Say aloha to Hawaii’s new law!

 On Tuesday evening, Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) signed a bill  making Hawaii the 15th state to legalize same-sex marriage. 

Abercrombie brought the bill back to legislature in August after the Supreme Court ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. Starting on December 2^nd, same-sex couples will finally have the opportunity for their wedding in paradise.

November has been a good month for same-sex marriage proponents. On November 5^th, Illinois passed a same-sex marriage bill.

Just a few years ago it would have been unthinkable that we’d see such a marked shift in public opinion on this contentious issue around the nation.

But for supporters and opponents of same sex marriage the battle is not over. There will be many more legislative fights in the years to come.

In Hawaii, it appears that the issue has been finally put (or is it “lei”ed?)  to rest.

When you watch college sports, announcers refer to players as “Student-athletes”.

But it might be better to call them “Athlete-students”…

Or in some cases just drop the “student” part all together.

This became apparent on November 13 when potential basketball icons were showcased in a 24-hour hoops marathon that opened the new college season. There were top ranked teams featuring 5 star-recruits who are projected to be top picks in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Andrew Wiggins of the University of Kansas is one of these. He is one of the most coveted recruits in recent history and is anticipated to have a great (albeit short) college career.

 Before the season began, Wiggins stated in an interview that his goal is to be the top in pick in next year’s NBA Draft, meaning that he is likely one and done this coming year.

Wiggins is not the first to say and do this, and will not be the last. But what does it say about the college admissions officer that has accepted them into their university?

How can a college have mission statement that states a commitment to educate its students, but allows athletes to leave without completing their education?

Is this practice healthy for institutions of higher learning? Or is big college athletics really calling the shots? Let us know !!!

HTML Email design. The very thought gives many of us shivers. All of the wonderful standards and advancements in the browser go out the window when designing HTML emails – or do they?

In HTML Email Design, MailChimp UX Designer Fabio Carneiro outlines how to build a responsive HTML email that your recipients will love. Using the proper mix of HTML, CSS, and media queries, you can design an effective message fit for laptops and mobile devices, no matter what kind of content you need to send.

HTML Email Design

The post HTML Email Design with Fabio Carneiro appeared first on Treehouse Blog.

Light Point Security Named One of Top Five in Wall Street Journal's Startup of the Year Competition

Named in Top Five Out of 24 Participants and 500 Applicants

Baltimore, MD (November 13, 2013) – bwtech@UMBC is pleased to announce that Light Point Security has been selected by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) as a top five finisher of the Wall Street Journal Startup of the Year competition.

“We're proud Light Point Security has been named one of the top five startup companies in the nation,” says Zuly Gonzalez, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Light Point Security. “The outcome of our participation in the WSJ Startup of the Year has exceeded our expectations. We've built-up our customer base and have increased our company's visibility on a national scale. We want to thank the bwtech@UMBC Cyber Incubator and the Northrop Grumman Cync Program for supporting us and helping us reach this point.”

The WSJ Startup of the Year competition, which began June 24,mfeatured 24 companies out of more than 500 applications nationwide.  The series, presented as an episodic video documentary for WSJ Live, matched each company with global business leaders and tracked their progress as startups over the course of five months. More than 40 business leaders served as mentors to the participating companies, including Sir Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group, Steve Case, Chairman of the Case Foundation, Chairman of Startup America and co-founder and former CEO of AOL, and Kate Mitchell, Co-Founder and Partner of Scale Venture Partners.

Vic Hess, bwtech’s Cyber Incubator Entrepreneur in Residence, states “We are very pleased that Zuly and Beau were so successful in the WSJ Startup of the Year competition.  Light Point Security has been part of our Northrop Grumman Cync Program for several months and actively contributes to our community of early-stage companies. Their virtual web browser is a rare product that is complex but easy to use and will help many agencies and enterprises that access the web to do so safely.”

“Congratulations to Light Point Security on this prestigious achievement,” said Chris Valentino, Division Director, Contract Research and Development, Northrop Grumman Information Systems. “Cync is providing a foundation for companies to build their business and their technologies so we’re proud to see one of our own earn such an honor and look forward to their continued success.”

Light Point Security’s WSJ Startup of the Year series profile and videos can be viewed at http://projects.wsj.com/soty/startup/light-point-security

About Light Point Security: Light Point Security protects businesses from web-based threats through its innovative product that moves the employees’ web browsers into the cloud so no website content ever reaches their computers. Light Point Security’s award-winning product is the first and only secure web browser. Instead of relying on security through detection, Light Point Security uses virtualization and cloud technologies to provide security through isolation. The company was founded by two former NSA employees and is based in Baltimore, Maryland. For more information on Light Point Security, visit http://lightpointsecurity.com or follow @LightPointSec on Twitter.

About the Cync Program: The Cync Program, www.bwtechumbc.com//cync/, founded in March 2011, is an innovative partnership between Northrop Grumman Corporation and bwtech@UMBC that focuses on commercializing technology to protect the nation from a growing range of cyber threats. The Northrop Grumman Cync Program builds on bwtech@UMBC's successful business-incubation framework by offering a "scholarship program" for small businesses with the most promising cybersecurity ideas. Participants in the program draw on UMBC's research expertise and Northrop Grumman resources to develop tools that will secure and protect our nation's networks.

About bwtech@UMBC: bwtech@UMBC, www.bwtechumbc.com, is a 71-acre research and technology community at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). With over 500,000 square feet of office and laboratory space, it is home to more than 115 technology and life science companies at all stages of development. bwtech@UMBC offers collaboration with university faculty and students and enjoys a strategic and convenient location, close to downtown Baltimore, BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, and Washington, D.C. Its annual economic impact on the state is estimated to be over $300 million.