Your Daily Posterous Spaces Update

	October 31st, 2012 登 Posted 1 day ago by Koichi Mitsui to s a s u r a u 高揚感。 Redefining college readiness [infographic] Posted 1 day ago by Kate Rinsema to Holy Kaw! For a long time, the drum beat of test scores and GPA, test scores and GPA have sounded ceaselessly in the minds of those getting ready to apply to college, but do those measures really portray a student’s ability to make the grade in higher education? This infographic from TheBestColleges.org takes a closer look at the skills needed to be a true success in the arena of higher education and where traditional measures can fall short. Via TheBestColleges.org. College infographics. 7 fake Hurricane Sandy shots making the social media rounds Posted 1 day ago by Kate Rinsema to Holy Kaw! Annie Colbert of Mashable smelled something fishy making the rounds of social media yesterday and it wasn’t coming from Battery City Park. The easiest part of cleaning up after Superstorm Sandy is separating the fact from fiction when it comes to the Internet’s favorite fake photos from the event. Unfortunately, there are plenty of dramatic shots of the real devastation to keep the entire East Coast busy for months. Above: Ominous clouds rolling in over the George Washington Bridge look hurricane-level frightening… Scary, but actually a Getty stock photo from 2009. Virginia Beach could face a McNugget shortage… Don’t worry — Ronald McDonald is safe. The above photo is from a 2009 art installation. Embedded media -- click here to see it. Full story at Mashable. What’s real on social media? 5 must-haves for a successful meeting Posted 1 day ago by SmartBrief to Holy Kaw! We’ve all heard the jokes — hold a meeting! You can see people, create charts, drink coffee, have doughnuts, impress your colleagues — all on company time. Successful meetings are possible. With forethought and planning, your meetings will use attendees’ time wisely and accomplish important business goals. Full story at SmartBrief Social Media. More SmartBrief stories. Photo credit: Fotolia Andy's Answers: U.S. Cellular explains how local relationships support national goals Posted 1 day ago by SmartBrief to Holy Kaw! Before U.S. Cellular even had an official social media presence, Sherri Maxson recognized a star in Sharif Renno, a renegade social media guru who had started a real following and increased sales by 22%. His Milwaukee customers loved him, the brand and each other. In fact, when Renno was asked to produce five happy customers for a video testimonial, he brought in 20. Now U.S. Cellular needed to find out what fed Renno’s customer love and how they could make that work for all of their stores. Jessica Masterson, their social media manager, explained how they developed a program based on Renno’s highly successful model of extra-mile customer service. Full story at SmartBrief Social Media. More SmartBrief stories. Photo credit: Fotolia 'Night life' influenced shape of mammal eyes Posted 1 day ago by Futurity to Holy Kaw! The eye structures of most mammals have retained the imprint of nocturnal life during the Mesozoic Era, a period that lasted from 250 million years ago to 65 million years ago. Humans and other anthropoid primates, such as monkeys and apes, are the only groups that deviate from this pattern, according to a new study from the University of Texas at Austin and Midwestern University. According to Chris Kirk, associate professor of anthropology at UT Austin, early mammals were predominantly nocturnal during the Mesozoic partly as a strategy for avoiding predation by day-active dinosaurs. “It’s a bit surprising to still see the effects of this long period of nocturnality on living mammals more than 65 million years after non-avian dinosaurs went extinct, but that’s exactly what we found,” he says. Full story at Futurity. More research news from top universities. Photo credit: Fotolia A Different Shade of Risotto Posted about 22 hours ago by markbittman to bittman As more varieties and better qualities of brown rice become increasingly common, it’s growing clear that you can do pretty much anything you want with this less processed version of the world’s second-most-popular grain. (You guessed it: corn is numero uno.) This includes making risotto. Real, creamy, tender risotto. There is really only one adjustment to make, and that is to parboil the rice so that the risotto-making process takes about the same amount of time — 20 minutes or so — that it does with white rice. As you normally would, choose short- or medium-grain brown rice, which is crucially important because these are the varieties that emit enough starch to make the final product creamy. One could argue, and some will, that you should begin with Italian varieties like Arborio. But good Spanish, Japanese and, yes, American short- and medium-grain rices give equally good results. Read the rest of this article here, and get the recipe here. Sent by Posterous. Change your email settings or unfollow. Other questions? We'd love to help.

Your Daily Posterous Spaces Update

	October 30th, 2012 幽 Posted 1 day ago by Koichi Mitsui to s a s u r a u 2 山行。 E-commerce holiday shopping statistics & trends [infographic] Posted 1 day ago by Kate Rinsema to Holy Kaw! Looking for the inside scoop on e-commerce trends for the holiday season and where the social traffic is for businesses? Then check out this infographic from Invesp to get the inside track. Via Invesp. Like infographics? So do we. Too Close Posted 1 day ago by Amazing Pics to Amazing Pics 2 via 500px.com Don't scorn this storm: Hurricane Sandy strikes Posted 1 day ago by Kate Rinsema to Holy Kaw! 1 Colliding weather systems, a full moon, and eerily abandoned places that are usually buzzing with activity are bringing the kind of real-life horror to the East Coast that we hope to avoid during Halloween season. - The Flickr site for MTA has a series of photos taken as NYC prepared for the worst to hit, and we never realized how comforting those crowds really were until they were gone. - As of 9:00 am this morning, the New Jersey coast was getting slammed with surf rarely seen in this part of the world: Embedded media -- click here to see it. - NPR has is providing up-to-the-minute updates about the storm, including the status of the two crew members of the HMS Bounty replica off the North Carolina coast who have gone missing. - For a local take on what's going on in New York City, WNYC news is using Storify to document events as they happen in the city. - Here’s the link to The Weather Channel’s updates as well, so stay informed and stay safe, and in that line, here's the advice of FEMA for those farther inland as well:    "Follow the direction of local officials — if told to evacuate, do so immediately. — "Make final preparations — If you're further inland, now is the time to make final preparations. Be ready for power outages and stock up on emergency supplies of food, water, medications, and other supplies. — "Know the forecast for your area – Sandy is a large storm with potential impacts from wind, coastal flooding, inland flooding, rain, and snow. Listen to your NOAA weather radio and local news reports, or visit weather.gov for the conditions in your area. — "Check on your neighbor – make sure they're ready too."   Full story at The Weather Channel and NPR. Eye of the storm. Update on School Closures in Ekiti - Commissioner's Response Posted 1 day ago by Feyi Fawehinmi to aguntàsólo Anything published in the press and which remains unchallenged is a notorious fact               - Reno Omokri, The Great   A friend of mine sent my last post on the closure of schools in Ekiti to the Commissioner for Education in that state, Dr Eniola Ajayi.  She responded by email and asked me to get in touch with her. We've exchanged a few emails since then and I have found her to be polite to a fault and a remarkably decent person to the extent that you can measure such things over an email exchange. Here's her response Thank you for forwarding the story. I do not blame the writer for writing from the perspective he did. It’s because of the angle in which it was reported in the first place. It seems truly absurd to close a school simply because it’s not registered or it’s not on zillion hectares of land. The truth is that no mention was made of the other criteria used. One main component is the issue of having a certain number of qualified Teachers. Some of the School have a School Certificate holder as Head teacher. There are several other criteria. In other to make this exercise as thorough as possible, we engaged the help of the National Association of Private Proprietors in Ekiti State. In their words, 'we have no apologies for the schools you wish to close down'. The truth is that many of them do not merit being called a school. The structures are truly alarming. Some are near collapse. If we wait until someone dies in those contraptions, I will be blamed even more. More importantly, it’s an implementation of a well thought out decision of the State EXCO over 7 months ago.  She also sent me the requirements for opening schools in Ekiti State which the closed schools presumably did not meet. Both are attached below GUILDELINES_EST_JSS_in_Ekiti.pdf View this on Posterous GUILDELINES_EST_NURS-PRY_Schools_in_Ekiti.pdf View this on Posterous   It was a relief to read that not because I agree with everything but mainly because it's clear that it wasnt just a rampaging government going about bullying private schools while ignoring its own failings.  I still think the requirements are rather onerous and dont take into account people who might only want to start on a small scale but if everyone was subjected to this criteria, then I am fine with it. The issue then becomes how to make the criteria better so that it guarantees better outcomes for students.  A couple of points to note 1. Before writing my last note, I checked at least 3 different online news websites for the story and they all seemed to report it from the same angle so I went with the version in Channels but you can check the Punch version or ThisDay one and you see that the reports are almost identical in what aspect of the press briefing they focused on.  It got me wondering - how do Nigerian newspapers source their news? Or was this a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) report? I am not sure how things work so I am genuinely curious. Or do newspapers now share journalists outside Lagos?  I suppose we can conclue that the reports in the papers on this story qualifies as a notorious fact if the Commissioner is to be believed.  2. Where two or three Nigerian business(wo)men/businesses are gathered, a cabal is soon formed. So I am wondering if this National Association of Private Proprietors in Ekiti is not another 'nascent' cabal. I am pretty sure the schools that were closed were not members of this body which might mean the NAPP has just been made stronger to the extent that anyone who doesnt join them (and pay dues) can easily be eliminated as competition. The thing with cabals is that they always start innocently so in this case private school owners may have come together to form a body to share knowledge and best practice etc. But as Adam Smith presciently said 'people of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public'. What if you dont want to be a part of this body and you just want to do your thing on your own? Hopefully the govt will take such scenarios into account and protect people who are genuinely trying to deliver education and run a business at the same time...on their own merit. But all in all, it's always good to hear govt's side of the argument.   FF 11 viral pics that aren't Sandy Posted about 23 hours ago by Kate Rinsema to Holy Kaw! 2 Amidst the social media storm accompanying Hurricane Sandy, there are plenty of pics making the rounds that don’t stand the sniff test. Reyhan Harmanci and Allison McCann have rounded up these eleven, a few of which you’ve probably already seen, and told the real story behind them. Above Via A photoshop job of the Statue of Liberty and a supercell thunderstorm from 2004 taken by photographer Mike Hollingshead. Via This Manhattan skyline fake has been floating around Twitter and Instagram today, but was originally on a Wall Street Journal post from 2011. Via Crazy satellite picture...of Hurricane Ike. Full story at Buzzfeed. Wading through the social media flood. Hurricane Sandy from the ISS [video] Posted about 19 hours ago by Kate Rinsema to Holy Kaw! 2 The crew on the International Space Station didn’t need the Weather Channel to tell them bad things were brewing Earth-side, since they got a pretty good look at Sandy when they flew over this morning as this raw footage from NASA shows. Embedded media -- click here to see it. Full story at NASA @ Flickr. The view from space. Sent by Posterous. Change your email settings or unfollow. Other questions? We'd love to help.

Your Daily Posterous Spaces Update

	October 29th, 2012 陰 Posted 1 day ago by Koichi Mitsui to s a s u r a u 1 山肌走る。 No frills, no frou-frou as Endeavour soars over California [video] Posted about 24 hours ago by Kate Rinsema to Holy Kaw! This amazing video of space shuttle Endeavor hitching a ride on a 747 with NASA F-18 chase plane escorts should hit a sweet spot with fans of flying and video purists, as its accompanied only by the soundtrack of the pilot and videographer trying to capture the perfect shots. After taking off from the Mojave Desert, the shuttle got an impressive tour of the sights before making its triumphant journey through the streets of L.A.: Views included Malibu, Dodger Stadium, California Science Center, the Los Angeles Colosseum, downtown Los Angeles, the Hollywood Sign, Griffith Observatory, Pasadena, the Rose Bowl, Santa Monica, Long Beach, Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Space X, Universal Studios, Point Mugu before landing at Los Angeles International Airport at 12:51 pm PT. Embedded media -- click here to see it. Full story at NASA via Wired. From NASA with love. Boat without a captain: Steve Jobs' yacht unveiled in the Netherlands [video] Posted about 24 hours ago by Kate Rinsema to Holy Kaw! The stunning craft called Venus designed by the late Steve Jobs that took six years to complete had a bittersweet unveiling today in Aalsmeer, Netherlands attended by Jobs’ widow Laurene and their three children as well as the staff who made his vision a reality. Jobs worked with French designer Philippe Starck to produce the sleek design, which naturally includes a wheelhouse full of Macs as well as an aluminum exterior that makes it lighter than most yachts of similar size. It is not known if the family will use the ship now that Jobs has passed, but those who worked on the project were all given gifts by his family in thanks for all their efforts. Embedded media -- click here to see it. Full story at OneMoreThing. Remembering Steve Jobs. 6 myths about flu vaccines Posted about 20 hours ago by Kate Rinsema to Holy Kaw! It’s that time of year again when you can’t turn around without bumping into a sign reminding you to get a flu vaccine, but even with all these reminders almost sixty percent of Americans passed on taking this health precaution last year. Why? There’s a good chance one of these six myths addressed by Karen Rowan at LiveScience could be what’s holding people back, and, if so, it’s time to set the record straight. After all, isn’t that chicken soup going to taste all the better if you’re not sick? Myth: You can get the flu, or a mild case of it, from the flu vaccine. The flu vaccine injection contains no live virus, only viral proteins, said Dr. Dennis Cunningham, an infectious disease specialist at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. "It's impossible to get the flu, and it's impossible to spread the flu," from the injection, Cunningham said. After the injection, some people may experience pain in the arm near the injection site, or develop a low fever — this is a reaction to the vaccine, not a true influenza infection, not even a mild one, he said. "People with this reaction are able to go to work, that is not the case with the flu. With an influenza infection, you're flat on your back, you're exhausted, hot and hurt," he said. The flu vaccine that is delivered as a nasal spray, rather than as injection, does contain live viruses, but these viruses have been weakened, and so they also cannot cause the flu, according to the CDC. Full story at LiveScience. For your health. Photo credit: Fotolia Sent by Posterous. Change your email settings or unfollow. Other questions? We'd love to help.