At the Peace in Medicine Healing Center in Sebastopol, the wares on display include dried marijuana - featuring brands like Kryptonite, Voodoo Daddy and Train Wreck - and medicinal cookies arrayed below a sign saying, "Keep Out of Reach of Your Mother.
"
Several Bay Area doctors who recommend medical marijuana for their patients said in recent interviews that their client base had expanded to include teenagers with psychiatric conditions including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
"It's not everybody's medicine, but for some, it can make a profound difference," said Valerie Corral, a founder of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, a patients' collective in Santa Cruz that has two dozen minors as registered clients.
Because California does not require doctors to report cases involving medical marijuana, no reliable data exist for how many minors have been authorized to receive it.
But Dr.
Jean Talleyrand, who founded MediCann, a network in Oakland of 20 clinics who authorize patients to use the drug, said his staff members had treated as many as 50 patients ages 14 to 18 who had A.D.
H.D.
Bay Area doctors have been at the forefront of the fierce debate about medical marijuana, winning tolerance for people with grave illnesses like terminal cancer and AIDS. Yet as these doctors use their discretion more liberally, such support - even here - may be harder to muster, especially when it comes to using marijuana to treat adolescents with A.
D.
H.
D.
"How many ways can one say 'one of the worst ideas of all time?' " asked Stephen Hinshaw, the chairman of the psychology department at the University of California, Berkeley.
He cited studies showing that tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, disrupts attention, memory and concentration - functions already compromised in people with the attention-deficit disorder.
Advocates are just as adamant, though they are in a distinct minority.
"It's safer than aspirin," Dr.
Talleyrand said. He and other marijuana advocates maintain that it is also safer than methylphenidate (Ritalin), the stimulant prescription drug most often used to treat A.
D.
H.D. That drug has documented potential side effects including insomnia, depression, facial tics and stunted growth.
In 1996, voters approved a ballot proposition making California the first state to legalize medical marijuana. Twelve other states have followed suit - allowing cannabis for several specified, serious conditions including cancer and AIDS - but only California adds the grab-bag phrase "for any other illness for which marijuana provides relief."
This has left those doctors willing to "recommend" cannabis - in the Alice-in-Wonderland world of medical marijuana, they cannot legally prescribe it - with leeway that some use to a daring degree.
"You can get it for a backache," said Keith Stroup, the founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Nonetheless, expanding its use among young people is controversial even among doctors who authorize medical marijuana.
Gene Schoenfeld, a doctor in Sausalito, said, "I wouldn't do it for anyone under 21, unless they have a life-threatening problem such as cancer or AIDS.
"
Dr.
Schoenfeld added, "It's detrimental to adolescents who chronically use it, and if it's being used medically, that implies chronic use.
"
Dr.
Nora D.
Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said she was particularly worried about the risk of dependency - a risk she said was already high among adolescents and people with attention-deficit disorder.
Counterintuitive as it may seem, however, patients and doctors have been reporting that marijuana helps alleviate some of the symptoms, particularly the anxiety and anger that so often accompany A.D.
H.
D.
The disorder has been diagnosed in more than 4.
5 million children in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Researchers have linked the use of marijuana by adolescents to increased risk of psychosis and schizophrenia for people genetically predisposed to those illnesses.
However, one 2008 report in the journal Schizophrenia Research suggested that the incidence of mental health problems among adolescents with the disorder who used marijuana was lower than that of nonusers.
Marijuana is "a godsend" for some people with A.D.H.
D.
, said Dr.
Edward M.
Hallowell, a psychiatrist who has written several books on the disorder.
However, Dr.
Hallowell said he discourages his patients from using it, both because it is - mostly - illegal, and because his observations show that "it can lead to a syndrome in which all the person wants to do all day is get stoned, and they do nothing else.
"
Until the age of 18, patients requesting medical marijuana must be accompanied to the doctor's appointment and to the dispensaries by a parent or authorized caregiver.
Some doctors interviewed said they suspected that in at least some cases, parents were accompanying their children primarily with the hope that medical authorization would allow the adolescents to avoid buying drugs on the street.
A recent University of Michigan study found that more than 40 percent of high school students had tried marijuana.
"I don't have a problem with that, as long as we can have our medical conversation," Dr. Talleyrand said, adding that patients must have medical records to be seen by his doctors.
The Medical Board of California began investigating Dr. Talleyrand in the spring, said a board spokeswoman, Candis Cohen, after a KGO-TV report detailed questionable practices at MediCann clinics, which, the report said, had grossed at least $10 million in five years.
Dr.
Talleyrand and his staff members are not alone in being willing to recommend marijuana for minors.
In Berkeley, Dr.
Frank Lucido said he was questioned by the medical board but ultimately not disciplined after he authorized marijuana for a 16-year-old boy with A.
D.
H.D.
who had tried Ritalin unsuccessfully and was racking up a record of minor arrests.
Within a year of the new treatment, he said, the boy was getting better grades and was even elected president of his special-education class.
"He was telling his mother: 'My brain works. I can think,' " Dr.
Lucido said.
"With any medication, you weigh the benefits against the risks," he added.
Even so, MediCann patients who receive the authorization must sign a form listing possible downsides of marijuana use, including "mental slowness," memory problems, nervousness, confusion, "increased talkativeness," rapid heartbeat, difficulty in completing complex tasks and hunger.
"Some patients can become dependent on marijuana," the form also warns.
The White House's recent signals of more federal tolerance for state medical marijuana laws - which pointedly excluded sales to minors - reignited the debate over medical marijuana.
Some advocates, like Dr.
Lester Grinspoon, an associate professor emeritus of psychiatry at Harvard University, suggest that medical marijuana's stigma has less to do with questions of clinical efficacy and more to do with its association, in popular culture, with illicit pleasure and addiction.
Others, like Alberto Torrico of Fremont, the majority leader of the California Assembly, argue for more oversight in general.
"The marijuana is a lot more powerful these days than when we were growing up, and too much is being dispensed for nonmedical reasons," he said in an interview last week, bluntly adding, "Any children being given medical marijuana is unacceptable.
"
As advocates of increased acceptance try to win support, they may find their serious arguments compromised by the dispensaries' playful atmosphere.
OrganiCann, a dispensary in Santa Rosa, has a Web site advertisement listing the "medible of the week" - butterscotch rock candy - invitingly photographed in a gift box with a ribbon. OrganiCann also offers a 10 percent discount, every Friday, for customers with a valid student ID.
lunedì 29 dicembre 2014
The Six Essential Elements of Child Development
As a caring and involved parent, you want to assist your child's development in any way you can.
Why not acquire educational toys geared toward encouraging growth in all of the developmental areas? Authorities differ slightly on how to organize these domains.
However, a good standard to follow is that set by Drs.
Dorothy and Jerome Singer of Yale University, who identify six essential elements of developmental play that can be cultivated through the use of age-appropriate educational toys: Motor development: the development of gross motor skills that use large muscle groups for activities such as running, kicking, balancing, jumping, hopping, lifting, climbing, and swinging, and the development of more delicate fine motor skills, such as the pincer grip of thumb and forefinger. Eye-hand development and vision: the development of keen powers of perception and of the ability to use the eyes and hands together in coordination to perform a task.
Cognitive learning: the development of the ability to learn new knowledge and to process, understand, and apply this knowledge to different ends.
Developing this area helps a child improve his or her capacity for mental activities such as reasoning, interpreting, comparing and contrasting, evaluating, judging, inferring, predicting, sequencing, and visualizing. It also helps children master specific content knowledge relating to vocabulary, mathematics, science, and so forth. Hearing, Listening, and Voice: the development of skills relating to the senses and communication.
Developing this area allows a child to discriminate between different types of sensory input, processing those that are important and screening out ones that are not.
Social/Emotional: the development of skills relating to how one interacts with other people and how one behaves oneself.
Creative/Imaginative: the development of skills relating to pretending about the world and using the imagination to explore new ideas and possible solutions to problems.
Which Educational Toys to Get To develop gross motor skills, look for toys that require large, yet controlled movements from your child. As they begin to stand and walk, provide younger children with wooden push and pull toys.
As they gain more control over their muscles, get them wagons, play strollers and shopping carts, tricycles, and kid-powered ride-on cars such as the Plasma Car.
Look for toys that develop more specific gross motor skills, such as hopscotch sets (hopping), jump ropes or the Spin Master Stomp Rocket (jumping), or hula hoops (rotating body).
Sports equipment also promotes the development of more varied gross motor skills. To develop fine motor skills, look for toys that require your child to perform precise, controlled hand movements. For example, get lacing cards or activity books or boards that have the child perform life skills such as buttoning, tying laces, zipping, snapping, cutting, and locking and unlocking.
To promote eye-hand development and vision, seek out toys that require children to use keen perception in concert with hand dexterity.
For example, get nesting and stacking toys such as the Melissa and Doug Geometric Stacker; blocks and other building sets; peg boards; puzzles; and art activities such as drawing, cutting, painting, sculpting, or lacing beads.
Also look for toys that increase your child's sense of perception, such as I Spy books or puzzles that require children to differentiate between different sizes or colors of the same object.
To develop cognitive skills, look for toys that require the use of logic, identifying patterns, finding solutions, and solving puzzles. For example, get games that require children to use clues and deductions to solve problems, such as the classic board game Clue or FoxMind Games's Logix I.
Or get science and nature kits that develop children's powers of observation and investigation, such as Battat's Bug Catcher Set.
Or get toys and games that teach content skills and problem-solving skills, such as Melissa and Doug's See and Spell.
Or get building sets or model sets by makers such as Meccano that require children to think about how pieces can and should fit together. To develop hearing, listening, and voice, look for toys that appeal to the senses.
Get musical instruments such as shakers, drums, whistles, triangle, tambourines, and xylophones to encourage children to play with and compare different sounds.
You can also get toys that help children discriminate between different sounds, such as sound puzzles.
To develop social and emotional skills,look for toys that require your child to interact with other people.
For example, games such as FoxMind Games' Babylon teach skills like taking turns and good sportsmanship.
Building toys such as wooden unit block sets or Legos encourage skills such as cooperation and sharing as children work together to construct something.
To develop creativity and imagination, look for toys that encourage your child to create things or to pretend or role-play scenarios. For example, Uberstix construction systems can be used to build an infinite variety of structures.
Art and craft supplies give children practice with making things.
Dolls, dollhouses, Battat toy vehicles, and toy dinosaurs can all be used as props to make up stories and recreate real-life scenarios.
Costumes, props, and copies of real-life objects can all also be used in imaginative play.
Why not acquire educational toys geared toward encouraging growth in all of the developmental areas? Authorities differ slightly on how to organize these domains.
However, a good standard to follow is that set by Drs.
Dorothy and Jerome Singer of Yale University, who identify six essential elements of developmental play that can be cultivated through the use of age-appropriate educational toys: Motor development: the development of gross motor skills that use large muscle groups for activities such as running, kicking, balancing, jumping, hopping, lifting, climbing, and swinging, and the development of more delicate fine motor skills, such as the pincer grip of thumb and forefinger. Eye-hand development and vision: the development of keen powers of perception and of the ability to use the eyes and hands together in coordination to perform a task.
Cognitive learning: the development of the ability to learn new knowledge and to process, understand, and apply this knowledge to different ends.
Developing this area helps a child improve his or her capacity for mental activities such as reasoning, interpreting, comparing and contrasting, evaluating, judging, inferring, predicting, sequencing, and visualizing. It also helps children master specific content knowledge relating to vocabulary, mathematics, science, and so forth. Hearing, Listening, and Voice: the development of skills relating to the senses and communication.
Developing this area allows a child to discriminate between different types of sensory input, processing those that are important and screening out ones that are not.
Social/Emotional: the development of skills relating to how one interacts with other people and how one behaves oneself.
Creative/Imaginative: the development of skills relating to pretending about the world and using the imagination to explore new ideas and possible solutions to problems.
Which Educational Toys to Get To develop gross motor skills, look for toys that require large, yet controlled movements from your child. As they begin to stand and walk, provide younger children with wooden push and pull toys.
As they gain more control over their muscles, get them wagons, play strollers and shopping carts, tricycles, and kid-powered ride-on cars such as the Plasma Car.
Look for toys that develop more specific gross motor skills, such as hopscotch sets (hopping), jump ropes or the Spin Master Stomp Rocket (jumping), or hula hoops (rotating body).
Sports equipment also promotes the development of more varied gross motor skills. To develop fine motor skills, look for toys that require your child to perform precise, controlled hand movements. For example, get lacing cards or activity books or boards that have the child perform life skills such as buttoning, tying laces, zipping, snapping, cutting, and locking and unlocking.
To promote eye-hand development and vision, seek out toys that require children to use keen perception in concert with hand dexterity.
For example, get nesting and stacking toys such as the Melissa and Doug Geometric Stacker; blocks and other building sets; peg boards; puzzles; and art activities such as drawing, cutting, painting, sculpting, or lacing beads.
Also look for toys that increase your child's sense of perception, such as I Spy books or puzzles that require children to differentiate between different sizes or colors of the same object.
To develop cognitive skills, look for toys that require the use of logic, identifying patterns, finding solutions, and solving puzzles. For example, get games that require children to use clues and deductions to solve problems, such as the classic board game Clue or FoxMind Games's Logix I.
Or get science and nature kits that develop children's powers of observation and investigation, such as Battat's Bug Catcher Set.
Or get toys and games that teach content skills and problem-solving skills, such as Melissa and Doug's See and Spell.
Or get building sets or model sets by makers such as Meccano that require children to think about how pieces can and should fit together. To develop hearing, listening, and voice, look for toys that appeal to the senses.
Get musical instruments such as shakers, drums, whistles, triangle, tambourines, and xylophones to encourage children to play with and compare different sounds.
You can also get toys that help children discriminate between different sounds, such as sound puzzles.
To develop social and emotional skills,look for toys that require your child to interact with other people.
For example, games such as FoxMind Games' Babylon teach skills like taking turns and good sportsmanship.
Building toys such as wooden unit block sets or Legos encourage skills such as cooperation and sharing as children work together to construct something.
To develop creativity and imagination, look for toys that encourage your child to create things or to pretend or role-play scenarios. For example, Uberstix construction systems can be used to build an infinite variety of structures.
Art and craft supplies give children practice with making things.
Dolls, dollhouses, Battat toy vehicles, and toy dinosaurs can all be used as props to make up stories and recreate real-life scenarios.
Costumes, props, and copies of real-life objects can all also be used in imaginative play.
5 Popular Children's Fridge Magnets
Compared to all the various types of magnets that are available in the market Childrens Fridge Magnets are the widest choice. It seems that manufacturers have given greater attention for magnets that are suitable for children.
The children's target group has been given so much of attention that certain companies have developed something novel called fridge magnet craft.
This is specially designed for children, and it is considered as a super craft for kids as they can achieve really good results with their creativity.
Fridge magnet craft is an educational toy for children. Packs are available at toy shops or at online stores. The processes are easy and with some support from an elder, kids will be able to create excellent little magnets for themselves.
Some of their creations can be made as little magnets which they could give out as gifts, or even make them for little sales in schools or elsewhere.
Ideas and creations are many with fridge magnet craft. Some of the Children's Fridge Magnets that are available for purchase are combined as educational toys. This is a great way of teaching little children in the warm and cosy surroundings of your kitchen home.
These magnets will bring a smile on the faces of children and they come in bright colours, bringing cheer into your kitchen, from a child's point of view.
Here are some examples of these interesting little magnets: 1) ABCD Fridge Magnet: Perfect to teach your little kid the alphabet and since they come in bright colours, you have the opportunity of teaching colours as well.
2) Toy Bricks Fridge Magnet: Bright coloured toy bricks which a kid can learn to recognize shape and also try making little different figures.
3) Magnetic Poetry Kid's Kit: Something unique in the range of Childrens Fridge Magnets.
It comes in the form of mini-flash cards with different poems that could be put on the fridge. Kids will enjoy learning little poems off these brightly coloured little magnetic cards. 4) Leapfrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Alphabet: A great opportunity for little children to learn all 26 letter names and sounds by pressing each letter to hear them teach. Each letter sings a song and all pieces attach securely to the refrigerator. This will be a great gift for little kids over 2 years of age.
5) Gearation Refrigerator Magnets: An unusual type of magnet which will definitely interest little children. These 6 amusing, clever magnets really fascinate kids. You got to turn on the battery powered main gear and stick it on to the refrigerator.
Then you got to keep adding the other 5 gears and it is great to watch how they flop, twirl and turn. Children's Fridge Magnets are a popular item in children's toy stores today.
They are valuable in various ways - as a learning tool, creates a unique and interesting type of learning, a perfect gift for children, brings in colour and cheer into your kitchen.
These magnets are newcomers into the range of children's educational toys.
They are a great gift for any type of occasion for a little child.
They also can be considered to fill-up Christmas stockings.
The children's target group has been given so much of attention that certain companies have developed something novel called fridge magnet craft.
This is specially designed for children, and it is considered as a super craft for kids as they can achieve really good results with their creativity.
Fridge magnet craft is an educational toy for children. Packs are available at toy shops or at online stores. The processes are easy and with some support from an elder, kids will be able to create excellent little magnets for themselves.
Some of their creations can be made as little magnets which they could give out as gifts, or even make them for little sales in schools or elsewhere.
Ideas and creations are many with fridge magnet craft. Some of the Children's Fridge Magnets that are available for purchase are combined as educational toys. This is a great way of teaching little children in the warm and cosy surroundings of your kitchen home.
These magnets will bring a smile on the faces of children and they come in bright colours, bringing cheer into your kitchen, from a child's point of view.
Here are some examples of these interesting little magnets: 1) ABCD Fridge Magnet: Perfect to teach your little kid the alphabet and since they come in bright colours, you have the opportunity of teaching colours as well.
2) Toy Bricks Fridge Magnet: Bright coloured toy bricks which a kid can learn to recognize shape and also try making little different figures.
3) Magnetic Poetry Kid's Kit: Something unique in the range of Childrens Fridge Magnets.
It comes in the form of mini-flash cards with different poems that could be put on the fridge. Kids will enjoy learning little poems off these brightly coloured little magnetic cards. 4) Leapfrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Alphabet: A great opportunity for little children to learn all 26 letter names and sounds by pressing each letter to hear them teach. Each letter sings a song and all pieces attach securely to the refrigerator. This will be a great gift for little kids over 2 years of age.
5) Gearation Refrigerator Magnets: An unusual type of magnet which will definitely interest little children. These 6 amusing, clever magnets really fascinate kids. You got to turn on the battery powered main gear and stick it on to the refrigerator.
Then you got to keep adding the other 5 gears and it is great to watch how they flop, twirl and turn. Children's Fridge Magnets are a popular item in children's toy stores today.
They are valuable in various ways - as a learning tool, creates a unique and interesting type of learning, a perfect gift for children, brings in colour and cheer into your kitchen.
These magnets are newcomers into the range of children's educational toys.
They are a great gift for any type of occasion for a little child.
They also can be considered to fill-up Christmas stockings.
domenica 28 dicembre 2014
Domain Name Madness
Suppose you have a business and you come up with the name "cool business #1". After careful consideration you made sure it has a nice ring, it communicates what your business is about, it is perfect. An then, you check the domain name
coolbusiness#1.
com Bummer, it is already occupied. So are ".
net" too and perhaps ".org" but the rest may be open. You can purchase ".co", ".info" and some other dots too, but it would make no sense what so ever.
Most people know ".
com" and completely don't care about the other TLDs. You need to make sure ".com" is free, even though perhaps you want to run your business on ".
net".
If your business is a local one, you might settle for a local domain, but that has its own risks: what if your business grows large enough to go international, what if an international business comes to your country and you'll be in a name conflict.
There really is not much of an option. Unfortunately there is an even bigger problem.
As you reverse your naming technique and start from the domain name up, you will realize that most good name combinations are occupied, not by a legitimate business but by domain name sharks. Like real-estate sharks on the Internet, after all, a domain name is an estate in scyberland.
They purchase domains by the bunch for nominal fees ($12/.
com/year, or similar), and if you happen to want the domain they will gladly sell it to you for a thousand fold, or ten thousand fold, depending on what the potential of the name is.
Nowadays, if you can prove legitimate business for a domain you could take it by force with a lawsuite, but who wants to start a business with a lawsuite, not knowing if the domain will be available within a month, a year or maybe three.
The TLD Scam All in all, legitimate businesses plus hustlers, pretty much all the good names are taken. ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) tried to address this by adding new top level domain names along the way.
".
info", ".
pro" and one that really stands out, ".
co".
Besides the massive marketing regarding the coolness of this latter top level domain name, it actually emphasizes the ridiculousness of these free to take added top level domain names.
Let me give you an example: Suppose a legitimate business has the ".
com", I will now purchase ".
co" and run my legitimate business there, how will that make me look like? Well, certainly like someone who is trying to hitch a ride on the back of an already successful business, a leach in colloquial words.
For this very same reason all successful businesses felt complied to purchase the ".co" the very next day they were released. Let's look at the alternative, perhaps a hustler has my ".
com" domain name and I purchase and start my business on ".
co".
I am sure he will be thrilled, because now that he sees that I am interested in that domain name he will gladly double his price.
Instead of opening more options to people who want to start a new business, all these new top level domains did nothing more but complicate the lives of old and new businesses and gave even more opportunity for hustlers and "legitimate domain registrars" to take their money.
All this based on human psychology which is hooked on the ".
com" name. In a world with limited top level domain options these should really be closed, and should function on an all or nothing fashion.
For instance, you could not get yourself a ".gov", because you need to be a governmental institution to do that.
This domain name is regulated and this is how they all should be.
If you want a ".
com" you should be able to prove you are a ".
com" and then all others ".net", ".org" should redirect to your ".
com".
If you are a ".
com" but you happened to have a branch or an affiliation that is an ".
org" you now could be allowed to open up the ".
org" too. This way the confusion would end.
It really doesn't matter to anybody what your TLD is, they will only look for the domain name and if they can't get it right they will search engine your domain name to get to your domain but nobody pays extra effort to remember it.
Unfortunately the new generic top level domain names that come out in 2013 are no better than this. With the slight difference that they are designed to grab even more money from all those business that already run and open up a completely new way to hustle people. In early 2013 the world wide web will be flooded with a plethora of brand new top level domain names. ".
bank", ".music", ".whatever", you only have to have a truck load of money, sufficient patience and you can be the proud owner of an entire domain name hierarchy.
ICANN can even make you the registry of the top level domain name of your own business, which is really cool because now you can run your website here: [http://]mybusiness.
mybusiness or if you don't like the repetition you can just go for [http://]mybusiness This is really cool because you don't need the ".
com" which didn't matter any way to anyone but at least you can now pay $25,000 every year to be your very own registry instead of paying $12. Think of how many websites you could run with your business at the end; it is really an investment.
But if you don't do it, as in you are not willing to pay out that amount maybe someone else will and when you are successful make an honest buck on your back. It is hustling on a whole different level, it's extortion.
But it doesn't end with the TLD of your own business.
Auctions for other generic domains start around $500,000 dollars and you could also be the registry of some cool top level domain, like ".cool".
This will make you a legitimate, ICANN authorized hustler.
Now that you are the registry of a cool top level domain name, and after you paid handsomely to ICANN you can start to extort money out from all the legitimate businesses that are out there and don't want a leach organization to start on "their-domain-name".
"your_tld" Your success will only depend on how well you picked your gTLD. It really won't change anything else.
Having a limited pool of domain names, people will continue paying no attention to TLDs, therefore this will only matter to those that own the business, to leaches and to hustlers.
The gTLD mindtrap The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) warned ICANN in an open letter about the dangers of what opening the top level domain name system would mean to people at large and asked ICANN to limit the number of generic TLDs to a dozen, and with good reason.
Although The Anti-Phishing Working Group's statics show a decline in phishing practices in the last years, this only means that crooks have found more effective ways to con people, "for the time being".
This does not mean phishing might not be back on track once gTLDs are in the open.
ICANN says that no ill willed organization will get their hands on a generic top level domain, which is most probably true. The sheer cost and time associated with the process will stop any such organization in its tracks but they don't have to. Once the generic top level domain names hit the market, basic human psychology will favor the crooks to the legitimate organizations: Up until now, the domain name has been a very strict pattern of mostly three elements grouped together with two dots: something.
name-that-actually-matters.tld Because the TLDs are relatively few most people completely ignore its existence and automatically go to ".
com", this being the most predominant one.
The attention shifts then to the middle component, which is the actual name that matters, the name that identifies the business.
That is really the only one component worth remembering because the leftmost element is not regulated.
It can be any anything and businesses use it to categorize branches or to simply emphasize importance to some particular aspect, for instance: blog.
some-business.
tld With so little options, crooks had a really hard time to distract attention. They had to con people into thinking that the domain name (the middle part) is something else, even so there were plenty instances when they fooled people with similar domain names and identically crafted sites to steal credit card numbers, names, emails, the list is long.
With the generic TLD system however, their job will be a lot easier.
As domain names will become more varied, slowly but steadily the human brain will ditch the pattern and will put more emphasis on the domain name as a whole, including the top level domain name and the sub domain, as they will count a lot more in the name itself.
Many businesses will opt to run on the same name but different top level domain names.
So people will tend to rely less on the middle component and more on the actual appearance of the site where they land.
It will be a lot easier to fool someones eyes with a domain name like: legitimate-bank-name.
distorted-legitimate-bank-name.some-tld, for example: bankxyz.
bankxzy.
bank because when the brain seeks to to recognize the name in the typed sequence, it will put the same weight on any of the three components and it will consider equally good to find the legitimate name in the sub domain section, which is not regulated, as it was a year ago in the middle.
The open TLD As businesses are multiplying in the world and domain names become more and more scarce, opening the top level domain name and as such, unlocking the mind from the ".
com" domain is not only welcome but a necessary step. However, strategies on stopping fraud should not be based on controlling the names themselves but rather on regulations that allow automated identity recognition for sites such as secured protocols and SSL certification.
Names by themselves don't carry a lot of weight, the human brain is optimized to work with incomplete, degraded information.
It relies on assumptions and not factual data.
The more relaxed the standard the more errors it will make.
The only thing that would ease this pain would be a totally open TLD system.
Top level domain names should be treated domain names are treated today, or if you will, the TLD should be pretty much eliminated. This way anybody's business could end in ".
anything" and so the combinations of names would be so great that people's perception will change altogether in what regards with the domain name and the top level domain name.
They would remember the domain name as it is, "some cool business" and knowing that it is totally open to append all sorts of crazy stuff at the end of it they will pay more attention to the name itself. It will not change much in regards with security, but then at least it will put an end to carnage that today exists and that is to come starting 2013.
But in early 2013 ICANN will collect anything between 50 and 500 million dollars from wannabe eager registries.
Where is the money going to come from in the end?
com Bummer, it is already occupied. So are ".
net" too and perhaps ".org" but the rest may be open. You can purchase ".co", ".info" and some other dots too, but it would make no sense what so ever.
Most people know ".
com" and completely don't care about the other TLDs. You need to make sure ".com" is free, even though perhaps you want to run your business on ".
net".
If your business is a local one, you might settle for a local domain, but that has its own risks: what if your business grows large enough to go international, what if an international business comes to your country and you'll be in a name conflict.
There really is not much of an option. Unfortunately there is an even bigger problem.
As you reverse your naming technique and start from the domain name up, you will realize that most good name combinations are occupied, not by a legitimate business but by domain name sharks. Like real-estate sharks on the Internet, after all, a domain name is an estate in scyberland.
They purchase domains by the bunch for nominal fees ($12/.
com/year, or similar), and if you happen to want the domain they will gladly sell it to you for a thousand fold, or ten thousand fold, depending on what the potential of the name is.
Nowadays, if you can prove legitimate business for a domain you could take it by force with a lawsuite, but who wants to start a business with a lawsuite, not knowing if the domain will be available within a month, a year or maybe three.
The TLD Scam All in all, legitimate businesses plus hustlers, pretty much all the good names are taken. ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) tried to address this by adding new top level domain names along the way.
".
info", ".
pro" and one that really stands out, ".
co".
Besides the massive marketing regarding the coolness of this latter top level domain name, it actually emphasizes the ridiculousness of these free to take added top level domain names.
Let me give you an example: Suppose a legitimate business has the ".
com", I will now purchase ".
co" and run my legitimate business there, how will that make me look like? Well, certainly like someone who is trying to hitch a ride on the back of an already successful business, a leach in colloquial words.
For this very same reason all successful businesses felt complied to purchase the ".co" the very next day they were released. Let's look at the alternative, perhaps a hustler has my ".
com" domain name and I purchase and start my business on ".
co".
I am sure he will be thrilled, because now that he sees that I am interested in that domain name he will gladly double his price.
Instead of opening more options to people who want to start a new business, all these new top level domains did nothing more but complicate the lives of old and new businesses and gave even more opportunity for hustlers and "legitimate domain registrars" to take their money.
All this based on human psychology which is hooked on the ".
com" name. In a world with limited top level domain options these should really be closed, and should function on an all or nothing fashion.
For instance, you could not get yourself a ".gov", because you need to be a governmental institution to do that.
This domain name is regulated and this is how they all should be.
If you want a ".
com" you should be able to prove you are a ".
com" and then all others ".net", ".org" should redirect to your ".
com".
If you are a ".
com" but you happened to have a branch or an affiliation that is an ".
org" you now could be allowed to open up the ".
org" too. This way the confusion would end.
It really doesn't matter to anybody what your TLD is, they will only look for the domain name and if they can't get it right they will search engine your domain name to get to your domain but nobody pays extra effort to remember it.
Unfortunately the new generic top level domain names that come out in 2013 are no better than this. With the slight difference that they are designed to grab even more money from all those business that already run and open up a completely new way to hustle people. In early 2013 the world wide web will be flooded with a plethora of brand new top level domain names. ".
bank", ".music", ".whatever", you only have to have a truck load of money, sufficient patience and you can be the proud owner of an entire domain name hierarchy.
ICANN can even make you the registry of the top level domain name of your own business, which is really cool because now you can run your website here: [http://]mybusiness.
mybusiness or if you don't like the repetition you can just go for [http://]mybusiness This is really cool because you don't need the ".
com" which didn't matter any way to anyone but at least you can now pay $25,000 every year to be your very own registry instead of paying $12. Think of how many websites you could run with your business at the end; it is really an investment.
But if you don't do it, as in you are not willing to pay out that amount maybe someone else will and when you are successful make an honest buck on your back. It is hustling on a whole different level, it's extortion.
But it doesn't end with the TLD of your own business.
Auctions for other generic domains start around $500,000 dollars and you could also be the registry of some cool top level domain, like ".cool".
This will make you a legitimate, ICANN authorized hustler.
Now that you are the registry of a cool top level domain name, and after you paid handsomely to ICANN you can start to extort money out from all the legitimate businesses that are out there and don't want a leach organization to start on "their-domain-name".
"your_tld" Your success will only depend on how well you picked your gTLD. It really won't change anything else.
Having a limited pool of domain names, people will continue paying no attention to TLDs, therefore this will only matter to those that own the business, to leaches and to hustlers.
The gTLD mindtrap The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) warned ICANN in an open letter about the dangers of what opening the top level domain name system would mean to people at large and asked ICANN to limit the number of generic TLDs to a dozen, and with good reason.
Although The Anti-Phishing Working Group's statics show a decline in phishing practices in the last years, this only means that crooks have found more effective ways to con people, "for the time being".
This does not mean phishing might not be back on track once gTLDs are in the open.
ICANN says that no ill willed organization will get their hands on a generic top level domain, which is most probably true. The sheer cost and time associated with the process will stop any such organization in its tracks but they don't have to. Once the generic top level domain names hit the market, basic human psychology will favor the crooks to the legitimate organizations: Up until now, the domain name has been a very strict pattern of mostly three elements grouped together with two dots: something.
name-that-actually-matters.tld Because the TLDs are relatively few most people completely ignore its existence and automatically go to ".
com", this being the most predominant one.
The attention shifts then to the middle component, which is the actual name that matters, the name that identifies the business.
That is really the only one component worth remembering because the leftmost element is not regulated.
It can be any anything and businesses use it to categorize branches or to simply emphasize importance to some particular aspect, for instance: blog.
some-business.
tld With so little options, crooks had a really hard time to distract attention. They had to con people into thinking that the domain name (the middle part) is something else, even so there were plenty instances when they fooled people with similar domain names and identically crafted sites to steal credit card numbers, names, emails, the list is long.
With the generic TLD system however, their job will be a lot easier.
As domain names will become more varied, slowly but steadily the human brain will ditch the pattern and will put more emphasis on the domain name as a whole, including the top level domain name and the sub domain, as they will count a lot more in the name itself.
Many businesses will opt to run on the same name but different top level domain names.
So people will tend to rely less on the middle component and more on the actual appearance of the site where they land.
It will be a lot easier to fool someones eyes with a domain name like: legitimate-bank-name.
distorted-legitimate-bank-name.some-tld, for example: bankxyz.
bankxzy.
bank because when the brain seeks to to recognize the name in the typed sequence, it will put the same weight on any of the three components and it will consider equally good to find the legitimate name in the sub domain section, which is not regulated, as it was a year ago in the middle.
The open TLD As businesses are multiplying in the world and domain names become more and more scarce, opening the top level domain name and as such, unlocking the mind from the ".
com" domain is not only welcome but a necessary step. However, strategies on stopping fraud should not be based on controlling the names themselves but rather on regulations that allow automated identity recognition for sites such as secured protocols and SSL certification.
Names by themselves don't carry a lot of weight, the human brain is optimized to work with incomplete, degraded information.
It relies on assumptions and not factual data.
The more relaxed the standard the more errors it will make.
The only thing that would ease this pain would be a totally open TLD system.
Top level domain names should be treated domain names are treated today, or if you will, the TLD should be pretty much eliminated. This way anybody's business could end in ".
anything" and so the combinations of names would be so great that people's perception will change altogether in what regards with the domain name and the top level domain name.
They would remember the domain name as it is, "some cool business" and knowing that it is totally open to append all sorts of crazy stuff at the end of it they will pay more attention to the name itself. It will not change much in regards with security, but then at least it will put an end to carnage that today exists and that is to come starting 2013.
But in early 2013 ICANN will collect anything between 50 and 500 million dollars from wannabe eager registries.
Where is the money going to come from in the end?
I'm Jobless and Need Help - Can an Online Degree Help?
In a bad economy there always is a need for jobs. But the fact of the matter is that most people don't have the necessary skills or certifications required to get a better job then they have now or just want to have. Luckily the average working or unemployed person has the option of online college.
Getting even an associates degree online can give you the certification you need to get a better job in a field of your choice even in a bad economy.
Online colleges offer their students the ability to work on their degree from the comfort of their own home. This is a plus to anyone who has a family.
There are also many different options when pursuing an online degree.
You can take a course program that offers you a 100% online class experience.
Or you can do both online and on campus.
The flexibility that is inherited in most online schools it built around almost every type of schedule.
Getting an online degree is also a lot easier than getting their degree on campus for some students. When taking an online class you are given the option to do most of the course work whenever you see fit.
So if you only have the time to work on a test at 3am then are in luck. You are usually only required to be online at a specific time a few time during the duration of the course.
This is usually for interactive video or voice learning sessions.
When it comes to financial aid and online classes, the process of getting it and applying for it is almost identical to getting it for an on campus school.
In some ways it's a lot easier to get it online for the fact that the whole process is usually done online. It is also a plus because one of the best places to find out your eligibility for scholarships or government grants is online. Getting your online degree can be one of the smartest things you do for yourself.
In today's economy employers have the ability to pick and choose who they hire.
This is when a college education comes into play in getting you a job or a raise over the next applicant or co-worker. With companies restructuring to minimize higher paying jobs and to add more low paying jobs it is a must that one gain more specialized job skills that can be built upon.
With the average non-college graduated making almost 30% less then a college graduated its almost insane not to further your career with some kind of online education.
Getting even an associates degree online can give you the certification you need to get a better job in a field of your choice even in a bad economy.
Online colleges offer their students the ability to work on their degree from the comfort of their own home. This is a plus to anyone who has a family.
There are also many different options when pursuing an online degree.
You can take a course program that offers you a 100% online class experience.
Or you can do both online and on campus.
The flexibility that is inherited in most online schools it built around almost every type of schedule.
Getting an online degree is also a lot easier than getting their degree on campus for some students. When taking an online class you are given the option to do most of the course work whenever you see fit.
So if you only have the time to work on a test at 3am then are in luck. You are usually only required to be online at a specific time a few time during the duration of the course.
This is usually for interactive video or voice learning sessions.
When it comes to financial aid and online classes, the process of getting it and applying for it is almost identical to getting it for an on campus school.
In some ways it's a lot easier to get it online for the fact that the whole process is usually done online. It is also a plus because one of the best places to find out your eligibility for scholarships or government grants is online. Getting your online degree can be one of the smartest things you do for yourself.
In today's economy employers have the ability to pick and choose who they hire.
This is when a college education comes into play in getting you a job or a raise over the next applicant or co-worker. With companies restructuring to minimize higher paying jobs and to add more low paying jobs it is a must that one gain more specialized job skills that can be built upon.
With the average non-college graduated making almost 30% less then a college graduated its almost insane not to further your career with some kind of online education.
How To Get a Job As A Video Game Tester
In all of my years of professional experience, probably the one job I get asked most about is my time as a Video Game Tester for SEGA of America.
I spent several years with SEGA, and people, especially children, are always fascinated by the opportunity to make good money by doing what they love, namely playing games! Here is some advice for those looking to obtain one of these highly-desired positions.
For those looking to get a foot in the door of the Video Game Industry in any capacity, there is no more tried and truer method than the Video Game Tester position. This job brings you into the fold of the development world where you can see how the games are made, make vital contacts, and get critical game company experience on your resume.
I cannot tell you how many people I have worked with who used this entry-level opening to springboard into positions in programming, game production, design, marketing, etc. Plus, there are worse ways to make anywhere from $10-15 dollars an hour (starting pay) than playing games for a living! First of all, you need to be in a geographically feasible location to get one of these positions.
Quite simply, there are not a lot of major cities in the United States that have a hotbed of gaming development.
Fortunately, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area where we have numerous development firms and testing opportunities with major players such as SEGA, Electronic Arts, Sony of America, Namco, and more.
Seattle, Washington is another prime location as companies such as Microsoft call it home.
So if you truly want to get a shot, you'll have to consider relocation.
One of the most compelling arguments against making such a move is that the great majority of companies hire Tester candidates as temporary employees.
If you live in a city with a game company that employs testers, you will want to contact the HR Manager to see what firm they use for their temporary staffing needs.
They can generally direct you to the people who screen the initial crop of candidates, then present them directly to the company.
Due to the seasonal aspect of the industry, there can be times of great need where firms will hire boatloads of people, and slower times, when they have to let a number of people go, when there is not enough work to keep folks busy.
As any experienced game contractor knows, your position is never guaranteed. Perm spots are hard to attain, but it can happen. The key is being able to demonstrate your value to the company, and sadly enough, playing the social game can also be a critical factor.
As a temporary employee, the uncertain stability of your job is probably the most frustrating aspect of the position.
Still in most cases, companies seem to be astute at identifying the must-have talent and keeping them in the fold. Once you have connected with a recruiting firm and been submitted directly to the gaming company, its time to prepare for the interview.
One of the most important things that Test Managers look for in a new hire are effective written communication skills.
As the job revolves around finding and documenting bugs, or errors, in the game, the ability to concisely relay that information to the programmers so that can fix them is vital. So expect going in that you will be taking some kind of writing test.
An eye for detail is also important. If you are the type of person that notices little things, or things that seem out of place, it definitely helps.
Also, remember that while most game companies are very casual in nature, it is important to dress professionally and convey your sincere desire to have an opportunity. As you can imagine, there is a multitude of people who would like to have this type of position, so anything you can do to stand out from the pack helps.
One of the nice things about interviewing for game companies is that you generally receive very quick turnaround on feedback, and in some instances can be hired almost immediately. Working in the Video Game Industry is definitely a unique and enjoyable experience.
There are many perks you will not find in normal companies. Do keep in mind though, that while the job is all games, it is not always fun.
Like any position, there are monotonous aspects to it.
For example, be prepared to test the same game over and over, for up to a few months at a time. That can be challenging.
Also, expect going in that you may be assigned mind-numbing tasks from day-to-day such as checking that all weapons or items work as they are supposed, all walls in each level are solid, or even just proofreading game text. Finally, be prepared to work long hours as needed. When crunch time hits, and a game needs to ship, overtime can be required to get the game out the door. Still, overall, there are few positions where you can have as much fun on a day-to-day basis.
I spent several years with SEGA, and people, especially children, are always fascinated by the opportunity to make good money by doing what they love, namely playing games! Here is some advice for those looking to obtain one of these highly-desired positions.
For those looking to get a foot in the door of the Video Game Industry in any capacity, there is no more tried and truer method than the Video Game Tester position. This job brings you into the fold of the development world where you can see how the games are made, make vital contacts, and get critical game company experience on your resume.
I cannot tell you how many people I have worked with who used this entry-level opening to springboard into positions in programming, game production, design, marketing, etc. Plus, there are worse ways to make anywhere from $10-15 dollars an hour (starting pay) than playing games for a living! First of all, you need to be in a geographically feasible location to get one of these positions.
Quite simply, there are not a lot of major cities in the United States that have a hotbed of gaming development.
Fortunately, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area where we have numerous development firms and testing opportunities with major players such as SEGA, Electronic Arts, Sony of America, Namco, and more.
Seattle, Washington is another prime location as companies such as Microsoft call it home.
So if you truly want to get a shot, you'll have to consider relocation.
One of the most compelling arguments against making such a move is that the great majority of companies hire Tester candidates as temporary employees.
If you live in a city with a game company that employs testers, you will want to contact the HR Manager to see what firm they use for their temporary staffing needs.
They can generally direct you to the people who screen the initial crop of candidates, then present them directly to the company.
Due to the seasonal aspect of the industry, there can be times of great need where firms will hire boatloads of people, and slower times, when they have to let a number of people go, when there is not enough work to keep folks busy.
As any experienced game contractor knows, your position is never guaranteed. Perm spots are hard to attain, but it can happen. The key is being able to demonstrate your value to the company, and sadly enough, playing the social game can also be a critical factor.
As a temporary employee, the uncertain stability of your job is probably the most frustrating aspect of the position.
Still in most cases, companies seem to be astute at identifying the must-have talent and keeping them in the fold. Once you have connected with a recruiting firm and been submitted directly to the gaming company, its time to prepare for the interview.
One of the most important things that Test Managers look for in a new hire are effective written communication skills.
As the job revolves around finding and documenting bugs, or errors, in the game, the ability to concisely relay that information to the programmers so that can fix them is vital. So expect going in that you will be taking some kind of writing test.
An eye for detail is also important. If you are the type of person that notices little things, or things that seem out of place, it definitely helps.
Also, remember that while most game companies are very casual in nature, it is important to dress professionally and convey your sincere desire to have an opportunity. As you can imagine, there is a multitude of people who would like to have this type of position, so anything you can do to stand out from the pack helps.
One of the nice things about interviewing for game companies is that you generally receive very quick turnaround on feedback, and in some instances can be hired almost immediately. Working in the Video Game Industry is definitely a unique and enjoyable experience.
There are many perks you will not find in normal companies. Do keep in mind though, that while the job is all games, it is not always fun.
Like any position, there are monotonous aspects to it.
For example, be prepared to test the same game over and over, for up to a few months at a time. That can be challenging.
Also, expect going in that you may be assigned mind-numbing tasks from day-to-day such as checking that all weapons or items work as they are supposed, all walls in each level are solid, or even just proofreading game text. Finally, be prepared to work long hours as needed. When crunch time hits, and a game needs to ship, overtime can be required to get the game out the door. Still, overall, there are few positions where you can have as much fun on a day-to-day basis.
Classic Board Game As a Learning Tool For Children
Parents and teachers place a good deal of emphasis on basic skill early on in a child's life.
Have you ever sat across from your parent at a table while they held up flash cards with mathematical questions starting with addition, then subtraction, then multiplication for you to respond to? Like reading and writing these math skills are critical in life. We use them every day and the sooner we grasp them, the further we can go with more complex problems and additional learning.
Along with the text books and flash cards you can use other ways to demonstrate and practice these basic skills.
Counting out change when you go shopping with your kids will reinforce simple math. A fun way to focus on these as well as some higher level abilities can be achieved with the use of the classic board games too.
Consider the game Shut the Box where each and every roll you have to attempt to add up numbers on your side of the board to total the amount rolled.
Again and again with many different combinations coming up so children will have to think of all the sets of numbers.
Cribbage involves a higher level of addition and counting as well.
Being able to total your scores each turn and adding onto what sits in the pile so you can achieve a higher score.
To tally up the points remaining in your hand requires the player to have the fundamentals of mathematics down pat.
Even in the simple game of checkers and Chinese checkers there is counting and numbers and memory involved and the easier these tasks are the more of an expert the child will become.
Once these basic skills have been master it's time to move onto the big league, the game of chess! With each player having unique movements and guidelines there is a great deal of memory work involved here.
To be a clever player, you need to be able to develop strategy skills and try and out think your opponent. Simple board games to the more complex board games, they offer some fun some and work at reinforcing those basic, as well as the more complex skill for children of all ages.
This will also give them that taste of competition, learning to be a good winner as well as a good loser, because as the old saying goes.
..you can't win them all!
Have you ever sat across from your parent at a table while they held up flash cards with mathematical questions starting with addition, then subtraction, then multiplication for you to respond to? Like reading and writing these math skills are critical in life. We use them every day and the sooner we grasp them, the further we can go with more complex problems and additional learning.
Along with the text books and flash cards you can use other ways to demonstrate and practice these basic skills.
Counting out change when you go shopping with your kids will reinforce simple math. A fun way to focus on these as well as some higher level abilities can be achieved with the use of the classic board games too.
Consider the game Shut the Box where each and every roll you have to attempt to add up numbers on your side of the board to total the amount rolled.
Again and again with many different combinations coming up so children will have to think of all the sets of numbers.
Cribbage involves a higher level of addition and counting as well.
Being able to total your scores each turn and adding onto what sits in the pile so you can achieve a higher score.
To tally up the points remaining in your hand requires the player to have the fundamentals of mathematics down pat.
Even in the simple game of checkers and Chinese checkers there is counting and numbers and memory involved and the easier these tasks are the more of an expert the child will become.
Once these basic skills have been master it's time to move onto the big league, the game of chess! With each player having unique movements and guidelines there is a great deal of memory work involved here.
To be a clever player, you need to be able to develop strategy skills and try and out think your opponent. Simple board games to the more complex board games, they offer some fun some and work at reinforcing those basic, as well as the more complex skill for children of all ages.
This will also give them that taste of competition, learning to be a good winner as well as a good loser, because as the old saying goes.
..you can't win them all!
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