Come on. Let me give you the tour... My Medical Healthcare company (No: I DON'T work at the Zoo! ^^) is one of the largest in San Diego. 5 major hospitals and many clinics throughout the county, plus home health care.
It has been rated nationally as one of the best places to work. Annual revenue is over US$2 Billion.
Our Data Center is 24/7/365 of course, supporting all major functions - medical and administrative.
No this isn't a disused set from Star Trek, it is the corporate Control Center for the IT department. We observe, diagnose and coordinate issues that arise, as well as run and monitor daily updates, backups and reports. But wait - there's more! Too boring to tell all details, I'm afraid.
Some of the cutting edge networking and monitoring systems. (Why so much is blocked on the Internet here! ^^) 66-68F all the time in here (AC unit in back).
This is the corporate reception center. If you want to visit Mikey at work, you'd come here. Since I don't start till 3PM, you can park yourself of the the butter-soft couches that were donated by a greatful former patient. We do save a lot of lives every year! A most gratifing part of the job...
If I actually used it, I could be in top fighting trim even as we speak! ^^ Note mirrors all over. Kinky, eh? :P
How about stuffing your face, instead of tedious exercise?! Pretty funny, if you consider that we are a healthcare system. ^^
The Jewel in the Crown is our ice maker (next to the coffee maker) So nice to have ice in your drinks - just like Dennys! :)
So nice sitting in the sun, checking your iPhone! :) That's a quick look at my work place. Hopefully, this will orient you when I talk about it in future...
Better than the alternative (what ever that was). With it linked in to the Firefox search bar, it is simply too cool! :)
by Deborah Jones Sun May 11, 2:22 PM ET
VANCOUVER, Canada (AFP) - Wikipedia, the upstart Internet encyclopedia that most universities forbid students to use, has suddenly become a teaching tool for professors.
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Recently, university teachers have swapped student term papers for assignments to write entries for the free online encyclopedia.
Wikipedia is an "open-source" web site, which means that entries can be started or edited by anyone in the world with an Internet connection.
Writing for Wikipedia "seems like a much larger stage, more of a challenge," than a term paper, said professor Jon Beasley-Murray, who teaches Latin American literature at the University of British Columbia in this western Canadian city.
"The vast majority of Wikipedia entries aren't very good," said Beasley-Murray, but said the site aims to be academically sound.
To reach its goal of academic standards, said Wikipedia's web site, it set up an assessment scale on its English-language site. The best encyclopedia entries are ranked as "Featured Articles," and run each day on the home page at www.wikipedia.com.
To be ranked as a "Featured Article," Wikipedia said an entry must "provide thorough, well-written coverage of their topic, supported by many references to peer-reviewed publications."
Of more than 10 million articles in 253 languages, only about 2,000 have reached "Featured Article" status, it said.
As an experiment, last January Beasley-Murray promised his students a rare A+ grade if they got their projects for his literature course, called "Murder, Madness and Mayhem," accepted as a Wikipedia Featured Article."
In May, three entries created by nine students in the course became the first student works to reach Wikipedia's top rank.
Their articles, about the book "El Señor Presidente" by Nobel prize-winning Guatemalan author Miguel Ãngel Asturias, ran May 5 on Wikipedia's home page.
Wikipedia has also designated, but not yet published, a student's biography on Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, and an entry on Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez's book, "the General in his Labyrinth."
Beasley-Murray said the projects took the students four months, and one entry was revised 1,000 times.
Typically, thousands or millions of people visit a Wikipedia entry, and each visitor is able to edit entries, or even flag an article considered unworthy to have it removed.
Working online with anyone watching or editing "was really hard to get into," said Eva Shiu, a third-year student who worked on the Marquez entry. "But it was really exciting, and I feel like I've accomplished something," she told AFP.
"I got addicted to it ... I was up nights until three or four a.m. in the morning working on it."
Monica Freudenreich, who worked on the Asturias entry, said she liked the fact her contribution will survive online. Usually term papers "end up in a binder than eventually sits under my bed," she wrote on Wikipedia.
The University of British Columbia entries are among some 70 academic projects now registered at Wikipedia, by institutions from Yale University to the University of Tartu, Estonia.
Wikipedia itself invites professors "to use Wikipedia in your class to demonstrate how an open content website works (or doesn't)."
But the experiment has had controversies, including student work that was instantly deleted as not "notable."
"Sometimes it's a disaster," said Beasley-Murray. "But in some ways it's good news ... this was a great learning experience for students."
Terrible! Hope US will help with aid as requested. We have amazing technology to find and rescue trapped people.
BBC video HERE
'Buried teenagers crying for help' |
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The Chinese authorities have launched a major rescue operation in Sichuan province, after it was struck by the most powerful earthquake to hit the south-west of the country in 30 years. More than 8,500 people are feared dead, while many thousands more may be buried beneath collapsed buildings or injured, state media have reported. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Monday afternoon was felt across a huge swathe of Asia, causing buildings to sway as far away as Beijing and Bangkok. Those closest to its epicentre, 92km (57 miles) north-west of the provincial capital Chengdu, have told of their shock and described the immediate aftermath. Casper Oppenhuisdejong, who works for a Dutch company in the city of 10 million, told the BBC there were initially a series of minor tremors. "All of a sudden I felt minor shocks and within seconds everybody was up. It was getting more and more intense, everybody ran out," he said.
"We were in quite a narrow street where everything just started shaking. All the alarms of the cars around went off, all the windows you heard smashing into each other," he added. "Entire buildings were being evacuated, people were panicking, especially since the phones didn't work. It was mayhem. Traffic got jammed, it was very surreal." An employee of Sichuan's seismological bureau told China's state-run Xinhua news agency that he had been driving near the epicentre when the earthquake struck. "The road started swaying as I was driving. Rocks fell from the mountains, with dust darkening the sky over the valley," he said. Aftershocks Gilles Barbier, who was staying in Chengdu at the time, told the BBC there was no major damage to buildings, but that aftershocks were causing concern.
Gilles Barbier: 'It was very scary' "In the past two hours, I think every 20 minutes, 30 minutes, we can feel the ground shaking." Ronen Medzini, an Israeli student, told the Associated Press by text message that power and water supplies and communications had been severely disrupted. "Traffic jams, no running water, power outs, everyone sitting in the streets, patients evacuated from hospitals sitting outside and waiting," he said. Collapsed school In the nearby city of Dujiangyan, which was closer to the epicentre, desperate efforts are under way to find survivors underneath the rubble of a three-storey school building which collapsed, burying an estimated 900 students.
Reporters from Xinhua said local residents and rescue workers were pulling people out of the rubble of Juyuan Middle School as anxious parents looked on. "Some buried teenagers were struggling to break loose from underneath the ruins while others were crying out for help," Xinhua reported. Gao Shangyuan, a local resident helping with the rescue effort, told Xinhua he had run out of his house when the earthquake had struck and saw some students escape before the building collapsed. "Some had jumped out of the window and a few others ran down the stairs that did not collapse," he said. Two girls said they managed to escape because they had "run faster than the others", Xinhua added. "It was around 2:30 pm, and the building suddenly began to rock back and forth," one of them said. Are you in the area? Did you feel the earthquake in your country? If you have any information you would like to share with the BBC you can do so using the form below or text your experiences to: +44 7624 800 100 You can send pictures and video to: yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to +44 7725 100 100 If you have a large file you can upload here.Click here to see terms and conditions or go to this address: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/ 2780295.stm#yourpics At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. | |||||
I know. I thought that Twitter was silly and pointless too. But you know what? It is very handy, and you can do so much with it! I only use it from PCs and my iPhone, but almost any celly can twitter too. The more you update the better. I feel closer to several people from them just telling what they are doing all day. Plus, you can add links to what you are interested in too.
You have complete control over who can see your "tweets", so you don't have to open up to the world either. I use it with addons to update my Facebook and, as you can see, display on VOX too. You can "follow" me from that widget! Try it out! It's easy and fun. :)
Home → Twitter FAQ → Frequently Asked Questions → FAQ
1.1. FAQ
What is it?
Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate
and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to
one simple question: What are you doing? Bloggers can use it as a mini-blogging tool. Developers can use the API to make Twitter tools of their own. Possibilities are endless!
How do I use it?
Tell us what you're doing in 140 characters or less! Send your
thoughts, observations, and goings-on in your day. Whether you're
"eating an apple" or "looking foward to the weekend" or "Heading out of
town" it's twitter-worthy. Join us here. All of your personal information including your phone number is, of course, confidential.
But... what is the point?
As it turns out, your best friend is probably interested in knowing if
you're "loving the new Radiohead album." And yes, your Mom may want to
know if you're "skipping breakfast in favor of a latte." You might
want to know if your significant other "feels like taking a roadtrip."
Find out what your friends are doing; keep each other abreast of your
quotidian rituals.
Do I need anything special to use Twitter?
In order to use Twitter you will need one of these things: an internet
connection or a mobile
phone.
How can I send updates to Twitter?
Send updates to friends and family about what you're doing in the way that works best for you. Update in myriad ways:
- from your phone
- from IM
- from your logged-in home page
- from m.twitter.com.
- from any of the third party applications on Twitter Fan Wiki, made by the talented folks who've utilized our API.
What does it mean to follow someone on Twitter?
Following
someone simply means receiving their Twitter updates. How you receive
the updates (on your phone, IM, or just on the web) is up to you. You
can set your following preferences based on device, and then set
notification preferences for each person you follow. Your followers
are those who have elected to receive your twitters.
How do I know who I'm following?
Check the profile page of the person in question to be sure, or click the Following
link from your logged in home page. You can change following
preferences from the profile page, or by using phone/IM commands.
How do I know who is following me?
Set up your email preferences to notify you when you have a new follower, or click the Followers link in your sidebar.
Can I block spammers and other unsavory characters?
Yes. At the bottom of the right hand sidebar on every profile page, there is a block link. Read more about this here. If it's a spammer you're blocking, feel free to send us a heads up, always much appreciated!
Who reads my updates?
It's up to you. If you're hesitant to have strangers read your updates, in your settings
page you can protect your updates so that only your friends will
receive them. When you sign up by phone, your updates are
automatically protected until you choose otherwise. When you sign up
online, your updates will automatically go to both your friends and the
public timeline, which is where all of the twitters go. Don't be shy!
How do I know if my friends are getting my updates on their devices?
You don't. But, if they are on your friends list, they will always receive your updates on the web.
How long can my updates be?
We have a 140 character limit on Twitter updates. If your update is
longer than that, the full update will post to the web where it can be
viewed in its entirety. We'll still send the truncated version: only
the first 140 characters will go to phones and IM.
Can I update Twitter from my phone but not receive other people's updates?
Yes. Once you add and verify your phone,
you can use it to update without getting updates from others. Make
sure to set your updates to OFF on the web, or send OFF from chat or
your phone. You can also use our mobile site, m.twitter.com.
Can I turn updates on for some people and off for others?
Yes. use the follow and off commands. FOLLOW + user name
(follow krissy, for example) tells Twitter that you want a specific
person's updates. You can also click the follow link from their
profile page on the web, or type the command into your chat window.
Conversely, OFF + user name (off krissy) will disable updates from that person.
Can I edit my updates once they've posted to the web?
No. Once it goes, it goes! You can delete the message by clicking the
small trash can, but no changing text, context, spelling errors, etc.
How do I use Twitter with my phone?
Check out some popular questions about using Twitter with your phone here.
What are the Twitter phone numbers?
We currently have three short codes and one long code for those who twitter internationally.
- In the US, use 40404.
- In Canada, use 21212.
- In India, use 5566511.
- Anywhere else, use +44 7624 801423
What is a short code?
Short codes are numbers made specifically for SMS and MMS
messages. Twitter uses various short codes to send and receive your
updates. Sending a text message to a short code is just like sending a
text message to a phone number. Short codes are made specifically for
text messaging, so you can't send an email to a short code, or call a
short code. Charges for using our short codes are the same as standard
text messaging rates to full-length phone numbers.
Does Twitter have a mobile site?
Yep! Check out m.twitter.com on your mobile web browser.
Can I use Twitter with Instant Messaging (IM)?
Yes. Visit your phone&IM Settings
page, add and verify your IM address, and type ON; all of your Twitters
and Direct Text messages will come to your chat window. Find out more
about using Twitter with IM here.
Can I use the same phone number or IM address on multiple accounts?
No. You can only use one phone number or IM address for one account.
How do I stop getting ALL twitter notifications?
Send OFF from your phone, IM, or any other device to stop getting Twitter updates at any time.
How can I turn Twitter on again?
The best way to turn Twitter on is to send the ON command from the
device. You can also turn your phone and chat updates on from the web
from your home page or you can send ON to Twitter.
How do I invite people?
You can invite friends in lots of ways. To invite people by phone number, send the word invite
+ the phone number of the person you want to add from your phone or
from the Twitter site. Don't add friends through chat yet; we're still
working on that. Your message should look like this: invite 4153172323
You can also invite people by email.
How do I add a friend who already uses Twitter?
Each person's profile page has a follow button. When you click it, you'll be following
them, which means you can receive their Twitter updates on your phone
or IM, as well as the web. Set phone or IM notification preferences in
the web drop down box.
Can new people without Twitter accounts follow me?
Yes. If you tell a friend to send follow + your username to Twitter, and they don't have an account,
Twitter will walk them through mobile sign up.
Your friend can later go to the web and complete the sign up if they'd like, but they don't have to.
Why is there a star at the end of updates?
The star is a way for you to mark a post as favorite. Click on the
Favorites link in your sidebar to see all of the ones you've starred.
What is tracking?
Tracking is an SMS or IM only
feature that allows you to receive all twitters that match a word
you're tracking. For example, if you send track Obama,
you will receive all updates that match "Obama." All updates sent from
tracking will begin with parenthesis. You can easily stop getting
these messages by sending untrack Obama.
What's a Nudge?
A nudge is a friendly reminder to update Twitter. Friends can nudge you (and you them) by sending nudge + username to Twitter, or by clicking the nudge link from a person's profile page.
What's an Auto-Nudge?
Auto-nudge is a self-reminding update
feature. In other words, we know you have busy lives and may not
always remember to Twitter. By popular demand, auto-nudge has come
into being. You can schedule a Twitter nudge if you haven't updated in
24 hours.
Can I send someone a private message?
Send a Twitter friend a Direct Text,
which will go to their individual phone or web page. From the web,
click Message from the proile page or use the drop down box on your
Direct Messages page. From your phone, use this command: D + username + message. HINT:
a person's user name and screen name may differ. To ensure you have the
right user name, go to the person's profile page and look in the URL at
the top of the page.
Where can I find my Direct Messages?
From your logged in homepage, click Direct Messages
in the side bar to see all of the messages you've received from Twitter
friends. To see the messages you've sent to others, click the Sent tab.
If I turn Twitter off, will I still get Direct Messages?
Yes. You will receive direct messages if you send OFF only once; to
disable direct messages, send OFF twice. You will always receive a
copy of your message on your web archive, and in your email if you set
it up in your preferences.
What are @replies?
@replies are twitters directed at a specific user in response to one of
their updates. When someone replies to your Twitter update by using
@username, we
collect their reply and catalog it the replies tab on your logged-in
home page. You can reply publicly to any update on Twitter by using
the @username format. More information about this is here.
What is the difference between @username and Direct Message?
Messages sent via Direct Message (D + username +update) are private, and readable only by the person you send it to. Messages sent in the@username format are public.
Why wont my feed reader take my @replies RSS feed?
The
@replies RSS feed requires authentication; most web-based feed readers
don't support authentication. If yours doesn't, you wont be able to
see your @replies via rss feed. Try the feed in a desktop feed reader,
which usually supports authentication.
Does Twitter allow html in web updates?
No. We escape all html for security purposes. However, if you paste
in a link that is less than 30 characters, we'll post it in its
entirety. If it's longer than 30 characters, we'll convert it to a
tiny URL.
Why does Twitter use tiny URL?
Tiny is tidy! Tiny
URL takes long, ugly, 30+ characters links with an obscene amount of
punctuation, such as ? or &, and converts them to slim, trim, tidy,
pretty, Twitter links that mesh well with our 140 character limit.
Can I put Twitter on my blog?
Yes! You can put a Twitter badge on
your blog, website, MySpace... anything that accepts Javascript or
HTML. You can even customize your Twitter badge to match!
How do I customize my badge?
You can alter the html of your Twitter badge to display anything you want. Ev makes his a subheading on his blog, Adam has his in the sidebar, and Jon has made it possible to view the last 10 updates instead of the most recent one.
What is Celly?
Celly is a cute little guy that Ray
made. When someone updates the public time line, Celly pulls out their
picture and displays their update. You can check him out here.
Is there a Twitter API?
Yes. You can find it at the bottom of your logged-in homepage, or here.
What is Twitterrific?
Twitterrific is an awesome little desktop application from Iconfactory that enables you to receive Twitters and post them without being on the site. Sorry PC users, it's only for Macs.
How can I find more stuff like this?
Check out the Twitter Fan Wiki! This is an awesome resource put together by Twitter users for Twitter users, featuring stuff made by and for Twitter users!
Does Twitter work with Facebook?
Yep! Send and receive updates from within Facebook, or use your Twitter updates as your Facebook status.
I sent HELP to Twitter and got no response!
When you're lost, sending the HELP command should send you immediate
instructions. If you don't receive them, it's possible that you are
using the wrong Twitter number, and therefore, not getting the message.
If you send HELP from chat or phone with no results, check Satisfaction for the latest, email support@twitter.com, write us from the web here.
Is there a place where I can find out if there are problems with Twitter?
Yes. Check Twitter's Satisfaction site. You can add twitter_status as your friend on Twitter, and receive the Twitter's status updates on the web, IM, or phone. These updates will also be on the public time line here.
This little baby possum has been coming around the porch in front of my house for a while now. He is real skittish and normally only comes late at night. Maybe beacuse it is cool and cloudy today, he came early? He is about the size of a kitten right now, and doesn't seem afraid of me if I am still. I don't feed him 'cause you never know if they get too familar... But, he is cute! He must have defense, 'cause there are lots of cats and dogs around here. Maybe he plays "possum"?! ^^
Very moving scene from Samurai Warriors II... more videos on Youtube. Looks good - if I had the skilz or patience to play video games! ^^ The translated dialog can sound a little stilted in English, but still... <3. Some of the other clips are in Japanese and to me are even more satisfying.
Just got my Nikon D80 DSLR from KEH today! I have to leave for work about 2:30PM on Wednesdays, so I was sweating the FEDEX delivery - he came about 1:30PM, so I at least got to receive it, and got a chance to look it over and charge the battery. It cost me about $650US in "Like New" (with everything, never used condition). KEH and B&H are about the only camera stores I would trust for this kind of thing. Too many scans out there today, especially for used equipment.
I fugured it was about time to get a new DSLR body. The D70 has given me great service and is still a very viable camera, but it's to the point where you can get a lot of nice features for not too much money now. Yeah, I would have liked a D300 body like everyone else, buy I didn't want to spend $1800 for that! ^^ All of my lenes and accessories work with it of course, except the D80 uses SD cards, not CF like the D70.

Imagine. If he was still here and making music today...
Ono in fight over copyright of rarely seen Lennon video
By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press Writer 56 minutes ago
They are rare, intimate images of John Lennon just before the breakup of the Beatles: He's hunched over a piano writing songs, smoking pot, joking about putting LSD in President Nixon's tea.
Almost four decades after the footage was shot at Lennon's estate in England, his widow is in court, fighting to keep the images private.
World Wide Video LLC, a Lawrence, Mass.-based company, claims it owns the 10 hours of raw footage, but Yoko Ono claims she is the rightful owner. World Wide Video has filed a federal lawsuit against Ono, claiming Ono's attempts to stop the company from publicly showing the footage is a copyright infringement.
At preliminary hearing in the case Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Boston, arguments on Ono's motion to dismiss were scheduled for May 21. Both sides also agreed not to show the film while the case is working through the courts.
The footage, which has never been shown publicly in its entirety, was shot Feb. 8-10, 1970, by Anthony Cox, Ono's husband before her marriage to Lennon in 1969.
It shows Lennon writing two songs that would later become hits — "Remember" and "Mind Games" — and shows him performing the song, "Instant Karma," according to a description in The Boston Globe, which was allowed to view the videotapes for a March 2007 story.
The footage also includes some tender moments, such as when Lennon blow-dries his wife's hair, and when Lennon and Ono play with Julian Lennon and Kyoko Cox, children from their previous marriages.
Lennon, who was 29 when the film was shot, also talks about the couple's drug use.
"We've resurrected hope in ourselves, and we're hoping to spread it around a bit — to tell people you can get off speed, you can get off H (heroin), you can get off pot. You know, because whatever they say, you do get hooked on it," Lennon says.
World Wide Video produced a two-hour documentary, "3 Days in the Life," using the footage, and planned to show it at a private school in Maine in 2007. The screening was scrapped after the company received a stop order from Ono's lawyers, claiming copyrighted ownership of the videotapes. The producers had previously shown excerpts from the film four times, including at William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J., and at entertainment and media conferences in New York and Connecticut.
Ray Thomas, executive producer of the documentary, said World Wide's principals are Beatles memorabilia collectors who hoped to show the film to high school and college students.
"We thought it would make a phenomenal educational and historic record for kids who didn't live in the '60s," Thomas said. "This is one of the greatest composers of the 20th century and you're getting an intimate look at his life — from blow-drying his wife's hair to playing with the cat to performing `Instant Karma.'"
Ono's Boston lawyer, Jonathan Albano, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
In court documents, Ono said she had a "clear and absolute" agreement with Cox when he shot the footage that it would never be "commercially exhibited, commercially exploited or released."
And Ono said she purchased all rights to the videotapes for $300,000 in 2002 from a broker, Anthony Pagola.
But the principals of World Wide Video — John Fallon and Robert Grenier — say the sale to Ono was invalid, and that it owns the videos and copyright after buying them from Cox for $125,000 in 2000.
In its lawsuit, World Wide claims that shortly after its purchase, the tapes were stolen by a former employee, John Messina, whom World Wide later sued. World Wide claims in its suit that in a settlement agreement, Messina agreed to return copies of the tapes and to help them locate the original set of tapes.
Messina, who attended the court hearing Wednesday, vigorously denied stealing the tapes and said he believes Ono is the rightful owner.
"These are Yoko's private tapes," he said. "Why would a widow want to take pictures of private moments from a happier time and have them put out there for the public to see?"
Fallon and Grenier claim that in 2001, Pagola approached them and threatened to destroy the tapes unless World Wide agreed to let him be a broker who would find a buyer.
World Wide signed an agreement with Pagola, but said in its lawsuit that Pagola was to find a buyer "for the purpose of development and production of a full-length documentary motion picture."
Fallon and Grenier claim that Pagola sold the tapes and copyright to Ono without their permission and that he forged their signatures on the sale agreement.
Pagola, who is named as a defendant along with Ono in World Wide's lawsuit, could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
This is so funny!! Thanks, to my PHP Princess, Daynah!! :P
on Come To Work with Mikey!