How To Grade Your Home Schooled Child

Grading in homeschooling is done by the teacher-in-charge. In most of the cases, this means mom! In this situation, grading can get a bit tricky because it can be a little difficult to grade your own child. There is no benchmark against which you can evaluate your child's performance. In most cases, you also have no awareness of how well other children are doing. So, obviously the traditional method of grading is perhaps not the best method to follow. When grading a child undergoing homeschooling, it is more important to assess whether the child has understood the subject that is being taught. Inherent in this is the fact that if the child has not understood something, you will go over it again. This will work in your child's favor in 2 ways. Firstly, the child knows that if he or she fails to catch on, the topic will be repeated till it is mastered. Secondly, the child also knows that once the topic has been mastered, he or she will get full credit for his hard work. Getting full reward for the hard work put in is a great motivational factor, especially for kids. When assessing your child's abilities, do not allow emotions to overcrowd your rationale. Do not yield to the cries Rosetta Stone Arabic and tears of your child if he or she resists certain topics or subjects. If mastering these skills is necessary, then you as the teacher (and not as the parent alone) have to go over the topic over and over till it sinks in. When dealing with tougher concepts, the child may get restless and may even show frustration or belligerence. When the child is still young and unable to understand the importance of his lessons, it is your responsibility to see to it that the child develops the skill set necessary for future growth. In case you belong to a state that requires yearly tests, this will help you to judge your child's ability vis-à-vis his peers. Even if it is not mandatory, you may want to test your child every year. These tests will reveal the variations in the child's learning pattern. It may show up unexpected areas of strength and hitherto unknown areas of weakness. This enables you to structure your teaching to cover the areas that are weak, and build upon the areas that are strong.? In case your state requires a homeschool report card, keep a record of the yearly development and scores of your child. Include pertinent areas like punctuality, discipline etc in the report. You may also need to keep a record of the number of working days and attendance schedules. While grading your child, make sure that you use as many external tests as possible. There are several websites that deal with the various age groups, and allow free downloading of question papers. This is an excellent and cost-effective method to assess your child. Homeschooling, if done in the proper manner, will boost the child's confidence because he will be studying to satisfy his natural curiosity. The scores therefore will reflect his true intelligence.

Read More

Homeschooling vs public school

Homeschooling vs public school - Is this why parents home school? 'Is the System failing to teach children how to think?' ?A former new Labour aide who worked closely with Tony Blair, Peter Hyman outlined that there should be a radical shake up of the education system where GCSE''s would be abolished.? It was also highlighted that he was convinced that the government's direction was wrong. This was just days before hundreds of thousands of pupils picked up their A-level results and a week before GCSE grades were released; Hyman says the nature of the exam system means that children are not being taught how to think. Hyman, who was a government speechwriter and strategist, is now a deputy head teacher at a London comprehensive. "This [criticism] is aimed at government," he said. "I blame the system – not schools for doing what they are told." His plea comes as a poll of company directors today reveals widespread dissatisfaction. One in five directors describes the quality of education in schools as poor or very poor, with half rating it as average. The Institute of Directors surveyed 1,316 of its members and found that one-third admitted having employees who lacked literacy, numeracy or low-level IT skills, with 70% of those saying it causes a significant problem for their business. The vast majority want much higher priority placed on literacy, numeracy and skills Rosetta Stone Arabic such as public speaking.In an article in the?Observer (16/8/09), Hyman wrote: "There is almost an unspoken deal: we'll spoon-feed you the required information to pass your exams, if you play by the rules and do your homework on time … GCSE exam results are not a true reflection of the talent of my students … It is time to scrap them." Is this the reason for homeschooling vs public school? Hyman calls for a system in which all teenagers take a variety of exams and carry out extended projects between the ages of 14 and 19. A-levels could be incorporated alongside many other options but not as a standalone qualification. Christine Blower, general secretary of the NUT, said: "Standing inside a classroom is very different to standing inside a government department." Referring to the MP Vernon Coaker, she added: "It will be interesting now that we have a schools minister who has been a teacher." A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said there was already a range of choices for pupils, such as diplomas and apprenticeships.

Read More

Home School Scholarships

There are many Home School Scholarships that you can apply for to pay for your college costs.? We've searched for Home School Scholarships and here's a few you should apply for.? Find other scholarships that you may qualify for by doing your own search for scholarships online. Click Here to Register Free for your $10,000 Scholarship Scholarship Zone?offers a $10K scholarship offer for students just by signing up at their website.? To be eligible to register, you have to be 18 years old or older and live in the United States.? The application is just a quick and easy one-page registration form and you will be entered for the scholarship drawing.? Remember to register for free at their site as each drawing occurs each month.The Walmart Higher Reach Scholarship program is another opportunity to research further.? You can get up to $1,000 pear year for four years of education.? You need to have been out of school for at least one year and be a Walmart associate in order to be eligible.The Associate Scholarship provided by Walmart is also something to consider.? To apply, submit works in humor, dramatic script, and journalism.? Students need to show academic excellence and outstanding leadership skills. Click Here to Register Free for the Home School Scholarships $10,000 Scholarship See what programs you are eligible to apply for and then begin to send in your applications for Rosetta Stone Spanish (Spain) the best chances of getting scholarship money.? Don't miss those dreadful deadlines, so begin applying now.You can have a main scholarship essay that you can tweak around for different scholarship applications.? Make sure to apply to as many scholarship opportunities that you qualify for because this will greatly improve your chances of actually being awarded a scholarship. This is often very time consuming particularly for more than 1 child. It is up to the family if this trade off is well worth it.Also, I use a lot 'Core Knowledge' which is not a homeschool program per se, but it does offer valuable insights in to what grade levels are anticipated to know. For me, this is extremely valuable when looking into my lesson strategies long-range or perhaps figuring out any kind of gaps in my children's learning and also allows me to deal with these just before they turn out to be way too significant.There are millions of home school programs accessible. Some tell you they are absolutely free however are not- with hidden costs and upgrades to lessons which. As always "Caveat Emptor", let the buyer beware. Free homeschooling programs also require the parents to do study to ensure the program coincides together with the family's beliefs as well as morals. There is no reason though that a child's education by free homeschooling programs cannot be every bit as complete as any other child. In fact it may be superior owing to the necessity for parental involvement and creativity.

Read More

They halted there and chanted slogans

1321 GMT: About 2,000 demonstrators are outside the state television headquarters, on the banks of the Nile near Tahrir Square, correspondents say. 1317 GMT: correspondents report that at least 3,000 people have march on Mubarak's main official residence in the upscale Heliopolis neighbourhood, their numbers boosted by hundreds of people arriving from Tahrir Square. 1316 GMT: Mubarak, family have left Cairo: government source.tells . 1306 GMT: A BBC correspondent says the size of the demonstrations across Cairo is among the biggest if not the biggest in 18 days of protest but there is confusion about what should be the next step. 1302 GMT: BBC TV shows state TV building ringed with barbed wire put up this morning. 1301 GMT: Sky News citing sources saying thousands in Tahrir Square are trying to make their way to the state TV building. 1251 GMT: BBC's world affairs editor John Simpson, speaking from Cairo, says the crowd, although fired up, don't seem prepared at this stage to use violence. 1248 GMT: BBC cites Israeli TV and al-Arabiya reports saying Mubarak has left Cairo. The Israeli report, from Channel 10, says he has gone to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he has a villa. 1246 GMT: Leading dissident and Mubarak opponent, former UN nuclear watchdog head Mohammed ElBaradei Tweets: ?Entire nation is on the streets. Only way out is for regime to go. People power can't be crushed. We shall prevail. Still hope army can join? 1244 GMT: "One human rights measure announced by the President was the cancellation of Article 179 of the constitution, a measure we have long called for, as it entrenches violations relating to arrests, detentions and trials. But he failed to give any timeline for when that would happen," Amnesty said. "The language used by Vice President Suleiman to try to discourage protesters from making their voices heard is also unacceptable. It is ironic that a government which has fired on and allowed thugs to attack peaceful protesters Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin) is attempting to persuade protesters to go home by warning of chaos and destruction, the human rights group says in a statement just released. 1241 GMT: President Hosni Mubarak and Vice President Omar Suleiman "utterly failed to respond to the demands of the protesters" in their speeches last night, Amnesty International says. 1233 GMT: CNN text headline: Protesters surround government buildings in Suez, 1220 GMT: "The tension in Egypt has seen some US dollar demand after President Mubarak decided that he would not stand down, after it being widely expected he would do so, fuelling some risk aversion," CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson tells . 1218 GMT: The dollar strengthens against the euro as increasing unrest in Egypt leads traders to seek safe-haven assets. "Developments in Egypt have forced investors to back off risk assets," said analyst Adrian Schmidt at Lloyds Banking Group. The dollar is regarded as a safe investment in times of heightened geopolitical turmoil, while the euro is viewed as a riskier currency. 1208 GMT: Governments around the world must be closely watching events in Tahrir Square today after a US administration official told CNN last night that Mubarak's speech was "not what we were told would happen, not what we wanted to happen." 1204 GMT: A Sky News correspondent in Tahrir Square says he expects march to go ahead to six key locations including state run Nile TV and resident Mubarak's palace. "People are saying not only will people stay here but they will win the revolution, as they put it," he says. 1153 GMT: TV pictures from Tahrir Square show it is still crowded but some people are making their way out of the square. 1150 GMT: Al-Arabiya television channel is reportedly saying protesters have taken over government establishments in the city of Suez. 1142 GMT: European stock markets fall as traders weigh the developing Egypt crisis, as well as a contraction to Spain's economy and news of a key tie-up between Microsoft and the world's biggest mobile phone maker Nokia.

Read More

From 19471970 Woomera was an important centre

Woomera (including Pimba, Nurrungar and Arcoona) Famous outback township which, from the 1940s, was the centreof Australian and British rocket launching experimentsLocated 486 km north of Adelaide (180 km north of Port Augusta) andpositioned some 165 m above sea level, Woomera is a purpose builttown designed by the Long Range Weapons Board of Administration toprovide an isolated experimental ground for testing rockets. It islocated in the middle of a desert terrain where the average annualrainfall is only 190 mm. The visitor enters Woomera via Pimba whichis little more than a rather old style roadhouse, pub and servicestation near the railway line. The old rolling stock and age of theroadhouse give Pimba a rather antiquated appearance. Woomera, the word describes a short stick used to launch a spearin the language of the local Aborigines, came into existence in1947. At the time it was preferred over a site which had beennominated by Canada. In 1946 the Australian government received aformal request from Britain to establish a rocket range 1600 kmlong and 300 km wide. This was possible given the vast wastelandswhich existed in northwestern South Australia. The decision to build a rocket range was made in the postwarenvironment when the world was still recovering from the slaughterof World War 11. As a result of German rocket attacks on Britainduring that war the British had decided they needed a rockettesting range and the isolation of Woomera combined with itsproximity to the railway siding at Pimba made it an ideallocation. Advertisement: Story continues below In June 1946 the first Dakota landed on the first temporaryairstrip. A regular RAAF courier service was inaugurated whichprovided travel, food, mail and supplies for people who werebuilding the range. On 1 April 1947 Arcoona Rosetta Stone Chinese leased the land to theDepartment of Defence and the Woomera village was surveyed andbuilt. From 19471970 Woomera was an important centre. Throughout the1950s and 1960s a number of rockets were launched culminating inthe launching of the Prospero satellite in 1969. Today there is a real feeling of decay as you enter the town.The first sight to strike the visitor is three blocks of unitswhich have been left unoccupied as the town has contracted in size.At its peak Woomera had a population of over 5000. Today it has apopulation of a little over 1900 and probably half of those peopleare US military personnel working at nearby Nurrungar. At the moment Woomera is a base used to support Australian armedservice and the US Air Force. NASA and West Germany are launching aseries of sounding rockets to gather data from the Supernova. Thisis part of a ten year cooperative agreement between NASA, The Department of Industry, Technology and Commerce. The Woomera TestRange is operated by Defence Research Centre in Salisbury SA. The official literature declares that Nurrungar is a joint US Australian Ground Station, that it is located 19 km from Woomera,and that it is not open to the public Things to see: Woomera Aircraft and Missile Park and Heritage Centre The main attraction in Woomera is the excellent Lions Club of Woomera Aircraft and Missile Park and the Woomera Heritage Centre. The Woomera Heritage Centre is open from 9.30 to 4.30 from March to November and closed December to February. It is part of theWoomera Board Project. Telephone number: (08) 8673 7810. It has asuperb collection of Aboriginal artefacts from the area as well asa comprehensive display of rocket technology and 'artefacts' fromthe more recent past. Outside the building are well preserved examples of most of therockets which were launched at Woomera. There's the Black Arrow, a large rocket which was launched fourtimes from June 1969 to October 1972. The first launch wasdestroyed almost immediately because it was unstable. The secondand third launches were experimental firings. The fourth put aProspero satellite into orbit and the satellite is still circlingthe earth. There's a superb Meteor Mark 7 a British jet aircraft which wasused against German V1 rockets.

Read More

The fort, designed by Lt Col

Being an obvious place for a warning beacon, a signal mast was set up in 1804, earning it the name Signal Hill. It was replaced by a coalfire beacon in 1813 which burned until Nobbys Lighthouse was set up in 1858. The army gained use of the site from 1843 and it was, for some time, used as a training ground. When fear of a Russian invasion gripped the colony in the 1870s it was decided that Newcastle, because of its strategic importance as a coal and steel producer, needed to be properly fortified. The fort, designed by Lt Col. Peter Scratchley, was built between 1881 and 1886 though it was, of course, upgraded in the twentieth century. The Heritage of Australia notes that Fort Scratchley 'is one of only two examples of late 19 thcentury military fortifications in New South Wales'. The forts moment came in June 1942 when a Japanese submarine attacked Newcastle which, as a coal port, was an obvious target. The guns of the fort (which, at this point, had been waiting for action for sixty five years) then fired the only shots ever launched at an enemy vessel from the Australian mainland. The military finally departed from the site in 1972 and it is now the Newcastle Region Maritime and Military Museum, open from 10.30 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. every day but Monday. Displays include the Boat Gallery, a carronade gun from 1762, a torpedo (they're bigger than you might think), items salvaged from the French barque Adolphe which was wrecked on the northern breakwater in 1904 (and which can still be seen at times) and the Time Ball, which stood atop Customs House from 1877 to the 1940s, and which was lowered at exactly 1.00 p.m. each afternoon to allow ships to check their chronometers. In the rock platform below Fort Scratchley are the ocean pools known as the Soldiers Baths, built in 1882. Nobbys Rosetta Stone Software Immediately below Fort Scratchley, off the roundabout at the end of Nobbys Rd, is a kiosk and a large carpark adjacent Harbourside Park. From this point a very narrow finger of land extends out from the mainland to the knoll known as Nobbys Head whereon sits a lighthouse standing sentinel over the southern side of the Hunter estuary. Beyond the headland the rocky mass of the southern breakwater lends a sheltering arm to ships entering the harbour. Captain Cook, passing up the coast in 1770 described Nobbys as a 'small round rock or Island, laying close under the land'. This refers to the fact that it was then disconnected entirely from the mainland. Lieutenant Shortland sought shelter at Nobbys while searching for escaped convicts in 1797 and named it Hackings Point. There he found coal and this resulted in a subsequent visit by Lt James Grant who called it Coal Island. Coal was mined there until 1817 but the hillock was known as Nobbys by 1810. Utilising convict labour and rock fill from the Fort Scratchley area, work began on the construction of a pier out to the island in 1818, thought to be the oldest rockfill breakwater in the Southern Hemisphere. It was named Macquarie Pier after Governor Macquarie who laid the foundation stone. Work was halted in 1823, recommenced in 1836 using rocks from Nobbys, completed in 1846 and rebuilt in 1864. In 1855 Nobbys was reduced in size from 61 m to 27 m and the lighthouse erected in 1857 to replace the coalfire beacon of Fort Scratchley.

Read More

To comply with the guidelines

Then theres the matter of the everpresent price asterisk and its bedfellow, the fine print. The ACCC warns that a disclaimer or qualification in the fine print is not to be used to correct a misleading impression created by the prominent parts in an ad. And, as the commission points out, the test of whats misleading is the impression created in the mind of the consumers, not what the dealer or trader thinks. "The general rule is that disclaimers must be prominent, in close proximity to the main representation and as clear and comprehensive as possible," Mr Martin says. The adage "the smaller the print, the bigger the reason to read it" still rings true, with the guidelines unable to stipulate how big the fine prints needs to be. "The guide cannot specify a minimum font size because the relative legibility of fine print will vary with the size of the newspaper, billboard, television, cinema or internet advertisement," the ACCC says. "The question of whether fine print is sufficiently prominent is a matter of judgement and depends on the size, location and detail of the fine print in relation to the advertisement." Pictures of cars should closely match the actual cars being sold, the guidelines say, and catchalls such as "picture for illustrative purposes only" dont avoid a misleading situation if the car for sale doesnt have the same attributes as the car pictured. For advertised discounted prices not to be misleading and deceptive, the ACCC says, the discount should be measured against a recent price at which the car was available for sale for a reasonable period of time before the discount. "The price that youre discounting off cant be something youve cooked up and artificially inflated," Mr Martin says. The practice of bait advertising, in which consumers are lured to a car yard by cheap prices but find that advertised vehicle is not available and Rosetta Stone are encouraged to buy a more expensive car, breaches the Trade Practices Act. Mr Martin says the ACCC understands that not all cars will immediately be in stock, but the guideline is meant to stem deceptive practices. The ACCC says ads for secondhand cars should state the number available at the price. Ads for imported cars pictured with the disclaimer "not the Australian model" may be misleading if the pictured car, with an advertised RRP, differs substantially in quality or external features from the cars for sale locally. With cashback offers, in which a manufacturer or distributor offers a cash rebate for buying a car, the price quoted cannot be net of the rebate unless the consumer receives the rebate at the time the vehicle is paid for, the guidelines say. Car buyers intending to finance their vehicles by way of hire purchase, lease or other loan arrangement should have the terms and conditions adequately explained to them in the ads in simpletounderstand language, the ACCC says. The watchdog warns that terms such as "balloon payment", "residual, minimum buyback" and "TAP" (To Approved Purchasers) are jargon that may confuse consumers, and need to be adequately explained. To comply with the guidelines, the finance offer should state the interest rate per annum being charged, the deposit requirements, what the periodic payments are, the duration of the finance contract, what fees and charges are payable, final payments, when the offer ends, the total the consumer will pay over the life of the contract and the cars cash price, that is, the total amount required to buy the car immediately for cash. Lease offers need to state the deposit required, the duration, periodic and final payments, fees and charges and the date the offer ends.

Read More

Downside of dirty dancing

As Macquarie Street bunkers down for the budget tomorrow, the Treasurer, Eric Roozendaal, has called off his office's traditional postbudget drinks. While the Government has blamed the deficit for the partypooper decision, we suspect it has more to do with the Premier, Nathan Rees, hoping to avoid a repeat performance of last year's famed postbudget party that ended in a drunken member for Kiama, Matt Brown, dancing in his underpants on a leather couch in his office. Brown's seminaked display took place at one of several afterparties held in parliamentary offices following the postbudget drinks of the then treasurer, Michael Costa. Three months later Brown was dumped as police minister after lying to Mr Rees about the party shenanigans. A spokesman for the Premier denied any directives on party behaviour had been issued to party members for this year's budget, only that, "I think the expectation is that common sense will prevail." For his part, Brown did not return phone calls asking about his postbudget celebration plans, which we expect will be relatively sombre, and sober. FERRET HANDLING What do you get when you combine a Ferret, large men in leather and video cameras? A media call for the United Motorcycle Council of NSW, apparently. About 40 members of NSW's outlaw bike clubs gathered on Saturday to ask the public to look past the tattoos, beards and sawnoff shotguns to the sensitive people inside. The "freedom ride" also served as an introduction to the council's new spokesbikie, "Ferret". With the help of their newly hired PR company, the bikies even issued a "reporting guide for journalists" which includes lots of helpful definitions of bikie jargon such as "Patch Clubs": "Patch clubs exist for the purposes of companionship, education, rider training and socialisation of motorcycle riders." It Rosetta Stone Greek also included a short essay on "loaded language" requesting the media refrain from using phrases that "effect [sic] the balanced reporting of a story" such as "alleged Rebels member" or "suspected bikie". Advertisement: Story continues below LINGERIE LOSER The relationship of the starlet Jodi Gordon with her billionaire boyfriend and Channel Seven media heir Ryan Stokes took a bruising over her alleged cocaine bender with a man with links to the Rebel bikie club. Now it seems Gordon's wild night out may also hurt her hip pocket. Gordon's contract with the lingerie label Crystelle is understood to be on shaky ground. According to a rag trade insider, Crystelle's parent company, Gazal will keep Gordon as the face of the label but plans to renegotiate her annual retainer, due to a breach of a contract that stipulates she not bring the label into disrepute. A spokeswoman for the label refused to confirm the reports, saying that the company would not "comment on individual contracts". The former model turned Home And Away actress was named as the face of the label in September with a launch party at the Kings Cross nightspot Piano Room ironically the same venue where Gordon was seen partying with friends on a Tuesday night a fortnight ago. She surfaced the following afternoon at the Bellevue Hill unit of a man who under the new reporting guidelines on Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs would be described as "someone who once rode a motorcycle in the company of other motorcycle enthusiasts". FAME IN A FLASH Sporting WAGS hoping to stand out from the crowd need more than designer threads and a tandoori tan.

Read More

China exerts new control over Internet videos

China wants to exert more control over Internet videos with recently issued rules that restrict video sharing Web sites to statecontrolled companies, analysts say. But analysts also believe the new order, issued Dec. 29 and scheduled to take effect Jan. 31, won't kill off private videosharing Web sites completely and that officials may allow them to work around the new regulations given the amount of foreign investment such sites bring in. Foreignbased video sharing Web sites like YouTube are not likely to be affected, experts say, because they don't have operations in China although they may continue to be blocked in China occasionally. Advertisement: Story continues below "It's a very clear message these Chinese film governing authorities have decided to send that they're taking this stuff seriously and they're going to regulate it," Jeremy Goldkorn, editorinchief of Danwei.org, a Web site that covers Chinese media issues. The new rules may mean that such Chinabased Web sites have to cooperate with stateowned companies, he said. Dick Wei, a Hong Kongbased technology analyst for investment bank J.P. Morgan, said the sites could form partnerships with TV stations or newspapers, which in China all are stateowned. He said the state entity could own the content to satisfy regulations while the two partners split the profits. Goldkorn doesn't believe Beijing will shut down private video sharing Web sites entirely because that might spook foreign investors and some believe the new rules already make these Web sites less attractive to potential buyers, such as Internet giants like Google Inc., which bought Rosetta Stone Arabic YouTube in 2006 for US$1.65 billion. One of China's major Web sharing Web sites, says it raised US$40 million (euro27 million) in American and Chinese venture capital funding as of November. Kaiser Kuo, group director of digital strategy at advertising agency Ogilvy China, said the new regulations are a response to the popularity of Internet videos at the cost of traditional media like staterun broadcaster CCTV. "They've suddenly lost control of one of the main state organs of propaganda and obviously the party (Chinese Communist Party) is not going to like that. So it's only natural they would want to reassert some control in this new and increasingly popular form of media," he said. China ranks as the world's second largest Internet market with a total audience of about 164 million, including people who surf the Web from public computers, according to the research firm comScore Inc. Only the United States, with about 182 million Internet users, boasts a larger online audience. Any Chinabased Web sites already require a government license that is only issued to Chinese majorityowned companies. The new regulations go a step further, requiring a state controlling interest in any video entertainment Web site. founder Victor Koo doesn't appear too worried about the new policy. "It is not currently clear how big the impact is to the online video space as this will depend on the interpretation and the implementation of such policy guidelines," he said in an email to The Associated Press, adding that Youku's legal advisers are in touch with the government. Internet selfcensorship already exists, with private Chinese Web sites hiring their own censors to delete sensitive content like footage of protests or pornography, Goldkorn said. Youku's Koo said his company has "24x7 content approval procedures to ensure that no porn or politically inappropriate content appear on our Web site." China also censors or blocks Web sites based abroad for politically sensitive content like information about the Chinese military's brutal crackdown on prodemocracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989. Goldkorn said YouTube may be blocked occasionally but otherwise the San Bruno, Californiabased company falls outside the jurisdiction of the new rules.

Read More

Brumbies season spiralling after 'Caning

The Hurricanes sent the Brumbies' Super 14 campaign into freefall with a crushing 3315 victory over the Australian side at Canberra Stadium. The New Zealand franchise notched four straight wins for the first time since 2006 and condemned the Brumbies to their first home defeat in seven matches stretching back over a year. The visitors were far too clinical for a mistake ridden Brumbies outfit, scoring five tries to two. Advertisement: Story continues below The bonus point victory lifted the Hurricanes above the Waratahs, Blues and Sharks into second spot, while the Brumbies dropped a spot to eighth following the Stormers' victory over the Chiefs. The Hurricanes' much vaunted back row trio dominated at the breakdown, with All Blacks flanker Chris Masoe scoring two second half tries. Hooker Andrew Hore also crossed after the break, while the Hurricanes other two tries were scored by wingers Shannon Paku and Hosea Gear, and both Rosetta Stone Greek came after the visitors clinically converted turnovers. The Brumbies lead 30 through an early penalty to fullback Mark Gerrard, but couldn't capitalise on a numerical advantage after Hurricanes centre Tamati Ellison was sin binned for a high tackle on winger Francis Fainfo. Paku set up the Hurricanes' 73 halftime lead when the visitors turned the ball over near halfway and Gear and centre Conrad Smith combined to send their teammate clear. The Hurricanes dominated for most of the second half and Hore spun over in the 55th minute following sustained pressure. The Brumbies lost Wallabies backrower Stephen Hoiles to the sin bin for abusive language following Hore's try. However, it was the home team who scored the next try with replacement flanker Julian Salvi crossing after a smart break from fellow substitute Josh Holmes. The unconverted try cut the deficit to 11 but a breakaway try to Gear and Masoe's brace helped push the visitors to a 338 buffer. Centre Tyrone Smith scored a late try for the well beaten Brumbies. Both the Brumbies and the Hurricanes have the bye next week.

Read More

Adobe Develops Flash Tool For Apple IPhone

The developer of the widely used Flash programing language has devised a way to translate its code to run on Apple's iPhone a move that could dramatically boost the variety of applications for the iPhone. Programs written with Adobe Systems' Flash programing language currently cannot run on Apple's popular smartphone. Adobe has spent several years trying without success to persuade Apple to make technical changes to the device's software that would make it possible for Flash programs to run on the iPhone. In the absence of an agreement with Apple, Adobe announced on Monday that it will introduce a tool that lets computer programmers easily convert software applications that they write in the Flash programing language to code that will work on the iPhone. Advertisement: Story continues below Flash is designed so that programmers can write one set of code that run on multiple types of computers and mobile devices, including Rosetta Stone Greek ones using software from Google, Microsoft, Nokia and Palm. The iPhone has been the only major handset provider that has declined to collaborate with Adobe. The new option that Adobe announced on Monday will allow developers to create a second piece of software that they can distribute through Apple's App store. "It's basically an export capability," said Adrian Ludwig, a manager with Adobe's Flash group. He said in an interview that Apple has yet to agree to work with Adobe to clear two key technical hurdles that would enable Flash applications to run on the iPhone. "The ball is in their court at this point. We've been very blunt about what we need and what we are requesting," Ludwig said in an interview. A spokesman for Apple could not be reached for comment. Adobe said in a press release that it will release a public trial version of the tool for converting Flash programs into ones that will run on the iPhone later this year.

Read More

Video will begin in 5 seconds

Click to play video Return to video Video feedback Use this form to: Ask for technichal assistance in playing the multimedia available on this site, or Provide feedback to the multimedia producers. Return to video Video feedback Thank you. Your feedback was successfully sent. Video will begin in 5 seconds. Don't play Play now More video Recommended Click to play video The week that was Michael Pascoe Click to play video Papademos to lead Greece Click to play video France, Germany discuss radical EU overhaul Click to play video Europe woes reverberate down under Replay video Return to video Video settings What type of connection do you have? Return to video Video settings Your video format settings have been saved. Parity prompts revised rates outlook Some analysts predict the Reserve Bank will leave interest rates on hold with the Aussie dollar reaching parity. Commonwealth Bank disagrees. Video feedback Video settings The markets were primed for an interest rate rise this month. Paul Bloxham, a former central banker, explains how they got it wrong. Last week's decision by the Reserve Bank not to raise interest rates surprised many people. Most commentators were convinced an interest rate rise was a certainty. So what happened? For me, two factors were at play. The first was communication (or the lack thereof) and the second was a misunderstanding in some quarters about how the Reserve Bank makes its monetary policy decisions. In this case, the communication element was a speech by the Reserve Bank governor on September 20 suggesting that next year's growth would likely be ''above trend'' and inflation would remain elevated. In essence, he was flagging that the next move in rates was likely to be up (not down as markets had priced in only two weeks previously). The Rosetta Stone Arabic next day the Reserve Bank board minutes from the September meeting suggested that higher interest rates would probably be required ''at some point''. As always, there were no allusions to the timing of any rate moves. Advertisement: Story continues below This seemed consistent with the Reserve Bank's broader communication strategy which, for better or worse, never specifically articulates a path for interest rates. Even when the bank publishes forecasts in the quarterly Statement of Monetary Policy there is a degree of ambiguity. The forecasts assume that the cash rate ''moves broadly in line with market expectations'' and they warn that this ''does not represent a commitment by the board to any particular path for policy''. The governor's speech was, however, taken by many to suggest that the Reserve Bank would definitely move in October. Some even thought that the use of specific language in these publications was a coded signal. The claim was that in the past when the Reserve Bank had stated that monetary policy was appropriate ''for the time being'' - as it once again did in the September minutes - that it had always moved rates the next month. In my view the bank does not draft in this way, preferring instead to have a flexible vocabulary for describing events. In any case, the Reserve Bank does not make its decisions well in advance. On the contrary, because it is often a finely balanced decision, a recommendation is only drafted five days before a board meeting and it is not until the actual meeting that the final decision is made. No one can know with certainty what is going to happen two weeks in advance. Meanwhile, others seemed to argue that the Reserve Bank would lift rates in order to get them up before a potentially ''inconveniently'' low result for the September quarter consumer price index was published on October 27. I would argue that this reasoning is unsound. If the CPI prints lower than expected, the Reserve Bank is likely to take it as a signal that the inflationary impulse in the economy is more benign than expected and that it has more time before needing to move rates.

Read More

The collection changes every two months

A better option may be the choir's regular Friday concert, Most MuseumsQuartier buildings open at 10am and have varying closing times. The MQ Kombi ticket is 25 and includes entry to all MuseumsQuartier buildings; Hofburg Imperial Palace;2pm Five minutes' walk from the Hofburg Imperial Palace is the historic five-star Hotel Sacher. It's a good place to boost energy levels with a sachertorte, one of Vienna's most controversial sweets. The cake - with two layers of thick chocolate separated by a line of apricot jam and topped with chocolate icing - was the centre of a long legal stoush between Hotel Sacher and Demel Patisserie, both of which claimed to have the original recipe from 1832. In 1963, an out-of-court agreement was reached, with the hotel retaining the right to sell its cake as the Original Sacher-Torte. The patisserie version is now called Demel's Sachertorte. If you want your cake and a sausage too, try a wurstel stand. These cheap sausage kiosks are all over the city and the cheese-infused bratwurst (nicely sliced into bite-sized discs) with bread costs 3.80. I find a concentration of wurstel stands at City Hall Square, where Vienna's Ice Dream is in action. The massive outdoor skating rink is buzzing with skaters and music; when the sun goes down it is colourfully and beautifully illuminated. The Ice Dream operates annually between January and March but if you're visiting during December this is also the site of Christkindlmarkt, the city's biggest Christmas market, which attracts about 3 million people a year. Hotel Sacher, Philkarmonikerstrasse 4, 1010 Vienna, sachertorte with whipped cream 3pm A 20-minute train ride from the city centre is the 1441-room Schoenbrunn Palace and gardens, once home to the Habsburg dynasty. Various self-guided tours (with headphones and commentary in English) are available to see the lavishly furnished rooms, including the parlour where six-year-old Mozart played recitals. Schoenbrunn Palace, 22-room tour 9.50/6.50; 5pm Industrial-style furniture and accessories decorate Das Rosetta Stone French Moebel, a cafe where the in-crowd gathers to chat and catch up on emails, the furniture is for sale and emerging designers are showcased. The collection changes every two months. A beer, such as a Czech Kozel, is 2.50, or try the popular Austrian soft drink, Almdudler (a blend of apple juice, grape and herbs) for 2.60. Almdudler is Austria's second-favourite soft drink, after Coke. For a classical coffee house, try Cafe Central, opened in 1860, with chandeliers and marble pillars. The Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky was one of its customers. (At any Viennese cafe ask for a melange - coffee with milk - rather than a latte. I'm told by a waiter that latte isn't a Viennese thing and they don't appreciate requests for it; the waiter will likely want to tell you to go to Italy to get one.) Das Moebel, Burggasse 10, 1060 Vienna, coffee from 1.90; Cafe Central, corner Herrengasse/Strauchgasse, 1010 Vienna, piano player performs daily 5pm-10pm, coffee from 2.60; 7pm At Figlmueller (a famous schnitzel house in business since 1905) they beat the schnitzels with a mallet until the diameter is 34 centimetres. As mine is brought to the table by another surly waiter in a tuxedo, I see it is bigger than the plate, a cause for mirth and camera clicking. Service is quick and there's no beer, only wine. Stick to your precise booking time; we are turned away when we arrive early. Close to Figlmueller, at Stephansplatz in the geographic centre of Vienna, is Stephansdom (St Stephens Cathedral), an impressive gothic cathedral that is one of the most visited tourist sites in Vienna. Locals affectionately call it Steffl and the main tower is 136 metres tall. Figlmueller, Wollzeile 5 and Baeckerstrasse 6, schnitzel 12.90, see Stephansdom, see 9pm After overdoing the schnitzel, bratwurst and sachertorte, a good lie down beckons. Vienna does, however, have appealing nightlife for anyone able to press on. The hottest night spots are Loos American Bar, open until 5am; First Floor, a hidden-away cocktail bar on the second floor at Seitenstettengasse 5, Ecke Rabensteig; Volksgarten Club Disco; and the new Sass Music Club where electronic music rules.

Read More