In our humble estimation, these were the top four teams in the NHL entering the playoffs. They were the top four teams in our Round 1 power rankings. Pittsburgh and Boston were the top two teams in the East and Chicago and Los Angeles were the top two teams in the West in our Round 2 power rankings.
Only two teams have won the Cup twice since 1999: the Detroit Red Wings (2002, 2008) and New Jersey Devils (2000, 2003). No one has won the Cup twice since the salary cap was introduced in 2005-06. That’s about to change, and the Kings have a chance to become the first repeat champions since the Wings in 1997 and ’98.
Is this a blow to the league’s beloved parity? No. It’s a testament to these organizations that they have put themselves in this position despite the league’s beloved parity.
The Penguins, Blackhawks, Bruins and Kings have something else in common: All four survived scares in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Three faced elimination, and two came perilously close to going home.
These teams have smart coaches and deep, talented rosters glittering with Cup rings. All four were good enough to be champions once, all four are good enough to be champions again, and all four have had the hallmarks of championship runs – overcoming adversity against worthy adversaries, thanks to clutch play and a little luck.
Jarome Iginla took his talents to Steel City to play with Sidney Crosby a little like LeBron James took his talents to South Beach to play with Dwyane Wade. Iginla didn’t sign as a free agent, but he made a “Decision.” He waived his no-trade clause for Pittsburgh when the Calgary Flames had worked out a deal with another team – and, of course, that other team was Boston, one of the subplots in a series full of them.
The Penguins should be the favorites. They have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and so on, and Crosby has recovered from his broken jaw to the point where he doesn’t need that plastic protective shield anymore.
They are averaging 4.27 goals per game – more than a goal more than the next-best team, the Bruins (3.17). They just ripped through the Ottawa Senators in five games, and the Sens were a better defensive team than the Bruins were in the regular season, giving up 2.08 goals per game, second in the league, while the Bruins gave up 2.21 goals per game, third in the league.
They have handled the Bruins well. They have won the past six regular-games between the teams and the past six in Boston, too. Note that the Bruins did not have to face the Penguins on their way to the Cup in 2011, when Crosby and Malkin were injured and the Pens lost in the first round.
Pittsburgh has faced the least adversity of the final four. The Pens haven’t trailed in a series yet. The Blackhawks and Kings each have faced two-game deficits, and the Bruins have faced a three-goal deficit in the third period of a Game 7.
That said, the eighth-seeded New York Islanders came back twice to tie their first-round series with the Penguins and had a chance to do it again before falling in overtime of Game 6. Even though Tomas Vokoun has calmed the crease since replacing Marc-Andre Fleury, there is still a chance that leaky defense and goaltending could put the heat on the NHL’s Heat.
In short, they looked like a Cup contender for the first time since they shipped out half their 2010 Cup team in a salary-cap purge. The core has been supplemented by a strong supporting cast again, including top-notch goaltending.
But that 2010 Cup team didn’t cruise through the playoffs, falling behind in two series and coming back, battling through a tough final against the Philadelphia Flyers, and this team wasn’t tested until the second round against the Detroit Red Wings.
The ’Hawks hadn’t lost three in a row all year; they lost three in a row to the Wings. They hadn’t been shut out all year; they were shut out in Game 4. Suddenly they faced a 3-1 deficit.
But they came back with a dominating victory in Game 5. They came back from a one-goal deficit in the third period of Game 6. They came back when the apparent winning goal was wiped out by a penalty call in the final moments of regulation in Game 7, and they won the series in overtime.
Jonathan Toews still has to score more. One goal is not enough, no matter how much he contributes in other areas. The power play remains brutal. How a team with Toews and Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook cannot score more often with more players on the ice is one of hockey’s great mysteries.
But this is a team with mojo now. While Jimmy Howard was outstanding for Detroit, Corey Crawford was outstanding for Chicago. When he did allow a soft goal, he shook it off. While Toews wasn’t noticeable at times, guys like Bryan Bickell and Andrew Shaw seemed all over the place. After struggling badly and seeing his ice time dwindle, Seabrook recovered later in the Detroit series, played well and ended up the OT hero.
And boy, has it been different. The Kings fell into a 2-0 hole in their first-round series against the St. Louis Blues. They got into a seesaw second-round series with the San Jose Sharks. In the first two rounds last year, they played only nine games. In the first two rounds this year, they played 13 games. Another way to look at it: They have played only one less game in two rounds than they played in three last year.
But after falling into that 2-0 hole against the Blues, they won four straight, and at the end of that seesaw series with the Sharks, they finished on the upswing in Game 7. They became the first defending champion to make a conference final since the Wings did it in 2009.
And through it all, there was one striking similarity to last year – the performance of goaltender Jonathan Quick, the reigning winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs’ most valuable player.Click on their website www.smartcardfactory.com for more information.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Carpetbaggers go for contactless
Acting Inspector Glenn Spencer, from Canning Vale Police Station in Western Australia, said that contactless cards were now a clear target in WA home burglaries, with thieves rifling through purses and wallets specifically looking for Visa PayWave and MasterCard PayPass cards.
Knowing that there was a A$100 limit on the cards, the thieves were then going out and spending amounts up to that limit, confident they wouldn't be asked to prove their identity or input a PIN.
He said more traditional payment processes, which require some form of identification in the form of a PIN, are safer than the tap-and-go cards.
In the future it might not just be contactless cards that the criminals go after but Near Field Communications-enabled smartphones, which can also be used for contactless payments.
Only about nine per cent of the smartphones currently for sale feature an NFC chip. To make a contactless payment from most smartphones, people still have to either glue an NFC chip on to their phone or buy a slip-on case with an NFC chip – which is the approach Commonwealth Bank has taken to make its Kaching mobile phone payments application contactless.
By 2015, Gartner predicts that 50 per cent of smartphones will have NFC, but it notes that even in its most optimistic scenario NFC mobile phone payments will only lead to global gross revenues of US$750 million – for the entire industry – which would "be dwarfed by set up costs, transaction costs and fraud management smartcardfactory."
"The fact that the majority of these fees will simply be cannibalising existing revenue for banks and payment providers only makes the matter more concerning."
Antony Cahill, executive general manager of digital and direct for NAB, acknowledged that forecasts regarding smartphone NFC adoption were previously more aggressive than seemed warranted today.
However, he said, there had been lot of progress in mobile payments, and the logical next step was to make more use of the mobile phone. He predicts that more comprehensive solutions will appear in the market over the next six to 12 months, as the supporting ecosystem, comprising banks, card providers, phone makers and telecommunications companies, work together to create more compelling solutions.
Matt Barr, regional head of market development and innovation for MasterCard, suggests that part of the problem may be "if all you are doing is helping the phone versus a piece of plastic then you are not adding enough value."
He expects NFC-enabled phones will come into their own when there is a richer ecosystem so loyalty points can be viewed or used and coupons delivered to the phone can also be used contactlessly. By that stage he sees the contactless card and the NFC-enabled smartphone as being complementary payment systems rather than rivals.
As to the continued lack of an NFC-equipped iPhone, Cahill said that it would help if Apple had an NFC-equipped phone but he wasn’t sure it was the only thing holding back demand.
Gartner research director Sandy Shen acknowledged that if the iPhone 6 did ship with an NFC chip it would add momentum to the contactless payment market, but she warned that there was no guarantee of this as NFC promised relatively little benefit for Apple.
Shen said that while many NFC-enabled mobile phones started shipping in the second half of 2012 there were still relatively few in the market. She warned that "NFC will not be mainstream on mobiles before 2016."
"Apart from these technical issues there are behavioural issues. They (consumers) need a reason to make the behavioural switch – maybe that is giving them loyalty points."
She believed tackling consumer behaviour would prove a bigger challenge than overcoming any lingering technical issues.
A survey conducted on behalf of PayPal, and released this month, suggests, however, that there could be a latent consumer appetite for contactless payments via mobile phones. It discovered that four out of five Australians wished they didn't have to take their wallet everywhere; 23 per cent would take a smartphone rather than a wallet if they could only take one item; and 77 per cent had decided not to purchase something because the queue was too long, indicating a potential appetite for streamlined contactless payment.
"The phone is a slightly different animal" to a contactless card, according to Westpac's Harry Wendt, and more complex because of the challenge of loading the secure element on to the phone – either on to a dedicated NFC chip or on to the secure element of the SIM card, which relies on the support of telecommunications providers.
Westpac's 2012 trial saw 170 staff and partners (Optus and MasterCard staff) being offered the chance to use their mobile phones to make payments. That trial continues to run, but Westpac has yet to say when it might launch a product, although the inference from Wendt is that the main game won't start until NFC chips are natively installed in most mobile phones.
Earlier in May, Eftpos Payments announced that it would also begin mobile payment trials later this year, as the result of a five-year agreement signed with mobile-wallet developer C-SAM to create an Eftpos-branded wallet allowing mobile and contactless payments, and with the facility to store loyalty points and receipts too.
Bruce Mansfield, chief executive of Eftpos, said that contactless payments had gained traction in the last six months and were proving a substitute for cash in some transactions.
He acknowledged that there was also "some substitution from our products at the lower end" and that contactless had had an impact on Eftpos' growth, although he said the organisation was still on track to complete 2.5 billion eftpos transactions this year, up from 2.3 billion in 2012.
Mansfield said that, besides the smartphone trials, Eftpos was working on its own contactless solution but with the addition of an NFC-facilitated cash out facility, and this was likely a 2014 prospect.
Knowing that there was a A$100 limit on the cards, the thieves were then going out and spending amounts up to that limit, confident they wouldn't be asked to prove their identity or input a PIN.
He said more traditional payment processes, which require some form of identification in the form of a PIN, are safer than the tap-and-go cards.
In the future it might not just be contactless cards that the criminals go after but Near Field Communications-enabled smartphones, which can also be used for contactless payments.
Only about nine per cent of the smartphones currently for sale feature an NFC chip. To make a contactless payment from most smartphones, people still have to either glue an NFC chip on to their phone or buy a slip-on case with an NFC chip – which is the approach Commonwealth Bank has taken to make its Kaching mobile phone payments application contactless.
By 2015, Gartner predicts that 50 per cent of smartphones will have NFC, but it notes that even in its most optimistic scenario NFC mobile phone payments will only lead to global gross revenues of US$750 million – for the entire industry – which would "be dwarfed by set up costs, transaction costs and fraud management smartcardfactory."
"The fact that the majority of these fees will simply be cannibalising existing revenue for banks and payment providers only makes the matter more concerning."
Antony Cahill, executive general manager of digital and direct for NAB, acknowledged that forecasts regarding smartphone NFC adoption were previously more aggressive than seemed warranted today.
However, he said, there had been lot of progress in mobile payments, and the logical next step was to make more use of the mobile phone. He predicts that more comprehensive solutions will appear in the market over the next six to 12 months, as the supporting ecosystem, comprising banks, card providers, phone makers and telecommunications companies, work together to create more compelling solutions.
Matt Barr, regional head of market development and innovation for MasterCard, suggests that part of the problem may be "if all you are doing is helping the phone versus a piece of plastic then you are not adding enough value."
He expects NFC-enabled phones will come into their own when there is a richer ecosystem so loyalty points can be viewed or used and coupons delivered to the phone can also be used contactlessly. By that stage he sees the contactless card and the NFC-enabled smartphone as being complementary payment systems rather than rivals.
As to the continued lack of an NFC-equipped iPhone, Cahill said that it would help if Apple had an NFC-equipped phone but he wasn’t sure it was the only thing holding back demand.
Gartner research director Sandy Shen acknowledged that if the iPhone 6 did ship with an NFC chip it would add momentum to the contactless payment market, but she warned that there was no guarantee of this as NFC promised relatively little benefit for Apple.
Shen said that while many NFC-enabled mobile phones started shipping in the second half of 2012 there were still relatively few in the market. She warned that "NFC will not be mainstream on mobiles before 2016."
"Apart from these technical issues there are behavioural issues. They (consumers) need a reason to make the behavioural switch – maybe that is giving them loyalty points."
She believed tackling consumer behaviour would prove a bigger challenge than overcoming any lingering technical issues.
A survey conducted on behalf of PayPal, and released this month, suggests, however, that there could be a latent consumer appetite for contactless payments via mobile phones. It discovered that four out of five Australians wished they didn't have to take their wallet everywhere; 23 per cent would take a smartphone rather than a wallet if they could only take one item; and 77 per cent had decided not to purchase something because the queue was too long, indicating a potential appetite for streamlined contactless payment.
"The phone is a slightly different animal" to a contactless card, according to Westpac's Harry Wendt, and more complex because of the challenge of loading the secure element on to the phone – either on to a dedicated NFC chip or on to the secure element of the SIM card, which relies on the support of telecommunications providers.
Westpac's 2012 trial saw 170 staff and partners (Optus and MasterCard staff) being offered the chance to use their mobile phones to make payments. That trial continues to run, but Westpac has yet to say when it might launch a product, although the inference from Wendt is that the main game won't start until NFC chips are natively installed in most mobile phones.
Earlier in May, Eftpos Payments announced that it would also begin mobile payment trials later this year, as the result of a five-year agreement signed with mobile-wallet developer C-SAM to create an Eftpos-branded wallet allowing mobile and contactless payments, and with the facility to store loyalty points and receipts too.
Bruce Mansfield, chief executive of Eftpos, said that contactless payments had gained traction in the last six months and were proving a substitute for cash in some transactions.
He acknowledged that there was also "some substitution from our products at the lower end" and that contactless had had an impact on Eftpos' growth, although he said the organisation was still on track to complete 2.5 billion eftpos transactions this year, up from 2.3 billion in 2012.
Mansfield said that, besides the smartphone trials, Eftpos was working on its own contactless solution but with the addition of an NFC-facilitated cash out facility, and this was likely a 2014 prospect.
Outwitted by ‘smart’ card keys
The receptionist handed over the card key for the room with a slightly apologetic instruction. “You put it in the slot beside the door, this way round, then wait” – he gave the word “wait” a special emphasis – “until you hear a click, then the door is open.” Oh, the vagaries of the hotel card key. Oh, the incompetence, so the receptionist hinted, of the average hotel guest.
But I did wait, and the door did open. Then the difficulties began. I couldn’t find the little cradle that such cards often slot into to operate the electricity. I searched high and low, but to no effect. Fortunately, a chambermaid was still at work down the corridor. I looked pathetic, affected my best Italian pronunciation of “elettricita”, and she pointed to a horizontal slot actually in the wall, unmarked and almost invisible. The power sprang to life. I could now make the door say, “Do not disturb”; I could make it say “Clean the room, please”. I could, in theory, set the room temperature and the air conditioning (though I couldn’t make them work; my fault, I’m sure).
Someone, it seems, has sold Italian hotels, even small ones, a job lot of these all-embracing “smart” systems; I’ve come across quite a few of them over the past 10 days, and become adept at wiggling the card in the slot when, as often, it did not immediately connect.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a fan of card keys and the eco-friendly power-saving they facilitate. But, as the brains behind the recent failed launch of Microsoft’s Windows 8 learnt to their cost, those who spend all their waking hours refining hi-tech gadgetry can get so far ahead of the rest of us that they end up making our lives more complicated, not less.
Italians have long been in the vanguard of techie progress. On assignment in Rome in the late 1980s – long before cellphones, the internet and online anything, a time when we foreign correspondents routinely dismantled phone sockets and teased out the wires to send reports electronically – the press room had screens on wheels that scrolled the latest news from international news smartcardfactory, continually updated. They were elegant, efficient, state-of-the-art, but – best of all – you didn’t need to know how to work them.
“Sorry,” she continued a moment later, in a calmer tone. “But you had three ‘cross fever’ symbols in the corners. You should have held them and raised your bet. If you get four, a jackpot is almost inevitable.”
Actually, the jackpot would have been entirely theoretical, as were those 8 cents I lost. We were playing the machine secretly and for free, in a South Florida arcade closed last month when the Florida Legislature passed a harsh new video gambling law.
The owner opened it up, reinstalled the computer motherboards in several of the machines, and invited a few of the arcade’s regular customers back for an afternoon so I could test one of the frequent criticisms of the slots: that they’re pure games of chance in which skill plays no part.
The no-skill allegation came up again during the legislative debate this spring over a bill, which eventually passed, to ban video gambling in senior arcades, gas stations and mom-and-pop cafes. “They are not games of skill,” lobbyist Ron Book — who represents pari-mutuel racetracks, which wanted to stamp out competition for their casinos — told the Florida House. “They are clearly games of gambling and chance.”
Nobody denies the machines involve gambling; you play them for pennies in hopes of winning a much more valuable prize. And they certainly involve an element of chance, like all games, even chess. (Many statistical studies have shown that the player who gets the white pieces and the first move, which is typically decided with a coin flip or something similar, wins between 52 and 56 percent of the time.)
But if skill plays a part in the video games, even a small one, then they aren’t gambling devices under Florida law. And if my afternoon at the arcade means anything, skill matters a lot.
Three arcade regulars — including a mentally handicapped woman — beat me like a drum for hours as we tried out various machines. Regular players (some of them visited the arcade six times a week before the new law closed it) have learned strategies and physical skills that help them win on a regular basis.
“Don’t feel bad,” another regular — retired furniture saleswoman Gail May, herself a pretty fair player — consoled me as Sciandra piled up winnings while I lost and lost and lost. “I don’t think I’ve seen her leave this place once without at least a $25 gift card,” one of the prizes that the arcade used to award to big winners.
“It’s like anything else, if you practice and pay attention and work at it, you can win,” said Sciandra, 72, who retired a few years ago from her job as a cafeteria worker in the Broward school system. “Not everybody does that — some people are content to just punch the button and let the game play out, like you would a regular slot machine in a casino. But that’s not the way I do it.”
But I did wait, and the door did open. Then the difficulties began. I couldn’t find the little cradle that such cards often slot into to operate the electricity. I searched high and low, but to no effect. Fortunately, a chambermaid was still at work down the corridor. I looked pathetic, affected my best Italian pronunciation of “elettricita”, and she pointed to a horizontal slot actually in the wall, unmarked and almost invisible. The power sprang to life. I could now make the door say, “Do not disturb”; I could make it say “Clean the room, please”. I could, in theory, set the room temperature and the air conditioning (though I couldn’t make them work; my fault, I’m sure).
Someone, it seems, has sold Italian hotels, even small ones, a job lot of these all-embracing “smart” systems; I’ve come across quite a few of them over the past 10 days, and become adept at wiggling the card in the slot when, as often, it did not immediately connect.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a fan of card keys and the eco-friendly power-saving they facilitate. But, as the brains behind the recent failed launch of Microsoft’s Windows 8 learnt to their cost, those who spend all their waking hours refining hi-tech gadgetry can get so far ahead of the rest of us that they end up making our lives more complicated, not less.
Italians have long been in the vanguard of techie progress. On assignment in Rome in the late 1980s – long before cellphones, the internet and online anything, a time when we foreign correspondents routinely dismantled phone sockets and teased out the wires to send reports electronically – the press room had screens on wheels that scrolled the latest news from international news smartcardfactory, continually updated. They were elegant, efficient, state-of-the-art, but – best of all – you didn’t need to know how to work them.
“Sorry,” she continued a moment later, in a calmer tone. “But you had three ‘cross fever’ symbols in the corners. You should have held them and raised your bet. If you get four, a jackpot is almost inevitable.”
Actually, the jackpot would have been entirely theoretical, as were those 8 cents I lost. We were playing the machine secretly and for free, in a South Florida arcade closed last month when the Florida Legislature passed a harsh new video gambling law.
The owner opened it up, reinstalled the computer motherboards in several of the machines, and invited a few of the arcade’s regular customers back for an afternoon so I could test one of the frequent criticisms of the slots: that they’re pure games of chance in which skill plays no part.
The no-skill allegation came up again during the legislative debate this spring over a bill, which eventually passed, to ban video gambling in senior arcades, gas stations and mom-and-pop cafes. “They are not games of skill,” lobbyist Ron Book — who represents pari-mutuel racetracks, which wanted to stamp out competition for their casinos — told the Florida House. “They are clearly games of gambling and chance.”
Nobody denies the machines involve gambling; you play them for pennies in hopes of winning a much more valuable prize. And they certainly involve an element of chance, like all games, even chess. (Many statistical studies have shown that the player who gets the white pieces and the first move, which is typically decided with a coin flip or something similar, wins between 52 and 56 percent of the time.)
But if skill plays a part in the video games, even a small one, then they aren’t gambling devices under Florida law. And if my afternoon at the arcade means anything, skill matters a lot.
Three arcade regulars — including a mentally handicapped woman — beat me like a drum for hours as we tried out various machines. Regular players (some of them visited the arcade six times a week before the new law closed it) have learned strategies and physical skills that help them win on a regular basis.
“Don’t feel bad,” another regular — retired furniture saleswoman Gail May, herself a pretty fair player — consoled me as Sciandra piled up winnings while I lost and lost and lost. “I don’t think I’ve seen her leave this place once without at least a $25 gift card,” one of the prizes that the arcade used to award to big winners.
“It’s like anything else, if you practice and pay attention and work at it, you can win,” said Sciandra, 72, who retired a few years ago from her job as a cafeteria worker in the Broward school system. “Not everybody does that — some people are content to just punch the button and let the game play out, like you would a regular slot machine in a casino. But that’s not the way I do it.”
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Pole Makes Hamlin Feel Even Better
Denny Hamlin feels “nearly 100 percent” recovered after fracturing a vertebra on March 24 at Auto Club Speedway. And starting from the pole for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 is possibly the best medicine the Joe Gibbs Racing driver could ask for as he continues the recovery process.
"I think winning would do that,” Hamlin said. “I think ultimately getting the big trophy on Sunday is the validation that you're truly back. For me, it's going to take some wins and some really good consistency throughout these summer months to put ourselves in position to have a chance at a plastic card. That's what we're here for.
“Even these small victories, though, give me that confidence that I'm still capable, and I'm still able to do the job at 100 percent like I should be. Any kind of confidence booster for me — it's always a plus on Sunday."
Hamlin started the race at Talladega and was relieved by Brian Vickers after just 25 laps. He then tackled Darlington — the “Track too Tough to Tame” — and posted an impressive second-place finish to his teammate and winner Matt Kenseth. His first top-five showing since Hamlin posted a third-place finish in the second race of the season at Phoenix elevated the driver from 31st to 27th in the point standings.
However, the next challenge will be battling through the next seven positions — along with winning a race or two — in order to earn one of the wild-card positions in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Certainly, qualifying for one of the top 10 positions is still mathematically possible, but not likely.
Still, Hamlin hasn’t missed a Chase since he started racing full-time in the Cup Series at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2006. He and Jimmie Johnson are the only drivers to contend for the title in every year they’ve been eligible.
Although Hamlin is in catch-up mode, he’s not feeling the pressure yet. He has an excuse — not earning driver points — if he misses the Chase. On the flip side, there would be a sense of pride in forging one of the most hard-fought comebacks in NASCAR history.
“We have a great opportunity to make a great story if we make it and can be competitive in the Chase,” Hamlin said. “If we don’t, we had a hill that we just couldn’t climb and we’ll be tougher because of it.”
Plus, Hamlin has the resources at JGR to persevere. In the first 11 races of the season, Gibbs’ cars have won five times. Hamlin says there is “constant competition” due to the caliber of his teammates — Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth, who joined the organization this season. When Busch moved to JGR from Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, it elevated Hamlin’s “game to a different level.”
“He took me from being a one- to two-win guy a season to five, six,” Hamlin said. “A lot of it at this racetrack, Kyle Busch is why I perform so well here over the last two to three years. Not that he’s spending all this time with me, but I’m studying the things he does as a race-car driver because he’s good here.
“If the tools are out here for me to use, I have to be smart enough to use them to my advantage. And Matt is just another Kyle Busch on our race team, and I don’t want to be the last guy. We constantly text each other all the time about who is the last guy on our team — and that’s good competition. We’re going continue to push each other to not to be the last guy and eventually, we’ll just be one-two-three and the last guy won’t be too bad.”
Hamlin’s doctors are impressed with the progress on his back. He has no MRI scans scheduled in the next few weeks. Currently, Hamlin’s recovery routine includes "just changing up my workouts and doing different things and continuing to work on my twisting ability and things like that.” But Hamlin doesn’t feel “limited in any way in any kind of activity” in or out of the chip card.
Despite the scheduled 600 miles of racing from day into night on Sunday, Hamlin actually believes the task will be easier on him than the demanding tight turns of Darlington.
“Darlington is way tougher physically,” Hamlin said. “It’s always a real hot race because the air doesn’t escape and everyone is running right up against the wall. You usually beat the right side in so you’re taking carbon dioxide in for most of the race, so it’s a tough race physically and mentally for that long (500 miles) at that track.
“Here, you’ve got some straightaway to kind of breathe for a second, gather your thoughts. … I think now my muscle memory is back to where it was before, so I think I’ll be less sore this time around than I was for Darlington. It took about two days after Darlington before I felt good again. Everything should be fine by Monday here.”
"I think winning would do that,” Hamlin said. “I think ultimately getting the big trophy on Sunday is the validation that you're truly back. For me, it's going to take some wins and some really good consistency throughout these summer months to put ourselves in position to have a chance at a plastic card. That's what we're here for.
“Even these small victories, though, give me that confidence that I'm still capable, and I'm still able to do the job at 100 percent like I should be. Any kind of confidence booster for me — it's always a plus on Sunday."
Hamlin started the race at Talladega and was relieved by Brian Vickers after just 25 laps. He then tackled Darlington — the “Track too Tough to Tame” — and posted an impressive second-place finish to his teammate and winner Matt Kenseth. His first top-five showing since Hamlin posted a third-place finish in the second race of the season at Phoenix elevated the driver from 31st to 27th in the point standings.
However, the next challenge will be battling through the next seven positions — along with winning a race or two — in order to earn one of the wild-card positions in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Certainly, qualifying for one of the top 10 positions is still mathematically possible, but not likely.
Still, Hamlin hasn’t missed a Chase since he started racing full-time in the Cup Series at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2006. He and Jimmie Johnson are the only drivers to contend for the title in every year they’ve been eligible.
Although Hamlin is in catch-up mode, he’s not feeling the pressure yet. He has an excuse — not earning driver points — if he misses the Chase. On the flip side, there would be a sense of pride in forging one of the most hard-fought comebacks in NASCAR history.
“We have a great opportunity to make a great story if we make it and can be competitive in the Chase,” Hamlin said. “If we don’t, we had a hill that we just couldn’t climb and we’ll be tougher because of it.”
Plus, Hamlin has the resources at JGR to persevere. In the first 11 races of the season, Gibbs’ cars have won five times. Hamlin says there is “constant competition” due to the caliber of his teammates — Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth, who joined the organization this season. When Busch moved to JGR from Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, it elevated Hamlin’s “game to a different level.”
“He took me from being a one- to two-win guy a season to five, six,” Hamlin said. “A lot of it at this racetrack, Kyle Busch is why I perform so well here over the last two to three years. Not that he’s spending all this time with me, but I’m studying the things he does as a race-car driver because he’s good here.
“If the tools are out here for me to use, I have to be smart enough to use them to my advantage. And Matt is just another Kyle Busch on our race team, and I don’t want to be the last guy. We constantly text each other all the time about who is the last guy on our team — and that’s good competition. We’re going continue to push each other to not to be the last guy and eventually, we’ll just be one-two-three and the last guy won’t be too bad.”
Hamlin’s doctors are impressed with the progress on his back. He has no MRI scans scheduled in the next few weeks. Currently, Hamlin’s recovery routine includes "just changing up my workouts and doing different things and continuing to work on my twisting ability and things like that.” But Hamlin doesn’t feel “limited in any way in any kind of activity” in or out of the chip card.
Despite the scheduled 600 miles of racing from day into night on Sunday, Hamlin actually believes the task will be easier on him than the demanding tight turns of Darlington.
“Darlington is way tougher physically,” Hamlin said. “It’s always a real hot race because the air doesn’t escape and everyone is running right up against the wall. You usually beat the right side in so you’re taking carbon dioxide in for most of the race, so it’s a tough race physically and mentally for that long (500 miles) at that track.
“Here, you’ve got some straightaway to kind of breathe for a second, gather your thoughts. … I think now my muscle memory is back to where it was before, so I think I’ll be less sore this time around than I was for Darlington. It took about two days after Darlington before I felt good again. Everything should be fine by Monday here.”
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Cranks My Tractor
Mama could always count on a Mother’s Day card from me. She could always count on it being about four days late. I would call her and tell her, “Your card is on the way.” She would laugh and know that was just the way her middle son was when it came to cards. Honestly, most of us know that each and every day should be “Mother’s Day.”
My brother recently sent me some pictures from our childhood. You know the type of pictures – the ones that Mama had made at Olan Mills with our heads tilted and wearing little outfits that I’m sure she put a lot of thought into picking out.
In that group of pictures, there was a random one that anyone else would not have understood, but I did. It was a picture of a green plastic yard chair and a blooming purple iris.
Our Mama passed away over a year ago and as those of you who have lost your mother knows, it is difficult not only on Mother’s Day, but also every time you see or hear or smell or taste or touch something that reminds you of your mother.
My Mama loved purple and in particular, she loved purple irises. They seemed to just show up in the yard every spring.
Folks often squabble over the worldly possessions their mothers owned. Things like china, silver, jewelry and antique furniture. I understand that many of these things are heirlooms and hold meaning for children and grandchildren.
However, I think the “things” that are most valuable are those that really can’t be squabbled over – things that were meant to be shared. These “things” are the precious memories our mothers left us with or shared with plastic card.
The little things like seeing a purple iris or the smell of a particular dish your mother cooked. These are things that won’t be in the Will when your mother leaves.
If your mother has passed away, you can still share those memories with your siblings, children and grandchildren. Her silver pitcher will tarnish, her china could very well shatter when it hits the floor, and the stone in her heirloom ring could fall out never to be found.
So if your mother is still living, don’t ask her who’s going to get the china cabinet or the dining room table. Ask her what her favorite flower is; what she loved doing when she was a little girl, what scared her, what made her happy and what kept her from quitting.
Ask her what her favorite song was, her favorite books and all of those other questions that you want to know. Do it before it’s too late…. Do it understanding all of the time she invested in you…. Do it understanding all of the things she didn’t get to do because of you… Do it knowing you wouldn’t be here, if it weren’t for her.
The other night I was watching the movie, “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” I’ve seen it at least twenty times, but still watch it every chance I get. It’s about Francis Ouimet, the first amateur ever to win the U.S. Open.
I’m not an avid golfer; I get to play about once a year. You don’t need to know anything about golf, to appreciate Francis’ accomplishment. He came from an immigrant family that was part of the working class – who were not supposed to be playing golf, let alone winning.
Francis’ mother does what so many mothers do – she’s a real “dream weaver.” I’m not talking about computer software or some song from the 1970’s. I’m talking about a mother who selflessly patches together scraps to weave their children’s dreams. She does it with a smile on her face and a glow in her heart.
At one point in the movie, Francis’ father who thinks that his son’s dreams are unreachable due to their working class stature, points this out to Francis’s mother.
Francis’ mother pops back at her husband, “That's right. I do encourage him. He has a God-given talent, and this is his one chance to give a voice to it. He's just trying to make you proud.”
Citi Bikes have three gears, with a twist-grip handlebar shifter. In first gear, in the flat Navy Yard, I found my feet spinning cartoonishly fast — I actually imagined the kooky bongos from when Fred Flintstone starts running — plus the bike didn’t really move very much. I ruled out ever using first gear again, except possibly for going up Mount Everest.
Third gear I honestly found a bit hard to pedal in; I don’t know if this was because I had just earlier zipped over the Manhattan Bridge to get to the Navy Yard — maybe blowing out my legs a bit? — but third gear felt “heavy,” and again, the bike didn’t really go very fast.
It was tricky to get into second gear with the twist shifter, requiring a very delicate touch. But once I did, I found second was still slightly too easy for me. I was pedaling a little too fast, and wanted a bit more resistance; meanwhile the bike was not making incredible forward progress. I felt, well…frustrated. Another gear between second and third — a 2? — was where I wanted to be.
As I continued to pedal around, however, the greater realization dawned on me — in a bit of a letdown — that this bike, no matter what gear it was in, simply would never go any faster.
I returned to the docking station, where Simons demonstrated how to park it.
Grabbing the bicycle by both handlebars, she lined up a small metal triangular prow on its front with the dock, and — explaining, “Use a little force” — pushed it firmly into the slot. A green light displayed, showing the bike had locked into place.
As he slowly rode off on one of the Citi Bikes — they were disassembling this Navy Yard bike station, in preparation for deploying all the bikes to the street — I noticed he was “standing” on the pedals, as in not sitting in the seat. This is what cyclists do when climbing a hill, when it’s tough to pedal. I later realized: Rivera must have been in third gear.
My brother recently sent me some pictures from our childhood. You know the type of pictures – the ones that Mama had made at Olan Mills with our heads tilted and wearing little outfits that I’m sure she put a lot of thought into picking out.
In that group of pictures, there was a random one that anyone else would not have understood, but I did. It was a picture of a green plastic yard chair and a blooming purple iris.
Our Mama passed away over a year ago and as those of you who have lost your mother knows, it is difficult not only on Mother’s Day, but also every time you see or hear or smell or taste or touch something that reminds you of your mother.
My Mama loved purple and in particular, she loved purple irises. They seemed to just show up in the yard every spring.
Folks often squabble over the worldly possessions their mothers owned. Things like china, silver, jewelry and antique furniture. I understand that many of these things are heirlooms and hold meaning for children and grandchildren.
However, I think the “things” that are most valuable are those that really can’t be squabbled over – things that were meant to be shared. These “things” are the precious memories our mothers left us with or shared with plastic card.
The little things like seeing a purple iris or the smell of a particular dish your mother cooked. These are things that won’t be in the Will when your mother leaves.
If your mother has passed away, you can still share those memories with your siblings, children and grandchildren. Her silver pitcher will tarnish, her china could very well shatter when it hits the floor, and the stone in her heirloom ring could fall out never to be found.
So if your mother is still living, don’t ask her who’s going to get the china cabinet or the dining room table. Ask her what her favorite flower is; what she loved doing when she was a little girl, what scared her, what made her happy and what kept her from quitting.
Ask her what her favorite song was, her favorite books and all of those other questions that you want to know. Do it before it’s too late…. Do it understanding all of the time she invested in you…. Do it understanding all of the things she didn’t get to do because of you… Do it knowing you wouldn’t be here, if it weren’t for her.
The other night I was watching the movie, “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” I’ve seen it at least twenty times, but still watch it every chance I get. It’s about Francis Ouimet, the first amateur ever to win the U.S. Open.
I’m not an avid golfer; I get to play about once a year. You don’t need to know anything about golf, to appreciate Francis’ accomplishment. He came from an immigrant family that was part of the working class – who were not supposed to be playing golf, let alone winning.
Francis’ mother does what so many mothers do – she’s a real “dream weaver.” I’m not talking about computer software or some song from the 1970’s. I’m talking about a mother who selflessly patches together scraps to weave their children’s dreams. She does it with a smile on her face and a glow in her heart.
At one point in the movie, Francis’ father who thinks that his son’s dreams are unreachable due to their working class stature, points this out to Francis’s mother.
Francis’ mother pops back at her husband, “That's right. I do encourage him. He has a God-given talent, and this is his one chance to give a voice to it. He's just trying to make you proud.”
Citi Bikes have three gears, with a twist-grip handlebar shifter. In first gear, in the flat Navy Yard, I found my feet spinning cartoonishly fast — I actually imagined the kooky bongos from when Fred Flintstone starts running — plus the bike didn’t really move very much. I ruled out ever using first gear again, except possibly for going up Mount Everest.
Third gear I honestly found a bit hard to pedal in; I don’t know if this was because I had just earlier zipped over the Manhattan Bridge to get to the Navy Yard — maybe blowing out my legs a bit? — but third gear felt “heavy,” and again, the bike didn’t really go very fast.
It was tricky to get into second gear with the twist shifter, requiring a very delicate touch. But once I did, I found second was still slightly too easy for me. I was pedaling a little too fast, and wanted a bit more resistance; meanwhile the bike was not making incredible forward progress. I felt, well…frustrated. Another gear between second and third — a 2? — was where I wanted to be.
As I continued to pedal around, however, the greater realization dawned on me — in a bit of a letdown — that this bike, no matter what gear it was in, simply would never go any faster.
I returned to the docking station, where Simons demonstrated how to park it.
Grabbing the bicycle by both handlebars, she lined up a small metal triangular prow on its front with the dock, and — explaining, “Use a little force” — pushed it firmly into the slot. A green light displayed, showing the bike had locked into place.
As he slowly rode off on one of the Citi Bikes — they were disassembling this Navy Yard bike station, in preparation for deploying all the bikes to the street — I noticed he was “standing” on the pedals, as in not sitting in the seat. This is what cyclists do when climbing a hill, when it’s tough to pedal. I later realized: Rivera must have been in third gear.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Assigning spiritual brews to 1990s card sets
Last week, as we at SB Nation gathered to spit nonsense about beer, I stumbled upon the idea that beers,This is a basic RFID tag used for presence sensing. as they stand today, bear lots of similarities with baseball cards of the 1990s. Throughout most of their histories, both beer and baseball cards were very very simple things. Then the craft brew revolution/baseball card boom was brought forth, and both industries exploded into a big weird diverse pastiche.
Baseball card companies got carried away by all the "collectability" and gimmickry and price-guide nonsense, and as a consequence, almost none of them make baseball cards today. The craft-brew scene breeds plenty of nonsense in its own right; thankfully, it seems to be doing well.
My point is this: when I was a kid, I collected baseball cards, pored over the stats on the back, and traded with friends. As an adult, I drink beers, pore over lists and reviews, and drink and talk about them with friends. Beers are baseball cards I can drink.
By the mid-'90s, baseball card collectors began fretting over the concept of "collectability," mostly because card companies told them to. The idea was that a baseball card was more valuable if there were only 50,000 of it in existence. The set that ushered in this mode of thinking, more than any other, was 1991 Donruss. These cards were everywhere. Donruss made 67 trillion billion trillion of them. Trading them with your friends was useless, because every person in North America owned the Lenny Dykstra/Dale Murphy "DR. DIRT AND MR. CLEAN" in quadruplicate.
Pretty much everyone who took baseball cards seriously in the 1990s was a total mark, myself included. If you want to spot the marks in the craft brew world, look for the people who roll their eyes at Sam Adams' Boston Lager. Yes,Our industry leading consumer and business IC card products offer competitive pricing combined. it's everywhere, and just like 1991 Donruss, you can probably find packs of them hanging from a peg at room temperature in the toy aisle of a Walgreens.
But it's fine! There are better and more interesting beers out there, and hopefully you are in a position to procure those beers. Boston Lager is available in virtually any gas station, though, and if a gas station is all you've got, you'll be happy it's there.
Even in the 1990s heyday of completely inflating arbitrary values for baseball cards, a complete set of 1991 Donruss was only listed at about $12, which meant every card was "worth" an average of 1.5 cents. But just as Boston Lager is not meant for snobs, 1991 Donruss was not made for anyone who gave a damn about the arbitrary space-borne pseudo-values assigned to baseball cards. Sometimes you want to open a bottle and find a perfectly drinkable beer, and sometimes you want to open a pack of cards and find a puzzle piece of Willie Stargell's groin.
Every bottle of Guinness contains a plastic widget, and at age 19, my friend and I grew so consumed with finding out what a widget looked like that we broke it by throwing it off the balcony. Years earlier I would tear apart packs of 1995 Fleer Ultra, which promised an insert card in every single pack.
I was underwhelmed in both cases, because the widget is plastic and translucent white and looks like a bottle fetus, and the Fleer inserts sort of devalued the nature of an insert card. "Insert" used to mean a special set of cards you'd find once in 2,000 packs, like Donruss' Elite Series. This cheapened them to the point at which we were left with an insert set called "On-Base Leaders." This card is worth negative money.
Nonetheless, I bought tons and tons of Fleer Ultra, just as I've drank tons and tons of Guinness. Both are kind of fake-upscale and hold a special place in my heart. Sometimes I just really wanna drink a Guinness.
At every beer festival there's one stand manned by a guy who has been brewing in his friend's garage for four months. Your cup either has no head, or is 85% head, depending on how he screwed up, because he definitely did screw up. A half-inch of residue sits at the bottom of the cup. "Heh, I'm kind of a hop-head," he says. You take a gulp. It tastes like he dissolved five bouillon cubes' worth of earwax in some Michelob Ultra.
"Yeah, me and my buddy, we're gonna start up our own brew house on Floyd Street. Just gotta wait for the serving license from the city." He has not and will never mail his application for said license, because he's not really a having-stamps kind of person.
Police-issued baseball cards were also freely distributed, and they were the very worst baseball cards. They look like they were made for prisoners, and they weren't even cut down to standard card size, so they wouldn't fit in any of your sleeves or binders.
They invariably had some sort of "don't do drugs or else you will die and the Earth will explode and kill your dog" message on the back. Back then, our eight-year-old selves would look at them and shudder at the doom that might befall us in the future. Today, we look at this cup with a mouthful of liquefied tree bark, realize we're completely hammered at three in the afternoon, and wonder how the hell we got there.
We should all thank the sports card industry for collapsing under the weight of its bullshit, because I can't imagine the tomfoolery we'd be experiencing if they kept pushing the envelope. At some point they probably would have started selling giant wooden wagon wheels with "RAUL MONDESI" burnished on the spokes. Before they crashed and burned, Pinnacle did manage to market a thing called "Cards In A Can." That's it. A pack of cards inside of a can. Your stepdad needs somewhere to ash out his GT Ones, and you need some four-buck piece of chintz that will make you feel loved. Two birds, one stone.
My only real question is, "WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY," which is the same question I would ask of Brew Dog's Tactical Nuclear Penguin. Its ABV is 32%, which is about 2.5 times as strong as wine, and not all that far off from most liquors. I've never had it, because they charge 70 damn dollars for a bottle.
If this beer were steeped in some sort of tradition, or marketed with some air of dignity, I might not be so down on it. Instead it's called Tactical Nuclear Penguin, which is the most craft-beer name. May as well call it Captain Zombie Baconpirate Ninja Stout Webbrowser.
So yes, 2010s craft beer and 1990s baseball cards both suffer from gimmickry, but at least modern beer keeps that grade of bullpucky at the margins. Cards In A Can was front and center. Oh God, and then you'd hear collectors say things like, "you shouldn't open the cans, they'll lose their value." Oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God I ****ing hate the baseball card industry so much.
Baseball card companies got carried away by all the "collectability" and gimmickry and price-guide nonsense, and as a consequence, almost none of them make baseball cards today. The craft-brew scene breeds plenty of nonsense in its own right; thankfully, it seems to be doing well.
My point is this: when I was a kid, I collected baseball cards, pored over the stats on the back, and traded with friends. As an adult, I drink beers, pore over lists and reviews, and drink and talk about them with friends. Beers are baseball cards I can drink.
By the mid-'90s, baseball card collectors began fretting over the concept of "collectability," mostly because card companies told them to. The idea was that a baseball card was more valuable if there were only 50,000 of it in existence. The set that ushered in this mode of thinking, more than any other, was 1991 Donruss. These cards were everywhere. Donruss made 67 trillion billion trillion of them. Trading them with your friends was useless, because every person in North America owned the Lenny Dykstra/Dale Murphy "DR. DIRT AND MR. CLEAN" in quadruplicate.
Pretty much everyone who took baseball cards seriously in the 1990s was a total mark, myself included. If you want to spot the marks in the craft brew world, look for the people who roll their eyes at Sam Adams' Boston Lager. Yes,Our industry leading consumer and business IC card products offer competitive pricing combined. it's everywhere, and just like 1991 Donruss, you can probably find packs of them hanging from a peg at room temperature in the toy aisle of a Walgreens.
But it's fine! There are better and more interesting beers out there, and hopefully you are in a position to procure those beers. Boston Lager is available in virtually any gas station, though, and if a gas station is all you've got, you'll be happy it's there.
Even in the 1990s heyday of completely inflating arbitrary values for baseball cards, a complete set of 1991 Donruss was only listed at about $12, which meant every card was "worth" an average of 1.5 cents. But just as Boston Lager is not meant for snobs, 1991 Donruss was not made for anyone who gave a damn about the arbitrary space-borne pseudo-values assigned to baseball cards. Sometimes you want to open a bottle and find a perfectly drinkable beer, and sometimes you want to open a pack of cards and find a puzzle piece of Willie Stargell's groin.
Every bottle of Guinness contains a plastic widget, and at age 19, my friend and I grew so consumed with finding out what a widget looked like that we broke it by throwing it off the balcony. Years earlier I would tear apart packs of 1995 Fleer Ultra, which promised an insert card in every single pack.
I was underwhelmed in both cases, because the widget is plastic and translucent white and looks like a bottle fetus, and the Fleer inserts sort of devalued the nature of an insert card. "Insert" used to mean a special set of cards you'd find once in 2,000 packs, like Donruss' Elite Series. This cheapened them to the point at which we were left with an insert set called "On-Base Leaders." This card is worth negative money.
Nonetheless, I bought tons and tons of Fleer Ultra, just as I've drank tons and tons of Guinness. Both are kind of fake-upscale and hold a special place in my heart. Sometimes I just really wanna drink a Guinness.
At every beer festival there's one stand manned by a guy who has been brewing in his friend's garage for four months. Your cup either has no head, or is 85% head, depending on how he screwed up, because he definitely did screw up. A half-inch of residue sits at the bottom of the cup. "Heh, I'm kind of a hop-head," he says. You take a gulp. It tastes like he dissolved five bouillon cubes' worth of earwax in some Michelob Ultra.
"Yeah, me and my buddy, we're gonna start up our own brew house on Floyd Street. Just gotta wait for the serving license from the city." He has not and will never mail his application for said license, because he's not really a having-stamps kind of person.
Police-issued baseball cards were also freely distributed, and they were the very worst baseball cards. They look like they were made for prisoners, and they weren't even cut down to standard card size, so they wouldn't fit in any of your sleeves or binders.
They invariably had some sort of "don't do drugs or else you will die and the Earth will explode and kill your dog" message on the back. Back then, our eight-year-old selves would look at them and shudder at the doom that might befall us in the future. Today, we look at this cup with a mouthful of liquefied tree bark, realize we're completely hammered at three in the afternoon, and wonder how the hell we got there.
We should all thank the sports card industry for collapsing under the weight of its bullshit, because I can't imagine the tomfoolery we'd be experiencing if they kept pushing the envelope. At some point they probably would have started selling giant wooden wagon wheels with "RAUL MONDESI" burnished on the spokes. Before they crashed and burned, Pinnacle did manage to market a thing called "Cards In A Can." That's it. A pack of cards inside of a can. Your stepdad needs somewhere to ash out his GT Ones, and you need some four-buck piece of chintz that will make you feel loved. Two birds, one stone.
My only real question is, "WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY," which is the same question I would ask of Brew Dog's Tactical Nuclear Penguin. Its ABV is 32%, which is about 2.5 times as strong as wine, and not all that far off from most liquors. I've never had it, because they charge 70 damn dollars for a bottle.
If this beer were steeped in some sort of tradition, or marketed with some air of dignity, I might not be so down on it. Instead it's called Tactical Nuclear Penguin, which is the most craft-beer name. May as well call it Captain Zombie Baconpirate Ninja Stout Webbrowser.
So yes, 2010s craft beer and 1990s baseball cards both suffer from gimmickry, but at least modern beer keeps that grade of bullpucky at the margins. Cards In A Can was front and center. Oh God, and then you'd hear collectors say things like, "you shouldn't open the cans, they'll lose their value." Oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God I ****ing hate the baseball card industry so much.
Monday, May 20, 2013
UK customers charged twice with contactless payment cards
Marks and Spencer, Pret a Manger and Transport for London customers have all reported automatic payment deductions from contactless payment cards while they were making payment by other means, renewing long-standing concerns over the security of contactless payment cards.
Are contactless payment transactions secure? asks the Smart Card Alliance security Q&A FAQ. "Yes," it says. "Contactless payment devices are designed to operate at very short ranges C less than 2-4 inches [approx 5-10 cms] C so that the consumer needs to make a deliberate effort to initiate the payment transaction."
But that hasn't been the experience of several customers at retailer Marks & Spencer. M&S is currently the UK's largest user of RFID-based contactless payments. It has just completed the installation of the technology in all of its 644 UK stores and receives some 250,000 contactless payments every week.
A report by the BBC taken from its Radio 4 Money Box programme describes the experience of two listeners who had payments taken unexpectedly and unintendedly from cards that were kept away from the card reader C in one instance, never nearer than approximately 30 cms. Further examples in the radio broadcast indicated similar occurrences at Pret a Manger and with Transport for London.
The problem is a classic example of the conflict between ease-of-use and security. The whole purpose of contactless payment is to make the process easier and more convenient for the user. It uses a very weak RFID signal that can, in theory, only be read within a distance of no more than 10 cms. But it is completely passive. That means that the customer needs do nothing more than present the card to the reader for the transaction to be completed automatically.
This passivity is the system's weak link. Currently contactless payment cards can only be used for payments of up to 20. However, in Practical Attack on Contactless Payment Cards, Martin Emms and Aad van Moorsel describe how an inexpensive combination of RFID reader and hidden camera can be used to silently read the card data and film the CVV security code. Armed with this combination, an attacker could then use the details to make more expensive card-not-present fraudulent online purchases and have the goods delivered to a separate address,
The solution, say the authors, is simple: such skimming frauds can be prevented by making the cards active rather than passive. "Card activation will be achieved by the application of pressure anywhere on the card, this should be possible whilst the card is still inside a wallet, thereby maintaining the convenience and speed of contactless payments." This would, of course, also protect customers from the inadvertent double payments as seen in M&S.
Mashreq won over the independent panel of expert judges to walk away with two of the most coveted trophies of the evening viz. 'Best Credit Card' and 'Best Debit Card' in the Middle East. The awards were given for developing unique and innovative propositions that offered significant and differentiated value to customers.A chip card is a plastic card that has a computer chip implanted into it that enables the card to perform certain.
The Cards and Payments Middle East awards held on May 14th showcased the best payments products the region's banks had to offer to their customers over the last twelve months. Nominations were received from banks in the UAE as well from the rest of the Middle East.
Farhad Irani, Head of Retail Banking Group, Mashreq, commented, "It is motivating to have the market recognize valuable payments propositions built on careful research and brought to bear by the most experienced management team in the region. Mashreq has a set of exciting innovations that will be launched this month in a bid to augment great proposition with best in class user experience. Being the Best Consumer Bank in the Region means we simply have to work hardest."
Nimish Dwivedi, Head of Payments, Mashreq commented, "We are very proud to have been awarded 'Best Credit Card' and 'Best Debit Card' in the Middle East. At Mashreq,A smart card resembles a credit card in size and shape. our cards business combines innovation, unique features and most importantly unmatched benefits that set us apart. This award is a recognition of our commitment to offering end-to-end payments solutions to our customers."
Dwivedi added, "SmartSaver Credit Card has recorded massive success since it was launched and we have continued to add exciting elements to the proposition to make it UAE's Best Everyday Card."
The award winning Mashreq SmartSaver Credit Card is the UAE's first ever Everyday Card to offer genuine savings on all domestic, international purchases, education and utility spends with no tiers; ensuring that customers earn Cashback on purchases starting from the very first Dirham. In addition the Card also offers customers up to 6.25% Cashback on every transaction, every time, at over 150 & growing partner outlets with no restrictions and no spend thresholds; thus creating the most powerful and value packed Cashback offering in the UAE. The partner outlets are spread across the country and include every possible category that comprises a customer's day to day spending.
The Mashreq Platinum Debit Card was re-launched as the UAE's Best Debit Card for International Travel. Mashreq's Debit Card holders can enjoy free and unlimited international ATM withdrawals and Cashback on their overseas spends. Moreover, customers can now look forward to enjoying their overseas holidays with ultimate peace of mind thanks to Travel Protect, a best-in-class travel insurance program that covers medical expenses, travel inconvenience, Purchase Protection, Wallet Protection not just for the Primary Cardmember but Supplementary Cardmembers as well and is absolutely free to all customers who make their holiday bookings with their Mashreq Platinum or Titanium Credit Cards or Mashreq Platinum Debit Cards.
Are contactless payment transactions secure? asks the Smart Card Alliance security Q&A FAQ. "Yes," it says. "Contactless payment devices are designed to operate at very short ranges C less than 2-4 inches [approx 5-10 cms] C so that the consumer needs to make a deliberate effort to initiate the payment transaction."
But that hasn't been the experience of several customers at retailer Marks & Spencer. M&S is currently the UK's largest user of RFID-based contactless payments. It has just completed the installation of the technology in all of its 644 UK stores and receives some 250,000 contactless payments every week.
A report by the BBC taken from its Radio 4 Money Box programme describes the experience of two listeners who had payments taken unexpectedly and unintendedly from cards that were kept away from the card reader C in one instance, never nearer than approximately 30 cms. Further examples in the radio broadcast indicated similar occurrences at Pret a Manger and with Transport for London.
The problem is a classic example of the conflict between ease-of-use and security. The whole purpose of contactless payment is to make the process easier and more convenient for the user. It uses a very weak RFID signal that can, in theory, only be read within a distance of no more than 10 cms. But it is completely passive. That means that the customer needs do nothing more than present the card to the reader for the transaction to be completed automatically.
This passivity is the system's weak link. Currently contactless payment cards can only be used for payments of up to 20. However, in Practical Attack on Contactless Payment Cards, Martin Emms and Aad van Moorsel describe how an inexpensive combination of RFID reader and hidden camera can be used to silently read the card data and film the CVV security code. Armed with this combination, an attacker could then use the details to make more expensive card-not-present fraudulent online purchases and have the goods delivered to a separate address,
The solution, say the authors, is simple: such skimming frauds can be prevented by making the cards active rather than passive. "Card activation will be achieved by the application of pressure anywhere on the card, this should be possible whilst the card is still inside a wallet, thereby maintaining the convenience and speed of contactless payments." This would, of course, also protect customers from the inadvertent double payments as seen in M&S.
Mashreq won over the independent panel of expert judges to walk away with two of the most coveted trophies of the evening viz. 'Best Credit Card' and 'Best Debit Card' in the Middle East. The awards were given for developing unique and innovative propositions that offered significant and differentiated value to customers.A chip card is a plastic card that has a computer chip implanted into it that enables the card to perform certain.
The Cards and Payments Middle East awards held on May 14th showcased the best payments products the region's banks had to offer to their customers over the last twelve months. Nominations were received from banks in the UAE as well from the rest of the Middle East.
Farhad Irani, Head of Retail Banking Group, Mashreq, commented, "It is motivating to have the market recognize valuable payments propositions built on careful research and brought to bear by the most experienced management team in the region. Mashreq has a set of exciting innovations that will be launched this month in a bid to augment great proposition with best in class user experience. Being the Best Consumer Bank in the Region means we simply have to work hardest."
Nimish Dwivedi, Head of Payments, Mashreq commented, "We are very proud to have been awarded 'Best Credit Card' and 'Best Debit Card' in the Middle East. At Mashreq,A smart card resembles a credit card in size and shape. our cards business combines innovation, unique features and most importantly unmatched benefits that set us apart. This award is a recognition of our commitment to offering end-to-end payments solutions to our customers."
Dwivedi added, "SmartSaver Credit Card has recorded massive success since it was launched and we have continued to add exciting elements to the proposition to make it UAE's Best Everyday Card."
The award winning Mashreq SmartSaver Credit Card is the UAE's first ever Everyday Card to offer genuine savings on all domestic, international purchases, education and utility spends with no tiers; ensuring that customers earn Cashback on purchases starting from the very first Dirham. In addition the Card also offers customers up to 6.25% Cashback on every transaction, every time, at over 150 & growing partner outlets with no restrictions and no spend thresholds; thus creating the most powerful and value packed Cashback offering in the UAE. The partner outlets are spread across the country and include every possible category that comprises a customer's day to day spending.
The Mashreq Platinum Debit Card was re-launched as the UAE's Best Debit Card for International Travel. Mashreq's Debit Card holders can enjoy free and unlimited international ATM withdrawals and Cashback on their overseas spends. Moreover, customers can now look forward to enjoying their overseas holidays with ultimate peace of mind thanks to Travel Protect, a best-in-class travel insurance program that covers medical expenses, travel inconvenience, Purchase Protection, Wallet Protection not just for the Primary Cardmember but Supplementary Cardmembers as well and is absolutely free to all customers who make their holiday bookings with their Mashreq Platinum or Titanium Credit Cards or Mashreq Platinum Debit Cards.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Former 'Pink Palace' poised to return hotel to prominence
Renovations to the hotel, 309 10th St. W., are expected to be completed by the end of November in time for the second annual Bradenton Blues Festival. When it opens, about 50,000 guests are expected to stay at the hotel annually, offering a $2.5 million economic impact to Bradenton. The hotel now has an official name, too: Hampton Inn and Suites Bradenton Downtown Historic District.
A Syracuse, N.Y.-based company, Widewaters Group, is in the midst of transforming the aging building into an elegant hotel. Folks are clamoring to have their event booked at the hotel and have contacted Widewaters Hotel Management Co., for possible dates before a sales manager was even in place, said Brian Long, director of development for plastic card.
"Some people have contacted the hotel management company and started a dialogue about events they wanted to book there," Long said, adding that spring training dates were of interest for at least one group. "Sometime in the summer we will have a sales manager on staff and that person will be working on events and group bookings."
Widewaters received more than $1 million in incentives and $1.5 million in tax rebates from the city for the renovation of the historic hotel, and broke ground in January. Construction is at the halfway point, revealing a new look for the building as workers turn their attention to interior improvements for the next several months.
"We've seen the emphasis the city and county placed on the renovation of downtown," Long said. "One of the main reasons we're involved in this is we believe they had a vision to be successful in that and we wanted to be a part of it."
Widewaters is in the midst of getting the building on the National Register of Historic Places and is adhering to strict National Parks Service standards for the $15 million rehabilitation. That's why folks are seeing white with turquoise tiles on the building instead of the pink, which wasn't original but came in the last 40 years. Inside, the hotel's lobby, ballroom and exterior walls will be returned to their 1920s charm as well.
"A lot of the legwork started three years ago when we first got into the project," Long said. "We had an historic architect that researched the hotel and researched a lot of pictures for the interior and exterior," Long said.
Working with both the State Historic Preservation Office and the Parks Service, Widewaters received certification that the property was historic, are working within guidelines for what needs to remain and what needs to be restored, and when finished, the entities will verify that Widewaters implemented the plan in order to receive certification, Long said.
"One of the most unique amenities is that the entire first floor is being restored to its historic time period -- the lobby and the vaulted great room in the rear of the building," he said. "That is something people have expressed interest in for banquets and wedding receptions."
The area is short on hotel rooms, and this will add to the inventory for the already-busy season of events planned, including rowing events along the Riverwalk. The hotel will offer people a place to stay after a day seeing spring training at McKechnie Field, or a play in the Manatee Performing Arts Center or shopping in the Village of the Arts.
Having another downtown hotel in place with amenities nearby has led to talks with major developers from Chicago, new York and Miami about other downtown projects and restaurants, said David Gustafson, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority.
ATF Special Agent Franceska Perot said CSB was not mentioned in Thursday’s briefing “because we were listing law enforcement agencies.” The ATF spokeswoman added: “The beginning portion of this investigation is strictly to rule out law enforcement issues. So it has to be conducted like a criminal scene.”
The ATF and State Fire Marshal’s Office didn’t provide any further details on what leads they may still be pursuing. Nor did they rule out the possibility that former West paramedic Bryce Reed, charged this month on suspicion of possessing pipe bomb-making materials, was involved in the explosion.
Because the criminal investigation took priority, entry to the blast site was tightly controlled. CSB investigators were not allowed in during the final week of the investigation. “It’s been a little tricky to exercise” right of access to the plant property, CSB managing director Daniel Horowitz acknowledged. “We’ve had only limited and intermittent access since the accident.”
CSB investigators have spent their time interviewing West Fertilizer Co. employees, first responders and customers of the plant. They’ve also been inspecting damage to surrounding neighborhoods — the explosion launched debris as far as 2.5 miles — and testing chemical samples. Officials anticipate several more weeks of field work, followed by months of more analyses and public hearings.
A 2011 initiative by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration excluded plants that distributed or sold ammonium nitrate from a list of targeted inspections. OSHA, which last inspected West Fertilizer in 1985, focused instead on manufacturers.
And none of the Texas agencies that had a role in regulating plants like West Fertilizer required liability insurance to cover damage caused by a fire or explosion. Yet other types of businesses — like children’s bounce-house operators and exterminators — are required by state law to carry some form of coverage.
The explosion in West caused an estimated $100 million in damage, but the plant carried only a $1 million liability insurance policy. Several lawsuits against the company have already been filed.
In a statement released after Thursday’s press conference, the CSB said it would examine “the effectiveness of regulatory coverage” by OSHA, the EPA and the state of Texas. The agency said it would study land use planning and zoning practices for “high-hazard facilities” that allowed vulnerable population centers like schools and residential areas near such plants. It would also review the emergency response to the fire, as well as preparedness planning in West, compared to good practices elsewhere.
A Syracuse, N.Y.-based company, Widewaters Group, is in the midst of transforming the aging building into an elegant hotel. Folks are clamoring to have their event booked at the hotel and have contacted Widewaters Hotel Management Co., for possible dates before a sales manager was even in place, said Brian Long, director of development for plastic card.
"Some people have contacted the hotel management company and started a dialogue about events they wanted to book there," Long said, adding that spring training dates were of interest for at least one group. "Sometime in the summer we will have a sales manager on staff and that person will be working on events and group bookings."
Widewaters received more than $1 million in incentives and $1.5 million in tax rebates from the city for the renovation of the historic hotel, and broke ground in January. Construction is at the halfway point, revealing a new look for the building as workers turn their attention to interior improvements for the next several months.
"We've seen the emphasis the city and county placed on the renovation of downtown," Long said. "One of the main reasons we're involved in this is we believe they had a vision to be successful in that and we wanted to be a part of it."
Widewaters is in the midst of getting the building on the National Register of Historic Places and is adhering to strict National Parks Service standards for the $15 million rehabilitation. That's why folks are seeing white with turquoise tiles on the building instead of the pink, which wasn't original but came in the last 40 years. Inside, the hotel's lobby, ballroom and exterior walls will be returned to their 1920s charm as well.
"A lot of the legwork started three years ago when we first got into the project," Long said. "We had an historic architect that researched the hotel and researched a lot of pictures for the interior and exterior," Long said.
Working with both the State Historic Preservation Office and the Parks Service, Widewaters received certification that the property was historic, are working within guidelines for what needs to remain and what needs to be restored, and when finished, the entities will verify that Widewaters implemented the plan in order to receive certification, Long said.
"One of the most unique amenities is that the entire first floor is being restored to its historic time period -- the lobby and the vaulted great room in the rear of the building," he said. "That is something people have expressed interest in for banquets and wedding receptions."
The area is short on hotel rooms, and this will add to the inventory for the already-busy season of events planned, including rowing events along the Riverwalk. The hotel will offer people a place to stay after a day seeing spring training at McKechnie Field, or a play in the Manatee Performing Arts Center or shopping in the Village of the Arts.
Having another downtown hotel in place with amenities nearby has led to talks with major developers from Chicago, new York and Miami about other downtown projects and restaurants, said David Gustafson, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority.
ATF Special Agent Franceska Perot said CSB was not mentioned in Thursday’s briefing “because we were listing law enforcement agencies.” The ATF spokeswoman added: “The beginning portion of this investigation is strictly to rule out law enforcement issues. So it has to be conducted like a criminal scene.”
The ATF and State Fire Marshal’s Office didn’t provide any further details on what leads they may still be pursuing. Nor did they rule out the possibility that former West paramedic Bryce Reed, charged this month on suspicion of possessing pipe bomb-making materials, was involved in the explosion.
Because the criminal investigation took priority, entry to the blast site was tightly controlled. CSB investigators were not allowed in during the final week of the investigation. “It’s been a little tricky to exercise” right of access to the plant property, CSB managing director Daniel Horowitz acknowledged. “We’ve had only limited and intermittent access since the accident.”
CSB investigators have spent their time interviewing West Fertilizer Co. employees, first responders and customers of the plant. They’ve also been inspecting damage to surrounding neighborhoods — the explosion launched debris as far as 2.5 miles — and testing chemical samples. Officials anticipate several more weeks of field work, followed by months of more analyses and public hearings.
A 2011 initiative by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration excluded plants that distributed or sold ammonium nitrate from a list of targeted inspections. OSHA, which last inspected West Fertilizer in 1985, focused instead on manufacturers.
And none of the Texas agencies that had a role in regulating plants like West Fertilizer required liability insurance to cover damage caused by a fire or explosion. Yet other types of businesses — like children’s bounce-house operators and exterminators — are required by state law to carry some form of coverage.
The explosion in West caused an estimated $100 million in damage, but the plant carried only a $1 million liability insurance policy. Several lawsuits against the company have already been filed.
In a statement released after Thursday’s press conference, the CSB said it would examine “the effectiveness of regulatory coverage” by OSHA, the EPA and the state of Texas. The agency said it would study land use planning and zoning practices for “high-hazard facilities” that allowed vulnerable population centers like schools and residential areas near such plants. It would also review the emergency response to the fire, as well as preparedness planning in West, compared to good practices elsewhere.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The basics of chip-and-PIN credit cards
We’ve gotten a lot of questions from readers lately about chip-and-PIN credit cards, also known as EMV cards (for Europay, MasterCard and Visa, the originators of the technology). Although they’re almost universal in Europe, credit card companies have yet to widely offer them to American customers. For travelers headed around the globe, here are the basics.
A chip-and-PIN card looks pretty much like the plastic you’re used to. But it’s embedded with a special chip that contains the same information that has traditionally been contained in the magnetic strip along the top of a standard card (some cards have both). When you swipe a chip-and-PIN card, you must enter a PIN to complete your purchase, the way you do with a debit card.
Despite a Rasmussen Report which found that 88 percent of Americans think that it will be at least slightly difficult for college graduates to find a job, Blue Chip Exec has enough confidence in its ability to find the perfect job for graduates with its unique programming, that its website also promises to instill confidence and clarity on career goals for users as well. Thecompany even offers a full cash refund if the recipient does not in fact find that dream job within the 60 day time frame.
Blue Chip Exec is also contending against a brutal reality in which half of recent college graduates are either unemployed or underemployed at jobs not representative of their degrees.
Rove also suggested that Obama had played a part in the Internal Revenue Service's decision to subject small conservative groups to extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.
"He went out and denounced conservative 501(c)4 groups as enemies of democracy,” Rove said. “You can’t tell me some IRS bureaucrat in Cincinnati, Washington or California -- all of which were conducting investigations of conservative groups -- were not hardened by the president going out declaring groups they were looking at quote, 'enemies of plastic card.'”
Rove's appearance on Fox News marks his latest attempt to turn the screws on Obama and Democrats over the scandals. On Tuesday, he argued Senate Democrats were to blame for IRS targeting of conservative groups. And on Wednesday, Rove wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal declaring that news of the State Department's changed talking points on the Benghazi, Libya, terrorist attack, as well as the IRS and Justice Department scandals, would bolster Republicans and hurt Democrats -- particularly Obama.
"These three big controversies might also sap Mr. Obama's remaining strength," he wrote. "Swing voters who re-elected him in 2012 after punishing his party in 2010 clearly like the man. But evasive White House answers on Benghazi, the IRS's thuggish behavior, and the media's willingness to more aggressively challenge the White House could all undermine Mr. Obama's likability among this group."
Board of Advisor members provide strategic and technical input to PCI SSC on specific areas of Council focus. Past board members have provided reach into key industry verticals and geographies to help raise awareness and adoption of PCI Standards; have shared their experience with implementing PCI Standards in presentations at the annual Community Meetings; and have contributed guidance on training product development and led Special Interest Groups (SIGs).
"Active involvement from our Participating Organization base is critical to ensuring the PCI Standards remain at the front line for protection against threats to payment card data. Once again I am impressed by the turn out in the election process. It's particularly encouraging to see new markets looking towards open global standards like the PCI Standards to help secure payment card data worldwide," said Bob Russo, general manager, PCI Security Standards Council. "The Council and wider stakeholder community will benefit from the breadth of experiences and perspectives that this new board represents."The board will support the Council's mission to raise awareness and drive adoption of PCI Standards worldwide and will kick off its work in June with its first face-to-face meeting with Council management. "This year saw more European involvement than ever in the Board of Advisors election process. Although Europe contains mature EMV markets, this level of involvement in the PCI SSC confirms that the combination of PCI Standards and EMV chip is a powerful force for protecting payment card data," said Jeremy King, European director, PCI Security Standards Council. "Our new board is a truly global group, and the Council wNever before can there have been a time in football when retirement has been so de rigeur among the A-listers. Paul Scholes and Jamie Carragher have already called time on their own careers. Michael Owen's announcement came in March and, in case you have not heard about it, a certain someone at Manchester United takes charge of his last match on Sunday. It makes you wonder who might be next. It also means there are only two players, Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand, from that World Cup qualifier at Old Trafford in October 2001 who will be going in for the daily grind of training when pre-season starts in July. For Beckham, this must be the first time in his life when he has been following the trend rather than setting it.
Yet it does not come as a jolt. Watching him for Paris Saint-Germain recently, it was clear he still had that refined touch. He hadn't lost the knack of being able to kill the ball stone-dead. He could still see a pass, understand just the right amount of pace to put on the ball and trust himself to play it with all the old expertise. Yet it was also apparent that his mobility was no longer there. That body has clocked up a lot of miles over the years and, as his good friend Gary Neville pointed out, Beckham's success was not just about the fact he could play the ball any distance, long or short, or even the competitive courage that helped him become a serial champion at Old Trafford. It was his phenomenal work rate, the colossal distance he would cover every time he pulled on a football kit (Beckham was known to run 12km in a single match in younger years) and the general feeling that he would give everything for his team.
Sir Alex Ferguson once said he had never seen another right-footed player with the possible exception of Johnny Giles who could strike the ball so cleanly and with such wonderful accuracy. Beckham made you want to believe that right feet could be described as "educated", too. His technique from free-kicks was renowned but the harder skill for a right-sided midfielder has always been to deliver the telling cross on the run. Beckham made this his forte. He would aim for the six-yard line but with a trajectory that meant the ball would arc away from the goal. The cross would be delivered with pace, rather than floated over, making it harder for the goalkeeper to judge the flight of the ball. They were the kind of deliveries, in short, that goalkeepers detest and nobody before, or since, has put over with such distinction.ill benefit greatly from its input as we continue to drive awareness and adoption of PCI Standards worldwide."
Users of Blue Chip Exec must purchase a guaranteed membership plan as well as distribute résumés to recommended sites and people, send at least 100 outreach emails to various companies, and meet with at least 30 personal contacts in order to be refunded money in the event that the ideal job is not to be found.
A chip-and-PIN card looks pretty much like the plastic you’re used to. But it’s embedded with a special chip that contains the same information that has traditionally been contained in the magnetic strip along the top of a standard card (some cards have both). When you swipe a chip-and-PIN card, you must enter a PIN to complete your purchase, the way you do with a debit card.
Despite a Rasmussen Report which found that 88 percent of Americans think that it will be at least slightly difficult for college graduates to find a job, Blue Chip Exec has enough confidence in its ability to find the perfect job for graduates with its unique programming, that its website also promises to instill confidence and clarity on career goals for users as well. Thecompany even offers a full cash refund if the recipient does not in fact find that dream job within the 60 day time frame.
Blue Chip Exec is also contending against a brutal reality in which half of recent college graduates are either unemployed or underemployed at jobs not representative of their degrees.
Rove also suggested that Obama had played a part in the Internal Revenue Service's decision to subject small conservative groups to extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status.
"He went out and denounced conservative 501(c)4 groups as enemies of democracy,” Rove said. “You can’t tell me some IRS bureaucrat in Cincinnati, Washington or California -- all of which were conducting investigations of conservative groups -- were not hardened by the president going out declaring groups they were looking at quote, 'enemies of plastic card.'”
Rove's appearance on Fox News marks his latest attempt to turn the screws on Obama and Democrats over the scandals. On Tuesday, he argued Senate Democrats were to blame for IRS targeting of conservative groups. And on Wednesday, Rove wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal declaring that news of the State Department's changed talking points on the Benghazi, Libya, terrorist attack, as well as the IRS and Justice Department scandals, would bolster Republicans and hurt Democrats -- particularly Obama.
"These three big controversies might also sap Mr. Obama's remaining strength," he wrote. "Swing voters who re-elected him in 2012 after punishing his party in 2010 clearly like the man. But evasive White House answers on Benghazi, the IRS's thuggish behavior, and the media's willingness to more aggressively challenge the White House could all undermine Mr. Obama's likability among this group."
Board of Advisor members provide strategic and technical input to PCI SSC on specific areas of Council focus. Past board members have provided reach into key industry verticals and geographies to help raise awareness and adoption of PCI Standards; have shared their experience with implementing PCI Standards in presentations at the annual Community Meetings; and have contributed guidance on training product development and led Special Interest Groups (SIGs).
"Active involvement from our Participating Organization base is critical to ensuring the PCI Standards remain at the front line for protection against threats to payment card data. Once again I am impressed by the turn out in the election process. It's particularly encouraging to see new markets looking towards open global standards like the PCI Standards to help secure payment card data worldwide," said Bob Russo, general manager, PCI Security Standards Council. "The Council and wider stakeholder community will benefit from the breadth of experiences and perspectives that this new board represents."The board will support the Council's mission to raise awareness and drive adoption of PCI Standards worldwide and will kick off its work in June with its first face-to-face meeting with Council management. "This year saw more European involvement than ever in the Board of Advisors election process. Although Europe contains mature EMV markets, this level of involvement in the PCI SSC confirms that the combination of PCI Standards and EMV chip is a powerful force for protecting payment card data," said Jeremy King, European director, PCI Security Standards Council. "Our new board is a truly global group, and the Council wNever before can there have been a time in football when retirement has been so de rigeur among the A-listers. Paul Scholes and Jamie Carragher have already called time on their own careers. Michael Owen's announcement came in March and, in case you have not heard about it, a certain someone at Manchester United takes charge of his last match on Sunday. It makes you wonder who might be next. It also means there are only two players, Steven Gerrard and Rio Ferdinand, from that World Cup qualifier at Old Trafford in October 2001 who will be going in for the daily grind of training when pre-season starts in July. For Beckham, this must be the first time in his life when he has been following the trend rather than setting it.
Yet it does not come as a jolt. Watching him for Paris Saint-Germain recently, it was clear he still had that refined touch. He hadn't lost the knack of being able to kill the ball stone-dead. He could still see a pass, understand just the right amount of pace to put on the ball and trust himself to play it with all the old expertise. Yet it was also apparent that his mobility was no longer there. That body has clocked up a lot of miles over the years and, as his good friend Gary Neville pointed out, Beckham's success was not just about the fact he could play the ball any distance, long or short, or even the competitive courage that helped him become a serial champion at Old Trafford. It was his phenomenal work rate, the colossal distance he would cover every time he pulled on a football kit (Beckham was known to run 12km in a single match in younger years) and the general feeling that he would give everything for his team.
Sir Alex Ferguson once said he had never seen another right-footed player with the possible exception of Johnny Giles who could strike the ball so cleanly and with such wonderful accuracy. Beckham made you want to believe that right feet could be described as "educated", too. His technique from free-kicks was renowned but the harder skill for a right-sided midfielder has always been to deliver the telling cross on the run. Beckham made this his forte. He would aim for the six-yard line but with a trajectory that meant the ball would arc away from the goal. The cross would be delivered with pace, rather than floated over, making it harder for the goalkeeper to judge the flight of the ball. They were the kind of deliveries, in short, that goalkeepers detest and nobody before, or since, has put over with such distinction.ill benefit greatly from its input as we continue to drive awareness and adoption of PCI Standards worldwide."
Users of Blue Chip Exec must purchase a guaranteed membership plan as well as distribute résumés to recommended sites and people, send at least 100 outreach emails to various companies, and meet with at least 30 personal contacts in order to be refunded money in the event that the ideal job is not to be found.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Answers sought from dolphin deaths
The male bottlenose dolphin rested on his side in the sand at the end of Judan Way. A small army of volunteers and staff members from the International Fund for Animal Welfare made its way down the beach, towing a load of supplies in a cart with oversized sand tires.
The dolphin's eggplant-colored skin was smooth and firm and reflected the sunlight back into their eyes as they knelt to measure it. Some of the workers assembled a tent and set up what would become a busy lab with card tables brimming with scores of tiny tissue sample bottles, vials to hold fluids and labels of all sizes.
Tarps were spread on the sand for the bins of sharp scalpels and long fillet knives and the dozens of plastic-lined cardboard boxes that would hold large square flaps of blubber and steaks of burgundy red muscle.
This is the other side of dolphin and whale strandings, when the rescue that volunteers, passers-by and professionals hope will be successful fails. Except for the occasional beach walker or jogger, few get to see this. Those who do stop to watch don't linger, as the dolphin's skin and blubber are slowly peeled off, muscle removed and internal organs examined for telltale signals that might answer the riddle of this stranding.
As grisly as it might seem, a necropsy, the animal version of an autopsy, is fundamental to scientific research into the health of marine mammals, for answers as to why they come ashore, and to gauge the impact humans may be having on the denizens of the RFID tag.
Nearly 9 feet long, over 1,000 pounds, and nearly 7 feet in girth, it took 14 people to lift the big male bottlenose Monday evening from where he had come to rest on the flats off Crowes Pasture in Dennis. Rescuers also saved a smaller female that was swimming with the male. Both animals were deemed healthy enough to be released and were transported to Nantucket Sound and let go. Unfortunately, both died overnight and were found on Yarmouth beaches early Tuesday morning.
The necropsy on the male was performed that afternoon; the female will be examined today. Hundreds of tissue samples will be set to laboratories around the country to be tested for disease and contaminants.
Bottlenose dolphins are usually found far offshore, said IFAW assistant stranding coordinator Jane Hoppe. A yellow identifying tag was still attached to the male's dorsal fin, where it had been bolted on Monday evening along with a sophisticated satellite tag, whose twin antennae broadcast the dolphin's position when he surfaced to breathe. Part of the reason for the necropsy was to see what rescuers may have missed in deciding the male was healthy enough to be fitted with a $2,000 tag, Hoppe said.
A visual evaluation showed that life at sea wasn't easy. Many of the animal's teeth were ground down to nubs, meaning he was likely fairly old, said Hoppe. Circular lesions on the skin teemed with tiny parasites, the dorsal and flukes were all frayed, and a pectoral fin was blunted in what appeared to be an old bite wound. There was a deep, scarred-over notch, possibly caused by friction from a past entanglement, where the fluke attached to his powerful lower abdomen.
Occasionally, an unsettling gurgle, accompanied by the swampy smell of internal gases released by decomposing flesh, issued from his open mouth. A glassy eye stared up at the sky, its large pupil nearly lost in surrounding dark skin of the dolphin's heavy lids.
As a half dozen people struggled to roll the big dolphin over, the weight of 1,000 pounds pressing down on internal organs caused a gassy exhale, like a long angry growl.
The four members of the dissection team each had a backup taking notes on a clipboard as they progressed. Veteran stranding volunteer Betty Lentell removed several large teeth that would reveal his age. Meghan Hartwick, a guest investigator working at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, sliced carefully through the surprisingly thin skin, revealing the creamy white layer of blubber that girded the animal like a heavy coat. Pulling back the skin and blubber, she revealed bright strings of red muscle like corned beef and the white larvae of blubber parasites.
Hartwick was looking for distinctive bubbles of gas, part of a study on how deep-diving marine mammals deal with what we would call the bends. As Lentell removed the massive wine-colored layers of muscle in the abdomen that propelled the dolphin through the water, she explained that the dolphin had relatively small lungs and that much of the oxygen he used on forays to the ocean bottom was stored in the myoglobin contained in this tissue.
Working on just a few hours of sleep after the failed rescue the previous evening, the team members would continue for hours as sunlight faded, and a cold wind blew, always hoping that, with each tissue sample, they were building on the knowledge that might someday provide answers, including why dolphins and other marine mammals strand.
On the downside, the shiny Viewsonic looks a bit dowdy next to the spangly brushed-metal sleekness of the AOC. Somehow the pseudo-no-bezel design doesn’t work quite as well when paired with black plastic. However, the good news is that this monitor doesn’t suffer from the AOC’s craptastic default settings. Thankfully, it looks great right of the box.
As you’d expect from an IPS screen, the viewing angles are very good. OK, Samsung’s PLS panel has shown even better can be achieved regarding horizontal angles. But you’re still getting a step up from TN tech.
That quality is also evident in our test images and scales. Both white and black scales look impressive, and gradients are rendered nearly flawlessly. It’s also a little brighter and more vibrant than the supposedly similar AOC, and it quickly becomes apparent that you’re looking at a display with far fewer inherent flaws.
Is that down to panel quality or image processing? There’s a good chance they use precisely the same panel, and thus it’s odds on the latter. Whatever, if you care about image quality this Viewsonic is the obvious choice. Especially when you factor the modest cost saving. If styling and features are more of a factor, it’s a much tougher choice.
The dolphin's eggplant-colored skin was smooth and firm and reflected the sunlight back into their eyes as they knelt to measure it. Some of the workers assembled a tent and set up what would become a busy lab with card tables brimming with scores of tiny tissue sample bottles, vials to hold fluids and labels of all sizes.
Tarps were spread on the sand for the bins of sharp scalpels and long fillet knives and the dozens of plastic-lined cardboard boxes that would hold large square flaps of blubber and steaks of burgundy red muscle.
This is the other side of dolphin and whale strandings, when the rescue that volunteers, passers-by and professionals hope will be successful fails. Except for the occasional beach walker or jogger, few get to see this. Those who do stop to watch don't linger, as the dolphin's skin and blubber are slowly peeled off, muscle removed and internal organs examined for telltale signals that might answer the riddle of this stranding.
As grisly as it might seem, a necropsy, the animal version of an autopsy, is fundamental to scientific research into the health of marine mammals, for answers as to why they come ashore, and to gauge the impact humans may be having on the denizens of the RFID tag.
Nearly 9 feet long, over 1,000 pounds, and nearly 7 feet in girth, it took 14 people to lift the big male bottlenose Monday evening from where he had come to rest on the flats off Crowes Pasture in Dennis. Rescuers also saved a smaller female that was swimming with the male. Both animals were deemed healthy enough to be released and were transported to Nantucket Sound and let go. Unfortunately, both died overnight and were found on Yarmouth beaches early Tuesday morning.
The necropsy on the male was performed that afternoon; the female will be examined today. Hundreds of tissue samples will be set to laboratories around the country to be tested for disease and contaminants.
Bottlenose dolphins are usually found far offshore, said IFAW assistant stranding coordinator Jane Hoppe. A yellow identifying tag was still attached to the male's dorsal fin, where it had been bolted on Monday evening along with a sophisticated satellite tag, whose twin antennae broadcast the dolphin's position when he surfaced to breathe. Part of the reason for the necropsy was to see what rescuers may have missed in deciding the male was healthy enough to be fitted with a $2,000 tag, Hoppe said.
A visual evaluation showed that life at sea wasn't easy. Many of the animal's teeth were ground down to nubs, meaning he was likely fairly old, said Hoppe. Circular lesions on the skin teemed with tiny parasites, the dorsal and flukes were all frayed, and a pectoral fin was blunted in what appeared to be an old bite wound. There was a deep, scarred-over notch, possibly caused by friction from a past entanglement, where the fluke attached to his powerful lower abdomen.
Occasionally, an unsettling gurgle, accompanied by the swampy smell of internal gases released by decomposing flesh, issued from his open mouth. A glassy eye stared up at the sky, its large pupil nearly lost in surrounding dark skin of the dolphin's heavy lids.
As a half dozen people struggled to roll the big dolphin over, the weight of 1,000 pounds pressing down on internal organs caused a gassy exhale, like a long angry growl.
The four members of the dissection team each had a backup taking notes on a clipboard as they progressed. Veteran stranding volunteer Betty Lentell removed several large teeth that would reveal his age. Meghan Hartwick, a guest investigator working at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, sliced carefully through the surprisingly thin skin, revealing the creamy white layer of blubber that girded the animal like a heavy coat. Pulling back the skin and blubber, she revealed bright strings of red muscle like corned beef and the white larvae of blubber parasites.
Hartwick was looking for distinctive bubbles of gas, part of a study on how deep-diving marine mammals deal with what we would call the bends. As Lentell removed the massive wine-colored layers of muscle in the abdomen that propelled the dolphin through the water, she explained that the dolphin had relatively small lungs and that much of the oxygen he used on forays to the ocean bottom was stored in the myoglobin contained in this tissue.
Working on just a few hours of sleep after the failed rescue the previous evening, the team members would continue for hours as sunlight faded, and a cold wind blew, always hoping that, with each tissue sample, they were building on the knowledge that might someday provide answers, including why dolphins and other marine mammals strand.
On the downside, the shiny Viewsonic looks a bit dowdy next to the spangly brushed-metal sleekness of the AOC. Somehow the pseudo-no-bezel design doesn’t work quite as well when paired with black plastic. However, the good news is that this monitor doesn’t suffer from the AOC’s craptastic default settings. Thankfully, it looks great right of the box.
As you’d expect from an IPS screen, the viewing angles are very good. OK, Samsung’s PLS panel has shown even better can be achieved regarding horizontal angles. But you’re still getting a step up from TN tech.
That quality is also evident in our test images and scales. Both white and black scales look impressive, and gradients are rendered nearly flawlessly. It’s also a little brighter and more vibrant than the supposedly similar AOC, and it quickly becomes apparent that you’re looking at a display with far fewer inherent flaws.
Is that down to panel quality or image processing? There’s a good chance they use precisely the same panel, and thus it’s odds on the latter. Whatever, if you care about image quality this Viewsonic is the obvious choice. Especially when you factor the modest cost saving. If styling and features are more of a factor, it’s a much tougher choice.
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