I don’t know who saw more zombies, us playing L4D2, or Grymm and Zoso who were sellin’ everything that wasn’t nailed down at Best Buy. The only difference is, we got to shoot our zombies.  They had to serve them politely.   Job well done, Gentlemen!   You are bigger men than me.  No wait.  I take that back.

It ended up being another Saturday (for us in Japan) devoted almost entirely to L4D2 madness, though we actually only got to play one “Movie” with a full room.  It was Dark Carnival that we shot and it was spectacular. I can’t even begin to recall the various awards won; there were great plays spread liberally throughout the whole show.  Everyone is getting a better feel for the S.I., and everyone is getting to know the maps better. Survivors made it to the safe house on several occassions, though very rarely did they all make it.  There were some brilliant 10-feet-out-the-door slams, as well.

I am sitting here, fully aware that there were some incredible moves, saves, revives, resurrections and yet I can hardly remember any of them.  My mind is mush.  Oh yes, I remember now.  Here is one short story. We were on the stage, setting off fireworks to call the helicopter, rockin’ out to the Midnight Riders and after a tremendous beating, I kicked the bucket.  Dead.  Spirit floating above flesh.  Then, Kenai grabs the paddles and brings me back to life – just at the time when rED gets hit by a Charger.  Johann was already incapped off to the left, near the semi-trailer.  In the process of resuscitating me, Kenai himself gets incapped.  I see him basically lying right in the spot I just rose from.  I stagger to life, only to realize, “Oh yeah, when I died, I dropped my gun!”  I look down and see my SCAR lying on the pavement.  I pick it up, ready to drop that Charger pummeling rED to oblivion and… my clip is empty.  You can’t make this shit up!  By the time I reload, the fat lady who just got back from Black Friday Walmart, opens her mouth to sing.  It was all over.  We all died.  Nothin’ left but the cryin’.

Great night!  Give us your tales, and don’t be shy about claiming awards.  They can be edited in with just a couple of clicks.  (I am just to mind melted to recall any of them.)  Cheers!

(Image from Jadewolffire at Deviant Art)

Update:  After I posted this, WordPress offered links to “related” stories.  There was a death yesterday.  People, this consumerism has gotten completely out of hand.  It is NUTS!

You’ve been home from the hospital for 3 days and are adjusting to life with a new baby. You’re probably dealing with all of the wonderful new things that come along with being a parent: Crying, breastfeeding issues, sleepless nights, counting wet diapers and of course worried about every little thing. You’ve already had your first trip to the pediatrician and everything looks great. In fact, everything seems fine when all of a sudden you get a phone call.

“This is the Hackensack University Hospital Genetics Department. Your baby’s genetic screening came back as a positive for a possible Organic Acidemia. We need to schedule you to bring your baby in for a blood test to confirm as soon as possible.” Genetic test? Organic what? As soon as possible?  Next, or possibly before, you get a call from your pediatrician, whom you probably just met, who tries to explain what your baby has just tested positive for. Your mind is racing and if you comprehend 10% of what is being thrown at you than you are ahead of the game. You hang up the phone, still in a daze, trying to get a handle on things, now looking at the crying baby in your arms with a whole new set of worries.

I am not a geneticist, or a doctor, and of course needed more information. So who did I turn to? Who else but Dr. Google. A quick search of “Organic Acidemia” returned some of the most horrific things you’ve ever heard of. The highlights include: very rare disorders that affect a very small percentage of babies, organic deficiencies that can lead to severe physical and mental development problems and the coup de gras: Your baby may look totally fine but could be dead within a few days. Fun stuff, huh?

If you just got one of these phone calls, or know someone who has, here are some things to be aware of.

-The false positive rates for these screener tests are pretty high. In New Jersey, where we live, they test for around 30 different genetic abnormalities. A drop of blood and urine sample are taken from your baby right before they discharge you. In New Jersey they test around 110,000 babies each year, of those, roughly 3% come back as positive for one of these genetic disorders. Only about 10% of those that test as a possible positive will end up having the disorder. Let me repeat that, 90% of the time this is a false positive. These false positive rates are for New Jersey and an aggregate from all of the genetic tests they conduct, so please check with your own state for the abnormality your baby tested positive for to get the accurate false positive rates. The point is not to get too crazy before anything is confirmed.

-Each enzyme deficiency has a very specific set of symptoms to look out for as well as a very specific prognosis. Whether it’s an Organic Acidemia or a Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorder, make sure you find out exactly what your baby screened positive for. Some of these are PKU, SCAD, Maple Syrup Urine Disease and about 10,000 others. Some are very severe while some are relatively minor. The biggest problem here is that most of these symptoms are something that all babies have: lethargy, discolored stool/urine, and lack of hunger. So try not to go too nuts, just keep doing what you are doing.

-These conditions are all pretty rare. So there is very little information out there and what is out there is mostly made up of horror stories on support sites. STAY OFF THESE SITES UNTIL YOU HAVE THE CONFIRMATION TEST. Use only sites like www.aap.org, www.webmd.com, hospital websites, or medical journals like the New England Journal of Medicine. All other information, including the information provided here, should be used for information purposes only and not considered fact until confirmed by a pediatrician or pediatric geneticist.

All in all genetic testing is a very good thing. It catches things that if caught early enough can be treated or managed. While it does cause a lot of stress and worry for people who will end up being negative( 90% in fact) the ends justify the means. If you are one of the unlucky parents who have to go through this I hope this helps and you end up being, as we were, one of the many false positives. If your baby is confirmed to have one of these disorders: be thankful that testing was done, it was caught early and know that there is hope.

Some Useful Web Resources:

List of Genetic Conditions

http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/BrowseConditions

About Newborn Screening

http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;118/3/1304

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/genetics-newborn-screening

Been waiting for Blankman or Suns to post a recap of last nights FOD – Left 4 Dead style…

Getting ready now for a reprisal of last nights hilarity.  Meaning, putting two of my kids to bed in about 15 minutes.  Letting Seth stay up for another hour, then…..   More L4D2 Goodness tonight.

I must say that there is something in this game that has hooked me in such a different way than the first.

I just Love it!     I am still the weak link in the Chain, but I find in this game more opportunities for redemption.   This is a game where everyone is the hero at times.   Goat at others.

I feel in this game there is more options, more control.   I can melee now in the way that I can relate.  A Bat.  A Sword.   Nice.    Adrenaline.   What a gift.     Looking forward to mastering its usefulness.

Now for the Recap.    I don’t have time to spend on this right now.   But here were a couple of the Many favorite moments from last night.

1)   Jockeying Blankman to his Death.   I wish that we were in party chat so I could hear him screaming.  lol.      The best part was at the break, he and I were laughing about it.    When the next round started, he promptly rode the Kenai all over town.    Bwahahaha!

2)   Suns, Nate, Grymm and I were Versus some other team.  They were pretty good, but we were leading.  Barely.   They were getting close to the point where we had died earlier as the Stranded.   We were getting nervous…   Then, I got that beautiful message that pops on your screen when you least expect….   “You will become the Tank”.   Yes!!!

I promptly hunted them down and destroyed all four of them.     Oh what a Feeling!!

Before I knew it, 3:30 am showed on the clock on the wall…..

Tell me more…   What happened?  Did Zoso show up?!    How did Timothy do filling in when I left?

Are we playing tonight?!!!!!

UPDATE: Click for The Awards!

The Al Capone Award – For being an Untouchable Special Infected and having your run end, not because you were killed, but because the clock ran out or there were no survivors left! (tax evasion! lol)

To rED:  For his single-life, full-round  Spitter run, incapping all four survivors, and only getting stopped for the lame-ass excuse that everyone was dead.

The Uma Thurman Award – Best Spitter of the night.

To rED: For the Spitter run accoladed above.

The Milli Vanilli Award (Blame It On The Rain) – As a Spitter, coat all four Survivors twice.

To rED: What can he say? It was one of those triple achievement moments!

The DUI Award – Jockey someone to their death, or the death of their teammates.

To Kenai and Blankman: For ridin’ (each other) like it was the Kentucky Derby!

The “Twinkle Toes” Award – As a Charger, run someone off a roof or cliff or into water, or knock all four flying, for spectacular effect and result.

To rED, Grymm, and Zoso: rED and Grymm off roofs in Dark Carnival, and Zoso’s, “Who said you could come out yet?” safe house slam in Hard Rain.

Many other awards, including a few Dumb Ass awards, were earned, but memory and time fail us.  Another great Festival of Death!

This doesn't even begin to describe what happens in those fields.

or Every Time Is Like The First Time

Played some more L4D2 tonight – didn’t even start until after midnight, PST. I swear, I don’t know how y’all do it? Cyborgs. I play with cyborgs whose bio-fuel is chocolate and “monster” drinks.

Thanks, Blank and Zos (and rED for party chattin’ – good luck on your exams!) rED reminds me of one of my best friends in University. He would often unwrap his course textbook the night before the exam, read through it for the first time, and then get the top grade in his business class. He went from Edmonton, Alberta, to consulting for the Mayor of New York city. Seriously, I don’t even know who the current mayor there is, but last time my buddy replied to an e-mail, about 8 months ago, he was counseling the dude, or dude-ette, as the case may be.

L4D2. There were a bunch of great memories created as we trudged through the swamps, fought the hurricane winds and pelting rain, and zig-zagged our way through the parish streets.

We discovered Witch Alley in Hard Rain. Literally, every time we turned a corner, there was a witch. The Take-One-For-The-Team strategy, rousing the witch, killing her, and then reviving the incapacitated survivor, even on easy difficulty, would have spelt certain disaster for us. There simply were not enough health packs to match the number of witches. Personally, I thought it was very cool.

We passed through a corn field in Hard Rain that made the corn field in Blood Harvest look like a putting green at Pebble Beach.

One judgment call cost Zos and I an almost certain entrance to the safe house on Parish. We were on the bridge, apparently going where no Stranded had gone before, and while Zoso chose to climb the tanker and run on top of it, I chose to run to the left of it. After running the full length of not one, but two 18-wheelers, I came to a dead end. It quickly became evident that I would have to run all the way back to the ladder that Zos used. At the same time all this was happening, a Tank was running around on the bridge, tossing cars like marbles, and getting ever closer (we had actually already given him the slip and were home free – except now I had to backtrack and close the gap between us). I had adrenaline. I died still holding my adrenaline.

Tonight’s Lesson In Love is If in doubt, use clout to prevent gout.

::wanders off to bed, wondering if clout would be a cool nickname for A-dre-na-line::

Peace.

Blankman gettin' that achievement.

My copies, all three of them, have arrived at Narita, cleared customs, and are on their way to my Little House on the Rice Paddies.  I should be playing within 26 hours from now.

Zos and Blank had a couple of minutes to hop on Skype and tell me some initial impressions.  They used words like lame, contrived, stupid, L4D1.5, and “I shoulda boycotted“.   Just kidding.

“GOTY” was tossed around with glee and sincerity, and this just a week after the release of MW2.  Apparently, it doesn’t disappoint, and in the words of Zoso, “No one makes it to the safe house!”  BABY!  So, whoever got to play tonight, give us at least one sentence about what you think, or better yet, a whole story of one of the best memories of the night.  Because as RPS puts it, it is all about creating narratives with friends.

P.S. Here is the list for free avatar awards.

MW224/7

I started an MW2 FOD Awards page. It is kind of difficult to come up with awards when you haven’t even played the game. Please keep that in mind when you read my short list of lame-ass accolades. Add your own in the comments, and then later we can edit them into the main post.

I heard that Average got a 38 kill streak yesterday. Ummm… apparently, once unlocked, the tactical nuke is awarded at 25 kills, so… yeah, I can’t wait to play on Average’s team. Tell you what, Kyle, combine your kills with my deaths and we should come out just even with a 1.0 k/d ratio. LMAO

(Special favor: Zoso, at your convenience, would you mind working your magic and creating a Festival of Death logo/image for us? Thanks!)

Archives of Internal Medicine  May 12, 2003  V.163  N.9  p.1033-1041

The Challenge Continues

Steven Vanderschueren, MD, PhD; Daniël Knockaert, MD, PhD; Tom Adriaenssens, MD; Wim Demey, MD; Anne Durnez, MD; Daniël Blockmans, MD, PhD; Herman Bobbaers, MD, PhD

From the Department of Internal Medicine, Unit of General Internal Medicine, University Hospital Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. The authors have no relevant financial interest in this article.

Background Epidemiological changes and the ongoing expansion of the diagnostic armamentarium warrant a regular update of the spectrum of diseases that present as prolonged febrile illnesses.

Methods We prospectively collected a series of 290 immunocompetent patients referred to our university hospital between 1990 and 1999 with a febrile illness (temperature >38.3°C) of uncertain cause, lasting at least 3 weeks. Patients were categorized in 4 groups according to the timing of diagnosis: early diagnosis (within 3 in-hospital days or 3 outpatient visits), intermediate diagnosis (between days 4 and 7), late diagnosis (after day 7), and no diagnosis during index contact or follow-up.

Results A final diagnosis was established early in 67 patients (23.1%), intermediate in 38 (13.1%), and late in 87 (30.0%). In the remaining 98 (33.8%), no diagnosis was made. The cause of the fever remained obscure in 50 (47.6%) of 105 patients with episodic fever vs 48 (25.9%) of 185 patients with continuous fever (P<.001). Among the 192 patients with a final diagnosis, noninfectious inflammatory diseases represented the most prevalent diagnostic category (35.4%), surpassing infections (29.7%), miscellaneous causes (19.8%), and malignancies (15.1%). Fourteen disorders accounted for over 59% of diagnoses, whether diagnosis was reached early, intermediate, or late. Hematological malignancies made up 11.5% of diagnoses, but were responsible for 14 (58.3%) of the 24 fatalities related to the febrile illness. Of the 80 patients discharged alive without diagnosis and for whom follow-up was available, 3 died, but the deaths were considered to be unrelated to the feverish illness.

Conclusions Prolonged febrile illnesses remain a diagnostic challenge. Despite the technological progress of the late 20th century, the origin of the fever remains elusive in many patients, especially in those with episodic fevers. Noninfectious inflammatory diseases emerge as the most prevalent diagnostic category.

abstract

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/163/9/1033

PDF

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/163/9/1033

Archives of Internal Medicine  Mar 19, 2003  V.163  N.5  p.545-551

Ophyr Mourad, MD, FRCPC; Valerie Palda, MD, MSc; Allan S. Detsky, MD, PhD

From the Departments of Medicine (Drs Mourad, Palda, and Detsky) and Health Policy Management and Evaluation (Drs Palda and Detsky), University of Toronto; and the Division of General Internal Medicine, St Michael’s Hospital (Drs Mourad and Palda) and Mt Sinai Hospital and University Health Network (Dr Detsky), Toronto, Ontario.

Background Fever of unknown origin (FUO) is defined as a temperature higher than 38.3°C on several occasions and lasting longer than 3 weeks, with a diagnosis that remains uncertain after 1 week of investigation.

Methods A systematic review was performed to develop evidence-based recommendations for the diagnostic workup of FUO. MEDLINE database was searched (January 1966 to December 2000) to identify articles related to FUO. Articles were included if the patient population met the criteria for FUO and they addressed the natural history, prognosis, or spectrum of disease or evaluated a diagnostic test in FUO. The quality of retrieved articles was rated as “good,” “fair,” or “poor,” and sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic yield of tests were calculated. Recommendations were made in accordance with the strength of evidence.

Results The prevalence of FUO in hospitalized patients is reported to be 2.9%. Eleven studies indicate that the spectrum of disease includes “no diagnosis” (19%), infections (28%), inflammatory diseases (21%), and malignancies (17%). Deep vein thrombosis (3%) and temporal arteritis in the elderly (16%-17%) were important considerations. Four good natural history studies indicate that most patients with undiagnosed FUO recover spontaneously (51%-100%). One fair-quality study suggested a high specificity (99%) for the diagnosis of endocarditis in FUO by applying the Duke criteria. One fair-quality study showed that computed tomographic scanning of the abdomen had a diagnostic yield of 19%. Ten studies of nuclear imaging revealed that technetium was the most promising isotope, showing a high specificity (94%), albeit low sensitivity (40%-75%) (2 fair-quality studies). Two fair-quality studies showed liver biopsy to have a high diagnostic yield (14%-17%), but with risk of harm (0.009%-0.12% death). Empiric bone marrow cultures showed a low diagnostic yield of 0% to 2% (2 fair-quality articles).

Conclusions Diagnosis of FUO may be assisted by the Duke criteria for endocarditis, computed tomographic scan of the abdomen, nuclear scanning with a technetium-based isotope, and liver biopsy (fair to good evidence). Routine bone marrow cultures are not recommended.

abstract

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/163/5/545

PDF

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/163/5/545

Clinical Infectious Diseases  May 1998  V.26  N.5  p.1042–1059

Naomi P. O’Grady Philip S. Barie John G. Bartlett Thomas Bleck Glenda Garvey Judith Jacobi Peter Linden

Dennis G. Maki Myung Nam William Pasculle Michael D. Pasquale Debra L. Tribett Henry Masur

From the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, and the Johns Hopkins Hospital and St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland; the New York Hospital, and the Columbia‐Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, New York; the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, and Infectious Disease Physicians, Inc., Annandale, Virginia; the Methodist Hospital of Indiana, Indianapolis, Indiana; and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, and the Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, Pennsylvania

These practice guidelines have been developed by a Task Force of the Society of Critical Care Medicine in collaboration with the IDSA and are part of a series of updated and new guidelines from the IDSA that will appear in CID.

PDF

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/520308

Great gaming, guys! It was another intense and exhilarating Festival of Death.

I have discovered something about Valve games. Not only do they have cliff-wall like initial learning “curves”, which once scaled, open a whole new world of gaming, but they continue to provide the “climber” with new challenges. The boys used to play TF2 all weekend, every weekend, and on Sunday night, there would be a debriefing time on Dad’s bed, where with great excitement and animation, stories would be told of a new technique learned and mastered. “Dad, this week I learned how to play the Soldier! I can rocket jump anywhere now!”, or “Dad, the Spy is my new favorite class. I got three backstabs in a row – just like rED!” (at which point, each backstab would be described in great detail).

So it is with L4D. The current favorite class is, of all things, the Hunter. You have to remember, this is the class that was despised almost universally. “WTF, the Hunter again?!” How many times have you heard that? Well, over the past two weeks, Zos, rED, and Grymm have taken us all on a journey so very high, where the air is thin, and the shelter scarce: where you look up to jump down, and where your leap always ends with a thud, CRUNCH.

There is hardly a round now in which the maxed pounce isn’t earned by someone. “The Hunter is now my new favorite Infected!” I heard this from more than one person last night, and in hindsight, I am surprised I didn’t check to see if it was Sunday night with me sitting on my bed. lol

So, without further ado, I give you the FOD Awards:

The Free Bird Award – Soar and get a 25 point damage pounce as a hunter.

To Grymm, for not one but two 25 point pounces on the same group, in the same location, before they could even move to get away. Runners up, include almost everyone else.

The Sherman Tank Award – The most memorable Tank.

To Tim on Blood Harvest, for incapacitating all four dumbasses in just one or two tree trunk melees. Actually, I had a Tank that was pretty memorable too, in a bad kind of way. I swear, I was in the other room when the Molotov was thrown, and it was 3 green silhouettes that I saw in front of me, not two! I have no idea how that guy warped behind me to fill me with buckshot! LOL

And that is it. We need to develop those awards a bit more.

Well, we could create a Dumbass award. My team earned it at least twice as we ran inside when the Tank music started. Again, at least twice I found myself lying beside my three, soon-to-be-dead partners in a tiny room, while a Tank was thumping his chest in great victory. You can’t make that shit up! Sure, we can laugh about it now, but at the time, it was so excruciating, Zoso had to abandon ship. Next movie, Zos was stickin’ with rED and Grymm. He needed to purge the experience from his memory. LMAO! Just remember, Zos, you were in those rooms with us.

Hey, there were rumors last night that there might be another Festival tonight! Let’s keep each other posted if our plans change, otherwise same time, same place? (Tim and Johann won’t be able to make it. They will have company this afternoon.)

So, the weekend is finally upon us! Tonight’s Festival of Death begins as soon as we can gather for some L4D(2), which seems to be the unanimous favorite flavor of the moment.

Apparently, both Zoso and Kenny’s wife, Sherri, are turning 25 or something , this weekend! For the purpose of celebration with loved ones, Zoso and Blankman are excused from participation, though secretly, their possible “surprise” appearance is hotly anticipated.

Happy Birthday to both Adam and Sherri! May you have a wonderful year!

(Johann, Timothy, and I got a sneak peek at the fun that awaits us, a taste of the cake as it were, when we went for a very late night FOD double feature with Zoso yesterday. No Mercy and Dead Air were on deck: perfect perches, 25 point pounces, scythe like smokers, deadly Tanks, and maniacal laughter were in great abundance as the only round we “lost”, was when we went pistols only! Yep, L4D tonight, baby! Be there or be square. )

Whether you’re North or South this week, there’s lots of fun to be had.  In San Francisco, on W 10/28 the Digital Media Conference West is at the Hotel Kabuki (1625 Post) and on Th-F 10/29-30 the Virtual Goods Summit is at the Westin (50 3rd/Market).  In LA, on Tu-W 10/27-28 Jeff Pulver’s 140 Characters Conference is at the Kodak Theatre, on Th-F 10/29-30 the Billboard Film & TV Music Conference at the Beverly Hilton, and on F 10/30 OMMA Video is at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza.  CTAM is already in full swing in Colorado. Here are the guides:

SAN FRANCISCO

W 10/28, #DMCW, Digital Media Conference West
9, Top Digital Media Trends
9:30, Jay Adelson, Digg/Revision3
10, Break
10:30, Curt Mavis, Lionsgate, Scott Brown, Cisco…
11:20, Madeline Herdrich, Paramount, Allen Duan, MTV, Kate Connally, AddictingGames, Rani Choen, TuneWiki, Tim Chang, NVP, Ted Cohen…
12:15, Jason David, Disney.com
12:45, Craig Newmark, Craigslist
1:45, Adeo Ressi, TheFunded.com
2:15, Kevin Yen, YouTube, Anthony Soohoo, CBS Interactive/TV.com, Mitch Galbraith, FOD, Joy Marcus, DM, Liz Gannes, NewTeeVee, Stephen Condon, ATT…Kuk Yi, Best Buy Capital, Chris Petrovic, GameStop Digital Ventures, Jeremy Liew, Lightspeed, Charles Hudson, Serious Business…
4:15, Tom DeLuca, Warner Home Video, Martin Green, Meebo, Rob Griffin, Havas, Jim Louderback, Revision3…Gannon Hall, Kyte, Andrew Lacy, Tapulous, Bryan Perez, NBA Digital, Are Traasdahl, ThumbplayJoe Jasin, DNA Investments, former SK Telecom..Elizabeth Churchill, Yahoo! Research, Allen Guo, Yobo, Mary Hodder, Dabble, Michael Trigg, hi5…
5, Cocktails

Th 10/29, #VGS09, Virtual Goods Summit
10, Amy Jo Kim, Shufflebrain
10:25, Brian Balfour, Viximo
10:50, Jinen Kamdar, Ning
11:15, Vikas Jambool/Social Gold
11:45, Lunch
1:15, David Jesse, Gaia Online
1:40, Jameson Hsu, Mochi Media
2:05, Cary Rosenzweig, IMVU
2:30, Bill Grosso, Live Gamer
2:55, Break
3:20, Melinda Byerley, Linden Lab
3:45, Fernando Paiz, Turbine (DDO Online)
4:10, Lex Bayer, Spare Change, Adam Caplan, Super Rewards, Ron Hirson, BOKU, Will O’Brien, TrialPay, Roger Wood, ORCA
5, Siqi Chen, Serious Business
5:30, Cocktails

F 10/30, #VGS09, Virtual Goods Summit
9:30, Charles Hudson, Serious Business, Tim Chang, NVP
9:45, Justin Smith, Inside Social Games
10:15, Benjamin Joffe, +8* (Plus Eight Star)
10:45, David Wallerstein, Tencent…
11:30, Geoff Cook, MyYearbook, Jon Earner, Playfish, Steve Meretzky, Playdom, Keith Rabois, Slide, Andrew AT Trader, Tim Chang, NVP
12:30, Lunch
2, Zhan Ye, Gamevision/Giant
2:30, Philip Yun, mig33…
3:15, John Smedley, Sony Online Entertainment
3:45, Break
4:15, Bigpoint, Outspark, WildPockets, IGG…
5, PayPal, Incomm, Zong, Offerpal…
6, Offerpal Afterparty at Harlot (46 Minna)

LOS ANGELES

Tu 10/27, 140 Characters Conference
8:45, Jeff Pulver, @jeffpulver, Jeffrey Hayzlett, CMO, Kodak, @jeffreyhayzlett
9, Cyndi Stivers, EW.com
9:10, @davewiner, Author, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Fail Whale
9:20, Investing in REal-Time:  Ron Conway, @bijan, @howardlindzon, @scobleizer
9:40, @jeffreyhayzlett
10, @porterVA, Virgin America
10:10, @davidsaranga
10:20, Aaron Bleyaert, Tonight Show blogger, @bigbley
10:30, @timkring, Heroes
10:50, Break
11:05, @ariannahuff…
11:55,@insightfultoo
12, @sarah_ross, Katalyst Media, @sadaoturner, Ryan Seacrest fantweets..
12:20, @scottporad
12:30, Break
1:30, @jackgraycnn, AC360 producer, @jane_bickingham…
1:45, Google Wave
2, @billybush, Access Hollywood
2:10, Public Policy & The Law
2:25, @twittermoms, @masters212
2:35, Jeremy Welt, WB Records, @jblogg, Ted Cohen, TAG Strategic..
2:55, @jeffreypollack, World Series of Poker…
3:25, @stoweboyd
3:35, @jacobsoboroff, AMC News, @maegancarberry, HuffPo, @tedstew, Variety…
3:45, @hardlynormal
4:05, Police Chiefs That Tweet
4:25, Break
4:55, @wmmarc
5:05, @kevinpollak
5:25, @dougbenson, @mattbraunger, @robnuebel, @nerdlist
5:40, Fitting 140 characters into your life stream
7:30, After-Party

W 10/28, 140 Characters Conference
8, Education/Health
8:50, News:  @alexiatsotsis, @latimesnystrom, @ksablan, @mmilian, @richardrushfield
9:10, @odednoy, xen
9:20, @pr_couture, Red Door Interactive..
9:35, @hankwasiak
9:45, @slackmistress
9:55, @maheshmurthy
10:05, Authors: @markvhansen…
10:20, Brands:  @pacsun, @wlosangeles, @kogibbq, @kazkang
10:50, @cc_chapman
11, Break
11:15, 12 Seconds TV, @thesolster
11:25, @scobleizer, @wingdude
11:50, @drew
11:50, Photography
12:10, China
12:30, Break
1:30, @bing
1:35, @samgo, MSNBCi Twitter Team
1:40, @sass
1:45, Small Business Trends
2:10, Sports Brand Identity @kathleenhessert, @rking, @tomjolly
2:50, @jessicagottlieb, monetizing moms
3, Twitter for Rockstars @ashleypoole1, @dngrsdame, @actordougjones, @melissaschuman
3:15, Fans, followers, freinds
3:25, Luxury Brands
3:35, Mike Jones
3:50, Lifestreaming
4:05, @loic
4:15, @adventuregirl…
4:25, Publishing
4:45, @tomandrus
4:55, Musical performance @royzuarets
5:05, @fredfraver
5:30, @benparr

Th 10/29, Billboard Film & TV Music
8, Breakfast
9, Billboard Welcome
9:15, Music Supervisors:  Thomas Golubic, Breaking Bad, Richard Glasser, Crash, Frankie Pine, Brothers & Sisters…
10, Twilight Soundtrack:  Livia Tortella, Atlantic Records, Pual Katz, Summit Entertainment..
11, TV As The New Radio:  Peter DiCecco, Disney-ABC, Kate Juergens, ABC Family, Dawn Soler, ABC Entertainment, Frank Valenti, OLTL, Steven Vincent, Disney-ABC
12, Chris Wenitz & Alexandre Desplat, Twilight
1, Lunch Break
2, Ron Broitman, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Joe Mondry, Cherry Lane, Linda Newmark, UMPG, Randy Wachtler, PMA
3, Breaking into the Business: Ali Dee & Lamont Dozier, Songwriters..
4, Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat & Erran Baron Cohen, Composer
4:45, Music Supervisor Face Time:
Patrick Arn, President, Gotham Records
Brian Black, Music Supervisor/Soundtrack Producer, Zoophoria Music
Mike Boris, Executive Music Producer, McCann Erickson 
Rudy Chung, Music Supervisor
Mason Cooper, Music Supervisor
(Bonny Dolan, Executive Producer & Artist Liaison
Didier C. Deutsch, Record Producer, Sony/Legacy
Arlene Fishbach, Music Supervisor
Janet Fisher, Music Supervisor
Paul Glass, Supervising Music Director, “One Life To Live”
Richard Glasser, Exec in Charge of Music, Music Supervisor 
Rich Goldman, CEO, RipTide Music
Joel Goodman, Composer 
Kat Green, CEO, Bad Ass Music & Hella Good Records 
Keatly Haldeman, CEO,  pigFactory Music
Colin Kelly, Director, A&R, Gotham Records
Beth Krakower, CineMedia Promotions
Chris Langrill, Manager of A&R/Music Supervision, Man Made Music
Glenn Litwak, Partner, Litwak & Havkin
Teri Nelson Carpenter, President, Reel Muzik Werks, LLC(
Jeannette Perez, Sr. Director Soundtracks, Film & TV, RCA/Jive
David Polemeni, VP, Head of Film & Television, S1 Songs America
David G. Powell, Music Supervisor, The Music Bridge LLC
Davis Powers, VP of Music Programming, Current TV
Jen Pyken, Music Supervisor, Lucky Duck Music
Andrew D. Robbins, Director, Film/TV Music, MusicBox, LLC
Christian Salyer, CEO, Blazed Out Music
Joe Solo, Composer, Producer, Songwriter, Joe Solo Productions, Inc.
Jeremy Sweet, Music Supervisor, Smashtrax Music
Jonathan Weiss, Music Supervisor
Michael Welsh, Music Supervisor and Rights Clearance Specialist
Angela Rose White, Founder/President, DaBet Music Services
Josh Zieman, President US Operations, Dramatico
5:30, Roundtables – How to Pitch Getting Your Music Placed in Film & TV, Master and Synch Rights, Getting Music Placed in Commercials, Licensing Music, Making Music Documentaries,  Maxxing a Sync:  Gaining Exposure in Film & TV, Creating Music for Brands and TV, Building the Right Relationship for Film & TV Placement
8-1, HunnyPot Afterparty, 6801 Hollywood Blvd, 4th Floor

F 10/30, Billboard Film & TV Music
9, Breakfast
9:30, Fame:  The Anatomy of a Film Score – Fame
10:30, Anatomy of a TV Show – Glee
PJ Bloom, Music Supervisor
Adam Anders, Music Producer, “Glee”
Glen Brunman, Soundtrack Consultant, Columbia Records
Geoff Bywater, Head of Music, 20th Century Fox Television
Ward Hake, VP of Music, Fox Television
Lea Michele, Grammy Award Winner
11:30, Music for Commercials
12:30, Music from HBO’s True Blood
1:15, Break
2:30, Mary J Blige
3:15, Music of Battlestrar Galactica
4, Video Game Music
5, Transitioning from Music Supervision to Producing
As fees for music supervisors are dropping and competition is getting tighter, supervisors’ expertise on music-oriented films and TV shows are still in demand. Hear from several music supervisors who have made the transition into producing for TV and film about what it takes to make the switch — and why the skill sets needed for both jobs dovetail.
6-7, Poolside Cocktails

F 10/30, OMMA Video
9, Opening Remarks
9:15, Fuse Capital
9:45, Digitas, IPG..
10:30, Hulu-TV Killer or Killer App?
11, Break
11:15, Greg Colvin, Fox, Karin Gilford, Fancast, Anthony Soohoo, CBS Interactive, Charley Shoemaker, Nielsen…
12, Break, TubeMogul…
1, Lunch:  Ooyala, Auditude…
1:45, Keynote:  Illeana Douglas & Dominik Rausch, Easy to Assemble, Rob Barnett, My Damn Channel, Douglas Sarine, Beatbox Giant Productions
2:30, Video Metrics
3:15, Break
3:30, Leveraging Interactivity: Hayden Black, Evil Global Corp….
4:15, EQAL, Generate, Revision3, Alloy, Zenithmedia…

We have been working on JohnLehndorff.com my brother’s new website . This is an early version of his home page and his blog called Nibbles here on wordpress. John was the restaurant critic for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver until it closed and the food editor for the Boulder Daily Camera before that. Now he is writing about food and dining as well as his love for acoustic music. Food and music have always gone together well.

August 11, 2009

Autor: Biznis

Na prodaju su ponuđene zalihe materijala i rezervnih delova u magacinima FOD-a, a kupci robe ponude treba da dostave do 26. avgusta, za kada je predviđeno i njihovo otvaranje.

Predsednik Samostalnog sindikata metalaca za borski region Zvonko Živaljević, koji je i zaposlen u toj fabrici, rekao je da je ova odluka, kao i prethodna najava otpuštanja 130 radnika, uznemirila zaposlene u tom preduzeću.

- Očigledno je da im je namera da otpuste radnike i rasprodaju ono što su zatekli. Rasprodaje se sve što stoji na zalihama, od repromaterijala do gotovih proizvoda. To je siguran znak da FOD do kraja sledeće godine neće da postoji – ocenio je Živaljević.

Prema njegovim rečima, od 761 radnika u FOD-u ostaje 378, a tek je drugi socijalni program realizovan.

Živaljević ističe da je “Atek” odmah nakon kupovine, u prvoj godini nadoknadio svoju investiciju, jer je nakon ulaska u firmu zatekao zalihe robe, gvožđa, lak žice… On dodaje da je sa radnicima pokušao da preduzme neke mere i da su zahtevali raskidanje ugovora, ali je na kraju ostao uskraćen za njihovu podršku jer su se uplašili da ne dobiju otkaze.

Živaljević, koji je i sam radnik FOD-a, kaže da je dao ostavku na funkciju u sindikatu, kao i da je odlučio da ode iz firme kao tehnološki višak, jer su mu za ocuvanje fabrike “vezane ruke”.

- Obećavali su nova radna mesta, ulaganja, povećanje proizvodnje, ništa se od toga nije dogodilo. Izgubili smo i posao sa RTB-om, jer novi poslodavac nije hteo da spusti cenu za oko 30 odsto, kako bismo postali konkurentni – rekao je on i dodao da izgovor da je situacija takva zbog ekonomske krize “ne pije vodu” i da je poznato da su i druga preduzeća koja su u vlasništvu “Ateka” otišla u stečaj.

 Preduzeće “ATB Sever”, član austrijske grupe “Atek”, je na licitaciji u Agenciji za privatizaciju u aprilu prošle godine za 206,79 miliona dinara kupilo Fabriku opreme i delova iz Bora. FOD je nekada poslovao u sastavu RTB-a, ali je posle izdvojena kao posebna fabrika. Radnici te fabrike protestovali su zbog odluke da se ta firma proda odvojeno od Rudarsko-topioničarskog basena Bor.

Mercoledì 9 settembre 2009 alle ore 09,00 presso la caserma “Valentino Babini” di Bellinzago Novarese, alla presenza del Sottosegretario alla Difesa, On. Guido Corsetto e del Capo di Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito Gen. Fabrizio Castagnetti, ricevuti dal Gen. C.A. Mario Marioli, Comandante del 1° FOD e dal Gen. D. Franco Cravarezza, Comandante della Regione Militare Nord, è stato inaugurato il primo villaggio abitativo semi permanente, costituito da una nuova tipologia di alloggi di servizio collettivi realizzata interamente dai reparti Infrastrutture e genio dell’Esercito.
L’avvenimento è stato sottolineato anche dalla presenza del Gen. C.A. Maurizio Ruggeri, Ispettore per le Infrastrutture dell’Esercito. Nell’occasione si è potuto prendere atto che i moduli abitativi, realizzati con prefabbricati leggeri e tutti dotati di servizi igienici, climatizzatore ed impianto antincendio, sono stati concepiti sulla base delle esperienze maturate nei teatri di operazione all’estero.
Tutti i moduli sono dotati di arredamento standard per il riposo ed il tempo libero e possono ospitare 2/3 militari.
Nell’occasione, l’Onorevole Crosetto ha sottolineato
l’importanza della realizzazione, effettuata con capacità proprie dell’Esercito mediante l’impiego sia della componente infrastrutturale (1° Reparto Infrastrutture) sia della componente operativa (6° reggimento genio pionieri) e in funzione di un eventuale ri-dislocazione in altra sede, ove si realizzassero cambiamenti nel quadro delle esigenze alloggiative della Forza Armata.
Il Generale Castagnetti ha manifestato
la propria soddisfazione considerando che il complesso alloggiativo è stato realizzato in soli 6 mesi di lavoro (dalla fase di progettazione a quella esecutiva) e con il perseguimento di un’importantissima riduzione dei costi.
La realizzazione, peraltro, si inserisce a pieno titolo nella nuova visione della caserma intesa “non solo come luogo di lavoro ma anche come luogo di vita del militare”, dove il soldato può trascorrere il proprio tempo libero e curare gli interessi personali.

Source

Source

Credit: zerogravity1

#Ray has no time for Twittering… <–Bummer!!!

If your at a show… Say "hi" to Ray. #Ray always wants David to have comfort level and fans to have comfort level at shows.

#Ray feels very honored to work with David. "he's a great guy and a great talent". He's looking forward to working more with David.

#Ray… Canada? D and Ray went to radio station in Toronto… They loved David there!

Keep gifts to a minimum for the make- up shows! Last night of tour is difficult to pack gifts. A donation is a better gift!

It's 100 degrees where #Ray is. Favorite band is Devo since he was a little kid.

#ray said that ILAA did a great job of VIP's. David looked forward to them every day!!

David does excercises on tour running around venue and up/down stairs. #ray

David likes to eat as much as possible. He eats a ton. #Ray said he has to chase him cuz he moves so fast. Kendra makes sure he eats healthy

#Ray is licensed to drive the Tour Bus!

How tall is David? #Ray said 8'11… he just looks shorter!

#Ray loves Rome, Italy…

Is #Ray suprised at International fans that come to see David? Yes! Lots of fans come from all over!

Craziest fans… Teens or Mom's… Answers: Mom's! Teens are shy… Mom's want to adapt him and hug him. Flight attendance love him!

Could David see us behind curtain? #Ray said no…

Who designed tour shirts? Ray wanted to do something special for crew… Talked to D… Talked about ideas… Came up with the design!

Ray did the curtain drop during tour… He would q the drop! #ray

Sometimes fans get a over excited and reckless when trying to get to David. Ray does not want to see anyone get hurt in these situations.

Ray is always taken by the outpouring of appreciation for David by his fans… Talking about Manila fans at airport.

Ray is answering @starrynites01's question about David's fanbase…

Ray said taking care of David is very important to him. Ray wants to make sure that he is always there to make sure David is ok!

David did not want the Acoustic show to be put on Youtube… He wanted it to be special for people who went to Louisville show.

Unplugged Concert… No camera's policy… Was the unpluggled concert stressfull? Ray said David wanted the show to be unique and special.

Upcoming Tour? Ray does not do any booking of dates… He organizes them once dates are set. He is hoping for dates soon.

Ray said that David is so understanding when people makes mistakes and that he is the same way all the time… Just genuine!

Describe D in 5 words… Sweet, kind, understanding, appreciative, genuine!!

Ray said David spends endless hours going thru his gifts and fan mail… I think we already knew that tho!

Ray is answering about the different custom's, different philosophies etc… There are difficulties in different countries…

Ray is answering @AnnieDAFG's question about the differences between touring in Europe vs. US. Ray said it was a great question! Ahhh!

More on Ray and Italy from @annyo84

@Larissa_SG i never asked him that so i don’t know but his last name is pretty much italian

@pastelpastel he lived and has a house in Rome I was able to talk to him quite a bit in Uk that’s how i know ahah

@pastelpastel he has a house in Italy and lived there and still goes there sometimes..he has lots of friends there too

@jennyGPA oh he just said hi..so good to speak italian…everything is ok..and things like that ahahha

I love hearing Ray talking in italian..he is soo good and he talks with a south italian accent ahahahah so cute lol

Ray’s scariest moment – Credit: @gengenw

@Larissa_SG His scariest moment is trying to get David out of the Malaysian airport in one piece!

@Larissa_SG Ray is awesome!!!

Manila fans’ photo credit: @nareejo

In the long list of things Stephanie Doesn’t Like to Talk About (mainly because this particular topic infuriates her so)…
Setting the wayback machine for Spring 2004
*wavy lines signifying time travel*

I’m planning my wedding.
Our parents have decided that they’re going to split the cost of the reception and thanks to my college fund, Steve and I are able to pick up a number of other wedding related expenses.
The call comes when Dad and I discuss who shall be invited from his side of the family.

Let it be known across the land that I have never been close to Dad’s side.
Sure, I went to visit his brother in California, but it’s not like we’re sending each other photos and emails…
His younger sister (Herein refered to as The Most Evil Aunt) used to babysit me. She’d make fun of my speech impediment and for not knowing words that weren’t in a 6-year-olds vocabulary (“Are you and Mindy bosom buddies?!”). And in an instance that is too weird not to be true, she sat me down in her guest room and insisted I hot glue tacky decorations for her craft business… a mini-sweatshop if you would.
His older brother (a lawyer) finagled a way to screw Dad’s share of grandma’s will.
His older sister would mock me in front of the family, asking me to read junk mail to prove that I could in fact read.
Don’t even get me started on Dad’s mom.

I digress.
Dad is insistent that I invite his family to the wedding.
“Dad. I do not want them there [at the wedding].”
“Stephanie, I am paying for half of it and if I would like my family invited, I think they should be invited.”
“I don’t like them.”
“They’re family.”
“It’s a wedding reception, not a fucking picnic.”
Eventually, I relented and agreed to send out invitations to his jerk family.
The brother in Cali couldn’t make it, but sent me the Pier 1 kitchen table I registered for.
The Lawyer couldn’t make it, but sent a gift.
The evil sisters RSVP’d that they would be attending (The Most Evil Aunt +2 kids and a husband, Evil Aunt + husband).

When the time came to put together the seating arrangements, I made sure that Dad’s family was seated at Table 9… you HAVE seen “The Wedding Singer”, right?

The week of the wedding arrives and I’ve decided that I’m going to extend the olive branch one last time.
I went to the hotels in the area that I listed for out-of-towners to drop off welcome baskets of wine, snacks, etc.
However… there’s no one with any of Dad’s family at any of the hotels… nor, does anyone with that name have reservations.

Thursday before the wedding, Dad is sitting at my kitchen table.
He’s upset.
The Most Evil Aunt EMAILED him to tell him that they were no longer coming to the wedding. Not only were they not coming, the evil aunt was not coming either.
In a fit unseen by the East Coast (until that Saturday, “You get to the store, you get a shirt and a fitting tuxedo, I AM GETTING MARRIED IN FOUR HOURS!”) I told Dad in no uncertain terms that I was done with his family and I do not and will not have anything else to do with them.

*Tunnel vision transporting us back to today*

I log onto facebook.
“OH! A friend request! *click* ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?! HAHHAHAHHAHA. Denied.”
It’s true.
The Most Evil Aunt wanted to be Facebook friends.
And I said no.
AND IT FELT GREAT.