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“Tell Us ‘Our’ Story”: What impact do you hope to have on the world and how is the Transportation Research Board helping you make that impact?

TRB's “Tell Us ‘Our’ Story" challenge is now looking into the future. What impact do you hope to have on the world and how is the Transportation Research Board helping you make that impact? What is your vision for the Transportation Research Board 100 years from now? What are solutions that you have identified as a result of research you learned about through TRB? TRB welcomes all stories: small or large, profound or light-hearted, sobering or humorous. In addition to posting responses to these questions...




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Lákavá sousta pro bohaté dravce aneb Koronavirová krize překreslí podnikatelskou mapu Česka

Rozvolňování opatření proti šíření koronaviru v Česku zdárně pokračuje podle plánu. Otevírají se obchody a instituce, firmy obnovují svoji činnost a zanedlouho otevřou zahrádky u hospod. Lidé už začali plánovat dovolenou a nervózně sledují vývoj zpráv, jestli budou moct letos k moři či nikoliv. Vše by mohlo nasvědčovat tomu, že se všechno brzy vrátí do starých kolejí. Ale to je omyl, česká společnost se vrátí do poněkud odlišnějšího světa. Protože u toho už nebude řada firem a desítky či možná stovky tisíc lidí budou pracně zajišťovat svoji existenci.




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Pound that Pulpit




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the sword that cannot be sheathed




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Speaker: Lockdown? Day? Whatever the fuck day it is …

I live in Stockport, just outside Manchester. It's 10 minutes by train away, but I’m not sure if the trains are running – and in any case I’ve not actually been in my office in Central Manchester since February 20.
That got complex. I was in Iraq for work and came home in early March with a virus. Just not that virus but they wouldn’t test me because Iraq (you know, right next door to Iran) wasn’t on the WHO list.
So. Context. We live in a suburban semi-detatched house with a garden (big for Edgeley). There’s me. Matt the husband.…




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What's the word on word balloons?

EPISODE SUMMARY This week, Dave and Brad drill down deep on a crucial topic in comics — word balloons! Then Dave talks about his recent Kickstarter, and why it didn't fund. Plus... how will the global pandemic affect comic ships, distributors, the USPS and ... webcomics? EPISODE NOTES Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the incredible Wacom One! This week, Dave and Brad drill down deep on a crucial topic in comics — word balloons! Then Dave talks




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Ask A Librarian: What About Controlled Digital Lending?

From a friend: Please explain to me your enthusiasm for controlled digital lending. Please let me know what you think...




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Ask A Librarian: What is the deal with “free” ebook sites?

It’s been an odd set of months. I got busy with Drop-In Time and then very un-busy. I’ve been keeping...




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Amazon Sued For Saying You've 'Bought' Movies That It Can Take Away From You

For well over a decade we've talked about the many problems that arise when copyright is compared to "property" -- and people try to simply move over concepts from physical, tangible property into the world of digital. A key aspect of this: when you "purchase" something digital online, is it really a "purchase" or is it a "license" (especially a license that could be revoked)? If it was a true "purchase" then you should own it and the seller shouldn't be able to take it back. But in practice, over and over and over again, we've seen stories of people having things they supposedly "bought" disappear. The situation is so crazy that we've referred to it as Schrödinger's Download, in that many copyright holders and retailers would like the very same thing to be a "sale" some of the time, and a "license" some of the time (the "times" for each tend to be when it hurts the consumers the most). This has, at times, seeped into physical goods, where they've tried to add "license agreements" to physical products. Or, worse, when some copyright folks claimed that buying a DVD means you don't actually own what you bought, but rather are merely "purchasing access" to the content, and that could be revoked.

Anyway, I'm amazed that we don't see more lawsuits about this kind of thing -- but one was recently filed in California. Someone named Amanda Caudel is suing Amazon for saying that you've "purchased" a video download, which Amazon might disappear from your library whenever it wants. As the lawsuit makes clear, Amazon directly says that you are buying the movie (as opposed to renting it). From the lawsuit filing itself:

And, they point out, in your account there's a listing of "Your Video Purchases & Rentals." But, the lawsuit claims, what you purchase doesn't seem to behave like a real purchase:

Reasonable consumers will expect that the use of a “Buy” button and the representation that their Video Content is a “Purchase” means that the consumer has paid for full access to the Video Content and, like any bought product, that access cannot be revoked.

Unfortunately for consumers who chose the “Buy” option, this is deceptive and untrue. Rather, the ugly truth is that Defendant secretly reserves the right to terminate the consumers’ access and use of the Video Content at any time, and has done so on numerous occasions, leaving the consumer without the ability to enjoy their already-bought Video Content.

Defendant’s representations are misleading because they give the impression that the Video Content is purchased – i.e. the person owns it - when in fact that is not true because Defendant or others may revoke access to the Video Content at any time and for any reason.

In so representing the “Purchase” of Video Content as true ownership of the content, Defendant took advantage of the (1) cognitive shortcuts made at the point-of-sale, e.g. Rent v. Buy and (2) price of the Video Content, which is akin to an outright purchase versus a rental.

Though some consumers may get lucky and never lose access to any of their paid-for media, others may one day find that their Video Content is now completely inaccessible. Regardless, all consumers have overpaid for the Video Content because they are not in fact owners of the Video Content, despite have paid extra money to “Buy” the product.

The plaintiff (or rather, her lawyers) are trying to make this a class action lawsuit, and are arguing that (among other things) this is false advertising. I am, not surprisingly, sympathetic to the plaintiff -- and remain disappointed at how copyright and similar restrictions are being used to chip away at ownership and actual property rights. That said... I'm not that optimistic the case will get very far. In the past, companies have been able to wiggle out of similar claims, and I'm pretty sure that Amazon tries to push disputes like this to binding arbitration, meaning that the lawsuit may be dead on arrival.

Still, it's yet another reminder of how copyright is chipping away at real property.




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What A Coincidence! Same Day Senator Burr Dumped His Stock, So Did His Brother-in-Law!

Senator Richard Burr's potential insider trading issues, for which he's being investigated, may have gotten quite a bit worse this week. A new report notes that on the same day Burr sold off a "significant percentage" of his stock holdings (while also telling the public not to worry about COVID-19), it turns out his brother-in-law just coincidentally decided to dump a bunch of stock too. Amazing!

Sen. Richard Burr was not the only member of his family to sell off a significant portion of his stock holdings in February, ahead of the market crash spurred by coronavirus fears. On the same day Burr sold, his brother-in-law also dumped tens of thousands of dollars worth of shares. The market fell by more than 30% in the subsequent month.

Burr’s brother-in-law, Gerald Fauth, who has a post on the National Mediation Board, sold between $97,000 and $280,000 worth of shares in six companies — including several that have been hit particularly hard in the market swoon and economic downturn.

Could this actually be a coincidence? Sure. Maybe. But the timing (the very same day...) does seem notable. As the ProPublica report notes, Fauth "is not a frequent stock trader." Burr insists that his sales were based on public information, though it's difficult to see how he could simply ignore the classified briefings he got concerning the rising pandemic issues, and base decisions entirely on public information. Indeed, this is why government officials should be required to hand off any equities like this to a blind trust where they have no visibility into how it's traded.

Even if this is all legal (which is not certain either way yet...), it again reinforces the belief that the powerful live by different rules and are able to game the system for personal advantage, even as they're supposed to be serving the public interest.




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What is the “Flesh” in Galatians 5:19-23?

In Galatians 5:19-23, Paul writes about the flesh. What does he mean by this term? Is it just our physical body? Is it the sin nature? Is it the human tendency to engage in sensual pleasures? The answer is NO to all these questions. Listen to this study to find out what Paul means by the term FLESH.




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What is the “Flesh” in Ephesians 2:1-3?

In Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul writes about the flesh. What does he mean by this term? Is it just our physical body? Is it the sin nature? Is it the human tendency to engage in sensual pleasures? The answer is NO to all these questions. Listen to this study to find out what Paul means by the term FLESH.




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What is the unforgivable sin in Matthew 12:31-32

There is great confusion among Christians about the unforgivable sin. Jesus talks about it in Matthew 12:31-32. This brief study summarizes what the unforgivable sin is, and how you can know you have not committed it. This study is an excerpt from my Gospel Dictionary online course.




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What does the Book of Acts teach about Forgiveness?

Lots of people are very confused about the topic of Forgiveness in the Bible. This study looks at what the book of Acts teaches about forgiveness, and in this way, we see a glimpse of what the Bible teaches about forgiveness. This study is an excerpt from from my Gospel Dictionary online course.




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What is the good fruit of Matthew 3:8-10? Is it good works?

In Matthew 3:8-10, John the Baptist invites his audience to bear fruit worthy of repentance. Is he talking about good works? No, the context indicates that the good fruit does not refer to good works, but to good words that are in alignment with Scripture. This is important for properly understanding the gospel.




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The first thing that came to our heads

“Monster Mash,” “Crocodile Rock,” and “Jailhouse Rock” are all real songs about other, fictional songs that share the same titles...




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So, that was a thing

Our buzzer goes off. About 8 PM. We're not expecting anyone. I go downstairs. "Police," announce the two guys outside...




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Three Paper Thursday: What’s Intel SGX Good For?

Software Guard eXtensions (SGX) represents Intel’s latest foray into trusted computing. Initially intended as a means to secure cloud computation, it has since been employed for DRM and secure key storage in production systems. SGX differs from its competitors such as TrustZone in its focus on reducing the volume of trusted code in its “secure … Continue reading Three Paper Thursday: What’s Intel SGX Good For?




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Twitter sticks a beak in, Clippy-style: Are you sure you want to set your account alight with that flame?

No, you still can't edit tweets

Although editing published tweets still remains strictly verboten on Twitter, the microblogging anger echo chamber intends to prompt English-speaking iPhone-wielding users to double-check content before posting a reply that they might regret.…




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ServiceNow's 6-week virtual conference kicks off. Yes, you read that right: 6 weeks...

It's a long, long buildup to CEO's soliloquy, it's a long way to go

Knowledge 2020 With the long flights, late nights and early starts, IT conferences might seem endless. But with the shift to the online format becoming standard, for now at least, participants might be spared the trial of endurance.…




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What do you call megabucks Microsoft? No really, it's not a joke. <i>El Reg</i> needs you

It is time. We need a new Regism and cannot go to the pub to think of one. Can you help?

It is no secret that we like to use the odd bit of shorthand at The Register when biting the hand that feeds IT. Now we need a fresh one for Microsoft.…




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BT suspends shareholder payments as folk forgo pricey sports TV deals for matches that won't happen anyway

We all need to tighten our belts

For the first time in over three decades, BT has suspended its dividend scheme as the former state-owned teleco grapples with the fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic, and the financial uncertainty that'll inevitably ensue.…




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FYI: Your browser can pick up ultrasonic signals you can't hear, and that sounds like a privacy nightmare to some

High-frequency audio could be used to stealthily track netizens

Technical folks looking to improve web privacy haven't been able to decide whether sound beyond the range of human hearing poses enough of a privacy risk to merit restriction.…




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Equinix says Zoom bought plenty more stuff in Q1. Which is just what Oracle said, too

Despite you know what, little evidence of a rush to new racks

Equinix has posted its Q1 FY2020 results for the period ending March 31st, along with some interesting insights into how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted data centre consumption.…




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We dunno what's more wild: This vid of Japan's probe bouncing off an asteroid to collect a sample – or that the rock was sun-burnt

Hayabusa 2 expected to return with out-of-this-world material in December

Video Close-up footage of asteroid Ryugu, taken by the Hayabusa 2 spacecraft as it touched down to retrieve a sample, reveals the near-Earth object’s surface may have been torched by the Sun as its orbit changed over time.…




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12/22/13 - What I really wanted




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9/21/14 - I just hate my life




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06/07/15 - What I feel inside




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06/14/15 - Don't know what I want




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10/04/15 - A plague that swept through the city




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09/25/16 - That comes along




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01/29/17 - That night in the haunted house




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07/02/17 - What love felt like




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07/16/17 - Now that I think about it




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12/03/17 - Every book that will never be written




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Featured - What is the biggest difference between academic research and industrial research?

I would like to thank AGreenMonster for these great questions for discussion. I am going to answer these from my perspective, which is from a life science company. I welcome anyone to give their feedback as well. In fact, if any of the readers out there feels like they have a lot to share, I would be happy to host your article on my blog so that you may provide more details. Just drop me a line.Hi; (read more)

Source: Suzy - Discipline: BioTech




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Featured - How Products are Born: What exactly is going on in research and development anyway?

OK, let’s pick up our discussion where we left off last week, at feasibility.&nbsp; You did it. You successfully convinced a room full of vice presidents and directors, or maybe even the CEO that they should take your fabulous product idea to the next level. &nbsp;You’ve got marketing on board, excited to promote it and now it’s time for the work to begin.You are the lead scientist s; (read more)

Source: Suzy - Discipline: BioTech




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Life's a Biotech - What I would study if I could choose a new field of science

I thought long and hard about the blog topic today because really, when you think about the subject of "what would I be doing now, if I&nbsp;could be&nbsp;doing something else" well, that's a complicated question.There's the thing you could have been doing if you had chosen a completely different path a long, long time ago. That's totally different&nbsp;from what I would; (read more)

Source: Suzy - Discipline: Research




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Bill Gates Wants To Tax Robots That Take Jobs

Check out this qz article: The robot that takes your job should pay taxes, says Bill Gates. About 35-40 years ago secretary was the biggest job in most states. Those days are long past. As you can see by advancing the time bar for the USA states map on that page, by 2000 truck driver was the biggest job. So I have a question for Bill Gates: Do you want to tax word processors too? Also, autonomous vehicle technology will surely wipe out most truck driving jobs in the next 20 years. Do you want to tax autonomous truck technology to slow the rate of that transition? Keep in mind that thousands of lives will be saved each year once...




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JoT #2694: A family that reads together...



Survives another day!




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JoT #2697: A chat with Zoom!



The message is Zoom and gloom!




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What A Scary Flight

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, the stewardess announces over the intercom that “we’re just waiting for the pilots.” The passengers look out the window and see two men, dressed as pilots walking towards the plane. Both men are using guide dogs and appear to be blind. There are murmurs among the passengers, […]

The post What A Scary Flight appeared first on Funny & Jokes.




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Reel Review: What’s New with the Shimano Stella SW 2020?

The post Reel Review: What’s New with the Shimano Stella SW 2020? appeared first on Ocean Blue Fishing Adventures.





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The Angler’s Code: What are the Best Practices for a Better Fishing Future?

The post The Angler’s Code: What are the Best Practices for a Better Fishing Future? appeared first on Ocean Blue Fishing Adventures.




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(H)Elping nerve growth factor: Elp1 inhibits TrkA’s phosphatase to maintain retrograde signaling

Nerve growth factor (NGF) regulates many aspects of neuronal biology by retrogradely propagating signals along axons to the targets of those axons. How this occurs when axons contain a plethora of proteins that can silence those signals has long perplexed the neurotrophin field. In this issue of the JCI, Li et al. suggest an answer to this vexing problem, while exploring why the Elp1 gene that is mutated in familial dysautonomia (FD) causes peripheral neuropathy. They describe a distinctive function of Elp1 as a protein that is required to sustain NGF signaling by blocking the activity of its phosphatase that shuts off those signals. This finding helps explain the innervation deficits prominent in FD and reveals a unique role for Elp1 in the regulation of NGF-dependent TrkA activity.




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Donor glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency decreases blood quality for transfusion

BACKGROUND Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency decreases the ability of red blood cells (RBCs) to withstand oxidative stress. Refrigerated storage of RBCs induces oxidative stress. We hypothesized that G6PD-deficient donor RBCs would have inferior storage quality for transfusion as compared with G6PD-normal RBCs.METHODS Male volunteers were screened for G6PD deficiency; 27 control and 10 G6PD-deficient volunteers each donated 1 RBC unit. After 42 days of refrigerated storage, autologous 51-chromium 24-hour posttransfusion RBC recovery (PTR) studies were performed. Metabolomics analyses of these RBC units were also performed.RESULTS The mean 24-hour PTR for G6PD-deficient subjects was 78.5% ± 8.4% (mean ± SD), which was significantly lower than that for G6PD-normal RBCs (85.3% ± 3.2%; P = 0.0009). None of the G6PD-normal volunteers (0/27) and 3 G6PD-deficient volunteers (3/10) had PTR results below 75%, a key FDA acceptability criterion for stored donor RBCs. As expected, fresh G6PD-deficient RBCs demonstrated defects in the oxidative phase of the pentose phosphate pathway. During refrigerated storage, G6PD-deficient RBCs demonstrated increased glycolysis, impaired glutathione homeostasis, and increased purine oxidation, as compared with G6PD-normal RBCs. In addition, there were significant correlations between PTR and specific metabolites in these pathways.CONCLUSION Based on current FDA criteria, RBCs from G6PD-deficient donors would not meet the requirements for storage quality. Metabolomics assessment identified markers of PTR and G6PD deficiency (e.g., pyruvate/lactate ratios), along with potential compensatory pathways that could be leveraged to ameliorate the metabolic needs of G6PD-deficient RBCs.TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04081272.FUNDING The Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant 71590, the National Blood Foundation, NIH grant UL1 TR000040, the Webb-Waring Early Career Award 2017 by the Boettcher Foundation, and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute grants R01HL14644 and R01HL148151.




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Van der Maarel on What It’s Like to Be a Cartographer




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President Obama says that he cannot change Washington from the inside

After being elected in 2008 on "hope and change", "change you can believe in", and "change the way Washington works", President Obama now says that he cannot change Washington from the inside? Then why should we re-elect him in 2012? Continue reading



  • Accountants CPA Hartford
  • Articles
  • Cenk Uygur
  • change the way Washington works
  • change you can believe in
  • Hope and change
  • President Obama says that he cannot change Washington from the inside
  • The Young Turks

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Have you ever noticed that the Internal Revenue Service’s regulations often are illogical?

Have you ever noticed that the Internal Revenue Service's regulations often are illogical? Does anyone at the IRS think through its regulations? Continue reading



  • Accountants CPA Hartford
  • Does anyone at the IRS think through its regulations?
  • Form 1120 filing requirements
  • Have you ever noticed that the Internal Revenue Service's regulations often are illogical?
  • Internal Revenue Service instructions
  • IRS regulations
  • short year filing requirement
  • short year filing requirements
  • tax forms unavailable for short years
  • The irrationality of IRS regulations
  • when to file