and The Usos in a six-man tag on Raw and the announcers made a big deal out of Ambrose pinning Kingston, so something has to be in the works.

There is some concern among WWE fans about where The Shield goes from here, but the next logical step involves winning titles. Perhaps the Tag Team Championships and United States Championship aren't as prestigious as they once were, but The Shield can undoubtedly legitimize those belts and make people care about them again.

Steering my grandson in the right direction

My 16-year-old grandson, Andrew, just received his driver's permit. This means that another teenager will soon be gracing our roads. While this is considered worthy of recognition, the rest of us -- his parents and I -- approach this milestone with trepidation and the realization that life is moving by much too quickly.

His sister Caroline, 15, thinks it's all so "cool." She has become Andrew's staunch ally, anticipating the day when she, too, can get behind the wheel of a car and drive us to distraction.

Andrew is a great kid. Caroline, equally so. But greatness aside, driving a car is an act that evokes such anxiety that driver's permits should include therapy sessions for parents and grandparents to get them through the ordeal.

Andrew waves his permit at me as a constant reminder of this potentially death-defying feat. Despite the fact that he hasn't cleaned his room since the Clinton administration, he's appropriately proud, and congratulations are in order. And so I pass along kudos with as much enthusiasm as I can muster. He has, after all, passed the test and has plastic proof of his rtls.

But I am frightened, not only because he will soon be on the road with maniacal drivers and substance abusers, but because the world these kids are facing is even more dangerous and challenging than what they will encounter in the driver's seat. And we, who have little control over protecting them, suddenly feel overly protective.

If it were up to me, I would shield my grandchildren from the pervasive destruction in a world run amok. I would step in and remove them from irrational predators, insane terrorists, and unexpected bomb explosions intent on killing off not only innocent victims, but our spirits as well. I would whisk my kids off to places that guarantee their safekeeping. But I can't. At best, I can only offer my own experiences as blueprints to those of a different generation vastly removed from mine.

In spite of us, children grow up, and for better and for worse, we can only hope that somewhere along the way, a nugget of our excessive ranting will have sunk in, and steered them in the right direction.

My hope is that by the time Andrew gets his license, and is officially deemed worthy of operating a vehicle, the rules will sink in: That he will pause at stop signs and approach yellow lights not as an invitation to race ahead, but to linger for a moment, heeding my cliche warning: "Better safe than sorry."

I am counting on the fact that his newly acquired status will teach him responsibility and patience -- that he won't be in such a hurry to race through life when he doesn't yet understand the importance of slowing down. I want to tell him that these are the years to savor -- to rein himself in, rather than propel himself forward at breakneck speed, and that maneuvering a steering wheel warrants more insurance than what air bags can provide. He will be road-tested beyond his wildest imagination.

When my shaky sanity is being tested by the image of a grandson in a car, it is then I need to get a grip on reality, imagining him making wise decisions as he navigates along bumpy roads, seat belt attached, his vision clear, hands steady and instincts well intact.

For now, however, the heady excitement of owning a driver's permit is all that matters. He's a typically normal and engaging -- if sometimes cocky -- adolescent, who now has the goods to prove his worth. For a while, he needs to luxuriate in his newly acquired sense of achievement: That he has made the grade as a full-fledged member of the Big Boys club. And I, a minor player in this scenario, have become the target of his amusement as he pushes his permit in my face, assuring me he's got it all under control.

"While the Supreme Court and the rest of us are all focused on the human right of marriage equality, let's not forget that the fight doesn't end with same-sex marriage. We need to legalize polygamy, too. Legalized polygamy in the United States is the constitutional, feminist, and sex-positive choice. More importantly, it would actually help protect, empower, and strengthen women, children, and families."

Keenan is not playing the "same-sex marriage is a slippery slope" card to argue against same-sex marriage. In fact, she ridicules that argument as a "tired refrain." Instead, she brands herself as a feminist who believes polygamy is in the best interest of women and society and perfectly in keeping with the arguments for same-sex marriage.

Besides the 2011 lawsuit to decriminalize bigamy and polygamy in Utah filed by the stars of TLC's "Sister Wives," the discussion of polygamy and its connection to the same-sex marriage debate has been fairly silent. Keenan, however, wishes to end that silence.

While admitting that the argument against polygamy has generally been that it hurts women and children, Keenan believes legalization would actually benefit them. She claims that polygamists live in the shadows and fear the authorities. If they were allowed to live in the open, they would be more likely to report instances of abuse.

The current battle over marriage involves the definition of marriage. Proponents of same-sex marriage (and supporters of polygamy) consider marriage to be an intimate, emotional relationship between individuals. They offer no basis for discrimination according to gender or number. Thus, the "new" definition of marriage would allow for same-sex marriage and polygamy. If culture, and specifically the government, adopts this new definition of marriage, then Keenan is right. There will be no choice but to legalize polygamy as well as same-sex marriage. However, Keenan does not go far enough. Incest is the next step of progression. We could add to her argument above: "If a woman wants to marry a man, that's great. If she wants to marry another woman, that's great too. If she wants to marry a hipster, well -- I suppose that's the price of freedom." The next line should read: "If she even wants to marry her brother, that's her choice."

This is the direction of the debate. Keenan has opened the door and publicly stated what others have been ridiculed for saying. The definition of marriage matters. A redefinition of marriage will undermine the entire concept of marriage that has been recognized throughout human history. As Chief Justice John Roberts stated during oral arguments before the Supreme Court: "If you tell a child that somebody has to be their friend, I suppose you can force the child to say, 'This is my friend.' But it changes the definition of what it means to be a friend." If we tell people they can marry whomever they wish no matter the gender, number, or blood relationship, I suppose we could call that marriage. However, it changes the definition of what it means to be married.

Not Smarter Than a Cave Man

One thousand, four hundred and twenty four…that’s the number of days that have passed since the Democrat-controlled Senate performed their constitutional duty to pass a budget, more than a year before the ubiquitous iPad was invented. Judging by the contents of that budget, we can see why Democrats were scared to reveal their plans before Obama was safely re-elected and no longer accountable to the voters. It is unbridled plastic card that passes for the Democrat budgeting process.

Such sheer irresponsibility reminds me of P.J. O’Rourke, the civil libertarian who once said “Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.” Admittedly, it is not fair to compare elected Democrats to drunken teenage boys who, even with a fleet of cars and a swimming pool filled with whiskey could not hope to achieve as much damage as is being done by Democrats right now.

The Senate budget demands nearly one trillion dollars in new tax increases, on top of the nearly $700 billion already conceded by Republicans just a few months ago in the “Fiscal Cliff” deal. An almost equal amount would supposedly be cut from spending, but considering the bait-and-switch tactics that have become the modus operandi for Democrats, it is hard to believe that those cuts would ever come to fruition.

The whole exercise has become Kabuki Theater, a laughable dance of fools and charlatans that has no basis in reality. It is impossible to take seriously the trustworthiness of a party which demonized as “harsh” and “draconian” the previous budget submitted by Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI), which contained near-double digit increases in the entitlement spending, and took more than three decades to balance the budget. In a nation of rational adults, the Paul Ryan budget would have been seen as irresponsible, and it is only due to the unadulterated insanity of the Democrat budget that the Ryan budget seemed reasonable.

The most recent Republican House budget takes a full decade to balance the budget, but only by assuming that funding for ObamaCare would be repealed; something that would never make it past the Democrat-controlled Senate or Obama. That has about as much chance of happening as Obama rejecting the corrupt special interest money he has long preached against (you can buy four face-to-face meetings a year with Obama for a cool half million dollars by donating to his re-branded Organizing for America campaign apparatus). By comparison, the Ryan budget is far more responsible, achieving deficit reduction and economic stimulus through growth rather than tax increases, but even it relies on unrealistic assumptions.

How do we get to a point where we can pass realistic, responsible budgets that fund the legitimate functions of government, stimulate economic growth by reducing the crushing tax burden, and in the process reduce the skyrocketing national debt (the interest payments on which we now spend more on than education, homeland security, transportation, and taking care of our veterans…combined!)? It’s impossible to know, since Democrats claim we have no debt problem. That’s like me saying that having a monthly credit card INTEREST payment higher than my mortgage payment is just fine. Americans get nothing in return for those hundreds of billions of dollars in interest payments. How many of the salaries of those firefighters, schoolteachers, and policemen that Obama surrounded himself with in a press conference before the sequester kicked in could have been paid with the $359.8 BILLION dollars paid in interest on the debt in FY2012? That would be 7,196,000 of these fine workers at $50,000 per year.

But alas, getting Democrats to act responsibly is probably not an achievable goal in the near future. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray, referring to the stark differences between the House and Senate budgets, said “We have presented very different visions for how our country should work and who it should work for…but I am hopeful that we can bridge this divide.” Who our country should work for? Shouldn’t it work for ALL Americans? Or have we now decided that certain Americans are no longer worthy of equality under the law?

The Democrat/Senate budget raises even more taxes, cuts hundreds of billions more from the defense budget (more than has already been cut, which former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, no defense hawk, warned would weaken America’s military readiness), and once again leaves entitlement and welfare spending, the primary drivers of the rising deficits and IC card, virtually untouched.

Questions about gas prices come up all the time, particularly when motorists see more than one price at the pump. Massachusetts does have rules that prohibit placing a surcharge on the use of a credit card. However, as much as it seems like the same thing, a gas station can discount the price for customers paying in cash.

So, discounting is fine and surcharging isn’t. While most stations charge the same price for cash or credit, there is a reason why some discount for the use of cash – or, in this case, a smartphone or checking account-linked card. Gas stations tend to have pretty tight margins and steering customers away from credit cards helps them to avoid the fees assessed for every transaction, something that cuts into the bottom line.

The folks at Framingham-based Cumberland Farms don’t see themselves as elitist, noting their low-price coffee and soda. Cumberland Farms said it introduced its SmartPay system to avoid credit card and debit card processing fees and pass some of the savings to customers in the form of discounts.

If customers don’t have a smart phone, they can pick up a SmartPay card, which is linked to a checking account and works like a debit card. SmartPay cards are available at Cumberland Farm stores.

“The SmartPay Check-Link payment program was designed to be as inclusive as possible for all of our customers, whether they use a smartphone or prefer the free SmartPay payment card,” said Kate Ngo, Cumberland Farms’ senior manager of brand strategy.

As much as bank fees might be an issue for some consumers, free checking accounts with minimal balance requirements are available at local banks and credit unions. So, most folks, whether they have a smartphone or not, should be able to figure out a way to get this discount – if it really mattered to them.

Save cash at store with coupons

We often see stories on TV of how people are able to buy lots of groceries for a very small price, and we wonder how they do it. It is all through the use of coupons, using store ads and time planning.

In 1888, Asa Candler, a selfmade businessman, used paper tickets for free glasses of Coke to help sell his new product. These tickets were distributed through magazines and direct mailing. He offered pharmacists who were reluctant to sell the drink the first barrel of syrup free. When customers came into the pharmacies with coupons, pharmacists were quick to restock the product.

In 1909, C.W. Post distributed 1-cent coupons to help market his Grape Nuts cereal and other products. During the Great Depression, the use of coupons became widespread, and in 1940, big chain grocery stores attracted new customers with coupons.

Here are 10 steps to get you started couponing and saving money: 1. Gather the necessary items to begin the project. Find a basket or plastic file box to store and carry your supplies. You can also use a coupon organizer, a 5-by-8 index card file box with dividers, or a three-ring binder with insert sheets. Locate a comfortable table and chair for your workspace. Other things you need include sharp scissors and pencils or pens.

Purchase the Sunday newspaper. If you have family or friends who get the newspaper regularly, you might want to ask them for their coupon inserts if they don’t use them.

High-ranking officials from the Gulf countries’ ministries of health began their three-day conference earlier this week in Kuwait. The conference is the first in the region to discuss linking screening programs for expatriates electronically and establishing an appropriate mechanism for the application of smart cards and integrated electronic links between GCC countries.

Ameer Sibai, member of the executive board of GCC health ministers, told Arab News by the phone that the conference is focused on linking health-related data electronically among the member states of the GCC.
The e-linkage aims to protect GCC citizens from disease and the spread of infections, as well as to ensure that expatriates are medically fit for the work they are recruited for and do not suffer unnecessary psychological, physical or financial burden due to medical condition. In addition, the new system aims to guarantee that the recruited foreigners are free from contagious diseases.

During the meeting, officials discussed means of developing an automated system for health information and applying the latest systems and capabilities in the field of e-health. The conference agenda also included deliberations regarding electronically linking health facilities in the region, which would entail storing data and medical records and archiving X-rays.

Qais Al-Duwairi, assistant undersecretary of public health affairs at the Ministry of Health in Kuwait, was quoted by the Kuwait state news agency (KUNA) as saying that the percentage of unhealthy expats who entered the GCC countries has decreased to 5 percent as a result of activating the e-linking system in manpower exporting countries. He noted that iris scanning and fingerprints are to be added to the screening system to prevent expats from conning officials and changing their personal data and information.

Al-Duwairi indicated that health officials worked out the details of implementing a smart card system for GCC citizens and residents, which would contain their personal health information and would simultaneously function as an e-medical file that physicians in any member state can refer to in order to understand the history of the patient’s health condition.

Ever hear of Anki? It’s an open-source flash card program brilliantly designed to automate the Ebbinghaus method of memory retention. Via a free online service called AnkiWeb, users can download any number of digital card decks from a vast database to memorize whatever their heart desires.

Languages, guitar chords, the periodic table of elements, there’s over 5000 decks available with hundreds of cards in each. I, for one, started taking up world geography. To show off my progress: Podgorica is the capital of Montenegro, Tbilisi the capital of Georgia, Nicosia of Cyprus (knew this before reading about the banking crisis), Yerevan of Armenia, Astana of Kazakhstan, and so on; didn’t Google anything at all here, and I’m admittedly a clueless American. All it took was ~25 minutes a day with Anki for two weeks.

The program works by introducing 20 new cards per session, and reviews cards from previous sessions with a frequency based on how confident you feel with your learning when tested. So for example, say I draw Cardiff and instantly remember it’s the capital of Wales:  after clicking “show” to reveal the correct answer, I choose “Easy (4 Days)” from the available options. The card is done for the day, and since I was so confident with it, I won’t have to see the card again for a full four days. If I, perchance, on the next draw mistake Mozambique for Madagascar, I can choose “Again (1 min)” to force a steady repetition and facilitate memorization, until I get it right.

All I can say is install this program on your smartphone right now if you’re a student, especially one taking college-level science. The savings on flashcards alone are well worth the five minutes it takes to download and set up the software. If you’re not in school, Anki is still extremely useful and enriching. Expand your vocabulary, fix your French pronunciation, learn the major themes of famous classical compositions… most importantly, use your brain!

For reasons that aren’t entirely clear to me, AnkiMobile for iOS costs a whopping $25 while AnkiDroid is completely free to download. You can sync up your account on AnkiWeb between all your devices, so no matter where you are Anki knows what cards you’re using. The program also makes a slew of graphs and charts to mark your progress, so you can show off your mastery of those 500 new Arabic phrases or whatever with fancy data.